Yuletide log

Colindale, London, England // 6.01 pm // Mostly cloudy 9ºc / 48ºf

T'was the second last night before Christmas, and thankfully I'm now off work until next Monday, 29th December. It's been a pretty productive week or so. On the weekend after the last blog, Elle and I spent a long weekend together. To be fair, we did spend a good while of it in the flat doing not very much at all, but we rarely get the chance to even do nothing together, so it was quite nice. On the Saturday night we went to Brick Lane, the part of London famous for being full of Indian and Bangla restaurants. We found a really nice restaurant which was rather cheap and although it was unlicenced, they gave us a business card to take to the local off-licence to buy alcohol with 10% off! The food was really good, as was the service.

On Monday evening we went back to Hyde Park to the Winter Wonderland attraction there. The main reason we went there was because Elle wanted to go skating on the ice rink they have there. However, we hadn't booked any tickets in advance, and the next session was completely booked up. And we weren't ready to wait an hour and a half for the next one. The place is open until a few days after New Year so we may still get the chance to go, although I must be honest, I'm a bit apprehensive with the whole skating thing. I've only done it once before, and while I didn't fall on my arse once, it was a long time ago and I had less regard for my own safety then.

I had a real problem sleeping that night (not related to the skating!), and therefore had a miserable day on Tuesday. The rest of the week at work went well though.

On Friday I executed Part 2 of my Northern Line pub crawl, when I visited another 10 stations on the line, and had half a pint of lager at the closest pub to each. I managed to find a pub at each station this time, and I even managed to find a £1 half-pint, which is the cheapest I've found yet in London (barring Wetherspoons on a good day). I now have 20 more stations on the Northern Line to visit, plus three to revisit after research. Then I'll move on to the next line. The whole project is going to take years!

On Saturday I managed to finish all the rest of my Christmas shopping, which has to be the earliest ever for me! On Saturday night Elle and I went up to Edgware for a Chinese buffet. We started to lose faith in so-called "buffets" as they all seemed to become an "eat all you can" affair where you'd pick from a menu, they'd give you full portions, and you'd pay extra for anything you left. Whereas this one in Edgware is a proper "spoon it out of a bucket yourself" affair, and is 10 times better for it. We'll definitely go back again, although apparently there is a nicer, albeit more expensive one round the corner.

On Sunday I watched Celtic thrash Falkirk 4-0 and go 4 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League, before heading to my local to watch the first half of the Arsenal v Liverpool game with my friend Stu.

On Monday I sent all the Christmas presents that had to go home to Scotland, and yesterday I wrapped all the rest of the presents. Meaning that I had completely finished organising for Christmas presents 3 days in advance, which has never ever happened!

February next year sees the time for renewal of subscriptions for co-owners of Ebbsfleet United, of which I am one. However, as much as I hate to admit it, I am not sure if I will be renewing. I must admit that my interest in the club has waned. As unacceptable as it is, the novelty has worn off. And I've not been able to devote enough time to participating in the clubs affairs or even simply following the results week-to-week. I really hope I will be in the minority and that many people will continue to support the club.

Over the last week or so on TV I've been watching CNN International, BBC Three, ITV2+1, TMF, ITV2, Sky News, ITV1, BBC Four, BBC Two, BBC Parliament, BBC One, CNN.com Live, CNN USA, 4Music, The Hits, Channel 4, E4, Sky Sports 1, Channel 4+1 and ITV4.

On radio I've listened to Soul Central Radio, Capital FM, Kiss 104.1 Atlanta, BBC Radio Scotland, The Hits, Choice FM, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2, Heart 106.2, Sunrise Radio, Radio Veronica, BBC Radio 6 Music and Jazz FM.

Doff (Day off)

Colindale, London, England // 7.01 pm // Mostly cloudy 4ºc / 39ºf

On TV in the last couple of days I've been watching BBC One, ITV1, Setanta Sports 1, CNN International, BBC Four and Sky Sports Xtra

On radio I've listened to BBC Asian Network, On FM, Soul Central Radio, Heat Radio, 2BR (Burnley) and Smoke Radio (Harrow)

Early bird

Colindale, London, England // 5.31 pm // Mostly cloudy 5ºc / 41ºf

My daily life has changed dramatically in the space of the last few days as I move from late shifts to early shifts at work. Friday night was my last late shift, which I've been on since I started the new job at the beginning of September. When I got back home on Friday night Elle's sister was here, ready to stay for the weekend, and her dad was at a nearby hotel.

We met up with him on Saturday and they all headed into the city to do the tourist thing. I had to stay in the flat for a while as our landlord was coming round to visit to inspect the new carpet. He arrived about 4pm with his wife - both of them seem really nice. He had a wee look around the flat, seemed quite happy with the condition. I raised a couple of things with him; the fact that we are still receiving mail for the previous tenants and the fact that the extractor fan in bathroom cannot deal with all the moisture from the amazing shower that we have. On the former, it looks like I'll be forwarding all the previous tenants' mail to our contact at the estate agent, and on the latter the handyman Tony, the one who fixed our washing machine, will pop round at some point and look at the options with the extractor fan.

I then met up with Elle's crew on Oxford Street, where we did a wee bit of shopping (buying nothing) before heading to Hyde Park and to the Winter Wonderland there, most of which had been imported from Germany! Loads of German fair rides, and a big German market which we spent some time walking round. Naturally, we had a German beer too, and some cherry mulled wine. Going on the rides was ridiculously expensive though, so we didn't. After that we headed to Piccadilly and Covent Garden for a couple of drinks before going home.

It's worth noting that I have never ever seen London so busy and so absolutely packed as I did on Saturday. Just mental.

On Sunday I made myself wake up after 6 hours sleep, so that I would be tired enough to go to bed at 9pm on Sunday night. I spent most of the morning reading emails and playing Fifa until Elle and Sarah woke up. Elle's dad came round later that day, and they all headed off to Camden Market while I watched Celtic lose 2-0 at Easter Road. So the gap at the top of the league is down to 4 points now.

I met up with the rest of them in Camden after the game, and we went for a drink. Their plan was to go to the South Bank, have a stroll and then go for a meal and maybe a drink before coming back. However, I really had to be back at the flat soon to get ready for work the next day, and go to bed at a decent time. So I left them to it and came back home. Went to bed at 9.30pm.

