A Professional Story Told from Within the Scene
From the Professional Notebook
This is not a list of achievements, but a collection of pages preserving the people, places, and moments that shaped the journey.
Index
Twelve Pages… and the Road Is Still Open.
My First Encounter with the Camera
In 2006, I went to see Dr Suleiman Al-Eidi, then director of Saudi Channel One, to ask for an opportunity to work behind the camera.
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I Was Looking for My Father… Without Realising It!
After three years of continuous work in television—as a producer, reporter and presenter—I thought I had reached what I had aspired to.
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Office 179-1
Years before I stood in front of a camera… I stood before a door bearing a number I have never forgotten: 179-1.
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That Morning… Suleiman Al-Issa Walked In!
At the beginning of 2009, I resolved to study television and film production in Britain. But the path to a scholarship was not easy; places were limited, and applicants numbered in the thousands.
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On the Aeroplane Steps
On 27 April 2009, after I had completed the scholarship formalities and received the tickets, there was nothing left for me to wait for.
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The Scent of London
About six hours after leaving Riyadh, the aeroplane landed at Heathrow Airport in London.
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At York’s Gate… Braveheart Was Waiting for Me
I left London in the morning aboard a fast train bound for York. About two hours later, the train stopped, and I stepped down, dragging a large, heavy suitcase behind me, with another bag on my back.
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Walking Against the Flow!
I arrived at what was then the Ramada Hotel on Micklegate. I dropped my bags, lay down for a while, then took a refreshing shower and changed my clothes. There was still plenty of daylight left, so I decided not to leave the following morning to chance. I would go out, find the way to the school and work out the distance from the hotel, so that I would not begin my first day lost and searching for it.
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The Real Staircase!
At seven in the morning, I left the hotel and headed towards the school, following the same route I had studied the day before.
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The Pound I Treated as a Riyal!
I left the school during the lunch break, eating a sandwich as I walked. I had only one hour in which to attend an appointment to view a flat, then return before the break ended.
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Has the Decision Been Issued?
I had been in York for nearly three months, and my scholarship decision had still not been issued.
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I Returned… So I Could Return!
Nearly twenty-four hours after that call, my mother sent me a ticket from London to Riyadh.
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