Tracking down Billy Casper.

skyline
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Wonderful few days up Yorkshire seeing the folks . Me and A&;B went for a wander and found out that basically their house is surrounded by the filming locations for Kes. I'd seen the ruin where Billy takes kes its nest many times from the M1 but it was good to see it up close.
One thing that was pleasing is that the film locations are virtually all in the same small area and Billy's walks can almost be done in real time and almost in order.

Some things have changed almost all the pits and factories seen in the film have gone. In fact its salutatory that if Billy did follow the lumpen Jed down the pit. He and his brother would ten years later be out on strike facing more time above ground looking for work.

Watching the film again that evening we decide to find some of the other sites and with the help of this site  we found the field where billy flew Kes (which you can see from A back window). Sadly the council/school in their wisdom has put up a huge fence round the site to curtail modern day Billy gaining access (although some kids seem to have snuck on). Pleasingly we aslo saw a pair of Kestrels on the power lines on the field rest ready to go hawking for for their dinner over the grassland and surrounding recently planted scrub.

Thwarted in photo op we were heading home when we bumped into a living breathing Billy Casper; well his 50 year old self. A fascinating guy who filled us in with all the local walks and history. Apparently and I'm choosing to believe this story as a  kid he actually showed Barry Hines (a teacher at his school at the time) the nest site used in the film!
So a wonderful day with excellent weather, we are hoping to get some pics of Billy's school which is being closed this term to move to another site, so we we will  hopefuly be able to snap the famous showers and footy pitch as well!

Hello Stranger

Hello Stranger
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Dick's dish isn't going down well

Dick's dish isn't going down well
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

"when we said keep it simple, we were thinking scallops and pea puree!!"

Not really sure why the BBC was cooking Lunch (or dinner as its called) for the pupils and staff of Harrow school tonight the headmaster was apiece fo work.

These foolish things....

Well, a successful day all round got plenty done in spite of the drizzle. Out dodging puddles at lunchtime and tying a damp shoe lace I found 20p, 50 yards further down the high street I went into a charity initially to check out a lightweight tripod they had in the window.

As always it had the "headbit" missing (as they always do!the volunteer didn't seem too concerned about this as they always are) and then with some inevitability I started to flick through the vinyl. A few lps in I found this gem. Mr Ferry apart from being a depressingly stylish cove is the king of a good cover and so with wonderful synchronicity I took him for a spin for the princely sum of...... 20p.
Here's Bryan looking bored and wonderful

As to what other "foolish things" will remind me of the rest of August 10th:

• well some damp podgy pigeons pecking at a puddle
• my first blackberry: surprisingly sweet
• a stern woman in a meeting with "jo,jo,jo" tattooed vertically inside her left wrist
• & my shopping list of "Milk & Bleach" which must be a great lost pub rock song.

Anyone else got any other "Foolish Things" ?

a flat white Midnight Kiss from a troll: the week so far in pictures

In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Thanks to a tip of from E &R watched "insearch of a Midnight Kiss" 2007 by Alex Holdridge. It's really good don't be put of by the "indie-schmidie" start as it's got a lot of heart and shabby hipster setting rings truer than many films. It's a romance but not a too saccharine  one.

The slow drip (or should that be high pressure steamy blast) of fancy coffee is dribbling our way as New Cross has got a new cafe "the London Particular" . So taking the plunge I had my first "flat white" one of the many nuanced coffee and milk cocktails on the spectrum from Mellow birds through to well chewing raw beans!

Now the cheery woman he served me may have been antipodean so it may have been authentic but I couldn't say for sure but anyway it was a very good cup. But if you were to hold the proverbial gun to my head I would have been hard to pushed to separate it from a good cappuccino ie still strong but not awash with milk like your average "neropretbucks" fare and yes the feather leaf pattern makes it taste better!

and I found another street card, sadly not one for my playing card pack but a marvelous railway repairshop snap shot. I've said before about the particular charm of this sort of thing.
Oh and look who was stopping you get through the bent railings into the park...