My trip to London (Bond-related)
jscarlett
Posts: 51MI6 Agent
I've been away from the forum tending to the real world, but I thought this might make up for it....
Dateline, Reading, England -- Spent the weekend in London on a layover for meetings in Reading. Geeked out something fierce. On Saturday, I went to Planet Hollywood. On Sunday, I went to a cookout at the home of Kevin the proprietor of 007-Q Branch.com. Kevin is a great guy with a lovely family, and I appreciated his hospitality. Accompanying me was my friend Chris who worked as a senior model maker on the set of Casino Royale. On Monday, Chris took me to visit Shepperton and Pinewood Studios to tour the lot and to meet some of his friends, with whom we had lunch, drinks and dinner. Among them were Bill Pearson, another well known model maker on CR, and Steve Begg, who was the visual effects supervisor on the film. They were a lovely bunch, and if you didn't look them up on IMDb you might not know they all had such stellar industry credentials, because they were all so low key and gracious, and indulgent as I struggled to feign nonchalance in their presence.
It was quite a pilgrimage for this Bond fan, and I invite you to see my photos of the trip here.
Sorry to engage in such shameless namedropping, but I'm still starry-eyed....
John
Dateline, Reading, England -- Spent the weekend in London on a layover for meetings in Reading. Geeked out something fierce. On Saturday, I went to Planet Hollywood. On Sunday, I went to a cookout at the home of Kevin the proprietor of 007-Q Branch.com. Kevin is a great guy with a lovely family, and I appreciated his hospitality. Accompanying me was my friend Chris who worked as a senior model maker on the set of Casino Royale. On Monday, Chris took me to visit Shepperton and Pinewood Studios to tour the lot and to meet some of his friends, with whom we had lunch, drinks and dinner. Among them were Bill Pearson, another well known model maker on CR, and Steve Begg, who was the visual effects supervisor on the film. They were a lovely bunch, and if you didn't look them up on IMDb you might not know they all had such stellar industry credentials, because they were all so low key and gracious, and indulgent as I struggled to feign nonchalance in their presence.
It was quite a pilgrimage for this Bond fan, and I invite you to see my photos of the trip here.
Sorry to engage in such shameless namedropping, but I'm still starry-eyed....
John
Comments
~Pen -{
mountainburdphotography.wordpress.com
Next time you're over let's meet up.
Paul
Congratulations on such a wonderful trip!!!!
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
Paul,
Sorry we didn't make the connection. I do hope to get together next time, which I hope is before the summer. Kevin speaks very highly of you, and I know that you are an enthusiastic and serious collector. If your business or leisure travel ever takes you to the Washington, D.C. area, please call on me.
John
Many thanks! It was a trip to remember.
I don't know. Are you trying to pin down a specific item? We could always ask....
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Glad you liked 'em. Can't wait for Bond 22 and hoping my friends get the job next time, too....
If they do, they promised that I could spend a day on the set helping them do "gofer" work and odd jobs. Color me there!
cheers
Just to correct you on one aspect though: the "verdant area" is actually Green Park, Hyde Park would have been to your right. The second photo gives you a lovely view into Buckingham Palace's "back yard"!
Thank you, mate. Obviously, I'm a rank tourist. And I need to learn more about your lovely country.
Cheers,
John