An RA viewer's perspective ...

I'm going on an Adventure - following the footsteps of St Cuthbert ... but also Uhtred & Monet

“Lindisfarne is said to be ‘a thin place’ – a place where the gap between heaven and earth seems almost bridgeable”

Over the past 18 months I have been in training to do a long distance walk in the UK. St Cuthbert's Way is a 100km trek that starts at Melrose and finishes at Holy Island (Lindisfarne). St Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk who started  his ministry at Old Melrose, and later followed in the footsteps of St Aidan to become prior of Lindisfarne. Cuthbert travelled widely (known as one of the Striding Saints), visiting people in remote areas, and he also spent much of his time by the sea. Legend has it that sea creatures such as seals and otters were unafraid of him and came to him for a blessing. Whilst on Lindisfarne, he became famous for his saintliness and healing powers. The life and progress of Cuthbert provided inspiration for the walking route, and it has been on my "bucket list" for many years.

People who know me are familiar with my line of work and my interest in the physical preparation actors have to commit to, in order for them to prevent injury in the roles they play. RA has recently shared quite a lot of information on this topic, and I have been particularly interested in this given not only the work I do, but the preparation I have had to put in, in order to be strong enough (hopefully) to complete the Way. We leave on Monday for Edinburgh, and start walking on Saturday week.

All going well, we will arrive at Lindisfarne after seven days (St Cuthbert used to walk the route in three!!). We will then explore a little part of Northumberland before flying to the west country in England. We finish our trip in Paris where I hope to do a Monet tour. It only occurred to me recently that not only was I looking at St Cuthbert's life, but I was also going to be visiting locations for three of RA's works - namely Edinburgh where some scenes of North & South were filmed, Bamburgh Castle, namely Bebbanburgh, Uhtred's Castle; Durham, where St Cuthbert is buried (also Dunholm in Lords of the North); and finally hopefully Monet's Garden .

The photos above were taken on a driving trip in 2006. I had no idea I would revisit part of this area on foot. (Nor did I know of RA's existence as an actor until a year later).

 

...... in which there is a happier ending than before. RA in Sydney

I managed to remain awake today through work, but it was tough. Thankfully the children I saw kept me from drifting off .... 

We left home yesterday at 2.30pm and I was almost sure I would be turning back at the half way point in the journey and giving up as we were running late, thanks to work commitments and the traffic out of our city was bad. The sun was shining however, I took up the challenge, and kept driving.

I was quite tempted to ask Mr M if he would try the video option on my camera so that some of you could watch part of our trip and get an idea of our environment. Obviously, this didn't happen, and we listened instead to a podcast on Radio National's "Life Matters" entitled "What makes a Life Worth Living?" with social researcher Hugh Mackay. I rather thought that this was an appropriate topic for me given the (out of sensible proportion) disappointment I had felt after Wellington (and I still berate myself for sweating the small stuff, believe me) and my ambivolence in attending another fan function for fear of further disappointment. There are so many many big issues to worry about ... so why was I being so idiotic? After giving myself a few inner lectures about my attitude, I finally convinced myself that the Q&A with RA would be just like going to see a play. If we were late and up the back, so be it.... hopefully we would see a bit of him on stage. If we were too late for the Q&A, then we would turn back home. I knew there would be no signing, and I knew that I was not the sort of person to push myself forward should there be an autograph/photo opportunity anyway. So. suitably chastened, and in what I thought to be a "correct" state of mind, I drove towards Sydney.... Cremorne, in fact.

The sun shone, the traffic was good to us, and I found a parking spot a block away from the theatre, all within 2.15hours!! We arrived at 4.45pm, in fact. Mr M and I both needing to wash our hands, decided to go to the theatre (a lovely venue) to make use of their facilities. I covered up my Smaug themed T-shirt to avoid embarrassment - my Orcrist on chain is easy to hide; my Smaug asleep in The Lonely Mountain shirt is more conspicuous and I was not ready to "out" myself! Tickets were collected by us, and the Popcorn Taxi ladies were quite surprised we had driven all the way down for the event. (I guess I had wondered the same thing, but heck, RA may never be in this country again, so there was one chance to see him "live" and this was it ....think "play"/"theatre", Mulubinba).

