Unashamedly soppy this but anyone over the age of 30 will surely feel a pang of sadness with the news of the death of Oliver Postgate, creator of classic children's shows such as Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine and The Clangers, at the age of 83.
His creations, which he narrated with his distinctive reassuring voice, were from that decade of industrial and social strife - the 70s - although they seem to originate from a gentler time. This is because they are from an era when children's programming wasn't created by computers or by focus groups, didn't feature characters that ticked ‘inclusive' boxes and where they weren't merchandised to oblivion before the next big thing arrived.
Because of this, and in spite of the now rather quaint production values, they remain timeless.
