A couple of links : www.british-tv-history.co.uk is an excellent site whose url pretty much says it all.The bits about the introduction of colour are particularly interesting.And if you waited a long time to be able to pick up CH.5,
then you'll either find it comforting or wonder why not much has changed in 35 years.
And if you just want a flavour of all things 60's,then try the Sixties City site for size.Click on the logo.
The Herbs and The Adventures of Parsley
CLASSIC BBC KID'S ANIMATION DEVISED & WRITTEN BY MICHAEL BOND.
ON THIS PAGE.....The 2 series first hit the screens in 1968 and 70 respectively.
This page takes a look at the Radio Times for their respective debuts & the general tv landscape.
Whilst 35+ years is a mere pimple on the backside of time,it really was another world for all that.
And I'm hoping to broaden it out to give an idea of the sort of decor,furnishings and other bibs and bobs
that would've been familiar to many of those watching -just for fun.
Bloomin' 'ippies !
From Left to Right
- The cover of the February 10-16,1968 issue,signalling the arrival of The Herbs.
- A small introductory article.Hardly a fanfare,but not bad for a little Watch With Mum prog.
- 3 pages detailing the full schedule for the day of the 1st broadcast -Monday the 12th.
- The cover of the April 4-10,1970 issue,signalling the arrival of The Adventures of Parsley
There's no introductory article as we got for The Herbs,but that's somehow made up for by the rather quaint listing description of "untoward happenings"
- Plus 2 pages detailing the full schedule for the day of the 1st broadcast -Monday the 6 th.
A BRIEF 1968 TV OVERVIEW- There were only 3 channels of course.No Channel 4,Channel 5,Satellite or Cable. There were no colour programmes on BBC1 & 2 and ITV was only phasing them in gradually.And even that was presuming you had a colour tv in 1968 and lived in an area that could pick it up-which an awful lot of people still didn't.
BBC1 had no breakfast or morning programming except for schools programmes and closed down around midnight.
And BBC2 was basically an evening-only service,with the curious exception of Play School on weekdays,mid-morning
A FEW SPECIFICS FROM THAT FEB 12TH,1968 SCHEDULE:-
* Bert Foord - Legendary weather man of course,but hands up who knew it was spelled with 2 "o"'s ? (or cared)
* Play School - great.But hang on ..........where's Brian Cant this week ? !
* Z Cars - Did you know.......that Everton football club still emerge onto the pitch at the start of every home game to the strains of the theme tune.My God,haven't those fans suffered enough ?!
* Richard Baker - straight-backed newsreading stalwart of course and probably the strangest choice as narrator for any Watch With Mother series-Mary,Mungo and Midge.Hmmmm.......a good career move ?
* And the other Watch With Mother programmes that week ?
Tuesday-Camberwick Grn. Wednesday-Bizzy Lizzy Thursday-Pogles Wood and Friday-Joe.
Bizzy Lizzy -one of the last ever BBC series to be filmed using string puppets at a time when all its most successful contemporaries used stringless stop motion animation.Outdated and old-fashioned before it even hit the screens,it's hardly surprising it's one of the most forgotten Watch With Mother series.And it's probably no coincidence that Joe was only done using a simple drawing-on-caption arrangement and didn't fare much better-although it's remembered warmly by those that actually do -myself included.
A BRIEF 1970 TV OVERVIEW- Well,basically it's very much as you were from1968,except that colour had finally come to BBC1 in the autumn of 1969.But colour programming for all 3 channels still wasn't universal and the roll-out of both colour sets and the transmitters to feed them was still very much ongoing.
A FEW SPECIFICS FROM THAT APRIL 6TH SCHEDULE
* Play School - Hang on a minute.No Brian this week either ?!!
* Up Pompeii - Written by Talbot Rothwell -the man who wrote most (all ?) of the Carry On films upto the early 70's ie.all the good ones.
* Pot Black - In colour !! (for those watching in black and white,the red's next to the green.)
* And whilst The Adventures of P weren't Watch With Mother programmes,W.W.M tots got.........
Monday- Mary,Mungo & Midge Tuesday- Pogles Wood Wednesday- Woodentops Thursday- Trumpton Friday- Along the River ("a new series of 5 programmes looking at wild creatures in their natural surroundings,narrated by Tony Soper")
A photo taken in 1969..............
A time when ashtrays were still very much part
of the furniture and it was the curtains
that carried the health warning.
1968 and all that........
The Sixties obviously gave us plenty of iconic images.
But as a young child myself in 1968 I have very sketchy memories of what the images of actual day-to-day life looked like.
What people wore,how they furnished their homes,the cars they drove etc etc.
So,just how much of all that fab and groovy stuff we all know about actually touched people's lives directly ?
Did all the guys look like Austin Powers and the women like Twiggy ? Well,no.Although if you weren't around at the time you'd be forgiven for thinking they did.
On the other hand,we actually lived in Central London at the time and I do remember guys walking around looking like Peter Wyngarde.How scary is that lol ?!
So,what price walking around like that in,say,Doncaster ? Hmm.....probably not.But if you didn't fancy dressing the part then maybe you could get funky behind closed doors.Get the lifestyle trappings without you and your partner looking like Sonny and Cher wanabees.
But then again,how many people actually put the stuff pictured below on their walls ? Sure,it made a nice feature in a mag but,for all I know,it may have gone down about as well as a hairdresser in a hippy commune.
And that's the point to stress about all this stuff I'll be uploading.
It can never be said to be truely representative of the time.It just reinforces what we all kind of hoped it was like. Because,Lord knows,we all experience enough of the mundane realities of life without wanting to reminisce about them as well !
But rest assured that all this stuff did exist,even if it may not have permeated out too far.These aren't spoof articles !
And as we look at them feeling ever so slightly superior,just remember that in 40 years time,they'll probably be having a good laugh about what we currently consider "good taste".
Although,as a self-confessed style philistine,fortunately my punishment will be downgraded from derision to pity lol.
Anyhow,I'll add more as and when I find it,including some nice adverts too.And if you've got an old 1968 mag that gives a good flavour of the period,then some scans would be very gratefully received. Email address on Home Page.
