Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Snow
After spending a night in Honfleur, northern France, and then a rather long morning trying to get the jeep out of a very tight parking place! ...we headed south to Roanne. Where we have had the jeep suspension done and a few other bits and pieces. We have been staying with Pierre`s father and last night visited his sister and her boyfriend (the mechanic) and had quite a wild night there! So while we waited to get the jeep back we have had plenty of time to recover from that! We are now about to head further south towards the Pyrenees where Pierre`s mother lives and where we can pick up our satellite phone. But would you believe it...it has been snowing there today. We thought we would be heading south and into the sun. So with the floods in Africa and the snow in France, who knows what tomorrow will bring....exciiiting!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Leaving!
I almost dare not write this entry but it looks like we are ready to leave. I bought a new bike...a Honda Trans Alp 600 cc. Its lovely and I actually feel more comfortable on it than the last one...at least my feet touch the ground!
We got back the jeep from the mechanic yesterday, in working order, the roof rack was fittted expertly by the lads, shelf unit in the back fitted, and a brief practice to see if belongings fitted in.
A few adjustments on the bikes, Palli and I packing til 2am and a few more items to get this morning but after this blog i will and book the ferry across to France......and we are off!!
Yippee!!!
Send out all your good thoughts x
We got back the jeep from the mechanic yesterday, in working order, the roof rack was fittted expertly by the lads, shelf unit in the back fitted, and a brief practice to see if belongings fitted in.
A few adjustments on the bikes, Palli and I packing til 2am and a few more items to get this morning but after this blog i will and book the ferry across to France......and we are off!!
Yippee!!!
Send out all your good thoughts x
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Haukur skrifar
I don't have an Icelandic keyboard so for now I shall blog in English since Icelandic written in the English alphabet looks silly.
Just over a month ago I arrived in England and lived with Palli in his theatre company's flat in Eastbourne, East Sussex for the first two weeks. I recorded a few of the Rude Mechanical Theatre Company's shows in August and we started the principal photography for our feature film, Courier, on the 16th of August. After the last show of the season we moved to London to live in a micro-studio apartment in Stockwell, between a Portuguese Deli which made delicious chicken and had a barbecue going all day and night, and a Jamaican barber which specialised in dreadlocks and braids. Our windows opened to their backyards, they provided no view but we could smell the flaming barbecue and listen to reggae all day.
The shoot in England was successful though we had a few setbacks, mostly with the jeep breaking down, first on the M23, the day we bought the Land Rover, my first day on the English motorway. The engine mysteriously slowed down and choked halfway from East Sussex to London and I had to maneuvre the jeep from the central lane to the edge of the road. I walked a few hundred feet away to look for a sign, holding the camera bag. Then I decided to document what was happening since we are also making a documentary. As soon as I had the camera in hand a police car came to inspect me. I assured them I was a tourist and showed them the Land Rover, they were quite suspicious of me and my story until I told them I was Icelandic, then they just smiled and shook their heads.
After four hours standing on the side of the motorway the car dealer came smiling and called the AA, some mechanic came ten minutes later and fixed the car in five minutes. Apparently some wire was loose in the engine.
The next week the central locking failed and it can't be locked manually but that is all being sorted at the moment.
But at least we managed to shoot the motorcycle chase in downtown London without any police interference or major accidents. We shot it from countless angles, from street corners, from the back of Palli's CBR and from a Vespa (belonging to Gisli Orn Gardarsson) which Gotti, Pallis friend, was driving in front of Ricci and Palli. Ricci Harnett is an actor who is starring in a film called The Rise of The Foot Soldier and was premiered the day after the chase in 150 cinemas in England. He was still eager to do his own stunts just for the heck of it. He and Palli were both couriers, working for a company called One for the road, about seven years ago.
