Evel Knievel RIP

I was actually chatting to someone on Thursday about those Evel Knievel toy motorcycle sets it turned out we both used to have and play with as children. He had just bought a new version of the stunt set; I was remarking how I still have my original Evel and bike (in fairly good nick too) in a box on the shelves in my office. (As to the wind up device, however, I do not know its whereabouts.)

To a generation of kids, Evel was the epitome of action hero, dressed mainly in that tight white suit of his, flying over the Grand Canyon or leaping over rows of buses at Wembley Stadium (see photo). He didn't always escape without injury, but that made him even more heroic.

I never saw him live but I thrilled to his exploits on television, and distinctly remember getting my Evel toy one Christmas and playing with it continuously for the week my family were away for the holidays, sending it speeding along the tiled corridor at my grandmother's flat, jumping over boxes...