Even older news posts:
New look and new features for the site!
(October 2021)
As part of the one year anniversary celebration, I gave the site a small upgrade. There's a lot of smaller changes that you'll notice when you stroll around the site. Here are the biggest ones:
- a new menu! This should work a lot better on smaller tablets and bigger phones;
- a new search functionality! Out with Google, in with a built in search application. This works much better, is privacy friendly (nothing sent to third parties) and no ads in the search results. Search results look much cleaner too;
- the menu button, the search bar and the social media buttons are grouped in a fancy new bar so they take up less space;
- a News archive, so you can read back all the news bubbles that once appeared on the front page (minus a few from February 2021).
…and quite a lot of smaller improvements. A much better legible font, new functionality to improve the readability of tables (some are yet to be converted; stay tuned) and performance improvements overall.
Thanks to everyone who gave feedback! I'm aware that it sometimes takes a while for me to follow up on some suggestions (like the menu and the search functionality), but rest assured that you're heard!
(October 2021)
As part of the one year anniversary celebration, I gave the site a small upgrade. There's a lot of smaller changes that you'll notice when you stroll around the site. Here are the biggest ones:
- a new menu! This should work a lot better on smaller tablets and bigger phones;
- a new search functionality! Out with Google, in with a built in search application. This works much better, is privacy friendly (nothing sent to third parties) and no ads in the search results. Search results look much cleaner too;
- the menu button, the search bar and the social media buttons are grouped in a fancy new bar so they take up less space;
- a News archive, so you can read back all the news bubbles that once appeared on the front page (minus a few from February 2021).
…and quite a lot of smaller improvements. A much better legible font, new functionality to improve the readability of tables (some are yet to be converted; stay tuned) and performance improvements overall.
Thanks to everyone who gave feedback! I'm aware that it sometimes takes a while for me to follow up on some suggestions (like the menu and the search functionality), but rest assured that you're heard!
FAQ expanded & new privacy engine
(Oktober 2021)
I've expanded the FAQ with some questions I've been asked since the last update.
Most notably I've explained why I think a forum isn't feasible.
Have a look at the FAQ section on the About this site page.
When you view the FAQ, you'll probably also notice that the site now asks your permission to display the third party content (Youtube and SoundCloud) in the section about Matt Day. This is part of the new privacy engine I've built.
The engine does a number of things: you can now set more privacy preferences here. You might also notice the new cookie notification banner. Finally it will display those blue/grayish boxes wherever third party content would appear if you gave consent. The engine will make sure none of that content is loaded if you don't give consent, so that your privacy is safe. It also replaces the old yellow consent boxes that hid the comments section.
The shielding of the comments section and third party content until you give your consent and the cookie notification banner are mandatory by EU law (GDPR). Since BotW is technically Dutch, I have to make sure the site is compliant with those laws.
(Oktober 2021)
I've expanded the FAQ with some questions I've been asked since the last update.
Most notably I've explained why I think a forum isn't feasible.
Have a look at the FAQ section on the About this site page.
When you view the FAQ, you'll probably also notice that the site now asks your permission to display the third party content (Youtube and SoundCloud) in the section about Matt Day. This is part of the new privacy engine I've built.
The engine does a number of things: you can now set more privacy preferences here. You might also notice the new cookie notification banner. Finally it will display those blue/grayish boxes wherever third party content would appear if you gave consent. The engine will make sure none of that content is loaded if you don't give consent, so that your privacy is safe. It also replaces the old yellow consent boxes that hid the comments section.
The shielding of the comments section and third party content until you give your consent and the cookie notification banner are mandatory by EU law (GDPR). Since BotW is technically Dutch, I have to make sure the site is compliant with those laws.
An interview with Rosemary Smith!
(September 2021)
I must have bothered just about every single Rosemary Smith in Australia until I found the right one, but with help from Olivia, find her I did: the one and only Rosemary Smith who portrayed Anita McPherson!
I'm so happy that she agreed to an interview! And not only was Rosemary kind enough to say yes to that, but she also contributed to the page with all she remembers from her time on Bartons and a heap of pictures and documents. So keep an eye out for more updates!
You can read her interview right here.
(September 2021)
I must have bothered just about every single Rosemary Smith in Australia until I found the right one, but with help from Olivia, find her I did: the one and only Rosemary Smith who portrayed Anita McPherson!
I'm so happy that she agreed to an interview! And not only was Rosemary kind enough to say yes to that, but she also contributed to the page with all she remembers from her time on Bartons and a heap of pictures and documents. So keep an eye out for more updates!
