Posts

50 Years of Grasshopper Island

Image
  2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Grasshopper Island! It was this grand milestone that led us to put together our brand new little blog - Grasshopper Island News .  It seems appropriate to mark the occasion and remember fondly the adventures of Smarty, Toughy and Mouse. We hope our blog will bring back happy memories for 'elderly boys' and girls wherever you may be. And moreover, we hope our blog can introduce curious new potential fans to this wonderful tale. The blog has been created by Uli and Chris after we realised that we shared a great fondness for the show, and indeed for times long since passed. And we think Grasshopper Island is deserving of a digital home on the internet. We hope that you will join us in celebrating the occasion and follow our blog, where over time we will share some wonderful - never seen publicly before -  facts, tidbits, photos and footage from the production all those years ago! We are honoured and fortunate indeed to have the supp

A Mystery Lifeboat

Image
It's hard to conceive that 51 years have passed since Smarty, Toughy and Mouse searched the docklands for a boat. As luck would have it, they eventually found one captained by a flamboyant character who came to be known as The Elderly Boy.  Now I have more than a passing interest in seafaring. I have always been fascinated with boats. When watching the TV episode where the boys board the boat for the first time, I always found myself admiring this lovely craft with the wooden deck-house and brass fittings. A lifeboat you say?  During the many lock-downs of 2021, I found time to revisit the TV series again. I had asked my friend Uli to mention the lifeboat to Joy Whitby, should he write to her again. I thought it might be very interesting to discover the name. The news soon came back that unfortunately Joy could not recall the name of the boat. Furthermore, with the passage of time, those who might have recorded it in some written form for posterity are no longer with us. Happily Jo

Birthday Wishes!

Image
We would like to wish Joy a wonderful birthday! From good friends and true, from old friends and new, may good luck go with you and happiness too!  - Uli and Chris  

The Little House - Artwork

Image
Here is a wonderful sketch that was made by a young man who happens to be the son of Frank Muir. Frank Muir played the part of nasty Dr. Hopper in the final episodes of the series. The sketch was created on location in Corsica in 1970 and is a detailed study of the "Little House" within which the boys created their home. We are told that the house was a real building which existed near Monticello and possibly still exists to this day! We are delighted to receive a picture of this wonderful artwork which was sent to us by Lucy, a dedicated Grasshopper Island fan and granddaughter of Joy Whitby. The young artist signed it "PJ Muir" and can only have been a teenager himself when he completed this wonderful sketch. The original sketch was gifted to Joy and her family after the production. We are delighted to include it on our blog! We feel very privileged indeed! If you are the artist or know anything else about this wonderful little building - we would love for you to

Beaches

Image
Well it's that time of year again. School has finished and kids everywhere dream of fun in the sun with perhaps a trip to a faraway beach for a dip in the sea. Just like Smarty, Toughy and Mouse did all those years ago. With travel still restricted for most of us, we thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the sunny and sandy locations that our trio of adventurers found themselves back in 1970 !  School's out for Summer! Part of the fun of researching Grasshopper Island is discovering some of the little known facts relating to the TV series and the book that accompanied it. One of my favourite scenes is from Episode 2 "The Elderly Boy", when after some time at sea, our bewildered sailors arrive at "an uninhabited island" for the first time. There they are shown climbing great golden sand dunes. There is nothing quite like that feeling as a boy of  spying a giant sand mountain and realising that it is there to be conquered ! Even if with hindsight

Summer Holidays

Image
 Schools are Out ! Wishing a safe and happy summer full of adventure to all !

What became of the musical trunk?

Image
    Above: A page revealing the trunk in the 1971 book and a clip from the TV series I suppose as a grown up, part of the attraction with the story of Smarty, Toughy and Mouse is printed right there at the top of page 15 of my 1971 Armada edition of Grasshopper Island: "Most people try to escape at some time or another"  It's certainly a relatable statement for those of us who dream of escaping the toils of life, the proverbial daily grind. And if we are lucky, we do get to escape at some time or another for a vacation. But when we pack our belongings in preparation for our travels, it is highly unlikely that we pop to the attic, and fetch our very own musical trunk! Unlike Toughy, Smarty and Mouse - we are left with no choice but to pack that  unwieldy  gramophone (should we wish to have music on arrival). And so it was one dreary afternoon that I found myself wondering about the trunk that featured so prominently in the book and TV series. " Imagine",  I thoug

Herzlich Willkommen zum neuen Blog der Grashüpfer-Insel.

Nachdem unsere Homepage schon etwa ein Jahr aktiv ist, kommt nun endlich auch unser Blog an den Start. Hurrah. Warum ein Blog? In diesem Jahr ist es 50 Jahre her, dass die Serie im Englischen Fernsehen ausgestrahlt wurde. (In Deutschland 1972) Nach all diesen Jahren gibt es weltweit immer noch eine große Fangemeinde unserer Geschichte, und neue Fans kommen stetig hinzu, wie ich aus Gesprächen mit der Autorin Joy Whitby erfahren habe. Die Geschichte der drei Brüder, die von zu Hause ausreißen um eine unbewohnte Insel zu finden, ist zeitlos und wunderschön. Als Kind war ich von der Geschichte begeistert, und bin es auch heute noch, und so wie ich, haben im Laufe der Jahre unzählige Fans dieses Abenteuers Joy Whitby kontaktiert, und ihre Erinnerungen geschildert. Mit diesem Blog haben nun alle Freunde der Grashüpfer-Insel eine Gelegenheit selber Teil dieser Geschichte zu werden. Allen, die unsere Homepage noch nicht kennen, empfehle ich diese zunächst zu besuchen. Sie ist bewusst nur in E