A week or so ago we noticed quite a lot of activity going on in one of the houses that faces the front of our house.
This activity continued for about a week. A luton van, with several men on board, would pull up in front of the house, unload lots of furniture which the men would then take inside the property.
Initially we didn't think too much of this, as there are always people moving in and out of the houses in this area, it is a very common and regular sight.
The only thing that struck me as slightly out of the ordinary, was that the furniture didn't seem to be what we'd expect for the properties here, the style seemed a bit wrong, and also the fact that the van made so many visits. Usually people just move into a house in one go, one day, and it's all done and dusted.
Anyway, trying to stay on track with this blog post, the van came every day for about a week, and then nothing, no sign of any people living in the house.
Once again, we didn't think too much about that because living here we find ourselves saying, ''only in the colliery...'' very often. By which I mean, nothing surprises us about what happens here, it is without doubt the maddest place either of us have ever lived.
Oh the things I have seen in the colliery.......
Right, so, back to what I was saying; lots of furniture moved into a neighbouring property over the period of several days, and then nothing, no activity, no people, nothing.
Then one bright and early morning we went out as we always do to walk our dogs in the open fields just a minute away from our house.
There is a tarmac road leading to a small car-park, and then from there people can wander everywhere, across the fields, around the coastal path, or even down onto our little beach.
On this morning the gate that very rarely closes the entrance to the tarmac road and the car-park was shut.
We didn't think much of this, because the gate has been closed a few times since we first moved here.
So we just went about our usual walk with the dogs. And the same on that evening, and the following morning and so on, until.......
The dogs wandering why lots of strangers had taken over the car-park
One morning the car-park, which had been out of use for a few days by this time, was more or less full of vehicles. There were a few trucks, several caravan trailers, lots of cars, a mobile toilet block, and even a double-decker bus.
It was obvious that there was a film crew here. Obvious because the double-decker bus had writing on it, something along the lines of, '
Bristol Film and Television Solutions...'.
So we now knew that there was going to be some filming taking place here in the colliery.
That's nothing new for this place, as parts of the film
Billy Elliot were shot here, as was
Grim up North,
Secret Millionaire, and
Benefits Street.......
Vera, (Brenda Blethyn), in her characters trademark mac and hat, knocking on the from door
It wasn't until we spoke to a neighbour that we knew what was being filmed here. Vera.
Yep, the excellent ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera Stanhope had come to the colliery to film.
You wouldn't believe the numbers of times this washing was moved by one of the film crew.
It was hung up, taken down, and moved around on various washing lines in the street - millions of times (only a slight exaggeration)
Neither me or Mr.R are particularly interested in what famous people are like in real life, so we weren't about to become all sychophantic, but we were quite excited by everything that was going on in the colliery because it was such a refreshing change for something positive to be happening here.
Vera (Brenda Blethyn) hot-footing it to the front door (she's between the Landy and the white van)
Anyway, after we'd spoken to our neighbour and found out that Vera was what the film crew were shooting here, it wasn't long before things began to get very busy. Well, busy for the colliery, as usually it is lacking in people, and vehicles on the roads, but now there were lots of vehicles driving around the back streets, and parking here and there, and there were more people wandering about in one day than we'd usually see in a week. It all felt very different.
Rigging for the lighting ready to shoot the interior scenes
One morning this week, bank holiday Monday, we heard some noise outside, not loud disturbing noises, just cars parking, and people talking etc.
We looked out of the living room window, and what did we see?
We saw a Land Rover parked opposite our house, and lots of people milling about.
Then we saw Brenda Blethyn.
Busy busy busy, preparing the lights etc. to film the interior scenes
I'm not just saying this because I'm writing a post about Vera, but Brenda Blethyn is my favourite English actress, I think she's wonderful. In fact she's not only my favourite British actress, she also happens to star in my favourite film, by Mike Leigh - Secrets & Lies.
So, yeah, one minute me and Mr.R were happily sitting here messing about online, the next we were sitting on the sofa looking out of the living room window watching Brenda Blethyn, as Vera Stanhope, walking up to one of the houses opposite our house, and then knocking on the front door.
That was one scene, another scene that we watched being filmed, involved the Land Rover. Vera, Brenda Blethyn, drove into the top of the road, parked the Landy, got out and then knocked on the front door.
The director was obviously very specific about what he wanted because the Land Rover was going up and down the road for hours. Brenda Blethyn would drive into the road, get out of the Landy, then she'd drive off down the road, then she'd have to reverse back up the road for the scene to be shot again. And this went on for a long time.
Brenda Blethyn, as Vera Stanhope, wearing her trademark mac and hat
Just sitting watching Brenda Blethyn getting in and out of the Land Rover made me feel tired.
This scene took ages to shoot. Poor Brenda Blethyn, she must have been tired, having to keep repeating the same thing over and over and over again.....
It took all day for the director to be finished with these two scenes; the knocking on the front door, and the driving of the Land Rover to the property.
At least the sun made an appearance on this day - preparing for the interior scenes
The next day Brenda Blethyn and the film crew were shooting further down the road, filming the interior shots in another house.
I know that's how things are done in the film industry, but it seems like they enjoy making more work for themselves. Using two houses, which are the same, to film two different scenes, one inside the property and one outside.
I know why they chose to use the house, which is more or less opposite our house, for the exterior scene, it's because it looks awful, really run-down and in a serious state of disrepair.
And judging by the fact that that house has a big hole in the roof, I'm sure it wasn't a suitable property to use for the interior scene. So thats why they chose to use the house further down the street. It's obviously in a better condition inside.
The film crew are lucky there are so many empty properties here, they were able to take their pick, and choose the best houses for their needs.
If you've ever watched an episode of Vera you'll know that it is grim in appearance.
And speaking of grim, a couple of days after filming had started, we spoke again to the neighbour who'd originally told us that it was Vera that was being filmed here in the colliery. He said he'd spoken to Brenda Blethyn and told her that they should film somewhere nicer than here. Brenda Blethyn replied that this was the right place. Gritty and full of character is what's needed for ITV detective drama Vera. Hahaha!
White blobs on the bottom right, vehicles where some of the film crew slept overnight -
not a bad place right by the sea...
Right, I think that's enough rambling from me.
I hope it makes sense, well, some kind of sense anyway. I've been awake since 4am today, and my poor tired brain is having trouble keeping my muddled thoughts in order.
The photos I've included are not excellent shots, because they were shot through the window, or from a long distance away. We didn't want to intrude, or interrupt Brenda Blethyn while she was busy working.
We always enjoy watching Vera, but when the new series starts we shall be watching with even greater interest to see how our area appears on screen.
Do you watch Vera, the ITV detective drama?
Are you a fan of Brenda Blethyn?
Do you wish you lived in an ex-mining colliery town in the North of England? Hehehe!
