Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

I am biased.

Ever since I saw Douglas Bader’s pass to get out of Duxford with the destination Red Lion at Whittlesford it just seems the place to be.

It certainly isn’t a gourmet foodies paradise. But the mixed grill comes on an aluminium platter about the size of the ‘Close Encounters’ mother ship and is piled with industrial quantities of dead animal.

Then there’s the Adnams!!!!

Downside?

Difficult to find anyone on the staff who speaks English, and it can have a vague aroma of fried food hanging around.

I too spent my pre-wedding night there with some good chums. I love it!

Moggy

And the blow-up Stearman is or isn’t yours Ashley?

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

And Moggy…is the food good at the Red Lion? Believe it or not, despite living in Duxford and driving past the pub most days, I have never actually eaten/drunk there…Mr Ashley’s family stayed there the night before our wedding and said it was very good…

I wonder how many of us they could cram in on Jan 5th?! 😉

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

Sorry Moggy, I never did make it to the “south” side on Wednesday…spent the morning sorting out films to be sent to London, and the afternoon frozen solid up at our Nitrate film vaults at Ickleton…you think Duxford gets cold, believe me, Ickleton gets colder!

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

Yep! that’s what we like; straight to the point, no messing!
We sneeze in the face of tact & diplomacy :+

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

Oh boy – was it COLD!

Arrived about 0900 and spent some time trying to collect everybody together before leaving a spare care in the visitors car park then wandering down to the Guardroom to be issued with our very official looking visitor passes with ‘Film Crew’ written on them (This was actually a stills shoot, but I didn’t disillusion anyone)

Quite a bright day with some broken cloud at about 1,000 ft and the sun breaking through once in a while. Nothing airside bar a Yak that seems to have taken up permanent residence just west of the control tower and a Boscombe Andover with some kind of tech problem.

Got everyone started on an exterior in front of the AAFM

Went off to Royston to collect some stuff for a later shot.

By the time I got back the models were on the control tower roof and FREEZING. Went to the caff, ordered up soup and sausage rolls, picked uop tab for 100 quid plus – reckon we were the biggest contributors to the IWM yesterday (Including the location fee)

Went and had a word with TFC – got superb help from the lovely Jane Larcombe who went out of her way to facilitate the work we were doing by organising a barter deal that won us their MkV Spitfire as a prop. Even better we shot this in the hangar, so stayed relatively warm.

Then over to the Officers Mess, more pics, finally to the Red Lion at Whittlesford for the Adnams, mixed Grill and toe-warming log fire.

Would have been the perfect end to a hectic day – where it not for the fact that the spare car was firmly locked in the car park so we wound up driving around the totally pitch dark airfied – eerie experience – so that security could release it.

Thanks IWM.

Moggy

Never did catch up with Ashley.

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

“Inflatable plaything my “

Sorry Ashley – Isn’t the blow-up Utterley Butterley Stearman yours?

Moggy

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 10-12-02 AT 04:36 PM (GMT)]I am volunteering for the onerous task of warming up the models – ( err, the female models I hasten to add :))- and official bacon butty taster.

RE: Duxford – Wednesday 11th Dec

Inflatable plaything my a**** 😉 I’ll look out for you Moggy 🙂