Yes, I was 2 years old. We might not have had a television until 1956 or 57. But I definitely watched Watch With Mother: Picture Book, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben, Rag Tag and Bobtail and The Woodentops.
@@martm216PICTURE BOOK!!!!! Thank you so much.... I've been reading all the various comments on this forum and I was trying to think of that programme but I had forgotten the name of it.... Thank you..... It's brought back so many brilliant memories for me, growing up in the 60s.....
Oh yes, consider my self quite a tough and stoic grumpy old man but as I type these words I can't stop my eyes watering, not so much seeing the Woodentops again but as others have said on here, what we have lost so much and what we have become. I accept us baby boomers as all old people have done for centuries look back with 'rose-tinted' glasses but when I watch and read the news and what a violent, uncaring and unstable country we are now, things have TRULY changed for the worse. I often wonder, did we back then as the 'Youth Culture' of the 1960s kick off everything that has now changed so much and for the worse, i.e no discipline in schools and was it allowed by our parents because of what our fathers had experienced in WW2 that they did not have it in them any more to be as strict and authoritarian as their fathers had been to them.
@@wakeupuk3860 1955, trouble in Cyprus, Warsaw Pact signed, Cold war under way, Vietnam war on its way. Poverty existed then as it does now, going to the dentist was torture. Mind you kids could play in the street without getting runover!
@@Anne-Crosby2020 thank you. I am :) it just gets to me when people assume the past were good old times. For some maybe but certainly not for all. There was a lot of poverty in the 60’s & ‘70’s, far worse than now. Also a lot of child abuse, that went un said and un punished, I know about that as well. Esther Ransome helped bring that to light with child line but that wasn’t until ‘86, before that there was nothing to help children report these things. So no, for me I think things are better now.
Woodentops, Andy Pandy, Tales from the Riverbank, Bill and Ben, Pogles, then Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley.....Happy safe times with mum and dad. Wish it was like that now and they were still here to watch them all again with us. 😢
You took the words right out of my mouth and read my mind . lf l could get in a time machine and go back to those happy days l would in an instance .We were so lucky to be young in such wonderful times .
@nannieg7622 Yep, I could well up thinking back about those great times. We were so lucky but we were also carefree and safe and the UK was a better place all round. We didn't have a lot but we were happy and made our own entertainment with simple things. Nostalgia is a wonderful but often sad thing! 😪
Mind you, some things ARE better now, as I watched these progs at a childminder's house not with Mother, sadly.. These days at least there is monitoring of sorts for this!
Oh I totally agree I am so frightened for my grandchildrens future I wish we could turn the clock back when people had morals and Britain was a more pleasant place to live.
mint days no central heating, ice on the inside of the windows, washed in cold water, sugar and bread for a snack, walked everywhere, 1 christmas present, spoilt rotten to day, never had it so easy
Yeh, and me dad would come home every day and kill us all, bury us in the front yard, and dance on our graves signin' alleluya. You tell that to the kids of today ... and they don't believe ya'.
I've just come across this, I'm 66 in just over a week's time, it's all come back to me . I'm flabbergasted. With all the rubbish I have to listen to today this has made my day.
I’m 67 yes brings back memories. Did life seem better then ?? Bill & Ben, Andy Pandy, Scooty, The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles. Even Blue Peter was fun. I use to hide behind the sofa at Dr. Who at times. 😂😂. Thanks for putting this out. 🥰
I'm a little older and I bloody loved the past ,yes it was always earn what you had, your parents where hard people not afraid to work ,or clip you round the ear, or clip the kid who hit you , kids had respect put into them ,itcwas give yer seat up for any one older than yer self . Better harder people back then
I loved all the watch with mother programmes, especially when I was off school ill mum would give me hot soup & crusty bread in front of the black & white TV.Happy days.
Yes, im also 68 (69 in May, how the years have flown by). Fridays were my favourite, waiting with my Mum for the Woodentops to come on. Makes me teary just watching this,
That is when children had imaginations we walked played outside made go carts had dolls scooters bikes now were all glued to our phones forgotten how to have a conversation the old days went all bad
You called em go carts we called em bogies made out of wood and pram wheels, and a bit of rope to steer ,and as many kids on the bogie as possible, and go hell for leather down the steepest street we could find, and no fear, even even we all fell off at top speed, just to get back on, what a laugh just thinking back. But today there all dnow flakes😅😅😅😅😅😅
Yes when the working class were treated like shit ,and the white working class in turn treated immigrants black and white like shit, Blacks even worse, boy i sure miss those good old days. The good old days of your white thugs paki bashing and treating people like Poles and others like shit. Yep those were for sure the " good old days"
Times are just awful now in the world.. when I saw this I felt a lovely sense of nostalgia.. no wonder we yearn to go back when we had all our loved ones still with us 💔
Your comments made me smile... I'm 63 years old and Watch With Mother brings back fond nostalgic memories for me as a child. Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, Tales From The Riverbank and Bill and Ben The Flowerpot Men..... And who remembers the Gerry Anderson programme's like Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet..... Brilliant times back then in my opinion.
No mobile phones no Internet no Knifes on the Streets no Speeding Cars 😢 life was so much better people had more Respect for one Another. We might not have had much but we always look back on the Black and white Days with love in Our Joy and Love in our Hearts ❤
No knives on the street? In 50s Britain? Have you completely forgotten about the Teddy Boys? I seem to recall that smashing up arcades and kniving each other with switchblades were their favourite past times.
As a kiddie growing up in the 60's this brings back happy memories of a gentler , kinder and simpler time . What l'd give to go back to those lovely days when being a child was being a child and the innocence and joy that went with it . We were truly blessed to live through those times .
the woodentops, andy pandy, pogle's wood, Bill & Ben, the flowerpot men, camberwick green, trumpton, pinky &perky, thunderbirds, captain scarlet, tales of the riverbank. i remember them all, because i was born at the end of 1962!