You can read her interview right here.
More Production Details and Trivia added
(August 2021)
Information on the studio where Bartons was taped and the filming location of Half-time have been added to the Production Details Page.
Some extra bits of trivia on the studio are on the Trivia page.
Also, some production notes on Bartons on the Beach have been added to that episode's entry in the Episode Guide.
(August 2021)
Information on the studio where Bartons was taped and the filming location of Half-time have been added to the Production Details Page.
Some extra bits of trivia on the studio are on the Trivia page.
Also, some production notes on Bartons on the Beach have been added to that episode's entry in the Episode Guide.
Updates to Cast Profiles, Production Details & Trivia and the Photos page makes a return!
(August 2021)
The cast profile for Michael O'Reilly has been updated with new information and new screen captures. The screen captures for the other cast members also return (but the ABC owned head shots do not unfortunately). You can find the cast profiles here.
But that's not all!
Slimmed down to include only pics that do not infringe ABC's rights, the Photos Page makes a return after nearly six months of absence too. Sorry it took this long!
The name has been changed to reflect the removal of the newspaper clippings. They might return in the future; I'm currently looking into the legal side of that.
I also fixed some issues with text here and there still referring to older pages. The welcome text has also been changed (it still mentioned Olivia's interview was coming up, but that has been online for a while now. Sorry Liv!).
Should you see any errors or older referrences, please let me know!
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the father of one of the girls that played an extra in Beautiful Beetroot. He told me the Girl Guides in the episode were the 2nd Glen Waverley Guide Company; that's a bit more precise than just "Glen Waverley Guide Troup" as stated on the episode's end credits, so I've included it in the trivia.
(August 2021)
The cast profile for Michael O'Reilly has been updated with new information and new screen captures. The screen captures for the other cast members also return (but the ABC owned head shots do not unfortunately). You can find the cast profiles here.
But that's not all!
Slimmed down to include only pics that do not infringe ABC's rights, the Photos Page makes a return after nearly six months of absence too. Sorry it took this long!
The name has been changed to reflect the removal of the newspaper clippings. They might return in the future; I'm currently looking into the legal side of that.
I also fixed some issues with text here and there still referring to older pages. The welcome text has also been changed (it still mentioned Olivia's interview was coming up, but that has been online for a while now. Sorry Liv!).
Should you see any errors or older referrences, please let me know!
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the father of one of the girls that played an extra in Beautiful Beetroot. He told me the Girl Guides in the episode were the 2nd Glen Waverley Guide Company; that's a bit more precise than just "Glen Waverley Guide Troup" as stated on the episode's end credits, so I've included it in the trivia.
Updates on Episode Guide and some pics return
(July 2021)
Just a small bit of text on what was quite the undertaking on the technical side of things: I've updated the Episode Guide pages. It's now one page again and the taping dates of each episode have been added. Also, a few pics have returned, now as part of the episode guide.
The Production details page has been expanded with the Taping Blocks Schedule (well, the version that was handed out to the cast on 25 March 1987; it was amended after that, but I don't have access to that amended version).
And finally, the filming location of Bartons on the Beach has been added to that episode's trivia and the general trivia on the Production details page.
(July 2021)
Just a small bit of text on what was quite the undertaking on the technical side of things: I've updated the Episode Guide pages. It's now one page again and the taping dates of each episode have been added. Also, a few pics have returned, now as part of the episode guide.
The Production details page has been expanded with the Taping Blocks Schedule (well, the version that was handed out to the cast on 25 March 1987; it was amended after that, but I don't have access to that amended version).
And finally, the filming location of Bartons on the Beach has been added to that episode's trivia and the general trivia on the Production details page.
Well call me star struck! An interview with Olivia Harkin!
(April 2021)
Olivia Harkin, I assume, is a familiar name to most of you. She is of course the big star of the television series and portrayed Elly Barton. She has a different surname nowadays, and that's just one of the many things you can read about in the interview she gave me! Yes, that's right! Go check it out here.
Some people say you shouldn't meet your heroes. All I can say is, they must have had the wrong hero!
(April 2021)
Olivia Harkin, I assume, is a familiar name to most of you. She is of course the big star of the television series and portrayed Elly Barton. She has a different surname nowadays, and that's just one of the many things you can read about in the interview she gave me! Yes, that's right! Go check it out here.
Some people say you shouldn't meet your heroes. All I can say is, they must have had the wrong hero!
