Hogwarts School Song/magic in TV shows/Potter rip offs

[hamster8 at hotmail.com]

Rachel said ...
"Hahahahaa!  I just downloaded the Hogwarts School Song.  It's 
adorable.  But my question is where did this come from?  The audio 
books?  Who is singing it?  Jim Dale as Dumbledore?  Does that mean 
the Sorting Hat song is on the audio tapes, too?  I guess this all 
makes sense but it didn't dawn on me that there was already a little 
tune for these two.  Well, I guess the school song doesn't have 
an "official" tune but.... Cute."

Doreen said ...
"When I heard it, it sounded like Jim Dale to me. I don't remember 
where I heard it, though. I think maybe someone sent it to me."

I say ...
I haven't heard the Jim Dale audiobooks, as we have Stephen Fry doing 
our versions - can't comment on that respect.  I get the feeling I 
*don't* want to hear it, as I already have a tune for it in my head 
which I catch myself humming on occasion.  Though I can't really 
comment, these are the thoughts that occured to me after reading the 
posts - which bear some relevance IMHO.  These random thoughts 
follow ... 

... now ...

I have also imagined it (the Hogwarts School Song) sounding very much 
like the theme song to ITV's 'Worst Witch' kid's drama series, which 
was a very choral type organ arrangement with what was blatantly 
intended to be the school song being sung by the cast over the 
music.  The school in this show bears startling resemblances to 
Hogwarts as well.  The theme to BBC's more recent 'The Belfry 
Witches' would not be appropriate, as it is very poppy and was 
recorded by Atomic Kitten - an appallingly bad British girl-band.  
The Belfry Witches remains notable in my opinion for one very 
Potteresque sequence (which I got the impression JK herself could 
have come up with) in the season opener where a load of kids on 
broomsticks are coming into land after a flying lesson.  There is, 
standing in front of them, a witch wearing earmuffs, directing the 
broomsticks with those things apron supervisors at airports direct 
planes with.  The other thing I noted about this particular show, 
which IMNSHO, is absolutely terrible - was that the good witches were 
all called 'red stockings' and the bad ones called 'green 
stockings.'  Potter rip offs?  Maybe, but I doubt anyone cares.  I'm 
also realising this is breathtakingly irrelevant to almost everyone 
here.  So will shut up ...

Except I won't.  Do any list-Brits remember a mid eighties kids' show 
with a giant yellow talking cone.  It inhabited some weird land, and 
there was magic going on and such.  I have a sinking feeling Paul 
Daniels might have been involved somewhere.  Anyway, I'd just like to 
be able to remember the title.

*Al saunters vaguely westwards*