In better times the Missus and I drive around the fine landscapes between Leeds and Harrogate; gently undulating land speckled with stony villages hidden away.
One of them is Follifoot.
I used to watch a TV show called Follyfoot as a young foal as did my Missus on the European mainland on the ZDF channel.
Whether Follyfoot was filmed in the village of Follifoot or inspired by it I'm unsure although Wikipedia says the shows were filmed near Harrogate so it could well be. I wonder if the lightning tree is still there?
Me and the Missus both remember the tree, the horses, the old fella and the beautiful young things wearing flares and gaberdeens enjoying the fresh country air. I can't recall anyone's names but seeing the village sign for Follifoot always makes me think of Saturday mornings watching it.
Anyhows here's the memorable and dare I say disquieting theme tune I'm sure you'll remember! https://youtu.be/oVo7BFss8Vc
There are lots of full episodes of Follyfoot on You Tube too! Seventies hairstyles heaven!
Not sure if there were any collectables, although I have found a few jigsaws in the past. There must have been an annual. We lived for annuals back then!
Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised when I got this email from reader Paul in NZ. Such a small world!
Hi Woodsy,
One of the magazines I get is Best of British, although NZ is a few issues behind Britain.
One of them is Follifoot.
I used to watch a TV show called Follyfoot as a young foal as did my Missus on the European mainland on the ZDF channel.
Whether Follyfoot was filmed in the village of Follifoot or inspired by it I'm unsure although Wikipedia says the shows were filmed near Harrogate so it could well be. I wonder if the lightning tree is still there?
Me and the Missus both remember the tree, the horses, the old fella and the beautiful young things wearing flares and gaberdeens enjoying the fresh country air. I can't recall anyone's names but seeing the village sign for Follifoot always makes me think of Saturday mornings watching it.
Anyhows here's the memorable and dare I say disquieting theme tune I'm sure you'll remember! https://youtu.be/oVo7BFss8Vc
There are lots of full episodes of Follyfoot on You Tube too! Seventies hairstyles heaven!
Not sure if there were any collectables, although I have found a few jigsaws in the past. There must have been an annual. We lived for annuals back then!
Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised when I got this email from reader Paul in NZ. Such a small world!
Hi Woodsy,
One of the magazines I get is Best of British, although NZ is a few issues behind Britain.
Looking at the contents list for the current issue on line, dated March 2020, I noticed that it contained an article on Gillian Blake, who played Dora in the TV series Follyfoot, which I recall watching.
You have mentioned this a few times, so I assume you were also a fan, and thought it might be of interest.
You have mentioned this a few times, so I assume you were also a fan, and thought it might be of interest.
Yours Sincerely,
Paul Adams
New Zealand
Anyone else remember Dora or Follyfoot?
New Zealand
Anyone else remember Dora or Follyfoot?
Yes Woodsy, I remember Follyfoot.
ReplyDeleteIt was everything I disliked as a boy. Posh kids, snooty girls, and above all, horses !
It fell into the same category as 'The White Horses', 'Belle, Sabastian and the Horses', 'Black Beauty' and 'Flambards', which I also hated.
Most importantly, these shows often replaced Gerry Anderson shows in the kids TV schedules, which for me was unforgivable !
Mish.
Strong feelings those Mish. I have similar feelings these days about modern TV guff like Love Island, The Voice, X-Factor, I'm a Celebrity and all soaps. In fact most of modern British TV! Give me a good horror film any day!
DeleteIf you jump over to my blog, Woodsy, and type Follyfoot into its search box, you may find something of interest.
ReplyDeleteI shall canter over there for sure Kid!
DeleteGlad the Best of British article was of interest. It was also great to hear the Follyfoot theme again after all these years - the Lightning Tree, which had been struck by lightning years before, was certainly a memorable part of the series. Yes, there were annuals, several in fact, cover dated 1973-77, and published by World. The Follyfoot TV series was made by Yorkshire Television, 1971-73, and ran for 39 episodes. Follyfoot was a home for rescued horses, run by Dora's uncle Colonel Geoffrey Maddocks, played by Desmond Llewelyn - Q from James Bond. All three series have been released on DVD, and there is a complete boxed set. The British Board of Film Classification censorship rating for series 1 and 2 is PG, while series 3 and the boxed set are rated 12, which seems a bit harsh. The series was based on the books by Monica Dickens - the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. There were a number of paperbacks, also by Monica Dickens, with photo covers showing the TV cast, and published by Piccolo. I was not aware of any jig-saws, so thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteCheers Paul. I was interested to read that it was a Anglo-German production, which may well explain why my Missus saw it on the continent too back in the day. There's a surprising number of collectibles as I just found out from this site inc. a load of jigsaws and even a board game! http://follyfoot-tv.co.uk/collectibles
DeleteThank you for all the additional information, I had no idea the show was a British-West German co-production, as the references I have only mention Yorkshire Television in Britain. That site certainly has a lot of information, apart from the books, annuals, jig-saws, and board game, there is a set of cardboard cut-out dolls that can be dressed in various outfits - I would assume this came in book form, although no cover is shown, unless the printed sheets came in some sort of bag. The writing is German, so it must have been a German publication - was there also an English version ?
DeleteDespite being a boy, I enjoyed the show - and Gillian Blake.
Not sure about the paper dolls. It isn't German. Could be Danish. The dark horse/foal painting in the LP section in interesting. I wonder who the artist was? It reminds me of Paul Nash the war artist https://www.google.com/search?q=paul+nash+art+night&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi7suWV5L3oAhWh34UKHUWoAm0Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=paul+nash+art+night&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJ1DcK1izMmD3PGgAcAB4AIAB-AGIAbAFkgEFMy4wLjKYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZw&sclient=img&ei=OZV_XvuxEaG_lwTF0IroBg&bih=695&biw=1536&safe=strict
ReplyDelete