First of all, I'll make no apologies, this is going to be a long post. I have waited a long time to join you folks on the meet and it was very much worth the wait and so here is my report.
Since the meet was announced back in July, I have had a feeling of excitement and nervousness in equal measure. The excitement is obvious but nervous in the way a new member to a successful team would be - you don't want to be the one that comes in and changes the dynamic or feel of the group. I have waited as the months, weeks and days passed by until it was finally here.
So there I was, in Colet Gardens where the opening credits were filmed, brilliant! I was the second person to arrive. A gleaming M reg burgundy Jaguar sat there and I though this has to be someone for the meet. Indeed it was, I introduced myself to Villain and that was the start of a memorable day. Soon after there were more people and then it was off for some breakfast. After that and a quick wee before the meet proper started (is there anything more stomach churning than the smell of a boozers toilet first thing in the morning?) it was back to Latymers where I was introduced to my passengers for the day, Mickyosan and Peter Picard, thoroughly nice blokes who would help me through the morning traffic.
Shut It CD on, Sat Nav set and we were off to Kibber's House from Selected Target.
So this was my very first location, parking was good and so we descended outside #17 Stirling Road. The house has been painted white now but the door is the same, retaining the stained glass elements although the door is now dark blue in colour. No call girls taking there clothes off inside either Across the street was the tower block that was used to take the pictures of Kibber in the episode, the yard at the bottom of the block has changed slightly but is still recognisable. That seen it was off to Young Haskins House from Victims, avoiding the thugs in the crash helmets.
Painting your house white seems to be de rigueur in London and this one had the same treatment. The brick wall outside the house is slightly different too but retains the architectural features around the windows and door. The back has been extended but it is still possible to see the window where a young Haskins told his wife that their son wanted steak. No dolly in a pram here so on to Fay & Brenda's House from Abduction.
This house was already white and so looked the same as it did when originally filmed but one or two of the trees have gone from the front garden and the old wooden front fence has been replaced. It was still possible to look back to where Regan parked his green Capri and get the same viewing aspect though. The owner of this house came out while we were there and said he had no idea it was used in an episode of The Sweeney but he was a fan so didn't mind too much about having 30 or so folk on his doorstep. Not much he could do about it though as he didn't have a gun or a lit fag butt to scare us off. Next on the list was Carter's house from Abduction.
There was some debate about which house was actually his, number 5 or 6. In the end number 6 was declared the right one and so much picture taking ensued. This location has changed a bit as you can tell from the aforementioned confusion, mainly due to the growth of shrubs etc. The house itself looks the same although the door has changed. A neighbour enquired about our activities and again was unaware that an episode had been filmed there. What's wrong with estate agents, don't they know a USP when they see one!! Just around the corner was the location the park where Stan Proctor met Jack in Abduction.
So sat nav not required for this one and the most obvious thing about the location was the climbing frame had gone. Scaffolding probably used somewhere by someone having their house painted white. Anyway, much of the rest of the location remains largely unchanged although the park today is bigger and covers where the pond used to be but it is recognisable as that location. Sad to say that no girls in tennis gear either. So back into the cars and back to our base at Latymers for some refreshment.
This concluded the driving part and this was the bit I was most nervous of, not used to driving in London but I must say huge thanks to Mickyosan for his help in navigation although we never did get anywhere one minute quicker A nice pint and a portion of chips hit the spot and gave us an opportunity to talk to other squad members. I spoke to a few but I just cannot remember all of the names, the old bionic recall function just ain't what it used to be. Bronson had the best idea of writing them down, well done, I wish I had. Conversations continued as we made our way on foot to Holland Park as filmed in Sweeney!
What a fantastic day for a walk, the weather gods truly shone on the righteous as we made our way there. Again, this location remains largely the same, save for the railings around the flower beds and it was good to take in scenes from the films as well as the TV series. Pictures duly taken it was on to Harry Poole's house from The Placer.
This location was set in a mews and was very nice, a very sprauncy part of London indeed. Not much of this property was seen in the episode, we only saw his car parked outside but the street would appear to have some kind of preservation order on it as the windows all seemed to be period and so we can only assume that little has changed since the 70's. No yank job here so on to meet Kibber at Kensington Olympia from Selected Target.
This station has changed but not too much and so you can still visualise most of the action filmed here. The actual walkway over the track is split into two and so you cannot actually walk across the same bit without buying a ticket. In addition, waiting rooms now take up the space where Kibber's Zodiac was parked. The buildings in the background at the entrance to the station have changed but the flagpoles are still there. The day flying by now, one more location to take in; Johnny Lyon leave the Police Station in Queens Pawn.
This building is now a French School (no, not like the ones the Fladge gave) but I don't think it was ever a Police Station anyway. This one is more or less the same as it was when filmed. The Police sign and notice board outside are gone but the door, windows, gate and fence look the same which is how it should be One more treat in store en-route to the Queens Head for our nosebag and that was the tennis courts where Lukey Sparrow was ratted out in Messenger Of The Gods.
This location was literally across the road from the above location. The shelter where Lukey took refuge is gone and to the right of the courts where the fight took place is a kids play park and so no pictures could be taken unless you wanted to be hunted down and savaged by parents thinking you were taking naughty pics of little Johnny. A shame as I would like to have a picture of this location.
So that was that. All locations seen, snapped and discussed. This was definitely worth the wait. I love the then/now images and to see them for myself was just magic. A well thought out itinerary executed to perfection and now for some grub.
After our food a speech was given, thanking Gene, Sam, Del & The Saint for their efforts with getting the new site up and running and a round of applause duly followed. Well done to everyone involved. A great site for us retro nuts. An award to Windy Miller for his Top of The Pops threads of a Nolans single, something which I'm sure he held tightly all the way home, well done Windy, you'll treasure it I'm sure.
A quiz followed and our team (Team C) had the disadvantage of having me on their side but at least we didn't finish last; joint 3rd Not bad I thought. No prizes for guessing who won although I think they found it too easy and so decided to liven things up by playing russian roulette between their arse and their pants but I'm not sure there were any winners. I'm glad I don't do their laundry. Not so much Dirty Epic as dirty nappy!
So there you have it, a truly great day. The locations were well laid out (Putney was a bugger to get through though), the company excellent and the weather good too as reported already. If you haven't been on a meet yet then I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Thanks again to my oppo's Mickyosan & Peter Picard, great company. The guys who did the quiz (sorry I forgot your name but I can remember you're a Watford fan) and to everyone else who made me feel welcome, thank you. Finally, again a big thanks to Gene, Sam, Del for your help yesterday. See you again soon.