Bertie and his magic anorak — one panto that hasn’t long to run

HE was a hard-working boy, Bertie, but dull. As an apprentice he was reliable, always willing to agree with others.

But as the years went by, his master the Sorcerer sometimes despaired that Bertie would ever make the grade.

He never seemed to be able to capture the spells the harder he tried to pronounce them, the more likely he was to turn frogs into lizards, or bananas, or anything except the princes the Sorcerer liked to create from time to time.