Street names such as Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Sunset Strip and so many others are familiar reminders that this town often wears its heart on its sleeve, and we feel we know it so well through countless novels, movies and TV shows.

Dave Travis, WRN Broadcast's Head of Engineering and Technology Solutions and I are here, along with our North America Consultant, Doug Stewart for an intense and hectic week of meetings with studios and channels.

Sunday 26th June was our first full day here, which was a day to acclimatise after the eleven and a half hour flight from London. First stop was Century City shopping mall to buy a pair of shorts, the one item of clothing I'd forgotten to pack, since the California sun, tempered by a cool breeze coming off the ocean was relentless; Santa Monica beach and the pier were full to bursting, with part of the beach dedicated to a tribute to the military personnel who had lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. It reminded me of the closing scene in the movie Oh! What a Lovely War - row upon row of wooden crosses but this time in the sand.

The ride to Santa Monica was tortuous as the freeway was jammed. How do the locals put up with the constant nose to tail, stop-start nature of driving here on the West Coast? Whatever time of the day and whichever day of the week, the freeway seems to be constantly busy or at a standstill. Our taxi driver was the spitting image of the famous Hungarian actor, Bella Lugosi who starred in the original Hollywood version of Dracula.

So, the week starts here, at the end of which Dave and I will fly home to London having immersed ourselves in Tinseltown and met with some of the key people in the entertainment capital of the world.

David Treadway

Managing Director

WRN Broadcast