Postman Pat Takes a Message

Postman Pat takes a Message

Air Date	27th September 1982 (UK) 7th August 1985 (New Zealand) 26th June 1991 (Australia)
Previous	Letters on Ice
Next	Postman Pat Takes the Bus

Postman Pat takes a Message is the thirteenth and last episode of the first series which was broadcast on 27th September 1982. It was entirely written by John Cunliffe and narrated by Ken Barrie.

Summary[]

It has been wild and windy in Greendale and a lot of branches have fallen from the trees. Some of the telephone wires are even broken. Pat calls to collect an Australian stamp from the Reverend Timms, who will be visiting London to meet his sister Elsie from Australia.

When Pat arrives at the Post Office, he tells Mrs. Goggins about the Reverend's sister visiting and his telephone not working. Elsie Timms phones Mrs. Goggins to say she will come straight to Greendale by car because of her flight being diverted to Manchester. Mrs Goggins tells her Pat will leave to catch up with the Reverend and tell him that he won't need to go to London. After some hot driving, he returns to the vicarage, only to discover the Reverend has left. So he leaves a message in the door (and his pen on the doorstep) and sets off to Miss Hubbard's cottage.

Pat suddenly remembers he can get to the cottage along the back roads. So he turns his van into the field and drives across it. After a rough journey, he discovers a trailer is blocking the way. He puts Jess in his post bag and walks the rest of the way to the cottage.

Miss Hubbard is surprised to see him. Pat explains he is trying to catch up with the Reverend. Miss Hubbard tells Pat he just left her cottage a few moments ago as he needs to catch the train to London. Pat states he mustn't as he has to give him the urgent message about his sister. Miss Hubbard mentions he has gone to Ted's workshop and lends Pat her bicycle so he can catch up with him. Pat thanks her and sets off.

Pat pedals to the top of the hill above Ted's workshop. But once peddling down the other side, he is unable to stop and ends up crashing into the workshop! Ted asks him what he's doing and Pat tells him he's trying to catch up with the Reverend. Ted tells Pat he's too late as the Reverend has gone but that he mentioned he would visit Granny Dryden before he catches the train to London. Pat looks at the bicycle. The front wheel is badly damaged. Ted kindly lends him some roller skates he has just mended. Pat puts them on and sets off up the hill.

He is having difficulty controlling them and once he reaches the top of the hill, he rolls down the other side, grabs a crossroads sign, spins around, shoots back up the hill, stops, and then rolls back down again. He bumps into a ladder George is holding, causing him to spin around, then reaches the bottom and catapults over a gate.

Sam passes by in his Mobile Shop as he is taking the Reverend to the station. He stops as he thinks he saw Pat go over the gate. Pat clambers up and is immediately delighted to see the Reverend as he has managed to stop him from catching the train to London. He explains about Elsie's phone message and that she's coming straight to Greendale. The Reverend is pleased that Pat has managed to catch him and thanks him, delighted that he won't have to go to London. Sam can hear Peter coming and moves out of the way.

Peter is following the Mobile Shop along the road. He apologises to Pat for blocking the road with his trailer and offers to give him a lift back to the van. Pat thanks him and gets on the trailer with Jess. Once they reach the van, Pat thanks Peter and discovers he has lost his pen, then remembers he must have left it at the vicarage.

When he reaches the vicarage, the Reverend tells him that thanks to him, he managed to get home just before Elsie got to the vicarage. He gives Pat his pen as Pat had left it on the doorstep. Pat thanks him and hopes Elsie will enjoy her visit. The Reverend bids Pat and Jess farewell, and they head off in the van, as the episode ends.

Featured Characters[]

Pat
Jess
Mrs. Goggins
Ted Glen
Alf Thompson
Reverend Timms
Miss Hubbard
Sam Waldron
Peter Fogg
Dorothy Thompson (does not speak)
George Lancaster (cameo)
Elsie Timms (mentioned, heard over telephone, only seen in person in book version)
Granny Dryden (mentioned)

Vehicles[]

Locations[]

Greendale Post Office
Ted Glen's Workshop
The Vicarage
Miss Hubbard's Cottage
London (mentioned)
Manchester (mentioned)
Australia (mentioned)
Greendale Farm (book version)
Peter Fogg’s cottage (book version)

Differences between the TV and book versions[]

