The Safety Dance

Location: West Kington, England
Address: Drifton Hill
Date: September 2015
Website: www.menwithouthats.com

  "We can go where we want to. A place where they will never find."  It may seem like an unlikely place for Canadian band Men Without Hats to film their Safety Dance video, but thanks to some internet research and a very informative blog, we paid a visit to this special place.

  West Kington is a small village that is located north of Bath and east of Bristol.  We were traveling along the M4 highway and had a plan mapped out before we left.  We made a few wrong turns but eventually reached our first sheep filled destination.

  Ebbdown Farm is in the background of the opening scenes of the video.  We don't recall seeing any sheep in the video, but when we visited they were everywhere.  If we walked close to a fence we would hear some baa-ing as they ran away on the other side.  The farm is located just a short drive from West Kington.

  We drove our car up to a cattle guard at the gate of the farm.  Cattle guards also work at preventing sheep from crossing them as they have similar feet. Anyway, enough about the sheep let's get back to the video locations. 

  The video starts off with lead singer Ivan running through a field with a little court jester.  They go past this wall and then run down to the road that leads to the farm.

  It is here that they are joined by a dancing girl and come to a crossroads.  You can't see the other road as it is hidden behind the hill and tree, but they choose the one on the left.  The action then moves to West Kington.

   The jester and girl dance along beside Ivan as he walks past some houses.  The home above still had the same red post box in front of it.

  Next we come across the gate where they do The Safety Dance.  The utility pole in the background helped us know that this was the place.  To do The Safety Dance you use both of your arms.  Your left arm goes right over your head and your right arm goes left across your waist in a jerky motion.  Now look at your hands.  If you are doing it right it will appear like you just formed an S.

  A crowd of people dressed in costumes head across the little bridge and march down the street.  They were all dressed real neat from their hats to their feet.  They would be heading towards the photographer in the photo above.

  They all seem to be going to a May Day festival which takes place in the courtyard of this building.  There are people dressed as barnyard animals (but not sheep), there is a Punch & Judy puppet show and lots of dancing.  We can dance!

  A group of people are dancing around a May pole as Ivan continues to sing.  The party continues for the rest of the video.  The Safety Dance came out in 1983 and was one of the more memorable videos and songs from the 80's.  Thirty years ago we were wondering what those strange people in the video were doing.  Today we know first hand exactly where they did it, but we still have no idea what The Safety Dance really is.  Oh well! They can dance if they want to.

---

Map of Our World
Ebbdown Farm , West Kington

---

Post # 177

The Blue Door (Notting Hill)

Location: London, England
Address: 280 Westbourne Park Rd.
Date: September 2015
Website: www.visitlondon.com

  There is a famous film location which can be found on Westbourne Park Road in London, England.  It is located in the Notting Hill area and is from a film of the same name.  In Notting Hill, William (Hugh Grant) is a bookstore owner who lives in a flat with a blue painted door.  He lives there with his roommate Spike (Rhys Ifrans).  In the movie the door and pillars in the photo above are all painted blue.  At least when we arrived to check out this location the door was still blue.
  In the film, William meets movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) in his bookstore and they start a relationship.  Things don't work out until suddenly one day Anna is there at the blue door.  She is looking for a place to hide out since some nude photos of her have surfaced in the press.  Will agrees to let her stay and they spend the night together.  The next morning the press has figured out where Anna is hiding and when Will goes to open the front door he is met with the flash of many cameras.  Anna comes to the door and is horrified to realize they know she is there.  Despite receiving a warning from William, Spike also ventures out in his underwear.  He loves all the attention and strikes a few poses before returning inside very pleased with himself.
  We played the part of the paparazzi and snapped a few photos ourselves in order to remember these movie moments.

