Open All Hours Cafe

Maybe the sign is a leftover from the Hygienic Fisheries shop back in the First of the Summer Wine era. Something Sid or Ivy had not gotten around to changing. More likely Ivy told Sid to do it and we know how that went. I remember a time or two when the FotSW guys were there well after dark eating chips outside. They did do meals so I guess the cafe would be open later in the evening.

If you want some light hours then the surgery sign in the FoTSW intro about 26 seconds in shows one guy working 2pm to 4:30pm Mon - Sat while the other works 8am to 11:30am Mon - Fri, Sat 10am to 1pm. While they both swap Wed shifts.

Just realized the intro must be taking place in the morning. The camera follows a doctor (presumably) leaving the surgery to possibly make a house call. Gas man is about to turn a street lamp off when some kids (who are out and about early) shake his ladder. Norman Clegg and his dad heading out to work. Couple ladies hurry to somewhere, work as well?
 
Tommy, I don't believe the ladies in the FotSW intro are Ivy and Dilys. They kinda shelter their faces a little, but I don't get the impression that is them. Will have a closer look later on.
 
Thanks @tommy , you helped me spot some differences I had not paid attention to before in the intro to FotSW.

The first episode / pilot intro the lamp is on a post, the guy has a smaller ladder and the store front is painted black with an art deco (?) style.

Second episode first series intro the man has a taller ladder and the lamp is now on the wall. The storefront is painted light blue with a different spelling font. The sign has changed from .hore & Hirst to Town Ales. There is also now some type of vending machine outside - cigarette?

For series two the man uses a long pole to turn off the lamp. He must be thankful not having to lug a ladder everywhere! Before leaving he taps on the upper window next to the new Town Ales sign. No little rascals to shake his ladder or policeman to chase them off.

LadderEp1.jpgLadderEp2.jpgLampS2.jpg

Surgery hours.
SurgeryHours.jpg

*Sorry mods for a two part post, was not sure of attachment limits since the thumbnail option seemed not to be available partway thru attaching images to this post.
**Apologies to original poster Barrychuckle for slight off topic tangent my post took. :3x: -{Think this is the embarrassed emoji...}
 
(part2)

I don't get the feeling that the ladies in a hurry are Dilys and Norah. Would have been nice if it was. The lady on the left hair seems lighter than Dilys or Norah. Continuity-wise her dress is different color than when we see Dilys and Norah at the store later the same morning.

In the second episode Dilys and Norah step off the bus in front of their workplace in different and a bit nicer coats as they wait for the store to open.
Ladies1a.jpgDnNep1.jpgEp2Bus.jpgDnNEp2.jpg
 
RickAns said:
Thanks @tommy , you helped me spot some differences I had not paid attention to before in the intro to FotSW.

The first episode / pilot intro the lamp is on a post, the guy has a smaller ladder and the store front is painted black with an art deco (?) style.

Second episode first series intro the man has a taller ladder and the lamp is now on the wall. The storefront is painted light blue with a different spelling font. The sign has changed from .hore & Hirst to Town Ales. There is also now some type of vending machine outside - cigarette?

For series two the man uses a long pole to turn off the lamp. He must be thankful not having to lug a ladder everywhere! Before leaving he taps on the upper window next to the new Town Ales sign. No little rascals to shake his ladder or policeman to chase them off.

View attachment 5359View attachment 5360View attachment 5361

Surgery hours.
View attachment 5364

*Sorry mods for a two part post, was not sure of attachment limits since the thumbnail option seemed not to be available partway thru attaching images to this post.
**Apologies to original poster Barrychuckle for slight off topic tangent my post took. :3x: -{Think this is the embarrassed emoji...}
Click to expand...
Thanks for pointing this out.

I've recently been watching FOTSW, and in Series One and Two, always felt the lamplighter's words at the beginning never felt natural to the actor doing the visual stuff.

Of course, the words are from the FOTSW pilot, and so the scene filmed for the pilot had to be recorded for the series - because the cafe had changed from black to blue.

Incidently, I always thought the lamplighter's voice was the voice of the actor who played Biff Hemingway, his name escapes me.

EDIT. Alan Starkey. Anyone know if this is correct?
 
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RickAns said:
Tommy, I don't believe the ladies in the FotSW intro are Ivy and Dilys. They kinda shelter their faces a little, but I don't get the impression that is them. Will have a closer look later on.
Click to expand...
I've always assumed that they worked in one of the mills. Ivy and Dilys dress better than the mill workers.
 
Thanks wstol, I could not place his name. Not sure if we are right but he really does sound like him. The closest I could get was an image of the man in Open All Hours popping his head in the door and correcting Arkwright on his (intentional) misspelling of a word with O's in it.

I think you are right Marianna about the ladies from the intro not being Ivy, Dilys or Norah and possibly working in the mills.
 
Alan Starkey was the Man who came into Arkwrights shop to say you don't spell Special with an "O" after Arkwright had written Speciol price on the window , he's Thorndyke . He's in three LOTSW episodes Cashflow problems [Biff Hemmingway] , Return of the Warrior and Here we go again off into the wild Blue Yonder.
 
Barrychuckle said:
View attachment 5348
Here you go, and interestingly they are talking earlier in the episode about what day it is and decide it's Wednesday which according to the sign the cafe would be closed???
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They did contemplate that it could be Tuesday. Clegg said it felt like Tuesday and "if tomorrow feels like Wednesday, we'll all know what day it is again." So they could have got it wrong.
 
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