And woke up at 4am on Monday morning. My car into work is at 4.30am so actually I had too much time, so I've since changed my wake-up time to 4.15am. It's still bloody early though, by anyone's book! I now start work at 5am and finish at 3pm. It's been really good so far - the shifts are noticably longer, but it is nice to be out of work when it is still daylight outside. I also get the chance to see Elle for an hour or two in the evening, and have one midweek day off each week which will be really useful. It's been a taxing couple of mornings, just because I'm not familiar yet with how different things are done in the mornings, and I am also working with people I haven't worked with before, so adjustments have to be made there too. So far, it's been better than I thought it would be. And hopefully I'll continue to be disciplined enough to go to bed when I really should!

Since the weekend on TV I've been watching CNN International, BBC One, BBC Three, Setanta Sports 1, BBC News and BBC Two.

On radio I've been listening to Zee Radio, Soul Central Radio, BBC Radio 2, Chill, LBC News 1152, Solar Radio and Sunrise Radio.

The thick of it

Colindale, London, England // 1.06 am // Mostly clear 5ºc / 41ºf

Really really busy day at work today. There was a lot of other stuff going on besides, so I had to do a good bit of stuff pretty much on my own. It was pretty intense, and at one point I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, but in the end - in hindsight - it was bloody good. I was doing a shitload of stuff, and I was managing fine with it. I'm not completely on top of everything, but after today I feel that I really can do most of the job now. There are still a few things to do for the first time, and others to hone as close to perfection as possible, but I came away tonight feeling like a good job had been done.

Bloody knackered now though, and I'm just chilling out with a beer listening to my radio station, Soul Central Radio (dot com). Listening figures for it have settled now and I'll attempt to break some of it down now.

On average I'm getting between 20 and 25 individual listeners every day, although has peaked to 40 one day, and dipped to 3 another day. Total listening hours are all over the place. Yesterday the station was listened to for 9 and a half hours. Many listeners are tuning in for hours at a time. Overall I've had 338 listeners tuning in for a total of 176 hours. It's still the 16th best soul station out of 130.

The station is most popular in the UK, followed by the USA. It's also been really popular so far in Brazil and Spain. And 5 listeners in The Netherlands have listened for a total of nearly 11 hours. So far the station has been heard in 28 countries.

The most popular part of the USA that the station has been heard has been Atlanta by far, with 18 hours listened by 18 listeners. Next is Washington DC at 4 hours by 4 listeners.

It's gone much better that I thought it would, and this is with practically no promotion yet. I definitely intend to try and push the station come the New Year.

And to round off, on TV today I've watched CNN International, BBC One, Channel 4, BBC Three and Channel 4+1.

On the radio I've listened to Soul Central Radio, Jazz FM and Absolute Radio.

What a catch!

Colindale, London, England // 1.21 am // Clear 0ºc / 32ºf

The last update was written in Scotland. On Saturday night I went out with my friend Stephen to a few places in Ayr. To be honest, I've had better nights out in Ayr; the places we chose to go out weren't the best choices but it wasn't too bad. Went back to Stephen's new house after getting back from Ayr for a few beers so it was quite a late one.

I couldn't sleep too long on Sunday as I was meeting up with my dad at lunchtime. We headed back down to Ayr to see my auntie and her husband and two kids. The last time I saw the youngest one, my cousin Daniel, it was in July for his Christening. Now, he's practically walking on his own accord!

After that my dad and I headed back to Saltcoats for some food, then out in town for a night of beverages, meeting up with my Uncle John and Uncle Mark later in the evening. This is becoming a regular feature everytime I go home now, and usually ends up being the highlight of the visit.

On Monday I had a fairly quiet day, and spent most of the afternoon with my gran while my mum was at work. My gran, for being nearly 70, is doing pretty well for herself. She found a new man a few months back, and has since been halfway around the world with him, and has at least 4 other trips planned next year!

I flew back to London on Monday night, from Prestwick Airport to Stansted. The departures lounge at Prestwick has changed quite significantly since the last time I flew out from there, and now sports a very nice new Elvis Presley-themed bar. For those that don't know, Prestwick Airport in Scotland was the only place the king himself set foot in the UK, ever.

When I got back to the flat on Monday night, I had to fulfill a promise to Elle. So I helped to put up the Christmas tree and decorations. For those that think it was a bit early, it *could've* been done last Wednesday!

Back to work yesterday and it's been a couple of busy days. I have two more evening shifts, before everything changes and I start early shifts next Monday. That entails waking up at 4am and starting work at 5am, finishing at 3pm. I get one day off midweek plus weekends. It's actually going to be quite handy for Christmas shopping, as when I finish at 3pm I'm pretty much in the heart of London's shopping district to buy some Christmas presents. It also means I'll get to spend a good bit more time with Elle in the evenings. Although I will need to go to bed around 9pm.

Those that know me know that one of my main hobbies is DXing, that being the act of receiving distant radio stations, far outside the original target area. Tonight, in fact less than half an hour ago, I achieved my finest ever DX "catch", and something I've been trying to achieve, fairly passively, for the last 13 years. I received my first ever transatlantic radio station on the MW band using just my portable Sony radio. It was WEGP, from Maine in the USA, on 1390 AM. I've never had any real special setup for MW reception, so the fact I heard this on the internal aerial on the radio makes this reception even more fantastic! It will mean nothing to most other people reading this, but I know that at least *I* will always remember this night...

In the last few days on TV I've watched BBC One, UKTV History, BBC News, CNN International, Setanta Sports 1 and Channel 4.

On the radio I've listened to 3TFM (Saltcoats), Soul Central Radio, Jazz FM, Absolute Classic Rock, LBC 97.3, BBC Radio 5 Live, Kiss 104.1 (Atlanta), Capital FM and WEGP (Maine).

Vive Escocia

Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland // 4.55 pm // Partly cloudy 2ºc / 36ºf

It's the weekend, and I'm spending it back home in Scotland. Had quite a good week, with only two days at work. I managed to book Wednesday off at the start of the week, and had Thursday and Friday booked off already for the trip to Scotland.

