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arthur_of_the_britons) wrote2022-10-14 02:30 pm
arthur_of_the_britons) wrote2022-10-14 02:30 pm
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Arthur of the Britons 50th Anniversary Event: Day 1
Friday 14 October
At about 2:30, I went down to the dining area, got a coffee, and sat waiting for other fans to arrive, with my Arthur of the Britons annual and various other related items on display.
It took a while for me to notice that some of the group were there already! Dan, who I’d met once before, with his author wife, Janet, along with Steve, Jonathan, and David, who are mainly Robin of Sherwood fans. Steve, Jonathan, and David had met Oliver Tobias and his daughter Jelly at the most recent RoS convention.
I explained to the RoS fans that I stopped watching “Robin of Sherwood” because I didn’t like the way they water-boarded Guy of Gisborne, and left him there, being continuously ducked, and laughed about it. I said they should have just killed him! Steve made a weighing motion, saying “waterboarding … or killing him” … He had a point! But I just can’t see Arthur doing something like that.
As the afternoon progressed, some others arrived. Carole, Mark - who was at the first of these get-togethers with Oliver – and his girlfriend, Akvile; Linda and Jane, who had also been to a number of AotB events, then Phil and Julie.
Then Oliver Tobias and his daughter, Jelly, arrived, so I went out to meet them. Oliver asked how many people were coming, and whether he had met any of them before, particularly remembering Mark, who was the only chap who had been at the 2010 event. I mentioned Linda and Jane, and Mark and Akvile. I also told Oliver about Wendy – Michael Gothard’s adopted sister – who was coming to join us on Sunday.
Oliver spoke about Michael – saying that he was “very closed off”, and described him as “dangerous”, but “very kind.”1 He spoke about passing out with his head in Michael’s lap, after being hit by the spear, and waking up with a gold cross swinging above his head and a blond “angel” (an Irish nurse) looking down at him, saying “Oliver, Oliver …” and thinking he was in heaven. “No, you’re in Bristol Royal Infirmary.”
He said that before being hit with the spear, he had felt or heard a roaring sound in his head, which he took to mean that he was pushing too hard, and which he regarded as a warning, and which - since then - he has heeded.
I told him I’d been thrown over a horse’s neck and landed on my back the other way round, wearing a riding hat but no body protector. Oliver pointed out that they never wore riding hats. He said, “You have to fall off” if you are learning to ride a horse!
Despite my request – ratified by Oliver - that no edged weapons be brought into Wookey Hole by the participants, Oliver himself had brought a sword with him!
I left them to settle in, and went back to the restaurant, to find that Christine had arrived from Germany. I was expecting María José, from Spain, but had seen no sign of her. Reception told me that she had got here 2 hours ago. When she came down, she said she had been traveling from her home in Spain for 36 hours; when she got to Wells, her phone died, and she couldn’t find the bus station, so she walked all the way here. They make them tough in Zaragoza!
Tim, an actor friend of Mark’s, arrived on his motorbike. Martin also appeared – he’d asked me to organise the previous meet-up, but had not shown up, himself!
The group discussed Kai’s tunic, which he wore first in "The Last Valley", and then in "Arthur of the Britons"; we were wondering whether the two shows had used the same wardrobe supplier. Mark said that actors would often walk off a set with their costumes, so Michael had probably brought it with him to AotB. I mentioned that the tunic had later shown up in the Tenpole Tudor video for their track, "Wunderbar", and Mark said, “I know Eddie Tenpole!” I still hope to find out what subsequently happened to it. Actually, what I said was, “I would kill for that tunic!”
After the evening meal, Oliver and Jelly came and sat with us, and Oliver and Linda spent some time laying into the Tories - Jacob Rees-Mogg was a particular target - "the type I rebelled against, years ago" Oliver said. He advised us never to trust a politician who constantly does the two-handed gesture (as though playing a concertina) because they are trying to persuade you with lies.
I confirmed with Oliver and everyone else, that the following day, we would meet downstairs at 9:30 to sort out lifts, and then go to Black Rock Quarry.