@@kimberleyaxxxx934 Yes but not all immigrants were badly treated and by and large they were accepted not like the near future today. Women did not have the freedoms they have today but some go over the top with it these days. Of course it was not all roses, we had rationing and harsh treatment for wrong doers including innocent hangings but overall I think it was better then than now. Just look at rail travel, constant cancellations and a maze of fares but then you could go anywhere on one ticket bought at a booking office and get to your destination. Politicians were, overall, trying to make the country better.
This is my childhood back in the early 1960s...now 64 in 2024, The freedom, family unit, the fun I had as a child. We didn't have a car or fancy holidays etc., but so truly loved those times..
I’m 74 always rushed home to watch the wooden tops , the ending part where they all waved goodbye really got me and today I watched this and I still had tears rolling down my eyes may be I’m still a child.
The warmth in your heart, knowing you were safe and loved. We contributers, commenting on here, were the lucky ones. Our mums home knitting or baking. A coal fire glowing in the grate. You need your mum up to at least 5, not a minder however lovely they are. And now the government have introduced funding for 2-year-old childcare, followed soon by 9-month-olds. Tell me somebody please, why bother giving birth at all?
Yes and they wonder why less and less are having children these days... Never wanted to miss those early years myself, much less pay someone else for the privilege!
Seems like not alone as an adult fan of vintage children's TV. I remember the series from the early 1960s, not so much the individual episodes. Another children's program I remember from around 1985/66 when I was 7/8 was Space Patrol. Does this still exist? Trouble is watching this children's TV makes me realise how my life has gone. Then it had barely begun, now it is almost over. Don't think I have ever cried so much as an adult, not even at funerals.
I did get a lump in my throat thinking of my wonderful Nan,Grandad, Mum, and Dad. We lived a harsh but happy life. I truly feel sorry for today's children. They are definitely missing out on the magic we all had.
Yes when my mother could afford a sack of coal, the coal man would carry it in his back up a flight of concreted stairs . And it was wonderfull a lovely warm fire banked right up ,and we all managed to get a hot bath and warm feet ,yes they where the good or bad days, but I would go back in the blink of an eye😢
These comments make me cry. Whatever our circumstances were in the past, a lot of us would love to go back to a simpler time. I'd give anything for one more day at home with mum and dad, brother and sister. I didnt appreciate what I had at the time,
You've now broken me, cos what you said was everything i said I would give my all for one more day as a child with my whole family and ma and dad . I feel do upset 😢
Oh how I long for those days! People were happier, kinder and worked for what they needed and didn't expect it to be handed to them for doing nothing. The world was a nicer safer place and Britain was such a proud nation. What's happened to us??? 😭😭😭
Oh these were the days, Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, Bill and Ben. this was when we lived in a fair and happy country with normal ideology and happy, happy childhoods. No woke, no lunatic activists, nothing but a wonderful life, I'm 64 years old now, I used to have nightmares about my mother and father dying when I was young, it was years after thinking that they would be there forever when I used to watch these shows, and my father always comforted me my saying that his mother and father were both still alive - It soothed me because I thought he was old back then, even though he was probably about 30! Both gone now, dad first fifteen years ago and my mam in 2020. I miss them every day but I still remember really watching these with my mother.
Ladydiva when we were in school my brother and 1 were allowed half an hour each of tv. If we were playing out which we usually were we had no tv. We each choose a program so we had an hour lol. I'm 67 and dont watch tv. I never got used to watching my unger brothersnd sister who were born years after my other brother and sister were not restricted warching tvmy sister was born on my 10th birthday and my little brother was born when was12.
Mum had chilled when they came along, lol. We had different dads, so realty they are my half-brother and sister, but we don't act like that they are my little brother and sister. I have a tv i had one for my children they watched when they wanted to. Im 67 now so they have grown my youngest will be back home soon my tv isn't plugged in i unpluged it when he went away in 2019. Hecwill plug it in ehen he comes home h is 23 he enjoys tv. I never got used to watching lol. I do watch movies on my tablet some nights. I enjoy disney plus i watch ncis on that and grey anatomy. But i read a lot
Oh such wonderful memories. I used to watch this in the mid 50s, along with Rag, Tag and Bobtail, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben & Picture Book. My late Mum used to enjoy it as well! Where have all those wonderful times gone - it makes me want to cry. I'm at the ghastly age of 75!
I’m nearly 72…I loved these programs. I only realised watching this, why I’ve always had a love of living in a cottage in the country and having a gingham table cloth! And you’re not at a ghastly age…we are lucky! Well, if we have our health!
Watching this as a young kiddie with my lovely late mum and my baby brother brings back such happy and cherished times . Oh for those blissfully happy days again . l.m 70 and wonder how the time has gone by so fast .
I used to love Watch with mother. Whenever I was off school poorly, mum would put this on for me. It was always a surprise as to what was showing.....Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben and all the other favourites. How I wish for those calmer days back again 😊
Ditto Ann….our generation is now in danger of outstaying our welcome. Time to wish them good luck and leave the youngsters to it now. I don’t think their future will be quite the same.
I remember sitting with mum watching the wooden tops, and Andy panda. Dam sooo long ago. I agree. You think your mum will be around for ever, I remember sitting on my mums knee. So excited. Andy panda was another. I was born in 1959. And there isn’t a day that goes by. That I don’t think about the innocence of being a kid in the 60s and fond memories. My mum and dad passed 20 yrs ago watching this is a little upsetting because the last time I saw this episode my mum was eating ice cream with me.
The Woodentops were always my favourite!!! Especially Spotty Dog! Such comforting childhood memories when everything was safe. I'm going to try these on my 2 yr old grandson. I can't bear the modern children's programs, so fast, too much going on, too much colour. too noisy, too busy!
Makes you wonder about all the ADHD, anxiety et C in all ages. Life used to be much quieter and calmer. . gentler pace too. Enjoy with your little one x
63 year old, I use to watch, Watch With Mother and the many other puppet shows from this show when I was off school. Sat in front of a coal fire. Didn't get much better than that, apart from Christmas time.
