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For
Better, For Worse...
by
Lynne Suzanne
Entering competitions may give you a chance to experience
challenges or experiences you wouldn’t normally
enjoy without this fantastic hobby.
I
had a fantastic day out and all because I won ‘an
audition’ to stand in for Fred Talbot as weatherman
on Granada TV’s This Morning programme.
Although,
when the alarm clock went off in the early hours of
a freezing cold and dark wintry March morning, and faced
with the prospect of a four hour journey to Liverpool’s
Albert Docks,
I wasn’t quite sure ‘weather’
or not this was such
a ‘bright’ idea.
The
competition was organised in conjunction with Granada
Television and a national newspaper. The task was
to complete the limerick:
‘There
once was a met man called Fred, who told bosses I’m
feeling half dead’
A number of entrants were to be selected for audition on the
Albert Dock weather map, from which ten would be chosen
to stay overnight in Liverpool, returning next morning
for a second audition.
From these ten, five winners would be selected,
who would each read the weather for one morning, whilst
Fred Talbot was on holiday.
Fifty
of us turned up for audition. What a marvellous day
it was. My
first shivering reaction, peering down at the weather
map, is unprintable. Any misapprehensions about leaping
from Scotland to Northern Ireland, soon disappeared
as Jane and I went into the studio with the other hopefuls.
Fred
Talbot and members of the Granada Television staff greeted
us warmly and over cups of coffee, discussed the morning’s
programme. We
were told to dress in bright colours, and there I was
sporting my winning Ramsey Street sweatshirt, with its
brightly coloured houses. I always knew it would come
in handy. However, compared with some of the outfits,
this was anything but bright.
For those of you watching the programme,
you couldn’t fail to see the outstanding red and
yellow duck umbrella, the tiger, nor the brave man in
his kilt playing the bagpipes.
We had a whale of a time, and the atmosphere
was terrific.
Fifty
of us standing on the weather map, ready to go out live
to three million people. We didn’t need Fred to
read the weather. We could feel the flurries of sleet
and our numb fingers were blue with cold. But the smiles
were warm, the coffee hot and the day was fun.
At
the announcement, the producer came and thanked everyone
for attending and couldn’t emphasise enough how
impressed he was with the marvellous atmosphere, the
shouts of encouragement and general camaraderie of competitors.
He revealed 3,200 people had entered the competition
from which fifty of us
had been selected. Even though I wasn’t
a winner, it was an experience I wouldn’t have
missed.
I thought, quite wrongly, that because it was a competition,
most of the people there would be “compers.”
Chatting to a few I discovered people had entered
for a variety of reasons, ranging from “dares”
to “always wanted to appear on TV”, “thought
it would be fun” and “my friend entered my
name”.
Whatever your reasons for entering competitions, one
thing is for use. It’s an exciting and fun pastime,
so go on. Enter a few comps!
©
Copyright 2002 Lynne Suzanne www.win-with-lynne.co.uk
About the author
Lynne Suzanne is a freelance writer, consultant and
speaker. She has written four books on winning prize
competitions and slogan writing and presents Win With
Lynne Roadshows and marketing seminars.
FREE Win With Lynne Expert Guide to Winning competition
prizes
http://www.win-with-lynne.co.uk
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