TYRE BLOWOUT HARRISON-LONDON

<your background>
1.Q Tell me about the first time you can remember being thrilled.
1.A When my brother was born and I was nearly 3 years old.

2.Q What's been your most frightening thrill ever?
2.A car tyre blow-out at 95 mph on the M1 where I had to slow down, get from the fast lane to the hard shoulder whilst keeping control of the car. But I did it, cool as a fridge full of cucumbers.

3.Q What's the smallest or slightest thing to have thrilled you?
3.A Receiving a radio-controlled Dalek as a leaving present.

4.Q Tell me why you're not a sensible person.
4.A I am my own worst enemy and it burns me that it?s taken me over 25 years to work that out. I?ve allowed laziness and nonchalance to dictate my life more often than not. I tend to make the wrong decisions then regard the consequences as ?fun? or ?a learning curve?. I believe in the National Lottery and the possibility that it could be me and I hate that.

5.Q What were you doing the last time you were really bored?
5.A I was sat at my desk at work, staring blankly into my computer screen and wishing I had the guts to walk out and do what I?ve always wanted.

6.Q What's the most uninhibited thing you've ever done?
6.A Standing on stage in front of people I know and performing comedy material. Doing it in front of strangers is much easier.

7.Q What things have you considered doing for thrill, but were too concerned about the risks?
7.A Hiring a tank and driving through London at speed, parachuting, burning down the Millenium Dome. Also, considered London-bus-surfing, going to the away ends at Millwall or Cardiff City to watch football (been to Millwall recently and NOT a thrill) and shouting obscenities through the glass at Richard and Judy (couldn?t be arsed to travel all the way to Liverpool).

8.Q I always dreamt about being a paramedic, driving an ambulance and saving lives; what about you?
8.A When I was a teenager I wanted to be a Customs Officer at Heathrow Airport. Then I didn?t really know what I wanted to be for about 15 years. Now I know that I want to be a writer (of sit-coms, books, drama and instruction manuals for small toys ?the last one is a lie actually).

<your thrill>
To answer these next 14 questions, you should think about a particular time you were thrilled.

9.Q Describe this thrill in a nutshell, in one sentence. (there's time to expand later)
9.A Dangerous, live-threatening, annoying but really exhilarating.

THE SETTING...
10.Q Where and when did it take place?
10.A On the M1, near Luton, November, 1992.

11.Q Tell me a bit about yourself around this time.
11.A Confused, directionless, happy, young, immature, full of confidence but waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen kind of guy.

PREPARATION...
12.Q How did the moment arise? Was it planned?
12.A Not planned at all. I was trying to get to central London from Sheffield in less than 2 hours. I was well on target.

YOUR FEELINGS...
13.Q List the sequence of events leading up to your thrill, and how you felt at each stage. The smallest detail could be important (this is your chance to expand).
13.A Driving very fast and then the steering wheel being all over the place and me trying to control it. Then my friend who was traveling with me thought I was messing about. I assured him I was not but guessed what had happened. I put my left indicator on and remember the faces of motorists looking at my disintegrating tyre but not letting me pass. At one point I actually had to accelerate to get past some cars. Within a mile or so I had come to a stop in the hard should. The remains of the tyre were powder.

14.Q At the exact moment of thrill, how did your mind and body feel?
14.A Absolute concentration on not letting me lose control of the car. Part of me thinking that this could end up fatal and the majority of me thinking that I can get out of this.

15.Q What thoughts were going through your head?
15.A What?s happened? Thank God it?s not a front tyre, and why won?t you bastards let me get onto the hard shoulder? I can?t make a mistake here or it could be bad. What are you bleeding looking at arsehole? If I lose control, I?m taking some of you with me. That sort of thing.

16.Q What did you do immediately afterwards?
16.A Stopped, had a look at the damage, got a sandwich out of the bag in the boot and laughed. Then I cursed the Gods because I?d have broken my record. My friend kept saying how we could have died, I responded by saying ?yeah, but we didn?t?.

THE RISKS...
17.Q What were the most likely things that could have put you off going through with it?
17.A I didn?t have the time to consider this as it was a sudden thrill.

OTHER PEOPLE...
18.Q How were other people important to your thrill?
18.A My friend was nervous but kept quiet for the best part, I had to concentrate. Somebody shouting at me would?ve made it more difficult. Other people weren?t that important.

19.Q What do you imagine other people were thinking throughout your thrilling episode?
19.A My friend initially thought I was messing about, then, I imagine, he was scared to death as he effectively had to trust me with our lives. The people in the other cars displayed the reason why I have little faith in mankind; instead of helping, they were gawping and thinking about what could happen.

20.Q Some people probably don't understand how such a thing can thrill you; explain it to them.
20.A Dealing with something unexpected and having the control and skill to get through it. Afterwards, considering the permutations and then laughing at the fact that you?ve won.

EQUIPMENT...
21.Q Why were certain objects or equipment important to your thrill?
21.A I was driving a car with what would appear to be a dodgy tyre.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE...
22.Q If you've done something like this before, how does the last time compare to the first time you did it?
22.A First time thrill in a car was when I spun a car (and after that an ice cream van) 360 degrees in wet conditions. This was more of a thrill though.

23.Q If you did it again, what things could be added or changed to make it even better?
23.A I have had several car accidents subsequently, one where I went off the road and mounted a wall. Again, I reacted quickly to avoid over-turning. This was the nearest to that M1 incident. However, I wouldn?t really want to do it again. If I did do it again, I?d want it to be in a better car.

FINALLY...
Is there anything you want to add?
No, good luck though Brendan.

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