For those of you outside of the UK you may not recognise Sooty and Sweep
Sooty (the orange bear) is 75 years old, he's entertained children (and adults) for generations . He's a magician and very naughty. His buddy Sweep (a dog with floppy ears) is 66 and is also very naughty !
Our Sooty is 37, we won him in a charity auction on Radio Trent back in December 1986 when they were raising money for Children's charities. I think we paid £25 for him, which was a substantial amount back in the day !
Much like the original Sooty, he entertained our daughters when they were little.
He's now popular with Willow and Alfie our Grandchildren. He gets pushed around in a buggy and has been known to get some attention from Elsie our whippet dog.
Sooty and Sweep sometimes have chats with Willow and Alfie. I put on a squeaky voice and have quite sensible dialogs with Willow, "What's your name?" , "do you like Frozen?" "Who's your friend at Pre-School" "Do you like sweets?"...you get the idea. I have to remember that Sootty cannot speak , so I have to ask questions on his behalf, albeit in a falsetto voice !
Anyway, Vintage Helios 58mm 44-2 Russian lens, older than our Sooty , younger than the original Sooty , shot wide open at f2 on my Sony A6000.
The bokeh is fabulous and is just stating to swirl .
I can remember going to see Harry Corbett and Sooty and Sweep as a little girl. I had the Sooty puppet. I can remember being fascinated by Sue the Panda at the show. I think it must have been in Bradford!
When we lived in Leeds I worked with a charity that worked with the elderly. Part of my role was 1 to 1 visits. One lady who was in her 90s was very proud of the beautiful kitchen her late husband had built by hand - he was the set designer and builder for sooty and sweep and lots were made in the basement of their terrace house.
@casablanca Her best story was of her quiet way of showing hubby who was boss - one teatime he said when she'd brought some cakes out 'same old buns is it', she then didn't make him any buns for a year. He never suggested they were the same old buns after that
A blast from the past! I remember Sooty, Sweep & Harry Corbett of course. Can just imagine how Willow & Alfie love you pretending to be the voices! It’s what you do as a grandparent though! I must say Sooty & Sweep both look in very good nic…..they have a good home!
@newbank@casablanca Newbank , Casa, I'm pleased our "Sooty and Sweep" can evoke such happy memories and chat between you both , I suppose that's the magic of photography , a photo can connect with us ...even some 30+ years old glove puppets photographed by a 50+ years old lens 😀❤️
Sooty and Sweep are very cute and they don't look their age :-)
@rjb71 Thanks Richard , Sweep is quite high tech , he has a squeaker inside his body !!
@corinnec Corinne all our toys are much loved , we've recycled / rescued several from the loft that belonged to our daughters for Willow and Alfie !
@yorkshirekiwi I'm pleased our Sooty and Sweep were able to bring back a childhood memory for you Carole
@happypat they have had a good home for sure , in fact many of our old toys are in much loved condition :)
@jamibann Issi pleased you like Sooty and Sweep , it's difficult not to smile
@boxplayer still working and working their magic too Box'
@christinav thank you Christina , they reach far across the globe
@kjarn awww thank you Kathy
@dide that's food to know Dianne
@beryl thanks beryl , yes we are lucky to have so much time with Willow and Alfie
@rensala great memories indeed , Renee , thank you for your words of support
@marlboromaam thanks Mags they are iconic glove puppets in the UK