Remembering …

Exactly 70 years ago the somber voice of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain spoke from the wireless announcing that Britain was now at war with Germany. Despite attempts and appeasement to avoid another war so soon after the carnage of the Great War, you can hear the sorrow in Chamberlain’s voice as he delivers the terrible news.

The Second World War is often not thought of as being as bloody a war as the Great War, but it was just as horrific, if not more so, especially for the civilian population of the countries involved. But this isn’t the time for horrors or statistics. It’s a time to remember, and pray never again.

Clue at the New-castle

Thursday began the trek up to Newcastle upon Tyne for the third recording of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’s 51st series. It’s the furthest I’ve travelled to see a recording, but it was worth it. Not only did I get to see Rob Brydon hosting, but also got to meet up with several other fans who all post on the Saucy Gibbon site.

After a morning of picnic breakfasts on the train and enormous cake and coffee at the Baltic, it was time to meet up with the other Gibboners outside the theatre, as we’d arranged. I’d already been in to collect my tickets earlier in the day. Eventually all ten of us were gathered and we headed off to find somewhere for something to eat. We found a suitable place just round the corner and squashed round the largest table we could find. Food and drink ordered, we settled down to chatting and introducing ourselves to those of us who didn’t know each other. Massive plates of food arrived to sate our hungry tums, which was all washed down with the longest, and possibly silliest, game of Cheddar Gorge ever played in a Newcastle restaurant.

Then it was time to head back round the corner and into the theatre. We’d all booked separately, so all had seats spread throughout the auditorium. After finding our seats towards the front of the stalls and waving to the others, we settled down for a very amusing show.

At this point I could contrast Rob Brydon’s turn as host with Jack Dee’s, but I feel that would be unfair; not only are they two very different comedians with different styles, but Rob also had the advantage of having hosted the show before (on the final date of the tour last year when Humph was in hospital). I will say that Rob seemed very comfortable in the chair and was very relaxed, laughing away at the jokes and puns. It highlighted how nervous Jack had seemed in Southampton, although that may not be so obvious from the broadcasts.

The guest panellist for the evening was Phill Jupitus, who hasn’t been on the show for a good few years, so it was a welcome return for him. He fitted in perfectly and pitched his performance exactly right for the style of the show, which is much less frantic than his more usual appearances on Buzzcocks or QI.

As usual, I won’t say much about the content of the show before it’s broadcast, apart from to mention a few highlights which shouldn’t spoil anyone’s enjoyment of listening. Top of my list has to be Phill’s Dalek impression which, without the aid of a ring modulator, was almost spot on! Another highlight was the letter writing round – always one of my favourites to watch – which often has Tim and guest suffering with giggles, but this time the normally un-flappable Graeme Garden appeared to be desperately trying not to laugh on several occasions. And speaking of mirth, Phill had somewhat uncontrollable hysterics after Rob delivered a line about Samantha.

After the show it was a speedy exit to the stage door, avoiding the camera crew talking to people for breakfast news. Our rather large group was joined by quite a few others, so by the time everyone came out there was a substantial crowd waiting and it was difficult to get to speak to everyone. Our group managed to surround Phill first, and gave him the sign, as we all follow him on Twitter – he seemed astounded that there were so many of his followers there. Photos and autographs followed. Then I turned and spoke to Colin Sell, as he always seems slightly undervalued at the stage door, despite being an essential part of the team. Next I managed to find Graeme for a little chat. He asked about the sofa (again), which I assured him is still safe [it's sitting in front of me on my desk as I type].

Finally I got to speak to Tim, the others having been whisked away in taxis. He quickly solved the mystery of what had happened in Southampton – it seems he was busy elsewhere being gallant and helpful – but I honestly wasn’t complaining, just being concerned. There were plenty of hugs all round and just time for a group photo with all the Gibboners before he too had to leave.

As none of us wanted the evening to end just yet, the majority of the group had a wander round to find somewhere to have a drink or two. Having found somewhere, we chatted and laughed into the early hours before wearily wending our way to find sleep, until the next time …

Unbelievably Late!

