It’s a tad hot, isn’t it?
Us Brits do love our weather. We love to moan about it, check it, then moan about it some more…and then check it again, and then think about what the weather might be like next weekend.
There have always been heatwaves. Only the other day were my folks banging on about a legendary heatwave from 1976. 50 years ago! They, themselves, were only kids during the summer of ’76 and talk about it fondly. According to records the heatwave began on June 23rd and didn’t end until August 27th. Yikes!
On and on my folks were talking, reminiscing really, about playing outside from 8am until 10pm. The best summer ever they keep declaring. The peak temperature reached 35.9 degrees Celsius or 96.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Now, 50 years on, we’re in another heatwave. Then, only yesterday, was I thinking about 50 years. Hold my lightsaber, I thought! The original Star Wars was filming right here in old Blightly 50 years ago and they’d have had to contend with the heatwave.
There’s no doubt that the American cast wouldn’t have minded, coming from California and all, but not us Brits.
A few years ago, Luke Skywalker himself – Mark Hamill – confirmed a story about how the heatwave affected filming.
According to Hamill, it was too hot for the actors playing the X-Wing pilots, so it was time to get creative. The actors only wore their X-Wing pilot costumes from the top and not on the bottom. Instead of the full costume, actors wore shorts and nothing else.
Of course, this makes no difference to us watching the film as we can only see their top halves but is funny to imagine them so casual whilst flying their X-Wings to attack and destroy the Death Star.
The UK doesn’t really do air con either. Yes, we have it, but not like the rest of the world. Spare a thought for all the actors who were dressed up in the heavy costumes. Health and safety certainly weren’t like they are today.
How funny life can be sometimes, that history repeats itself. Half a century on and the UK is the grips of a similar heatwave. Time will only tell if history will repeat itself next May for Star Wars: Starfighter. Can that film recapture the adventure and excitement for a new generation?