ROBIN, FROM USA, BRINGS THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT TO SUMMER WINE AND HOLMFIRTH

"A fantastic week for Holmfirth, Summer Wine and the USA Gala Plans" 

What a week that was! Holmfirth residents are still talking about the week Robin Simpson - co-editor of Summer Wine Online - came to town, bringing along the media spotlights.  
The BBC set up an Outside Broadcast van outside Sid's Cafe for a series of live TV interviews with the "Summer Wine Fan from Amercia." 
BBC Radio Leeds spent all morning on an "on-location" walkabout with Robin, calling at the Summer Wine Exhibition and Sid's Cafe, chatting to people on the way. 
There was also a live interview on BBC Radio Sheffield and Home 107.9 FM which ran "updates" all week.
There was extensive coverage in the Huddersfield Examiner and the Holme Valley Express (see image). 
The interviews were pre-arranged by Holmfirth-based Patrick Brooke, the other Editor behind Summer Wine Online, who described it as a tremendous success. 
He said: "Robin was over to discuss the Summer Wine website, and also the exciting plans for the first ever "Summer Wine Gala" in the States, which has caught the imagination of fans all over the world. 
"While in Holmfirth, Robin also met people behind the show, who were very enthusiastic and supportive about the plans to promote the world's longest running series with a celebration gala in the States. She met the Kirkwood Hospice team, one of the charities to benefit from the Gala proceeds. The proceeds will be split between Kirkwood Hospice and a USA charity. 
"But the whole exercise also stepped up more interest in the show locally and in the town of Holmfirth as a tourist location.  During the week, hits to the Summer Wine website quadrupled thanks to all the coverage, and we also received many emails from first-time visitors, some of whom live quite locally!" 
Members of Holme Valley Business Association applauded the coverage Robin's visit had brought to the town. A spokesman said: "This has been a great week for publicising Holmfirth and the attractions in the town and surrounding area.  In fact, it would be nice to attend the Gala to promote the local area from a tourism point of view!" 
Several journalists - including BBC Radio Leeds and several national papers - are also planning to attend. 
Robin said she thoroughly enjoyed the week, and the positive media coverage, which had so many benefits. "By the end of the week, I could not walk through the town without people recognising me and asking me if I was having a good time! It was lovely to get so much support, and everyone was so friendly. Holmfirth is a super place to visit and I can't wait to get back again." 
Robin will be submitting a "roundup" with photos shortly - watch this space!  

"A tourist day out in Holmfirth - well, not quite!!!" 
Words and Photos by Patricia Carline, England.  

Lights, camera, action - our Robin outside Sid's Cafe, trying to stay warn and dry!    Click images below to enlarge. 

Well, Tuesday 20th May 2003 was planned to be a memorable
day - for 2 years now I have been 'chatting' to Robin
Simpson on the 'net, and we were finally to meet! We had it
all planned - my daughter Michelle and I would arrive by
train at Huddersfield around 9 am, be met by Robin then
drive to Holmfirth, a quick 'cuppa', then a splendid day
sightseeing, visiting all the best LOTSW places - being
oggling tourists for the day! Hmm, that's what we thought!
Then reality took over - we met as arranged, but to be
greeted with the news that the BBC wanted to do TV
interviews with Robin - a 'live feed' by satellite to go
out on the regional news at 1.30pm and a recording later
for the evening show - well what could she do? Refuse the
BBC and the valuable publicity for the Gala in Little Rock
in October that she is working so hard for? Not on your
life! We decided to make the best of the day anyway, and
what a day it turned out to be! First of all, folks, our
Robin is a real firecracker, so full of bounce and crackle,
you wouldn't believe - and, like myself and Michelle, a
giggler. When we arrived, the sun was out but most of the
day it rained, it was windy and it was not warm - but
Robin, the trouper, took us back to her 'digs', where we
had a cuppa and she changed out of her comfy jeans and warm
top and into something suitable for being ON TV as opposed
to watching it, then back to town where we headed for
'Sid's', where the interviews were to be done and promptly
indulged ourselves in some of Ivy's scones with cream and
jam. (There goes the diet, but worth every calorie!) We
waited around talking until Chris and Tim, the Guys from
the BBC, were ready and then they got Robin 'miked up and
wired for sound' - then we hung around again until the
studio was ready. When they were ready, so were we - I took
the photos and Michelle videoed the whole thing! Well, that
one went fine - it didn't actually rain, and only WE could
see that Robin was slightly blue around the edges with the
cold breeze! After all this we went and had a small
refreshment at the White Horse and took a couple of photos
of it with Clegg's house above. Then we had a wander round
town, visited Nora's steps and the Exhibition, housed in
Compo's old house. That was the weirdest experience -
Michelle and I, with the rest of our family, have watched
LOTSW since day one and Robin is a dedicated fan and we all
felt a little emotional, walking down the steps that we
have seen Bill walk up and down so many times! We enjoyed
the exhibition and the little TV show that shows many of
the exhibits in action - then we browsed around and window
shopped our way back to 'Sid's' for the afternoon
recording. Luckily, the viewers would only see Robin from
the waist up this time so she was at least in jeans and
comfy shoes, because by now it was really chilly and was
raining on and off - real Pennine weather, the pride of
Yorkshire! This time Robin was wired for sound but was to
talk into a furry microphone on a stand - which we
promptly, and in a mature and adult way, nicknamed 'Taffy',
after Compo's Welsh ferret - and therefore Robin did her
interview with Harry and Christa, 'talking to the ferret'.
I know some of you were lucky enough to see it - but what
you didn't see was the rain and Robin's goosebumps, it was
raining all the time and very cold, but all thanks to Chris
and Tim who allowed us all to shelter in their cosy OB -
Outside Broadcast - van, between 'takes'.
Well, we ended our day with Robin with a stroll around
town, exploring the hilly 'ginnels', steps and streets and
a final 'cuppa' at Robin's place, then she dropped us off
to catch our train home before she went to meet a certain
TV producer for dinner. (Michelle and I had a pasty and a
bag of crisps each on the train!)
I have to admit this was not the day we had planned - we
didn't do most of the things we were going to, BUT - it was
the most wonderful and memorable day for us all and
Michelle and I are so pleased we were there and to have
been able to share the moments with our good friend Robin,
and in spite of the weather we hardly stopped laughing and
giggling all day. Robin's interviews were really exciting
and it was great fun to watch the guys at work and be part
of that - but it can't beat the atmosphere of Holmfirth
itself and the memories hauled out of the dusty attic of
the mind at every turn and corner - it was a day of 'do you
remember when Clegg/Compo/Foggy/Seymour/Blamire/?????,
did/said - whatever?' and laughing in happy remembrance of
good comedy writing, pefectly performed by experts - never
to be forgotten. Next time someone says to me that
Americans don't understand our sense of humour, let alone
share it - I will point them to the internet, to the LOTSW
websites and to those fans both sides of the pond who have
so much laughter in common! - Raise your glasses, all of
you everywhere, may we always be allowed to enjoy the
finest vintage - whatever our accents! And Robin! - next
year, in Holmfirth, we WILL do the tourist bit!!!!

Editor's Note: Many thanks Pat for taking the time to send this excellent report and photos of the "tourist day out" in Holmfirth. We hope you will visit our town again soon, and hopefully have a bit more time to spend looking round! 

Links: 

Robin's gala website and online tickets sales 

Huddersfield Examiner coverage