The Night Channel 4 Hit A New Low?

Well, lets say my Mum and Dad wouldn't have been impressed
by tonight's offerings from Frankie Boyle or Morgana Robinson.

Especially as the former contained gags about autistic people, and the latter
had a whole sketch involving a boy with learning difficulties attempting
to film his own TV show from his bedroom with a camcorder, a la Video Nation
or CBBC's As Seen On TV from around the same time.

If my parents thought Chris Jarvis's "The Anorak" from Children's BBC
in the mid 90s was offensive, then they wouldn't have liked Morgana
for certain, and although I found her "Gilbert" character amusing
it did almost look like the show should be called "Let's Have A Pop At
People With Learning Disabilities, Or Mental Illnesses"

Even Emma Kennedy on Twitter wasn't impressed, which I'm surprised
at considering she's part of an internet sketch show celebrating offensive
comedy, and it appears that she has her limits.

BBC Three, I'm afraid you may have some competition with regards
to "bottom of the barrel comedy".

Up To The Neck

It's finally arrived. My windows are covered in snow and all outside appointments engagements and activities could be potentially under threat.

Tomorrow I'm meant to be visiting Chaucer Homecare for a review
which I can walk to myself without any issues, although I'm more
concerned about the radio show for Sunday, and weather the people
at Mandela at UKC have pulled their fingers out regarding my access card.

This is affecting a lot of the associate members as Gavin who presents
a Saturday lunchtime show was unable to get in last week, and it's
just another addition to the fact that they seem to forget that
it's not just students that help CSR to operate.

I'll cross the bridge nearer towards Sunday, but freezing conditions
always guarantee that there's great telly on offer where tonight
sees Frankie Boyle's much anticipated Tramadol Nights commencing
on Channel 4.

The trailers haven't really said anything about what the show has to offer
which can only mean that it's going to be really rude and vulgar.

Me like.

There's also The Morgana Show afterwards, and while impressionists
don't really excite me, I'll give it a go on the basis of the superb
Fearne Cotton take-off which even the woman herself has approved.

I'll make it no secret that winter's better than summer when it
comes to my personal luxuries.

Best Laid Plans...

Not a good way to wake up, on the news that Leslie Nielsen's died.

Even more disheartening was that I was woken by a text, mentioning
that due to the heavy weather back in her hometown, there won't
be an outing in London tonight to celebrate Danielle's graduation.

It's not too bad however as the tube strike in London could
have messed it up even worse, and I'll be saving a bit of money
for this Saturday when it's someone else's birthday.

It's a shame that I won't be seeing any of the fellow radio
students before the end of this year, but I reckon a lot of them have
disowned me since my Maidstone placement.

And it's been a rotten year for radio in general anyway, as with
the exception of Chris Evans, and 6Music being saved, everything
else has gone down the toilet.

I doubt it's serious, but I get really intimidated with radio students
who say they hate television and vice versa.

It's not so severe in Canterbury however, although it is bloody raining.

Whether we'll see any snow is another thing.

And I Didn't Even Mention Wagner....

It turned out I was wrong about my access card as I couldn't get into
the studios when I arrived this afternoon.

Luckily "Rhiannon Marketing" was present and let me in, and the show
went out as planned, and possibly one of the strongest of recent
in my eyes.

For the first time, I went to the news at 7pm halfway through the show
which I haven't done before, but it makes things a bit more structured.

My backtiming could have been a bit better as I segued too early by
a few seconds, although the use of Steve Wright's old theme "20th Century
Revolution" added to the anticipation beforehand.

Next week however will be a lot less structured, where as it will be December
I plan to drop all the usual features and go all out, especially as next week
will be one year since starting the show.

I'll carry on with the news segueways however, as having looked at the
"presenter's bible" it turns out I've been breaking the rules as it says
"all presenters including specialist must fade up the news at the top of
every hour".

Then again even not even Lee Matthews on Departures or station manger
Andrew Venning on his "Soundscapes" show heed that requirement.

Tomorrow I plan to visit Kennedy Scott to go over my work placement
from last week, and get my paperwork to Canterbury City Council
as I reckon the forecast snow for tomorrow will hamper Royal Mail
to an extent, so it's best that I deliver the envelope myself.

I'm also concerned it may affect the visit to London to see
Danielle tomorrow, so I'll need to give her a ring to determine
what's happening.

Especially as she has to travel from her hometown of "Dezza" in Norfolk
which will be just as affected by snow showers.

Rock 'Til You Flop

Well after yesterday's debacle, I went up to the Eliot College this morning
and my card to get in the studio was still working.

Here's hoping nothing has abruptly changed by tomorrow, but whatever happens next week, I'll need to take action to make sure I get my new one
as soon as.

"Rock Week" or a loose sense of the term was the theme for tonight's
X Factor where it did as much to raise the roof as the passage of gas.

Katie's rendition of "Sex On Fire" prompted many jokes on Twitter
about her nan, and Cher Lloyd gave an almost identikit rendition
of Girls Aloud Vs The Sugababes version of "Walk This Way".

The giant mouth on the video wall during the latter performance
reminded me of the titles to Motormouth from back in the day
although coincidentally, Robert Edwards a sound man at TVS who
worked on said show, is now the sound supervisor for The X Factor.

The man's name came up quite a lot in the conversations I had
with Mike King at Maidstone last week, having been the person who
helped create many wacky sounds during his time there, including
the now infamous contestant's buzzer noise from Catchphrase.

