Do your smalls, if you have them, watch much TV? Mine watch less than they used to - largely because of the arrival in our home of pootas, Nintendo DS's, the Playstation and the Wii. No.1 has a fully-fledged addiction to the interweb (can't think from where she inherited that ;-) ) and her advancing age is reflected in the fact that she now enjoys watching such things as 'Friends' and 'The Vicar of Dibley' rather than kids' tv. (Which is your favourite 'Friend'? No.1 likes Joey because he's handsome - that's my girl! - and Phoebe because she's bonkers.)
No.2, however, does still watch the kids TV channels - largely CBBC and CITV. Just the other morning I joined him to watch an episode of 'Chuckle Vision' featuring The Chuckle Brothers. I doubt very much whether these buffoons are known to anyone further afield than the shores of the UK. For those of you unfamiliar with this pair, they are basically a couple of lovable idiots who regularly misunderstand and generally make a mess of the various situations in life in which they find themselves. If you're under 10, it's probably quite funny.
When I was a kiddywink, there wasn't as much TV specially for kids as there is now. I can remember Crackerjack! on Fridays at 4.55 ("It's Friday, it's five to five ... it's Crackerjack!") How many kids of today would be happy going home with a Crackerjack pencil?! I loved the teatime shows like The Clangers, Hector's House, and Magic Roundabout. There was Blue Peter of course - Blue Peter has been around for as long as I can remember. Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves and John Noakes were the presenters of my youth. What Val couldn't do with an old washing up liquid bottle, some pipe cleaners, and a roll of sticky-backed-plastic wasn't worth knowing.
I got all enthusiastic about this post and decided I'd make a nice collage of the childhood TV programmes I remember, but I got a bit carried away with remembering:
- Camberwick Green, Roobarb & Custard, The Doubledeckers, Captain Pugwash
- Hector's House, Blue Peter, Thunderbirds, Flipper
- Take Hart, Crystal Tipps & Alastair, Worzel Gummidge
- The Clangers, Play School (Humpty and Jemima), Skippy
- Mr Benn, Tiswas, Wacky Races,
- The Wombles, Magpie, Mary Mungo & Midge, The Magic Roundabout
When this gets edited into a blog book, I'm going to turn that collage into a whole page photo!
Saturday morning TV was quite good - were you a 'Multi-Coloured Swapshop/Saturday Superstore' person or a 'Tiswas' person? I used to watch both - flicking between the channels. Of course there were no remote controls back then, so one had to actually get up and WALK over to the TV, if you had a tv at all.
When I was very little we didn't have a tv, and I well remember 'Listen With Mother' on the radio. 'Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin ...' it began every single day - just after lunch if I remember rightly. Other radio specifically for children included the Saturday morning 'Junior Choice' hosted by Ed Stewart. I always disliked Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart with a venom which was unusual in a child (and especially unusual for me). I still don't know why he triggered that response. Who else can remember Bernard Cribbins singing 'Right Said Fred', or Charles Penrose singing 'The Laughing Policeman'? And what was that song 'Hello Mother, Hello Father' about a boy going to 'Camp Granada'?
The first TV we had was black and white, but my brother and I enjoyed watching it. I'll never forget when we got our first colour tv - it was a cast off belonging to my mum's uncle (he really was Uncle Ben, and as far as I know, he didn't cook rice). The first time my brother and I sat and watched Thunderbirds on it, the glorious colours in the flames of the explosions in the story both amazed and delighted me.
Kids of today are very lucky to have so much TV catered especially for them. I'll never forget reading that the creator of The Teletubbies did years of research before developing that programme. Her research was obviously excellent as both my children, and many millions more, adored it. Have you or did you used to watch it? It's a splendidly surreal world of bright colour, music, exaggerated sound, and a naughty Noo Noo. I won't hear a bad word against it: It gave me 20 mins of total peace and quiet every single day at a time in my life when that commodity was in extremely short supply. The sight of Tinky Winky in his tutu, and carrying his red handbag will happily live with me forever.
I'll leave you with a little video of that old favourite of vintage kids' tv - Rainbow. Only this is an episode that you'll never have seen aired on TV ;-).
WARNING: If you're not a fan of childish smut and innuendo, you probably won't enjoy this video.
© Author
55 commenty bits:
well that made my sunday morning!! you naughty girl you!!!!
i remember nearly all the progs you mention - i loved the magic roundabout as much as my kids - especially zebedee!!! and i always watched saturday morning swap shop!!! ahhh,memories!
xx
Ha, ha, ha priceless Kitty!! I have seen that before a long time ago but I'd forgotton how funny it was. I dont think kids TV now is as good as when we were kids. I always remember Jamie and the magic torch. xx
You missed Ivor the Engine!
and Poggles Wood....or am I just showing my age?
