"Here's one I bid on earlier..."

Why all the fuss about Blue Peter badges being up for sale on the interbobble?

Anyone who feels so inclined to rid themselves of / fritter hard-earned money on claiming such sad mementoes marking the dullest of all (anti-) children's TV should be left entirely alone, merely to think long and hard about just what they've done.
After all, the only worthwhile thing Blue Peter ever spawned was sweet Sophie Ellis-Bextor... (though she wasn't, in fact, the unborn baby which made Janet Ellis such a scandalous siren of her era...)

No, I'm more disturbed by the fact such tat is apparently available one a penny (or, indeed, one a hundred quid upwards), but can I get my grasping hands on an original Blankety Blank chequebook and pen? Or a Crackerjack pencil? Or a Bendy Bully? Or an authentic 3-2-1 Dusty Bin, instead of an opportunistic replica eggcup or moneybox produced to satisfy only the cheapest, most undiscerning of nostalgia-geeks...

I did once receive a Jim'll Fix It medallion for Christmas, though it was in fact merely a novelty slab of soap. Genuine articles are apparently still available, though I'd like to imagine the exorbitant £110 price-tag would have even Saville himself choking indignantly on his cigar...
I suppose this Blue Peter-style solution might have to do...

I knew I should have nabbed Mallett's Mallet when I had the chance - during my 15 minutes of fame on the Wide Awake Club many, many moons ago, as part of a small primary school troupe demonstrating the dubious sounds and virtues of recorders and ocarinas made out of cardboard...

Still, I did manage to get the man himself's autograph - including the 'T' in Timmy represented by a over-sized drawing of a cartoon mallet.
Really, it's obvious when you think about it...