That’s all I plan to say on that matter. However in a quieter corner of social media land, I stumbled across an interesting debate on whether or not it is legal to ‘name and shame’ a company online when they’ve not paid their bills or allegedly given bad service. I joined that chatter as it interests me as a journalist – though, I’m no lawyer.

It was a timely debate because only last week such a message about a company in the Bath area was put on Twitter and I flagged up how damaging that can be with the social media outlets we all have access to these days. It’s easy for someone to vent their spleen over such things. Within seconds though, many Tweeters had defended this company and supported it. I felt it right that I re-tweet those comments to redress the balance. For me, the fact that that happened did re-dress the balance. So even if that company had that negative comment on its Twitterfeed on its website, for example, the positive comments would come in behind and cancel out the effect. If the company then went on to deal positively with that complaint (as it should any way), a negative can become a positive.

So back to the debate. Can you post statements online about a company’s bad service, non-payment or any matter about a company or organisation – would that make you subject to legal action? My answer is yes, you can put anything you like online about a company even if it’s defamatory. But like anything, beware the consequences. We do live in a democracy and we should have freedom of speech.

Defamation can be defended. If what you are saying is true and you have paperwork to support your claim, it’s fine. If it’s your experience and then you claim it’s true, ask yourself can the company defend itself against such claims? If it cannot, you are fine. Truth is the best defence – though there are others such as fair comment and public interest. These are harder to prove.

For me it’s about common sense.

Also beware of ‘malicious’ intent – it’s fine to say “I’m having a problem with such and such company, is anyone out there having problems too?’ but it’s not fine to get Twitter followers to continually malign that said company, especially if they have no direct experience of it. What I don’t know is if it’s fine for people to keep re-tweeting negative messages. I don’t think this has been examined in court yet.

People have a very funny view of defamation and libel. It’s the same with invasion of privacy. As journalists we often come across this. Don’t assume that just because you don’t want something said, that it won’t be expressed.

Don't tell tall stories online - stick to the truth....

I once had a recruitment agency in the Swindon area which threatened to take me to court if I mentioned the fact that one of its former employees was taking it to an industrial tribunal. What nonsense! I almost shrieked with laughter.

Industrial tribunals are public events and the press are informed of them – any journalist can go along and report on proceedings. If someone lies in those proceedings (same with a court) as long as a company is approached for a right of reply, a journalist is free to print that lie with any response (contemporaneously). If the company doesn’t like it, that’s tough and  completely irrelevant.

I recently had someone talk to me about an inquest and how could she stop a journalist attending as a family member had passed away suddenly and it was traumatic all round. I gently told her that she couldn’t. An inquest is a public event and journalists are informed. It’s often fifty/fifty whether they will turn up or not – but they are perfectly entitled to do so. In this case, as it happens, no journalist attended.

I had another case where I was producing a short film about a Cheltenham-based company which was clearly  ripping people off for thousands of pounds. We contacted the boss  - remember, you can only defame a person, not a company – and he responded with legal threats.

The day of transmission, he turned up at the studio with a lawyer and sat in a room with us outlining why we were defaming him, his fellow director and therefore his company. It was a long drawn-out meeting but we knew he had no real defence. The pivotal moment came when I said ‘you’re right we are defaming you’. He was silenced by this. I went on to say ‘but there are defences for doing so and one is ‘it’s true’. His solicitor nodded in agreement. The item was aired that night.

The funny thing was, about two months’ later,  I had a call from this man’s solicitor. He wanted  me to know – and laugh ironically – at the fact that he had been employed to defend this business man’s honour (and I use the term loosely) and had not been paid! Probably never was!

I had toothache, to a level I’ve never experienced before and I’ve given birth three times. It built up over about 24 hours and I did that female thing of thinking it would get better, it would get better, it would get better. Have a paracetamol or two and all will be fine.

However, when I tried to floss the area where the pain seemed to be coming from, I almost fainted. Some one had stabbed me with a fine red hot poker in my mouth.

Toothache - my pain was greater than yours!

Now anyone who knows me, will know that I’m not backward in coming forward about my personal experiences of the health service. When I’m making a dentist appointment I have to wait months, not weeks, to fit my family in for routine checks. My dentist is an NHS dentist so I accept this and book well in advance. My dentist is also a mum of two beautiful girls and she often has time off during school holidays. So you can see the problem? I’m a mum and want to book appointments in the school holidays and my dentist isn’t working. Routine appointments are not instant.