World was a great deal more innocent then, for a moment i was seven again in about 1958, watching this with my sister on a Bush TV53 television, both kneeling over the arm of a big old armchair, now I'm sitting in my own armchair in a Britain i no longer recognise, if anyone ever invents a time machine just dial in 1960 and I'm out of here.
I’m now 71, and yes, I too watched this as a child. When I saw this in my You tube feed I thought that I’d reminisce and watch it. As soon as the audio started I was staggered to see that I could remember the intro word for word. Astonishing. 👍😀
It’s nice to reflect I’m 70 and I still enjoy watching them , every Friday at 12pm I sat down by the tv ,it was a real treat . I wish we could have those days back again life is an illusion so every moment of your life is important to remember for nothing returns
@@sixtieschild1035 your words are so perfect my dear lady reflecting back we Had the best years live ,the way people think and behave I’m sad to say Has change for the worst and there is no changing it for better god bless you and thanks for your reply x
I used to watch "Watch With Mother" every day and "The Woodentops" on Friday was my favourite. I loved Spotty Dog. I came across this video by chance and it has made my day. So many happy memories.
What a wonderful memory of childhood, when everything was innocent for children. The babies cry is so familiar can't wait to see if spotty dog is on this, yes he is. I know if I had a child today I would play these old children's TV shows. The narrator and puppets speaking well to give children a good example of language. This does give you such a warm feeling of security and love. [What have we got for dinner today ] I sang that to my daughter and still do to my dogs and cat. I remember Bill and Ben too. I just looked at all the comments and replies, thank you everyone. Many thanks you made my day.
So lovely to read the comments..so many I want to add as liked..this was my youth too..I'm nearly 55 ..I've just lost my beautiful mum to this s***e virus. Her and dad brought me up on this.I'll cry if I watch or read anymore..
So sorry to hear of your loss, it is so painful losing a parent. I have no words to comfort you, I can only say, through experience that, the pain will ease but the loss is always with you and crying does help.
@@notlob23 it’s still very early days for you…I remember for 20+years, everyday, I’d think of her for some reason or other. The sky was so blue, the birds singing, spring is back, hedgerows with the softest green, seeing her in my dreams, hearing her voice again. But now, I accept she’s not here, I can smile at her picture and say, “good morning mother”. 30 years, and I can still feel her soft cool fingers caress my upturned face. Phew, this is sad. But at least we were loved and we loved back.
Just popped up randomly in you tube...how do the algorithms know that you are in a nostalgic mood....smashing days with my Mum..'.listen with mother' and then this on our rented DER small tv..tears are welling up...😢
What wonderful memories, watching with Mum whilst she knitted, was sewing or baking....life seemed safe, happy and idyllic then. I work in childcare and so many children cry and cry for their Mummy.....I do hope one day we can go back to how it used to be....
I used to watch this but my favourites were Twizzle, Torchy and the wonderful Sara and Hoppity...the theme song of S&H has been in my mind for 60 years now. Also loved Tales of the Riverbank with Johnny Morris, and Blue Peter with Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton...a magical time!
Aww noooo Torchy the battery boy ,yeesss I loved this aswell. All my childhood oww ,stop !!! I'm now in overflow memories. I'm so melancholy oh the past ,take me back 😢😢😢
Wooden Tops, Andy Pandy, Sooty, Bill and Ben, Noddy, oh so lovelyit makes me glow all over with happiness remembering those days. On cold days mum and i would make toast on forks over the open coal fire, roast chestnuts in it, and watch these lovely shows. I thought it would go on forever and a day. Makes me listen to the song Those were the Days. I am shedding a few tears thinking of those times.
Talk about opening windows to memories of a childhood, Like many who have written here I saw the very first episode. Strangest feeling, happy and melancholy at the same time. Thank you for bringing this back to me.
It was so naive, so simple but to me, at that time, it was real. I loved the Woodentops, i was enthralled by it, all the childrens programmes then were lovely they were calming, kind and gentle, not like today. I'm 74 and still remember the happiness these programmes brought me. I wish our world was still like this, thanks for the wonderful memories. 🤎🤗😘
My favourite programme as a child, i had an invisible dog called Spot! When i was grown up i achieved my ambition of owning a spotty dog of my own. Anyone remember 'listen with Mother'? Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...
Listen with Mother used to come on the radio just as Watch with Mother was finishing at 1:45. If my mum didn’t remember to switch the radio on a couple of minutes earlier for the valves to warm up I would get cross with her because I missed the start.
I remember the narrator asking a question, and I answered out loud. When the narrator said “Yes, that’s right!”, I thought she was really in the telly and I looked around the back to find her! My Mum did laugh!
How well I remember the little opening tune from way back in the early 1960s. It was only years later that I discovered it was A Cow Herds Dance written by Edvard Greig & played on Piano - so evocative. Truly, this simple little affecting Kiddies programme now creates in one a "Recherche pour Temps Perdu". As the poet A.E Houseman would say many decades previously: "This is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain!"
A time when you thought that mum and dad would be there forever no worries and life was safe and warm . How i wish for those feelings once again !
yep they were very special years
Amen
Just lost my beautiful mum to this shit virus..I hear you.
Grover Bennington - I'm so sorry. ❤️
@@Ela.elizabeth thank you 💖
I was three years old when the Woodentops first aired in 1955. The world has changed beyond recognition - and not for the better.
Yes, I was 2 years old. We might not have had a television until 1956 or 57. But I definitely watched Watch With Mother: Picture Book, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben, Rag Tag and Bobtail and The Woodentops.
@@martm216PICTURE BOOK!!!!! Thank you so much.... I've been reading all the various comments on this forum and I was trying to think of that programme but I had forgotten the name of it.... Thank you..... It's brought back so many brilliant memories for me, growing up in the 60s.....
@@nigelbevan8449 pleased to be of help. Was surprised I remembered it myself. It was just on the grey edge of memory.
@@martm216 Another programme I remember was called Pogles Wood, absolutely loved that. But blowed if I remember Rag Tag And Bobtail.
@@nigelbevan8449 Rag Tag and Bobtail was the Thursday Watch With Mother - three rabbits.
Oh my God.