So we were in high spirits on the last day of shooting last sunday, on our way back from London to Bexhill where we're now staying when badabingbadaboom the head gasket blew and eventually Palli and I left the Land Rover south of London and rode down on his bike. The next day Palli got some recovery company to move it to the mechanic in East Sussex but the recovery vehicle funnily enough broke down, then Palli joined the AA but they said they couldn't get there until three hours later so he drove south again to negotiate with the car dealer, then the AA called and said they'd be there in fifteen minutes, Palli went back and then they were gone, then eventually an AA man came on a small van. Palli was disappointed and said: I envisaged a big lorry which could carry the jeep in the back and the AA man retorted: Well I envisaged this would be a great job, but it ain't. So he towed the jeep with Palli inside all the way south, then Palli and Caroline went back on her bike to pick up his bike and then badaboom as you've heard, she was hit by this Peugeot.
So we've been lucky in a way since we're all right but from another point of view we've had a few disasters and we haven't even left England yet, which counts as bad luck I would think. But fall er fararheill as we say where I come from.
So we will probably leave England on Saturday, will keep you posted.
Haukur Valdimar Palsson
Just over a month ago I arrived in England and lived with Palli in his theatre company's flat in Eastbourne, East Sussex for the first two weeks. I recorded a few of the Rude Mechanical Theatre Company's shows in August and we started the principal photography for our feature film, Courier, on the 16th of August. After the last show of the season we moved to London to live in a micro-studio apartment in Stockwell, between a Portuguese Deli which made delicious chicken and had a barbecue going all day and night, and a Jamaican barber which specialised in dreadlocks and braids. Our windows opened to their backyards, they provided no view but we could smell the flaming barbecue and listen to reggae all day.
The shoot in England was successful though we had a few setbacks, mostly with the jeep breaking down, first on the M23, the day we bought the Land Rover, my first day on the English motorway. The engine mysteriously slowed down and choked halfway from East Sussex to London and I had to maneuvre the jeep from the central lane to the edge of the road. I walked a few hundred feet away to look for a sign, holding the camera bag. Then I decided to document what was happening since we are also making a documentary. As soon as I had the camera in hand a police car came to inspect me. I assured them I was a tourist and showed them the Land Rover, they were quite suspicious of me and my story until I told them I was Icelandic, then they just smiled and shook their heads.
After four hours standing on the side of the motorway the car dealer came smiling and called the AA, some mechanic came ten minutes later and fixed the car in five minutes. Apparently some wire was loose in the engine.
The next week the central locking failed and it can't be locked manually but that is all being sorted at the moment.
But at least we managed to shoot the motorcycle chase in downtown London without any police interference or major accidents. We shot it from countless angles, from street corners, from the back of Palli's CBR and from a Vespa (belonging to Gisli Orn Gardarsson) which Gotti, Pallis friend, was driving in front of Ricci and Palli. Ricci Harnett is an actor who is starring in a film called The Rise of The Foot Soldier and was premiered the day after the chase in 150 cinemas in England. He was still eager to do his own stunts just for the heck of it. He and Palli were both couriers, working for a company called One for the road, about seven years ago.
So we were in high spirits on the last day of shooting last sunday, on our way back from London to Bexhill where we're now staying when badabingbadaboom the head gasket blew and eventually Palli and I left the Land Rover south of London and rode down on his bike. The next day Palli got some recovery company to move it to the mechanic in East Sussex but the recovery vehicle funnily enough broke down, then Palli joined the AA but they said they couldn't get there until three hours later so he drove south again to negotiate with the car dealer, then the AA called and said they'd be there in fifteen minutes, Palli went back and then they were gone, then eventually an AA man came on a small van. Palli was disappointed and said: I envisaged a big lorry which could carry the jeep in the back and the AA man retorted: Well I envisaged this would be a great job, but it ain't. So he towed the jeep with Palli inside all the way south, then Palli and Caroline went back on her bike to pick up his bike and then badaboom as you've heard, she was hit by this Peugeot.
So we've been lucky in a way since we're all right but from another point of view we've had a few disasters and we haven't even left England yet, which counts as bad luck I would think. But fall er fararheill as we say where I come from.
So we will probably leave England on Saturday, will keep you posted.
