My cleavage is sunburnt and that's Bradley's fault.
So, after returning from Dubrovnik very late on Wednesday, I dragged myself to St. Pancras very early on Thursday and after a small hiccup with obtaining coffee, got on the Eurostar with jhava, lucky_jack and londinensa and emerged in Paris a bit over two hours later. From there it was a train to Compiegne and then a hired car...I won't get into the details but that last bit became a tiny bit complex and long winded...anyways, some time after midday we finally arrived at Pierrefonds!
Where we ooohed and aaahed at the castle and the sheer size of it before entering Camelot Village and then walking through the gate in front of the castle where we could spot a fight going on. It was Bradley's stunt double Mike and another stunt guy being filmed having a fight with maces. We watched them for a good while - admittedly hoping a bit that the real Bradley would show up at some stage - but even without him it was very exciting to see what was going on.
Eventually though we decided to explore the inside of the castle which is everything as grand as it looks like in Merlin. I grinned at the lady at the cashier when she told me in an apologetic voice that it was reduced entry fee because some parts were not accessible because of the filming...we didn't really mind! Turns out that the part we didn't get to see was the dungeons because that's were Katie was filming, and eventually we spotted her coming out and walking across the courtyard, grinning and waving at us when she saw us sitting on the stairs.
We were well into the afternoon by that time and getting very hungry and tired, and it seemed that there was not much more filming going on - well not where we could see it anyway - so we decided to call it a day and go for some food. We'd started to receive text messages asking about Colin who was said to have add an accident - now neither Katie nor Johnny Capps who we'd seen strolling about had shown any signs of distress so we assumed that whatever it might have been could not have been a serious thing - and anyway there was no way we could find out anything so we drove back to our lovely little hotel in a village close by and had some refreshing drinks and eventually crashed into bed.
On Friday we were at the castle bright and early and as we'd suspected the filming of the fights had been resumed...only as we came closer we saw that indeed Bradley was now part of it! And as if that wasn't good enough news, right as we arrived he TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF and changed into his battle gear. What a start to the day...I muttered as much which amused on of the extras standing close by greatly...oops! (And before you ask...no pictures. None of us had a camera ready yet and we decided to just enjoy the view rather than scramble in our bags...and a nice view it was!).
Shortly after jhava had a quick chat with one of the filming crew and enquired about Colin - and was told that he was ok - which was a big relief. And even bigger relief when the man himself arrived on the set a few minutes later. Moving a little bit stiffly but looking good and smiley as he walked inside the castle.
We, however, stayed outside for the next few hours and watched Bradley fight with quarterstaff, sword, and mace. He would do sequences of movements for a couple rehearsals first (sometimes the stunt guys demonstrated a particular sequence before he got into it) and then there would be a couple of takes for the camera. Let me tell you, the boy is damn fit. I've done boxing training and I know how tired you get after one hour only, and how you start forgetting the sequence of moves you are supposed to be doing as you get tired. Bradley was at it all day long, with only a short lunch break, and by the evening he was still moving elegantly and doing his little twirls that I love so much, even though he looked utterly tired. Amazing. And some of the stuff looks rather scary - particularly the maces! We'd seen the stunt guys doing it wearing helmets the day before and I'd assumed there would be no helmet-less scenes with the maces but I was wrong. Also...if you see someone in a helmet it's not always the stunt double - Bradley did quite a number of the fight scenes himself as well. It was good to see that the stunt team looked after him really well - making sure he knew his moves, and that the mats were in the right place when he had to fall onto the floor.
We also learned that Bradley is not really a morning person - he was decidedly grumpy for the first couple of hours but eventually woke up and was all smiley and happy - he smiled and waved at us when he spotted us checking him out from across the moat! And when he got back from his lunch break and got out of the car, he saw us sitting on a wall close by and walked over to us to say hi (asking "So what brings you to Pierrefonds?" with a cheeky grin and with absolutely no irony in his voice whatsoever ;-) ) and chatted with us for a view minutes. How sweet was that? He said he loved the fight scenes, even though it was a tough workout, because it was more fun for him than the "wordy" stuff. And we chatted a bit about the castle, and he asked whether we were enjoying ourselves (I think we might have answered yes to that one).
