I went to a Richard Herring gig where he did a whole routine about that magpie rhyme

As he pointed out, it's very rare to see seven magpies all at once, but should you be lucky enough, all you're rewarded with is a secret never to be told which is a rubbish prize.

I was telling a friend about this recently but she had no clue what I was on about - too young ever to watch Magpie. (I watched it, but preferred Blue Peter. I understand that the cool kids preferred Magpie, but that was just the way it was. I also preferred Swap Shop to Tiswas and John Lewis over flowery wallpaper)

In the early 1980s I worked at Break in Sheringham. I worked at Rainbow but next door they had a house called Magpie, bought as part of a charity appeal from the TV programme. I wonder if it's still there?

Finally, does anyone else salute and say 'Good morning/afternoon Mr Magpie' when they see a magpie?

Posted By: Bravo win or die, Apr 29, 08:55:16