Touchdown

by Adam the Cameraman, in Grenada
19th February, 2009
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I arrived last night with our cameraman David to film the aerial shots that will be used in the programme. We’re staying in a bit of a dive of a hotel but at least the air-con is working, the heat and humidity is oppressive!

I was reading a travel guide on the plane which described the locals as having an almost ‘English-reserve temperament’ about them and it’s true. They are not loud and in your face like some other Caribbean cultures but really soft spoken and everyone so far has been very nice and accommodating.

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Macaws!

by Adam the Cameraman, in Grenada
19th February, 2009
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Wendy and Robert Cooper found themselves landed with five Macaws after a boat smuggling exotic animals dropped anchor at St Georges in Grenada island and was promptly raided by customs and the GSPCA. Over 800 animals were on board that ship, confined in tiny cages, and as numerous wildlife institutions stepped in to take the best specimens for a ‘rescue operation’ five scraggly Macaws were left. Wendy got a call asking if she would take them on because no one else would have such wretched looking birds and that was 12 years ago.

Within ten days her and her husband had built an aviary and the birds slowly started to make a slow but steady recovery. Within a couple of years they had started to breed – a huge feat for captive birds and even more important as they are endangered, so began the quest to save Macaws and release them back into the wild. It certainly hasn’t been easy but using entirely their own finances, they have built up a breeding population of macaws and released three back into the wild. They are in the process of sorting out official status as a registered non-profit NGO and we had a brilliant time visiting them.

The rest of the day comprised a spaying a cat, doing rounds around the island to see a sick dog and plenty of general view filming and driving shots here there and everywhere.

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Pirates of the Caribbean

by Adam the Cameraman, in Grenada
18th March, 2009
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Dario from KIDO called us up. A couple of pirates had brought him a Hawksbill Turtle which he was going to tag and did we want to come over and film it.

We jumped at the chance to go and film another turtle. We had become mesmerized by these creatures and by the work Dario was doing to save them.

These two guys are true pirates of the caribbean. They are from Petit Martinique an island north of Carricou. They don’t have any hooks for hands or parrots on their shoulders but definitely untrustworthy, drunk and slightly mocking of us and Dario’s efforts with the turtles, but hey, as long as they got paid for it, what did they care.

Lesson #1: Wasabi is not made from Avocado

by Nathan the Assistant Producer, in Grenada
14th April, 2009
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Arrived after a very long flight and we were all shattered. Grenada is a beautiful island and it looks like it is going to be a very picturesque shoot. We all headed out for dinner and ventured into a Sushi bar – yes, a bit of strange choice for the Caribbean, but the fish restaurant was closed. It was Luke’s first foray into this Japanese delight and unfortunately we neglected to tell him that wasabi was a type of radish and not avocado. It was not a very pleasant experience.

Off again!

by Luke, in Grenada
15th April, 2009
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The most momentous thing in the last two weeks has been the building of Noah’s sandpit. I was determined to get this cracked before the next trip. It was a Father’s quest for his son; and having just read a book about Viking’s and feeling like I could suddenly carve a longboat out of the only tree in our garden, there was no stopping me digging a sandpit in the rabbit pen. It was destined to be a great sandpit and then I ordered 3 tonnes of sand to fill it and things started to get complicated.

There is a good reason I’m a vet and not a builder and this is a prime example why I’d never make it in the trade. In all honesty I very much doubt I could carve a longboat either, and if I did, there would always be the nagging worry it might not float. Thinking sand would compress so I would need more than whatever I worked out was necessary, I went online and found a website calculation that would work out what I needed. Cords quietly pointed out to me that this particular website calculation might have been encouraging me to buy more sand off the company sponsoring it, a very valid point, and as it turned out, a correct one; but it was too late, and so the five times washed, best quality in the world sand, was ordered in a heartbeat and well on its way before I realised I could have been a touch hasty.

Three tonnes of sand on the road outside your house is a lot of sand. I know that now. The lorry couldn’t get up the drive (too big) the pallet trolley wouldn’t run on gravel, it was also the Thursday before Good Friday and there was no way the delivery driver was going to spend more than 7.5 seconds doing his last delivery of the day at 2.30pm to give it much effort. This meant when I got home about 7.30pm I had to somehow shift three tonnes of sand off the road (fairly lethal threat to the unassuming motorist weaving their way along the unmarked lane through the village) before it got dark at 7.45pm. Pretty much as soon as my truck pitched up at the house, half the neighbours descended on our house to discuss the merits of my sand delivery with Cords, whilst I got a wheelbarrow and an oversized trowel out the shed.

Like every man, I secretly wanted to own the biggest shovel in the village and I was feeling a touch inadequate, but being a wonderful village, the sort of place where everyone knows everyone, it was only about ten minutes before Nick from next door turned up with his wheelbarrow and (much larger) shovel and Malcolm came over with a couple of cold beers to re-energise us. Dave tried to help but it was getting crowded as Mark down the road offered to get his tractor and pallet forks and lift them onto the drive. What seemed to be a nightmare job turned into a brilliant Thursday night and the English village spirit was strong on our road that night. In fact the whole exercise got me in a great mood for the whole Easter break – admittedly the sandpit is more like a beach (deceptively deep one) but Noah loves it and it got me all set up for stepping back into the alternate reality of making this series.

