It doesn’t take usually take too much persuasion to get me to try a new box set of DVDs, but I have to say that I was a little sceptical when series one of Lark Rise to Candleford was proposed as Christmas viewing by well-meaning relatives. It looked very twee and slow moving compared to series seven of 24 and I wondered if I’d be able to stay awake with all the extra turkey.
However, after a few episodes, I was hooked. A month later, we are now halfway through the BBC’s showing of the second series which was launched by a feature length Christmas special on December 23. So, unless you are ready to work through the stacked episodes on BBC iplayer, you may need to do some catching up through DVDs yourself.
The story is set in the mid-1890s and follows Laura Timmins, a young girl from a poor family in working class Lark Rise whose mother has found her a position in the Post Office of the well-to-do town of Candleford. There she works for her cousin, the stalwart postmistress, Dorcas Lane, played by Julia Sawalha (best known as Saffron in Absolutely Fabulous). At the end of the 19th century, the Post Office would have operated as a centre of town life, particularly with the introduction of the electronic telegraph machine, which gave instant communication with other towns around the country. Dorcas is a pillar of the community, a woman of wisdom and integrity who solves many complicated social problems, although her humanity shines through her wit and gracious poise in the face of criticism and misunderstanding.
