Hidden away in the deep English countryside, I'm currently shooting the next series of Evacuation for Twenty Twenty Television for Children’s BBC. It's not the sort of project that has taken me to an exotic or extreme location, but it could possibly be one of the best jobs I've been involved in! Basically a group of a dozen 11-12 year olds leave the 21st century behind and get to experience what it was like to be evacuated during the Second World War.We're only 4 days into the (very busy) three-week shoot, but already the children have had a baptism of fire into 1940's life - by saying goodbye to their modern day clothes and gadgets, had extreme haircuts and fumigation, gas mask training, milked goats, endured spoonfuls of daily cod-liver oil, prepared their own meals from strict rations, and attend very strict school lessons.As is usual with Twenty Twenty productions, the crews never interact with the contributors and they are totally immersed in this world – as much as possible we are there simply to observe their experience. This is easier said than done, as already on many occasions while filming we’ve found ourselves trying to desperately hold in bursts of laughter when the kids come out with all manner of hilarious comments, pull fantastic expressions, or simply projectile vomit sprouts at the dinner table!!
