A ruddy great ball of fuzz fury!!!
RAF policeman Wayne Smith brought his dog Charlie into the studio last week, and though this dog is trained to kill, it was such a big, loveable hound that this seemed hard to imagine. It turned into controlled chaos of the military kind, as Major Steve Melbourne of the Royal Marines volunteered (crazzzzy lad), to step into the booth and help antagonise Charlie to enable us to record the, shall we say, less affable side to the dog's temperament. Snarf.
It could have led to a predicament of uniforms and fur flying at dawn but fortunately due to the sheer professionalism, courage and skill of all three, we managed 'a wrap' with all limbs and heads intact. This was lucky for me as I am in charge of health and safety here at A1, and bar a couple of plasters needed here and there I haven’t had much call to sort out the maiming of any clients thus far. Big Big Phew.
Wayne and Charlie have seen a lot of action including patrolling the air fields in Afghanistan. Charlie is now eight and due to retire very soon. I have asked for first dibs on having him once the brave dog is stepped down from his very important role of protecting Queen and Country.
Major Steve Melbourne joined the Royal Marines in 1979 and served in Northern Ireland and the Gulf, before joining the Physical Training Specialisation in 1991. Since then he has deployed on operations and exercises across the world, from Afghanistan to Kosovo, Norway to Costa Rica.
Currently he is the Media Operations Officer for Joint Force HQ – a unique organisation charged with delivering flexible and effective teams at short notice in response to crisis situations across the world.
A bit like my role at VOX Towers....well...yes.... I am charged with delivering croissants and fresh coffee to the many celebs that grace our doors, and let me tell you, dealing with some of them can definitely lead to a crisis situation!
But in all seriousness these guys have put their lives on the line and seem to take it all in their stride. I take my hat off to them and can say with hand on heart that RAF Policeman Wayne Smith and Major Steve Melbourne are two of the nicest chaps we have had the pleasure to meet at A1, and of course, Charlie the dog who is by far my favourite ever guest, and made last week’s session one of my most memorable.
I am not sure if Peter Dickson read last week’s blog and really did try to have the last bark, but the voice that makes shows like The X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent and Chris Moyle's Quiz Night what they are, (with vocals that are cemented into the public conscience - Ouch!), seems to have taken things a little far with my idle threat last week.
Please no-one call in as I believe the gun was fake and once Charlie had calmed down after his military banter we sent him over to Peter’s house to rescue the poor defenceless kitty cat from Peter’s clutches. Good boy Charlie!
At the end of last week Mr. Robert Opie a consumer historian made his way to the fourth floor.
Starting at the age of sixteen with a packet of Munchies, Robert built up a collection that now extends to all aspects of daily life - toys, magazines, technology, travel, souvenirs, fashion and design..
From mere collecting, Robert's mission extended to understanding the origins and development of brands and retailing, by assembling the evidence from thousands of surviving examples of bottles, tins, labels, signs and many forms of promotional and advertising material.
He comments, 'When the thousands of pieces of our social history are assembled into some giant jigsaw, the picture becomes clearer as to the remarkable journey we have all come through'.
The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising present the collection of Robert Opie.
I had a chat with Robert as I have asked many of my friends if they remember the spearmint chewy sweet of the eighties – “Pacers” – they all think I am nuts!. 'I’ll ask the expert', I said to myself, 'then we will see who is off their rocker'.
Robert did indeed remember the sweet and even has the packet of one such tube in his collection. He also agrees there is a gap in the market for such a chew-tastic delicacy. So eat that non believers!
If you have a problem and no-one else can help – maybe you should hire –
The Dream Team.
Yup, time to forget the A-Team as our own Charles (Hannibal) Nove whizzed up to Glasgow last week to film an episode of BBC 2 quiz Celebrity Eggheads.
The show pits a team of five 'Eggheads' (made up from seven highly regarded quiz and game show champions, rotating each episode) against a series of 'challengers' who in each episode attempt to beat the Eggheads through a series of rounds.
Charles made up one fifth of "Rent-a-Gob" the celebrity voice artists team along with Redd Pepper (featured in the blog not so long ago), Steve Punt, Jon Briggs and Mitch Johnson.
The show is presented by Dermot Murnaghan and you will have to tune in to see if the lucid tongues of the voice team could outwit the champions. Go on lads..do it for all things vocal.
SOHO NEWS
Soho's Marshall Baths opens!
The eagerly awaited opening of the 160 year-old London baths in Soho is now here, and will open to the public next month.
Costing a cool £25m, Westminster Council’s Marshall Street baths in Soho has undergone an extensive regeneration.
The Grade II listed building, which first opened in 1932 and is famous for its stunning barrel vaulted roof, will operate as a public facility, like others provided across the city, with fees, charges and resident discounts similar to those operating at other sites in the council’s ownership. So this should be a pretty top notch facility with down market prices, quite the one off for Westminster and Soho!!!!!
