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Postman Pat and the Barometer
PostmanPatandtheBarometer
Air Date 9th September 1994 (UK)
12th September 1996 (Australia)
Previous Postman Pat and the Tuba
Next Postman Pat and the Hole in the Road

 

Postman Pat and the Barometer is a half hour special which aired on 9th September 1994. This episode was written by John Cunliffe.

Plot[]

Early one morning, Pat goes to check his barometer. It is pointing to snow, however the sun is shining and the skies are clear outside, despite it being very cold. He tells Mrs. Goggins about the barometer. However she doesn't believe it could be true especially since Winter hasn't arrived yet.

The uncertainty continues; Miss Hubbard, and Dr. Gilbertson, both explaining how they believe using a barometer is outdated. No one he visits seems to believe him. Granny Dryden did mention that snow would have arrived already at this time of year when she was little however the skies carried on being clear and the sun carried on shining. As Pat reaches the school, Mr. Pringle and the schoolchildren are going to Burkhowl barn on a nature walk, although Mr. Pringle has no fears about the weather since he read in the newspaper the weather was set fine until the weekend.

Continuing with his rounds, the Reverend did mention that he had a slight feeling it would snow although changed his mind earlier in the day as the skies were clear. However, the wind does blow the clouds in and on his visit to Julia Pottage, snowflakes start falling. Mr Pringle is too busy describing the nature scenes to notice the snow, and slips and twists his ankle meaning he and the schoolchildren are now stuck in the snow, thus taking shelter in a nearby barn.

Meanwhile, Pat delivers a letter to George Lancaster and he is on his way again, but the snow is getting deeper and the road is very slippery. Whilst coming downhil, Pat slides backwards into a field, but luckily the gate is open. Pat manages to get back to the school to pick up Julian. But Mr Pringle and the schoolchildren aren't back. Pat and Ted Glen then go and try and find the children in Ted's lorry, and despite getting a bit lost and getting stuck in a snow drift and breaking down, they find Mr. Pringle and the children and return them to the school safely.

Back at the school, residents of Greendale praise Pat and his barometer and tell him they will always rely on the barometer in the future; also, Mr. Pringle discovers he has thankfully only sprained his ankle slightly and just needs a bit of rest.

Characters[]

Vehicles[]

Locations[]

Cast[]

  • Ken Barrie as Pat, Ted Glenn, Alf Thompson, the Reverend Timms, Mr. Pringle, Sam Waldren, Granny Dryden, George Lancaster and the Main Narrator
  • Carole Boyd as Sarah Clifton, Julian Clifton, Mrs. Goggins, Dorothy Thompson, Bill Thompson, Mrs. Pottage, Katy and Tom Pottage, Lucy Selby, Doctor Gilbertson, Sarah Gilbertson, Charlie Pringle and Miss Hubbard

Trivia[]

  • Recording date: June 6, 1994.
  • This is Jeff Pringle's first speaking role.
  • This special features the "Clap Your Hands" song.
  • This is the last episode where Pat wears his brown winter coat over his uniform. In the new series, he would wear a fluorescent jacket provided by the post office to make him stand out more in the white background.
  • This is the first episode where the interior of the school is actually seen properly.
  • Mr. Pringle's backpack was previously used as Jim’s backpack in the "Gran" episode "Gran the Camper".
  • Julian's satchel is the same one as Pat's.
  • This is the last episode to be animated by Derek Mogford.
  • A spinning top from the "Bertha" episode, "The Best Machine Competition" can be seen in the post office when Jess is playing with the string.

Goofs[]

  • In the scene outside the church, keep an eye on the wall to the right of the screen as Pat drives off. It wobbles unnaturally for a few seconds and, on closer examination, appears to have been digitally edited into the picture. Perhaps to hide an animation error?
  • Julian is not with the other children when they leave the school with Mr. Pringle.
  • It gets dark within seconds when Pat arrives back at the school.
  • In one shot, the sclerae of Mr. Pringle's eyes appears to be oversized when Pat arrives at the school.
  • Mr. Pringle refers to Charlie as Julian when crediting Charlie's idea of taking shelter in the barn. Also for some reason Charlie doesn’t refer to Mr Pringle as Dad.
  • For some reason, Mr. Pringle does not use his walking stick when making his way to Ted's lorry. Although this may be why Pat tells him to take it easy and Ted asks if he would like assistance into the lorry.
  • When Pat arrives back at the school in the snow, he leaves his van outside. However when Pat and Ted arrive back with Mr. Pringle and the children, the van is gone.
  • Although Mr. Pringle is sitting with Ted in front of the lorry and Pat is sitting at the back with the children, Pat is seen in the front with Ted with no tarpaulin full of children at the back during the shot before they arrive back at the school. It is possible that the shot was meant to be filmed for when Pat and Ted are searching for Mr. Pringle and the children, but was edited in for after this event out of carelessness.
  • When Pat goes to look for Jess at Thompson Ground, he leaves his van door open. Of all the places to do so, a farm is not the best place. Any one of the animals could get in and cause problems. He previously made this mistake in Postman Pat's Thirsty Day and Postman Pat and the Toy Soldiers.
  • When Sara tells Pat about the children and Mr Pringle being lost in the snow, her body language indicates that she’s checking her watch but there isn’t a watch on her wrist.

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