Fast And Furious 9

Being in town we took a wander along to the West End, the current shooting location of the film Fast And Furious 9, which has featured on blip a few times.

Finding ourselves herded back - for our own safety, no doubt - we were able to watch the car in the photo dash out of a side street and swing round to its left, into the wrong lane of the street; we saw this three times, with pauses for the crew to make important decisions and for the traffic and pedestrians to pass. This being the middle of the day, the local office workers were keen to get out for their lunch.
We took a different position with a better vantage point, with another group of people, only to be told to move as they were all Extras. We noticed an inflatable Santa and a snowman prominently arranged in a window facing the direction of the filming, apparently as a protest by the resident hoping to spoil the background of the shot. Although this might not have the desired effect, it is quite understandable, bearing in mind the locality is, besides offices, an area of residences whose peace and freedom of movement has been, in effect, sold by the council to the filmmakers. Having observed the process, the number of various vehicles, equipment and personnel for half an hour or so, it is clear that despite its fast-moving title, the process is exceedingly slow.

Update on Lazarus, the caterpillar-that-is-not-a-pear-stalk-and-decidedly-not-dead: Having taken his ease all day lying on a hawthorn stem, he is currently attacking a birch leaf, and, should this be his preferred diet, he can be thrown into the garden behind ours or Miss Flum's released into a suitable environment nearby. Regrettably, the Flumlet was not impressed by this addition to the family (couldn't see it against the hawthorn), he preferred to play a game.