Opening The Box of Delights - 2025 Edition

If it's Christmas time, it's surely time to dust down The Box of Delights for another watch. First airing in 1984, the BBC's adaptation of John Masefield's fantasy classic has delighted viewers for over forty years. And, if you want to take a really deep dive into The Box of Delights, Philip W. Errington's extraordinary compendium Opening The Box of Delights is the perfect ally.

Inside: Noggin and the Dragon

Due to when I was born, I was never in the perfect position to enjoy Noggin the Nog as a child. The final series aired a few months before I was born, and, along with the original 1959 - 65 run, wasn’t repeated on British television again until the early 1990s. Nonetheless, it entered my sphere of interest a few years ago for one simple reason: the dream team of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin.

Two of the cornerstones of classic British children’s television, and indeed British television as a whole, Postgate and Firmin are responsible for some of the most magical memories ingrained in the national consciousness. And, being the marvels that they were, Postgate and Firmin never stopped their universes once their run on television had finished. Instead, they ensured there were expanded universes on offer to continue their gentle magic.

A little while back, I covered one of these ancilliary adventures in the form of Bagpuss on a Rainy Day, and it’s a story which didn’t disappoint, delivering everything a fan of the saggy, old cloth cat could ever want. Naturally, I wanted more of Postgate and Firmin’s output in front of me, and a chance encounter with a ‘community library in a bus stop’ left me the proud owner of Noggin and the Dragon, a story first published in 1966. And now it’s time to turn the pages and look inside.

Tongits Go GCash Guide: How to Cash Out Your Winnings

Film is Fabulous!

I'm sure many readers of Curious British Telly are aware of Film is Fabulous but, if this particular marvel has slipped past your peripheral vision, let me tap you on the shoulder and point you in their direction.

Founded in 2023, Film is Fabulous is a charitable trust set up by film and television enthusiasts in league with De Montfort University's resident film experts. Their aim is simple: celebrate British television and film while rescuing it from the dusty yawn of oblivion.

Checkpoint Chiswick (1987)

One of London's more affluent corridors, Chiswick is a leafy, picturesque area boasting beautiful, historic buildings, green spaces which conjure up Ray Davies compositions and a wealth of coffee shops. It’s the last place you’d expect a full-scale riot to break out. But architect Brian Stebbings (Hywel Bennett), with his diet of television news, knows better.

New Website: Ephemeral 80s

Since running Curious British Telly, I've developed somewhat of an obsession (in the best possible way) with the 1980s. In particular, I'm intrigued by exactly what life was like as we all know it wasn't all pastel pinks, leg warmers and oversized mobile phones. Now, I was alive for 8/10ths of the decade, but I was really too young to truly take in society and culture for most of it. However, it is possible to go back in time and revisit it, so that's what I've been doing for the last few years.

A Tale of Digging Through Old Video Tapes

There they were in my hands, two video tapes packed full of video recordings of children’s programmes from the mid-1980s. I was going to be reunited with Mop & Smiff, Bric-a-Brac and Hokey Cokey. It was a fantastic moment in the history of Curious British Telly, and all it required was a five-hour round trip. Yes, utter madness, but it had to be done.

Pusoy Dos Ranking: Suit Hierarchies of Every Version

03/12/1984 - Let's Pretend: The Broom and the Vacuum Cleaner

To my utter delight, another couple of Let's Pretend episodes have recently popped on YouTube, so it's time to dissect one of these in a way that most people would consider utter madness. This particular episode of the long-running series hails from December 1984, a period of British life most famous for Do They Know It's Christmas? and Last Christmas battling it out for the number one spot. Oh sure, there were probably other more noteworthy news stories unfolding, but Curious British Telly has only ever been interested in pop culture.

Anyway, back to Let's Pretend. Broadcast on the 3rd December 1984, this edition of Let's Pretend is entitled The Broom and the Vacuum Cleaner - a truly no nonsense title which ties in nicely with the simplistic nature at the beating heart of the series. The pretenders for this episode are John Telfer - a man perhaps best known for his time on Bergerac - alongside Michael McNally, clad in a curiously short jumper which appears to have run out of thread before it was finished, and Lesia Melnyk, a dependable pair of hands when it comes to Let's Pretend.