The Strange Ghostly Tale Of Slippery Jake The Regency Rake: Chapter 26 The Movie People Arrive, Slippery Instructs

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Movie People Arrive. Slippery Instructs

There was a major area of unfinished business that was only about to start, this was the Hollywood movie based on Slippery Jake and the Bull Public House. A whole lot of Hollywood producers, technicians, and actors continued floating in and out of the Bull. Beryl and Sid were more than happy with this as they were all very big spenders. Film and video footage were taken of Slippery Jake whenever he appeared. They all tried their best to be sensitive and relate to the ghost. The Right Hon Jake Horatio Higginbottom had been pretty vein during his life. This continued when he became a ghost. He quickly assimilated the technological advances of the 21st century. He did notice, however, that basic human instincts had not changed one bit. He played up to his part all the way though.

In fact, he soon started instructing the Hollywood hoards regarding the niceties of Regency etiquette.

There is a certain way a bow should be delivered. A stately bow combined with the correct manner for twirling your hat. The same applied to the ladies. The curtsy had to be delivered correctly. Both the bow and curtsy had to match each other perfectly.

The same applied to the niceties and etiquette of dueling.

This all seemed very strange to all the movie producers and technicians present. A lot were London-based as London has long been a centre of movie production, so they were familiar with Slippery Jake. However, this was still a shock to everyone there. A vicious bloodthirsty ghoul was not supposed to be instructing them. This soon turned into a documentary in its own right. Also Slippery Jake was loving all of this. Here he was, the centre of attention again. He had a vast vanity, all the historical records seemed to show this, and Professor Hudson had confirmed this. All the certainties were being uprooted. It took a while for the movie/film people to accept this but they did get eventually into the swing of things. They were all told not to 'diss', disrespect Old Slippery in any way. For a start, he could read all their minds. People who attended were also carefully vetted. They also knew if they did deviate in any way, the consequences could be pretty fatal for them.

There were two bows. The formal bow, with the correct positioning of the legs and the correct twirling of the hat. This was followed by the ceremonial bow, which meant leaning forward. These were essential protocols when requesting a lady to dance.

The barmaids had long lost their fear of Old Slippery. Lina and Magda were happy to volunteer. Needless to say, his libido had not diminished, even though he was supposedly long dead, and was more than happy to direct them.

The Hollywood 'stars' were totally flabbergasted by all this. Bit by bit they overcome their fear. All the Hollywood glamorous ladies also fully excited the randy old ghost.

Yes, they were back, the press. A cross-section of the world's press started to arrive at the Bull. These were newspaper and TV reporters, periodical writers, bloggers, and a whole circus of reporters of all kinds were clamoring to gain access to the pub to witness the amazing events there.

Firm measures were needed. Sid and Beryl had a good cross-section of customers going to the pub and the associated restaurants. Crowds of people meant more custom but it also meant a lot more disruption and they have had a belly full of that already.

So what measures should be taken? What could be done about the press? The Detective Chief Inspector plus Sid and Beryl made it clear they did not want the place swarming with the press.

The bulk of 'Slippery's lessons' had taken place in the Cellar Restaurant Bar. Yes, these had all been thoroughly recorded. Sandra and Kevin were involved in this too. However, professional film crews and sound recordists were at hand. They had also all been carefully vetted and instructed on what to do.

Two bouncers kept guard at the entrance to the Cellar Bar Restaurant. Only authorized people were allowed down there. This included the bar staff and involved committee members, plus of course movie/film actors, directors, and producers along with any technical staff. Numbers had to be kept to a minimum not to alarm Old Slippery too much. It was closed to customers during the filming understandably.

The problem was in the bar upstairs. Reporters having quite a thirst were moved across to the Lounge Bar. Sarah and Jane and their respective husbands were a godsend. They brought in extra bar staff to cope with this influx. They knew and trusted these people implicitly. Bouncers had to be used in the Lounge Restaurant Bar. Only regulars and those wanting to go there for a meal were allowed in. Old Slippery cooperated. He vacated his 'upstairs throne' during opening hours, only appearing now downstairs. The reporters and assorted cameramen were not impressed. However in a word, tough.

What was 'officially' reported was more than enough though? The media everywhere almost seemed to be in a state of a total meltdown trying to comprehend what was going on. Was this real, or so-called 'fake news'? Was this some collective dream? How could the ghost of a long-dead highwayman be instructing the actors in a modern ghost movie? Where are all the reports and videos fakes? Was this some massive publicity stunt to push up the interest and the eventual ratings of the movie when it was eventually shown? All in all beyond strange.

