Radio 4 Comedy - The Wroxton Box

[krus_aragon]

Last night the last episode of John Finnemore's "Double Acts" was broadcast on Radio 4. This episode is a half-hour sitcom set in Wroxton Signal Box in the early 1960s, with Michael Palin as the signalman and John Finnemore as his clerk.

The programme is set to a background of bell-codes from neighbouring boxes, and grumbles about the ongoing dieselisation of local services, as the young clerk tries to out just why the signalman has come to work in his best socks today. The richness of the setting makes me think that Finnemore must be a railway enthusiast, either that or he's researched his writing very, very well.

If you didn't hear it last night, it's available online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xbjhy for the next month or so. It's well worth a listen.

 

[higthomas]

I did enjoy it, although I am a massive John Finnemore fan. I did think it was quite plausible. I could believe it's just well researched, writers are good at such things.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Well, apologies, but hugely disappointing for me.

More like 2012 humour than 1962 - very unlikely stuff.

I'll pass by this Finnemore guy next time, I suspect.

 

[bspahh]

I did enjoy it, although I am a massive John Finnemore fan. I did think it was quite plausible. I could believe it's just well researched, writers are good at such things.

I think its very likely that he did his homework.

He has a blog at http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.co.uk/ where he commented about the Queen Victoria episode that

This one was one of the three research-heavy episodes of the series, and a surprising amount of it is true, or based in truth.

 

[Cowley]

Well, apologies, but hugely disappointing for me.

More like 2012 humour than 1962 - very unlikely stuff.

I'll pass by this Finnemore guy next time, I suspect.

I'll give it a listen, I've listened to the whole series and some have been good, some not so.
The first one with Martin Clunes was excellent though I must say.

 

[krus_aragon]

I think its very likely that he did his homework.

He has a blog at http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.co.uk/ where he commented about the Queen Victoria episode ...

In which case I think he did his research very well.

 

[John Webb]

The signal box bells etc. were recorded recently at the now preserved 1892-built Midland Railway St Albans South signal box, close to St Albans City station. We're open to the public twice a month - 2nd and 4th Sunday afternoons, 2-5pm - free admission (donations always welcomed!). Next Open Afternoon is July 23rd.

See our website http://www.sigbox.co.uk for full details of location and opening dates for the rest of this year and for 2018 as well. We have a wide range of working signals, ancient and modern, as well as the restored box, in which we run demonstrations of how the box was once worked in the 1970s.

John Webb
(Trustee and Publicity Officer for the St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust.)