It’s been over a week and I’ve just realised I haven’t written about the final recording of The Unbelievable Truth! Sorry about that – other stuff got in the way, but I’m here now to make amends.

I arrived early (but not so early as some of the others), and was glad to see we were allowed to wait inside this week, as it was spitting with rain outside. The other change to the waiting was one of those velvety ropes to keep the crowd away from the door to the auditorium so that people can use it easily to go in and out. Now we know from being there so often that the door is used a lot before we’re all let in, so will try and keep some space there. But there’s always so many people waiting in such a tiny space by the time we can go in that it’s easy for people to get in the way.

Anyway, as we were waiting we spotted three of the panel arriving – Jeremy Hardy, Fred Macaulay and Will Self, who walked past me and I thought ‘he’s very tall’, but it took C and me a while to remember his name. The missing panellist who had snuck in without us noticing was Jack Dee, which made a pleasant surprise when he was announced on stage. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

While we were waiting I was amused by some of the other girls who have also been to every recording discussing Jon’s introductory spiel and being able to recite several bits of it (see, it’s not just me!), and we were all laughing and joking about being able to do the audience participation exercise without prompting! So we were all in a good mood by the time we were finally let in to the auditorium and took our final front row seats of the series.

And so the show began with the usual introduction and (shock!) a new joke, which was apparently Jeremy Hardy’s, to which he pointed out a slightly better way of telling it once he’d been announced on stage with the rest of the panel.

The two shows that were recorded were good (although not as good as the previous one recorded on Sunday). I did find Will Self was dominating the recording with his long and meandering interruptions, but I’m sure that will be different in the edited broadcast. You’ll have to listen and see.

Overall, from the recordings, it’s going to be a good series. The highlight episode for me is definitely the Sean Lock, Arthur Smith, Miranda Hart, Sue Perkins combination – they seemed to gel better as a group than any of the other panels and really bounced the comedy off one another. The other’s were good and had some lovely moments of genuinely fall-off-the-chair hilarity, but just didn’t have that magic something that this episode had.

I’m still looking forward to listening to them all on Radio 4 at 6.30pm for the next few Mondays though.

And maybe another series next year … ?

So Unbelievable

Another week, another episode of The Unbelievable Truth being recorded. And again I was there (this is starting to get repetitive!). It was a Sunday this time, so there was plenty of time to get there without having to combat the rush-hour commuters. C and I arrived in plenty of time to join the group of people waiting outside, before the real queue formed behind us. We were let into the foyer promptly at 6pm, as the ticket said, which bade well for the rest of the timings being bang on time.

So the real waiting began.

Normally I would have spent some of thins time seeing if I could spot any potential panellists entering the theatre. This time my surprise had been somewhat spoiled by David Mitchell having posted on Twitter the previous day who the panellists were going to be. Nevertheless, they were all good names and so although I knew who to look out for, I was still excited to see them. First to arrive was Miranda Hart, who snuck through the doors as we were waiting outside. Sue Perkins arrived just as we’d been let in, followed not long after by Arthur Smith, who tried to get in through the wrong door. Finally Sean Lock walked in to complete the set.

We were let into the theatre and took some of the unreserved seats in the front row. I had thought when in the foyer that it seemed more empty than usual, but sitting and looking at the rest of the auditorium confirmed this, as there seemed a lot more empty seats than usual. Not that that was going to stop us enjoying the show – we’d just have to laugh even more than normal.

At 7.30 producer Jon Naismith appeared on stage to begin the introductions. Regular readers of my blog may have noticed that I’ve perhaps been focusing rather too much on this and the ‘genuinely funny joke’, so I’m going to say little apart from it was all good, as always. I will, however, point out that Jon preceded his jokes with a comment on how he was aware that some of us who go to these things regularly may have heard his jokes before (I wonder where he got that idea?), then proceeded to tell both the Doctor and the POW jokes (I still like the Goldfish one best!).

