It's open day here on Harrow Campus where many people are being shown round the different facilities and will hopefully choose us as their pathway to success, or just to have a good time overall with a lot of drinking involved.
Fellow radio student Danielle has been showing people round M-Block and I went up to the radio rooms to see one group of people look at the studios themselves. One of them happened to have done work experience at the BBC's Kent and Sussex studios and at KMFM in Tonbridge which I thought was pretty impressive. One day I'll get there, athough I've heard things about the Canterbury staff being moved to Ashford pretty soon although most of the programming is becoming shared within all the stations.
Then again when Invicta FM rebrands itself to Heart, KMFM will have a great opportunity to make itself the most succesfull station in the county especially with it's Rock Show and Chill Out Show at weekends not to mention having Tony Blackburn on board.
As it sounds almost similar to Invicta at it's prime, they should have the guts to use the name on their stations and bring back the "Steamroller" jingles by TM Century or TM Studios as they are now known.
They're currently airing a resing of the company's Viking FM custom on the station so financially it would make sense.
It would certainly bring back a buzz that's been missing from Kent's airwaves although to be fair it's not the most exciting part of the world.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Decisive Diary Dates
It's all starting to get rather complicated as on returning home I had an e-mail from home saying that a letter had arrived to me from the BBC. I'm guessing that they are tickets to a recording of a radio comedy at Broadcasting House due to take place on Monday the 27th of October which is the same date as our G Radio publicity party in Soho.
I'm rather tied up as which to prioritise on but Broadcasting House isn't too far from the Soho area and I reckon I could divide my time between the two of them.
I'd best make sure I bring an extra t-shirt with me as I don't think it would be very bright entering the BBC Radio Theatre with a G Radio t-shirt in full flow.
On a similar note, Media Guardian revealed a few days ago that the British Comedy Awards will be on television again this year after being pulled from our screens last year due to phone vote rigging issues. It should also be returning to a Saturday night slot after god knows how long although in all honesty I haven't seen the awards since starting University due to being occupied with several other things.
I do remember one of my fellow presenters at BXFM not being happy about a joke that Jonathan Ross did about Paul O'Grady's heart attack at the 2006 awards that took place around the time we were both helping out at the rather chaotic station providing entertainment for those shopping at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
I doubt I'll have much time to lend a hand this year although I'd love to make a visit before the semester ends as it was a really good atmosphere there.
I'm rather tied up as which to prioritise on but Broadcasting House isn't too far from the Soho area and I reckon I could divide my time between the two of them.
I'd best make sure I bring an extra t-shirt with me as I don't think it would be very bright entering the BBC Radio Theatre with a G Radio t-shirt in full flow.
On a similar note, Media Guardian revealed a few days ago that the British Comedy Awards will be on television again this year after being pulled from our screens last year due to phone vote rigging issues. It should also be returning to a Saturday night slot after god knows how long although in all honesty I haven't seen the awards since starting University due to being occupied with several other things.
I do remember one of my fellow presenters at BXFM not being happy about a joke that Jonathan Ross did about Paul O'Grady's heart attack at the 2006 awards that took place around the time we were both helping out at the rather chaotic station providing entertainment for those shopping at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
I doubt I'll have much time to lend a hand this year although I'd love to make a visit before the semester ends as it was a really good atmosphere there.
Pulling In The Crowd
A few people have been absent today whilst preparing for next week's live show but those present have been working hard and pulling their weight and it's even lead to some good results.
One of them being a party at the Ku Bar in Central London, near to where we did our market research last week which is taking place before our second live show in just over a week away, and we're hoping to have t-shirts made for everyone with the G-Radio logo on them.
We also had another presenter run through which included a phone interview with Phil Harris playing "the head of Madonna's fan club" where his accent kept changing from Liverpool to West Country which resulted in Chris our editor being in stitches. I also thought I wasn't as slick as I was on Tuesday because I sometimes put the mics up too late, but I don't really get the urgency and the buzz when it's not being done live.
Not a great deal needs to be done over the weekend apart from making more idents and beds, although I need to work with our music producers to sort out how long the intros are in order to give the presenters talk up time in advance and to possibly create sweepers to play over them that fit in with their length.
Not a lot of the paragraph above would make sense to anyone who isn't as obsessed with radio but they would know they would notice difference if there were more pregnant pauses on air due to a lack of production.
It definitely pays off in the end.
One of them being a party at the Ku Bar in Central London, near to where we did our market research last week which is taking place before our second live show in just over a week away, and we're hoping to have t-shirts made for everyone with the G-Radio logo on them.
We also had another presenter run through which included a phone interview with Phil Harris playing "the head of Madonna's fan club" where his accent kept changing from Liverpool to West Country which resulted in Chris our editor being in stitches. I also thought I wasn't as slick as I was on Tuesday because I sometimes put the mics up too late, but I don't really get the urgency and the buzz when it's not being done live.
Not a great deal needs to be done over the weekend apart from making more idents and beds, although I need to work with our music producers to sort out how long the intros are in order to give the presenters talk up time in advance and to possibly create sweepers to play over them that fit in with their length.
Not a lot of the paragraph above would make sense to anyone who isn't as obsessed with radio but they would know they would notice difference if there were more pregnant pauses on air due to a lack of production.
It definitely pays off in the end.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Worthy Of A Gold Badge?
Today started off with this week's dissertation lecture where we looked at various methods of research such as production plans and arranging focus groups and interviews. Whilst there are several different ways of using research, we were told that we didn't have to use every single one of them and could only use one if we wanted.
That would come in particularly handy for me as it would be difficult to find people at University who could remember television from the late 80s/early 90s for a focus group. Then again I may choose something a bit more up to date in the end but I'll see how things go.
I later headed off to Denmark Hill and my penultimate week at the Lyndhurst Primary School where the children I was working with were still continuing with making their own feature idents for Grove FM although they all seemed to be distracted by the weird visual effects on Windows Media Player which they spent at least 10 minutes using.
We should be nearing to a succesfull finish although I need to think of something to make the last week really count.
On returning to Uni there wasn't really anything happening in the radio rooms so I went back to the flat and spent the time watching the 50th Anniversary special of Blue Peter. It wasn't too nostalgic or spectacular, but I doubt it's current target audience would be too interested in looking back at the past.