After a fairly fruitless search for a decent cup of tea, we decided to head up the stairs to the theatre entrance only to find a fairly harrassed attendant ushering us to the end of one very long queue headed by a very large bunch of RA fans. Mr M and I joined the end of the queue (down a fire escape), and we sat on the stairs waiting for the time when the doors would be open. I recalled another time of waiting to see RA, and it brought back all the memories of the waiting in Courtney Place on 28th November 2012.  Move on, Mulubinba!!!!!!

The good thing about queues is that you often end up chatting to your fellow queuers ... this is what we did. There were also the very Irritating Queue Jumpers to contend with ... a problem when a gig like this has non allocated seating.

Once seated, I practised taking a few shots with my new camera (with 20x focus). There were two seats on the stage and Mr M had chosen our seats which were located along the front of the middle section of seating. His rationale was that we needed to be comfortable to see the movie (so therefore not at the front), and that if RA was to enter the theatre by one of the two exits to either side of us, we might be able to get a photo. He was correct, of course. RA did enter the theatre through the exit on the left, but they had turned the lights down so he was impossible to photograph.

Prior to RA's entry however, the manager of Popcorn Taxi came out to give us some house rules on behaviour. He then asked for the people whose names he was about to read out, to raise their hands. There were a couple of names of fans I recognised and while I was wondering what the heck they were on the list for, I suddenly heard my own name.   One of the Popcorn Taxi ushers came over and gave me what felt like a piece of paper. Was it the question I had sent in? 

No, it wasn't ......... It was  this ... !!! 

A photo signed by RA ..... apparently an acknowledgement of the travel we undertook to get there!! I was/am totally thrilled, as they were only given to a few of us!! It will be treasured!

Now for the Q&A. As I stated in my post last night, RA was eloquent, charming, relaxed and he answered the questions with great intelligence. There was so much discussed, that I think it would be best to wait for the official video footage to come out from Popcorn Taxi. I also managed to get some great photos, some of which I will post here, and the rest I will put in an album in the sidebar.

RA gave us a good 40 minutes or more of his time. He received a standing ovation at the end, and he then, in turn, applauded the audience. I could see the professional actor in him.

He went to leave by the same exit he had entered, but at the top of the stairs there was some sort of mix up and he had to be ushered (very quickly, I might add), past us to the exit opposite. There were of course the minority of fans who decided they would try to follow him, but the ushers were too good at their job, and he was gone in a flash. It was all very well organised.

Enough from me!! Photos!!

More in an album.

THANK YOU RICHARD ARMITAGE FOR GIVING US YOUR TIME!!

Believe in happy endings!

A standing ovation for Richard Armitage in Sydney

It's 2.00am and I need to be at work at 8.00. I promise to post more about the Q&A but here is a pic. I've quickly chosen for you. (We were in the middle of the theatre but my new camera has done a good job getting a close up). 

Suffice it to say that RA was charming, eloquent, interesting and appeared very relaxed.

Guy's revenge

Vasey: "Your ladies have all deserted you, Gisborne. Thorin Oakenshield has usurped you .... BUT .... I have a plan.... While the ladies are distracting him, you will make all haste for Erebor. Defeat that dragon and bring the treasure back to me! am I making myself clear?!"

Guy: "I can't believe my ladies could all be so fickle! They've all gone to see this Thorin Oakenshield. I'm not sure this new idea of Vasey's is a good one though ...."

Sydney - put your best foot forward ... RA is here! Loud applause warranted!

So RA, "My Favourite Actor in all The World" has landed in Sydney - thanks to Alice Tynan, a film critic and writer, who managed to interview him this morning and posted a pic on her twitter site here.

