Stephen Lyons

Banking abuse

2008-02-17T19:26:00.002Z

Last week, one of the last things I wanted in an exceptionally busy working week was to have a major row with my bank. I had banked a cheque from a client in Dubai, drawable in UK Sterling at a London bank, and the cheque had gone missing in transit between my bank and the London bank. While these things happen, of course, I did not for a second imagine that the first I would know of this would be to discover a debit on my account (online) of the value of the cheque and referenced as "Sundries". Now, "sundries" to me are small, unimportant elements of expenditure barely worthy of itemisation. To the bank, however, it was the cloak under which they were prepared to steal my money. I had always assumed that once a cheque was presented over the counter and my deposit book stamped that it became the responsibility of the bank. Not so according to HSBC, who sent me a letter telling me that as the missing cheque could not be honoured they were reclaiming the money and pursuing the matter "on my behalf". I hate to think what colour I went and how much stress I underwent at the time and for much of the rest of the day. However, several conversations later, including one with an Asian call centre (not the most personal way to resolve a dispute in the UK), I had ranted and screamed and made it quite clear to all and "sundry" that once a cheque had been deposited and subsequently "lost" while in the bank's charge, I could not possibly be held responsible, that my money should be recredited immediately and that the bank's efforts to resolve the issue would be on "their" behalf and not mine. I quite simply insisted (albeit in a very irate manner) that unless the money was back in my account by the next morning, I would remove both the family's business accounts and our current account. The money was refunded in time. However, I am shaken at this behaviour and will now seriously consider moving my accounts in any case.

The week was particularly busy - jobs just arrived in two's and three's every day. Most of the work was UK based but there were jobs for Germany, Italy and the United Arab Emirates. You name it - there was Safety Training, English learning, industrial narrations, 3D web tours, company awards announcements and incentives, radio, web and satellite tv commercials. A very full week and enough to overflow into another week. Let's hope the bank doesn't interfere with the next seven days!

Fraught and wet

2008-01-13T18:00:00.000Z

While Wales has been living up to its reputation for rain I have been wading through stress for the last seven days. My main ADSL link was down all week - good job I was able to reconfigure my kit to use my back-up ADSL! My mobile phone broke too. Add to that the horror of the discovery that Thomson had taken over My Travel and Airtours and that the only two flights to Rhodes from my local airport were night flights. OK - there are worse things in this world but we have been flying to Rhodes from Cardiff for years and arriving soon after lunch or by tea-time. Who in their right mind wants to arrive in a resort at 1.00 am? I have written to Thomson and accused them of treating residents of Wales as second-class citizens. So, not wanting to fly at night I came up with a master plan to use airmiles and money and to fly Olympic Airlines to Rhodes via Athens - using the break on the return journey to spend a day in Athens. The idea of being able to take a ten or twelve day break was looking rather appealing. The next fly in the ointment was the discovery that our professional house sitter had got himself a dog and would only accept seven day sits from now on. We have to have a sitter because we have a Boarding Cattery on the premises and someone has to be here at all times when the staff are not. Now we have to interview another sitter who will sit for more than a week. I expect it will all work out.

Talking of Airmiles, I was thumbing through their January mini-brochure when I thought to myself.. "Someone has taken a photo just like one I took in Venice". Then, as I focused a little more, I realised that it WAS my photograph. It's the one used in my "Venice" blog. I have a vague memory of submitting it for a competition so that must be how they got it - they did credit me as the photographer though. A few days later, while surfing to the Olympic Airlines site, I had the same experience. A rotating gif showed three photos one of which was a photo I had taken of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

My friend, Ian Britton has the photo on his site at http://www.freefoto.com/ so I assumed that all three photos were from his site and called him. Anyone can use the low resolution photos free of charge as long as they credit the site. Within 48 hours Olympic had changed the pictures.

It was a relatively quiet week in the voice-over studio - just as well really as all the stress might have tipped me over the edge. A smattering of radio commercials, phone messages and some sports training material. I had a very interesting email from a European studio complimenting me on the speed and quality of my responses to them and my demo and looking forward to working with me. What they failed to say and what I had to read between the lines was that I hadn't got the job I had demo'd for them. One nice moment was a call for technical help from my friend and colleague, voice-over Duncan Wells who had almost died following a particularly nasty accident with a marine flare. It was good to hear from him and good to know that he is getting back in the sadddle - even if we will be competing for the same voice jobs!

New Year Resolution

2008-01-06T13:27:00.000Z

I think my resolution for 2008 will have to be to post regular blogs! Easily said - let's see if if I can keep it up.

In October last year I posted a couple of photos of Venice. Imagine my surprise yesterday while reading the Airmiles mini-brochure for January when I came across my photo! I vaguely remember submitting it for a competition or somesuch but had no idea it would be used professionally. Airmiles have credited me as the photographer. Now, I have written to them to ask if they will credit me with some miles. Cheky? Maybe. If you don't ask you don't get.

Most of last year seems to be a blur of busyness. I think I need 36 hours a day to get everything done. Maybe it's something to do with being a grandfather (Papou actually - that's the Greek version). Although I am far too young to be a grandfather it is fun - especially to such a good looking boy.

We took him to Greece in the summer for a family holiday and to meet his other grandmother. He did really well on the journey and in the heat.

