A bump, since the sale's still on.
Amongst other discs, I've bought:
"Nightingale’s Boys shows what happens when a master at a northern grammar school, Bill ‘Tweety’ Nightingale, tries to organise a reunion with the boys of the ‘star’ class of his career: the 1949 sixth form. Nearing retirement and aware that his gifts are fading, Bill fondly regards the class as the high point of his career, and now hopes to recapture some of its alchemy; as this seven-part series unfolds, we see just how the likely lads of ’49 turned out – and whether Bill is doomed to disillusion.
Derek Farr – like several cast members a former teacher himself – brings great sympathy to the role of Bill Nightingale, a radical who had fought in the Spanish Civil War, and a distinguished master with 35 years’ teaching experience. Each drama focuses on a particular member of his favourite class, with Anton Rodgers, Ronald Lewis, David Swift and Bernard Gallagher among the noted actors portraying the sixth-formers in adult life; writers include award-winning playwright Jack Rosenthal, Arthur Hopcraft (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and John Finch (A Family at War)."
(£2.70 post-free for the 2xdisc set)
and Parkin's Patch:
"A forerunner to Heartbeat, Parkin’s Patch chronicles the work of a police constable and his colleagues in a fictional village in the North Yorkshire Moors during the late 1960s. Available for the first time, this set contains all 26 episodes, boasting early appearances by Warren Clarke, Pauline Collins, Michael Elphick, Peter Sallis and James Grout; among the production crew are multiple-award-winning directors Michael Apted (Enigma) and Stephen Frears (The Queen), while writers include Softly Softly and Z Cars contributors Robert Barr and Allan Prior, Sweeney creator Ian Kennedy Martin and Z-Cars creator Troy Kennedy Martin (under the pseudonym Tony Marsh).
Looking in detail at the unit beat system of policing amid spectacular moorland locations, the series sees P.C. Moss Parkin (John Flanagan – Softly Softly) and D.C. Ron Radley (Gareth Thomas – Blake’s 7) encountering cases ranging from petty pilfering to abduction, sheep rustling to missing persons. And while village policemen may enjoy certain perks, living within Fickley’s close-knit community also involves a dangerous proximity to criminals for both Parkin and his wife, Beth."
(£6.00 post-free,for a 4xdisc set).
PP isn't set in the (then) past, doesn't have a Rock 'n' Roll soundtrack, doesn't have a playing-for-laffs Greengrass, so it's not THAT Heartbeat. (Avoid reading the Youtube clip, it has a huge spoiler).