What really grabbed my interest was the latest version of the programme's theme tune which has just been introduced although it's based more on the actual "Sailor's Hornpipe" tune itself rather than "Barnacle Bill" that has been used for since the beginning in one form or another. However in the last couple of weeks they've put a couple of bars from Barnacle Bill towards the end of the tune although overall I think it sounds like the Fratellis have had a go at re-arranging the theme.
I also noticed before the programme that Newsround has recently had a makeover too although they've also re-introduced the theme used during John Craven's reign on the programme and made it sound "more modern". They've even brought back the little "plinkety plonky" musical sting that they had at the end of the original programme which is difficult to describe but instantly recognisable for those who are old enough to remember.
I seem to remember Jon Holmes on the Now Show saying that piece of music would improve the Today Programme on Radio 4 or what could probably be
"John Humphrys' Newsround".
That would come in particularly handy for me as it would be difficult to find people at University who could remember television from the late 80s/early 90s for a focus group. Then again I may choose something a bit more up to date in the end but I'll see how things go.
I later headed off to Denmark Hill and my penultimate week at the Lyndhurst Primary School where the children I was working with were still continuing with making their own feature idents for Grove FM although they all seemed to be distracted by the weird visual effects on Windows Media Player which they spent at least 10 minutes using.
We should be nearing to a succesfull finish although I need to think of something to make the last week really count.
On returning to Uni there wasn't really anything happening in the radio rooms so I went back to the flat and spent the time watching the 50th Anniversary special of Blue Peter. It wasn't too nostalgic or spectacular, but I doubt it's current target audience would be too interested in looking back at the past.
What really grabbed my interest was the latest version of the programme's theme tune which has just been introduced although it's based more on the actual "Sailor's Hornpipe" tune itself rather than "Barnacle Bill" that has been used for since the beginning in one form or another. However in the last couple of weeks they've put a couple of bars from Barnacle Bill towards the end of the tune although overall I think it sounds like the Fratellis have had a go at re-arranging the theme.
I also noticed before the programme that Newsround has recently had a makeover too although they've also re-introduced the theme used during John Craven's reign on the programme and made it sound "more modern". They've even brought back the little "plinkety plonky" musical sting that they had at the end of the original programme which is difficult to describe but instantly recognisable for those who are old enough to remember.
I seem to remember Jon Holmes on the Now Show saying that piece of music would improve the Today Programme on Radio 4 or what could probably be
"John Humphrys' Newsround".
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A Night On The North London Tiles
There will always be something written or spoken that I fully agree with, only that I'm too stupid to put into my own words. The latest of these being a review of a James Blunt concert in The London Paper which described him as "a modern day Chris De Burgh".
It's difficult to say who's worse although I doubt I could enjoy hearing "You're Beautiful" even if I'd had a lot to drink.
As planned I went up to the North London Tavern in Kilburn where Ross Powell was celebrating being 22 years old with his younger brother Sean who's studying film at Thames Valley University and a few of his other mates. Those who also turned up included Steven and Caroline, Tudor, Paul Calvert, Tobi one the TV alumni and Ricky.
Also present on one of the tables outside was Jo who I haven't seen since the dissertation deadline day this year with Immy, Rebecca, Stef, and her sister who I haven't seen since Jo had her 21st birthday do in Camden over 18 months ago.
As the night went on Ross got more and more drunk and everyone was taking shots although I decided to stay out of the proceedings. The drinks on offer weren't brilliant either as there were no alcopops sold so I spent the majority of the night drinking glasses of lemonade.
Then again I don't want to be living too dangerously during this rather intense period of University but I'm managing to balance work and having fun quite well at present.
Having to be up before 10am on most days however has made me look forward to weekends more than ever in quite a while which is good although whether that will still be the case in a few months remains to be seen.
It's definitely the closest I'll have to a real job in radio whilst I'm here.
It's difficult to say who's worse although I doubt I could enjoy hearing "You're Beautiful" even if I'd had a lot to drink.
As planned I went up to the North London Tavern in Kilburn where Ross Powell was celebrating being 22 years old with his younger brother Sean who's studying film at Thames Valley University and a few of his other mates. Those who also turned up included Steven and Caroline, Tudor, Paul Calvert, Tobi one the TV alumni and Ricky.
Also present on one of the tables outside was Jo who I haven't seen since the dissertation deadline day this year with Immy, Rebecca, Stef, and her sister who I haven't seen since Jo had her 21st birthday do in Camden over 18 months ago.
As the night went on Ross got more and more drunk and everyone was taking shots although I decided to stay out of the proceedings. The drinks on offer weren't brilliant either as there were no alcopops sold so I spent the majority of the night drinking glasses of lemonade.
Then again I don't want to be living too dangerously during this rather intense period of University but I'm managing to balance work and having fun quite well at present.
Having to be up before 10am on most days however has made me look forward to weekends more than ever in quite a while which is good although whether that will still be the case in a few months remains to be seen.
It's definitely the closest I'll have to a real job in radio whilst I'm here.
Back Into Action
We didn't go into Soho in the end, mainly because there weren't many of us about that and also because it looked as if it would rain which inevitably it didn't.
I personally think that a better idea would have been to have a focus group during the pilot itself like they did with the year above me two years ago although I heard that Danielle who's responsible for looking after the budget has sorted one out for today elsewhere in London.
Sirin and Emma were bobbed down in sorting the adverts out whilst Stoobie and Eric continued with sorting out the website whilst I had a look through for some more things that could be adapted as part of our on air presentation although there aren't really any major problems at present.
Next week sees not just the first live broadcast for G Radio, but Smoke also launches it's regular schedule for the rest of the semester on Monday with a few old favourites as well as some promising new shows from the Freshers including the two lads from Leeds Matt and Rob, and a pair called "Chas And Dave" who are definitely not the cockney musicians from the early 80s.
I'm back as well with the soul show on Wednesdays between 8 and 9pm which fits in well for the year, although Lottie also asked me if I wanted to do daytime which I gave a miss but wouldn't mind having a go at again in the new year when I'm not too occupied with other things.
It all looks promising and if we get a few prizes at this year's SRAs then it will add to the excitement.
I personally think that a better idea would have been to have a focus group during the pilot itself like they did with the year above me two years ago although I heard that Danielle who's responsible for looking after the budget has sorted one out for today elsewhere in London.
Sirin and Emma were bobbed down in sorting the adverts out whilst Stoobie and Eric continued with sorting out the website whilst I had a look through for some more things that could be adapted as part of our on air presentation although there aren't really any major problems at present.
