h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: A Little Bear Called Sooty - A38437176
Author: Opticalillusion - media mynx life would be boring without hiccups - U231227

I am submitting this here as I personally feel this is ready. I hope you agree that this Entry is better than recent ones I have produced.

What an absolutely delightful Entry

Well done Opti

A link for you: The Queen A8466339 (and I never knew Sooty squirted Prince Philip!)

GB

I remember that!....


Opti, this is one of the best prepared entries I've seen you write

Opti, this is lovely, and brought back such lovely memories of my Sooty puppet. I haven't had time to read it right through, but I spotted this:

<>

Long sentence! Can I suggest instead:

On 19 July, 1948, an engineer called Harry Corbett was looking for something with which to entertain his children, David and Matthew, while on holiday. He was browsing the seaside shops that graced The North Pier in Blackpool, when he came across a yellow hand puppet in the form of a bear.

Will continue reading later.

Websailor

people it's nice to be told that I write good Entries. I was beginning to doubt myself.

Opti, a line by line read brought up these points. i hope they help.

<>

Suggest:
As television was in black and white only at that time it was felt necessary for Sooty to undergo a slight transformation making his features more distinguishable. Some soot was added to his ears and from then on Teddy was re-named Sooty.

Perhaps <> needs to be 'and they made many more stage performances'.

<> Guinness has two Ns and two Ss.

<> Butch in line with the other characters. Brackets round (two cats)

Comma after Soo and after white bear puppet.

Didn't the BBC approve of Sooty's love interest then?

Keeping it in the family -

suggest - 'deemed necessary for a temporary replacement to be found.'


<>

should read 'undertaken by' suggest 'Weymouth - their retirement home.'

<> 'his sketch to children for fear'

<> isn't quite right.

'when it was noted that the sale had gone through' might be better if it doesn't change the sense of what you meant!

I hope you don't mind the nit picking, but it is such a good article it would be a shame to leave tiny blips in it.

I really enjoyed it.

Websailor

I had the great pleasure of working backstage for a couple of weeks on the stage show in *counts on fingers* I believe 1978. It was with Matthew Corbett and his team. Matthew was a true professional and a lovely person off stage too, as were all the team.

For the stage show, all the sound effects and things like Soo's voice and squeaks from Sweep were on a pre-recorded track, but Matthew was live. This meant that his timing had to be spot on - and it was - every single performance. He couldn't change a word, or take a longer pause, as the tape just kept running, although no one in the audience would have been able to notice. But one of the puppeteers carried a reed squeaker for Sweeps voice, just in case the tape broke down and he had to go live.

Sssh, don't tell, but there were several Sooty puppets! The puppeteers were dressed in black and would scoot about behind the scenery sitting on low wheeled boards. Every time Sooty appeared across the other side of the stage, it was a different puppet!

what a lovely memory!

Websailor I've dealt with those nitpicks. Except for one 'Weymouth - their retirement home', perhaps county or area would be better otherwise people may confuse it with the name of a house.

Yes the BBC weren't keen on him having a love interest.

Also for the insight there of behind the scenes. Have done a little google in case its deemed necessary to put something like that in this Entry but found nothing yet.

opti

This is great, Opti!

This style works so well for light entertainment biographies, but it doesn't really stretch to people like Churchill!

Is it possible to mention a few more things that he got up to in the shows. I'm no expert, but I vaguely remember he played the organ and the xylophone. Also, Sooty was mischievous, but what sort of characters were Sweep and Soo? Wasn't it called the Sooty and Sweep Show for a while?

I have a feeling the name 'Sooty' was a nickname for the chimney sweep, as we say 'sparky' for an electrician or 'chippy' for a carpenter.

And finally, wasn't it a good decision not to call him Smutty?

This is more like it Opti, well done.
Just by coincidence Sooty was in the news yesterday, it's his 60th birthday. The link below is to a BBC News Video Clip.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7512928.stm

Hello Icy and ST

for the link the BBC report made me

I've addresed some points of yours Icy, but I can't find references to the bear being nearly named 'smutty' or 'The Sooty and Sweep Show'. As for the chimney sweep reference I wonder whether perhaps that's how the dog got it's name too.

I was also wondering whether I ought to almost bullet point the characters names and then put descriptions by them for ease.



opti

There is one problem with bullet pointing in that the Entry will lose it's flow round that section.

What's an opti to do?

No, I personally wouldn't bullet point, the info is there and the article 'flows' as it is.

hmm shall have to think of working the descriptions in another way if Icy and everyone would like me to do that.

Don't worry about the nickname 'sooty' for a chimney-sweep - it isn't relevant to the entry. And the 'Smutty' name is just a joke that fell flat

I've found the TV show billed as 'Sooty and Sweep' on Ch 1 (BBC1) from 1959 (with some variants like 'Sooty and Sweep in the Garden' and 'Sooty in Sweep's Heap'). ITV seems to have billed it as 'The Sooty Show'.

I'm sure one of the Italics will be able to confirm this.

And there's no need to tinker too much with the layout - it's great. I just thought it might be good to illustrate Sweep's and Soo's characters if you can fit it in.

Thanks Opti, I had the same thought about the Weymouth bit but was too tired to think of an alternative I mainly wanted to get rid of 'retired to' at the end of a sentence.

Weymouth, Dorset should remove the confusion over it being a house! See how you feel about altering it now, just adding Dorset.

Websailor

I'll wait for an Italic

I've got rid of 'retired to' and just said where Harry's last shows took place

Icy and Websailor

Lovely article, and about time the great one was given the recognition he deserves!!
Although my ex turned out to be a womanising poo, he won me over,
(a Sooty collector and arctophile all my days)as on our first serious date he drove me up to the Sooty Museum in Bradford, from Bedfordshire.
They showed a wonderful B&W film of the boys on a picnic with Harry.
Some rabbits appeared, so Sweep put some sticks of dynamite down the bunny holes and there was dirt and fluff everywhere!!
I think the row started when the bunnies took a link of sausages from Sweep?
I have to say that Sweep is the best character, and I was born in the same year as Soo, my namesake, and hence my handle of Tibbysoo.

Izzy Wizzy Let's get Busy.

I like this one Opti.

do you think it worth mentioning that Mathew already had a job in children's entertainment ? He was in Rod, Jane and Matthew.

<cider?