Archives for October 2009

We're almost two thirds of the way through the Octoberfest in Hull. It's been another day of fascinating stories on-air and lots of activity round our igloo in the centre of Hull. I spent most of the morning at the St Stephen's Shopping Centre in the city where Shelagh Fogarty was presenting the mid-morning programme.

We thought we'd take the pulse of the economy, talking to shoppers, retailers and small business-owners on the day it was widely predicted the recession would be officially over. Of course that's not what the figures ended up showing and, as we heard from some of Hull's unemployed and from someone recently made bankrupt, you could tell the scale of the economic problems many people are facing.

One of 5 live's key aims is to bring our audience different stories and different voices from around the UK - this was a great example of how we can actually do that.

But we've reflected many other aspects of life too - from films with Mayo and Kermode to the latest talking points in an area which is passionate about sport. And we've got lots more sporting discussion to come as Colin Murray presents tonight's 5 live sport from Hull as well as tomorrow's Fighting Talk (including a debut by Former Hull City legend Dean Windass). We'll finish with a crucial match at the KC Stadium as Hull City meet Portsmouth.

And in our city centre igloo we're preparing for Saturday - likely to be our busiest day. If you're anywhere near Hull, do come along and see us.

Adrian Van Klaveren is Controller of BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra

• Thanks to Richard Bacon for the photo of the 5 live igloo in Queen Victoria Square, Hull.

The buzz in the Vue cinema at 1230 this afternoon was electric. They weren't waiting for a screening of Love Happens, but the arrival of Drs Mayo and Kermode. There was a huge round of applause for Simon when he made his first appearance with Mark Kermode hidden away to make his big entrance at 1500. But an even bigger cheer was reserved for Owen, the first man in the queue at a remarkable 0930, 3 hours before the doors opened. Why so early? "to see Dr K of course" he replied. You can watch the show live on the website.

We're back in the Ferens Art Gallery tonight as Colin Murray hosts 5 live sport. Tim Lovejoy is in town and he'll be doing his Sports Express show with Colin also. There's a live Fighting Talk tomorrow morning after Danny Baker's show which is live on the website and under the red button.

Hull has been a terrific working experience for 5 live, BBC Humberside have been fantastic, we've met some great listeners and we hope gained many new ones. Octoberfest continues.

Brett Spencer is BBC Radio 5's Interactive Editor

• Thank you to listener libdom for the picture, taken from the back row of screen ten at the Vue Cinema.

There was a moment at about 1700 yesterday when it all felt like it was kicking off. There were angry scenes at Television Centre in London and protesters started to gather outside BBC Humberside, the location of Richard Bacon's show. Thankfully it started raining and the Hull protest soon faded away.

We'd taken the decision to simulcast the whole of Question Time live on the network. We moved Richard's show earlier at 2200 to cover the build up. Before the show Twiter had burst into life, at one stage in the evening a thousand tweets a minute about Question Time were appearing from all over the world.

Our audience of 5 live listeners were brilliant - fascinated by Question Time and keen to react afterwards. Richard and I and the team in London struggled a bit to cope with the sheer volume of calls, emails, texts and tweets.

One woman took our politicians to task, accusing them of 'not listening' and giving the BNP a way in by ignoring people's feelings. An ex soldier called to say that he had been impressed by Nick Griffin. It was electric and felt like a big moment in TV and political history. As usual, our listeners did most of the talking and most of the work.

I'm glad we devoted the whole show to it - we could have stayed on air until 0500 with the huge amount of response we had.

Louise Birt is editor of the Richard Bacon show

• Listen again to last night's special Richard Bacon Question Time debate.
• Twitter is still buzzing with discussion of Question Time. Follow 5 live and Richard Bacon and, if you're tweeting about Octoberfest or listening to the programmes from Hull, use the hash tag #5liveHull so we can keep track of the conversation. Hundreds already are.
• The (blurry) picture shows the enthusiastic audience for last night's broadcast. It's from Richard's phone.

It's a strange thing, sitting in BBC Humberside watching events at Television Centre.