Perhaps he is even now admiring the Opera House as we did a few weeks ago. Believe it or not, this photo was taken from the ferry to Cremorne Point - little did I know that RA would be making an appearance at the Hayden Orpheum in Military Rd when we travelled on this ferry, although I confess that I always hoped he would make the trip and be charmed, as we are, with Sydney Harbour. We keep returning to it, and even celebrated a "significant" wedding anniversary by having a picnic under a tree in the Botanic Gardens and seeing The Hobbit at Sydney IMAX at the beginning of the year.

At this point in time, I have managed to reschedule my work so that I can leave after lunch to drive down from home to Sydney. I dread the traffic, and the crowds, but I am now of the opinion that I may not get another chance to applaud RA on stage, and applause is what he deserves for giving us so much joy and entertainment over the years through his work. 

(I hope he brings a little of Harry with him ...... ).

Watch this space - I will endeavour to use my camera (flash and video prohibited) to see if I can zoom in on the stage. I hope we get a good view as we will be probably the last to arrive at the theatre given our time restraints. I also hope he wears casual clothes, and that it is a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

Loud applause and a receptive audience is what I wish for him.

  

MTA: Yellow roses will be particularly visible in the audience on the evening of May 1st. Why?

I need chocolate!!!!

From: Mulubinba@RAViewersPerspective.com

Subject: Need Advice/I need chocolate! (From Mulubinba … not spam!)

Date: 24^th April 2013 21:20:00AEST

To: H.Kennedy@dibleyvicarage.com

Dear Harry,

OMG, I need chocolate and a counselling session with you and Geraldine!! I'm sure Geraldine has had to deal with working out church rosters and now I have had the misfortune of trying to do a Church altar servers' roster. After six hours of working out who wanted respective roles every Sunday, a young man has emailed me to say I had misinterpreted his (very ambiguous) availability which means the whole thing has to be redone!!!  There is even a form to fill out that clearly outlines dates and times to be ticked or crossed, but no, I just get an email saying "I can serve whenever you like excluding 2nd June, up until July "  You think you have problems working with Alice and Hugo ... they're easy in comparison!!!

I also wanted to ask Geraldine the following question: If she had the chance, would she go to see her favourite actor in all the world for 40 minutes on stage? That is, if she had to leave her work early and drive 3 hours to the venue, and 3 hours back on the same evening so that she could be home in time for an early start (I guess morning Service) the next day? Also, the favourite actor, (whose photo and signature in a certain book has been something she's wanted for ages), is reportedly not signing or meeting the audience.

 MTA: To illustrate his ability to disappear, here is a blurry picture taken just minutes after my favourite actor raced out of the cinema at the Premiere of his new movie.

Can you see anything? The guards had things well under control, and my fave actor in all the world raced out before the audience had started to leave, jumped into a car and sped off .... 

I'm not sure I can repeat this fan experience, but his signature would look nice somewhere on this page, don't you think?

  ...... and pigs will fly if I could even get it close enough for him to sign.  It's ANZAC Day tomorrow, but the Army of a different kind will be out in force on the evening in question, and many intend not to watch the movie but to race out after our fave actor's appearance on stage, so that they can catch him on the way out of the theatre. I'm not sure I could quite do this, but I wonder if Geraldine would ..... ? (You won't remember this, but Geraldine, when she spotted you walking off in the distance, raced down a hill, and in her hurry, pushed passed four walkers who were in the way. ..... Maybe some of my fave actor's fans will do the same at the theatre?)

(Better not tell her I took this photo of her ... she may not be quite pleased!!) 

I wish it was you, Harry, as you would stop and talk to us just as you stopped to talk to Geraldine that day.

Oh well, I will only make up my mind to go at th elast minute, especially if I don't receive your wise counsel. (Yes, I know Fitzg said that you said I should go, but did you really mean it?)

On another subject, (off topic from church rosters and my favourite actor in all the world), we leave in four weeks time for the UK in order to walk St Cuthberts Way. Weren't you interested in doing that? I seem to remember Geraldine saying you could walk, and she would drive and meet you at the Inns along the Way!  (In the bar ...lol!!). Unfortunately we won't have time to visit you both in Dibley this trip as my sister has other plans for us. You don't think you could meet up with us in Northumberland, do you? 

