THERE'S a truly scrumptious air of excitement in Marlow as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang brings its magic back to Bucks after more than 30 years.

The vintage car will be the star attraction of this year's Marlow May Fair and will be brought into town by owner Pierre Picton who also appeared as a double for Dick Van Dyke in the film.

Pierre was on set in 1967 when shooting commenced in France, Bavaria and England with many of the scenes being filmed in Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns.

The famous windmill scene in the film was shot at Ibstone Windmill and the pond which Chitty drives into is at Russell's Water near Nettlebed.

Other scenes were also shot in and around Hambleden.

Pierre, 65, has owned Chitty since 1972 and regularly takes the car around the country to shows and fairs, keeping its memory alive.

Pierre, who lives in Stratford-upon-Avon, said: "Yes, I did do a bit of work in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1967. I stepped in for Dick Van Dyke in a few scenes but in the finished film you only see the back of my head."

"Dick was just a wonderful character and a great person to work with. He lives in America now, but we all had a good time working with him."

The film, which was scripted by author Roald Dahl, was adapted from the book by James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

It tells the story of a professor called Caractacus Potts [Dyke] who invents a flying car but finds a foreign government wanting to get its hands on it.

The car's registration number is GEN 11 which was the closest to 'Genie' that the UK car registration system would permit at the time.

Pierre adds: "Chitty is just a great crowd puller and everybody wants to see it. When children see the car they immediately look for the wings but they are underneath and are about 18 foot long.

"Chitty brings back memories for parents who were around when the film was released and it's a new experience for children these days. It does take a lot of time and effort to keep the car in good condition. It's now insured for a quarter of a million pounds."

something I generally like to do. I am more forward looking."

With concerts and books Julian says he has barely had time to think about turning 50.

He said: "I have got a lot going on at the moment. I also have a new recording coming up of me playing Andrew Lloyd Webber music. I have not had a problem with turning 50, the only thing that has made me think about it is the book, but I think very much about doing new things."

And his best present this year? "My brother performing with me. We have never performed together on stage and he doesn't really go out on stage and perform. It is quite special that he has decided to do this for me."

The up and coming performance at the Royal Albert Hall will be a very special day for him, says Julian, but to date his favourite performance was at Proms in The Park in Hyde Park last year.

He said: "There were 40,000 people and it was brilliant. It just proves if classical music is presented in the right way it can be enormously popular, more so than any other musical form.

"And when you think you are playing tracks that can be more than 300 years old that is quite amazing."