24March1996

My dear folks,

Night three ahead. The past two have been good ones, especially after the solid sleeping I did ahead of them. We did some live crossings into the docking of Atlantis & Mir last night, quite exciting as they’re unscripted & everything depends on the picture NASA has up at the time. They’re feasible when you’re working with a presenter who’s willing to busk it, as I was last night. And jolly good he was too. Then I had a bit of fun putting together an Oscar preview. Weekends are helpful in this regard. They’re quiet & there’s lots of opportunity to scan the incoming feeds for a soft story to package. The editor is only too grateful. Packages have a maximum 12-hour life-span & by dawn new ones are badly needed to replace those hitting their use-by times.

The night’s drama, such as it was, occurred on the way to work when a gentleman in a large Renault, who was doing a 3-point turn in a crowded street, backed into the side of the Rocket with an ominous crunching of glass. I found parking around the corner & walked back to the scene to find a large policeman on the corner. The other driver had done a bunk & the policeman was talking busily into his radio. It was a very minor drama so I’ll not spin out the details. Suffice it to say that the gods did not merely smile on me, they positively beamed. There was not a scratch on the Rocket. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The rear of the Renault had scored the thick strips of rubber around the wheel arches & along the door without touching the metalwork. The glass from the Renault’s rear lamps lay in the road, testifying to the impact. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was also very grateful to be much more sober than your average judge on a Sat. night.

The only downside was 20 minutes of laborious pavement paperwork with a second policeman summoned to the scene by the first who was occupied with something else. I suggested to the gentleman that in view of the absence both of damage to my car & the other driver, he might want to spare himself the trouble but he was young & felt that case should be followed up. A crime had been committed & the culprit should be caught. We both knew that the culprit was extremely unlikely to be caught & the upshot is more police paperwork & the need for me to present various car-related documents to my local police station in the course of the next week. Silly, but that’s life!

Thank you to Jones for another super fax. At some point, when I have a few spare hours, I’ll transcribe some of the passages on your far-ranging walks with Hannie & dogs. They make great reading. I note that both Conal in Witbank & Alan in Calgary are both now the possessors of modems with at least potential access to e-mail & the Net. Nephews, I look forward with the greatest anticipation to your first messages. Just in case you forgot to note it down, I’m: tbenson@bbcnc.org.uk

I start & finish early tonight - as last night - so I’ll get this underway. I’ve resolutely refused to allow Mavis out when I leave the past few days. He hates being left alone at night but now that there’s a dog in the basement flat he used as a second home, he doesn’t have an alternative refuge. After feeding him this morning & taking a bite of breakfast, I went upstairs to find him sitting upright on the bed, as if to ask, when are you coming. I used the doorstop to explain that it was my bed & there were strict limits to his access. I can tolerate waking to find him snoring alongside. But when his snores begin before I’m even in bed, I can’t even get to sleep. I think we’ve struck a compromise. XXXXXXXXXXXX T