The panel were then introduced on stage, along with David Mitchell and the scorer, Abby. And so the recording began. It was another single recording instead of the two shows like last time. But I really didn’t mind as it was far and away the best, most enjoyable recording of The Unbelievable Truth I’ve been to. It seemed like hours of fun, and I’m glad I don’t have to select which bits make the edit for broadcast.

As usual, I won’t say much about the content, to save spoiling it for those listening later. However, I will say that it began well, with Arthur Smith completely missing the point and spotting lies not truths. He did get the hang of it later. There was quite a bit of ribbing of David Mitchell for not knowing everything, with much comparison to the all-knowing Stephen Fry and QI. As there’s been more than a few mentions of The Unbelievable Truth on QI recently, it seemed a far exchange.

Finally I must mention the buzzer incident – half way through the recording the buzzer stopped making a noise. The panellist’s lights were still lighting up on the box, but with no sound (not very useful for radio!). Very quickly someone leapt on stage to fix it, I think by replacing the box that makes the noise with another one. And so the game was able to continue. I’ve never known anything like that to happen before though.

And so, sadly the evening ended and we all made our way home. I could gladly have watched another show with that panel, but will have to make do with listening to the broadcast of the series which begins this evening.

Oh, and making the fourth and final recording on Thursday!

There is nothing so strange and so unbelievable

Less than a week later, and it was time for another recording of The Unbelievable Truth. Last night’s recording was for two episodes, so began earlier, which meant arriving earlier at the venue. On arrival, a notice on the door said no entry until 5.30pm (which is fair enough, as that’s what it said on the ticket), so I stood behind a couple of other people who were already waiting and watched the queue form behind me.

While I was waiting I did see three out of the four panellists arrive. First was Clive Anderson, who walked past the front of the line of people waiting, smiled and said hello, then went in the front door. Next up I spied through the gap between a pillar and a tree someone wearing a shirt in a very familiar shade of pink, who turned out to be Graeme Garden. He snuck in through the side door. Finally the diminutive figure of Lucy Porter squeezed past the queue, saying excuse me, before reaching the front door.

5,30 came and went and we were still standing outside in the cold. [note to self - take gloves next time!] Finally we were let in to wait in the warm foyer and thaw through. We took up our usual position by the doors to the theatre and settled down to wait. Whilst we were waiting we could see what was happening on stage, as the second set of doors had been left open. Photographs were taken and we watched the panellists take their seats. We took some time trying to identify the mystery fourth panellist from the tiny part of his curly haired head which we could see. We settled (rightly) on it being Chris Addison. We also had a little wave from Clive Anderson, who could obviously see us looking through the window from where he sat.

Eventually we were allowed to go into the theatre, so we chose some very good seats on the front row and waited a bit more. Eventually Jon Naismith, the producer, came on stage and began his introductions. I was a little confused as not only did he not tell us what to do in the event of the theatre catching fire (again!), or that if in any doubt that a remark is funny we should laugh, he then proceeded to tell a different genuinely funny joke from last week! Although he did then follow that one up with a second, being last week’s joke. He introduced the panel and host and the recording was underway.

Again, I won’t say much about the recording, apart from telling you to listen out for the line about how female penguins “put out for rocks”. I also spotted a few truths, including one about the Lunar Society (but then that is  a part of local history I’m very interested in).

After both recordings had finished, we waited around to say hello. However, all of the panellists seemed to have somewhere else they wanted to be as they all headed out of the building as quickly as possible. However, David Mitchell did hang around long enough for me to hear someone trying to persuade him to be in a Big Finish drama (which I thought was a great idea, and probably should have said so at the time).

The Unbelievable Things People Believe

Another year, another set of Unbelievable Truth recordings.

Because the clever people at BBC Audiences seem to be issuing tickets via email now, we didn’t have the problem with them being sent to the wrong address like last year. So C and I arrived promptly for the first of four recordings. Unlike previous years, when the six programmes were recorded in 3 double sessions, there are two dates with only one show being recorded at each. It’ll be interesting to see whether it’s eight completely different panelists between the two single recordings …

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and need to focus on this, the first. As you have to arrive early at these things to get a seat (tickets don’t guarantee one), there’s lots of time spent waiting around. We spotted a couple of faces who we recognised from the recordings last year, as well as Tony Hawks, who walked through to the theatre not long after I arrived. So that was one name on the panel – we wondered who the others might be.

