Monday 16 July 2012

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 23


A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 23:  27th September 2009 – 24 unforgettable hours in Leeds

In a faraway place, great things can happen”.

Evening all,



In my opinion, the north of England has never been kind to me. Even as far north as Nottingham was a daunting place to live. But since my return to Nottingham in 2008, i have learned so much about myself about being in a different place doing what I’ve always wanted to do.

So in theory my trip to Leeds for the week with the team at ITV Yorkshire should be an enjoyable experience. But as with the same as my other days here on my 30 for 30, things never work out the way they go.

But there was going to be an added bonus as well as part of my trip. Basically i was waiting for one more result from Nottingham Trent Uni to wait for. If i pass this result then i am officially a professional and qualified broadcast journalist. If not, then i have to start all over again back in Nottingham.

It was going to be 24 hours i will never forget and the say in question is the 27th September 2009, a long day started oddly enough on the south coast of England.

It was about 9 in the morning when i had to leave my home where i was staying and head on the coach north to Leeds. I had the week all planned out and i was hopeful by the end of the week i will have achieved something special.

After a 10 hour coach journey, i arrived in Leeds confused where to go and what to do. I initially was going to meet my would-be landlady for the week and settle down for the night. But this is where it started to go wrong.

Unaware by me, the room i was staying in was doubled booked. I was hacked off as i should have had the room as i asked for it first. But the landlady asked who had the money upfront for it. As i didn’t have any money till i get paid, i was kicked out of the house and told to find a room elsewhere.

After a massive argument with the landlady, which i nearly punched the landlady after telling her how i felt, i left the house and spent the rest of the night trying to find a hotel for the night. As i did not have much money on me i was not having much luck. After a quick brainwave i got in contact with West Yorkshire Police and they kindly guided me to stay at Leeds train station for the night.


Leeds station - a weird place to stay the night

Both Leeds train station and West Yorkshire Police people were very helpful trying to make me feel calm and positive in a dark situation. I stayed the night in a warm waiting room where i had the opportunity to get some sleep before the day at ITV Yorkshire.

The next day came and after a quick freshen up in a disabled toilet in Leeds station, it was time to go to the news studios of ITV Yorkshire. Once i got there, i settled down to try to help them out with whatever i can do to help with their news programme. It also felt weird about telling them what happened to me the night before. I bet they never will have a work placement guy in the future who spent the night at Leeds station. But they did help me out with a new place to stay for the week. I found a really nice house in the Roundhay part of the city centre.


ITV Yorkshire - I hope we meet again soon. 

After the lunch bulletin, i quickly checked my email to see if a message has been sent about my final result.  And there was a message from my tutor telling me about my final result from University. I opened it and it said that i had successfully passed my final result and that i have graduated from University for a second time.

My first reaction was that i yelled out YES!!!! When i read the email out, I did manage to upset a few colleagues at ITV Yorkshire. So i took myself out to the corridor where i just simply cried my eyes out with joy.

I couldn’t believe that i have finally did it, 2 years of coming and leaving Nottingham, working in 2 different groups to get what i want and all of the other challengers that came my way came down to this. I never felt so happy before in my life.

I spent the rest of the day with a smile on my face i will never get rid of. After the placements shift finished, i called my parents to let them know what happened and they were both happy for me. I spent the evening with a cider in my hand reflecting on a momentous 24 hours that i will never ever forget. 

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