‘The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse’

[Boatbuilder]

I don’t know if anybody has come across the book referred to in this topic’s title, but I hadn’t heard about it before the following, which happened five days before Christmas.

On the evening of 20th December, I was talking on the phone to one of my cousins in Somerset and at the same time my television was showing the BBC1 program ‘The One Show’ which I had muted. I don’t normally watch that program but as the news had just ended at 7-pm when my phone rang, I just muted the sound for convenience.

At about 7-20pm during my conversation, I just happened to glimpse across at the TV screen and they were showing a snippet of something that had been filmed outdoors and at that moment on the film was a bus stop sign which had on it “Carlton Colville Lowestoft Road opp Shaw Avenue”.

As can be seen in my profile alongside my posts I live in the village of Carlton Colville. I didn’t know what it was all about but mentioned something quickly to my cousin about it and picked up the Sky remote and quickly pressed ‘record’.

After we had finished our conversation I replayed that part of ‘The One Show’ and found that it was about the author of this book - Charlie Mackesy.

Although he is from the North East and apparently spends a lot of time in London, he also spends a considerable amount of time here in Suffolk where it would appear he does a lot of his work in a studio, presumably in our village which is where all the outdoor shots were filmed. In the program he placed a signed copy of the book in the bus shelter, so I am wondering who found it.

On Christmas Eve there were two programs on BBC TV. The first was on BBC2 at about 4-pm and was about Charlie Mackesy and the making of the book into a 30-minute animated film. This was followed by the animated film itself which was shown on BBC1.

For anyone who hasn't seen them and wishes to watch them, here are links to the two programs on the BBC iPlayer and which are available for the rest of 2023 (UK only).

Documentary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... rse-and-me

Animation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... -the-horse

I was glad I never turned the TV off that night when the phone rang and decided to buy the book from Amazon before the programs were shown. It was interesting to read the book at the same time as watching the animation and found it very enjoyable. There are two versions of the book – the original and one which follows the animation, which is the one I decided to buy.

I've also found this page on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... +the+horse


Screenshot from 'The One Show' BBCtv.


The animated story

[Moonraker]

An amazing coincidence, Boatbuilder. We watched the BBC adaptation of the book and loved it. It was beautifully animated and so seasonal. I'm sure it will become a staple of future Christmas television for years to come.

[Boodi 2]

Thanks John!

My husband received the book as a gift several years ago and we thought it was really lovely, both the illustrations and the sentiments expressed, so really interesting to learn about the author and his links to your area.

[Courtenay]

I bought the original book last year — from a Welsh bookshop in Caernarfon of all places, as they had both the English original and the Welsh translation, and Welsh is on my list of languages to learn (though I haven't got very far with it yet), and this is a lovely book that only uses very simple language, so it's a good one for reading with a parallel translation. I loved the story itself, too — well, there's not that much plot to it, just the boy and his animal friends learning about life and love and friendship as they journey through the wild, but it's just very sweet and gentle and heartwarming and I was happy to add it to my collection. So I was very intrigued when I heard about the animated version and I watched it on iPlayer after Christmas. It's just incredibly beautiful — I would say even better than the original book.

So I've now bought the book of the film ("The Animated Story") too! I'd recommend either version of the book, and especially the film, to people of all ages who'd enjoy a nice uplifting little story. Also interesting to hear the author has connections with your area, John BB. I hadn't heard of him before this particular book came out, but just last week when I was in London, I spotted a sculpture that really moved me — the father holding the prodigal son, outside Holy Trinity Brompton church — and it turned out the sculptor was Charlie Mackesy, whose name I instantly recognised! I hope the new film will become a Christmas staple as well — it deserves to be.

[Boatbuilder]

That's interesting about the statue, Courtenay. Did you not take a picture of it with your phone? I have just had a look on Google streetview but the roads around the church aren't that accessible on it. Just one small section which just goes into a small car park.

I just found this article from 2017 though: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainm ... y-audience Includes a video.

[Courtenay]

I did take a picture of it with my phone, but every picture uploading site I used to use gives me trouble these days for some reason, which is why I almost never post photos here!

Thanks for sharing that, John BB — very moving (particularly to me as a former agnostic who found faith some years ago) and interesting to know what Mackesy's background is. I would add, for anyone who hasn't read and/or watched it yet, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is suitable for people of any faith or no faith! I find it heartwarming to know what's behind it for the author, but you don't have to be a believer of any sort to appreciate the message of the story, which is why I hope it'll become a classic too.