We at Old College are delighted to welcome you to the first of our Christmas Specials – The Tale Of The Cursed Hat. Finally we discover the truth behind the origins of the Professor’s unusual head gear.
Find out more about actor Paul Butterworth:
http://www.spotlight.com/3812-7830-2467
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0125348/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Make friends with Paul!
Lucy Brazier 
I loved seeing and hearing this story. What fun this must have been. See you next year!
Paul is always a delight to work with. So talented. See you in 2016, my friend!
LOVED this – although I am reading your Christmas posts while I sweat and swear thru’ the beastly summer season. Regardless, and despite the obvious dangers, I would like to order one of these charmed hats.
I have well enough of the other kind – for summer and winter both – but one with a charm to allow me to eat whatever I desire and remain slim and fit would be nice, along with a charm for dewy, unlined skin as the years advance. If it’s not too much to ask, might I also request a charm that strikes mute in my presence all those whose thinking is only of the shallowest and cruelest kind — before they can ruffle my countenance?
Before I go, I feel I must add that I have noticed that PorterGirl’s Diary contains a great deal of watching from the shadows, and here it is again in this charming – though hearbreaking – Christmas tale. Could it be that the misfortunate hat maker’s mother has found some kind of charm ensuring an unusually long life, and it is she? [Back to the Diary . . .]
xx,
mgh
Isn’t Paul wonderful in this? I could listen to him read stories all day. I loved writing this, it was almost like a fairytale. And charmed hats would be a dream come true! I would ask for a charm that enables me to fly – it has been something I have longed to do since I was very small. If there is such a charm to make those unpleasant people mute it should be sewn into every item of clothing across the planet! What a beautiful world it would be if only good things could be spoken.
You make a good point about the watching from the shadows, I do that a lot but hadn’t realised until you mentioned it. I think it has something to do with being on the outside, looking in. I am one of life’s observers, perhaps. Ooh I love how you pick up on these things! It makes me know myself a little better 🙂 xx
Yes he is! He is a born story-teller. I love the way he fills a pause and where he chooses to insert them – and the camera work was wonderful. The man certainly knows his craft!
I’d love to hear/watch him read some of Grimm’s fairy tales too. He would no doubt find nuance that would give them a freshness that would bring them to life in a new way – and his versions would be a welcomed break from the cartoons (at least for me – wasn’t crazy about most cartoons, even as a kid.)
YES -add flying to my list of charms too. I used to have flying dreams all the time when I was a kid – I sort of swam through the air. They seemed so real, I almost thought there might be a way I could figure out how to do it once I was awake.
Btw – I’ll bet most of your readers pick up on the little things – they’re just not as wordy as I in the comments. 🙂
xx,
mgh
I have a selection of short stories (about 2000 words each) that we have been planning to record for a long time but he has been working all over the place and our schedules don’t match up. They are quite dark, contemporary adult fairytales so very different to this. It’s a different type of humour and no happy endings – but kind of with a moral relating to modern life. I did put one up on here ages ago – Mondays Are Who You Really Are. I am dying for him to do them for me, I shall have to keep pestering!
There is no doubt that being able to fly would be super 🙂 xx
Tell Paul his online fans are clamoring for MORE! Your shorts would be wonderful, I have no doubt. Methinks you need a staff of worker bees to make the magic happen.
xx, mgh
I shall certainly tell him – he will LOVE that!! What we need is to clear a weekend where sleep is an after thought and just get on with it. Although I love the idea of staff 🙂 xx
Either that or a way to make time stand still for the rest of the world – giving those of us who need it extra time! (the only trouble with staff is finding the time to supervise – which is why God invented butlers, I suppose)
xx,
mgh
What I need is a time travelling Butler- that would solve everything! 😀 xx
The Dr. Who of Butlers! Order two, while you’re at it (in case you were wondering what I’d like for Christmas.) 🙂
xx, mgh
I shall pop a bow on him and send him over! Xx
Will he bring his Tardis? I’ve always wanted to see if it really IS bigger on the inside. xx, mgh