Back in the day (early 1980's), when I was a kid, one of the highlights of coming home from school was to turn on the tele and watch a delightful little animation that subliminally called my attention to the need to keep my shit clean and to recycle everything. It was the days when the BBC was filled with right-on politically correct gone mad commie pinko faggot soviet subversives* who brought us the delights of the Magic Roundabout, Jamie and His Magic Torch and Rainbow. The progandista programme in question was THE WOMBLES, created by Elizabeth Beresford who sadly passed away today at the age of 84. I still remember getting the board game and delighting in its shiny new colours and pathway through the commons. Indeed, in the first chorus, I used to take great joy in adding a significant pause between the words 'The Wombles of Wimbledon' and 'common are we' to the emphasis of the predicate. Maybe that (and the literally towering influence of my Welsh chemistry teacher Mr. Allen who was the first person who introduced to me the concept that the earth's climate was changing as a result of anthropological intervention) is the reason why I am so concerned about AGW today.
Oh ... and the song was a classic too ... RIP Elizabeth and THANK YOU.
Underground, Overground, Wombling Free The Wombles Of Wimbledon Common Are We Making Good Use Of The Things That We Find Things That The Everyday Folks Leave Behind
Uncle Bulgaria He Can Remember The Days When He Wasn't Behind The Times With His Map Of The World Pick Up The Papers And Take 'Em To Tobermory
Wombles Are Organised, Work As A Team Wombles Are Tidy And Wombles Are Clean Underground, Overground, Wombling Free The Wombles Of Wimbledon Common Are We
People Don't Notice Us, They Never See Under Their Noses A Womble May Be We Womble By Night And We Womble By Day Looking For Litter To Trundle Away
We're So Incredibly Utterly Devious Making The Most Of Everything Even Bottles And Tins Pick Up The Pieces And Make 'Em Into Something New Is What We Do
Underground, Overground, Wombling Free The Wombles Of Wimbledon Common Are We Making Good Use Of The Things That We Find Things That The Everyday Folks Leave Behind
* For our overly earnest North American cousins, I am utilising this description in sarcastic mockery of the right wingers who, back in those days of Thatcher Milk Snatcher / Union Smasher, pretty much labelled everyone slightly left of center in such a manner.