I hope to hear from you soon .... tell Geraldine that the chocolate is beckoning me, diet or no diet!! 

xx

Mulubinba  ......... (Eating chocolate, breaking diet, annoyed at church rosters, longing for fave actor's autograph but too shy to get it  )

PS: Can you believe my fave actor in all the world is coming here? Harry - you'd really like it here too ... Just to encourage you to think about a visit, I'm sending a recent photo ...

The Hobbit Richard Armitage Live On Stage! « Popcorn Taxi

The Hobbit Richard Armitage Live On Stage! « Popcorn Taxi.

What should I do ???????? It means a drive of 3 hour (or more) there and three hours return in order to get back for an 8.00am start at work. (Would also have to take an afternoon off work .... thinking of a plausible excuse). 

FanstRAvaganza 4. Harry's Story Pt 4 ...

Thank you to the creative person who has made the FanstRA banners for us!

This is the second part to my post for FanstRA4 as promised. There are many blogs participating this year - please follow this link to find all the posts.

In the email he sent yesterday (my time), Harry attached a portion of a diary written by him during the dark times prior to, and up to and including, his first meeting with Geraldine. He finishes with a cutting from "The Times". (I guess we can fill in the gaps by watching the series). You can find Harry's Story Parts 1,2,3 linked in my first FanstRA4 post.

DIARY ENTRY – HARRY KENNEDY  July 14^th – Sept 15^th 2006

Written on the advice of Rosie, who thought it would help to write my feelings down … (And I always do as my sister tells me!!).

14^th July 2006: So it’s all finally over …. the investigation, the endless questions, the intrusion into my work and personal life. It’s all in the past … or should be. Denise – the memory of what we had hurts more now I have been exonerated than when I first discovered she had unwittingly embroiled me in her old company’s wrongdoings. I don’t feel any resentment towards her, just this deep pain and sense of loss. Was what we had so meaningless to her? It’s over now – all of it.  It is tempting to search for her, find her, be with her… but there is no point. What there was between us is irretrievably lost. It’s time to move forwards, wherever ‘forwards” is.

29^th July: Staying in a tiny little pub in Oxfordshire. I had to get away from London this weekend, found this place and spent most of the day walking. The countryside is like a balm for me at the moment …. the noise of the city, the crowds seems to heighten my tension – there is peace in the fields and by the streams. G..d I feel envious of the people who live here … the pace is slower; the stress seems to be less.

What if I did move away from the city? Would I be any happier, or would I bring all my demons with me? Denise …. would she have been happy with a life in the country? No … she is a city girl and always will be. The quiet life was never for her, yet I think, if I’m honest, it could be for me. In my more rational moments, I realise we were not ever going to be able to make a life together work. It’s been six months since she left; three of those months spent by me not only trying to forget her, but then trying to defend myself in my profession. Being exonerated is a shallow victory – I feel so emotionally empty.

Climbed a really steep hill today and pushed myself so hard that I could only think about my breathing and an occasional muscular twinge. At the summit, there was a glorious view of the fields below. I sat there with just the skylarks and insects to keep me company. It was only then in solitude that I allowed the grief I had internalised for so long, surface. I cried …just like I had as a boy when I lost my beloved dog, Jack, and later when my parents were killed.  There was no one to hear … just the birds.

I’m not sure how long I was up on that hill, but I felt the better for my private outburst and began to once again take note of my surroundings. A church bell was tolling somewhere off to the right a few miles away, a farmer was on a tractor ploughing a field off to the left, and below me, a herd of dairy cows was beginning to assemble for milking. I felt oddly as if I belonged – not a stranger looking at a picturesque scene. Could I make a life in the country work for me?

7^th August: Have been working solidly for two weeks since my weekend away in Oxfordshire. It’s Monday night and I stayed in town this weekend. Caught up with Rosie who was less than flattering about my appearance … she said I looked tired and “haggard”! “Haggard!!!”  I thought I had been hiding my state of mind pretty well from everyone in London – clearly I can’t fool my little sister. I was so taken aback with her perceptiveness I told her that I was thinking of moving to the country ….  It had actually been only an unrealistic daydream, and I really made the comment to get her off my back, but the more I think about it, the less stupid an idea it seems. I might plan another trip out of London this weekend to think about whether a move could really work. 