On Wednesday, I did something that I wanted to do for years. Unfortunately I had to do it alone as everyone else that could've come with me was working. But that wasn't going to stop me doing a 20-stop pub crawl up and down the Northern Line on the London Underground network. Eventually I want to have half a pint of lager at or very near every single London Underground station. I managed 17 of the 20 on Wednesday, as follows and in this order:

Edgware, Brent Cross (couldn't find a pub), Hampstead, Mornington Crescent, Highgate, West Finchley (couldn't find a pub), Finchley Central, Kings Cross, Old Street, Bank (couldn't find a pub), London Bridge, Morden, Tooting Bec, Balham, Clapham Common, Kennington, Charing Cross, Goodge Street (where Elle joined me after work) and Warren Street.

I had 15 half pints, and two full pints, altogether and it took me about 10 hours. It was a really interesting tour of London at the same time, which was part of the attraction. I went to a couple of Irish pubs, one gay bar and one Indian restaurant alongside some traditional pubs and modern bars. There are a lot more stations on the Northern Line, before I move on to another line, so I'll do them at some point. I don't think I'll do as many as 20 at a time, as it was quite an effort! Maybe 10. And the stations where I couldn't find pubs will be revisited, but I'll do some research online in advance and find the nearest pub that way.

While I was coming to the end of the pub crawl, all hell was breaking loose in Mumbai. I don't know how I manage it, but I always seem to miss the breaking news at work. I've got mixed feelings about not being at work this week. In a way, I'm glad I'm in Scotland and relaxing, especially as my colleagues have been working overtime and also through this weekend. On the other hand, it would be good experience for me if I was there, and it would be an interesting time to be working.

Instead, I just watched the output when I got to Saltcoats, and it has all looked great - they've been doing a brilliant job. The flight on Thursday was fine, and I got to the house at about 2pm. I didn't do anything for the rest of the afternoon, but in the evening I went to Stephen and Ian's brand new house in Ardrossan. They were busy putting pictures up and fitting the washing machine in the kitchen, but we had the chance to have a few beers and a chat later.

Yesterday was a really lazy day, until about 3pm when I went into town for a stroll, a pie and a walk along the beach. Every time I go down there, and see the sea, it's just brilliant. I say it all the time, but I really miss living so close to the sea. I would always head down there if I had to do any thinking, or just wanted to relax and clear my mind. I never took it for granted, even when I had been living here for 18 years, and I still miss it now.

Last night I went round to Stephen and Ian's again, with Stephen's sister Lynsey and her boyfriend. We had a good few drinks, and late in the night I managed to persuade Stephen to come out in town with me. Which we did, going to Wetherspoons for a quick pint then across the road to the Metro club where, once again, I immediately felt twice the age I actually am. I really don't know why we do it to ourselves!

Felt a bit rough this morning, mostly because I didn't drink anything yesterday that wasn't beer, wine or dark rum. Watched the second half of the Hearts v Rangers game this afternoon, and had a bath earlier while listening to the Celtic game on the radio. We won, Rangers lost, meaning we now are 7 points clear are the top of the Scottish Premier League!

Tonight me and Stephen are going out in Ayr, via a pub in Kilwinning that has just re-opened.

This week on TV I've been watching CNN International, BBC One, STV, Sky News, Living 2 and Setanta Sports 1

On the radio I've been listening to Kiss 104.1 (Atlanta), Solar Radio, Kismat Radio, 3TFM, BBC Radio Scotland and Soul Central Radio

Radio Times

Colindale, London, England // 1.50 am // Mostly cloudy 5ºc / 41ºf

The last week or so has been busy but it does feel like it has all gone really quickly. Last weekend Elle was back in the West Midlands visiting her mum and sister, which was when I was supposedly going to catch up with lots of the stuff I had to do, and have had to do for months in some cases. Granted, I did do some of it. However I got a bit distracted by creating my own online radio station.

It's something I've always wanted to do, but there are few ways to do it and make it affordable and legal. So I never got round to it before now. Plus, I already had other radio shows at the other stations to keep me occupied at the time. This isn't the case now.

So last Saturday night I spent 5 hours, and £250, and created Soul Central Radio. I opened the service with Live 365 as it's relatively affordable and I don't have to worry about royalities as they cover that as part of my subscription. I'm still tweaking the music quotas but essentially Soul Central Radio is a mix of classic and modern soul music, encompassing soul, funk, acid jazz, jazz funk and soulful house. The music is 40% classic soul, 40% modern soul and 20% soulful house. I have created four different playlists. One is what I call the "4 decades mix", and is a mix of all the tracks on the playlist. This airs mostly in 3-hour blocks, 6 times daily. I also have a classic soul and funk playlist that airs for 1 hour, 3 times daily. Similarly, there is a 90s and modern soul playlist which also airs for 1 hour, 3 times daily. Finally I have a soulful house playlist that airs for 30 minutes once a day. I really like how the station pans out - the different playlists break up the flow, which I think is a good thing in this instance. Plus there are more tracks on there than on most radio stations in the country, meaning less repetition.

I also bought the domain name and some professional station IDs from RPC Productions. Listening figures have been really promising so far, and already the station is 19th most popular soul station on Live 365 out of over 120. It is mostly for fun, but it still allows me to share some great music with the world which I've missed doing since giving up Grooveline and the Soul Cellar. It is also something that I do plan to try and develop as time goes on. The playlist will be updated weekly, and one of my first priorities will be on creating a better website.

Last weekend I didn't do much else than create the station and then listen to it! Had a good week at work last week. Was a bit busier than previous weeks. On Thursday morning before work I spent most of the time clearing the living room and hall of furniture and everything else so that the carpetfitters would be able to lay the new carpet on Friday morning.

They came just before 9.30am, three guys, and were quite happy to move the remaining furniture (a couple of units and the sofa) from one end of the living room to the other as they were laying the carpet. It took them just under an hour and they even hoovered up after themselves!

So the landlord is coming round in two weeks time to see the carpet, and just to meet us generally as we haven't met yet, despite living in the property for nearly 4 months now. Wow, 4 months. In some ways it feels like just weeks, and in others it feels like over a year since we moved! So much has changed this year. All of it for the better, I hasten to add.

