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Dudley on my mind.
Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006
I have to give a massive shout out to all my people in Dudley this week. The Lennys Britain crew were located there working on the FAMILY portion of the show and we had a great time. We shot at Henry Court, which is a nursing home for the elderly.Strangely enough, it was named after my Mother, Winifred Henry, for her services to the community up there. All the way through the filming, Id have these little thoughts of my Mom watching me larking about and thinking Stick to the point Son, youre drifting. The co-ordinator at Henry House is a Parkistani woman called Caroline 5 foot 6 inches of kick ass volume and intention! She doesnt mess around; with a delicate but firm touch she guides the elderly, sick and sometimes demented patients from bedroom to lounge prayer meeting and back again. I met Doreen, quite possibly the sauciest lady of a certain age Ive ever met, who told jokes to the camera that could only be used on BBC3 at 4 in the morning. The whole day was a hoot and If I had to hear Yow Doh remember me do ya? one more time, I think I woulda slapped somebody.
I was gratified to hear lovely feedback about Berrys Way, which went out on Friday night last week people in the Midlands seemed to get it and I am immensely grateful to everyone for being so supportive to my first drama /comedy writing effort, it was really appreciated.
The highlight of the week (and there were many, but this was the best thing) was going to Russells Hall Hospital to the maternity unit and witnessing a water birth. This was brilliant. I have to say big respect to Matthew and Julie who allowed us in the room to film this amazing event. Im not sure why they did it; its such an intensely intimate time of your life. Im sure if I was having open-heart surgery, I wouldnt particularly want Ainsley Harriot and a film crew in the corner watching, but there you go.
Julie was strong, powerful and never stopped questioning the process of childbirth, never stopped saying it hurts and never stopped coping with the pain, even though she thought she wasnt coping. We all cried at the end and I have to add some thing to this Midwives rule. Huge thanks to Toni, and Maria and Holly and Yvonne and everyone at the brilliant Maternity unit at Russells Hall hospital in Dudley (quite possibly the coolest looking hospital in the UK it looks like a Giant I Pod) for letting us come down there this week.
I saw my mates Greg and Mac as well and we managed to have a couple of hours of chat about how we are and what were doing. Gregs writing is coming along and he is performing at the Lamp Tavern in Dudley, reading excerpts from his books and short stories and goes down a storm. Watch the Listings for the Black Country night outs at the Lamp in Dudley they have poetry, and songs and comedy down there and its a good night out. Gregs books are called A Witness for Peace (which is about his Dad) and A Pack of Saftness, (which is a collection of short stories ) both available from Kates Hill Press.
Mac was on very good form, describing the difficulty of driving from the East Midlands with Parkinsons disease of the right arm. He is still in the early stages of the illness, but has had to quit work and take his pension because he was no longer able to function to his usual standard; he had to get a scribe at one point because he wasnt able to write or type for any length of time because of his shaky hands. The stress of having Parkinsons, trying to maintain high quality work and keep body and soul together, eventually got to Mac and he accepted the offer of full pension. Now he works around the house, does pub quizzes and tries to outwit his doctor, who advises him that he can only drink ten units of alcohol a week. I asked Mac where he was up to with this and he said, Im up to June 2009 at the moment So he may have found a way round doctors orders.
I was really moved by the outpouring of affection from the Black Country posse, and I felt very safe up there and loved. So thank you.
Weve got loads of jokes from the Joke Booth although it got a bit lairy in some locations, I think some people thought it was some kind of place where you could go and vent your spleen. Some people got cross cos it was in the way of where they normally went shopping. Some people tried to pick a fight with the cameraman. Some people actually went in there and told their favourite joke some of which are good, some of which are bloody awful.
What do you call a man with a shovel in his head? Dug.
What do you call a man with a seagull on his head ? Cliff.
This is the type of thing were talking about.
However, If you guys think you can do better send some jokes to the website, they can be story jokes, or two line jokes, clean or saucy, and well pick through them and give prizes to the best ones. The Joke booth resurfaces when I start my tour next year. Im very excited about the tour between you and me. Its called WHERE YOU FROM? And it starts at the end of January and it goes right through to April. The poster is being designed by Brian Green of Greendesign and the photos are by Trevor Leighton. Im writing the show at the moment and Im using a lot of my experiences on this documentary as fuel for the show. Its going to be big fun and Im planning on bringing back some characters from So Much Things to Say and maybe even further back. theyre my characters, I can do what I like!
I managed to get my final essay in to the Open University this week. I spent quite a long time on it because I wanted to get it in before I went away filming, so it was filed a week before the deadline I put a lot of work into it and stapled a fiver to each page, so I hope I get a good mark this time.
Its my last year though- so I should get my degree some time next year yee-hah. There will probably be some major drinking to celebrate this..
Hey, Big love to you guys Im gonna nip off now and have a cup of tea.
Len. October 2006
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