13^th August: Have just returned from the country, more conflicted than ever. I drove down on Saturday, a bit later than usual given the traffic, and booked in to what is now becoming my “regular” pub. As soon as I checked in, I decided to explore the country to the west of the town. I took a few minor roads, until I became, I admit, rather lost.  Needing to consult my map, and having no place to pull over, I followed a lane (with many potholes) until I eventually came to a small village.  I pulled over near the green to consult my map, and worked out that I had to be in a place called Dibley.  I couldn’t see a sign anywhere, but fortuitously (or so I thought at the time), I saw an elderly gentleman making his way up towards the church. I got out of the car and called to him. He made his way slowly over eyeing me with curiosity.  Asking him if this village was Dibley, he answered in the oddest fashion. “No, no, no, … yes”. “So it is Dibley?” Hoping to heaven I was in the right place. “No, no, no, yes – that’s what I said”. I apologised, and he looked at me and said, “Who would you be then?” I told him that I was merely passing through, to which he nodded and then resumed his walk towards the church...... Odd!

Just as I was about to drive out of the village (and there was not much to it), I caught sight of a cottage for sale just along the lane. It was getting late, but intrigued, I thought I would return in the morning, perhaps on foot, as I worked out it was only a few miles from where I was staying. Hopefully I would not be too conspicuous as a walker.

I set out early the next morning and arrived at the village just after 9.30am. It was curiously quiet – not a soul was in sight. The sound of an organ coming from the church made me realise that I had arrived just as everyone had gone into the Sunday service. It gave me the chance to take a look at the cottage unseen. “Sleepy Cottage” … what a name … and rather appropriate given my less than “sleepy” London lifestyle. It was set a little apart from the other cottages which I liked, as, with its garden and climbing roses, it would allow a little bit of privacy. It looked small, but cosy and with loads of character.

..... I really feel drawn to that cottage, so have the name of the Agent, and might make a few enquiries this week......

 14^th August: Contacted agent about the cottage. Appointment for viewing this coming Saturday.

19^th August: Inspection of Sleepy Cottage. It’s small, but it felt “right” somehow. Am I becoming fanciful? – Hardheaded city accountant suddenly feels emotional attachment to a village in the middle of the countryside?? Not sure what’s going on with me really, but I have a strong urge to get away from this city corporate life for a while. 

Agent mentioned that the cottage is owned by a local well-to-do gentleman – apparently he has a great deal of influence in the village and surrounding countryside. He didn’t seem to know much about the villagers, but I got the impression that he was being a little evasive. He did mention that the Vicar was a woman however – got the distinct impression that the fact that the local incumbent was female had caused a bit of a stir in the village. Odd.. I would have thought those objections had become irrelevant years ago! Must contact Janis soon to ask her.

 21^st August: After lengthy discussion with Rosie, I decided to put in an offer for the cottage.  She thinks I’ll tire of country life after six months and will return to London. Shall see …..

22^nd August: Offer on cottage accepted. Met with the managing directors to discuss my application for a leave of absence from the firm for a couple of months. I was flattered by their response – they wanted me to consider part time work, as apparently my “skills” are needed at the moment. (That surprised me – I didn’t realise that after all the trouble, my work was valued that much).  We agreed that I would come up to London for three days out of seven – mostly over the weekend. Given my lack of social life, thought that this sounded OK for a start. (Could always do something in London on Saturday night … suspect nightlife in Dibley on Saturdays consists of going to local Pub).

25^th August: Quick trip into country to sign contract on cottage. Building inspector reported that there are no significant structural problems - all looks above board. Solicitor happy also. Keys available in a couple of weeks. Time to sort my things and work out what to take with me. Will rent out London flat and stay with Rosie when working in London until I decide whether country living is for me.  Rosie working on long haul flights at the moment, so I can keep an eye on her flat when she’s away and I am up working in London.