This weekend has been great. Elle and I have spent it together from start to finish, which is rare these days. We had a mostly lazy afternoon yesterday, and went out for a meal in Hampstead in the evening. We went to a French restaurant, and the food was rather good. The service was great too. Then we headed to Camden for a couple of drinks before going back to the flat. It was bitterly cold last night, and when I woke up for a drink this morning I noticed a light dusting of snow outside.

We were rudely awoken at 11am this morning by our neighbour downstairs who was playing a trumpet, rather badly. They would play for 10-15 minutes and then stop for the same period of time before starting again. And again. And again. This actually went on for at least 6 hours, although we got up out of bed long before that!

I had the radio magazine to do this weekend, which I finished this afternoon. Otherwise, it has been a really lazy day, other than the hour or so I spent tidying the flat and doing the dishes. Had a bath tonight too, caught up with a lot of my emails (still catching up from when I went home in the summer!) and played some Fifa tonight.

Got a three day work week this week, although that'll potentially be 2 days as I am planning to book Wednesday off when I go in tomorrow. On Thursday morning I fly out to Scotland for a long weekend, returning on Monday evening.

This week on TV I've watched Setanta Sports 1, TMF, CNN International, ITV1 and BBC One.

On radio I've listened to Vatican Radio, CNR 1 (China), Radio Mauritania, Soul Central Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music, Capital FM, Traffic Radio, BBC Radio 4, Punjabi Radio, Kiss 104.1 Atlanta, talkSPORT, Jazz FM and Gold Kent.

Gaaaaaaarlic bread?

Colindale, London, England // 9.48 pm // Cloudy 13ºc / 55ºf

Halfway into the weekend and, surprise surprise, I haven't done anywhere near as much as I had hoped/planned. But I do intend to have a fairly late one tonight, so there is still a few hours in the day left.

I got home from work at around 1.30am last night, after staying to help test some new software. That was a lot later than originally planned, and I might well have to go back into work tomorrow and help test it again. The joys of being on call.

Determined to have some kind of Friday, I had a very late one last night while chatting to some friends and my dad on MSN and doing a good bit of DXing.

Woke up just before 3pm this afternoon. I had a message from our landlord about the new carpets being fitted. Looks like that is happening on Friday, so I'll need to make sure the living room and hall are completely cleared by then. It's really inconvenient, to be honest. We've only just began to really settle in the flat, and now I have to disconnect everything and move it again! It also comes during the editorial weekend for the radio magazine, which is also a bit annoying. Still, we'll have nice new carpets by next weekend.

Done a lot of DXing today, and I went out to collect a chinese takeway, which was an absolute beast of a meal in the end. I've never seen portions like it! I'll be working through that meal for the rest of the weekend, no doubt.

The plan for the rest of the weekend is to do more DXing, pay some bills online, make a start on the Tony Ryan tax and make up that CD for the producer of the Radio 4 documentary on home cassette recordings.

In the last day or so on TV I've watched only CNN International.

On radio I've listened to talkSPORT, BBC London 94.9, Shine 87.9, Radio Havana Cuba, Radio Cairo, Roots FM, OnTop, Radio Taiwan International, WHRI (South Carolina), Radio O1 International (Austria), HCJB Ecuador, SW R Africa, Voice of America and Vatican Radio.

Jungle es masseeev

Colindale, London, England // 11.56 am // Partly cloudy 14ºc / 57ºf

I'm typing this while listening to some quality drum 'n' bass from a less-than-legit radio station and some catastrophic noises coming from the washing machine. Those noises caused by my incompetence when it comes to laundry. I've put some light clothes in to wash, including several of my light coloured shirts. A few days ago I noticed I couldn't find my usual cufflinks, and figured they would be on one of my shirts in the laundry basket and either Elle or I would notice and take them off before putting them in the machine. Oops. So now with every cycle of the drum I hear the "clink" of metal on glass, and I'm waiting for the crunching noise of machinery dying followed by the gushing sound of warm soapy water cascading onto the two storeys below us.

Other than that, all is well. It goes without saying that I'm glad it's Friday. I've had a good week though, and made some advances with my training at work. There's still a lot to do, but I've been pretty pleased with how the week has gone. I feel like I'm really getting into it now. It's probably the first job I've had where I really feel like I've earned the money I'm given, and don't feel too guilty during the times that there isn't very much to do.

The on-going saga of the missing records continues. Despite several attempts to contact the local Royal Mail delivery office, I can't get to talk to anyone. So I've asked the sender to chase it up at his end and try to claim compensation. I hope he does. In the end, he has his money...from me. And right now I'm 50 quid lighter.

It doesn't give me much confidence in the postal system round here. Also a couple of friends nearby, Stu and Robyn-Leigh, have both had problems with the mail in the area. They're served by the same delivery office and probably the same postman. Despite that, I'm still continuing to add to my Earth Wind & Fire collection on Ebay. Thankfully, nothing of that has gone missing yet (touches wood). But I am definitely less reluctant to buy anything valuable online when it means it might have to come via Royal Mail.

So after staying at work a bit later tonight to do some tests, I'll be spending the weekend in the flat alone, meaning I'll be doing lots of DXing, catching up on stuff I meant to do ages ago, but minimal beer consumption as I'm on-call all weekend.

In the last couple of days on TV I've watched CNN International, BBC One London, ITV1 London and BBC Parliament.

On radio I've been listening to BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC London 94.9, Capital FM, Platinum 87.5 and Shine 87.9

Four points clear

Colindale, London, England // 1.01 am // Mostly clear 7ºc / 45ºf

Not a hugely interesting 36 hours or so. Been at work twice...really quiet day yesterday but alot busier today.

The next few days should see me working through my list of things to do. Particularly this weekend - Elle is going back up to her mums, so that'll give me the chance, and no excuse not, to spend the whole weekend doing things I should've done weeks ago. I'll also catch up with a bit of DXing. All being well, of course, as this weekend I'm on-call for the first time, and took possession of the on-call phone earlier today.

Went to Asda this morning before work to get some food and drink for the next few days. Couple of tins of curry, potatoes, beans, a snackpot and a sachet of soup mix. I've decided I should eat more soup. But then I couldn't decide if we eat soup, or drink it. Anyway?

Tonight Celtic beat Kilmarnock 3-0, and Rangers drew meaning we go four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League. And a shocker in London tonight as Burnley knocked Chelsea out of the League Cup, qualifying for the quarter final!