The music started and the tears flowed. I remember this so well.
Happy times in a much happier Britain...
😊
Me too, as soon as i see the Watch with Mother logo i lose it. i was born in 1953, and grew up with these wonderful programmes.
Oh yes, consider my self quite a tough and stoic grumpy old man but as I type these words I can't stop my eyes watering, not so much seeing the Woodentops again but as others have said on here, what we have lost so much and what we have become. I accept us baby boomers as all old people have done for centuries look back with 'rose-tinted' glasses but when I watch and read the news and what a violent, uncaring and unstable country we are now, things have TRULY changed for the worse.
I often wonder, did we back then as the 'Youth Culture' of the 1960s kick off everything that has now changed so much and for the worse, i.e no discipline in schools and was it allowed by our parents because of what our fathers had experienced in WW2 that they did not have it in them any more to be as strict and authoritarian as their fathers had been to them.
@@wakeupuk3860 1955, trouble in Cyprus, Warsaw Pact signed, Cold war under way, Vietnam war on its way. Poverty existed then as it does now, going to the dentist was torture. Mind you kids could play in the street without getting runover!
@@iaincphotography6051 Ian where have you 'been' since the 1960s on another planet?
Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben, the kids today will never know the magic of back then.
Really poetic 😊👍
And you're a poet and didn't know it! 😂😂
@@michellepenfold4697 Ah shucks, I didn't mean to show it.
@@maryj9897 🤭😂😂
Tales of the river bank , lovely. The singing tree gave me nightmares. 😢
Time's when family values were so much more important than they are today . So fortunate to have grown up in this time.
YES ..MOST DEFINITELY 💯
I agree with you , i remember watching all these programmes with my wee sister . Innocent times.
Fine for some maybe. I grew up in the ‘60’s too and I remember screaming rows every night until divorce in the ‘70’s
@@francessimmonds5784Sorry about that Frances🥹. I do hope you are now living a full and happy life. Best wishes.😊
@@Anne-Crosby2020 thank you. I am :) it just gets to me when people assume the past were good old times. For some maybe but certainly not for all. There was a lot of poverty in the 60’s & ‘70’s, far worse than now. Also a lot of child abuse, that went un said and un punished, I know about that as well. Esther Ransome helped bring that to light with child line but that wasn’t until ‘86, before that there was nothing to help children report these things. So no, for me I think things are better now.
Woodentops, Andy Pandy, Tales from the Riverbank, Bill and Ben, Pogles, then Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley.....Happy safe times with mum and dad. Wish it was like that now and they were still here to watch them all again with us. 😢
You took the words right out of my mouth and read my mind . lf l could get in a time machine and go back to those happy days l would in an instance .We were so lucky to be young in such wonderful times .
@nannieg7622 Yep, I could well up thinking back about those great times. We were so lucky but we were also carefree and safe and the UK was a better place all round. We didn't have a lot but we were happy and made our own entertainment with simple things. Nostalgia is a wonderful but often sad thing! 😪
Mind you, some things ARE better now, as I watched these progs at a childminder's house not with Mother, sadly.. These days at least there is monitoring of sorts for this!
The Pogles!! I'd forgotten about them! Brilliant - thanks for the reminder.
Oh I totally agree I am so frightened for my grandchildrens future I wish we could turn the clock back when people had morals and Britain was a more pleasant place to live.
mint days no central heating, ice on the inside of the windows, washed in cold water, sugar and bread for a snack, walked everywhere, 1 christmas present, spoilt rotten to day, never had it so easy
so true
And so speaks the old fart.
You missed out the bit about sending kids up chimneys!
Yeh, and me dad would come home every day and kill us all, bury us in the front yard, and dance on our graves signin' alleluya. You tell that to the kids of today ... and they don't believe ya'.
@@blueshirtman8875and. Down the mines.
The good ole days when children's programmes were always pure, sweet, innocent and wholesome.
Yes and parents didn't have to vet the programs incase filth came on telly cto corrupt us kids
Nowadays you’d have to have some gangster rap music theme or a drag Queen or pop stars half naked!
Aah, do I miss those days. Woodentops, Bill and Ben, playing hop scotch on the pavement. Wish I could go back.
you and me sadly its not happening
Yes! You must have lived in my street. Safer - much safer - more innocent times.
@@jonathanshaw2616 so true
ME TOO SUSAN.
You were a child,we all had to grow up.Stop hankering for an imaginary time,you wouldn’t have known the half of it- you were being shielded.
I'm 66 I can't believe I just watched. Such bitter sweet memories
I've just come across this, I'm 66 in just over a week's time, it's all come back to me . I'm flabbergasted. With all the rubbish I have to listen to today this has made my day.
welcome to the channel
I’m 67 yes brings back memories. Did life seem better then ?? Bill & Ben, Andy Pandy, Scooty, The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles. Even Blue Peter was fun. I use to hide behind the sofa at Dr. Who at times. 😂😂. Thanks for putting this out. 🥰
I'm a little older and I bloody loved the past ,yes it was always earn what you had, your parents where hard people not afraid to work ,or clip you round the ear, or clip the kid who hit you , kids had respect put into them ,itcwas give yer seat up for any one older than yer self .
Better harder people back then
You don't have to listen to it, do you?
I loved all the watch with mother programmes, especially when I was off school ill mum would give me hot soup & crusty bread in front of the black & white TV.Happy days.
Watch With Mother, came on at 1:35 pm after the news.
I’m 68 now and I am delighted to see it again.
Thank you.
Yes straight after the news correct😊
Yes, im also 68 (69 in May, how the years have flown by). Fridays were my favourite, waiting with my Mum for the Woodentops to come on. Makes me teary just watching this,
Me too.
That is when children had imaginations we walked played outside made go carts had dolls scooters bikes now were all glued to our phones forgotten how to have a conversation the old days went all bad
You called em go carts we called em bogies made out of wood and pram wheels, and a bit of rope to steer ,and as many kids on the bogie as possible, and go hell for leather down the steepest street we could find, and no fear, even even we all fell off at top speed, just to get back on, what a laugh just thinking back.