Next week sees not just the first live broadcast for G Radio, but Smoke also launches it's regular schedule for the rest of the semester on Monday with a few old favourites as well as some promising new shows from the Freshers including the two lads from Leeds Matt and Rob, and a pair called "Chas And Dave" who are definitely not the cockney musicians from the early 80s.
I'm back as well with the soul show on Wednesdays between 8 and 9pm which fits in well for the year, although Lottie also asked me if I wanted to do daytime which I gave a miss but wouldn't mind having a go at again in the new year when I'm not too occupied with other things.
It all looks promising and if we get a few prizes at this year's SRAs then it will add to the excitement.
Further Demographics
A few of us have turned up this morning to continue with preparation for the first live show taking place next week. The downside is that our editor has asked us to go into Central London again this afternoon to undertake more market research but with a revised questionaire.
A lot of us are reluctant to do so, mainly because those who were more succesfull at getting people last time aren't around for today.
Later on I may be heading up to the Kilburn High Road where one of our alumni Ross Powell is having a few drinks for his birthday tonight at the North London Tavern. A few others should be going as well including fellow student Paul Calvert who co-presented with Ross on their show on Smoke during their time at Westminster and if he's about I will be interested to find out how he's getting on and if he's been to any good live acts recently.
However I'm hoping that this will be the last time we have to do any market research on location.
A lot of us are reluctant to do so, mainly because those who were more succesfull at getting people last time aren't around for today.
Later on I may be heading up to the Kilburn High Road where one of our alumni Ross Powell is having a few drinks for his birthday tonight at the North London Tavern. A few others should be going as well including fellow student Paul Calvert who co-presented with Ross on their show on Smoke during their time at Westminster and if he's about I will be interested to find out how he's getting on and if he's been to any good live acts recently.
However I'm hoping that this will be the last time we have to do any market research on location.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Playing Catch Up
Tonight was made up of quite a lot of drinking although I managed to stay fairly sober throughout.
My first stop off point was Kenton Spoons where all the lads from Chris's house and Phil Landers were there where they had all ordered meals although I'd already eaten before arriving.
Later on myself, Stoobie, Denis and Phil Landers went up to the Junction where most of the second years and a few of the first years were but Phil had unfortunately left his ID behind so he left me, Denis and Stewart to go in ourselves. Amongst the second years present were Lottie, Dan, Alice and Amy where Amy took part in an impromptu Intros Round with Dan and Alice peforming intros to songs and Lottie was meant to be playing the part of Simon Amstell making "witty comments".
Later on everyone was involved in the infamous "Word Association" game, followed by
"I Went To The Shop And Bought..." where some of the items included a tree, a life size cut out of Bruce Forsyth and Gary Glitter. It all got rather tense and with a lot of drink involved rather chaotic as well.
Lottie spent quite a lot of the night talking to some more new people wanting to join the station who wanted to present during the day but weren't too sure about having to be told what music to play and so on. At this point I decided to head back with Stewart, Will and Troy where they started messing about near the road and acting like Morecambe and Wise at the end of one of their shows by jumping up and tapping their legs together.
On the plus side, I don't have to be up until 11am tomorrow where we'll be having a meeting about next week's live show for G Radio which may be one of the rare opportunities that I don't have to be up before 10am on a weekday.
As an aside, with the Channel 5 version now in full flow I've found the 1992 Grand Final of Going For Gold with Henry Kelly at the helm. Nothing's too different to the version on Five although the graphics aren't as fancy and the rounds aren't as strung out as they are on Channel 5 due to the BBC version being only half an hour long.
Plus it also includes the rather embarrassing waves to camera in the intro from the contestants that in all fairness would be rather off putting nowadays.
Definitely the finest daytime quiz show on television.
My first stop off point was Kenton Spoons where all the lads from Chris's house and Phil Landers were there where they had all ordered meals although I'd already eaten before arriving.
Later on myself, Stoobie, Denis and Phil Landers went up to the Junction where most of the second years and a few of the first years were but Phil had unfortunately left his ID behind so he left me, Denis and Stewart to go in ourselves. Amongst the second years present were Lottie, Dan, Alice and Amy where Amy took part in an impromptu Intros Round with Dan and Alice peforming intros to songs and Lottie was meant to be playing the part of Simon Amstell making "witty comments".
Later on everyone was involved in the infamous "Word Association" game, followed by
"I Went To The Shop And Bought..." where some of the items included a tree, a life size cut out of Bruce Forsyth and Gary Glitter. It all got rather tense and with a lot of drink involved rather chaotic as well.
Lottie spent quite a lot of the night talking to some more new people wanting to join the station who wanted to present during the day but weren't too sure about having to be told what music to play and so on. At this point I decided to head back with Stewart, Will and Troy where they started messing about near the road and acting like Morecambe and Wise at the end of one of their shows by jumping up and tapping their legs together.
On the plus side, I don't have to be up until 11am tomorrow where we'll be having a meeting about next week's live show for G Radio which may be one of the rare opportunities that I don't have to be up before 10am on a weekday.
As an aside, with the Channel 5 version now in full flow I've found the 1992 Grand Final of Going For Gold with Henry Kelly at the helm. Nothing's too different to the version on Five although the graphics aren't as fancy and the rounds aren't as strung out as they are on Channel 5 due to the BBC version being only half an hour long.
Plus it also includes the rather embarrassing waves to camera in the intro from the contestants that in all fairness would be rather off putting nowadays.
Definitely the finest daytime quiz show on television.
Room For Occasional Accidents
The live pilot for G Radio went ahead this afternoon and didn't go too badly in terms of flow and on-air consistency. I managed to do reasonably well operating the desk and was told that the idents were well produced. I hope to expand on that as we go along, maybe getting a few voicers with e-mail and text info.
This happened to be one of the main areas where we got a bit of criticism, for not being interactive enough and including listeners phone calls as opposed to reading e-mails. Which were of course made up.
We were also told to be more creative as this is such an important module, and there weren't that many items within the show that showed off individuality although there a few highlights such as Steven's package on banned adverts following the Heinz gay kiss ad from a few months ago, and the presenters Sam and Phil L talking about spiders with the theme from Jaws playing in the background.
During the de-briefing however, Steven got a bit of stick for making a slip-up during his entertainment report where he accidentally referred to the lead singer of Led Zeppelin as "Jimmy Plant".
Although I'm happy with how it went, there's still a lot of work to be done and the plan is to meet up tomorrow at 11am to discuss what we'll be doing for our first proper show. I'd still like to get a better idea of what is meant by "creative" although I fully appreciate us having to be individual in comparison to what has been done before.