10^th September: Moving day tomorrow. What a mess …. Boxes everywhere!! Removalists arriving early in morning – hopefully everything will be delivered to the cottage by mid afternoon …. They assure me they can get the truck down the lanes. Hope so!

11^th September: Everything moved in to cottage …finally. Can’t find a thing! Have had to drive back to town to clean up flat. Hope to be back in Dibley by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

12^th September: The oddest thing has just happened.!!

Arrived back at Sleepy Cottage at 5.00 … had to scuffle through a few boxes to find kitchen items so I could prepare a meal. If in London, I would have headed to the closest Take Away … no chance of that here!!

But Dibley has already surprised me. While trying to sort out some boxes of books, there was a knock on the door. Two ladies were outside – one was called Alice (confess I couldn’t quite work her out at all!!) – the other was a rather voluptuous woman whose smile just dazzled me from the outset.  She was mesmerising – it was as if she had cast some sort of spell over me. I literally could not take my eyes off her … and had to almost physically shake myself to recall me to my surroundings.  I think they wanted to give me the impression that they didn’t welcome people moving to the village from the city, but in all the confusion, it seemed they were happy to meet me. At least I think they were welcoming me. Geraldine … that was her name …. Never have I ever felt this attracted to anyone before….!! That meeting was too brief, and her friend … Alice … was a distraction. I need to find out more about her … Geraldine, that is…..

13^th September: Spent most of day unpacking. Intend to find time to explore a bit tomorrow .. hopefully I might run into Geraldine ….

 14^th September: I feel as if I’ve almost walked onto a movie set.  … a bit like the movie Brigadoon that my aunt used to like …. Except here it’s as if the villagers are living twenty or thirty years ago, and not 200 years in the past. Met a few quite odd people – one a farmer who was abrupt to the point of rudeness, but I think this is a consequence of poor social skills and insularity rather than anything intentional. The other was an older man, well dressed, well spoken. but incredibly long-winded and quite eccentric. Note to self: ensure plenty of time allocated for conversation with him in future.

Finally met Geraldine again just before lunch. I seriously made a bit of a fool of myself ….. I’ve been out of this whole singles/dating scene for way too long! After almost ruining my chances by answering my stupid phone while I was with her this morning, (something I don’t think she appreciated), I then began to make things worse by talking about the local vicar being a woman and saying that I found clerical white collars "sexy". To my chagrin, at dinner I discovered Geraldine actually is the Vicar. That left me in a conundrum about what was appropriate behaviour when dating a member of the clergy …. Janis and I had a very platonic kind of relationship – with Geraldine I want it to be different.… It seems as if I’ve already got this massive crush on her which has absolutely thrown me … not only have I just met her, but for years I’ve been with another woman, and for months I’ve had no interest in contemplating another relationship.  I’m not sure what this says about me – am I so shallow? How can I possibly be falling for someone this rapidly?  When will I wake up to myself?

Have to go up to London this weekend – I actually would love to stay and see Geraldine in action as Vicar, but can’t get out of this commitment.

15^th September: Met Geraldine briefly walking in the village this morning. She took my hand as we walked which felt good …. and right. Am now in London, but wish I was back in Dibley …. home….!

 

FanstRAvaganza 4. Finally ... an email from Harry!!

Thankyou to the creative person who has made our FanstRA banners for us!

Day 6 of FanstRAvaganza4. Be sure to visit all the wonderful blogs participating this year. Links can be found here. (Hope I haven't forgotten anyone). I have been away all week, so I am looking forward to a few solid hours of reading Richard Armitage related posts!!! Thank you to those of you who have visited during the week.

Returning from my course, I was really happy to find an email from Harry in my "Inbox"!! This is what he has to say ......

I will share the attachment later today 

FanstRAvaganza 4. Revisiting the Vicar of Dibley's handsome stranger.

This is my first post of two I'm publishing for FanstRA#4. Be sure to visit all the wonderful blogs participating this year. Links can be found here.