---

Map of Our World
The Blue Door

---

Post # 176

The Ritz London

Location: London, England
Address: 150 Piccadily Street
Date: August 2015
Website: www.theritzlondon.com

  The Ritz Hotel in London, England is a high end hotel which opened in 1906.  The term, "Puttin' on the Ritz" was inspired by the hotel and refers to surrounding yourself with luxury.  While it wasn't quite in our budget to stay or dine at The Ritz, we did walk past it on our way to dine elsewhere.
 

  We enjoyed a nice dinner at Rextail which was only a short walk away. 

  The Ritz Hotel is located on Piccadilly Street which is home to an interesting variety of architecture.  The building above is one of the Ritz's across the street neighbours.

  The hotel has hosted members of high society along with actors and actresses who would come to indulge and socialize.  In the movie Notting Hill, Julia Roberts plays a popular Hollywood actress named Anna.  She meets William (Hugh Grant) in the bookstore that he owns.  She invites him to come and visit her at her Ritz Hotel suite.  To William's surprise he is there along with a group of reporters ready to interview Anna about her latest sci-fi film.  After pretending to be a reporter from Horse & Hound magazine, William and Anna finally go out and spend a nice evening together.  

  They go out for dinner again and then return to The Ritz.  As they walk along the corridor above, Anna invites Will up to her room.  Unfortunately, her American boyfriend is there and Will leaves the hotel confused and sad.

If you're blue and you don't know where to go to.  Why don't you go where fashion sits.?

---

Map of Our World
The Ritz Hotel
Rextail

---

Post # 175

Ministry Of Silly Walks

Location: London, England
Address: 49 Charing Cross
Date: Sept 2015
Website: www.rbs.com

 Drummonds Bank has been located across from Trafalgar Square since 1760.  It is located at the top end of Whitehall which is a street in London that contains many government buildings.  Those government buildings house many different departments and ministries.  If an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus is to be believed, there is one ministry that many people have never heard of.

 

   In the skit, John Cleese portrays a minister who is shown walking up Whitehall.  In the background you can clearly see the London icon Big Ben as well as the Old War Office.  The minister has a very unusual walk which is hard to describe.

    In Toronto, Canada there is a Firkin pub on Bloor Street East which has this silly walk painted on the wall beside its staircase.

  John Cleese continues walking his walk along Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square.  When he finally arrives at his destination he will have to apologize that his walk has become rather sillier recently and as a result it takes him longer to get to work.

  We are now only a few silly steps from the offices of a ministry that is supposed to receive the same government spending as Defence, Social Security, Health, Housing and Education.  Last year the British Government spent more money on National Defence than on the ministry in question.

  John continues on past the railing above until the camera zooms in on a sign that reveals the name of the ministry.

  We are now almost back at the entrance to Drummonds Bank and on the fence (above) between the ATM and the window with flowers is a sign which states, "Ministry Of Silly Walks".  This skit has been an all time favourite amongst Monty Python fans.  Monty Python's appeal lies in the fact that they combine both intelligence and silliness.  We suggest that when you visit Trafalgar Square you should also take a walk along Whitehall Road to visit this filming location.  Your walk may not be as silly as a member of this legendary comedy troupe, but like Michael Palin's character we think that with Government backing you could make it very silly.

---

Map of Our World
Ministry of Silly Walks
Firkin On Bloor

---

Post # 169

Someone Call A Veterinarian

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: Colborne Street
Date:  Oct 2016
Website: www.omnihotels.com

  We had decided to watch the entire television series of Due South.  Due South was a show about a Canadian Mountie (Paul Gross) who ends up in Chicago helping their police department.   The show took place in Chicago, but was actually filmed in Toronto, Canada.  The fourth episode of season one is called "They Eat Horses, Don't They?" and features Richard Moll (Bull from Night Court).   In this episode a family gets food poisoning and Benton (The Mountie) suspects that it was caused by wild horses being captured illegally and sold as meat.

 Benton takes an early morning horse ride through the streets with a woman that is also fighting to protect the horses.  When they start to ride their horses we recognized the curved glass roof that juts out from Commerce Court.  This would put them heading east on Colbourne Avenue.



