A Gypsy’s Tale!

    Gypsy woman “Who’s your friend?”

    1^st gypsy man “I dunno, I was walking Rufuss, and he just followed me.”
    “What Rufuss?”
    “No, him!”
    “Well get rid of him!”
    “Why do I have to get rid of him?”
    “You’re a lazy good for nothing. I’m expected to do everything around here! Go and tell him to sod off!”

    2^nd gypsy man “He looks like trouble to me!”

    Gypsy woman “Who asked you?”
    “No-one, but I thought I would tell you anyway!”
    “He’ll expect to be fed!”
    1^st gypsy man “When there are barely enough Hedgehogs to go round this time of the year as it is!”
    Gypsy woman “What are you talking about?”
    “Hedgehogs.”

    2^nd gypsy man “He looks like an escaped prisoner. He could be the Hastings strangler!”

    “No the Police caught him last week.”
    “Well there you are then, he’s escaped!”
    “He looks like an illegal immigrant just got off the boat!”
    “Or worse, he might be Irish!”

    Gypsy woman “You two, you talk like a lot of gossiping old women!”
    1^st gypsy man “Well give him some hedgehog broth and tell him to p!*** off!”

    “What and get myself strangled?”
    “If only you would!”
    “We might get some peace then!”
    Gypsy woman “Greech ato brea, get dormea. Tella yag. Gottcha gits acadormea.”

BSEENU

Observers Report

    It has been suggested by some, in the annals of appreciation for ‘the Prisoner,’ that The Village is located somewhere at the end of the A20, somewhere near London {I am well aware that I have covered this aspect before}. However The Village could be just as easily located at the other end of the A20, somewhere near Dover. This interpretation transpired because of the way the Scammell lorry crashes through the pair of wrought iron gates at the end of the tunnel, with the country road appearing to lead directly to the A20.

   Equally, on that basis, and working by the same rule, in the opening sequence when we see the Prisoner driving at speed along that deserted runway, and the way he then drives onto and across Westminster Bridge, that would have to make the runway somewhere in the City of Westminster!!!

BCNU

6 Private

    In producing the arthouse film ‘Village Day,’ I was lucky enough to be able to use a re-construction of the interior of Number 6’s cottage. The construction had been a labour of love for one Pam B in Wallasey, and work began in 1994, the interior of ‘6 Private’ was in the attic of Pam B’s house. Her artistic flair enabled Pam to paint back-drop views of Portmeiron on the walls outside the cottage door and windows.

    The décor, fixtures, furnishings, and fittings were all crafted by Pam, and emulated Clough Williams Ellis in creating features ‘trompe l’oeil’ to fool the eye. Such as a vase painted on a shelf, outdoor scenes at the windows, and the whole panorama eventually filled the far wall. A mural on a raised section through the revised arch incorporated furniture, the futuristic lamp, as well as the kitchen, and a glimpse of Number 6’s bedroom. Although if memory serves there were eventually painted out and a large face of Patrick McGoohan drawn on the wall. Hence filming for the film could take place in one direction.

   Pam being very adept at recycling, adapting discarded items, such as tables being cut in half to create coffee tables, and wardrobes were reinvented as folding screens. An original telephone from 1967 was procured, and other appropriate ornaments and objet d’art were collected or fabricated.

   The re-construction of the interior of Number 6’s cottage eventually became something of a shrine to members of Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation Society, who felt that they simply had to pay a call on Number 6! In order to help authenticity Pam had recorded music, and dialogue which was played back over a sound system in the cottage. 

  So that as you sat in the cottage and listened, you could hear the regular Brass Band concert, or the speeches during The Village election for example. Most certainly when you first walked into ‘6 Private’ you actually thought you were in Number 6’s cottage, and that he might come walking in at any moment. And I am proud to say that my wife and I were able to add a three dimensional aspect to Number 6’s cottage with a number of re-enactments of various scenes from ‘the Prisoner’ episodes, which Pam filmed and produced on her video ‘Toys In The Attic.’ 

     However Pam B’s interests turned from ‘the Prisoner’ as she wanted to give her attention to other projects, one being with a local theatre company, and needed the attic space for other things. So Number 6’s cottage was eventually demolished.

Be seeing you

Oh Dear!!!!!

           Wot! No blog!!!!

BCNUSOON!

Quote For The Day

    “Soon Roland Walter Dutton will cease to exist!”
                                              {R. W. Dutton - Dance of the Dead}
    Did Dutton foresee his own death when he made that statement to Number 6? There was eventually a termination order set against him. More likely Dutton could see that the doctor would go to any lengths in extracting information from a subject. But Dutton had told him all he knew, the only trouble was the doctor didn’t believe Dutton. And another point would be, that in his enthusiasm for human experimentation, the doctor never knew when to stop! It may be supposed that whoever issued that termination order against Number 42 {Dutton} and presumably it was Number 1, that he underestimated the doctor having gone too far with Dutton. Yes the doctor had left Dutton one of those brainwashed imbeciles we are told about by Number 6. But not physically dead, but perhaps he would be better off that way. Dutton’s is a living death, in a nightmare world!

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More Village!

    Newcomers to The Village. They just got off the bus in The Village, they‘ve arrived, but then they got on the bus in The Village in the first place. The woman finds that just the craziest thing. In fact she’s extremely excited about being in The Village, and while on the bus she wonders if Two will be there?  The mother of the two children may be ecstatic about being in The Village, bit look carefully at the boy’s expression….he doesn’t appear that happy to be there. Perhaps he knows something his mother and sister doesn’t.
   Later this newcomer is busy painting the fence of her new home, as more and more Village is constructed. She is overwhelmed to see Two in the street. Two and his son have come to see how the construction work is coming along. The Newcomer wants Two’s autograph, so he takes the paintbrush the woman is holding and paints 2 on her overalls, much to the woman’s high delight.
    The more Village that is constructed, the less Village becomes. As it is The Village is more a metropolis than a village, perhaps it should be called The Metropolis, or The City. No, The Metropolis has more of a ring to it. 

Breathe in….breathe out….More Village
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It’s Not Right, Its All Wrong And You Know It!

    What’s all wrong? The fact that the Supervisor-Number 28 didn’t know it wasn’t Number 6’s birthday when he read out that birthday greeting to Number 6 from 113. Perhaps like Number 6, the Supervisor was a Jammer, he could have been jamming! Except all the Supervisor did was to read out the message Number 6 sent to himself. No, the Supervisor was loyal, and not a Jammer. If he was guilty of anything it was simply not having read Number 6’s file, so not knowing when Number 6’s birthday was. And why should he? What was wrong, was the way Number 6 had Number 26 removed from his position as Supervisor. Mind you, Number 26 had been reinstated by the time of that affair of ‘It’s Your Funeral.’ Or on the other hand, if according to the production, or library film order of ‘the Prisoner, it would have been ‘A Change of Mind’ instead of ‘It’s Your Funeral.’
    It is only a trivial point, but then there is nothing more important than trivia. Have you observed how they gave numbers to microphones? In scenes in both ‘The General,’ and ‘Hammer Into Anvil’ when the TV anchor man begins the programme prior to the Professor’s lecture, and when the Supervisor is reading out the birthday greeting to Number 6, in both cases there is a round numbered badge attached to the microphone!!!

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