But today there all dnow flakes😅😅😅😅😅😅
The Wooden tops how wonderful. My head is overcome with thoughts of the innocence of yesteryear.
@@jean2740
We called them Rigadigs 😂 No idea where that name sprung from? 😂
I remember watching this with my dear mum 60years ago.so many happy memories. 😢
Me too!
Me too ❤
Me with my Nana [Granny} seem to recall it was usually transmitted on a Friday. Rag,Tag & Bobtail Thursday. Picture Book Mondays.
Loved watching these as a child. No violence no swearing just simple childhood programmes
Oh for them days again
Yes ,unemployment, food shortages, high rents.
Yes when the working class were treated like shit ,and the white working class in turn treated immigrants black and white like shit, Blacks even worse, boy i sure miss those good old days. The good old days of your white thugs paki bashing and treating people like Poles and others like shit. Yep those were for sure the " good old days"
@@blueshirtman8875 "Yes ,unemployment, food shortages, high rents." What, just like today, you mean?! At least people were happy back then.
Back @@Rich7714 "Back when" exactly?
You are joking,right? what period was this ?
Times are just awful now in the world.. when I saw this I felt a lovely sense of nostalgia.. no wonder we yearn to go back when we had all our loved ones still with us 💔
Do you remember Shirley Abicar who played a Zither?
Oh yes I do haha 😊 sorry, butting in!
@@aprilblossom9268 no problem… how about Twizzle and Torchie The Battery Boy
For sure but got them both muddled somehow. So weird seeing all these from an adult perspective now. Alexa found Shirley and zither surprisingly!
@@aprilblossom9268 I think the world seemed better in black and white!
This takes me back.
More than 60 years.
Spotty dog is still my favourite.....
and mine
Spotty Dog was my favourite too …. Can’t believe I’m having this conversation .,,,,,,
Me too....neither can i😅
@@sixtieschild1035oh! Me too ....and I've been a dog owner / slave for 50 years because of him 😊❤🌸🌺🌹❤
Your comments made me smile... I'm 63 years old and Watch With Mother brings back fond nostalgic memories for me as a child. Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, Tales From The Riverbank and Bill and Ben The Flowerpot Men..... And who remembers the Gerry Anderson programme's like Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet..... Brilliant times back then in my opinion.
Such an innocent programme. Times have changed children's programmes and not for the better.
There not children's program's now !!!children not allowed there inocense anymore, mores the pity.
There not children's program's now !!!children not allowed there inocense anymore, mores the pity.
I actually cried with such wonderful memories, gentle times, carefree times, wonderful memories of my childhood x
It's crying for something dear we have lost,and can never get back.
Remember waiting for it to come on at lunchtime (well, dinner time as we called it).
Will always be dinner time to me. Never say lunch time
@@user-qh9kk5ix9t Amen to that, just been out for a five star dinner, despite what the menu called it. Always be dinner to me.
@@alfredroyal3473we always said lunch time as dinner was around six.
I always say dinner and tea
Oh and the pictures that showed films!
Yep, breakfast, dinner and tea! 😊 Happy days. Life seemed much simpler back then.
No mobile phones no Internet no Knifes on the Streets no Speeding Cars 😢 life was so much better people had more Respect for one Another. We might not have had much but we always look back on the Black and white Days with love in Our Joy and Love in our Hearts ❤
No knives on the street? In 50s Britain? Have you completely forgotten about the Teddy Boys? I seem to recall that smashing up arcades and kniving each other with switchblades were their favourite past times.
As a kiddie growing up in the 60's this brings back happy memories of a gentler , kinder and simpler time . What l'd give to go back to those lovely days when being a child was being a child and the innocence and joy that went with it . We were truly blessed to live through those times .
the woodentops, andy pandy, pogle's wood, Bill & Ben, the flowerpot men, camberwick green, trumpton, pinky &perky, thunderbirds, captain scarlet, tales of the riverbank. i remember them all, because i was born at the end of 1962!
This programme was shown when Britain came closest to being civilised in it's entire history and no other country has ever come close to that.
Yes, something so fragile and precious that has been allowed to perish.
Nah...women were oppressed. Irish and black people treated horribly, class system was on us all. It wasn't all roses.
@@kimberleyaxxxx934 Yes but not all immigrants were badly treated and by and large they were accepted not like the near future today. Women did not have the freedoms they have today but some go over the top with it these days. Of course it was not all roses, we had rationing and harsh treatment for wrong doers including innocent hangings but overall I think it was better then than now. Just look at rail travel, constant cancellations and a maze of fares but then you could go anywhere on one ticket bought at a booking office and get to your destination. Politicians were, overall, trying to make the country better.
This is my childhood back in the early 1960s...now 64 in 2024, The freedom, family unit, the fun I had as a child. We didn't have a car or fancy holidays etc., but so truly loved those times..
The Wooden Tops were my favourite and Spotty dog was so adorable 🥰
A time of childhood innocence.
I’m 74 always rushed home to watch the wooden tops , the ending part where they all waved goodbye really got me and today I watched this and I still had tears rolling down my eyes may be I’m still a child.
I never thought I would ever see this again. So beautiful. It belongs to a time when children were allowed to be children.
End of an era , of simplicity, peace , and family values.
The warmth in your heart, knowing you were safe and loved. We contributers, commenting on here, were the lucky ones. Our mums home knitting or baking. A coal fire glowing in the grate.
You need your mum up to at least 5, not a minder however lovely they are. And now the government have introduced funding for 2-year-old childcare, followed soon by 9-month-olds.
Tell me somebody please, why bother giving birth at all?
Yes and they wonder why less and less are having children these days... Never wanted to miss those early years myself, much less pay someone else for the privilege!
Yes true
rag, tag and bobtail
Oh God, now that's a blast from the past, too!
Tales from the Riverbank ... Twizzel. Torchy... was that the same thing!? 😊
@@aprilblossom9268torchy the battery boy 😊
I’m glad people remember Twizzle and Torchy the Battery Boy.
