Always There
One of the tangible benefits to a long commute is the time. The time spent within the car can be a fair few hours each day. I have therefore had to find ways to fill the time. One way to do this is via the medium of podcasts. I have found a few of these that I enjoy. One of these has rekindled a nostalgic past love. The pod is called, Always There.
For those of you who know and have already made the connection, and I imagine that is probably a lot of you, then you will know that what I mean is Howards Way.
Howards Way was one of the most popular TV series. It pulled in over twelve million viewers on a Sunday night. It first aired in 1985 along with another soap opera that is still going, Eastenders (I know which one I prefer!!). It lasted for 5 seasons when it finally ended in 1990. sadly, Eastenders did not...
However, like a shooting star, Howards way burnt brighter than all the others. It scorched across the mid-80s landscape encapsulating all that we remember about that very strange decade. It was certainly bold and brash. It was the opposite of Eastenders. Howards Way was unashamedly middle class. It was set in the prosperous fictional town of Tarrant. Virtually every main character lived in a ridiculously large house and seemingly had the perfect life. And that's where it starts the break up of this perfect, idyllic, lifestyle. When Tom Howard is made redundant and he puts all his redundancy into a failing boat yard. This is where it kicks off and you are then taken on a journey of what the 80s gave us; entrepreneurs, Share owning families, business tycoons, girls in power suits and men in terrifying knit wear.
It's both hilarious in parts, but also and perhaps more importantly, incredibly well made and well acted. Howards way had, for the time, an enormous budget spent across the external shots in Hampshire, while all the sets were filmed in BBC Pebble Mill.
The people of Tarrant then spend the next 5 series hopping into bed with each other, double crossing each other in business, and then back again to the beds. Between these dramatic arcs you have boats, more boats and if you haven't quite had enough of them, more boats. If you were Jack Rolfe then the only good boat is a wooden boat of course!
It is certainly a product of its time.
For those of you who know and have already made the connection, and I imagine that is probably a lot of you, then you will know that what I mean is Howards Way.
Howards Way was one of the most popular TV series. It pulled in over twelve million viewers on a Sunday night. It first aired in 1985 along with another soap opera that is still going, Eastenders (I know which one I prefer!!). It lasted for 5 seasons when it finally ended in 1990. sadly, Eastenders did not...
However, like a shooting star, Howards way burnt brighter than all the others. It scorched across the mid-80s landscape encapsulating all that we remember about that very strange decade. It was certainly bold and brash. It was the opposite of Eastenders. Howards Way was unashamedly middle class. It was set in the prosperous fictional town of Tarrant. Virtually every main character lived in a ridiculously large house and seemingly had the perfect life. And that's where it starts the break up of this perfect, idyllic, lifestyle. When Tom Howard is made redundant and he puts all his redundancy into a failing boat yard. This is where it kicks off and you are then taken on a journey of what the 80s gave us; entrepreneurs, Share owning families, business tycoons, girls in power suits and men in terrifying knit wear.
It's both hilarious in parts, but also and perhaps more importantly, incredibly well made and well acted. Howards way had, for the time, an enormous budget spent across the external shots in Hampshire, while all the sets were filmed in BBC Pebble Mill.
The people of Tarrant then spend the next 5 series hopping into bed with each other, double crossing each other in business, and then back again to the beds. Between these dramatic arcs you have boats, more boats and if you haven't quite had enough of them, more boats. If you were Jack Rolfe then the only good boat is a wooden boat of course!
It is certainly a product of its time.
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