As is my custom I sent a copy of the newly acquired Quiller episode to Olive Bird. It also gave me an excuse to get back in touch with actor Stefan Gryff. I sent him a copy and he rang me. He was tickled pink. He and his wife were about to leave for Thailand for a 5 week holiday.

Gryff says his abiding memory of working on the story was veteran actor Oscar Homoloka who played Gryff's boss at the Russian embassy. Gryff says Homoloka complained constantly that he was too old and could not remember his lines and how would he manage. But when the cameras began to roll Gryff says the veteran actor was word perfect and acted everyone else off the set!

Andrew Glew, from the Alexandra Bastedo Website, kindly sent me scans of a couple of publicity photos for The Aphrodite Inheritance, which I have added to the Gallery page on the website.

As I said in the last newsletter, if you haven't yet seen Alexandra's website it is well worth taking a look. Andrew has done a great job.

Website vistor Mike Brown sent me two alternative versions of a DVD box cover for The Aphrodite Inheritance which I have uploaded to the website if anyone would like to use them.

A few years ago I got an e-mail from the family of Richard Watts, the actor who played Norman (Happy) Day - the beachcomber who's lucky find triggers off events in Michael Bird's 1986 TV movie West of Paradise. They were looking for a copy of the film and I was able to help.

Last week I was contacted by the owner of the house where much of the story was filmed. She mentioned that her copy of the movie had been lost during house renovation and I was only too happy to send her a copy on DVD. She says she remembers when they first moved in "every time the movie was shown on the local channel someone would phone to tell us our house was on TV. It was quite a kick I must admit! And my neighbours wanted to come and tour the house because they had seen it in the movie but never been there, as the previous owner was quite distant. So I made them happy and showed them the whole thing."

In return she sent me some photographs of "parts of the house that are recogniseable from the movie, such as the bed, verandah steps, garden, in particular the ones of the bed - it's so recognizable!" I have added them to the West of Paradise page on the website.

She finished by saying "the house has been our private holiday home for many years but in about six months, if all goes smoothly, the house will become a self-catering holiday rental. My guests will love knowing they are staying in a house that was used for a film set ..."

In October I mentioned that I had contributed a chapter about Michael Bird's work for inclusion in a new book entitled "Greece and Britain since 1945". The editor contacted me the other day to say that the book was going to press shortly and the publishers want to feature one of the photographs I had supplied on the cover.

More next newsletter (hopefully).