41 For Schools and Colleges : Watch !

First  watched  : Uncertain

I  now  think  I made  a  mistake  with  an  earlier  post.  I  think  it  was  this  one  rather  than  Merry-go-round  that  we  watched  in  Infant  One  ( aka  Reception ).  It  was   the  name  of  Brian  Cant  on  the  latter  that  misled  me.

The  reason  I  think  that  is  that  on  Tuesday  16th  June  1970   the  subject  of  the  programme  is  listed  as  " The  Willow  Pattern  Plate"  and  I  remember  watching  that  one  which  explained  the  story  behind  the  images  on  the  plate. It  held  my  attention  because  we  had  one  at  home. That's  the  beauty  of  Genome, the  sudden  startling  shaft  of  light  into  long-undisturbed  recesses  of  memory; the  anchor  of  certainty  that  at  11am,  44  and  a  half  years  ago  I  was  sat  watching  this  programme  with  Pat  Brennan, John  Durkin, Martin  McCormick  et  al.

The  one  I  remember  the  most  wasn't  that  one  though . It  was  the  episode  on  "Prehistoric  Animals"  broadcast  at  11 am  on  Tuesday  11th  May  1971  which  I  watched  at  home  during  my  enforced  absence  from  school  following  surgery  on  my  damaged  eye. It  was  my  first  introduction  to  dinosaurs  and  I  was  awestruck. Thanks  BBC  for  sparking  a  lifelong  interest  and  providing  such  a  diversion   in  an  unpleasant  time  when  I  had  to  endure  twice  daily application  of  uncomfortable  ointments.  When  I  was  able  to  return  to  school  my  new  fascination  sparked  much  amusement  , the  teacher  Mrs  Hayhurst  recalling,  years  afterwards,  an   instance  when  she  asked  for  a  word  beginning  with  S  - this is  today's  Year  One , mind - and  I  volunteered  "Stegosaurus".