Unfortunately Midsomer County of Midsomer Murders fame is a fictional place.  But there are lots of other locations in our programs that “take place” in real towns.

Fresh Fields is a delightful comedy about a British couple’s empty-nest adventures.  It stars Anton Rodgers and Julia “Marple” McKenzie as William and Hester Fields.  Life is never dull for this couple and it makes me laugh out loud to the embarrassment of my fellow co-workers.

I just finished Set 2 and there was an episode about them driving around their town, Barnes, to avoid some houseguests, it made me wonder if Barnes existed and it does.

Barnes is a small Thames-side village in London. Barnes is most well-known as the one of the best spots to watch the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Barnes has a number of 18^th and 19th century buildings and some of the oldest riverside housing is to be found on The Terrace, a road lined with Georgian Mansions.  Gustav Holst and Ninette de Valois both lived in houses on this road.  Sitting on the green and looking at the pond, it’s hard to believe that Central London is a couple minutes away. Today Barnes is home to many high-profile broadcasters, politicians and actors.

Barnes is also the unlikely setting for one of London’s most famous music studios: The Olympic Sound Studios. Artists who have recorded tracks at Olympic Sound Studios include The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, the Kaiser Chiefs and The Arctic Monkeys. Barnes is also where the T-Rex singer Marc Bolan died in a car crash – the exact spot of the accident, on Queen’s Ride, is marked by Bolan’s Rock Shrine, where fans young and old come to pay their respects.

Lindsay is a DVD developer at Acorn Media, which means she watches TV all day. Away from work, she is plotting her next trip, playing with French bulldogs or has her nose in a book. Secretly wishes she could have an elephant as a pet.