Hello all, I don't know what people will make of this one so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance!
FX: BBC BREAKFAST NEWS JINGLE; PRESENTERS SIT ON COUCH SIDE-BY-SIDE.
SIAN WILLIAMS
Up now we have a very sad story, highlighting how hard some people have been hit by the current financial crisis.
BILL TURNBULL
62 year old Mary O'Neill in Derry has been forced to leave her house because she can no longer keep up with her mortgage repayments, since her husband lost his job as a cobbler.
SIAN WILLIAMS
We now head over to our roving reporter James Westhead who's with Mary in Derry.
REPORTER
Good morning. Mary, thanks for agreeing to talk to us.
MARY O'NEILL
Dat's alright.
REPORTER
So tell me Mary, how have you ended up in your current situation?
MARY O'NEILL
Well, you see the ting is me ol' husband was working as a cobbler and what with all this credit crunchie ting no one wanted dare shoes cobbled no more. I suppose they were just letting their soles get worn down and dat, you know.
REPORTER
So when did you realise you would have to move out?
MARY O'NEILL
We were leaking money about 4 months ago when me husband's cheques' started to dry up and what with our 8 kids still living with us it didn't take long for our little bit of savings to dry up.
REPORTER
Oh my! So how have you managed to feed all of those hungry mouths?
MARY O'NEILL
Oi've been scrimping an' scraping just to make ends meet and for de last two weeks all we've been eating is broth…without any bread mind.
REPORTER
So you really have been living on the bread line…or below it I suppose!
MARY O'NEILL
Is dat meant to be funny?
REPORTER
No, no! When was it exactly that you had to leave your house Mary?
MARY O'NEILL
Around about a month ago. Oh it has been tough, what with having so many children and I'm not getting any younger, I tell you dat for nothing!
REPORTER
Most importantly Mary, have you managed to find somewhere to live?
MARY O'NEILL
Dat's been de one saving grace in dis whole mess. Me husband, bless him, had been making dis giant shoe, on de side, with all the old discarded leather from people's shoes and he had just finished it before he got de sack, you know. Mind you it is very small and I just don't know what to do now we haven't got any money an' all.
SUSANNAH
Uhm. Right, so what you're saying is that you're an old woman, you live in a shoe, you have lots of children and you don't know what to do. Have I got that right?
MARY O'NEILL
I don't quite know about de ol' woman bit but the rest of it sounds about right.
REPORTER
Ok, thanks very much Mary for sharing your, err, very enlightening story with us. I think we'll go back to Sian and Bill in the newsroom.
BILL TURNBULL
Thanks, well you saw it here first. That really does show how badly some people have been hit by the current recession. An old woman who has been forced to live in a shoe and now she just doesn't know what to do! Over to you Sian.
END OF SKETCH