  

When this post is published, I will be in Sydney attending a course. Now that Richard Armitage has made an impact in the worldwide movie scene for his role in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey', I decided to reminisce about the time I first saw him on my TV screen. It was as Harry Kennedy in the Vicar of Dibley and as a consequence, this small work has a special place on my list of favourites. (I may have seen Guy of Gisborne in one of the earlier episodes of Robin Hood but it was VOD that had me charmed).

My relationship with the Anglican Church has spanned a bit of a rocky period of over 20 years - I have friends who fought for the right to be ordained and am now a lay chalice assistant myself. I am well aware of the faults within the church and episode one of the very first series of Vicar of Dibley was quite close to real life. The Holy Wholly Happy Ending DVD has a special feature called the "Story of the Vicar of Dibley" featuring Joy Carroll, a priest who was one of the first women to be ordained in the UK. She had been asked to give input to writer, Richard Curtis, on the church and women vicars so he could form some ideas for the original scripts. The first episode in Series 1 therefore had some lines that were frighteningly close to the truth. I watched every series after I saw that episode and celebrated as Geraldine fell in love then empathised as she subsequently failed in love. Her relationship with her parishioners seemed for many years to be the only constant in her life....

That was until the Christmas Specials of 2006 (UK) and 2007 (Australia):

1. The Handsome Stranger: 

The Parish life goes on as eccentrically as usual until Geraldine decides to make a home visit to welcome the new owner of Sleepy Cottage with Alice. He turns out to be a Handsome Stranger called Harry. (A love at first sight story where Geraldine finally has her love returned).

2. The Vicar in White: 

The parishioners decide to plan Geraldine's wedding for her with obvious consequences given their quirkiness. 

One of the only interviews with Richard Armitage ever published in an Australian newspaper to date, is "Heaven Sent Bloke" by Michael Idato (Sydney Morning Herald, December 10, 2007) in which RA describes his role as Harry Kennedy and working with Dawn French.

"Playing opposite comedian Dawn French in the twoVicar of Dibley Christmas specials, he says it "took a long time before I stopped sitting there, looking across the table and saying, 'What the f--- am I doing here?"'

Armitage comes to the village of Dibley as Harry Kennedy, a London accountant in the midst of a sea change. He meets Geraldine Granger (French), the vicar at St Barnabas's Church, and a romance is kindled.

"I suppose he's looking for some peace on a little Buddhist journey," Armitage says. "It's not really explored in depth in the story but he's been working in the city and he's burned out and he's come to the country to find some harmony.........

....... Armitage is an accomplished dramatic actor but admits he approaches comedy - where there is less emphasis on the complexities of the character and more on mining the moment for its humour - with some trepidation.

"I have done very little comedy and I'm so not funny and Dawn is probably one of the funniest women in the country," he says.

"But the fantastic thing about Dawn was that she completely destroyed my fears about comedians. I'd always thought they would be the funniest people but she was tentative with everybody, particularly with me, and she found out where my sense of humour was lying and started to play with me. Once she'd located it, she started pushing my buttons.

"We actually have very similar senses of humour and ... it occurred to me the reason we have similar senses of humour is that I grew up watching French & Saunders, so my sense of humour had been shaped by her." (SMH 2007)

""I think comedy writing is quite difficult because you don't really explain the character or display the character, but as an actor there are certain things that give you a heads-up. He's an accountant, and a London boy who had come to live in the country, so you can find the tone," he says." (Worshiping Dibley's high-priestess. The Age 2007). 

On July 8th 2009, Vulpes Libris published an article entitled "In Conversation with: Richard Armitage". This is a very interesting and insightful interview and well worth taking the time to read. With regard to playing darker characters and in contrast, Harry, Richard Armitage has this to say ....