It can only get more challenging.
This happened to be one of the main areas where we got a bit of criticism, for not being interactive enough and including listeners phone calls as opposed to reading e-mails. Which were of course made up.
We were also told to be more creative as this is such an important module, and there weren't that many items within the show that showed off individuality although there a few highlights such as Steven's package on banned adverts following the Heinz gay kiss ad from a few months ago, and the presenters Sam and Phil L talking about spiders with the theme from Jaws playing in the background.
During the de-briefing however, Steven got a bit of stick for making a slip-up during his entertainment report where he accidentally referred to the lead singer of Led Zeppelin as "Jimmy Plant".
Although I'm happy with how it went, there's still a lot of work to be done and the plan is to meet up tomorrow at 11am to discuss what we'll be doing for our first proper show. I'd still like to get a better idea of what is meant by "creative" although I fully appreciate us having to be individual in comparison to what has been done before.
It can only get more challenging.
Nearing The G-Ahead
Getting up wasn't too much of a problem and I arrived in Uni at around 9am where one or two people were around. Ironically Chris and Phil H hadn't arrived despite being the most senior members of the group, blaming their delay on Stoobie who was lagging behind them.
Everyone seems focused towards what's happening although I haven't actually been given a running order so I don't really know what is happening as far as the show itself is concerned.
Then again it will make things more exciting and when it's all happening live there's more immediacy.
One thing that I am sure about is that Scoop is working OK as I tested out with Stewart although that was only in the other room and both Stewart and Eric are taking it all the way to Soho.
They've not got long however and things need to start moving although all I've really got to worry about is making sure the right buttons get pushed.
Overall however I really should be making more of a contribution within the team although I've done all I can as far as branding is concerned. I'll see what happens after the de-briefing later today.
Everyone seems focused towards what's happening although I haven't actually been given a running order so I don't really know what is happening as far as the show itself is concerned.
Then again it will make things more exciting and when it's all happening live there's more immediacy.
One thing that I am sure about is that Scoop is working OK as I tested out with Stewart although that was only in the other room and both Stewart and Eric are taking it all the way to Soho.
They've not got long however and things need to start moving although all I've really got to worry about is making sure the right buttons get pushed.
Overall however I really should be making more of a contribution within the team although I've done all I can as far as branding is concerned. I'll see what happens after the de-briefing later today.
Monday, October 13, 2008
"Yes Paul!"
Tonight's goings on at the Undercroft were nothing too special but an enjoyable night to say the least. All the usual people were there including Stewart, Denis and his Irish mates and both the Phils whilst the boys from "You Heard It Here First" were spinning the tunes.
Mattie playing a selection of current indie and rock tracks as well as some classic rock and roll from Chuck Berry at one point whilst Mike was playing mainly hard house and trance tracks that is expected of his new show due to start on Smoke under the title of "The UK Sound".
The dancefloor didn't really get packed until half an hour before closing time where we got some really good belters such as Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up Look Sharp" and the Chemical Brothers and the night came to a rather raucous end when Mattie played the first verse of "My Way" and then took it off and played Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" which was really chaotic.
It didn't take me too long to get back this time round as I went back with Denis, Barry and Jay behind the main campus as opposed to going past the library which didn't take as long as it normally does to be honest.
I stumbled across another impressive find on Youtube after getting back, an episode of what I'd say has to be one of Paul Daniel's finest television series "Every Second Counts".
This happens to be the first episode of the 1992 series where as Paul mentions,
the set has had a bit of redecorating but that doesn't mean that the questions and answers aren't as silly as ever and the women contestants go first in answering the questions.
One of the rounds is based on characters from "The Archers" in which one of the contestants thinks that "Jethro Tull" was the name of someone in the long running soap opera.
Another round has extracts of songs from musicals which rather embarrasingly I knew a few of as a result of Mum having the soundtracks to many of them.
Having seen the relaunched version of "Going For Gold" on Five earlier today with John Suchet, I'd imagine this show would work pretty well today although I'm not sure if anyone else other than Daniels could carry it off making fun of the contestants responses.
Tomorrow's going to be quite an early start as it's the pilot programme for G Radio and we all have to be in at 9am. What I'll actually be doing is anyone's guess but I'm hoping I'll pull through it all.
Mattie playing a selection of current indie and rock tracks as well as some classic rock and roll from Chuck Berry at one point whilst Mike was playing mainly hard house and trance tracks that is expected of his new show due to start on Smoke under the title of "The UK Sound".
The dancefloor didn't really get packed until half an hour before closing time where we got some really good belters such as Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up Look Sharp" and the Chemical Brothers and the night came to a rather raucous end when Mattie played the first verse of "My Way" and then took it off and played Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" which was really chaotic.
It didn't take me too long to get back this time round as I went back with Denis, Barry and Jay behind the main campus as opposed to going past the library which didn't take as long as it normally does to be honest.
I stumbled across another impressive find on Youtube after getting back, an episode of what I'd say has to be one of Paul Daniel's finest television series "Every Second Counts".
This happens to be the first episode of the 1992 series where as Paul mentions,
the set has had a bit of redecorating but that doesn't mean that the questions and answers aren't as silly as ever and the women contestants go first in answering the questions.
One of the rounds is based on characters from "The Archers" in which one of the contestants thinks that "Jethro Tull" was the name of someone in the long running soap opera.
Another round has extracts of songs from musicals which rather embarrasingly I knew a few of as a result of Mum having the soundtracks to many of them.
Having seen the relaunched version of "Going For Gold" on Five earlier today with John Suchet, I'd imagine this show would work pretty well today although I'm not sure if anyone else other than Daniels could carry it off making fun of the contestants responses.
Tomorrow's going to be quite an early start as it's the pilot programme for G Radio and we all have to be in at 9am. What I'll actually be doing is anyone's guess but I'm hoping I'll pull through it all.
Nearing The Pilot Stage
It's been another rather exhaustive day where on the plus side I've managed to finally get my enrollment form filled in.
We also had a practise for tomorrow's pilot in the studio where things seem to be going reasonably well although from a personal point of view it could be more relaxed and the studio is in dire need of air conditioning.
I really don't understand why they've never bothered to have it installed here to the studios at Westminster whilst I've been here as it would be really useful especially in important projects like this one.
We've also had another addition to our class, that being "Northern Dave" as he's known who was in my year last year whilst I was absent as it turns out he has to retake the module. I'm not sure what role he has been given but I'm hoping it will all go succesfully within the team.
