Gloucestershire On Screen Blog

Gloucestershire in the 1970s and 80s

2011-08-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Fascinating films from the BBC TV series, "Days Out" series are now available on the BBC website.

See Cheltenham as it featured in the 1970s/1980s documentary series, or marvel at a bygone era in Gloucester, Painswick and Stroud. The programme visited a different Gloucestershire and West Country locale every week, talking to local people and interviewing civic dignitaries.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Sadness as curtain comes down on old cinema's home

2011-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Gloucestershire Echo
PEOPLE have been remembering a popular Cheltenham cinema after the Echo reported that the building that housed it was to be demolished.

The old Springbok bar in Albion Street is being knocked down to make way for 14 flats and some offices. Before it became a drinking place, the building was an entertainment hub. It opened as a theatre in 1913 and was turned into a cinema in 1931.

Originally called Gillsmith's Hippodrome, its name was later changed to the Coliseum. The theatre's main claim to fame was music hall entertainer Jack Judge writing the lyrics to It's A Long Way To Tipperary in the dressing room. He then gave the first performance at the Albion Street theatre. A million copies of the sheet music were sold in 1914. Cheltenham resident, Joyce Cummings, has a poignant reason for remembering the theatre. Her grandfather, Arthur Allsopp, helped to build it when he was 35 in 1913, but after suffering a fall while plastering the ceiling, he died of his injuries.

Joyce, who was a teenager in the 1940s, said she used to visit the Coliseum when it was a cinema. "It stands out in my mind," she said. "I used to go to the pictures there and the queues in those days were huge. During the war we had to stand in the gangways. A lot of the men in the Forces, servicemen from this country and America, used to go into town to the pictures." She said she was disappointed the building could not be saved. "I will be very sorry to see it go," she said. "I wouldn't want to see the Coliseum turned into anything else. It was a lovely cinema." John Boxwell, who was also a teenager in the 1940s, said it was one of six cinemas in the town at that time. There was the Ritz in Lower High Street, the Gaumont – which became the Odeon – in Winchcombe Street, the Palace in High Street, the Regal in the Promenade and the Daffodil in Montpellier.

He said: "We used to go to the pictures about once a week during the war. It was just a cinema, nothing special really. The Odeon was my favourite because that is where I had my first date. It was absolutely full."

When the Albion Street venue was a theatre, it was the only one in Cheltenham in the late '20s and early '30s. The lure of the talkies eventually hit the town and on April 13, 1931, the cinema opened with Hit the Deck and The Runaway Bride. In 1937, it was renovated and had luxury seating. The last film to be shown at the Coliseum was Bonnie and Clyde. Demolition of the building will disappoint arts fans. Many were hoping the run-down bar could be transformed into a creative venue. Last month, people gathered at Cheltenham Town Hall to hear plans to replace the old Axiom building, which closed in 2000, with a community-led space, and the former Springbok bar was one of the locations put forward. The former Odeon cinema in Winchcombe Street is another derelict building that has been the subject of rumours. Plans were submitted in February to turn it into two restaurants and a 1,400-capacity nightclub. Proposals for the 1930s art deco building were given the green light on appeal in 2008. However, no company has been found to take on the project and planning permission must be renewed.

http://www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk/

2011-05-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Monument to movies' magic era

2011-05-27T03:03:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Bristol Evening Post

Monument to movies' magic era

< Previous 1 2 Next >

MAJESTIC: The Regal, above, was the largest cinema on the EMI circuit in the country, and opened with a screening of Robin Hood, below

MORE than just a cinema, the ABC in Cheltenham's Promenade was a gateway to the glamour of the movies.

The fantasy began the moment you crossed the threshold and entered the foyer, spacious and palatial, from which rose a sweeping staircase that might have been plucked from a Busby Berkeley production.

Once climbed it opened onto a mezzanine. At either end were heavy, padded doors leading to the circle where the eye was greeted by a glorious expanse of picture palace art deco.

What an auditorium. Chandeliers suspended from the heady heights. Decorative pilasters and plasterwork. Hints of Egyptian tombs and motifs of the orient. Splendid and sumptuous.

