Moondial (Faber Children's Classics)

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Moondial is a British television six-part serial made for children by the BBC and transmitted in 1988, with a repeat in 1990. It was written by Helen Cresswell, who also wrote the 1987 novel on which the series was based. [1] [2] [3] [4] The west entrance to Belton House near Grantham in Lincolnshire, the setting for Moondial. Plot [ edit ] After meeting the mysterious and emotional Mr (Old) World (Arthur Hewlett) who talks of the heartache caused by hearing the cries of the children, trapped over at the house, across decades, Minty steps forward into the grounds of Belton House accepting the idea that she is key to reaching them. The moondial, for example, is the central device from which all the twists and turns of the story and furiously stoked, but do we ever find out how or why it does what it does? Like hell we do! Okay, there's a brief discussion between Minty and World about 'moontime', which attempts to broach the subject but this is sadly smothered by vague notions. And Miss Raven's appearance in the modern day is an exciting twist, but, D uring the 1970s and 1980s, children’s television drama was arguably at its height with both original and adapted material being brought to the screens during weekly tea-time on a consistent basis by both the BBC and ITV networks. Dramas where children took the centre stage and were given a platform to be equals to their adult counterparts and therefore subject to as much peril and tribulation within stories that didn’t shy away from hard-hitting subject matters and dealing with very real issues that were instantly relatable no matter how fanciful the setting. This magical, at times, harrowing, and engaging six-parter signalled an end of an era as the decade closed to allow the 1990s to begin where children’s drama would continue its shift for faster-paced viewing with less quiet tones. Colin Cant reflects upon this change of pace.

Moondial by Helen Cresswell | Waterstones

The series was produced by Paul Stone and directed by Colin Cant. Other cast members include Valerie Lush as Minty's aunt Mary, Arthur Hewlett as the elderly, mysterious Mr. World and Jacqueline Pearce in the dual role of the vicious Miss Vole (who seems to have lived in the 18th Century) and the present-day ghost hunter Miss Raven. More advanced moondials can include charts showing the exact calculations to get the correct time, as well as dials designed with latitude and longitude in mind. Jacqueline Pearce is the standout name amongst the guest cast, taking the dual role of Miss Raven and Miss Vole. Familiar to 1980s viewers of course as Servalan from Blake’s 7, Moondial represents one of the – sadly – few major roles that she would go on to take on. Cant would use her again in Dark Season, again as a villain, and it appears that she became somewhat typecast following her time as the Supreme Commander. It would have been interesting to have seen such a talented actress in a wider variety of roles. As Miss Raven, Pearce looks like and plays the part rather similarly to that of Servalan, but is never less than captivating. Miss Vole, is even worse – she is completely horrid to Sarah and the scenes in which Vole torments the girl shows of some of Pearce’s most effective ever acting.Moondialaired between Wednesday, 10th February 1988 and Wednesday, 16th March 1988 [4], on BBC One, closing the last part of Children’s BBC programming. It would be repeated, two years later, in the same slot with its last broadcast taking place on Wednesday, 13th June 1990 at 5:05 pm [5]. It also featured on the children’s television review and comments programme Take Two on Wednesday, 20th April 1988 at 4.30 pm [6], hosted by Philip Schofield and joined by executive producer, Paul Stone. I was baffled by it! I used to go in to see Paul (Stone, Executive Producer) and say, ‘What about this, who’s done that and why has this happened?’ and he eventually got fed up with me, and he said, ‘Look, why don’t you go up to Nottingham and talk to Helen (Cresswell) yourself’. So, I went up with a few sheets of A4 with all my questions on, had a nice lunch, and she obviously knew I was coming to ask her a few things and she launched into a chat about it and I came away thinking, ‘Oh I get it now!’ Almost by osmosis, I got the feel for what it was all about and I never got to ask her one of my questions!’ [1] Century Belton House sees a ghostly, shrouded, and hooded figure walk its gardens. This is Sarah (Helena Avellano), the third child in this story, who is hidden in the depths of Belton House by the oppressive and abusive Miss Vole (Jacqueline Pearce) – whose mirror image is, inexplicably, that of Miss Raven, a ghost hunter, who torments Minty in the present day with unspoken threats of finding the children. Sarah hides in shame and internal loathing and only dares venture out into the late night. Minty is staying with her Aunt Mary in a little cottage on the edge of an Crumpton Manor which is now always open to visitors. Minty has a mystic streak and realises there are unhappy ghosts who are trapped. With some aid from old Mr World she is drawn towards the moondial and decides to solve the mystery but she has to overcome many obstacles.

