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Entry #2 - "Your Dad's On The Telly, Girls." "But Mam, We Want To Watch Casualty."
After playing the £1500 European Poker Classic at the Vic, I was somewhat disappointed by the elasticated blind structure, so I e-mailed poker 425 with my views, and, as a result, Rhowena Colclough, who was producing the show that week, asked me to come down to the studio in London to debate the matter. Never one to let the chance of making a fool of myself go begging, I said yes.
I knew that tikay always travelled to London by train on recording days, I also knew that his train stopped at Leicester, so I gave him a ring to arrange to meet him so that we could make the journey together. “Yes Tom, I usually leave about midday,” he told me on the phone. “I’ll PM you the details.” At about 4am the following morning, while I was playing the graveyard shift on Ladbrokes, I received this message, “Tom, Rhow wants us to be there early, so that she can go shopping when we get finished, my train will be in Leicester station at 9:30am, see you then.” I made a quick call to travel information to check the time for a connecting train from Hinckley, and the terrible truth dawned upon me, I would have to get up at 7:30
7:30, OMG! Does such a time still exist? Even the sparrows around here don’t consider breaking wind at that ungodly hour. I busted out of the Laddies comp about half an hour later and went straight to bed to get my 3 hours of sleep, nodding off wasn’t easy, I knew that when 7:30 came, my head would feel like it had been nailed to the pillow, and that going to London to do a TV show would seem like a very stupid idea. I was starting to get nervous
Somehow, by 8:50am, I found myself in a platform coffee shop at Leicester station. I was suited, booted, hungry, tired and grumpy. I walked over to the counter, ordered a coffee and a croissant, and went to sit by the window to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes, people watching. As I gazed idly at the crowds of commuters, I noticed an old black porter. He was obviously very near retirement age, and you could tell at a glance that he had been performing the same mundane tasks for a lifetime. Never the less, he had a warm smile on his face as he flitted about busily in his immaculate green uniform, and some kind of sixth sense seemed to steer him towards those who needed his help. His enthusiasm fascinated me.
Tony rang me to let me know that his train was running about 15 minutes late, “Be careful,” he warned me, “It’s going to arrive at the same time as another train now, don’t get on the wrong one” At about 9:40 a train arrived, and I stood there looking at it, undecided. As if by magic, the old porter appeared in front of me and told me that if I was waiting for the delayed train, it would follow in about 5 minutes. "How come people like this never get any recognition?" I thought, as I thanked him for his help. He smiled. I looked down at the name badge on his lapel; it read ‘Arthur Isaacs MBE'
I walked away, suddenly, my bad mood had vanished!
To be continued.....
Entry #3 - "Your Dad's On The Telly, Girls." "But Mam, We Want To Watch Casualty." - Part II