Firstly - cash in the form of pound coins. Why? You're following someone from their home address on foot. You manage to stay with them. Then - unexpectedly - they get on a bus. You have no change - the bus driver won't let you on - and you lose " the target". Game over! The same is true of Oyster Cards. Working in London, its pretty much standard issue stuff for a Private Investigator to have one of these as they give you access to the Tube network. Get caught without one and when your ' target' dashes into a tube station and zips through the barrier with his card, you could be left queuing for tickets while the target vanishes into the underground. Again - game over But the essential item I liked best was the change of clothes. Despite having a massive arsenal of technological devices at his disposal - from specialist cameras to covert air vented vehicles - the basic things like clothing are still important. Steve tells me about last Saturday. It was hot in the back of the van from where he had been clandestinely filming a married woman and her boyfriend meeting in a suburb of Cardiff. To be fair it hadn't been hot when Steve had gone to the location, hours before. But as time passed, while he had waited for the couple to appear, the sun had just got hotter and hotter. Before long, Steve had no choice but to strip off. He ended up carrying out the filming from inside the sweltering van dressed in only his underpants! You'd think it couldn't get any worse - but then the couple headed for a nearby restaurant, and our Private Investigator was faced with the necessity of a quick change of clothes. After all - even the cheapest of establishments rarely take kindly to a sweaty man in his underpants asking for table for one by the posh couple in the corner! You'd think it couldn't get any worse - but then the couple headed for a nearby restaurant, and our Private Investigator was faced with the necessity of a quick change of clothes. After all - even the cheapest of establishments rarely take kindly to a sweaty man in his underpants asking for table for one by the posh couple in the corner! So now you know. If you want to be Private Investigator you need three things 1) loose change 2) a travel card and 3) spare clothes. And, from what I could tell you'll also need a lot of courage, patience, expertise, equipment and experience too! Steve works for private individuals, companies in general, insurance companies and solicitors. You can contact him on 0845 555 5044 and find out more at www. heraldservices. co. uk ... even the cheapest of establishments rarely take kindly to a sweaty man in his underpants... 4 day in the life of a PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

I met Ingrid a few times last year and each time we'd talked about business, new contracts and mutual contacts. You know - the usual stuff. Then, out of the blue one day, she told me that she was an actress, a tap dancer, an accomplished horse rider - and that she had ambitions to be a stunt rider! Not that she was boasting. Ingrid's calm nature and modesty prevent her from shouting about her alter ego too loudly. But she had suddenly just blurted it out - all in one go. I was left stunned at the thought that someone you've met through work can lead a fascinating private life you know nothing about. We had to reschedule the interview for this article because Ingrid had landed a part in the new Robin Hood film. The Ridley Scott movie - as yet untitled - was being filmed in Pembrokeshire, and Ingrid had had to be there at the crack of dawn to be made up and costumed as a French peasant. Immediately I want to know more, but Ingrid suddenly clams up and tells me that she's had to sign a disclosure document promising she won't reveal the plot or any part of it to anybody. So I change tack and ask about other TV and film she's been in. Ingrid can be contacted at Blue Rocket Recruitment on 029 20 612543 or you can email her - info@ bluerocketrecruit. com. Blue Rocket specialise in recruitment for sales and marketing, IFAs and graduate schemes; as well as in house bespoke recruitment campaigns and project management to suit a company's requirements ( including the planning and running of assessment days). From Recruitment Consultant to French peasant, Ingrid Bastable's life is exciting and varied. Successfully managing a dual career as a business owner and actress, Ingrid really is a tap dancing, horse- riding recruitment specialist. The Handshake caught up with Ingrid - fresh from a film set - and found out what's happening for her - on stage, on TV and on horseback. When you first meet Ingrid Bastable, you're struck by someone who is quiet, confident and efficient. And she needs to be. A successful recruitment specialist, Ingrid set up her own consultancy four years ago - and it's going from strength to strength, with various private and public sector contracts keeping her busy and well- known. " Oh, Casualty, Dr Who - and a walk on part in Merlin" she says casually, as if discussing the weather. " And the Dr Who Christmas special" she remembers. I'm impressed ( at the big name shows) and surprised ( that the Christmas Special gets filmed in June!). Then I ask her about the dancing. " I do tap and modern" she says " It helps to be as versatile as you can if you want parts. My real love is horses and I recently took a course in Film and TV Horse- riding" [ Suddenly my evening class in digital photography seems a bit tame by comparison.] The Film and TV horse- riding course was not easy. Riding powerful stallions was physically demanding, but, she says, will stand her in good stead for specialist parts in the future. And what about the future? What's on Ingrid's calendar for this year? Well, apart from playing a witch in Macbeth and the principal boy in a Panto, Ingrid has landed a part in feature film " Dagenham Girls". The setting for this 1960' s women's lib movie is the old Hoover factory in Merthyr Tydfil - where Ingrid will be based for the filming." I might have to take my top off too" she says quietly [ yet again surprising me] " It's in the script so some of us may have to, but I don't know yet" she adds matter- of- factly. And we move on. I do tap and modern" she says " It helps to be as versatile as you can if you want parts. My real love is horses and I recently took a course in Film and TV Horse- riding 5 the other side of INGRID