So here I am, two weeks after Malawi, sitting on a plane, bouncing my way to Grenada. Still hate flying, not a fan of turbulence and the air steward can’t walk past me without crashing into my knee which simply won’t fit into the space in front of my seat. Maybe he’s trying to reassure me with a bit of human touch as we bounce up and down fifty feet but neither that, nor the dazzling smile he keeps giving me, are doing much to put me at ease. I think it’s time for a drink if I can manage it without spilling it everywhere.

Adam (boss / cameraman / Sly Stallone the ‘fiery Italian‘), Nathan (soundman / ‘Bruce Lee‘), Marc (series producer / ‘Big Chuck‘) are in the usual spots all telling Clive (vet, buddy, Noah’s Godfather, tough South African) to say lefty loosey, righty tighty to me all the time in reference to my inability to under a broken windscreen wiper whilst we were in Kenya last year. Great to have Clive on the trip, the support will be awesome and will make doing the work, whilst working with the camera, much easier. Be a winner just to have another vet to bounce ideas off as well as someone else to share this surreal experience with. Been on loads of trips with Clive so only fitting we nail a few of these tv ones together.

Grenada is the self proclaimed ‘Isle of Spice’. It comprises of three islands, each one a little gem of paradise in the southern tip of the Caribbean. Famed for secluded coves, sandy beaches, blue skies, inland mountain trails not to mention stunning corals, sunken shipwrecks and amazing dive sites off the coast; sadly little time to enjoy the islands delights as we’re going there to help the GSPCA and their uphill battle to make a stand against animal cruelty which is apparently a huge problem in the country. Time to find out…

mmh…

by Marc the Producer, in Grenada
15th April, 2009
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Think Luke just said it all.

Lesson #2: Sleeping above dogs is only good for deep sleepers

by Nathan the Assistant Producer, in Grenada
15th April, 2009
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It seems that nobody apart from me got any sleep last night. We are staying in an apartment above the GSPCA and one of the dogs decided that he would howl and bark his way through the night. Thankfully, I managed to get quite a bit of sleep –  I can sleep through pretty much anything. When I ventured out of my room in the morning it looked as if Adam wanted to throttle the aforementioned dog.

We were all a bit sleepy during the first day’s filming, constantly getting in each other’s way and not being able to string a complete sentence together. The button dog was an interesting case, although I think Luke was getting a bit annoyed at me for asking him the point of the buttons.

First Clinic Day

by Luke, in Grenada
16th April, 2009
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Hectic first day. Dazzling sunshine outside – apparently. We were in the clinic today working with Emma, the new graduate Grenadian vet and the team at the GSPCA. Peggy is a dynamo and has done so much to set up this fantastic clinic after the hurricane devastated it in 2004. Great feel to the place, really nice team to work with and a good start. Clive battled to spay a pituitary-challenged weimeranaer with ehlrichiosis whilst I worked with Emma to do a few ops and go over a couple of new techniques. She is very competent and I don’t think I added much to her surgical prowess but it was fun to sort out an aural haematoma using the button technique (where you stitch lots of buttons to the dogs ear after draining the blood out of it – the buttons evenly distribute pressure and stop the blood reforming)and it‘s always good to see how we are all trained in slightly different techniques. Met a dog owner who is the ultimate hardcore adventurer – he and his family (wife, little girl and dog) have spent the last five years on the high seas. His little girl was on the boat from six weeks old. Sailed from Thailand, across the Indian Ocean, across the Med and Atlantic Ocean and is now harbouring here for a little while. Really nice guy with the ultimate can-do attitude.  It’s always inspiring to meet people like that.

Tomorrow we are heading out to the communities, but the biggest challenge will be sleeping through the night. We’re all staying in rooms above the clinic and there is a sweet little dog in with a retro bulbar abscess behind it’s eye that howls constantly. Adam and Marc are tearing their hair out as they can’t sleep a wink with any animal related noises and although we’ve made the dog as comfortable as possible for the night, I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s simply not used to sleeping indoors and is going to start howling again at 3am. Time will tell but if we all look a bit bleary eyed tomorrow (with the exception of ‘Bruce’ who is apparently immune to night-time external stimuli) – I promise it isn’t the rum…

 

Lesson #3: Cold showers are cold

by Nathan the Assistant Producer, in Grenada
16th April, 2009
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I don’t like cold showers. Only 8 more days of them!

No sleep ‘til …

by Marc the Producer, in Grenada
16th April, 2009
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Sharing a room with Nathan. He is a warm shower boy – don’t want to go into details here.

Loving the heat and I think, combined with cold showers, it’s a real winner. Sleep is a bit of an issue for pretty much everyone at the moment except Nathan. He can sleep anywhere at any point during the day or night. I haven’t seen it, but I bet he can sleep standing up.

Great thing about this job is that you never stop learning. To follow Nathan’s lesson theme, here is one: When producing an animal programme, never sleep on top of an animal shelter! … unless you are Nathan.