the droids you are looking for

hello there

well, as given away in my post about the wonders of Nando's, we went off for a most pleasant afternoon in York whilst we were over in England.i somehow doubt one needs a lesson in the history of York from me, with tales of Vikings, Constantine (the Constantine, not the rubbish film with him out of Bill & Ted in it) and all other fascinating elements of history being out there to read and discover.

what might be slightly less better known than the above, however, is that it seems present day York is something of a magnet, or perhaps even a haven, for characters from the world of Star Wars. James and William were delighted when we arrived in York and more or less bumped straight into this chap!

and yes, their Daddy was just has happy to see a stormtrooper too! it's a smart outfit he has on, complete with a blaster which, as you can see, he rather unwisely let James and William have a go with. we were rather surprised when they handed it back to him!

if i recall correctly, there is a large degree of method to the this kind of street performance. i am not sure if it remains the case, but once upon a time in order to get a much coveted Equity membership card aspiring actors and actresses had to do a certain amount of public performance hours first. someone clocked that standing around on a street corner in a costume met this requirement, and thus for a while you would see - mostly in major cities - people stood around dressed as clowns and such like for no apparent reason.

at least this fellow put in some considerable effort! and a great perfomance from him too, especially when the boys had him cornered!

is it just me, or is there a bit of a Han Solo / Luke Skywalker look to James in the next picture?

we had a great time in York anyway, but seeing this chap was most certainly an added bonus! as i told James of how once, as a lad, i met Darth Vader at a toy shop he did hope we would find the same shop on the off chance he was still there, but alas it was not to be.

some more pictures of York to follow, and this one will get "published" just as soon as Andrew tells me what title it is i am supposed to be addressing him as on this blog. in the mean time, i can tell you that (insert title here) Andrew didn't go with us to York, but Christopher of France did, and found many stylish clothing outlets for the gentry. he bought some shirts that made him look most dapper.

nope, Andrew is not sending his desired title to me via blueberry, so i am hitting the publish button.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!