So coping with terrible pain, facing a day of work including an important interview with a contributor for a magazine article, I really didn’t know how I’d get through. I called my dentist, tried to explain and was able to book an appointment for today. Not too bad, indeed quite impressive.

Within two hours, two things changed. My interview was cancelled, not by me. And the pain got even worse. Suddenly 10am today seemed like a month away. It was a mountain too high to climb. I called the dentist again and to my surprise, they fitted me in within the hour.

How I drove there I will never know. The only thing which helped the pain was very cold water, so I had to slurp water every 20 seconds just to stay upright. Luckily my dentist isn’t far away but I was very aware that I was not functioning properly. When I got there I must have looked awful as I was told to go straight up.

My dentist tested the area where the problem lay and I almost hit the ceiling. A failed filling was removed which required three injections so I could cope with the pain. A temporary filling was fitted. With a numb face, I left that a warning that the pain would probably return for a while until things had settled. No abscess, no infection – a crack in the tooth. Would try to save it, but I might end up losing it. So be it.

Reflecting on this experience has made me think two things – how responsive my dental practice was in helping me out and how they understood instantly how much pain I was suffering. Thank you Clyde House Dental Practice of Bath Road, Old Town.

It also made me think more generally about those who are disabled by chronic pain. At about 3am this morning, the pain almost disappeared. It was quite instant and has transformed me, I could go to sleep for a start. I cannot imagine how anyone can deal with strong pain day in and day out and function normally in any way at all.

Just 24 or so hours of this made me look at the experience of at least three people I know who deal with unbelievable pain every hour of every day. You have my respect.

Surely any donation is worth having?......

I’m really intrigued to know what strategies the third sector are using to keep donations flooding in – are you?

The reason? In the last few months I’ve been heavily targeted by charities in order to get me to sign up, sign on or donate regularly – which is something I don’t want to do.

Recently I had a telephone call from someone claiming to be carrying out some research for a charity which has a shop in Swindon and they wanted my feedback on my experience of that establishment. Like an idiot, I answered the questions and then, hardly taking a breath, the young woman asked if I would sign up to £6 a month. When I challenged her that she had misled me initially, she denied this. I refused her offer, only for it to change to £3 a month for a longer period. She then launched into a really long spiel about being a private company which had pledged to raise blah, blah, blah for the charity and this company would be paid a fee of £75,000. That was some time ago and I blogged angrily about it at the time – I hate being cold-called, lied to and then when I say no, completely ignored.

But another local charity was collecting outside my local supermarket over the weekend. I do hate being accosted when I’m shopping and I get fed up when Sainsbury’s and others allowing customers to be hassled when doing a shop. But I can see it’s a legitimate way of fund raising. However, it is a matter of choice whether you give or not and I refuse to feel guilty for choosing not to give. On this occasion I was willing as it was Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

This organisation does fantastic, life-saving work and is deserving of our support. So I got out my purse and asked where I should put my donation of £5. I was then presented with a form and told that they couldn’t take any money today but I could only choose to sign up for a year or for a single donation of about £26.

WHAT IS GOING ON?

How many people coming into or out of the supermarket that day would willing sign up to paying £26 minimum rather than give 50p or £1 or £5? Do they really find enough people who are willing to enter into a long-term commitment to give money to this charity? Is that better than getting people to ‘pay as you go’?

I know the air ambulance is losing a lot of funding shortly and that’s very worrying. But we are all in the same boat here and I believe the third sector should give people every single option when it comes to giving.

For me – I hate this ‘I’m going to make you commit’ approach. I don’t like to feel I’m being managed in this way, especially when it comes to money. As a business person, I ensure that clients or potential clients engage me in a way that suits their budget and cash flow. So some want long-term or medium-term support, others want to pay as you go.

So why didn’t this charity do the same? Many people who are out shopping are doing so on a restricted budget. Food bills have soared in the last couple of years. So I suspect that many shoppers would spare a pound or two, but will flatly refuse to give a much higher sum. Or they will take the paperwork and bin it at the earliest opportunity.

I’d be fascinated to know if this fund raising approach is working – maybe it is and I’m just being churlish. But experience of the third sector has taught me that people give the most when they have had a need, or someone they know has used an important service. That way people then do specific fund-raising events, sign up to a monthly commitment or leave something in a will.

What do you think?

