I tripped over this today. Fyffe Robertson was a voice from my early childhood when he was the Michael Palin/Nick Knowles of his day taking the viewer to all sorts of interesting places with an accent that sounded thoroughly exotic in those RP days of broadcasting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Z938wfFgY
Palin, possibly but Knowles, definitely not! Fascinating piece of film. Such nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing this to my attention. I find Fyffe Robertson's mellifluous tones most relaxing. The pastiche of Fforth Robertson in 'Men From The Ministry' on radio four extra bring him to life every week as I listen while ironing.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, even though I could only just about hear the commentary due to IT problems this end! However good the various histories and articles about the line may be, there's nothing like seeing it on film for experiencing the dynamics of the real thing, especially the little intimacies (even though they may have been staged) of the various encounters between train and traffic.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the "Branch Line Handbooks" volume on the line? It's an absolute period gem, published as the line closed, with coloured track plan inserts and has a charm which I think later histories stuggle to match.