Several weeks ago I was fortunate enough to land a segment on national TV. It was very unexpected and therefore, even more treasured and valuable experience.

Serendipity

I have a favourite word. It’s serendipity that landed me a number of opportunities, including TV appearances, previously.

Years ago, I was working with a presidential candidate. I was assisting him in identifying the right people for him and his campaign. This also included hiring the right PR professionals. We sifted through a number of professionals until the decision was made to hire.

The lesson learned at the time was I appeared to have generated much more publicity and expert TV appearances by saying a “yes” to my contacts who happily recommended me and not hiring a professional PR team for myself. It was an interesting realisation. Perhaps, it can be explained by the heat of a particular topic at the time, which was “Brexit” and the combination of my unique experience and expertise that so many news anchors had wanted to talk to me on live news broadcasts. 

I am happy to agree to such appearances in the future, too.

It was irrelevant that I was in the middle of nowhere searching for an internet connection in order to connect to a live broadcast. Fun times! Always happy to rise to a challenge. What can be possibly more fun?

Landing a TV Segment

Similarly, this opportunity approached me by pure chance and I had to make my mind fairly quickly. There were less than 10 days to prepare.

The Format

It is a TV game with a strong emphasis on being a Lithuanian and Lithuanian hospitality. (If you are not familiar yet, being a Lithuanian is a very special and a very powerful club.) There are four rules in the TV game:

• To host a Lithuanian visitor in your country of residence;
• Show around the city and sample some food;
• Create interesting tasks for the guest to solve;
• The guest then ranks his or her experience between 1 to 5 points, 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest.

Over the years I have benefited from a tremendous amount of hospitality on both sides of the Atlantic and I accepted this opportunity as the way to give back. 

The TV Appearance

London holds a special place in my heart. I wanted to understand its history and institutions well. In all of London, for me the place to be was always Mayfair. 

One of the benefits of appearing on such a TV programme is that you get to choose the places you like, want to be featured and explore.

Throughout the segment part of your own biography runs through. It is a privilege of being featured as a host. You deserve the special attention for all the work you do.

I was particularly delighted and grateful when I could secure the real Lord of the House of Lords in the shape of the Lord David Evans of Watford.

The amazing bonus was that the Lord Evans of Watford demonstrated that he was a fan of Lithuania and knew the country and Lithuanians well. 

His son The Hon Richard Evans lived in Lithuania for several years, previously. He was instrumental in helping Lithuanian businesses enter and win substantial contracts in the UK. The business opportunities are endless.

It is my sincere hope that he will return and continue to enjoy the lifestyle he loved back in Lithuania. His Lithuanian residence permit is currently being processed. One of the unfortunate results of Brexit that UK nationals experience throughout the EU member states.

The places in London that are being featured in the programme

Mayfair

Perhaps, I was reading the works of Oscar Wilde and The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy a bit too much as for me the place to be is Mayfair. I was curious about the legal area of expertise of Soames Forsyte who was a solicitor in the novel. To explore the stories of wealth and residential houses in Mayfair, I frequently dipped into a history book of the individual houses in Mayfair. 

I gladly go on tours and explore Mayfair. I enjoy being invited to the exclusive private membership clubs. I treasure my own membership of an exclusive oldest literary dining club in London. Late Elizabeth II, Her Majesty the Queen sent her best wishes for the club’s 150th anniversary dinner. This speaks volumes about her dedication and reach.

Most of my professional career is centred around Mayfair as I was helping overseas investors secure their residential property in Mayfair. 

The right banks, interest rates, properties and correct holding structures make it easy to pass on to the next generations.

Of course, there were a number of legislative changes that threw new considerations into the mix. It is even more important to choose the right experts to work with in order to access correct legal, tax and succession planning choices.

Battersea Power Station

Battersea Power Station is a remarkable investment and sustainability project. It is a landmark. Historically, it was the largest brick structure in Europe.

The current investment started from £9bn and evolved into £12bn as the surrounding area is being redeveloped, too.

Apple chose its European headquarters here. Tim Cook is to visit the site next month. It is expected that the Battersea Power station will open its doors to visitors only in October. It is still very much a work in progress.

The Thames 

The most picturesque mode of transport is catching an uber boat on the Thames. 

