Hello everybody, I hope life is beginning to return to whatever we now must consider normal. The great thing about walking down Memory Lane is the virus is nowhere and we can just enjoy ourselves.

It saddens me that it will be hard to return to cinemas in the near future or the theatre. This is having a very bad effect on employment and I suspect the industry will take a long time to recover. I am lost for words but always believe there is a brighter tomorrow!

On a personal note, thank you to readers who have bought a copy of my book, MGM British Studios - Hollywood in Hertfordshire. Despite the fact our museum is closed and the planned exhibition cancelled, the book has been on sale via the Elstree Screen Heritage webpage. The first print run sold out and we have now reprinted. It shows nostalgia never dies or a lot of people needed a door stop.

I have written five books over the decades and this will be my last. They were all non-fiction and for worthy causes. My great regret is having no skill to write a novel and create a Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Oliver Twist or Harry Potter. It is not about money but about leaving a legacy to be enjoyed.

I also regret not having the talent to write a film or television script. I had the pleasure to know the late Brian Clemens. He will be forever associated with The Avengers television series, mainly shot at Elstree Studios. Towards the end of his life I conducted a filmed interview with him at his house. Afterwards he flattered me by saying that was a great interview because we were of the same generation. You cannot imagine how boring it is to be interviewed by young people with no real knowledge. I apologise as that sounds ageist but an interviewee will always respond better to somebody who has knowledge first hand.

I recall Brian telling me about how he got his break at the long forgotten Danziger Brothers New Elstree Studios - actually based in Elstree Village - in the 1950s. He recalled: " I was told to write a script but it must include a submarine, a nightclub and a hotel as they had standing sets they needed to reuse. That kind of training set me up for life as a scriptwriter!"

One of the Danziger staff directors Eddie Morris told me: "It was a challenge as everything had to be shot on the cheap. If you fell behind schedule one of the Danziger Brothers would appear on set and tear out pages of the script." Eddie also told me that because his name as a director looked cheap on so many productions he needed to use an alias. From memory he used an old friend of mine starting his career to use his name.

I am not at ease with the idea of banning or altering films or television series that may offend the standards of today. I cannot see the point and we all have a switch off button if offended. I dread to think how many films and television series produced in Borehamwood will have to be deleted due to actors playing people not of their race. I fully support we are are equal and I will fight for that. I just do not like altering history. I will still enjoy Gone With The Wind, fully aware it was shot in 1939 and is now history,

Until next time I am retreating into the past and watching episodes of the American television series of the 1950s called Highway Patrol, starring Broderick Crawford. Alas, he was a drunk and so in scenes when he was driving it was on private land! For my generation, the phrase 'ten four' passed into the language. If you don't know what that means you were not there. Until next time take care.

  • Paul Welsh MBE is a Borehamwood writer and historian of Elstree Studios