21 April: Play School

On this date in 1964 BBC television launched Playschool. 10 facts about the show:

1. Play School was originally commissioned by Michael Peacock, the chief of programmes for BBC2, who’d noticed there was a lack of programmes for small children. It was created by Joy Whitby.

2. It was the first programme ever shown on BBC2, although that wasn’t planned. A more grand opening schedule was intended, but was scuppered by a power failure, so Play School was shown instead.

3. There were many presenters over the years, some of whom went on to become household names. They included: Brian Cant; Julie Stevens; Johnny Ball; Wally Whyton; Derek Griffiths; Floella Benjamin; Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law. Paul Danquah was the first black host of a children's show. The first show was presented by Virginia Stride and Gordon Rollings.

4. There was also a succession of guest storytellers which included Val Doonican, Richard Baker, Rolf Harris, Clive Dunn, Roy Castle, Pat Coombs, Patricia Hayes, Roy Kinnear, George Chisholm, Ted Moult and Cilla Black.

5. A feature of the show was a short educational film. Viewers were invited to guess which of three Windows the film would appear through – a round, square or arched window. A triangular window was added in the 1980s. The shape of the window chosen actually had a pattern to it, depending on the subject of the film. If it was about something round, like balloons or wheels, it would be the round window. Square things like boxes or houses would be viewed through the square window and fountains or arches through the arched window. The arched window was used the least often.

6. There were a number of pets, including Bit and Bob the Goldfish, a cockatoo called Katoo and numerous Mice. The Play School pets were originally sourced by Harrods pet buyers Ken Exall and Anna Thompson and from 1965-88 were looked after by Wendy Duggan, a fellow of the Royal Zoological Society. Katoo has the distinction of making Johnny Ball swear on camera when it bit his finger.

7. Then there were the toys: Jemima, a rag doll with long red and white striped legs; Humpty, a dark green egg-shaped soft toy; Big Ted; Little Ted; a rocking horse named Dapple; and the unfortunate Hamble, who it seems, everyone hated. Hamble dolls were once quite popular and sold in Woolworth’s, but by this time there were only two known to be in existence, the Play School one and another owned by a woman in Chester, who would hire it to the BBC for £40 a week whenever the Play School regular got broken. She might not have been so keen had she known how poor Hamble got treated by the presenters, some of whom would kick her around the room, hence her understudy was frequently required. Presenters didn’t like her because she wasn’t as cuddly as the others and wouldn’t sit up. One confessed to sticking a knitting needle up Hamble’s bum so she’d sit up straight. None of the foreign broadcasters who took up the show kept Hamble in it, and she was eventually replaced in the UK by Poppy, a black doll, officially to make the toys more inclusive, but also because poor Hamble was getting a bit worse for wear.

8. At Brian Cant’s audition with Joy Whitby, she kicked a box out from under a table, and instructed Brian to 'Get in the box, and row out to sea'. He did it, with a running monologue about his “boat” and got the job.

9. Each day had a different theme: Monday: Useful Box Day; Tuesday: Dressing Up Day; Wednesday: Pets Day; Thursday: Imagination Day; and Friday: Science Day.

10. Almost 5700 editions aired between 1964 and the last show on 11 March 1988, but only 1900 are currently known to survive thanks to the BBC policy of the time to record over anything not deemed useful enough.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

20 April: Sebastian Faulkes Quotes

This date in 1953 was the birthdate of the writer Sebastian Faulks. 10 quotes from him:

1. The function of music is to liberate in the soul those feelings which normally we keep locked up in the heart.

2. It's better to have a malign providence than an indifferent one.

3. If you have only one life, you cant altogether ignore the question: are you enjoying it?

4. You put your time where your priority is.

5. Have you ever been lonely? No, neither have I. Solitary, yes. Alone, certainly. But lonely means minding about being on your own. I've never minded about it.

6. One thing about London is that when you step out into the night, it swallows you.

7. I suppose that each of us may have a great moment in our life, a month, a week a year, when we are most fully what we are meant to be

8. My direction? Anywhere. Because one is always nearer by not keeping still.

9. I believe that love between people is the greatest life-giving force in the world. It's intensely frustrating and inevitably makes a fool of you, but you can't stop going back to it, and it's pretty much the defining experience of a human being.

10. A romantic is someone who believes that something is valuable even if it doesn't last. And a non-romantic is someone who says that if something doesn't endure, or can't be logically proved and pinned down, it's worthless.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

19 April: Carousel

On this date in 1945 The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel opened on Broadway. 10 facts about it:

1. It was the second musical Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together, the first being Oklahoma! two years earlier.

2. Carousel was based on a 1909 play by Ferenc Molnár which was written in Hungarian and set in Budapest. The play was called Liliom, and wasn’t a hit first time around, but when it was revived after the first world war it was a success. Rodgers and Hammerstein saw a production of it and liked the story, but at first were unsure about acquiring the rights to it. Molnár had refused to grant the rights in the past; also the ending of his play was possibly too dark for musical theatre.

3. However, they did get the rights. They changed the setting to Maine and re-worked the ending so that it was more hopeful.

