Tony Hart

I wrote a tweet about this already but as one of the things I wanted to write more about was my childhood I thought I would write something here as well.  It is related.

I've been thinking a lot about my crafty side lately.  As a child I was very arty, very crafty.  And I've been very in to it all over the last several years (particularly my knitting over the last almost two years since I learned).  

But there was a huge period of time in the middle when I just wasn't as into it.  I blame secondary school art and technology lessons.  It's hard to get high marks or even in some cases to manage set lessons whe n you have problems with spatial awareness which make drawing difficult and fine motor control issues which make the physically doing of other things a struggle.

So I lost my crafty mojo for a while.  I'm very glad I have it back, particularly as I've spent a lot of today figuring out how to go horizontal ribbing with my knitting and it looks great (but don't ask me what I'm knitting cos I'm not really sure).

But as I child I loved all things art and craft.  I remember one Christmas my parents got what I remember as a huge cardboard box and filled it with all sorts of different arty crafty things and that was my main present.  The two things that stand out which were in it were a box of pastels and some silver spray paint.

And two of my favourite tv shows were Hartbeat (I always wanted to appear in the gallery) and Jim'll Fix It.  So I'm sure it'll come to no surprise to any of you that the one and only time I wrote to Sir Jim'll Fix It I asked to meet Tony Hart.  I believe I also asked in a PS  if my Mum could come too.

I never got my fix it.  My main thought about that now is that clearly I should have written

Dear Jim, I'm in a wheelchair, please please please (gotta get multiple pleases in there to be successful) could you fix it for me, Emma Crees to meet Tony Hart oh and by the way did I mention I'm in a wheelchair?  Emma (aged however old I was and a wheelchair user).

 Because clearly, crippled girl?  That would have increased my chances, gotta love those late 80's early 90's sympathy/pity tendencies.  But sadly, I didn't and so I never got my "fix it"

I would have loved to have met Tony Hart tho, he was a legend to me with his crazy art etc.

He died on Sunday aged 83.  And whilst I can't say I'd thought of him or his show for a long time, that news did make me sad.  The guy was an incredible artist and he brought a love of art to thousands of kids over 20+ years in TV... and all by chance.

And changing the subject slightly, the news of his death is something else that made me realise how big the age difference between me and my sister  really is.  My brother is 3 and a half years younger than me, my sister seven years younger.  Now we are all allegedly adults that age difference is no big deal.  

But then I said to her on Sunday that Tony Hart died.  And she didn't know who he was.  (and talking to her just now she remembers me talking about Jim'll Fix It recently but not the show).  Obviously those seven years do make more of a difference than I realised.   Oh and I can't comment on my brother as I haven't spoken to him.  Because both shows (and both men really) were such a huge iconic part of my childhood... but not of hers.   And I can't help feeling she missed out.

Rest In Peace, Mr Hart.

15.10.1929 - 18.01.2009