Rob Armstrong is a successful businessman and entrepreneur from Newcastle. Working his way up through the tough business world from an even tougher upbringing in a part of the city suffering from severe social depravation, Rob now has some of the most widely respected and successful businesses in the North East. Amongst his businesses he has directorships at LA Taxis and employment specialists MTrec Recruitment.
Here in his latest blog, he tells us about a recent visit to BBC Newcastle.
“Some might say that I’ve a face for radio but recently I’ve found myself to be one of the starring figures in a Christmas advert for a major worldwide hotel chain.
I was delighted therefore to be invited into the BBC Newcastle studios to be interviewed about my experience by the blonde bombshell of comedy Sue Sweeney who hosts a very popular weekend morning show on the station.
The role as an “extra” came as a bit of a shock to me.
My good friend Martin Robinson is the manager of the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead and he told me about a Christmas video that was being made there to go to every Hilton worldwide. He had a problem though. He was short of a couple of children to dance with Santa Claus and asked if my daughters would be interested. As my eldest is already playing a part in a major pantomime and the youngest looks like following in her sister’s footsteps this was arranged and filming began.
My kids performed great and then the director asked if I would mind playing the part of a guest checking in. As the cameras rolled during normal working time, real guests looked on in amazement as I got covered in snow and force-fed sweet mince pies all to the tune of “I wish it could be Christmas everyday.”
I’ve no aspirations of being a Hollywood star after dipping my toes into stardom and I don’t think it will have the same longevity as “The Wizard of Oz” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” but it was great having a bit of fun at Christmas.
It’s funny how places can bring back memories. The BBC Newcastle studios are located just North of St James’ Park in an area called Fenham. When I was very small, I lived in an old terraced house very close to the studios. Shuttleworth Street had no central heating, was constantly damp and ice formed on the inside of the windows. In winter it was even worse.
Coming back to my roots keeps me grounded and reminds me of where I’ve been and how lucky I am now.
I always like to give back to the community where I grew up and who looked after me when I was young. In my next blog, I’ll tell you about how I’ve done just that with selection boxes and a couple of reindeer.
Till next time…. Rob