This was a popular series and it would be great to see it again, if only for its historical detail , when it was broadcast vidio recorders were not around in the accepted sence.For the record it was filmed in 16mm colour with the sound on a seperate tape and needed a double headed projector to reproduce it.Fortunately the Manchester Branch of the IWA was able to provide such a machine and Bill Grunday came and gave us a very interesting talk on the making the series and showed us one episode in full colour on a lage cinema screen.The attendance on that evening was over 300 the largests ever recorded Manchester branch attendance. The late Dr. David Owen was in the chair. Chris Potter (branch sec. at the time) ps I hope it can be unearthed.
________________________________ From: BARRY HOLLAND <[email protected]> To: canals list <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, 1 September, 2009 13:55:58 Subject: [canals-list] The Flower of Gloster Just going through the haunted wing of my computer-account & came upon this impassioned plea to 'Television Heaven' who totally ignored my plea. Can anyone on the list help?? Hi, I'm a boat enthusiast who has been trying to track down the following programme for years. Someone in the canal chatroom has come up with the goods [see below] but can I get the series on DVD? Please help Regards, Barry Holland. The first drama series to be filmed in colour by Granada Television (two years before ITV's regular colour service began), The Flower Of Gloster was about four youngsters who crew a narrow-boat from North Wales to London and their adventures on Britain's inland waterways. In fact, the series was largely experimental in more ways than one, the tales being a mixture of plotted storylines, natural history and improvisation. The lead characters played themselves (all the character first names were the names of the actors) and any chance to take in a place of historical interest on their journey (Woburn Abbey, Stoeke Bruene Museum - which portrays the heritage of 200 years of inland waterways) was taken up by the series producer Bill Grundy. This all mixed in rather oddly with the fictional tales of haunted forests and bovver boys. The plot involved Richard Doherty (Richard O'Callaghan) , eldest son of Jim (Jim Doherty), a boatyard owner from Wales who is unable to deliver a new barge to London when he breaks his leg in an accident. So Richard takes the helm and is accompanied by his sister Elizabeth (Elizabeth Doherty) and they are soon joined by their young brother Mike (Mike Doherty) and their friend Annette (Annette Roberston), and for 13 weeks they traverse the waterways of west England passing towns, cities and villages. Chris McMaster, who the following year would bring a different type of children's action/adventure series to the screen when he devised Freewheelers, wrote the series. The name of the boat and series title was inspired by Ernest Temple Thurston's evocative account of a springtime journey by barge around the canals of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire, 'The Flower of Gloster' first published in 1911. Producer Bill Grundy went on to television notoriety when he interviewed the Sex Pistols on live television, inadvertently kicking off the whole punk rock era, and ending his own TV career. 13 episodes of 30 minute duration. Granada Television 1967. Barry Nb notholdingmybreath [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
