No Angelic Intervention For Inclement Weather
I just got back a little while ago from the special event organised to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Angel of the North. A few weeks back, a call went out for volunteers to participate in a performance art piece to be filmed as night drew in about the gigantic sculpture. Those of us who were selected made our way to one of three pick-up points (I biked to Gateshead Civic Centre) where coaches brought us out to the Angel itself around half three in the afternoon. Then we were given various seemingly random instructions and told to pretend we were carrying Chinese lanterns (which did eventually make an appearance on the scene), after which a local dance troupe later arrived (kitted out with glowsticks), themselves accompanied by four fire jugglers.
Admittedly, their torches did keep going out before they could finish their dry run (erm, no pun intended), but at least it livened things up somewhat whilst we waited for twilight to descend. There was a general atmosphere of festivity, marred only by the lingering sentiment shared by nearly all present that (since a marquee had been set up to supply tea and coffee), 'would it have hurt them to give us a wee bit of food to go with it, like?'
Oh, and some people weren't particularly keen on the downpour, either, which swept across the heath in waves, driving the assembled under cover of the tents whilst we half-expected the deluge (punctuated here and there by rumbles of none-too-distant thunder) to wash away the support vehicles parked just outside. Every time it died down a little, we'd all dash out and take our positions on the field just beneath the Angel for another practice run with the lights (many of which, being fashioned mostly from paper, turned to mush and had to be replaced).
By the time they were ready to film the Real Deal [tm], it wasn't half muddy and many were the lamentations of 'I should have brought my wellies!' And when the director tried to fine-tune the overall crowd shape to better conform to Angelic proportions (saying 'the Angel looks a bit fat'), I wasn't the only one who laughed and retorted, 'Well, this is the North, after all!' or 'We have a certain reputation to uphold!'
Anyway, with two full runs safely committed to film (and thus the headache well and truly handed over to post-production), we managed to finish more or less on time at ten o'clock. After a quick bus trip back into town, I cycled home in the rain with a lit Chinese lantern swinging from the handlebars, no doubt to the amusement of the two different police cars I saw speed past me on the A185, neither feeling the need to stop and ask any questions.
For the curious, the video (which was shot simultaneously from multiple cameras, including one mounted on an RC helicopter the size of a small motorcycle!) will be aired in late June during the 'official' Angel of the North anniversary celebrations and - unless the organisers were merely having us on - at the Beijing Olympics as well, as part of a series of 'light performances' from around the world. So who knows, you may catch a clip of it someday... and if so, one of those lights was me. (Or, more truthfully, two of them were, as quite a few potential participants were dissuaded by the weather forecast and skived off on the day, so they welcomed anyone who so desired to wield a pair of lanterns to bulk out the numbers as best we could.)
OK, it was fun, but now it's time for a belated dinner and then some well-earned slumber. Ta'ra!
Admittedly, their torches did keep going out before they could finish their dry run (erm, no pun intended), but at least it livened things up somewhat whilst we waited for twilight to descend. There was a general atmosphere of festivity, marred only by the lingering sentiment shared by nearly all present that (since a marquee had been set up to supply tea and coffee), 'would it have hurt them to give us a wee bit of food to go with it, like?'
Oh, and some people weren't particularly keen on the downpour, either, which swept across the heath in waves, driving the assembled under cover of the tents whilst we half-expected the deluge (punctuated here and there by rumbles of none-too-distant thunder) to wash away the support vehicles parked just outside. Every time it died down a little, we'd all dash out and take our positions on the field just beneath the Angel for another practice run with the lights (many of which, being fashioned mostly from paper, turned to mush and had to be replaced).
By the time they were ready to film the Real Deal [tm], it wasn't half muddy and many were the lamentations of 'I should have brought my wellies!' And when the director tried to fine-tune the overall crowd shape to better conform to Angelic proportions (saying 'the Angel looks a bit fat'), I wasn't the only one who laughed and retorted, 'Well, this is the North, after all!' or 'We have a certain reputation to uphold!'
Anyway, with two full runs safely committed to film (and thus the headache well and truly handed over to post-production), we managed to finish more or less on time at ten o'clock. After a quick bus trip back into town, I cycled home in the rain with a lit Chinese lantern swinging from the handlebars, no doubt to the amusement of the two different police cars I saw speed past me on the A185, neither feeling the need to stop and ask any questions.
For the curious, the video (which was shot simultaneously from multiple cameras, including one mounted on an RC helicopter the size of a small motorcycle!) will be aired in late June during the 'official' Angel of the North anniversary celebrations and - unless the organisers were merely having us on - at the Beijing Olympics as well, as part of a series of 'light performances' from around the world. So who knows, you may catch a clip of it someday... and if so, one of those lights was me. (Or, more truthfully, two of them were, as quite a few potential participants were dissuaded by the weather forecast and skived off on the day, so they welcomed anyone who so desired to wield a pair of lanterns to bulk out the numbers as best we could.)
OK, it was fun, but now it's time for a belated dinner and then some well-earned slumber. Ta'ra!