{"id":20872,"date":"2022-11-03T11:34:30","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T10:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=125349"},"modified":"2022-11-03T11:49:16","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T10:49:16","slug":"john-craven-childrens-hour-instilled-in-me-a-passion-for-the-countryside","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/john-craven-childrens-hour-instilled-in-me-a-passion-for-the-countryside\/","title":{"rendered":"John Craven: Children\u2019s Hour instilled in me a passion for the countryside"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By John Craven\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 03 November 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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As the BBC celebrates its centenary, I\u2019m proud to say that, for just over half its existence, I have been a very small cog in its huge and all-encompassing wheel. But it has been part of my life for much longer \u2013 ever since, as a nine-year-old city kid, it first kindled my interest in wildlife and the countryside by taking me \u2018Wandering with Nomad\u2019.<\/p>\n

Let us go back to the late 1940s when the wireless dominated the airwaves and the friendly and so-knowledgeable Nomad opened my eyes to nature. I was sitting by the valve-operated set in our Leeds kitchen and he was speaking to me not, as I thought, from somewhere in the outdoors but from a studio in Manchester with lots of sound effects.<\/p>\n

More related content:<\/p>\n

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Ellie Harrison: I\u2019ve come to realise I am not a foodie<\/a><\/li>\n
Where is Countryfile visiting this week and what time is it on BBC1?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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$\""Countryfile\"$ <\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>
Nomad \u2013 the writer and naturalist Norman Ellison<\/a> \u2013 was one of the stars of BBC Children\u2019s Hour<\/a>, listened to avidly by millions of youngsters at 5pm every night on the BBC Home Service until it was killed off by television in 1964. Such is the magic and intimacy of radio that when I switched on Wandering with Nomad, the great man and his young nephew Dick were completely real to me.<\/p>\n
When they paused on their rambles to reveal their findings, be it a swarm of black ants or a seed pearl in a mussel on the seashore, how much I wanted to be Dick. Their descriptions fired my imagination and were totally compelling.<\/p>
This strong relationship between children and broadcasters goes back to the very beginnings in the 1920s, when the BBC edict was that \u201cchildren should be encouraged to be kind to animals and conserve the natural environment\u201d. Kathleen Garscadden (Aunty Kathleen to her young listeners) recalled saying \u201chello\u201d to whoever was tuned in and then reading them a story about butterflies<\/a>. Somewhere, a little boy was spellbound when, as she spoke, a butterfly suddenly flew out of the horn-shaped speaker. \u201cHe wrote thanking me for the butterfly,\u201d Kathleen told me years later. \u201cHe really believed it, and who could blame him?\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 1930s, the corporation\u2019s first wildlife presenter was a Children\u2019s Hour favourite called George Bramwell Evens, alias Romany<\/a>. In Out with Romany, he seemingly drove his horse-drawn caravan around country lanes, with his dog Raq, and inspired young listeners such as David Attenborough.<\/p>\n
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