Elsie Timms is only mentioned and heard over the telephone, but in the book version, she can be seen in the doorway of the vicarage watching her brother carry her luggage into the house. She doesn’t speak though in the book version.
In the book version, Pat drives by Greendale Farm on his way to the vicarage. The wind has blown a tree down, which has just missed hitting Peter Fogg's cottage.
In the book version, Pat says "it's full speed ahead" to Jess instead of showing the cat his "hot driving" skills. Pat nearly driving into Ted and Alf is not shown in the book. Also, he knocks on the door of the vicarage instead of ringing the doorbell. He also does not drive his van across the back road before being obstructed by Peter Fogg's trailer and decides to run to Miss Hubbard's cottage instead of walking.
In the book version, Pat goes round a sharp bend in the road on the roller skates instead of going down the hill. He is also said to land on a soft patch of mud.
After Pat explains about Elsie, the Reverend Timms mentions he would have gone to London otherwise and Elsie would be looking for him in Greendale. He offers to give Pat a lift back to the vicarage and have a cup of tea before Peter arrives and explains about leaving his trailer in the road. He offers to give Pat a lift and the Reverend heads off to see his sister, but not before thanking everyone.
In the book version, at the end, Pat mentions the wind has made a real mischief of itself.

Trivia[]

The Jess the Cat song features in this episode. It had previously featured as an instrumental in Postman Pat Goes Sledging, but it is heard as a song for the first time in this episode.
The picture on the wall next to the front door at the vicarage is a selection of "Rain, Steam and Speed" painted by J. M. W. Turner in 1844.
This is the only episode in the stop-frame series of Postman Pat where Peter Fogg drives the Yellow Tractor.
The Reverend Timms' suitcase and one of the roller skates would both later appear in the "Gran" episode "Gran the Camper".
This is the last episode in which Ken Barrie voices Mrs. Goggins and Miss Hubbard.
Pat’s pen would later appear in a few episodes of "Gran", "Charlie Chalk" and "Bertha".
Ted’s spanner would later appear in the "Bertha” episode "The Best Machine Competition" as Panjid’s spanner.
The black telephone in the vicarage would later appear in the "Gran" episode "Gran's Good News" and the "Bertha" episode "More Speed, Less Work".
The instrumental to the theme song can be heard when Pat walks to Miss Hubbard's. He also hums it as well.
In an alternative Norwegian dub, the Jess the Cat song is skipped and Peter drops Pat off straight away outside his van. Also, the sound of the van door opening is absent.
In the Finnish dub, the instrumental version of the Jess The Cat song is heard instead of the actual song. The instrumental was also played in a Japanese VHS trailer and later on in Postman Pat's ABC and Read Along With Postman Pat.
In the UK dub, the instrumental to the Jess The Cat song fades out when Peter drops Pat back outside his van, but in all the other dubs, the music is not muted.
Part of the sound of Pat's van is muted out in the UK dub before he returns to the vicarage, but isn't in the other dubs.

Goofs[]

When Pat crashes into Ted's workshop, the sound of piano keys can be heard even though there isn't one. This sound effect was also previously heard in Postman Pat Goes Sledging.
When Pat leaves the workshop on the roller skates, even though he says "Woah, whoops," he has a smile on his face, even though he is meant to be afraid. It is possible the model maker didn't have time to change the face/head over.
When Pat says "It's not so good up hill," he is roller-skating up the hill without holding onto another immovable object like the wall next to him, which is scientifically impossible.
Ted is somehow able to get to so many places throughout the episode so quickly. The same goes for Alf as he some how manages to get from the village to the countryside instantly.
When Pat rolls back down the hill, a tree branch can be seen twitching, even when Pat is not brushing against it.
When Ted is clearing the landslide before Pat says "Look out Ted," a small spec of dirt beside Ted on the road can be seen moving down slightly, turning right, back down and then disappearing.
In real life, if Pat was going to roll back down the hill on the roller-skates, there would not be a pause before doing so.
When Pat whizzes down the hill on the roller skates, he calls out "Hey, hey" joyfully, even though he is supposed to be concerned. Also, before catapulting over the gate into the field, he is frowning even though he says "Waaaay" as if he is enjoying himself.
It’s a wonder how Pat doesn’t injure himself or even Jess when he catapults over the gate.
When Pat stops in front of Peter's trailer, a sound effect makes out that he hits it, even though the van is neither anywhere near the trailer or damaged by the impact.
In real life, Pat’s van wouldn’t be able to drive so fast across a field.
When Pat emerges from behind a wall whilst riding the bike, for a few seconds a small wooden block can be seen next to the back wheel before disappearing. Presumably this was used to aid the stop-frame animation of the bike and keep it balanced. In other shots (such as when the bike wasn't obscured by a wall), the block was presumably more well hidden or wires/magnets were used instead.
It’s a wonder how Pat’s “Hot Driving” didn’t cause him to hit Ted or Alf or crash into any walls on the side of the road. It’s also a wonder how it didn’t get him into trouble with P.C. Selby (who did not appear until the 1991 special, "Postman Pat takes the Bus".)