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[MUSIC] ? Kinda scrawny and pale, picking at my food ?
? And lovesick like any other guy ?
? I'd throw away my sweater and dress up like a dude ?
? In a dickey and a collar and a tie ?
? If I loved you ?
-But you don't?
-No.
I don't.
? But somehow I can see ?
? Just exactly how I'd be ?
? If I loved you ?
? Time and again, I would try to say ?
? All I'd want you to know ?
? If I loved you ?
? Words wouldn't come in an easy way ?
? Round in circles I'd go ?
? Longing to tell you ?
? But afraid and shy ?
? I'd let my golden chances ?
? Pass me by ?
? Soon you'd leave me ?
? Off you would go in the mist of day ?
? Never, never to know ?
? How I loved you ?
? If I loved you ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I'm Jordan Shaw.
Rodgers and Hammerstein won countless awards
for their work together and separately.
In fact, Richard Rodgers was the first person in history
to win the EGOT.
That's an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony.
So few people have achieved EGOT status
that your chances of being in the same room as one of them
are extremely slim...
unless one just happens to be in the building.
Please welcome the legendary EGOT winner Rita Moreno!
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
?
-Whoo-ooh-ooh! [ Laughter ]
Thank you! My God, I'm so happy to be here!
[ Cheers and applause ]
I feel very, very fortunate, you know,
to have been cast in "The King And I," and, uh...
because, well, the truth be told,
I probably shouldn't have been in it.
I'll tell you what happened.
I was a young woman under contract to 20th Century Fox,
and they were going to produce "The King And I."
And it would seem the most natural thing in the world
that they were going to ask me to test for it.
And when I went into the studio,
there also -- 'cause it was a very large room --
was probably one of the most beautiful, beautiful,
exquisite Eurasian girls
I have ever seen in my life to this day.
She was just breathtaking.
And when I saw her, I thought,
"Oh, [no audio]"
[ Laughter ]
"This is not good news."
And on top of that, she was also seeing Marlon Brando.
[ Laughter ]
We were competitors.
Nevertheless, all I could think of was, "Well...
It's a foregone conclusion.
She has to have the part. She's right.
She's really absolutely on the money."
And as it turned out,
I got the part.
And I have to tell you something interesting.
I'm so happy to see, and I really am sincerely,
that times have changed.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Anyway... [ Laughter ]
Back to business.
This is still a spectacular score
and remains one of my favorite things.
So here, from a suite from "The King And I"
are Joanna Ampil, Maria Friedman,
and the dashing Daniel Dae Kim.
I'm really rather a dirty old lady.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
-? I have dreamed that your arms are lovely ?
? I have dreamed what a joy you'll be ?
? I have dreamed every word you'll whisper ?
? When you're close, close to me ?
? How you look in the glow of evening ?
? I have dreamed and enjoyed the view ?
? In these dreams I've loved you so ?
? That by now I think I know ?
? What it's like to be loved by you ?
? I will love being loved ?
? By you ?
? To kiss in the sunlight ?
? And say to the sky ?
? Behold and believe what you see ?
? Behold how my lover ?
? Loves me ?
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
-? When I think of Tom ?
? I think about a night when the earth smelled of summer ?
? And the sky was streaked with white ?
? And the soft mist of England was sleeping on a hill ?
? I remember this ?
? And I always will ?
? There are new lovers now on that same silent hill ?
? Looking on the same blue sea ?
? And I know Tom and I are a part of them all ?
? And they're all a part of Tom ?
? And me ?
? Hello, young lovers, wherever you are ?
? I hope your troubles are few ?
? All my good wishes go with you tonight ?
? I've been in love like you ?
? Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star ?
? Be brave and faithful and true ?
? Cling very close to each other tonight ?
? I've been in love like you ?
? I know how it feels to have wings on your heels ?
? And to fly down the street in a trance ?
? You fly down the street on the chance that you'll meet ?
? And you meet ?
? Not really by chance ?
? Don't cry, young lovers, whatever you do ?
? Don't cry because I'm alone ?
? All of my memories are happy tonight ?
? I've had a love of my own ?
? I've had a love of my own, like yours ?
? I've had a love ?
? Of my own ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
-The luminous Maria Friedman.
[ Cheers and applause ]
As we set up for the next song,
I thought this would be a good opportunity
to share one of my favorite R&H memories.
Now, in 2009,
I was fortunate enough to be asked to play the King of Siam
in a production of "The King And I" right here in London.
[ Cheers and applause ]
And I was even more fortunate
to be cast opposite Maria Friedman as Anna.
-I was the lucky one. -[ Laughs ]
And, you know, I was coming all the way from Hawaii,
and so it was a long way,
and I confess I had my share of uncertainty.
And my cast and crew, everyone involved,
made me feel right at home,
especially Maria,
who remains one of my dearest friends to this day.
-We are still great, great friends.
-Yeah.
-Nothing will stop that. -Yeah.
In many ways, it actually parallels
the story of "The King And I."
Two people from totally different cultures
coming together to learn from one another,
overcoming assumptions about one another,
to laugh, to argue,
and eventually come to a place
of mutual respect, love, and understanding.
And I couldn't think of a better message for us all
as we face the many challenges in the world today.
So, thank you for that reminder, Rodgers and Hammerstein.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I think there's only one question left to answer,
and that is, "Shall we dance?"
-Yes, please!
[ Applause ]
? We've just been introduced ?
? I do not know you well ?
? But when the music started ?
? Something drew me to your side ?
? So many men and girls ?
? Are in each other's arms ?
? It made me think ?
? We might be similarly occupied ?
? Shall we dance? ?
? On a bright cloud of music, shall we fly? ?
? Shall we dance? ?
? Shall we then say good night and mean goodbye? ?
? Or perchance that the last little star has left the sky ?
? Shall we still be together ?
? With our arms around each other ?
? And shall you be my new romance? ?
? On the clear understanding ?
? That this kind of thing can happen ?
? Shall we dance? ?
? Shall we dance? Shall we dance? ?
? Shall we dance? ? -? One, two, three, and ?
-? On a bright cloud of music, shall we fly? ?
-? One, two, three, and ? -? Shall we dance? ?
-? One, two, three, and ?
-? Shall we then say good night and mean goodbye? ?
-? One, two, three, and ?
? Or perchance ?
? When the last little cloud has left the sky ?
-? Shall we still be together ?
? With our arms around each other ?
? And shall you be my new ?
-? Romance? ?
-? On the clear understanding ?
? That this kind of thing can happen ?
-? Shall we dance? ?
-? Shall we dance? Shall we dance? ?
?
-Come!
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
BABETTE: Just one more fabulous suite of music
from this spectacular Rodgers & Hammerstein
80th anniversary, from this regal setting,
the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
from the heart of the West End in London.
It was in this very theater
that Oklahoma! made its premiere back in 1947,
followed by Carousel and South Pacific,
making this venue, which is now owned,
by the way, by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber,
the home of Rodgers & Hammerstein
here across the pond.
Now if you've already made that call or click of support
or if you've already become a sustaining contributor,
we really can't thank you enough.
You made this amazing one-night-only,
once-in-a-lifetime experience possible
for everyone to enjoy.
If you haven't, now is the time to take action.
Do it before the finale begins.
And one of the best ways is with all of the music
from this once-in-a- lifetime performance
celebrating two of the most iconic
American composers of all time.
Timeless anthems, from Carousel, Oklahoma!, South Pacific,
The King and I, and of course, The Sound of Music.
The list goes on and on,
plus this CD contains additional music
not included in the broadcast you are enjoying right now.
Call or text the number on your screen
or log on to our website
and choose a level that makes sense for you,
but know that every contribution counts.
Your gift makes everything you love on PBS possible,
whether you watch on TV, online or with the PBS app.
Stay tuned, we have more insight coming up
from the stars of the show, so don't go anywhere.
But first, do your part to make an investment
in memorable music, it's incredible,
and you make it possible with your contribution.
Thank so much.
ANNOUNCER: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
formed one of the most prolific partnerships
in theatrical history.
This special once-in-a-lifetime event in London
celebrates their amazing legacy,
and Great Performances was there to capture
all the excitement and inspiring music.
Now it's your turn to applaud PBS
for bringing this world-class performance to you.
Become a sustaining member of this PBS station
at $6 a month, or make an annual contribution of $72,
and we'll thank you with the full-length DVD
of this special anniversary concert
from the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London.
Featuring additional performances not seen on TV,
this special recording showcases an extraordinary cast
of Broadway and West End favorites
paying tribute to the iconic musical writing duo.
Make a sustaining monthly gift of $10,
or a one-time gift of $120,
and our gift to you is a 2-CD package of extraordinary music
from this live
anniversary performance.
You'll enjoy favorites from
Oklahoma!, Carousel,
South Pacific,
The King and I,
and The Sound of Music.
Plus additional performances
not included in the broadcast,
42 amazing tracks in all.
Become a member of this PBS station
with a sustaining gift of $12 a month,
or a $144 annual contribution,
and our gift to you will be this exclusive
Rodgers & Hammerstein Playbill Tote Bag.
This colorful tote features full-color Playbill covers
from six iconic R&H musicals,
and is the perfect gift for any theater fan.
Increase your sustaining gift to $18 a month,
or make an annual contribution of $216,
and our gift includes
the Rodgers & Hammerstein Anniversary Collection.
This special collection includes the live DVD
and double CD of the show,
plus the exclusive Playbill Tote.
Celebrate Rodgers & Hammerstein, Great Performances,
and this PBS station by going online
or using the number on your screen to give now.
Thank you.
?
(audience cheering and clapping)
BABETTE: We are so delighted to have a few moments to visit
with Daniel Dae Kim.
King of Siam, King and I,
that is such a beautiful moment.
DANIEL: It is. BABETTE: Something happens,
Rodgers & Hammerstein song comes on
and we all- it almost brings us together.
DANIEL: I think it's true.
You know, it's easy to be cynical these days.
There's a lot in the world that is easy to get upset about,
discouraged about, but through this kind of music,
it allows us to open our hearts again.
And I think there's always room for that.
BABETTE: I love that.
Speaking of opening hearts,
as an immigrant family from Korea,
PBS meant something in your home.
DANIEL: Mm-hmm.
I learned English because of PBS.
I learned about American culture because of PBS.
I grew up with PBS
because, you know, I- I watched MacNeil/Lehrer
for many, many years and Great Performances, of course.
I am a subscriber,
so, it, you know, it's meant a lot to me
through my entire life.
And it's places like PBS where the arts can live
and we see the importance of them.
And, you know, we- we also know the importance of theater.
But to be able to record theater,
to, you know, to- to have it brought to national audiences
who can't be in a specific theater in a specific place
is- is really important.
And then, really, I think it's a great educational experience,
but more than that, it's an entertaining experience.
BABETTE: Daniel, you have given us
so many reasons to support PBS
and I hope that you will join Daniel
as a member of your PBS station.
The number is on your screen.
You can go online,
but the most important thing is to make sure that
all of the things Daniel just talked about,
the education, the enlightenment,
the entertainment,
continue on your PBS station.
And that's all because of you.
So thank you.
? I'm as trite and as gay as a daisy in May ?
? A cliché coming true ?
? I'm bromidic and bright ?
? As a moon-happy night ?
? Pouring light on the dew ?
BABETTE: So, I want to let you in on a little secret.
See that box across the way over my shoulder?
That's the King's Box here at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
and where I'm standing, well this the Prince's Box.
Unfortunately, no Prince William in sight.
But this is the kind of access that we bring home to you,
because you now, royalty is kind of on brand for PBS.
This spectacular performance is reminding us
how much we love live theater.
And now, I simply ask you to help
keep this marvelous legacy of music
alive on public television
by making a generous gift to this PBS station.
When you join the PBS family now
and make a qualifying donation,
you'll have access to the full-length version
of this special celebration,
with additional music not seen in the broadcast version,
plus some of your favorite programs and, of course,
all the drama, so much more with PBS Passport.
Basically anywhere, anytime, whatever you want.
Use that number on your screen
or visit our website to make a qualifying donation
to your PBS station
and begin your PBS Passport experience right now.
You're going to love it, I promise.
And thank you.
? If his eyes get dull and fishy ?
? When you look for glints and gleams ?
? Waste no time ?
BABETTE: I am so excited to introduce Marisha Wallace
to the PBS family. MARISHA: Hi!
BABETTE: How do you feel?
We're so happy to have you on Great Performances.
How does it feel?
MARISHA: It feels incredible.
We have the best of the best
of musical theater royalty here tonight,
West End and Broadway.
I mean, what more could you ask for,
the voices, the wardrobe, I mean. (laughs)
BABETTE: Your wardrobe.
MARISHA: You know we had to turn the party with these looks,
we had to bring some looks out, you know. (laughs)
When I found out I was gonna be able to do this for PBS,
I was so excited
'cause I was like, it's gonna live on in eternity now.
Which was so inspiring for me
that this performance will be able to be captured
and people can replay it.
And the fact that I get to do it for
Rodgers & Hammerstein for their 80th anniversary
is so exciting.
BABETTE: Have you thought about all those little girls
that are being inspired by you in this performance?
MARISHA: You know, that is- that's the thing
that is the most important to me.
I think that is the measure of success
of being able to pass it on
and that someone who may be sitting at home now
or little girl being like, "I don't know if I could do that."
But when you see someone who looks like you
or see someone who comes from where you come from
and be like, "Okay, if she can do it, then I can do it too."
And that is so important to me.
BABETTE: And if you have been inspired
as I have been by Marisha,
her wonderful- what you've said and the music,
take that inspiration and do something that's very possible.
Call the number on your screen
or go online with your support
because your inspiration, your support
is going to keep voices like this
singing out on PBS for years to come.
Be a part of the legacy and make that call.
Thank you.
? Climb every mountain ?
ANNOUNCER: As a reminder, we have some great ways
to thank you for your contribution.
When you become a sustaining member of this station
at $6 a month, or make an annual donation of $72,
we'll thank you with the full- length live companion DVD
of the anniversary celebration you're enjoying now.
Support this PBS station with a sustaining gift
of $10 a month, or a $120 annual contribution,
and our gift to you
will be this spectacular 2-CD recording
of this stellar performance.
Which includes 42 songs from some
of the most legendary performers of today.
Become a member of this PBS station with a sustaining gift
of $12 a month, or a $144 annual donation,
and our gift to you will be
this exclusive R&H Playbill Tote Bag.
Increase your sustaining donation to $18 a month,
or make an annual contribution of $216,
and the Rodgers & Hammerstein Anniversary Collection
is our gift to you.
Invest in music and the arts on PBS by making a contribution
to this PBS station right now.
Thank you.
? My homeland forever ?
BABETTE: Well, this is it.
I can't believe we only have one more act to go.
I don't want it to end.
It's been spectacular.
But before we go back to the stage,
you still have time to use the number on your screen
or click online right now.
