Channel 4 Tonight's Canals Program Is On The Broads

[JennyMorgan]

Just now, Arthur said:

Pru was quoting from the Arthur Ransome book Coot Club.

The actual wording was.

The klop, klop of water under the bows of a small boat will cure most troubles in this world.

Wasn't so long ago when someone was complaining about that klop, klop noise!

[VetChugger]

I enjoyed the program! Impressed that Pru should be concerned that, when the Bish was performing his annual visit to St Benets, it didn't pi*s it down with rain!

[JennyMorgan]

49 minutes ago, dnks34 said:

Was it me or did I hear Pru say "Pi*sing Rain" when referring to it raining?

I saw quite a few boats I recognised, they seem a lovely couple and I really enjoyed watching. 

You did and in fairness the first few days of their visit coincided with a great deal of quoted 'pi*sing rain'!

[Wyndham]

7 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Wasn't so long ago when someone was complaining about that klop, klop noise!

Wasn't me, I complained about the clink clink clank clank,

So glad I did...."frap it" is now part of my vocabulary.

[Broads01]

I really enjoyed the programme and so pleased they finally came to the Broads having visited so many other places. The series has never been a conventional holiday programme and I think it's all the better for that. I enjoyed the aerial photography and I think they covered the historical aspects very well. One or two of the editing choices were a bit odd like when they jumped from being on Breydon one minute to being on the Police boat on the Thurne the next but that's only because I was able to spot where they were. The only part I didn't like was the Great Yarmouth piece which was too long and the Roy Hudd thing not relevant. 

Lady Christina from Little Ships - what a gorgeous looking boat. I think that's why I enjoyed the programme so much, I kept wishing I was on their boat. 

[WherryNice]

Was anyone else looking out for themselves or people they know in the background? My folks passed them on the Ant above Ludham Bridge somewhere so we were keenly studying the screen for them...

[Polly]

 Loved the programme, was that you Barry waving at them when they were looking out from Toad Hall Cottage?

I have worked around actors long enough to be quite unfazed by Pru's frank weather observation! 

How interesting JM that the production team were somehow so well briefed! 

It looked to me as though Tim had been handed a ready tied mooring line and asked to drop it on the post, which he did. That may be unfair but I think the moorings are more ring than post on the cut on account of the horses towing at one time, so he'd be more used to putting lines through rings and returning them to the boat?

What did strike me was the amount of wine consumed. 

 

[deebee29]

I did spot Friday Girl in the background at Beccles but didn’t see our Admiral or his Good Lady

[deebee29]

Just now, Polly said:

What did strike me was the amount of wine consumed. 

 

That would be in keeping with most of our holiday tales on here I fear

 

[Broads01]

Just looked up Lady Christina http://www.littleships.co.uk/ladychristina.html

I suspect it wouldn't be cheap to hire in the summer but what a stunning looking boat. 

[Wyndham]

Just now, Broads01 said:

Just looked up Lady Christina....

[KaptinKev]

1 hour ago, SwanR said:

I found the whole programme very disjointed. I didn't really feel that it gave a sense of why anyone should go to the Broads ... but perhaps that's not really the aim of the series. They did rather jump from one place to another which we only recognised because we know the area so well. Makes you wonder how much of the same could be said for all the other programmes they have made. It was a shame that they didn't take out something much more like the boats that most of us hire as holidaymakers.

Basically the programme is about Tim and Pru and where they visit doesn't really come into it. If they done a version of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Norfolk Broads" it would be Miss Scales, with the rond anchors, in the galley.

How many other people have we seen use the rivers to get their faces back on tv?

[SteveO]

An excellent programme. Apart from all the jumping about, the only point of confusion for me was that I thought that Water Rail was to be involved. Clearly I was wrong.

 

[WherryNice]

Water Rail was used for filming, my folks saw a camera man on her following Lady Christina and she was in shot a few times on the programme.

[SteveO]

Thanks WherryNice, that makes sense

[quackers]

Quote

8 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

May just be a coincidence but the production team had been supplied with links to or copies of all the relevant documentation explaining what the Broads  isn't. That aside one of the best TV programs dedicated to the Broads that I can remember

To my relief nobody, not even Tom Williamson, suggested that the peat diggings flooded in the 14th century, so maybe it wasn't a coincidence, Peter.

I too thoroughly enjoyed the programme, but is that all we are getting? I was hoping for more than one episode.