@@letitiakearney2423 I can still remember some of the song lol
I remember this like it was yesterday.Why did my life go so fast ?
A blink and its gone make every minute count x
Yep it goes so quick..
Life was so innocent.
Becauae you turned into a High Performance car!
Seems like not alone as an adult fan of vintage children's TV. I remember the series from the early 1960s, not so much the individual episodes.
Another children's program I remember from around 1985/66 when I was 7/8 was Space Patrol. Does this still exist?
Trouble is watching this children's TV makes me realise how my life has gone. Then it had barely begun, now it is almost over. Don't think I have ever cried so much as an adult, not even at funerals.
This was my favourite when little. Wasn't life simple in those days.
Took me right back. Coal fires and a loving Nan!
that is just what this channel is about
Me too, Robert. Great days......
I did get a lump in my throat thinking of my wonderful Nan,Grandad, Mum, and Dad. We lived a harsh but happy life. I truly feel sorry for today's children. They are definitely missing out on the magic we all had.
Yes when my mother could afford a sack of coal, the coal man would carry it in his back up a flight of concreted stairs .
And it was wonderfull a lovely warm fire banked right up ,and we all managed to get a hot bath and warm feet ,yes they where the good or bad days, but I would go back in the blink of an eye😢
These comments make me cry. Whatever our circumstances were in the past, a lot of us would love to go back to a simpler time. I'd give anything for one more day at home with mum and dad, brother and sister. I didnt appreciate what I had at the time,
Take Heart,we are all the same and we all made that same mistake in innocence. You are not alone.Your comments are beautiful though.
You've now broken me, cos what you said was everything i said I would give my all for one more day as a child with my whole family and ma and dad .
I feel do upset 😢
Oh I’ve just gone back 60 years, I loved watching this with my mother, always wanted a spotty dog. Wish we had those times again!
me too
I was born in 1955....remember the Wooden Tops with affection...Gosh wasn't life simpler then...😊
Yes it was , and all the killjoys
Trying to pi.. on our memories.
They where not around then
Oh how I long for those days! People were happier, kinder and worked for what they needed and didn't expect it to be handed to them for doing nothing. The world was a nicer safer place and Britain was such a proud nation. What's happened to us??? 😭😭😭
💯 technology and greed spoils today's society and the snowflake ❄️ brigade
It was given away to strangers
@@jean2740💯
Beautiful and so so sweet and innocent ❤
Oh these were the days, Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, Bill and Ben. this was when we lived in a fair and happy country with normal ideology and happy, happy childhoods. No woke, no lunatic activists, nothing but a wonderful life,
I'm 64 years old now, I used to have nightmares about my mother and father dying when I was young, it was years after thinking that they would be there forever when I used to watch these shows, and my father always comforted me my saying that his mother and father were both still alive - It soothed me because I thought he was old back then, even though he was probably about 30! Both gone now, dad first fifteen years ago and my mam in 2020. I miss them every day but I still remember really watching these with my mother.
Sitting here 65 yrs old with bottle of Shiraz bit pissed -remember watching this with mum - time flies !!!!!!
I'm only 62, but watch with mother is deeply burnt-in. Indoctrination perhaps.
Haha this reminded me of something my dad would do. 🤣
See a doctor.
@@seltaeb3302 seen one i am ok apart from a heart condition !!
🍷🍷🍾🥂 😉
A time when I had no worries or thoughts about the future, wonderful, can we go back in time 🤔
Oh yes please, it would be so good...
When I played out as a kid I never ever thought for one second that one day england would be a seavof non English faces never
I am 73 years old and she'd a tear when l watched this
I remember the Wooden Tops. We weren't allowed to watch much telly but Children's hour was OK. Lovely!!
Thanks ...I had forgotten it was known as 'Children's Hour ' and an hour seemed so very long then!
Ladydiva when we were in school my brother and 1 were allowed half an hour each of tv. If we were playing out which we usually were we had no tv. We each choose a program so we had an hour lol. I'm 67 and dont watch tv. I never got used to watching my unger brothersnd sister who were born years after my other brother and sister were not restricted warching tvmy sister was born on my 10th birthday and my little brother was born when was12.
Mum had chilled when they came along, lol. We had different dads, so realty they are my half-brother and sister, but we don't act like that they are my little brother and sister. I have a tv i had one for my children they watched when they wanted to. Im 67 now so they have grown my youngest will be back home soon my tv isn't plugged in i unpluged it when he went away in 2019. Hecwill plug it in ehen he comes home h is 23 he enjoys tv. I never got used to watching lol. I do watch movies on my tablet some nights. I enjoy disney plus i watch ncis on that and grey anatomy. But i read a lot
Beautiful simple television programme and it bring back so many happy memories of my warm and cosy childhood - Thank you mum and dad 🥰
Oh such wonderful memories. I used to watch this in the mid 50s, along with Rag, Tag and Bobtail, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben & Picture Book. My late Mum used to enjoy it as well! Where have all those wonderful times gone - it makes me want to cry. I'm at the ghastly age of 75!
I’m also 75 and remember that we rushed home from school to watch these programmes in the 1950s. They must have been shown between 3 and 5pm.
I’m nearly 72…I loved these programs. I only realised watching this, why I’ve always had a love of living in a cottage in the country and having a gingham table cloth! And you’re not at a ghastly age…we are lucky! Well, if we have our health!
I echo your sentiments too. 73 here.
Watching this as a young kiddie with my lovely late mum and my baby brother brings back such happy and cherished times . Oh for those blissfully happy days again . l.m 70 and wonder how the time has gone by so fast .
Whilst out today walking my dog, I found myself humming the tune to The Woodentops - and guess who had tears rolling down her face -Me!
I used to love Watch with mother. Whenever I was off school poorly, mum would put this on for me. It was always a surprise as to what was showing.....Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben and all the other favourites. How I wish for those calmer days back again 😊
Ditto Ann….our generation is now in danger of outstaying our welcome. Time to wish them good luck and leave the youngsters to it now. I don’t think their future will be quite the same.