I was interested to hear that Sky and Virgin Media have settled their dispute that saw Sky pull their basic channels from the cable platform. I was all for this, and all for Branson being set in his ways, as there is no way they should've bowed down to Murdoch's demands. I've not seen the terms of the new agreement - I don't even know if they've been made public - but I can't help thinking Sky had to give in to some extent, and overall it benefits Virgin Media more.

And Galaxy Scotland has launched, replacing XFM Scotland, which in turn replaced Beat 106. I always thought Central Scotland should have had a dance station. It didn't quite get one with Beat 106, which oddly mixed dance with rock music. It's not really getting one now either, with Galaxy mix of dance and R&B but I definitely think it's more suitable than XFM.

On TV in the last couple of days I've watched, CNN International, Sky Sports News, BBC One, BBC Four, BBC Three, BBC Two, CNN.com Live, Channel 4 and E4.

On radio I've been listening to NOS Radio 5 (The Netherlands), Kerrang!, Capital FM, Choice FM and Rainbow Radio

Video blog: Ordinary man

Colindale, London, England // 1.10 pm // Partly cloudy 11ºc / 52ºf

For some reason, Youtube didn't truncate my video this time!

Since the last blog post I haven't watched any TV, and on the radio I've only listened to NOS Radio 5 (The Netherlands).

Greasy sausage

Colindale, London, England // 1.10 am // Mostly clear 9ºc / 48ºf

I'm still mourning the passing of the quickest weekend I've ever known. However I did spend all of Saturday drinking and most of Sunday sleeping.

Last Thursday I finally managed to do one of the main parts of my new job, and again on Friday and tonight. For all intents and purposes, it seems to have gone really well so far. But already I just want to have it completely sussed, and feel completely comfortable with it, but I know that'll only come with time. But I've really enjoyed it, and look forward to getting more into it each day. Haven't sweated as much in my life though!

Friday night I chilled with Elle, the TV and some fizzy beverages. Woke up at 11ish on Saturday to finish tidying the flat a little more in prepartion for the evening's activities, then headed to the local pub with Stu to watch the Arsenal game. Being 12.45pm, and knowing I would be going to another pub later to watch another game, then going home to host a party, I decided to take it easy on the beer, by having a pint of Diet Coke first. Then a pint of lager 15 minutes later, and so it began.

I had to leave there before the game finished so I could get to Kilburn High Street in time for the Celtic game at 3pm. But it was in vain, as the ridiculous traffic down the A5 meant that the bus practically crawled there, and I missed the first 10 minutes of the game. We won, but to be fair I can't remember much of the end of the game. This was bad.

I headed back up to the flat where the first guest had arrived, followed by another two. I had sobered up a little by the time I got home, only to be greeted with a case of lager, several bottles of wine, vodka, shooters, and the iceing on the cake - a full bottle of legendary Scotsmac. 

Messy.

To be fair, I held it together for a good while (I think). At least judging by the photos. Although I'm pretty sure my Buzz quiz and Singstar scores didn't reflect that. I don't remember getting to bed.

I remember waking up though. And thinking "fuck me, it's gone 4pm". There goes the weekend then. And my head was pounding. Actually, I was really pissed off. Although I did a lot with the Saturday, I completely wasted the Sunday. The weekend had gone.

Sunday evening actually went quite slowly, but I did go back to bed for a hour or so to stop myself being sick. When I woke up again I put the finishing touches on my annual appraisal for work, and was still tired enough to go to bed at the normal time.

I was gonna go to Asda this morning, but actually there was enough food and drink in the flat to go for another few days. Plus it was absolutely pissing down all morning.

As for the subject line, I tried out W1's newest chippy tonight when I was at work. Despite having the usual potato and tin of baked beans in my bag, I decided to go to the chippy for the first time, just to try it. I *did* have to wait almost 15 minutes for my food, but it was really good. Battered sausage and chips Although I felt quite guilty afterwards. I'm not on a diet or anything like that, but I do try to keep an eye on what I eat, and really tonight was just pointless!

Football-wise, Celtic are still 2 points top of the Scottish Premier League but Ebbsfleet are out of the FA Cup after losing to Crewe at the weekend. I've really not been up to speed with all things Ebbsfleet lately. I wouldn't say I've lost interest in the project, but I've just not been that active. I still think I'll renew my subscription and my part in the club.

So our landlord called last week to apologise for not getting in touch before, and to tell us that he wants to replace the carpets in the flat. This is good news, as they were left quite stained when we moved in, despite being professionally cleaned, and saves us having to try and prove which stains are and aren't ours whenever we move out. However, it is also a major pain in the arse only three months after we moved in, now we need to clear two rooms so the carpets can come in and out.

Finally, on TV since last Thursday I've been watching BBC One, CNN International, Sky Sports 1, Polsat Sport Extra, ITV2, BBC News, 4 Music, Channel 4, TMF, BBC Three and Five

On radio I've been listening to Kiss 100, Jazz FM, Radio Prague, Radio Bulgaria, talkSPORT, LBC 97.3 and Capital FM.

Video post: Changing times

Colindale, London, England // 1.10 pm // Mostly cloudy 11ºc / 52ºf

This week on the TV I've been mostly watching: CNN International, CNN, BBC One, UKTV History, ITV1, BBC News, E4, E4+1, Setanta Sports 1, TMF, Sky News and Sky Sports News.

On radio: Kiss 100, BBC Radio Berkshire, BBC London 94.9, Origin, BBC Essex, Voice of Turkey, WWCR (Nashville), BBS Radio 1 (Bhutan), BBC 3 Counties Radio, Smooth Radio, WJIE (Kentucky) and LBC 97.3

Video post: No hint of redemption

Colindale, London, England // 12.00 pm // Partly cloudy 8ºc / 46ºf

In the last 24 hours I've watched CNN International, BBC News, BBC One and UKTV History

On radio I've been listening to LBC 97.3 and Radio Havana Cuba

Video post: What happened to the music?

Colindale, London, England // 12.09 pm // Partly cloudy 8ºc / 46ºf

In the last day I've watched only CNN International on TV.

On radio I've listened to BBC London 94.9, Tempo 94.4, KWHR (Hawaii), Radio Ukraine International and RTBF International (Belgium)

Snow in October!

