Happiness is a full Sekiden

If you were a kid growing up in the mid 1960s you maybe had one or two Sekidens, along with cap rockets and balsa wood gliders. They were made in Japan, and sold in carded bags at your local newsagent. They fired plaster beads which were gold in the UK and silver elsewhere.

Although Sekidens were relatively affordable at 3/6d (three shillings and sixpence, 17.5p in decimal coinage), the beads were expensive at 3d (threepence) for 50. It took more than two boxes to fill the Sekiden, so for economy we substituted dried peas, which varied in size and weight, so they weren’t as good as genuine Silver King beads. Often one of the peas would jam, resulting in you being peppered with shots while you emptied and refilled.