So stuff had to be reported. There was no getting away from that. Consequently, the notoriety of the pub shot right up, even more. Sid and Beryl welcomed any new trade. However, with people queering around the block to get into the pub. Things were clearly getting out of hand. Sending them off to their daughters' restaurant was not good enough, they too wanted some of the 'Slippery Jake' experience.

Numbers to the Bull had to be controlled. The known regulars, those wanting the restaurants and for a drink were exempted as were the committee, however, people wanting to come in now had to book in advance and these bookings were carefully vetted. More trustworthy bouncers had to be employed at the pub's main door, along with yet more restaurant and bar staff

However, this did present problems such as the clamour to get in. Slippery Jake had a very wide consciousness now. This was no doubt aided from 'elsewhere'. He saw the start of this culture at the start of the 19c. He was staggered by just how complex things had now become. The whole world seemed to be interconnected. People from all over the world wanted to get in the pub, principally because of him. This could almost sate his vast ego. However, a new responsibility had grown up in him. He was also very happy with the relationship he had developed with Chief Detective Inspector John Higgins. He could confide in him telepathically. Which he did, especially now given this turn of events.

Yes, the press, in general, were having a field day with all of this. There were enough visual recordings out there. It was impossible to refute that somehow the 'afterlife' had been in contact and there could be some kind of existence after death. Christian notions of heaven and hell seemed to be confirmed. All the actresses and actors involved in this were interviewed on endless talk shows in the UK, US, and pretty well everywhere else. The web was full of it. There were masses of speculation.

Somehow life at the Bull continued. The regular customers came and went. They did not seem too perturbed by what was going on. A number of them were being pestered by the press but they all seemed to cope with that very well. All of them appreciated the measures that had been put in place.

Chief Detective Inspector Higgins and the police, in general, were getting a little tired of TV vans with satellite dishes driving up onto pavements and ignoring yellow lines. There was a perfectly reasonable public car park further down the road. A number of car parking spaces in the Bull car park were also allocated for the press. It was now a miserable January, yet again.

The movie production people carried on downstairs. Everything was on a tight schedule. Pretty much as always with most movies/films, it was all about money. They wanted to get the shooting done as quickly as possible. Old Slippery was really proving his worth. He warmed to his task. The leading man had the outward image of being very confident but this hid quite a nervous character. Old Slippery got this immediately. He gave a courteous bow if the actor got something right or shot a 'red eye' across at him if things were not correct. Old Slippery knew what was to be expected. He was a 'Highwayman' in that period. He had little time for some of the silly conventions that had arisen in Hollywood with this genre.

There was some new talent coming forward playing key roles in the movie. Some very recognizable names were still there to make the movie bankable. This was not an 'art house' movie either. Everyone wanted something that could become a franchise. There could be endless squeals and spin-offs. Therefore the movie had to be very commercial. Somehow Old Slippery did not get in the way of that. The movie was developing a real depth and total authenticity. It was as if Old Slippery's flair for self-publicity had entered the movie. He knew how to make a name for himself in his day. It had taken him a while to get used to the 21st century. He had noticed there was real scope now to fully work up his image. It was as if the 'higher authorities' were really now cutting him some slack for all the good work he had done in the committee. Vanity was not such a major sin as some he had committed in his lifetime.

Old Slippery was having problems with the leading man. He was an up-and-coming movie superstar. He was a very good actor. However, he had problems taking orders from a long-dead highwayman. This 'stardom' thing meant nothing to Old Slippery. The actor had to earn the ghost's respect. He had to be humble. It did not help that the gentleman was a 'colonial', an American. One of those uppity pointy-hatted Puritans that had sided with the dastardly 'Frenchies'. Old Slippery still kept his Regency mentality.

The way the world had evolved had fascinated him but left him very puzzled. The key problem with the actor was that he had a problem with the nuisances of etiquette. This was critical in the Regency period. Taking shortcuts, and doing things for effect, did not wash with Old Slippery. It had to be right. Luckily the director and producers could see this. The actor was steadily getting it. This would make for a very sharp performance and something quite unique. It did produce an Oscar for him as well.

Old Slippery's interaction with the young lady actresses was also interesting.

His libido had not diminished. There was a young leading lady, plus some other actresses. There were a whole group of lady make-up artists, producers, camerawomen, etc. He could not stop himself from flirting.

To say that all these young ladies found this profoundly disconcerting at first is certainly an understatement. They were all totally beyond perplexed. However, over time they got used to it. Some even started to like it. There was a courtesy and subtlety of approach which was new to all of them that Old Slippery possessed. They were all used to the crude 'come-ons' of the modern male. He got into many of their heads and could readily pass compliments through to them. They all really liked this. Small flirtations plus an amazing use of English also impressed these young ladies. This did seep into the movie as well.