Lego boy

Danish toymaker Lego is celebrating its 50th anniversary. I saw a boxed set of bricks brought out to celebrate the milestone in our local hypermarket. This immediately evoked a rush of nostalgic feeling towards the plastic building blocks that were such an important part of my childhood (and indeed, my children's childhood!)

I vividly recall the colours of the bricks - white, yellow, red and blue, the interlocking studs with the Lego logo on each one, the shapes of the bricks (especially the roof tiles, the rounded pieces, the clear pieces), and special parts such as the Scandinavian flag set (memorably recalled in a flashback while standing outside Warsaw's Radisson SAS hotel on a frosty night), and the small Lego cars and trucks (I had a Bedford furniture truck, with opening door at rear).

I must have been about four when I received my first Lego set, but have perfect recollection of the emotions I felt at the time I opened the box and started putting the pieces together for the first time. Just writing this piece makes me remember the kit, a kiosk with a rounded end, I recall unfolding the instructions.

Follow this link to a German-language page with Lego catalogues from the 1950s and early 1960s. I well recall most of the bricks displayed; it also jogged memories (I had the Lego garage set with up-and-over door).