Wuthering Dormice (aka Bike) Part 655 by Angharad

Simon had just entered the kitchen to collect his tea when the intruder with the camera snapped his picture of me picking up Meems. Snapped, is what Simon did as well, he dashed out the door after the bloke chasing him down the drive. If he’d caught him I hate to think what he’d have done. In the man’s blind panic to escape, he dropped his camera which Simon picked up and removed the memory card dropping the priceless Nikon on the concrete of the drive, where he left it, and came back to the house.

“Did you see him run?” he said entering the house.

“What’s that you have?”

“His memory card, I’ll wipe it and if he comes and asks me nicely, I’ll let him have it.”

“What exactly does it mean?” I asked.

“That will depend upon my mood,” he said smiling.

“Simon, bashing him will do you no good whatsoever,” I cautioned.

“Au contraire, it will make me feel very good. Keep the doors and windows locked. I’ll collect Trish at three, you go and do your bit up in Bristol. Take a change of clothes, and change at your house.”

“What about lunch?” I asked.

“Can’t you grab something in Bristol?”

“Not mine, I’m too worked up to eat, yours.”

“Oh, Tom and I can eat out somewhere, and bring in a take away for the weenies.”

“I’m not very happy with that idea,” I said, feeling that I should be here with them not letting two men organise things. “Who’s going to look after Meems all day?”

“Oh yeah, forgot about Meems. Okay, I’ll stay here and watch her.”

“She’ll need lunch in a couple of hours.”

“What do you suggest?”

“A boiled egg with some toast soldiers?”

“If there’s egg and bread, count it done.”

“What about your lunching out, now?”

“We could take her with us. I mean it’s not as if she hasn’t been out before is it? I’ve taken her out to eat before.”

“Once,” I said rather curtly.

“So, how much practice does it take?” Simon challenged.

“Okay, Mr Knowall, you take her out for lunch.”

“I will, Tom are you coming too?”

“I’ll happily meet you fer lunch, but I hae tae go to the office. Whaur d’ye like tae meet?”

I ran upstairs and popped some things in a bag and ran down again, grabbed my handbag, kissed, Meems and the two boys and slipped out through the orchard and off towards Bristol. I’d told Erin I should be there for three, at the BBC.

The drive up was uneventful, except the traffic was very busy. I got to Bristol and to my house at half past twelve, and en route bought a sandwich and some milk.

It was good to see the house was in good repair. After Margaret and Gregg didn’t take up my offer to rent, I got a local woman to come in a few times a week and dust it and forward any mail. She also kept the grass cut and I see had put in a few bedding plants. She was very good value and she did Des’ house for me too. If I had time, I’d pop and see that while I was up.

I ate my sandwich without much enthusiasm and washed it down with a mug of tea. That felt good, so I made another. Then it was time to change and drive to meet Erin.

Parking at the BBC was a nuisance, but they eventually let me in after the gatekeeper called the News and Current Affairs department. Apparently, the MPs allowances was the big news item again and I was almost sidelined. It wouldn’t have worried me if I had been.

Erin arrived as I was walking to the meet with the producer of the news programme. We chatted and she suggested I leave things to her. We met with Meg Postlethwaite in her office.

“Thanks for coming, Cathy, I’m sure you’re busy, but your film was delightful and we reckon it will have brought in five million viewers.”

“Is that good?” I asked.

“Seeing as Sir David wasn’t doing it, and it had almost no publicity, it was fantastic.”

“Oh,” was all I could say.

Erin now stepped into the proceedings, “I understand you’d like an interview with Cathy?”

“Yes, with Sheila on the evening news and Mervyn on the Radio 4 PM programme. There’s also a possibility they’d like you on the Midweek programme and Radio 5 might be interested during one of it’s topical programmes, may even ask you to do a phone in.” I think I visibly shuddered, because Meg asked if that was, ‘alright’.

It wasn’t really, okay if they asked questions about the programme and its making or about British mammals or dormice, that was fine. I looked at Erin.

“I think, that Cathy is prepared to do your programmes provided the questions relate to her professional life. She is not prepared to discuss her private life nor that of her family. Is she getting a fee for these?”

Meg’s face fell. “Um, I hadn’t actually thought too much about that.”

“It has cost her to get here and she’s had to miss a day’s work, so there are cost implications.”

“I can see that. I think I can probably agree a fee for expenses. How much do you think you spent, Cathy?”

“Including loss of earnings, I’d say five or six hundred should cover a significant part of it.” Erin said smiling sweetly.

“I. er, um didn’t have quite that much in mind,” Meg said looking very pale.

“You were talking three programmes; it isn’t that much,” Erin now sensed weakness and sought to exploit it. I kept quiet. This was what she did for a living, I’d have settled for fifty to cover my fuel costs.

“Excuse me a moment,” Meg slipped out the door and Erin gave a real belly laugh.

“I’ve learned that they have already recouped their outlay on the film by selling it on to other networks. We were sold short, we only get a small commission.”

“I thought it was my intellectual property?” I was astonished.

“No, they assume those rights, and pay you a fee for your troubles.”

“But that’s not fair?”

“I didn’t say it was, hence my attempt to shaft them now.”

“How much did they pay us?”

“For last night’s effort–about fifty grand.”

“How much?”

“You heard me, and you also know how long it took to make.”

“Six months.

“For two of you working to make it, plus some added on costs for good measure–that isn’t very much. You’re selling a very good product, the dormice were good too. But, you are the main feature and you did brilliantly.

“I don’t know if I can cope with three shows.”

“Okay, six hundred but we’d like Cathy to do a nature programme as well,” said Meg re-entering the room.”

“How long is all this going to take?” I asked, “I have to get home to my kids.”

“The news progs about twenty minutes each, we’ll try and schedule them close to each other, the midweek is a morning programme, any chance you could pop in next Wednesday morning?”

“I’d need to think about that?”

“Will she get more travelling expenses for that?” Erin asked.

“Yes, we can pay those separately.”

“Fine, then she can, what about this nature programme?”

“It’s one we’re sorting for next month, we pre-record it, so we’d need you for a half day in a week or two … and yes, she’ll get travel expenses.”

I wasn’t so happy, that would mean at least three trips to Bristol and problems with getting Trish to and from school plus looking after Meems. I was going to need some extra help.