He's a charmer, that one.
More fight scenes, and all the while the sun was shining down on us - hence the sunburnt cleavage (and face) but we weren't complaining. As evening came, the extras were moved from the area where they had been standing to provide a backdrop to the fighting, to the actual grandstand (which in reality is not very grand at all - ah the wonders of TV!)...and then Tony, Katie and Angel arrived. Some of the main fight sequences were repeated to get their reaction shots - most of the fighting done by the stunt guys so Bradley got a little break - that is until he was driven off somewhere else for an hour, presumably to film another scene. But we got great views of Tony who was in great form, Katie and her cross stitching, and Angel. And there was a guest that we hadn't expected but I will post that separately as it's a spoiler!
They were still at it when we left at a quarter to eight because we were cold and tired - god knows how long they were still filming - Camelot Village was blocked off so they might well have shot some night scenes there. But we decided we'd had a really great day seeing all of the main cast with the exception of Richard so we really couldn't complain!
And after a celebratory glass of champagne and a seriously nice dinner in our hotel, we fell into bed, exhausted but happy fangirls.
Saturday was spent exploring the area - we figured if we made the trip we might as well do some touristy bits - and saw some lovely little villages and impressing abbey ruines and cathedrals. And Sunday it was back home...another long story involving the rental car but everything got sorted and we got onto Eurostar in time (and armed with more champagne) to get home. And yes, I'm still grinning like a loon!
Well. Shall I post some pictures then?
Arthur gets dressed
Why, no, I'm not a morning person
Doing some magic with the staff
A prince needs to stay cool at all times.
And have pretty hair.
Slowly waking up.
Here we go.
Meanwhile, Morgana has been shopping.
Merlin doesn't seem impressed...
...even though he did get a banana!
Arthur gets some action with the staff...
*cough*
...the sword...
...and the mace.
Uther and Morgana share a joke...
..which has Morgana in stitches. Erm, stitching.
Uther on his phone...
...to Morgana?
Why hello, Gwen.
Why so serious?
Our prince is tired...
...and dirty.
Please don't repost or hotlink...thanks!
Where we ooohed and aaahed at the castle and the sheer size of it before entering Camelot Village and then walking through the gate in front of the castle where we could spot a fight going on. It was Bradley's stunt double Mike and another stunt guy being filmed having a fight with maces. We watched them for a good while - admittedly hoping a bit that the real Bradley would show up at some stage - but even without him it was very exciting to see what was going on.
Eventually though we decided to explore the inside of the castle which is everything as grand as it looks like in Merlin. I grinned at the lady at the cashier when she told me in an apologetic voice that it was reduced entry fee because some parts were not accessible because of the filming...we didn't really mind! Turns out that the part we didn't get to see was the dungeons because that's were Katie was filming, and eventually we spotted her coming out and walking across the courtyard, grinning and waving at us when she saw us sitting on the stairs.
We were well into the afternoon by that time and getting very hungry and tired, and it seemed that there was not much more filming going on - well not where we could see it anyway - so we decided to call it a day and go for some food. We'd started to receive text messages asking about Colin who was said to have add an accident - now neither Katie nor Johnny Capps who we'd seen strolling about had shown any signs of distress so we assumed that whatever it might have been could not have been a serious thing - and anyway there was no way we could find out anything so we drove back to our lovely little hotel in a village close by and had some refreshing drinks and eventually crashed into bed.
On Friday we were at the castle bright and early and as we'd suspected the filming of the fights had been resumed...only as we came closer we saw that indeed Bradley was now part of it! And as if that wasn't good enough news, right as we arrived he TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF and changed into his battle gear. What a start to the day...I muttered as much which amused on of the extras standing close by greatly...oops! (And before you ask...no pictures. None of us had a camera ready yet and we decided to just enjoy the view rather than scramble in our bags...and a nice view it was!).