Eventually we were allowed to go into the theatre, and took some very good seats on the front row (as usual). As is also usual, the show didn’t start on time, but eventually Jon Naismith, the producer appeared and began his usual introduction (and no, he hasn’t found a new ‘genuinely funny joke’, before you ask!). He then introduced the panelists, who were Simon Evans, Milton Jones and Johnny Vaughan, as well as Tony who we’d already seen.  After the host, David Mitchell, and the scorer were also seated on stage, the show began.

I won’t post much about the content of the show, to save spoiling it for those of you who want to listen to the broadcast. I did spot at least one truth that no one on the panel got (I know my standing armies!) and spotted a few more that they did. I think I’m getting better at not giving away when I do spot a truth – it’s dangerous sitting on the front row! I was amused by the introduction to Tony Hawks which mentioned his sitcom Morris Minor’s Marvellous Motors, making out that no one remembered it (I do – it also starred Una Stubbs and a pre-Doctor Who Camille Coduri as Morris’ love interest!). I was less amused by one panelist’s habit of insisting he was always right, talking over other people and trying to change the rules for his benefit. Maybe this won’t come across on the broadcast version, so I won’t dwell on it.

Overall it was a good fun evening. I look forward to hearing the broadcast when it arrives. The trailers that were also recorded suggested that the series would begin on 23rd March, so listen out then.

Happy Birthday Who

Yesterday was the 45th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. Not that you’d know that from the BBC, who did almost nothing to commemorate this momentous day (there was a mention of it before the broadcast of the latest Eighth Doctor story, The Zygon Who Fell To Earth, on Radio 7)

I’d been doing lots of celebrating myself though.

The week before I’d been along to the Sarah Jane Adventures signing at Borders in Oxford Street. This was a great treat for me, as I’d wanted to meet Elisabeth Sladenfor a very long time (I nearly had on two previous occasions). Obviously the series is aimed at children, so the event was too – there had been a competition for children to win the chance to attend an exclusive reading by Lis, which I managed to experience by standing near the roped-off area (although I couldn’t hear what was being read). I was so excited just to be there! The competition winners then had their items signed and were allowed to have photos taken with Lis and the two other stars from the show, Tommy Knight and Daniel Anthony. I joined the queue with the rest of the non-winners to wait my turn to meet them and get my DVD signed.

I have to say the the staff at Borders were very lovely, keeping us informed of what was happening, how long we would have to wait and keeping us supplied with free activity sheets and wristbands. My only criticism would be that as I got towards the front of the queue (getting towards the end of the time allotted for the event) the staff told us we were now only allowed to have three items signed, which was reduced to one item just before I reached the front of the queue. As I only had one item to be signed, this didn’t bother me, but I think perhaps they should have applied a limit from the beginning (apart from for the competition winners). Oh, well. Also a note to add how very well behaved all the children were when waiting in the queue – I’m impressed with their patience.

I finally made it to the front of the queue and handed my DVD across to Daniel, along withthe sticky note we’d been given with our name on to help them know who to sign stuff to (Daniel and Tommy were fighting over these, to try and see who could collect the most ‘friends’!). Daniel said hello, and was very friendly, although I don’t think I managed to say much to him because next to sign was Lis, who also said hello. I was very awe-struck at just being there, but then she complimented me on the beret I was wearing and I just blethered a thank you (at least, that’s what I intended). My DVD was then passed to Tommy to sign. All three were very friendly and chatty and took plenty of time to talk to everyone as they were signing so that it didn’t feel rushed at all, and was well worth the wait. An extra treat then arrived in the shape of writer Gareth Roberts and former DWM editor Clayton Hickman.

Then we come to the anniversary itself.