As you just saw we have those wonderful gifts
we would love to send to you
with our thanks for your contribution.
Think about everything we've experienced
in this one incredible performance,
plus we've had the opportunity
to talk to some of the performers
and get their insights about Rodgers & Hammerstein,
their connections to the music and this very special show.
We absolutely could not do it without you.
And as we have mentioned,
your favorite music is available on PBS
for everyone to experience and enjoy
because of your generous gift of support.
If you've already called, we can't thank you enough.
But it's not too late to be part
of this wonderful celebration.
Keep calling to let us know you love programs like this
and want to keep this strong tradition
of Great Performances alive.
We're waiting to hear from you.
Make that call right now. And thank you.
-Hello! Hello, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Are you having a good time out there?
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
That's what I like to hear. Hi!
I'm Marisha Wallace,
and what an evening this is turning out to be!
[ Applause ] Yes!
Now, Rodgers and Hammerstein's work
appeals to every generation.
Their shows are always a good time,
and to prove it, here's a good friend of mine
to share some more of that R&H love.
Please welcome back to the stage, Mr. Michael Ball.
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
-? Some enchanted evening ?
? You may see a stranger ?
? You may see a stranger across a crowded room ?
? And somehow you know ?
? You know even then ?
? That somehow you'll see her again and again ?
? Some enchanted evening ?
? Someone may be laughing ?
? You may hear her laughing across a crowded room ?
? And night after night ?
? As strange as it seems ?
? The sound of her laughter will sing in your dreams ?
? Who can explain it? ?
? Who can tell you why? ?
? Fools give you reasons ?
? Wise men never try ?
? Some enchanted evening ?
? When you find your true love ?
? When you hear her call you across a crowded room ?
? Then fly to her side ?
? And make her your own ?
? Or all through your life ?
? You may dream all alone ?
? Once you have found her ?
? Never let her go ?
? Once you have found her ?
? Never let her ?
? Go ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
Good evening.
I'm Michael Ball,
and this really has been some enchanted evening, hasn't it?
Oh! Do you know something?
I have never been so nervous in my life.
I'm the only one up here I've never heard of.
[ Laughter ] And to be singing that song...
I've never, ever sung it before.
I want you to listen to something.
This is Richard Rodgers
talking about his writing process
in his very own words.
-You want people to like the songs.
You want people to like everything you do.
If you didn't, you wouldn't be human.
And you'd like to walk along the street
and hear some kid whistling a tune that you wrote.
This is one of the most gratifying sensations
in the world."
-My God, do we like his tunes! [ Laughs ]
We've been singing them 80 years now.
Andrew Lloyd Webber once called "Some Enchanted Evening"
the greatest song ever written.
He should know -- he's written one or two himself.
And tonight, I'm sure he's gonna tell me
how I could've performed it better.
Will you please welcome another EGOT.
They're like buses -- you wait all day for one,
and then two just turn up!
Here he is, the one, the very, very, very special
Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber!
Thank you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I gotta say...
I gotta say, first...
This is the most unfair thing that I've ever been asked to do.
I mean, my tears in my eyes...
I'm afraid, "Some Enchanted Evening"
I think is simply the greatest song ever, ever written.
And I will stand by that.
And you did it very, very well...
-Thank you very much!
-...from what I could hear in the wings there.
It sounded really good, but I mean --
-Let me leave you to talk to the ladies and gentlemen.
-Well, I, you know...
I could talk for hours and hours about Rodgers and Hammerstein.
-Please don't. [ Laughter ]
-I'll see you later, mate.
But the thing about that lyric,
I mean, it's just that it's so simple.
"Fools can explain it, wise men never try."
And when people talk about musicals,
and they say, "What's the secret of a musical?"
I say, "Just think about that lyric."
I mean, "Fools give you reasons, wise men never try."
But that is one of the greatest, greatest melodies,
and I'm just listening tonight to Rodgers, I mean,
who I think is the finest melodist, really,
of the 20th century.
I'm sorry, I get very emotional
when I talk about Richard Rodgers,
and it's just one of those things.
And let's just say,
before we go into the wonderful medley
we're going to do of "The Sound Of Music" now,
and I must say thank you to Simon Lee
and the fantastic orchestra...
[ Cheers and applause ]
I...
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
I would not even have begun a career in musical theater
without Rodgers and Hammerstein.
So it's a great, great joy to introduce Lucy St. Louis,
who was a wonderful, wonderful Christine for us
in "Phantom Of The Opera,"
and she's going to be doing a tribute to "The Sound Of Music."
But let us just think
of how fantastic Rodgers and Hammerstein were,
and what an extraordinary, extraordinary contribution
they gave us to musical theater.
And without you, Dick, and without --
that's all I can say --
I don't think I'd have ever done it.
So, thank you for coming.
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
-? My day in the hills ?
? Has come to an end, I know ?
? A star has come out ?
? To tell me it's time to go ?
? But deep in the dark green shadows ?
? Are voices that urge me to stay ?
? So I pause, and I wait, and I listen ?
? For one more sound ?
? For one more lovely thing ?
? That the hills might say ?
? The hills are alive ?
? With the sound of music ?
? With songs they have sung for a thousand years ?
? The hills fill my heart ?
? With the sound of music ?
? My heart wants to sing every song it hears ?
? My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds ?
? That rise from the lake to the trees ?
? My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies ?
? From the church on a breeze ?
? To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls ?
? Over stones in its way ?
? To sing through the night ?
? Like a lark who is learning to pray ?
? I go to the hills ?
? When my heart is lonely ?
? I know I will hear ?
? What I heard before ?
? My heart will be blessed ?
? With the sound of music ?
? And I'll sing ?
? Once more ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
-? Perhaps I had a wicked childhood ?
? Perhaps I had a miserable youth ?
? But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past ?
? There must have been a moment of truth ?
? For here you are, standing there, loving me ?
? Whether or not you should ?
? So, somewhere in my youth or childhood ?
? I must have done something good ?
? Nothing comes from nothing ?
? Nothing ever could ?
? For somewhere in my youth or childhood ?
? I must have done something ?
? Something ?
? Good ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
-? Edelweiss ?
? Edelweiss ?
? Every morning you greet me ?
? Small and white ?
? Clean and bright ?
-? You look happy to meet me ?
-? Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow ?
? Bloom and grow forever ?
-? Edelweiss ?
? Edelweiss ?
-? Bless my homeland forever ?
-? Edelweiss ?
? Edelweiss ?
? Every morning, you greet me ?
-? Small and white ?
-? Clean and bright ?
-? You look happy to meet me ?
-? Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow ?
-? Bloom and grow forever ?
-? Edelweiss ?
? Edelweiss ?
? Bless my homeland ?
? Forever ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
?
-? Climb ev'ry mountain ?
? Search high and low ?
? Follow ev'ry byway ?
? Ev'ry path you know ?
? Climb ev'ry mountain ?
? Ford ev'ry stream ?
? Follow ev'ry rainbow ?
? Till you find your dream ?
? A dream that will need ?
? All the love you can give ?
? Ev'ry day of your life ?
? For as long as you live ?
? Climb ev'ry mountain ?
? Ford ev'ry stream ?
? Follow ev'ry rainbow ?
? Till you find your dream ?
? A dream that will need ?
? All the love you can give ?
? Ev'ry day of your life ?
? For as long as you live ?
? Climb ev'ry mountain ?
? Ford ev'ry stream ?
? Follow ev'ry rainbow ?
? Till you find your ?
? Dream ?
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
BABETTE: Between the cast singing "Edelweiss"
and Audra McDonald's
inspirational "Climb Every Mountain,"
I think we all need a moment, right?
This has really been some enchanted evening.
I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have
here at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
And don't go away.
We have some wonderful interviews
with our talented cast to share with you.
And don't forget, this is your last opportunity
to show your love for Rodgers & Hammerstein, PBS,
and live musical experiences
you're not going to find anywhere else.
And it's only made possible with your support.
So please use the number on your screen
or visit our website and say "Bravo" to your PBS station
for keeping this American musical legacy alive and well.
So right now, be that girl, or guy, who can't say no
to this amazing collection of music available to you
with your gift of support.
This wonderful CD contains all the music you loved
from the spectacular production and additional music
not included in the broadcast.
You'll be singing along to every song
for days, months, years to come.
And don't wait.
This is our last intermission in the program.
So go to the phone, use the website,
and show your support right now.
Whether you watch on TV, online, or with the PBS app,
your call is making a difference.
Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
formed one of the most prolific partnerships
in theatrical history.
This special once-in-a-lifetime event in London
celebrates their amazing legacy,
and Great Performances was there to capture
all the excitement and inspiring music.
Now it's your turn to applaud PBS
for bringing this world-class performance to you.
Become a sustaining member of this PBS station
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?
(audience cheering and clapping)
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(gasps) What an extraordinary night. What talents.
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? Some enchanted evening ?
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? Climb every mountain ?
? Ford every stream ?
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? Climb every mountain ?
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? My homeland forever ?
BABETTE: I cannot believe this is over.
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?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause ]
?
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
?
-Major funding for "Great Performances"
is provided by...
...supporting the arts and education...
Funding for this program is also provided by...
?
VO: You're watching PBS.
[bright music]
- Announcer: The following program
is a PBS Wisconsin original production.
- Announcer 2: Major funding for Welcome Poets
is provided by:
Fort Atkinson Community Foundation,
Peter and Connie Roop,
donors to the Focus Fund for the Arts,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
- Poet's Voice: "Nobody.
"Nothing.
"Ever gave me greater thing
"Than time.
"Unless light
"And silence
Which, if intense, makes sound."
[gentle music]
[tires rumbling]
- Nicholas Gulig: It's said you can't go home again.
That the places we are from
cease to be the places we remember.
But in the summer of 2016, after living half my life away,
I decided to return to the state where I was born.
[gentle music]
[typewriter clicking]
For the last five years,
I'd been living in my mother's country,
teaching at a university in Khon Kaen, Thailand
and planning for a life abroad with my adopted daughter
and the woman who would eventually become my wife.
But when my father died,
the distance between Southeast Asia and the American Midwest
became untenable.
A space I couldn't bear.
My father was an avid reader,
and our house was filled with books.
As a child, when I couldn't sleep,
my dad would sit and read to me, and almost always,
he'd read poems.
In this way, my earliest experiences of home,
of feeling like I belonged to a place,
happened in the ebb and flow and rhythms of my father's voice.
A low murmur in the quiet of the evening's dark
that held the words of strangers to my ear.
Maybe this is why, since an early age,
I wanted to be a poet, to make a home for others
in the way the poems my father read had made a home for me.
To find the words through which the world becomes hospitable.
To learn the language of a people and a place.
In time, the pursuit of poetry took me to Montana and Iowa,
to Thailand and Denver, and to Thailand once again.
Then, some 20-odd years later, I landed back in Wisconsin,
the very place I started.
I had accepted a position as a poetry professor
at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,
and I was looking for a place to live
in the neighboring town of Fort Atkinson.
That summer, amid the angst and bitterness
of a national election,
the Wisconsin to which I returned
was a sea of xenophobic signs and bumper stickers.
As a child of an immigrant, and with my wife and daughter
in the process of immigrating themselves,
it was difficult not to wonder
if the home to which I was asking my family to move
very openly and very clearly didn't want them.
For folks like us, it felt like we weren't welcome.
And yet, here I was, wandering in a world no longer mine.
What was I doing here?
Why did I return?
It was early evening when I pulled into Fort Atkinson,
the thin light falling on the brick facade
of fast food restaurants and chain stores.
I remember turning off Highway 12
and starting down Main Street.
There, above a restaurant called Scottie's Eat-Mor,
a sign read "Welcome Poets" in small black letters
above the doorway.
On the side of that same building,
"Fish, fowl, flood, water lily, mud, my life."
Fort Atkinson is home to Wisconsin's most notable writer,
the poet Lorine Niedecker.
And the excerpt scrawled on a mural
on the side of a building downtown
is the opening to her most famous poem.
Though I didn't know it at the time,
Niedecker's writing will soon become
a central facet of my life.
A body of work upon which much of my own work
will come to rest.
Who was this solitary woman writing in a humble cabin
on the Rock River?
How could I have known then
how important she would become for me?
How integral and influential the writing of a stranger,
this person I had never met, gone for almost half a century.
[gentle music]
That evening, as I drove across Wisconsin,
I couldn't have felt more alien, more displaced.
But suddenly, the sign was there above the diner.
The mural painted on the building side.
In more ways than I can name, Niedecker's poetry,
its legacy and material effect, returned me to Wisconsin.
Or rather, more precisely,
Niedecker's poetry and the myriad ways
the community of Fort Atkinson has come to be defined by it,
gave me back my state.
And made a home for me at a time when it felt
that the door to home was closed.
[gentle music]
- Poet's Voice: "Fish fowl flood
"water lily mud
"My life
"in the leaves and on water
"My mother and I
"born in swale and swamp
"and sworn
to water."
[gentle music]
[typewriter clicking]
- Nicholas: Less than five miles from the sign
that first welcomed me to the city of Fort Atkinson,
a narrow strip of land runs between the Rock River
and a vast marsh, culminating in a point
at the eastern edge of Lake Koshkonong.
It was here in the shade along these shores
that Wisconsin's most notable poet,
Lorine Niedecker, dedicated a largely solitary life
to language.
One that in many ways has come to shape
and name the place where she was born.
[birds chirping]
[door closing]
- Poet's Voice: "I was the solitary plover
"a pencil for a wingbone
"From the secret notes I must tilt
"upon the pressure execute and adjust
"In us sea-air rhythm
We live by the urgent wave of the verse."
[gentle music]
- Nicholas: A rural Midwestern woman
writing in the middle of the 20th century,
throughout her life, Lorine Niedecker produced
a profoundly influential body of work
whose contributions to American poetry
continue to reverberate today.
Born in 1903, Lorine spent most of her youth
amid the flora and fauna of Blackhawk Island,
where her father was an entrepreneur and a fisherman.
By most accounts, Lorine was musical and artistic.
An avid reader and a model student,
who even at a young age aspired to be a writer.
In 1931, Niedecker read an issue of Poetry magazine
dedicated to the Objectivists,
a new literary movement in contemporary poetry
that included William Carlos Williams,
Charles Reznikoff, Basil Bunting, and George Oppen.
Inspired by their work, Lorine boarded a bus
and traveled alone to New York to meet the journal's editor,
the poet Louis Zukofsky, who introduced her
to the vibrant world of America's literary avant-garde.
The influence of this moment feels present in the work
she would go on to write, developing an aesthetic
as a rural, working-class Midwesterner
within the framework
of progressive, experimental poetry.
- Poet's Voice: "I grew in green
"Slide and slant
"of shore and shade
"Child-time -wade
"Thru weeds
"Maples to swing from
"Pee Wee-glissando
"Sublime-
"Slime
Song."
