TRANSCRIPTS

Part 1:
We have all seen the images of the TV hypnotist who manages to get the members of the audience doing
outrageous things in front of the cameras – shy accountants doing Elvis impersonations or reserved
librarians declaring their love for items of furniture. But there is a serious side to hypnotism – and a history.

Born in 1733, the Austrian physician Dr Anton Mesmer moved to the French capital in 1778 at the age of
45, taking with him a revolutionary new healing method. ‘Mesmerism’ was based on the idea that each
living body contains a potent therapeutic force which he called ‘animal magnetism’ Mesmer claimed that he
– or any other trained individual – could control this force to cure a range of conditions including deafness,
rheumatism and even paralysis. His success had members of high society flocking to his dimly-lit rooms for
treatment. Surrounded by astrological symbols decorating the walls, patients were told to sit in tubs of
water, while Mesmer used iron bars and other gadgets to harness their magnetic force and effect a cure. At a
time when anaesthetics were unknown to medicine, mesmerism was used by some early 19 th century
practitioners to relieve pain during operations.
The word ‘hypnotism’ was first used in 1841 by the surgeon James Braid, who defined mesmerism as
‘neurohypnology’ or the science of sleep. In fact, it was the English man Braid who first used the familiar
swinging watch to hypnotize his patients. The watch may seem something of a cliché, but it does serve a
practical purpose. Imitating what happens when we dream, hypnosis causes the left brain, the side
associated with logic and reason, to switch off, allowing the right brain, the side of fantasies and imagery, to
take over. To achieve this, hypnotists get the left brain to focus on something monotonous such as the
swinging watch, often accompanying this with a low droning voice – the typical ‘Your eyes are getting
heavy, you are falling into a deep sleep, a very deep sleep.’ Many other aids have been used to hypnotize
people, though, including chloroform, magnets applied too the head of magical symbols painted on card.
Once the right side of the brain is in control, it will respond to the hypnotist’s suggestions in a dream-like
way, treating everything he or she says as if it were true. Hypnotherapists claim that by making suggestions
in this way they can do such things as cure insomnia or encourage patients to lose weight. Apparently,
people can be made to believe that chocolate tastes of petrol or that beer smell of rotting food. Of course,
this type of treatment has its detractors, sceptics who says it is the person’s existing decision to change and
not hypnotism that has the effect. However, it is now widely believed that hypnotism does has its place in
medicine =and is especially effective with illnesses that has a psychological basis – stomach problems, skin
disorders and chronic headaches to name but a few.
Some of these problems may have their origins in childhood, and age regression, when the patient relives
their childhood, is another area of hypnotism….

Part 2:
R = Richard L = Louise
R: Right, let’s see, jobs and duties. Where shall we begin?
L: Let’s talk about washing up first. Now that’s something I really can’t stand. My mum makes me do it
after every meal at the weekend, and she won’t let me go out with my friends until I’ve done it. I just
think that’s so unfair. I mean, none of my friends have to do it. I bet you don’t either, do you?
R: No, you’re right. In fact, no one in my family does. The most I have to do is get the plates out of the
dishwasher.
L: Lucky you! I wish we had one. And what about cleaning shoes? You have a machine to do that as well, I
suppose.
R: Unfortunately not. If it was left up to me, I wouldn’t bother. But my dad says that shoes tell you a lot
about a person so he has me brushing and polishing every other day. It’s such a pain.
L: Same here. I’m not made to do it that often, but I still dread having to do it.
R: Right, so that could be one of our three. What’s next?
L: Well, I honestly can’t understand why clothes shopping is there. That’s no chore for me. I mean I could
spend all day popping in and out of shops. But going to buy food - now that’s completely different.
R: I can’t bear doing either of them. In fact, even talking about them makes me feel funny. Shall we move
on?
L: OK. What do you feel about visiting relatives?
R: Oh, that’s not so bad. I’ve got a pretty small family so it doesn’t happen that often. And I get on really
well with my grandparents, the ones that are still alive, that is. In fact, one of my granddads is a real
laugh, and I think he enjoys my company when I go to see him, now that he’s on his own. How about
you?
L: well, I suppose I’m a bit lazy really. My parents both say I should go and see my grandparents more
often, but they live so far away - I always make sure I’m in when they come to see us, and they come
round quite a lot, so I don’t feel as though I need to go and see them. I don’t think my mum and dad
agree, though.
R: Oh well, that’s relatives for you. Let’s have a look at the next one.
L: what about looking after animals? Have you got any pets?
R: I’ve got a couple of fish, but they’re not really that much trouble. You just have to change their water
once a week, and drop some food into their tank every now and then. But you’ve got a dog, haven’t you?
L: Yeah, don’t remind me. Every morning he’s there by the front door with his lead in his mouth, looking
up at me with his big eyes, as if to say: “come on, it’s that time again”. And if I ignore him, he starts
barking, and my dad gets angry and says: “he’s your dog, no one else wanted one, so you’ve got to take
responsibility for him”. Thanks, dad. You’re a great help.
R: Bad luck. Get a fish next time.
L: Oh, I love him really. Anyway, what have we decided so far?
R: Well, we both seem to agree on cleaning shoes, and neither of us likes shopping for food. So that leaves
one more. I can’t talk about leaning the car,' cause we haven’t got one.
L: And my dad won’t let any of us go anywhere near his. I think he’s frightened we might scratch it, or
something, so he takes it to the local car wash. That’s fine by me.
R: And is you tell me you like tidying your room, I just won’t believe you.
L: Well I think we’ve found the third one - I absolutely….