However it then means that when I suffer bad customer service – and it’s put right that I should shout about it. If only to illustrate that making a disgruntled customer feel that they’ve been listened to, is so important. It’s even more important with the advent of social media and blogs. Hands up the company which doesn’t care if its reputation is being rubbished online by the drip-drip effect?

Here’s the story. Last week I went to have my car serviced at Fish Brothers Renault in Swindon. My car is four years old and I’ve always had it serviced there. I’ve been happy with the garage and have had no reason previously to complain. I’m not a car fanatic nor do I have more than a rudimentary knowledge of the knobs and whistles under a car bonnet. However, I’m not a complete idiot when it comes to cars. I drive thousands of miles a year and have been through many cars in my career.

Big bill for my car service....or was it?

After a few hours that dreaded call came – ‘Mrs Scott, this and that and the other needs to be done to your car, will you agree to the work? I said yes. Then ‘Mrs Scott, we think a shock absorber is wearing out, you’ll have to have it checked in a few months’ – okay. Then another call, ‘actually Mrs Scott we’ve now driven your car and the shock absorber will have to be replaced” okay. I asked for a total for the bill, working out quickly that with the service I was looking at around £400. Oh, the lady said it will be around £522.

Shock, horror! I went through the costs and found out that my annual service was almost £350. I was staggered. Not only had this not been mentioned to me but no actual service (even on BMWs I’ve owned) has ever cost me that much. I questioned this only to be told that I’d signed the job sheet  - where the cost was clearly stated (in very small print I later observed).

Sometimes there are things that should never be said to a customer- such as ‘you signed the job sheet’. I’m completely the wrong person to throw that claim at. I pointed out firmly that all service contracts should have main terms and conditions spelled out clearly, regardless of small print. Price is usually the number one term and condition.

One very unhappy bunny later has to pick up hire car as parts are not available until the next day. In that 24 hour period, I told several people in my immediate circle how unhappy I was with this level of service.  And I filled in an online feedback form, which I always do but which I seriously doubted would be read.

I’M THRILLED TO SAY I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG!

However, the next day, as I was collecting my expensively serviced car, the service manager asked to see me in his office. Girding my loins for another verbal battle, I mentally prepared. Only to find that the service manager completely agreed with me. He had read my feedback form, had looked at the paper trail relating to my booking and felt that I had been misled in that the cost had not been made clear to me and I’d been given no opportunity to negotiate or side-step certain aspects of the service which were not strictly necessary. To say sorry he did not charge me for some of the extra work on the car – which cancelled out the overcharge I felt had been made on my service.

In a nutshell, my concerns were heard, understood and acted upon – even if I was bit of a pain in the arse. He didn’t give excuses, he didn’t bleat or wring his hands. He said sorry.

So I am able to say today that Fish Brothers Renault of Swindon, has a service manager who understands how important good customer service is – and  I now feel that good service will be provided even when things don’t quite go according to plan.

Two articles from Fiona in May's Wiltshire Life

I’m proud to be a contributor to this publication where care is always taken to ensure that my work is showcased with style. This article is based on an interview with Andrew Aldridge, of Henry Aldridge & Sons, of Devizes – an auction house which specialises in Titanic stuff.

This year, the auction house is holding a number of sales of Titanic memorabilia, and one took place on March 31, with another in July. Andrew, who’s 38, has become an authority on Titanic after years of travelling the world valuing items from descendants of those who died, and those who lived.

I didn’t really know what an appetite there is for Titanic-related items. When I attended the auction, it was packed and items ranged from posters (some very beautiful and decorative) to pamphlets, leaflets, anything you can imagine that related to Titanic in any possible way. Even objects related to James Cameron‘s film are relevant.

Being the nosey person I am, I made a bee-line for the star lots, a first class luncheon menu which someone put into their handbag as a memento just hours before disaster struck. When we looked at it, we were surprised about how small it was – making the ‘putting it into their handbag as a memento’ really credible. The dishes on it made me smile – if only to demonstrate my ignorance of  high cuisine. (I can never understand why there are so many words for ‘sauce’! )

Did you know about this auction house in Devizes?

So first course was consommé fermier, cockie leekie, fillets of brill, egg a l’argenteuil, chicken a la maryland, corned beef, vegetables, dumplings and many, many more. However, even though such an item interests me – would I pay £76,000 for it? Ummm – no.

