Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 22nd May, 2021)

My wife lived round the corner at the off licence in Tunstall lane. We used to go to the unit 4 cinema at least once a week. The cinema was anything but healthy with mould and black slime on the walls towards the latter days of the cinema.

It looks like Midsomer Murders but not as picturesque! Midsomer Pemberton? I used to think "Midsomer" villages were fictional until we were on holiday in The Cotswolds years ago and came across Midsomer Norton.

I hope he's not a roofer Dennis .

Good grief Poet! Me too, I never thought of that. Mind you if he had fallen of the roof he would be looking a bit flatter I reckon.

Looks like he's having a nod in his break

Whatever he's doing he can't be comfortable in that position. Whether he's painting straight or applying polyfiller

Irene, I think you may have been reading your AA Road Atlas
upside down....Midsomer Norton is in the county of Somerset.
Cheers, Ray.

Is that where the sportsman’s dance hall was in the 1970’s if it was I spent many weekends there with my friends dancing the night away we loved it.

Unit Four now a shop selling carpets , called Carpet Wizard
If you go in you can sit on some of the old cinema seats or you can watch this video.

https://youtu.be/Uyyt6u67KjA

Yes, you're probably right, ray....geography is NOT my strong point!! I have a feeling we were staying in Wiltshire....would we have been in a reasonable distance ? I am such a wally and have no sense of direction whatsoever, but I know we went there because there was a branch of Tesco with "Midsomer Norton Tesco" written on the signage and Peter took my photo stood under the sign as we were fans of Midsomer Murders.

@ Jean. Yes, it was the Sportsman Club. I met my husband there in 1966.

Helen B thanks I also met my husband there Christmas Eve 1970 we married Christmas 1971 we celebrate our Golden wedding this December

Pembertonians know this as The Carlton or as Jean said The Sportsman's Club. Pemberton like other areas also had two cinemas at one time with The Queen's being further up and remember being told that both would always be full along with folks queuing to get in. Looking at the state of the building it appears that it was far more profitable screening films back then than the fitting of carpets is now.

The wife's friend, who isn't from around here, asked why we say fillum and not film, I think it was passed down from Irish ancestors and how they pronounced certain words.

If I remember correctly I'm sure there is a mosaic type tile floor in the vestibule of the Half Way House , so the decorator maybe cleaning up paint spatters from off it or repairing it.

Irene, I too was under the impression that Midsomer Murders was filmed in the Cotswolds, though I googled and it was filmed in Oxfordshire, but only wrong by 35 miles.

We too used to go to the Sportsman's Club Helen. My husband lived in Newtown, so it was just a short walk.
I remember there was a comedy act on one night called Dickie and Dottie. Dickie played the violin, while Dottie took her clothes off - Dickie would follow her around the stage, trying to shield her with the violin - hilarious. Even more so because they were no spring chickens!

@ Jean. Well, there’s a coincidence! My husband & I met on Christmas Eve too! We’re rapidly approaching 53 y.o.m. My school friend, who was with me that night, was attracted to my husband’s work colleague, and they have just celebrated their 50th.
May I offer my congratulations on your forthcoming Golden Wedding. Have a wonderful Anniversary xx

You are dead right there Cyril - The Irish still say 'filum ' and it was definitely passed down in Scholes. Mind you we used to say we were going t' Scholes Pictures.

Irene, Cyril. The main town filmed in the series (certainly in the early days was Amersham in Buckinghamshire. PS the original Caroline Graham novels are absolutely great but they are different from the TV. Barnaby is similar but other characters e.g. Troy are very different.

When I was very small my Dad was the projectionist at the Sportsman when it was a cinema..and yes Cyril the Irish do say filum..my Grandma said it..she was Irish..even my Brother said it and he wasn't born in Ireland,he must have picked it up from Grandma when he was very young and it stuck.

Sorry to be a bit late with this, but the Cotswolds is quite big and spans Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Not far from Somerset either!

I lived on ormskirk road near the veg shop that is there now ,and that photo has many.many fond memories for me for thats were we would go to the pictures on a saturday morning for me it will always be known as the
CARLTON PICTURE HOUSE CIRCA 1950 -59 HAPPY DAYS THEY WERE ...