Haukur Valdimar Palsson
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
**?!!*?"*!?**?!!**
Just when you think things cant get any worse...they do! The jeep finally got road rescued yesterday afternoon from London, but the rescue company did not bring a proper pick-up truck so Palli had to leave his bike there and steer the jeep while being towed back to Bexhill. (Thats after the first companys' pick- up broke down on their way to the jeep!) So at about 7.30pm last night Palli and I both set off on my bike to collect his bike. On our return journey about 100 metres after setting off, each on our own bikes, a **!!!??*** arsehole in a car pulled out of a side road right infront of me and I smashed into the side of him, did a perfect somersault over the handlebars and head butted the tarmac.
After giving the driver a barrage of insults (i even swore in Icelandic at him) the police came, i checked myself over at A&E (a few bruises & sores) got my very smashed up bike rescued and rode back to my Dads.
So one bike and one jeep down, the adventurers are licking their wounds and wiping away tears to face another day in England.....
After giving the driver a barrage of insults (i even swore in Icelandic at him) the police came, i checked myself over at A&E (a few bruises & sores) got my very smashed up bike rescued and rode back to my Dads.
So one bike and one jeep down, the adventurers are licking their wounds and wiping away tears to face another day in England.....
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Delayed
We have postponed the departure for a few days...some problems with the jeep..some parts that we need have not turned up and then today Palli, Haukur and Pierre went up to London to sort out a few things and the engine over heated on the motorway...ooops, hoping it makes it back tonight to get it to a mechanic first thing in the morning. Also, Palli and I were changing the oil and oil filter on my bike last night, which was all going extremely well until Palli used a bit too much excertion tighting the last screw back on and snapped it in half...half stuck in the hole...so now my bike needs a mechanic too! We are now planning to leave Tuesday evening but we shall have to see how long the repairs will take....hey ho...its all part of the adventure...isn't it??!! Keep smiling xx
Sunday, September 9, 2007
At last!
Finally, here it is as promised the african blog! So much to tell already and we havent even left for Africa yet. Palli had a great summer working on the tour around southern England of 'Five Get Famous' I spent most of the summer staying with my sister and her family in Twickenham, which has been wonderful to spend so much time with my family for a change, I have also been doing various temp jobs..receptionist work mainly. Palli and I both bought our motorbikes for Africa earlier in the summer, a Honda Africa Twin for Palli and a Honda Dominator 650 for me. I have been practising alot to get my confidence up...it needed boosting especially after dropping it 3 times on the way home from buying it. No bones broken luckily, only the bike mirror. The bike is very tall and heavy but I am getting used to it and I'm sure it'll be no problem to ride through the deserts and jungles now...ha ha ha !!
So with our jobs over and after much producing and planning (and quite a few dramas, sleepless nights and the flu) and Haukur arriving we began filming 'Courier' . Its been going really well, everyone has been very supportive, we've found great actors & locations and we are all excited about how its looking so far....and we've not even been in trouble with the police once...yet! Many moments though of standing on streets, or wizzing through central london on the motorbikes, hoping not to get noticed. It amazing how inconspicious we have all become...always on the look out for those men in uniform. So we have 3 more days of filming to go, then 4 days to concentrate on getting ready for the trip and then we're off.....we have the jeep, Pierre arrived last week and Magga will join us here in the UK next friday. Can't wait!
So with our jobs over and after much producing and planning (and quite a few dramas, sleepless nights and the flu) and Haukur arriving we began filming 'Courier' . Its been going really well, everyone has been very supportive, we've found great actors & locations and we are all excited about how its looking so far....and we've not even been in trouble with the police once...yet! Many moments though of standing on streets, or wizzing through central london on the motorbikes, hoping not to get noticed. It amazing how inconspicious we have all become...always on the look out for those men in uniform. So we have 3 more days of filming to go, then 4 days to concentrate on getting ready for the trip and then we're off.....we have the jeep, Pierre arrived last week and Magga will join us here in the UK next friday. Can't wait!
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