Heggerty Haggerty

Heggerty Haggerty

by Elizabeth Lindsey

A collection of Heggerty Haggerty stories, as well as puzzles and games. Introduced by George Cole, who narrated the television show.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heggerty Haggerty is a witch, but a very kind and thoughtful witch who only practices good magic. She lives in the wood with naughty Broomstick and sleepy Blackcat.
Heggerty Haggerty spends most of her time correcting the mistakes Broomstick makes when he meddles in the Book of Spells; and their encounters with a gigantic marrow that's growing by the minute, a real-live dinosaur, a whirlwind, a storm at sea and a burglar keep her very busy!
These stories plus the exciting activity pages will give hours of fun.

Published "exclusively for Marks and Spencer p.l.c." in 1985, this hardback sports a cover without the author or the illustrator listed, but "Introduction by George Cole" given. I didn't know who George Cole was, even with his publicity head shot on the back cover of this book. (He's an actor, and also unsurprisingly was the narrator for the Heggerty Haggerty TV series, a Yorkshire TV production). For the record, it's written by Elizabeth Lindsay and was illustrated by a Peter Rush (and hopefully this links to the correct man).

Seeing as George Cole is the headliner here, I'd better give his intro. It pretty much gives the entire plotline of each of the short stories within anyway.

HELLO! Here are five stories about the witch Heggerty Haggerty, Broomstick and Blackcat, who live in a cottage in the wood. Broomstick is a rather meddlesome broomstick, and when the magic he is playing with is real magic, you can imagine the trouble he causes . . .
During the summer months, there are many fetes organized in the village, and Broomstick managed to cause chaos at the two you'll read about here. He didn't want to see another vegetable for a long time after his encounter with the magic marrow, but his trickery at the archery competition made everyone glad of his meddling for a change!
Goodness! It was a hot enough day for a sunhat when my three friends took a trip to the seaside. But the weather took a turn for the worse, and you'll read about an adventure on the high seas. Even Blackcat was wide awake!
When autumn arrived, Broomstick decided to hunt for treasure, and he certainly dug up more than a few old bones! I bet you didn't know that dinosaurs have an appetite for a good, tasty encyclopedia.
Later in the year, when Heggerty Haggerty was having difficulty in drying her washing, Broomstick decided to help her out by consulting her Book of Spells - with the usual consequences . . .
Well, I've given enough secrets away. Why don't you read about them yourself now . . .
(signed George Cole)

Farmer Giles is a feature in each of these stories, so I felt he ought to have gotten a mention here (weirdly, I thought he was the best character, and the most likeable, too. I think he's in love with Heggerty Haggerty, judging by his gentle helpfulness and constant companionship. But that's reading into this an awful lot).

Each of these stories is exactly the same. Heggerty Haggerty tries to get something reasonable accomplished (the washing, competing in an archery competition, a picnic at the seaside, etc.), and Broomstick is bored and underwhelmed, so he decides to cast a bigger spell than Heggerty Haggerty has done, or a different one, or make magic fertilizer for a unimpressive marrow at the village's marrow growing competition, etc., and it goes disasterously, amusingly wrong. Heggerty Haggerty yells at Broomstick, casts a reversal or similar, and then all is well again.

It's pretty flimsy, and I can only assume that the TV series was mildly endearing, because the book as it is was fairly weak. It's a 2.5 rounded up, because I like obscure vintage children's books, and I especially like them based in Yorkshire, like these are (but in no obviously identifiable location - except perhaps Saltburn Pier, but it's not mentioned by name).

Also, "who live in a cottage in the wood". It doesn't look like a wood to me, and Farmer Giles is next door, so that was a bit confusing. I like that they all drank rum after being rescued by the lifeboat crew:

He purred even louder when one of the lifeboat men gave him a cup of milk with some rum in it. He put his head in the cup and lapped hard. Heggerty Haggerty had a tot of rum as well.
"Very reviving," she said. "Just what the doctor ordered."
"How about you, Broomstick, me lad?" grinned Farmer Giles. Broomstick tried some. It made him cough.
"It's horrid," he said. "Just like medicine."

In terms of the 'hours of fun', you'd have to be a slow reader, rather crap at spot-the-hidden-item, and really stretch out a maze and a board game (snakes and ladders/chutes sort of deal, game pieces presumably not provided).

Probably an adorable book to have if you remember watching this show as a kid. Effort was put into it - even the end papers have activities. But the stories are very plain and can be all summarized as "Broomstick suffers ennui, is hasty, and consequently screws up everything". How he wasn't discarded or snapped up for firewood must be a result of the stated goodness of mild mannered Heggerty Haggerty, helpful village witch.

I'm just going to watch an episode now myself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Dhz...