Extra

"There is only so much fake dancing you can do"  

Joyce, Alex, Jane, Chrissie and Tracey (Peter and Andre made a very quick exit)

I'm happy to do almost anything to get a good blog post but this was very much out of character. I'm probably the last person to get up on the dance floor so dancing to order, to no music, on a balcony in a night club in the middle of the afternoon was way beyond the call of duty.  There have been many calls on Facebook for extras to take part in 'Holiday,' a Danish-Dutch produced film being made in Bodrum.  I approached the film's fixer to arrange an interview with the director but despite a couple of emails, this didn't come off.  My friend Jane Ecer had already taken part in an airport scene and I persuaded her to come back to Bodrum to join in with another scene. We were originally scheduled to be at a hotel in Gumbet so I had envisioned sitting beside a pool sipping a cold beer.  On the evening before the shoot, an email arrived asking us to wear sparkly clothes, high heels and carry small bags and to meet at the Bianca Marina Club in Bodrum.  I searched through my wardrobe wondering if some remnant of my 1980's disco days lurked in a dark corner. If I had found one, the extra 14 pounds  I now carry around would have made trying it on too dispiriting for words.  I did find some heals, and I still have the plasters on my toes to prove that I wore them for a couple of hours.  

The film team were new in town, so they had no idea that the club had only just changed its name to 'Bianca' so finding the place was the first hurdle for some.  Luckily my constant dog walking had taken me past the place and I'd noted the new sign being put up outside. It is a venue that changes owners and identity so frequently, very few locals would be able to tell you its current name.  It's now looking very good so I hope 'Bianca' is around for longer.
Our call came after an hour waiting outside in the sun, so we were happy to slip into the blacked out club and practice our moves on the balcony.
The quote above comes from Alex. Ever cheerful, even he, after 10 takes and a round of cocktails that were just coloured water, was losing his joie de vivre.