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Post by Charles Bronson on Apr 6, 2022 14:33:02 GMT
Many thanks to Gene Hunt for organising another wonderful location meet which I enjoyed every minute of from start to finish. The locations you took us to that were featured in the R&H episodes were terrific.
During our second R&H location stop in Crake Village, I was very interested when I realised I was standing in front of a large splendid house that had once been the home of Sir John Mills and his wife, and before him, owned by the famous film producer Alexander Korda in the early '30s along with his wife actress Merle Oberon.
As usual I thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely lunch break in The Orange Tree ( A fine choice ) which lasted over two hours. I drank a few pints of their fine Guiness a drink I haven't had in many years, but after Sunday I think I've developed a taste for the stuff again
I enjoyed our meal at the Turkish restaurant on Saturday evening. Which was the best Turkish place I've yet been to in Britain. Many thanks to Saint for organising it.
I am very grateful to Windy Miller for driving Vienna and myself down from Crewe Station. Without Windy the task of getting down to the Elstree area would've been very difficult for me. Thanks also for your company both of you. I particularly enjoyed it this time.
Thanks also to Peter Picard for driving Windy, Vienna and myself around the various locations. I hope your visit to the London area went well on Monday Peter, despite the poor weather. I would also like to thank Candy Girl for the R&H location folders she sorted out for us. I will keep mine as memento of last weekend.
I'm now looking forward to rewatching the particular R&H Deceased episodes whose locations we visited on Sunday. The only thing I didnt like about the meet was that the day passed over far, far too quickly. It was really nice seeing all the squad members and catching up with them again. The fact that the vast majority of us keep on attending these events regularly is testimony to how good they are.
Thanks once again to Gene, and also Sam, Del and The Saint. I hope to be able to attend the next meet which I'm sure will be another cracker.
Charles.
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Stan
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Post by Stan on Apr 6, 2022 14:57:13 GMT
Another tremendous meet and a big success, with highlights including:
- relaxed itinerary, giving all squad members ample opportunity to enjoy each location and engage in friendly banter, which is such a
- first-class choice of interesting, iconic locations (enhanced by the colour printed places visited in sequential order thanks to Candy Girl)
- driving routes that were scenic, largely traffic-free and carefully mapped out (a big thank you to superb wheels man Villain - both the drive and v comfortable motor much appreciated)
- visiting Latimer: rare to see a location so unspolit after all these years (mind, so was Denham Village)
- video of locations sent in advance; another excellent innovation
- pit stops: Orange Tree, Grim's Dyke, Battleaxes were each relevant to R&H / retro TV, comfortable, easy parking, varied food menu and wide range of beverages
All arranged in a calm, assured way and made to look easy.
It is certainly not easy; indeed far from it, so huge thanks to Gene for meticulous preparation, encyopledic knowledge and massive commitment to creating such a marvelous weekend for us all.
Cheers,
Stan
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Apr 6, 2022 21:18:25 GMT
The Randall & Hopkirk meet was eagerly anticipated by all. The spring meet is always a welcome tonic after a winter of toil, and I can vouch that I was looking forward to this one. Gene kindly gave me a lift to South Mimms on Saturday where we met up with The Saint and Steve Austin. Finding the lovely pub nearby, The Old Guinea was a stroke of luck. It offers lovely country views from the terrace and as a bonus this fine establishment is bang in the middle of locations from OTB and The Black Panther film. A nice afternoon ensued as the squad started to arrive. A visit to The Manor followed and its always good to have a lemonade (or two) here and speak about its tv and film past. As others have said Saint managed to get a booking for our large group into his Turkish restaurant. A tasty meal was had but alas no belly dancing or drunken singing of Jimmy Durante numbers ensued in this establishment The premier inn bar was used to "give those boys a tonic water" to round off Saturday. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcJf3snIk_I Sunday morning arrived and in keeping with traditions we kicked off with a spoons brekky before meeting up with the squad. So to the cars it was for a Sunday morning drive to have a butchers at locations from the iconic Randall & Hopkirk series. First stop was the fantastic village Latimer, which seemed unspoilt after all these years since filming took place in the sixties. Another nice country drive and we landed in the picturesque Denham village. This beautiful little place had another clutch of locations, and I gather some rather famous residents from the world of Tv & Film. Marvellous. It was a shame it was a touch early for any one of its three village pubs to be open but we didn't have to wait long. Another cracker of a location was The Orange Tree. This fantastic pub in Totteridge served as a lunch stop and was a location from the series. Always a good combo in my book. After luncheon we rounded the day off with a few more Randall location near to the Barnet area. We ended up in The Gryms Dyke Hotel a fantastic gothic style building that also has a lengthy productions list under its belt. Jeff's white FD Victor certainly covered some ground around these places. What Thanks to Gene and Saint for taking on driving duties this weekend. To Dirty Epic for sorting train travel. Thanks also to Get Carter and Candy Girl for sorting the great accompanying booklets for this tour. All in all what a great weekend that was. The only complaint is the weekend flew by far too quickly! Looking forward to the next jaunt already, wherever that will take us.