A really cool gift from a cast member
(March 2021)
Earlier this month, I got an unexpected package from Australia. It was sent by one of the cast members and inside was one of the coolest gifts anyone has ever given me: two original Bartons scripts! One of them is a draft, with a few differences from the eventually aired version, which is very interesting! The other one is for one of my favourite episodes! So cool!
I'm currently looking into a way to include them on the site without stepping on ABC's toes again (and without getting the cast member in question into trouble).
Stay tuned!
(March 2021)
Earlier this month, I got an unexpected package from Australia. It was sent by one of the cast members and inside was one of the coolest gifts anyone has ever given me: two original Bartons scripts! One of them is a draft, with a few differences from the eventually aired version, which is very interesting! The other one is for one of my favourite episodes! So cool!
I'm currently looking into a way to include them on the site without stepping on ABC's toes again (and without getting the cast member in question into trouble).
Stay tuned!
February never happened…
(February 2021)
(February 2021)
« For BotW, February 2021 was dominated by the removal of photos, stills, video- and audio clips from the site. Not a fun time to look back on. I've decided to delete all news items about this from the archive, as enough has been said about it and I've moved on. »
- Erwin
New photos added to the Photos & Clippings page
(January 2021)
Happy new year everybody!
Just a small, but interesting update this month: fellow fan Paul from the UK dug up some old Radio Times and scanned these pics «link removed» for me. I had neither, so thanks for sharing Paul! He also scanned a few examples of how The Bartons was listed in the magazine; I've uploaded an example to the clippings section «link removed». I love how detailed Radio Times is in their listings; even Cliff Ellen is mentioned (he played Paul's coach on Half-time).
Want to contribute to the site? Scanned articles on C/o The Bartons from local TV guides or magazines are most welcome. Let me know! TV listings are welcome too (especially from countries not yet listed on the Broadcast History page).
(January 2021)
Happy new year everybody!
Just a small, but interesting update this month: fellow fan Paul from the UK dug up some old Radio Times and scanned these pics «link removed» for me. I had neither, so thanks for sharing Paul! He also scanned a few examples of how The Bartons was listed in the magazine; I've uploaded an example to the clippings section «link removed». I love how detailed Radio Times is in their listings; even Cliff Ellen is mentioned (he played Paul's coach on Half-time).
Want to contribute to the site? Scanned articles on C/o The Bartons from local TV guides or magazines are most welcome. Let me know! TV listings are welcome too (especially from countries not yet listed on the Broadcast History page).
Comments section, social media share buttons, search bar and privacy settings
(November 2020)
Content updates are on the way! For today, here's some news about a few new features for the site.
Comments section
Every modern webpage needs a comments section, and now BOTW has one too! Now you can chat with your fellow fans about your favourite series. Please remember to keep it clean and be respectful to your fellow fans and the people who worked on the show.
You can find the comments section at the bottom of pretty much every page on BOTW, including this one. So why not get started here while you're at it? :) Comments are specific to the page they're posted on.
Social media sharing buttons
Have "something Bartons" to share with your friends on social media? Well, now you can! I've added social media buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Reddit. You can find them at the top of every page, just below the menu button (and at the bottom of every page too). All the buttons share the page you're on when you click them.
And I managed to do it without using the tracking bits that usually come with social media buttons. So you're not sharing anything with the companies behind those services until you actually click the buttons.
Oh, and there's a handy button to share the page through old fashioned e-mail too. And a button to scroll to the comments section automatically.
Privacy settings
Accessing the privacy settings from the site's menu allows you to disable the cookies that control the comments section. Privacy settings are there so BOTW complies with the European privacy directive (GDPR). For the same reason, the site now has a privacy policy.
Site Search bar
Finally, when you open the menu, you'll find a brand new search bar, powered by Google. There was one before, powered by DuckDuckGo, but that didn't work as I imagined it. This one does: it searches the entire site for words, sentences, videos and images (and finds them too, something the old one often didn't).
(November 2020)
Content updates are on the way! For today, here's some news about a few new features for the site.
Comments section
Every modern webpage needs a comments section, and now BOTW has one too! Now you can chat with your fellow fans about your favourite series. Please remember to keep it clean and be respectful to your fellow fans and the people who worked on the show.
You can find the comments section at the bottom of pretty much every page on BOTW, including this one. So why not get started here while you're at it? :) Comments are specific to the page they're posted on.
Social media sharing buttons
Have "something Bartons" to share with your friends on social media? Well, now you can! I've added social media buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Reddit. You can find them at the top of every page, just below the menu button (and at the bottom of every page too). All the buttons share the page you're on when you click them.
