London today, to record 425. I adore Wedenesdys. A leisurely drive to Derby Station, peruse the rolling stock at the Railway Works - the most eclectic collection of Diesel Locos & Rolling tock in the UK I'd guess - the 12.04 slam-door to London, then the Tube across to Wapping for 2.15pm. I'm increasingly fascinated by the London Underground, it's a miracle of Engineering, largely built a very long time ago. Why are the Circle, District, & Hamersmith and City Line rolling stock so different to the rest of the Network? There must be a decent book about it somewhere, but it needs to be an in-depth jobbie, I need detail..
I had woken up at 10.30 to find a text from Rhowena - "please be at Studio by Noon". What? WHAT? I ring her up, a misunderstanding, I say I can't get there before 2pm. Bum bum bum.
Bump into an old work colleague on the train, Keith Whitmore, my he's aged, hair gone grey. I can talk, mind. Told me all the Staff at Bowmer & Kirkland were a bit bemused by my change of lifestyle - so am I!
Arrive at the Studio just after 2pm, but it's a rush-rush jobbie, so no time to talk through the stuff with Jonny Gould. We never rehearse, but we do have a long natter pre-recording, to wise him up, so that he knows what questions and prompts he needs to feed me. We record it straight off the VT, but I was very disappointed with my performamce. Lack of preparation is a bad, bad, thing. I've not seen the finished show, and don't know that I want to, I fear what it came out like. I really ought to try andwatch it though - I can only improve if I view the show critically, 'pick myself to pieces' as it were.
After the show, straight over to The Gutshot, for a Media Freeroll hosted by Paddy Power, for the Irish Open. Met Mr Power himself, and other notables there included Barny Boatman (Media Freeroll?), John Hewston, Catman (he can't 'arf talk), but most pleasing of all, my very special colleagues, Jen and snoopy. Jen bought Dana along for a chat and a drink, Jen looks so at ease with Dana. Jen was smoking roll-ups, wearing jeans and a hoodie, brimful of schoolgirl-ish zest for life, looked a proper student-type!
I did my weekly phone-in to Poker Night Live direct fom a table, mid-comp, at Gutshot, and it was a disaster. The downstairs area at Gutshot is, well, a sort of cellar, the acoustics are horrendous, and there was much background hooting & hollering going off. So I had to shout to make myself heard, and the young lady on my left got arsey with me for interrupting her thought process in a hand. I apologized after, but ffs, it was a MEDIA freeroll, so I had hoped she'd understand. Ah well. Anyway, I managed a first, as I actually busted out mid-phone-in! We actually record these phone-ins at about 9pm, and they go out periodically during the show which starts at 10pm, we record three 5 minute pieces in one call. Annoyingly, the line failed mid-chat, so that buggered it up. The Studio Hosts were Mark Banin and James Browning. I've done these phone-ins for PNL for 6 weeks or so now, and the ones with Mark and/or James generally go brilliantly, we bounce off each other nicely. I did one with Barry Martin, and one with Malcolm Harwood, both of which were pretty naff (the phone-ins, not Barry & Malcolm!) because the chemistry was wrong. I get on fine with both of them, super in fact, but I just felt it did not 'flow' as well as it does with James and Mark. James, in particular, is remarkably professional at his PNL role, I think he could go a long way in TV.
Comp started at 7pm (ish), and I'm very grateful to Paddy Power for the invite, but it was a torrid structure, a chuck-em-in fest if ever there was. Anyway, I busted out same time as Jen, and decided to cancel my London Hotel and dash across to St Pancras for the last train home, I like to get home if I possibly can. Fell asleep on the train again, woke up in Sheffield, and it cost me £40 to get a cab back to Derby. Damn.