Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street?

Kids were asked that question, via television, for the first time on November 10, 1969.

I actually “met” Kermit in the spring of 1969 when he starred in Hey Cinderella on CBC television. The Canadian Sesame Street/Sesame Park (initially a hybrid of American and Canadian segments) aired from 1972 to 2001:

“In 1972, the bulk of Sesame Street’s content was licensed out to CBC Television, originally as five-minute interstitials during ‘commercial’ breaks. CBC then added live action and animated segments teaching about Canadian culture and French bilingualism, replacing segments on Spanish and American history on the original program. (Some Spanish segments still aired in Canada, although fewer in number). Most of the production of the Canadian segments took place in Winnipeg and Montreal. The American Sesame Street occasionally featured Canadian guests as well, such as Saskatchewan-born singer Buffy Sainte-Marie.

In 1981, the amount of Canadian content per show was increased to 30 minutes. In 1987, a series of specially made Canadian Muppet characters were introduced, including Basil the Bear, French-Canadian Louis the Otter, Dodi, a bush pilot, and Katie, a girl in a wheelchair.”

Early on, the influence of Sesame Street on children became apparent to me. On meeting one of my young American second cousins, he informed me of his exact address including street, city, country, continent, planet, place in the universe. I was impressed, and asked him (a pre-schooler) where he had learned all that. “Sesame Street” was his quick reply.

Check out this BBC piece on the 50th anniversary. As we don’t get HBO, I’ll have to wait until the 17th to watch the television special on PBS!

Who is your favourite Sesame Street character?

I have a soft spot for cookie monster – cookie! Why I count the raisins and chocolate chips in my cookies . . The fun thing about doing this is post has been spending time on the street. Including catching up on the sesame parodies, such as:

or

In celebration of things Sesame for 50th birthday party.

#ThisIsMyStreet = signpost for Sesame Street memories

Canadian content:

 

I’ve been listening and watching Tower of Song: a celebration of Leonard Cohen and his music on held on 6 November 2017 at the Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec.

I’ve been reading:

Bertie: The Complete Prince of Wales Mysteries by Peter Lovesey. I fell in love with Lovesey’s writings (ouch, the punishment) reading his Sergeant Cribb series in the 1970s and 1980s.

Solve-It-Yourself Mysteries: The Sherlock Holmes Case Book: Puzzle Your Way Through 10 Baffling New Cases, Dr. John Watson (and the Sherlock Holmes Museum)

My head is definitely in the Victorian Crime Era! Withdrawal from The Murdoch Mysteries/The Artful Detective. No HBO or Ovation this year.