On the day I was at the Memorabilia fair at the NECin Birmingham. There were various film, sport and games stands and people, but there was also a Doctor Who zone, filled withpeople from boththe new and classic series, along with various merchandise stands.

I arrived and got through the ticket queue just in time to go to the first Who talk. The panel was a good mix of old and new series people, with companions Anneke Wills (Polly), Frazer Hines (Jamie), Tracey Childs (Metella in Fires of Pompeii) and Ayesha Antoine (Dee Dee in Midnight). There was lots of chat about their various experiences of being in Doctor Who, as well as watching it.

Then there was time for a quick wander round before it was back to the stage area for another talk, this time with Torchwood’s Gareth David-Lloyd. He talked about Torchwood in general, how his character has grown from teaboy to dodging bullets (a phrase he used a few times about what Ianto is up to in series 3, so watch out for that), and how popular the series is in America. He also joked about the new Torchwood figures, and how he thought his figure should have been in the first wave released, rather than cybergirl who was only in one episode. He also spoke about being in Doctor who (Stolen Earth/Journey’s End) and the radio episode of Torchwood. After the talk there was an extra photo session put on, so I paid my money to get my picture taken with Gareth as the stand where he was signing said ‘no photos’.

In the afternoon there was another Doctor Who panel, this time with Colin Spaull (Revelation of the Daleks and Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel), Daniel King (The Unicorn and the Wasp), Paul Marc Davis (Utopia and The Trickster from SJA) and Anna Hope (New Earth/Gridlock). Again there was chat about their experiences of being in Doctor Who, and particularly from Anna Hope who had a long time being put in her mask to play a cat nun. There were also questions about where they would go if they had a time machine and who should be cast as the next Doctor.

After the talk there was just time to get photos with all of the guests (as well as those already mentioned, Katy Manning and Nicola Bryantwere there too). Everyone was very approachable and friendly and I even had a bit of a chat with some of them – I talked to Tracey Childsfor what seemed like ages about the golden era of Doctor Who with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, as well as her appearance as Metellaand the Cambridge Latin Course ( and the dog, Cerberus, who should have been in it!). So I’ve been able to bring some lovely memories how with me from a fantastic celebratory day.

It’s official …

I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue will return!

The Independent have published an article quoting producer Jon Naismith as saying

“We have decided we want to continue with the show. We enjoy it too much to stop altogether.”

Now we wait patiently …

(and watch with interest the debate over who should be the new chairman)

Ode to the Universe

Continuing my week/month/year/lifetime [delete as you think appropriate] of Doctor Who obsession, yesterday I was fortunate enough to find myself in the Royal Albert Hall for the Doctor Who Prom. I was excited when I first heard that there was going to be a Doctor Who themed Prom as part of the BBC’s Prom season, so I applied for tickets and headed down to London early Sunday morning to take my seat in a packed arena.

The programme was a mix of music, mostly pieces from the series composed by the brilliant Murray Gold, but interspersed with some well known classical pieces which all seemed to fit the intergalactic theme; there was Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man to open the proceedings, along with Ride of the Valkyries (complete with the four horn players in horned helmets), Jupiter from Holst’s Planet Suite and Prokofiev’s Montagues and Capulets (those last two both always remind me of steam trains!).

The whole thing was introduced by Freema Agyeman, with help from Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri, an unexpected appearance from Catherine Tate (she wasn’t in the programme), and Julian Bleach complete in full Davros make-up. There were also regular appearances amongst the audience by Cybermen, Ood (who stood with arms raised at several points, in a circular building, echoing the episode), Judoon and Sontarans, which gave the younger ones something to watch while the orchestra was playing non-Who music (All the music from the series was accompanied by clips from the show, which I felt was a shame as it meant we didn’t get the close-ups of the orchestra on the screens at that point). And there was a wonderful moment when a Dalek appeared on stage to announce that they had travelled back in time to kidnap Henry Woodso that  “from now on the Proms will only play DALEK MUSIC”, which made me chuckle!