Back to The X Factor, and it will probably be Rebecca who gets the boot
tomorrow night judging the way the other eliminated acts have faired.

As good a singer as she is, Rebecca seems to lack any charisma.

For the third night in a row, I'm missing out on the jungle goings-on
although that's partly because Stephen Howie's doing another live
"Weekender" show on his Soul Central Radio which is always good fun
to listen to.

Tomorrow as always will be another attempt at a radio show of my own...

Unreliable Access

I'm in a rather tetchy state as I write this.

I received an e-mail on Tuesday informing me that I needed
to re-apply for an access card to get into the CSR studios
as the old ones will be de-activated this weekend.

I went to the Mandela building yesterday, only to find that
the computer was out of action and having heard nothing from
them today after giving them my mobile number, I'm concerned
about being unable to do the show on Sunday.

I've even tried ringing up the station manager and have heard
no response, and it's getting to the point where it's really taking
the mickey.

The only hope is to head up there tomorrow to check that I can still get
in there, with the tiniest of hopes that I'll still be able to do so
on Sunday.

It may quite possibly be a bus journey to and from because
I can face the prospect of walking up that hill three times this week.

I really don't think it's fair to be prevented from doing something
I really enjoy doing, on the basis of a petty sign in system
that is ever-incapable of failing.

That's the first of three strikes then...

"And The Uncle Came, And Then The Cousin Came"

Whilst it was absolutely freezing in London last night, inside Ronnie Scott's
the warm temperatures of Brazil were brought to a deserving crowd
as Marcos Valle and his band took to the stage to provide a set of tunes
dating back to the 60s all the way up to his current LP "Estatica".

It turned out to be better than I thought where one song I was most
suprised with was his best known offering "So Nice" which I'm not a great
fan of, but performed live it was superb and the arrangemnt sounded like
it would fit in really well on one of the current LPs on the Far Out label.

The main performer himself had so many keyboards around him
including a wind instrument which has a keyboard on it, but sounds
more like a mouth organ.

The other musicians were superb too, and his wife providing additional
vocals and hand percussion was absolutely stunning.

Also included were "Os Grilos" as covered by Emma Bunton in 2004
and mentioned in the title of the blog post, "In Love With You" from
the 2001 LP "Escape", and two tunes by the great Leon Ware
including the amazing "Rockin' You Eternally".

The best song of the night however was "Parabens" of course and it sounded
better live than on the record unbelievably, due to a more coherent rhythm
structure.

A performance of said song can be seen here, recorded a few nights ago
in Paris.

What may quite possibly be my last music gig of 2010 turned out to be
one of the best, and was further proof there's a lot more to Brazilian music
than a contestant on X Factor who looks like Bill Bailey after a heart attack.

Potentially Stranded

I may not be working, but in no way does that mean today's not going
to be exhaustive.

First of all I need to head up to the University to get a new access card
for CSR, and I have to be at the job centre at 3:20pm, which they've timed
nicely as I have to get a bleeding coach over to London half an hour later.

I really hope it doesn't take that long before 3:50.

I'm heading over to London as tonight I'm seeing top Brazilian
composer and musician Marcos Valle performing at Ronnie Scott's
where I'm hoping he'll play quite a lot of his modern stuff,
including the amazing "Parabens" from 2003 that hit the clubs by storm.

As for tomorrow I really hope the anticipated snow showers aren't
bad enough to have me stranded in the city. But then again
I wouldn't complain if it did happen.

Spreading Across The South

The third and final day at ITV Meridian in Maidstone once again went
really well, and was further proof that anything could happen, and
in today's case it was for the right reasons.

Siobhan showed me the satellite vehicle used for outside broadcasts
by setting it up in the nearby car park for a demonstration.

Even though it was a demo, we still had to apply for clearance via
OFCOM, as ITV have a set of satellites reserved for all the regions.

Whilst I saw it all in action, I found it hard not to laugh as we were
near the grass patches outside the studios where many an amusing
experiment had taken place during the time Minstry of Mayhem was on air.

The demonstration almost didn't happen, as had Hastings won against
Herne Bay in the People's Millions vote, Shiv would have had a long way to
travel.

Having met presenter Sangeeta Bhabra yesterday, today saw the arrival
of Andrew Pate, who's standing in for Fred Dinenage and was presenting
the cheque to the representatives of the Kings Hall in Herne Bay.

Another lucky achievement came during the recording of the
South edition of Meridian Tonight, where the lead story was the student
protests, and I spotted an expletive on one of the placards behind
the reporter in his piece to camera.

One staff member realised it was a serious issue and we had to
speak to the staff at the studios in Whitely to get it blurred out.

Definitely a case that having sharp eyes can pay off.

Mike who oversaw the running, also gave me a souvenir of sorts,
a badge from 7T3 which was the short lived spin off from
No.73 when the whole show was transmitted outside the Maidstone
building.



There's not many of these left, so it's quite a posession!

Overall I've really enjoyed my time at Maidstone and working
alongside some really talented and interesting people from great
broadcasting backgrounds, with many a story to share.

I'm hoping I can take what I've gained further, and see how I can
lend my editing abilities elsewhere to professional standards.

And at not one point was there ever an instance of clock watching
which I can safely say has never happened on any other work placement
I have taken.

Striding Through

A slightly less productive day at Maidstone, but in no way was it not
enlightening.

For the majority of the day I was shadowing Mike King, a veteran
production member of the newsroom who's mainly responsible for
looking after the transmission control.

