BB FINAL - Flipbook - Page 42
42
www.thebarkingbugle.co.uk
Pups on Parade
Barked by Will-i-am - BB Repawter
The other day I was enjoying a restful
nap when Pupstar came rushing into
the room, tail all awag and full of
excitement. ‘I’m going to join the
Home Guard! Will-i-am, can you give
me a lift to Walmington-on-Sea
tomorrow? I’ve had enough of being
the Editor of the Barking Bugle and
only getting minimum wage - I’m
going to enlist. I’m too old for the army
at the age of 10 but the Home Guard
take veterans,’ he woofed.
At this point I looked up from my basket
and barked, ‘You stupid Pup. You’ve
been watching too many repeats of Dad’s
Army, haven’t you? Don’t you know it’s
a TV show and Walmington-on-Sea
doesn’t exist? There’s a Dad’s Army
Museum in Thetford so why don’t we
visit - it will explain everything! I’ve
heard it’s dog friendly. I’ll drive!’
And so the very next day we headed off
to Thetford to visit the Dad’s Army
Museum which was founded in 2007 and
is independently run by an enthusiastic
platoon of volunteers. Since then every
year thousands of visitors come to the
town and museum to learn more about
what is considered one of the best
comedy programmes ever made.
The show originally ran from 1968 to
1977 with audiences reaching over 18
million. Such is its enduring popularity
that repeats still top BBC 2 ratings today
and a feature film based on the series was
produced in 2016 starring Tom
Courtenay and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Dad’s Army was set during the Second
World War and follows the antics of
Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson,
Corporal Jones, Private Pike and other
members of the Home Guard as they
prepared to repel any invading Germans.
The museum includes a reconstruction of
the Church Hall office from the
programme. There are several areas
displaying photographs, uniforms and
other memorabilia, a shop and the
Marigold Tea Room where your humans
can enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of
wartime recipe cake. (Dogs cannot visit
the tea room but the friendly staff will set
up a special table for you in another area
of the museum).
Guided tours can be booked which visit
the various locations within the town
where filming for the series took place.
This includes the Bell Hotel in King
Street where each summer the cast would
stay during filming. (Dogs are allowed
in all the standard hotel bedrooms, the