The Herbs? I have a Herbs video as Parsley the Lion was my first boyfriend.
Oh I just love this post ... you've brought back some wonderful childhood memories - I enjoyed most of those shows. I also remember as a littlie "Watch with Mother" ... it was on at lunchtime Monday to Friday and they had shows like the Woodentops (my fave) and Tales on the Riverbank - with real hamsters, guinea pigs etc playing the parts. I also used to love Andy Pandy and Jackanory [[sigh]] memories ;o).
Thanks for the trip down memory lane :o).
Hugs,
Joy :o)
My mum sometimes worked on Rainbow so I was very proud to have rod,Jane adn Freddy, Zippy and Bungles autographs!
Here in Italy kids TV is mainly old 70's japanese cartoons either on very early in the morning or quite late at night, so we never see them. But I want my daughter to have a good English accent so I bought the CHarlie and Lola DVDs and have passed on to her my old videos of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins!
Mine watches TV and loves it but is starting to move away from kids to Britains got Talent style stuff!! There are some great shows these days, I like Raven, Basil Brush (who is still as funny!) and the really silly presenters like Sam an Mark, Dick and Dom!!
What about button Moon?
We were great fans..well my kids were and we even went to see the live show twice. It was every bit as good as the TV version. No special effects or CGI just puppets.
My sons loved rainbow and when the youngest was suffering really badly with chicken pox I asked him if there was anything he needed. ''All I want ...is a cuggerly Zippy' A tall order in those days with no internet but after much driving around my husband managed to find one. (Unfortunately a few years later, our then new puppy chewed its brains out )
PS I love the chuckle Brothers. Simple.
Hi WW - Glad you enjoyed it! My favourite in The Magic Roundabout was Dylan ... man. I guess I was always a bit of a hippie. Swap Shop was such a brilliant concept - the things that got swapped were wonderful. x
Hi Baggy - Took me a while to track it down - it's been removed from YouTube! Some of today's kids' tv is great - but then again, some of it isn't. x
Hi Gigi - Oh yes, Pogles Wood - I have an episode of that on a Watch With Mother video. I liked The Woodentops too, and Bill & Ben. And The Herbs ... how could I forget?! I suspect you and I are of a similar 'vintage' ;-) x
Hi Joy - Oh good, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, I remember Watch with Mother - and still have a video of some of the programmes. I loved Spotty Dog on The Woodentops - the way he walked was very funny. And how could I have forgotten to include Jackanory? Oh dear, that was a huge mistake! x
Hi Charlie - Gosh, how exciting. Was Geoffrey as big a wet drip as he seemed?! Can't you get CBeebies over there? It's a very good channel for tiddlers. x
Hi Lin - Oh yes, mine enjoy the reality Saturday teatime stuff too. But I agree with you about Raven - love that show. And Basil Brush. I don't know how Dick and Dom get away with some of that stuff they do, but I agree that they are good - ditto Sam and Mark. How about Tracy Beaker - does he like that? I think I must've seen every episode at least 5 times! x
The Teletubbies saved my sanity as well. MANY times.
Growing up though, we not only didn't have a remote, we also had to manually move the outside antennae each time the channel was changed. You couldn't do it alone. Someone had to be inside to tell you when the picture was good. It took teamwork! haha If no one else was there, you were exhausted from running in and out of the house to get it right.
My son doesn't believe me when I tell him of such barbaric practices from "way back in the dark ages". :-P
I loved this post!
Cool post Kitty. I always love remembering the tv progs from my childhood. Finger Mouse and Button Moon were my favourite. Worzel Gummage used to make me scream and then try to hide under the sofa, because he took his head off and thats just plain wrong!! :-D xx
Oh Kitty what a wonderful post! I'd love a full-sized poster of that terrific collage. I used to adore Mr. Benn - it was never long enough for me. All of these evoke such happy childhood memories. Thank you, you've brightened my day xxx
Love it! I remember all the same programmes and I'm now humming the tune (if you can call it that) to Roobarb and Custard! Na na na naaaa na na na naaaaa na na na na nana naaaa!
The countryside is just as great as the seaside. We are quite fortunate that we have both though.
Love this post, bought back so many memories!
Take care
((hugs))
Beki xxx
omigod... that was hysterically funny. The best laugh I've had in ages. Got to watch it again... :D
LOL - I love it when kids TV or movies are good on more than one level!
