Hi Kev yes remove the lower leaves from your tomatoes - it is only in the last week or so our tomatoes have really started to ripen - now they are doing so with a vengeance. You could always pick some of the almost ripe ones and put in a paper bag with a ripe banana to speed things up.

I take more than the lower ones off at this time of the year Kev I take a few off all over to let the light get in .

thats wot i do as well tulsa but i pik some and put in a brown paper bag wth a banana