43tv Meet 009 - Steptoeland Report Thread

[Gene Hunt]

Please post your comments about this Meet here.

Gene.

[Three Litre]

I trust you get some of the right liquid today squad, not just the falling-from-the-sky variety!

[Dirty Epic]

Will do a proper post soon but bloody brilliant day today and big, big thanks to Gene for sorting all this out... You're a gent mate.

[Steve Austin]

Well, that was the meet that was............dry!!     So much for Derek Fish although there was a fair bit of wind in the evening, I hope Sam knows an understanding launderette 

As usual, the meet starts with a hearty breakfast and the renewing of old acquaintances, before meeting up with the squad at Sweeney mecca, Colet Gardens.

A short walk to the tube station and we were away.  As soon as we arrived at Latimer Road, the first point of interest was picked out by the location whisperer, Gene.  In this case it was the Garden Bar & Grill which served as the pub used in "The Knowledge" where Margolis celebrates getting his licence before promptly losing it just around the corner.

The locations came thick and fast with those used in "Steptoe & Son" & "The Sweeney" literally around every corner.  As is the norm, a local resident took more than a passing interest in our presence and was stunned to find out that her house had in fact been used in "Steptoe & Son Ride Again", hers being the house that had the Pickfords lorry outside which Harold drove into.  We continued to follow the route of Albert's funeral procession and as Gene pointed out, they were in actual fact moving further away from the cemetery, the art of the film edit laid bare.

In what seemed like only a few minutes, we had covered several miles and were now outside said cemetery and made use of the pub across the road for a much needed thirst quencher.

Duly slaked we visited the vast Kensal Green Cemetery to take in the scenes as featured in "Steptoe & Son", "The Professionals", "Theatre Of Blood" & "Villain", here we were met with a cross between a mummy, klansman and superman (purple pants though), strange fellow, reminded me of a p!ss poor weatherman 

The final part of the tour took us to Oil Drum Lane via the canal where Freeth made Gibson swim for his criminal records, before following a downhearted Harold on his rounds while simultaneously tailing Jack Regan & Vic Tolman before their Zodiac ended up in a hedge.  Finally, finishing up at Arthur the drag artists flat, which was actually two different blocks of flats (the editor strikes again).

And so another terrific walk around forgotten London came to a close.  How Gene finds these locations is one thing (some of the locations have changed beyond all recognition) but devising a route that takes in so many different TV/Films (and a few decent pubs) and keeping the weather gods happy is nothing short of phenomenal, thanks Gene, you should be proud of another top weekender!! 

Off it was back towards Colet Court and The Queens Head for a welcome feed and rest while taking in the events of the last few hours and relaxing (if not gagging ) in good company.

So, another meet over.  It was, as ever a great success and it was good to meet old friends once again and catch up over a shared appreciation of the golden age of TV/Film.  Thanks to everyone for your fantastic company  and in particular to Gene for organising them with military precision.

See you on the next one!! 

[D.C. Burtonshaw]

Well we come to the end of another busy and superb day organised by the Guv with his meticulous planning and knowledge of the subject which helped with such an enjoyable and interesting day! I left the house just after 6 am expecting a deluge all day which the BBC forecast except the only rain I saw was out the window of the train on the way down. By the time I got out in the open at Hammersmith it only the aftermath of a downpour. So once I got the venue for the breakfast established (Lol! - Note to oneself - check the forum for last minute changes to the meet intenary!) - I soon got to meet up for a hearty breakfast with several of the squad members and a catch up with old friends and faces!

Off we set to Colet Gardens for 9, where the rest of the squad met up with us and not long after it was time to set off to the first location via the tube. Amongst many locations notably, we saw where Harold's chauffer pre dated a Flying Squad driver handling the limo round corners to get him to his ill fated wedding. Area looks incredibly different now. Then to the locations where a knackered Harold doing too many work hours falls asleep along the road and ends up in the back of the Pickfords lorry. That was a turn up for the books when the lady occupier of the house next door to the one having the furniture being moved, was amazed when it was revealed that her house is seen in the film! Always nice when stuff like that happens on our meets! I would have never have know how short that street is, and that the filming of the cart would have been up and down that street till they got it right.

