Just my opinion, of course, but I don’t think re-makes work. Whether that’s on television or the film, the re-working of screen classics very rarely live up to the original, leaving me (and I’m quite sure I’m not alone in this) wondering why the makers bothered even to try. Take the brilliant Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais classic sitcom Porridge, for example. Starring the wonderful Ronnie Barker, and supported by a stellar cast of British comedy actors such as Fulton Mackay, Richard Beckinsale, Brian Wilde, Patricia Brake, Sam Kelly & Christopher Biggins, not to mention acting legends like David Jason, Peter Vaughan & Alun Armstrong, to name but three, it was (it says here) first broadcast in 1974, ran for three full series and two Christmas specials, spawned a feature film, and most importantly of all was a beautifully-scripted, superbly-acted, family-friendly and very, very funny half-hour of comedy gold. Quite rightly, even fifty years on from its first screening, it regularly takes its place in the top five or top ten British sitcoms of all-time.
Difficult then, if not outright impossible, to better or improve on a series that was all-round perfect. Yet, in 2016 - and quite what they were thinking, I’m not entirely sure - the same pair of writers, Clement & La Frenais, were persuaded to write a new series of Porridge. Ronnie Barker had successfully reprised his role as Norman Stanley Fletcher in the follow-up series, Going Straight. But with many of the original cast long since on the wrong side of their obituaries, not least of all Ronnie Barker himself, the only thing the same was the title of the series. Not to dwell on how bad it was, but it was universally panned by the television critics. In short, it was terrible. I doubt it would even make the top 500 best British sitcoms, if such a poll ever existed.
However, and again I repeat this is just my opinion, one television re-make that I am enjoying, funnily enough from the same era as Porridge, is Channel Five’s current re-working of James Herriott’s All Creatures Great & Small. I would have enjoyed it regardless, but the series has an extra element to it for me - and that is, it is filmed in and around Grassington, featuring all the familiar locations around the village that I have got to know well in my twelve years of performing there, the most recent one this weekend just gone. I have done a little bit of ‘extra’ work in the past (although they call them ‘background artistes’ these days), including on Coronation Street, so it’s amusing to me to see one or two familiar village faces in the programme! It’s a series that is very popular in the USA - and Grassington, which is a quintessential Yorkshire Dales village, has seen an influx of American visitors in recent times. Whereas it was once unusual to hear an American accent over the 1940s Weekend, nowadays it’s fairly common.
Enough, though, of television. The 1940s Weekend is very much real life, one of the most enduring events now in the 1940s calendar, and if anything visitor numbers seem to be on the rise. Located where it is, around ten miles from Skipton, Grassington is a popular destination for walkers and sightseers all year round, but it’s also the only 1940s event that I am aware of that attracts coaches from all over, bringing day-trippers specifically to the 1940s Weekend. For six hours each day, the village is transformed into a hub of activity - dominated by the music and dancing on every corner, exhibits including military vehicles and a Spitfire, and re-enactors in their wonderful 1940s attire rubbing shoulders with visitors happily taking it all in. It’s a fabulous spectacle, and only enhanced by the spectacular setting. With no through traffic allowed, it becomes an oasis occupied solely by people. And there’s no shortage of pubs, tea rooms & cafes to sit and rest and absorb the atmosphere.
In those twelve years of performing at the event, I have always been found at the ‘top of the hill’, close to the town hall. This year, I was asked to perform outside The Foresters pub, a popular area in the village for dancers, and those happy to sit outside on the benches with a drink, watch the dancing and soak up the atmosphere. Now, as a singer, I accept that 1940s re-enactors, who unfailingly are the ones dancing, prefer to do so to a DJ playing tunes. That’s just how it is. I understand that as well. My role is to entertain visitors, evoking the sounds of the 1940s. That doesn’t mean I don’t attract my share of dancers, because I do. But it’s one thing being at the top of the hill, performing to an audience, being placed in one of the busiest parts of the village over the weekend, where the dancers tend to congregate, is something else entirely. Where I differ from other singers is that, between my sets, I have Dave and a huge library of 1940s tunes to keep the atmosphere going, which he did all day. For my part, I decided that I would only do dance numbers all the way - and happily that went down well, with a line of dancers for every song, and a massive crowd gathered around, watching and listening - and I would like to think enjoying my performances.
That was on the Saturday, and on Sunday I was back in my usual spot at the top of the hill. It was nice to be told that I had been missed here on the Saturday. With the addition of some stalls opposite, it felt busier than it often is. Here, too, I attracted a good number of dancers, which always provides a spectacle, as much for me as it does for onlookers. As always, as my final set drew to a close, my last announcement over the microphone was to thank everyone involved in ensuring that the weekend took place for another year. It’s not just common courtesy - no matter where I am performing, I am always grateful to those organisers and volunteers who have freely given their time and their efforts in hosting a 1940s events, the amount of work involved no doubt beyond what most of us can begin to imagine. I also thank them for showing faith in me, and placing their trust in my abilities as a performer.
Here, though, at Grassington, after twelve years that gratitude carries an extra element. It is an honour to be part of the line up year on year, and a privilege to bring my talent to such an iconic location. As a rule, I try not to make this blog a regular roll-call of people I meet or have known for a long time, but to every rule there must be an exception. So it’s only right that I single out Julia and Theresa for all their hard work and dedication in ensuring that the 1940s Weekend takes place in Grassington year after year. Not just in the months leading up to it, with all the planning and organisation involved, but over the weekend itself, particularly dealing with all the issues, medical or otherwise, that inevitably arise when an event takes place with so many folk in attendance. It’s work that maybe goes largely unappreciated by visitors. But without their efforts, the event simply wouldn’t happen – and I, for one, very much appreciate all they do, and the fact they continue to show faith in me. I like to think, as demonstrated all day on the Saturday outside The Foresters, that trust was in no way misplaced.
And then, before I knew it, it was 4.00pm and the event was over for another year. At that very point, just as we began to pack away all the equipment and take down our gazebo… an otherwise fine weekend saw the heavens open, and it lashed down with rain for a solid hour. Naturally it then stopped as we slowly drove out of the village and headed home, bidding a fond farewell to Grassington – but hopefully only until next year!
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