The last cinema to be built in Cheltenham, the Regal as it was first named, occupied the spot that had previously been the Imperial Spa pump room. It was the work of well-regarded cinema architects W R Glen and L C Norton and opened for business on January 2, 1939.

Trevor Jones, the first of five managers who presided over the establishment, welcomed patrons to the debut screening of Robin Hood, starring the stylish swashbuckler Errol Flynn.

Prices for afternoon shows were sixpence in the stalls and a shilling in the circle, then for evening performances a shilling for the stalls, one and sixpence in the front circle and two bob (10p) upstairs at the back.

With its seating capacity of 1,165 downstairs and 674 upstairs, Cheltenham's Regal was the largest cinema on the EMI circuit in the country. Despite its grandeur and impressive scale, the cinema had no restaurant, unlike most that were built in the 1930s.

There was another surprising omission. Audiences were not entertained between films by a multi-consoled, mighty Wurlitzer, or Compton. The Regal was without an organ.

When war broke out in September 1939 all cinemas in the land were closed by order of the government. Just one week later, however, they reopened, as going to the pictures was deemed important to keep up morale.

In 1954, Cinemascope (the moviespeak term for a big screen) was installed at the ABC and later that decade a number of 3D films were shown. Hailed as the greatest development in cinematic history since the arrival of talkies, 3D films actually turned out to be, well, just a gimmick really, as a present-day generation of cinema goers is now discovering.

In 1962 the Regal was renamed the ABC and the first film to be shown after the change was Escape from Zahrain, starring Yul Brynner.

Early in the 1970s when the soft porn (and stunningly boring) French film Emmanuelle was showing at the ABC, the manager Clive Jones taped over the more racy bits of the posters so as not to offend visitors to the town.

The Sting (1974) starring Paul Newman was the most successful film ever shown at the Promenade cinema. It ran for six weeks, was screened 120 times and played to 30,389 patrons.

To celebrate its 40 anniversary, the ABC threw open its doors in 1979 and gave guided tours. Chief projectionist Peter Massie revealed the secrets of his profession to visitors, who also had the chance to meet Rose Peters. Rose, who lived in Baker Street, was a cleaner at the cinema from February 1939 until its closure on Saturday, November 14, 1981. The final show was a double bill of Kentucky Fried Movie and The Other Cinderella .

Sold to developers for £400,000, the ABC fell victim to the demolition man's hammer. For a day or two the Prom facade was left standing, while the back had been razed.

From Royal Well you could see into the once gorgeous interior, the ornate features knocked about, the fantasy reduced to rubble. It was a sad end to a picture place where over the years thousands had laughed, cried, sat on the edge of their red plush seats in excitement and maybe canoodled in the back row.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Sad news as historic Cheltenham cinema is felled

2011-05-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Gloucestershire Echo

AN EMPTY bar and former historic cinema which has become an eyesore in Cheltenham town centre is being knocked down.

Workman have finally begun to demolish the former Springbok bar in Albion Street ready to build 14 apartments and commercial space. The plans have been designed by The Stanley Partnership in Cheltenham. Its spokesman said: "They are currently taking the building down and disposing of the existing materials as they go along. There is not going to be much to see for another six weeks." Planning permission was granted in January last year to build 14 flats, 11 with two bedrooms and three with one bedroom, and 135 square metres of office space on the ground floor.

The plans also include space for seven cars and 17 bicycles. It roused an objection from the Cinema Theatre Association when the application was submitted, who said it was part of the town's cultural heritage.

The old theatre was opened in 1913 and was changed to a cinema in 1931. Originally called Gillsmith's Hippodrome its name changed to the Coliseum when the building was turned into a cinema.

In a statement the group said: "It has a distinctive inter-war cinema style and is a notable presence in the streetscape. "The loss of what remains a usable cinema or entertainment venue to a redevelopment scheme would mean a loss to Cheltenham's social history." But John Henry, from Cheltenham Civic Society, said he would not be mourning the destruction of the existing building. He said: "That area needs an uplift and I don't think what was there was good enough to build on. "You can sometimes use a bit of a heritage building to give something a sense of place but this was not particularly typical of Cheltenham. He added: "Sometimes it is better to start from a blank sheet of paper."