 

[SwanR]

I understand what everyone is saying about the series being about Tim and Pru, although I don't entirely agree. But I didn't think that they came across particularly well in this episode. Time to quit while they're ahead and hand the reins to someone else. 

Thing is that I have watched other episodes and then felt that I would like to visit that place or take that trip. But I don't think this episode did justice to the beauty of the Broads or to the kind of boats that most of us own or hire. 

Just my opinion ... each to their own. 

[LizG]

I need to watch it again - I was too busy trying to catch the few second glimpses of WR lurking in the background!  WR was only used on days 1 and 2 - she had to stand down because the boat was needed for my daughter's wedding party on the Southern Comfort. So Winsome skippered by Spring Song took over.  However, Winsome is seen passing Toad Cottage by absolute chance!

They were filming for at least four/five days from morning to evening so what we saw last night was many hours condensed into forty minutes so I suspect many people filmed would have been left disappointed! Knowing the Broads so well, it is a shame that two programmes couldn't be made but the majority of people watching this would get bored if it was too long!

I also thinking that because we know the Broads so well, we will be critical of the jumping around - for instances I know that the Museum of the Broads clip was after they left Lady Christina!

Liz

[deebee29]

The thing that we need to remember is that the Broads is OUR passion.

Most people who watch will tune in to follow Tim & Pru’s travels and their presenting style.

So I thought it was great to get a whole hour

I think I did read somewhere that this would probably be the last series & noticed that a book was advertised at the end (which I have pre ordered) called Our Great Canal Journeys.

 

[MauriceMynah]

Well !   Not a bad program at all. The program editors did what they normally do, jumping round from place to place rather than showing the areas in chronological order, and they did rather bat on about the "dangers" of Breydon, but those aside, a most enjoyable show. (and no mention of the "National Park" though I did miss a couple of minutes.

[JennyMorgan]

The program was about Pru & Tim, first and foremost. I did think that Tim fluffed his lines on a couple of occasions though. Was Roy Hudd appropriate to a Broads program, maybe not, but he, like me and I suspect many others, remembers the heyday of seaside holidays, 60s & 70s, and Yarmouth was very much on the itinerary of Broads visitors. Not only that but Roy & Tim are apparently long term friends and both walk the boards. I well remember the days of Frank Ifield, the warbling Australian, plus folk like Billy Fury, Max Bygraves, Joe Brown, the Tornadoes and others, all from the days when the Broads was a major holiday resort. History now but nevertheless very much Broads related. Back in time when crossing Breydon was all a part of the great adventure.

[Hylander]

57 minutes ago, SwanR said:

I understand what everyone is saying about the series being about Tim and Pru, although I don't entirely agree. But I didn't think that they came across particularly well in this episode. Time to quit while they're ahead and hand the reins to someone else. 

Thing is that I have watched other episodes and then felt that I would like to visit that place or take that trip. But I don't think this episode did justice to the beauty of the Broads or to the kind of boats that most of us own or hire. 

Just my opinion ... each to their own. 

Probably my age but I dropped off to sleep watching it ,   so will be having to watch it again.   Any excuse....

[Viking23]

I agree with most, if not all of the comments posted. But to be fair we have a very biassed audience from folk on the forum. there were a lot of opportunities lost.

10 minutes before the scheduled end of the programme' we had had enough.

Yes we recorded it, yes one day when we get withdrawal symptoms we will watch it again.

To be honest, I preferred the threads and posts leading up to the visit and the pre filming pics etc that we had on the forum, just a few months ago..

We expected more to be fair, in fact, we got more enjoyment when Drew Pritchard visited Martam boats,, in a programme last year.

Richard and Roz

 

[grendel]

1 hour ago, SwanR said:

Thing is that I have watched other episodes and then felt that I would like to visit that place or take that trip. But I don't think this episode did justice to the beauty of the Broads or to the kind of boats that most of us own or hire. 

But then if we knew those other places as well as we do the Broads, I wonder if we would say the same about those places, How many of the non broads experts would know the film chopped and changed all over the place.

I was once involved with some filming with a trainee BBC producer, he told me that they thought they were doing well if they got 1 minutes useable footage per hour of filming

[Springsong]

That is right Liz we took over from Water Rail on the Tuesday afternoon . There are quite a few shots with Winsome in camera the best quite near the beginning. A very enjoyable week but quite hard work with long days, still it was really nice to meet Timothy and Pru both delightful people.

Tim & Pru disappearing into the sunset.