Further locations from Steptoe and Son Ride again were also visited, and what amazed me was that the wall still had very very faint traces of the Grafitti which said "Pigs" after all these years! Further parts included Arthur's funeral route where Harold comes a cropper once again with the Pickfords van! A cpuple of us spoke briefly to the occupiers of the house that the lorry was parked outside again, although would have been too young to have heard of the film, but they were certainly interested. Further locations were also at the busy main road (the Burton's has gone) and was always fascinating to see what was there then, that has sadly gone now. These films are the nearest thing we have to a time machine. Well it was soon lunch time and beer o'clock, so we "stopped the cart for the nosebag" and caught up with a chin wag. After a nice pint went down well, we were off to the Kensal Green cemetary where a great many productions where filmed for key scenes. As has been mentioned by Steve Austin, Theatre of Blood, The Professionals episode "Discovered in a Graveyard", Villain and Steptoe and Son.

But suddenly what the heck was that jumping out at us?? Another one of Delboy's hilarious reenactments!! That's what! Dunno what the other cemetary visitors though!! Ha Ha Ha!! What struck me was how much hasn't changed with the gravestones and monuments still in the same place all that time, with only a few that have fallen over since. Those pillars at the top structure are very like the Greek Colloseum and have been much emulated by other structures in London. With a further reenactment recreating a Diana Rigg scene, taken in (!) we eventually finished at this interesting location and it was time to move to the next one.

After this it was The Sweeney again with the canal bridge scene with Davy Freeth and Carter meeting with Gibson, in Hard Men, somewhere I'd never been before and great to see too. Then the scene at the park where Freeth waits to meet with another informant, the walls with the circles of which have never changed and the Grafitti has since gone making it look tidy.

Then there were further Steptoe locations, - Old Drum Lane that was, unbelievably unrecognisable today, but round the corner from there was where Hercules II was being trained with the pushbike and trailer combo going past piloted by Steptoe snr. Again it was recognisable thanks to some buildings still being there. Further up the road was a scene where Harold is on his rounds, incredible that recently built house in the background at the time has since been demolished??!! Area looks unrecognisable again......

To round it off, we were then off to the Trellick tower area of Westbourne Park, where not only did we see where Harold pulls the cart up to visit Arthur the Drag act, (Trellick was then freshly built and some parts hadn't been finished yet) we saw some locations for The Sweeney episode Bait, where Lynn was driving her Austin Mini Countryman about before finally ending with a close look at just how high that Trellick Tower is......... imagine living up there near the top - what a view - but I'm not sure I'd want to live there!

Well after that it was time for a well earned rest of the old pins and some more watering (and wind releasing it seems.........) at our old haunt The Queens Head. Nice to finally get a bit of grub there even if the waitress nearly forgot my cod with the chips and peas!! Soon sorted! Eventually the 5:30 getting up time was catching up with me so it was time for a few of us to head home and for me to cath the train at a reasonable time in case of any delays.

So many thanks to all of the Forum members who made it, always great to see you all and catch up and banter and of course a very big hand going out to Gene once again for his organisation, prep work and leadership on the day which all adds up the smooth running and a very pleasant day indeed! All much appreciated mate!

Hope everyone also had a safe journey home and roll on 6 months time!

[Deleted]

Ya know me! Short and sweet! But another great meet! Of the usual calibre, guess long over due for myself, yes I know I didn’t finish the course, and used alternative transportation lol, but considering I had hardly no sleep the night before and how crap I felt in April at the time of the previous meet, I was just more than happy to be there, and it was good to see Gene and his Darlings’ and of course the usual squad and Mickosan to whom I’d not seen for a while!
My hat off to Gene though for the usual commitment, just don’t know how he does it! the patience  and the stamina, and also to think he actually had completed a dummy run’ of the whole meet prior to Sunday, all on his lonesome!! Something I personally would of struggled to do lol!
Anyway The whole forum and the retro meets must surely be a envious one of a kind in the uk! But something that is such a pleasure for myself and to be part of.

GC

[Sam Tyler]

Sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start when we've had a day like we had yesterday, there were so many highlights and it was simply a brilliant day out but here goes:

After the early start was called into question due to the William Morris being refurbished we descended upon another Weatherspoons, the Plough and Harrow, just further down from the William Morris. Although I'd aimed for the 8am start it was 8:15 when I got there, no thanks to "Average Speed Check" sections, a closed section of road and numerous queues of slow moving traffic that were without fail headed by the ubiquitous Toyota Prius. 

Still, a greeting of "Nice of you to turn up!" demonstrated just how the day was going to pan out! 

Fed and watered we wandered back to the hallowed ground that is Colet Gardens to meet the rest of the squad. It was also good to meet newcomer Charlie Croker to the squad. A bit of a chat and we were on our way to Hammersmith for the tube to Latimer Road and the start of the meet.