It’s the letters which really struck me as interesting and, if I’d had the money, I’d have been tempted by some of posters as they are so decorative. Also you feel a pull at an auction, it’s almost like a game or a race, where you feel the need to participate. I didn’t though because feeling the need is not the same as being able to afford it!

I also found a little snobbery around the room – my family were the only ones present with children and there was a certain sniffiness about turning up to such an event  with little people. I ignored those looks and tuts (not from any of the staff I hasten to add). An auction is a wonderful place for children to see old things, and in this case, history for real. In some auction houses, things can be touched. Children quickly sense the connection between the past and the present. I’ve always found taking a child to an auction is fascinating as they see things so differently from a parent. Their likes and dislikes are wonderful and illuminating.

Don’t worry if you missed this article or the sale, there’s another in July. Andrew didn’t give much away to me but did say that there would be some rare posters and a ‘unique Titanic archive’ whatever that might mean. So watch this space – I think a Titanic II is in the making…….

When I do take time off with the children and we spend a few days out and about – one thing which really bugs me is poor customer service – those occasions when, as a customer (often a customer with children) you are treated as though you are at best an irritant and at worst, a complete idiot.

There are few thing which rile me in life – but one is being treated with disdain when I’ve behaved appropriately and with good manners. I’m not the only one though – these last few weeks on Twitter I’ve seen some of my followers and those I follow, complaining about several companies including John Lewis, Jamie Oliver‘s Bath restaurant, an expensive farm shop and restaurant in Devon and others. I’m just one person – but I can remember these tweets and who tweeted them (and I’m not even trying). So to all of you business people who think social media doesn’t matter – this is one of the powerful reasons that it does.

I’ve said previously that I once complained about Thames Water on Twitter regarding their very slow response to a major water leak outside my house. To my amazement, the tweet was answered, an apology and explanation followed. This company didn’t know I was a journalist, I was a customer who was fed up – and the company responded. Good on Thames Water. It made me feel that they had listened to me – and that counts. Making a customer feel cared about is valuable beyond measure – more valuable than even what you charge for your services.

But my little gripe today is quite different and very specific. This week I went into a town centre car park and took my ticket at the  entrance, ready to pay on foot when I finished. On returning to the machine, it said my ticket was invalid. Great. What now?

Well I know what now because this has happened to me more than once. I had to drive down to the lower floor, park up, go to the ticket office. Have a lecture about how I’ve kept my ticket too close to my mobile phone and wiped the magnetic strip – so be careful next time. In reality, I’d kept the ticket in an outer pocket of my handbag for easy access (I’m like that) and my phone was inside my handbag inside its own zipped case (yes, I really am like that). I said I didn’t think that the mobile phone had anything to do with it – and if it did, where was a notice in the car park to warn people about this design fault? As most people who park there probably have a mobile phone in a pocket or bag. Blank stare followed.

Having handed me a new ticket, I then march off to another machine, pay the money and leave. Thus a simple task becomes a ten minute labour. That was last week and I haven’t bothered with town since – in Swindon we’re lucky and have lots of options when it comes to shopping so I’ve avoided the town as it’s too much hassle.

So a problem occurs – and as the customer I’m made to feel I’m at fault and have to go to extra lengths to sort out this problem. This is a council-run car park and I couldn’t help but feel I got a public service, job’s worth attitude (which seems to be within some public service employees).

I highlight this because the week before a similar thing happened at the Swindon Designer Outlet Village (which I don’t hesitate to recommend as a great place to go). An invalid ticket message came up again – I went to the customer service desk and they checked it out. The ticket machine had failed to print clear data on the ticket. Then, without hesitation and without any blame, they gave me a free pass to get out of the car park. For me, these staff gave the impression that they wanted me to feel good about the place – AND COME BACK AGAIN TO SPEND MONEY!

Treat all customers with respect.....

A little thing, but it shows that making a customer feel good is the best way of getting repeat business. Do you agree?

We’ve been making a DVD for Wiltshire Fire & Rescue about the training services they provide to prevent disasters from happening before they occur. The safety team provide elementary fire training to young children, present courses on safe driving for young adults, and deliver numerous safety checks in homes and on house boats. Making the DVD has been enormous fun and I’ve met so many people who are really professional at their jobs that it made me feel very proud of our emergency services.