Moondial | Book reviews | RGfE - Reading Groups Moondial | Book reviews | RGfE - Reading Groups

Children growing up in the 1980s had a superb roster of drama presented to them. The BBC, in particular, seemed to be experts at crafting engaging, thought-provoking stories that kept viewers entertained for up to six weeks at a time. The corporation was able to call on all of the talents and resources that any of the adult dramas were allocated, from composers to visual effects, from set designers to costume designers, to produce some truly memorable programmes. When Minty is taken by her mother, Kate, to stay with her aunt in Belton, she has no reservations. Living with a mum who is so busy with work that her daughter is almost independent, Minty sees this trip as an adventure of sorts and hopes that something exciting will happen when she explores the grounds of Belton House: a stately home which he aunt lives across home. Perhaps she'll see ghosts! David Ferguson’s theme tune and score is wonderfully ethereal, and he would go on to become a regular collaborator of director Colin Cant, the pair later working together on The Country Boy, Dark Season and Century Falls. Ferguson, unusually for BBC children’s productions of the time, wasn’t part of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and operated on a freelance basis but his work has a very similar feel to the best of the Workshop. His music sounds timeless, not suffering at all from sounding like it comes from the 1980s, and not sounding as if it was crafted on the usual synthesisers. It is one of the finest aspects of this production and deserves a wider audience. Sadly, Ferguson passed away in just his mid-50s, so listeners were denied hearing any more of his excellent, talented work. The children’s department had a pool of incredible talent to draw upon on, with names like Christine Secombe, Paul Stone and Colin Cant cropping up regularly throughout the decade. The latter two of these were involved in the creation of Moondial, a 1988 serial that concerned the tale of Minty, a young girl who finds herself drawn into a mysterious time-travelling adventure. In this period there seemed to be a proper drive not to talk down to children and to provide them with very high quality, thoughtful programming. Moondial was very much the final flurry of a very particularly and beloved strain of British children’s television that had mainly flourished in the seventies. There were attempts to revive it, some successful (Tom’s Midnight Garden and a couple of the Nesbit Five Children adaptations), some not (Archer’s Goon) and Century Falls (which as a child I recognised immediately as a cynical attempt to emulate this era and hated with a passion. But Moondial was the final masterpiece: strange, eerie, unsettling and genuinely spooky - and strangely far more so than the book that it was adapted from

Minty Cane believes she is a witch - not that you would notice to look at her - it's just that she is quite used to seeing phantoms floating about the place, and thinks it is perfectly normal. She's a pretty determined sort of person as well, which is just as well because when she goes to stay with her aunt in the village of Belton she soon senses that she has a task to do.

Moondial by Helen Cresswell book review | Yakbooks Moondial by Helen Cresswell book review | Yakbooks