But we've not been without drama here. A protest formed outside BBC Humberside, although it was small and wasn't anything like the scenes going on elsewhere. Richard Bacon who was having a pizza nearby had to be escorted into the office (pictured), but not before he stopped for a chat with protesters and invited a few on to tonight's programme. But then the rain came again and the protest evaporated very quickly.

Simon Mayo is currently chairing our Olympic debate with Lord Coe and others in the Ferens Art Gallery, you can watch the live stream on the website.

There's a change in the schedule tonight. Richard Bacon will be on air from 2200 and then you will be able to hear the whole of Question Time live after 2200. Richard will then debate the issues with a panel and with you the listeners from 2330.

There's a lot more tomorrow, Shelagh Fogarty live from Hull at 1000 and then Dr M. and Dr K. from the Vue Cinema after 1300. Anyone know the weather forecast?

Brett Spencer is BBC Radio 5's Interactive Editor

• Adam Gabbatt in The Guardian has been live blogging the build-up to tonight's Question Time, including the smaller protest outside BBC Radio Humberside where Richard Bacon's live debate will take place tonight.
• The picture shows Richard being escorted into BBC Radio Humberside earlier this evening.
• Follow Brett Spencer and Richard Bacon in Hull on Twitter and if you're tweeting about the Octoberfest or listening to the programmes, use the hash tag #5liveHull so we can keep track of the conversation.

Simon Mayo's show has just finished. There was a terrific interview with John Prescott to open with. The former deputy PM said that he didn't think the BNP should be isolated, they should be allowed on Question Time and their odious views exposed.

But it's going to be a long day for Simon. There was a horrible moment earlier when we heard that Peter Allen had been in a car accident on the M1. The good news is that Peter is absolutely fine but he has not joined us in Hull this afternoon. So the Olympics debate with Lord Coe will be hosted by Simon Mayo, we're squeezing everything we can out of him before he goes to Radio 2.

That debate gets underway at 1815 after Anita Anand hosts Drive with Colin Patterson. Then later tonight Richard Bacon, who has just arrived in the office, will follow up the BNP story after Question Time has aired. It's very strange to be in a building in Hull watching scenes from outside Television Centre in London.

You can watch the Coe debate live on the website, although Simon would like to point out that he's also on the BBC2 Culture Show with Mark Kermode at 1900...

Oh and did I say? It hasn't rained all day...

Brett Spencer is BBC Radio 5's Interactive Editor

It's stopped raining.

The igloo is open and full of children from across the area. It's great to see it in action at last.

Nicky did our first show from Hull this morning, broadcasting live from the KC Stadium, with under pressure Hull manager Phil Brown as his guest. You can watch video of that on the site shortly along wiith Nicky having his fitness test with Hull Kingston Rovers.

The Hull minisite is live with loads of photos and videos from the events, please check it out.

Our next broadcast will be at 1pm when Simon Mayo comes live from the Ferens Art Gallery. We'll be kicking off with John Prescott as a guest, the BNP and the Postal strike likely to be the hot topics of conversation. There's also John Godber from the Hull Truck Theatre Company and there will be the usual book panel after 3pm.

You can watch the whole show live on the 5 live website or if you're in the area on the big screen in the city centre.

Later on, it will be our live Q&A with Lord Coe from 1815 and you can also watch that live.

Meanwhile as i write Abi Titmuss is live on BBC Radio Humberside in the Ferens which has caused a sudden exodus of several males from the office...

Brett Spencer is BBC Radio 5's Interactive Editor

• If you're twittering about Octoberfest or any of 5 live's programmes from Hull, use the hash tag #5liveHull so we can keep track of the conversation.

After months of talking about it and weeks of planning, we've arrived in Hull for the 5 live Octoberfest. The Humber Bridge looked magnificent shrouded in mist as we arrived on the train. Although we were soon dealing with the reality of the weather. It's raining, it's windy and it's cold. We've looked at a lot of weather forecasts since we got here and have chosen to believe the BBC one that says its going to get a lot better.

The 5 live igloo is currently being constructed in the main square while shoppers are being entertained on the big screen with last night's BBC Electric Proms gig by Robbie Williams. There are posters and flags everywhere: you can't miss 5 live in the centre of Hull right now. One woman wandering past said "what's 5 live?" to her friend. "It's a radio station" she replied. We're spreading the word one by one.

