Pav’s Patch; Blue Peter: one show I loved earlier

CAN you believe it? Today, if I’ve got my facts right, is the 50th anniversary of the first “Blue Peter”.

I used to love the programme as a young lad — especially those bits where they flew the world and you got to see Lesley Judd in a bikini.

I still have the badge I was sent in 1966, and an autographed picture of John, Val and Peter.

Apparently, the programme has always been very keen to log every viewer’s letter so that nobody gets a bog-standard reply.

A lad I used to work with had a schoolfriend who was always writing to “Blue Peter” and was very proud of his file of letters.

Trouble is, some lads in the class found out and wrote their own letter, claiming he wanted to do depraved things to Sarah Green.

“Blue Peter” stopped replying after that.

I think my first memory of the programme is the arrival of Val Singleton around 1962. I was hooked, and I used to run home from school to make sure I wouldn’t miss it.

Then I heard that John Noakes was filming a piece with BBC Radio One’s Tony Blackburn, and I was double keen to see that. Blackburn told such funny jokes and had Arnold the dog.

But disaster struck. Our heartless maths teacher Mr Wilson decided we had not done well enough in a test and kept us all back after school.

I didn’t get home until 5.30 and I have never forgiven Mr Wilson. I still bear the grudge even after 37 years.

Another thing I never managed to do was to make one of those “here’s one I made earlier” objects.

We never had any rubber solution glue or sticky-back plastic, and I don’t think the presenters had any idea how long it took my mam to get through washing-up liquid.

Then, a great day arrived. I had a bottle just as they were showing you how to make Father Christmas toothbrush holders.

Alas, we had no white foam, only some very thick, black stuff from my dad’s works. The things I made were nothing like Val Singleton’s. Mine were more like evil trolls, but my dad pretended to be delighted with the one I gave him for Christmas.

On another occasion, my sister made some Ribena chews. They tasted disgusting.

Dad ate those as well, and the coffee cremes whenever we had a box of chocolates, and all the cereals I no longer wanted once I had pulled out the free toy.

But I loved “Blue Peter”, so here’s to another 50 years. And Lesley Judd’s thighs.