A VISIT TO AMBERLEY MUSEUM: A VIEW TO A KILL TURNS 40

Article by guest author Peter Brooker
Without accusing her of anything, the lady at the front desk of Amberley Museum tells me nothing is her fault. I have no doubt about it.
Inside, a lady in the barn is giving a talk. Tina someone. I'm supposed to be giving her a lift home later. There's no room in the barn so Anastasia and I head up to the cafe where the school orchestra is playing the theme to Skyfall. It's the last song.
We have a Magnum each in the cafe. I tell her that Roger Moore had a hand in inventing the Magnum. Anastasia curses the smell reminiscent of the school canteens that used to make her cry as a little girl.
There is a buzz of Bond-nerd excitement as John Glen is led to the mouth of the Chalk quarry where May Day took one last stern look up to the Zorin blimp, before BOOM.
There is a plaque unveiling, that I missed.
We have two pints of cider from the drinks truck. I can hear a John Glen Q&A in the barn in the distance. I missed it.
The 3.30pm tour, the last of the day, is exclusively a James Bond tour of the quarry. The tour guide tells us to manage expectations.
"There is no mine inside the mountain. That was Pinewood. They filmed for three weeks here. When it made the news, we had 2000 people through the doors to see the props that production had left behind. We've had 950 through the doors today, so you can imagine how busy it would have been."
Anastasia pulls her phone and does some basic math. She showed me a number, 1,900,000.
"So let's say they have an average of 500 people through the door. They're open 5 days a week, from February to November. They charge 20 quid a ticket, let's say they make 10k a day on admissions. That's 50k a week, multiplied by 38 weeks, this place is only making 2 million a year."
Anastasia is more Bond than Bond sometimes.
Time to go. Turns out Tina's got a lift from someone else. I see John Glen in his chair post signings, being given a large zip-tie cellophane bag bulging with cash. I have a couple of rocks, a fridge magnet. It's been a good day.
Please check out my gallery for all 57 photos taken on the day. If you wanna use any, pls credit my INSTA page.

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