two wheeled pedal driven vehicles

Left: David Gent, Charles, Chuck the Truck. Right: Oli/JP cycling

Those of you who are avid readers of this blog will recall that on 10 June this year we interviewed the Rev Ian Browne at Oundle School. We mentioned en passant that we were on the lookout for a young Piper clone, late teens, long and lean, whom we could film cycling along idyllic country lanes a la Piper in the 1920s.
And the gentleman in question came up with just the young blade we were searching for in the form of 14 year old, 6ft1in Oli Gent, long and certainly lean. He and his parents, David and Carolyn, tooled up at Film Farm on the 19th October, a delightful family, Oli kitted out magnificently by the Oundle School Drama Department. We introduced him to Charles' old uncle Frank's old bicycle fitted with spanking new (but suitably old fashioned) bell and they got on famously. Oli even named the bike - it is now 'Harold'. We then cranked up Chuck the Truck who was overjoyed to be seeing some of the action again, all piled in, plus bike and cameras and off to the chosen locations.
The great thing about the countryside where Charles resides is that it is stuck in a time warp (as is the renowned filmmaker himself) - no road markings, no street lights, no cat's eyes, real hedges, small fields divided by hedges and copses - in fact pretty much as rural Surrey would have looked in Piper's day.
Oli was an absolute STAR. Not only did he look the part (probably not facially but we didn't need close ups) but he entered fully into the spirit of the thing, even riding the bicycle with a ram rod straight back. After various locations we ended up at the church next door to Charles where Oli/JP rested his bike against the railings and entered the churchyard, sat on a bench and sketched architectural details, before trying out his No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak Camera (1912).
Lunch was the inaugural outing for the new venture jointly owned by Chef Eliza of Pomegranate and Chef Charles of Hare in the Gate, namely Sound Bite Location Catering, as a token of our gratitude for the family's efforts. A hugely successful day.

Oli/JP arrives at a church with Harold and takes some snaps.

Libby even managed to do some Letterpress printing (the new thrill in her life) with what was left of the afternoon - this is printed on hand made Nepalese Lokta paper and is the title sheet for her latest tome, Christ's Hospital Murals, to be published next month.

PP7, part 3

This morning we returned to Portland Bill in glorious weather, found an old stone crane, photographed Chesil Beach from above and then in the flesh, and Charles did some Super 8 work (we intend to introduce each section with a smidgin of old fashioned filmwork).

Back to Weymouth, change the equipment in the car, grab a quick fish and chips for Charles (he liked the box), photographed the amusingly odd Jubilee clock, and off down the road to interview Patrick Reyntiens who interpreted most of Piper's stained glass designs and almost single-handedly revolutionised stained glass design and making in this country. Unfortunately we got held up behind a HUGE trailer which was transporting 3 ENORMOUS blocks of Portland stone to Salisbury and which was impossible to pass - so arrived somewhat tardily, which is something I hate doing and so was getting very frustrated and irritated.

Patrick was his usual ebullient self. We showed him the roughly edited films of Oundle, Coventry and Liverpool and he just started talking, describing, discussing - brilliant stuff for which we were hugely grateful.

Arriving back in Weymouth we set out with trepidation for some fodder and chanced upon Vaughan's which really turned up trumps. The decor was understated, the waiter attentive and knowledgeable and interested, bread rolls were baked freshly continuously throughout the evening, the food, well - excellent ingredients, cooked simply and to perfection, just as we like. Imaginative in a good way. And an excellent way to end another trip - back to Film Farm tomorrow.

PP7, part 2

Charles duly primed with his cooked breakfast, we set off for the small village of Grateley and the church of St Leonard's where there is an old window (originally in Salisbury Cathedral) depicting the Stoning of St Stephen - Piper claimed that copying this window taught him as much about colour as any art course - so we had to 'bag' it. Beautiful colours.

From there to Weymouth where we booked into The Esplanade run by an enthusiastic and enterprising young couple who used to work in the City but have returned home and although they haven't managed to get rid of all the dark red patterned carpets as yet are working their way through the hotel making it more sophisticated - good luck to them. After a quick lunch in a nearby Italian (ENZO) it was off to Portland Bill which captivated us with its huge limestone rock formations, seaweed swirling below, the old lower lighthouse Charles decided he wanted to live in when he grows up (but it belongs to the RSPB) and the fact they were celebrating our arrival - someone had already scrawled my name on a wall! By the time we finished it was dark, very cold and windy, and we were tired but promised to warm ourselves up with a good Italian - how can you go wrong with an Italian - 2nd day running it was dreadful - again TOO 'cheffy'. We should have returned

to the lunch-time place (i.e. ENZO).

PP7, part 1

We departed from EKH in rather miserable weather and dreaded a repeat performance of Brighton/Romney Marsh. Today's itinerary, Stowe and Farnborough. However, out luck changed and by the time we arrived at Stowe it was pleasantly mizzly which suited the architecture and landscaping. Both the National Trust and Landmark Trust kindly waived their fees since the film will be distributed freely to schools in an effort to instill an interest in arts and crafts in today's youth.

The great excitement of the day (since neither of us are particularly potty about formal gardening on this scale) was the Batricar which Libby commandeered - terrific fun (seen above by the Palladian Bridge). And covering the distance we did with the usual amounts of equipment would have been almost impossible. Whilst Charles filmed the sights from Piper's viewpoints, Libby photographed trees and flowers, carefully avoiding the architectural delights (despite her architectural background).

What we did both enjoy hugely was the Pebble Alcove, almost every sq cm of which Charles made me photograph - oh look at the butterfly, that bunch of grapes, the zodiac signs etc etc. Here's the man himself enjoying the experience - I greatly fear Film Farm may sprout some similar oddity in due course!

Stowe took longer than anticipated (these things always do) but we HAD to get to the tiny village of Farnborough before dark to film the window Piper designed in memory of his great friend and colleague John Betjeman. The window was a delight, fresh, brightly coloured, absolutely joyful and fits so well into its surroundings. here's just a tiny part to whet your appetite for the completed DVD.

And thence to Chieveley where we had promised ourselves a big treat. Those of you who read our sister blog (frankbrangwyn.blogspot.com) will recall that on 6 February 2008 we dined at The Crab at Chieveley and considered the meal excellent. For those of you who have been there since on our recommendation - massive apologies! A change in management has introduced 'cheffy' food, lots of ingredients for the sake of it, and the result is just silly, a waste of time, not particularly tasty and not good cooking. If you've got good ingredients don't mess them up. Par example, I had traditional scallops for starters (OK) whilst my 'blonde' companion had scallops with 201 ingredients including white chocolate! No way Jose! VERY disappointing.