4. So what’s it about? It’s the story of a carousel barker Billy Bigelow who gets together with millworker Julie Jordan. They marry, she gets pregnant, but they both lose their jobs. Billy plans a robbery with his friend Jigger, but it fails and Billy commits suicide. In the afterlife, he is processed by a Starkeeper who tells him he’s not good enough to get into heaven but after fifteen years of purgatory he gets a chance to return to Earth for a day to try and redeem himself by helping his daughter, Louise. In the original play, he fails and goes to hell; in the musical, he succeeds and also tells Julie that he loves her, and is allowed into heaven.

5. The leading actors in that first production were John Raitt as Billy and Jan Clayton as Julie. Carousel initially ran for 890 performances on Broadway. Stephen Douglass and Iva Withers played the lead roles when it opened in London’s West End in 1950. A film version was made in 1956, starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.

6. Carousel won the first-ever New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical in 1945-1946.

7. The dress rehearsal went badly, and some last minute changes were made to the pantomime scene. There were fears the show would be a flop. Indeed, Rodgers thought it was as he watched the opening performance. He had a back injury at the time and had to watch it propped up in a box behind the curtain, dosed up on pain killers. He couldn’t see all of the stage and couldn’t hear the audience applauding. He only found out later what a resounding success it had been.

8. The best known songs from the show are If I Loved You, June is Bustin’ Out All Over and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

9. Act One begins with a scene which has become known as “The Bench Scene.” This scene is seen as an exemplary example of a musical theatre scene, and is studied in most musical theatre performance classes.

10. Carousel, like many productions of its time, is not without its issues for audiences today. Billy is abusive to both Julie and Louise. At the time, the fact that Billy is a good man at heart, that he never actually plans to hit women, and doesn’t hit them very hard, doesn’t cut much ice in the 21^st century.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

18 April: St Elsewhere

St Elsewhere, series set in Boston’s St Eligius Hospital, was first broadcast in the UK on this date in 1983.

1. The show was co-created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, also known for Northern Exposure. The producer was Bruce Paltrow, also known for having a daughter called Gwyneth. While she wasn’t actually in it, her name got a mention or two – doctors being paged over the hospital’s PA system often used the names of the cast and crew’s family members, so a Dr. Gwyneth Paltrow was paged a few times.

2. It was originally pitched as “Hill Street Blues in a hospital.”

3. St Elsewhere wasn’t the actual name of the teaching hospital in the show. It was St. Eligius, named for a saint who is said to have healed a demon-possessed Horse by amputating and miraculously reattaching the horse's foreleg. He’s the patron saint of veterinarians, sick horses, metalsmiths and cabmen, and his Feast day is 1 December.

4. The facade used for the hospital is the Franklin House at 11 East Newton Street in Boston. Built in 1868 the building has served as a hotel, a Conservatory of Music and affordable housing.

5. The production company’s mascot was a Cat called Mimsie, a rip off of the MGM Lion. Mimsie would be shown wearing hospital scrubs at the end of each episode. At the end of the last episode, Mimsie was shown on life support and flatlining. 2 months after the show ended, the cat died for real.

6. When St. Eligius was taken over by a large company called Ecumena, A real health care company called Humana actually sued the show for trademark infringement. The judge’s ruling was that there should be a disclaimer at the end of episodes: “Ecumena is a fictional company that does not represent any actual company or corporation."

7. Dr. Daniel Auschlander was the Chief at St. Eligius and a long running character, although at the start he was only intended to appear in four episodes, because he was dying of cancer. However, the producers liked him so much that they had him go into remission which lasted until the final episode.

8. Howie Mandel was a stand up comedian before getting the role. When he auditioned, he was under the impression the show was a comedy set in a hospital, and commented, ‘Their new comedy? Not that funny at all!’

9. Back in the 80s, nudity wasn’t seen on TV so often, but a pair of naked buttocks did make it into the final cut of one episode. Just before leaving the show, Donald Westphall decides to tell Ronny Cox, an Ecumena employee who is always trying to make savings, exactly what he thinks of his penny pinching policies – by mooning him and saying, “kiss my ass, pal.” This scene took 20 takes.

10. Spoiler alert. It had a somewhat controversial ending. The whole thing turned out to be a figment of the imagination of an autistic child. The child in question was Tommy Westphall, son of Donald, who conjured up the hospital and all its staff and stories in a snow globe. Since there were numerous cross overs with other shows (for example, a character in Cheers gave birth to a baby at St. Eligius) it has been argued that a number of other shows were conjured up in the snow globe as well.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

17 April: Thornton Wilder Quotes

Novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder was born on this date in 1897. 10 quotes from him:

1. We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

2. Ninety-nine percent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.

3. My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate.

4. The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.

5. When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.

6. It is very necessary to have markers of beauty left in a world seemingly bent on making the most evil ugliness.

7. Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.

8. The best thing about animals is they don't talk much.

9. Favours cease to be favours when there are conditions attached to them.

10. Even in the most perfect love one person loves less profoundly than the other.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

16 April: Anemones

In the French Revolutionary Calendar, 16 April is Anémone (Day of the Anemone). 10 facts about anemones.

