Ady

The Opening Shot - Ady now has "Nurse on Wheels" due to the kind and generous nature of the one and only "Geoffers".
Thankyou Geoffers; You're a Gentleman.

spinalman

Ady, Do you know where this hospital is/was?

Paul

smudge

The opening shot is the old KING EDWARD VII Hospital in Windsor and the shots where Juliet Mills is driving the car with a church in the distance behind her is also Windsor - just off Trinity Place, near the old East Berks College.

The college itself was the HQ of FIZZO COLA where Sid James fell foul of his daughter's tin can protest in the film of BLESS THIS HOUSE. The college has only recently been demolished.

(Was it the test centre in NURSE ?? Memory fails me...)

Back to the hospital.... an entrance just to the left of the picture was the entrance to the maternity hospital for Sid James and Jim Dale in CARRY ON CABBY.

Obviously Windsor was a favourite haunt of Rogers and Thomas back then. One day I'll get round to writing a town film trail.... :

The hospital in Feb 05. Some of it has now been converted to flats, with further redevelopment to follow.



Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Ady

Smudge'd again ! - well done ! ( did you take the photo yourself ? )

Is this Windsor as well ? ( I suppose it will be )



Second grab has a pub sign - looks like a Courage one - "The Hope" ?


Smudge says:- "The hospital in Feb 05. Some of it has now been converted to flats"-
- Flats ? - WONDERFUL !! just what the NHS needs - more flats !

JamesM - Yes, You were right ; they did follow with it's release. ( please accept this Gold Star ! ) - shame they didn't include Twice Around the Daffodils with it.

Spinalman- "Ady, Do you know where this hospital is/was?" - well I do now, Paul , thanks to Sherlock Smudge !

Moor Larkin - Thanks for such an educational link -(I like Cargill as a writer but not as an actor.)
I had no idea that "No.6" was a comic ! Surprising - I've only seen him in deadly serious roles.

(I need to sleep before replying to Craster's comments - please pass me a blood-pressure tablet)

Bed-time for Ady. Goodnight all.

- ((Ady now has "Nurse on Wheels" due to the kind and generous nature of the one and only "Geoffers".
Thankyou Geoffers; You're a Gentleman.))

smudge

Yes, Ady, I did take the photo myself. The hospital is just a stone's throw away from the houses used for Sid, Jean, Trevor and Betty in the BLESS THIS HOUSE film. I have a number of photos of Windsor film/TV locations, hence my : comment about writing a town film trail...

The grab on the left I can't place yet, but the right hand grab looks like Victoria Street ; I need to revisit the film to refresh the old grey matter. A lot of the older side streets of Windsor disappeared at the end of the 60s for the 'award winning' Ward Royal development. The pub sign should help me get a firm fix on that street though, as somebody has done a lot of research on the old pubs of Windsor.

I shall do some further research tonight....

Smudge

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smudge

Ok folks - an update....

As I suspected the Hope pub is that which is now renamed The Four Crosses at the bottom of Peascod St (Windsor's main shopping area), which means that Juliet has just turned left out of St. Leonard's Rd., and is heading along Victoria St., towards Clarence Road.

Looking again at the film East Berkshire College was indeed the driving test centre - as Juliet drives away and turns left, you can clearly see the street name, Claremont Rd (she turns into Alma Rd BTW).

When she stops and Deryck Guyler asks her to reverse round the corner, this is Clarence Crescent, Windsor ; the opposite end to where Kenneth Williams collects the chimp in CARRY ON REGARDLESS and just yards away from the same spot in Clarence Road on her bike as described above.

I am pleased to say that I have finally put meself out of my misery and located 'Blandley' this evening as well, thanks to scouring some views of Buckinghamshire churches.

Blandley is in fact the village of Little Missenden, and Raymond Huntley's church is that of St. John the Baptist. It's very distinctive and I confirmed the spot by comparing some screen grabs.

As you'll probably know, Juliet and Esme stay in Town Farm Cottage - and yes, it does exist, it's not just a house name provided by the art dept.

==========

If you go GOOGLING and put in Little Missenden as an Image Search, you'll find lots of familiar shots - such as the junction where Joan Sims crosses to Abel Worthy's shop and where Norman Rossington loses control of his landrover...

If you Google (Image) 'Little Missenden' and 'Francis Frith' you'll come across a collection of old B&W postcards, one of which clearly shows the half timbered buildings with Town Farm Cottage in the distance.

Finally, if you do a 'standard' Google for Little Missenden and Town Farm, you'll find details of a Lindesfarne gig which took place at the Town Farm Barn as late as 2001.

Judicious use of the church websites, the roadsigns as seen in the film, and Streetmap finally got me there...

Carry on spotting !

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Ady

Well done Smudge ! - I'd found L'Mis'd'n from the Great Mis'n'd'n/Amersham signpost and then used an os map, and finally Flashearth

Also - Town Farm Cottage gets used in lots of things - Midsomer Murders recently ( I'll see if i can dig it out for a grab ) - seems strange to be still using it 44 years later - must be a nice little earner for the family that own it ! ( or perhaps it's the studios ? )

As for the Windsor shots, I have a pro video camera and a good vehical mount; so if you get on your old pushbike in St.Leonards Road, we can film the sequel - SMUDGE ON WHEELS ! - of course, we'd have to pause filming at The Four Crosses , just to make sure that the beer is of merchantable quality ( three or four rounds should be sufficient . ) ; then bach on the bhike for the rest of the philming, hic! - NO ! CUT! - CUT! - CUTT! - NO Smudgh - yer wobblin all ower dap lace, hic . anywon whood fink yad never riddig a bysickal beefor - cut - I need a lie down.
Anyone got an asprin. I think the beer was off.

smudge

If only I'd asked, Ady, you could probably have put me out of my misery YEARS ago...

I like the sound of the sequel, but I think I've been on the beer already - the pub is CROSSES CORNER - no IDEA why I said Four Crosses ! But I think we'll start in The Criterion, directly opposite C. Corner

SMUDGE

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Ady

Too late, Smudge. The Posters are already printed

smudge

Ady !!!

But where's the beard and the long hair ? And has your printer never seen a bloke who's descended from, a Fiji islander ? That skirt should surely be a grass one... :


Very good.

Smudge

EDIT : Mrs. Smudge thinks it's hilarious !!!

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Ady

Is this nearer to lifelike ?



tee hee !!

smudge

Blimey - it's a ringer !

Smudge

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Rob Compton

Great work Ady!

PS68060

Smudge,

When did this stop being a hospital ?

I think I once took someone there for tests on an eye injury. He got sheep-dip in it !

I vaguely know some of Windsor because I used to live in the Bracknel area.

"Oh! Pete!"

smudge

There is still a hospital on site, but the CARRY ON CABBY bits, where Sid drives Jim Dale into maternity was sold off and the buildings demolished in 2003-3 for a housing development. There were lots of alterations behind the old main building then as well and it doesn't seem to be used much anymore.

Next time I am down there I shall have another look - I haven't walked up that way for a couple of months...

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...