The ambitious project will boast a new purpose-built leisure centre which will include new fitness suites, sauna and health suite and dedicated dance and exercise studios. Watch out London...... I may be tempted to once more don my Lycra all in one and dance like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. What a Soho feeling!
Well I don’t know about you but I feel that quite a lot has happened in what seemed like five short days.
To my knowledge there are no more animals entering A1 this week, though we are getting a visit from Paul Barber of The Full Monty fame, so some of the ladies may go animalistic if Paul decides to shred his wares as he does in the film – "Why do they call they call you horse?" (Paul's character drops his kecks) "WHOA!!!!....Ahhhhh" - OO ER Missus!
Till next week - Over and out.
Currently he is the Media Operations Officer for Joint Force HQ – a unique organisation charged with delivering flexible and effective teams at short notice in response to crisis situations across the world.
A bit like my role at VOX Towers....well...yes.... I am charged with delivering croissants and fresh coffee to the many celebs that grace our doors, and let me tell you, dealing with some of them can definitely lead to a crisis situation!
But in all seriousness these guys have put their lives on the line and seem to take it all in their stride. I take my hat off to them and can say with hand on heart that RAF Policeman Wayne Smith and Major Steve Melbourne are two of the nicest chaps we have had the pleasure to meet at A1, and of course, Charlie the dog who is by far my favourite ever guest, and made last week’s session one of my most memorable.
I am not sure if Peter Dickson read last week’s blog and really did try to have the last bark, but the voice that makes shows like The X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent and Chris Moyle's Quiz Night what they are, (with vocals that are cemented into the public conscience - Ouch!), seems to have taken things a little far with my idle threat last week.
Please no-one call in as I believe the gun was fake and once Charlie had calmed down after his military banter we sent him over to Peter’s house to rescue the poor defenceless kitty cat from Peter’s clutches. Good boy Charlie!
At the end of last week Mr. Robert Opie a consumer historian made his way to the fourth floor.
Starting at the age of sixteen with a packet of Munchies, Robert built up a collection that now extends to all aspects of daily life - toys, magazines, technology, travel, souvenirs, fashion and design..
From mere collecting, Robert's mission extended to understanding the origins and development of brands and retailing, by assembling the evidence from thousands of surviving examples of bottles, tins, labels, signs and many forms of promotional and advertising material.
He comments, 'When the thousands of pieces of our social history are assembled into some giant jigsaw, the picture becomes clearer as to the remarkable journey we have all come through'.
The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising present the collection of Robert Opie.
I had a chat with Robert as I have asked many of my friends if they remember the spearmint chewy sweet of the eighties – “Pacers” – they all think I am nuts!. 'I’ll ask the expert', I said to myself, 'then we will see who is off their rocker'.
Robert did indeed remember the sweet and even has the packet of one such tube in his collection. He also agrees there is a gap in the market for such a chew-tastic delicacy. So eat that non believers!
If you have a problem and no-one else can help – maybe you should hire –
The Dream Team.
Yup, time to forget the A-Team as our own Charles (Hannibal) Nove whizzed up to Glasgow last week to film an episode of BBC 2 quiz Celebrity Eggheads.
The show pits a team of five 'Eggheads' (made up from seven highly regarded quiz and game show champions, rotating each episode) against a series of 'challengers' who in each episode attempt to beat the Eggheads through a series of rounds.
Charles made up one fifth of "Rent-a-Gob" the celebrity voice artists team along with Redd Pepper (featured in the blog not so long ago), Steve Punt, Jon Briggs and Mitch Johnson.
The show is presented by Dermot Murnaghan and you will have to tune in to see if the lucid tongues of the voice team could outwit the champions. Go on lads..do it for all things vocal.
SOHO NEWS
Soho's Marshall Baths opens!
The eagerly awaited opening of the 160 year-old London baths in Soho is now here, and will open to the public next month.
Costing a cool £25m, Westminster Council’s Marshall Street baths in Soho has undergone an extensive regeneration.
The Grade II listed building, which first opened in 1932 and is famous for its stunning barrel vaulted roof, will operate as a public facility, like others provided across the city, with fees, charges and resident discounts similar to those operating at other sites in the council’s ownership. So this should be a pretty top notch facility with down market prices, quite the one off for Westminster and Soho!!!!!
The ambitious project will boast a new purpose-built leisure centre which will include new fitness suites, sauna and health suite and dedicated dance and exercise studios. Watch out London...... I may be tempted to once more don my Lycra all in one and dance like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. What a Soho feeling!
Well I don’t know about you but I feel that quite a lot has happened in what seemed like five short days.
To my knowledge there are no more animals entering A1 this week, though we are getting a visit from Paul Barber of The Full Monty fame, so some of the ladies may go animalistic if Paul decides to shred his wares as he does in the film – "Why do they call they call you horse?" (Paul's character drops his kecks) "WHOA!!!!....Ahhhhh" - OO ER Missus!
Till next week - Over and out.
Oooh, do you know when the Eggheads episode will air?
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