Borough council leader Steve Jordan (LD, All Saints) said there was not a huge swell of negative feeling towards the plans as there are not many residents living close to the site. He said: "To replace a derelict building is probably an advantage. "I think the general view was that people were keen to see something happening there, rather than it just falling down."

http://www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk/

BBC hit show Casualty flies in to The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse

2011-05-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Gloucestershire Echo

LAST month it played host to the finest jockeys and horses in the country. Now it is accommodating a film crew from the TV's Casualty. Paramedics Jane Hazlegrove and Matt Burdock – alias Jeff and Dixie from the BBC1 show – were at the centre of the action at The Centaur, at Cheltenham racecourse. The famous building was transformed into Holby International Airport for a dramatic episode of the cult medical series about staff and patients at Holby General's emergency department. Around 100 cast, extras and crew members touched down at the site, famous for March's National Hunt festival.

The Saturday night must-see programme is set to air on August 6 – but the plot is being left up in the air. Show producer Anne Edyvean said: "We can't divulge the storyline – we try to keep them confidential. All sorts of things happen at airports, a lot of people come and go, but I can't speculate." A location manager pinpointed the modernistic Centaur – a multi-purpose venue used for concerts, exhibitions, fairs, conferences and banquets – as the ideal double for an airport. Anne said: "Obviously real ones are functioning buildings and can't accommodate a film crew. "This was a lovely open space, perfect for an arrivals hall, with nice room in front for vehicles. "We put in rows of removable seating, hung up screens with airline destinations, put someone behind an information desk and made another corner into a cafe, with tables and chairs. "People were dressed as air stewardesses, holidaymakers and policemen. "We transformed the area in a day and then started shooting, and will finish with a little bit more next week." Racecourse managing director Edward Gillespie was delighted with the prime-time TV exposure.

"We're thrilled about the filming," he said. "A few years ago we subscribed to a location finder, South West Films, but we dropped that and this time we were approached. "The foyer of the Centaur already has an arrivals lounge feel, with its modern design and desks. "Remarkably, racecourses are not infrequently used as locations for airports. Sandown Park, where I worked in the past, has appeared as an airport a few times, most recently in an episode of BBC's Outnumbered, and Epsom was in one of the more recent Bond films." Mr Gillespie was also staying tight-lipped about the plot. "We've all been sworn to secrecy, although we've been advised what it is in case we wonder what's going on," he said. The Centaur, which opened in 2004, can seat 2,250 people. It has attracted stars including Jools Holland, Lesley Garrett and Elaine Paige, big shows such as the West End's Cats, hosts the Lapada Antique and Fine Art Fair and is one of the venues for Cheltenham Literature Festival.

As a result of the recent filming, Gloucestershire On Screen has taken a look back at footage shot by Casualty and Holby teams around Gloucestershire. Use the links on the left to access more information.
http://www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk/

More photos added to site - Sky West and Crooked, filmed in Badminton

2011-05-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

Gloucestershire On Screen has sourced some screenshots and "now" shots from the Hayley Mills film, Skywest and Crooked. The photos clearly show the lengths the filmmakers went to to construct the perfect location to shoot the movie - including the construction of a church tower in the Gloucestershire village of Badminton.

Gypsy Girl (1966) [better known by its British title Sky West and Crooked] was based on the Mary Hayley Bell story Bats with Baby Faces, about a teenage girl who is traumatized by the accidental death of a friend and runs off with a gypsy boy (played by a young Ian McShane). Although he had produced several films, this was the only movie directed by the actor John Mills and his wife, Mary, was the author. It became a family affair with their youngest daughter, Hayley Mills taking the lead role. Even the Mills' family dog was in Gypsy Girl.