As for tonight it will be another visit to the Undercroft where the boys from "You Heard It Here First" are DJing, that being Mattie and Mike who will hopefully be bringing their raucous behaviour back to Smoke Radio before too long. I'm hoping for some belters tonight and a few classic rock tunes as well that would be expected from the people who won the "Most Rock And Roll" prize at last year's Smoke Awards.
I may go easy on the drinks however just to be careful with my money.
We also had a practise for tomorrow's pilot in the studio where things seem to be going reasonably well although from a personal point of view it could be more relaxed and the studio is in dire need of air conditioning.
I really don't understand why they've never bothered to have it installed here to the studios at Westminster whilst I've been here as it would be really useful especially in important projects like this one.
We've also had another addition to our class, that being "Northern Dave" as he's known who was in my year last year whilst I was absent as it turns out he has to retake the module. I'm not sure what role he has been given but I'm hoping it will all go succesfully within the team.
As for tonight it will be another visit to the Undercroft where the boys from "You Heard It Here First" are DJing, that being Mattie and Mike who will hopefully be bringing their raucous behaviour back to Smoke Radio before too long. I'm hoping for some belters tonight and a few classic rock tunes as well that would be expected from the people who won the "Most Rock And Roll" prize at last year's Smoke Awards.
I may go easy on the drinks however just to be careful with my money.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
In The Spotlight Of Send Up
Peter Kay's extensively titled show on Channel 4 tonight was different to his previous material and the man himself wasn't really on screen as much. Nevertheless it was a superb send up of The X Factor where they'd visually got it spot on in terms of graphics and the studio set with Cat Deeley as host alongside Nicki Chapman, Pete Waterman and Neil Fox playing the judges.
The performances themselves were the funniest part depending on your point of view, which consisted of rather embarrassing medleys, one of which starting off with "Return To Innocence" by Enigma and finishing with "There's No One Quite Like Grandma".
There was also a rather impressive guest list with Rick Astley, Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, Sir Paul McCartney, Lionel Blair, and Andi Peters.
It was also good to hear references to now defunct ITV regions such as Border
and Tyne Tees.
The finest part however was towards the end when Cat Deeley did what I'd imagine anyone would want to do to an over hyped audience.
I won't say what it was just in case anyone missed it.
I noticed in the credits that Chris Power was one of the directors who has has worked on shows such as Saturday Night Takeaway which may explain why the show visually looked identical to The X Factor, Pop Idol and so on.
The response on forums such as Digital Spy has been mixed and although I wouldn't say it's one of his best it's still one of my television highlights of this year.
The performances themselves were the funniest part depending on your point of view, which consisted of rather embarrassing medleys, one of which starting off with "Return To Innocence" by Enigma and finishing with "There's No One Quite Like Grandma".
There was also a rather impressive guest list with Rick Astley, Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, Sir Paul McCartney, Lionel Blair, and Andi Peters.
It was also good to hear references to now defunct ITV regions such as Border
and Tyne Tees.
The finest part however was towards the end when Cat Deeley did what I'd imagine anyone would want to do to an over hyped audience.
I won't say what it was just in case anyone missed it.
I noticed in the credits that Chris Power was one of the directors who has has worked on shows such as Saturday Night Takeaway which may explain why the show visually looked identical to The X Factor, Pop Idol and so on.
The response on forums such as Digital Spy has been mixed and although I wouldn't say it's one of his best it's still one of my television highlights of this year.
From The Hot Spot To Hilarity
This was another impressive find on Youtube, the first edition of Blockbusters from almost exactly 25 years ago in 1983.
It was very much a big deal back then as it was one of the first daily quiz shows on television and it definitely looked appealing to all age ranges which resulted it being very succesfull for many years.
Bob Holness manages to establish himself as the suave host amongst the nervous contestants taking part which became part of the show's popularity although not many of the catchphrases now associated with the show are present in this first episode. I'm sure the letter P is chosen at least once however.
I also reckon those who watched the show thought that a Gold Run was possibly the most nervous thing to have to go through although it did provide tension and excitement at least once in an episode. And it's fair to say that the prizes that are on offer really are of their time.
As for the rest of tonight I'll be watching something that I've been looking forward to in quite a while in the form of Peter Kay's new show on Channel 4, the first proper one he's done in four years where he gives a send up of the many talent shows that are on our screens.
I'm hoping it will be worth the wait even if it is a one off although the fact that part of it is being shown from 8pm means that it may not be as naughty as many will be hoping.
It definitely looks well observed from what I've heard about it although I've tried to avoid any spoilers that may be about.
It was very much a big deal back then as it was one of the first daily quiz shows on television and it definitely looked appealing to all age ranges which resulted it being very succesfull for many years.
Bob Holness manages to establish himself as the suave host amongst the nervous contestants taking part which became part of the show's popularity although not many of the catchphrases now associated with the show are present in this first episode. I'm sure the letter P is chosen at least once however.
I also reckon those who watched the show thought that a Gold Run was possibly the most nervous thing to have to go through although it did provide tension and excitement at least once in an episode. And it's fair to say that the prizes that are on offer really are of their time.
As for the rest of tonight I'll be watching something that I've been looking forward to in quite a while in the form of Peter Kay's new show on Channel 4, the first proper one he's done in four years where he gives a send up of the many talent shows that are on our screens.
I'm hoping it will be worth the wait even if it is a one off although the fact that part of it is being shown from 8pm means that it may not be as naughty as many will be hoping.
It definitely looks well observed from what I've heard about it although I've tried to avoid any spoilers that may be about.
Souled Out Sunday
Last night's X Factor was worth staying in for if not exactly spectacular. One or two performances had a few predictable song choices such as JLS performing a Boyz II Men song, and Alexandra singing Whitney, although there were a few performers who's mentors had chosen completely the wrong song. Thsese were notably Scott Bruton giving a rather dreadful performance of "Yeh Yeh" by Georgie Fame or Matt Bianco, and even worse was Rachel Hylton being given Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat" which was even more ridiculous.
There was also a performance by last year's winner Leon Jackson, and I'm convinced he's related in some way to Mark Jackson, one of our Westminster Radio alumni who bares a rather striking resemblance. I don't know how he'd take to that.
The vote off came between two of the groups where Girl Band and Bad Lashes went head to head with Bad Lashes losing out undeservedly. Personally in terms of their song choices Girl Band seem to be stuck in the 80s with their song choices whilst Bad Lashes gave a unique version of "Wonderwall" which they definitely made their own.