Mike's been there since the days of Southern Television,
and had many an anecdote about his time on shows such as 73
and Motormouth, which will probably end up in my Saturday morning
tangent around Christmas, including an interesting story about
the edition of No.73 that aired live from Camber Sands on the day
after the Zeebrugge disaster.

It was also interesting to hear about his time on Ghost Train
when it came from Chatham Dockyard in 1989 with Swing Out Sister
as the live guests.

It more or less shows how vacuous the charts have become in 20 years.

By a bizarre coincidence, we had a phone call in the newsroom
from one Ron Lobeck of all people, who wanted to chat to Mike
about a painting he'd been working on, as he's quite a keen artist
these days.

Definitely a more educational day at that, but in all fairness tonight's
lead story was the date of the Royal Wedding.

At least we get a day off, although I hope I'm in a position by then
for it to actually feel like a day off.

Last day tomorrow, and the plan is to see how the O/B unit operates
which should be pretty exciting.

Here's hoping it will be a worthy end to a superb placement.

Thrown Straight In

My first day at the ITV Meridian Maidstone base got off to a really good
start, where I was editing various news items in brief that ended up being
transmitted on the main programme at 6pm.

I was using the Avid editing software to do so, which I don't think
I've been on since the Canterbury College media courses, but it wasn't
too much of a task to re-familiarise myself with it all.

Alongside Nashreen who helped arrange the placement,
I managed to get all the inserts, and teases for the programme menu
completed about an hour before they recorded the South East insert
at around 4:45pm in Southampton, as they rotate between the South
and South East which first half is recorded and which is live.

If that makes sense.

Everything after around 6:15pm is shown live in both regions including
the sports, and Simon Parkin's weather forecast.

Fred Dineage is absent this week, probably basking in his MBE triumph
but I'm not too gutted about his lack of presence.

During lunchtime I had an interesting chat with Laura, one of the
reporters who happens to know Nic Ayling who used to produce Art Attack
and now owns the rights to the Southern and TVS brand names.

Not to mention co-hosting a messy gameshow with Lucy Benjamin
from Eastenders.

And on a similar note, when collecting me, Mum was parked in the space
reserved for Ged Allen who runs The Foundation in the same building,
and also used to produce Motormouth on Saturday mornings.

They treat their staff with great dignity at Maidstone don't they...

Tomorrow I'm shadowing the person who oversees the technical side
of the transmission, although as it's run tightly, I doubt I'll get too hands
on, but that's probably for the better.

But on the basis of just today, I can safely say that this is my
favourite media related work placement I've done so far.

Nearing Sleeplessness

Rather good radio show tonight, getting a phone call from the
Student Media co-ordinator who had a few kind words.

I may need to up my game even further, whilst taking things steadily
as always.

I'm getting more and more nervous about tomorrow, and my first day
at ITV Meridian from their Maidstone base.
I really should have asked more about what was involved when on
the phone to Nashreen earlier today, but was more concerned with
regards to what time I need to arrive, and what I should wear.

Then again it's probably better, as I tend to neglect the basic
requirements for when called to attendance.

Seriously though, it's a very big deal.

I've wanted to work in television, longer than radio and
this looks like an ideal foot in the door.

"What Are You Watching Me For? Look Out The Bleedin' Window!"

I made my way over to the St Dunstans Hall tonight where amongst
an audience of mainly OAPs, veteran weather forecaster Ron Lobeck.
gave a talk about his theories behind meteorology.

We also found out about his career from being a chemist,
through to a naval officer, and his accidental (in his own words) stint
as a weather forecaster beginning with Cliff Michelmore at Southern Television.

The main theory that was questioned was to how people were
responsible for the weather, and how back 60 years ago the UK could
have three whole months of consecutive snowfall.

It looked at how predicting the weather is the only form of
drawing to a conclusion, before verifying what really happens,
and how computer technology doesn't always prove reliable.

From a television point of view, it was interesting to hear how
Ron had applied for a job at what was to be Southern Television's
new South East service, on the assumption that they would win the 1980
franchise renewal.

I liked how Ron reflected on finding out the loss when hearing his wife
screaming from the front room, when Trevor McDonald was on the ITN
news next to an image of the Westward galleon, and the Southern compass
with crosses on them.

In spite of that Lobeck secured the job at Television South and
was the first weather forecaster in the UK to make use of the celcius scale.

After the talk had finished I had a brief chat to the man himself
and got a photo with him where as always, I look awful and he looks superb.



We also had a brief chat about the 1991 franchise auctions, and
Lobeck wasn't afraid to express his opinions on Maggie Thatcher's part in the
unnecessary ousting of Thames Television down to the "Death On The Rock"
documentary about the Gibraltar IRA killings in 1988.

Nowadays, Thames are the co-producers of the show that ITV
desperately need in order to survive.

Which leads on to tonight's slaughtering of Beatles tunes where
Katie turned herself into a lesley, and Matt Cardle dressed down.

If you want to hear how a Beatles cover should be done,
take this example from "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" where
Tim Brooke-Taylor, and the late Willie Rushton give a Chas 'N' Dave
interpretation of "Yesterday".

That would go to the top of the charts for sure.

A Nostalgic Front?

Rather nervous, as tonight I'm attending the talk by former TVS/Meridian
weatherman Ron Lobeck, assessing if weather forecasting is fact or fiction.

Considering I'm starting the placement at his former place of employment
on Monday, it should be an interesting talk.

