In Philadelphia, born and raised
(Reflection in SWAT van: Philadelphia, USA)
That’s right, folks! I’m in Philly!
The jig will be up very quickly, so I may as well admit this is actually one of the prop vehicles for the movie World War Z’ currently filming with (brace yourself) Brad Pitt in Glasgow’s city centre. It has caused such a lot of local hype and there are Brad spotters out daily, hoping for glimpses of him with camera lenses that would make your eyes water. I was on my way to Edinburgh on Friday and thought I would have a quick scan of the area, but I spent a happy half hour cruising the square and looking at all the film props on show; signage, traffic lights, crossings, flagpoles and the vehicles. There are more images to come, but I thought this one was rather fun for a start.
It was remarkably difficult to get any decent shots as access is restricted to narrow channels across the square, so finding the precise vantage point for a good shot is limited. In all the surrounding streets there are tens of vehicles, but perhaps there are well over fifty – SWAT vans like this one, fire trucks, fire ambulances, cars, lorries, trucks, vans, buses, military trucks, police cars, taxis. There could be one hundred in all, who knows! While I was there, filming was ongoing along Cochrane street on the South edge of the Square. Access was obviously restricted, as was the view, though it didn’t limit the fame hungry audience, straining to see if they could watch a sliver of action. Apparently there are one thousand locals being used as extras in the film, but I didn’t see anything of that scale anywhere. In fact, aside from the surreal, but fairly unobtrusive additions to the square, there is not so much to see unless one counts the vehicles which are numerous and at close quarters. For any visiting American, they will likely wonder what all the fuss is about, but the surprise from locals is all about context; no car or truck is particularly amazing in itself, but to see them parked nose to tail in the busiest area of Glasgow is peculiar. I feel for the tourists who must be checking their maps for all the streets around the square and finding nothing but fake street signs and bizarre Philadelphia grid maps covering all the freestanding Glasgow ones – they must be completely baffled, poor things. Then again, with a few well-taken pictures, they can extend their holidays to Philadelphia, at least in their photo albums.
I took a quick video (48 seconds) of several elements of the set, which you can see on my youtube channel. Sorry the audio is a bit quiet, but it’s rather embarrassing to talk to yourself whilst holding a camera in Glasgow’s busiest square! Had I been accompanied, I might have tried a little harder. I’m sure you get the gist, even with my substandard commentary.
– Today Rosie is having meetings, drawing, doing choir practice and attempting to put up another post in Glasgow, Scotland –
