Monday Musing – Fifteen Seconds of Fame

~ tidalscribe.com

Would you like fifteen seconds of fame, or would you avoid it? Perhaps fifteen minutes or even one of those weeks that is a long time in politics. There are many ways to achieve brief fame; it could be accidental or you could plan your life to achieve it.

You could pop in to Pret a Manger if you hear a prince happens to be visiting, like Karl Burns our regular Bournemouth Big Issue seller, who subsequently appeared on the television news… repeatedly.

But perhaps you will be unlucky and your stomach will be filmed walking by for one of those obesity items on the news. Just unfortunate that everyone you know recognises the hand knitted jumper your wife made you.

Your brief moment of fame could be multiplied many times over if it appears on every news bulletin. You didn’t even know your town was having an important by election and are totally unprepared to intelligently express your views as you only popped out in your old DIY clothes to buy another tin of paint.

‘Do you think Tom Wilko stands a chance of getting in?’

‘Not if he closes all his stores, where am going to get paint in future?’

‘Well, it seems locals have more pressing concerns than what happens in Westminster.’

How Do they pick people to interview in the street and more curiously, who are those people who get interviewed in their own homes? Do they knock on doors to surprise you or give you three hours to give the house a thorough clean and mow the lawn. No one has ever asked to interview me or anyone I know. The ‘family interview’ asking how they will cope with mortgage rises, hospital / school / shop closures has the puppy and sweet toddlers playing in the foreground. It would be far more interesting if the dog bit the presenter, the little child’s only words were poo poo and the smoke alarm went off because something was burning on the stove.

And what about the viewers? Does the husband who abandoned his wife and children last year feel guilty when he sees her describing their visits to food banks and being thrown out by the landlord as they couldn’t pay the rent?

Have you ever had a brief moment of fame or seen your neighbours on television?

11 thoughts on “Monday Musing – Fifteen Seconds of Fame”

  1. I was once live on TV at a test match. The ground was packed, and we couldn’t find a seat where I could see the action. So my cousin and I plonked ourselves on the grass outside the boundary rope, along with many other spectators. I still couldn’t see the cricket, so we got out a travel chess set and focused on the chequered board instead. And that, of course, is when the roving reporter came round to record a piece for the sports programme.

    I was wearing a distinctive blue sweater with two broad white stripes on the front. My parents and grandparents saw the clip later and recognised the garment. Not exactly fame, but it’s a fond memory nevertheless.

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  2. I am always ready for even 15 minutes of fame but handicap myself by not answering the phone or door. I also know that my fame will likely be negative. I was with my brother in 1967 when he lived in Hawaii and was interviewed on the street. I was interviewed in Kansas in 1992 on the one year anniversary of a major tornado that destroyed our Church and relegated services to the public school auditorium. The reporter cut my wonderful sound bite about how it didn’t matter because Jesus is everywhere. And as the chief company spokesperson in labor disputes, I appeared on the front page and television as Darth Vader when our unions went on strike.

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  5. I had to laugh at the ‘poo poo’ comment, Janet. I know if I opened my door it would be the day (alright most days) when I was wearing scruffy old clothes because no one was coming, and I’d just put the washing machine on, and I hadn’t washed my hair because I was having it done on Thursday so why bother. 😀

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