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The Flower of Gloster (1967)


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On 28/05/2023 at 22:16, Tim Lewis said:

 

I have listed a few here:

 

Historic Canal Film (timlewis.org.uk)

You could add 'Black Safari' a 1972 BBC2 film of four Africans (three were West Indian) trying to find the centre of Britain. They were using David Lowe's Wye, which unfortunately broke down, so I had to tow them with Pluto from above Wigan to Bingley. At Bingley, we descended the locks with Hammond's Sauce Brass Band playing from the footbridges.

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Now this was on children's TV and so is best appreciated one episode per week at 4pm with a cup of hot chocolate and a pile of rich tea biscuits. I am not completely obsessive about this as I will allow you to choose the day of the week. Except it cannot be at the weekend.  And you can't  fall in love with Annette Robertson as I have already. Well a few years ago. And my recent trip to Llangollen was more of a pilgrimage really. Cheers Graham 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Graham and Jo said:

Now this was on children's TV and so is best appreciated one episode per week at 4pm with a cup of hot chocolate and a pile of rich tea biscuits. I am not completely obsessive about this as I will allow you to choose the day of the week. Except it cannot be at the weekend.  And you can't  fall in love with Annette Robertson as I have already. Well a few years ago. And my recent trip to Llangollen was more of a pilgrimage really. Cheers Graham 

 

 

We wont tell Jo

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Thank you for uploading the Flower of Gloster to YouTube. It's certainly a valuable historic record of places, people and boats which in some cases are no longer with us. 

The lack of continuity in the first few scenes of episode 1 is amazing. Clearly the first scene is at Pontcysyllte, and the third scene at Dutton. Is the second location Preston Brook ?

It's also interesting to see a young Tony Lewery -explaining the details of the boat painting as if it were a documentary rather than a fictional story.

Does anyone know who it is doing the caulking in episode 2 ? 

Edited by John Brightley
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11 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Fancy not having "Black Safari" on that list...

1972 classic.

 

 

 

 

 

Oops!  Must read thread before posting, but at least I linked the film!

 

Having now wasted an hour of my life watching it I would not call it a classic, it was a joke that could have been done in 5 minutes!

 

The BBC must have had a L & L fix in 1972, a much better one from Ian Nairn:

 

BBC iPlayer - Nairn Across Britain - 2. Trans-Pennine Canal

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I seem to remember the Flower of Gloster being dismissed as just another children's TV series at the time, but in reality it is an interesting mix of documentary and drama.

Episode 4 features Ken Nixon and his family on the boats Lindsay and Snipe. 

Were they the last family working a pair of boats on the Shroppie ? 

Mike Webb's photos confirm that these boats were being worked by the Nixon family in 1967, but also show that by the end of 1968 Lindsay was being used by Alan Galley of Anderton CCC.

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Dismissed by who I wonder?

Now it's a timepiece. A look into a world some of us knew but know we'll never see the likes of again.
So some of the continuity is up the spout, that's tv production for you, still the same today.
And the charging round the boat and the locks definitely dodgy. I noticed Richard O'C nearly slip and fall in, in one clip. Wonder if eventually he did get a ducking?

Perhaps we'll find out in future episodes if ever Major Dolbys cat ever gets back from mousing excercises.

Right on cue I see episode 5 has arrived......

 

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5 hours ago, Tim Lewis said:

 

Having now wasted an hour of my life watching it I would not call it a classic, it was a joke that could have been done in 5 minutes!

 

The BBC must have had a L & L fix in 1972, a much better one from Ian Nairn:

 

BBC iPlayer - Nairn Across Britain - 2. Trans-Pennine Canal

Ah, but you would have seen a young me for about two seconds, so not all waste. That said, the Nairn programme is excellent and what he says still makes sense today.

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9 hours ago, Tim Lewis said:

 

Having now wasted an hour of my life watching it I would not call it a classic, it was a joke that could have been done in 5 minutes!

