Book 2, Chapter 46

On Wednesday morning Litara insisted I wore a business suit with ruffled blouse from her wardrobe, despite my protestations that I was too young for something so prim, then drove me to the studio for more voiceover work, staying with me as I think she wanted to gauge for herself how poor my efforts were. My job for the day was to drop titbits of information about the Longitude Prize, offered in the 16th century for advances in navigation, into the video footage taken at Greenwich. The director first gave me a script which I was to read exactly as to her instructions.

“I’m sorry but I can’t do this however if you give me some time alone with the script and the video for which you want me to do the voiceover, I'll do my best to make something close to this script which works. You know it can't be worse or slower than my last effort so please let me try.”

The look from the director was one of complete exasperation but having checked with Litara that the expense of a delay wasn’t going to be blamed on her she left me to it. The video was wonderful to the extent I found it difficult to believe it could have been created from the filming I'd seen on the day but the script was appalling and clearly written by a technician who had never heard a Welsh accent.

“Ready when you are,” I called sticking my head out of the sound booth just short of an hour later.

Litara was still there working on her laptop and I think the director was editing so they hadn’t been twiddling their thumbs waiting on me and in their opinions the results once the director recorded them were worth the delay. The whole thing only took three takes. The second take was made to incorporate a small change to the script that I had in all honesty completely re-written and the third because that change I found difficult to enunciate in the second take. The final result was I knew was the best I could do

"In future I'll make sure you have the video and script to work on before I book studio time but for today. That’s a wrap!”

“What’s ‘a wrap’?” I asked Litara as we tucked into ravioli and salad in the canteen of the BBC television centre in Shepherd's Bush.

“Nobody knows for sure and the expression is even older than I am. Maybe ‘Wind, reel and print’ from the early days of film?”

The voice was familiar but until I looked up I couldn’t believe who it was. “So good to see you again Litara and from the resemblance this must be your sister Venus about whom I’ve been hearing.” A hand was gently placed on my shoulder as without volition I rose to acknowledge the voice.

“I’m sorry I can’t stop to chat as business calls but it’s been a pleasure to meet you Venus.”

“A pleasure to meet you too Sir," and with that I was looking after the back as he moved across the room of a man I'd been raised to think of as a saint.

“Ah Litara, we arrived early but as your friend has just left maybe we can join you for coffee before we get down to business?”

The newcomers were strangers to me but Litara soon obliquely let me know which one was the producer of a proposed New Zealand wildlife documentary. They were here to decide whether and under what terms to join Litara’s project. I was ‘the talent’ to be inspected like prime beef.

“Litara, please give me their details as I really want to thank the experts at the Greenwich Maritime Museum for this Navigator’s Chronometer they sent me,” I said baring my wrist so that Litara and the others could see my watch.

Litara inspected the watch in a complimentary fashion as though it were the first time she was aware of it then replied, “I’ll email the details to you later today Venus. It seems that the Captain who used your sextant really appreciated the way you made him look on film.”

That was the sum total of my BBC experience and time for me to leave Litara as I'd brought my carry bag from her car into the BBC with me and she had given me a train ticket home to Cardiff

Once on the train from Paddington I phoned my Mum to ask her if she would take the time to pick up my dance class outfit from home and take it into the hall with her. She was surprised as she hadn’t expected me home from London until much too late for the class but agreed and accepted my gentle brush off when she asked how my time away had been. That left 2 hours on the train for me to learn the full family history of a woman in her 60s who had been visiting her children and grandchildren in London.

“You’re looking very smart dear,” was my mother’s greeting as I entered the hall - with it came the unspoken but implicit criticism that I usually looked like either a tramp or a tart but I rose above it. Gently I took my mother's hand and, because I really love her dearly, I placed it on my shoulder and whispered in her ear.

“Where your hand is now, three hours ago was the hand of a man who knowing my name said ‘… a pleasure to meet you Venus.’ His name was Sir David Attenborough.”

“Joy, Joy, what’s wrong Joy?” My Da’s concern was very real when I had to support Mum as she staggered. I’d seen old television footage of hysterical 1960’s girl fans but never associated them with my mother but it seems that while other girls of her age screamed for the Beatles my mother was potty for a young David Attenborough.

Once Mum had recovered my Dad had a word with John and Judy and in a change to the schedule they agreed to teach the dances from the 1960’s,