- Nicholas: Throughout her life in Fort Atkinson,
Niedecker would work as a librarian,
a copy editor, and a hospital cleaner,
all the while carrying out a daily discipline
of reading, researching, and writing.
As a working-class woman, her literary life happened largely
in the aftermath of normal labor
and the quiet of a rural one-room cabin
on the banks of the Rock River.
- Poet's Voice: "New-sawed clean-smelling house
"sweet cedar pink
"flesh tint
I love you."
- Nicholas: These days, when I go into my own cabin to work,
I often think of Niedecker sitting at her desk,
staring out the window.
Lorine's poems are never far from me.
I turn to her to teach me.
To remind me of the overlap between a person's language
and their place.
To read her is to see and hear
the world of which she was a part.
- Poet's Voice: "Colors of October
"Wait with easy dignity
"For the big change-
"Lie gorgeous quill-pens
"In old inkwells
Almost dry."
- Nicholas: Hers is a poetry of rapt attention,
a language made of things,
of native trees and local grasses,
of minerals and rocks,
in the Latin names of flowers and of birds.
The river and its many seasons,
the weather spilling over everything, filling up her home.
- Poet's Voice: "I sit in my own house secure
"Through window glass
"Ice cakes glide downstream
The wild swans of our day."
- Nicholas: Lorine would spend decades
writing in relative obscurity,
publishing only four books in her lifetime
on small, independent presses.
Most of her own neighbors didn't know her as a poet,
and almost certainly no one in Fort Atkinson
would have imagined that this unassuming woman,
living in a one-room cabin by the river,
would one day leave a lasting mark
on the landscape of American letters.
Living in Fort Atkinson today, it's possible for me to see
and feel with greater clarity
the ground from which her writing rose,
and which it tried so hard to honor.
Like me, Niedecker left Wisconsin and she returned.
Her language lingers in the air and finds me.
[gentle music]
In central west Wisconsin,
a pair of rivers rose as separate streams and met.
The city built a park around the confluence,
the water intertwined and often shining,
the shoreline wooded and kept up, where I was born, raised
among the farmers and the forests and the punks.
I left.
[upbeat rock music]
[typewriter clicking]
Like Lorine Niedecker, the town where I was born
defines itself through water.
For her, an island that is not in fact an island,
a place that bears the name of a people
who no longer live there.
And for me, a place where rivers meet.
Because the city's largest factory,
the Uniroyal tire plant, closed when I was young,
the Eau Claire of the early '90s felt largely solitary
and insignificant.
In my memory, the streets downtown were always empty.
The world felt somewhere else.
My dad moved to Eau Claire first as a student
attending the university.
And then, in 1969,
as a conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam,
the draft board returned my father to his alma mater
for mandatory public service.
It was there he met my mom,
an exchange student from Thailand studying ceramics.
A second-generation immigrant, my relationship to the community
and culture of Wisconsin has always been obscure.
Growing up, I both did and didn't feel connected
to my state.
Home was somewhere else.
[school bell ringing]
My mother recalls a moment I came home from grade school,
distraught by the fact that I wasn't white.
I don't recall this incident myself,
but there are other iterations of the experience
that I do recall,
memories in which the distance between myself
and the broader world of the American Midwest
felt strained by differences, both real and imaginary.
One of the first places I didn't feel estranged
was in the books my father read to me,
in the worlds and words of poets.
On those late nights in my childhood bedroom with my dad,
language was a place that I could live in.
But poetry built a home for me in other ways as well.
The first community with which I felt a palpable affinity
was a group of punks and artists I met in high school.
They, like me, went about their lives
largely disconnected from the culture happening around them.
Because the songs on the radio felt dead to us,
we started our own bands in our parents' garages.
We published our own books and literary zines
on the copiers at Kinko's.
We held readings in our bedrooms or in basements,
or on of the tops of downtown roofs
until the cops descended and scattered us away.
- Young Nicholas Gulig: "There was a Saturday night once
"in early early April,
"and even the sun seemed as systematic as everything else.
"We waited for it to go down and let us be.
We spent some time wishing upon Andy Christopherson to show..."
- Nicholas: There was and is an inherent freedom
in the act of making art.
For me, it was through the acts of making and conjunction
that a new, more vibrant community arose.
[upbeat rock music]
Because the poems and music of my friends became the spaces
in which the place where I was from
began again to feel like home.
In art, I found my tribe.
[typewriter knob cranking]
Ironically, poems were also the reason that I left.
[airplane engine whooshing]
Because I wanted to be a writer,
and because art felt very much like something
that mostly happens somewhere else,
my pursuit of poetry took me across the country
and around the world.
In time, I landed back in Thailand.
Throughout those years, Wisconsin felt imaginary,
a distant apparition.
Home was far away.
[gentle music]
volunteer here at PBSert, a
Wisconsin. Very excited to
this incredible program.or
that you will call and make
support to supportial
Wisconsin. It probably goes
lot of things I love about
kind of program may be my
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sense of place. And it'song
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television station, but in
in. There's so much content
who would make a programdy
PBS Wisconsin. And I, as a
appreciate knowing that my
going to that kind ofis
unique in the world, and
connected to my home state.
sustaining member. Theas a
bottom of the screenon the
kind of programing matters
now is the time to give us
>> Hi, I'm Lindsey Meekhof,
Wisconsin and I'd love to
We'd love to thank you with
understanding of thisn your
month, we have a biography
watched, this poet so yout
your watch as you repeatn
program again. And for $15
beautiful gift sets that
you can read the poems that
both Loreen and Gulig. Sor
can get one of these books
have this mug that has a
It's beautiful. It'snsin.
for $20 a month, you cannd
that can really connect you
that you've watched here.
volunteers are waiting.
the phone. 1-800-236-3636.
I'm a sustaining memberon.
before we started doingAnd
fellow presenters and we my
that this is the only place
like this. You're not going
Welcome poets on commercial.
only going to find it on're
Wisconsin, which is PBS
sustained by members. And
do what we've done and to
And that is where you make.
right out of your checking
Whatever you choose, youard.
it. 20 bucks a month, less
to Starbucks? More thaning
a sustaining member andome
who keeps PBS Wisconsinple
to you this sort of bring
or go on pbswisconsin.org
>> And I'm now joined by
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>> Now, now it's this one
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>> Back in college when we
>> And aren't we all?.
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really want to do a project
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know anything about Lorine
but I knew a lot about Nick,
took a road trip together
>> We're going to see that
>> To see that at the end.
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not just about what poetry
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>> Here's another look at
happy to offer. If you call
biography again, Loreen. So
learning of this incredible
a month for $15 a month, we
an award winning one by is
be a hit at book club. You
$15 a month. So all theor
this evening and you want
in depth, get these books,
have the insulated mug for
the morning with youryou in
this mug. It's going tove
warm all day. And then for
all of the above giftsave
biographies, the poetry the
that are going to be augs
experience and witnessing
or visit us atve us a call
>> So there are certain
of these levels that we are
evening. One is airwaves, a
publication that you won't
recycling at 1-800-236-3636
>> Now you're watching PBS
what you find here. Fromve
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>> Your investment makes
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join an even more and then
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idea that you you filmeds
realized there was a story
beginning. That's right.the
figure out as a storyteller,
are, right? Tell me about
it was Nick? How much of it
together?How did that come
collaborative effort, not
but also different members
community organizations.ent
itself is a community
natural for us to partner
organizations. So, for
Historical Museum in Fort
amazing archive of all of
written books, handwrittenr
her tax bills. And we were
through the work of ourse
colleague. And then just
Nick about his own life and
really writing out hisand
then doing a lot ofey, and
the book. That's one of the
biography of Lorene. We
her life and learn abouto
interesting about her, and
representative of what it
what it means to have an,
that sense of place andtake
>> So that's the kind of
supporting when you support
matters to you, this is the
to pbswisconsin.org or give
We're going to watch two.
back.segments and then be
We're going to watch two. - Poet's Voice: "My friend tree
"I sawed you down
"But I must attend
"An older friend
The sun."
[typewriter clicking]
[gentle music]
- Nicholas: As the years passed,
Lorine Niedecker pursued her calling.
Inspired by her surroundings on Blackhawk Island,
she continued turning her attention into art.
She documented the natural landscape through photography.
[camera shutter clicking]
In some cases, she used these photographs as reference images
for her hobby of watercolor painting.
As always, she channeled her reflections into poetry.
- Poet's Voice: "O my floating life
"Do not save love
"For things
"Throw things
"To the flood
"Ruined
"By the flood
"Leave the new unbought
"All one in the end-
water."
- Nicholas: At the age of 60, Niedecker's life changed in ways
that would shape her work
throughout the remainder of her life.
- Poet's Voice: "I married
[geese honking]
"In the world's black night
"For warmth
If not repose."
[bright music]
- Nicholas: Al Millen was an industrial painter
who worked the night shift in Milwaukee
and came to Blackhawk Island on a fishing trip.
It was there he met Lorine.
In 1963, after a brief courtship,
they married at St. John's Community Church.
Through Al, Lorine gained a family.
And a level of security that a single woman of that time
so often sadly lacked.
[gentle music]
Frequently, she recorded the joy
of their daily conversations,
a collage of marital observations and inside jokes
and put them into small handmade books.
- Voice of Lorine: You can see how we return to our source.
- Voice of Al: Right, like water.
- Voice of Lorine: And there is never any death.
After death, there are life cycles,
even though inanimate.
In nature, there is no blemish but the mind.
- Voice of Al: He didn't read his science fiction
or he'd know everything.
- Voice of Lorine: What are you reading?
- Voice of Al: The Fallen Sparrow.
One of those books that has meaning and all that.
- Voice of Lorine: See, if he were here, I'd shake his hand.
- Voice of Al: Yeah, but he didn't work third shift.
When you think what nature does sometimes.
Storms, lightning.
To say nothing of the stars.
Man is so puny.
- Voice of Lorine: I don't know.
I've never felt it by looking up at the stars.
After all, man has mind.
- Voice of Al: Well, something else might have mind too.
How do we know that tree out there doesn't have mind?
- Nicholas: This practice of observation and collage
would soon become a central aspect of her work.
[typewriter clicking]
After marrying Al, Lorine was able to quit her job
as a cleaner at the hospital and devote her time more fully
to her vocation as a writer.
- Voice of Lorine: "Grandfather
"advised me:
"Learn a trade.
"I learned
"to sit at desk
"and condense
"No layoff
"from this
condensery."
- Nicholas: For a short time, they lived in Milwaukee,
but when Al retired,
they returned to Blackhawk Island and built a cottage
beside the one-room cabin where she had lived alone before.
Placed directly on the banks of the Rock River,
this new house would provide Lorine the time and space
to write her most well-known work.
While her most famous poem, "Paean to Place,"
focused on her life on Blackhawk Island,
other poems like "Lake Superior"
and "Wintergreen Ridge" happened somewhere else,
in places well beyond the limits of her home.
With Al, Lorine began to travel.
Because of her poor eyesight,
she had never been able to drive.
But with Al at the wheel,
the couple started taking road trips,
exploring the upper Midwest and encountering new landscapes.
In 1966, Lorine and Al took the Lake Superior Circle Tour,
traveling around the northern section of the lake.
For the months leading up to the trip,
Lorine carried out intensive research
in preparation,
compiling pages upon pages of notes,
which documented the region's geology,
geography, and the history of its Native inhabitants
and colonial settlers.
Lorine also kept an extensive travelogue,
and upon returning,
she would take these notes and journal entries
and distill them into a poetry of bright concision,
collaging these fragments
into the well-wrought, finely-tuned music
that would define her later, longer work.
- Voice of Lorine: "For me, the sentence lies in wait--
"all those prepositions and connectives--
"like an early spring flood.
"A good thing my follow-up feeling
has always been condense, condense."
- Nicholas: "Lake Superior,"
the first poem I ever read of Niedecker's,
was the product of this process,
and would eventually become a critical and guiding influence.
Through her, I learned to write again.
Years later, as Wisconsin's Poet Laureate,
Niedecker's "Lake Superior" would return me to its shores.
[gentle music]
[car whooshing]
In daughter light like altar's song,
another year upends its hybridized epiphany.
Every night I dream my mouth around a plastic stone and sing.
These are the roots that clutch,
and this is the empty jar of their dominion,
wilding my sight.
Awake again, a god I don't believe in
alerts me to the purple shadow
cast across the kitchen counter by a spoon.
Love like an even number,
I count the days until I'm future.
Found geography, my crooked grammar.
Tell me in another language we are home.
[gentle music]
[typewriter clicking]
When I saw the "Welcome Poets" sign for the first time
above the diner in Niedecker's hometown,
I didn't know how fully the state that I had left
would come to hold us.
Living in Fort Atkinson, I started teaching
at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,
trying in my own way as best I could to give to others
what others had given me.
It's a transcendent experience,
and I wanna argue that I think it happens too
when we read a poem that really, really works for us,
is that we become possessed by it.
I'm just in the moment of the poem,
or in the moment of the aftermath of the poem.
Poetry, I tell my students, is what the mind becomes
when the music that a language is
replaces ordinary speech.
[child laughing] [birds singing]
And shows you differently.
And for the first time,
the world that ordinary speech obstructs.
- Poet's Voice: "Fish, fowl, flood."
[wind blowing]
[gulls calling]
- Nicholas: The gift of the poem is the world that happens after.
In more ways than I can name, Niedecker's work
opened the door to a place I didn't think that I belonged.
As a young kid in the early '90s, writing poems
and making books at Kinko's with my friends,
I didn't know I'd come to live that way.
That years later, in what is, I hope, the middle of my life,
I'd be selected as Wisconsin's Poet Laureate.
[static]
- Journalist 1: We will meet
the new State Poet Laureate of Wisconsin,
who hails from Eau Claire.
- Journalist 2: Nicholas Gulig
is the Poet Laureate of Wisconsin.
- Journalist 3: Congratulations on being named
the state's tenth Poet Laureate.
- Journalist 4: Without any further ado, Nicholas Gulig,
our current Poet Laureate of Wisconsin.
- Nicholas: Being named to the position felt surreal...
- Journalist 5: Author of North of Order ...
- Nicholas: ...and brought with it a level of public attention
I wasn't used to.
Because writing is so often solitary, almost secretive.
And because, like Niedecker, I work in relative isolation
in a small one-room cabin that I built in my backyard.
Being a poet involves a turning inward and away.
[soft jazz music playing]
And yet, on the other, to be the Poet Laureate of a state
requires that a writer live and think beyond themselves.
The position is one of service.
Niedecker's words and legacy do for me today...
Of moving in the public sphere from one city to another.
Her work and its legacy handed my state back to me.
[steady music]
Since accepting the position, I've seen more of Wisconsin
than I had in the 40-odd years prior.
Some days, it felt I all but lived in libraries
and conference centers, at universities and bookstores.
