Well
what else could you
call an article about a working trip to Turkey? My mobile chirped just as
I came out of the Bank. It was Tuesday morning. “Hello Mike, its Malcolm
Nelson here”, (formerly CBST now Training &Development Centre, Wood
Norton) “You know that TRT (Turkish Television) had approached us to do some
training in June /July?”
Yes I did, I was already getting my
brain into gear for a trip to Turkey with Tim Wallbank from Wood Norton to run a
two week lighting training course in Istanbul, of all places.
“Well, they have asked us if we can
provide an LD to advise them in lighting their general Election programme such
that it had the look of the BBC’s studio coverage of our General Election of
two years ago. This was being staged in TRT’s main broadcasting centre in
Ankara in a couple of weeks time.”
Ankara was a place in the atlas, or on
the radio dial when I was a kid, either way I didn’t anticipate what was
coming next.
“As you know, Graham (Freelance)
Rimmington had said that he would go and help them out, but he has found out
that he and his wife have a holiday that clashes. Would you be prepared to go,
Mike?”
A heavy truck rumbled by giving me a few
seconds to gather my thoughts. “What’s the time scale, Malcolm?” I
offered. “Well, they would like
you to be there on Sunday (this Sunday?) for a week leading up to their General
Election programme on April 18th.”
Gulp, the phrase ‘can I get back to
you on that’ came to mind. Something niggled me, I couldn’t quite put my
finger on it.
Twenty minutes later, I had my diary
open and my poor old porous brain had a reminder. I too, had a short break
organised with my wife to Barcelona, starting on the Saturday of the week
following. I recalled Wood Norton and said, yes, I would be happy to do the job,
but I would have to be back in this
country by late Thursday, to give myself 24 hour turnaround before our city
break to Espana. I really did think that Turkish TV would not want to know about
a five day visit, after all, what show have you ever worked on where you have
walked away four days before the show day?
Surprise, surprise; within 24 hours I
got a call from Wood Norton; my flights were booked. “Oh really, does that
mean…..” I realised that as I spoke, yes it did mean that I was indeed
‘booked’ for a job in a far flung country. Now I know that the John Watts
and Mark Kenyon's of this world get all these foreign trips that they can chat
about as though they were visiting their local supermarket, but it did focus my
mind somewhat to think that in four days time I would be on my way to that name
out of an atlas.