I'd have to say my favourite "friend" has to be Monica...only because I can relate to her neurotic behavior!
I remember Rainbow and Bagpuss. Playschool as well was a big favourite.
Teletubbies is still a lifesaver for me. It might not be on tv anymore but we have oodles of videos (yep not dvds) and Hanna can sing the teletubby themem music to a tee.
Hi Kitty,
we have just watched the video ... i waited till the girls had gone to bed and i am so glad i did! hilarious!
your post prompted a family discussion with the girls about tv and all the programmes we used to watch. very nostalgic. i love the magic roundabout and my favourite was Mr Benn... probably an early influence and what inspired me to study costume!
great post!
love this post - Roobarb is still on channel 5 early morning on Milkshake, and I've just queued a clanger knitting pattern on Ravelry. I used to love Hectors House :-).. G loves the tletubbies but Mr Tumble is his fave,,, oh and I was a Swap Shop girl..
I do feel terrifically old now!
We were a BBC household I'm afraid - Swap Shop and Blue Peter rather than Tiswas and Magpie. I have no idea why!
Hi Kitty! Great post! I used to dodge between tiswas and swapshop too! I loved the clangers, there was a radio prog about them a short while ago, those noises were actual conversations invented by the creator. I used to love Rentaghost, did you get it in England? (i was in Scotland), and I remember Hartley Hare but can't remember the programme he was on. They don't make kids tv like they used to! But Jimmy absolutely LOVED tellitubbies and I thought they were a godsend at the time!! x
I remember a lot of those! My favourite was the flumps, my small one likes Cartoon network and cbbc. She would watch tv far more if I let her, thankfully she is quite easily swayed into doing other things
: )
What great nostalgia!!! My fave Saturday morning programme was Tiswas!! I loved all the flan flinging & madness!! Later on, I watched O.T.T., it was late on a Saturday night. This was actually years later, and was an 'adult' version of Tiswas. It was hilarious!!! Did you see that one?
Have a great week : )
Sharon xx
My boys used to watch quite a bit of television when they were little. Surprising since I don't watch tv at all. They grew up ok :) When I was little and lived in the Czech Republic, children's television was available only once a week for a half hour.
I was just reading about how many of the old cartoons I used to watch here when I was a kid are no longer shown because they aren't politically correct. It a shame as they were really good. Yeah, they might not have been perfect, but they were funny.
WHAT NOT DANGERMOUSE?
D'you know Kitty, in my long career as a mother and childminder I cannot remember seeing that episode of Rainbow?! I wonder why lol!When I was little we had no tv and when we did get one I was too old for most children's progs or even worse not home from School in time for them ;-( However, I made up for it later with my motley crew of assorted kiddywinks! Your post reminded me of some very happy times cuddled up on the sofa with one or several of the little darlings watching our favourite programmes. We always watched Playschool whilst eating our elevensies. With my younger son I have to admit I quite often resorting to sitting him in front of the TV when he was 2-4yrs old with his lunch (and sometimes dinner) as that was the only way to get him to sit still long enough to eat! Terrible! He hardly ever watches TV now so it doesn't seem to have done him any harm.
A super post Kitty. Thank you xo
Hi Jackie - Oh yes, Button Moon was fab. Awww, that's a lovely story about the cuggerly Zippy - well done you for getting hold of one! As for the Chuckle Brothers - we have a DVD of their live stage show and I enjoy that much more than the TV programme - it's definitely on two levels, like a panto. x
Hi Mindy - Anne Wood, who devised The Teletubbies, knew exactly what she was doing. Nobody had ever made a programme for 1 yr olds before - it was great. Laughed at your son not believing about the Dark Ages - kids today, eh?! x
Hi Koala - Finger Mouse - oh yes, I'd completely forgotten about that. I must confess I loved Worzel Gummidge - made me chuckle. We have a Christmas Special of it on DVD and now and again I treat myself - it's great. x
Hi 1,2,3 - The theme tune to Mr Benn is my morning alarm on my phone - such a happy tune! x
Hi Burby - I have that theme tune on my phone! Great, isn't it? :-D x
Hi Beki - To have both the sea AND countryside is just greedy :-p Glad you liked the post. x
Hi Dawn - Ha! Glad you liked Geoffrey & Co playing on their twangers! x
Hi Jane - That's why panto is so good, isn't it? For the levels? Ah yes, Monica - we actually call my daughter 'Monica' sometimes on account of the frighteningly competitive streak which reminds us of the character! x
