Health Warning : *Realy* Sad Post..

Having read your post whilst consuming the morning cup of coffee my keyboard now needs urgent medical attention.

And product placement never ever happens... They take great pains never to let the sound crews dark green LWB Defender being seen in shot. FFS a Land Rover is far more in keeping with the supposed location than some swish new sports car that has trouble getting over the 2" high speed humps. B-)

No comment. Off at the crack of sparrow fart tommorow morning to spend

11hrs in a darkened box in Leeds...

Whats her name?

Actually Emmerdale got into trouble for having too many Land Rovers - a lot of the technical crew drive them so they used to be parked in shot to provide "atmosphere" - other maunfactuerers complained that this was unfair, hence Tom King was made to drive a Volvo Communibus and the like. The fact that villages round here a packed with 90's wasn't allowed worry anyone.

Richard

Out here in North Dorset/South Somerset we're at Defender Saturation Point, I'm expecting them to rain from the sky at some point. Twice a week I do the drive from the Gillingham area to Frome, and on that trip, during weekday work hours, I'll normally see at least 5-6 Defenders coming the other way in a half-hour journey. I also didn't see hide nor hair of the "ban 4x4s" crowd at the local supermarket..

Is the bakers near where Frome Noth signal box was still there? The best Lardy Cakes in the entire universe......... arr, them wuz the days, pissing about all over with a Class 47 and a brake van, lardies at From North, cakes from the East Somerset Railway shop at Cranmore, pootle down to Radstock for fish and chips and shunt the odd siding in between, 'course it was always sunny and Cousin John only shat himself once... That was the only job I ever had that I realy enjoyed! Found a photo of Witham signal box at last (demolished in 1984 afer 110 years service - the cupboard had a message from every signalman who worked the box from it's opening on the inside of the doors - I wonder if if anyone saved it?). Had a pint or two, remembering the days when "targets" were just doing you job...

Richard

I can only think of half a dozen of the technical crew who drive Land Rovers from well over 50 people and anyway we aren't allowed to drive our cars into the village. What is provided is a LWB Defender for each sound crew (3) and the sparks have a SWB or three. As you say, in theory so they can be in the back of shot and blend in but the fuss that is made if you can see so much as a rear bumper...

And up here, I'd reckon that 50% of the cars in the Co-op car park will be a 4x4 of some sort and more than 50% of those green ovals.

Amusingly here in Liverpool the "ban 4x4s" crowd get spectacularly ignored. I work in the motor trade and almost everyone I know in the trade drives a

4x4. I can think of 4x Defender 90, 6x RRC, 2x Land Cruiser Amazon, 1x tweaked Isuzu Bighorn, 2 Cherokee 4.0, 1x FC101, 1x Nissan Patrol, 2x V10 Excursion, 1x F350 V10 and a Terrano that belong to mates of mine with garages within about 5 miles of each other. None have had any grief from the "Anti 4x4" mob.

Then again, all of them are working vehicles and none of the drivers are the kind of people who really give a toss about the environmentals.

"The Fuss" was made before the village was built and it was filmed in a real village - must be some years back now - 10, may be 15 years ago? I think it was still "Emmerdale Farm" then. There was a write up in LRO at the time pointing out how silly it was. A mate used to provide older vehicles and LR's when the plots required it - he now owns the Series III that was/is in the title sequence - it's a complete shed!

As is Buxton on a Saturday morning.

Richard

No idea, not knowing Frome that well. Where is the signal box relative to Frome station? I think the signal box is still there, although only as a preservation project these days. There's a long page about it on the following link, I've not ploughed through it all yet to decode where it actually sits;

As for the bakers, given Frome isn't in the best of health these days, probably not.. It seems to be filling up with chavs and crusties, and shops are closing down all over the place. It's a shame as it's a nice looking town.

Mmmmm lardy cakes ;-) I'll do my best to find out now that I know there are lardy cakes on offer!

Look out, he's off ;-)

Out where I live the only time, even at the height of the mania, that I ever got was a comment was from a petrol station attendant about the pinz, commenting that if the 4x4 crowd get it in the neck then my 6x6 must cause a bit of a storm...

Almost all of the Defenders I see are working vehicles, then again given that I travel mostly during working hours that's not surprising.

I've just been using "Google Earth" looking round the Falkland Islands and by clicking on the info button at the Capital (Stanley) nearly every vehicle in the resulting photo was a Land Rover, bet you won't find the anti-4x4 mob out there.

Stephen.

Ooops no, Frome North was demolished and moved to Didcot in 1984 for the railway preservation project there. I doubt the baker moved there too!

Frome North is now a som preservation line, incorrectly call Frome Mineral Junction.

It used to be very nice - nearly bought a house there! Not much of a night out though.

I'm auditioning for the next Grump Old Men series...

Richard

I bet there's one - "theres sometimes three, often two, but always effing one" (old Navy saying).

Richard

Wrong series mate I reckon you and me should put in a bid for "Last Of the Summer Wine" but I'm not shaving mine off (beard) I have got me own wellies but me last ferret had me by the web on left hand .( there is a joke in that round those parts) Derek

Only if I get to ram that Jap crap off the road and get Dennis in as the "character" Land Rover. I think most of my custoners would agree that Wardrobe wouldn't have to bother fitting me out, and I have a pair of NCB wellies in the motor that could play a leading role all by themselves ;-)

Richard

Nearer 10 than 15 but before my time. Last year or the year before was the end of the 10 year planning permission before the village site had to be returned to fields.

"The Fuss" still happens though.

As are most of the older action vehicles. Even more so if they are going to get damaged, they come from scrap yards. Quick polish and sometimes fill/respray if the visible body work is impersonating a net curtain.