h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I done it! They might even use a clip from something I asked him on Five Live!

Hurrah!! Well done.

Aren't you supposed to be at the meet?

Ach, give me a minute, I've only just got back from Barnet!

Congratulations!

Now go get

Have a really ggod time. I was very disapointed not to be able to make it this time when I knew you were going.

I will do my level best! And there *will* be other times, I'm sure

I really think I might have cracked it this time

If you go to this page:
www.bbc.co.uk/football

and click on the 'audio' link under the second story (the one that says "Spirit will compensate for Vieira - Wenger") you'll hear an answer to a question I asked Arsene Wenger about Vieira, me asking him about Shaun Wright-Phillips, and another guy asking about Jermaine Jenas.



This is very strange though. I don't quite know whether this is a sign that I'm on my way to somewhere and this is the start of something, or if I'm just a part-timer who got lucky and this is my 15 seconds of fame. I think I should basically shut my face and enjoy the moment...

Still, I think it might surprise a few people at work (at TV Centre where I work on my weekday job, not Radio London) when they find out, and they may look at me in a different light. After spending four years at the bottom of the office food chain, it's really good to be getting out and actually *doing* stuff

I heard it! I'm glad to see that the Beeb offer an alternative to real media these days.

Are you as posh as you sound?

Posh? Nah, I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth...

...and according to GreyDesk, I'm also shorter in real life than I come across as being online

(suddenly reminded of that bit in Smokey and the Bandit where Jackie Gleason says "Well, you sounded taller on the radio!")

I think the poshness is s a side-effect of trying hard to speak clearly. David Croft on Five Live is a prime example - in real life, he sounds like an East End barrow bosh. Stick him in front of a microphone - instant toff.

It could have simply been the contrast between you and someone who had an accent.

Yes I've just made mention of the stature thing elsewhere. I have to say it did come as quite a shock somehow. Sorry...

Hey, five foot eight's not *that* short!


John Inverdale's shorter than me. *And* he wears those shoes that make you taller. I stood next to him in a lift once.


Anyway, I'm pleased I went to the meet. In an ideal world I'd have got there earlier in time for the quiz (and not missed the early drinking) but given what I'd been up to it was fair enough... Was fortunate to be clocked by GreyDesk more or less as soon as I'd got through the door, and he was kind enough to introduce me to a whole bunch of people including the Italics. Happily spent a couple of pints chatting to GreyDesk and Agapanthus, then got talking to fords, roymondo, Croz and Xanatic (not necessarily in that order) round about last orders, then Paully announced that we'd drunk the pub dry of lager and it was hometime.

Or in my case, time to drift off towards St Paul's tube as everyone else headed off to Blackfriars. And then I got an "Everyone Back to Mine" call from two of my mates who'd been putting on a club afternoon up in Kentish Town. So I headed over to Shoreditch where they live, had a random and interesting chat with an Australian girl called Rita that I met in Hoxton Square while I was waiting for them - and then about ten of us headed back to their flat and spent most of the night drinking and dancing before falling over sideways at some unspecified point...

Woke up slumped in an armchair at about quarter to eight, walked to Old Street and got the bus home. I can't, logically speaking, have had that much sleep which is something I should probably address at some point.

Glad you enjoyed the meet.

Last night was the first time since hearing about meets that I've sat in front of the 'puter and actually felt a bit like I should've been somewhere else...

Have listened to your question. Well done, carry on

I had to open IE to listen to your piece Six - Hope you appreciate the sacrifice I can't get anything out of the BBC sports player in Mozilla or Firefox any more Something's happened somewhere in my PC - both browsers have stopped connecting to certain media links. The BBC Radio Player works fine (thank Zarquon), but not the sports, news etc players. And links to NPR stations in San Antonio and LA which used to open up Windows Media Player, don't any more. And yet everything still works in IE

Anyways, well done

Thanks, everyone

Gosho - could that be a registry problem?

Could be... with this machine it could be almost anything One night last week the link was working perfectly. I switched the box off, went to bed, and next morning it was banjaxed No apparent reason why.

If it's a registry fix, would you know which setting to change? I quite enjoy tinkering with regedit

Sadly not, I'm a technical muppet...

Found it !

Obviously if Grey Desk is to be believd you have a future at the BBC - replacement for mini-motty

Get knotted, the pair of you!

It's been a funny sort of day, all-in. I somehow managed to avoid trumpeting my achievements of the weekend all round the office, but I let a couple of people know and they seemed very pleased for me, Which Was Nice

Five Live didn't use a clip from my interview at the weekend as it turned out, what with all the Golf that was on - I was told this morning that there was a chance that it might have gone out on Sport on 5 tonight, but they used a different clip as it turned out. Being on the website's enough for me for the time being anyway - three days ago I wasn't even expecting that!