I was waiting for a bus in front of a toy shop

In the pouring rain

The nearest window to me

Was celebrating television for children

In the Night Garden was prominent

And models of the characters

Were displayed in a colourful mock garden

Most were deeply uninteresting

But one appealed to me

As it was holding a red flag

A Communist perhaps

Or maybe a Socialist in exile

Its name was Iggle Piggle

Or so I was told by a passing hood

I stared at the creature through my wet glasses

But could not determine its gender or species

All I knew that during its life it had been terribly brave

And had been forced to go into exile in the Night Garden

My grandfather had fought in Spain

And my father in the last war

They were fighting the fascists

Who were threatening to take over the free world

I wondered if they had ever met Iggle Piggle

Before he was hunted down and forced into exile

It is said that the creature became disillusioned

In later years when the truth about the Soviet Union

Came to light and this was why he escaped from the Night Garden

In a small boat with only a naked light for company

He had been missing for many years but here he was

In front of me with his Creole companion nearby

I decided then to give Iggle Piggle a home

This decision caused me to miss my bus so I walked far

With the creature sleeping snugly in my winter coat pocket

He now resides with other heroes from that civil war

In a small cabinet that has commanding views

Over the park and the city beyond