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17th February 2014
This Morning ITV
Today we had been asked to appear on THIS MORNING - the UK breakfast television show on ITV. This is to bring to the issue of hoarding to the attention of the viewing public and to promote the documentary which would be shown later in the day on Channel Five at 10pm. We would be on TV more than Ant and Dec that day. Imelda and Hev - Hmmmm, - perhaps not.
We went to breakfast although my stomach had turned into a butterfly breeding program. I managed a few croissants. Imelda acted as if he had not eaten in weeks.
In the lift on the way up to the room after breakfast we were in a very small lift with a skinny bloke with tattoos on his forehead aged about 35 - 40. He was wearing a cagoule with the hood up and a pair of pink tights with a tight flowery skirt. He got off on the floor before us. I smiled politely at him as he got out. Imelda said in his not too quiet voice "He was wearing a SKIRT!" I was starting to wonder if he would make it to the TV studios with his teeth intact.
At 09.00 they sent a car for us which took us to the ITV studios overlooking the Thames, somewhere near Waterloo. We went through security and were directed up to the area where they film THIS MORNING. I was asked by almost everyone if I was nervous. Oddly enough by now I wasn't and neither was Imelda. Imelda was hell bent on eating all the freebies and asking for a tour of the studios.
I was taken to the make up room and given a make over. It was pretty weird to be sitting in a room no larger than my bathroom at home, in front of a mirror in between people I normally see inside the TV. I was sitting in a seat between Alison Hammond a past UK Big Brother contestant and Keeley Hawes the actress from 'Life on Mars'. Rylan (also ex Big Brother I think) kept coming in to check his hair and make up. At one point I had to give up my chair for Jeff Brazier to have his make up done.
They managed to make me look presentable and I went back to the green room. Eamon Holmes came in to the Green Room to meet us before the airing and Imelda talked to him about way back in the BBC when they had met many years ago. They did seem to remember each other.
Our slot was 11.30 which was exactly when my recording space on my DVD recorder at home ran out.
They miked us up and took us through all the small rooms to the little studio where they film the show - the Thames river in the background is live - I always suspected it was filmed from somewhere else or perhaps on a rotation film.
We were asked to sit on the sofa, told where and how to sit, then 321 and we were live. It was just like chatting to my mates sitting on a sofa except I kept wanting to tell myself not to slouch, shoulders back, check ear was not poking through my hair (it was), check skirt not tucked in knickers (no - I was wearing trousers), cross ankles in a ladylike manner, check. Then I tried to say all I had to say clearly, slowly and clnfidently.
Eamon Holmes said dad was a well dressed individual and a very 'dapper' man. He evidently had not seen the baked bean stain on his shirt. Imelda had his brace on under his jacket. I believe this was for the sympathy vote as he doesn't have to wear it any more.
They asked about the hoarding issue and if he thought it was a problem. He said if he was honest he was aware there was a problem and knew he should do something about it but there was so much else to do. He said the garden was of course his priority as everybody could see that. (This was after the images of the innards of his house had been spewed all over the television screens). He deftly deflected the question about what he thought of the house and all my days of effort to clear it while he was in hospital. He was asked why he wouldn't throw stuff out. He waffled on about how the televisions were history and so he couldn't throw them away. That explains the NINE televisions but what about the rest of the stuff?
Eamon said they would have to finish the interview as they needed the sofa for the next guest and they could not take the risk of him covering it with stuff. Ha ha. At the end of the interview we chatted for a short while with the two presenters who were genuinely lovely and also interested in the subject of hoarding. We had the photo taken (see above), then we had to leave to make way for the next guest.
Imelda had a brief tour of the studios before we were whisked off to Paddington station. When we got to Paddington we got out of the car provided for us by ITV and noticed two people staring at us. They came up to us and said 'Oh my goodness we just watched you on the telly'. It was totally hilarious. Imelda was somewhat bemused and they asked for his autograph. He chuckled all the way home.
The train arrived at Cardiff central train station at 15:22 and the Welsh weather was hell bent on ruining my hair. I had to run from the train station to the bus station (this is not far but I had no hood or brolly and my hair was looking the best it had looked in ages thanks to the ladies in make up). My work had not allowed me to take the day off so I had to battle my way straight to work where I worked from 16.30 until 21:30. As soon as I got into the office I started getting a few strange looks. The office where I work is very big and I probably only know about 50 of the 500 or so people who work there. Apparently they had had the programme on the huge TV in the break area and one of the people I knew had seen it and pointed me out to the others in there. I'm told there was a bit of a crowd gatherd.
