… that film companies chose this area to move to. That unrelenting sunshine helps and the light adds a sharpness to almost any picture. I like the bright signs out here, not just the huge billboards which in a rainy dull place would look dreadful, but somehow in this bright sunshine seem to have a majestic feel. It’s all about competition to get noticed here of course.

The traffic signs are unequivocal, stop means stop and you can get a ticket if you are spotted not coming to a complete standstill at a junction at a stop sign even though there might be no other vehicle present.

Out this morning with the grandsons on a bike foray, they wanting to ride their little bikes in safety. Knowing of a parking lot by a church that we know would be empty, we set off and soon found it. Next to the lot, a modest little bungalow had been commandeered by a film crew. Huge vehicles on the streets and bored security guys occasional glimpsing up from their phones. Fortunately the back parking area was a nicely undisturbed so the boys could race around.

Setting off back an LA policeman said Hi to them, and we thought this was a good subject for them to ask him some questions for their up and coming project on ‘community’ for school. He was happy to help but we asked the questions. He’d been an officer for 30 years, and despite being now retired, was from time to time asked to attend events like this film shoot. Apparently film shoots on the streets are required to have and pay for at least one police officer. Retirees are perfect for this job, bringing in some revenue and earning a tidy sum for the day. He was due to be there for 17 hours! I’m not sure that our questions would have had much impact on the boys project, but we found them interesting. One of the boys did ask what his favourite part of the job , and he volunteered that driving around without having to pay for fuel and getting out and meeting all sorts of people came top of his list. Some nice people and some not so.

Here are the recent images from this sunny LA day.