1950s children's TV

There was many years later

Must have passed me by, newist!

I had a tin puppet Muffin the Mule. One of the first toys I remember having.

Nobody ever mentions the programme about the Herb Garden. I thought it was rather good and I can still remember most of the songs-Lady Rosemary, Dill the dog, Sir Basil, Bayleaf the gardener and so on. Very clever.

A few years ago my son and I went to enormous lengths to get a DVD of The Children of Green Knowe "Tegan" We found that the BBC had never done a commercial recording of it and scoured ebay for recordings. The first one we found wasn't brilliant, but we found a second one which was reasonable. I get it out every Christmas and watch it when DH is in bed. Love The Box of Delights too. I can remember listening to it on the radio and was so pleased that they kept the same music for the TV version.
Does anyone remember Prudence Kitten? She must go back to the early 50's and was my favourite. I had a lovely Prudence Kitten glove puppet.

I remember the Herb Garden Hunt! Don't forget Parsley the Lion. Into the '60's I remember Mary, Mungo and Midge, Tales of the Riverbank. Apparently I used to scream in temper when Torchy the Battery Boy's programme ended. I can't remember this so 'googled' the programme and Torchy looks quite frightening so perhaps I was screaming in terror.

Sam in the Woodentops was a Bear Grylls type of chap. He never wore a top whatever the season.
My grandparents had the (plastic?) sheet you could put over your screen to transform your black and white set to colour. There were 3 stripes, green at the bottom, pinky, red for the middle with a top stripe of blue. Quite good for scenery but Richard Baker would read the news with a green chin and blue forehead.

Do they do wonderful series for children these days? The last episode of The Children of Green Knowe was wonderful. And I remember a serial caled 'Pig Heart Boy' that my daughter and I watched together.

There don't seem to be the really magical series anymore do there? In the past they've done the Narnia stories and some Arthur Ransome, but nothing like that lately. Do you remember the serials at teatime on Sundays? A Tale of Two Cities, The Three Musketeers, Little Women, The Railway Children etc. A couple of years ago while baby sitting I did find the Roman Mysteries series on CBBC which I though were very good.

Didn't you love it when Tolly went into the stable on Christmas Day and Feste ate the sugar Tegan ? It gets me every time.

Oh yes; and that got me onto looking tonight for a film I saw a couple of times called 'The Last Winter' It was about a boy living in Canada whose family were moving from the country to the city; there was a white horse in that also. I had it on video once and taped over it. I can't find it on utube but it looks as if I might be able to buy it on Amazon. I've always had a thing for white horses. I feel all weepy now just thinking about it.

penguin; what is this plastic sheet thing? I feel like a deprived child now...my childhood was all in black and white .

I have a photograph of my sister sitting on Muffin the Mule, taken at Butlin's. Apparently I totally refused to sit on the thing, saying I would look silly. My sister most certainly does

Deedaa yes I remember prudence Kitten, talking to a lady. Just found this www.turnipnet.com/whirligig/tv/children/other/prudence.htm

I liked Bill and Ben and Weeed .... and Torchy, Torchy the little battery boy
I’m a clever walkie-talkie toy
With bright blue eyes and golden hair
I’ve a magic beam that can shine anywhere.

Torch-y-y, Torch-y- y!
The little battery boy.

Torchy, Torchy the battery boy,
I’m a walkie-talkie toy,
Press my switch, see my bulb start to gleam,
It’s the most magic light you-u-u ha-a-a-ve seen

Aaaah very fond memories.

Tegan I used to hide behind my hands when Twizzle came on. Very scary.

Also Pussy Cat Willum, with Muriel Young - but this was a bit later on I think.

I used to watch all these with my children, and my friend and I had an arrangement by which after Andy Pandy and Woodentops, I would walk round to her house and we would go to the shops. The other day my daughter assured me that 'I made her watch Andy Pandy and she hated it'. This immediately brought visions on me, holding my daughter by the shoulders and saying 'YOU WILL WATCH ANDY PANDY!' and we both laughed. My son loved The Magic Roundabout, he could do a lovely impersonation of Dougle (see my blog).

It is amazing what is ''out there''. The first film I ever saw was Shirley Temple in Heidi. I remember being horrified when the horrid governess threw Heidi's Christmas present ( a glass globe snow scene) across the room. I remembered it as being an enormous part of the film but I bought a copy on Amazon and that scene is remarkably short! I was five at the time.

Tegan I only remember it being a bit of a short lived novelty and the the grandparents soon went back to their black and white. I've never met anyone else who remembers these screens.
Does anyone remember various children's programmes from what was then communist Europe? Very dark tales if I remember.
Much later on White Horses..or perhaps the programme wasn't called White Horses but the theme tune was.

I always remember the pink crinkly curtain that used to come open before the film started at out local cinema. I'll always be thanful that I had a mum who bought me lots of books and took me to the cinema and theatre a lot. A favourite film was Tommy the Toreador with Tommy Steele. And seeing How the West was Won in cinemascope has given me a love of the cinema that has never diminished.

I know the theme tune you're talking about, but can't think of the programme 'on white horses let me ride away de dum de dum'

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6z8GUywyc

Tegan Monday morning, so many jobs waiting to be done (where is Mrs Scrubbit from the Woodentops when you need her?) and here I am sitting watching Muffin the Mule (not to mention Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, Rin Tin Tin and My Friend Flicka...). Three cheers for youtube, thanks again for pointing me. Trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to ration myself so I'm off to do some hoovering... or maybe there's just time for Champion the Wonder Horse?

Yay! It was a big hit wasn't it? Very fond memories of Saturday morning pictures. My OH has often told me how he and his friends used to use pea shooters.

No - the Seaman Stains thing wasn't true - it was a joke from Victor Lewis-Smith, and somehow everybody assumed it really happened...

Another Lewis-Smith gag was the weekly 'Gay Daleks' thread in his 'TV Offal' series - two bitchy Daleks, shout 'Exsperminate!' at intervals...

Another joke children's show was the 'adult Rainbow' culled from a tape made for an internal Christmas party - it started with Zippy peeling a banana:
"One skin, two skin, three skin.." at which point he was interrupted by Geoffrey!

I've only just understood the 'Seaman Stains' one . I know on Blue Peter once they were looking at door knockers and the presenter said 'that's a lovely pair of knockers' . Didn't Rainbow tour the University circuit for a long time [probably still does]. I'd forgotten those people that sang in it. And have just rediscovered Trevor and Simons 'Swing Your Pants' as well.