Right now the Interactive team are at the Ferens Gallery rigging equipment for tomorrow's live audience Q&A with Lord Coe which you will be able to watch on this very website. Nicky Campbell is at Hull Kingston Rovers rugby league club undergoing a fitness test. I don't think they're trying to sign him, just trying to find out how fit he is. You'll be able to hear about it on 5 live breakfast and watch the video right here.

The 5 live Octoberfest is underway.

Brett Spencer is BBC Radio 5's Interactive Editor

Presenters and production teams from Breakfast, Simon Mayo, Drive, Richard Bacon, Mayo and Kermode's film review, Colin Murray (Kicking Off and Fighting Talk) and 5 live Sport (from Saturday's Hull-Portsmouth match) are arriving in Hull for the three days of Octoberfest. Almost all of the programmes will have an audience. Most are sold out but there are still tickets available for tomorrow's Mayo and for a special Peter Levy show on Radio Humberside. The full schedule is here and there's plenty of other stuff to do at the 5 live encampment in Queen Victoria Square.

Brett Spencer, 5 live's Interactive Editor, will be covering events here on the blog. We'll try to bring you a sense of what's going on in Hull throughout the three days. If you're there, or if you're listening, tell us what you think of the special Hull programmes here on the blog. Leave a comment below and I'll pass on your feedback to managers and editors.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the 5 live blog

• 5 live Commissioning Editor Jonathan Wall wrote about the Hull Octoberfest on the blog.

Here at the BBC's Television Centre where we produce and broadcast Wake Up To Money we felt it was about time that we tell you a bit more about our programme. This blog is also a good opportunity to provide you with a bit of insight into how we put the show together so you can get an idea of what we get up to and why we cover the stories we do.

So, last week we went to Scotland. For starters to be part of the BBC's Money Matters roadshow at the Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow. However, we thought this was a great opportunity to extend our coverage, spend a few days in Scotland and take a close-up look at different aspects of the economy. On Monday, the first anniversary of the rescue of UK banks - especially Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS - we broadcast live from Edinburgh. Then we went to Aberdeen to look at the success of the UK oil industry, and on Wednesday - the day of the unemployment figures - we came to Glasgow and investigated how the economic downturn has driven up unemployment.

Putting an outside broadcast (OB) together is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of planning and involves a great deal of logistics. We had a small team of producers and the programmes editor to discuss story ideas, guests, locations and make the technical arrangements for our show's co-presenter Andrew Verity (pictured) and his producer, Andrew Castle.

OBs don't always go as planned. On Monday we suffered a rare technical double whammy: not only did our radio car fail in the financial district of Edinburgh, but also our back-up, the portable satellite dish! Fortunately enough we had an unflappable Nicky Campbell back in London, who was given the task to interview the chief executive of the Co-op with just a few seconds' notice!

We'd like to hear from you, and are especially keen to find out how you listen to the programme. If you download our podcasts, what would you suggest on how we can improve them? We'd also like to hear your suggestions where we should go for any future outside broadcasts - drop us a line on [email protected]

Alex Sergent is a Broadcast Assistant on Wake up to Money

Until tomorrow morning, 0530, bright and early!

• Wake up to Money is on BBC Radio 5 live between 0530 and 0600 weekdays. You don't have to get up at dawn, though. You can listen again or subscribe to the podcast.
• Radio 4's Paul Lewis wrote about the Money Talk roadshow on the Radio 4 blog.
• The pictures show Andrew Verity on the Wake up to Money broadcast from Scotland. They were taken by Alex.

I'd like to give you the details of some changes we're making to the 5 live programme schedule for the New Year.

We'll have a new weekday line-up between 1000 and 1600 and a different pattern to the schedule. The new sound is:

1000 - 1200 Victoria Derbyshire

1200 - 1400 Gabby Logan

1400 - 1600 Richard Bacon (Monday-Thursday); Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode (Fridays)

In addition to this, Tony Livesey will take over from Richard Bacon in the Monday to Thursday 2230 - 0100 slot. And Kate Silverton will move permanently into the Sunday morning programme running from 0930 to 1100.

