Airborne
When I was first employed by the BBC as an Assistant Production Buyer, I was fortunate enough to work, apprentice-style, with David Fairfield and Mike Ireland: television veterans who had both worked in the business for many years. It was these two men who taught me all I now know about the Props business, and they very generously gave me access to their "secret" contact books of where to get hold of props. They also taught me when to pursue a challenging prop… and when to give up the search, and have it made by the prop construction departments. David retired several years ago, but Mike is still a leading light in the industry.
Both were full of amusing anecdotes from their exciting careers. Although mostly highly amusing, one of David’s stories is really quite scary…
Before the Citizens Theatre moved to its current location, it stored scenery in an industrial complex five floors up. Scenery was hauled up and down on a rope on the outside of the building. One blustery day, David (working as one of the stage hands) was at the top of the winch hauling in, and attempting to secure a twenty foot canvas flat. As he released the rope from the scene hook, a gust of wind took him and the flatage on an unplanned hang-glider flight! Luckily, he hung on to the timber frame, and the surface area of the canvas was sufficient to bring him relatively smoothly to the ground.
Health and safety being what it is today, something like this is very unlikely to happen again: but despite falling over sixty feet, he only sustained a broken arm.
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