In September I enjoyed a sibling fest in the Algarve with my brothers and sister. If you have never enjoyed a genuine Portuguese Cataplana or eaten Chicken Piri Piri at one of the restaurants above Monchique then you haven't really experienced the best of Portuguese cooking. Sadly, I was too far south to visit my colleague Paulo for whom I voice a lot of programmes.

Christmas in the world of voice-overs quietens down much earlier than it used to. In the old days we would be travelling to a studio or radio station or two on Christmas Eve. Nowadays the phone tends to stop ringing a week before Christmas. The New Year has started with a flurry of voice-overs for phone messaging, an events organiser, an Asian TV station, a group of schools in the USA and a company offering maedical advice in Qatar. Not bad for the first week. I hope it continues to flourish!

Paths Crossing in Cyberspace

2006-12-03T14:06:00.000Z

Isn't it strange and wonderful how the Internet connects individuals? Some years ago I corresponded with a man who was trying to track down a friend of mine. He turned out to be a direct descendant of the Putnams of Salem, Massachusetts. It was at Salem in 1692 that one of the most disturbing travesties of justice occurred, resulting in the deaths by hanging and incarceration of some 24 innocent people. A couple of weeks ago I was looking at my father-in-law's family tree and realised that my wife's eight times Great Uncle was married to the daughters of one of the victims (he married them one after the other). Giles Corey, in his 80's, was a prosperous farmer in Salem Village. He was accused of witchcraft by three girls, one of whom was a Putnam, and spent five months in prison before his case was heard. Knowing that he would not be tried fairly and faced execution by hanging, he refused to stand trial. By doing this his land and property was not forfeit and would pass to his son-in-laws, one of whom was my wife's relative. His decision also meant that he would be pressed with stones in an attempt to extract a confession from him. The authorities did not count on Giles Corey's bravery. He was stripped and a board was placed across him and stones were then piled on. Each time he was asked to confess he would only ask for more stones to hasten his end - and so he died. I am still friends with Mr Putnam, in fact, he is sending me a copy of his latest book, which recounts the death of Giles Corey.
The last few weeks of November were fairly hectic in the recording studio. As one of the busiest Santa's on UK radio I have been Ho Ho Ho'ing daily. Also, I have added a new country to my Credits list having completed a couple of voice-over jobs for a Norwegian studio. Other voice-overs included work for clients in the USA, France and Spain. Another few weeks and I'll be able to take one of those rare breaks away from the microphone. Bring it on!

Heading down the pub

2006-11-05T17:18:00.000Z

Any week in which I manage to complete all my projects and head for the pub with a clear conscience must be a good one. Most Fridays for the last 20 years my good friend Dave and I have met to talk-out our respective weeks and unwind over a meal and a couple of pints of Speckled Hen (one of the UK's fine real ales). It certainly helps to clear the head after a cluttered week.

Last week I mentioned the rather sad job which I had lined up. It was a narration about a holocaust survivor called Izak who was 14 years old when the Germans invaded Poland. He survived 11 nazi labour and concentration camps, suffering the most awful treatment and abuse in the process. At the end of the war, miraculously, he was found alive in an open mass grave. I had relatives on my father's side of the family, also in Poland, who weren't as lucky as Izak was to survive. I have always respected a quote by Karl Jaspers.. "That which has happened is a warning, to forget it is guilt. It was possible for this to happen and it will remain possible for it to happen again, at any minute".

My week was another varied one in the studio. A number of radio commercial sessions including one for Dubai, an on-hold mix with music for a South African company, a narration for a French company and (my highlight) some warning announcements for Sussex Police. I gather that these advisory messages will launch at the passing public from lamp posts. I have already warned my friends and family in that area.

October Blues

2006-10-30T19:26:00.000Z

The sun and light of Venice is already a distant memory. The recent rain has left us rather soggy on this Welsh hillside. Rather the sun and the cold than the wet and there are a few days of that on the way. We have just booked a couple of days in Prague to celebrate our anniversary next March. Beginning to see a bit more of the world these days.

One current problem is people's inability to read or understand what they are looking at. There seem to be too many people locally who don't know the difference between TV/Repair Services and TV & Film Production in Yellow Pages. I get regular calls asking me to tune in or repair a TV or VCR and, last week, it was the supply of a widescreen tv for a pub. Even the fact that it says "voice-over" after my name doesn't seem to deter them.

My "Santa" season is warming up. I was the voice of Father Christmas for 22 UK Radio Stations last year and this season has started quite well. Last week's work included 10 UK radio commercial voice-over sessions and two for the USA, a Tannoy announcement, some welcome messages for a company in Dubai, nominee announcements for the British Society of Magazine Editors Awards and a narration for a Dutch firm among other bits and pieces. Next week I have rather a sad voice-over to narrate - more about that next week.

Venice

2006-10-22T13:57:00.000Z

After a hectic September and no let up in October I went to brush up on my Italian accent in Venice for a few days - such a beautiful city. If only I could use that to justify the expense to the Inland Revenue. The weather was good, as was the food and wine and the views. I can thoroughly recommend a wander among the streets, alleys and pavements - something different around every corner.

My last two days of the week involved voice-overs for a Hearing Protection programme, some on-hold messages, six radio commercial sessions and a narration for a Christian Ministry working in the Sudan. the most interesting new lead to come in is a Show Intro for a professional Drag Artiste.