PARSLEY & MARGARET

Margaret went into hospital in 1967 to have their second child. Simon took this as an opportunity to rent a television set, his wife had insisted they weren’t getting one. Margaret and baby Tom returned home to Simon and the incessant chatter of TV ‘and we’ve never spoken since’. This, delivered with a wry smile.‘The Adventures of Parsley’ ran from 1970, it was their daughter Lucy’s favourite programme. An animation that chronicled the inhabitants of a magical walled garden and its eponymous gatekeeper, the lion. Lucy made several copies of the characters out of clay, including Parsley and Bayleaf, the gardener. Bayleaf has since lost his head but Parsley has maintained the same dignity he exhibited in the opening credits. A performance inspired by (and arguably superior to) Leo, the MGM lion.

10 Mar 2013