In his autobiography, Up in the Clouds, Gentlemen, Please, John Mills remembered the difficulties and pleasures of making the film. "The story concerned children; it was emotional and at times verged on the sentimental. For this reason I was determined to get a writer or writers on the script who were up-to-date, modern, down-to-earth and tough. Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, who had written such a great script from Mary's last marvelous story Whistle Down the Wind [which had also starred Hayley Mills], would be perfect. They read it, liked it, but were too tied up on another script to take it on. With hindsight I realize I made a mistake: I allowed myself to get locked in to studio space on a specific date, which meant that I had a restricted time for preparation. I tried several other script writers with no success. Time was running out. I finally engaged an excellent writer, John Prebble who, after he delivered the first draft, I knew was not right for the film. By this time the production was rolling too fast downhill to stop. The result was that I started shooting with a script that I was not entirely happy about, which anyone who has any knowledge of the film business will know to be a worrying and unsatisfactory state of affairs. "

Despite his trouble with the script, Mills had better luck with his crew, "I had a wonderful team with me – Jack Hanbury, producer, Carmen Dillon, designer, Arthur Ibbetson, cameraman, and a hand-picked crew, every one of whom I had worked with many times over the past twenty years. We toured England and Wales searching for exactly the right village with all the necessary qualifications – church, churchyard, village green, pub and cottages clustered together that I could frame in one long shot. We finally found it – Badminton. It was perfect, except for one thing – the church had no tower. So we built one out of steel scaffolding and fiberglass." Courtesy of TCM

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

New 'luxury' cinema wing allows movie-goers in Cheltenham a tipple with film

2011-05-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Gloucestershire Echo.

MOVIE fans will be able to drink alcohol in the "lap of luxury" at a cinema in Cheltenham when its new screens open next month. Cineworld has chosen its Cheltenham venue at The Brewery to trial a new film-viewing scheme, which, if successful, could be introduced at cinemas across the country. Workers are putting the finishing touches to the new unit, which will house three 40-seater cinema suites with bar and leather chairs, flown in from Australia – each with its own table and wine cooler. Cineworld chief executive officer, Steve Weiner, said: "When you walk in it's more like an airport VIP lounge. I see it as your cinema ticket giving you access to a private bar."

The screens will show a variety of films, from the latest blockbusters to art house films, alongside regular live screenings via satellite, such as opera, theatre and ballet performances. Mr Weiner added: "This has been quite an experiment for us and we are incredibly excited to be bringing a premium cinema offering to the people of Cheltenham. "We were looking for quite some time as to where the first one would be built. "The demographics for the town were very good in terms of income and age – you can't put this type of concept just anywhere. "While our current cinema in Cheltenham already provides a fantastic cinema experience, this new three-screen private cinema will allow customers to enjoy their Cineworld experience in the lap of luxury. "This new-concept cinema takes the movie-going experience to the next level."

Adam Clarke, creative director of the Cheltenham Film Festival, welcomed the new addition. He said: "People in Cheltenham and across the UK are crying out for mainstream cinemas to showcase diverse films. "Cheltenham is a fantastic town for that. "It should be a real asset for the town." Films at the three screens will cost between £8 and £19 a ticket, depending on the time of day.

For more information, visit Facebook.com/thescreeningrooms

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Second Cheltenham Film Festival announced

2011-05-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Gloucestershire Echo 2011

FOR the second Cheltenham Film Festival the organisers have decided to focus on quality rather than quantity.This year's event was launched yesterday by Martin Pilkington and Adam Clarke at the Parabola Arts Centre. It will take place from November 4 to 6 at the venue in Bayshill Road and while the line-up will be announced in June, they are promising a glittering cast of directors, film critics, historians and musicians to entertain film-lovers in the town.

"Last year we had more than 50 films but this year we are looking at more like 16 or 17," said Martin. "The reason is that we want to make each screening an event so instead of just letting it roll we will have people introducing the film and hold discussions afterwards. "Around 2,000 people came to the festival last year but we think we can attract more, even with fewer screenings, by adding value to the films that we have."

