A Short Lesson in Humility

Tempted though I was to remove or edit my previous post, the whole fiasco of yesterday's filming serves as a useful reminder of how hubris can carry you away sometimes.



Before I left for the shoot, I emailed as many people as possible, suggesting they might like to get home early from work to see me talking about Freediving on BBC London. So straight away, we can see the direction this is heading in.



I arrived at the Altitude Centre on time, to find Richard ( who runs it ), and Kav ( another volunteer like myself ). Kav is a very interesting and amiable guy. He started out life as an orphan, found somewhere as a toddler, without any record of his birth or past. He is aged somewhere between 50 and 52 - he really doesn't know exactly. He has had a succession of different careers, including time in The Parachute Regiment, and most recently, French polishing. He weighs in somewhere around the 15 stone mark, but this represents roughly half the weight he was 18 months ago. Since then he has restricted his intake of not only food, but oxygen as well, through his training at The Altitude Centre. This culminated in the successful ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro, about a fortnight ago. For someone with diabetes and high blood pressure, this is something of an achievement. Especially when you consider that a fit 38 year old woman who was climbing alongside him, collapsed and died on her attempt.



The BBC arrived 45 minutes late. They had very little plan of what they wanted to do, and immediately came to the conclusion that the room with all the IHT equipment in was far too small to fit in myself, Kav, Richard and the cameraman, plus his equipment. So they decided to film us individually, me first. The shoot took a good half hour, with cameras and lights being

constantly moved and readjusted, while I breathed away on a ventilator supplying me gas with half of the oxygen content removed.



A conversation something like the following then took place:

BBC Producer: "Thanks a lot, we've finished with you now"

Me: "OK, great - so what happens next?"

BBC Producer: "Well, we'll shoot Kav on the ventilator, and then do another scene across the road in the pub, with Kav French polishing one of the tables - but you can go now"

Me: "So when is the screening?"

BBC Producer: "Ah. Well, we've decided to make two pieces out of this - one with Kav, and another with you..and we'll add in some freediving footage to that one.."

Me: "And when will they be shown?"

BBC Producer "We'll broadcast Kav's tonight. We need to get the freediving footage before we do yours"



Enlightenment hit me like one of Kav's size 12 boots in the groin. What perfect sense - having two almost identical sports news stories for different nights. The controllers would love that one. Coupled with the fact that the BBC hadn't asked for my contact details, or any questions about freediving. Excuse the skepticism.



So the first shoot was a complete mock, presumably to appease me having taking an afternoon off work to appear.



I left, and walked toward Charing Cross through Covent Garden, passing on my way a man singing Christmas carols through a large traffic cone. I felt like doing a duet with him. But duets were off the menu today.



( Footnote: Auntie Beeb took pity on me in the end, and used about 5 seconds of my footage to support the feature on Kav. As for Richard, he ended up with publicity that portrayed IHT as an expensive therapy for well-heeled city types, rather than the serious training aid it is meant to be. As my friend Mr Hogarth sometimes sings, "We get what we deserve". )