I like the new twist this series however where those in the vote off perform a different song to what they performed earlier in the show.
Next week they are performing Michael Jackson songs which should definitely be worth viewing.
As for today I need to get my washing sorted although that's being delayed slightly as Robbie Vincent's back on the airwaves with a new Sunday morning show on Jazz FM which is sounding superb despite a rather silent start. I hope they start to put tracklistings on the website soon as there are a lot of tunes that will just go straight past me as a result of forgetting their names.
I bet I'm not the only one in favour of that idea.
There was also a performance by last year's winner Leon Jackson, and I'm convinced he's related in some way to Mark Jackson, one of our Westminster Radio alumni who bares a rather striking resemblance. I don't know how he'd take to that.
The vote off came between two of the groups where Girl Band and Bad Lashes went head to head with Bad Lashes losing out undeservedly. Personally in terms of their song choices Girl Band seem to be stuck in the 80s with their song choices whilst Bad Lashes gave a unique version of "Wonderwall" which they definitely made their own.
I like the new twist this series however where those in the vote off perform a different song to what they performed earlier in the show.
Next week they are performing Michael Jackson songs which should definitely be worth viewing.
As for today I need to get my washing sorted although that's being delayed slightly as Robbie Vincent's back on the airwaves with a new Sunday morning show on Jazz FM which is sounding superb despite a rather silent start. I hope they start to put tracklistings on the website soon as there are a lot of tunes that will just go straight past me as a result of forgetting their names.
I bet I'm not the only one in favour of that idea.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Disastrous Diversion
Still a rather empty day but it's more or less needed after what's been happening earlier this week.
I've spent part of it watching more of the US version of the Office with one of the episodes involving a Diversion Day where Michael gets a guest speaker to give a seminar on diversion within different minorities in the work place and Michael tries to take over, in the same way as David Brent in the UK series with the motivational speaker.
I'm about halfway through the series now so I'm certain it will get even funnier and more embarrassing as it goes on.
As for tonight it's the first of the live finals in the X Factor and with the show lasting two hours, I'm not sure if I'll be able last the course. Then again, if I could do it last year with the slightly lesser memorable acts such as Same Difference and Leon Jackson, then tonight should be a doddle as it's a more stronger set of finalists.
I'm pretty certain that a lot of people will be watching, just to see what Cheryl Cole's wearing.
I've spent part of it watching more of the US version of the Office with one of the episodes involving a Diversion Day where Michael gets a guest speaker to give a seminar on diversion within different minorities in the work place and Michael tries to take over, in the same way as David Brent in the UK series with the motivational speaker.
I'm about halfway through the series now so I'm certain it will get even funnier and more embarrassing as it goes on.
As for tonight it's the first of the live finals in the X Factor and with the show lasting two hours, I'm not sure if I'll be able last the course. Then again, if I could do it last year with the slightly lesser memorable acts such as Same Difference and Leon Jackson, then tonight should be a doddle as it's a more stronger set of finalists.
I'm pretty certain that a lot of people will be watching, just to see what Cheryl Cole's wearing.
Friday, October 10, 2008
The American Workplace
An ideal way when creating any piece of layered audio is to spend time on it, then take a break to think about it whilst involved in other things and listen to it again deciding where changes should be made. That's the approach I've taken whilst sorting out the idents for G Radio earlier today although I don't want to jump the gun too much as it's only the pilot show and we can make changes afterwards if needed.
I just hope that I don't get asked to change the voices as Maz really is one of the best we've got who's around on campus and very approachable. I'm hoping she'll get back involved with Smoke again when the work starts to die down later in the year although what she'll be like without former co-presenter Tom giving her a hard time will be interesting.
I haven't been up to much apart from that tonight although now that I've brought back my DVD player, I've began watching the DVD of the American version of The Office that Sirin's lent me.
It's been adapted by Greg Daniels who is best known as a writer for The Simpsons and King Of The Hill although creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have had a hand overseeing the production of the show as executive producers.
The plot and the appearance aren't too different to that of the UK version although the characters are slightly more wackier and there's more an emphasis on the relationship between the characters based on Tim and Dawn earlier on, from the first episode in fact.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops and how it eventually became as well recognised as the UK version with Steve Carrell managing to do well in the lead role of Michael Scott.
As for tomorrow I'm hoping to get my hair cut and get some well earned rest after another exhaustive week but I can rest assured that there won't be that many long journeys for quite a while.
I just hope that I don't get asked to change the voices as Maz really is one of the best we've got who's around on campus and very approachable. I'm hoping she'll get back involved with Smoke again when the work starts to die down later in the year although what she'll be like without former co-presenter Tom giving her a hard time will be interesting.
I haven't been up to much apart from that tonight although now that I've brought back my DVD player, I've began watching the DVD of the American version of The Office that Sirin's lent me.
It's been adapted by Greg Daniels who is best known as a writer for The Simpsons and King Of The Hill although creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have had a hand overseeing the production of the show as executive producers.
The plot and the appearance aren't too different to that of the UK version although the characters are slightly more wackier and there's more an emphasis on the relationship between the characters based on Tim and Dawn earlier on, from the first episode in fact.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops and how it eventually became as well recognised as the UK version with Steve Carrell managing to do well in the lead role of Michael Scott.
As for tomorrow I'm hoping to get my hair cut and get some well earned rest after another exhaustive week but I can rest assured that there won't be that many long journeys for quite a while.
Is DAB Really A "Bug"?
My stay in Canterbury went alright although I felt really tired for most of it.
It didn't help having to get out of bed before 8am this morning due to a plasterer coming in to work on the room I was sleeping in.
I went for my psychiatrist's appointment as planned although I then had to go up to the hospital for another blood test. Luckily there weren't too many people waiting and I was able to go back and collect my things in order to get my train back to London at 10:20 as planned arriving in London by half 12.
It's just as well I'm back in London as I had a scan on my DAB whilst in Canterbury and it appears that I'm unable to recieve Jazz FM there although I'm still able to hear it online of course. It's still not getting any better as far as radio in Kent is concerned as it appears that James Heming at Invicta FM is getting a reprieve as host of the breakfast show which looks set to continue after the Heart rebrand where he's hoping to break the 10 year mark in his position as the show's host.
