Best of British - March 2023

In this issue

Join us for the March issue of Best of British as we remember the acting talents of Dame Thora Hird, and speak to her on-screen daughter, Last of the Summer Wine’s Sarah Thomas. Elsewhere, we celebrate the UK’s first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor; speak to comedian Tommy Cannon, and look back at the making of the Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt.

In Loving Memory

Caroline Roope remembers the comic and dramatic acting abilities of the much-loved Dame Thora Hird

5 mins

Summer Wine and Worzel Weather

For some actors, their first steps into the profession are often hindered by their parents’ desire for them to “get a proper job”. Not so Sarah Thomas, who played Glenda in the sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.

10 mins

THE MIGHTY METEOR

On 5 March it will be the 80th anniversary of the Gloster Meteor’s maiden flight.

5 mins

POSTCARD FROM GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Bob Barton takes up a new hobby of waterway spotting, is tempted to run away with the circus, goes to jail and discovers where a hit record producer was born

6 mins

Keeping the Receipt

Claire Saul learns about \"Mrs\" Crocombe, Audley End House & Gardens' Victorian cook who has become a global culinary sensation

3 mins

Avid Bird Watchers

Small, gentle and well-spoken, John Bird, who died in December 2022 at the age of 86, might not have seemed like an obvious figure to terrorise the political establishment.

5 mins

A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE

Jenny Seagrove has famously starred in television series such as A Woman of Substance and Judge John Deed, films like Local Hero and Another Mother's Son, not to mention countless touring and West End plays.

4 mins

IN THE FRAME

From the first appearance of the pedal-driven bicycle, sometime in the 1860s, to the end of the 19th century, the bicycle underwent considerable changes in design, largely to accommodate the various inventions that improved the machine.

5 mins

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Best of British Magazine Description:

Best of British is the UK’s premier nostalgia magazine covering every aspect of life from the 1930s to today. Every issue is packed with features that celebrate classic entertainment, transport, food and drink, and the great British countryside. Our readers are at the heart of what we do. As well as taking their suggestions on board, their voices are heard through our Yesterday Remembered memoir section, along with the Postbag and Question Time pages.