The Children of Green Knowe

"Make up a great blaze, Tolly, and I'll tell you a story!" I will always associate The Children of Green Knowe with poached eggs on toast and cup of tea; as a kid I used to watch this religiously with said meal and beverage. My parents used to have this on one of those old single-reel Betamax videos (does anyone actually remember those?) and, of course, when the VCR eventually broke, we couldn't get it repaired. We lost so many wonderful videos with that.

If only the BBC would re-run this lovely little series, or better still, release it on DVD. They did it with the Box of Delights (splediferous) and I'm sure they can do it with this as well. I've since begun reading the books and they do not disappoint. The role of Tolly's Grandmother could have been written for Daphne Oxenford - a truly wonderful performance. For me, this is the epitome of what children's drama should be - simple, yet magical!

I can remember when this programme first aired,right then i knew i was watching something special.For me that was the best Childrens drama serial that the BBC ever made,even better than The Box Of Delights and The Children of Narnia.It seems now that I'm older I've become all nostalgic for the programmes that i watched in my youth,and by reading other comments on this site I'm not the only one ...which is a relief...i thought i was the only one!!James it was really nice to read your experiences on the show,you really must feel so proud of your work and to be linked to such a great programme.I've only watched the programme once and for some reason the BBC never released it on video or DVD,so my memory is slightly vague on all the episodes,but i always remember the old lady telling toby to make a big fire in the house.She did have a certain phrase for this but it escapes me now,too long ago i guess.I have recently found someone who has the episodes on tape,so i should have a copy very soon.I just hope its as good as i remember it to be!!

For all of you leaving comments or reading the comments here I can only recommend that if you ever get the chance you should visit the original Manor House (see location above)the book was written in. The house is simply warm and wonderful and very evocative and during the spring and summer months the garden is nothing short of a delight. The lady who now owns and runs the house and garden with the help of a number of fine gardeners is very amiable and shows you round the house if she has time herself. I visited over 4 years ago and still have fond memories and a collection of fine photographs of my visit. The quilt collection is amazing and the stories of the parties and war time evenings by the host really bring the house alive. The son's bedroom with its toys and chest is really the touchstone of the whole adventure.

Green Knowe is the most magical series, it has never failed to transfix every child who has ever watched it. Not to mention a family inability to say Burma without three rs! We also don't light a fire, we build up a "great blaze"! We had our almost worn out video put onto DVD which has extended the lifespan a little but is still almost monochrome. Does anyone have a way of getting colour back or have a better version? (If they can do it with Gone with the Wind, surely it can be done for Green Knowe!) There is an on line petition to get the BBC to reissue the film on DVD - we have all filled this in and hope that it will have some effect. There is a very good website which is of the actual Green Knowe house - Hemmingford Grey in Cambridgeshire - which is worth a visit.

Perhaps the greatest thing about portraying Alexander Oldknowe in the 1986 BBC Children's Television series 'The Children of Green Knowe' was meeting Lucy M. Boston, who wrote the novel upon which the four-part series was based, and who also wrote 'The River at Green Knowe'. She was a delightful lady, and I remember that we - myself and the other principal cast members - had our photograph taken with her.

Also great to work with Heather Ramsay, who played my mother. She noticed that I was reading Stephen King's awesome 1985 short story collection 'Skeleton Crew' during the making of the series, and recommended the work of acclaimed British horror author Ramsey Campbell. Thanks heaps, Heather!

Great too to work with the very talented Danny Schiller, who played Gabriel, the manic choirmaster. Danny went on to play Snorri the Miserable in Terry Gilliam's hilarious 'Erik the Viking' and also to portray a barrister in the 1992 thriller 'Under Suspicion', which starred Liam Neeson and Laura San Giacomo. And after all these years, I still remember the lyrics of song I sing before the King and his court (by the way, the banquet that you will descry laid out was fireproofed, so no one was game to pick at it!):-

Return, return you happy men/To your own blessed shades again/Lest staying long some new desire/In your cool bosom raise a fire/Like a perfumed gale o'er flowers/Now glide again to your own bowers

Saw Polly Maberly in an episode of 'Frost' in early 2001, and she acquitted herself very well indeed. She has grown into quite the young lady.

As Montague H. Withnail declares in 'Withnail and I', 'Alas! I have little more than vintage wine and memories'. But what memories!

James Trevelyan (Alexander Oldknowe)