And another legend passes

[angelophile]

Rest in peace Oliver Postgate, who died peacefully at the age of 83 yesterday. Probably not a name that means much to those outside the UK, but for me, the voice of my childhood.

We've lost another great talent, who entertained and educated generations of children. He worked at the BBC from the 1950s, creating, with artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin, many of the most memorable children's characters in a disused cow shed in Kent.

The creator of Ivor the Engine. Noggin the Nog. The Clangers. (Y'know, those knitted moon creatures, beloved by The Master on Doctor Who.) And my own beloved Bagpuss, sweet, whimsical and often heartbreaking Bagpuss. Emily's cat Bagpuss: the most important, the most beautiful, the most magical... saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world. Voted the most popular children's programme of all time and the best TV animal of all-time.

A man who believed that wonderful stories were the thing that mattered over slick animation.

"In our time we had been able to found great kingdoms of mountains, ice and snow in our cowsheds. In Peter's big barn we commanded infinities of Outer Space, starred it with heavenly bodies made from old Christmas decorations and made a moon for the Clangers."

I loved the wonderful, whimsical strangeness of his characters and the warmth of his story-telling. His voice, for he narrated and voiced most of the characters in the stories he wrote, just makes me feel comfortable and safe every time I hear it.

Rest in peace, Mr. Postgate. I'm heartbroken to see you go.