Colindale, London, England // 11.29 am // Mostly sunny 6ºc / 43ºf

Last weekend we had guests visiting in the form of Elle's sister and one of Elle friends. I had to do the radio magazine over the weekend, so I didn't get the chance to go out with them. However I did go out for an hour or two after work on Friday, and met up with a few of my friends from my old job in Reading, in Chinatown. However, they had to leave early to catch the last train to Reading and St Albans. I headed back up to Colindale on the nightbus, and sat up with the girls for a little while.

On Saturday afternoon I headed down to the pub in Kilburn to watch the Celtic v Hibernian game on Polish TV. However after getting my pint and heading to the screens, it was apparent there was a problem. In comedy style, someone had lost the remote control. And the satellite receiver was therefore stuck on the wrong channel (showing Polish men's volleyball...it wasn't even womens volleyball!). After over half an hour of searching the pub high and low, they gave up and the game was not watched. (In the end, we won 4-2) I stuck around for a while, had a couple more pints and chatted to a few friends and my mum and John back home on the phone. Then went back to the flat to finish of the magazine (which took all night). Also at some point that evening, someone took a photo of me and Elle in the flat, and I hardly look my best after 4 pints, looking scruffy, messed up hair and sporting my new Celtic Supporters Club polo shirt! (Can be found on Facebook...thanks Michelle!)

I was up pretty damn late on Saturday night after the girls got back (with their tales of blood and gore on the N5 nightbus). Therefore Sunday was a really chilled day. It would've been topped off perfectly with an Indian takeway from a highly recommended restaurant in Edgware, only it took them 2 hours to deliver! They took Elle's number in case they couldn't find the flat (loads of people seem to have that problem). After an hour and a half (and many phone calls to them), it then transpires that they couldn't find the place, and went back to the restaurant! They didn't even call us!! So I explain to the guy again where we are again, and finally half an hour later the food arrives. They did promise that before they came back out they recooked the meal. Did they f*ck! The poppadoms had the consistency of dishtowels and the chips were cold. As it happens, the rest of the food was really nice but we definitely won't be going there again.

This week I've been starting and finishing work one hour earlier because we work to Eastern Time in the US, and as our clocks changed last weekend, there are now only 4 hours between here and there. So it's been quite nice getting home from work at 10.30pm instead of an hour later.

Last night it also meant that I got to see the full extent of the heavy snow we had in London last night on the way home! I couldn't believe it, even when I saw it. And it was really starting to stick on the ground quite seriously, even up to Kilburn. However, the closer I got to Colindale, the snow was wetter and more like sleet. It was still really strange to see such weather so early in the season.

Late last night I found out some great news, that CNN International is launching on Freeview. I always hoped this would happen one day, having watched the channel for many years. It was supposed happen quite a few years back, not long after the launch of the platform, when Turner were supposed to be buying a slot and broadcasting a timeshare of CNN, Cartoon Network and TCM. For some reason that didn't happen, but a number of years later they launched Nuts TV. which is now making way for CNN. It's only 9pm till 1am nightly for now, but it's still better than nothing. I hope it's a success. From tits to top stories.

Speaking of TV, recently I've been watching CNN International, ITV1, BBC One, Channel 4 +1, BBC Two, BBC News, E4, 4 Music, BBC Four, and Sky Sports News.

On the radio: Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, China Radio International, NDR Info (Germany), France Info, Cope Radio Murcia (Spain), Solar Radio, Galaxy Digital, 107.7 Splash FM (Worthing), LBC 97.3 and Kiss 104.1 (Atlanta)

Video post: Youtube attention span

Colindale, London, England // 1.42 pm // Partly cloudy 13ºc / 55ºf



For some unknown reason, Youtube has been snipping off about 10% of all my video blog posts. To try and get around that, next time I'll add a minute or so of just music so that if anything is lost, it's just a bit of music.

On TV in the last few days I've been watching: Sky Sports News, Setanta Sports 1, BBC Three, BBC Two, NASN 2, BBC One London, BBC News, CNN International and Five.

On radio: BBC Radio 5 Live, Heart 106.2, Talksport, Platinum 87.5, Point Blank FM and Solar Radio

Video post: Weekend rediscovery

Colindale, London, England // 1.27 pm // Mostly cloudy 15ºc / 59ºf

On TV over the weekend I watched: Setanta Sports 1, BBC One, BBC News, BBC Four, BBC Three, ITV1 and ITV2.

On radio: BBC 3 Counties Radio, BBC World Service, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Maria (The Netherlands), BBC Radio 5 Live, Voice of Korea, Radio Sweden, Radio Ashna (USA), China Radio International, Grootniews Radio (The Netherlands), Premier Christian Radio, Russian International Radio, Deutsche Welle, WEWN (USA), Voice of Russia, Classic FM and BBC Radio 1

The business end

Colindale, London, England // 12.14 pm // Partly cloudy 13ºc / 55ºf

Such as the laws of randomness are, this is the first post in 8 days. Last weekend Elle's mum and sister came down to visit us at the new flat for the first time (when does it stop being new?). I came back to some whisky and a chicken biriyani on Friday night which was ideal after a long week at work.

The weekend was great. We did the tourist thing again, like we did when my mum and John were down. The weather was absolutely glorious all weekend too. It was hard to believe it's mid-October when temperatures are in the 70s. We went down to the South Bank, Tate Modern, up to Trafalgar Square. I split from them for an hour or two at that point to meet my old school friend Jenny Paton who was in Covent Garden. We had a great catch-up, and I also met her mum and partner. We might well do it again soon, as Jen might be down quite often.

I met up with Elle and the crew again and we went for a meal on Oxford Street before heading back to the flat.

On Sunday I left the girls to go shopping, and I had a quiet day in the flat catching up with stuff, before we all went to Wetherspoons in Colindale in the evening.

Had a good week at work so far. Getting more and more involved as the days go on. I had a training progress meeting at the start of the week, and the plan for the next few weeks was drawn up. I was due to begin the main part of the job next Tuesday, and have been shadowing that position for most of this week. However, the way I am feeling now, I just want to get stuck into it and I think I might ask if I can start doing the role tonight. We'll see.