If I get the chance, I may also ask him why a picture I sent in
didn't get shown at the end of one of his forecasts, many years ago.

I didn't really, nor did my mum send in a birthday card to be read out
by Andy Crane back in the day.

It's Beatles week tonight on The X Factor, which must have been thought up
on the spot, considering the availability of the band's back catalogue
and the fact that the week wasn't announced in advance.

Expect the usual set of inappropriate key changes, although it brings to mind
Paul McCartney not being happy about a brass section on the version of
"Twist And Shout" used in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Although in all fairness, "Twist And Shout" wasn't actually
written by The Beatles.

Hopefully the likes of Kojo from Choice FM, and EBTG's Tracey Thorn
will make the show more entertaining with their tweets as always.

TV In Need

It's the annual event of the year, where the BBC transports back in time
to 1982.

This year's Children In Need shares little in difference to the last 100
or so it seems, although as always there's the influx of pop guests
who really want to get a sales boost, and Terry Wogan looking awkward
as always.

Come on Tel, you've quit Eurovision, just have some guts to exit
this embarrassment disguised as entertainment.

And that's not a dig or anything, it's just a shame to see one of
the finest broadcasters still going, reduced to a shambles as bad as this.

And as for Tess Daly, you could put a shop window dummy in her place
and still not notice the difference.

Television's becoming too safe and predictable, and it's sad to see
what was a fast moving ever changing state, now looking hardly different
to how things were three years ago.

Time really has stood still since my lapse into mania.

Not that I was responsible of course.

Just a country who seem to enjoy sitting on the fence, and reacting
badly if those in the business make even the tiniest of mistakes.

It's not all bad however, as from 10pm Stephen Howie's back on
the online airwaves with The Weekender on his radio station SoulCentral.

With self-run stations, you can make as many balls ups as you wish,
with Stephen's most notable being accidentally referring to a music event
as "Hard Cock Calling".

The BBC would be quick to make a dismissal if it happened on one of
their platforms, as a result of them fearing the Daily Mail.

It's just a fucking newspaper written by pricks.

Not a domineering public force.

The Day The Musical Mocking Died

For the first time quite possibly ever, I ended up switching off Buzzcocks
halfway through tonight's episode.

It was full of repetitive, unfunny gimmicks which is what the show
seems to have become a "fest" of, of recent, instead of a pop quiz
giving the music industry the stick that it deserves.

David O'Doherty was tonight's host and if he's been on as a guest before,
then I must have found him really unmemorable, with the pretence of
tonight's show being O'Doherty being the relief presenter for Shakira.

To show how distanced the show has become, one of the guests
happened to be Peter Jones from Dragon's Den proving as plastic
as ever, and with many of the jokes falling flat on their backsides,
I really can't understand why this show is still going, when it's been long
running out of steam since Bill Bailey left.

In all fairness, the current state of British pop music is bollocks,
with the public essentially being told what to buy through The X Factor,
and the performers themselves being extremely vacuous.

Is it any surprise that you hardly see acts being interviewed on television,
and that there are no shows of that sort to do so?

In a reverent manner of course, and not with the many Simon Amstell
clones that dominate T4 and so on.

Seriously, this musical parlour game needs to be put to bed as soon
as it can.

The Tub Of Inspiration

I've officially decided, that the bathroom is the one place in my house
where creative ideas can burst into mind.

Such things can't be planned, they just instantly come into mind
when there's a lot less distracting things around.

In this case it was the front cover for one of the "tangents" I plan
to upload at Christmas, and with the help of a fellow member
from the TV Forum, it should all come to place within the next month.

We could have done with some tubs on the radio course, because believe
me, so many better ideas could have been thought up than the ones
we used for various assignments.

The tangent in question, is the one I've been writing on Saturday mornings
and it's notable that towards the end, just about every live show on
children's television adopted the premise of "Boys Vs Girls", with
Holly and Stephen, "Toonattik", and even "Smile" with Kirsten and Barney
resorting to the regime, until it's demise in 2007.

Not a popular concept, but popular in the sense of being thought up
by many a lazy producer or researcher.

In the year before my last at University, the people who presented
"Smoke Signal" one week were suffering "producer's block" with one
of them suggesting that very same "Battle Of Sexes" premise.

It was probably one of the main reasons we dumped the long running
magazine show in my final year, which I guess sort of mirrors the removal
of the "Growing Pains" style item from Saturday mornings, and live interviews
with politicians etc, in favour of general fooling about and adlibbing.

At the end of the day, we want to have fun with whichever broadcast medium
we're using and especially in student radio.

I will treasure those days fondly, whilst keeping in mind I'll need to
find another potential career path as the real world of radio's barely
bloody worth it.

An M.B.E. For H.O.W.

So a wedding's taking place next year, and a band have stuck all their
albums for sale on iTunes. That's what's been dominating the public mind
although I'm feeling indifferent to it all.

I'm getting more nervous about my placement at Meridian News next week
as tonight's programme revealed that presenter Fred Dinenage was presented
with an MBE this afternoon for his services to broadcasting.

This being in spite of the fact that I won't actually be in physical distance
of him as the main programme is presented from Southampton.

A debate on 5 Live took place over a somewhat questionable statement
by Kelvin McKenzie about us being in the "golden age of television".

Of course it got it's fair share of unfavourable comments, but Kelvin McKenzie
is best known for speaking nonsense at any opportunity.

