Bagpuss

By Elliott West

“Once upon a time
Not so long ago
There was a little girl and her name was Emily
And she had a shop

There it is
It was rather an unusual shop because it didn’t sell anything
You see, everything in that shop window was a thing that somebody had once lost
And Emily had found
And brought home to Bagpuss
Emily’s cat Bagpuss
The most Important
The most Beautiful
The most Magical
Saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world

Well now, one day Emily found a thing
And she brought it back to the shop
And put it down in front of Bagpuss
Who was in the shop window fast asleep as usual
But then Emily said some magic words

Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss
Old fat furry cat-puss
Wake up and look at this thing that I bring
Wake up, be bright
Be golden and light
Bagpuss, Oh hear what I sing

And Bagpuss was wide awake
And when Bagpuss wakes up all his friends wake up too
The mice on the mouse-organ woke up and stretched
Madeleine, the rag doll
Gabriel, the toad
And last of all, Professor Yaffle, who was a very distinguished old woodpecker
He climbed down off his bookend and went to see what it was that Emily had brought

[And then…]

Bagpuss gave a big yawn, and settled down to sleep
And of course when Bagpuss goes to sleep, all his friends go to sleep too
The mice were ornaments on the mouse-organ
Gabriel and Madeleine were just dolls
And Professor Yaffle was a carved wooden bookend in the shape of a woodpecker
Even Bagpuss himself once he was asleep was just an old, saggy cloth cat
Baggy, and a bit loose at the seams
But Emily loved him”.

The opening words to Bagpuss.

Introduction

One of my favourite television programmes as a child was Bagpuss. A programme that fills so many hearts with joy, transporting you to a Victorian make-believe shop called Bagpuss and Co where Emily’s beloved toys come to life for a fleeting moment and entertain with tales and songs. All woken up by the yawn of a saggy old cloth cat called Bagpuss.An unusual shop that didn’t sell anything.  Lost items or things that Emily had brought home to her toy cat, Bagpuss. mended and then displayed in the window. That was after Emily put the item next to Bagpuss to wake him up and talk about its origin. This year marks the 50th anniversary that Bagpuss first aired in 1974 with only 13 episodes made. A series that was made on a shoestring, filmed in a barn with the studio, and a converted pigsty behind it. Painstakingly brought to life by Oliver Postgate, the brains behind Noggin the Nog, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine and assisted by Peter Firmin. A working partnership that produced so much of the magic of children’s television through their company Smallfilms.

Using stop-motion animation, the puppets were moved in tiny increments and filmed with 16mm cameras, held together with Meccano. Emily was only seven years old, the youngest of Oliver’s six daughters, bribed with a bag of sweets to don Victorian clothing and pose for the sepia photographic stills where she carries a wicker basket to her shop, actually the family home’s living room window. A shop that contained a menage of Emily’s favourite toys, Bagpuss, six carved mice on a mouse organ, a rag doll called Madeleine, Gabriel the toad and a wooden woodpecker, Professor Yaffle, based on Bertrand Russell whom Oliver Postgate had once met.

Emily and Her Friends

“The original idea of Bagpuss was that he was going to be a cat living in a children’s hospital, and to entertain the children, he had visible thoughts, which appeared like a bubble above his head”.

Oliver Postgate

The magic of Bagpuss is created through the power of make-believe. A child’s thoughts are lovingly brought to life to entertain children for only thirteen minutes at a time and repeated on the BBC until 1987. Thankfully I still have the complete collection on DVD. The Bagpuss puppet used for the filming was a clanger skeleton whose movement came from the use of brass balls and sockets. It made a creaking noise when it was manipulated. The original puppet was supposed to be marmalade coloured but the fabric company that supplied the fur got the order muddled up and dyed it bright pink instead.

Madeleine the rag doll was embroidered by her mother, basing her on the Polly Dolly case used for the children’s nighties. Professor Yaffle was originally going to be called Professor Bogwood, a wooden man with a stovepipe hat but the BBC told Postgate to stick to animals so he was changed to a woodpecker. A bird was moved by putting an inch of tin tack through the holes in his toes to keep him in position and then he was filmed one frame at a time to create the illusion that he was real and moving. His mouth was kept shut with a magnet. Gabriel the toad had wire finger manipulations under his base. The organ mice heads were made of wooden beads with a bit of felt on and the heads could be detached so they turned and the arms and tail were made of copper wire.

The Songs

The organ mice provided so many children with the songs in Bagpuss, being sung and recorded one and a half times up. Songs like “We will wash it, we will splosh it”. The voices provided by Oliver and Peter with Oliver tend to be out of tune. In all 49 songs were recorded for Bagpuss with Sandra Kerr providing the voice for Madeleine. Songs that were carefully crafted by John Faulkner, a folk musician and recorded in the living room at Red Lion House. When they recorded the song about the mice rowing in a ballet shoe, you could hear them snorting into their kazoos. A hilariously awful noise.

The Legacy 

Bagpuss is now regarded as one of the favourite children’s programmes of all time. Once voted the most popular children’s of all time and one that one a BAFTA. Bagpuss now resides at the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury. Much loved, slightly more worn but still recognised by many. A cat that has an extraordinary effect on people who just want to hold and cuddle him. A cat that brings back fond memories of childhood. A time when innocence reigned and television was so much less complicated.