Scotland lost against Norway last weekend. I saw the goal that we should've scored - complete stitter, I was absolutely stunned. I really don't think we have much of a chance of qualifying now, but I'm not calling for George Burley's head yet, like most people seem to be. Give the guy a chance!

Celtic play tomorrow, the first game for a couple of weeks. Then the big one against Manchester United on Wednesday. I'm not confident.

I'm going to start making a list of what I've been listening to and watching again. It probably won't interest many people, but I know that a lot of my friends are interested in media and media consumption habits, so it might mean something to someone. Plus I'm a self-confessed geek about that kind of stuff.

So, in true Fast Show stylee, this week I have been mostly watching: CNN International, ITV1, Channel 4, Sky News, Sky Sports News, BBC Four, BBC One, E4 and Setanta Sports 1

And on the wireless, been listening to: Premier Christian Radio, Radio Marocaine, HCJB Australia, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 3, Lightning, Genesis, BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Radio 4, Vibes FM, Touch FM, BBC Essex, Smooth Radio, Resonance FM, Galaxy, Magic 105.4, The Hits, talkSPORT and V 98.7 Detroit.

Nothing to report

Colindale, London, England // 12.23 am // Clear 9ºc / 48ºf

I don't actually decide when to write or film blog posts. I let the power and laws of randomness decide. And, unusually, those powers and laws have decided on a second post in as many days. Unfortunately very little has happened since last night.

I'm regulating my sleep quite heavily right now so I don't get too much, and therefore don't have problems sleeping on the following night. I try and aim to go to bed around 2am, and get up at 9am. Either way, I make sure I get no more than 7 hours sleep. It's been working quite well so far, and I'm usually pretty damn tired by the time I get to 2am and had a couple of beers. Like I am now.

But I was late going to bed last night so was up at 10am this morning. It's quite nice to have late mornings and early afternoons free, and I tend to make the flat look decent and catch up with a few things, plus a bit of DXing, before I have to make lunch and shower before work.

In the car on the way home from work tonight, the driver had XFM on the radio. I haven't spent a whole lot of time listening to XFM in the past, but really enjoyed what I heard tonight. The show I heard was called "Xposure" and I assume a lot of the music was from unsigned artists. I always dismissed XFM as a rock and indie station, but there was a lot of electro on the show, which I don't mind listening to at all. Why my 50ish-year-old driver was listening to that is another issue.

Speaking of XFM, the Central Scotland version of the station is soon giving way to a new Galaxy station. I'm quite glad to hear this as I always thought Glasgow needed a dance station. Glasgow actually has a really unique dance music scene, where happy hardcore and gabber are still popular. Not that I expect to hear that on Galaxy, but they definitely need something to reflect the dance music culture. I still think Beat 106 is a sad loss, although I never did understand the mix of dance and rock back then. Now though, I think that would work. A lot of rock and indie these days has a very dance-like undertone. Big in Ibiza too, y'know.

Getting better

Colindale, London, England // 1.13 am // Mostly clear 11ºc / 52ºf

It's been a week of two halves so far, as we're only two days in. Last night at work was a nightmare. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I went into work today saying "today is going to be a good day" and feeling positive. And with help from everyone else, it worked. Two completely different days, which pretty much balances out overall. And I'm hoping it can continue tomorrow.

My training programme has stalled a little due to staffing constraints, but it's not a major issue for me as it allows me to consolidate what I've learned so far. Even today I was doing stuff for the first time, so this will be a valuable week.

The last weekend was a strange one. Friday night didn't go the way I expected and really hoped it would. It's not fair for me to go into too much detail, only to say that because a certain person drunk too much (not me) by the time I finished work and was due to meet them, Friday night's plans were scrapped and I went home annoyed and sober.

On Saturday afternoon I went to the Celtic pub in Kilburn to watch us thrash Hamilton 4-0. And wonderfully, Rangers lost 1-0 to St Mirren so we are now top of the league on goal difference.

Saturday night was a quiet one. I spent Saturday day and night completely resetting the PC to factory setting, reinstalling Windows etc. I did the same for the laptop on Sunday, and now it's like having two brand new computers. Beforehand, they were very close to being thrown out the window in rage.

On Sunday afternoon Elle and I went out for a meal. The plan was to go to the great Indian restaurant on Mill Hill Broadway for their Sunday buffet. However, when we arrived the place was deserted and they said they were closing, despite it being only 2.30pm. So we headed to the Wetherspoons on Edgware Road for a roast instead.

And on Sunday evening I headed to Croydon to meet up with my old uni mate Darren for the first time in couple of years. We had a great catch-up and must do it again some time.

Was great to hear Jazz FM coming back on-air on DAB in London last night. I listened to it while shaving and showering this morning, and it's like it was never away. Saturday nights on the schedule look particularly brilliant, including Mark Doyle's Fierce Angels show, talking the slot that the old Hed Kandi radio show took before GMG killed off the station.

And I'm ridiculously behind on my personal emails, about 3 weeks now, so I've missed a lot of media news, but I did notice that Five has a new logo and idents. Just the fact that the logo is in a circle reminds me of the early-90s Sky logos. I believe the newly rebranded Gold also has a logo in a circle. Throwback to a bygone age.

Video blog: ...not fade away

Colindale, London, England // 1.08 pm // Partly cloudy 12ºc / 54ºf

Once again Youtube has decided to randomly edit my video blog, but this time only the last 30 seconds or so are missing. You'll get the idea.

Close call

Colindale, London, England // 2.19 pm // Mostly sunny 18ºc / 64ºf

So week #1 in the new job has come to an end, and to be honest I feel really good about it. There are still a few things I have to improve, as is the case with any change of circumstances and environment. But I feel quite happy that I've made the right choice, and that I'll be able to deal with the new tasks ahead.

However, as a result of the new job I almost lost half of my weekend, as it was decided that we would need to be staffed over the weekend, rather than just the usual on-call setup (and my first weekend on-call isn't until the end of November). So the plans that Elle and I had for Saturday afternoon and evening were almost scrapped until my manager called on Saturday morning to say that we wouldn't need as many staff after all. So the weekend was back on.

