A3 (c. 16"x12") print on:
Permajet Gold Silk (£26)
Innova Soft-textured matt (£24)
It's a long story, but I went to Bhutan in the eastern Himalayas to make a film about Antarctica.
The hot-air balloonists, whom I'd met through a writer, were 'collecting' countries they'd flown in,
and were looking forward to being the first to fly balloons in Antarctica - by which time, we were all
hoping, I'd have secured a commission to film the story for TV. However, I needed some practice
at filming from balloons and microlights, so I was invited to Bhutan - the next country on their list
- to get started. The King of Bhutan had given us permission, everything was trucked in from
India, and everyone survived the experience. I eventually managed to get a short 'Bhutan' film
on Channel 4. This shot is on the only road through Bhutan, near Tongsa (now called Trongsa),
on an early morning tea break at about 11,000ft.
But the Antarctica expedition was called off. Whilst doing a recce on the Russian base that we
were to be stationed on, the Swiss pilot slipped on the ice and broke his arm. It couldn't be set
until he'd got back to Switzerland. Then a Norwegian from the twice-yearly supply ship (and our
potential delivery vessel) fell down a crevasse and, because none of the Russian tractors worked,
he couldn't be rescued. He's still there. It was clear that it would be suicide to attempt some
dangerous flying - the balloons would go up like rockets - where there was no logistical or
emergency support. So the idea had to be abandoned. I later discovered that they wouldn't have
been the first anyway - Scott had had a tethered balloon on the Ross Sea ice in fateful 1911.
It's a long story, but I went to Bhutan in the eastern Himalayas to make a film about Antarctica.
The hot-air balloonists, whom I'd met through a writer, were 'collecting' countries they'd flown in, and
were looking forward to being the first to fly balloons in Antarctica - by which time, we were all hoping,
I'd have secured a commission to film the story for TV. However, I needed some practice at filming
from balloons and microlights, so I was invited to Bhutan - the next country on their list - to get
started. The King of Bhutan had given us permission, everything was trucked in from India, and
everyone survived the experience. I eventually managed to get a short 'Bhutan' film on Channel 4.
This shot is on the only road through Bhutan, near Tongsa (now called Trongsa), on an early
morning tea break at about 11,000ft.
But the Antarctica expedition was called off. Whilst doing a recce on the Russian base that we were to
be stationed on, the Swiss pilot slipped on the ice and broke his arm. It couldn't be set until he'd got
back to Switzerland. Then a Norwegian from the twice-yearly supply ship (and our potential delivery
vessel) fell down a crevasse and, because none of the Russian tractors worked, he couldn't be
rescued. He's still there. It was clear that it would be suicide to attempt some dangerous flying - the
balloons would go up like rockets - where there was no logistical or emergency support. So the idea
had to be abandoned. I later discovered that they wouldn't have been the first anyway - Scott had
had a tethered balloon on the Ross Sea ice in fateful 1911.
A3 (c. 16"x12") print on:
Permajet Gold Silk (£26)
Innova Soft-textured matt (£24)