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Click on any of the below images to download the theme music (zipped mp3)
Puddle Lane Stories by Sheila McCullagh
Puddle Lane was made by Yorkshire Television and was shown on Thursdays on ITV (12:10-12:25) from 1985 to 1989. It was short 15 minutes or so live acting episode with a story and a song towards the end. The Magician lived in the big house at the top of Puddle Lane where he practised his magic. He lived there with Toby the small Spell Dragon and Cauldron who sat by the fireplace. Aunt Flo was normally the only other live actor who appeared regularly in the show. From time to time Mr. Hooter the Owl and Snodgrass the snake would also make an appearance. The program was so popular with youngsters that it was turned into a series of books. Ladybird went on to produce a whole series of them which were coloured depending on the reading stage. Some of the titles include the following titles : Blue Covers (Reading Program Stage 1) - Tim Catchamouse, Jeremy's Ride, Tessa and the Magician, The Tale of the Tail, Toby Spelldragon and the Magician, A present for Aunt Matilda, The Flying Saucer, Mrs Pitter-Patter and the Magician, Poor Peter Tall: Green Covers (Reading Program Stage 2) - Danger Dragon, The Wideawake Mice go to Market, Never Trust Dragons, The Tidy Bird, When the Magic Stopped (clips from this episode shown below) : Not sure what cover Stage 3 as I have no books. Purple Covers (Reading Stage 4) - The Sandalwood Girl, On the Way to the Mountains : Red Covers (Reading Stage 5) - A Dragon in the Mountains, The Magician's Raindrops. Many more books followed in later series. Below is a few screen shots of this Little Gem of a tiny tots television program. Anyone having any more information, corrections etc. then please email at the usual address shown in the navigation bar at the top and bottom of the page.
Click here to see some of the books
Characters
 The Magician |
 Toby Spell Dragon |
 Aunt Flo |
 Mr. Hooter |
 Snodgrass the Snake |
 Cauldron |
The puddle of magic where stories are to be found. A single finger touches the water and the story begins
For more powerful spells Cauldron is used to mix ingredients
Below is a list of all the Puddle Lane episodes (Many thanks to Robert Fairbanks for all the hard work in collating this information)
| Season 1 (1985-1986) | |
| 1 The Magic Box | 03/10/1985 |
| 2 Old Mr Gotobed | 10/10/1985 |
| 3 The Vanishing Mother | 17/10/1985 |
| 4 The Little Monster | 24/10/1985 |
| 5 Tim Catchamouse | 31/10/1985 |
| 6 Tessa And The Magician | 07/11/1985 |
| 7 Tessa In Puddle Lane | 14/11/1985 |
| 8 When The Magic Stopped | 21/11/1985 |
| 9 Mrs Pitter Patter And The Magician | 28/11/1985 |
| 10 Tim Turns Green | 05/12/1985 |
| 11 The Flying Saucer | 12/12/1985 |
| 12 Tale Of A Tail | 19/12/1985 |
| 13 The Griffle And Mr Gotobed | 30/01/1986 |
| 14 The Wideawake Mice | 06/02/1986 |
| 15 Jeremy Mouse And Mr Puffle | 13/02/1986 |
| 16 The Story Of Hickory Mouse | 20/02/1986 |
| 17 The Gruffle | 27/02/1986 |
| 18 The Gruffle In Puddle Lane | 06/03/1986 |
| 19 The Dragon’s Egg | 13/03/1986 |
| 20 Tom Cat And The Wideawake Mice | 20/03/1986 |
| 21 Unknown Title | 27/03/1986 |
| 22 Look Out Its Magic | 03/04/1986 |
| 23 The Magician’s Party | 10/04/1986 |
| 24 Unknown Title | 17/04/1986 |
| 25 Unknown Title | 24/04/1986 |
| 26 Never Trust Dragons (Part 1) | 01/05/1986 |
| Series 2 (1986-1987) | |
| 27 Never Trust Dragons (Part 2) | 16/10/1986 |
| 28 The Magic Penny | 23/10/1986 |
| 29 When The Clock Struck Thirteen | 30/10/1986 |
