Richard Shayler is losing sleep…

Not a wink

Inervously open my eyes, hoping and hoping it’s not dark outside my blind. Rats, it is. OK, well it can’t be too early? Double rats, it is! Can I get up this early? No, best not. If I have breakfast now I’ll only be hungry again by 9am, and then all my meals will be out of sync. Off I go to sleep again. Well, I say sleep … it’s more like excitable day (or in this case night) dreaming.

Since I can remember, this has been the bedtime story of my life. I hate sleeping, with a passion. It’s so boring. You’ve nothing to do except dream of things that will never happen, make weird noises of prehistoric proportions and of course, pass wind. I especially hate the smell of sleep. A stuffy mix of carpet, pyjamas and bad ventilation. If I had one wish in the world it would be to never have to sleep. We’d all get so much more done! Schubert would have finished that last symphony, Chaucer would have completed his Canterbury Tales, and, of course, the hare would finally get the better of
that sneaky tortoise!

You see, it’s because I get excited. I can’t stop thinking about all the fun things I’m going to be doing the next day. I think about all the great people I’m going to be seeing and all the interesting things I’m going to be filming.

The best thing about my job is the variety. One day I’ll be visiting Glyndebourne opera house with Lynn Ruth Miller. The next I’ll be sampling delicious white wines with Guy Lloyd at The Albourne Estate. I often stop in surprise and think to myself, “Am I getting paid to do this?!”

However, it may all sound like plain sailing, but I assure you it isn’t. That’s what’s also fun. You’re constantly on your toes looking for that great shot. Time is always a factor… as well as the weather. You might want to get a shot with the sun in a certain position and you’ve only got a couple of minutes to set up and get it. And if you don’t, let’s just say that voices are raised! Also, pressing the record button is extremely important. Make that mistake once and you’ll never make it again, trust me.

This week, Lynn will be talking to the Brighton Early Music Festival Director Deborah Roberts, and photographer Julia Horbaschk. We’ve got Ebu Torre telling us all about the fantastic Black History Month. Shirley Jaffe will be talking to us about what it was like to be an actress from the fifties. Heather Irquirt, Joanna Neary and Dolly Rocket will be keeping Guy on his toes about all things comedy and cabaret. And last but not least, we’ve got the marvellous BlackRoosterBlackShag as our resident band for the week.

Don’t forget to tune in every Wednesday to Saturday at 7pm, on Freeview Channel 8, Virgin Media Channel 159, or live online at www.thelatest.tv.

It’s so good you’ll lose sleep over it. Well, I know I will!

Follow me: @latestrichard