Extra!

Lfish being on the small side (for our family at least) when a film company needed a child over 9 to play the role of a child under 8 she seemed a good candidate, especially as she comes with her own costume. We had to go through the various steps of applying for a performance licence and I had to go along with her as chaperone, with the added advantage that this meant I could also be an extra and play the role of her nursemaid, which she found very reassuring. We had a very early start (especially after a not-very-early night!) as we had to be on the road shortly after 4:30. Partway there we hit heavy fog which meant that we arrived a little later than planned, but it seemed not to be a problem – and in fact since I had travelled in kit and Lfish is used to getting in and out of hers quickly we made up the time very quickly – and then sat and waited for a few hours before the filming (due to start at 7:30 to catch the first of the daylight) began at about 10. “Should be over by lunchtime” which we had interpreted as “lunch might be late” proved to be overly hopeful, even with our proviso 😆 as the first scene we did involved both animals and children and took several takes, but things got faster after that and the afternoon all went very smoothly – helped along by the fading daylight! The film is of the life of John Wilbye; I had to look him up, but Lfish recognised the name immediately and said that they had sung some of his work at choir, including the madrigal which gives the film its title: Draw On, Sweet Night – which Lfish describes as “It’s lovely music but the words – he’s basically saying he wants the night to come so he can curl up in a ball under the duvet and whinge.” 😆
We got home just after tea and both retired to bed almost immediately after a long and full day. It was fun though, and I think both of us would happily do it again – as, I’m sure, would any of the other children given half a chance!