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.