Royal treat for garden fans

Garden-lovers will flock to Abbots House in Abbots Langley High Street, this weekend as part of an annual Red Cross fundraising event.
The gardens of Sue and Peter Tomson, which were pictured in The Gazette in April, can be visited on Sunday, June 11, and on Sunday July 27, from 2pm-5pm,
which  are both Red Cross open days.
l Another gardens event with a difference is on Sunday, June 18 when the Manor House at Chipperfield will
be opening the grounds to recognise and celebrate the Queen’s 80th birthday and also raise funds for two village projects.
The gardens will open from 12.30pm to 4.30pm, entry tickets are £3. 50 (children under 10 free).
Tickets will be available at the gate on the day but it would help to gauge numbers if they are bought in advance by phoning 01923 268904.All proceeds will go towards funding important maintenance for the village hall stage and a new lighting system at St Paul’s Church.
There will be food and drink stalls, fun activities for small children, a raffle and plant sale.
l This year’s theme for the Flower Festival from Saturday, June 24 to Monday, June 26 at Holy Cross Church, Sarratt, is The Glory of the Garden.
The 400th anniversary of the oldest bell is also being celebrated by a ringing of the bells.
Light refreshments, lunches and teas are to be served during the weekend and there will be a concert - Music for a Summer Evening - on Saturday.
All proceeds will be spent on restoration and renovation of the ancient church.

Hot dogs and sausage-eaters join up for some carnival fun

Groom up your dogs and polish up your classic cars - for Kings Langley’s annual carnival is on its way.
The yearly event arranged by Watford and The Langleys Rotary Club, takes place on Saturday, June 24 and has something for everyone, with the village common providing an attractive rural venue.
The main attraction will be a fun dog show organised by Chiltern Dog Rescue.
Established in 1963, Chiltern Dog Rescue Society offers accommodation and care for unwanted and homeless dogs until permanent homes can be found for them.
As well as an excellent display by their dog formation team, they are organising a full programme of judged rounds during the afternoon for all comers, vying for the Handsomest Hound, Waggiest Tail, Most Appealing Eyes and Fastest Sausage Eater. Registration is on the common from 1pm.
Kings Langley School Orchestra and choir will entertain from 1.30pm.
No carnival would be complete without charity stalls and sideshows - and there’s a fun fair and tug of war, with Mr Topple to entertain the children.
A cavalcade of classic cars will make its way along the high street at 1pm to the common, ready for the opening by the Mayor of Dacorum, councillor Catherine Appleby, at 2pm.
Carnival programmes with full details of the event are now being sold in the village, for £1.

Film giant extends stay

Filmmakers Warner Bros has applied to Three Rivers District Council for a variation of a condition on their planning permission.
The company has now been given permission to extend its temporary permission (currently until December 2008) for a further two years (2010) for its site at Leavesden.

Actor takes off in controversial role

Crying after takes on the set and feeling low – Abbots Langley resident Erich Redman tells us about acting in the most controversial film of the year.
Cinema-goers will be able to see Mr Redman play one of the main parts in United 93, which depicts the events of Flight 93 during the 9/11 tragedy.
Four American passenger planes were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists. Two of the planes were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, one was steered into the Pentagon, and the forth one – United Airline flight 93 – crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
33 passengers, among them the German Wine Institute representative Christian Adams, seven crew and four hijackers died.
German born Erich Redman, whose credits include Saving Private Ryan, U-571 and Lovejoy, portrays German passenger Christian Adams in the UK/US film.
The Abbots Langley resident moved from Kilburn, London, in 2001 to avoid city life.
Originally trained in business, Mr Redman got the acting bug after a friend encouraged him to attend improvisation classes. After that he put his business career to one side to try out acting.
He moved to England with his girlfriend 15 years ago to pursue his acting career.
A casting agency approached him to audition for United 93 and he was given the part on the spot.
Before United 93 came out many Americans, especially New Yorkers, complained about it being made too soon, but since its release on June 2 the movie has had rave reviews.
Mr Redman said: “I was concerned that maybe it was too soon to make a film about a tragedy so fresh in people's minds. In New York a couple of cinemas pulled the trailers because people in the audience didn't like it and would shout, 'too soon', when they came on. There's a lot of controversy about it, but on the other hand I thought, Paul Greengrass (writer, director and producer), did Bloody Sunday and that wasn't tasteless. United 93 is very dignified.”
The film is as close to reality as possible; the CIA gave the production team transcripts of all the phonecalls made on the flight which included passengers talking to loved ones and calls to police on the ground. The actors used the very same lines on the transcript.
It was shot in Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, without a conventional screenplay. Using a treatment, a series of intense rehearsals and the technique of improvisation instead, director, Paul Greengrass, captured authenticity and raw emotion from the cast.
The actors playing the hijackers and the actors playing the passengers were purposefully kept away from each other until the filming so they were actually wary of each other.
The hijack scene was shot in real time and took an exhausting 14 takes, during which a real size United Airlines plane simulated dives and banking resulting in numerous cuts and bruises among the cast.
Mr Redman said: “It was pretty traumatic. Normally inbetween takes actors go back to their trailers for a laugh and a joke but not in this film. It was like being at a mass funeral, all the actresses were in tears after each take and some of the male actors too. It was a very sombre atmosphere.”
It was not an easy film to make and there was no socialising afterwards because people were not in the mood and felt guilty, but Mr Redman said as a method actor he needed to feel the emotions of his character.
While most of the other male passengers gear up to attack the four Arab hijackers, Mr Redman's character urges his fellow passengers to comply with them, arguing that was historically the best strategy for survival.
“He's the voice of reason, “ he explained. “Personally I tend to avoid confrontation. In that position I would have kept myself quiet for a while and been careful not provoke the hijackers, but we have survival instinct in us all and if I had the choice to attack or die I would have joined the others in attack.”