Seriously though, there was an interesting comment from a caller
about a lack of television shows in the present day along the lines of
"The Word" and "TFI Friday", to which guest Boyd Hilton stated that
in terms of providing entertainment, The X Factor is filling the gap.

But while the series is only just keeping live television alive,
it's a shame that there isn't an innovative "anything goes, and laugh
about it if it goes wrong" sort of show on television anymore.

Then again if you take short lived clones of "The Word" such as "Born Sloppy"
or "Something For The Weekend" (Denise Van-Outen not Tim Lovejoy),
then maybe it's no surprise.

That said, television definitely needs to be more daring, and budgets
don't necessarily have an effect on how good the programme is.

A lack of money didn't appear much of a hindrance for Tiswas back in the day.

Blind Comedy

"The Actor" Kevin Eldon was one of tonight's panellists on "Just A Minute"
where he managed to prove fairly amusing, although the playful bickering
between Paul Merton and Julian Clary was the highlight, particularly
Clary whingeing about Paul Merton's love of silent comedy.

Nothing's else planned tonight, apart from what looks set to be
an interesting Children In Need special of "Only Connect" on BBC Four
with guest contestants including The Reverend Richard Coles, and
Adam Hart Davies.

Unlike his appearance on Have I Got News For You, I doubt Coles
will be brought up any digs about his working relationship with
Jimmy Somervile.

Having said that, they made some amazing tunes, "You Are My World"
being one such example.

There was defintely more to that band than a couple of disco covers.

Booze Bottling

Slight change to today's plans.

No disrespect to anyone running for the CSR committee roles,
but I need to save a bit of money, and it's probably a better idea
if I stay put tonight with regards to the election and social.

I'm sure there will be more opportunities for boozing later on in the current
academic year, although thankfully I'm starting to distance my calendar
from that order.

It's fair to say I've gone a bit far with money spending this year,
and probably the safest option is to go steady into the new year.

I was intially planning on seeing in the New Year at the Jazz Cafe in London
with a special gig by the Sunburst Band, although I'm rather shocked after
finding out that tickets are £40 in advance.

I'll probably give that one a miss, reluctantly.

It's not all bad mind, as I plan to visit London that week anyway,
for the much anticipated performance of "Christ On A Bike".

When Richard Herring did that act first time round in 2001, he came on
wearing a turquoise shell suit a la David Icke on Wogan, but has abandoned
that idea this time round as it's likely that not many people will get
the reference, which is fair enough.

Having said that, this video from David Mitchell's Soapbox raises a few
issues on television's coy attitude to introducing young viewers to cultural
references.

Many would be surprised at the fact that a lot of young children
are that bonkers about learning historical facts and that keen to gain knowledge.

Earlier Every Bastard Year

Quite a busy day viewing wise, although the amount of busyness is really
bugger all.

Celebrity series 10 got off to a good start where my bets for this year
are on either Stacey Solomon or Shaun Ryder winning.
Stacey in particular reminds me of a cross between my younger sister,
and Roland Rat.

As for tomorrow's trial, the right contestants got voted, especially
Gillian McKeith who it appears has never seen the show before with regards
to her insect phobia.

I doubt she'd be too frightened if they were seen swarming a pile
of excrement.

As for the X Factor, Aiden finally got booted after succeeding in
a rendition of "Don't Dream It's Over" that was worse than the
Paul Young cover.

And it's now officially Christmas, as the first ad break had a sighting
of the Coca Cola "Holiday's Are Coming" ad.

The plans for tomorrow are a visit to Kennedy Scott to go over my job searching,
a possible start on council house bidding, and the CSR elections at the same
boozer as the ones in March, which should later lead on to some drinky poos
at Studio 41.

"The Rumours Are True"

It's safe to say I made the right decision to watch the Take That documentary
over the non-brawl between Haye and Harrison.

Judging by the tweets, it seemed anti-climatic before the first round
where Audley Harrison walked on to a Phil Collins record.
I don't know which one it was but "Take Me Home" may have been the most apt.

"Look Back, Don't Stare" on the other hand proved an entertaining watch revealing how the re-formation of the original members of Take That
actually took place in September 2009, and Williams walked out briefly
after a couple of months, with the album about halfway finished.

The idea of having it shown in black and white added to the candid
nature of the documentary with the most revealing part being Jason Orange's
disagreement over the lyrics that Robbie had written for one of the songs.

As for the reformed band, I can't see the quality of the songs slipping
but I very much doubt that Robbie's going to stick at it for over two years.

There was nothing wrong with Take That without him, and judging
by what was heard in the documentary, most of Robbie's own contributions
sound very similar to "Bodies", and dare I say "Rudebox" in terms
of musical arrangement.

The documentary itself overall, managed to completely overshadow
tonight's X Factor, although a certain Chris Chilvers on Twitter mentioned
that Wagner was "the new Jesus".

Seriously, similar comments to that resulted in me being put into
the mental health hospital.

"We're Only People"

Looking rather glum this morning and the rest of the weekend
doesn't look set to get any better.

It's Elton John songs on tonight's X Factor which will always bring to mind
a night during the Summer of 2006 where the man himself was performing
at the cricket ground in Canterbury, not too far from my house
so you could hear him performing from the window of my house.

I know what I would prefer.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure tonight's show will just be a warm up
to the anticipated Take That documentary where the boys come clean
about getting Robbie back in the band.

I watched the 2005 "For The Record" documentary yesterday
and had forgotten how funny it was, when taking the raucous
video footage into account, of their concert tours.