After work I had 30 minutes to get home before the documentary started. I needed a stiff vodka and a cushion behind the sofa in case it all got a bit scary.
22:00 came and the documentary started. Bear in mind I'd still not seen the documentary. The first time I saw it was when it was shown on TV. It started with Imelda, then on to a 72 year old lady in Florida who was FAR worse in that she had lost the use of her plumbing and resorting to 'going to the bathroom' in plastic bags and hadn't got round to putting them in the garbage yet. Her story was very sad. She'd resorted to sleeping on one corner of her bed as it was covered in stuff. She also had an infestation of cockroaches which were everywhere and she'd managed to set fire to her kitchen as well at one point which was luckily not a severe fire. The smell in a small house in Florida with no air conditioning must have been horrendous.
The other story on the documentary was a man in Bristol, UK who'd moved from a large house to a smaller one approximately a year before and his stuff wouldn't all fit in. There was a lot of stuff and he had to go round the outside of the house to get to the kitchen. his was not unclean just too much stuff in too small a space. He had a new girlfriend who it appears was up for the challenge of working with him to get it sorted.
Three totally different types of hoarded house. I'm only grateful to see Imelda's house was not the worst. I noticed had far more wrinkles that I realised - perhaps working at Imelda's house has aged me. The programme showed me getting frustrated with him and him stubbornly refusing to throw ANYTHING out including an old piece of disintegrating foam rubber which was so old the indentation of a shoe and a small square remained clearly visible. I asked why he needed EIGHT televisions in his living room - he deflected the answer and said
'Because I do'.
(We found a ninth TV in there the next day). He's shown clearly becoming frustrated and uncomfortable with the clear up process and not letting me throw anything away. Even so I managed to get eight bags in my car.
For the record the things I threw away on the day without him knowing were all things which I felt comfortable throwing out without running them past him first. For example an old stained pillow which the dog used to sleep on (the dog died three years ago and the current dog has a different one). A box of LIDL magazines, holiday brochures over five years old, a box from a toaster many years old, a body of a toaster (without the insides), a broken old plug, the sole of an old slipper, a belt without the buckle, an old ice cream container with a hole in it, used brillo pads... you get the idea.
I have to say that on the whole I was pleased with the documentary, they managed to get the frustrations of hoarding from both the point of view of the hoarder and the family. They managed to omit my inner axe murderess tendencies. They did not make him out to look like a total idiot.
On the plus side for me they managed to get his temper and frustratingly stubborn refusal to let me deal with anything and when I asked him why he wouldn't let me get rid of anything he said because he didn't trust me.
I've decided I'll use the showing of the documentary and the feedback from the following few weeks as closure for a book on the subject. The book will be honest and truthful and based on this whole blog but it will be written with a bit more thought and with a bit more background and a a few more revelations.
Watch this space and thank you for reading.
At 09.00 they sent a car for us which took us to the ITV studios overlooking the Thames, somewhere near Waterloo. We went through security and were directed up to the area where they film THIS MORNING. I was asked by almost everyone if I was nervous. Oddly enough by now I wasn't and neither was Imelda. Imelda was hell bent on eating all the freebies and asking for a tour of the studios.
I was taken to the make up room and given a make over. It was pretty weird to be sitting in a room no larger than my bathroom at home, in front of a mirror in between people I normally see inside the TV. I was sitting in a seat between Alison Hammond a past UK Big Brother contestant and Keeley Hawes the actress from 'Life on Mars'. Rylan (also ex Big Brother I think) kept coming in to check his hair and make up. At one point I had to give up my chair for Jeff Brazier to have his make up done.
They managed to make me look presentable and I went back to the green room. Eamon Holmes came in to the Green Room to meet us before the airing and Imelda talked to him about way back in the BBC when they had met many years ago. They did seem to remember each other.
Our slot was 11.30 which was exactly when my recording space on my DVD recorder at home ran out.
They miked us up and took us through all the small rooms to the little studio where they film the show - the Thames river in the background is live - I always suspected it was filmed from somewhere else or perhaps on a rotation film.
We were asked to sit on the sofa, told where and how to sit, then 321 and we were live. It was just like chatting to my mates sitting on a sofa except I kept wanting to tell myself not to slouch, shoulders back, check ear was not poking through my hair (it was), check skirt not tucked in knickers (no - I was wearing trousers), cross ankles in a ladylike manner, check. Then I tried to say all I had to say clearly, slowly and clnfidently.
Eamon Holmes said dad was a well dressed individual and a very 'dapper' man. He evidently had not seen the baked bean stain on his shirt. Imelda had his brace on under his jacket. I believe this was for the sympathy vote as he doesn't have to wear it any more.