In her autobiography, Helen wrote ‘I played with words as other children play with Lego’. Her play with words began with poetry at age 6, later producing around 100 children’s stories including Moondial. After becoming a teacher, she returned to writing in 1963. Helen wrote early in the morning, with a pot of tea beside her. She would sit on the floor and write in a large plain book, with ‘real pens and real ink’. When writing Moondial, as with other timeless fantasies, she used a white pen with sepia ink. After writing between 500 and 3,000 words, she would then type up her work, while it was fresh in her mind. Helen never edited the content once it was written.I have a vague recollection of being 7 years old, coming home from school and watching a terrfying kid's tv show in which a young girl with a birthmark on her face cannot look in a mirror for fear she'll summon the devil. I knew there was a sundial central to the story, but didn't know much else about it - and couldn't find anyone else who remembered it, until I met Alysa. A timeslip novel much akin to The Children of Green Knowe and An Enemy at Green Knowe, Moondial sees a young girl attempt to comes to grips with a sense of a place and those who inhabited it before. Her relationship with Tom and Sarah, children from other times, were engaging enough although I suspect a more fruitful exploration would have come across in the T.V. version (for which the idea was also conceived.) Helen Cresswell continued the writing duties for the TV adaptation having previously written scripts for The Bagthorpe Saga and The Secret World of Polly Flint. Keen to continue in the world of telefantasy, Cresswell also went on to script Five Children and It, The Return of the Psammead, The Demon Headmaster and The Phoenix and the Carpet. Directing Moondial was Colin Cant who had previously directed the equally spooky The Children of Green Knowe and later found himself in the director's chair for Russell T Davies' early, mysterious offerings of Dark Season and Century Falls. Moondial’ (1988) is available on DVD from Second Sight Films, originally released 4 May 2015. BBFC classification PG. Running time 158 mins. Catalogue no. 2NDVD3274. Ariminta (Minty) Cane, reluctantly separated from her mother, stays with her Aunt Mary (Valerie Lush) in Belton, Lincolnshire and it isn’t long before the curiosity of the nearby Belton House and its mysterious Sundial leads her to cross the threshold of time and encounters ghostly presences who appear to be caught in the trappings of life as much as she is.

Moondial (1988) – Horrified Ghosts In Time: revisiting Moondial (1988) – Horrified

Minty is played by Siri Neil. Although Minty is supposed to be just thirteen years old, Neil is evidently a touch older than this. She’s hauntingly attractive and exactly the right sort of actress for this part, doing a terrific job in what was her first professional acting role. Neal has a confidence here that isn’t always seen in child actors, and is completely believable. Following Moondial, she went on to appear in a number minor roles in other television series and could have been a much bigger star than she ultimately became as her potential clearly stands out here. Unfortunately for viewers, she later retired from acting and moved on to a new stage of her life. Virtually the entire story rests on Neil’s shoulders – a big task for such a young actress – but she copes admirably. Tony Sands takes the supporting role of Tom, and is another really good performer who seems to have disappeared from the acting scene. The character of Old World is played by Arthur Hewlett, an actor who seemed to make a career out of playing elderly men. World is a wise old chap who seems to be partially psychic and is able to guide Minty in her investigations, imparting vital clues along the way. He believes that he sees and hears glimpses of the children from the past, and represents a link to the older time. ‘Moondial’ (1988) Photo: BBC/Second Sight Films When I was younger, that is to say, younger than I am now (11), this was one of my favourite books of all time. Now, I have 3: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Pride and Prejudice. I have always been a keen reader, so, when I was...7 or 8?...I read Moondial for the first time. Led on to the sundial, upon a strangely symmetrical journey resembling that of her dream which opens this six-part serial – and accompanied by the late David Ferguson’s magnificent score – Minty discovers its powers to be that of not just ‘apparent-time’ but also that of ‘moon-time’ and the dial spins her on course to the 19th Century where she meets a fellow time-traveller, a boy called Tom ‘short for Edward’ (Tony Sands). Minty (Siri Neal), is a gifted child who can sense things that many cannot (this is subtlety alluded to during the opening of episode one much like the opening paragraphs of the novel although the adaptation omits the dark notion of Minty sensing a past act of suicide on the landing in her own home and realised her ability when she could hear her father’s voice even though he is dead). Neal gives Minty a rather fearless and unconventional quality to her character along with an incredibly real vulnerability having already lost a parent and is now facing the very real threat of losing the other.The BBC made a children’s television programme of Moondial with Helen Cresswell writing the script. Her method had been to write the book first and to keep the television script faithful to the book. The six episodes were filmed at Belton House and village, with local children taking part. The series was broadcast from February to March 1988 and was repeated in 1990. A DVD of the series can still be obtained. The book is short, and the plot is simple, but it's a beautifully mysterious and atmospheric read, with a big dollop of nostalgia in it for me. Belton is a real house, and the Moondial of the story is a real thing in the grounds, so I think one day I'm going to have to visit and see it.