When I met Jozie in Cardiff last weekend (is it really that long ago already?!) we had a plan! After a visit to the Dr Who experience we were going to spend the rest of the day visiting Being Human locations round Cardiff and Barry. Although I had done this tour before - twice (some bits even more often!) - I was still really excited (that's an understatement...) I hadn't even considered the possibilty that I might get to go somewhere new!
When we got to The Castle Hotel (aka the Ritz pub) the bar was empty apart from a couple of blokes playing poole and after we'd ordered our drinks Jozie asked if she could sit on the bar for some Hal pose pictures. The guy behind the bar was very kind and understanding - as they always have been (lol!) - and then said that the woman who owned the house which they used for Crumbs flat was in the other bar and would we like to talk to her. Oh....I think so!
After chatting to us for a while she asked if we'd like to go and see the house. Oh....I think so!!!
She gave us directions (it's really just down the road) and said she'd see us there in a minute. So for the second time that day we hung around outside a house taking photos and looking suspicious (we'd done pretty much the same at Honolulu Heights).
It's been painted yellow....but strangely the strip of coloured plastic next to the letterbox is still there!!
Inside was a bit disorientating - it seemed really small, and it's hard to imagine how they managed to fit in all of the actors and the crew! But basically it looked pretty much the same. It was actually quite hard to take pics because of the light streaming through the window - they closed the curtains to film. I really wish I'd taken more....but my phone was almost out of charge by this time!
The furniture is all hers, they just moved her tables around, replaced her pictures and personal nic nacs, put some plastic sheeting on the walls, replaced her curtains in case they got splattered (they left the ones used in the filming behind...and she showed them to us!) and smeared some blood around. They also left behind a couple of lamps which they brought with them...one of which was splattered with blood and she apparently only got rid of a couple of months ago!! But she still has this one:
She didn't actually see them filming - she was standing outside in the road (although she did watch them film in the pub - from behind the bar!) but she has got loads of behind the scenes photos...and very kindly said she would email them to me. (She put my email address away in a drawer though, so she may have just forgotten all about it!!)
She was obviously thrilled that we'd gone to see the place and explained where the camera track had been laid down and where Hal and Alex stood when they went out into the hallway, how they closed the road and had makeup tables etc outside.....and lots of other stories (including that they'd turned up with 24 toilet rolls, and because they had to stop filming everytime someone flushed the loo they ended up using a neighbour's toilet!). She even did a Crumb pose in the doorway as we left (...so did me and Jozie - had to be done! though none of us could actually reach the door frame!)
It was brilliant to be able to see inside the house, and she was just lovely - an absolute star!
Ha! Brilliant, I remember Laura speaking to that woman last summer and she offered us the chance to go in during our next visit. No one opened the letterbox and said the line then?!!
I think I may have put my topic in the wrong bit, it'd be better here than in series 5. Oops.
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* pretend there's a hot GIF of Jenna Coleman here :-) *
There were so good pics in her camera, hope she remember to email them!
And yes, they left lots of stuff there cause they didn't need it, and the works to get that stuff out. Owner of the house, said to the them that's is fine.
They actually damaged littlebit the wall paint when they removed the plastic from the one wall and they sent her bucket of paint (first they offered to paint the wall but she said it's fine, cause they have to paint all the walls if they are going to paint something).
She had nothing but good saying about that experience and people, she said they were kind and thoughtful and she was excited that her house was going to be in being human. Which was the reason she watched the show, and said it was great!
And yea, she got nice stuff to remind her that experience, curtains and lamps for example
All the furniture they use was hers, they only bring the lamps, painting, and they did put some stuff on her shelf, but she said it's not showing in the scene.
Thanks for posting your pic of the curtains, Jozie! I'd forgotten that some paint got pulled off her wall and they'd offered to re-paint! But, yes...apparently they were all really lovely, and cleaned her house beautifully (except for one spot of blood on the skirting board. lol) and put everything back as it was before they left.
She did say that she'd met some BH fans before, but when they came back she was on holiday. Lol! I was actually with Laura when she spoke to her - but she obviously didn't recognise me and I didn't like to mention it in case I looked a bit.....obsessive!
It's so close to the pub that it's kinda headcanon for me that the Ritz pub was Crumb's local...
Mikey - the S5 filming topics are all in the S5 sub-forum - I posted this in here 'cos it's where my BH fieldtrip topic from last year is (I did think about adding this post to that thread, but then changed my mind)....don't think it really matters - but if you want domino to move yours in here, I'm sure she'd oblige.
so cool. crossing fingers the lovely owner lady emails those piccies!!!!
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papillon... pamplemousse... bibliothèque... un baiser A lilt in his voice. Every sentence like music... #kisskisskiss A terrible beauty is born. Love me some #Jacksass
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