They asked about the hoarding issue and if he thought it was a problem. He said if he was honest he was aware there was a problem and knew he should do something about it but there was so much else to do. He said the garden was of course his priority as everybody could see that. (This was after the images of the innards of his house had been spewed all over the television screens). He deftly deflected the question about what he thought of the house and all my days of effort to clear it while he was in hospital. He was asked why he wouldn't throw stuff out. He waffled on about how the televisions were history and so he couldn't throw them away. That explains the NINE televisions but what about the rest of the stuff?
Eamon said they would have to finish the interview as they needed the sofa for the next guest and they could not take the risk of him covering it with stuff. Ha ha. At the end of the interview we chatted for a short while with the two presenters who were genuinely lovely and also interested in the subject of hoarding. We had the photo taken (see above), then we had to leave to make way for the next guest.
Imelda had a brief tour of the studios before we were whisked off to Paddington station. When we got to Paddington we got out of the car provided for us by ITV and noticed two people staring at us. They came up to us and said 'Oh my goodness we just watched you on the telly'. It was totally hilarious. Imelda was somewhat bemused and they asked for his autograph. He chuckled all the way home.
The train arrived at Cardiff central train station at 15:22 and the Welsh weather was hell bent on ruining my hair. I had to run from the train station to the bus station (this is not far but I had no hood or brolly and my hair was looking the best it had looked in ages thanks to the ladies in make up). My work had not allowed me to take the day off so I had to battle my way straight to work where I worked from 16.30 until 21:30. As soon as I got into the office I started getting a few strange looks. The office where I work is very big and I probably only know about 50 of the 500 or so people who work there. Apparently they had had the programme on the huge TV in the break area and one of the people I knew had seen it and pointed me out to the others in there. I'm told there was a bit of a crowd gatherd.
After work I had 30 minutes to get home before the documentary started. I needed a stiff vodka and a cushion behind the sofa in case it all got a bit scary.
22:00 came and the documentary started. Bear in mind I'd still not seen the documentary. The first time I saw it was when it was shown on TV. It started with Imelda, then on to a 72 year old lady in Florida who was FAR worse in that she had lost the use of her plumbing and resorting to 'going to the bathroom' in plastic bags and hadn't got round to putting them in the garbage yet. Her story was very sad. She'd resorted to sleeping on one corner of her bed as it was covered in stuff. She also had an infestation of cockroaches which were everywhere and she'd managed to set fire to her kitchen as well at one point which was luckily not a severe fire. The smell in a small house in Florida with no air conditioning must have been horrendous.
The other story on the documentary was a man in Bristol, UK who'd moved from a large house to a smaller one approximately a year before and his stuff wouldn't all fit in. There was a lot of stuff and he had to go round the outside of the house to get to the kitchen. his was not unclean just too much stuff in too small a space. He had a new girlfriend who it appears was up for the challenge of working with him to get it sorted.
Three totally different types of hoarded house. I'm only grateful to see Imelda's house was not the worst. I noticed had far more wrinkles that I realised - perhaps working at Imelda's house has aged me. The programme showed me getting frustrated with him and him stubbornly refusing to throw ANYTHING out including an old piece of disintegrating foam rubber which was so old the indentation of a shoe and a small square remained clearly visible. I asked why he needed EIGHT televisions in his living room - he deflected the answer and said
'Because I do'.
(We found a ninth TV in there the next day). He's shown clearly becoming frustrated and uncomfortable with the clear up process and not letting me throw anything away. Even so I managed to get eight bags in my car.
For the record the things I threw away on the day without him knowing were all things which I felt comfortable throwing out without running them past him first. For example an old stained pillow which the dog used to sleep on (the dog died three years ago and the current dog has a different one). A box of LIDL magazines, holiday brochures over five years old, a box from a toaster many years old, a body of a toaster (without the insides), a broken old plug, the sole of an old slipper, a belt without the buckle, an old ice cream container with a hole in it, used brillo pads... you get the idea.
I have to say that on the whole I was pleased with the documentary, they managed to get the frustrations of hoarding from both the point of view of the hoarder and the family. They managed to omit my inner axe murderess tendencies. They did not make him out to look like a total idiot.
On the plus side for me they managed to get his temper and frustratingly stubborn refusal to let me deal with anything and when I asked him why he wouldn't let me get rid of anything he said because he didn't trust me.
I've decided I'll use the showing of the documentary and the feedback from the following few weeks as closure for a book on the subject. The book will be honest and truthful and based on this whole blog but it will be written with a bit more thought and with a bit more background and a a few more revelations.
Watch this space and thank you for reading.
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