It's been a busy month - hence the total lack of attention I've paid to London Ding Dong. Apologies to my regular readers who must have begun to wonder if I'd disappeared into a black hole somewhere!
Unfortunately since I rather prematurely wrote "normal service is resumed" (oops!) I have only been to London twice and spent both days in a studio! So no lovely tales of sightseeing to report or any London-specific gossip I'm afraid. When I'm visiting London for work I tend to switch to auto-pilot and just want to get to the studio, do my job and get home again! I don't look around, don't soak up the atmosphere and don't notice the world whizzing by! I'm totally focused on work and twelve hours later am back home having barely registered I've been to London!
Recently I've spent several days working at the World famous Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, just outside of London. The UK's equivalent to Universal in Hollywood has been a hive of activity with the completion of the new James Bond film "Quantum of Solace" among many other film and TV productions. There have been various rumours that Pinewood were planning a theme park similar to that of Universal Studios in the USA but, despite recent refurb work, I can report that there is no sign of a theme park yet!
A couple of weeks ago I'd finished work at Pinewood for the day, was walking back to the parking lot and passed a group of people attending a "Health and Awareness" Day. Standing out from the crowd with his arm in a sling was James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. The very handsome Mr Craig received a number of injuries while filming "Quantum of Solace" but the sling didn't detract from his wonderful ruggedness! James Bond is a constant presence at Pinewood even when Daniel Craig isn't there: the picture above shows one of the "street" names on the film lot and one of the massive sound stages is actually called the "007 Stage" (you're not supposed to take photos at Pinewood so I had to sneakily take this one with my mobile!).
It's a magical place to visit and I feel fortunate everytime I work at Pinewood Studios. There is nothing quite so bizarre as sitting in the canteen surrounded by actors in full costume and make-up having their lunch! There is a limit to what I can share with you about my voice over work but one of the productions I have been working on starts soon on BBC television and is a fabulous new Dicken's adaption. The world of film and TV is an exciting one but if you knew what went on behind the scenes to produce the finished product then you wouldn't think it was quite so glamorous!
I am planning a big day out sightseeing in London with some friends from Ireland at the end of the month so I'll look forward to sharing that with you. I haven't forgotten my promise of some more London restaurant reviews and other London bits and pieces - they'll all appear soon! In the meantime, feel free to leave your comments or email me at sparklysongbird@gmail.com.
