CHILDHOOD DIES ANOTHER DEATH....

In all the brouhaha of the past week, one of the saddest things was the passing, at the age of 95, of Gordon Murray.  He was the creator of one of the most admired and best loved trilogies in the annals of televised entertainment.   I mean, of course, Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley and I look back on those series with a wistful eye, for the memories take me back to those truly wonderful days when our three sons were captivated by the sights and sounds of Gordon Murray`s array of unforgettable characters.

And, truth be told, I too was captivated by the innocence, the charm and the gentleness of it all - Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb and all. - and whilst I may miss those days and those times, I still steadfastly refuse to properly grow up, influenced as I clearly was by those programmes and by the sheer joy of being allowed into a childhood world along with my three young boys, from which I still remain reluctant to depart.

So I mourn the loss of Gordon Murray and the joy he gave to dreamers like me, for whom perhaps the greatest hero of it all was the redoubtable Windy Miller;  to the extent that every Miller I have known since has automatically been known as `Windy,` whether the description has been fitting or not.   So, as a passing tribute to Gordon Murray, here`s Windy Miller in an episode from Camberwick Green which I still believe to be just up the road a bit.......