The final bottle of HP sauce coming off the production line at Birmingham
marks an end of more than 100 years of manufacturing at the
site.
Workers, who held protests in a bid to stop production moving to
The Netherlands, said they felt like the bottom had fallen out of their
world.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6455815.stm
It is such a shame that something synonymous with England (HP stands for Houses of Parliament of course) is to have it's roots removed and be produced in another country, let alone the impact that this move will have on the lives of the workers at the Aston site and their families.
On a note of less impact it bugs me that in the movie version of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Ford Prefect is played by someone that it is not the slightest bit English. I am a fan of the world(s) that Douglas Adams invented and so wonderfully portrayed in the radio shows, novels and indeed the BBC television series. When I saw the recently made film though I was bitterly disappointed. It seemed so far removed from what I knew and loved of the original formats and this is typified by the change in the character of Ford.
My father and I agree that Ford's pretence on Earth works only because he makes himself "Quintessentially English" in order to blend in. He is of course supposed to come from Guildford. I believe that Douglas Adams died before the making of the film and so thought that the 'mistake' with Ford's character was not sanctioned by him. However I recently found this on the official Douglas Adams website.
'When it comes down to it, my principle is this - Arthur should be British.
The rest of the cast should be decided purely on merit and not on nationality.'
-- DNA
http://www.douglasadams.com/movie/
I have seen the movie once and trust me once was enough. I will stick to the mediums that work for me. In my eyes and mind Ford will always be a blazer wearing, satchel toting alien with a plummy English accent.
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