CHAPTER 44: THE CYCLE OF EVENTS CONTINUES AND ANOTHER MOVIE:
The pattern more or less repeated itself as before. The movie circus returned to the Bull. The latest 'levitation' incident, catapulted plans for a second movie sequel. This was driven by money of course. Hollywood and all the rest wanted to capitalize on all the current publicity.
Beryl and Sid braced themselves for this latest onslaught. There was a set of the Bull in Hollywood but as before, the movie moguls wanted shots of the actual Bull Pub for added authenticity plus of course the guaranteed addition of Old Slippery himself.
The downstairs Cellar Bar Restaurant was to be used as before, but this time with a minimum of disruption. Filming was to take place overnight and in the mornings only. The Cellar Bar Restaurant was to be restored everyday day for customers. The same British and American production teams were more or less being used again, so this was not a problem.
Yes, American style bottled beers and whiskey would be made available downstairs along with American style burgers, However, no patronizing comments about 'English Beer'. Beryl threatened to unleash Old Slippery on any offenders. This threat was duly noted and the 'yanks' did behave themselves. Real ale and fine food were available in both Restaurant Bars as per normal.
When this all got started Old Slippery was fully involved. He was in ' Seventh Heaven' again back at the centre of attention. He was also back in control. He was further emboldened by his experience of setting up his line dancing class during the disco dancing sessions.
The scriptwriters had got wind of this event as well. The 'Events Bar' was little used during the week, mostly weekends, so it made perfect sense for the production team to encamp there for most of the time. Top 'Boiler Room' DJs were employed. A very attractive soundtrack was produced. An extended 'Line Dance' sequence was added as a central feature of the new movie. Things were entering a realm of beyond the very strange. The ghost of a long-dead Regency highwayman becomes a 1970s style disco dancer along the lines of John Travolta.
Sid had found an old DVD of Saturday Night Fever which he put on the plasma screen for the Old Ghost and to the general delight of the Lounge Bar customers. Old Slippery soon became addicted to the John Travolta dance sequence 'Stayin' Alive', what else? This became the starting point for his dance routine.
Free copyright picture of John Travolta from the movie Saturday Night Fever.
Old Slippery really liked the old 60s/70's style of the big flared trousers and extravagant hair along with all those garish colours of that period. So there had been some flamboyance in male fashion since his day?
Somehow 70's retro style disco was mixed in with the dance music of the 18th century along with suitable 'musical hooks', a nice funky 'Bernard Edwards' bass line, and a solid backbeat. The musical soundtrack became an overnight sensation and further boosted the notoriety of Old Slippery.
The movie producers had learnt from the first movies that the 'House Ghost' had a very short fuse, and 'did not suffer fools gladly.' Everybody had to be 'top-notch', willing to work extremely hard and take orders from a long-dead 18th-century highwayman, Yes Old Slippery was a hard taskmaster. He could work 24/7 no problem being a ghost. There were still issues but far fewer this time. The new 'crew' were understandably perplexed by their first encounter with the ghost. This was to be expected.
Sid the Landlord and the Detective Chief Inspector went along to see some of the dance rehearsals.
They had long grown used to the absurdity of everything associated with Old Slippery. However even they were amazed. There he was, the Old Highwayman in all his shimmering finery, strutting his stuff in front of the line dancers. He was never one to give out praise lightly. Professor Hudson had noticed this. However, the Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom was impressed this time with the overall standard of the dancers and actors. There should be no room for complacency, however. Standards in the movie industry at the top were pretty high to start with. The directors, producers, and investors were suitably impressed with how Old Slippery could really push people. It was not just by threats either. They were there of course. Everybody knew what the 'red eye flicker' meant.
However, if something had gone well and was to his liking, he would give a stately bow, which would all be duly reciprocated by bows and curtsies.
Plus of course, there were the ladies. All supremely fit and very attractive. Again, once the initial horror had lifted there was no end of flirting going on between the Old Ghost and the young ladies.
Yet again he was disgusted by what he was witnessing in the 21st century. This was not the world of 'Jane Austin', far from it.
Yes, "How about it?" Seemed to be the rule.
Young ladies were drawn to his casual flitting and general demeanour. Courtship was very much an art then, especially with the aristocracy. Professor Hudson and Doctor Amelia Smith had been seconded onto the production team. They were able to fit this around their academic duties, just. Plus they were very handsomely remunerated. This was also sent to the University of Oxford along with their own share.
They both filled in the production crew on the background of the Highway Man and the society he was from. The sight of all those 'hot pants', the odd mini skirt, and flowing dresses, not to mention all that luscious permed hair, was proving too much of a distraction for him along with developments in lingerie. Old Slippery's 'X-ray' vision proved very useful in this regard.
Both the academics explained that the Old Highway Man had a prodigious sexual appetite during his life and that this was still more than evident now.
Old Slippery more or less stayed on task. The Detective Chief Inspector's principal role was to keep order in an around the Public House. He still had other ongoing cases and could be called out at any time to deal with any of these.
However, he too was being pulled into the latest movie production. Along with Sid, he had the job of keeping the Old Ghost focused. Doctor Amelia Smith was also being drawn into this role as well, as she too could communicate with Old Slippery telepathically. Plus she had a lady's insight. This was especially important given this Old Ghost's total interest in the young ladies present.
Telepathically, she told Slippery Jake, that he must think he is in a candy shop, given the 'eye candy', young ladies, taking part in this remake. However, he must focus. She suggested a solution. He would be allowed a 10-minute flirt break every hour. The movie director and producers agreed to this, as the actors could not keep going 24/7 like the Old Highwayman.
The academics dropped into the Bull when they could. Here was a kind of 'living' example of someone from the Regency period they were studying. Undergraduates, Post Graduates, and Ph.D. students would also pass through, along with other lecturers and academics. This was quite a wide body, plus many from overseas. This had to be managed of course. They had to go through both Professor Hudson and Doctor Smith first before they were allowed entry to the Bull. They both knew that Old Slippery was not happy with being treated like a zoo animal. Any observations were therefore discrete. Old Slippery knew full well what was going on but was happily absorbed in his production duties.
They all gained a lot from what they saw. A whole culture and way of interacting had been lost. The way in which the Old Ghost engaged with the young ladies. But here it was for all to see, one of the many facets that Old Slippery had shown to the modern world.