Which the place where I was born began to feel like home.
Most weekends, I was away.
And in that time spent traveling the state,
I came to feel that poetry at its best
breathes life into communities, because poetry is, in essence,
a deeply communal act.
So I've been able to, I've been able to write again,
which is...
It may be that a person writes alone.
But a writer is always drawing on and is, in almost every way,
indebted to their influences.
Poems are something given.
As a poet living and writing in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin,
and as someone for whom Lorine Niedecker's work
has carved a space for me and for my family,
I knew I needed to find a way to thank her.
"Lake Superior," the poem that introduced me
to Niedecker's work, is an extended collage
comprised in large part of Niedecker's notes
and journal excerpts from a 1966 trip with Al
around the northern portion of the lake.
And so, in the summer of 2023,
I set off to follow in her footsteps,
collecting things along the way
to build an altar on the shore.
[gentle music]
volunteer here at PBSert, a
chapter left in thisone
We're taking one more break
importance of supporting
Colin Crowley with me, the
Would you call it aumentary.
>> Yeah, let's call it a
nontraditional documentary.
more about the. We'll talk
coming up. This break is a
only is this your chance to
dollars that this kind of
but you can vote with house
when you call your dollars
to pbswisconsin.org. Butine
during this break only. And
and tell us what this means
this break. There's a call
during this break is 15
that's low. I think this
we should blow that out oft
me prove to the folks, help
that that this matters to
important.at this is
Lindsey Meekhof I'm on
With your support, we canin.
will deepen your connection
viewing tonight. We haveeen
Niedecker. That would be a
book club that you cana
review this incredibleen
$12 a month. You can also
poetry you've beenxcellent
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for $15 a month. We also
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give us a call tonight.So
>> Hey, I'm Kyle Henderson
awesome. And so I have time
all of these pledgend for
evening, you get a copy of
to your at your house. Now,
catalogs, but since all of
bin, they stopped recycling
that information online.get
and I still put it on the
month, because it has great
know what's coming up ono
something new in airwaves
something super helpful tos
learned about in the lastu
Passport itinerary, which
is available and featuredat
particular time, (800)2
Wisconsin and donate andBS
and get your airwaves every
>> Folks, you're proving me
halfway to our goal of 15
that out of the water. Keep
Colin, here is the producer.
to know. Do you care about
you? Clearly it does. Give
they're calling. Yeah. What
is. I mean, it's it's about
sense. Yeah. Right. How did
connection to this place,
>> Well, I mean, I think a
thinking about the role
and our society. Andur life
Nick's writing and Loreen's
the documentary, where they
are quintessentialings that
Colors of October wait with
change. We've all had this
and you walk in a fall day
changing color. You feel
>> It's my.ting colder.
strikes you, but you can't
there's something deepernow
into words. And that's thet
those things into words for
we really wanted to make,
people appreciate the role
lives and in our society
specifically in a veryd
>> Folks, it's getting kind
which means that all of our
talking to you. That isre
We're going for 15. Your.
you call 1-800-236-3636.en
We're happy to thank youll.
biography of Lorinee the
more to learn about thisuch
you've been watching on
month, you can read and12 a
understanding of this your
and her connection and her
books and a reminder that
on screen, this is an award
There are so many more.
read for $15 a month. Youo
of their work. We also have
beautiful be mug. This has
that you can use all dayint
want, $15 a month and forou
everything we've spokene
wonderful biography, these
So please give us a callg.
>> Folks on this challenge
Wisconsin brings you thePBS
celebrates how specialt
are, and the best way thats
want. That's the kind of I
appreciate that matters to
sustaining member. It's so
regular monthlys a it's a
for once and then it comes
account or your credit card
You don't have to stop it.
you want. $20 a month, sort
can be $10 a month ifthat
It can be $50 a month, but.
membership that says PBS
matters to me, and it's
me, and that I want. Callo
to pbswisconsin.org andline
>> Now folks, based on what
bank, I have a feeling you
getting through right now.
stay there. Your money will
initiated that call during
response is it's fantastic,
how the folks out theres is
again. Do do more of thiss
numbers thereers. So the
we have ten calls, but Illy
you in the queue. Keep itf
moment. I think it was a
segment, the way we aired
moment. I can't remembera
Loreen's poems being read.
these visuals of, like, the,
zooms in on mushrooms. And
watching it. And I was like,
documentary is itself ahis
poem, but yeah. Can you
went about making a you
and, and have it reflect
way? subject matter in that
we aspire to. We, wely what
going to make a film or a
the video itself had to be
process of a lot of whats a
sorts of influences. Wel
nature. We took olde of
typewritten letters and
things from the past, and
them into a cosmic blender
kind of had it all comed
visual and audio poetry.f
our count of calls. We're
beaten that goal, and I am
it 30 based on how it'saise
that 30 calls by the end of
is the time to do it. Yours
are letting us know that
>> 1-800-236-3636 another
we have to select fromgifts
a call. So you've beene us
You've heard all about.
is so much more to learn.re
excellent gift for yourself,
can learn about thisso you
in Wisconsin. If you want
your day. We have poetry
of both Loreen's works that
night long. And Nick, this
book. Again, these wouldry
additions in your home, in
avid readers in your life.
have this beautiful mugh,
for your readers out there
has PBS Wisconsin on it.day
you love by supporting us,
month you can have all of
collection and your mugetry
one (800) 236-3636. a call
>> And folks, when you
with any of these donation
suggesting, you get access
discussed a little bite
this incredible video you
material, and then you can
stream it all through the
on your iPhone, youran put
any tablet you can use that
great material. stream this
We'd love to get to 30at 21.
challenge break. Tell help
this is the kind ofthat
you. It's the only placeto
Call now.ing to get it.
back to see the finalgo
which focuses more on the
directly, which you said
you did, but it ended uping
You know, I, I have my own.
Superior in 2021.ge to Lake
>> Okay. I took a hiking
the moment I emerged fromr
Lake Superior. And, I mean,
like, spiritual moment for
You went on this trip with
>> I did, yeah.
to Lake Superior before and
>> There was a I had swamou?
I'd never gone all the way
ever made the circle tour
you see a thousandor knows
the course of a week. And
you really see livingre,
freighters, you see the
forest, you see the the
And really Lorine Niedecker.
we're going to learn a bit
is a condensed history of,
it connects us in thereally
amazing body of water.is
that right now and give us
a call. - Poet's Voice: "In every part of every living thing
"Is stuff that once was rock
"In blood the minerals of the rock
"Iron the common element of earth
"In rocks and freighters
"Sault Ste. Marie - big boats
"coal black and iron-ore-red
"topped with what white castlework
"The waters working together
"internationally
Gulls playing both sides."
[typewriter clicking]
- Nicholas: "Lake Superior"
appears in the book North Central,
a collection of poems published in 1968
during a moment of new artistic productivity
and burgeoning acclaim.
In November of 1970, Lorine speaks with the poet Cid Corman.
Visiting from Japan,
Corman brings a small cassette recorder
to Blackhawk Island.
In the only audio recordings that we have of her,
her voice is small and delicate, almost childlike.
- Recording of Lorine: [chuckling]
"Wild man, you are the man
"You are my other country
"And I find it hard going
You are the prickly pear, you are the..."
- Nicholas: It's easy to hear how excited Lorine is
by the work that she's been doing.
How deeply she's looking forward to writing more.
- Recording of Cid: Lorine, I noticed, it seems to me
that you are making more poems in these past few years
than you had made before.
Now, is it because you have more time now than before, or what?
- Recording of Lorine: Yes, well, I do have,
I do have more time, but I think that now more than ever,
I think lines of poetry that I may use all day long
and even in the night. - Recording of Cid: Mm-hmm.
- Recording of Lorine: Whereas before,
I was taken up with so many things,
this, that sort of thing...
And the fact that I'm 67 years old,
and if I'm going to do this more, I'd better get to it.
[tape recorder clicking]
- Nicholas: The tape cuts off
and it's the last we hear of her.
Three weeks later, while making dinner,
Lorine will turn to Al and say that she feels strange.
Al will call an ambulance.
Lorine will not come home.
[birds singing]
[gentle vocalizing]
Lorine Niedecker is buried off a county road
in the Union Cemetery north of Blackhawk Island.
While her grave is simple and unassuming,
her legacy is not.
In the decades since her passing,
the poems of Lorine Niedecker
have steadily shaped the work of poets writing after her,
opening the door for other women
and for rural, working-class people
from outside the coastal literary centers.
It's hard to overstate the effect Lorine has had on me.
Growing up, poetry felt to me
a matter first and foremost of internal self-expression.
But when, as a graduate student, I first read "Lake Superior,"
I found myself instead amidst the mind and music of a person
looking past herself, turning to the history, industry,
and geology of other places.
Drawing inspiration as much from outer truths as inner.
- Poet's Voice: "Greek named
"Exodus-antique
"Kicked up in America's
"Northwest
"you have been in my mind
"between my toes
Agate."
- Nicholas: Like every writer, I'm indebted
to the men and women who wrote before me.
They are, in almost every way, my literary ancestors.
Lorine Niedecker is one of them.
And so, at the beginning of my tenure
as Wisconsin's Poet Laureate, I headed north toward water
to pay tribute to this woman
whose work is now a part of my work.
To build an altar for the poet whose words
first welcomed me back home.
[gentle vocalizing]
Lake Superior feels closer to an ocean.
From one shore, it is impossible to see the other.
But what you can see lives inside you
until it's there forever.
The water reaching forward,
falling back.
The shadows of distant factories.
A ditch of flowers.
Daylight hanging on a cliff face.
The glow of stone beneath the waves.
The rhythmic, breathing heartbeat of the lake.
To be by Lake Superior is to walk beside the poet
and to step into the poem.
This was the world she saw and mentioned in her journals.
The places she had visited and wrote about.
- Poet's Voice: "The smooth black stone
"I picked up in true source park
"the leaf beside it
"once was stone
"Why should we hurry
Home."
- Nicholas: As I followed Lorine's path around the lake,
I collected things along the way
I felt she might have stopped to notice, were she there.
The small stones and plants and flowers
I imagined would have found their way into her poems,
had she been with me.
With these things, I built an altar on the shore.
[gentle music]
What is poetry if not an act of altar-making?
Of paying tribute to the people
and the places that have held us?
To build an altar is to form a space for others
here in the present
from the objects that they loved.
To write a poem is to build a home from things.
The poems that floated in my father's voice
defined the home I needed when I was young,
in much the same way that Niedecker's poems
and legacy do for me today.
I now know and feel that I belong here.
My family belongs here.
We are a part of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin is a part of us.
[family talking]
This is the essence of our language,
the gift we give to one another when we speak.
To be a poet
is to know that no one...
- Recording of Lorine: "Tell them to take my bare walls down,
"my cement abutments
"their parties thereof
and clause of claws."
- Nicholas: ...is alone.
[gentle music]
>> Those final words. To be
a poet is to know that nobe
that that is powerful stuff.
volunteer here at PBS
staff member of PBSh a
Not just any staff member.
that you have just finished
that line, I think isw that
ask you for a pledge ofwe
PBS Wisconsin is a way that
alone because of the P the
for you and you, and yous
you because you call andto
1-800-236-3636. Colin, tell
you know that this wasw did
audiences?onnect with
it is really abouta lot of
connecting people andre
poets through time. Yeah.to
wanted to connect you, the
And that's I think that'ses.
at at PBS Wisconsin makingd
>> I think you nailed it.
>> I'm Lindsey Meekhof on
When you show your support,.
with a gift tonight. We you
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Lorine with this biography.
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Share it with people.in.
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Give us a call oneogether.
>> I love documentaries so
favorite art form. It
biography, history, music
way that's inspiring,in a
Just great. And it's here
provide we provide to youy
sort of the quality ofhis
program about Wisconsinsin
that's super moving and and
sustaining member, say to
documentary to callke
sustaining member. It's soa
month and you'll be super,
now. Yeah. you did. Call
started as a digitalct
>> It did? Yeah.
think I even realized wen't
>> It was kind of an
We made it as a web series.
series, you know, broken
people are seeing tonightat
together as a film.rs put
reworked some things to
film. What has the response
What do you hope now series?
>> Well, it's been positive.
we like do community do is
it out into the community.
Fort Atkinson. About 200,
night over. Yeah, over two
just a lot of gratitudeas
their community in that way.
the Fort Atkinson Community
generous with a grant thaty
But what's next is I hopect.
tell stories like this,
tell stories of artists and
they interact with theat
much, and just do that in a
can do.t only PBS Wisconsin
would agree with this, that
positioned not only to to
the story 100%. but to find
community organization, so
community. We can go into
and immediately have state
just by nature of who we,
legacy that we have as PBS.
limit. It's a big state.
happening every day, and we
ear to the ground, withur
keeping us keyed in ontate
feel we're really good at
>> So that that's what
call 1-800-236-3636.en you
waiting to take your call
We'd love to thank you.ts.
Lorine Niedecker. This have
by her poetry, her life,ed
to learn that you can pair
again, it is $12 a month to
biography about Lorine and
word about this fascinating
can expand your learning of
gulags award winning poetry
more poems to read and both
for $15 a month, we'd bed
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you with this B mug that
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but there's these wonderful
It's yellow, it's cheerful,
Wisconsin for $15 a month.
to gift you with all of the
the biography and the mugs
>> 1-800-236-3636 yeah.
been built by people likeys
everybody in this room.like
trusted journalism, ine in
great arts and culturee, in
community around thoseg a
can help continue that isou
And if you are a sustaining
would encourage you and
evening when I get home. Is
up your monthly you to bump
little bit, just so you can
know that the situation is
funding from the federal to
going to step in and andre
that PBS Wisconsin isure
can do. Become a sustaining
(800) 236-3636 or going on
now.bswisconsin.org right
wrap up this broadcast of,
feeling that's, that's
right now is one of me
when I, when I watched thet
this conversation, I really
to Nick, and I mean toand
of art tonight, listeningce
and the the phone bank loud,
feeling gratitude to the
care about this, I imagine.
gratitude as well. Anyone
>> So many people. This was
made in community, andwas
in the Friends of Lorinee
wonderful nonprofit a
really guards the legacy of
who came to volunteer their
amazing aerial photographer.
shots of Lake Superior. He
local musicians from We had
and Trevor Hagen, Michaeld
original songs for this.
just every community weally
good feeling when you roll
and someone stops you inn
grocery store, you're
something, and they're like,
what are you guys doing
spark of a conversation.
you're doing. And itat
reminds people that we are
their stories.ties telling
to the list. Not only isat
Wisconsin and building of
you're also supporting the
>> I like to think so. Yeah.
really a reminder of of why
does matters. And I'mconsin
Right. You're here watching.
you. You can be a part ofto
and that Colin does hiss
call.project. Give us a
and that Colin does hiss - Announcer: Major funding for Welcome Poets
is provided by:
Fort Atkinson Community Foundation,
Peter and Connie Roop,
donors to the Focus Fund for the Arts,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
This program was made possible
in part by contributions to your
PBS station from
viewers like you.
