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Thursday, May 11, 2006

Button Moon


We're off to Button Moon.
We'll follow Mister Spoon.
Button Moon! Button Moon!


I'm old. It has finally been confirmed.

I was watching Nick Jr. the other evening (as one does), and saw that a section was dedicated to children's television programmes that I enjoyed as a child. There were things like Thomas the Tank Engine, The Herbs, The Clangers and Button Moon. What worried me was that this segment was called "Nick Jr. Classics". Classics! For goodness' sake! It's as though my flab and the grey that my parish priest's daughter pointed out (very loudly), that I have in my beard don't make me feel old enough.

Still, it was damn good fun to see my childhood "classics" again, especially Button Moon. For those of you not from this isle, or for those not of my generation or without children of my generation with whom you watched, Button Moon was fantastic. It was extremely low-budget. The set was simply a backdrop of velvet - a large, black, velvet blanket with sequins stuck to it. This was supposed to be the night sky with its stars. The moon was a large button which was suspended in front of it.

There were three main characters: Mr Spoon, Mrs Spoon and Tina Teaspoon, their daughter. They were puppets made out of everyday kitchen items like bottle tops and sponges, with tiny spoons for arms. Every day, Mr Spoon, often accompanied by Tina, would fly to Button Moon in his spaceship (a baked bean tin, resting on a salmon tin, with a funnel on top). There they would encounter all manner of interesting characters: strange animals, sponges, bowls, taps, and everyday things, with personas all of their own. The puppetry was amazing. They would solve problems like the kitchen sponge's aversion to water.

At the end of each day, Mr Spoon would fly home and greet his wife, as though he'd been working hard all day, when he had, in fact, just been playing about all day.

There's more about Button Moon here and the closing theme song is here.

Whoever said that nostalgia isn't what it used to be was quite simply wrong.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Button Moon was great.

Anyway, you're younger than me so you can't be old otherwise I would be, and that would never do.

Michael said...

lol

It was brilliant, wasn't it? If you have Nick Jr, it's on every weeknight at 8.15 p.m.

BTW, I have recently discovered that you and I have a mutual friend, seasick. :-)

M x

Anonymous said...

You are *so* not old. And besides, all the best people have grey hair appearing (though with any luck it'll be another several decades before *I* get a grey beard!).

Anonymous said...

Alas, I only have the terrestrial channels (less five, which you can't get where I live).

It's a small world isn't it? (Who?)

Michael said...

Haha! Jack the Lass, I'm sure it's a good few years yet. :D I have a male friend who refuses to shave. He uses Veet. (I still can't get over it not being Immac. It had become a verb. One could Immac. "I Immacced yesterday". Veet just doesn't sond right).

Anyway, he Veets because he gets a shaving rash otherwise. I keep telling him that using shaving oil instead of foam or gel would solve the problem but he insists on Veet, which I wouldn't mind so very much if it weren't for the fact that it smells of TCP and old cabbage. sigh

Seasick, think Scottish male organist in his twenties. You mentioned me to him in passing some time ago, before I knew him, as we're from the same city and you had suspected that we might move in the same circles. I've been speaking to him now for a couple of months and only after finding out more about me has he put two and two together and realised that I'm the person you were talking about all that time ago. :-)

Lux, welcome! I'll respond to your comment on my other post. In the meantime, I'll race youi to ebay for those videos! :-D

boxthejack said...

I have some vague memories of Button Moon - I'm 24 so how old must I have been? 3? 4? Either way, it gave me weird dreams.

Anonymous said...

I thought that's who it must be...

dutch said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
dutch said...

I am da*n old at 38 y/o. But I am told at least once a week that I look like I am 25, 28 or 32, whatever age the person thinks at the time.

Even so, I look in the mirror and hear a certain Areosmith song playing in my head...sing women sing for the day...

Anyway, I have grown a lot more peace about my years since I have more maturity in Christ every resounding year...and I also have more wisdom. Since I came to know Christ at 29 years old...and was highly immature, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Duran Duran makes me feel young again (to hear them play, to see them etc) but then I get people that remind me that they are "too young to know their music well" or express that they "did not think I was old enough to be into them".

I like Earth, Wind and Fire even though I was wee when they were at their peak...but that is neither here nor there.

Sorry if this post sounds stuck up. I figure you though will look young at my age since you have that youthful glow about you. ;) Hopefully this helps somewhat to read my rambling crap here.

And many years to you! :D

[eta: removed post to make small correction in spelling...and then reposted.]