 Professor Branestawm Stories: Burglars ! Written by norman Hunter. Records from Meccano Limited, Liverpool. 1967. | Jimmy Thompson Jimmy Thompson satrred with Pinky and Perky in the tremendously popular BBC television series, captivating millions of fans. He also starred in many West Enf successes such as "The Amerous Prawn", "The Rape of the Belt", "Oranges and Lemons", "penny Plain" and "The Boy Friend". In "For Amusement Only" his devastating impersonation of Liberace stopped the show - a succes which he repeated on "Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Over 300 television and radio appearance include such shows as "The Good old Days", "The Jimmy Edwards Show", "Hugh and I", the BBC star review series, "Before the Fringe" and "Housewives Choice", whil film-goers will have seen him in many Carry on's". |
| From http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A626807 By the 1930s Hunter was living in Bournemouth and working as a successful stage magician. Very much someone with an eye for the visual appeal of things he was a great showman. Also in the 1930s Hunter wrote a series of stories for children which were broadcast on BBC Radio. These concerned the adventures of a somewhat eccentric inventor called Professor Branestawm. The time and word limits of a radio programme and the need for a clear story line with firmly stated characters suited Hunter's talents as a writer, however the radio was not enough to show his love of theatrical visual humour and the use of comic spelling. The first Professor Branestawm book, The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm was published in 1933. It was illustrated by W Heath Robinson (alt link: W Heath Robinson ) (1872 - 1944), whose already published cartoons showing crazy inventions may well have been the inspiration behind some of the stories of the absent-minded professor. |  Professor Branestawm Stories: The Screaming Clocks. Written by Norman Hunter. Records from Meccano Limited, Liverpool, 1967. |
| In this first book the Professor invents a time machine, makes all the waste paper in his house come to life and builds a burglar-catcher which accidentally traps its inventor. Later books include inventing non-shine invisible glass, paint-on carpet and machines for bowling cricket balls, peeling potatoes, making pancakes, stroking cats and finding lost property. It is best to draw a veil over what happened the day the Professor discovered that the Great Pagwell Bank had trespassed on his territory and had the cheek to invent a money-paying-out-machine. |