To be fair, the time has shot by since he took over from Neil Francis back in January 2000 although if you have actually listened to the show every day I doubt it would have gone as quickly. I've never understood his appeal although he was better when he was on drive.
However in terms of DAB it doesn't appear to be getting any better as Channel 4 have ditched their plans to launch their set of radio stations that have been mooted for god knows how long.
Earlier in the year one of their consultants and former Invicta FM programme controller Andrew Phillips came in to University to talk about the plans and what opportunities it could have for the future of radio. Now it looks as if radio, especially on DAB barely has a positive future.
The weird thing is however that I'm one of the very few who makes use of a digital radio on a regular basis and I doubt I've touched a proper radio since getting my bug.
If they weren't so expensive then maybe more people would own them and realise that there is more or could be more on offer than the dirge that's around on analogue.
On the positive side I've began to make progress on G Radio's audio branding
by enlisting the help of Maz to record some things for us and is definitely one of the best female voices we've got on campus who is very adaptable and understands what changes may need to be made as we go along.
I've produced some idents already although I hope to get more done over the weekend when I'm not surrounded by other radio students yelling and swearing at each other.
Oddly enough they mange to get the tasks done eventually.
It didn't help having to get out of bed before 8am this morning due to a plasterer coming in to work on the room I was sleeping in.
I went for my psychiatrist's appointment as planned although I then had to go up to the hospital for another blood test. Luckily there weren't too many people waiting and I was able to go back and collect my things in order to get my train back to London at 10:20 as planned arriving in London by half 12.
It's just as well I'm back in London as I had a scan on my DAB whilst in Canterbury and it appears that I'm unable to recieve Jazz FM there although I'm still able to hear it online of course. It's still not getting any better as far as radio in Kent is concerned as it appears that James Heming at Invicta FM is getting a reprieve as host of the breakfast show which looks set to continue after the Heart rebrand where he's hoping to break the 10 year mark in his position as the show's host.
To be fair, the time has shot by since he took over from Neil Francis back in January 2000 although if you have actually listened to the show every day I doubt it would have gone as quickly. I've never understood his appeal although he was better when he was on drive.
However in terms of DAB it doesn't appear to be getting any better as Channel 4 have ditched their plans to launch their set of radio stations that have been mooted for god knows how long.
Earlier in the year one of their consultants and former Invicta FM programme controller Andrew Phillips came in to University to talk about the plans and what opportunities it could have for the future of radio. Now it looks as if radio, especially on DAB barely has a positive future.
The weird thing is however that I'm one of the very few who makes use of a digital radio on a regular basis and I doubt I've touched a proper radio since getting my bug.
If they weren't so expensive then maybe more people would own them and realise that there is more or could be more on offer than the dirge that's around on analogue.
On the positive side I've began to make progress on G Radio's audio branding
by enlisting the help of Maz to record some things for us and is definitely one of the best female voices we've got on campus who is very adaptable and understands what changes may need to be made as we go along.
I've produced some idents already although I hope to get more done over the weekend when I'm not surrounded by other radio students yelling and swearing at each other.
Oddly enough they mange to get the tasks done eventually.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Exhausted But Not Damaged
Surprisingly I managed to wake up at a good time and was one of the only ones from radio who made it to this mornings dissertation lecture. It was worth it as well as they explained about how to write a literature review and overcoming the problem of having a topic but not knowing what books to read, with an example last year being someone who based their dissertation on television coverage on the hanging of Saddam Hussein.
When I got up to the radio rooms there were a lot of people who still hadn't arrived from my year as well as a few of the main protagonists from last night, in the year below including Sophie, Alice and Lottie who we weren't sure had got back from Dulwich or wherever it was she went off to.
Sophie and Alice according to their housemates Fiz and Spike were still in bed as they were banging on their doors earlier in the morning and yelling "We Are The Boys!" which sounded as if it was being sung to the same tune as Ant and Dec's rather embarrassing "We're On The Ball" from the 2002 World Cup.
I headed off to South London shortly after where the people I was working with really were keen this week and wanted to stay for longer editing audio although I had to get back to Victoria station and get the train over to Canterbury. I was asleep for most of the journey although I as I got to Faversham I made sure I was awake until I got into Canterbury.
Pretty soon after arriving I went with Mum into town to buy a new jacket and new trainers although we end up just buying the trainers as I couldn't find a jacket that I liked compared to the one I've got which has a tear in it, and the tear itself could just be sewn up.
Quite a lot has happened whilst I've been in London as Olly's managed to get a job in BHS where we happened to see him whilst shopping and there's a Spanish guest called Hugo staying in my bedroom who is currently doing a few things at Christ Church University College.
Hopefully I should get my psychiatrists appointment tomorrow morning done with as soon as I can so I can go back and to London and get anxieties out of the way such as the enrollment forms and the branding for G-Radio.
I'm sure it will all be sorted before long.
When I got up to the radio rooms there were a lot of people who still hadn't arrived from my year as well as a few of the main protagonists from last night, in the year below including Sophie, Alice and Lottie who we weren't sure had got back from Dulwich or wherever it was she went off to.
Sophie and Alice according to their housemates Fiz and Spike were still in bed as they were banging on their doors earlier in the morning and yelling "We Are The Boys!" which sounded as if it was being sung to the same tune as Ant and Dec's rather embarrassing "We're On The Ball" from the 2002 World Cup.
I headed off to South London shortly after where the people I was working with really were keen this week and wanted to stay for longer editing audio although I had to get back to Victoria station and get the train over to Canterbury. I was asleep for most of the journey although I as I got to Faversham I made sure I was awake until I got into Canterbury.
Pretty soon after arriving I went with Mum into town to buy a new jacket and new trainers although we end up just buying the trainers as I couldn't find a jacket that I liked compared to the one I've got which has a tear in it, and the tear itself could just be sewn up.
Quite a lot has happened whilst I've been in London as Olly's managed to get a job in BHS where we happened to see him whilst shopping and there's a Spanish guest called Hugo staying in my bedroom who is currently doing a few things at Christ Church University College.
Hopefully I should get my psychiatrists appointment tomorrow morning done with as soon as I can so I can go back and to London and get anxieties out of the way such as the enrollment forms and the branding for G-Radio.
I'm sure it will all be sorted before long.
When Good Results Go Too Far
The rest of today has been really eventful with positive things happening throughout although by the end of the night they were overshadowed by a few other issues but I'll come on to them later.
