The Adventures of Portland Bill The Adventures of Portland Bill is an 80’s Children’s TV animated show. Portland Bill is also the name of a real lighthouse on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. All the names of the characters are based on Shipping Forecast terms and regions. The show was created by John Grace in conjunction with Filmfair. It was narrated by Norman Rossington. There were only 13 episodes made, each containing 2 stories, which were divided by a song. These songs seem to have been lost from the latest DVDs.   Story  Portland Bill is the lighthouse keeper at Guillemot Rock who lives there with his assistants Ross and Cromarty. Ross and Cromarty are are always bickering about things, such as who can catch the biggest fish, how much can they each eat etc.   Nearby is the village of McGuillycuddy, which only has one shop. The Adventures of Portland Bill Characters    Portland Bill Bill is the lighthouse keeper and is a bit of a joker. One time he's fooled Cromarty into thinking he could tell the time by touching some seaweed that was hanging up to dry. But in fact he was moving it out of the way to see the clock on the local church. Once he was so fed up with Ross & Cromarty's bickering about who had caught the largest fish, that he arranged for them to fish against each other. Little did they know that Bill had tied both of the fishing lines together and they nearly pulled each other into the water, so eventually Bill cut the lines before they did.    Whenever Bill wants to go to the Mainland, he gets in his boat 'The Puffin' and rows across the sea to McGuillycuddy (mostly with Dogger). Bill seems to be a do-gooder, which is fine most of the time, apart from when he has a day off. All he wanted was to relax and have a cup of tea, but everyone he met wanted him to help them. As usual Bill was happy to oblige, but this meant he didn't relax or have a cup of tea! So eventually he ended up going back to the lighthouse for a rest and his cup of tea.     Ross Ross has a very high pitched voice and is always trying to tease Cromarty. When he's not fishing or relaxing (which is most of the time), he can be found servicing the generator of the lighthouse. When Cromarty tried to learn to play the guitar, Ross thought he'd accompany him on his drums. But don't tell Ross that he needs more practice, as you might hurt his feelings. Ross is a very nervous person and doesn't like being on his own. Added to this a over imagination and you know that he's going to jump out of his skin at the slightest thing (just don't turn the lights out).     Cromarty Cromarty also likes teasing Ross. The others say that he has no patience, but he must do living with the others. He's always telling Ross that he isn't scared of anything, but in reality he's just as scared as Ross (but he tries not to let on). To help himself to relax he likes knitting and has been taking guitar lessons. The trouble is he takes things a bit too far and tries act and look the part of a pop star. He tries to talk cool, dresses like a 70's rock star and sings badly!! Ross tries to hide his chuckles when he sees him.   When Cromarty was working shifts in the lighthouse, he just couldn't get to sleep in the daylight or because of the noise Ross was making. So Bill suggested he put corks in his ears and pull his woolly hat over his eyes. He may have looked silly, but he certainly went to sleep quickly.     Dogger He is Bill's dog and companion. I'm not sure he likes Cromarty's guitar playing, as he sits there howling like mad!      Eddy Stone  This is the man that seems to run McGuillycuddy single handedly. He runs the only shop in the village and is the local electrician, meter man, milkman, postman, policeman and mayor. He delivers most things by bike, which has a large box attached to the front to carry the goods. Also the hats for each of his jobs are attached to the front of the box, so he make a quick change when needed. Still, he's recognisable as he always wears a tank top.   When he needs to deliver items to the lighthouse, he jumps in his boat the 'Kipper' to get there. On his birthday he couldn't understand why everyone was sending cards and parcels to Bill. So when he delivered them to the lighthouse he was shocked to see the whole town there shouting 'Happy Birthday' to him.     Fastnet He's on old fisherman that seems to be always fixing his nets outside of Eddy Stone's Emporium.     Mrs Lundy  She lives on the outskirts of McGuillycuddy. She allowed Cromarty to use his metal detector on her front garden. He wasn't too happy to find a broach, but Mrs Lundy was.     Finisterre  Finisterre is a crofter. He plays the guitar and gives Cromarty guitar lessons.     Grandma Tiree She is the mother of Eddy Stone and helps in the shop. She likes to bake oatcakes. The Adventures of Portland Bill T-Shirts - NONE The Adventures of Portland Bill DVDs Region 2 (Europe) - Portland Bill DVDs Region 1 (USA) - NONE The Adventures of Portland Bill Video The Adventures of Portland Bill Episodes Series 1 (1983)  1-1. Changeable Weather on the            Guillemot Rock  1-2. Portland Bill and the Tourists  2-1. The Big Fishing Match  2-2. Portland Bill and the Seaweed Clock  3-1. Portland Bill's Busy Day  3-2. The Sea Monster  4-1. Bedtime for Cromarty  4-2. The Birthday Surprise  5-1. The Jam Session  5-2. An Inspector Calls  6-1. Important Message  6-2. Buried Treasure  7-1. Atmospheric Interference  7-2. Dogger's Best Trick  8-1. A Knot for Everything  8-2. The Wind Powered Vacuum Cleaner  9-1. The Good News Storm  9-2. The Whistling Kettle  10-1. Baking Day  10-2. Bird-Watching  11-1. The Lost Key  11-2. Sick as a Parrot  12-1. Portland Bill and the Mermaid  12-2. The Big Shopping List  13-1. The Day the Sea Froze  13-2. The Fisherman's Ball The Adventures of Portland Bill  Images (click to enlarge) NO VIDEO...YET © JedisParadise.com Toys & Gifts T-Shirts Bargain DVDs