Sunday, July 25, 2010
Midland Counties Ice Cream
One of the highlights of the canal holidays we had when I was a little boy was Midland Counties Ice Cream. In Hertfordshire it was all Walls or Lyons Maid, but further north they had a different company with different lollies.
This television commercial must come from about the same period. Ten bonus points to anyone who recognises the canalside location, because I can't.
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7 comments:
I can't help on the location but, as one who grew up near Wolverhampton, well remember the Art Deco Midland Counties Dairies buiding there - all blue and white tiles and clear sight of the production line through large plate glass windows; all steel and hygiene. Alas, apparently - see the link below - no longer with us.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/687722574/
How refreshing to see children not strapped into child safety seats.
I can;t recommend the location either. It's still pure nostalgia, though. I grew up in Gloucestershire, home of the enormous Walls ice cream factory. I seem to remember being able to buy Walls, Lyons, and Midland Counties ice cream - Gloucestershire is sort-of in the southwest, but also has a toe in the Midlands.
Miscellaneous fact: the Morris Minor in the commercial has a Gloucester registration.
The consensus among those who know about such things is that this was filmed at Stoke Bruerne on the Grand Union.
That was me - I'll try again!
The location is in fact in Hertfordshire, and beside Winkwell Locks on the Southern Grand Union. The arboreal growth is much increased, and the Lock House has gained a porch and front hedge along with a car port at the side. The buildings are quite distinctive, as are the various poles carrying overhead wires for power. Rather a long address, but copy and paste into a browser pahe for 'streetview' 'today':
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Northchurch,+Berkhamsted&aq=0&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=20.857001,57.084961&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Northchurch,+Berkhamsted,+Hertfordshire,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.777851,-0.601373&spn=0.021242,0.055747&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.777953,-0.601373&panoid=U47MvjY0vSVOUhU7e-N5KA&cbp=12,328.05,,0,5.27
Oops! I wrote "Winkwell" - it is in fact - Dudswell.
Thanks very much, Derek.
I lived in Hemel Hempstead when I was little, so I would have recognised Winkwell.
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