There was also the specially filmed scene, Music of the Spheres. In this the Doctor, with help from a Graske, found a portal in the Tardis which allowed him to speak directly to the Albert Hall. I have to give credit to both Russell T Davies writing and David Tennant’s performance in that they had the timing of the audience’s responses to a T. The scene was brought to life more by the appearance of the Graske on stage (armed with a waterpistol to terrorise the orchestra) and the Doctor’s composition being thrown through the ‘portal’ so sheets of music floated onto the stage to be grabbed and handed round by the orchestra. There was also a wonderful message about music being for everyone (not just orchestras and pop stars) and how you just need to listen to hear the music within you. All good fun, which seemed to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

But for most of the morning the music was from the series, by composer Murray Gold (conducted by Ben Foster), and it was this that I’d come to see performed. And it was beautifully performed – from the opening ooo’s of Melanie Pappenheim’s vocals to the closing crescendo of the theme tune, it was all superb. I appreciate this music when it is used in the show, but to experience it live was a hairs on the back of the neck moment (and a few teary ones). Highlights for me were the Doomsday music, the Dalek and Davros themes (with added Dalek on stage seemingly conducting the orchestra) and the stunningly beautiful Song of Freedom from this year’s series (the Ood episode and Journey’s End, which I’ve mentioned I loved then) which was made all the more special by the child sitting next to me, who can’t have been more than four, holding his Tardis-shaped programme and turning it round and round, as though in flight. That’s the magic of Doctor Who!

Unbelievably Funny

You may remember last year I wrote about a new radio comedy panel game called The Unbelievable Truth. Well, it’s back! The new series began yesterday on Radio 4. I’d managed to get to two of the three recordings (again), but I got distracted from writing about them, so thought I’d post something now.

The first one was great fun. I arrived nice and early, so as to be able to get good seats and waited for Cand Wackywales (from GROK) to arrive. The recording was at the Shaw Theatre, which I like as a venue, although it would be better if there were more seats to sit on whilst waiting – it’s a long time to stand, especially when it gets crowded. While we were waiting I spotted Tim Vine arriving and a little later C spotted Adam Buxton, so we suspected that it was going to be a good panel. They were joined by Ed Byrne and Lee Mack and all four of them seemed to be on the same wavelength for both the shows they recorded – there was some great banter between them, some of which I suspect won’t make the final edit.

I won’t say much about the content of either of the recordings, as the shows have yet to be broadcast, suffice to say they were all very funny and I was laughing a lot. I think the show seems to be improving with each series (of two – yes I know there’s not a lot to go on, but I think it’s definitely a grower) and I hope there’s some more to come.

The second recording I went to was the final one of the three. C was there again, but we also met up with two of The Giddies. Much chatting and giggling was done before the show – spotting Fred Macaulay arriving, discussing iphones and trying to see what was going on in the theatre through some tiny windows. The most we got to see was that one on the panelists was wearing a pink shirt (now who do we know who wears shirts that colour??). After what seemed like years of waiting we were finally let in to the theatre and managed to grab four front row seats.

The producer, Jon Naismith, surprised us all in his usual intoduction by telling a new ‘genuinely funny joke’. Well, I say new, but I had heard him tell it before (I suppose it was less ‘new’, more ‘different’), but it made a pleasant change from the one he’s been telling recently (I still prefer the goldfish one though). Then the panel was brought on – Michael McIntyre, Fred Macaulay, Lucy Porter and Graeme Garden. They were all very good and very funny, although they didn’t seem to have quite the same rapport between them as the previous week’s. And I’m not sure Michael McIntyre did himself any favours beginning the evening by saying that he didn’t understand why anyone would listen to the radio! At the recording of a radio programme, in front of an audience probably made up of radio listeners, I’m not sure this was a good idea. But generally much fun was had and I surprised myself as to how much I knew about a couple of the subjects, spotting the truths myself and waiting to see if anyone else did.

I can’t wait to hear how both recordings turn out on their broadcasts. I’m sure they’ll be very funny and highly recommend listening if you haven’t already.