Thank you.
(bright piano and string theme) - [Narrator] The Yorkshire Dales
are as timeless as they are magical.
It's a place where the four seasons
sometimes arrive in the span of just one day.
That could be now, or in the 1940s stories of James Herriot.
Sunshine, rain, fog, snow--
it's all part of the unique character at the center
of "All Creatures Great and Small" on MASTERPIECE.
- Up in the Dales, surrounded by those hills...
there's no place on Earth like it.
- Careful.
Once it gets in your bones it's hard to get out.
- I'm not sure I want it to.
- Good. (both chuckling)
- [Narrator] It's the kind of place
where family recipes span generations,
and where family farms span centuries.
The stories of James Herriot place the villagers, farmers,
and animals of the Dales at the center of the narrative,
but we're always aware that those stories take place
in a unique part of the world.
- I've done some unusual things in my time as a vet, but-
- Ten more minutes.
- Ten?
If I stay in this position a moment longer,
I'll never get up again!
(soaring orchestral music)
- [Narrator] In today's special,
bring along your coat, a sweater, an umbrella,
and your wellies as we visit the Dales of today,
while we harken back to the time
of James Herriot's timeless stories.
We'll go behind the scenes with the cast
and creators of "All Creatures,"
and we'll even visit some very special seasonal festivals
in the Dales with actor Nicholas Ralph.
And be sure to join us in the Skeldale kitchen
to make some shortbread cookies with Anna Madeley,
and the real chef from "All Creatures."
- Hello, I'm Nicholas Ralph.
I play James Herriot in "All Creatures Great and Small."
Join us for "All Creatures Great and Small:
Seasons of the Dales."
(orchestral music concluding)
- Excuse me, is this Darrowby?
- Aye.
Aye, it is.
(uplifting orchestral music) (door folding)
(orchestral music swelling)
- [Nicholas] Over the course of filming one season, ironically,
you can have four seasons in one day.
There could be snow on the ground,
then you'll get a bit of rain, it will be windy,
then the clouds will part and the sun will come through.
(laughing) So you just don't know.
- [Callum] If you watched a scene where the weather changed
several times throughout one scene--
especially people in America would be like,
"That was clearly filmed over, like, three weeks."
It was like, no, no, it's filmed in one day.
Come to the Dales, trust me, you'll know exactly
that this is accurate.
It's actually less accurate that weather stays the same.
- [James] When the weather comes in, it's a brutal place.
Snow 10 foot deep-- fog so thick
you can barely see your hand in front of your face.
- [Samuel] The other thing to say about the Dales,
of course, is they're incredibly unpredictable.
One year where we did have snow,
it stayed for about 20 minutes,
and literally 20 minutes later there was no sign of it.
- [Siegfried] There's not a flake of snow in Darrowby.
- [Slavens] Aye, it's like the North Pole up here.
You get three seasons in one day.
- [Rachel] There was a scene that I remember,
it was in Yockenthwaite, actually,
and it was the farmer, actually, that, that owns that farm,
Stewart, who I've become quite pally with.
I'd been filming there two months before
and I said to him, "Oh, the next time I'm
back up here is not 'til May."
I was like, "So at least it'll be warmer then."
And he just laughed and he went,
"No, it'll snow this year in May."
And sure enough, it did.
I can remember like sideways snow, you know, you c-
It was really visible.
We all had to stand down for a while in nearby cottages,
eating lots of biscuits, which is always quite fun
'cause you get that feeling of like snow day at school.
(rain pouring)
- [Callum] I'm sure it's maddening for... the crew
and the director,
but I sort of enjoy it, really.
I quite like the rain,
I quite like the sunshine,
I quite like the snow,
so I'm, I'm very happy to have them all.
(horn honking) (sheep bleating)
- [Rachel] I like spring, just when things are coming to life.
- [Helen] Right, then-- are we ready?
- [Children] Yeah!
- So, the first duck under that bridge wins.
(mischievous string music) - [Narrator] Anna Madeley
remembers one scene in Season Two
when the weather was especially unpredictable.
- [Anna] The funeral's always a day that comes to mind
because we all had to put up umbrellas,
and then we shot the scene all without umbrellas
'cause the sun came out,
and then a rainbow will appear, or something,
(laughing) so you have to do it again.
- [Nicholas] Sometimes you just have to stop
because it is just driving rain.
You can get away with light rain--
doesn't really show on camera-- but you have these days
where it's just driving, driving rain.
(thunder rumbling)
(sighing)
- [Anna] Hats off to our crew, because they all have gear
for every weather with them at all times.
And I will always have a fond memory
of sitting in our very old cars, watching them try
and dry the vehicle ready for a take.
And then try and get us to
(laughing) roll quickly enough
that we can do it before the car's too wet again.
It's like the endless battle against the elements.
Everyone's always ready for that fight.
(rain pouring)
- I missed it.
- Oh, did you ever.
(rain pouring) (melancholy piano music)
- [Nicholas] It can be really atmospheric, as well,
you know, when you've got the brooding cloud.
Because you can have the sun pouring in one side of a Dale,
and then the other side, it's brooding dark cloud.
Visually, it's stunning.
- [Samuel] I did a scene where I was sitting in front
of a wood-burning stove in a three-piece tweed suit
pretending to be freezing.
I had ice packs, in fact, in all the places
where in February you have heat packs.
- Siegfried-
- We've snow due today!
If she were to go into labor, she could find herself
stuck in the middle of nowhere.
- [Nicholas] Filming can be long, cold days,
but it feels like you've earned something.
You've done something, it's...
tiny taste of what it might have actually been like
to be a vet in the 1940s up in the high Dales.
(serene orchestral music fading)
(whooshing sound) (jazzy piano music)
- [Narrator] Of course, the weather in every season
of the Dales has challenged vets,
farmers, and villagers for generations.
But the era in which our stories are set
was a special time in history.
A time that the community revisits
with festivals and celebrations.
(jazzy music continuing)
The annual Grassington 1940s Weekend
was held in late September.
Thousands came to the village to celebrate 1940s culture,
fashion, and activities.
And one of them was our very own Nicholas Ralph.
(jazzy music continuing)
- Julia, thanks so much for the invite to this--
Grassington's 1940s Weekend.
You are the organizer, you're the event runner.
14 years, you've been doing it.
- [Julia] 14 years, yeah.
- [Nicholas] Tell me a little bit about it.
- [Julia] So today, we've got the Spitfire in the square,
we've got the Yorkshire volunteer drummers.
We've also got the tea dances running in the town hall
from 2:00 to 4:00, which is a sellout.
We've got vintage vehicles around the village everywhere.
- [Nicholas] So it seems like just so much jovialness and-
- [Julia] Oh, everybody's happy!
- And fun, and- - Yeah, yeah.
You'll notice that everybody all day will be smiling.
- [Nicholas] Yeah. - [Julia] They just love it.
- [Nicholas] Come rain or shine. - [Julia] Yeah.
(upbeat orchestral music)
We can't forget what happened in the 40s.
- No, absolutely-- and we've- - Uh, you know...
- we've touched on it, as well, that James Herriot did
go to the RAF-- - [Julia] Yes!
- [Nicholas] he trained up to be a bomber pilot.
It's very much about the lives and the people of Darrowby-
- [Julia] Yeah it is. - [Nicholas] but you have the
bigger thing that's going on - [Julia] Yeah, yeah,
- [Nicholas] in the background. - [Julia] And we can't forget
what everybody went through for us.
You know, w- our country probably wouldn't be what it was
if it wasn't for them going out - [Nicholas] Abs- absolutely
- to war in the 40s.
- Yeah.
- [Siegfried] Where are you from
- Hulme... Manchester.
- So, a fish out of water, then?
- Don't see too many fields as a plumber's apprentice, sir.
(lively background chattering)
- Well, you're welcome here-- of course you are.
- You can see why people want to come back.
- We're very lucky. - Time and time again.
We're very lucky-- I've lived here all my life,
and I won't want to go anywhere else.
- Yeah. - No, I love it.
- Thanks, Julia, I can't wait- - Alright.
- to get stuck in!
- Thank you! - Cheers.
- Enjoy your day.
- Thank you. - Alright.
- [Alkaseltzer Sisters] (singing) If you ever go down
Trinidad,
They make you feel so very glad, (tank whirring)
Calypso sing and make up rhyme,
Guarantee you one real-
- Normally, I'm all decked out in 19-
I'm normally in 1940s gear.
- [Female Fan] I watch you all the time.
- (laughing) Your birthday? Happy birthday!
- [Narrator] A major highlight of the festival
was the York Vintage Dance Group
who kept the party going-- even in the rain.
- [Alkaseltzer Sisters] (singing) In old Trinidad,
I also fear,
The situation is mighty queer
Like the Yankee girl, the native swoon,
When she hear "Der Bingle" croon.
- So, we are outside somewhere very familiar.
There's no pillars, but this is the front
of Skeldale House here in Grassington,
and I'm with Tina,
who's gonna tell me all about
the dancers and the singers.
- Right, well, the singers are
the Alkaseltzer Sisters and Mick,
and we are York Vintage Dance Group.
So you'll have our people dancing on the street over there
having a wonderful time...
(laughing) in the rain!
- It's raining- - Look, see-
- but what, how do you deal with it in Yorkshire?
You dance in the rain!
- Absolutely brilliant. - We do it in all weather.
- Fantastic.
- [Mick] (singing) Seven-- that's the time we leave
at seven,
I'll be waiting up for heaven
- [Tina] We've been dancing at Grassington 40s event
ever since it started.
So this is our 14th year.
- 14th year?
- 14th year. - Wow!
It- has it just grown in size over the years?
- [Tina] It has, it's--
just snowballed.
It's wonderful. - [Nicholas] Yeah.
So what do you think it is about the 1940s,
and that era, that brings people time and time again,
year after year-- not only that,
but to travel the country,
to go to other events that are similar?
- It's, it's... somewhat the nostalgia, the music,
the camaraderie of the, the time,
- Music. - the, yeah, music!
Yeah. (both laughing)
It's, it's just a mixture of everything, really.
And all our dancers and the people that go to these things
are all really lovely people.
- [Nicholas] It's all about community and family,
- [Tina] Yeah, it is! - [Nicholas] and everyone
coming together.
- [Alkaseltzer Sisters] (singing) G.I. romance
with native peach,
All night long, make tropic love
Next day, sit in hot sun and cool off...
- And do you watch the show, yourself?
- Oh, yes! - Yeah?
- Yeah, big fans.
(both laughing)
- Who's your favorite character,
is it James? - Oh, well...
(both laughing)
- I'll give you a tenner later.
(both laughing)
- Well, more than that.
(both laughing)
- [Alkaseltzer Sisters] (singing) ...treat her nice,
Make Trinidad like paradise
(song concluding)
(crowd cheering and applauding)
(cheerful string music)
- [Narrator] Our next stop at the 1940s
Grassington Weekend was The Devonshire.
This pub serves as the exterior for The Drovers Arms,
and we met with manager Kirsty Wilson,
who gave us a tour of their "All Creatures" pub room.
(peppy guitar music)
- It just gets bigger and bigger
every time I see it, Kirsty, it is absolutely fabulous
this "All Creatures Great and Small" room.
Can you tell me a little bit about it?
- Absolutely, so...
what we decided to do was to put everything
"All Creatures" in one space,
so that the guests that come specifically to see
these kind of things have got the ability
to be able to see things from each season
because we add to it each time.
- Yeah, it's wonderful.
I mean, even these quotes that have been added here, above--
I see, like Siegfried Farnon, "I am fun.
I'm perfectly bloody fun."
It's absolutely brilliant.
- And what's the point of it all
- Fun.
I understand that's a very alien concept to you.
- I am fun. I'm perfectly bloody fun.
- [Nicholas] "Whatever you've heard, it's not true,
I didn't do it."-- Tristan Farnon.
That, I think is when I pick him up-
- from the train. - Yeah, from the train.
- [James] Tristan Farnon?
- Whatever you've heard, it's not true, I didn't do it.
- Ah, no, no-- Siegfried sent me.
- [Nicholas] I don't think we've managed
to get this into the show yet,
but I love this quote.
"The great value of a dog
is that you can make a fool of yourself with him,
and not only will he not scold you,
he will make a fool of himself too"-- James Herriot.
I think that's beautiful.
You have the rooms that are named
after some of the... characters from the books.
- [Kirsty] We do, indeed.
They are probably the most photographed room names
in the UK right now. (Nicholas laughing)
- [Nicholas] Is there a James Herriot Suite,
or a Herriot Suite?
- [Kirsty] There is a Herriot Suite.
- [Nicholas] Uh-huh. - [Kirsty] There is.
It's quite popular, but it's not the most popular.
I'm so sorry.
- What is the most popular?
- It is the Siegfried Farnon room.
- [Siegfried] It may not always seem like it,
but I do, in fact, still run this place.
- [Nicholas] Thanks so much for the tour.
And, uh... I just, I can't wait
to see this get populated more and more.
- [Narrator] Later in the day, we met
with the Yorkshire Volunteer Corps of Drums
who showed off their incredible uniforms
and then entertained the festivalgoers
with a procession through Grassington.
- [David] Hello, mate! - Hiya.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Lovely to meet you. - How are you?
- Yeah, good, thanks. - How's the job going, alright?
- Yeah, yeah, not bad.
You look... amazing.
- It's these things that... pull it off.
- I mean the whole, the whole getup.
The whole getup, the, th... the j- well, everything,
every part of it.
- It's all traditional.
- [Nicholas] Yeah. - [David] Goes back...
Our regiment goes back to 1865.
- And your regiment- - I was there-- I was.
- You were? (David laughing)
- [David] I've designed this, and we have
the history of the regiment
and then we have the Canadian maple leaf,
which was awarded to us in the Second World War.
- [Nicholas] Yeah, and the Yorkshire Rose is,
we were talking about- - Correct.
- before, here. - Correct.
And the Queen's crown. - Queen's crown.
- We have what's called the dress cords,
which goes back to Napoleonic, uh, drummers.
- [Nicholas] Wow. And this?
- Yeah, this goes back to
before the days of Queen Victoria.
- This is gonna be incredible.
We're gonna do a procession down the street.
- Well, we do the procession down the street,
and then we do a drumming display,
- Hmm. - we do a bugle display.
- The weather's been against us slightly-
- Yeah! - but everyone's still got
a smile on their face.
There was dancing going on in the street.
- [David] Of course. - [Nicholas] You know,
everyone's just, uh, like getting on with it
and having a good time as well.
- Grassington is unique.
It really is. It's lovely.
- Right. I think we're ready to...
- Okey dokey.
