A BUDDING young writer from Andover is delighted to have won a competition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bagpuss.

On a visit to the Beaney Museum in Canterbury, Rose Hamilton-Smith was asked if she wanted to take part in a contest to mark the much-loved cat’s milestone.  

Being creative, Rose, who lives in Picket Twenty, jumped at the chance and wrote a full side of A4 paper with story about the Clangers building a spaceship for Bagpuss and taking him for tea.

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Rose and Charlotte with the trinket box (Image: Contributed) Charlotte Firmin, daughter of Bagpuss creator Peter Firmin, read through hundreds of entries in the Mischief at the Museum; 50 Years of Bagpuss Trail competition and chose Rose as the winner.

Dad Duncan said: “It is really cool, and Rose loved it. We didn’t think anything of it and then we got a call from the museum to say that Charlotte had read through all the entries and decided that Rose’s was the best.”

Rose, a pupil at Stockbridge Primary School, and her family, were then invited to a celebration event, where they got to meet Charlotte.

The 10-year-old, who is the youngest of seven, received a trinket box as her prize, hand-painted by Charlotte, with each side depicting a different part of Rose’s story, finished off with Rose’s name and signed by the artist.

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“I am really proud of her and her mum, Allison, is absolutely buzzing because she was a real Bagpuss fan,” Duncan said.

“Rose loves writing and drawing, like most children, she is pretty creative and always loves reading her books, especially Bagpuss and the Clangers.”

The trinket box was out on display but has now been wrapped away and put in a safe place so Rose can enjoy it for years to come.

Rose also received a host of Bagpuss goodies from the museum.