Meeting Idris Elba to the magic of Stonehenge
Iggy enjoys a day at Cheltenham
Then from being about eight metres away, they were all of a sudden next to my van. As keen as I was to get a sneaky photo, my ethical attitude wouldn't let me. So with minutes to spare, I opened the side door on my van and retreated to the front where my brother was.
At this stage you would have thought we were all part of the same group due to our proximity. Seconds later, a smiling Idris Elba was looking into the back of my van. Why? Because Iggy was lying on my bed and at perfect eye level too. My plan worked. He turned to me and with a smile, gave a nod. I gave him the thumbs up, knowing that he knew what I had just done.
He spoke first and said: “I take it you're a photographer?” Yes, I replied and giving him no chance to respond, I told him that my work is solely based around Iggy and that she was an unofficial ambassador for Irish tourism. He joked about which one of us was Iggy and then his team ushered him away. In 2016, Idris Elba was named in the Time 100 most influential people in the world and he is shortlisted for the James Bond role.
With all our goodbyes over, I left London with a surprisingly heavy heart.
These visits were granted after both venues were told about Iggy's role promoting Donegal, the WAW and Ireland.
This article is the sixth in our series. James O’Donnell is a photographer who lives in Falcarragh with his two dogs, Iggy and Frida. You can find many more of his stories on Facebook - ‘James O’Donnell Photography’ and Instagram - james_odonnell_photography.