Hi Natasha - Do you remember Brian Cant on Playschool. As a child, I thought he was absolutely wonderful. Definitely had a twinkle in his eye :-D As for the Teletubbies - good for you - it's a marvellous programme for tiddlers. x
Hi Ginny - Yes, best not to watch that particular episode whilst small eyes are watching. I too especially loved Mr Benn - because anything was possible wasn't it? It was such a gentle programme, despite the adventures Mr B encountered. x
Hi Peri - My kids have seen Roobarb and like it. I have an old Clangers video and a Captain Pugwash DVD - I have been determined to expose them to good stuff! I'd love to knit a Clanger one day. When he was smaller, my son also loved Mr Tumble.x
Hi DC - Noooo, you mustn't feel old! It was all great fun. Somehow Magpie was a teeny bit 'groovier' than Blue Peter, wasn't it? I don't know why since they were very similar. x
Hi Julia - I have an old Clangers video - I reckon you can tell what they're saying if you concentrate hard. They're fabulous noises, aren't they? Oh yes, I recall Rentaghost - although I think my brother liked it more than me. x
Hi Picciolo - Oh yes, The Flumps! They were cute, weren't they? There are some cracking programmes for kids on these days - they are so lucky. x
Hi Trundler - Yes, I remember OTT, which was basically an 'anything goes' muckabout in a TV studio, wasn't it? I'm sure there was all sorts of naughty goings on whilst they were making both Tiswas, and OTT - they all seemed so wonderfully anarchic. x
Hi RS - Gosh, that was a VERY meagre helping of children's TV! Kids today are so lucky they can watch it anytime they like. x
Hi Mike - Oh yes, it was very politically incorrect, wasn't it? Didn't stop it being brilliant fun though. x
Hi Malach - Whoops! Oh yes, Dangermouse. You guys are reminding me of so many more programmes! x
Hi Sharon - When you were watching Playschool did you try to guess which window you'd be looking through? Yep, us too! x
Yay for Crystal Tipps and Alastair! But what about Mary, Mungo and Midge?
My DS these days loves Scooby Doo - they show it on Boomerang (cable TV channel) and they even have more recent remakes of it and I can still sing along to the 'original' theme tune while he sings along to the remake!
I was always very suspicious of the Telly Tubbies - I'm convinced it was some kind of social experiment with 'adult Telly Tubbies' watching every move!
These days my DD loves In the Night Garden - as soon as Iggle Piggle or Upsy Daisy appear on screen, she starts to squeak! And we even suspect her of saying 'Daisy' several times one day last week!
Oooh Kitty what a trip down memory lane!
I have twice been to Nich's graduation ceremonies and Floella Benjamin is the Chancellor of his Uni,Exeter..seems strange not to see her bouncing about in dungarees etc! ;-)
They certainly don't make them like they used too! I'd forgotten all about the Doubledeckers and my eldest used to love Button Moon. My favourite these days is Charlie and Lola.
Couldn't watch your video as my silly computer has taken a dislike to playing them.
Yvonne x
Kitty,
some great programes there hun and I loved Captain Pugwash with 'Roger the Cabin Boy' and 'Master Bates' he he ...
Laters
Nicey
Oh my I haven't heard of any of those shows. It's like we grew up on entirely different continents or something :)
I love the video and I want to play with my Twanger now!!
Dear Kitty , how come you know sooo many people when I only know three...
Ps When I am not in lectures, as soon as Jeremy Kyle comes on I switch over to kids TV. My current favourite is Balamory but in the past it was jackanory. And, do you know, I didn't realise that was going to rhyme until I wrote it?
tee hee x
What a lovely trip down memory lane. I loved Tiswas and Chris Tarrant. What was the name of the guy with the dog called Spit. I also loved watching Cockleshell bay with my youngest brother. And the Waltons on Sunday monring or Little House on the Prairie.
Gosh... that took me back. I was very much a Blue Peter girl (wish I could remember what I did with my badges!) but loved The Magic Roundabout and Thunderbirds too!
Tiswas and Grange Hill were banned in our house, but like dottycookie we WERE allowed Blue Peter and Swap Shop. I read that Gina had Blue Peter badges! Wow.
Thanks for taking me back. Just this minute I have hair like Crystal Tips and MissP2 has a Chuckle Brothers do -sticking straight up. Emma x
I am so time-encrusted I can remember no TV at all!! We listened to the radio, & on Sunday mornings, we could hear the Children's Hour. Done by request!
Oh I just loved Worzel Gum! Thanks for the memories!
Ah the memories are flooding back. I watched all those and more too.
JuliaB, Hartly Hare was in Pipkins, which I loved soooo much and did a mighty fine Pic impersonation at the time!!