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Apr 7, 2022 7:55:21 GMT
Sounds like this was a great meet, glad you all had a good weekend. The Life on Mars one I went on in October was brilliantly organised and sounds like this one was too.
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Apr 7, 2022 9:01:13 GMT
Sounded like another amazing day. Thanks for posting the info on the day!
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The Saint
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Post by The Saint on Apr 7, 2022 17:21:42 GMT
What a fantastic weekend! Randall and Hopkirk was a wonderful choice for a meet. As on previous weekends, it was great to meet the majority of the squad on Saturday for a relaxing afternoon and evening in anticipation of Sunday’s meet. It was nice to get back to The Old Guinea pub in Shenley and also back to what has become an old favourite TV and film location - The Manor in Elstree. Gene did us proud on Sunday with a varied selection of locations that involved a drive out to Chesham, Latimer and Denham, followed by a lunch break at The Orange Tree in Totteridge. Then on to a location in Barnet and back towards Borehamwood for further locations. The whole day was timed to perfection by Gene Afternoon drinks at the Grim’s Dyke Hotel was very welcome - a legendary classic film and TV location. The evening meal at The Battleaxes pub in Aldenham was an enjoyable way to round off the weekend and is a place we have enjoyed in the past. As expected, Gene excelled once again with the planning and execution of the meet weekend, thanks Gene! Many thanks also to Candy Girl for printing Gene’s screen grabs, these really helped bring the locations to life. Gene, Sam and Del, as ever you were great company in the motor, lots of banter and laughs all day! I think covering different TV series and films on each meet really helps keep things fresh and I am greatly looking forward to the October meet. The Saint
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Post by Sam Tyler on Apr 7, 2022 22:56:12 GMT
Up at 6am is unheard of for me during the working week let alone of a Sunday so it had to be something special, and something special it was indeed. Out of the house at 6:45 for an easy drive to Borehamwood Civic Centre car park meant I was there with time to spare before the Hart & Spool unlocked their doors to feed a waiting squad. Just as I arrived I was met by Villain and Gerry Burtonshaw so a bit of a catchup chat ensued before taking a stroll and meeting Gene, Saint, Dirty and Del as they also arrived at Wetherspoons. As is customary we met with a hurl of abuse and traded insults with each other in the manner of a greeting before making our way in for a bite to eat. With more members arriving the squad was soon at full force and ready for the day ahead. And what a day it was! Already covered by previous posts we picked our way through some fantastic locations such as Latimer and Denham that appear to have cleverly defied time and development with the only changes being the arrival of a greater number of cars that Jeff and Marty would have seen back in those days. Certainly the "Not very good is he?" ghost chaser McAllister from "For The Girl Who Has Everything" would have had trouble parking his bike up against the kerb outside Mrs Pleasance's cafe nowadays. As an aside: Is it just me or was Mrs Pleasance's self-inflicted demise a wasted opportunity for the writers? I think she would have been a worthwhile ally in one or two more episodes. Back to topic... On to The Orange Tree for a refreshment or three and a chance to have a chinwag and to circulate a bit more around the squad before making our way on to the afternoon locations. Suitably fed and watered we were off to the Cavallo-Smith residence where many of the adjacent properties have been reworked or redeveloped and where a neighbour for whom the sense of taste had severely bypassed was completely blasé about the thought of her road being immortalised in film. Off then to the North Mymms Memorial where the road shows signs of having to be reprofiled to accommodate a local bridge, the sadly run-down Well End Lodge, and then the final stop being the popular Grims Dyke for a further refresher. Final port of call was The Battle Axes for a hearty meal and there it was, why do these days pass by so quickly? There are many 'thanks' for so many squad members, each and every one bringing so much to the day. Special thanks go to Candy Girl for the locations booklets (despite the names on the front sheet for each of the Admin and moderation team! ), Dirty Epic for the breakfast, Del for the lunchtime chips and Charles Bronson for the scotch. Huge thanks to The Saint for driving myself, Gene and Del-Boy around for the day, and of course massive thanks to Gene for draughting yet another brilliant day out. These meets are a real highlight that no other forum can boast of and with Gene's meticulous planning we are always certain of a treat. Long may it continue. Sam
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2022 16:06:07 GMT
Sorry, I know I’m a bit late to the party (as I was to some of the locations!) but just wanted to say thank you Gene for organising another great meet. So lovely to see everyone, great locations, superb food (thanks The Saint) and the whole itinerary just was perfect. Thanks to everyone and to John Steed for the patient navigation! Looking forward to the next one! CG x
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Post by Steve Austin on Apr 9, 2022 21:00:21 GMT
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The Saint
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Post by The Saint on Apr 9, 2022 22:16:00 GMT
Great photos Candy, thanks for sharing 👍
The Saint
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