There are a number of reasons leading to these changes but the overall aim is to build 5 live's daytime audience and to make sure we are in the strongest possible shape for the move to Salford.

Firstly, I believe a programme schedule based on three two hour shows is likely to make us stronger as a station, giving each programme a tighter feel and allowing us to develop some new approaches. In the mornings, Victoria Derbyshire will continue to bring a mix of exclusive interviews, original journalism, talking points and breaking news and sport. The programme will have an emphasis on getting out and about and will involve the audience at every opportunity.

At lunchtime Gabby Logan will cover all the day's news, sport, politics, business and entertainment news, including substantial interviews with people in the news, reports and stories from all over the UK and full discussion of the day's sports topics. Richard Bacon will offer a wide-ranging mix of interviews, discussion and humour with a focus on what's going on in the world of entertainment and the arts as well as breaking news. At night Tony Livesey will take over from Richard Bacon with a show which combines the serious and light-hearted and gives everyone a chance to get involved.

As we said last month, Simon Mayo is leaving his Monday-Friday show at the end of the year to move to Radio 2. Once again I'd like to thank him for everything he's done in the 1300 - 1600 slot, as well as looking forward to the expanded Friday afternoon film show he'll be presenting on 5 live with Mark Kermode. As part of the planning for the new schedule, it has been really important to put in place a line-up which will take us through the station's move to Salford and beyond.

I've always strongly believed it would be wrong to move the station and simultaneously make major programme changes; I'm delighted we now have in place long-term commitments to 5 live which should be very important in ensuring the success of the move. In the short term, Tony Livesey's late night show will come from Manchester by early February. This will then give us a significant amount of output based in Manchester which will make our move to Salford just over a year later a little more straightforward.

Overall I think we will have a schedule which is exciting and significantly different from what we've offered before. We have a mix of familiar and new voices but all are very experienced and accomplished broadcasters who I believe will be able to take 5 live to even greater success over the next few years.

Adrian Van Klaveren is Controller of BBC Radio 5 live

• Adrian wrote about Simon's move to Radio 2 last month and Simon announced it himself on-air.
• The picture, calendars for sale, is by Duane Mendoza and is used under licence.

Congratulations to Victoria Derbyshire who's just been recognised as having conducted the best broadcast interview of the year. Victoria picked up the Nick Clarke award, for her interview with a man called Peter Bacon, at the Times Literary Festival in Cheltenham on Saturday. The award was set up in honour of the brilliant World At One presenter, who died of cancer in November 2006.

It was back in April that Victoria spoke to Peter Bacon. He had just been found not guilty of raping a criminal lawyer who'd claimed she was too drunk to have consented to sex with him. The interview was one of a number of exclusives our programme has managed to secure over the last year, often competing against megabuck newspaper deals. By contrast, we rarely pay any of our guests (and when we do it's only to cover their travel costs). Even if we wanted to, we couldn't begin to compete with the tens, and sometimes hundreds, of thousands of pounds that newspapers pay. So how do we persuade them to appear on our programme?

Some of the people we want to interview have already had their fingers burnt by various sections of the media. That was the case with Peter Bacon. During the trial, details of his case were written about in graphic and sordid detail. He agreed to one paid-for interview with the Daily Mail and then said he would do no more. But we knew that his story struck a chord with a number of our listeners and raised some interesting issues which we wanted to explore on the programme (not least anonymity of the alleged victim but not the suspect; trial by media; excessive drinking etc.). And so began the long process of winning his trust.

Initially we spent time talking to his lawyer, explaining the nature of the programme, why we were keen to speak to him and what we hoped to achieve by interviewing him. His lawyer said she'd be amazed if he'd do any more interviews, so adamant was he that he wanted to put the case behind him. In the meantime, we spoke anonymously to the woman who'd accused Mr Bacon of raping her. We urged him to listen back to the interview. And this is where Victoria's interviewing style helps. Victoria never shies away from asking difficult questions, but she does so in a fair, firm and polite manner. She's never abrasive or rude, she doesn't try to trip people up or humiliate them. She's genuinely interested in what people have to say. And she listens (which is more of a skill than you'd think). As Kevin Marsh (a former Editor of the Today programme and one of the judges on the Nick Clarke award) noted, Victoria's style is "direct, precise and courteous" and at no time does she "seek to steer the listeners' emotions or opinions... while at the same time making crisp and well measured interventions".

