FORMER Henley mayor Tony Lane had an unusual interest in the recent BBC television series The Village.
While millions of avid viewers were glued to the trials and tribulations of the characters in the drama, he was focused on something quite different — his shoe-repairing equipment which was featured in the factory scenes.
To make the scenes as authentic as possible, the BBC stripped Mr Lane’s former workshop in Singers Lane, Henley, collecting machines and old shoes and boots.
Equipment featured in the programme included a Blake sewing machine, used for sewing the soles on shoes, which Mr Lane bought second-hand in Basingstoke for £25 in 1946 and used daily until he retired more than 60 years later.
“It was old when I bought it because it was built before the war,” he said. “It’s a lovely machine and I used it to repair thousands and thousands of shoes.”
Mr Lane was proud to see his machines on screen and plans to go and see them in the Rossendale mill shop in Lancashire, where they will now be displayed permanently.
“I was rather pleased that they haven’t gone to a scrapyard and now they have been seen by lots of people on the telly,” he said. “It’s nice to think that when I am gone they might still be shown on the telly.” The series brought back lots of memories from his career as a cobbler when his customers included George Harrison and George Cole.
On one occasion he returned to his former house in Harpsden Road early in the morning to find a man outside in his socks waiting for his shoes so he could go to work.
Mr Lane, who now lives in Acacia Lodge, a care home in Quebec Road, says he misses his working days.
“I always had a dream I’d go back to work one day,” he said. “I realise it’s not physically possible but I had many happy years in that workshop.
“It was a great wrench to leave it. I have very happy memories as I had lots of lovely customers who were always very nice and kind.”
He said a couple of people had asked to take over the workshop after his retirement but he couldn’t bring himself to allow it.
A second series of The Village has been commissioned so perhaps Mr Lane’s machines will be back on our screens soon.
Land between Green View, Holyport Street, and Glenside, Holyport Road This week’s public notices include plans for a self-build home on a plot of land in the heart of Holyport. The site is the subject of three failed bids for housing already.
Pictures of Maidenhead MP, Theresa May. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
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Galleries from Maidenhead and its surrounding villages. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
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