19 January 2006

Lovely Day

Thanks to Tabby Rabbit, who wrote a wonderful post which cheered me up immensely, I went off in search of childish Wellington boots for big female feet. Me, Tabby and Le Laquet, we're all a UK size 7 (that's a US size 8).

I found these:
from Western Chief Women (US but available for import) and I also found these:at Funky Wellington Boots, which is in the UK. Now I'm spoilt for choice and I want them all. Want want want - I guess my inner spoilt kid is coming out to play today.

Then later I got my first comment from Hazel Nutcluster - what a wonderful name! I presume it was chosen in honour of the hazelnut cluster that was in the Cadbury's or Nestle's boxes of chocolates back in the 1970s.

Heres the video for the 1968 'Lady loves Milk Tray' advert. Priceless.

I embarrassed myself by complimenting Hazel on her profile piccy which I said looked a lot like Pippin from Pogles Wood. It WAS Pippin from Pogles Wood and I always adored the programme and am in total confusion that I couldn't recall the cat-come-rabbit looking companion thingy, Tog. I remembered the magic singing tulip tree aka Plant, but I guess that doesn't count. Ahem, Plant, meet everybody. Everybody, meet Plant. He was the best bit of the whole show.

HERE, if you want it, is the short opening narrative and a slice of my childhood.

Its funny, but once you clearly remember one thing, other related memories bubble to the surface, and I remember not just my favourite Oliver Postgate / Smallfilms type programmes such as Pogles Wood, Noggin The Nog, or Ivor The Engine; I remember Watch With Mother and Jackanory, and I remember what it felt like to be watching each show. Good old Oliver; there was always a dragon in there somewhere.

So, for me at least, today has been about the excitement of Plant being really magic, the sensation of sitting next to Pippin to listen to Plant speak, plus the realisation that I really, really, really want the floweryest, biggest, brightest, bestest puddle-jumping wellies in the whole wide world. And I would jump and jump and jump. Except when I go to sleep, cos' then I am going to fly, instead.


Edit: There was no dragon in Pogles Wood. The nearest they got to magic was Plant, plus a witch. Oh and they had hedgepig but he doesn't count. So I messed up again, tut, tut. As a token of penance to true officionados here are:
The end theme to Camberwick Green
The end theme to Trumpton
The end theme to Chigley - where they all left work at the sound of the factory whistle and waltzed round the bandstand. Sung by poor Brian Cant.
I searched for these in honour of a nameless nutty chocolate. Enjoy!

18 comments:

Le laquet said...

Oh purple with flowers, nice!! I love wellies, puddles and streams always a great mixture!

Cheryl said...

I retracted mention of the Woodentops on account of there only being Spotty Dog and no dragon.

Ally said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ally said...

Oh my goodness, I WANT WANT WANT some of those, too. And co-incidentally, I am also a size 7.

I am just about to watch my Noggin the Nog Lovefilm dvd. It has a picture of Nogbad the Bad on the front.

Yay!

Have you visited the Dragon's Friendly Society? It's at http://www.dragons-friendly-society.co.uk/

And that was me up there, buggering up my links. Sorry.

Cheryl said...

Yes! The dfc is in my bookmarks because one day I shall buy all the videos!

Bart Treuren said...

if you ask me, i think these productions are of the same era as Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men, one of the series with which I grew up in the middle 60's in Australia... quite funny in hindsight, enthralling for the little ones and slightly prophetic with Little Weed going off it's head occasionally ;-)

sorry... bit sentimental this evening...

Cheryl said...

Join the club Bart.

The real life Bill and Ben were brothers whose big sister had to bath them and used to make up stories. Apparently the language - flobadobadob - was named after a fart in the bath. We won't mention little weed!

Le laquet said...

Bill and Ben farting in the bath, Ben said "flobadobalob" and Ben replied "half past ten"! Nah it can't have happened like surely?!?

I loved Chorlton and the wheelies ... mainly on account of my Nana sounding just like the little Welsh witch ~ sweet memories *imagine accent* "I hate dragons!"

Cheryl said...

Just for you then!

http://tv.cream.org/specialassignments/themes/chorlton.mp3

Cheryl said...

Le Laquet - P.S. Google for Hilda Brabban. Little Weed wasnt really a piddle in the bath, it was their baby sister Phyllis, but the fart bit is true.

:-)

Angeline Rose Larimer said...

You Euros totally lost me.
I might have to do some Amazon UK shopping for these DVDs.
JACK LOVES your accents. (Yeah yeah, you don't have accents. WE do.)
For the record, I am a size 9 1/2 US.
I feel like an idiot.
Went shoe shopping with my sister over the holidays, complaining about my wide feet never fitting right in women's shoes.
She said, "Buy men's shoes, then."
So I did.
(Slap my forehead)

Cheryl said...

Well I'm confused now writermom.
Found this:
http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html
which says a US 9 1/2 is the wide version of a US 8, which equates to a UK size 7 wide or 7 1/2 medium.

UK we only size by length and then have various width fittings.

Curioser and curioser

The Library Lady said...

I can top Writer Mom--I wear a women's US 10!

Men's sizes and women's shoes in the US are sized differently. From what I remember men's are about 3 numbers down from women's--I wear a size 10, the Man of the House wears a size 7, but our feet are about the same length.

Width is another matter. Widths go from narrowest at AAA to widest which I think is EEE. Which is where the Man and I part company since he has WIDE feet and I have narrow feet. Unfortunately our girls didn't split the difference--our elder daughter has his duck feet and my little princess appears to be taking after me.

Love the ladybug and frog boots. Lots of the well to do little kiddies who come to my library program have that sort.......

Cheryl said...

I am feeling SOOOO stupid now, because on that weird chart W and M must mean women & men. I would have expected M & F.

Doh. Blush.

The Moai said...

Pugh!
Pugh!
Barney McGrew!
Cuthbert, Dibble & Grubb!
Joyous childhood memories.
Thank you Cheryl :)

Cheryl said...

"Time flies by when you're the driver of a train, and you ride on the foot plate, there and back again."

Thanks for commenting!

Anonymous said...

Hello!

Those wellies are truly stonking, aren't they? Bugger functional - give me ladybirds!

TutleyMutley said...

Wow, I WANT some of those WELLIES! I came here via hazel Nutcluster and isn't blogging just GREAT! (Can't you just tell I'm a new convert). Can't remember the Pogles but Ivor the Engine? Oh yes, chuff chuff. And the Woodentops and Andypandy. and Camberwick Green.