Last year the inaugural event secured a preview screening of the highly anticipated film The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. It was shown back-to-back with the other two films in Steig Larsson's Millennium series – a first anywhere in the country. "We're hoping for a few previews this year and now that we can show the success of last year's event, it puts us in a stronger position to apply to the distributors," Martin said. Adam said the theme of the festival this year would be the history of film. "We can promise events that will appeal to audiences interested in everything from silent cinema to rock icons, heroic legends to rarely-seen historic footage," he said.

"Every movie will present an opportunity to experience something unique, with insights from industry insiders and experts on hand to answer questions."

Visit www.cheltenhamfilmfestival.com to find out more

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin added to the site

2011-05-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

Gloucestershire On Screen has added The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin to the database. Much of series three was filmed in Cheltenham, notably at the Beehive pub and in Up Hatherley. We are still trying to source more screenshots for the series, so do let us know if you have any.
In the third series (novelized as The Better World of Reginald Perrin), after seeing two men arguing pointlessly in a post office, Reggie and his wife decide to open a community called Perrins for the middle-aged middle class, designed to help them become ‘better, happier people’. The project is a success until a group of people who have fallen afoul of the ‘Perrins Peace Keeping Force’ trash the place.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Greenfingers added to Gloucestershire On Screen

2011-05-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

After much demand, the 2000 film Greenfingers, starring Clive Owen and Helen Mirren, has been added to Gloucestershire On Screen. Filmed in the Cotswolds, the film is a British comedy based on the true story of a group of prisoners at a minimum security prison in Gloucestershire. We are still scouting for screenshots and photos of how the locations appear to day; so if you can help, contact us using the links on the left. In the meantime, a couple of photos from Fairford will get you started.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Gloucestershire family feature on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

2011-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

In news from earlier this year, you may have seen a Gloucestershire family feature on Channel 4's hit series, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Here's how the Gloucestershire Echo covered the appearance.

WHILE most girls would opt for the pretty white dress for their first holy communion, one Stroud youngster showed TV viewers how she went for this pink masterpiece instead.
This gypsy rite of passage featured on the Channel 4 show 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding', with eight-year-old Margarita donning an eye catching dress weighing twice as much as her. The programme, on every Tuesday at 9pm, tells the story of how gypsy boys and girls meet and marry, and how from an early age girls are encouraged to aspire to marriage.
Margarita prepared for her first holy communion at Stonehouse's Roman Catholic St Joseph's church, with fake champagne and a gown, covered in 5,000 crystals.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Jack the Giant Killer filming in the Forest of Dean

2011-05-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Filming for a new Hollywood movie is taking place in the Forest of Dean (courtesy BBC News).

Scenes from the Warner Bros fantasy film Jack the Giant Killer are being shot at Puzzlewood near Coleford in Gloucestershire. Stars taking part in the film, which is due for release in June 2012, include Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy and Nicholas Hoult. Puzzlewood manager Helen O'Kane said she was "really excited" the filming was taking place.

The adventure, directed by Bryan Singer, is a reworking of the classic story Jack and the Beanstalk.It follows a farm boy who travels to the land of the giants to rescue a kidnapped princess. Puzzlewood, which features unusual tree and rock formations, is closed to the public on Monday and Tuesday this week while the film company is on site. The location has previously been used for filming of the BBC TV series Doctor Who and Merlin. The same forest is said to have inspired JRR Tolkien to write The Hobbit.

Gloucestershire TV Tourists on the Rise

2011-05-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Gloucestershire Echo

THE number of "TV tourists" – who visit places associated with television – is increasing thanks to the success of films like Harry Potter.

Gloucester has seen an increase in the number of visitors because of the wizard books by JK Rowling, according to motoring and leisure association CSMA.

The survey of 2,025 people also revealed other destinations already benefiting, or likely to benefit, from exposure to TV and film.

These included Highclere Castle in Berkshire, where Downton Abbey was filmed, and Barry in Wales where Gavin and Stacey was filmed.

CSMA managing director Mark Rothery said: "These locations are a fantastic choice for a family day out and hopefully their on-screen connections will get more people discovering Britain's fascinating heritage."