  As they continue to ride along, the woman charges ahead on her horse and heads past the Tom Jones Steak House.  When she turns to look back at Benton we realized that a famous movie scene had also been filmed here heading in the opposite direction.  Surprisingly, it also featured horses.

  In the Police Academy movie, Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) and Lieutenant Harris (G.W. Bailey) are stuck in traffic.

Officer Hooks (Marion Ramsey) is quietly trying to restore order after a truck full of chickens has been involved in an accident.. A vehicle pulling a horse trailer is also stuck in traffic just past the stop sign above.

  Harris is frustrated so he commandeers a motor bike and speeds off along the street heading west.

 A sports car suddenly pulls out in front of Harris and he is sent flying.towards the horse trailer.  A loud whinny is heard and a woman on the street faints.  Mahoney is seen standing in front of a street light (first picture at the top of this post) and shouts "Someone call a veterinarian!".  It was fun to visit this movie/television filming location.  We had seen the King Eddie many times from the front entrance but we never had any reason to go around back.  When we did we were surprised. We suspect that Lieutenant Harris might say the same thing about horses.

---

This location is near King subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Someone Call A Veterinarian
Tom Jones Steak House

---

Post # 162

Humber College (Police Academy)

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 2 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr,
Date: July 2014
Website: www.humber.ca

  As you approach the Lakeshore Campus of Humber College it might seem very familiar.  That would be because you have seen this location many times in the Police Academy movies.  You remember it from the original film as well as Police Academy 3: Back In Training and Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol.  You don't recall it from Police Academy's 2, 5, 6 or 7 because those movies were filmed in Los Angeles, Miami and Moscow.

  The roundabout in front of the main bulding is where most of the main cast comes together for the first time.  This is where Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) and Jones (Michael Winslow) arrive at the academy.  Mahoney is wearing a "One in the Oven" t-shirt and Jones is blasting Frankie Goes To Hollywood on his boom box.  Cadet Martin shows up with a car full of girlfriends and Tackleberry (David Graf) pulls up in his jeep ready for action.  Cadet Fackler shows up at the academy with his wife clinging to the hood of the car.  That is until he stops.

  Up in the main tower is Commandant Lassard's (George Gaines) office.  He watches the new recruits arrive with Lieutenant Harris (G.W. Bailey) and the Chief of Police.  This is also where Mahoney waves to Cadet Thompson (Kim Cattral) from the lower office. 

  The house next to the Humber College buildings is Cumberland House.  In the first Police Academy movie, Mahoney is told that this house is where the Commandant and his wife live.  He sends Cadet Barbara over to the house and tells him to say that "Mahoney sent you".  Mahoney does this in hopes that it will get him kicked out of the academy.

  In Polce Academy 3 a rich recruit mistakes Hightower (Bubba Smith) for a porter and asks him for help with his bags.  Hightower is more than happy to help and delivers the luggage through the air to somewhere inside the building above.

  Back at the roundabout both Zed (Bobcat Goldwaith) and Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) arrive as new recruits.  Zed is on his motorbike and Sweetchuck on his moped.  Zed loses control and ends up in the flower bed while Sweetchuck crashes into the trunk of a police car.  In Police Academy 4 Mahoney and Jones end up in the flower bed this time.  Lassard accidentaly shoots a golf ball out of his office which then cracks their windshield.

  Commandant Lassard announces the new COP (Citizen's On Patrol) in front of the main doors.  Sharon Stone plays a role in the movie as a reporter and Mahoney is quick to offer to field any questions that she may have. When we arrived at the campus, the building was sealed off and a pretend door had been painted over where the real door used to be.

  It was fun to visit where the Police Academy movies started and where they returned again and again to bring integrity, knowledge, courage and comedy.

---

Map of Our World
Humber College (Lakeshore Campus) , Cumberland House

---

Post # 161