 

The BBC must have had a L & L fix in 1972, a much better one from Ian Nairn:

 

BBC iPlayer - Nairn Across Britain - 2. Trans-Pennine Canal

Ian Nairn did some wonderful transport documentaries

 

The worst of the 'Carry On' films was far better than 'Black Safari'. Today it would be seen as a protest film against 'white supremacy'.

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On 30/05/2023 at 15:39, rusty69 said:

When do we get episode 5 please? I'm getting withdrawal symptoms here.

I was getting a little paranoid, not only me then that can’t get episode 5!

On 30/05/2023 at 15:39, rusty69 said:

When do we get episode 5 please? I'm getting withdrawal symptoms here.

I was getting a little paranoid, not only me then that can’t get episode 5!

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9 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

It probably was seen that way when they filmed it too!  Have you watched it?

Most likely it was,  and yes, I did watch most but skipped through a lot. Too tedious for words. I guess they had fun in making it. The lockside conversations with various folk were most curious. Broad Lancashire and Yorkshire mixed with Oxford English, and African accents, what could possibly go wrong!

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10 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

I was getting a little paranoid, not only me then that can’t get episode 5!

I was getting a little paranoid, not only me then that can’t get episode 5!

Its on there now. Panic over.

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2 hours ago, Derek R. said:

Most likely it was,  and yes, I did watch most but skipped through a lot. Too tedious for words. I guess they had fun in making it. The lockside conversations with various folk were most curious. Broad Lancashire and Yorkshire mixed with Oxford English, and African accents, what could possibly go wrong!

It certainly was more fun to make than watch. Approaching Southfield Bridge, three bagpipers suddenly appeared crossing the bridge, which required an emergency stop. O]I ended up amongst the bushed, as offside vegetation had not been cut for a pair of boats. The pipers had moved to Barnoldswick as they could walk the local country roads piping, without complaints!

 

Only one of the 'Africans' actually came from Africa, and he had a few words of Swahili which he used on passers by. We came on an angler near Skipton, and he was asked these few words, and he came back speaking fluent Swahili. He had worked in Africa for the Colonial Department.

 

The Britannia Coconutters were also good fun, arriving in an old secondhand NCB van, still signwritten, though the highlight was the Hammond Sauce Brass Band at Bingley. Perhaps CRT could look at something similar for next April, which will be the 250th anniversary of the locks opening.

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On 31/05/2023 at 13:33, Graham_Robinson said:

Dismissed by who I wonder?

Now it's a timepiece. A look into a world some of us knew but know we'll never see the likes of again.
So some of the continuity is up the spout, that's tv production for you, still the same today.
And the charging round the boat and the locks definitely dodgy. I noticed Richard O'C nearly slip and fall in, in one clip. Wonder if eventually he did get a ducking?

Perhaps we'll find out in future episodes if ever Major Dolbys cat ever gets back from mousing excercises.

Right on cue I see episode 5 has arrived......

 


Charging around so much he had all five paddles raised at the same time on one of the Audlem locks.

 

Interesting methods of getting to the lockside when entering from below too.

 

I noted the working boat practice of opening the gate paddle first, I think as a means of holding the bow to the cill?

 

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On 30/05/2023 at 22:34, John Brightley said:

Thank you for uploading the Flower of Gloster to YouTube. It's certainly a valuable historic record of places, people and boats which in some cases are no longer with us. 

The lack of continuity in the first few scenes of episode 1 is amazing. Clearly the first scene is at Pontcysyllte, and the third scene at Dutton. Is the second location Preston Brook ?

It's also interesting to see a young Tony Lewery -explaining the details of the boat painting as if it were a documentary rather than a fictional story.

Does anyone know who it is doing the caulking in episode 2 ? 

That's Peter Froud caulking at Preston Brook.

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12 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:


Charging around so much he had all five paddles raised at the same time on one of the Audlem locks.

 

Interesting methods of getting to the lockside when entering from below too.

 

I noted the working boat practice of opening the gate paddle first, I think as a means of holding the bow to the cill?

 

That was probably because Chocolate Charlie was steering Flower of Gloster  for the program

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