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I never met Gerard, but I did meet his daughter when she had an exhibition of her father's cartoons in Richmond . I bought several of them (prints) which adorn the wall of the "den" (music room)

http://writingcompany.blogs.com/this_isnt_writing_its_typ/images/hoffnung_2.jpg

This is my favourite, as my husband played the Tuba

I was given the guide to the orchestra when I was small, and "learnt" my instruments from it. Obviously I was a bit disappointed when I first saw an actual orchestra - I was particularly looking forward to seeing the serpent, even though Hoffnung had told me that "for security reasons, it is no longer in use" (exact wroding may be wrong here - I'm not sure where the books are at the moment).

I remember going with the school to see the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performing "Young person's guide to the Orchestra" (Britten) I loved it!

The first record I owned was a present from my mother of "Young person's guide", with "Peter and the wolf" on the other side - she obviously wanted me to be a classical musician (unfortunately she failed in this - as with most teenagers in the sixties I learned to play the guitar instead)

I wanted to be a professional drummer, just like my cousin, but was told girls don't play drums, and besides a set would be too expensive, so my Dad gave me a honky-tonk piano instead !

Nice to be reminded of these early examples of British humour: Hoffnung & Co were long before the Goons, Hancock etc, weren't they? I only know I heard the Bricklayer & the French Widows stories on the radio about the time when Uncle Mac did Children's favourites on Saturday mornings' and Journey into Space was running --- or am i getting everything mixed up???
And Jazzgirl: do you still play the piano then? Tell us a little (or have I missed out in the past?) -- it would interest me!

Funny you mention "Journey into space", GK - there was an obit. for Charles Chilton (its creator) i today's Guardian.

Jazzgirl - I`m looking forward to those clips. I`ve now heard Stephen Quinn - excellent. I`m sorry he`s died. Did your father not know about Ivy Benson`s Girls` band? They came to the RAF station in Egypt when I was there. What a great touch of glamour they brought to those bleak desert surroundings. Mag.

Hi, chrise! What impresses me even today is how a well-produced radio series could provoke fantasies far superior to anything produced nowadays by tv or the cinema. The same applied to a documentary broadcast I once heard alone in my bedroom about the Normandy landings which brought home to me the horror of war through my imagination (although my father was there).And then of course there was "Under Milk Wood" -- but I'm wandering a bit far, I realize............