Market in Honey Lane

Yet another example of working class street life, Market In Honey Lane, an upbeat soap opera dating from the late swinging 60’s, differs from the contemporary East Enders in as much as nearly all of the characters are a little more on the optimistic side.

It would seem that judging from this series that the British people were by and large happier then… The Beatles were singing about ‘Penny Lane’, the Kinks shared ‘Waterloo Sunset’ with us, while East End boys The Small Faces got high in ‘Itchycoo Park’. This mood of positivity permeates throughout this happy-go-lucky series.
One gets the idea that creator Louis Marks has some insider knowledge of a Cockney street traders life.
Honey Lane, despite being made in the Midlands, is a street market that is pitched somewhere between Soho’s Berwick Street Market and the East End’s Middlesex Street (better known as Petticoat Lane).

The lane’s main protagonist is fruit and veg man Billy Bush (John Bennett). Would you believe this same man played the dapper Philip Bosinney in the same year’s Forsyte Saga! He is flanked by fellow stall owners Jacko Bennett (Peter Birrell), old battle axe Polly Jessel (Pat Nye), and her halfwit of a son, Danny (Brian Rawlinson).

The series ran from 1967 to 1968, with the majority of “action” taking place within the market itself. But we also find out more about the stallholders ups and downs during scenes set in local pubs or private flats and bedsits.
The plots are never really dramatic; instead, each episode offers an insight at the market’s constantly changing face, while the stallholders squabble with petty and narrow-minded market inspectors (usually over money), or squabble amongst themselves (usually over petty jealousies and space).
Other key characters are those of Vicky (Vicky Woolf), a waitress in the local caff but with the looks of a Raymond’s Revue Bar showgirl, while the series also offered a variety of guest stars such as stalwart actors Michael Ripper or Tom Baker.

As the series went on, new characters were introduced. For example, the young bohemian couple with the artist girlfriend taking a keen interest in Cockney working class culture, hence sketching life on Honey Lane from her window.

Nothing truly ground-breaking happened in any of the episodes, but the series makes for wonderfully quaint entertainment on a rainy day, not to mention a charming trip down memory lane. Ok, Honey Lane! Just make sure to store up on your favourite biscuits and brew.