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

It's A Streetmate! Filmed in Cheltenham

2011-04-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Several people have got in touch to tell us that the an episode of Channel 4 TV series Streetmate was filmed in Cheltenham. Indeed it was, and thanks to Channel 4, Gloucestershire On Screen has now got access to the recording and scenes from Cheltenham (as it was on 1999) are on our website. Featuring Davina McCall (before she rose to fame the following year in Big Brother) and Cheltenham residents Anton and Claire, the programme features scenes from the High Street, Regent Street and The Promenade.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Flog It! antiques TV show to film in Cheltenham

2011-03-02T00:08:00.000-08:00

Courtesy BBC Gloucestershire News

The BBC TV show Flog It! will be filming in Cheltenham next month.

The popular antiques programme will be hosting a valuation day at The Pittville Pump Room on 9 February.

Members of the public are invited to bring along antiques and collectables they might be interested in selling. Once valued, the owner and team of experts decide whether it should go forward for auction. If the item is chosen to be filmed, it is sold a few weeks later - often with the owner making a tidy sum.

The resulting programme will be broadcast later in the year. Admission to the Valuation day is free, and everyone who goes along will receive a valuation - even if their antiques are not chosen to go forward for auction.

Previous programmes have seen a small cream jug which sold at auction for £1,300; a ceramic bowl, bought for £4 at a car boot sale, achieving £1,500; and a lady in Aberdeen sold a Shelley tea set for a huge £3,400! So if you've ever wondered how much those boot sale bargains or clutter in the loft might be worth, now is your chance to find out.

Presented by Paul Martin, Flog It! will be at Pittville Pump Room, East Approach Drive, Cheltenham, GL52 3JE on Wednesday 9th February 2011 from 9.30am until 4.00pm. The auction will take place at Philip Serrells Auctioneers and Valuers, The Malvern Saleroom, Barnards Green Road, Malvern, WR14 3LW on Thursday 10th March.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Gloucestershire used as filming locations by Hollywood

2011-03-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of BBC Gloucestershire News

As Hollywood gears up for the Oscar nominations a BBC investigation has revealed that the film industry brought £62m into our region last year.

The organisation South West Screen, which supports and develops creative media industries, registered 360 film enquiries and more than 1,600 filming days in 2010. Many of the filming locations used were in Gloucestershire.

In recent years locations such as Berkeley Castle (The Other Boleyn Girl), Badminton House (28 Days Later), Gloucester Cathedral (Harry Potter) and Bourton-on-the-Water (Die Another Day) have been used in blockbuster movies. There's a good cross section of different types of locations. Film location manager Jamie Lengyel, who has brought many Hollywood films to the region, said the South West has many "exceptional, unique locations".

"There's a good cross section of different types of locations all within range of the big film studios in London," he said. Fiona Francombe, from South West Screen, said it is not only money that the film industry brings into the region, but also employment:

"We have 39,000 creative people in the region and we want to keep them in the region and not having to travel to London or across the world, so we do our vey best to keep as much much work as we can locally. "Added on to that are the inevitable tourism benefits [of attracting visitors to film locations] and benefits to the region are going to be huge."

Other films to have had scenes filmed in Gloucestershire include Cemetery Junction, Pearl Harbor, Bridget Jones' Diary and Atonement. TV shows have also been filmed locally, including the BBC's Doctor Who which filmed its 2008 Christmas Special in Gloucester, and Merlin, which regularly films at Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

New Clockwise photos added

2010-12-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

Many new "then and now" photos from the 1986 British flick, Clockwise have been added to the site. We are still looking for a few golden nuggets though, so if you can help find the locations, do contact us.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

Sleuthing leads to discovery of National Lampoons location

2010-12-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

The location of a Metro station in Paris, featured in National Lampoons European Vacation, has been found thanks to the kind folks over at Digitalspy, as show below. Some extensive sleuthing led to the location: the Etienne Marcel metro station in central Paris.