After Peter Bacon heard that interview he called me, and though he was still initially reluctant to speak on air, he said he felt more reassured that we wouldn't "stitch him up". We had a glimmer of hope. We agreed to speak again. Half a dozen or so 'phone calls later, some of them lasting over half an hour, he agreed to come on our programme. What followed was one of the best pieces of radio I've ever heard.

Perhaps the last word should go to Peter Bacon. I rang him to tell him about the award (he was genuinely pleased to hear about it - which was very generous of him) and asked him how he felt after speaking to us. "I was so pleased after the interview. I've listened back to it hundreds of times; and Victoria really managed to put me at ease. I've no regrets about doing it at all." You can listen to it yourself here:

The Nick Clarke award also recognised the wealth of talent at 5 Live - Nicky Campbell and Stephen Nolan were both on the shortlist, along with Radio 4's Jenni Murray and Fergal Keane and ITN's Tom Bradby. Other people who'd entered include Alex Thompson, Gary Gibbon, Faisal Islam and Lindsey Hilsum from Channel 4 News, Alan Johnston, Andrew Neil and Jon Manel. Mark Damazer, the Controller of Radio 4, who presented Victoria with the award said: "I am delighted that we attracted so many quality entries - many from outside the BBC - and add my many congratulations to Victoria Derbyshire and her team. This award recognises that there are many different ways to elicit a truth - and Victoria's interview is a fine example of the art."

Louisa Compton is Editor of the Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC Radio 5 live

• Mark Damazer, Controller of BBC Radio 4, introduced this year's Nick Clarke Award on the Radio 4 blog.
• Victoria Derbyshire wrote about the interview on her own blog back in April.

We are on our way to Hull later this month for 5 live's own Octoberfest. Back in January, we decided we wanted to stage a big event outside London - a 5 live festival of live shows and off-air events.

Hundreds of hours of planning later, we're putting the finishing touches to a three-day event in Hull from Thursday October 22nd.

First, we had to decide on a venue. Hull has one of those big BBC screens in the heart of the City centre which we quickly realised would be very useful to us. There's plenty of sporting passion in the city with its Premier League club, impressive new stadium, and 2 top-tier rugby league sides.

What swung it for us, though, was the fact that it's place that national radio and TV has rarely been to for an event on this scale.

Our ambition was to 'take over' part of a city centre, so the first calls were to Hull City Council to see if we would be welcome invaders. They have been very supportive since the first phone call which is why from October 22nd we will be broadcasting nine live shows from the City, together with a major live local news debate on BBC Radio Humberside, and a series of off-air events including a chance to meet the 5 live football commentators, and an opportunity to sit in the famous black chair for a Mastermind audition.

Nicky Campbell kicks it off on Thursday's breakfast show as he explores life behind the scenes at Hull City Football Club. Other live shows include a special debate about London 2012 chaired by Peter Allen with special guest Lord Coe, Kermode and Mayo's film review live from a big cinema in Hull. And Colin Murray hosts his Friday night sports preview show and Fighting Talk from our main venue inside the Ferens Art Gallery.

On Thursday and Friday the giant 5 live igloos that we're taking with us will be open to the public and groups of school children will be visiting. This is the kind of thing they'll be playing with:

• Sports Commentary - a member of 5 live's commentary team will be on hand to demonstrate how to commentate on big sporting events. Visitors can pick a highlight from different sports, hear how the professional does it and then try themselves - taking away a DVD of their efforts.
• The Banter Booth - Sound-off on the story of the day giving your views on a current issue - a selection will be played on 5 live's Octoberfest web site and on the BBC Big Screen in Hull.
• Online Star - visitors can become the star of a mock-up of the 5 live website; inserting their photograph and caption, the results will be printed and laminated to take away.
• CBBC's Newsround - budding Newsreaders will be able to read the news and see their performance on television as the star of the iconic children's programme.
• Cricket Slogger - based outside the igloo, the interactive cricket game is linked up to the BBC Big screen, participants face a virtual fast bowler to see if they can hit runs for fun.