DVDs are a great tool for communicating a message about your business. It may be that you want to take the business in a different direction  or that you want to promote services that you already provide to generate new clients. There is always a story to be told about a business or a service and how it works, and with visuals it can hold the interest of the viewer and be used as a sales tool and to generate discussion.

Planning is a vital element whenever you make a broadcast item, whether for TV, the internet or for a company. There is always a limit to the budget, so it’s important to plan well to include the essential pictures and scenes that will tell the story you are trying to communicate. Every day filming is an expensive one, so each day out on the road is highly planned to make the most of the resources that you have. Experience does come into this. Fiona and I have been making items for broadcast for over twenty years and we were able to put together an excellent freelance crew for filming and editing, ensuring that we got lovely, big, close-ups and that the pictures knit together and make sense.

There have been some funny moments – watching Fiona’s eager canter reduce to a plodding ascent as she dutifully completed the tough climb up to the top of the fire training platform was my favourite. How we chuckled down below as we heard her puffs near the top. Sorry Fi! Not that I’d have liked being up that high – but the pictures were certainly worth it.

Our latest DVD is uploaded onto You Tube. If you would like to take a look follow this link

No not the film – I couldn’t bear to watch it again – no, for me, it’s the real story which is captivating me as the 100th anniversary of  the sinking looms.

Through this wonderful job that I do, I’ve recently spoken to a man who’s an authority on Titanic who works at his family’s auction house in Wiltshire. To my surprise, this auction house is now the world’s (yes the world’s) most respected place to sell artefacts and memorabilia related to that ill-fated vessel. And this weekend is one of the auctions of Titanic stuff. (Henry Aldridge & Sons, Devizes)

I’m mentioning this because the sale couldn’t be more timely for me – as Saturday is my birthday and it seems a fabulous thing  to do on one’s birthday. After all, I am going to be 41 again, and again, and again…..

Why am I going? Am I going to buy anything? Am I loaded? Hardly.

The top items could sell for between £50,000 and £90,000 – that’s a little too rich for me. I’m sure the auctioneer almost spluttered over his coffee when I asked what he had for around the £100 mark. Memorabilia around the James Cameron film, I was told. So, I’ll settle for observing.

How much would you pay for a set of keys?...

I would love to see just who is there with £50k in their back pocket. Though I suspect that person or persons will be on the telephone or online. However, I have been to auctions where people do stump up loads and love to talk about it. Like the man sat next to me a few years ago at another auction house who bought a Princess Diana letter for £20k. When I asked him why, he said to put into a safe deposit box and wait for it to make money! Would that I had a spare £20k for such a purpose! I often wonder if he’s sold it on yet.

It seems incredible though that a First Class luncheon menu for April 14 1912 for Titanic could fetch a price of at least £90,000 or a set of keys used by the lamplighters has a price tag of £50,000. In the case of the latter, that’s a tool used by a working class man to carry out a working class job. On a ship which really epitomised the class system of the time. Not that that was any guarantee of survival of course. The richest man in the world at the time went down with the ship, along with the hundreds of second and third class passengers.

What is it about Titanic that so captivates us even now? Is it because it was a seemingly jinxed ship? I was told only this week that it was one of the only ships ever to not have been blessed by a monarch – I don’t know if that’s true. I think it’s the fact that we could all put ourselves in the shoes of those on board, especially those who were going to start a new life in the USA on the biggest liner ever built at the time. It’s a tragic romance along the lines of Glenn Miller.

But like the many romanticised tragedies, we know in our hearts it would have been the most appalling, terrible, horrific event to live through, witness and experience – all, unlike the film, in the dark. How many survivors were permanently scarred by it? How many suffered what we’d now call post traumatic stress disorder?

I love history and I’m genuinely interested in the lives and stories of those on board – and for a small amount of time, I really will be able to touch something that came from, or was related to that fateful ship – and I’ll wonder where those expensive items will end up……

If you are producing a programme, especially a debate about the Budget or an impending Budget, the hardest job is to find participants. And that should ring all sorts of bells for anyone in business. It’s a wonderful time to set yourself up as a commentator on a topical issue – if you’ve got the courage.

Today, I’ve only got to look at my Twitter feed to see who’s been commentating both locally and nationally. Have a look at your own Twitter feed and you’ll see. I’ve got MPs all saying what you would expect according to their political allegiances, individuals like Martin Lewis, voluntary sector groups like the CAB, campaigning groups like Gransnet, other journalists etc.

