The Woofits
Encyclopedia
The Woofits were a series of childrens books written in the 1980s by the British
television and radio personality Michael Parkinson
, best known for his TV chat shows.
The stories featured the Woofits a family of anthropomorphic dog-like creatures who lived in the fictional Yorkshire
coal mining
village of Grimeworth (based on the real life Cudworth
where Parkinson was born and nearby village of Grimethorpe
).
In addition there were Woofit Annuals for the years 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.
In some of the annuals the setting for the stories was moved from Grimeworth to Batley
in West Yorkshire
where the Woofits worked at a woollen mill
and were of Scottish
origin.
made two series of Woofits cartoons to be shown on ITV's
lunchtime slot for young children based on the original stories and new stories with Michael Parkinson narrating them.
Number 8
Number 10
Number 12
Other characters included Baskerville Woofit (editor of the Daily Woofit), Cluff Woofit (manager of the local football team) and local policeman Sargeant Cox.
(RIDBC).
Parkinson has a great affection for Australia - and cricket - but many people may not realise his generous regard and support for the Institute. Michael began supporting the Institute during his visits to Australia in the early 1980s.
In 1983, he created a mascot for the Institute known as "Rockie Woofit", an Australian version of his successful UK characters, "The Woofits", which featured in his children's television series and books.
Rockie was an instant hit, and made numerous appearances on behalf of the Institute at public functions.
Although Rockie has now retired from public appearances, his spirit lives on at the Rockie Woofit Preschool - where Michael and Mary met children with hearing impairment, and their teachers.
Michael Parkinson has continued his relationship with the Institute over many years, and remains a very generous supporter of its services.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television and radio personality Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
, best known for his TV chat shows.
The stories featured the Woofits a family of anthropomorphic dog-like creatures who lived in the fictional Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
village of Grimeworth (based on the real life Cudworth
Cudworth, South Yorkshire
Cudworth is a semi-rural village on the outskirts of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Cudworth has a busy village centre surrounded by some housing and green belt countryside...
where Parkinson was born and nearby village of Grimethorpe
Grimethorpe
Grimethorpe is a large village which is part of the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,873....
).
Books
The four original books published in 1980 were- The Woofits Day Out
- The Woofits Play Cricket
- The Woofits Play Football
- The Daily Woofit
In addition there were Woofit Annuals for the years 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.
In some of the annuals the setting for the stories was moved from Grimeworth to Batley
Batley
Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies southeast of Bradford, southwest of Leeds and north of Dewsbury, near the M62 motorway. It has a population of 49,448 . Other nearby towns include Morley to the northeast, Ossett to the southeast...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
where the Woofits worked at a woollen mill
Textile manufacturing
Textile manufacturing is a major industry. It is based in the conversion of three types of fibre into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. These are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. Cotton remains the most important natural fibre, so is treated in depth...
and were of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
origin.
Television
In 1981 Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
made two series of Woofits cartoons to be shown on ITV's
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
lunchtime slot for young children based on the original stories and new stories with Michael Parkinson narrating them.
- Series 1: 6 episodes - 30 April 1981 - 04 June 1981
- Series 2: 12 episodes -11 February 1982 - 29 April 1982
Characters
The main members of the Woofit family lived in 3 terraced houses along Grimeworth Street, Grimeworth these were -Number 8
- Grandpa Ironside and Grandma Emily, the heads of the family
Number 10
- Uncle Athelstone, miner, gardener and bandleader of Grimeworth Colliery brass bandBrass bandA brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
- Uncle Gaylord, Athelstone's brother a football poolsFootball poolsA football pool, often collectively referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of top-level association football matches set to take place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, with the potential to win huge money. Entries were traditionally...
winner who considered himself posh.
Number 12
- John Willy Woofit, son of Ironside and coal miner and played the trombone in the brass band
- Lavina, wife of John Willy
- Elton, son of Lavinia and John Willy, dreamed of being a pop starPop Star"Pop Star" is a 2005 single from Japanese singer Ken Hirai. The single went on to top the 2005 Oricon Charts and is known for its remarkable music video, featuring Ken in seven different personas, including a raccoon and his own manager. The Video also helped Ken break into the US and Canadian...
. - Angela, sister of Elton who had ambitions to be a TV newsreader
- Elton's pet dog Gershwin
Other characters included Baskerville Woofit (editor of the Daily Woofit), Cluff Woofit (manager of the local football team) and local policeman Sargeant Cox.
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
Michael Parkinson, and his wife Mary recently paid a visit to their favourite charity in Sydney, Australia, the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind ChildrenRoyal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Sydney provides a range of educational services for students with vision and/or hearing impairment, including specialist schools for signing deaf students, oral deaf students, and students with sensory and intellectual disabilities.RIDBC offers...
(RIDBC).
Parkinson has a great affection for Australia - and cricket - but many people may not realise his generous regard and support for the Institute. Michael began supporting the Institute during his visits to Australia in the early 1980s.
In 1983, he created a mascot for the Institute known as "Rockie Woofit", an Australian version of his successful UK characters, "The Woofits", which featured in his children's television series and books.
Rockie was an instant hit, and made numerous appearances on behalf of the Institute at public functions.
Although Rockie has now retired from public appearances, his spirit lives on at the Rockie Woofit Preschool - where Michael and Mary met children with hearing impairment, and their teachers.
Michael Parkinson has continued his relationship with the Institute over many years, and remains a very generous supporter of its services.