The pitch was simple: ‘It’s a kind of trade off, like carbon trade off. I will watch all the Winter Olympics so you don’t have to.’
They were sold. Apart from one element.
‘And you’ll write about it.’
‘Ah,’ I replied, ‘here’s the genius part. No point in writing about it. After all, if you were interested you’d be watching it yourselves.’
I had them there.
But of course, like all good ideas, it grew.
They offered to pay for my trip.
They even crowdfunded it. (We did get an amazingly cheap deal through a tie up with BBC/BT) I think they might have been keen to get me out of the way for a fortnight. Maybe even saw it as paying me to stop writing. Which reverse psychology will most likely work. After all, stroke, scratch or generally pay any attention to a writer and out come the WORDS.
My final trump card was played.
I told them I don’t travel without my dogs.
No problem, they said. Loads of the sports stars take their dogs with them, so that wasn’t an issue.
Having recently landed, we’re just about to take in the Opening Ceremony. It’s cold, but very exciting. I’ll be back with more as and when I can (be bothered).
Cally Phillips
If you are brave enough to find out more, she’s offering a free digital version of her Ice Hockey drama ‘Powerplay’ over on unco for the duration of the Winter Olympics. JUST CLICK HERE