Western Morning News (Saturday)
‘Secret messages’ from bunny-hopping icon Gus
CELEBRATED television puppet Gus Honeybun was used to send out secret messages to the Westcountry’s gay community in the 1960s, when homosexuality was still illegal, it has been claimed.
Dr Alan Butler, co-director of Pride in Plymouth and Plymouth LGBT Archive coordinator, revealed that presenter Ian Stirling would use his appearances with Gus Honeybun on what was then Westward TV to send out coded messages to the LGBT+ community when usual methods of communication might have risked a backlash or even prosecution.
Gus Honeybun first hit the screens of Westward Television in 1961 and later Television South West. The puppet was a regular on screen from 1961 to December 1992.
The clips were filmed at Westward TSW’s Plymouth studios in Derry’s Cross and there were four different Gus Honeybun puppets. He was an icon of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s and every child in the South West wanted him to read out their birthday messages.
The fluffy bunny launched the careers of regional celebrities like Judi Spiers, David Fitzgerald and Ian Stirling.
But Dr Butler said as well as his conventional role, Ian Stirling – who died in 2005 – also used Gus as cover to pass on messages to gay adults.
“Kids would send in their birthdays and he would read them out. He used to press a magic button too, and that was all totally legit,” Dr Butler said.
“I must admit, because I’m old enough I had my birthday read out a couple of times. A few people I’ve interviewed have said ‘oh yes that was quite useful as a code for what was going on’. Plymouth had such an underground scene that people would send each other messages.
“One of the presenters, Ian Stirling, was a gay gentleman and he would say ‘Auntie Stella’. So a card from ‘Auntie Stella’ would kind of tell people where the party was happening, and things like that.
“Apparently there were all sorts of code words and names, things that signalled different people. It’s just a nice little story really to think that it was used in that way. Lots of young people didn’t realise that was going on at all.”
One of the owners of a radical bookshop, In Other Words, that shaped LBGT+ history, Gay Jones, used to operate the rabbit when she took up a temporary job at Television South West.
Gay said: “I was faintly astonished when the work started to involve being a ‘handler’ for Gus. Being from upcountry, I’d had no idea how famous he was and how much he meant to children all over the region.
“It was just quite funny sitting beside whoever was the anchor-person on that day, and pulling the strings and loops that operated this rabbit.
“But of course Ian Stirling was one of them; he was an absolute dear, and very funny, and I really enjoyed the times when he was on, but I had absolutely no idea that he was sending coded messages out to the gay locals! That was extraordinary and I’m still laughing about it.”
February marks LGBT+ History Month timed to coincide with the 2003 abolition of Section 28, an act introduced by Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1988, which banned local authorities from ‘promoting homosexuality’ or ‘pretended family relationships’ and was later overturned in 2003.
PLYMOUTH is to get a trailblazing, 150-passenger, all-electric ferry to connect the city to Cornwall.
Cornwall’s Voyager Boatyard has successfully bid for funding from the Government’s Innovate UK agency to design and build the e-Ferry, which will operate for up to 14 hours a day on a single charge.
The boat will become the flagship vessel on Plymouth Boat Trips’ Cremyll Ferry commuter route, between Plymouth and South East Cornwall.
The new vessel, currently in the design stage, follows the company’s successful conversion of a small, diesel work boat into e-Voyager, a fullyelectric, 12-passenger vessel, which was trialled in the waters around Plymouth in 2020.
The Innovate UK funding comes as part of UK Research and Innovation, which is investing up to £191million to fund single and collaborative research and development projects, via the Sustainable Innovation Fund, during the next two years.
The aim of these competitions is to help all sectors of the UK rebuild after the effects of Covid-19.
The team at Voyager Boatyard, in Millbrook, have taken full advantage of the quieter times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, to focus on the development of zero-carbon, fullyelectric propulsion systems for the
domestic passenger vessel and under-24m commercial workboat sector.
Project leader Andy Hurley said: “We have used the down time to apply for funding, that will enable us to further develop our zero-carbon agenda. Following the success of e-Voyager, we’re delighted to move to the next phase and, once again, lead the way towards a sustainable marine future with e-Ferry.”
The e-Ferry will be designed and built to effectively operate in congested waters, with strong tidal conditions, rough seas, and challenging berthing locations.
It will also include additional zerocarbon solutions such as photovoltaic panels or similar renewable energy sources.
Voyager Marine and Plymouth Boat Trips will be working with Solis Marine Engineering, a team of expert naval architects, to create a clean, hydrodynamically-efficient hull that maximises use of the stored energy available.
Both Plymouth City Council and
Cornwall County Council have established targets, to become carbon neutral by 2030 and plans are underway for charging points to be installed on Plymouth’s Barbican Landing Stage and other sites.
Cllr Mark Coker, cabinet member for strategic transport and infrastructure, said: “This is a fantastic project for the South West and we wholeheartedly endorse it.
“Economically, to see two South West-based companies combine to produce industry-leading technology does wonders for our marine sector in the city.”