Hammer Anniversary-Ness :-)

I am an enormous fan of Hammer films and of Peter Cushing in particular. His cheekbones, diction and just all round wonderfulness make me very happy indeed. I know he did lots of films for all sorts of companies but it is the films he made with Hammer which are my very favourites. Aside from Cone of Silence which is a very good film indeed about the aviation industry which also features the very marvellous George Sanders (who I also have a bit of a thing for - see also James Mason, Stewart Granger and William Holden - delectable all) it is the Hammer ones which really make me happy - I love the settings, the sounds, the and their colour tone (a lovely pale kind of glorious technicolour)  so imagine my excitement and delight when we decided to spend our 4th wedding anniversary at Oakley Court Hotel. Mr Pops (my lovely husband) is a fan too - nowhere near as obsessive or fervent as I am - but a fan nonetheless.

Oakley Court which is next door to Bray Studios used to be part of the Hammer Films set up and they filmed many films there but so did other production companies, for instance Amicus made And Now The Screaming Starts there - a film we watched whilst in our bedroom at Oakley Court (Mr Pops gave me the Peter Cushing Collection as an anniversary present and it is a good little boxset -even though I must complain that he is hardly in The Hellfire Club)  and it was beyond magical to be in the same place as we could see on screen - to walk through the same entrance doors Peter Cushing as Dr Pope does, and to walk on the same lawns and down to the same fountain as Ms Beacham. Thankfully though none of the other guests were wearing as dreadful a wig as Mr Cushing does in this film and nobody seemed to be complaining of possession by spirits, chopping insolent woodsmans hands off or slashing portraits.....

I don't think I can find the words to tell you quite how magical a stay this was for me, I am not a religious person but this was a religious experience for me and here is a pic of me about to enter those very doors looking v giddy at the prospect indeed.

 It was so lovely - we've decided we're going to go back there again for special occasions - now when is the next one.......