Sorry I don't want to spoil this lovely memory but my mother was no wear to be found ...oh yes she was in the kitchen with a bottle of plonk 😢
Loved the wooden tops when I was a child.
I remember sitting with mum watching the wooden tops, and Andy panda. Dam sooo long ago.
I agree. You think your mum will be around for ever, I remember sitting on my mums knee. So excited.
Andy panda was another. I was born in 1959. And there isn’t a day that goes by. That I don’t think about the innocence of being a kid in the 60s and fond memories. My mum and dad passed 20 yrs ago watching this is a little upsetting because the last time I saw this episode my mum was eating ice cream with me.
I know what you mean but fond mems all the same
If remade these days, Andy Pandy would be named Andy pansy 🤭
@@izadoruAnd he'd be waving a rainbow 🌈 flag.
So sad and bitter-sweet.You start laughing and end up crying.Yes,life is so hard sometimes. ❤
Takes me back, love spotty dog, " l have been working in the turnip field all morning"......🤣🤣🤣
Where did it all go wrong ,lucky to have been young then.
Yes rather be uoung back then ,than today cos I feel fear for our young in this awfull country of ours today
We turned our back on God :(
I was so happy back then. Childhood was wonderful. My parents struggled but youd never have guessed. We just had a good time with no money
Yes we had more meal times than meals , but your father always got his meal cosche worked hard to provide for his wife and kids
@jean2740 yes. My dad was affected by his experiences in the war. He was a paratrooper at Ar
@@jean2740 Arnhem. But you'd never have guessed. He was a 5 feet 7inch giant
Her enunciation is wonderful, Clear precise consonants and open vowels.
A time when people talked proper!🤣
@@MrMrh1958 Like what i do.
Indeed! Always good to keep your vowels open.😉
@@MrMrh1958 Ooh Err, Doctor Stoppage...
Yes where has all that gone?!
I loved this when I was a little girl, I was born 1957, my favourite woodentop of spotty dog
Ahh, my favourite programme when I was a child of the 60's ! Wonderful memories 💖
The Woodentops were always my favourite!!! Especially Spotty Dog! Such comforting childhood memories when everything was safe. I'm going to try these on my 2 yr old grandson. I can't bear the modern children's programs, so fast, too much going on, too much colour. too noisy, too busy!
Makes you wonder about all the ADHD, anxiety et C in all ages. Life used to be much quieter and calmer. . gentler pace too. Enjoy with your little one x
Noddy , pinky and perky , camberwick green ,trumpton etc , my son liked Brum in the 90s , they were not on for long but everyone watched them
@@aprilblossom9268 I absolutely agree with you. I was a primary teacher and saw too many consequences of life today.
Radio has also gone quite manic unless it is Classic fm...! Well done to you for teaching days...not easy!
I remember watching this as a small child and hoping I would meet someone like Daddy Woodentop to marry
why?
@@sixtieschild1035 I don't know really! Maybe because they were a happy family
@@nicoles5852 I always loved Venus from Fireball XL5.
But it wouldn't have worked.
I'd get splinters.
I loved it when he came on too.
That's so sweet
Bill and Ben were of the same period... and Noggin the Nog... and Captain Pugwash...
Just lovely. So nostalgic. Remember this and then Listen with Mother on the radio! X
Oh yes Listen With Mother 😊 'are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin!' Doesn't seem to be anything like it for children on radio now.
Am 70 this year and this brought back many happy memories. Thanks 👍🇬🇧
Eye memories of our past life cos it sure anit rosy anymore for us poor sod's
63 year old, I use to watch, Watch With Mother and the many other puppet shows from this show when I was off school. Sat in front of a coal fire. Didn't get much better than that, apart from Christmas time.
I saw this as a kid in the 60's but I'm pretty sure the programme is even older than that ! Looking back at it now , it has a 50's feel .
yes started in the 50,s but was rerun many times
1955
World was a great deal more innocent then, for a moment i was seven again in about 1958, watching this with my sister on a Bush TV53 television, both kneeling over the arm of a big old armchair, now I'm sitting in my own armchair in a Britain i no longer recognise, if anyone ever invents a time machine just dial in 1960 and I'm out of here.
Spotty Dog forever!!❤❤❤❤
I’m now 71, and yes, I too watched this as a child. When I saw this in my You tube feed I thought that I’d reminisce and watch it. As soon as the audio started I was staggered to see that I could remember the intro word for word. Astonishing. 👍😀
Wonderful!
Me too!
It’s nice to reflect I’m 70 and I still enjoy watching them , every Friday at 12pm I sat down by the tv ,it was a real treat . I wish we could have those days back again life is an illusion so every moment of your life is important to remember for nothing returns
I agree, I may be cynical but todays generation have very little to look back on fondly and thats sad
@@sixtieschild1035 your words are so perfect my dear lady reflecting back we
Had the best years live ,the way people think and behave I’m sad to say
Has change for the worst and there is no changing it for better god bless you and thanks for your reply x
It seemed peaceful because it was just after a world war. Now we are gearing-up for the next world war.
@@mariakennedy4633What wonderful words you have written and I for one wholeheartedly agree with everything you have written. With kindest regards.
Great puppetry! Especially Spotty dog❤
Watched Bill and Ben when I was young kid, 60 yrs old now.
You put into words exactly how I felt at that time where life was simple and our family complete
Yes family complete, nothing stays the same, time whizzes by so fast.
I used to watch "Watch With Mother" every day and "The Woodentops" on Friday was my favourite. I loved Spotty Dog. I came across this video by chance and it has made my day. So many happy memories.
Our dog Suzy used to bark whenever spotty dog appeared.
Watch with mother that takes me back
And we literally did watch it eith mother aswell😊
What a wonderful memory of childhood, when everything was innocent for children. The babies cry is so familiar can't wait to see if spotty dog is on this, yes he is. I know if I had a child today I would play these old children's TV shows. The narrator and puppets speaking well to give children a good example of language. This does give you such a warm feeling of security and love. [What have we got for dinner today ] I sang that to my daughter and still do to my dogs and cat. I remember Bill and Ben too. I just looked at all the comments and replies, thank you everyone. Many thanks you made my day.
