Hartley Hare and Pipkins - am I the oldest Mumsnetter in the world?

[toooldforthisshirt37]

There is another thread where a chaperone gave a child with SN a toy rat to keep them quiet. I read the thread and was appalled and yet comforted by the pictures of the rat. Didn't want to hijack that thread but it reminded me of Hartley Hare, who was a terrifyingly bad puppet in a kids show in my youth. The show was called Pipkins I think and included Topov the Monkey and a tortoise, whose name I can't remember.

Am I the oldest and/or most disturbed MNer? As, while Hartley terrified me he also brought joy to my heart because he was such a bad little shit! I think 70s kids TV may have been dominated by people on some sort of recreational substances to be fair.

ProfYaffle this thread must be right up your street, being a Bagpuss fan!

Anyway, re: Storybook International, what I remember is that despite the minstrel type guy singing at the beginning and saying he was a travelling storyteller, the stories themselves were narrated by a woman!

@Fekko thanks, I'm going to be singing 'the untied, the untied, the untied shoelace show!' all day now.....

Arthur the King of Camelot, he's a ring-a-ding-a-Ling of a king
Arthur he likes to joust a lot and he really makes the kingdom swing
Dragons run from Arthur's sight and the Black Knight hasn't a chance
If you're in trouble send a cable to the hero of our fable
That's Arthur of Camelot

Anyone?!

Thanks for the Robinson Crusoe theme!

I still occasionally sing The Flashing Blade theme to the kids as a finale to a pep talk. Gawd I hope they don't need therapy in the future..

Anyone remember Torchy the Battery Boy?

'Uts they un-tie, un-tied shooooo-lazed sho! It's they UN-TIED, UN-TIED SHOOIO-LAZEZ SHOOOOOOO!' 😁

liz Black Beauty had one heck of a theme tune.

I remember Ludwig. Yes it was odd. An egg who played classical music. faces all round if we tried to explain that one today!

Was he an egg though? Didn't he open up or something? I think I've tried to block it out. Weird stuff.

Has anyone mentioned The Ghosts of Motley Hall yet?

"I am not a ghost. I am a white lady..."

Used to terrify me.

I loved it! Glen Michaels cartoon cavalcade? He was irritating but hey, it was cartoons!

Rent a ghost ?

Ludwig was weird, i remember all the programmes mentioned ( old) and also didnt like Pipkins. Andy pandy was alright and Camberwick Green.
Black Beauty was Canadian i think - i was mad about horses so i loved this show and the original book.

my dad was a bit of a TV snob, so we got to watch The Adventure Game, and The great egg race - anyone remember those!

the80s
Black beauty was British! It was filmed in Hertfordshire 😀

Fekko yes I think he opened up but he also grew arms and legs to play the music with.

I don’t remember Torchy the Battery Boy but I did like Jamie and the Magic Torch (on ITV) I think he used to go down a kind of helter skelter into a magic world. He was always so cheerful!

'How'!

Does anyone remember 'How'?

Ba ba-ba-ba
Ba ba-ba-ba
Ba ba-ba-ba
Ba ba ba ba How!

Programme about how things worked, etc.

I remember How! Loved it 😁

very deep voice How.

Another oldie, brought up on the Woodentops, Bill and Ben, etc. Anyone remember Twizzle?
And Rubovia... I loved that. I used to walk round the house as a tot saying “D'oh Puss” apparently.
Pingwings? Knitted penguins, faffing about in a garden.
There used to be an old man reading from a book about a boy called Tum, Tom or Tam, with still pictures. He lived by the sea and was always having a chat with a kittywake.. I’ve never found anyone else who remembers that one.

I was at high school in the first year (that dates me, now "Y7") and used to sneak home for lunch so I could watch Hartley Hare. Adored him. He was a bit of a dick. And ugly, and threadbare. But I loved him.

And those terrifying Eastern European cartoons the BBC or ITV used to buy in bulk. One, 'The Snow Queen', I found utterly haunting.

I adored Hartley.....but the Banana Splits scared the fuck out of me.

I have to mention Worzel Gummidge, the brilliant Jon Pertwee and the guy from Catweasle as the scarecrow man. I wish I could change my head like Worzel!

Oh Sirrah I loved Jon Pertwee as a child. I was heartbroken when he stopped being Dr Who ( I was 5) and had an LP of him singing children's songs!

"Torchy is an ordinary little boy, just like you and me. Except ...."
And then his head lights up