Are you sitting comfortably?

Climate change is clearly the bandwagon to be on at the moment. The new green-blue Tories (what colour of the political spectrum does that make them - aquamarine?) have muscled their way on board, the media is transmitting the message on all channels, and even celebrities like Thandie Newton are climbing aboard. To my knowledge, we haven't got Jimmy Carr yet but he pops up on everything else so it's only a matter of time. However, one man I perhaps never expected to hear from on the subject was Mr Bagpuss himself, Oliver Postgate. For those who aren't of a certain age, he's the creator of the aforementioned soft furry sag puss and several other kids' shows. Apart from the odd appearance on nostaglia shows, little has been heard from him since the 1970s. But then an advert appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday laying out his climate agenda, although with the headline, 'There is a serious gas leak', it looked more like a product recall announcement than an environmental statement. He's all for taking steps to sort the problem out you'll be pleased to hear, advocating energy rationing, vastly reduced food miles and the like. Mr Postgate doesn't mince his words though and reading the bare thoughts of a man more often associated with pushing stuffed toys around in front of a camera is a shock to the system. It's unlikely that Professor Yaffle had a hand in drafting the advert, but a quick glance at the Postgate website reveals he's been voicing his opinions on Iraq, Trident and the Bush problem for some time. If the way forward is to form a coalition of children's TV characters against oil wars and climate change, then I'm all for it. Mr Benn could be driving the political process, the residents of Camberwick Green would be leafleting in the street and as for a crack direct action team, who else but Rod, Jane and Freddy? The possibilities are endless but with Oliver doing his bit for the cause, suddenly the world seems a much happier place.