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.