Come to Bedlam!
in [UK Mac]
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From: Ian McCall on 5 Jun 2010 06:55 On 2010-06-05 11:22:37 +0100, T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> said: > On Sat, 5 Jun 2010 10:31:00 +0100, Ian McCall <ian(a)eruvia.org> wrote: > >> >> That's an area of the world I know very well due to multiple visits to >> Portmeirion over the years., just over that bridge and then to the >> right (assuming you're leaving Porthmadog). > > Ah, never been there and I can't remember following 'The Prisoner' > much back then (which I assume is how it became famous?). Once over > the bridge we tended to stay that side and didn't quite see all we > wanted at that. As Rowland says, it was already very well known by the time The Prisoner was shot, and Clough-Ellis was originally reluctant to allow it to be used. It's varied since between heavily promoting that aspect and also very much toning it down. Last I went, they were in a 'toning it down' phase although there was still a shop devoted to it. Not the original fan-run shop though, a more professional affair. > >> The bridge has been >> widened slightly I believe - used to be great 'fun' driving a wide'ish >> car over there whilst caravans came the other way, and I've seen plenty >> of times when that bridge was closed by two coaches trying to cross >> each other's paths - the resulting reversing nightmares could take a >> very long time to sort out. > > I can imagine. Luckily being on motorbikes meant we didn't tend to be > affected by that sort of thing, unless they are actually stuck > side_by_side etc. Stuck side by side. You'd have had no chance, bike or no bike. When it happens, they have to close the road and reverse everybody back out. That's one of the other things the toll people do, or at least did, every so often. >> >> Toll - I thought the bridge was toll-free these days? > > Oh it could well be, I'm going back quite a while now. I still have some Rebecca tickets - that bridge is Rebecca Bridge and this is why: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/politics_rebecca_riots.shtml> Cheers, Ian
From: Jim on 5 Jun 2010 07:00 Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > > Ah, never been there and I can't remember following 'The Prisoner' > > much back then (which I assume is how it became famous?). > > Portmerion being famous is why they shot The Prisoner there[1], not the > other way round. They also shot one episode (that I know of) of 'Danger Man' there. Jim -- "Microsoft admitted its Vista operating system was a 'less good product' in what IT experts have described as the most ambitious understatement since the captain of the Titanic reported some slightly damp tablecloths." http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/
From: Ian McCall on 5 Jun 2010 07:03 On 2010-06-05 12:00:23 +0100, jim(a)magrathea.plus.com (Jim) said: > Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > >>> Ah, never been there and I can't remember following 'The Prisoner' >>> much back then (which I assume is how it became famous?). >> >> Portmerion being famous is why they shot The Prisoner there[1], not the >> other way round. > > They also shot one episode (that I know of) of 'Danger Man' there. Yep, it's how McGoohan knew the area. It's been used for lots over the years - Doctor Who, Six Feet Under (which I haven't seen but was the current TV craze last time I was there), I think there's been an Avengers...not sure about the rest. Blythe's Spirit was written there, but I don't think any of the film adaptations used the location. Cheers, Ian
From: Jim on 5 Jun 2010 07:08 Ian McCall <ian(a)eruvia.org> wrote: > On 2010-06-05 12:00:23 +0100, jim(a)magrathea.plus.com (Jim) said: > > > Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > > > >>> Ah, never been there and I can't remember following 'The Prisoner' > >>> much back then (which I assume is how it became famous?). > >> > >> Portmerion being famous is why they shot The Prisoner there[1], not the > >> other way round. > > > > They also shot one episode (that I know of) of 'Danger Man' there. > > Yep, it's how McGoohan knew the area. It's been used for lots over the > years - Doctor Who, Six Feet Under (which I haven't seen but was the > current TV craze last time I was there), I think there's been an > Avengers...not sure about the rest. > > Blythe's Spirit was written there, but I don't think any of the film > adaptations used the location. I keep intending to visit but never seem to quite get around to it. Jim -- "Microsoft admitted its Vista operating system was a 'less good product' in what IT experts have described as the most ambitious understatement since the captain of the Titanic reported some slightly damp tablecloths." http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/
From: Rowland McDonnell on 5 Jun 2010 07:41
Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: > Ian McCall <ian(a)eruvia.org> wrote: > > > jim(a)magrathea.plus.com (Jim) said: > > > > > Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > > > > > >>> Ah, never been there and I can't remember following 'The Prisoner' > > >>> much back then (which I assume is how it became famous?). > > >> > > >> Portmerion being famous is why they shot The Prisoner there[1], not the > > >> other way round. > > > > > > They also shot one episode (that I know of) of 'Danger Man' there. > > > > Yep, it's how McGoohan knew the area. It's been used for lots over the > > years - Doctor Who, Six Feet Under (which I haven't seen but was the > > current TV craze last time I was there), I think there's been an > > Avengers...not sure about the rest. > > > > Blythe's Spirit was written there, but I don't think any of the film > > adaptations used the location. > > I keep intending to visit but never seem to quite get around to it. Try to be there when the tide is out. Go on and walk on those sands you saw McGoohan running around on - brill. The first and only time I've visited, I was driven by a chap who grew up in N. Wales. 90mph down /those/ roads - eek! I just sat there, trying to be calm and telling myself that he was in fact a reliably safe driver. Honest, he was[1], I kept telling myself. It's a lovely part of the world in any case. Civilised. Unlike bloody Lancashire or Merseyside - and the Welsh aren't any more stuck-up than the Cheshire set, which is the other option round here. Rowland. (with his misanthropist's hat on) [1] Really he was, or I would not have responded like that. He knew the roads - terrifyingly large stretches of tiny Welsh A roads seemed to be etched into his brain, he knew exactly what was round each corner, *even when it was an on-coming truck*. <shrug> -- Remove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell(a)dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking |