Tim's UK Safari - March 2001

Well, I've been fairly busy since the last update. I managed to get three trips in! The first (as I mentioned in my last safari journal) was to LA / Vancouver to catch up with my family, see my brothers new film and celebrate Mum's 50th birthday. The second was a weekend trip to the town of Bath in the UK and finally the third trip was a weeks-skiing holiday in France.

First of all let me answer the question I haven't heard the end of since I got back from the states. The film was fantastic, it was the first time I've watched a Jamie Blanks film without being privy to it's creation. There are two amazing shots in this film that I think you could call signature "Jamie Blanks".

I won't be drawn into an argument about which film is better, both this and Urban Legend are great films yet they are very different, once you've seen it I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

So it was that on the 31st of January at 11pm Lucy and I left the UK for the eight-hour journey to Los Angeles. Due to that freaky time-travel phenomenon that occurs when flying internationally, we arrived an hour later at Los Angeles airport. We weren't lucky enough to simply breeze through customs as I had made the fatal mistake of not knowing the address of the hotel where we were staying. This meant we were redirected to the "sin-bin" customs queue where I had to explain to the surprisingly understanding lady that we did in fact have somewhere to stay but simply didn't know where it was. She immediately told us to lie and put down the address of a random hotel for us. I should of lied in the first place!!

After re-presenting our forms with the blatant un-truth upon them to the customs official we were freed to collect our bags and go and reunite with my parents. Only thing was my parents weren't there! We were looking around the airport and there was no sign of them. Thinking that they may have left a message we presented ourselves to the arrivals information desk. Just then I saw them walk in - they had been given the wrong details by the airline. Fortunately they had been given the right date!!

We drove from the airport to our apartment and immediately went to Jamie's room to see my brothers. For the first time in over a year my entire family was in the same room at the same time! It was a little surreal at first. We had a few drinks and caught up on all the required information - I even had some of my mail from Australia handed to me before Lucy and I left to drop our gear in our room and freshen up. We then met up once again in Jamie's room before heading out to a Chinese restaurant - just like old times.

The entire family in the one place!

The next morning, Lucy, Ben, Jade, my parents and I went to Farmers Market for breakfast. This is fast becoming a custom as we've done it every time we've visited LA. For those of you who don't know what Farmers Market is, it's a weird collection of touristy shops which would probably be best avoided unless you're going for breakfast - you see, they have the best pancakes and waffles there. I'm not sure how we first got onto it, but ever since our first trip for Urban Legend we've been regulars whilst in LA.

Dad, Mum, Jade and Ben at Farmers Market

Ben and Jamie at Johnny Rockets

We then went to Melrose Ave to do some shopping, afterwards, we met up at my favourite place in LA, Johnny Rockets on Melrose. Jamie's house used to be around the corner when he was doing post-production on Urban Legend so Ben and I would often stroll down to have a burger and Coke watching the strange people that walk along Melrose. For some reason I associate this restaurant with good weather, there is nothing more relaxing than sitting under the umbrellas at Johnny Rockets in the sunshine (especially after coming from England's winter). We all had something to eat before once again splitting into two groups, I went with Jamie to check out the promotional posters for Valentine, and the girls went shopping. There were hundreds of Valentine posters all over town and I found it pretty amazing to see my brother's name plastered on the side of buildings and bus stops throughout Hollywood. One of the actresses (Marley Shelton) turned up while we were looking at a poster that covered the side of an entire building presumably to show what a small town it really is.

My favourite place in Hollywood - Johnny Rockets on Melrose	Marley Shelton and her friend stopped when they saw us looking at posters [Marley is in the green top]
This Valentine poster covered the side of an entire building!

Anyway I won't bore you with all the details (that's what my video is for). Needless to say we saw quite a few posters before heading back to shower, change and head out for the premiere.

Before heading out we met in Jamie's room for a few drinks, a welcome addition to the party was Michael Rosenbaum (one of the actors from Urban Legend) I hadn't seen Michael since the UL premiere so it was great to have the opportunity to catch up with him again.

After drinks we all jumped into the Limo and took off for the Mann's Chinese Theatre. This is quite a famous theatre in LA (it was the theatre that the original Star Wars premiere was held), in its forecourt there are impressions of many famous actor's hands and feet that have been set into the concrete. We got out of the Limo and took in the atmosphere before heading up the red carpet. I was amazed to see that there were hundreds of photographers cramming the barriers to get their photos - I wasn't expecting anything on this scale! Lucy and I were right behind David Boreanaz. It was actually quite funny as when David stopped for photographs Lucy was stuck right next to him. I imagine her photo appeared in tabloid papers all over the world. The film itself was great; Jamie made me feel especially special by asking me to sit next to him during the screening, talk about a great experience.

Lucy - stuck behind David Boreanaz and the tabloids

Ben with two of his Hollywood pals, Don Coscarelli and Michael Rosenbaum

Afterwards we waited for most of the crowd to disappear before we walked out and had a chat outside the cinema. My brother Ben was really excited to finally meet Don Coscarelli the director of the Phantasm movies. There was an autograph frenzy when someone recognised Michael Rosenbaum from his TV series 'Zoe Bean' - suddenly a thousand teenage girls asking for photographs and/or autographs set upon him. I suspected most of these people didn't actually know who he was, I was sure that if I asked Lucy to come up to me and ask for my autograph they all would have followed suit. My suspicions were confirmed when a girl asked him "You're in the new season of Angel aren't you?" to this he replied "no", she then apologetically added, "Oh sorry, I meant Buffy"... I couldn't stop laughing!

In what was probably Jamie's worst nightmare, he was pointed out as the director of the film by Michael (who was desperate to flee the constant requests for autographs) and was promptly set upon. I've included two photo's I'm quite proud of, my brother signing autographs for his fans b-). I can't think of anyone who deserves his success more.

Jamie signing his autograph

... and now how about a photograph?

We then headed out to the after-party that was held in a War Memorial of some sort. It was actually quite impressive "Maxim Magazine" had put it on so there were girls dancing in cages, lights, video projections and a fair contingent of celebrities. At first we went into the VIP room where Lucy and I were about one foot away from all the cast! We looked around a bit, before deciding to leave as it was far too crowded and headed out to the main hall, not before spotting Denise Richards (high five Stu!!)

Big Star - Rachel Hunter was at the premiere

We went out into the main dance floor bit and was surprised to see Rachel Hunter with her friends. Jamie's agent Simon offered to introduce me so I jumped at the chance, she was just about ready to leave so he asked her if I could possibly have a photo, she kindly agreed and posed with me as Simon took the photo. I thanked her and she replied "you're so welcome" before heading off - now although our conversation was brief I found her to be a genuinely nice person!

We stayed at the party until all the VIP's had left then we headed off home. It was certainly different to the Urban Legend premiere!


Jamie Blanks & Steve Mirkovich with chicks

We left early the next morning for the airport, as we were going back to Jamie's flat in Vancouver to celebrate Mum's 50th Birthday, we were all leaving on different flights so Lucy and I went by ourselves. The schedule was such that Mum, Ben and Jade would fly up shortly after us on another flight with Dad, Jamie and Simon following on the final plane.

Lucy and I arrived in Vancouver late due to problems on the plane, we actually zoomed down the runway twice but the pilot was getting an abort light every time he was about to lift off (he stopped with just enough runway to go). It's quite scary being told by your pilot that the plane has flashing warning lights, we went back to the terminal but had to stay on the plane, when we finally went (third attempt at takeoff) I was a little apprehensive. Fortunately we arrived safely - albeit late.

Since we had taken so long to get to Vancouver we decided to wait at the airport for Mum, Ben and Jade. Thinking they were only 30 minutes behind us. We brought ourselves a beer and kept an eye on the arrival queue. We waited a good hour before I spotted Dad, Jamie and Simone. My first thought was that Mum, Ben and Jade had been held up in customs, only later did I find out they had missed their plane and had to take a last minute detour - to Denver. We headed back to Jamie's flat and were joined by our missing party later that night. Jamie's flat was fantastic, I could understand why he wanted to get back to it. I made a very brief visit into Vancouver itself to drop off some photos with Jamie but most of that day was spent waiting for Mum, Ben and Jade to arrive.

The view from Jamie's Balcony in Vancouver

The view from Vancouver's Prospect Point.

The next day I woke up to the sound of Jamie sneaking out of the house to buy the papers to see how his film had gone (it was the opening weekend). He managed to get the number two film for the weekend which was very good (especially considering it was a horror). The main celebrations for the day, however were reserved for Mum, this was her birthday. We took a trip into town to do a bit of shopping before heading out that night to a Chinese restaurant (I guess you can tell what type of food my family prefers by now).

The main reason we were in Vancouver was to celebrate Mum's birthday.	At Prospect point I saw my first Racoon.
Another picture of the Racoon, you're lucky I've contained myself - I have thousands of these that I could unleash upon you.	Final meal with the family before we had to go our seperate ways.

Unfortunately Lucy and I had to fly back to the UK (and our jobs) the following day. Mum and Dad drove us to the airport and I found myself once again having to say goodbye - something that doesn't get easier, I was comforted by the fact that I would be back in Australia for a visit later in the year.

One of the places I've always been keen to visit is the Georgian City of Bath. Most people know the city from the famous Roman Bath's but not many people realise that the buildings that are there today bear no relation to the Roman remains which lie six meters below them. The only feature common to both periods is the hot springs in King's Bath; which has been in continuous use for over 2,000 years. There is archaeological evidence that occupation based around the hot springs on which the City of Bath is built began at least 8,000 years B.C. Coins thrown by Celts into the water, probably as offerings to their God, Sul were found during excavations of the King.s Bath

Still, to be honest, I was one of many only going to see the Roman Baths - being more or less ignorant of the existence of the remainder of the city - was I in for a shock. We set out on the 10th of February for the three hour drive to Bath and only managed a quick drive through town before heading to our B&B to check in. We could have made it to the B&B without having to go through the centre of town if it was not for the fact that I was navigating. Once I managed to turn the map up the right way I found the B&B in no time, although getting out of the rather peculiar situation I had put our car into was another matter. I think ours was the first ever car to drive in certain sections of Bath.

We checked into a guest house and I found it a little too weird for my comfort, from the outside it looked like a normal hotel/guest house but once inside it was like staying in someone's bedroom, we were literally shown to a bedroom which had the walk in robe that had been converted to a toilet and shower - honestly. That's one of the things I don't like about B&B's you never know what you're going to get until it's all too late. Despite this we quickly made use of our "walk in robe" before stepping outside and catching a bus into town.

The B&B we stayed in while in Bath

Bath is fantastic! It's worth the trip as you could cover most of it in a day, although you would want two to take it all in. As it was getting late we decided just to walk around the very center of town and then get some dinner. We were looking around a church (which I later found out was called "Bath Abbey") when I came across what I really wanted to see, on a carved plaque was a sign that read:

ARISTON MEN UDWR THESE HOT SPRINGS WERE USED BY THE ROMANS AS EARLY AS THE FIRST CENTURY ----- IN AREA IN GRANDEUR IN COMPLETENESS THE BATHS AT AQUAE SULIS WERE UNEQUALLED ----- THE REMAINS OF THEIR MAGNIFICENCE ARE HERE DISCLOSED -----

Behind the wall to which it was attached we could just see light green light reflecting off the columns that raised above it. The reflection had that shimmering property that appeared like a pool light - talk about mysterious! We walked around to try and get a better vantage point but couldn't see the source of the green light. Clearly though this was the site of the Roman complex, walking around the other side of the building we were able to confirm this by the big sign that said "Roman Baths" in a tacky tourist way - I'm glad we caught it from the other side! Accepting that this would be all we could see today we took note of the opening time for the next day and set off to have dinner - at Pizza Hut no less.

The next day we set off early as we wanted to see as much of Bath as we could. In what was perhaps the best decision we could have made, we went to see the Baths early, there was a minor queue already (and it had just opened) but we were in and walking around with our electronic tour guide blasting in our ears before we knew it. Almost immediately we could confirm that the green light we saw the previous night was coming from the water in the Bath, it was from the "Great Bath" to be precise, as I had just learned that although there was one spring from which all the warm water was drawn there were a number of baths on the site. Nobody bathed in the spring directly as it was considered sacred - although people would often throw offerings and requests for the gods into the spring (requests were inscribed on sheets of lead or pieces of pewter). A number of these messages have since been recovered from the spring and were on display in the complex, along with what must be the largest collection of Roman coins in the world!

It's an amazing feeling to walk on a floor that hasn't changed for 2,000 years! The whole complex is remarkably open, you can put your hand in the water to feel the temperature yourself, you walk down the original stairs and onto the original pavement, you can even touch the columns and walls that have been in the same place since they were built. Never before have I been to a "museum" which allows this level of freedom to explore. I can't describe how cool it was to walk around this site. I have included a few photographs below to give you an idea of what it was like. As with most places I have visited whilst on my safari, I have more than enough video footage of the event which is available on request but I suggest if you ever have the chance to visit, do it!

The Great Bath

The Great Bath looking towards the corner from which it is filled

The Cold Plunge Pool - Cold water was ducted in from springs or wells elsewhere as there was no cold water on site.

