I was never the kind of kid to attract nicknames. I never excelled at sports - and most good nicknames are born on the pitch. I was more at home in the library and excelled in the classroom. Plus I had atrociously correct manners (still do) and dressed well. I was in high school before I owned a pair of blue jeans.

No nicknames. Kind of rubbed me the wrong way - I always believed there was something wrong with me not to attract nicknames.

My Dad loved a radio comedy show called “Bob and Ray.” Wikipedia describes them perfectly:

“Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as though it were a serious interview.”

On their fictional newscasts, they frequently turned to roving reporter Wally Ballou. It became the first nickname I ever had. When I was young I didn’t understand the derivation - I failed to ask my father about the connection and naturally assumed he made up the name.

(Or because I was overweight I assumed it was Balloo the Bear from Jungle Book. He jumped and danced and made a lot of noise. Sounded like me at the time.)

So today I’m confessing - my nickname is WallyBalloo. I hadn’t realised the radio star had the letter “U” at the end. I’m the double “O” kind of Balloo.

So in this vein of true confessions - what’s your nickname? What’s the derivation?