Thunder In The Night

It was exceptionally hot yesterday (Thursday) as I said in my last blog post. I found it really difficult to sleep last night and came downstairs to read. I've found something to watch through the BBC's iPlayer, the original television version of 'House of Cards,' which was something I did a lot of Supporting work on in the 1990's. So I shall have to watch and see if I can remember what I did in it. I was a journalist with a group of other S.A's (Supporting Artistes) in quite a few scenes filmed over the course of several weeks all around London. It stars Ian Richardson who plays Francis Urquhart. Actually, his name was something of a problem, because it had to be pronounced 'Urcart,' with the end sort of silent. If that makes sense. Nobody spoke in our group, well, you don't when you do Walk-On work. You're not employed to speak and you have no lines, although we did have to make crowd noises, sort of 'rhubarb, rhubarb' noises, indistinct crowds sounds, no distinct lines as you would if you were an actor playing a part.

Then I heard thunder. Hopefully things would be relieved by rain. Another loud clap and it did rain, but not as torrential as I would have hoped. It didn't last longer, no more than a minute or two. I just hope we get more rain today (Friday.) First thing this morning it's been overcast, not as if it was going to rain, but just cool enough to not be overbearingly hot and pleasant enough to take Alfie for his by now obligatory early-morning walk around Eaglestone Park.

As I've explained in an earlier blog post, we're currently applying to Milton Keynes Council for Housing Benefit. It would be a smooth process if only I could contact our landlord as they need to have proof of how much rent we pay and they require either a tenancy agreement or a letter from our him. I have tried to find our copy, but it hasn't come to light, unfortunately. If I found it it would be a simple matter of taking it to the Council offices and they would no doubt make a photocopy. I have been attempting to contact the landlord via telephone but all I get is a recorded voice and last night I left a message for him to contact me, but as yet no response. I do not know where he and his wife are, possibly some family matter, but at the moment I'm not bothered where he is or why. We need to get this matter resolved as quickly as possible. I don't think he realises how important it is to get this sorted and quickly. I have emailed the Benefits department at the Council explaining all this. If you have read my earlier posts on here you may have read about the problem we had with our gas boiler a couple of years ago. We attempted to contact our landlord but the telephone number he gave us was 'unavailable.' We went through the Council, who had details recorded for Council Tax purposes and managed to contact him via mail (or it may have been telephone, it doesn't matter. It worked, and the boiler was eventually replaced.) I am hoping that they may be able to contact him this way again in order to get the tenancy agreement sent on so the Housing Benefit claim can be completed.

Reading and Viewing- Part 1

We have been spoilt recently by the number and quality of television drama. I have mentioned in earlier posts how I enjoyed the Channel 4 series 'Humans' (about 'synths' which are in actual fact robots which look like humans). The second series finished a week before Christmas and, as yet, it's not clear whether a third series will be commissioned. The finale episode did more or less tie up many of the story threads quite nicely, there again, a third series could carry things further. I started watching the Sky drama series 'Westworld' which has a similar theme as 'Humans' but set in an American Wild West theme park and based on a novel by Michael Crichton which was made into a 1973 science fiction movie.  He was responsible for the original novel, Jurassic Park, which has spawned four movies. The more recent one, Jurassic World, was very week, although the special effects are as good, if not better, than the original. I recall seeing the earlier movie of Westworld. . The television version is good, up to a point, but for me it was far too violent. It's worth seeing if just for the performance of Anthony Hopkins. It shows how actors of his calibre are turning to television instead of Hollywood movies. It seems that, at the moment, all we have to offer in the movie world is remakes and sequels. Endless superhero revamps. Television drama seems to be able to come up with far more in-depth storytelling. You are able to tell your story in one-hour episodes and over ten segments and then continue in further seasons. As we have Sky and Sky Movies, we can download movies to our Sky Q box and watch movies once they reach Sky a couple of months after cinema release. The Sky Q box has a far bigger capacity for storage than the old Sky+ box and also allows up to 4 programmes to be recorded which are broadcast at the same time. 'Downton Abbey' has come to an end. ITV came up with 'Victoria' as a replacement. It's a fairly faithful telling of the story of Queen Victoria from her youth and on to her ascending the throne in 1837 and eventual marriage to Prince Albert. Very lavish and quite watchable but not particularly ground breaking. Meanwhile Netflix, the streaming television service, has 'The Crown' which is another royal saga, following the true story of Elizabeth 11's life story. As it's on-line and streaming it means you have all 10 episodes and can watch whenever you like and back-to-back if you so wish, instead of waiting for the next episode the following week. We have not signed up to Netflix and as a result cannot see this series, but I have a feeling it will be shown on Sky eventually, because their other series, 'House of Cards' is on Sky for downloading as a box set. (This is based on the BBC series and starred Ian Richardson.) We enjoy 'Father Brown' which is based loosely on the G.K.Chesterton character. It's now in it's 5th series and is shown on BBC1 in an afternoon slot. It's very much tongue-in-cheek and has a sense of humour. We also like 'Last Tango In Halifax' which is set in an area of Yorkshire we know well and have spent a couple of holidays there. It's real. The characters are good and the acting is good. It stars Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid as 70-somethings, Alan Buttershaw and Celia Dawon, who reignite a romance after several decades and the effect this has on both their families and friends. It had a two-part Christmas special and returns for a full season in January 2017. On Amazon I have been more than impressed by 'The Man In The High Castle' which is based on a novel by Philip K. Dick (who wrote 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" which was filmed as 'Blade Runner' and directed by Ridley Scott (who Executive Produces 'High Castle.) It is set in an imagined world where the Nazis won the Second World War and America has been divided up by the Nazis and Japanese. Very convincing and well made and it has now gone to a second series and I hear that a third has been commissioned.