Richard Bacon will be in Hull to present his Thursday night show from the University, Tim Lovejoy has also been signed up to join Colin Murray from 9-10pm on the Friday night.

Guests for Simon Mayo's two shows from Hull include local playwright John Godber and local band Horseguards Parade on Thursday, and former Olympic swimmer Steve Parry and singer songwriter Mitch Benn on Friday.

Our aim is to give the people of Hull a special set of events to remember, but I would like to think all of our on-air shows will work perfectly well for listeners who've never been anywhere near the Humber Bridge (one of the longest single span suspension bridges in the world before you ask!)

Jonathan Wall is Commissioning Editor for BBC Radio 5 live

• The 5 live Octoberfest web site has all the details of the weekend's events and you can book tickets for the recordings taking place in Hull - all of which are free. But hurry. They're going fast.
• All of the public activities listed above are open to the public between 1000 and 1700 on Thursday and Friday.

I've been answering some queries from listeners this week about the most popular thing we do on the web site - the Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo Film Review, and thought I'd take the opportunity to share the answers with you.

We're really pleased that the show will still be on 5 Live once Simon moves on to Radio 2 in the New Year. It remains the most successful podcast we offer, often over 100,000 downloads a week, and it's one of the most popular in the whole BBC. Your questions:

Why can't I download old podcasts? Why do they only last for seven days? From this Friday you can, as part of a trial. From now until Christmas we'll be leaving the previous week's podcast live when the new one goes up. Unfortunately, at the end of the trial we'll have to revert back to 7 days while the results are assessed, but it's a step in the right direction.

Why can't I listen on the iPlayer beyond 7 days? You can now do that as well, as part of another trial. Every show going back to the beginning of September is still available on the iPlayer, as part of something we're calling the 'series catch-up trial', and will be until Santa comes.

How can I find Mark's review of a particular film? Mark's reviews are now archived and available in this handy A-Z for your enjoyment.

While we don't know where else the show will be broadcasting from, the next live event is in Hull on October 23rd and tickets have now sold out. You will be able to watch the show live from Hull that afternoon on the front-page of the 5 live website, as you can every Friday.

Why is the show edited for the podcast? Why don't you provide the whole thing? Well, we do. We only take out news, travel and breaking news items. Everything else is podcast in its full glory.

Why do you offer lots of chat, banter, and conversation with all the reviews stuck at the end? Sorry, but that's what the show sounds like. you'll have to take it up with Dr K and Dr M.

But what else should we be doing? How else would like to watch/listen/enjoy Mark and Simon. Let us know, and if we like the idea and we use it, we'll include you in the 'hello' sequence for a week.

Brett Spencer is Interactive Editor at BBC Radio 5 live

Update. A bit of clarification: Kermode and Mayo isn't part of the series catch-up trial. Fighting Talk and Danny Baker are - although their podcasts remain limited to 7 days.

• Mark Kermode's Film Review is on Simon Mayo's show from 1500-1600 on Friday.
• Download data for all of the BBC's podcasts is on the Audio and Music web site.
• Sarah Prag, head of audio services at BBC Audio & Music, wrote about the Series Catch Up trial on the Radio 4 blog
• The picture of Kermode's quiff is from the BBC's picture library, appropriately called Elvis.

I see this website as very much a shop window for 5 live and everything that's going on here. Presenters are a vital part of the station - crucial in defining the character of 5 live, able to inform and entertain as well as holding it all together when the unexpected happens. So we wanted to find a way of telling you more about our presenters through the site - not just basic biographical information or some timeless trivia but something which captures the essence of each individual.

We've made these presenter videos which give each person a chance to tell you more about themselves in their own unique style. We wanted them to be fun and personal - the kind of thing you might want to watch more than once and get other people to have a look at as well so feel free to share the links. We've made 15 so far so not everyone is there but there's a good chance your favourite presenters will be. So do take a look and tell us what you think.