| 30 The Iron Boy | 06/11/1986 |
| 31 The Sandalwood Girl | 13/11/1986 |
| 32 On The Back Of The Great Owl | 20/11/1986 |
| 33 The Magical Country Of Zorn | 27/11/1986 |
| 34 On The Way To The Blue Mountains | 04/12/1986 |
| 35 The Fire In The Grass | 11/12/1986 |
| 36 The Silver Ponies | 18/12/1986 |
| 37 The Silver River | 08/01/1987 |
| 38 The Way Through The Cave | 15/01/1987 |
| 39 The Tidy Bird | 22/01/1987 |
| 40 How Miranda Flew Down Puddle Lane | 29/01/1987 |
| 41 Two Green Ears | 05/02/1987 |
| 42 The Magician And Toby Spelldragon | 12/02/1987 |
| 43 Danger Dragon (Part 1) | 19/02/1987 |
| 44 Danger Dragon (Part 2) | 26/02/1987 |
| 45 The Wideawake Mice Find A New Home | 05/03/1987 |
| 46 The Wideawake Mice Go To Market | 12/03/1987 |
| 47 Magic Balloons (Part 1) | 19/03/1987 |
| 48 Magic Balloons (Part 2) | 26/03/1987 |
| 49 Jeremy’s Ride | 02/04/1987 |
| 50 A Present For Aunt Matilda | 09/04/1987 |
| 51 Mr Grimble Grumbles | 16/04/1987 |
| 52 Poor Peter Tall | 23/04/1987 |
| Series 3 (1987-1988) | |
| 53 A Dragon In The Mountains | 29/10/1987 |
| 54 The Fight With The Fire Dragon | 05/11/1987 |
| 55 The Magician’s Raindrops | 12/11/1987 |
| 56 Magic Raindrops In The Garden | 19/11/1987 |
| 57 Jennifer Jane’s Wishes | 26/11/1987 |
| 58 Three Wishes And One More | 03/12/1987 |
| 59 Adventure In The Wood | 10/12/1987 |
| 60 Escape From Danger | 17/12/1987 |
| 61 Christmas Special | 24/12/1987 |
| 62 Tim And Tessa Go Fishing | 31/12/1987 |
| 63 The Monster Loses His Beard | 07/01/1988 |
| 64 Mr Puffle And The Gruffle | 14/01/1988 |
| 65 Chestnut Sees Fathermouse | 21/01/1988 |
| 66 Magic Dust | 04/02/1988 |
| 67 Little Dragon Wakes Up | 11/02/1988 |
| 68 The Rescue Of Father And Mother Mouse | 18/02/1988 |
| 69 Tom Cat And The Little Dragon | 25/02/1988 |
| 70 Magic Silver Water | 03/03/1988 |
| 71 Magic At Midnight | 10/03/1988 |
| 72 A Visit To Grandmother | 24/03/1988 |
| 73 Danger In The Magician’s Garden | 31/03/1988 |
| 74 The Rescue Of Aunt Matilda | 07/04/1988 |
| 75 Peter Puffle’s Mouse | 14/04/1988 |
| 76 The Mouse And Mr Gotobed | 21/04/1988 |
| Series 4 (1988-1989) | |
| 77 The Magic Box | 06/10/1988 |
| 78 Tim Catchamouse | 13/10/1988 |
| 79 Tessa And The Magician | 20/10/1988 |
| 80 The Flying Saucer | 27/10/1988 |
| 81 Look Out Its Magic | 03/11/1988 |
| 82 Tim Turns Green | 10/11/1988 |
| 83 The Wideawake Mice | 17/11/1988 |
| 84 Tom Cat And The Wideawake Mice | 24/11/1988 |
| 85 Jeremy Mouse And Mr Puffle | 01/12/1988 |
| 86 How Miranda Flew Down Puddle Lane | 08/12/1988 |
| 87 The Wideawake Mice Find A New Home | 15/12/1988 |
| 88 A Present For Aunt Matilda | 05/01/1989 |
| 89 Jeremy’s Ride | 12/01/1989 |
| 90 The Magician And Tony Spelldragon | 19/01/1989 |
| 91 The Vanishing Monster | 26/01/1989 |
| 92 Two Green Ears | 02/02/1989 |
| 93 Tale Of A Tail | 09/02/1989 |
| 94 When The Magic Stopped | 16/02/1989 |
| 95 Tessa In Puddle Lane | 23/02/1989 |
| 96 The Wideawake Mice Go To Market | 02/03/1989 |
| 97 The Little Monster | 09/03/1989 |
| 98 The Gruffle | 16/03/1989 |
| 99 The Gruffle In Puddle Lane | 23/03/1989 |
| 100 The Dragon’s Egg | 30/03/1989 |
| 101 Never Trust Dragons | 06/04/1989 |
| 102 Danger Dragon | 13/04/1989 |
Credits
| The Magician | Neil Innes |
| Toby the Dragon and Puppets | Richard Robinson |
| Aunty Flo | Kate Lee |
| Puddle Lane Stories | Sheila McCullagh |
| Told By | Kate Lee |
| Music | Neil Innes |
| Lyrics | Rick Vanes |
| Script writer | Rick Vanes |
| Research | Sally Wells |
| Executive Producer | Chris Jelley |
| Directors | David Turnbull and John Allen |
| Producer | Michael Harris |
