If this is Tuesday, it must be England #61

One of my favorite British actresses is Dame Penelope Keith. 

She has played some marvelous roles over the years and my two favorites are Margo Leadbetter and Audrey fforbes-Hamilton.

The Good Life (1975) starring (above) Felicity Kendal, Richard Briers, Dame Penelope and Paul Eddington is the story of Tom and Barbara Good (Briers and Kendal) and their neighbors Margo and Jerry Leadbetter in the London suburb of Surbiton.  Tom decides he wants to find IT which turns out to be self-sufficiency, trades his car for a rotary cultivator, and turns his home in The Avenue into fruit and vegetable plots and a home for their chickens and goat, much to the dismay of their neighbors, the Leadbetters.  The interaction between the two sets of friends in these new circumstances is hilarious!

To the Manor Born (1979) is the story of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, the doyenne of Grantleigh Manor who is forced to reduce her circumstances and move down the drive to Grantleigh Manor Lodge when her husband dies and the manor must be sold.  The manor's new owner is Richard DeVere, a half-Polish, half-Czechoslovakian naturalized British citizen who is the nouveau riche owner of Cavendish Foods (or as he says, "I am Cavendish Foods").  Audrey's attempts to reconcile her new life while still wanting to be involved in the day to day operations of the manor are also hilarious.

A huge part of my childhood, the enjoyment of these two series never ends.  Both are available now on DVD.