42 hours: A boring night
Mike: Tonight, I am to be left to my own devices. After a short walk, I chill out in the kitchen. Night-time TV is terrible, as is the radio. I'm bored shitless and am doing anything I can to stop myself going to sleep. I'm wired from all the Redbull I've been drinking, but dog tired at the same time. I know that I'm being watched on a TV monitor and can't give up, but I would give anything for a doze.

48 hours
Mike: I stayed awake OK, but am well bored. I'm glad that I got through the night. I did set off the alarm watch once, which meant that I stayed still for too long. To be honest, I was on the point of going to sleep. The guys are now around for breakfast. We have a huge crew on this shoot and it's good to have people around again.

54 hours: Danny Baker then Driving
Mike: It's about lunchtime and I am really struggling. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was a bad morning. I met up for a radio interview with Danny Baker. For a start, I have now got really bad guts. I blame the sushi, but it could be because of my lack of sleep - the extra hot curry probably didn't help either. This meant that I had to visit the bog a number of times before the interview, and at the end of the interview I had to sprint to the loo again.

In the interview Danny Baker was dismissive. He reckons he has been up for at least sixty hours with his kids. Of course he is lying, because he would have definitely been able to have forty winks at some point. All I want is five minutes' rest. Later in the day we visit a bed shop. They are teasing me by letting me lie on some cool beds without letting me sleep. It's divine justice when the steel band starts up outside, spoiling any attempt to get clear sound during the filming. Then it's time to get back behind the wheel.

Zeron: This time I drive Mike to the Dome since it would be crazy to let him loose on the road. In the safety of the Dome car park, Mike's driving ability is again put to the test and his motor skills prove to about half of what they had been to begin with. The instructors said that Mike was showing the same signs through lack of sleep that a motorist well over the alcoholic limit would be displaying behind the wheel. This was very scary...

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Content last updated: 25/08/2005