"If I'm reporting on something I still have to have the radio on - I am just so used to hearing the commentators points of view on something, I like to hear whats going on!"
Today, I had a rare glimpse of the future... the future I want so badly. I only went and bloomin' met Clare Balding.
If I am honest Clare is much nicer than I imagined. For such a successful presenter I imagined her to be all hard faced and not up to conversing much with the general public. How wrong could I be? My first peek of Clare was her confidently walking into the hallway outside the lecture room to talk to everyone. I had to do a double take as I hardly imagined her putting herself out there willing enough to stand, in front of the whole of the audience waiting for someone to jump on her and quietly ask for a cheeky autograph and photograph.
Clare simply strode over to the table where cups of teas were on offer, took one and proceeded to drink it until someone was in there asking questions. I took this as my opportunity to get my chance of a photograph and autograph. There was only one way my Mum would believe I had seen Clare and what was if I took a photo and sent it her. Luckily Clare was more than willing to abide to the popular demands of the public and calmly continued to not only finish off her cup of tea, but also answer questions, pose for photos and scribble in endless autograph books. I thought it only wise to introduce myself as "the girl off twitter". I wasn't sure how Clare would react to this, whether she would suddenly call the absent bodyguards or proceed to run off. It has been a constant joke throughout my circle of close family and friends lately that I have somewhat "stalked" Clare. Of course I haven't, but I have tweeted her asking for help in my dissertation but sadly had no reply, so upon hearing she was coming to my university I took it as my opportunity to tweet her once again and let her know I would be there to ask my questions!
I was surprised at the lack of people watching Clares back. Apart from her two colleagues she had with her; Lucy and Dick, she didn't have anyone to escort her into the lecture room, nor fend off the ever growing mound of general public. This is something I was pleasantly surprised at. Despite Clares obvious popularity, she seemed to treat us all the same, which is a refreshing shock for some one of her fame. Usually as soon as someone becomes even slightly famous they feel it necessary to have a whole army of security guards around them to stop people asking for photographs or getting in their way.
Shortly after this we were moved into the lecture room and I took this as my chance to sit at the front. Whatever happened, I was asking my question and I think Clare knew this as a few times I caught her eye and smiled at her mention of Twitter and social media.
We were given background information on Clares life and how she came about to begin the career in sports reporting that made her who she is today. One particular statement from her stood out to me a great deal and just shows the emphasis of what type of person Clare really is.
"I had no intentions of reporting on the Horse Racing. I didn't want to be known for the rest of my life as Ian Baldings daughter."
I think we are safe to say that Clare has made a name for herself and is under no circumstances seen has just Ian Baldings daughter, but in fact one of our leading broadcasters.
Clare described her self as being like any other university graduate. She wanted to come out of her degree, change the world and change the way in which people thought. Wanting to write, Clare thought she would come out university and write for newspapers, magazines and had hoped to be able to write some childrens books, but that swiftly changed. She also goes on to say that each and every individual should be "Bloody happy to be different". A simple statement like this reflects the person that Clare is and the ability to be comfortable with whatever challenges life throws at you. Clare described herself as being a great believer in being happy with what you've got, making the best of it but being happy at the same time to be different from others.
Despite the lecture being live streamed across the internet Clare is in no uncertain terms uptight or hesitant to say just exactly what she feels. In fact during one moment she tells of certain people that annoy her but describes herself as being quite calm and deals with them without getting mad. By throwing the odd joke in to each of her stories, Clare keeps the viewers entertained and tells them of time she nearly threw a sausage at the Queen when she was a young girl.
Nothing seems too "private" to talk about and she is willing to share stories from her childhood and throughout growing up. It is clear that Clare has a lifetime of tales she could sit and talk about all day if she had time. Many of times she went off topic to talk of something else.
It is obvious that Clare lives and breaths sport, the passionate tone in which she adapts when asked questions shows the love she has for getting coverage for each individual sporting activity and loves the work she does. When I asked her how I could get my foot in the door of Equine Journalism even more she was more than happy to answer and proceeded to give me more tips than I bargained for.
When asked about the up and coming 2012 Olympics, Clares face lights up and it is more than clear to see that this event is something she has been looking forward to for quite some time now. In fact she admits to practicing to commentate on the swimming events for roughly 3 years now, but then goes further to say she has been both practicing and waiting to report on the Equestrian events for 15 years and cannot wait for the event.
Upon being asked which sport she thinks will shine in the 2012 Olympics, Clare instantly without a pause answers Dressage. Clare feels that the Dressage GB team has the chance to bring home the gold medals as they are doing so well at the moment. So, here you have it ladies and gentleman, you've heard it from the horses mouth. Put your money on the GB Dressage team for the Olympics.
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