One of the series I remember from my childhood was Michael Bentine’s Potty Time, in which the former Goon presided over the adventures of small puppet, called Potties. Although the series finished a very long time ago, it has been put up on YouTube, where you can find 2 hours and 27 minutes of it. There are also a number of individual episodes, which are just under a quarter of an hour in length. I went looking to see if it was there after I put up my sketch and potted biography of the great man yesterday. Among the other episodes I found this adventure, in which Bentine talks to the Potty police and Beefeaters guarding the crown jewels in the Tower of London. A pair of poorly disguised Potty Italian-American gangsters, Big Louie and Little Louie, try to steal them but are foiled by the Beefeaters and their cannon. The Potty cops also nab their leader, the Brain. When they take of his disguise, the Brain is revealed as a computer. How did the catch this dangerous criminal? While it was vulnerable during a power cut. That very firmly dates the show to Heath’s government, his dispute with the miners, resulting in power cuts and the three-day week. I thought I’d put it up here as another comedic blast from the past.
Tags: Beefeaters, Computers, Michael Bentine, Michael Bentine's Potty Time, Miners, Police, Power Cults, Ted Heath, The Goons, Tower of London, Videos, Youtube
Beastrabban\'s Weblog 
November 23, 2022 at 9:51 pm |
That’s great. I remember Potty Time and the power cuts. Now we still have power (for now) but can’t afford to use it. I’m only putting heating on for about an hour in a morning but in the evenings I’m wrapped in blankets and a wooly hat trying to keep warm. It’s not good. I don’t qualify for any of the discounts because the electricity account and bill are in the landlady’s name, and I don’t get the right Benefits to qualify for Warm Home discounts or Cold Weather payments (when they are due).