A1 Potholes

Thursday 6th

The day was long in distance but not too long in time, just a nine hour day.

On his way back north from his home near Darlington Gregg had noticed that his drive on the A1 was not as smooth as usual.

The snow and ice had caused more damage to the road surface in a matter of a few days than the combined efforts of the Stobbart boys with their heavy trucks and constant stream of salesman’s cars had done in a number of years.

It was an easy job to shoot. A few tracking shots on the road and some static shots from the roadside showing the damage.

The annoying bit was the turning around to go back and shoot the bits that we had passed.

Driving down the A1.

We did a couple of pieces to camera, one in the car and one by the signs indicating the border between Scotland and England.

I had a slight sense of national pride when the part of the road north of the border was markedly better than the state of it a few miles north of Newcastle.

The one element that we did not have was any opinions from any of the folk that use the road.

We checked out the services near Newcastle but they were bereft of any one to talk to.

The light was now starting to fade fast. Gregg was not too worried at the lack of talking heads in the daylight. He has been in touch with the guys at good old Tyne Tees Television in Gateshead. they had done the story and had some useful interviews that he could use.

So in Newcastle’s northern suburb, Gosforth I handed him the tape of the material that I had shot. He then nipped across the river to nick the Tyne Tees material and edit the report.

I thrashed back up the road to Edinburgh.