Thanks to poster, Beans999 for the information:

The subway sign on the right shows part of the first letter, either E or B. Naturally there are loads of Paris metro stations. That green column thing on the left is apparently called a Morris column, there are 716 of them left in Paris, which is a bit much, lol. Those green railings can be found at a few Paris subway entrances and are by Hector Guimard. Luckily there aren't so many of those and someone's got a list of the original ones here. Looking at the last link 3 of them begin with B or E: Bastille, Boissière, Etienne Marcel. The first 2 have the wrong background/no morris column, all you can say about the 3rd one is that it can't be ruled out, but on google streetview it looks a good candidate. The lettering on the subway sign is different but it seems to be the same as other modern signs so perhaps it's been a wholesale change. The column is slightly different as well, the ring near the top seems smaller, but I've seen pictures of both designs, maybe that's just something they've changed in the last 20 or 30 years. Finally the newspaper kiosk (if that's what it is) on the right is also of a different design. But what persuades me is they're in the same place, plus the building in the background is the same, and so is the building on the left. If you go up rue de turbigo in streetview you can get a better view of the architectural features on the left-hand side.

Anyway I think your photo is of the entrance to the Etienne Marcel metro station.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

"Butterflies" House For Sale

2010-12-03T05:49:00.000-08:00

See Cotswold Estate Agents for more information

The house used in the BBC TV series Butterfiles is up for sale. Costwolds Estate Agency has the house under offer for £550,000. It is described on the website as "A substantial well presented, four bedroom detached residence set in a much-desired location within a tree-lined road and featured as the family residence in the television series "Butterflies" starring Geoffrey Palmer & Wendy Craig".

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

1979 Butterflies Xmas Special to air on Channel 5

2010-11-30T00:33:00.000-08:00

Channel 5 (or five, if you are being pedantic) have scooped the rights to show the Cheltenham-set "Christmas with the Parkinsons" episode of Butterflies this Christmas. Previously, viewers wishing to catch Butterflies episodes would have to fork out for UKTV Gold or buy them on DVD.

The thought of cooking for Christmas frightens Ria though she is cheered to meet Leonard again,though they have a row. Back home this preys on her mind and she burns the pizza and freaks out at the thought of her wasted opportunities - though the boys try to listen. On Christmas Eve Leonard rings and they meet in the park to wish each other a happy Christmas. Christmas Day begins well with offers of help from the family but Ria feels wistful when she hears the musical Christmas card that Leonard has sent anonymously.

For a chance to see Hatherley Park in all its winter beauty, check out the 1979 episode of Butterflies this festive period.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

New ABC Cinema, Cheltenham image added

2010-11-27T04:02:00.000-08:00

The Gloucestershire Echo (27/11/2010), included a photo of the demolished ABC cinema site, in 1981. It is taken from Imperial Lane, leading into the Promenade. This has now been included on Gloucestershire On Screen.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

St Trinians and Associations with Cheltenham

2010-11-17T23:04:00.000-08:00

Cheltenham (as in Cheltenham Ladies College) was mentioned in several of the St Trinians films over the years. On the site now, is a screengrab featuring perhaps the biggest mention - plastered over the side of a minibus in the 2007 hit movie, starring Colin Firth.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

New Tewkesbury photos added

2010-11-16T01:11:00.000-08:00

Two new "Then and Now" photos of Tewkesbury have been added to Gloucestershire On Screen. As part of the 1920s British Pathe section, photos showing the transformation of Tewkesbury 80 years apart have been found. Despite the intervening years, little has changed.

www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk

South West Screen and Gloucestershire On Screen

2010-11-15T23:09:00.000-08:00

Gloucestershire On Screen has been added to South West Screen's website, as a "useful resource" for potential film-makers to the county. South West Screen is the first point of contact for anyone working in the creative media industries in our region.

Their statistics are impressive, and in the last year alone, they:

helped 4,639 companies directly
registered £66 million in inward investment through filming in the region
created / safeguarded 482 jobs
registered 1,912 filming days
leveraged £7,152,852 in total funds
made awards worth £685,558 and direct investments of £789,245
kept 3,300 people informed of the latest relevant news and opportunities through our e-bulletin
reached 75,000 people through their website