And I managed to do it without using the tracking bits that usually come with social media buttons. So you're not sharing anything with the companies behind those services until you actually click the buttons.
Oh, and there's a handy button to share the page through old fashioned e-mail too. And a button to scroll to the comments section automatically.
Privacy settings
Accessing the privacy settings from the site's menu allows you to disable the cookies that control the comments section. Privacy settings are there so BOTW complies with the European privacy directive (GDPR). For the same reason, the site now has a privacy policy.
Site Search bar
Finally, when you open the menu, you'll find a brand new search bar, powered by Google. There was one before, powered by DuckDuckGo, but that didn't work as I imagined it. This one does: it searches the entire site for words, sentences, videos and images (and finds them too, something the old one often didn't).
An interview with the person we have to thank for it all: Jocelyn Moorhouse!
(October 2020)
Wow, I'm still trying to wrap my head around her saying "yes"… I'm so grateful that she did!
Jocelyn Moorhouse not only created our beloved Bartons, she also wrote and directed the short film, wrote five episodes of the series and the book.
So what better way to kick off the site than an interview with her?
You can jump straight to it by following this link. This and other interviews (there are more in the pipeline; stay tuned!) can be found under the Interviews section in the menu.
(October 2020)
Wow, I'm still trying to wrap my head around her saying "yes"… I'm so grateful that she did!
Jocelyn Moorhouse not only created our beloved Bartons, she also wrote and directed the short film, wrote five episodes of the series and the book.
So what better way to kick off the site than an interview with her?
You can jump straight to it by following this link. This and other interviews (there are more in the pipeline; stay tuned!) can be found under the Interviews section in the menu.
Royce Craven interview now up!
(October 2020)
Royce Craven is one of the composers and producers of the shows music. He was kind enough to let me interview him about his music, his time on the show and what he's been up to since then.
Did you know he built a plane? Or designs really cool software for music production using synthesizers? Well, I didn't, but what I do know he's (co-)responsible for that excellent music, which has been stuck in my head for 75% of my life now!
You can find the interview linked on the CREW page (in the SERIES section) or directly under the INTERVIEWS section in the menu.
Or you can click right here.
(October 2020)
Royce Craven is one of the composers and producers of the shows music. He was kind enough to let me interview him about his music, his time on the show and what he's been up to since then.
Did you know he built a plane? Or designs really cool software for music production using synthesizers? Well, I didn't, but what I do know he's (co-)responsible for that excellent music, which has been stuck in my head for 75% of my life now!
You can find the interview linked on the CREW page (in the SERIES section) or directly under the INTERVIEWS section in the menu.
Or you can click right here.
Update on "full episodes"
(October 2020)
Ever since the idea for this site popped up, I've been looking into getting a license to put up full episodes.
Just when I thought I had found the right way to do it, the department of the ABC that handles such requests shut down its services to individuals due to COVID19 measures.
This means getting a license, as an individual, is impossible until that department opens up again.
All this also means I still have no idea on the pricing ABC puts on episodes for webstreaming by individuals, so I still don't know if its even financially feasible. Ah, the uncertainty!
Sorry for the delay, please stay tuned.
(October 2020)
Ever since the idea for this site popped up, I've been looking into getting a license to put up full episodes.
Just when I thought I had found the right way to do it, the department of the ABC that handles such requests shut down its services to individuals due to COVID19 measures.
This means getting a license, as an individual, is impossible until that department opens up again.
All this also means I still have no idea on the pricing ABC puts on episodes for webstreaming by individuals, so I still don't know if its even financially feasible. Ah, the uncertainty!
Sorry for the delay, please stay tuned.
It's alive, ALIVE!
(October 2020)
It's October 2020, and that means the site is now live!
After a month of staring at the teaser site, you can now enjoy the full site. All free, no ads and no tracking!
Enjoy yourself and drop me a line to tell me what you think of it.
(October 2020)
It's October 2020, and that means the site is now live!
After a month of staring at the teaser site, you can now enjoy the full site. All free, no ads and no tracking!
Enjoy yourself and drop me a line to tell me what you think of it.
Comments
Place comments and read comments made by others (on all pages)
Please read our Privacy Policy before you enable this functionality as it states how your (personal) data will be stored and handled.
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Please read our Privacy Policy before you enable this functionality as it states how your (personal) data will be stored and handled.
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© 2020 - 2023 Erwin Leerentveld
All rights reserved. Content not created by me is used with permission or under the clauses collectively known as "citaatrecht" in Dutch copyright law. Please see the Legal Disclaimer page (link below) for full copyright acknowledgment. This site is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.