Last of the Summer Wine – A fond farewell

Warmest Hello to all our Summer Wine fans, friends and family. While I mourn the end of ‘Summer Wine’ I am old enough, and wise enough, to know when it’s time to take a final bow. - If you look back to ‘Summer Wines’ beginnings and it’s hey day, what the core stories were about, you must recognize that it has not been that ‘Summer Wine’ for many years.

The actors who made up the heart of Summer Wine, who brought

vibrant performances to beloved characters are gone or are simply too frail to continue. Bill Owen was irreplaceable. Kathy Staff was equally inimitable. The actors and characters that anchor the show to its best days, Peter Sallis and Frank Thornton, have been muted by age and bureaucracy. The loss or retirement of other actors such as Brian Wilde, Stephen Lewis, Gordon Wharmby and Thora Hird, have further distanced Summer Wine from its heart.

Our American friends have a joke that sums up our situation. “A man is selling the infamous axe George Washington used to cut down his fathers cherry tree. He says in a beguiling carnival manner that it’s all-original and in excellent condition and that only the head and handle have been replaced.” This is our circumstance with Summer Wine.

Through the miraculous medium of reruns and DVD Summer Wine will not go away. Roy Clarke, Alan Bell and all the people who worked so hard to bring Summer Wine to life will have the gratitude of generations.

There is possibly, hopefully room for the Holmfirth stories to continue. Barry and Glenda’s lives would be a wonderful tale to tell. The crime-avoiding constables Kitson and Emerick would be a bountiful harvest of possibilities. And our Summer Wine friends could appear as they see fit and feel able without the rigors of a 10-month shooting schedule.

While I’m feeling melancholy now, I am ever hopeful and looking for the perfect pint,

Norman Clegg