THE DAILY PLANET - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED IN MILTON KEYNES...

Following on from the previous post, let me expand a little on the subject of 'Bob Billens' and my brief mention of SUPERMAN IV.  One evening, sometime in 1986 or early '87, I received a 'phone call from Bob, saying that he'd snapped several photographs of CHRISTOPHER REEVE dressed as Superman on location in MILTON KEYNES, where the 4th (and worst) film of the series was being shot, and where Bob and his wife were then (and may yet be) living.

"How much are they worth to you?" he suddenly enquired, which took me somewhat by surprise as, had the situation been reversed, I'd have had extra prints made and sent them to him at my own expense.  I hesitated for a second while I tried to come up with a diplomatic response.  "I'd be interested in seeing them because you took them," I said, "but they're not really worth anything to me over and above the cost of printing."  A moment of silence followed as he pondered this clearly unexpected development.  (No photographic pun intended by the way.)

"Do you know anyone else who might buy them? he asked, sounding almost desperate.  I doubt he'd have needed money, but he'd never previously shown any interest in being recognised as a photographer, so I wondered as to why he seemed so eager to sell them.  "I'll 'phone a couple of places," I said, "and get back to you."  As we drew our conversation to a close, he told me he'd get a spare set of photos made and post them to me.  "I'll reimburse all your costs," I said, "so that you won't be out of pocket!"

Once I got off the 'phone, I called two people.  One was the guy (Dave Hern I think) who ran Wonderworld Comics in Bournemouth and the other was one of the guys in charge at AKA Books & Comics in Glasgow.  Both calls were short ones, as neither of them could see the photographs being of any commercial value on account of there being no end of  images of Chris Reeve in his Superman togs.

I felt slightly disappointed on Bob's behalf as I rang him with the bad news.  He sounded annoyed, but I naturally assumed it was at the shortsighted thinking (as he would've seen it) of the two comics shop proprietors, not with me; after all, I'd done my best.  As I was saying my goodbyes, my father opened the living-room door (the 'phone was in the hall), letting out the sound of the TV, while at the same time continuing a conversation with my mother as he passed me.  The combined volume of telly and parents made it difficult to hear what Bob was saying, but we were in the closing seconds of our chat anyway.

"I'll call you when the pics arrive," I said, " 'Bye."  I was in a fair bit of haste to hang up and spare us from the cacophony of TV and parents, so didn't quite catch his reply, but I got the distinct impression he'd raised his voice.  I assumed he'd done so only to compensate for the sudden burst of sound emanating from his receiver, but on reflection, I now wonder if he was being stroppy, thinking I had been bullsh*tting about ringing anyone regarding the photos.  You see, I'd called him back within about 15 minutes, and perhaps he considered that too soon to have fully investigated all the potential possibilities.

Anyway, the photographs failed to materialise and I never heard from him again, though I later learned he'd dropped into our former workplace a couple of times while back in town to visit his inlaws.  I once considered him a top bloke, but when I became surplus to the requirements of his everyday life, I was jettisoned like so much 'excess baggage'.  However, my philosophy is who the hell needs 'friends' like that anyway, so no great loss.  So why bore you all with this reminiscence now, you may be wondering.  Am I acting under a bizarre compulsion to indulge in some sort of cathartic 'exorcism' ?

The explanation is simpler than that.  When one has a blog, one often has to plumbs the depths of one's personal experiences to provide material to write about, otherwise you lot would have to go without - and that'd never do.  So - consider the depths plumbed.

Any of your pals ever proved to be 'fairweather' friends?  Tell your Criv-ite chums all about it in our ever-so-interesting comments section.

Next - another rambling (but riveting) repost.