Pearls of Wisdom, Quantum of Solace

SO there were indeed plenty of pearls of wisdom from John Yorke, head drama honcho at Auntie Beeb, but the best nuggets were specifically banned from bloggers' reports of the occasion and, since the man is who he is, I'm not about to spill the beans.
Suffice it to say that my expectations of the MA course look likely to be exposed as myopic narrow-mindedness compared to the reality that unfolds over the next two extraordinary years.
To cap a fine week in name-dropping opportunities, I spent Sunday evening in the company of a whole host of stars and megastars at a gala tribute to Ian Fleming at the London Palladium.
As you might expect from the creator of the best-known spy in the world, Fleming's name alone would have drawn A-listers wanting to mark the centenary year of his birth. The fact that his family had managed to entice Daniel Craig, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry and that old raised eyebrow himself, Sir Roger Moore, merely added icing to the thrill-seeker's cake.
Camped in our finery in the star-spangled stalls, we found ourselves seated immediately behind two of the Redgrave girls - Jemma and her half-sister Natasha Richardson - and immediately in front of Lady Moore and her family. I even outdid myself at one point by standing on the foot of Sir Roger's grandson, who smiled sweetly at my apology and graciously abstained from kicking me with a poisoned stiletto or slipping a venomous scorpion into my tuxedo pocket.
The list of celebrities is too numerous to offer in full, but among the audience were Don Black, Richard Curtis and, just along the row from us, the present incumbent of the 007 mantle, Mr Craig himself. On stage, they included Jeremy Irons, Toby Stephens, Lemar, Lee Mead, Tony Hadley, Beverley Knight, Samantha Bond, Brian Conley, Ruby Turner, Mica Paris, Christopher Lee, Harriet Walter and Charlie Higson.
It was a sublime evening, a fine tribute to Fleming and all in aid of the British Heart Foundation. And best of all, there was a huge band, live on stage, under the matchless musical direction of Michael Reed, making all those James Bond themes sound as thrilling and fresh as the day they were minted.

Going straight to the top

TODAY I get to spend a couple of hours with John Yorke, the BBC's controller of drama production.
Unfortunately, it's not a one-to-one commissioning meeting. But it is a unique opportunity for close-up access to perhaps the single most influential man in British telly at the moment.
For those who don't know, Yorke had an illustrious script editing and producing career, culminating in the role of executive producer of EastEnders through its high-rating Kat and Zoe Slater storyline. He's also the mastermind behind Auntie's Writers' Academy, an in-house incubator for writers on shows such as Casualty, Holby City and EE itself.
So how am I getting to share a room with him (and 20-odd other people, but we won't count them)? Well, it's the first day of my new MA degree course in TV Scriptwriting at De Montfort University in Leicester, one of the best-regarded training grounds in the industry. And they've bagged Mr Yorke for the very first seminar. Not bad, huh?
Considering a one-day event earlier in the year had already put me in a room with Tony McHale (Holby exec prod) and Corrie assistant prod Gavin Blythe, inter alia, I'm guessing the networking possibilities alone are going to be worth the course fees.
Pearls of wisdom from the very top: I'll keep you posted...