I obviously had a lot of sleep to catch up on as I didn't wake until around 2pm. Later that afternoon Elle and I drove to Reading for the first time since we moved away. That was via the local chippy round the corner. The reason for the visit to Reading was to see our friends Tim and Lucy, who have just had their first baby earlier in the week. It was great to see the three of them, and it is still sad that we don't get to spend as much time with them since we moved.

We stayed there for an hour and a half before heading back to London and getting ready to go out in town. In the end, we didn't leave the flat until just before midnight and somehow managed to get very last tube trains to run down to Farringdon. The plan was to go to club Fabric where our friend Jenn was celebrating her birthday. However, when we got there we were faced with a monsterous queue. After speaking to some of the others in the queue and a security guy we acertained that the queue was at least an hour long. Meaning we wouldn't get in till at least 2am. We waited for a while but the queue wasn't moving. After weighing up the options, we decided to bail out, send our apologies and get a taxi up to Camden.

This was much more successful, and we ended up going to the Purple Turtle, which was free to get in, with no queue, drinks at decent prices and pretty good music. The PT is one of a chain of two pubs, the second of which is in Reading and where Elle worked as soon as we moved to Reading in May 2004. The one in Camden is very diferent though, not least the music policy. In Reading, it's usually indie and other kinds of rock upstairs and drum and bass downstairs. In Camden, we walked in to some electro house followed by the theme tune to the movie Ghostbusters!

We stayed there for a little while, and then got the night bus home.

Good day for my football clubs too. Celtic managed a last gasp win against Aberdeen at home, 3-2 which puts us top of the league. But I'm watching the Hibs v Rangers game now, and Rangers have just scored, so they may be top again by the end of the afternoon. And Ebbsfleet United beat Barrow away 3-0, putting us 5th in the Blue Square Premier, which has to be one of the best positions the club has ever been in.

Today, no real plans. We might go out for a meal later. We are definitely making more of our weekends together as we hardly get to spend time with each other through the week now, with the new job. But I also have to be prepare to lose those weekends every now and then too.

Video blog: Flat tour

Colindale, London, England // 10.41 am // Mostly sunny 16ºc / 61ºf

It appears that my laptop is absolutely hopeless at recording quick capture video on Youtube. Thus, the last half of the blog update has been cut off (but you see the whole flat before that happens) and audio-video sync was lost after approximately the first frame. But enjoy nonetheless.

All change please

Colindale, London, England // 12.24 pm // Light rain 15ºc / 59ºf

Never before has there been so many massive changes since the last blog post. Last time I was writing about Elle and I starting the hunt for a new flat in London.

Two months or so on, and we found, moved and settled into our new 1 bedroom flat in Colindale, North West London. Not only that, but I have since started a new job - pretty much a promotion - at my current company.

Back to the flat. One day in July Elle and I travelled to Colindale, near Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet, to look at flats. Through the course of the day we looked at 7 flats. Well actually, 6. One of them that we went to in Wembley looked ok from the outside, but no one was there to meet us so we could have a look inside. The flat that we went for in the end was the 3rd property we looked at. As much as we wanted to take it straight away, as we absolutely loved it, we decided to still look at some others. Throughout that day I was petrified that the 3rd property would be taken away from us before we had the chance to make our offer. But the next morning, make our offer we did, and by the end of the week we had signed all the necessary papers and paid the deposit and fees.

Packing up our old house in Reading was a real chore, but we managed it in the end and moved on August 2nd. I booked a man with a van and after loading it up, we had to say goodbye to the place that we had called home for four years, and of course the first place that Elle and I lived together.

Our new flat is on the 2nd floor (3rd floor for you Americans), which also happens to be the top floor. Therefore, carrying all our property from the van into the flat was a real pain in the arse. Thankfully I had a few other pairs of hands to help us. Rather than start to unpack when we had fully unloaded the van, we spent the rest of the day in the pub with friends!

Over the next few weeks we tried to get the place in order. Being a partly furnished property, we had to make many trips to Ikea and Argos to buy furniture for the place. Only last week did we actually fully finally unpack and have all the main items of furniture that we needed. Even now we still need a few things, including a freezer.

One of the main personal reasons for the move to London, other than it being a lifetime dream for me, was to enable me to take the next step in my career. By pure chance, that opportunity came up just a few days after we moved! I applied for a new position, which is a step further up the ladder, and several weeks back I had the interview. Last Monday I was told I was successful and yesterday I started my new job. Last night's first shift went quite well, although it will take me a little while to get used to the very different working environment. Never before have I worked anywhere which such an intense atmosphere and high levels of stress, but I'm very sure I'll be able to adjust to it, and when fully trained be a fully competent member of the team. There are three main parts of the job, one of which has ultimate responsibility for the output of a live tv show. At the moment, I can't imagine what that will be like. But then, before last night I could never have imagined what it would be like to actually do what I did last night! Will training and guidance, I'm sure it'll all be fine.

Thankfully, my sleep hasn't been disrupted either, unlike the first time I started working for this company. Like I said before, that was mostly just through excitement at being in such a different organisation. But I feel quite at home now. I still had a couple of glasses of wine last night to take the edge off the evening, and will likely have a couple of beers tonight, but once I get settled into the new job and into the routine, I'm sure that'll be less and less necessary. I've also been making sure I don't get too much sleep, so that I have no trouble falling asleep when I try. If all else fails, I still have some sleeping tablets.

The move to London and the new job are huge changes. I've easily got used to the first change, and I'll get used to the latter in time. But I'm now at the stage where, at the moment, I have nothing else I want to achieve. I'll be happy to keep things as they are for the foreseeable future.

Elle is getting on well at her job too. For both of us, travelling to work has become much quicker, easier and cheaper. We've not had much of a chance to enjoy London too much yet, but our standard of living has definitely gone up.

Other things: my mum and John were down visiting over the last weekend. We had a good time with them, and shown them around London, did the tourist thing, took them for a tour around my work, went up to John's friend in Essex for the day and ate out a few times.

I need to finish this off shortly as I need to get lunch ready then get ready for work. Up to December at least I will be working Monday to Friday 3pm till 11pm, with weekends off. However, from November I will be on-call on every 7th weekend. Thus, I've had to give up my other radio show in Slough. It was also taking 4 hours out of my Sunday just travelling from Colindale to Slough, plus the three hours for the show itself. Now, having Sundays to do what I want is just bliss.