Clangers
Over the Christmas break we are revisiting some vintage children’s TV programmes. A BUNCH of woollen mouse-like creatures which communicate only in whistles would seem an unlikely subject for a … Continue readingClangers
Author: Alan Ashworth
Square
Noggin the Nog
Over the Christmas break we are revisiting some vintage children’s TV programmes. ‘IN the lands of the North, where the Black Rocks stand guard against the cold sea, in the … Continue readingNoggin the Nog
Say t’cheese
WHEN I wrote in May about the expression ‘standing around like cheese at fourpence’, I promised a future column on the joys of Lancashire cheese. And here it is. So far as … Continue readingSay t’cheese
Flower Pot Men
Over the Christmas break we are revisiting some vintage children’s TV programmes. AS A very young child, I soon learned the differences between the days of the week. Monday was Picture … Continue readingFlower Pot Men
Captain Pugwash
Over the Christmas break we are revisiting some vintage children’s TV programmes. PRODUCED and directed by the brilliant Gordon Murray, who would go on to give us the Trumptonshire Trilogy, Captain Pugwash was … Continue readingCaptain Pugwash
A woman suspended in thin air
MY late father, who as I described here was once lowered down a long-drop lavatory to rescue a cat, was also a talented amateur conjuror. Specialising in card tricks, he was an … Continue readingA woman suspended in thin air
Bedroom secrets
IN common with most folk of a certain age, I remember winters in unheated bedrooms where you would wake to find ice patterns on the inside of the window and … Continue readingBedroom secrets
Our Man in the South Seas
TOWARDS the end of 1913, a young Cambridge graduate named Arthur Grimble was nominated to a cadetship in the Colonial Office. This meant he would serve a three-year probation period … Continue readingOur Man in the South Seas
Passion at a price
A WHILE ago I waxed lyrical about the magnificent market hall in Budapest. A smaller rival to its charms is the Mercado dos Lavradores, a fruit, vegetable, flower and fish market in Funchal, the … Continue readingPassion at a price
A naked woman on my knee
WHEN I started out in national newspapers 45 years ago it was still the custom not to publish on Good Friday. That left Maundy Thursday free for journalists and print … Continue readingA naked woman on my knee