Well, the past few days have flown by since the Carry On Meet and I'm still on a high from the whole weekend!
Thanks to all those who joined us last weekend and have posted such fantastic comments on this report thread. I've really enjoyed reading your comments. It is absolutely wonderful that all those attended gave the first Non Sweeney Meet a unanimous thumbs up. It is great news that we made the correct decision all those months ago to broaden our outlook, not just with the forum itself, but also with the events organised. I can assure everyone that we can look forward to more of the same from now on!
Back to last weekend....
Saturday started with me detouring slightly to pick up John Steed, then a swift run down the Motorway to Windsor for 12 noon. After checking into the digs, we moved post-haste to the first watering hole. It wasn't long before we got the taste for the ale so we moved onto the next, and then the next, and then the next pub, before dropping into Wetherspoons, where very soon we were met by Del Boy, Dirty Epic & Perfect Pseudonym. More ale flowed before I ordered my steak & chips pizza. Then it was onto the next pub to meet up with Windy Miller, Charles Bronson & Vienna. More ale was quaffed before heading to two more boozers.... you get the picture...
Finally, we staggered back to the digs for a kip and before we knew it, it was time to fire up the Quattro and head off to pre Meet breakfast. Before long, a few more of the squad joined us and then we set off down to Riverside Station to meet the remaining squad members.
Kick off was 10:30 and we set of on what was to be one of the most memorable location tours I've done for many a year. What better way to start than the iconic "Long Hampton Hospital". A short walk from here to the end of the road and we were outside the Camping Shop where Sid & Bernie pick up the leaflet for the nudist camp.
Back to the cars and it was a drive East over to Pinewood. I visited this estate back in the late 80's and early 90's and very little had changed then, so I was happy to see that not a lot else had changed in the last quarter decade. Standing in the spot where Sid James, Bernard Bresslaw, Joan Simms etc had stood evoked a lot of memories for the squad on the day. Quite a number of locations all in the same street circuit proved very popular.
A short drive back to Windsor where we parked up for the rest of the day. A sustenance stop in The Royal Oak was exactly what was needed before we headed off for our afternoon walkabout. This was fantastic. Location after location followed over the 3 mile course and before we knew it, we were back at The Royal Oak for our evening meal. Great food there by the way and I can recommend it to anyone going to Windsor.
The day went by all too quickly. Soon it was time to bid everyone goodbye, and myself & John Steed hit the high road in the Quattro. The end of one of my favourite Meets to date.
Thank you to all those who joined us for the first Non-Sweeney Meet. You all really do make the day extra special. It was good to hear throughout the day people commenting on how we'd all become good friends thanks to the Meets, and also pledging their continued support for ALL future events.
Thanks to all those who got me and Sam a drink in. Sam mentioned that we'd politely declined a couple of drinks... I never thought I'd see that day! Thanks also to The Saint for getting the chips in at lunchtime. Cheers pal!
Thanks to Steed, who was brilliant company on the journey there and back as always
Thanks to everyone who drove on the day. It is not a task to be taken lightly for people to drive into and around an area that is unknown to them. I have to say, ALL drivers did phenomenally well and were at each point within minutes of each other.
Well done drivers
BIG thanks to Del for taking over the role of driver/passenger administration for this meet. It's a treat for me that I can rely on someone to do this without me having to worry. Thanks also to Del for the effort he puts in to finding, purchasing and wearing appropriate costumes and being great fun throughout the event.
Cheers Del
HUGE thanks to my old pal Sam Tyler. Sam very kindly offered to step in and sort out the venue for the evening meal for this Meet. Having done this for the past 10 years, I know what is involved and it is not as easy as you think to arrange this part of the day. Sam did us all extremely proud with the Royal Oak. Not only pre booking the meals, but also managing to reserve a full section of the dining room so we could all sit together as a group.
Sam also stepped in when a driver pulled out of the Meet a few hours before the start. Having not familiarised himself with the route in advance, he drove us both around without any hiccups. Under the circumstances, and mainly due to the amount I'd necked the night before, there is no way I could have driven on the Sunday morning.
Cheers Sam
Finally, thanks again to everyone who attended. Thank you for the kind comments regards the day itself and the itinerary we enjoyed. It was an absolute pleasure for me to spend the time I did preparing the list of locations we visited. Indeed, there were probably double the amount we actually visited to start with, but I had to drop a fair few in order for us to fit them into the schedule. Equally, I appreciated that a couple of drivers came to me to thank me for the step by step driving route instructions I prepared a few days before the Meet. I'm glad you all found them of use and that they were accurate enough to keep everyone together.
Time for me to take a break from locations for a while though. Well, for a few weeks at least before I start formulating a plan for the 4:3tv Meet 003 October 2016. I have said before that there will be NO guarantees that there will be a Sweeney Meet in any given 4:3tv year. It will all depend on numerous factors at the time of planning. So next time around it could be a Sweeney Meet, but it could also be a Steptoe & Son Meet, a Man About The House Meet, Auf Wiedersehen Pet Meet, Get Carter Meet, On The Buses Meet or a Life On Mars Meet. That's the beauty of 4:3tv. We have so many options now that I can see these Meets continuing for many years to come.
So those who don't want to miss out.... watch out for an announcement later in the Summer.
Gene Hunt.