Royal Wedding tomorrow. I gotta go to bed! One from the vaults.
In the interests of continuing visiting television locations as they look pretty onscreen, today Jen and I visited North Tawton, which is the location of the Jennifer Saunders comedy ‘Jam and Jerusalem.’
This is likely to be less known to practically everyone as. as much as I love this show, it didn’t rate more than three seasons which is a tragedy. It’s the story of the Women’s Guild of north Tawton. A Women’s Guild for the Australians in the room is similar to the Country Womens Association. I am not sure if there is an American equivalent however essentially the Women’s Guild is a groups of (predominantly aging) women who have meetings with guest speakers who do not arrive, compete with each other for the best cake and provide community support in their small country towns. The show was utterly charming, gentle humour as opposed to Abs Fab over the topness. As such it slipped under most people’s radar.
The show was special to me as it featured Devon heavily. Unlike Doc Martin, the show revolves around the real location of North Tawton. As such it references locations and items that have special significance to me. North Tawton is a small town in Devon, with a main square and church and a couple of pubs. In short, a typical small country town. And it was magnificent.
Don ‘t get me wrong. To visit it would take literally minutes it is that small. The central locations used in the show are within spitting distance of each other. But, while pretty, it’s not the reason to visit the place. The town is charming cos of its people. They are friendly and will engage in conversation as they live in a town where the pace is slow and the life is relaxed and they are not rushing to the mall or overwhelmed by business. The country town filled with lovely people, actually interested in what you’re up to or your opinion of the weather or the royal wedding or the cheese factory or the crops or the latest orange juice.
I am sure most country towns are like this or, at least, I hope so. What other country towns do not have is the Devonshire accent and the rolling r’s and multiple a’s. Centuries of Devonshire charm still untainted by the big smoke. Tractors drive down the main street. The farmer avoids the man on the motorized wheelchair, addressing him by first name. People fill their window sills with bric a brac. The church is the main source of community. The police station the other. Completely delightful.
It’s just incredibly expensive. We had a look at the prices of houses and , woohoo, dearer than Exeter, the capital. Clearly the show was not that unpopular.
Away For A Bit 