- Let's do it. - We'll form up downstairs.
(military drums beating)
- [Narrator] When the procession began,
Nicholas Ralph was invited to join in on the fun
as an ambassador of "All Creatures Great and Small."
(drums beating)
The corps then performed a drum and bugle display
that left the crowd speechless.
(triumphant bugle and drum music)
(drums beating)
(sticks clacking and drums beating)
(drumming intensifying)
(crowd applauding and cheering)
(whooshing sound) We'll spend some more time
at the 1940s festival a little later.
In the meantime, even though they might not
be dancing in the rain,
let's hear how the seasons of the Dales
help the cast get into character.
(bright piano and string theme)
- [Rachel] The drive to work in the morning never gets old.
I look out the window like, "I can't believe
we get to shoot in this beautiful place."
And as actors, you really feel that.
- [Helen] Alright there, Tris!
I didn't know you were back.
- And I assume you've missed me terribly.
- [Callum] We go to the most amazing remote locations
while you're dressed in these clothes
and other people are dressed in these clothes,
so you just feel like you're in the 40s.
- If he obeys your command, give him a treat.
(animal bleating)
Tristan.
- Mm? Oh, sorry, Jenny.
I was feeling a bit peckish.
- [Nicholas] The period costume as much as anything
really does help you get into character
because once you're in the clothes
you walk differently as well.
(soft footsteps)
- [James] Ah, honestly, d... I- I'll be fine.
- [Jenny] Are they're not to your liking, James?
(newspaper rustling)
- No, no.
No, these are... they're perfect.
- I think Helen's got the best wardrobe.
I absolutely love all her stuff.
Ros and the costume team are just brilliant.
Attention to detail is second to none,
and because it's all quite practical, it's all comfortable.
So I really enjoy wearing it.
(distant bird calls)
- [Helen] Look all right?
(bird calls and water rushing)
(poignant string music intensifying)
- Aye... Middling.
(poignant music fading)
(lively string music) - I'm currently debating
whether or not I buy my first Fairisle tank top,
but I just worry that people will sort of be like,
"Why are you dressing like your character from the show?"
(laughing)
- [Samuel] The only thing that is sometimes troublesome
taking Siegfried home with you is the beard,
because it takes me quite a long time to grow it.
Weirdly, I wore it to the read-through in Series One
and they went, "Keep that, it's good."
I said, "Not many people in 1937 had beards."
And they said, "Yeah, but he's eccentric, isn't he?"
And I went, "Yeah, fair point."
So we get the beard.
- [Siegfried] You need to take a chance.
Lash out a little.
Carpe some diem!
- [Narrator] We also asked the cast if they had ever struggled
to stay in character.
- [Callum] We had Vic Reeves playing the knacker's yard man,
which is basically the owner of the abattoir.
And his performance was absolutely wild.
I've never seen anything like it,
and I, I don't think I got through
a single take without laughing.
- You mean that isn't the cow from Rudd's?
- [Mallock] No, that's right, I had to do another'n first.
Uh, Rudd's cow's still in wagon.
- I remember it's the wrong cow
because of the way Vic Reeves said the wrong cow.
"Wrong cooooow!"
He sort of did it like that every single time.
- [James] Look, ah-- she's no goner!
Jeff, you've got the wrong cow there.
- Wrong cow?
- No, it is, it is easy to stay in character
unless you're laughing--
if you get the giggles,
which... I confess I sometimes have done.
- I don't think I've struggled to stay in character so much.
But there has been times where you break ultimately
because something is very funny,
but it's also other people breaking, then make you laugh.
So like Anna is just notorious
and that is just extremely, extremely infectious.
- [Narrator] Yet despite the challenges of on-set giggles,
the stunning locations of the Dales inspire the cast
and constantly transport them to the 1940s.
- [James] Flocks of sheep grazed these hills
for hundreds of years.
And the sheep, they know to stay in the same place.
- Away!
- [James] They know where they belong.
(sheep bleating)
It's in their bones-- passed from one generation to the next.
- [Anna] People are enjoying that kind of escapism.
And I think this gives people some head space and some joy
and some beautiful landscapes.
- I love the fact that you can look out onto a hill
and think that that farm's been there for 300 years.
- [Siegfried] Ah, you are a grand fella.
That's a fine example
of a scuffling horse, if I'm not mistaken.
(cow mooing distantly)
- [Dobson] He's a good 'un all right.
- It's very easy to sort of lose yourself
and get into the role
because it's just beautiful everywhere you look.
- I can't do it.
(birds chirping softly)
I can't go.
- Jenny. - [Jenny] I'm not a nurse.
I'm not a city girl.
This is my home.
(birds chirping) (cow mooing)
I can't leave.
(bittersweet orchestral music)
- Oh! You daft thing.
(bittersweet music continuing)
(bright piano and string theme) - [Narrator] When we return,
we'll spend more time at the 1940s festival
and we'll also travel to an agricultural show
and talk to farmers from the Dales.
We'll visit the Skeldale kitchen
and learn how to make Mrs. Hall's shortbread.
And of course we'll spend more time
hearing from the entire cast
in "All Creatures Great and Small: Seasons of the Dales."
(theme music fading)
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the next segment. now.mouth (bright piano and string theme) - Welcome back to
"All Creatures Great and Small: Seasons of the Dales"
(piano and string theme continuing)
- [Narrator] Today we are taking a look at everything
that makes the four seasons in the Yorkshire Dales
so very special.
We are joined by James Herriot himself--
Nicholas Ralph-- as our guide to a local 1940s festival,
and also, to an agricultural festival,
where we will meet some local farmers showing their animals.
But first, let's look at how these stories take place in
a simpler time.
(uplifting orchestral music)
- [Anna] The Dales are... beautiful in every weather.
They're just stunning.
- [James] I didn't expect it to be so beautiful.
- [Siegfried] One of the wildest spots in England.
- We go through many, many seasons throughout one day,
but, the views and the vistas of the Dales
are just beautiful.
(serene orchestral music)
- I can see why you like it up here.
- Mr. Herriot.
- [Nicholas] It's about this surrogate family,
in this gorgeous part of the world, in the Yorkshire Dales,
which is a character unto itself,
with the animals... "great and small,"
and these eccentric characters that you just meet
day-to-day.
- [Callum] It's just about telling those stories
very, very honestly,
in an amazingly written way that people can
empathize with and relate to.
- [Tristan] I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive, I...
I just thought that-
- Ugh, that's the trouble with people.
They're too busy thinking or not thinking.
Instead of just being!
- [Samuel] They try and do their best for each other,
support each other through misfortunes and unhappinesses,
and glory in each other's triumphs.
- [Siegfried] She's on the mend.
(Grace laughing with relief)
Tom will be pleased to hear that, won't he?
- He will.
Thanks Mr. Farnon, it means the world.
- [Nicholas] It harks back to a simpler time, you know,
in the 30s and the 40s,
where we didn't have various technologies and things
that we do now, and things weren't happening
at such an industrial scale.
And I think people like that.
- [Richard] Now then, Tommy lad!
- [Tom] How do, Richard?
- [Richard] Fair do, son.
I didn't know you were back.
- Aye.
- [Samuel] If you wanna meet somebody, you have to see them--
even the telephone is pretty unusual.
(peaceful orchestral music)
- What's this?
(peaceful music continuing)
- Telephone.
- Dad? - Really?
- I thought you said they were witchcraft.
- [Rachel] The themes that "All Creatures" encompasses
don't have a sell-by date.
They are always going to feel important--
togetherness, community, love.
(all laughing)
- [Siegfried] Pocket money if you can hit your father.
- [James] Get Uncle Tris! (Tristan grunting)
(all laughing)
- Stop it!
(lighthearted music crescendoing and concluding)
(whooshing sound) (jazzy string music)
- [Narrator] Let's return to the 1940s Festival
in rainy Grassington.
- So I've came out of the rain to try some 1940s dancing.
We're gonna meet Maggie, who's gonna be my teacher.
Let's see how I get on.
(jazzy music continuing)
- [Narrator] The dancers are organized
by the husband and wife duo, Maggie and Geoff,
and Maggie was kind enough to show us the Chicago stroll.
- [Maggie] Geoff and I met on the dance floor.
- Did you? - Yeah.
- That is so cool.
- I know.
- [Nicholas] Have you been running these for a while?
- [Maggie] We've been doing this for about...
I think it's about the 11th, 12th year we've done it.
- [Nicholas] I can tell anyway, because
you're a, like a natural.
- Aw! - A star.
- You're sweet.
- [James] I apologize in advance for the absolute shambles
this will inevitably be...
but would you like to dance?
(Helen snorting and laughing)
- [Nicholas] It's absolutely brilliant.
It's taken me right back, as well--
Series Two, we did the Daffodil Ball.
It's when James and Helen, you know, g- get a moment t- to,
be close and things like,
d- like much similar to you and your husband.
You know, that sort of thing. - Yeah, yeah.
- It's an excuse to be close to someone.
- [James] I have no idea what I'm doing.
- Don't worry, you're doing fine.
(upbeat Big Band music)
- [Helen] Oh! - [James] Sorry.
- It's all right, I've got another one.
Look, try and loosen up-- let yourself go with it.
- [Geoff] Mr. Herriot's gonna be dancing with my wife,
which should be interesting. (crowd laughing)
Claims he's never danced before.
(crowd laughing)
- I've two left feet.
- [Geoff] So the dance looks like this--
step, step, step... down.
And then it's out, in, out, in.
And we do two lock steps.
Right, step... (heels clicking)
Right... and we'll break it down.
- [Maggie] Come on, dear. (laughing)
(crowd clapping)
- [Geoff] Step is... step, step, step.
- [Maggie] Stop-- outside foot.
- [Geoff] ...in, out, in. - [Maggie] Two lock steps...
Clap! (all clapping once)
Clap... yes!
He's got it.
(both laughing)
You've done it!
You're a very quick learner.
- [Geoff] Clap, quarter turn...
- [Maggie] Yes!
(upbeat Big Band music)
- Forward, tap.
Back, tap-- that's it, well done!
Got it!
- [Helen] That's better!
Oh!
(Big Band music continuing)
(clapping) - Do ya like-- you got that bit.
- (laughing) I like that bit.
(Big Band music continuing)
I like this piece.
- [Maggie] You like the music?
- Yeah, it's great.
- Tap.
That's it, got it!
- Ahh!
That wasn't any better. (both laughing)
(all clapping once)
- Yay!
(all applauding)
- [James] Sorry again about your toes.
- [Helen] Oh, it was great.
You were great.
- [Nicholas] Maggie, that was absolutely brilliant.
First of all, did I get pass marks?
- You did indeed. - Yeah!
- You really got pass marks, yeah.
- You heard it here first.
Thank you so much for the lesson.
- [Maggie] No, it's been a privilege.
- [Nicholas] That was so much fun.
- Aw! - And, uh, yeah, just wonderful
to be a part of it, so thank you very much.
- [Maggie] Thank you, thank you, aww.
- [Nicholas] Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [Geoff] A round of applause for...
Mr. Nick Ralph down there.
(all applauding)
Mr. Herriot-- you've a wonderful job there.
You had a very good teacher, man.
(all laughing)
- Thank you. - Thank you, thank you.
(whooshing sound) - [Narrator] Sometimes
in the Dales you go from dancing to baking.
Let's spend some time in the kitchen with Mrs. Hall
and the real chef who makes all the seasonal shortbread biscuits
featured in the show.
- Mrs. Hall, have you been baking that shortbread I like?
- I have a couple to spare.
- [Anna] You're gonna show me how to make some shortbread?
- Yes. - ...today, and, um...
Truth is, you're our real Mrs. Hall, aren't you?
'Cause I don't actually cook anything...
...spoiler. - You mean you don't create
all of the meals that they're eating?
We've got flour and rice flour.
Rice flour gives it a bit of crunch
and that's quite an authentic recipe.
So that gets sieved and butter added.
- [Anna] If we're using all of that butter,
how much of the weekly rations is that-
- You've nailed... pretty much the whole rations
in the shortbreads.
- So, shall I sieve that? - Yeah.
- I've just started... - Yeah, go for it.
(both laughing) No, go for it.
And then we'll do about four tablespoons.
Again, you've nailed your rations of sugar.
So that-- that's love in your shortbread.
And then, butter.
- So just chuck that in?
- Yeah, if you chop it-- and then it'll be easier to mix.
(scraping sounds)
And then, it's basically a game of mixing
until we get to a dough.
- [Anna] She talks brilliantly about the seasonality of food,
'cause of course, everything was about what was in season
and then particularly during the war, it was
what was in season in, in the UK of what you could get hold of.
So bringing all that knowledge to us,
as actors, has been amazing.
And then also, delicious to eat.
- So shortbread's quite meaningful to you, Mrs. Hall.
- [Anna] It is, it is really meaningful.
I sort of imagine it's something that she maybe cooked with
Edward when he was little,
and it's become their favorite food.
It's that little code of love between the two of them.
- [Mrs. Hall] Look inside.
Go on, open it up.
(tin opening)
- [Anna] We saw it appear when we first meet Edward.
Whether or not he would accept it,
umm... was - Right.
- the sort of gesture that we were telling the story with.
- They look just how they used to.
(soft background chatter)
- Well...
you didn't see all the burnt bits and the...
misshapen offcuts.
- Dad always liked them burnt, didn't he?
- Oh my word, he used to ask me to burn them.
- [Anna] This tin, I took to the station.
- [Bethany] Is that the one that dropped?
- Conor-- Edward-- yeah, that's why it's a bit bashed up,
'cause we did drop it.
- I'll make room for the tin.
(Mrs. Hall sobbing) (train chugging)
- [Anna] I like that, though, when we have these props
that kind of stay with us
- Yeah. - through seasons.
- [Edward] A pal of mine, Paddy Grainger
has just been invalided back home.
He lives in Skipton, 10 Millpark Street.
Could you take him a bottle of rum,
and some of your shortbread, if you have the sugar?
- [Anna] I make it for his friend Paddy,
- Right. - while he's still away.
- I don't see where it goes!
I, I make it-
- [Anna] I dunno where that went - [Bethany] I drop it off and I-
- I took a load home with. (both laughing)
(poignant orchestral music)
- [Mrs. Hall] These are for you.
It's just a few biscuits I made.
- [Anna] Mrs. Hall wants to hear from him, uh...
the truth of the situation.
- Right. - So, um, so...
- So you're buttering him up. - It's a bit of a currency...
Quite literally. (both laughing)
- [Mrs. Hall] I need you to be honest with me.
- Please, Mrs. Hall,
I don't know any more than you do.
- I've been checking in the papers every day.
- So have I.
(poignant music continuing)
- If you dust a bit of flour on here and give it a rollout.
(plucky string music) (rubbing rolling pin)
(plucky music continuing)
- [Bethany] That's lovely.
