WE MOVE!!

Yes, people, The Ballroom Blitz goes Wordpress!

You can find the new site here: http://theballroomblitz.wordpress.com/ and its very first post here: http://theballroomblitz.wordpress.com/youth-subcultures/

Bye, bye, Blogger!

Follyfoot - TV series review

"A much-loved success throughout its three-year run on ITV, Follyfoot was based on an idea by novelist Monica Dickens. Complemented by one of the catchiest theme tunes ever recorded, this enchanting series starred Gillian Blake, Steve Hodson and Christian Rodska as the trio of workers at a retirement home for old or unwanted horses. [...]" - Extract from the DVD

Follyfoot was a children's television program which aired in the UK between 1971 and 1973. It was co-produced by the television company Yorkshire Television and starred Gillian Blake as Dora (main character), Steve Hodson as Steve, Arthur English as Slugger, Christiand Rodska as Ron Stryker and Desmond Llewelyn as the Colonel.

Dora is the niece of the Colonel. Apart from having the best haircut ever IMHO, she is a sad and lonely girl from a rich family. Due to a governement comission in Brazil, her parents leave her with her uncle in the first episode and that's when she visits the Follyfoot farm for the first time.

What I like about Dora's character is her sweetness and kindness. Of course, at that time it wasn't something new but nowadays I find it "refreshing"; modern TV programs only show unfeminine characters. Is it that a girl can't be sweet and fight for what she believes in at the same time? Hmmm...

Dora is a lady. Hot pants and go go boots? I beg your pardon! She wears midi-dresses, chunky heel shoes and nice hats

In the same first episode she gets to know the reality about how some horses are treated, something that changes her life inmediately. She also meets Steve, the boy she will fall in love with some episodes later (Oops! I am spoiler), Ron Stryker and Slugger.

Steve has been sacked from the Squire's stables because of some attacks on horses that, of course, he didn't do and comes to work at Follyfoot. Steve loves horses as much as everyone in the farm, but life has been hard with him and has another way of thinking. He will fall in love with Dora later as well; however, they are very different, making any relationship impossible. Unfortunately, by the end of the first series, Steve is given the weekend off and he goes to look for her mother who is trouble. This ends in tragedy for Dora as she is already "hypnotised".

Ha, ha, ha

And those two continue like that until the end of the third series...

Moving on to more interesting things about Follyfoot, in the 6th episode of the first series appears a cool boy with a, let's say, "semi-skinhead" look ha, ha, ha. He wears selvedge Levi's, crew neck jumper, shirt, short hair, a nice deep back vent 3 button jacket and a pair of shoes similar to the ones Slade would wear in their attempt to become skinheads. This boy also appears in the sitcom The Liver Birds in the 6th episode of the Series 3 from 1972 "Birds and Bottom Drawers" as the paperboy. However, in The Liver birds he is more into a suedehead style with longer hair, crombie coat, button down check shirt...

The kid!

The shoes!

The kid again looking sharp

OK, so I think I was writing a review of Follyfoot, right? ;)

Well, by the end of the second series the Colonel is very ill and Dora's parents come to take her back home. She refuses to go and luckily, fate plays in her favour. The Colonel signs Follyfoot over to her but she discovers that managing the farm is not as easy as she had thought. In the last episode of the third series she is restless and desillusioned and she has to think about her future and the future of those who depend upon her ( Steve, Stryker, Slugger). In the end, everything works out fine, Dora has the support of Steve and the ones who love her.

Regarding fashion, the characters wear the fashion of the time, even though a bit more "countryside adapted" I tend to think. Dora's clothes are quite simple: dagger or penny collar shirts, flares, crew neck jumpers and nice coats. Steve wears more or less the same but. from time to time, he wears a nice 3 button collar shirt, with loop and pleat. Stryker is not so classic and wears really tight flare trousers, budgie jackets, Wrangler denim jackets, etc.

Here I leave you some screenshots and photos of FollyFoot. You can find the complete series on eBay but bear in mind that it was supposed to be a children's TV program so do not expect too much, lol:

Dora and Chip. Chip Appears in the third series to make Steve jealous

Wendy. She apears in the second series to make Dora jealous

Callie, a minor character. They kind of mock her flamboyant clothes

The Follyfoot Farm

Ron Stryker and Dora. Look at that haircut! Lovely!

Dora and Steve

Stryker and Dora

And last but not least, the catchy theme tune from the series:

♪♫ Down in the meadow where the wind blows free, in the middle of a field stands a lightning tree. Its limbs all torn from the day it was born, for the tree was born in a thunderstorm ♪♫ 

Oh c'mon! Give me some reggae!

Long time now...

Unfortunately I haven't been able to post these days, call it laziness but I've been very busy with my final project/internships/working... Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we already have a winner for the tonic skirt contest: Kathleen from England! Congratulations, lady!

While I preprare the next post, here is a pic for your delight, original skinhead girls in 1970. As you can see, to quote Alex Roest, "the idea was, once again, to look smart and not like a thug" (no 70's fancy dresses). Thanks to Steve for letting me use it for The Ballroom Blitz:

And as I haven't updated the blog for quite a few days now...

♪♫ Long, long time can't get you off my mind.. Long, long time we no have no nice time.. Long time now me no see you face to face.. Long time now me no hold you around your waist" ♥