If you think you’ve not got the courage to contact your local media outlets eg. newspapers, television or radio and offer to be a commentator for your sector , then engage on Twitter or Facebook because then you’ll get into conversations with interesting people who may be interested in you in the future. Remember, whatever someone’s perspective, they are still human beings, often with families, or savings, or expenses, or debts and the Budget affects them as personally as you. Today is a perfect opportunity for some PR on a day when people want to talk. At the time of writing Granny Tax was trending on Twitter. And if that’s not enough, it’s a day when you can be ‘topical’ and relevant. Look at who’s talking and follow those people or groups who interest you – some will follow you back. Make the Budget work for you, even if it doesn’t work for you (you know what I mean).

Enough of the rant, this wasn’t at all what I wanted to blog about really. But I’ll save that for later – (another moan about the absurdities of our current health provision in Swindon.)

Better off? Or worried about extra costs?

What does the budget mean to me – as a working mum with three kids and a husband who is, luckily, working? Well, I won’t have to pay tax until I’ve earned a bit more, I don’t earn over £150,000 a year so the cut in top rate of tax will not affect me in fact barely anyone that I know. I’m not a pensioner but my mum and parents-in-law are – so I’m worried for them as they live on a very fixed income. It’s possible that we might keep child benefit which is great. I had accepted we would lose it but felt that we’d have to deal with that, but I did feel cross that some families with a greater household income would keep it. If that anomaly has been overcome, then for me child benefit should be reserved for those in most need.

My concerns relate to the more vulnerable in our society. People who are disabled, by physical or mental issues, those who have chronic illness, those who are carers, and so on. Also I’m not clear on how the Budget is going to stimulate economic growth – I don’t mind being put right, being contradicted, being corrected. But I just don’t buy the argument that those who earn what to me is mega money – will not fleece the system if the tax rate is lowered. They’ll do it any way if they can. Wouldn’t you?

Share your views? Go on…..

A team within the fire brigade works day in day out, trying to prevent fires and accidents. They go into schools, into colleges, into homes and can  go into businesses, organisations to talk about safety on the road, in the home, on boats…the list goes on. The skills and the practical hints and tips they can give are worth listening to…How many of us think about what these officers, both male and female, can offer in terms of training? Debbie, who goes into primary schools, to speak to children about fire safety was awesome. Anyone who can not only hold, but fascinate,  a class of seven-year-olds for more than an hour deserves huge respect.

Today I learned what to do if my clothes caught on fire, what to do to check if a fire is behind a door, how to get out of a house safely in a fire. I’d already had a fire officer look around a house and offer advice about smoke alarms, safe practice in the kitchen, planning escape routes, where keys should be left….I could go on. But now I know what to do with my body if that very rare house fire occurs.

As part of my research, I’ve also found out that Wiltshire Fire Brigade works closely with the British Red Cross which provides 24-hour support for people caught up in the trauma of a house fire or flood. The fire officers will call out the BRC team and they will attend night or day – and all of them are volunteers. I’m going to blog more on this later so watch this space.

Our grand vision for the fire safety fiming, was to do a shot of the team and all of the vehicles at their disposal. This meant that we had five fire engines, a four-wheel drive car, a little white van, a British Cross support vehicle, a BMW complete with blue lights and a boat. We allowed two hours to get this one shot right and to arrange the vehicles in an arc. It was great fun.

Vehicles getting into position with my thumb at top of frame!...

But here are a few tips I’d like to share with you when doing a ‘key shot’ for any filming:

Whatever time you’ve planned to arrange the shot – double it.

A good cameraman will look for the most inaccessible shot and go for it – be prepared to follow.

Don’t go to the top of a very high tower on a cold, foggy March morning without gloves or without having visited the loo.

Take into account the last time you climbed a very high tower – in your 20s it’s easy, in your 40s, it’s a lot scarier.

Taking lots of heavy kit up a very high tower is not easy – bring along an extra pair of hands.

Swindon's magic roundabout from top of high tower!

Coming down wobbly ladders is a lot more terrifying than going up – especially when your hands are so cold, you are not sure if you’ve got fingers any more.

From these few tips, you can probably guess that we got some of these things completely right and others, while not quite so right. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the shots we captured are wonderful. However, my own personal shots from the iPhone were a bit ropey – probably due to numb fingers, or that’s my excuse.

All in all, today showed the joy of a portfolio career, you just never know what you are going to do, who you are going to meet or what the camera is going to show you…