Various bits of writing on the interweb

On my wavelength

Here’s the latest in my series on Collectors for the BBC. Phil Rosen from West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire has over a hundred valve radios. They’re beautiful pieces of furniture and have lovely rich tones you just don’t get with modern radios.

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If you can remember the Sixties you weren’t there.

I’ll be taking my autograph book with me on Saturday for the West Ham v Newcastle game. We have some legendary West Ham players from the sixties, coming down for a chat pitch-side before the game. The  names I’ve been given are  Ken Brown, John Bond, Alan Dickie, Alan Stephenson, Ronnie Boyce, Brian Dear, Jack Burkett, Martin Peters, Dennis Burnett, Eddie Bovington and Peter Brabrook. It’s amazing how many players

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Dancing with Peter Shilton

Here’s a piece I filmed with Peter Shilton the other day. The legendary England goalkeepr is a smashing bloke and he’s really enjoying himself on Strictly Come Dancing. You can see him giving me some dance tips in the Blue Peter garden here. the Blue Peter garden.

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Orange Feet after the Monsoon

I have orange feet. It’s been three days and I still have orange feet. It all goes back to Saturday night, the night West London was gridlocked and the heavens opened. West Ham earned a fighting draw against Fulham. It wasn’t a classic, but it was our fourth game unbeaten, and there are lots of optimistic signs for the future, despite us being bottom of the table. I thought I’d

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My favourite job in the world ever.

You probably know me as a speaker and broadcaster but did you know I’m the the voice of a global video game? The new FIFA 11 came out today. I think it’s the best football video game in the world. But I’m biased; I’ve been involved in the EA Sports FIFA games since 2006. Every year I spend a day in Soho in a sound studio, putting down two thousand

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Matchday Column

How I became the West Ham announcer. I moved to East London from Cambridge when I was six. I think my parents may have done the driving, but I imagine I did most of the packing and dealing with estate agents. Growing up in Clayhall it was a no-brainer that I should be a Hammer. There was a Spurs fan and a Chelsea fan on our street, but nobody really

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Edinburgh Talk

I’m off to Edinburgh next week for the festival. On Wednesday night I’ll be giving a talk on how to keep an audience’s attention using comedy. Forget jokes, I’m a big believer in telling true stories that have happened to you. It’s called ‘Putting the U in Humour’ . It’s a talk I’ve done many times to businesses and organisations, but this is one of the few times when members

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Getting the elbow

Here’s something I started writing last year, when I was ill, after contracting an infection in an elbow wound in France. I didn’t finish the article, as I was feeling groggy.  Besides I didn’t have a blog back then. In fact heaven knows why I was writing, when I should have been tucked up on the sofa with some grapes and a box set of Stargate Atlantis. Anyway I found

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The Bakewell Show

The Bakewell Show Here’s some pictures of Thursday’s BBC East Midlands Today roadshow at the Bakewell Show in Derbyshire. I smiled a lot at people and if they looked short sighted, I signed photos that weren’t of me. Viewers had a chance to read the news. The vicar of Bakewell was a star at doing the weather in front of the green screen. Everyone had their picture taken with our

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