It’s been quite the week hasn’t it? Record breaking temperatures have made even the most basic, normal tasks a little bit of a burden. As my diary tends to fluctuate between ‘feast and famine’ I really could have done with a quiet week of writing from home. If that had been the case I could have justifiably wasted my time, hiding from the sun and watching all of the highlights from the World Cup. As I checked the weather forecast and my daily commitments at the start of the week it was as if both were heading for a massive collision on Thursday.
Monday started warm but bearable. I had a reasonably early start presenting a daytime radio show that started just after breakfast and ended by lunchtime. At 10am the studio was warm but bearable. By midday I was down to my boxer shorts and drinking water by the gallon. At one o’clock I locked the studio door and felt as if I had just spent a couple of hours in the sauna.
Now I know that often the ‘hardy Brits’ have made fun of the southern European siesta. But as Noel Coward once wrote ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun’.
This week has proved once again that experience triumphs over whatever beliefs one might have. Over the centuries the Mediterranean folk have found that it’s best to avoid the extreme heat of the middle of the day. After this week’s heatwave I tend to agree with them. With that in mind and my radio show completed I had another glass of water, a quick shower and headed for an afternoon snooze.
The other reason I decided to take it easy was that I had a major commitment on Monday evening. I had been asked to host the Gower College Annual awards. I decided to travel to the Swansea.com stadium in my civvies, shorts and T-Shirt. Of course I also packed my heavy, warm green velvet jacket and suit on a hanger.
When I arrived, under the supervision of the tutors, the students had already set up all of the staging, PA and lights. It was terrific to see them getting hands on experience and they looked as if they were enjoying themselves as well.
The stadium has a built in air flow system which works well under normal conditions, but these are not normal conditions. By 6pm on Monday it was struggling. Having identified the issues in the morning some of the College staff had spent the day gathering up as many fans as they could muster.
It was a wonderful evening celebrating all aspect of student life. Over the years these types of awards have got more and more ‘multimedia’ and each category was prefaced by a video explaining why the student had been nominated. Listening to all of the stories it was impossible not to be inspired by these young people’s enthusiasm. I say young people but actually a few awards were given to more mature students who had returned to learning later in life.
The key note speaker was an old girl of the college. Lauren Evans is a casting director. She recently won a BAFTA for her work on ‘I Swear’, a film based on the life of a man with Tourette syndrome. As I introduced her I referred to her televised BAFTA acceptance speech which was wonderful and funny and very Welsh. Lauren told her story of triumph against the odds; of never giving in to industry accepted norms and never giving up when the future looked uncertain. There’s a saying ‘if you can see it, you can be it’. Hearing Lauren’s story, in our accent, was proof to the students present and also to an old guy like me that you can come from here, you can dream big dreams and they can come true.
Tuesday and Wednesday saw the temperatures rise and me trying to get some recording and editing work done. I started early in the morning, then siesta time before finishing off in the cool of the evening …but I knew Thursday was coming.
I’ve worked with Judith Roberts Opticians in Mumbles for over 30 years. They know that spectacles are part of my work wear and have always tried to find new and interesting frames for me to try. Open day is always exciting as manufacturers come from all over the UK to show off their latest styles. Last year I invested in a pair of Rayban Meta Frames. These are remarkable glasses with built in cameras, microphones and headphones…very James Bond secret agent. As well as being able to film videos it is also possible to broadcast live via Facebook.
Of course I always go out of my way to tell everyone that we are live on Social Media in case they think what they say to me is just a private comment but is in fact going out into the world. I checked with Patrick one of the new owners of the opticians and we got the Ok to go live. It was great to see Mumbles based Anna Lewis’s ‘Ffin’ brand featured alongside brands such as Tom Ford and Gucci.
It wasn’t long before I had to leave for the city centre to host the Swansea City CBN Fixture Announcement at the Swansea Jack. The fixture list was embargoed until 12pm and I had to make sure that my glasses were turned off prior to viewing an early copy of the fixture list. The last thing I needed was to inadvertently broadcast the list on Facebook.
Prior to the announcement I got a chance to interview Swans CEO Tom Gorringe. Just before starting our chat I asked Tom if there were any subjects he would rather not talk about. ‘Ask me anything you like’ he said. And I did and I think all of those in attendance were impressed with his candid answers and his confidence that we are in a good place to face a new season.
After another short siesta I made my way to the Stadium once more for the ‘Swansea Bay Construction Awards’. This ceremony honours the best apprentices in the area covering everything from electrical engineering to scaffolding to technical skills. On the hottest day of the year black tie was relaxed to smart shorts for this prestigious event.
Once again I was incredibly impressed and inspired by these young men and women who have taken the opportunities offered to them. They have found themselves at the start of a career path that both they and we as a community need to be successful.
I was sat at a table with Nathan, an apprentice carpenter. As we chatted it became obvious that he was a very focused young man, but it wasn’t just about him.
Nathan also goes into schools to talk to students about his journey. On the stage I put him on the spot with a quick interview. How old are you Nathen, ‘18’? How old are the students you talk to in schools, ‘16’? He then went on to explain that they could relate to him because he wasn’t that much older than him and that he could understand their questions because he was sat in their places only a few years ago.
It had been a long and extremely warm day at the end of a long and very warm week but as I left, once again, I felt inspired by the stories I had heard of young people doing great things. If you ask me…the kids are alright!