On Friday I went to Barn Hall in Beaconsfield to do an auction for the NSPCC. Because I feared the traffic coming out of London would be horrendous, I arrived 40 minutes early and used the time to walk around the magnificent grounds. The trees, so beautifully planned and so many in variation, were a delight, and whoever is responsible for keeping the gardens in such fine shape deserves great praise. The event was held in a giant marquee, and was hosted by Tracy Ian, wife of the successful theatre producer, David Ian (The Sound of Music, Grease, La Cage aux Folles, Chicago, etc). The auction raised £70,600, and for the first time I had a Harley Davidson motorbike to auction (£17,000). David had a large grin on his face, partly because The Sound of Music on tour starring Connie Fisher, opens on July 26th in Cardiff, and has a £7.2m advance - the highest theatre advance for a tour in British history. He also whispered in my ear that he and Paul Elliott are bringing The Shawshank Redemption to London in September after a sell-out six week run in Dublin. As I'm an angel in both these productions - my only chance of ever being an angel - I returned home with a grin on my face.
4 Comments:
dear mr archer
"As I'm an angel in both these productions "
what do you mean by this?
not clear to me (us?)
krishnamoorthy - an 'angel' is the term given to an investor in a theatrical show.
Jeffrey
Barn Hall. Wonderful! I was raised in Beaconsfield.
I remember my father being incensed and complaining to various politicians and the Press, when he heard that the M40 Motorway was to be placed through the estate near what had been it's main entrance. Still happened though...
In a similar vein, my Mother (father had by then died) was in tears when she saw the damage caused to so many of the estate's trees by the 1980's hurricane. Thankfully, the estate's owners have undertaken (and continue to do) superb restorative and maintenance works.
Incidentally, thank you for investing in both The Sound of Music and The Shawshank Redemption. I believe I've secured tickets for both shows.
I can't wait...
The last time I was there - which was admittedly 40 years ago it was called Hall Barn, have they changed the name?
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