We got our first colour tv when I was about 8 I think and the first programme I saw in glorious technicolour was Rod Hull and Emu!
Lovely bit of nostalgia, thanks hun.
Kaz xxx
I have a Cbeebies addict - especially 'Timmy Time' the new character from Aardman (the people behind Wallace and Gromit). She also loves Peppa Pig and grunts as soon as she wakes up! Esther x
I wasn't allowed to watch ITV as a child so I have no idea what I missed. But I watched The Clangers and Grange Hill of course and Magic Roundabout and SwapShop and Jackanory. Oh dear, I am getting all sentimental now.
My children don't watch TV really - well, they watch Top Gear, and The Gadget Show and if they are ill I let them watch crap for a day or two whilst they lean over the sofa and aim vomit in a bowl.
I try not to have the TV on until after they have gone to bed - but they do play on the DS or laptops so they are not totally deprived. Poor boys!
You're obviously as old as me - they were all my favourites too. I was a definite Swapshop girl, Tiswas was just too silly for me, I didn't get it at all! Now that I'm much older, it all makes perfect sense of course!
I'm with Dottycookie - we only seemed to watch BBC! That little 5minute slot before the news was the highlight of my day!
Hi Tintock - Mary, Mungo and Midge are there! Bottom row, second from the right! Scooby Doo is a great programme - my kids especially love the films. x
Hi Sal - Floella Benjamin? Wow ... PlaySchool royalty! x
Hi CB - I remember Button Moon. Charlie and Lola is a great programme - kids just love it, don't they? x
Hi Nicey - I have a Captain Pugwash DVD even now to remind me of the great man himself. It's still funny! x
Hi Ron - You're right - it's just like we grew up on different continents! You play with your twanger as much as you like Ron - it's yours! x
Hi Twinkles - What people, where? Balamory is a classic isn't it? PC Plum is a bit of a one you know ;-) My favourite was always Archie because he makes stuff, but my daughter loved Edie and my son liked Spencer, the painter. x
Hi Alison - Chris Tarrant just exuded naughtiness didn't he? He probably still does. I used to watch The Waltons, but Little House was never a favourite of mine. I wonder why? x
Hi Gina - You had badges? :-O Wow! I'm so impressed. x
Hi Emma - Grange Hill banned? :-O Crikey. My brother seemed to like that more than I did. If it had been banned, I'd have wanted to see it more though! x
Hi Meggie - Like I said - we listened to the radio too, and in the early days there wasn't really much tv that interested kids. Kids today are SO lucky! x
Hi Kellie - Worzel Gummidge was a masterpiece wasn't he? Jon Pertwee's finest hour (apart from Dr Who, of course). x
Hi Kaz - Pipkins! That's right - I'd forgotten all about that. Crikey, I bet Rod Hull and Emu were a bit of an assault on your eyes?! x
Hi Esther - I don't know Timmy Time - I guess that's because we don't tend to have CBeebies on anymore. Which is a shame really. :-( x
Hi RB - Crikey, all these people who weren't allowed to watch ITV programmes. We had some great programmes back then, but not so many of them as the kids of today have. My kids love Top Gear too - but then Jeremy, James and Hammond are just small boys who never grew up, aren't they? ;-) x
Hi Michaela - Noel Edmonds and his multi-coloured swap shop. I liked the huge difference between Noel's very orderly programme and the total anarchy of Tiswas! x
Hi Dfly - I well remember that little 5 minute slot too - just before Dad would sit down to watch the news! x
CRACKERJACK!!!
Sorry couldn't resist and I bet someone got there before me! I use to love that and 'Runaround' that rather insane game with 'corr lummee' Mike Reid and a load of balls...
Love the Rainbow innuendo!
xxx
Aww and I just noticed Humpty and Hamble!!! What was that other dolls name in Playschool? The scary looking one?
xxx
fabby, what a trip down memory lane. I have one little one who is a TV mad person, the other can not be bothered, this on its own creates cross words.....
Hi Lily - Crackerjack to you too! Ooh yes, I remember R-R-R-Runaround ... Mike Reid used to say 'g-g-g-go!' didn't he? I thought that was Humpty and Jemima ... I always thought Hamble was the scary one? Maybe I'm wrong - it was a long, long time ago! x
Hi Suzie - Yep, I have one who would much rather watch TV than the other, although he seems to be growing out of that. If the weather is ok, he'd rather be outside kicking a ball around than anything else! x
No you are right Kitty! That IS Jemima. Hamble was indeed the scary looking one!
xxx
Hi Lily - gosh, you mean my memory didn't let me down? That's a first! x
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