As for reading, I have just completed 'Gilliamesque", the autobiography of one of my favourite directors, former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, who did the animation for that comedy show and directed 'Monty Python and The Holy Grail,' 'Brazil', 'Jabberwocky,' 'Time Bandits' and 'Baron Munchausen', all of which have now become cult classics. I like his off-the-wall approach and he certainly doesn't make films which fit the 'Hollywood' mould in any way shape or form.

Tickets to see gameshow 'Pointless'

We've got tickets to see a recording of the hit B.B.C. 1 gameshow 'Pointless'. Yes, I know, I did mention in an earlier post that we got tickets to see this, but unfortunately it clashed with something else, so we didn't go. This time we're determined to go. It records at the studios in Elstree, just over the road from the B.B.C. studios where 'EastEnders' is made. I worked on the B.B.C. drama series 'House Of Cards' when I was a supporting artiste and we were supposed to be journalists outside Number 10 Downing Street. I did manage to get to look round the 'EastEnders' 'lot'  as the set I was on was right next to the outdoor set.

The recording is on 21st May, so I'll have to post on here how we got on, but I can't wait to see this show as we're both fans.

Watching EastEnders

I don't as a rule, watch EastEnders. I find this 'soap' so insufferably dreary that I don't want to watch the trials and tribulations of such unpleasant characters. I think, also, it's the fact that the plots get re-cycled with such monotonous regularity and none of the characters have any redeeming features. Why would people choose to remain in such a depressing and dead-end place as Albert Square?

I was, though, reminded of my experience of working on it as a Supporting Artiste. There was a scene in last night's episode, with Phil Mitchell (I can never distinguish between either of the Mitchell brothers, Grant or Phil.) He was in prison, and someone was visiting him. I did similar scenes when 'Dirty' Den Watts was in prison (for whatever crime I can't actually remember) and I was cast as a prison warder.  I think it must have been around 1988, so the soap can't have been running more than four or five years. I got a call from an agent and was asked 'have you ever worked on EastEnders?' To which I immediately replied, 'no.' He told me that the B.B.C. were filming a new drama called 'Behind Bars' or something, in a school somewhere in Elstree. I went to Elstree at the time I was given, to be greeted by production staff and immediately told that the show being recorded was actually EastEnders, the name 'Behind Bars' was a bluff so as to keep newspaper reporters at bay. I was taken to costume and make-up and changed into a prison warders uniform and had to wear a long overcoat over this uniform so as not to be seen by any tabloid photographers who were supposedly hanging around outside the school where the location was.

The scene was supposed to be the visitors' room in a prison. As a warder, myself and several others, were placed around the room, where there were tables with chairs by them. Den was sitting at one and was being spoken to by one other of the major characters (don't ask me who. I have an idea it might have been Pat Butcher. I think it was before she married Frank, so no doubt at that time she was Pat Wicks.) We just stood around looking 'ard, glaring menacingly at any of the 'prisoners' if they did something they shouldn't have done. Things on 'EastEnders' are shot really rapidly; a brief rehearsal, then a 'take.' Very rarely is there a second 'take.'  There isn't much room for error. If you make a mistake it's very likely going to be left in. They move on to the next camera 'set-up.' And so it goes. These scenes were directed by Julia Smith, who created and set up EastEnders. We got some direction. My 'note' was to walk 'with shorter steps.' So as to move past the camera and to be actually seen. In the scenes that I was in, for what I remember, you could only see the lower part of my body, and not my face.

I was re-called to do a further day's shooting, this time with Den Watts being interviewed in an office and I was the warder who let him in and out with a solicitor, or so I imagine. I also recall that it was the final day of Leslie Grantham's time on the show, and there was a large cake for the tea-break, decorated with a prison gate and padlocks etc. I do recall also having along chat with Leslie Grantham between 'takes.' A really nice man. You don't often get the chance to talk with the 'principles' on these shows. 'Extras' and/or 'Walk-On's' or 'Supporting-Artistes' aren't supposed to talk to the main actors. It's just the way things are.

A couple of years later I went to the B.B.C. Elstree studios to work on another B.B.C. drama, 'House of Cards.' They had built a Downing Street set behind the open-air 'EastEnders' lot. It was extremely hot and we were in very thick coats and suits. We were supposed to be journalists and photographers, and when the main character, played by Ian Richardson, came out of Number 10 we had to rush forward, with flash-guns going off. I had a chance to go onto the EastEnders set and have a look-round, and at one point we were almost run over by some of the actors, Adam Woodyatt, John Altman and I think Nick Berry, riding a motor bike around the lot. It was a really interesting experience, not only working on 'House of Cards' (I did several more days shooting on this at other locations around London.) but also looking round the 'EastEnders' lot.