Month: April 2013

  • 20 Years of Russ

    Today is the 20th anniversary of Virgin Radio. It launched at 12.15pm on Friday 30th April 1993 with Richard Branson joining Russ and Jono at the Virgin Megastore in Manchester. But Richard Skinner was back in the studio and played in the first track – a specially recorded version of Born To Be Wild by…

  • A Day at Somerset House

    Somerset House always has a lot going on, and I managed to tie in three things I wanted to see at the same time this week. Pick Me Up is their annual graphic arts fair which I’ve been going to for a few years now. Each year the curators choose artists for their Selects series…

  • Pinhole Photography

    Today is World Pinhole Photography Day, so I thought I’d have a play with a camera that I’ve had kicking around for a while. Unfortunately, I suspect that it’s because I’ve had it for over a year, and left it out a bit too close to a sunny window, that I got the results I…

  • Radio Times 13 April 2013

    Because I’ve not done one of these for ages. And because it’s the battle of the reality shows starting tonight as The Voice and Britain’s Got Talent go head to head. So here’s a new Radio Times scan to help you decide what to watch this evening. As ever, best viewed large for snarky comments.

  • No News Here, Move Along

    On Monday, I was somewhat sympathetic towards Sarah Sands, editor of the London Evening Standard. One of the biggest stories of the year had broken in time to make that day’s final edition, but the headline was buried behind an ad. Well tonight I have less sympathy, as a nonsense story is “developed” by the…

  • A Seaside Town Soundscape

    I recorded this a couple of weeks ago over Easter in a seaside town. It’s all a bit experimental really, and there’s more wind noise than I’d have liked in places. And it’s one of my occasional binaural recordings, again made with Roland CS-10EM binaural microphones/headphones paired with a Zoom H2 recorder. So you must…

  • RadioCentre Roll of Honour

    In 1973, commercial radio launched with LBC, Capital Radio and Radio Clyde all launching within weeks of one another. So this year is commerical radio’s 40th anniversary, and RadioCentre is celebrating with a Roll of Honour featuring forty names, which will be announced at this year’s Arqiva Awards in July. Initial inductions were made last…

  • Sony Radio Academy Radio Award Nominations 2013

    I wrote this piece for the Onegoldensquare blog, but I thought I might as well post it here for completeness! This week, the 2013 award nominations were announced, and we’ve already mentioned in passing that we got a few. This year, there are a few new categories, and the disappearance of a few older ones.…

  • Editorial v Sales

    Spare a thought for Sarah Sands. She’s the editor of the London Evening Standard. The news of the death of ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher broke just before 1pm today, which meant that her paper could be first on the streets with coverage. I’m not sure what print deadlines are like at the Standard now it’s…

  • Samsung Chromebook

    For the last few months, I’ve found myself carrying a full-size laptop around less than I did in the past, and instead using my Nexus 7 more and more. In many respects it’s excellent, and I would (and have) happily recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a 7 inch tablet. Indeed I’m convinced that…

  • In The House/Dans La Maison

    In The House is the new film from Francois Ozon, director of a range of films including 8 Women and Swimming Pool. This film is of a kind you just don’t get in Britain. It’s profoundly middle class (or should that be Established Middle Class?). Frabrice Luchini and Kristen Scott Thomas are a respectively a…

  • The Wasp Factory

    I bought this book, aged 15, on the basis of the cover. I remember seeing it in WH Smiths and being intrigued. A week later, I went back in and bought it. I haven’t looked back.