R.I.P August

Four years almost to the date (22/08/13) I produced the Latin reading and English translation reading of the Magna Carta for the British Library. The reader was Robert Hardy. His real name was actually Timothy not Robert, regardless he insisted that we addressed him as Mr. Hardy throughout! We were told in advance not to mention his fall off the stage when playing Churchill earlier in the year. Being a Hull boy it was my first ice breaker question and I asked him if he had fully recovered and was now ok! Not only was he grateful to be asked, he said 'nobody dare mention it, because they think it will avoid my embarrassment or I'll get angry'. He laughed and then said 'I think you and I will get on young man'! He was already well into his 80s, he had to read for 3-4 hours with re takes and variations and at one point I had to correct a Latin pronunciation, to the horror of his buddy Lord Cormack who was present (and was wrong). Okay he was a long established classical actor, but he had a fantastic voice, especially for a man of his age. He was patient, professional and good humoured throughout. It was a pleasure to supervise the session. Robert Hardy wouldn't take a fee, he felt it was a privilege to be asked and so instead we presented him with a particularly rare archer's arrow as he was into that stuff. See pic below. He was very good natured, happy to discuss 'All Creatures Great And Small' etc, but I would have hated to get on the wrong side of him all the same. I shall remember that one day we worked together! It was a real privilege for my colleagues and I. Rest In Peace Mr. Hardy.

See below a couple of photos from the studio recording and being presented with his arrow with Lord Cormack in the centre and my colleague on the right presenting it.

 

Actor Hywel Bennett 73 has passed the Mortal Coil.

 

I liked him in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Didn't know he'd been married to Cathy McGowan in the past.

 

I liked Hywel Bennett. I always remember him in the adaptation of the Joe Orton play 'Loot', The Family Way, Virgin Soldiers and of course as Shelley. RIP!

 

Great story lincs.

I always remember Churchill the wilderness years. He was excellent in that.
RIP

 

Great character actor. Loved All Creatures Great & Small. My son digitized my old VHS tapes of the several series for me last year - the stories and settings still beautiful to watch, and the casting was always superb, down to the minor characters on the remote farms. Must have been a privilege to meet the man.
RIP

 

That was great that, I loved that too. Hardy really admired Churchill, on our breaks he talked of little else. I am pretty sure he said that he'd met him in the late 1950s. Robert Hardy married into the minor aristocracy and so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

It was TC, though weird calling him Mr Hardy all day, and Lord Cormack calling him Tim! Amazingly his voice got better the longer we worked on the reading. Usually, voices start to weaken or croak after an hour or two. He was actually more like his character in ACGAS than I expected to be honest, but yet without doubt a privilege.

 

Former Hull MP, Kevin McNamara, 82.

 

He was great in Malice aforethought in the early eighties . He murdered his first wife with botulism in her sandwiches and gets away with it . But his second with dies too and is found guilty of her murder when it was the bad drains of the time that had killed her .

 

Nice story.

At first when you mentioned you produced the Latin reading and English translation I wrongly assumed you meant you actually did the translation !

I thought, now there's a well educated chap.

 

I wish Chilton! I still have a grasp of the basics of Latin, but nowhere near to that standard ... sadly. There was a dispute about hard sounding and soft sounding c's on certain words. At school we had a Latin master who threw the chalk duster at you (bloody great wooden thing it was) if you didn't get it right and that's the only reason why I remembered it on that occasion. Knowledge learnt through fear...

 

I think that's how most school knowledge was gleaned in the 60's

 

50's for lincoln if you don't mind spes

 

70's for me.

Science teacher at Junior School was a psycho. Often threw objects at pupils.

 

20's for Castro...

Headmaster used to murder him in cold blood every morning etc...

 

Same here if we're counting infant school