I haven't heard the band's new material yet, and probably
won't tomorrow when they're performing it on X Factor,
due to the weekly slog down the hill from the University of Kent.

That's how exciting things are, where I'm more or less counting down
the days until my placement in Maidstone.

North London Under The Groove

An amazing night took place at Koko yesterday, with the Cog on top form.

Before they came on stage, we were treated to a half hour set
from the Driza Bone Soul Family, who were essentially three of the vocalists
performing to backing tracks from their songs.

The fact that the vocalists looked amazing put the absence of a backing
band completely out of the picture, and they managed to deliver for certain.

They promised at the end that they would return to London with a live band
in 2011 as part of their own tour.

Bluey and the guys made their way on stage, where this time there was
a minor change to the vocal line up with Lorraine Cato taking the place of
Joy Rose, alongside Tony Momrelle and Vanessa Haynes.

Vanessa almost didn't make it to the gig itself, after putting her back
out earlier that day, which explained why she was sitting down
on a stool when she wasn't singing.

The setlist was superb with all the usual favourites including
"Still A Friend Of Mine", "Talkin' Loud", "Reach Out", "Everyday",
and "Always There" performed in the encore.

Rather than go into too much detail, here's a few photos taken there;



The horn section with an extra sax player.



Lorraine Cato.



Matt Cooper, the main of a thousand synth voices.



Vanessa Haynes gives it some on "Colibri".



Drummer Francesco. He was that fast.



Tony, Lorraine, and Vanessa "Reach Out".



The man himself addresses the Koko crowd.

After the gig, myself and Stephen headed towards a pub
nearby in Camden, before I went over to Pippa and Holly's
in Archway and collapsed onto their sofa bed.

I didn't really get a chance to speak to Holly, although I saw Pippa
and Holly's partner Stedders, who in particular has been spending most
of today clearing his own house, as housemate Ben is moving to Brighton.

Aside from her viral work, Holly's been making progress on her cake making
venture, although she's currently taking a break from doing so in the run up
to Christmas.

I'll look forward to catching up with them in a couple of weeks
when I head up to London again to see Marcos Valle at Ronnie Scotts.

As for the Student Radio Awards, congratulations to CSR for winning gold
in the Best Outside Broadcast/Live Event category for Lounge On The Farm 2010.

I honestly thought we were just mucking about near a disused pigshed
but when thinking about it, we got some great interviews as well with
Hot Club De Paris, Phill Jupitus, and even Martha Reeves.

We done good.

Really looking forward to more of the same in 2011, if I'm still at the station.

The Cog Take On Koko

It's the one I've been waiting for tonight. Incognito performing at Koko
along with the Driza Bone Soul Family.

What makes tonight even more exciting is that the concert's happening
at the same time as the Student Radio Awards, held once again at
the Indigo2.

I'm not too gutted about missing out mind, but it would be nice
if CSR won something.

Then again I've made it no secret that my past outings to the awards
ceremony have been the worst nights out during my time at university.

Everyone's too drunk or really bitter about losing, and I ultimately end
up feeling left out of it all, because I can't pretend to be an enthusiastic
about what was once a great broadcast medium now going down the toilet.

Anyone in student radio must use it all they can too their advantage
and not just do it in order to win awards.

Because believe me, in the current profit driven industry, there's no way
you can have as much fun and freedom to do exactly what you want,
as there is in that area of radio.

That aside, I'm just going to indulge in quite a few colourful drinks
and get down to the really good stuff.

"Twistin' Me Mangos"

Can life get any duller?

Well if that's the aim, then it will be put on hold tomorrow as I'm heading
back over to London to see the Cog performing at KOKO near Camden,
the venue formerly known as The Camden Palace where Prince used to
perform private gigs after his concert tours in London.

Not only will Incognito be performing, but there's also a live set
by The Driza Bone Soul Family who came out with one of the best albums
of 2010.

Stephen's going to be present as well, and here's hoping a few more familiar
faces will be present as Jazz FM have been plugging the gig on the radio
and there's a good chance a few of their presenting team may show up.

Myself and Stephen have been long hinting about attending one of
their Funky Sensation nights, and I reckon we'll have to give in, sometime
in 2011.

It could quite possibly be where I spent the night before my 26th birthday.

Elsewhere the jungle line up for the 2010 series of I'm A Celebrity Get Me
Out Of Here has been revealed, with Nigel Havers, Britt Eckland,
Stacey Solomon and Shaun Ryder amongst those spending the best part
of November in New South Wales.

The Happy Mondays vocalist looks as if he could be a potential winner
although let's hope it doesn't result in a ban appearing live on ITV,
following the sweary outbursts that lead to the same happening on Channel 4.

I'm not sure whether I'll be glued to the series every night,
but it's more or less guaranteed that the television will be staying on
for longer after Sunday night's X Factor result.

A Surprise Radio Return

A rare sign of hope hit the world of radio today, as it's been announced
that Heart 106 now owned by Orion in the East Midlands, will be changing
it's name to "Gem 106", reimbursing the much treasured name of GEM AM,
one of the most successful AM stations in the UK, and retaining the
"Great East Midlands" tagline.

With David Lloyd in charge of Orion, the move can only be a positive one,
and is set to take place on the same day Trent turns into Capital next year,
so whilst a long well loved name disappears, another one returns.

This has obviously upset Global, as they're worried that the name change
could risk losing money for shareholders who started investing whilst
they were still in charge.

