A Good Face for Radio....

Oh goodness me- I hardly know where to start! What a difference a week makes!! This time last week, I'd only just heard about being a finalist in the MADs and now, I've got three radio interviews and two newspaper articles under my belt! (Did I really just write that?) I've honestly been  lovin' it all too, that is when I'm not bricking myself and thinking of  the fifty easy ways that I could put my foot in my mouth! I suppose that's the thing about being the age I am now though, (30 with 10 years experience), because even though there was a massive part of me that was really nervous, the other more mature part thought, 'Really, what have I got to lose? This isn't life or death, and the world's not going to end if I mess it this up. , I've pushed out five humans, and if  flippin' Jedward can do the Eurovision (twice!), then surely to God I can do this!

What really amazed a media virgin like myself, is how quickly these things get organized. I mean, it started off like any ordinary old Tuesday, (Have you made your bed? Go and do it. Is your lunch packed? Put it in now.), but little did I know I was going to be on Radio Ulster Arts Extra with Marie Louise Muir later that evening. (I'm glad I didn't know actually- it just would've given me more time to obsess about it).
It's funny though, how you're just programmed to think like a mummy- the producer rang about lunchtime and asked me to come in for 620pm  and I hesitated, because my immediate thought was ' No, no, that's not going to work-it's bang in the middle of dinner time and home works' but thankfully Loverboy was busy nodding furiously at me and mouthing 'Say yes!' so I did. |Then, because he was coming with me, we dropped the kids off at my (super excited ) parents' house. I got my pep talk from my mum as I was leaving, 'Now, listen here. Don't you go in there and run yourself down! You're as good as the rest of them, d'you hear me? Or even better. You go in there and be confident...and don't talk too fast...and speak out clearly.'
And it wasn't just them. After texting and tweeting and facebooking my news, I got so many messages from friends and family saying Go for it! We're listening! You can do this!  Not just here in Norn Iron either- Virginia, New York, California, UAE -isn't Internet radio great altogether? I was embarrassed and delighted, humbled and moved all at once-all those folks who took the time to cheer me on and wish me well, when they could so easily not have bothered-it was overwhelming..
The show was half a hour long and I was on right at the end, so Loverboy and I sat in with the producers, looking into the studio where Marie Louise Muir was on air-she had a proper red light and everything! (I'd love one of those at home, but no one would pay one bit o' heed.) There was a lady author called Jo Baker doing a phone interview  before me-her book 'The Undertow' is  Oprah's book of the week! Yes indeed, as in THE Oprah! Whose newsletter only goes out to 1.6 MILLION people! I mean I'm thrilled for her, I really am, but all I could think was, me and my poxy wee blog is up after an interview with Oprah's NBF! No pressure then. But before I went in, a lovely producer called Ruth advised me to just pretend it was me and Marie Louise having a wee chat...and that's exactly what I did.  ML made it seem easy, so I relaxed and  it was over! My sister, (who was listening in my parents') told me later that despite 3 radios on in the full and busy kitchen , my mum furtively took one into the utility room  so that she could listen without any 'distractions'. (read-children).Then, when she came out, she said very seriously 'I thought that was FANTASTIC!' ( which was clearly an overstatement, but she's my mum, and I love that she still does that for me, even now).
Before we picked up the kids, we grabbed a pizza and a glass of wine and my phone beeped the whole time and I was on an absolute high! Then it was up to collect Duffy's Circus, who were beside themselves at hearing mummy on the radio.. and fairly bemused as to why, but hey, we're eating icecream in Nanas' on a Tuesday night, so who's complaining? Driving home, I honestly thought that was that, but as it turned out, my five minutes wasn't quite up and Wednesday was set to be even busier..... To be continued...(Oh, I've always wanted to write that!)

Titanic Much?

Titanic leaving Belfast

Titanic mania reached its peak this week with the 100th anniversary of its sinking, but surely nowhere more than here in Belfast, aka Titanic town. It's EVERYWHERE. Even in the hotel last week, the walls were covered with Titanic inspired paintings, (an artist somewhere is sooo making a killing), while 'authentic' Titanic afternoon teas were being served on the terrace. (Presumably these were the teas enjoyed on the upper decks and not by the poor sods in steerage class).
On the TV and radio over the last few weeks it's been programme after programme, (Even Len Goodman was jumping on the bandwagon for goodness sake!), and 'A Night to Remember' seemed to be running on a loop. There's commemorative supplements in all the newspapers and last week the Belfast Telegraph issued Titanic medals! 

Titanic museum, Belfast

There are tours-a -plenty and the new Titanic museum opened its doors here in Belfast last week to sell out crowds- tickets have been like hens' teeth, but personally, I think I'll wait till it settles down a bit myself. 

See that Rose one...

Oh, and James Cameron's Titanic movie has been shamelessly re-released in 3D as well- (like he didn't make enough first time around!) I remember seeing it in Virginia in 1997- we had just moved there a few months earlier, it was 2 BC ( Before Children),  my cousin was visiting and the three of us went on a cold December night. I was secretly thrilled to see Belfast featured, albeit briefly, on the big screen so far from home, and cried my way through it along with everyone else. Fast forward to this weekend, and our Anna asked to go see it on Saturday with her pals. It's a 12 certificate, and although she IS 12, we're pretty strict about  TV and movies in general, and my practiced parental mind immediately filtered through my memory bank, bypassing all it's historical value, zooming in instead, on Rose lying in the nudie rudie being painted by a bloke she'd only just met..then subsequently getting up to no good in the back of the car!  But we discussed it and decided to let her go, and later, when she arrived home red eyed, she announced that it was the saddest film she'd ever seen in her life and she cried the whole way through....and she'd had the best time ever. (And happily she was at the loo at the car bit ...cos I checked.)
But where was I? Oh yes, despite feeling more than a bit Titanic-ed out, I just can't help being proud of the increased tourism and buzz that Titanic fever has brought to Belfast. You see, like so many of us, I remember the bad old days all too well, when a backpacker was a rare sight, and anyway, we just automatically assumed they were here by mistake. When the streets of Belfast were all closed off at night, with barriers, and soldiers and barbed wire... but sure that's another blog altogether!
Now, haven't we only gone and got ourselves a Titanic Quarter? (along with Queen's, Cathedral and Gaeltacht ) To me, it's another welcome string in the bow of a town, that's long been the black sheep of Irish tourism, but my goodness, she does scrub up well.

Titanic in Belfast

And no, I don't subscribe to the school of thought that thinks that remembering, celebrating and, (God forbid), capitalising on Titanic, is somehow in poor taste. This was a TERRIBLE human disaster, but it happened 100 years ago, and is no longer in living memory. Also-let's be realistic here-so much of history is made up of tragedy, and every society has to learn from the mistakes of it's forefathers. If we only acknowledged the happy endings, it would be a false history indeed. At the time it was built, Titanic was a triumph of modern engineering and it was built right here in little old Belfast. My aunt told me, that my great grandfather recalled going to the shipyards, just to marvel at its size and beauty. He also remembered waving, along with so many others, as it sailed from the docks up Belfast Lough on its way to Southhampton. (Actually, it may be in slightly poor taste,  if you so wish you can even buy a t shirt that states 'Titanic- it was alright when it left here...' and I couldn't help but smile.. not least because it's true!)
But now the anniversary's over and the media coverage will settle down, the Titanic afternoon teas will finish, and the queues for the museum will shorten. From here on in though, I believe that Titanic and Belfast will be forever inextricably linked, both for us and in the eyes of the world, and to me that's a very rich legacy indeed.