- Thick enough, thin enough? - Yeah.
- Beautiful.
- [Bethany] I think we can make...
you see we can't waste anything.
- [Anna] No...
- [Bethany] I think we can make a couple more out of that.
- So, how long will you cook them for?
- [Bethany] Probably about 15 minutes.
So traditionally, you would cook these, um...
at the end of the day,
when the oven's cooling down.
- Ah! - [Bethany] So, um...
if the Aga-- if it was a wood-fired Aga--
and you would just have the, um, the last heat of the day,
you would put them in, and... - [Anna] So it's not too strong?
- It would cook quite gently,
because you don't want them to color and brown.
- Mm.
- [Narrator] Bake for 15 minutes.
(gentle string music)
- So these cook for about 15, 15 minutes
depending on the thickness.
- Yeah. - So, um...
- Now they're nice and crisp.
- Have yourself a cup of tea! - Who would like cup of tea?
Come on, then. (both laughing)
- [Narrator] At the end of the baking lesson,
even the crew enjoyed the wonderful shortbread.
- There you go. - [Crew Member] They look good,
thank you very much.
- [Bethany] It does. (background chattering)
- I did really well, didn't I?
- Yes, you did. (both chuckling)
- Cheers. - Cheers!
(whooshing sound) (jazzy piano music)
- [Narrator] Next stop on our tour
is in a Dales village named Nidderdale.
Seasonal agricultural shows are almost the English version
of an American county fair.
(vigorous marching music)
- Hello, we are here at the Nidderdale Agricultural Show
in Yorkshire.
The sun is shining, the animals have all been dropped off
and we can't wait to see who becomes "Best in Show."
There's gonna be prizes given,
there's gonna be a terrier race, great community vibes.
There's kids running around everywhere,
lots of families down here and lots of fun.
There's a real buzz of excitement you can feel
between the farmers.
They've all chipped in and everyone's here.
A lot of the owners here are asking me for advice.
But I am here not to give,
but to learn today from the owners,
a lot about the grooming, about the upkeep of the animals
and perhaps even learn something that I can take back
to "All Creatures" for next year.
And we're ready to get started.
So come with me as we experience some of the show.
(jazzy piano music)
David, we're here with your gorgeous Jersey cows.
These are all yours here.
And these are milkers, are they?
- [David] These are dairy cows. - [Nicholas] Dairy cows, yeah.
- [David] Pure dairy cows, yeah.
- On "All Creatures Great and Small,"
we've had lots of Jerseys
throughout the different, uh, seasons.
And you've supplied a few of those cows.
- [David] Yes, we have supplied some of the cows
and we, we do recognize them when they're,
when they're in the program. (Nicholas laughing)
- [James] Nice, wide pelvis... level udder.
She's a lovely pedigree specimen.
- [Nicholas] You groom the animals in different ways
for the show as well,
get them show ready. - [David] Oh yeah, that cow-
- [Nicholas] Fresh haircut, fresh trim.
- [David] Fresh trim, yeah.
Do the tails, you know.
- [Nicholas] Fantastic.
Thanks very much, David.
- You're very welcome. - Appreciate it.
- And we love your program!
- (laughing) Thank you.
- [Narrator] Inspired by seeing all
of the owners getting their animals ready,
Nicholas decided to try his hand at fluffing a cow's tail.
- Harry, tell me a bit about these heifers
and then what you're gonna have me try
and help you out with.
- So, so, so here we have two pedigree line heifers.
- [Nicholas] So you do a bit of grooming on the body-
- [Harry] ...the tail. - [Nicholas] I'm gonna have a
look at that... - [Harry] Back to back,
comb the tail. - [Nicholas] Right.
- [Harry] And it fills the gap in between the legs.
- [Nicholas] Ah!
So show me a little bit and then I'll-
- So what we do is- - I'll see if I can-
- Comb out- - I don't wanna let you down,
Harry, you see-- I don- I want you to win.
(laughing)
- [Harry] See, we just comb out any knots,
and you just get a strand of hair at a time.
Just back comb it.
- [Nicholas] I'll give it a go.
So, you brush it out.
And then what do they all look at, the judges?
What, what's the kind of things the criteria are, that they-
(cow mooing) - [Harry] You want a good
square body.
Good topline.
(measuring tape extending) (cow mooing)
- [Nicholas] I'm getting the hang of it now.
(chuckling)
That's pretty.
(jazzy music continuing)
Hey!
(all laughing) (sheathing sound)
(Nicholas laughing)
- [Harry] Ten outta ten. - [Nicholas] (laughing) Yes!
Professional.
Long way to go.
(jazzy music continuing)
- [Narrator] Next up, we visited the adorable
pygmy goat tent,
and spoke with Dawn, who has been a goat owner for 30 years.
- Dawn, we're here in the pygmy goat tent,
which must be one of my favorite tents so far,
because look at these little guys.
- [Dawn] Yeah.
- [Nicholas] They are the cutest.
- [Dawn] We've been showing over 10 years now,
but I've had pygmy goats for 30 years.
- [Nicholas] 30 years? - [Dawn] Yeah, yeah, a long time
I've had goats since I was little.
I'm just goat obsessed.
- [Nicholas] How many goats in total do you have?
- [Dawn] So I have 86 entered.
- [Nicholas] 86? - [Dawn] 86, yeah.
Yeah, which is fantastic.
(goats bleating)
- [Nicholas] We had a story with a pygmy goat.
- [Dawn] Yes. - [Nicholas] With Siegfried
and, uh, Richard Carmody. - Yeah?
- They get into a bit of a scrape with pygmy goats,
- Yeah? - and it's hilarious.
- [Siegfried] There you are-- hold on.
- Looks like you chaps are making progress.
- [Carmody] Indeed we are.
- Are these mischievous?
- Yes. - Are they quite mischievous?
- Very mischievous. - Bit cheeky, a bit naughty.
- Yes, yeah. (Nicholas laughing)
They-- no, they definitely are.
And they're all, they're all characters.
- [Nicholas] Which one's the cheekiest of these ones?
- Probably Moana. - Moana.
- Koda Bear's a close second, to be honest.
- [Nicholas] (laughing) I could... yeah.
- [Dawn] Yeah, you know she... yeah.
A pygmy goat is quite round.
- Yes. - So the, the judge is looking
for like a nice, square... - Which makes it even
more adorable.
- (laughing) Yeah. - Because he's like a little
bit round, with little legs.
- [Dawn] Yes. (Nicholas laughing)
- [Nicholas] You, yourself, are down
with your husband and your daughters.
- [Dawn] Yes-- We've all got our own goats.
- Yeah. - So the girls have got theirs.
We've all got our own.
So we are competing against other people,
but we're also-- it's a little competition between us as well.
- Ah, a little bit between, okay - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it's nice, and we're all really into it.
Everybody's showing goats and stuff.
It is a great community.
We're all good friends.
Nidderdale Show is a proper traditional show,
and it's all like the farming community.
It's local people getting together.
It's, like, the atmosphere.
It's fab. (audience clapping)
It's like, the best show of the year.
(audience clapping)
(serene orchestral music concluding)
(whooshing sound)
- [Narrator] After so many seasons of filming,
we decided to ask the cast
about their favorite locations from the show.
(rousing orchestral music) (hoofbeats)
(townsperson calling out) - [Postwoman] Morning!
- [Narrator] One location that everyone recognizes
and loves is Grassington,
which is transformed into Darrowby Square.
- [Nicholas] We have Darrowby-- our square--
and then we have Arncliffe, which is one of my favorites.
And it looks like time has just stopped there.
It's just this little village.
It takes so little dressing to make it look legitimate.
- [Carmody] Mr. Farnon, my diagnosis is
that I'm developing romantic feelings for Doris.
- [Siegfried] That would also be my diagnosis.
- [Rachel] I think my favorite's unpopular,
but it's Yockenthwaite, which is where Heston Grange is.
And it's unpopular for the reasons, just logistics really.
It's kind of in the middle of nowhere.
And it's got no signal,
but I absolutely love it.
It's where all of Helen's most important scenes are shot,
and it's so remote and beautiful.
(romantic orchestral music)
- Who said I couldn't do romantic gestures?
(birds chirping) (romantic music continuing)
- Get up, you daft beggar.
(romantic music continuing)
- [Anna] Going for lovely walks
with Gerald the day his dog decided to disappear
(laughing) off into the river.
- [Gerald] You could be a woman of leisure.
Travel the world, sail the high seas.
- [Mrs. Hall] (laughing) I'm just happy
if I can hang up me pinny or an hour or two.
- [Nicholas] Something else that's just sprung to mind.
It was me and Rach and the Chapmans.
And we're up in this desolate,
little dilapidated place in the middle of nowhere.
- Love don't see with the eyes.
It comes from in here.
- We were up there for a couple of days,
and it was freezing and it was pouring with rain.
And we're working in this room.
Everyone was like cracking jokes,
lifting each other's spirits.
So it did feel quite cozy as well against the elements.
- [Helen] Oh my goodness!
(laughing)
- Hello, little fella!
Eyyy!
- [Anna] We once filmed up on a farm.
It was when Jeremy Swift was with us,
playing my fellow air warden.
And we went up to this farm.
It was amazing.
It was miles up, and there was literally nothing.
- We can't say for certain.
- What's got into you?
Anybody'd think you want Darrowby to be in danger.
Come on now.
Got a busy day.
- [Naas a filming lococionnireis Brimham Rocks.
- [Callum] Brimham Rocks is amazing.
I was a little bit scared on that day
'cause we were up and sat on this sort of precarious rock
with a crane sort of coming in and out of us.
And that view of us looking out
over across the Dales was absolutely stunning.
- This is a beautiful spot.
(captivating orchestral music)
- I've actually never brought anyone here before.
- Is that right?
- I remember walking up the hill to Dobson's
and just seeing Malham Cove in the background
and just being so knocked out
that I got to do this as a job.
(laughing)
- [Dobson] All the way to Egypt.
And now here you are helping out your brother.
You must be glad to have him home.
- [Siegfried] Yes, it's a rare treat.
- [Tristan] Aw! (patting back)
- [Nicholas] You have these wonderful, wonderful locations.
So it is a real treat, a real joy to be up here filming.
- [James] I want to spend the rest of my life
with you... here in the Dales.
(tender piano and string music)
- I am not afraid either.
(birds chirping) (tender music continuing)
- You're not?
(tender music continuing)
- No.
(music swelling)
(tender music fading)
- [Narrator] When we return,
we'll spend more time with the cast
as they share with us how they would fare in the 1940s
as farmers or villagers.
We'll also spend more time at the seasonal agricultural show
and learn what a sheepdog competition looks like.
All that and more,
in "All Creatures Great and Small: Seasons of the Dales."
(piano and string theme fading)
volunteer here at PBSert, a
brief, brief break. Trya
A brief break from thefast.
a pledge of financial make
The number is there on the
1-800-236-3636. Also, the
Either way, what matters is
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We have a challenge breakak.
Wisconsin have put up some
your contributions. And so
break, only your money will
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number three?o. Will you be
>> I'm Lindsey Meekhof, a
Wisconsin. Show us how much
becoming a member during
you with a gift of yourhank
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Season six DVD so you can
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get an "All Creatures Great
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>> When you support this
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thank you with gifts to
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program. segment of the
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]. segment of the - Welcome back to "All Creatures Great and Small:
Seasons of the Dales."
(bright piano and string theme)
- [Narrator] Today we are spending more time in the Dales,
celebrating everything we love
about "All Creatures, Great and Small"
on MASTERPIECE.
Coming up, we'll hear from the cast
about how they would do in the 1940s.
But first, let's return to the Nidderdale Agricultural Show.
(peaceful string music)
Our next stop at the Nidderdale Show
was at the pigeon tent where we met John and Paul,
two pigeon owners with some of the most interesting animals
in the entire show.
- John. - Yeah.
- Thanks so much for having us, we're here-
- My pleasure. - with the fancy pigeons.
These are, these are incredible birds.
- [John] These are what we call, generically, fancy pigeons.
- [Nicholas] Ah, I've not seen pigeons like this in my life,
I don't think.
What would you even call that?
- [John] Capuchines.
- [Nicholas] Capuchines. - [John] Now that's after the
order of Capuchin monks.
These are called magpies,
and you can see the magpie marking.
- [Nicholas] So for a layman like myself,
what are some of the things
that the judges will be looking for
when they're placing pigeons?
- Would you like me to take one out and show you?
(crowd chattering in background)
(fluttering wings)
- First prize.
- What we do, well, they- we look at the head,
and you turn over, they're absolutely spotless.
- You can look, but don't you touch it.
- [Tristan] You know, they really are beautiful,
I can see why you're so proud of them.
- [Nicholas] We had a story in the show as well
to do with Tristan.
- [Paul] Oh yeah. - [Nicholas] About homing
pigeons during World War II,
because they obviously, they played a big part as well
- [Paul] They did. - [Nicholas] in World War II.
- [Paul] Yeah, they did.
They were used to transport messages.
- [Nicholas] Yeah. - [Paul] And they were all
coming back with messages. - [Nicholas] They were vital in
the war effort, weren't they? - [Paul] Yeah, yeah, exactly.
- How many are in the colony, sir?
- [Robertson] At present, around 500.
That's just locally.
There must be at least 100,000 in service
across the country.
And you'll have to keep the numbers up,
because they keep on getting shot down.
Bloody warriors.
- [Narrator] We then visited a farmer named Martyn,
who showed us his sheep.
- Martyn, these are fantastic animals.
These are your sheep.
- These are all mine here,
uh, all 11 of them.
- [Nicholas] And you've taken them--
you haven't just taken them from across the road.
You've taken them from the high Dales.
- [Martyn] Yes. Yes. Yeah.
- [Nicholas] There are-- how do you even, you know, gather them,
collect them together to bring them down to the show?
- Eh, just plenty of dogs,
(Nicholas chuckling) hard-working dogs.
- Yeah, of course. - Set 'em, get 'em moving,
and get 'em, get 'em in, yeah.
- [Nicholas] Now to bring you back to
a very busy time for yourself--
lambing season.
That must be crazy, is it, for those, those months
in the springtime? - [Martyn] Yeah, yeah.
- [Nicholas] And they don't all give birth on a Tuesday
at 12 o'clock, it's, you know,
4:00 in the morning,
5:00 in the whatever time. - Yeah. Yeah. 4:00, 5:00,
yeah, you might not even go to bed sometimes.
- How much sleep did you get, James?
Hour, hour and a half.
- None.
- Well, better get used to it.
- [Nicholas] It's the prize everyone's after, is it?
"Best in Show," is that...
- [Martyn] That's the one, yeah.
- [Nicholas] Brilliant, that's absolutely brilliant.
(Martyn laughing) I'm loving it.
Really a great day so far.
- [Narrator] A fan favorite of the Nidderdale Show
is the terrier racing,
where the first dog
to run through the opening of the hay bale wins.
