OK - Evening again all! Thanks for everyone's interesting reports and the excellent report you've posted there Gene which sums it up well! Well what can I say, I was a little on tenderhooks after picking up the hire car that Saturday morning, (as my nearest filling station was shut 3 days solid) but managed to fill up without a queue on the M1 fairly early in the Journey, so wagons roll!
After a brief stop at Norton Canes services, I was in the pub with the rest of the squad by around 2:30 pm! As always, great to see the squad again and catching up with banter over drinks and being there to witness the Guv received his present!
After a further meal at the Steakhouse, it was onto what seemed like several pubs covered on a busy Manchester Saturday night, running the gauntlet through the rain, but it didn't dampen our enthusiuasm! Very busy they were too unsurprisingly!
Next morning after breakfast at Wetherspoons, we were treated by the Guv's Spot on recreation of Mr Hunt's attire along with Delboy suitably attired in period gear! Plus we were very pleased to welcome Cartman who was able to join us on his first meet!
Visiting the locations was fascinating as ever, and the postcodes provided are always helpful, although Dirty Epics SatNav proved more accurate at times than the built in Nav on the car, but not before we had the enjoyable walking tour, starting where Sam was run over, then onto the aforementioned Kim Trent arrest location, Gene and Sam contemplating their next move, and then when Sam spotted the newspaper clipping, along with the street where the Lotus Elan roared round and the Beauvoir girl was thrown out the car in S2 E4.
We could also see the area in the first ever episode where CGI had covered what was really there, and then onto the street where Police station cleaner Lady, June was shot through her cars windscreen during Kim Trent's robbery, and Sam and Gene dealt with the aftermath.
With many other scenes from different episodes being filmed in the close vicinity, it was really good that we could see so much, and simply walk to it, thanks to the Guv's earlier research and detective work.
Again, like a lot of TV shows and films, it always seems wider and bigger on screen than in real life, and some of the nifty driving by the stunt team was first class, getting round those narrow streets, which included the iconic opening titles of the Cortina spinning 180 degrees from reverse, after Sam had just picked up the bacon sarnies from him and Gene. Of course a fair bit in has since changed in some parts of the streets, but much has still remained.
After we transferred to the car, our first port of call was the Police station, actually filmed in Stockport, as iconic location as ever for the fans and it really hadn't changed much at all from filming! Just needed the period motors and clothed extras walking past! A perfect location to use I thought! Then onto the Community Centre used in the final episode of the 1st series where Sam learnt the truth about his Dad. On the other side of the street are more new houses that weren't there in 2005 during filming so glad the producers, (like all the locations) where able to film there when they did.....
Did someone say "Pub"? "Pub" they did, so after a visit to the Olde Boars Head in Middleton, for a very nice indeed roast, and polite service, it was time to go the Churchyard where Sam has an important meeting with his Stand-In DCI. This hasn't changed at all, as Gene says probably since the 19th century, and after energetic walk up the hillpath, working off the lunches calories, we got to where we needed to be, only for it to rather recreate the weather that was in that episode a bit too well! As we were only going to get drenched, we cut that visit a little short, on Gene's instructions to get to where the Scene in S2 E1 was filmed where the murder near the viaduct was and the body on the bus was found. In reality not really a bus route as you can see, when you are there, but it's amazing how convinicing it can look on film! Of course, the film crew would have made use of the locations for other episodes and scenes, so nearby was Sam's 2 childhood homes, which really haven't changed much.
When we arrived at the scene for the Kim Trent chase from the swimming pool, it was incredible how much redevelopment has taken place when viewing the canal from the bridge; at this point, we bid Cartman farewell and we hope to see you at another meet!
The modern buildings taken by Gene below, on the skyline of the aforementioned location, are now masking what was there before and now a whole housing estate has taken over the football pitch where the squad chased the Capri driving joy rider and Chris got himself in a right tangle! Also next to that was the road where the Cortina drove off into the distance at the end of S1 Ep 8.
Final location was used in 3 episodes as standing scenes and nearby for a Cortina drive by scene in the first series, which included where Dily's newstand was in S2 Ep 2 and where the overdose victim was found in S2 Ep 6.
Well after all those, my head was buzzing! After some of the group bidding Candygirl and Get Carter a farewell, (my apologies CG and GC, as I was only arriving in the car park when you were getting ready to go, but trust you had a safe journey back) it was time to round off the day after a wash and brush up, with hitting the town one final time for a few drinks and a very nice meal (once we found a restaurant with space on a very busy Sunday night!). With further banter and chats and reflections on the day, in the 2 pubs with the earlier visit to the Sir Ralph Abercromby (superb to fit that in too - thanks Gene!) we rounded it off with a final drink in the hotel bar, by which time I couldn't have kept my eyes open with matchsticks, so our beds were welcome!
After a good nights sleep and breakfast at 'spoons once more, it was time to say our goodbyes and farewells, and while many departed for home, I went off for stage 2 of my holiday to Derbyshire, so I'd like to thank everyone once again, whom I name checked in my earlier post, for everything however great or small which contributed to the weekend, and I know we say this all the time but yes, this was another "Best ever" meet, Guv you certainly did us proud with a corker and will take some beating for the next one!!