Adrian Van Klaveren is Controller of BBC Radio 5 live

• The videos were made using an interesting technique which involved the presenters 'wearing' a video camera as they walked and talked. They were made by an independent agency called Point Blank Collective. Later this week, Pete Owen, the agency's creative, will tell us more about the process.
• This preview video combines clips from Mayo and Kermode, John Pienaar and Mark Pougatch. The videos will be available on the 5 live web site tomorrow. Look in the Programmes section for the others.
• 15 videos, featuring 19 presenters, have been made so far: Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo, Peter Allen and Anita Anand, Rachel Burden and Phil Williams, Mark Pougatch, Stephen Nolan, Victoria Derbyshire, John Pienaar, Christian O'Connell, Colin Murray, Gabby Logan, DJ Spoony, John Pienaar and Danny Baker.

Sports reporter Alison Mitchell is in South Africa for the ICC Champions Trophy. She's been providing all sorts of coverage for 5 live and for BBC news online as well as the Testmatch Special blog and her own. Here's the final installment, of her audio diary - the one with the flying ants.

Alison Mitchell is a sports reporter for BBC Radio 5 live

• The picture, Flying Ant Day, is by Alison Clarke and is used under licence.
• BBC Sport's ICC Champions Trophy coverage is on the cricket home page.

How will you spend this Sunday? Maybe you'll be enjoying a Sunday lunch with loved ones. Maybe you'll be enjoying the staple British diet of DIY and gardening. You might be at your chosen place of worship. Or Stamford Bridge. It is, after all, Chelsea v Liverpool at 1600 (full commentary on 5live, of course.)

The reason I ask is that this week Rachel and I are making way for the Japanese Grand Prix. So there will be no Weekend Breakfast on Sunday morning. Now - Don't get me wrong. I happily acknowledge that I have a pretty good job. However - When you get the opportunity not to wake up at 0345 on a Sunday, you embrace it with both hands. This got me thinking, what would really make this rare Sunday off special and how would I enjoy it the most? The answer lies in the company you keep. People.

This week: Wayne Rooney said he would miss Manchester United's Champions League tie with CSKA Moscow if it clashes with wife Coleen giving birth. Quite how Sir Alex would react is not yet known, but hopefully better than the way Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez reacted to Xabi Alonso not flying with the squad to play Inter Milan in March last year, so that he could attend the birth of his first child. It was the start of a very long plank walk for Alonso out of Anfield. Benitez himself has strict standards in this area, missing his own father's funeral in preference for a game of football.

The Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill confirmed this week that defender Luke Young should return to first team football after a period of mourning for his younger brother Andre. He died whilst on holiday in Crete in August. O'Neill, to his credit, has said that his player should take as long as he needs.

Wayne Rooney, Xabi Alonso and Luke Young have what you may think is the best job in the world. They are incredibly well-paid. But they have recognised that it is the people who are, or in Luke Young's case, the people who are no longer in your life, that matter. You will have your own view on whether or not a footballer should miss a game to attend the birth of their child. For those of us not playing the game, football is an incredibly unifying thing. It has the ability to bring us together in pubs, living rooms, crowded round radios, travelling in cars, cheering at the same time or screwing your face up with anxiety at the same time. We do that with the people we love.

So this Sunday, I shall be taking advantage of not doing my job, by going for a seven mile run with a close friend of mine that I don't see enough of. Then I shall venture into the kitchen to cook a healthy Sunday lunch with all the trimmings before settling down with some mates to Chelsea v Liverpool at 1600. "Such a perfect day. I'm glad I spent it with you." What will you be doing? You can tell me here on this blog.

Phil Williams presents Weekend Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 live

• Phil gets up at at 0345 because he presents Weekend Breakfast with Rachel Burden from 0600 to 0900
• The picture shows Sunday morning in Buenos Aires. It's by whl.travel and it's used under licence.

Sports reporter Alison Mitchell is in South Africa for the ICC Champions Trophy. She's providing all sorts of coverage for 5 live and for BBC news online as well as the Testmatch Special blog and her own but I asked her to record an audiodiary exclusively for the 5 live blog. Here's the first installment, recorded after the ICC Cricket Awards ceremony.

Alison Mitchell is a sports reporter for BBC Radio 5 live

• The picture shows Claire Taylor, England player and winner of Women's Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards.
• BBC Sport's ICC Champions Trophy coverage is on the cricket home page.