Filming on the Rest - 9 April 2011
Report
and photos Jim Paterson
 I
arrived around lunchtime in the Healey Sprite to join the crowd
gathered to see the film shoot at the Rest and be Thankful, destined to
support the new Glasgow Riverside Museum display of the venue, a famous
hill climbing site in the 1950's and 60's.
I
expected to be confronted with the usual film crew entourage, the
camera truck, the lighting truck, the generator truck, the stars
Winnebago, and of course the chuck wagon, as no crew works on an empty
stomach. All I could see was the chuck wagon, but this turned out to be
a local entrepreneur who provides refreshments to the many visitors on
a
sunny weekend. Ah well, I suppose the stars were the cars, so no need
for the Winnebago's, the filming was modern digital, so no need for a
camera truck, and the day was bright and sunny, so no need for lights
and generator trucks.
What I did see was an
energetic young film crew, in the shape of 55 Degrees who are shooting
a series of films to support the museum, this being the most
challenging, having to coordinate the cars and drivers to deliver the
shots required.
 Ian Works blue MGA was chosen to
be rigged with cameras, having a selection clamped and stuck outside
and inside the car. A run with the sound man to capture Ian narrating
where they were on route, the famous Stone Bridge, Cobblers, Hairpin
etc was also done. Geoff Douglas brought his Daimler Dart along, and
Neill Munn his recently rebuilt Healey 3000. Neil showed me photos of
the Healey in 1969 just after it had gone off the "Rest" and bounced
down the Glen before coming to a halt in a very sad and bent state, no
one hurt but the poor car. Thankfully a far shadow of the splendid
state it is in now.
Another
fine car was Duncan
Laing's bright yellow 1930 MG M-Type Midget Boat Tail Speedster, which
broke its differential crown wheel on an early run, a fate not
experienced by Alex McDougall's 1910 Ford Model T, which drove up and
down the "Rest" time and time again without even a hiss from the
radiator! George Cooper brought his Cooper MG Prototype which has
quite a heritage! This very car took part at a Rest hillclimb in 1953
driven by Francis Dundas of Dumfries. It was also the works prototype
driven at Goodwood by a young Stirling Moss in 1950.
I
met Branislav Sudjic with his 1924 Bugatti Type 14 race car, and just
before the afternoon filming commenced, Diane Davidson-Kinghorn
daughter of landowner Andrew Davidson, offered Branislav a test run. I
couldn't resist joining him and jumped into the little Bugatti's tiny seat for the
experience of a lifetime.
Now some will tell you
that Bugatti's should be treated with care and consideration, being the
rare and beautiful pieces of mobile art that they are. Well nobody told
Branislav, who enjoys all his pre-war cars and drives them how they
would have been in their prime. With no steering wheel for me to hold on to I
felt somewhat exposed plus no door and only a mere couple of inches of
metal between the seat and the side entry to the car. What to hang on
to? Well the cockpit is so cosy you are kind of jammed in really, and I
just hoped we didn't experience a "yump" that would eject me straight
up and out!
The noises were wonderful, so many
mechanical vibrations and squeals as we meandered our way down the
route to the start for the run "up the Rest". I gained some courage as
I watched the road only inches below us trickle past, the stones and
mud splats coming perilously close. However this was nothing to the run
up, for which Branislav hit the loud pedal, raised the revs and "gave
it welly" as they say.
Branislav told me the car
can still reach 85 to 90mph! Not with me in it thankyou. The spindly
spoked wheels danced over the loose gravel, splattering the mud
everywhere, including onto the lens of my camera. Despite
watching the entertaining dance routine of the front wheels this lady
kept her demure and took us speedily up to the Stone Bridge, the
Essess, Cobblers, and of course the ultimate Hairpin turn at the
finish. For a moment I thought the understeer, as we ploughed into the
gravel covered hairpin, would see us straight into the side of the
hill, which is solid stone and not forgiving. The lady fortunately has
reasonably good cable drum brakes, which soaked up enough speed to get
us back on the right route to the finish. What a laugh, what an
experience.
The film crew were ready. The director
called "Queue Camera - Action"! Well not quite. What takes a few
minutes on screen takes all day to film. Paint and drying come quickly
to mind, but our car crews were patient and enjoyed the opportunity to
drive up the Rest, again and again, and yes again, with shots from all
angles. I spoke to Lucy, the shoot director, and she was pleased that
they captured all that they planned, and as an aside provided something
a little different for the visitors in the car park to see.
 Heather
McTavish, a local resident who owned the garages at both Arrochar and
Tarbet for many years, narrated some of the history of the road to
camera, with Glen Croe in the background. She even told me of a letter
her parents received from Queen Victoria where she
said the Queen, on a trip north on the road, refused to go round the hairpin in her carriage, for
fear it broke loose and rolled over the edge into the glen. She walked
round, taking in the view of the glen and no doubt the cottage that is
now the home of Diane and husband Stephen.
By 5.00pm
it was "in the can" and the crew called it a "wrap", at least I think
that is "film speak". Everyone had a great day, under a warm if not
blistering sun filled sky. It is always a pleasure to meet Andrew
Davidson, who loves his "wee dram" and his family, and for his support
in making the Rest and be Thankful hillclimb available to Classic cars,
keeping the passion alive.
|
Home
| About
| Events
| News| Committee
| For
Sale | Links
