A MONTH or so ago I took a Swiss film crew from Zurich around the city. Charming pair of gentleman, very interested in the city and also happily keen to use time efficiently and sensibly.
Some TV crews have made a religion of being awkward. They can't decide on the correct shot or take forty seven thousand versions just in case. They are often too afraid, too fastidious or too impractical.
A decade ago I stood on heavily bus populated Portland Street in the city centre with a French film crew when the female producer said to me: "Jonathan, but there are so many buses. Can you phone the Town Hall and ask them to close the road for an hour while we film? I want to do an interview here and the noise is impossible."
The fact that she was from a small French channel, that thousands of people might be inconvenienced, that the city hadn't been paid a fee, that the whole notion was utterly absurd, didn't occur to her. The buses were being too loud. This was an extreme case but there can be a certain arrogance about film crews.
The TUI Suisse boys were the opposite of this. There was one strange incident.
“Is this right?” asked Roland the presenter.
“Is what right?” I asked.
“These red trousers and the blue shirt,” said Roland continuing with, “I was told by my colleagues that Manchester boys like to wear red trousers and blue shirts. Everybody in Switzerland thinks this is what Manchester boys do.”
I didn't know what to say except, "You look great in them, but I wouldn't say as a general rule, Manchester lads wear red trousers."
During the course of the day we did see one student-looking lad wearing red trousers.
"There, you see," said Roland.
"I think he's Swiss," I said.
Some TV crews have made a religion of being awkward. They can't decide on the correct shot or take forty seven thousand versions just in case. They are often too afraid, too fastidious or too impractical.
A decade ago I stood on heavily bus populated Portland Street in the city centre with a French film crew when the female producer said to me: "Jonathan, but there are so many buses. Can you phone the Town Hall and ask them to close the road for an hour while we film? I want to do an interview here and the noise is impossible."
The fact that she was from a small French channel, that thousands of people might be inconvenienced, that the city hadn't been paid a fee, that the whole notion was utterly absurd, didn't occur to her. The buses were being too loud. This was an extreme case but there can be a certain arrogance about film crews.
The TUI Suisse boys were the opposite of this. There was one strange incident.
“Is this right?” asked Roland the presenter.
“Is what right?” I asked.
“These red trousers and the blue shirt,” said Roland continuing with, “I was told by my colleagues that Manchester boys like to wear red trousers and blue shirts. Everybody in Switzerland thinks this is what Manchester boys do.”
I didn't know what to say except, "You look great in them, but I wouldn't say as a general rule, Manchester lads wear red trousers."
During the course of the day we did see one student-looking lad wearing red trousers.
"There, you see," said Roland.
"I think he's Swiss," I said.
July sunshine in Salford Quays and red trousers
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