Bagpuss and the mice

Bagpuss is a popular 1974 UK children's television series, made by Smallfilms. It is fondly and widely remembered, although only 13 episodes were made. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1005x923, 276 KB) Summary Self made copy in Illustrator of an original Bagpuss drawing. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1005x923, 276 KB) Summary Self made copy in Illustrator of an original Bagpuss drawing. ... Kingston Bagpuize is a village in the Vale of the White Horse in Oxfordshire, England. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Childrens television series are television programmes designed for and marketed to children, normally aired during the morning and afternoon hours, mainly before and after school. ... Smallfilms was a partnership between Oliver Postgate (writer and narrator) and Peter Firmin (modelmaker and animator). ...

Each programme would begin the same way: Through a series of sepia photographs, we are told of a little girl named Emily (played by Emily Firmin, the daughter of the illustrator Peter Firmin), who owned a shop. The shop did not sell anything, however - instead, Emily would find lost and broken things and display them in the window of the shop, so their owners could one day come and collect them. She would leave the object in front of her favourite stuffed toy - a large, saggy, pink and white striped cat named Bagpuss. She would then recite a verse: Sepia tone is a type of digital photo in which the picture appears similar to a traditional black-and-white print toned with sepia. ... Peter Firmin was the founder of Smallfilms, along with Oliver Postgate. ...

Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss

Old Fat Furry Catpuss

Wake up and look at this thing that I bring

Wake up, be bright, be golden and light

Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing

When Emily had left, Bagpuss would wake up. The programme shifted from sepia to colour stop motion film, and various toys in the shop would also come to life: Gabriel the toad and a rag doll called Madeleine. The wooden woodpecker bookend became the drily academic Professor Yaffle (distantly based, it is said, on the philosopher Bertrand Russell), while the mice carved on the side of the "mouse organ" (a small mechanical pipe organ which played rolls of music) woke up and scurried around, singing in high-pitched voices. Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner provided the voices of Madeleine and Gabriel respectively, and put together and performed all the proper songs. All the other voices (including the narrator and one out-of-tune mouse) were provided by Oliver Postgate who also wrote the stories. Stop motion is an animation technique which makes things that are static appear to be moving. ... Families At least 9, see article. ... A rag doll is a cloth doll, typically home-made from (and stuffed with) spare scraps of material. ... Binomial name Picus viridis Linnaeus, 1758 Range Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Picus viridis The Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis, sometimes called Yaffle) is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, and pacifist. ... The baroque organ in Roskilde Cathedral, Copenhagen. ... Sandra Kerr is a british folk musician. ... Oliver Postgate (born 1925) is the creator and writer of some of the most popular childrens television programmes ever seen in Britain. ...

The toys would discuss what the new object was; someone (usually Madeleine) would tell a story related to the object (shown in an animated thought-bubble over Bagpuss's head), often with a song, which would be accompanied by Gabriel on the banjo (which often sounded a lot more like a guitar), and then the mice, singing in high pitched squeaky harmony as they worked, would mend the broken object. The newly mended thing would then be put in the Shop window, so that whoever had lost it would see it as they went past, and could come in and claim it. Then Bagpuss would start yawning again, and as he fell asleep the colour faded to sepia and they all became toys again. For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) A modern 5-string banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument of African American origin adapted from several African instruments. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Most of the stories and songs used in the series are based on folk songs and fairy tales from around the world. In 2002 a stage show of Bagpuss songs was toured at UK Folk festivals and theatres by Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner along with Kerr's daughter Nancy and her husband James Fagan. A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ...

In 1999 it came first place in a BBC poll selecting the nation's favourite children's show [1]. It also came fourth in the 2001 Channel 4 poll The 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows [2]. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Channel 4 is a public-service British television station, broadcast to all areas of the United Kingdom (and also the Republic of Ireland), which began transmissions in 1982. ... The 100 Greatest Kids TV Shows was a poll conducted by the British television channel Channel 4 in 2001. ...

Bagpuss has now retired to the Rupert Bear Museum in Canterbury, UK, part of the Museum of Canterbury. Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is a cartoon character created by Mary Tourtel and who first appeared in the Daily Express on November 8, 1920. ... Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent in South East England and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, head of the Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ...

In 1987 the University of Kent at Canterbury awarded an honorary degree to Oliver Postgate. He stated that the degree was really intended for his creation, who was subsequently displayed in academic dress..^[1] The University of Kent is a plate glass campus university in Kent, England. ... An honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum, not to be confused with an honors degree) is an academic degree awarded to an individual as a decoration, rather than as the result of matriculating and studying for several years. ...

Episodes

The titles of the thirteen episodes each refer in some way to the object Emily found.

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Trivia

• The round sung by the mice (starting with the words "We will fix it...") is to the tune of Sumer is icumin in dating from the Middle Ages.
• The round sung by the mice is parodied at: Ask Elvis from Steve Wright in the Afternoon.

Sumer Is Icumen In is a traditional English round, and possibly the oldest such example of counterpoint in existence. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... For other persons named Steven Wright, see Steven Wright (disambiguation). ...

References

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 29 is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Bagpuss at bbc.co.uk
• Bagpuss at the Internet Movie Database
• The Smallfilms Treasury's Bagpuss site
• Anorak Zone's Bagpuss site
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• BBC News reports on the Rupert Bear Museum

The domain name bbc. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...