And viewers may recognize this exact racetrack
as a location from Season Six of "All Creatures,"
as it was the setting
for the Hensfield dog race.
- [James] Good lad.
- Thank you. - [James] Which dog's next
for inspection?
- Blackpool Rock.
He's sweet, but he's hard as nails.
- Elsie's racing against Pip!
Pip-- Elsie and Pip!
- [Announcer] Five... - [Crowd] Four, three, two...
...one, go!
(inspiring orchestral music)
(crowd cheering)
(fair crowd cheering)
- [Narrator] But some dogs don't run through the bale,
they jump on it.
(crowd laughing)
(dogs barking)
(jazzy string music)
- I did that.
(cow mooing)
(jazzy music continuing)
- [Narrator] As we moved through the day,
we came across the cutest calf named Fergus,
and we had to stop to meet him.
- So, Gabbie, we are here with Fergus.
- Yep. - One of your Highland cows.
Uh, what is it we're about to do?
And I've now got a white coat on,
which I didn't have before. (Gabbie chuckling)
So what is it we're about to do?
- So, we're gonna take him in the ring
and show him off, basically.
- Okay. - Um...
- I've never done that before.
- That's absolutely fine. - Okay.
- You just wanna hold
(Fergus mooing) quite tight here.
- Yes. - Head up high
to show him off.
- You keep an eye on me, make sure,
because he looks amazing.
I don't want to muck it up by-
- No, no, I think we're ready for the ring now.
Are you ready? - Yeah, I'm ready.
- Brilliant.
(jazzy music continuing)
- Come on, Fergus. (Fergus mooing)
That's it-- Best in Show!
(cows mooing)
Best in Show! (Fergus mooing)
That's it.
(jazzy music continuing)
He's a good lad. (Fergus mooing and snorting)
(jazzy music continuing)
- [Nicholas] Am I taking you for a walk,
or are you taking me for a walk?
I'm not sure.
(jazzy music continuing)
- [Narrator] Next up, the judges review all the animals.
(jazzy music continuing)
(Fergus mooing)
- [Judge] Good lad.
- [Nicholas] How could you say no to that face?
(Judge laughing) Little Fergus.
(Nicholas chuckling)
- [Narrator] And sure enough, Fergus won second place.
(Fergus mooing) - Fergus!
Well done, Fergus.
(jazzy music continuing)
It's not first, but it's pretty good.
(jazzy music fading) (whooshing sound)
- [Narrator] We decided to have a little fun
and have a quick quiz with the cast.
(balletic orchestral music) (page flipping)
Would you be a better farmer or villager?
- I don't know, maybe a villager.
I prefer the buzz of a city over the countryside.
- [Anna] A bit of me would like to experiment with the idea
of being on a farm and see what it was like.
- Oh, I'd be a better farmer,
'cause I like getting up early and I like growing things.
- [Slavens] Kind of you to drop in.
- I was just passing.
- I'd be all right at both I think.
I don't think I'd excel at either,
but I'd be all right at both.
- [Helen] Oh, James, I'm so sorry.
I didn't see you there.
- Eh, I've probably had worse flung at me.
(Helen chuckling)
- I think I'd be a good farmer,
but I've got allergies,
(laughing) so I'd have to be a villager, I think.
I'd work behind the bar with Maggie.
- [Tristan] Five pints of your finest please, barmaid.
(Jenny clearing throat)
Oh, uh, make that six.
- [Narrator] Who would thrive in 1940s Darrowby?
- Me.
I probably would.
Would I?
- It's a tricky one, that.
I feel like, I feel like Sam is my answer for both of them,
because I think he'd be amazing in the time,
but if he couldn't get on the Internet,
I dunno what he would do.
- Me and Tr- Cal.
I was gonna say, "Me and Tris."
(laughing) Me and Cal.
We certainly could settle
into the way James and Tristan are, you know, hanging out,
going to The Drovers,
having a couple of beers, eating well.
We wouldn't have a problem.
- [Samuel] There are lots of reasons why 2025 is better,
but there's also stuff in 1945 that makes life easier.
And it's some of the stuff that makes the series good.
- There's a simplicity to the life,
and there's a richness in that,
and I would love that.
So maybe me.
- [Samuel] Probably Rach is the most useful.
She can turn her hand to most things.
She'd be a survivor.
- Well, it's hardly putting you in a romantic mood.
- I'd rather keep myself busy.
- To keep your mind off it.
(dog barking)
- [Helen] 'Cause I like to be busy.
- [Narrator] Who would struggle in 1940s Darrowby?
- Who would struggle?
Nick, probably.
He'd have to get up really early in the mornings.
- Cal would miss Netflix.
- Maybe if we went there together,
we'd be all right. (chuckling)
- I think we'd all be okay
as long as we were together, we'd thrive as a group.
- It's nice to see those two getting on so well.
(dog barking)
- [Mrs. Hall] Isn't it just?
(all chuckling)
(Tristan sighing)
- [Narrator] Our day at Nidderdale
ended with even more fun activities.
A highlight of the show was the sheepdog competition,
where we learned how farmers work firsthand
with these incredible animals.
- [Nicholas] So, Shirley, what's happening out here?
Well, it's the annual Sheepdog Trial that they have here.
We're given four sheep at the top of the field,
and our dogs have to nicely and kindly, if they will,
take the sheep around the field.
There will be hurdles, and there will be a course
that we have to complete. - Alright!
- Within a certain length of time.
- [Narrator] The Sheepdog Trial course
runs the length of this field,
and each Border Collie has to safely navigate the sheep
into their pen as accurately as possible.
The judges watch from their car
directly in front of the field.
- [Shirley] Bring the sheep through these hurdles.
- [Nicholas] Oh, yes. - [Shirley] Turn the sheep
around you. - [Nicholas] Uh-huh.
- [Shirley] Send the sheep up to those hurdles.
- [Nicholas] Right. - [Shirley] Through the middle.
- [Nicholas] Yep. - [Shirley] And then across,
right across through to those two hurdles.
- [Nicholas] Oh yeah, I see them, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(whistle blowing)
And you can hear the whistling-- it's just
different variations in whistling
and some, uh, some vocal commands as well.
- Commands, that's right.
- And the dogs completely follow it and,
- Yeah. - and know what to do, so...
just tell us a little bit about that
because to me, I have no idea.
It's like, like wizardry, I don't know how it works.
- [Shirley] You do train your dogs at home
and you do train them on their left hand command
and the right hand command.
And the left hand command is "come by"
and the right hand command is "away here."
And then there's a "stop," where you want your dog
to lie down and stop.
- [Nicholas] Okay, yeah. - [Shirley] And then there's
a "walk on" where you want your dog to walk on
up to the sheep.
- Is that when it kinda creeps forward?
- Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, it's the-- yeah...
I've seen that as well.
- [Shirley] So after you've give them the verbal commands,
when you're training,
you put a whistle to it. - [Nicholas] Uh-huh.
- So you go, "come by." (whistling twice)
- Ahh, and then?
- "Away." (whistling continuously)
- I see. - Different whistles.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- So then instead of using the full words,
you can just go by the whistle?
- Yeah. - To instruct the dog.
- Yeah.
(soaring orchestral music)
- Come by!
(whistling) (sheep bleating)
Away, Fly! Away!
(whistling)
- [Nicholas] So your dog obviously is here today.
- [Shirley] I've got two dogs.
I've got one, he's three year old.
- [Nicholas] Right.
- [Shirley] So he's-- this is his first Autumn trial.
- First one? - Yeah.
- Oh, I hope it goes well for him.
- Yeah, so do I. (laughing)
- Sure it will-- what's his name?
- [Shirley] Sweep. - [Nicholas] Sweep.
- [Shirley] Sweep, and then I've got Dale,
he's five year old.
- [Nicholas] Have you ever had the perfect 100?
- No. (laughing)
- Maybe today. - Not yet.
- Maybe today, I think today, yeah.
(both laughing)
- [Narrator] When it was Shirley and Dale's turn
to compete in the trials,
we stood close by and watched
as they navigated the sheep safely
into their pen. (Shirley whistling)
(plucky string music)
(hoofbeats)
(sharp whistling)
(plucky music continuing)
(audience applauding)
(dog barking)
- We've just had Team Shirley and Dale
in their, in their sheepdog trial.
The judge is over here in the truck
and ultimately the sheep got penned in the end.
So I think, well done, Shirley and Dale.
(heartwarming orchestral music)
- [Narrator] At the end of the day
was the annual vintage tractor contest
where locals show off their most impressive tractors.
(tractor engines humming)
And a familiar face was there to hand out the trophies.
- [Christine] (over loudspeaker) He is James Herriot
in "All Creatures Great and Small"
I am delighted to have you here.
Wonder if you'd just like to say a few words
about being here at Nidderdale Show.
- Thanks very much for the welcome.
First of all, hello, everybody!
It is been a fantastic day, absolutely brilliant.
I can see why thousands of people come down every year.
We've seen cattle, we've seen sheep, all prize winners,
lovely, lovely people.
The community spirit around here is just fantastic,
really enjoyed it.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
(audience clapping)
- [Christine] Great time to win when we've got
uh, a celebrity here to make the presentation.
So, uh, congratulations to him.
(gentle piano music) (whooshing sound)
- [Narrator] As we continued our conversation
about the seasons with the cast,
we always returned to the beauty of the Dales.
(engine puttering)
(tranquil string music)
- One of the wildest spots in England.
You never get tired of it.
- [Rachel] The Dales is like another character.
It's such an integral part of James Herriot's world.
- Hello, Mr. Herriot.
- [James] Hello, Tom.
(hands smacking)
Good of you to help out the Dalbys like this.
- They've always been good friends to my grandparents.
Mrs. Dalby's up in field.
I'll take you.
- [Samuel] The Dales are the real star.
The Dales and the animals go above the title.
- [Siegfried] That's Hodden Hill ahead.
You need to keep your speed up,
or you won't make it up the other side.
(tranquil music fading)
- [James] One of our directors, Andy,
he loves getting his drone out.
And you see it in the show these sweeping, drone shots.
They're stunning.
- [Andy] I bought a drone a couple of years ago
and I started taking the drone shots
'cause I'd know where I want to go with driving around--
I thought, "That's a great shot."
- [Callum] Looking out across the Dales sometimes,
like you really are struck by how beautiful the Dales is.
Just these endless fields of green
with the hill going over the top.
It is absolutely beautiful to look at.
- [Tristan] Hello, who's this little chap?
- [Rob] Herbert.
Poor little lamb's mother won't have him at any price.
She took spite to him at birth,
(lamb bleating) though she thinks the world
of her other lamb.
- Sounds very reminiscent of my upbringing.
- [Nicholas] We get dropped off in these locations
and it can be in the middle of nowhere.
And you can film in 360 degrees,
because it's just beautiful every which way you look.
You can be in the middle of a dale
with a sprinkling of sheep
and then this wonderful dry stone walling everywhere.
- I thought you wanted help with the wall?
- [Richard] Aye, not with the putting.
Sorting's all you're good for.
- Sorting?
- [Helen] Big. - [Jenny] Small.
- [Helen] Middle 'uns. - [Jenny] Funny shaped ones.
- [Rachel] Alf Wight talks about his love for the Dales
as though it was a person and it shaped his day.
(lamb bleating) - That's it.
Good lad.
- I'll never grow tired of seeing it.
(lamb bleating)
- [Anna] The Dales are always beautiful and always in charge
and dictate your day.
- [Samuel] I live for spring, walking in a wood half an hour
before sunrise on an early May morning.
I'm never happier.
May in the Dales is like nothing else on earth.
And the bird song is deafening.
(birds chirping)
Good afternoon Mr. Farnon.
- [Siegfried] Isn't it, Rob? (sheep bleating)
- [Nicholas] Seasonally, I would be summer.
Because I love the long nights,
sun streaming in your window in the morning
and the bright days.
- [Samuel] It's impossible not to be excited by going to work.
You get to be in this amazing scenery.
- [Siegfried] Yes, Molly, bring him back, would you?
I'd like to administer a few more drops.
(cheeky orchestral music)
Thank you.
- [Rachel] It's one of the few places that you go
and honestly, you can point a camera in any direction
and it looks absolutely beautiful.
It's like a postcard all the time.
- He walked miles, he did.
Just to tell Sid he were steering tractor wrong.
- That's good--
means you've been accepted.
- You what?
- Farmers won't interfere if they can't stick you.
Judging's their version of a welcome mat.
(Elsie sighing with relief)
- And I thought it were cows that we had to learn.
- [Nicholas] The Dales are certainly a character
themselves.
It's the ruralness, the ruggedness of it,
and also the stunning beauty.
- [Archie] There's six, seven of 'em?
- [James] I count 12!
- [Tristan] No, there's 30, at least.
- By God, they're mine.
(sheep bleating) It's the whole flock.
They're all here.
(all laughing)
(whooshing sound) - [Narrator] As we sign off,
we wanted to share our love letter to the Dales
read by Nicholas Ralph.
(ethereal orchestral music)
- [Nicholas] There is so much to enjoy in every season.
The new growth and endless green of spring,
the sunshine and warmth of summer,
the golden colors of autumn
and the cover of snow in the winter.
Some things are constant.
Ancient dry stone walls, farms that have passed
from one generation to the next,
sprawling views of the countryside
and always the presence of animals.
And there are days when it feels like
each of the seasons comes to visit.
Rain at one time, warming sunshine later,
the need for a sweater and then back to shirt sleeves.
But an umbrella and a pair of boots come in handy
more often than not.
And it's never a bad day to spend some time
by the hearth and share a pint.
Every season in the Dales has its own beauty,
its own weather, its own tales, and its own challenges.
You don't make a life here
if you want every day to be the same.
Where's the fun in that?
If it rains, put on your wellies and grab your umbrella.
If it's chilly, you can wear a sweater,
that someone who cares about you knitted by hand.
If it's warm, cool off in a waterfall or a stream.
If you're lucky, you can do it all in the same week,
sometimes the same day.
(ethereal music fading)
- [Narrator] And just as our celebration
of "All Creatures Great and Small" on MASTERPIECE began,
it is time for us to move on.
- Thank you for joining us.
I hope you enjoyed our adventures around the Dales
and learnt a little bit more about
what a special place this is.
This has been "All Creatures Great and Small:
Seasons of the Dales."
(piano and string theme fading)
volunteer here at PBSert, a
Wisconsin. Hoping you have
Reflecting back on All
As much as we have beenll.
asking you to make a pledge
show us that you care about
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This program resonates for
to help us bring it back to
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newest members, and we're
gift for $10 a month, youa
Creatures Great and Small
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>> Hi, I'm Kyle Henderson,
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probably added it to your
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and that's the power oft
explore so much and learn
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It's because you areyou.
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(bright piano and string theme) many years to come.
(piano and string theme fading)
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