Now this is where it gets complicated. How Gene retains so much information about each and every location I don't know. I can't even begin to reel off the locations that we visited but with a minor crib sheet to remind him of the next location only Gene was able to walk us there and give us a full guided tour. His memory and attention to details for these locations is just amazing.

As the $6m Man stated, a local resident did take keen interest in seeing a motley crew outside of her residence and was astounded when we told her that her property had appeared in Steptoe and Son, and asked about other locations. A donation of a set of screen grabs (as kindly supplied once again by Steve Austin  ) seemed to make her day as she perused the local area as it was back in the early 70s.

The first stop for a pint or three beckoned and once again the generosity of some of the squad kept Gene and I watered with the now obligatory Guinness and Glenmorangie as well as some nibbles too.

Fully refreshed it was off to the cemetery for the next round of locations and another of Del's infamous re-enactments. Thankfully he kept his trousers on as Superman style he ran around with his underpants worn over the top of his trousers. Then a few more locations such as Steptoe's yard and the canal scene from Sweeney series 4, episode 2: Hard Men. On the way it was sad to see a traditional old English pub The Flora all boarded up and looking very sorry for itself. Having had a few drinks there in the past and knowing just how welcoming it was inside it is so disappointing to know that it is bound to have a future appointment with a developer that couldn't give a flying f*** about its history.

All too soon we were back on the tube to Hammersmith and a wander around to the Queen's Head on Brook Green for dinner and soft drinks for those that had to drive.

Amazingly, and thankfully, Derek Fish had balls'ed up his weather report and once again we were treated to a dry (at least outside) meet. We had taken a chance by leaving the brollies in the cars so fortunately we didn't need them.

Overall yet another fantastic meet that came to an end all too soon. It is great that everyone gets on so well and the level of banter that we all enjoy is second to none. 

To finish I'd like to thank all for turning up and making the meet as successful as it is. Extra thanks go to Steve Austin for his superb job in putting the screen grabs together in a book for us all to compare as we arrive at each location. Thanks also to Steve for the drinks and apologies for losing you on our route out of Hammersmith. I know you were following but getting caught in a queue I lost track of where you were, sorry mate. 

Thanks also to Del-Boy, Dirty Epic for the drinks and the lunch. 

And last but by no means the least, massive thanks to Gene for all the work he's put in to all the arrangements for the meet, it is truly astounding the amount he does behind the scenes that even I don't get to see! Without the research both in locations and with planning and walking the routes ahead of each meet the rest of us wouldn't enjoy the day to the extent that we do.

To Gene 

Sam.

[Three Litre]

Sounds like fun!

That Fish bloke was useless 32 years ago.

Tell him he’s fired. 

[Deleted]

Del! Ya fired mate! Lol!

[Windy Miller]

Having listened to the weather warnings from Derek Fish and his colleagues, a Meet more Wet-toe than Steptoe was seemingly on the cards. However, those doom mungers were wrong, the rain came early, and the sun was shining bright for us as we stepped off the train at Latimer Road for a gentle stroll around North Kensington. Bucket loads of iconic locations were covered in this most allegorical area of London, and it’s an adventure into nostalgic tv every time we visit. Those moments where we’re looking in one direction at a Steptoe location and then, if we all turn around 180° here’s a Sweeney location just blew my mind.

A thousand thanks go to Gene for once again organizing another thoroughly brilliant Meet. Meticulous planning on the part of Gene ensured we all enjoyed a totally fabulous day. Starting with the hastily rearranged venue for breakfast, through to dinner at The Queen’s Head, every location along the way was on the money and the day flew by like clockwork.

Great to meet up with the usual squad members again, (and meet new member Charlie Crocker). The non-stop banter throughout the Meet makes the time fly by, and a pause for beer in a pub close to Kensal Green Cemetery provided a welcome opportunity to rest the legs. Del Boy’s re-enactment in Kensal Green Cemetery was a brilliant laugh as were the purple pants, and another impromptu re-enactment from Theatre Of Blood by DE caused further hilarity. Cheers guys.

Once again, thanks so much to Gene for arranging the day and bringing a really good group of enthusiasts together for another successful Meet. I know you put in hours of preparation work into these weekends, from all the research to creating the screen grabs, and your tour guide credentials on the day in explaining where we are and the history behind the locations are an education. It is all very much appreciated.