I could of stayed all day but decided to leave when I noticed that the complex was filling up quickly and it wasn't as easy to look around. When we left our planning proved it's value, while we had been in the complex the queue had grown out of the foyer and well onto the street, I would guess that the wait was somewhere around an hour. I had to laugh when we walked passed a queuing couple and heard the (American) man tell his wife, "I can smell the chlorine!". I didn't have the heart to tell him it was a natural spring that was 2,000 years old and chlorine wasn't required nor used.

We had decided to follow a pre-planned route that would take us around Bath and show us all the attractions we had found this walk in a book from the tourist office titled "A Jarrold Guide to the Georgian City of Bath" - at £2.50 it's definitely worth buying if you're planning a visit. Our second stop was right outside the exit, the Bath Abbey that we had seen the previous night, it was built in 1499 apparently several previous Abbey's had stood on the site prior to that time and Edward (the first King of England) had been crowned in an earlier Saxon Abbey on this site.

Standing out the front of the Bath Abbey on what was once the site of a Roman Temple.	Surviving piece of the Bath city wall.
	The impressive Bath Abbey.

Our next stop was to see the only surviving sections of the ancient city walls. I was amazed to see they were still in good condition. We walked on to see the Royal Crescent and the Circus. These are two collections of buildings that were designed by a father-son architect team (both of whom shared the name "John Wood"). They were designed to give Bath a great Roman-style look complete with forum, circus and gymnasium. Sadly his plans were modified and all that remains are the North and South Parades as part of his scheme for an imperial forum (or place of assembly) and the circus - which looks like the Colosseum turned inside outwards. Still it is very impressive - the design only included the front facade of the building, the houses themselves were left to the individual builders to design, probably the best way to describe the circus is to say that you are completely surrounded by a circle of multiple buildings but it is impossible to say where one starts and ends, each building is three stories high and identical, in the middle is a lawn area and there are three breaks in the buildings to allow cars to enter and exit. It was very impressive.


The Royal Crescent.
We skipped the next stop which was the Museum of Costume as that didn't really appeal to us, we moved on to Pulteney Bridge. Pulteney Bridge crosses the River Avon, it's the only bridge in England completely lined with shops. We walked along the river and back by Sally Lunn's House which claims to be the oldest house in Bath. We then walked down to the "Cross Bath" which was undergoing restoration, strangely I could find no information on this bath in Bath itself, I later found out that this was a bath formed from another spring known as the "Cross Spring" this work was done at the same time as the Aquae Sulis baths (approx 70 AD).

After that we headed back to our car and home, I wouldn't mind coming back to see more of the Roman complexes but not on a weekend, next time I may try to make a visit during a weekday when the crowds should be lower.

On Saturday 3rd March we set off to Le Menuires in France for a weeks skiing holiday. The flight wasn't much of a problem and after arriving at Chambery airport we took a two hour bus trip to the resort. Lucy's brother-in-law Darren managed to organise a chalet through a friend at work. It could not of been situated in a better spot. It looks out over the ski slope and is on top of the hill. In order to go skiing all you had to do is go to the equipment room take your gear out of your locker, put it on and head out the side door. Once outside you start skiing as you're on the slope.

Darren and I had never skied before so we decided to take "gimp" ski classes. We had six lessons starting at 9:15 in the morning going until 12:15 in the afternoon. I imagined we would be wearing bibs and practicing our snow plows on the children's runs. The first day seemed to confirm this as that's pretty much all we did. Fortunately on the second day we headed right up the mountain and found ourselves doing blue and red runs. I wouldn't say I'm a great skier, in fact I'd have to say I'm the worst skier to ever hit the slopes, if you need an example of this I ask you to simply click here (Note: if it's too slow for you to watch, or you want to look at it often, try right clicking and selecting "save target as" to save it to your harddrive you can then watch it locally - it's only a 1.3 meg download!).

As you would expect there isn't all that much to say about this holiday, we spent every morning skiing and every evening drinking and/or resting. I think you've had to read enough for one day so I'll leave this now. I'll simply show some photos. I've already started my next update which so far includes a trip to Edinburgh Scotland and Loch Ness, plus a trip to the biggest UK theme park Alton Towers. I'm just waiting some photos from the developers before that goes live, so until then - bye!


The view out the window of our chalet.

Our chalet is the one at the very back (end of the road).	Lucy and I waiting for the bus.
Lucy and her sister Clare.