Whether they'll retain the JAM jingles that made the original station stand out
remains to be seen, but then again, this is 2011, not 1976.

Let's hope it's only the beginning of radio returning to form
and not being run solely for profit.

"Wasted Years"

One year since graduation today, and to be honest ever since that day
was when everything started going wrong.

Lack of motivation, society screwing up, best mates turning into
miserable old buggers, and a loss of enthusiasm for a broadcast medium
I once loved have all lead to this rotten old wreck writing nonsense each day
for the last year or so.

But on that note, yesterday I managed to discover a song which
manages to explain what's really the case and that I'm not the only
one who refuses to throw away three years of so called learning
down the toilet in favour of a menial job.

The Arts Graduate Unemployment Song

Unlike the fella singing the song, I won't be taking a master's degree
or anything like that, and have never read the complete works of Shitespear.

The one thing I have learnt from my radio course, is that in the present day
the industry is full of wankers with a lack of ideas who just want
to make money and get lathered.

It's just a shame that a some of them used to be really lovely people as well.

"We've Got Emergency On British Soil"

Dad made his long awaited return from China earlier tonight, and hadn't
gone halfway when it came to bringing back presents.

One of them being a set of soft toys of the Bejing 2008 Olympic mascots
and a bizarre looking ornament which had a nasty looking insect inside it.

The weirdest present on the other hand was a weird colourful decoration
made out of the flour used to make pasta, although it smelt like something
that would be found in a village sweet shop.

With regards to culture differences, Jay Kay from Jamiroquai has pretty much nailed how the state of the UK is more or less a joke in the present day.

Digital Spy Article

The Kaiser Chiefs summed it up on their 2007 LP with one of the lyrics being; "Everything is of no consequence, 'cause everyone is sitting on the fence"

It more or less explains why we're being lead by a half baked
coalition government because there's too many idiots in this country
who can barely see past the end of their noses, let alone into the future
and have no idea why they need to vote.

It's not a rallying call in wanting everyone to be sophisticated,
but we can't continue to have our lives dominated by a single television
programme, dominated by escapees from a mental hospital trying to sing.

And when digital television was being speculated on, I'm pretty certain
no one wanted it to be filled with contrived American crap and documentaries
about faded models and pop performers.

Not to mention the red tops sensationalising stories in a half arsed attempt
to make exploits sound more exciting than they really are.

If I had it my way, Jay Kay would be prime minister.

Which sort of makes sense, considering his latest LP's a bit below par.

"Blankets Onto The Bed"

Whilst tonight's X Factor fulfilled it's premise of exploiting and rewarding
retards, tonight's radio exploits were productive to an extent.

Well almost. On the way back, I noticed an advertisement in the newsagent
near St Dunstans that former TVS/Meridian weatherman Ron Lobeck
will be giving a talk on weather forecasting in two weeks time,
and I decided to give in and buy a ticket.

It should be pretty entertaining, although two days after that
I shall be returning to his former place of employment as part
of a three day work placement at ITV Meridian at the Maidstone Studios.

Fred Dinenage and Sangeeta Bhabra don't actually present the show
from Maidstone itself, despite the video backdrop, but I'm just excited
about spending more time at the studios where so many great shows
have been made.

Plus a few questionable ones admittedly, such as "All Clued Up"
where what looks like a "Christmas Tape" moment midway through
could be a dig at TVS's franchise loss.

Sadly, the end of TVS in the eyes of many viewers was seen
as the end of high quality television.

"Good Luck, C***s"

The theme of this week's "Hype Factor" was apparently American Anthems
which as expected included a fair bit of deviation.

Notably One Direction's rendition of "Kids In America" which Simon Cowell
thought could justify it's inclusion by turning it into a low rate Glee cover
complete with cheerleaders.

Louis Walsh had an Dannii Minogue esque slip up when he described
Paije as "a young Lenny Henry" which I doubt went down well considering
when Lenny was around the age of Paije, he was appearing with
the Black & White Minstrels.

Considering how old Louis is, I'm guessing that's what he had in mind.

The highlight of tonight's show was Rebecca as always with her
rendition of "Make You Feel My Love".

Although it's been done to death this series, even if Rebecca doesn't win
I'm hoping she ends up taking the direction of Melinda Doolittle, a former
American Idol contestant who a couple of years after taking part released
a very pleasant orchestral soul album, similar in places to Joss Stone's
early material, but a lot less pretentious.

In terms of elimination, here's hoping that Aiden and Cher are up for
a booting, as they were probably the weakest of the lot tonight.

Thankfully there are more important things to worry about than
tomorrow's results, one of them being the fact that I haven't sorted
out my "running order" for the radio show tomorrow.

Two tracks I'm definitely playing happen to be from November's
featured album "Pure Gold" by Leeds musician/producer "JD73".

If Jamiroquai's latest LP isn't ticking the boxes, this album is definitely
the ideal remedy for those who love the Cog, The Reel People,
and The Sunburst Band.

The UK hasn't lost it's groove, that's for certain.

Waiting To Be Metaphorically Strangled

In the current climate of vacuous television presenters and popstars,
watered down comedy and unimaginative ideas, thank fuck for Frankie Boyle.

Even if he's "retiring" from stand-up before hitting 40 in two years,
at least he'll quit whilst he's angry as ever.

The Glaswegian comic was on fire last night at the Apollo
and no one was safe from his cussing, with subjects covered such as
the World Cup, Madeline McCann, the Cumbrian taxi driver/murderer,
and Gamu from the X Factor.

