Sunny side up... and sometimes serious! | Taranaki News | Local News in Taranaki

How many of you are Coro Street fans? ` Here is an article that appeared in a Stratford Press of 1968: "Granada Television's 'Coronation Street' is no longer just a programme; it has become part of British life. Its actors have become almost inextricably tied up with their parts in the public mind.

Many viewers regard the scripted activities of the Street actors as real-life happenings.

The producer and the cast receive hundreds of letters each week offering advice on how to solve their entirely fictional problems, or how they should deal with a current plot situation.

The mail mountain reaches its highest peak when the characters are involved in controversy.

Arthur Leslie - Jack Walker, landlord of the Rover's Return - has received many invitations from breweries to become a licensee.

A fight between Len Fairclough and Kenneth Barlow brought in scores of letters of abuse - anonymous threats of violence, too - for Fairclough (Actor Peter Adamson).

When Elsie Tanner (actress Patricia Phoenix) was involved in divorce proceedings in the story, she had many letters telling her the best way to go about it.Elsie became friendly with a sailor at one time. Viewers knew the sailor was married, but Elsie didn't. Some workmen stopped Jack Watson, the actor who played the sailor, in the street outside Granada Studios in Manchester, and threatened to beat him up if he didn't leave Elsie alone.

Many viewers send in suggestions for future story lines. A county council alderman offered the scriptwriters his experience of years in local government.

Peter Adamson (Len Fairclough, the street's handyman) was made an honorary member of the Master Builder's Association. He holds a union card and a silver trowel. Margot Bryant (who plays Minnie Caldwell) was presented with a hand-illuminated address from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals for the work she did for the organisation.

There were letters of protest when Valerie Barlow (actress Ann Reid) set up a hairdressing salon in the Street. They were from hairdressers who thought she might take away customers.

Whenever a house becomes vacant on Coronation Street - when the Cheveski family emigrated to Canada, for example - viewers write in to see if they can rent it.

When Ena Sharples (actress Violet Carson) was sacked from her job as caretaker at the Glad Tidings Mission, viewers sent in offers of jobs for her from all over Britain. Many enclosed 'Situations Vacant' advertisements from their local papers.

Temperance societies say too much liquor is consumed in the Rover's Return. A licensee wrote from Guildford asking if the pub was a real one. 'How do they have time to do the programme when they spend so much time at the pub?' he pondered.

Smallest details of the props and sets are always noticed. A darts enthusiast pointed out in the early days that the wrong kind of dartboard was in the Rovers. So the design team changed it.

Schoolboys at Eton College wrote asking for Coronation Street scripts. 'We watch it during the holidays,' they explained, 'But we have no tv in school.'

When a new barmaid at the Rover's Return accidentally smashed a decorative plate, a viewer sent in a plate to replace it.

And when the barmaid left, scores of girls wrote in for the job.

The series began in 1960.'

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The following quotes were taken from actual medical records dictated by physicians:

? By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.

? Patient gets chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.

? On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it had completely disappeared.

? She has had no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.

? The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

? Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year-old male, mentally alert, but forgetful.

? The patient refused an autopsy.

? The patient has no past history of suicides.

? Patient has left his white blood cells at another hospital.

? The patient left the hospital feeling much better except for her original complaints.

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...and for St Pat's Day. Caution! Content may offend.

Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been run over by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut and bruised, and he's walking with a limp.

'What happened to you?' asks Sean, the bartender.

'Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight,' says Paddy.

'That little sod, O'Conner!' says Sean, 'He couldn't do that to you. He must have had something in his hand.'

'That he did,' says Paddy, 'A shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it.'

'Well,' says Sean, 'You should have defended yourself. Didn't you have something in your hand?'

'That I did,' said Paddy. 'Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was, but useless in a fight.'

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There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. - Albert Einstein.

Have a great week!