With no explanation and seemingly no destination, Uncle Oojah and his friends set out in a sailing ship in pursuit of adventures. After a long and tedious voyage they find land only to awaken the next morning tied up and berated by an irascible king and his menacing army (who bear a distinct resemblance to conquistadors). Upon being untied, there is a cursory exchange of insults between the two forces and then Jerrywangle provokes the foreign king’s jester into chasing him. Unfortunately the jester plummets to his doom over a cliff edge and the hapless friends spend the next few weeks attempting to abate the king’s ire by playing the role of jester themselves. It does not go well.

No Oojah colour plates this year, but H M Talintyre’s ink drawings are good and there are plenty of them. The annual is also full of the usual quirky activities and one-offs. Finding the policemen hidden in a tree eluded me completely. Let me know how you get on. I did enjoy the two little men kidnapping a teddy although it probably traumatised several young children.