The First Blue Peter Annual
The first Blue Peter annual was published in 1964 by Lutterworth Press, it is a distillation of the programme in book form.
In the first annual we meet presenters Valerie Singleton and Christopher Trace, we also meet Petra the first Blue Peter dog, there is a visit to the Blue Peter studio, a story by Oliver Postgate, how to make sweets, building a sledge, making a miniature garden, a song illustrated by Peter Firmin, it is a lovely reminder of childhood.
Blue Peter is a British children’s TV programme, first broadcast in 1958, and is now the longest running children’s programme in the world. So a good book and a good programme to choose in this year when the BBC are celebrating 100 years of broadcasting.
Since its first airing in 1958, Blue Peter has become a national institution and has had nearly forty presenters.
My earliest memories of Blue Peter featured the presenters Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves and the brilliant John Noakes, it was such a quintessential part of my childhood.
By the time I was able to watch it, it was being broadcast twice a week, just after I got in from school.
The show was full of ideas for things you could make at home using items found about the house such as metal coat hangers – used for making advent wreaths, cardboard toilet roll middles, W.U. liquid bottles and sticky back plastic.
There were pets galore, cats, dogs, tortoises and other animals that appeared on the show such as elephants and parrots.
There were also Blue Peter badges to be won, time capsules to be buried, the Blue Peter garden to be admired, feats of derring do!! Especially those that involved the presenter John Noakes.
They had charity appeals at Christmas, which often involved sending in stamps.
There was so much to see and do and learn about, who would not have wanted a Blue Peter annual.
Contributed by Theresa
(Published 6th Dec 2022)