Shortly after jhava had a quick chat with one of the filming crew and enquired about Colin - and was told that he was ok - which was a big relief. And even bigger relief when the man himself arrived on the set a few minutes later. Moving a little bit stiffly but looking good and smiley as he walked inside the castle.
We, however, stayed outside for the next few hours and watched Bradley fight with quarterstaff, sword, and mace. He would do sequences of movements for a couple rehearsals first (sometimes the stunt guys demonstrated a particular sequence before he got into it) and then there would be a couple of takes for the camera. Let me tell you, the boy is damn fit. I've done boxing training and I know how tired you get after one hour only, and how you start forgetting the sequence of moves you are supposed to be doing as you get tired. Bradley was at it all day long, with only a short lunch break, and by the evening he was still moving elegantly and doing his little twirls that I love so much, even though he looked utterly tired. Amazing. And some of the stuff looks rather scary - particularly the maces! We'd seen the stunt guys doing it wearing helmets the day before and I'd assumed there would be no helmet-less scenes with the maces but I was wrong. Also...if you see someone in a helmet it's not always the stunt double - Bradley did quite a number of the fight scenes himself as well. It was good to see that the stunt team looked after him really well - making sure he knew his moves, and that the mats were in the right place when he had to fall onto the floor.
We also learned that Bradley is not really a morning person - he was decidedly grumpy for the first couple of hours but eventually woke up and was all smiley and happy - he smiled and waved at us when he spotted us checking him out from across the moat! And when he got back from his lunch break and got out of the car, he saw us sitting on a wall close by and walked over to us to say hi (asking "So what brings you to Pierrefonds?" with a cheeky grin and with absolutely no irony in his voice whatsoever ;-) ) and chatted with us for a view minutes. How sweet was that? He said he loved the fight scenes, even though it was a tough workout, because it was more fun for him than the "wordy" stuff. And we chatted a bit about the castle, and he asked whether we were enjoying ourselves (I think we might have answered yes to that one).
He's a charmer, that one.
More fight scenes, and all the while the sun was shining down on us - hence the sunburnt cleavage (and face) but we weren't complaining. As evening came, the extras were moved from the area where they had been standing to provide a backdrop to the fighting, to the actual grandstand (which in reality is not very grand at all - ah the wonders of TV!)...and then Tony, Katie and Angel arrived. Some of the main fight sequences were repeated to get their reaction shots - most of the fighting done by the stunt guys so Bradley got a little break - that is until he was driven off somewhere else for an hour, presumably to film another scene. But we got great views of Tony who was in great form, Katie and her cross stitching, and Angel. And there was a guest that we hadn't expected but I will post that separately as it's a spoiler!
They were still at it when we left at a quarter to eight because we were cold and tired - god knows how long they were still filming - Camelot Village was blocked off so they might well have shot some night scenes there. But we decided we'd had a really great day seeing all of the main cast with the exception of Richard so we really couldn't complain!
And after a celebratory glass of champagne and a seriously nice dinner in our hotel, we fell into bed, exhausted but happy fangirls.
Saturday was spent exploring the area - we figured if we made the trip we might as well do some touristy bits - and saw some lovely little villages and impressing abbey ruines and cathedrals. And Sunday it was back home...another long story involving the rental car but everything got sorted and we got onto Eurostar in time (and armed with more champagne) to get home. And yes, I'm still grinning like a loon!
Well. Shall I post some pictures then?
Arthur gets dressed
Why, no, I'm not a morning person
Doing some magic with the staff
A prince needs to stay cool at all times.
And have pretty hair.
Slowly waking up.
Here we go.
Meanwhile, Morgana has been shopping.
Merlin doesn't seem impressed...
...even though he did get a banana!
Arthur gets some action with the staff...
*cough*
...the sword...
...and the mace.
Uther and Morgana share a joke...
..which has Morgana in stitches. Erm, stitching.
Uther on his phone...
...to Morgana?
Why hello, Gwen.
Why so serious?
Our prince is tired...
...and dirty.
Please don't repost or hotlink...thanks!