Fantastic Plastic Earth Day

The day of the earth began early. Rushed to Paddington Station and thanks to Gad pulling 80 pounds of gear + coffee and smoke dangling from lips, we made the train with seconds to spare...kind of. A beautiful ride as I snored and some child sang Old MacDondald non-stop. We arrived in Taunton 2 hours later. Then a most gregarious and loud cab driver named Ray was perplexed by our interest in a museum of old plastic but still gave us a great primer on the English countryside.

Arriving at the Bakelite Museum, we were immediately struck by the beauty of an old water mill amidst a gorgeous pasture and were greeted by Lucy the sheepdog and owner Patrick Kirk - a man who seemed much more of a Vaudevillian-mustached-eccentric collector than an artisan from the 21st Century. After sussing each other out, we soon became plastic patriots - celebrating design, aesthetic and plastic's inability to degrade. Patrick, a sculptor by trade, houses perhaps the largest collection of kitschy consumables from TV's to radios, cups, napkin rings, tie presses, dashboards, cigarette dispensers, dental implants, vacuum cleaners and even 2 coffins that Patrick himself wouldn't want to be buried in - regardless of the fact that he manufactures plastic trailers and likes to be ensconced in synthetics.

It was a hairy day. Batteries died. Record buttons weren't pushed. And patrons didn't make the interview go too smoothly. Regardless, we made it work and left us with the memory of a character whose passion supercedes any desire for wealth. Patrick was truly a character of his own. If only we had another few days to spend with this exceptional man or as Gad would say, dude. Wait until to you see the film!

Tomorrow is the London marathon. Apparently 26 square miles of the city will be cordoned off and we still have to shoot scenics. Thankfully, our cabbie that brought us back to the hotel reminded us of the amount of plastic cups and bottles that will line the streets along with thousands of spectators. Timing...sometimes...
is everything.

Hopefully one day we will eat sometime before 11pm...

Out.

G+I