1 Per Dan: Oliver said that Michael was a volatile man: dangerous and unpredictable, which made him a blessing as an actor, and was his curse. He said people like Ray Winstone were pretend hard men; Michael was the real deal.
At about 2:30, I went down to the dining area, got a coffee, and sat waiting for other fans to arrive, with my Arthur of the Britons annual and various other related items on display.
It took a while for me to notice that some of the group were there already! Dan, who I’d met once before, with his author wife, Janet, along with Steve, Jonathan, and David, who are mainly Robin of Sherwood fans. Steve, Jonathan, and David had met Oliver Tobias and his daughter Jelly at the most recent RoS convention.
I explained to the RoS fans that I stopped watching “Robin of Sherwood” because I didn’t like the way they water-boarded Guy of Gisborne, and left him there, being continuously ducked, and laughed about it. I said they should have just killed him! Steve made a weighing motion, saying “waterboarding … or killing him” … He had a point! But I just can’t see Arthur doing something like that.
As the afternoon progressed, some others arrived. Carole, Mark - who was at the first of these get-togethers with Oliver – and his girlfriend, Akvile; Linda and Jane, who had also been to a number of AotB events, then Phil and Julie.
Then Oliver Tobias and his daughter, Jelly, arrived, so I went out to meet them. Oliver asked how many people were coming, and whether he had met any of them before, particularly remembering Mark, who was the only chap who had been at the 2010 event. I mentioned Linda and Jane, and Mark and Akvile. I also told Oliver about Wendy – Michael Gothard’s adopted sister – who was coming to join us on Sunday.
Oliver spoke about Michael – saying that he was “very closed off”, and described him as “dangerous”, but “very kind.”1 He spoke about passing out with his head in Michael’s lap, after being hit by the spear, and waking up with a gold cross swinging above his head and a blond “angel” (an Irish nurse) looking down at him, saying “Oliver, Oliver …” and thinking he was in heaven. “No, you’re in Bristol Royal Infirmary.”
He said that before being hit with the spear, he had felt or heard a roaring sound in his head, which he took to mean that he was pushing too hard, and which he regarded as a warning, and which - since then - he has heeded.
I told him I’d been thrown over a horse’s neck and landed on my back the other way round, wearing a riding hat but no body protector. Oliver pointed out that they never wore riding hats. He said, “You have to fall off” if you are learning to ride a horse!
Despite my request – ratified by Oliver - that no edged weapons be brought into Wookey Hole by the participants, Oliver himself had brought a sword with him!
I left them to settle in, and went back to the restaurant, to find that Christine had arrived from Germany. I was expecting María José, from Spain, but had seen no sign of her. Reception told me that she had got here 2 hours ago. When she came down, she said she had been traveling from her home in Spain for 36 hours; when she got to Wells, her phone died, and she couldn’t find the bus station, so she walked all the way here. They make them tough in Zaragoza!
Tim, an actor friend of Mark’s, arrived on his motorbike. Martin also appeared – he’d asked me to organise the previous meet-up, but had not shown up, himself!
The group discussed Kai’s tunic, which he wore first in "The Last Valley", and then in "Arthur of the Britons"; we were wondering whether the two shows had used the same wardrobe supplier. Mark said that actors would often walk off a set with their costumes, so Michael had probably brought it with him to AotB. I mentioned that the tunic had later shown up in the Tenpole Tudor video for their track, "Wunderbar", and Mark said, “I know Eddie Tenpole!” I still hope to find out what subsequently happened to it. Actually, what I said was, “I would kill for that tunic!”
After the evening meal, Oliver and Jelly came and sat with us, and Oliver and Linda spent some time laying into the Tories - Jacob Rees-Mogg was a particular target - "the type I rebelled against, years ago" Oliver said. He advised us never to trust a politician who constantly does the two-handed gesture (as though playing a concertina) because they are trying to persuade you with lies.
I confirmed with Oliver and everyone else, that the following day, we would meet downstairs at 9:30 to sort out lifts, and then go to Black Rock Quarry.
1 Per Dan: Oliver said that Michael was a volatile man: dangerous and unpredictable, which made him a blessing as an actor, and was his curse. He said people like Ray Winstone were pretend hard men; Michael was the real deal.