Prismatic Reflection

Many Happy Returns..........

................... 21 Years In the Village.

   Continuing my look back at Prisoner re-enactments performed and organised at Prisoner conventions at Portmeirion. Well we're up to 1995 now, and the re-enactments my wife and I organised were human chess match, but not the election parade, well we did that last year, and once you've done it, you've done it. And nothing could top the election parade re-enactment of 1994. But the human chess match, well so many people wanted to be involved that someone had to actually sit on the chess poles which were required for pieces who had lines to say, the white Queen, the white Queens pawn, a black Bishop, and black pawn. sit on the chess poles because people used to go crazy to be on the chessboard. One person even telephoned me one time, while we were organising re-enactments, telephoned me to ask if I could reserve the Kings pawn for him, so that he could stand on the chessboard next to me! I was the white Queens pawn, and my wife Morag the white Queen-No.8.

   For the first time Morag and I performed an indoor re-enactment in the Hercules hall on the Friday evening of the convention, the scene from ‘Arrival’ where No.6 tells the maid to "Get out!" and smashes the loudspeaker under foot.

   This is Mr. X standing on the chessboard at the 1995 Prisoner convention, posing for photographers. Why? Well for the first time a new re-enactment was staged, the boxing match between Mr.X and the Polish giant "Killer" Kaminski. I played the role of Mr.X, and my step son Simon was the "Killer," and the boxing ring set up on the chessboard, along with hundreds and hundreds of people watching the boxing bout. Which was being filmed and photographed from all angles, by members of Six of One at the convention, and day visitors to Portmeirion alike, everyone enjoying the spectacle. This was the first time this re-enactment had been performed before at Prisoner conventions, and in future conventions would see further "first time" re-enactments. Morag and I also organised re-enactments of the "Touring Village Theatre." A series of re-enactments which take place on location around the village, such as on the Belvedere Outlook on top of the cliffs, with No.6 listening to his radio. With myself as No.6, and Morag as No.2, and Isobel. Smith as the Observer-No.240. And yes I did stand on the edge of the Outlook as Patrick McGoohan had in the same scene in ‘Dance of the Dead.’ Someone said "You're not going to stand up there are you?" "Of course, otherwise the re-enactment wouldn't be right." There was a sheer drop from where I stood. Other re-enactments of the Village Touring Theatre for Morag and I was a scene from ‘Checkmate’ when No.8 was following No.6, catching him up at the Bandstand.

    Next time 1996……………..Be seeing you