The Reason and the Plan

Bob is a big fan of two public TV series "Doc Martin" and "Last of the Summer Wine" He was becoming more reluctant to travel, but I was not ready to stop. So I proposed to that we go to England and visit the places where those series were filmed and he accepted that idea. This was the first of four trips we took in 2015. Bob had been to England twice before and I had visited three times. His first visit was in 1956 on his plebe cruise at the US Naval Academy. The second time was when we visited our daughter and went on a 2002 Narrowboat cruise. My first visit was in 1950 with my parents, and I went back to London for a few days in 2007 with my grandson.

In Doc Martin, Martin Clunes plays Dr Martin Ellingham, a brilliant and successful surgeon, who has developed haemophobia (a fear of blood), forcing him to stop practising surgery. He ends up as the sole GP in the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn (In real life, Port Isaac). Despite his medical expertise, Ellingham is grouchy, pugnacious, and lacks social skills. He feels he is performing his duties in a professional and by-the-book manner, not wasting time chatting. This doesn't sit well with the local villagers. "Doc Martin" as the villages call him, dresses formally in a business suit and tie, regardless of the weather or the occasion, and he never takes off his jacket, even when delivering babies.

The village of Portween is almost another charcter in the series, and the photography of the village is one of the reasons to watch.

So after we got back from St Croix in December 2014, we decided to visit the Doc Martin location in Port Isaac before filming started because Bob thought that the village would be too crowded when they were filming. After many inquiries, I found that filming was to start March 23rd so we were going to go in the middle of March - In spite of the fact that our daughter who had lived in England thought that the weather would be terrible - rainy and cold at that time of year.

Over the years, we have both watched Last of the Summer Wine which which is one of the longest running series ever. The first episode was filmed January 4, 1973. and the last episode date was August 29, 2010. The series was set and filmed in and around Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England, so we were also going to visit Holmfirth.

Cleggy, Compo and Foggy of Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine centred on a trio of old men and their misadventures. Cleggy (Norman Clegg played by Peter Salis) was the one character who did the whole series. Compo (Compo Simonite) was played by Bill Owen who died in 1999 and was replaced by his son Tom Owen who played Tom Simonite. The third old man varied. Originally it was Cyril Blamire played by Michael Bates. For a short time it was Seymour Utterthwaite played by Michael Aldridge. Sometimes it was Foggy Dewhirst played by Brandon Wilde, and most of the rest of the time it was it was Herbert Truelove (Truly of the Yard) played by Frank Thornton.

Lynde came on Thursday and got me packed. Bob started packing Friday while I was watching the Utah Regional (the robotics competition that our grandson was competing in). Jean the cat sitter came to pick up the house keys Saturday.

My_computer_grandchild_walpaper. The grandson competing in robotics is on the far right

Sunday 15 March 2015
I started to do email today and the computer malfunctioned, so I've had it in the hands of the Geek Squad for the last two hours. They think I have accidentally activated hot keys. I have to have better control of the little finger of my left hand. Either that or look to see what I'm typing.

So we are going to leave in about an hour.
This was to be our schedule.
March 15 - Driving to BWI and leaving the car at the Hampton Inn
Flying BA to London
Staying in the Best Western Paddington Court
Monday, March 16, 2015 (2:00 PM - 12:00 AM)
Check-out Tuesday March 17, 2015 (until 12:00 PM)

March 17, 2015
Taking train to Cornwall and renting a car. Staying at
The Slipway Hotel
Address: The Harbour Front, Port Isaac
Port Isaac, PL29 3RH, United Kingdom
Phone: +441208880264
Monday, March 17, 2015 (2:00 PM - 11:00 PM)
To Friday, March 20, 2015

March 20, 2015
Flying to Manchester and renting a car. From March 20 to March 23 staying at

Woodman Inn
Thunderbridge Lane
Huddersfield, HD8 0PX, United Kingdom
Phone: +4401484605778

March 24 turning in the car, flying Manchester, to Heathrow, to BWI

March 24 staying at the Hampton Inn - driving home March 25th