Balamory - Mysteries With P.C. Plum (DVD)

Balamory is the latest of Harry's favourite TV programmes. We have a nice little routine in the mornings of eating our breakfast and watching a few of our favourite shows, and Balamory has now been added to that list. When it was on a while ago, he didn't pay it much attention to it, but lately the fun songs and colourful pictures and scenery really appeals to him so when we saw this DVD called Balamory: Mysteries with PC Plum, in Woolworths, we ...
...television.

Balamory is made by BBC Scotland, and is set on the fictional island of Balamory. It is actually filmed on the island of Tobermory in Scotland and features a colourful host of characters who live and work on the island. Each of the characters wears one colour and lives in a matching coloured house so that the children can easily identify them and start to learn their colours at the same time. Miss Hoolie is the main character ... more

Balamory is the latest of Harry's favourite TV programmes. We have a nice little routine in the mornings of eating our breakfast and watching a few of our favourite shows, and Balamory has now been added to that list. When it was on a while ago, he didn't pay it much attention to it, but lately the fun songs and colourful pictures and scenery really appeals to him so when we saw this DVD called Balamory: Mysteries with PC Plum, in Woolworths, we thought it'd be nice to put on for him when it isn't on the television.

Balamory is made by BBC Scotland, and is set on the fictional island of Balamory. It is actually filmed on the island of Tobermory in Scotland and features a colourful host of characters who live and work on the island. Each of the characters wears one colour and lives in a matching coloured house so that the children can easily identify them and start to learn their colours at the same time. Miss Hoolie is the main character in Balamory, lives in the green house, wears green and works at the Balamory nursery. She introduces each show and features in every episode. The other characters who live in Balamory are Archie the Inventor (pink), Josie Jump (yellow), Spencer the painter (orange), Penny Pocket (red) and Suzie Sweet (blue) run the cafe together, Edie McCreedie the bus driver (blue) and PC Plum (Police Uniform).

The use of these colours so prominently in the show ensure that the show is continually educational for your child and is fun to watch. The song at the start (the show's theme song) introduces each of the characters at their coloured home, so the learning starts straight away! Each episode starts meeting Miss Hoolie, but the rest depends on whether it is a "work day" i.e. everyone is at nursery or work or an "off day" where people are resting and having fun. So this reflects real life as well.

The DVD contains 4 episodes, each of which run for 20 minutes. Episode 1 is called "The Missing Scarecrow". Miss Hoolie's scarecrow which was guarding the vegetable patch has disappeared, and the birds have eaten all of the seeds. Edie sets off to ask PC Plum to investigate but he spills the beans about the missing scarecrow. They set of to Archie to ask him to help make a new scarecrow, and the children of Balamory nursery help build the new one to the song of "Dingle Dangle Scarecrow".

Episode 2 is The Sing-Along Machine. Miss Hoolie arrives at the nursery exhausted because of someone's singing through Balamory during the night. PC Plum also heard the noises during the night and investigates the sounds. His search leads him to Archie's new sing-along machine which is too loud for the small island. Spencer realises a new use for the machine and the children of the nursery enjoy singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" with their new machine.

The third episode is Litter Bug, and maybe my favourite of the four! The day is an off day, so Miss Hoolie has gone to the cafe to visit Penny Pocket and Suzie Sweet. They are annoyed because someone has been dropping litter outside their shop. PC Plum is called in to investigate, and he and Miss Hoolie look around Balamory for the Litter Bug. They diiscover who it is, and the children help clean up the island of Balamory.

The last episode is The Lost Voice. Poor old PC Plum has lost his voice, and when he needs to tell Edie about her bus causing a traffic jam, she doesn't understand him! So Josie Jump comes along to help PC Plum learn how to express himself without words, and teaches the children of Balamory nursery how to mime through the game Charades. I love this episode because it shows children you don't have to scream and shout to communicate, you can use your body to show your feelings too!

There is a nice variety of episodes on the DVD, and it really is a fun show for toddlers. It is very educational, teaching children throughout the 20 minutes about colours. There is a song in each episode which is sung by varying members which is "Which coloured house are we going to?", asking the children through song which house they are visiting, depending on their colour and person. The songs are catchy and fun, the characters are likeable and kind people, and both things make the show a fabulous one for toddlers. The lovely scenery of Tobermory makes a great backdrop for the show, and the beautiful harbour is really picturesque and relaxing!

The picture on the site shows the older style DVD, and my one is the newer style "Carry Me DVDs". These are a DVD box with a handle incorporated to make them more child-friendly, and Harry loves carrying his box around! You can see the box I have from the picture below. My DVD cost me just £5 in Woolworths, and is also on Amazon for £4.99, or Play.com for £3.99. The DVD runs for 56 minutes. For more information on the show, characters and other information, see the website www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/balamory. It's a great show for toddlers, featuring lots of fun, songs and laughter, all of which make it appealable and watchable for children. Harry always sings the opening bars of the main song, and its the first song he's ever sung, so thats how much he loves this show! Fantastic childrens entertainment and worth your fiver!

Thank you for reading. 

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