So lovely to read the comments..so many I want to add as liked..this was my youth too..I'm nearly 55 ..I've just lost my beautiful mum to this s***e virus. Her and dad brought me up on this.I'll cry if I watch or read anymore..
So sorry to hear of your loss, it is so painful losing a parent. I have no words to comfort you, I can only say, through experience that, the pain will ease but the loss is always with you and crying does help.
@@sixtieschild1035 thank you.💖 It's hard because she should still be here..such a waste..😢
Sad to read of your loss…life is so out of balance isn’t it…even after the years have passed.
@@puppy1584 ...4 years next Thursday..💖
@@notlob23 it’s still very early days for you…I remember for 20+years, everyday, I’d think of her for some reason or other. The sky was so blue, the birds singing, spring is back, hedgerows with the softest green, seeing her in my dreams, hearing her voice again. But now, I accept she’s not here, I can smile at her picture and say, “good morning mother”. 30 years, and I can still feel her soft cool fingers caress my upturned face. Phew, this is sad. But at least we were loved and we loved back.
All the watch with mother episodes, bring back memories, when I was at my happiest. So pleased UA-cam has them all.
oh yes
I watched these in the 60's. I loved Spotty Dog❤
Spot the dog was my favourite. I also loved Rag Tag and Bobtail. Happy memories.
glad you enjoyed
I used to love The Woodentops I watch it when I was a little girl about 3 years old
my mum used to watch this with her mother. everytime I show this she looks like she wants to cry, that makes me want to cry. ;‿;
have a nice day! :3
how lovely, you too have anice day
Just popped up randomly in you tube...how do the algorithms know that you are in a nostalgic mood....smashing days with my Mum..'.listen with mother' and then this on our rented DER small tv..tears are welling up...😢
Welcome to the channel , tears of joy I hope
Yes..tears of a lovely,happy childhood...👌
What wonderful memories, watching with Mum whilst she knitted, was sewing or baking....life seemed safe, happy and idyllic then. I work in childcare and so many children cry and cry for their Mummy.....I do hope one day we can go back to how it used to be....
that would be nice but I doubt it with this Government they won't even let us retire
We used to do the spotty dog walk. He was the highlight for me.
My wife can still do it.
@@leedsman54 excellent!
I loved this as a child
I used to watch this but my favourites were Twizzle, Torchy and the wonderful Sara and Hoppity...the theme song of S&H has been in my mind for 60 years now. Also loved Tales of the Riverbank with Johnny Morris, and Blue Peter with Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton...a magical time!
Torchy, Torchy the battery boy 😂
@@linpollitt8950 I think I'd have nightmares if I watched it now, those puppets were all a bit weird!
Aww noooo Torchy the battery boy ,yeesss I loved this aswell.
All my childhood oww ,stop !!!
I'm now in overflow memories.
I'm so melancholy oh the past ,take me back 😢😢😢
@@flotinaway7NO they weren't
Wooden Tops, Andy Pandy, Sooty, Bill and Ben, Noddy, oh so lovelyit makes me glow all over with happiness remembering those days. On cold days mum and i would make toast on forks over the open coal fire, roast chestnuts in it, and watch these lovely shows. I thought it would go on forever and a day. Makes me listen to the song Those were the Days. I am shedding a few tears thinking of those times.
My son was born in 1964. How things have changed. This wouldn't hold my grandchildrens attention for more than a couple of minutes.
Thank you for sharing mother
Talk about opening windows to memories of a childhood, Like many who have written here I saw the very first episode. Strangest feeling, happy and melancholy at the same time. Thank you for bringing this back to me.
Baby Woodentop sounds like he's doing a Cherokee rain chant! 😂
I used to watch this, Andy Pandy etc with my mum.
Wonder if the voice for the baby came from Four Feathers?
It was so naive, so simple but to me, at that time, it was real. I loved the Woodentops, i was enthralled by it, all the childrens programmes then were lovely they were calming, kind and gentle, not like today. I'm 74 and still remember the happiness these programmes brought me. I wish our world was still like this, thanks for the wonderful memories. 🤎🤗😘
Brilliant….I didn’t realise that this programme was instilled basic family values. They should be shown over and over again to children.
it tried
They are having sex education in primary & maybe nursery education nowadays.
Sadly, noone would stand for instilling such values any more. Way too normative!
Gosh, I started watching that and a enormous feeling of peace and calm came over me. I recollection I suppose of innocent childhood times.
I loved this programme as a child 60 odd years ago. I literally watched with mother.
so did I
How lucky you were ! No-one can take away those memories x
Me too
Loved the Wooden tops also remember Andy Pandy happy memories
My favourite programme as a child, i had an invisible dog called Spot! When i was grown up i achieved my ambition of owning a spotty dog of my own. Anyone remember 'listen with Mother'? Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...
Listen with Mother used to come on the radio just as Watch with Mother was finishing at 1:45. If my mum didn’t remember to switch the radio on a couple of minutes earlier for the valves to warm up I would get cross with her because I missed the start.
For sure another set of memories with Listen with Mother - with Daphne Oxenbridge or some such and Dolly Concerto music playing 😊👍
I used to press my ear up against the maquette covering on the radiogram to listen to Listen With Mother!
I remember the narrator asking a question, and I answered out loud. When the narrator said “Yes, that’s right!”, I thought she was really in the telly and I looked around the back to find her! My Mum did laugh!
Baby Woodentop sounds like a red Indian.😁memories of the early 60s
Yes he does 🤣
Bill + Ben the flower pot men. Andy Pandy. Those were the days.
Born in 1960 and I used to watch this.
How well I remember the little opening tune from way back in the early 1960s. It was only years later that I discovered it was A Cow Herds Dance written by Edvard Greig & played on Piano - so evocative. Truly, this simple little affecting Kiddies programme now creates in one a "Recherche pour Temps Perdu". As the poet A.E Houseman would say many decades previously: "This is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain!"
I'm so happy to see this after all these years. Watch with Mother was a great programme for us little ones.