Thanks to our USA correspondent Dinky, we now have the first photos of the enthusiastic "Last of the Summer Wine" gathering on the East Coast of America. 

It may be a long way from official Summer Wine Country, Holmfirth, in West Yorkshire, but that did not stop our American friends from paying special tribute to their favourite show. 

The interesting thing is that the fans met through the Holmfirth-based Summer Wine website, and hope to continue getting together, and expanding the membership, to celebrate the much-loved show. Several others have since expressed an interest in coming along. 

An enthusiastic report from Jim Maloney said fans from Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey met at the Lincoln Inn in Ephrata, PA, USA. The gathering was attended by Liz Nichols who last year travelled from America to attend the 30th anniversary LOTSW celebrations in Holmfirth. 

At the Lincoln Inn meeting, she chatted to the other fans about her big visit to Summer Wine country and passed round a souvenir photo album, which included the Yorkshire Post colour photo of Smiler giving her a special welcome kiss!  Jim said he would like to hear from other USA fans interested in furthering their appreciation of LOTSW via email:  JimdanDee@webtv.net

You can read the detailed report of the gathering from Dinky below - but first a selection of snapshots from the big day. 

Discussing their favourite Summer Wine moments in the Car Park of the 
Olde Lincoln House "Parking Lot", Ephrata, Pa.

The official meal  - any Yorkshire Pudding?

Official group shot in the car park

"...the view from our motel-looks sort of like Summer Wine Country????"

Dinky with "Tinker" in front of Stoudt's Famous Steakhouse in Adamstown, 
Pa., which was right next to our motel, The Black Forest Inn.

Dinky's Report - East Coast Last of the Summer Wine Gathering


Hi guys!  We did it!  We had our SW Fan Lunch in Ephrata, Pa!  Oh, what a blast!  Here’s how it went on Saturday, July 19th:

10:45AM – Left motel, stopped for coffee and a muffin at a food mart.

11:15AM – Arrived at Ephrata Cloister and checked out the parking lot.  Yes, it was there, Liz Nichol’s brand new silver PT Cruiser!!  There was also a blonde lady sitting on a bench.  Was it her??  As we walked towards the lady, I said, “Liz”??  “I’m Dinky.”  She said, “Oh, I never would have known it was you.”  And that’s how we met!  There we were with the famous Liz Nichols!!  She is a lovely, gracious Southern woman, soft-spoken and charming.

We began chatting about SW and as the cars pulled into the lot, we tried to guess who was there to meet our group.  After about 15 minutes a man and lady came towards us, we shouted out, “Summer Wine”??  They said, “Yes”!  It was Jim and Dee from Marshall’s Creek, Pa.  It’s in the Pocono Mountains about two hours northeast of Ephrata.

Jim was a jokester from the start – we were all laughing in minutes!! He was a school teacher from NJ who relocated to Pa. after retiring.  His wife, Dee, (Doris) was a lovely lady who is very knowledgeable about all British TV.  She worked for Bell Telephone in NJ.  They have four children!!

Next came Vivian from Maryland.  She had already met Liz and both of them have been to Holmfirth!  What stories they had to tell!! They greeted each other like old friends.  Vivian’s husband, Barry, did not stay for lunch.  He dropped her off and came back later to get her later.  They have six children!!

Last came Pam, also from Maryland, but way down south, near the Virginia border.  She was camping with her hubby and kids about 40 minutes away from Ephrata and she drove down by herself in the pick-up truck to be with us!  What a gal!  She brought two little metal SW collector’s cars with her.  One was Edie’s red convertible and one was Wesley’s truck.  Each car came with a tiny statue of its owner!!  Cool Beans!!!

Pam is a lovely girl who has two children.  She and I want to go to Holmfirth next year together.  Both of our hubbys don’t want to come, so we can team up!  And we both have pen-pals who live near Holmfirth, so we want to go visit them!!  Wow, what a trip that will be!!

Well, we waited until 12:45PM before leaving for the restaurant, in case anyone showed up late.  We chatted about all things summer wine, the characters, the actors, the shows, the plots, the composer, the writer, the producer, the on-line website and editor, Patrick, the gala, and on and on.

We also discussed other British comedies, dramas, mysteries and soaps, like EastEnders, As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances, Open All Hours and on and on.  It was interesting to note the various times and programs that are shown throughout the four states that we represented.

So, as it comes down the pike, it looks like Liz, Pam and Vivian all live pretty close to each other, while Alex, Jim, Dee and I live only about one hour apart, so future meetings are possible!!  Jim and Dee have a daughter who lives in NJ, so when they go to visit her we may be able to get together with them for lunch!!  It will be great fun.

I have to say that we all got along great, we had a dynamite lunch in “The Olde Lincoln House” in Ephrata, we exchanged addresses and e-mails, and we parted feeling better because we had this meeting.  It was so-o-o-oh worth it!!  I urge any fans who live close enough to do this.  You don’t know what you’re missing.  The fans are so enthusiastic!!

Vivian left at 2:00PM to go golfing.  Alex and I left at 2:15PM to go get Tinker, our puppy, out of her cage at the motel.  Liz, Jim, Dee and Pam went back to tour the Cloister.

It was a sunny, gorgeous day with no humidity and we had a perfect time.  We met as strangers, we parted as friends (with big hugs and kisses!), we are Summer Wine fans to the end!!