PART 3:
Guide:Good morning and welcome to this morning’s guided tour of the Roman remains in the area. We’ll
start our day by visiting the garrison town of Corbridge - then, this afternoon, we’ll be visiting part of the
wall which the Romans built to keep their enemies out of the country. The part we’re going to visit is
remarkably well-preserved and it’s easy to imagine what it must have been like all those years ago!

The Romans actually arrived in this country in the earlier part of the first century AD, but it wasn’t until the
year 79 that they came to the Corbridge area. They built a series of forts and strongholds so that they could
establish their position in the whole region.
What you’re going to see this morning are the results of excavations which’ve taken place fairly recently.
The first early archaeological dig was as far back as 1201 and then, believe it or not, they were looking for
treasure. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately for us!), nothing interesting was found, so they abandoned
the site and it wasn’t until the early nineteenth century that another, and much more ambitious, excavation
was carried out.
The result was a number of exciting discoveries. And in the mid-nineteenth century, they discovered part of
a Roman bridge and other structures, including the baths and other dwellings in the town. More recently, in
fact every year since 1934, digs have taken place. These have resulted in the discovery of a large collection
of sculpture, coins, pottery and small objects; and some of these have become very famous indeed. Most of
them are now housed in the site museum, which we’ll be visiting before we visit the site itself.
Unfortunately, for security reasons, some have had to be taken to the city museum, which you’ll find is
about 15 miles away.
As you can see from this map, the site museum’s laid out in a circle. The first half concentrates on the
history of the site, and each section deals with er ... well, a separate period of the site’s history. You’ll also
find display cases of objects which would’ve been in use at the time. In the second half of the museum, each
section’s related to a particular aspect of life in the town, such as trade, domestic life and religious
observance.
After visiting the museum we’ll be walking round the site, and we would ask you please, to pay particular
attention to any loose stones lying around the site. And keep children off the walls, as these can be
extremely dangerous. At the end of the tour we’ll be paying a visit to the gift shop and café, which you
probably saw as you came in - near the site entrance and the car park.
Now, if you’ve left hats and sunglasses in the coach, I’d advise you to go and retrieve them now as the
coach’ ll be locked for the next few hours and the sun’s very hot today.

PART 4:
INT: Today I’m talking to two people who’ve recently set up their own businesses – Chloe Price and Martin
Moore. Chloe – you’ve produced a new line of skincare products that’s already selling well. What’s the
secret of your success?

CP: I did take a couple of business courses after college, but I don’t actually have a Masters degree in
Business Administration, an MBA, and my paper qualifications generally are a bit sketchy. What’s driven
me to the level I’m at is learning as I go – failure and success can both teach you something! In college I
was always planning social events, designing websites – and writing for fun. I learned to create
programmes, fundraise, operate on a budget and interact with people. I think this is why I was able to sell
my skincare products after only six months of research.

INT: Would you say that technology has positively changed the entrepreneurial environment?
CP: Definitely. My approach to finance would have been quite different if I’d had to set up a physical
shopfront – an online store has taken less time and reduced my initial outlay. I take all my photos on my
iPhone. Using social media makes it possible to engage with my customers – that’s the huge advantage.
When I was designing packaging, I polled friends on Facebook for their preference – plastic or glass. The
technology is there to promote my business too, of course.

INT: Martin – you’ve set yourself up as a distributor of snack foods. What made you choose the food
industry?
MM: Well, after one year in college where I majored in business administration, I decided my long-term
goal would be to set up on my own, so I dropped out. College just wasn’t taking me where I wanted to be. I
needed to pick up some practical experience so I ended up working for one of the major players in the food
packaging industry – that’s what was available at the time. I must say I had reservations about the way the
work of their employees is organised, but that’s where I got the background know-how to make it on my
own. And it all took off from that point.

INT: So how did you decide what you were going to distribute?

MM: I went to the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago, but first checked out the list of exhibitors on the
website, and researched the companies listed there. A product called SnapStyx was what ended up working
best for me. And that’s because they’re healthy – no genetically modified ingredients – and they taste great
as well!
It helps that the manufacturer has a solid reputation, and of course they’ve been promoted by some pretty
cool celebrities. The packaging’s great as well.

INT: So do you have any advice and guidance for others who’d like to follow your example?
MM: Most of my friends aren’t interested – they’re looking for a bit more security, I suppose. For people
out there – time’s never lost by going to the odd leadership lecture the way I did. And as Chloe’s said, the
internet can be a mine of information, but you have to treat it carefully.
But I’ve actually learnt most in the jobs I’ve done by talking to other distributors. Guys who’ve been in the
business longer than me love to talk about their work, especially to a young one trying to follow in their
footsteps – that’s invaluable. I generally got a good response from the companies I emailed, but there’s a
limit to what reading up can teach you.

INT: Finally a question to both of you. Have there been any surprises along the way?
CP: I knew I’d have to be prepared to put in the time – 18-hour days sometimes in my case. And then there
are the things you wouldn’t necessarily have thought to worry about. I spent an eternity deciding on the
typeface for my website, but that has to be just as right, in its own way, as something major like a financial
plan.
MM: Getting funding was something I probably underestimated, but I took lots of good advice before
deciding on who to approach. And I wouldn’t have believed how much time has to be devoted to little
things like copying and filing invoices correctly. Anyway, we’ve obviously both given it our all – but I’m
sure we were both prepared to do that from the outset.
CP: I’m with you there.
INT: Sadly, that’s all we have time for, but . . .