The gags that had me laughing the most included those about Danny Dyer,
how to be put off sex, and the chat with the front row of the audience
including a couple of fellas from Burnley with a gag I'd probably best not
repeat on here.

Luckily I was sitting on one of the upstairs rows this time round so
I managed to escape a tongue lashing.

The warm-up comic was also good too, Canadian comic Craig Campbell
who was on the most recent series of Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow,
and as is normally the case was funnier live, than on television.

This was proper near the knuckle comedy, not ideal for those whose
sense of humour only stretches far as TV Burp.

I wasn't too keen on the hostel I was staying at yesterday, right in the centre
of Shepherd's Bush.

Being situated above a karaoke bar, obviously wasn't a good sign.

Thankfully, Pippa and Holly have allowed me to stay at their's next
week for the Incognito gig, and two weeks later when I go and see
Marcos Valle at Ronnie Scott's.

Before heading back over to Canterbury, I had a stroll through
Oxford Street and Selfridges, where it appears that despite paying
a settlement, they still haven't taken down the Frank Sidebottom
stunt doubles in their shop windows.

Here's one or two of them;





Whether they were designed as an "affectionate tribute" is uncertain,
but the design is pretty much nailed, all down to the large eyes.

The weekend (if you can call it that) may have peaked too soon
after last night's performance, whereas tomorrow there's practically
no escaping the shambles that is The X Factor.

Yet the whole things draws me in as a viewer, and each performance
is never short of a derogatory comment on Twitter.

A Much Needed Cackle

Tonight's the one I've been waiting for.

After a year and a month since booking the tickets, I'm heading over
to the Hammersmith Apollo where Frankie Boyle will be telling it straight
and very sour I'm guessing.

No one's going to be safe from his attacks, but I'm just looking forward
to it altogether and hoping for a night of non-stop hysterics.

It means missing tonight's HIGNFY and Buzzcocks, but there's always iPlayer.

Buzzcocks should be particularly interesting this week as Jack Dee's hosting
and we finally get to see how Jedward fared on the show, and hopefully
the boots will be on the other feet for once.

Charlie Higson's also guesting so that should also provide amusement.

Noel Fielding meanwhile has attacked former host Simon Amstell for
discouraging guests from appearing on the show, because they're scared
of having the mickey taken out of them.

Isn't that the idea of the programme?

Realistically, it's just one of the negative areas of the vacuous state
of the music industry today, where the only way of getting to number 1
is by performing on X Factor, regardless of how shit the song is.

I very much doubt that the pan will be able to cope with that
many flashes.

"Buggering The Bursar"

As planned, I spent tonight watching the film "Educating Rita"
and to sum it up, would be what I'd associate with a typical 80s
mid-budget drama.

The "of it's time" score by David Hentschel manages to reflect it perfectly.

Basically it's about Susan, a Scouse hairdresser played by Julie Walters
who starts taking an Open University course where her lecturer
as played by Michael Caine is a piss artist.

There's also an appearance by the superb Maureen Lipman
who plays Susan/Rita's flatmate who attempts suicide.

Overall without giving too much away, it was a rather enjoyable watch
and matches the sort of films I like by being set on home soil with no
fancy big budget scenarios.

The director Lewis Gilbert also happened to direct another movie
that I've been meaning to see for quite a few years "Shirley Valentine"
also penned by Willy Russell.

I'm hoping I get some good shut eye, as I'm rather uncertain about where
I'm staying in Shepherd's Bush tomorrow.

Luckily I'm staying over at Pippa and Holly's next week, and on the 24th
when I head back over to Ronnie's to see Marcos Valle in concert.

My life doesn't get any more exciting than that.

"Haven't You Got Beds To Go To?"

I'm at yet another wits end although as is always the case, it's over a
ridiculous issue that could probably be solved in no time.

I'm meant to be sorting out tomorrow night's cooking, but Kate already
nabbed the meal that I was planning to make for her own concoction tonight,
that being a penne bol.

Due to my very poor but healthy cooking abilities, what I will make
will probably involve the use of "la riz".

I also plan to have a gander at a film I've been meaning to see for a long time;
"Educating Rita".

It's rather different to most films I've got on my shelf, but the television
obsessive inside me, would be interesting in seeing how the infamous
BBC Open University ident from the 70s makes an appearance within the film.

The strand itself has been off television screens for four years now, although
luckily for me, I'm too young to remember the ident, which caused many
an individual a sleepless night during it's reign.

Getting Darker In Both Senses

I know it's November when I have my bedside light switched on at 4pm in
the afternoon.
Then again when there are moderately clear skies outside it's quite nice
actually.

Elsewhere it's all been happening as Holly Willoughby is expecting
another baby, whilst Lily Allen may as well give up trying.

Radio has been rocked pretty hard as well as the best broadcaster
in the business has announced that he is undergoing chemotherapy.

Hopefully it won't be long before "Lord Reith" is back on form.

It's always the decent ones who are hit by such horrible illnesses,
with Robbie Vincent still recovering, but that's not to say Greg Edwards
is a bad stand in.

To be honest Global's loss is Jazz FM's "re-gain" but then again
Greg Edwards is a disk jockey, not a faded popstar.

Dad's still in China for another week at a conference of some sorts
whilst I'm back in London on Thursday and heading up West to the
Hammersmith Apollo.

Here's hoping this Nov is a god Nov.