Patrick George Callaghan

Found in the basement cellar of a shop in Blackburn Lancashire England were over 800 short films of Edwardian life in the North of England. They were made by the partnership of Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon and the films they shot were of local people and events. It is a remarkable glimpse into history. They made the films to be shown at the Music Hall, Town Hall, or Fairgrounds. They were made for commercial reasons with the sole intention of putting ‘bums on seats’ after all, for people to see themselves on a projected screen was something new and quite wonderful! Between 1897 and 1913 Mitchell and Kenyon made hundreds of short films depicting the everyday lives of ordinary people, and when the business closed its doors in the nineteen twenties their original negative film stock was left hidden away in the basement of the shop. Here it lay for years simply collecting dust until 1994 when a building contractor found three large met...

I was so pleased to hear that David Jason is to return for a half hour Christmas Special entitled STILL OPEN ALL HOURS in the role of the older Granville, now running Arkrights old shop. Filmed in Doncaster this month it will be screened on BBC 1. If it proves a hit, it could pave the way for a new series. it also features some of the old cast, but not alas the late great Ronnie Barker! 

The Family at Santa Pod… It was nice to get out to Santa Pod Monster Truck Venue, near Bedford UK on Saturday evening for a Fab show and Fireworks to round off the season… But ‘I Curumba’ – the cold weather! fair froze us… Anyway, here we are in the LUVELY HOT BAR having a beer or two! Steve (right) enjoyed the event so much that he made this shot his profile picture on FB! Well Done Stevie!

This time it was the turn of The Hungry Horse at Biscot Mill Luton UK to furnish our megameals! and settle some hungry tums... With Adrian, Shana, and Rhys Callaghan

WHISKY GALORE!  It was in the summer of 1948 when the Ealing crew arrived on the beautiful Island of Barra in the Western Isles of Scotland. Michael Balcon, head of Ealing Studios had not been happy about the production, saying as he looked at the story board, he just did not understand it!  “It holds few laughs” he was heard to comment. Based on a Compton Mackenzie novel, shooting almost entirely on location presented huge problems, everything, including cast and crew, and a huge amount of camera equipment, had to be shipped from mainland Scotland. Actors were billited with a number of the Islanders, and in fact, many of the inhabitants appear in the production. Their view of the film people was… That they were quite mad! Prefabricated sets were constructed at Ealing Studios in London then shipped for assembly on Barra. Under the brilliant direction of Alexander Mackendrick, an American born Scot, the film gently eases you into a ...