Earlier on today we had a special edition of Preloaded were Dan interviewed comedian and musician Bo Burnham who had flown from Boston in the USA and had come in specially to talk about his forthcoming performance in Leicester Square and opening for Joan Rivers. He also performed some of his very amusing songs including my favourite "Rehab Center For Fictional Characters" and was a really great guy overall.
We happened to be the first out of clients who have got him for interviews including Five News and London Tonight so it's a really good achievement.
Shortly after I headed over to Inter:mission in Marylebone for the annoucement of this years Student Radio Awards where just about everyone from Smoke was present from the freshers who have just joined the station to alumni including Tudor, Goodlass and Marshall, and Ross T who was outspoken as ever and not afraid to give his opinions on the current state of the station with regards to the logo change and so on.
That aside, the annoucement of the nominations themselves went really quickly and Smoke was nominated for 5 categories, the most we've ever acheived in one year.
We managed to be nominated for Best Marketing and Branding, Dan Roberts was up for Best Newcomer, Goodlass and Marshall finally got nominated for an award with their Danny Wallace interview being one of those in the Best Interview category, The Election Coverage was nominated in the journalism category and we once again got chosen in the running for Best Station which I helped compile the audio entry for.
The antics at Inter:mission itself were rather chaotic in my case were I slipped over the floor quite a few times in true Peter Simon style and I felt that at one point I really had to take it easy.
However by closing time at 11pm a lot of us were to head down to Cheapskates in Soho were whilst going through the complicated area of London we lost each other and had to resort to sat-nav on Dan's I-Phone to find our way round.
We got in eventually although it was really crowded and waiting to get served was like waiting at the bleeding Undergraduate Office. By 1:30am myself, Chris, Phil and Stoobie decided to head back home with Sophie tagging along with us although Chris and Phil decided to stop off at the Leicester Square McDonalds before getting a cab back to Harrow.
This is where things got complicated as we ended up going right past Harrow and towards Watford. As if things couldn't get more complicated the exit to Harrow was closed off due to roadworks we had to go through Perivale which no one else appeared to have heard of apart from me as it was Ace's hometown in the original series of Doctor Who.
At one point we ended up on a dirt track which looked similar to a road with no street lamps like you'd get outside Canterbury or in Norfolk as Chris pointed out whilst we were going through.
Eventually we got to South Harrow and then Harrow itself where we got off near the VUE cinema where the fare was £72 but we managed to get it lowered to £60.
Then things started to get even more complicated as we found out that Lottie had managed to meet up with someone in Cheapskates and had gone back with them to Dulwich leaving Alice on her own in Soho although I imagine a few of the Freshers were still around as well.
Chris and Sophie were irritated about what had happened however although I'm hoping it will have calmed down by tomorrow although they sounded pretty serious about it.
I'm currently reheating last night's mince and boiling some rice to go with it as I'm absolutley starving after tonight despite the hours being really antisocial.
I doubt I'll be up in time for my dissertation lecture tomorrow morning but I need to be around the radio rooms by 11am and head off to South London and the Lyndhurst Primary school later on.
Then I'm making a return visit to Canterbury for the night as I have a psychiatrists appointment on Friday morning before heading back to Harrow immediately after.
This really is one of the busiest semesters I've had here although I hope it doesn't get to the point of being too stressfull.
Earlier on today we had a special edition of Preloaded were Dan interviewed comedian and musician Bo Burnham who had flown from Boston in the USA and had come in specially to talk about his forthcoming performance in Leicester Square and opening for Joan Rivers. He also performed some of his very amusing songs including my favourite "Rehab Center For Fictional Characters" and was a really great guy overall.
We happened to be the first out of clients who have got him for interviews including Five News and London Tonight so it's a really good achievement.
Shortly after I headed over to Inter:mission in Marylebone for the annoucement of this years Student Radio Awards where just about everyone from Smoke was present from the freshers who have just joined the station to alumni including Tudor, Goodlass and Marshall, and Ross T who was outspoken as ever and not afraid to give his opinions on the current state of the station with regards to the logo change and so on.
That aside, the annoucement of the nominations themselves went really quickly and Smoke was nominated for 5 categories, the most we've ever acheived in one year.
We managed to be nominated for Best Marketing and Branding, Dan Roberts was up for Best Newcomer, Goodlass and Marshall finally got nominated for an award with their Danny Wallace interview being one of those in the Best Interview category, The Election Coverage was nominated in the journalism category and we once again got chosen in the running for Best Station which I helped compile the audio entry for.
The antics at Inter:mission itself were rather chaotic in my case were I slipped over the floor quite a few times in true Peter Simon style and I felt that at one point I really had to take it easy.
However by closing time at 11pm a lot of us were to head down to Cheapskates in Soho were whilst going through the complicated area of London we lost each other and had to resort to sat-nav on Dan's I-Phone to find our way round.
We got in eventually although it was really crowded and waiting to get served was like waiting at the bleeding Undergraduate Office. By 1:30am myself, Chris, Phil and Stoobie decided to head back home with Sophie tagging along with us although Chris and Phil decided to stop off at the Leicester Square McDonalds before getting a cab back to Harrow.
This is where things got complicated as we ended up going right past Harrow and towards Watford. As if things couldn't get more complicated the exit to Harrow was closed off due to roadworks we had to go through Perivale which no one else appeared to have heard of apart from me as it was Ace's hometown in the original series of Doctor Who.
At one point we ended up on a dirt track which looked similar to a road with no street lamps like you'd get outside Canterbury or in Norfolk as Chris pointed out whilst we were going through.
Eventually we got to South Harrow and then Harrow itself where we got off near the VUE cinema where the fare was £72 but we managed to get it lowered to £60.
Then things started to get even more complicated as we found out that Lottie had managed to meet up with someone in Cheapskates and had gone back with them to Dulwich leaving Alice on her own in Soho although I imagine a few of the Freshers were still around as well.
Chris and Sophie were irritated about what had happened however although I'm hoping it will have calmed down by tomorrow although they sounded pretty serious about it.
I'm currently reheating last night's mince and boiling some rice to go with it as I'm absolutley starving after tonight despite the hours being really antisocial.
I doubt I'll be up in time for my dissertation lecture tomorrow morning but I need to be around the radio rooms by 11am and head off to South London and the Lyndhurst Primary school later on.
Then I'm making a return visit to Canterbury for the night as I have a psychiatrists appointment on Friday morning before heading back to Harrow immediately after.
This really is one of the busiest semesters I've had here although I hope it doesn't get to the point of being too stressfull.
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