"I think I am drawn to darker characters because I am quite a cheerful person; there are more questions to ask of these characters. Having said that I think even when playing Harry Kennedy, my biography was quite dark, he was running away from something, from the dark to the light, and he found Geraldine! I think once an actor has been relatively successful in a genre, they are asked to repeat it. I try not to do this, but if the character is appealing then it’s worth exploring. I always look for good within bad and vice versa." (Vulpes Libris 2008)

 

 It was this comment, as well as a desire to know more about Harry, that provided me with the inspiration to write my own backstory for him (which I published for the 2011 FanstRAvaganza). His story is in letter format - Geraldine has encouraged him to write about why he left a high powered job and lifestyle in London. Apologies to those of you who have already seen this, but they set the story for the continuation I have written for FanstRAvaganza4 which I will post on Saturday.

1. Harry's story Part 1 or .. "How on earth did he end up in Dibley?"

2. Harry's story Part 2

3. Harry's story Part 3.

For any reader who has only watched the two episodes with Richard Armitage, I would like to outline some of the scenes (and character traits) from earlier series that have recurred in Handsome Stranger, much to the delight of long time viewers.

1. Alice and Hugo - beautifully matched but very simple. Dibley is at one point described as the "inbreeding capital of the world". When Alice and Hugo decided to marry, David (Hugo's father) was exremely unhappy, and for a while it looked as if he would disown Hugo. Geraldine was the person who brought about a reconciliation.

2. David Horton. The wealthy landowner, chairman of the Parish Council, member of the Conservative party, and once vehemently opposed to women priests ... until Geraldine eventually won him over. In one episode, he proposed marriage, but Geraldine could not go through with it. (This was the episode where Sean Bean made a guest apperance).

3. Owen. The crazy farmer who has a sense of the macabre, has no social skills, never washes, but in the very first episode was the one person on Parish Council who voted against David Horton's move to get rid of Geraldine.

4. Frank Pickle. Long winded and pedantic, but very sweet. Geraldine gave him a lot of support when he finally decided to tell the village that he was gay.

5. Jim Trott. Known for his stutter (that gets him into trouble on numerous occasions) and for his warped sense of humour and inappropriate comments.

6. Simon Horton. David's younger brother who comes to the village for Hugo and Alice's wedding, and who sweeps Geraldine off her feet. They have a relationship that shocks the villagers, but it is short lived as Geraldine discovers he is two timing. In one iconic scene, they are walking romantically along a farm track together when Geraldine decides to jump into a puddle. Unfortunately it turns out to be a huge pothole and Simon has to pull her out. This theme is repeated in Handsome Stranger - Geraldine swears she will never jump into anty more puddles after her experience with Simon, but is forced to hide in one so that she is not caught following Harry and Rosie.

Geraldine falling into the puddle while showing off with Simon Horton, and, below, Geraldine being forced to hide in the same puddle in Handsome Stranger.

7. Tristan Campbell. In series 1, Epsiode 2, the producers of BBC's "Songs of Praise" decide to come to St Barnabas, Dibley, to film Geraldine celebrating and preaching at a Sunday Service (as she is a woman Vicar in a small country Parish). Geraldine falls for the presenter, Tristan Campbell. One Christmas night , (The "Christmas Lunch Incident") Geraldine finds herself alone and a little miserable when Tristan knocks on the door. He asks her if she will marry him. Geraldine, in a vulnerable frame of mind, mistakes this for a proposal of marriage, until Tristan introduces her to his fiancee. When Harry therefore comes around to propose to her, she is immediately reminded of the Tristan Campbell affair and mistakenly believes that Harry is asking her to perform a marriage service for him, just as Tristan did.

Tristan brings his fiancee in to meet Geraldine after she misinterprets his request to marry him.

Geraldine again misinterprets a marriage request ... but this time she is receiving the proposal! Harry's face says it all!!!

I hope this helps to clarify a few of the quirkier details connected with Handsome Stranger. I've read a few posts recently written by people new to RA's work where the humour has been missed .... understandable if the RA episodes are watched without the knowledge of what has gone on before.

The final scene is a truly beautiful moment for those of us who have watched Geraldine struggle in love!

Harry's backstory (fictitious) continues on Saturday ...... (I'm still waiting for an email to arrive from Harry too, BTW!!)