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Home  >  Blog  >  A Sicilian Shooting

A Sicilian Shooting

Trish Burgess Posted on07/03/201315/10/2018 Italy, Sicily 30 Comments

“You look like a very photogenic couple. Would you like to be in a film?” asked the suave, moustachioed, tanned man with a clipboard.

Dougie and I were sitting in the reception area of our hotel in Selinunte, Sicily. We glanced at each other, nervous, unsure of whether we were being lured into some seedy, pornographic scenario.

“We just need some people to act like tourists for a few hours so we can film the local area.”

So, not the sleazy shoot I had feared. We remained ambivalent but asked for more details. It’s not as if we had anything else to do. This was 1989, we were having a blissfully lazy holiday which mostly involved lying on the beach and taking regular dips in the sea to cool off. We really ought to be seeing the sights, especially as the ruins of the ancient Greek city were on our doorstep.

“I can pay you £25 each?”

The next morning we met our director bright and early and happily clambered into the minibus for the drive to the ancient site, along with a couple of entertainers from the hotel and a Welsh pharmacist with very prominent teeth.

Our swarthy director was making a promotional film to show the beauty of Italy, in advance of the World Cup which was taking place the following year. For the next few hours there was a great deal of posing, pointing and waiting around for cameramen to adjust lenses and frame shots. It was an easy way to make a bit of money and as we were young and short of it, this was a great opportunity.

Filming finished, we were bundled back in the bus and handed a fistful of lira. We never did see the resulting film but I have found our snaps from that day so here’s Brad and Angelina, slightly windswept but incredibly tanned, with Brad sporting a pair of very skimpy shorts, doing our bit for local tourism.

Selinunte, Sicily, 1989

 

Temple of Hera, Selinunte, 1989

 

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30 Comments

  1. Expat mum Reply
    07/03/2013 at 3:02 pm

    Are we related? How can you get so brown?

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/03/2013 at 4:17 pm

      You must have genes from the paler side of the family…and far fewer wrinkles!

  2. Sarah Reply
    07/03/2013 at 4:21 pm

    How exciting was that? You look fantastic, indeed very suave, and you got to see some ruins. 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/03/2013 at 5:17 pm

      I was reminded of it when a friend commented on the Mr&Mrs post about Sicily. It all came flooding back. I looked up our hotel on TripAdvisor and it has mixed reviews now, saying it is rather dated and very 80s. It can't have been 24 years ago!

  3. About Last Weekend Reply
    07/03/2013 at 4:56 pm

    Wow, you were (and still are!) a photogenic bronzed couple – you can be in my next film. You've got great pins girl. Love this story

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/03/2013 at 5:44 pm

      We used to soak up the sun whenever we were on holiday. I can't do that anymore – my skin just says no!
      You called me a girl….. :-)))

  4. Kelloggs Ville Reply
    07/03/2013 at 5:24 pm

    Gosh how gorgeous do you both look? But you still look young. You are wearing well 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/03/2013 at 5:45 pm

      You haven't seen me up close but I'll happily take the compliment…thanks!!

  5. Troy Reply
    07/03/2013 at 5:39 pm

    A new marketing slogan "Book now before it becomes dated"?

    Was an ancient GREEK city really on your doorstep in Sicily?

    Finally, if you relocate to Seoul, is it a good Korea move? (not sure what prompted that last item but at least it is travel related).

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/03/2013 at 5:48 pm

      Yes, Greek ruins. If you click on the Selinunte link, wiki will give you all the details – something about it being the western most Greek colony.
      Thank you for your travel pun – I could get you to do a regular feature.

    • Troy Reply
      07/03/2013 at 9:58 pm

      That would mean having more than one travel pun.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 8:30 am

      You disappoint me, Troy. Get your thinking cap on!

  6. Nana Go-Go Reply
    07/03/2013 at 8:57 pm

    I say, that Scottish Hunk would've given The Hoff a run for his money!!His sidekick's not bad either!! Selinunte is beautiful – the Greeks did indeed invade Sicily, as well as the Turks and Arabs. My ex was of Sicilian descent and we once went there to open an ice cream factory for his father in Marsala callled 'Tartan Gelati' – yes, it's true – but we were nearly had up by the local Carabinieri when a consignment of ingredients for lemon sorbet which we'd been waiting on to be delivered from the UK was seized by customs in the belief that it was a Class A drug – my pigeon-Sicilian dialect and the promise of a year's supply of free lemon sorbet got us out of a very tight spot!Apart from all that, I loved Sicily but my first encounter with heatstroke forced me to seek out cooler shores! I'm descended from Vikings, after all!Have a great weekend, Trish. x

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 8:32 am

      I think that's one of the most entertaining blog comments I've ever had. I read it out to the Scottish Hunk and he loved 'Tartan Gelati'. What a story, Nana!

  7. MsCaroline Reply
    07/03/2013 at 9:30 pm

    This is great – and now realize how much Rory looks like his dad!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 8:32 am

      Ah do you think so? What a lucky lad.

  8. Sonja Hoyt Reply
    08/03/2013 at 3:06 am

    That's a fun experience and great travel story. What skinny tan legs you have!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 8:34 am

      Too much sun and not enough protection. That was in the days we thought Factor 4 was excessive.

  9. libby Reply
    08/03/2013 at 7:28 am

    Look at you both! so young and slim and attractive……I bet not a lot has changed either……and now I really need some sunshine!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 8:35 am

      We're not too bad, Libby. Neither of us have put on too much weight and Dougie still looks about 20 in my eyes.

  10. BavarianSojourn Reply
    08/03/2013 at 11:10 am

    You are sooo brown in the pics! How brilliant would it be if you could actually find the film somewhere?? 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 10:43 pm

      I've tried googling it but don't think it exists. We were probably just tiny figures in the distance anyway.

  11. gammonandchips Reply
    08/03/2013 at 8:54 pm

    Ha ha. Love your headline for this! Very clever. And here's to all the husbands in the world being called Doug! Congrats on being a MAD Blog Awards Finalist! I am too – we'll definitely have to catch up at the awards ceremony in September! I'm so excited! xoxo

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      08/03/2013 at 10:46 pm

      Ah yes, all good homes should have a Doug. Mine loves duct tape. Does yours?
      Yes, I had a lovely surprise when I woke up today to see I was a finalist. It's going to be lots of fun – it was last year. September seems so far away so enjoy all the fuss in the run up!

  12. Curry Queen Reply
    09/03/2013 at 8:51 am

    As a frustrated 'Sun' headline writer, I doff my hat to you madam (sorry, girl). What a glam couple you make!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      09/03/2013 at 3:06 pm

      Coming from the mistress of pun blog post titles, that makes me a very happy girl!

  13. Funky Wellies Reply
    09/03/2013 at 6:05 pm

    These shorts are… quite something!! ;o) What a fab story, and loving the tans! xx

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      09/03/2013 at 6:11 pm

      Rory has been laughing his head off at his dad's shorts. Dougie tells him these were fashionable in the late 80s. I'm not sure they ever were but when you've got good legs you might as well show them off!

  14. Very Bored in Catalunya Reply
    12/03/2013 at 5:12 pm

    I can't be the only one scouring the pictures for the bucked toothed Welshman can I? Please tell me I'm not!

    Great story and lovely pictures, you make a very handsome couple! x

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      12/03/2013 at 5:31 pm

      Haha! Scour away, Wendy, I don't think he got in any of our shots, I'm sure I'd have spotted him…

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