Roger Varley The Sweep

Roger Varley The Sweep

I think I know my 'Camberwick Green' pretty well, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what happened in the episode concerned with 'Roger Varley The Sweep' (21st February 1966).

And now I know why!

He comes out of the Music Box, wobbles along on his motorbike to attend to the bakery's chimney, then heads off to give Windy Miller's flue a good seeing to, playing only a minimal  part in the rest of events.

Apparently, it is lucky to touch a sweep's collar, though I've never found the time to run a series of experiments to prove it one way or the other. And personally, if I were a chimney sweep, I'd probably find it more than a trifle irritating if all and sundry came up and started making uninvited lunges at my neck area.

But Roger's Collar seems able to summon up Farmer Bell, some empty milk churns, the full set of boys from Pippin Fort and a very handy pump, when the village water supply is cut off and Windy Miller's well is the only even vaguely fresh alternative source. Even if it probably is at least 4% ABV with the usual amount of ultra-strong cider slopping around in the general area...

Lucky old Sergeant-Major Grout gets an unusually-shaped cake as a birthday treat, though I still like the idea of a solder boy bursting out of one in a Matt Smith / 'Vampires Of Venice' sort of fashion.
It also concerns me that when Roger goes back into the Music Box, he must leave a thin layer of soot behind. Although frankly, the detritus left on the floor of the bakery does look more like sand than soot.

PC McGarry is the next one out of the box according to the list of episodes, but there's little sign, even on the Blu-ray, that he is any more dirty than might reasonably be expected.

Sadly, we don't even get a shot of Roger's threadbare brush poking out the top of a chimney, which was always the second-most exciting thing about having an open fire.

The most exciting thing, of course, was when your chimney caught fire and red-hot clinkers would start falling into the grate, heading for the nearest carpet...

But with no Trumpton Fire Brigade available, maybe it was best that the episode was a Roger-lite one...

Our video about 'Roger Varley The Sweep' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)