Just finished watching a ten DVD box set, i would recommend this to anyone who likes the old Country way of life, great viewing, i remember him from the TV series "How" but i hadn't seen this series before "For over 20 years Out of Town was a television programme that provided a window on country life in rural Britain. Fishermen and farriers, horsemen and horticulturalists were prominently featured as presenter Jack Hargreaves took the Southern Television cameras around the country, in the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s, to explore pursuits and activities many of which have long since disappeared. When broadcast by ITV, these programmes soon won a large following for the entertaining and informative way that they gave a gentle insight into country life, but as time has passed since the last transmission in 1981 they have become a nostalgic, historical, record of life in Britain from a bygone age. Hundreds of programmes were broadcast by Southern Television but they were feared lost when the company lost its ITV franchise in 1981. Apart from 28 episodes that were recreated by presenter Jack Hargreaves in 1986, using extracts from films used in the original TV programmes with new footage filmed by Jack, it was presumed that all other examples of the original Out Of Town series had been lost forever. The contents of the ten DVDs are as follows: Volume 1: Coarse Fishing and seven other original films Coarse Fishing / Yerro’s Operation A River for All Seasons / Bass Fishing Pebbles / Tidal Mill Chalk Hills / Chalk Springs / Stagecoach Volume 2: Gean Tree Furniture and seven other original films Gean Tree Furniture / Southern Television Sea Angling Championships Garden Competition / Dry Fly Fishing Model Making / Teaching Fly Fishing Techniques The Theft of the Countryside / Fell Ponies Volume 3: Heavy Horses and six other original films Heavy Horses / Fly Fishing in June Gypsy Caravans / Fishing for Pollock 21st Anniversary Programme Sheep Farming / Bite Indicators Volume 4: Into the Past at Appleby Fair and seven other original films Into the Past at Appleby Fair / Private Rivers Fishing for Barbel / Ferrets Pigeon Decoy / Fishing with a Dog Knobbler Freeze Branding / Perch Fishing Volume 5: Pony Riding and eight other original films Pony Riding / Next Generation / Wild and Cottage Gardens / Sheep Fair / Barbel Pannage / Dry Fly Fishing on the River Test Wheels / Grayling Fishing Volume 6: Sheep Dogs and five other original films Sheep Dogs / Guns Multiplier Reel Casting / Hounds Corn Threshing / Eden Vale Volume 7: Blackmore Vale and five other original films Blackmore Vale / Breeding Lurchers Annual Agricultural Show / Pheasant Shooting Old Railway Line / Cloudburst at the Agricultural Show Volume 8: Pigeons and six other original films Pigeons / Fishing for Next To Nothing Fishing for Minnows / Kingfishers / Corn Flail Summer Fishing / Village Fair Volume 9: Fish Hooks and five other original films Fish Hooks / Gardening Earthworm Farm Southern Fishing Competition In Ireland / Rabbit Catching Observing The Country / Working Dog Show Volume 10: Saving The Countryside and five other original films Saving The Countryside / Going to Market Sheep Farming / Centenarian Angler Parsonage Down / First English Culture"
Wow i loved this programme and watched nearly all of them as a kid , it was great. My best mates dad won the southern sea water fishing comp which jack used to organise. What a great chap , so so much knowledge and he just wanted to share it . I didnt realise programmes had been lost . Well i was a lucky one i saw nearly all of them , just wish my memory could remember it all. Nice one keith , anyone who gets a chance you should watch some of these
say what you will the country side is still , the only place where i can settle down ......................
I loved watching out of town, especially when he went course fishing, he was a legend, part of my growing up, happy memories
I got this set too, I love anything archive telly. It's really good hearing Jack explain the simpler things in life and the traditions that are probably lost these days.
I remember Jack Hargreaves. My Father sold frozen dog food in the 60s and he was one of his customers. He was a lovely man he showed me his shed. Southern TV had a replica of it that they used to record the programs.
To the tune of Out of town Say what you will school dinners make you ill Freddie Davis died of shepherds pie Our school din dins comes from pig bins out of town. Thankyou.
thanks for reminding me of Out of Town. wasn't it on Friday evenings at 6.30 or 6.45 . Jack Hargreaves was a lovely man and he was so knowledgeable about country life and he presented the programs in a lovely gentle way.
Here with stan his trusty cameraman , just goes to show how they made programmes them days , nice touch the carl zeiss lens i thought
An inspirational series when i was growing up . His respect for the countryside aiong with the people who lived and worked the land was quite novel to me as a youngster growing up in urban Leeds , so much so that i`d take myself off with a fishing rod and fish the smaller rivers up in the dales . Not quite the Southern chalk streams but still a great adventure . In my early teens i wanted to become a gamekeeper but reality and the fact `career advice` at school couldn`t help steered me towards printing - probably for the best !! I still enjoy the counryside but miss those innocent windows into the rural ideal Jack provided , nothing since has come close - and the sun always shone ....
