Trumpton

THE TRUMPTONSHIRE TRILOGY

CAMBERWICK GREEN,TRUMPTON AND CHIGLEY

Camberwick,The Sequel

I started off the opening piece on Camberwick by saying that "If it's true that the first viewing of anything always has the biggest impact....."

Well Trumpton had the onerous task of following not only a hugely successful show,but one which was ground-breakingly original.

So no pressure then ! And this much-awaited sequel first hit our screens exactly one year later on Jan.3rd 1967.

A disappointment ? Well,thankfully,no.'More of the same' of anything good is never a bad thing.At least until you get tired of it.And millions of kids were a long way off that point.

And to their eternal credit,the makers didn't get lazy -even though they probably could have afforded themselves the luxury.But no.Instead we got new locations,new characters and new songs and yet it all still felt reassuringly familiar.

A bit like slipping some odour-eaters into a well-loved pair of slippers.Which isn't the most flattering analogy, but you get the idea.

The fact that they could also top a character like Windy Miller with the Pughs and Barney McGrew and imprint them into the National pysche was frankly just the icing on an already rich cake.And that virtuous triangle of happy viewer, broadcaster and producer duely guaranteed a 3rd series.So everyone was happy.Hurrah !

Sequel makers are always on a hiding to nothing and the sheer "wow" factor of the first series had inevitably waned a bit.But this was still highly entertaining,creative and fully merited another pop.

Pic 1 An opening longshot of the Town Hall clock.9 am,the start of a day in Trumpton.And as we zoom in to Pic 2 we have Brian Cant's opening gambit,and the only bit of chat in the entire sequence......

"Here is the clock.The Trumpton clock.Telling the time,steadily,sensibly,never too quickly,never too slowly.Telling the time for Trumpton ! " Cue the opening music and the 2 doors slide up to revealing the 2 figures Pic 3 who then slide out and proceed to chime 9 times to the accompanying music.Pic 4 They trundle back in again and the doors slide shut (not particularly smoothly it has to be said !)

Our viewpoint is from here

Unlike Camberwick,this 4th side of the square isn't totally unseen.

Although we do only see the left hand corner,with housing extending from the street alongside the Greengrocers and into the Square.

The Interiors

The Greengrocers: There's only one scene in a store room,which is basically the Minton kitchen set,stripped bare with some crates of veg on the floor and a table and phone.So minimalist,in fact,that it's really not worth posting a pic

- so I haven't.

The Printers: The only room we get to see is the front room,accessed directly via the front door,which houses the printing machine.(2A)

Town Hall: 3 seperate sets used here.The Mayor's office (3A) is the main one and gets used a lot.The Town Hall attic (3B)and Clock Tower interior (3C) do also get shown,although only in a single episode apiece

Hat Shop: As with the Print Shop,the front room is all we're shown (4A).It houses a rather sparse selection of headgear and it's a wonder she could afford the lease.But,as ever we can put such worldly concerns to one side.

Clock Shop: It's the same pattern here as with the Munnings/Lovelace establishments.ie.shop floor access only.(5A) Although we are also shown out the back where he keeps his pigeon loft.(5B)

Locations outside The Town Square Trumpton Park

Trumpton Park is a well-used location because it includes various useful storyline components.

All of which are shown here:-

Pic 1 Shows the famous bandstand featured at the end of every episode.So here's a rare off duty moment.

Pic 2 has the duckpond,that Cuthbert falls in to (with what looks like tissue paper doubling as water.)

Pic 3 is the toolshed that Raggy Dan unwisely uses as a temporary store.

Pic 4 shows the greenhouse,prior to the chimney demolition by the fire brigade (who else ?)

The Cottages

Pic 5 The Mintons residence is to the left,with Mrs.Cobbit's to the right.

The only internal shot we get to see of either is the Minton kitchen Pic 6.And we're also shown the Minton's carpentry workshop.Pic 7 -although it's never made clear whether it's the green lean-to in pic 5.And as we never get to see the back of the house it's clearly possible that it isn't.Bit big for an outside privvy though !

The Fire Station

Pic 8 Base camp for the best remembered Trumpton characters.

Pic 9 With the main doors open we get to see the gang make their entrance down the pole,and their solitary tender.

Pic 10 The only other internal view we're given is the control room -although it's never referred to as such.But it's where Captain Flack takes all the calls (usually from The Mayor),sounds the alarm,and flicks that board switch.

The Trumpton Pt2 page has all the character pics,biogs,songs & modes of transport plus the closing titles

The Opening Titles

Those that saw the original transmissions in 1967 were still only seeing them in black and white.But everything was still in black and white,so that was no big deal.

If you're viewing started post '69,then you'll have caught them first in colour-you lucky devils.And as I've already done my b & w hommage with Camberwick,they're reproduced here in colour.Although for those watching in b & w I can indeed confirm that the sky is a lovely shade of blue.But,then again,what else would you expect in Trumptonshire ?!