1. Anemones are part of the Ranunculaceae family, which means they are related to Buttercups. They’re also closely related to the Pasque flower.

2. There are over 120 species of anemone. They grow in the wild in many European countries and in North America and Japan.

3. The word anemone comes from Greek and means ‘daughter of the wind’. In fact, windflower is another common name for them.

4. Or, it could have come from Nea'man, the Phoenician name for Adonis. A myth about Adonis is the creation story for these flowers. According to Ovid's epic poem Metamorphoses, Adonis was killed by Ares the hunter in a fit of jealousy because he’d found out Aphrodite had feelings for him. Aphrodite mixed the Blood of Adonis with nectar and this, mixed with her tears, created the flower.

5. In the language of Flowers, the colour of the flower makes a difference. White anemone symbolises sincerity; Purple means protection from evil and Red is associated with death or forsaken love. In Christianity, red anemones symbolise the blood of Christ and they’re often depicted in paintings of the crucifixion or of The Virgin Mary in mourning. The Chinese associate red anemones with death as well.

6. In parts of Europe, anemones were believed to be such bad luck that people would hold their breath while passing through a field of them so as not to bring misfortune on themselves.

7. Britain and Ireland have a more positive legend – that Fairies would sleep inside them when the petals closed at night.

8. The petals not only close at night but when a storm is coming, so they can be used to predict the weather.

9. Anemones are sometimes used in medicine as a treatment for cramps, menstrual problems and emotional distress. That said, the plants are toxic, so no self-medication, please!

10. Monet and Matisse are among many artists who often featured these flowers in their paintings. One example is Robe violette et Anémones, a 1937 painting by Henri Matisse.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

15 April: Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral

On this date in 2019, a fire broke out at the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. 10 things you might not know about Notre Dame (“Our Lady of Paris”):

1. Its postal address is 6 Parvis Notre-Dame – Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France, and its vital statistics are: Length: 420 feet (128 meters); Width: 157 feet (48 meters); Nave roof height: 115 feet (35 meters); Tower height: 226 feet (69 meters); Spire height: 315 feet (96 meters). The two towers aren’t identical: the south tower is slightly smaller.

2. Construction began in 1163 and was mostly completed by 1345. It may have been built on the site of a Roman Temple. An excavation in the 18^th century discovered pieces of a sculpted altar dedicated to Jupiter. It’s not known for sure, however, that these pieces hadn’t been recycled there from elsewhere. It is known that this is the case for one of the cathedral’s three portals: the Portal Sainte-Anne features a much earlier style of sacred sculpture than the others. This tympanum (semi-circular area of decoration), was recycled from a previous Romanesque church and had been adapted to fit the new space.

3. For centuries it was the home of what was believed to be the Crown of Thorns that was placed on Jesus Christ’s head during the crucifixion. This was one of the things which survived the 2019 fire and is currently being kept in The Louvre.

4. Among the survivors of the fire is a hive of around 180,000 Buckfast bees. The hive was installed in 2013 on the Notre-Dame sacristy. Buckfast bees were originally bred by a monk named Brother Adam and are known for being gentle. They make their Honey from Flowers in nearby gardens, and the honey was distributed free of charge to the poor. When the fire broke out, the bees simply hunkered down in the hive, protecting their queen and lived off their honey until it was safe to emerge. By 2020, they were back in business, producing honey as usual.

5. The ancient timber frames dating back to the 12^th century weren’t so lucky. Before the Fire this was one of the oldest surviving structures of its type. Each beam was made from an individual tree sourced from 52 acres of trees. This framework was, for this reason, nicknamed “The Forest”.

6. There was some damage done during the French Revolution when most churches were rededicated to the new Cult of Reason. Statues of Biblical kings inside the cathedral were decapitated by mobs and thrown away to be used as building materials. In 1977, however, they were found during work on the basement of the French Bank of Foreign Trade and installed at the nearby Musée de Cluny. Another casualty was most of the bells. Aside from a large one called Emmanuel which dated back to 1681, they were melted down to make cannons. New bells installed in the 19^th century weren’t as tuneful and it was 2013 before new bells were installed which sounded as good as the original ones.

7. Statues of the 12 apostles surround the spire. St Thomas bears the face of the architect, Viollet-le-Duc.

8. Notre Dame may have the largest organ in France. It has almost 8000 pipes (some dating back to the 18th century) and five keyboards. It was restored in 2013 to mark the 850th anniversary of the cathedral, and survived the fire with only some water damage caused by firefighters putting the fire out. Some some claim, however, that Saint-Eustache has a larger organ.

9. By the 19th century, Notre Dame de Paris had fallen into disrepair and could have crumbled to a ruin if not for two people. One was Napoleon Bonaparte who decided it was the perfect venue for his coronation, and Victor Hugo who raised awareness of the cathedral and its plight in his novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Incidentally, the main character in the story was always intended to be the cathedral and not the hunchback.

10. It was one of the earliest buildings to make use of flying buttresses. They were constructed around its nave in the 12th century to lend support to the thin walls. There’s some debate over whether Notre-Dame was the first church to have them, but whether it was or not, it certainly set a trend for them in Gothic architecture.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/