If you take an uber boat from the Battersea Power Station, you pass by the new US Embassy, the highest swimming pool in Europe, which gave a lot of discourse over privilege and heating bills over here, MI6 building, which is the fictitious workplace of James Bond and his boss “M”, the Lambeth bridge and the Lambeth Palace, as you emerge to the Westminster Palace (the Houses of Parliament), the Westminster bridge and the London Eye. 

You may keep going and exploring London on the water. You may choose any stops you want to alight. You may choose to sail all the way to Greenwich. 

We chose to disembark at London Bridge to visit the famous Borough market.

Borough Market

Borough market is a great tourist attraction. If you want to enjoy the fresh produce or the catch of the day and not to spend too much money, this is the place to go.

You may be spoiled for choice. The variety of world cuisine you can choose from is amazing.

You may explore the stalls or cosy up in the adjacent restaurants.

We chose the Borough market to sample fish and chips. Allegedly as most of the British cuisine, fish and chips is the dish that immigrants from Spain and Portugal introduced and adapted to the British cuisine. This is now a well known staple.

Tip: the best and most original way to enjoy the fish and chips is on the seaside, preferably, on the beach. You always need to make sure that the fish is fresh.

Millennium Bridge

The spectacular Millennium bridge joins the South bank with the St. Paul’s Cathedral. I found it always fascinating to walk directly towards the entrance of the St. Paul’s Cathedral from the Tate Modern.

Next to Tate Modern is the Shakespeare’s Globe. One of the best ways to spend your summer evening is to watch a Shakespeare’s play. I like the way the actors interact with the audience during the performance and how the members of the audience become play characters, too.

As we stand on the Millennium bridge I tell my guest about the guilds and the livery companies of the City of London. I outline how special the status of the City of London is. It is a state within a state. A monarch is not allowed to enter without the invitation from the City of London. 

You may watch the first segment here. The teaser is here

Landing the second segment

I rolled the dice in the TV programme and it transported me to the next segment, which took place in Lithuania.

Vilnius is the capital city of Lithuania. It has a lot of creativity and character. I was proud that my home city avoided British stag parties. This is not the type of tourism my home city chose to encourage.

Our tour guide, a historian and Sherlock Holmes lookalike was kind enough to give us a tour of the city. We visited the Gates of Dawn, St. Casimir Church, the Town Hall, St. Anne’s Church. We then sailed on the river Neris.

In the second segment I took the laid back role of a guest enjoying the hospitality and the city. 

Our hosts took us to enjoy a dinner at a famous restaurant for game and the spoils of hunting. The restaurant prides itself on crafting the historic recipes to give the glimpse of how our Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania enjoyed their food in the Middle Ages.

You may watch the second segment here. The teaser is here.

Why does Richard Branson do it?

Richard Branson does it, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal al Saud did it and so did Sara Blakely. I first learned about them when watching TV programmes where they took their lead. Arguably, a TV segment or extensive programmes are some of the most profound ways to amplify publicity and reach desired audiences.

Overall, it was a highly pleasurable experience. I was surrounded by great teams and dedicated people. It is always a bit reassuring when different opportunities come around in the shape of the friends of the friends who intrinsically all met in Bali.

Yes. Eat Pray Love and soul searching may never be enough.

I am very grateful to Irma Mačiulytė and Vladas Linauskas of Lietuvis pas Lietuvį TV laida for an amazing experience. I am also very grateful to my video coach Sarah Michelle Brown of Videos that Shine.

You all did an amazing job! Thank you!

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Saule Voluckyte, M.A.E.S, LL.B, FAIA

I have been working exclusively with UHNWI in Mayfair, London since January 2008. I built specialist knowledge and expertise required to serve ultra high net worth individuals investing, operating and relocating to the UK or Switzerland.

Within the industry, I am the single adviser who is able to traverse the different areas of expertise and bring a comprehensive approach across: global structuring, UK immigration, international taxation and FOREX to develop their global wealth strategy, while they build, grow and expand their wealth worldwide.

Previous experience as one of the senior advisors for the government, made me a go-to person when delicate and uncomfortable scenarios involving heads of state need to be handled with care and preserve privacy.