Pic 5 We cut to a long,wide shot of the Market Square as it comes to life -to the accompaniment of a different bit of suitably hustle,bustle-type music.Mrs.Cobbit appears stage left and we cut to Pic 6 to see her chatting to the policeman (presumably Potter).She then shuffles off to the statue and we cut to Pic 7 to see the Mayor on the Town Hall balcony just surveilling the scene .....Pic 8 and the bobby who's strolled along the street to chat to Mr.Clamp.....Pic 9 and Miss Lovelace who appears from inside her shop as the milk cart goes by......and Pic 10 where the milk cart continues on its way behind Mrs.Cobbit and Mr.Munnings comes out of his shop and stands in the doorway.

The music then fades (or more often actually ends quite abruptly) as we get the first shot and dialogue of that particular episode.And we're up and running.

If it were me (which it wasn't) I'd have faded straight into the episode when the chiming figures go back into the clock tower and those doors slide shut,and not bothered with the rest of it.

I realise it was there to signify the town waking up and springing into life,but you could've got that across by beefing up the dialogue for the clock bit.

It's hardly coincidental that those chiming figures and Brian's little speech are the only bits most people remember anyhow.And without the Camberwick music box element of surprise,the rest of it simply felt repetitive and rather superfluous (which it was)

Obviously everything gets boring if you watch it often enough,but I do remember this getting tedious after only a few episodes-unlike Camberwick.All of which only goes to prove that you're never too young to be a critic lol.

The Locations

The set-up here is similar to Camberwick,apart from the fact that Trumpton is a town and not a small village or hamlet.

So rather than a "Green" we get a "market square",which acts as the hub.With a small handful of satellite sites dotted around outside for added interest.

The square is dominated by the Town Hall,with a statue of Queen Victoria in front of it.And there are 2 shops flanking it on each side with the fourth side largely unseen as that's effectively where we the viewers sit.

What strikes you most is the rather odd mix of shops -ie.a greengrocer,a printer,a hat shop and a clock shop.Presumably chosen for the storylines they could offer and their variance from the ones' found in Camberwick.Rather than what they could offer the poor old inhabitants.Although in their scripts,messrs Murray & Prince do reassuringly mention some more basic amenities that we never actually get to see.And more on them later.

So lets start with the Square,and as with Camberwick,I've put them on the page roughly in situ-order.

Locations mentioned but not shown

This is a very quick and easy way of building up a visual picture of the community without ever having to take the time to model them of course.So the following get mentioned in dispatches:-

In the Rag and Bone Man episode,the Mayor informs us that he has "to open the new children's ward at the "Trumpton Hospital".Although that's slightly confusing,because later on he says he'd like the rocking horse at the centre of the storyline "for the children's ward of the new Trumpton Hospital".

Call continuity quick ! Anyhow,it's reassuring to know that Doc Mopp wasn't the only local option,despite his apparent ability to "cure all ills"

Also in the same episode,Raggy Dan mentions that the Cottages (the Minton/Cobbit semi's) are "out on the Oakridge Road" And still in that same episode,Mr.Craddock makes mention of "the Bank".

A further spin on the Oakridge road location comes in the Pigeons episode,when Mrs.Cobbit walks a very short distance from her house and finds "the Lane" blocked.It leads to the Market Square,but whether it's either a continuation of the Oakridge Road,or simply "off" it isn't made clear.

In the Mr.Platt & the Painter episode,the Mayor tells Troop that "I shall be late for my bazaar".Which follows on from the reference by Mrs.Honeyman in Camberwick to a "church bazaar".So clearly there is a God in T3land,but in the absence of a church he just moves in elusive ways.

In the Pumber episode,the Mayor again proves useful by telling us "I'm just off to inspect the Gasworks".

Presumably methane-powered courtesy of Farmer Bell ? Well,his livestock,not him personally of course.

In the Pigeons episode,Mr.Platt gives us a double -"I'm taking them (pigeons) to the Station (rail) as soon as the Bus comes."

And once again the Mayor comes up trumps when he's talking to Mr.Bolt in the Telephones episode,as we're told...... "..we've had some complaints about the lights in George Street."

Thanks for that Mr.Mayor,and as soon as you get some street signs made we'll all know where that is exactly.Not that there's any apparent street lighting either come to think of it -except in George Street of course.

But the award for the most references in this category goes to.............Mr.Troop.And he also delivers them with less sleight of hand than the rest because they're all contained in his song.

So we can add a Library,Swimming Baths,Waterworks and a Youth Club to the mix.Presumably the same pool the Pippin Forter's use ?

Either way,the point's well made that Trumpton is indeed a fairly large town.

In comparison to the village of Camberwick,and the hmalet of Chigley.