Making the most of an opportunity

I have had the most incredible Easter holiday and feel on a complete high after a visit from Chanel 4 'Time Team' to our village.

The atmosphere was electric when I drove home on the Tuesday evening as there were film crew all over the place and the residents were coming out to watch the proceedings with excitement.

It has always been one of my favourite programmes and for more than ten years I have been watching the team dig a bit of history, so when they were on my door step, not only the fan in me came out but the writer too!

Of course I would loved to have interviewed some of the stars but they were incredibly busy and were constantly on the move, jumping into the Time Team vehicle to travel to different sites. They even got the TT helicopter out which circled my house several times. I was lucky enough to bump into Phil Harding and had a lovely chat to him. He explained that it is a job and although they are happy for residents to watch, people have to respect that they are working. I suppose it's similar for us mere mortals as even in my mundane job, customers have to book an appointment first.

However, by being allowed on site, I did get to speak to a lot of the other people involved and reckon I have enough material for an article with a different angle. I think that it is important to make any opportunity work for you and even if you can't get the big one, turn it into something more achievable.

To be quite honest I think I was so Star-struck that if any of them had agreed to an interview I would have been a hopeless mess anyway! That's something for me to work on in the future as my confidence grows.

It was hard to walk away from the magical surroundings of what is normally just the village green where the kids play football. Being allowed to watch the filming as the other stars enjoyed a pint of beer was a real honour and I left the place inspired with some amazing memories to use in the future as well as several ideas that I need to research for future projects.

I call that a result!

The Sauce of Inspiration

It's OK folks, you haven't logged into my other blog (inside the chicken coop) by mistake. Just felt this post wanted to be here instead.

My hens are always digging up old china, bottles, and metal etc, but today the 'Time Team' chicks came up trumps when they had their first complete find. It was an old H P Sauce bottle. It's not ancient, there are probably loads of them around, but it's still nicer than the plastic bottles we have today, and of course it has a little bit of history.



This simple sauce bottle really made me think. I wondered who had shaken the last drop of sauce out of it, and what were they eating at the time? What were they talking about? What were they wearing? Where were they going next? It's endless isn't it? How the smallest objects can make you think about the wider picture? It's a great way of building a character for a story (do they like red or brown sauce?!)

That's the wonderful thing about writing. It makes you wonder about things. Some things, even if they appear insignificant, could be the source of an idea that leads on to a great story or article.





Above is just a small collection of what my little 'Time Team' have found. I don't think I can claim treasure trove just yet, but I certainly have history and a brilliant source of inspiration.

So next time you find a penny in the street, a car park ticket, a cigarette stub on a pavement, it could be the source of inspiration for your next piece of writing.

Good luck
Di
xx