Archives for January 2010

Tony Blair gives evidence to the Iraq inquiry tomorrow. 5 live will be there for every minute of it. Peter Allen is at the inquiry from 0900 tomorrow - he'll report live on the arrival of the former PM, and present coverage of the questioning throughout the day, culminating in a special final hour of Drive devoted to the events of the day.

As well as Mr Blair himself, we'll hear from the people in the public gallery who may have lost loved ones or faith in their government because of his decisions back in 2001. Gabby Logan anchors our coverage from the studio from 1000 until 1600, and Anita Anand joins Peter at 1600 live from Westminster. Our Chief Political Correspondent John Pienaar, and correspondent Peter Hunt, who has followed the whole inquiry closely, will be on hand to provide explanation and analysis.

Normal business is suspended. Or is it?

At the heart of 5 live's remit is a commitment to cover live news and live events. If tomorrow's plan isn't what our radio station is for, then what is? This is normal business, isn't it? But on a 24/7 news and sports network there is room for much more than our basic remit - longer discussions about the week's news and sport moments (and Andy Murray has certainly provided us with those this week) and a broader news agenda than many of our rivals. Entertainment news and the arts play a big part.

Friday afternoons usually provide that room - we know how popular our sport preview panel is, and that Kermode and Mayo on the week's new films is a 'must listen' for millions of you. Equally, for many people the Iraq inquiry may feel like history or political theatre, rather than news. And it's worth remembering that nobody is on trial. The day will not end with a dramatic verdict.

So the decision to 'open the fader' is not quite as black-and-white as it might look. Making judgements about what our audience wants is not an exact science. Those of you who find this story fascinating text and email us to tell us what you think of each daily instalment. We haven't had many of the "isn't there any proper news?" emails which sometimes pop up when you don't like our choices. Many of you who are fascinated by the evidence get in touch only to tell us to stop interrupting. But there may be a silent majority who very quietly switch off when we devote time to the events of the Inquiry. And tomorrow, when many might tune in expecting to hear something quite different, will provide us with a real test.

But our deserved reputation as the place you get the best available coverage of big live news events is foremost in my mind as we make decisions like this. It's my job, more than anything else, to protect and enhance this reputation. Unlike the continuous TV channels we can't just "select the feed" and sit back. Our job tomorrow will be to engage, to unpick, to contextualise and to explain Tony Blair's words, while, wherever possible, letting you hear them for yourselves. Let us know how you think we do.

Hayley Valentine is Head of News at 5 live.

• 5 live's revised schedule for Friday and more on 5 live's coverage of the Iraq Inquiry.
• The Iraq Inquiry's web site has video from the hearings, evidence presented, an FAQ and details of how to attend in person. The News Channel has a weekly summary of the Iraq Inquiry and news online has a very useful timeline.
• Gabby Logan will present a full round-up of the day's other main news and sports stories during the lunchtime break in the Inquiry - from 1230 until 1400.
• You can watch Kermode and Mayo record their film review live online at 1400 tomorrow. It will be available on the iPlayer immediately afterwards and will be broadcast on 5 live at 2100.

When you tell people you are going to Austria to do a run with members of the British Olympic Bobsleigh team, they generally give you one of the following two responses:

• You must be insane! There's no way in the world I'd ever do anything like that!
• You are so lucky! I've always wanted to do something like that!

As I waited in the snow at Igls for my moment to squeeze in behind John Jackson, driver of the GB four-man bob, and hurtle down the 1976 Olympic track at speeds of around 100km per hour, I wasn't entirely sure which category I fitted into myself.

But I'd told everyone I was doing it, including listeners to Thursday's 5 live Sport, and many of them had already kindly agreed to sponsor me for Sport Relief. There was no backing out now.

We'd spent the day watching the finest bobbers in the world taking part in the final world cup event before next month's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

We'd watched them preparing their lightweight fibreglass sleds, carefully fitting the steel runners, leaving them covered until the last minute with strips of loo paper, to avoid any contamination from bits of grit or greasy finger marks.

We'd tramped up and down alongside the track, watching in awe as the teams raced one by one down the 1200 metre long ice slide, seeming to hang suspended on the vertical walls, with nothing but speed and gravity holding them there.

And oddly, I didn't feel scared at all.

Read the rest of this entry

So when it was suggested I might like to undertake a challenge for Sport Relief, of course I agreed.

And as part of 5 live's small but perfectly-formed reporting team at the Winter Olympics (me and Vassos Alexander), it made sense for me to give it an icy theme.

So here I am, preparing to take an early-morning flight to Innsbruck on Sunday... to become a temporary member of the British four-man bobsleigh team.

How on EARTH did I agree to that?!

I've just watched some video of training runs on the Igls circuit, and my palms are already sweating in anticipation.

The good news is I won't be doing any of the actual driving - or even pushing off the start. All I have to do is sit, and allow the experts to take me down. At around 100 kilometres per hour. And maybe do a bit of considered commentary.

"OK, we're off...oh no... AAAAAARGHHH!" (repeat for approximately 1 minute).

It sounds terrifying - but it should be the biggest adrenalin rush of my life.

I'm open to advice from anyone else who's done it - so far, this is what I've gleaned...

1. Go to the loo beforehand - apparently the G-forces can play havoc with your bladder, with potentially embarrassing consequences...
   
   
   
   

2. And speaking of embarrassment... watch out for wardrobe malfunctions. Will Britain's world champion bobber Gillian Cooke ever live down her unfortunate splitting spandex suit in St Moritz last weekend? It only proves that all ladies should wear gigantic pants on all occasions.

And perhaps you'll stop laughing for long enough to sign up for your own sporting challenge for Sport Relief.

Eleanor presents 5 live Sport on Thursday evenings on 5 live, and will be covering the Winter Olympics on 5 live and 5 live sports extra.

• See more on the BBC's coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

It's no secret that I love swimming. Happiest in water, from the moment I waded into Lough Derg in Tipperary as a little girl on my Summer holidays, or ran into the sea at Ainsdale Beach in Southport.

What I don't say much about is that I'm a bit afraid of some types of water - namely the dark, cold type with wildlife in it.

So of course I said YES to the Sport Relief challenge of swimming a mile in a dark, cold lake with wildlife in it!

A friend of mine who swam the Channel is helping me overcome this silly fear and training starts soon in a very cold outdoor pool in Tooting in South London.

Once that's underway we'll tackle swimming in the dark, and dodging the wildflife. Wish me luck. I promise not to be a wimp.

Shelagh Fogarty presents 5 live Breakfast.

You can support Shelagh here.

Find out more about Sport Relief here.

Intrepid 5 live North of England Correspondent Nick Garnett is snowed in at home. He captured this video for the blog.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the 5 live blog