The road to Septemberfest

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I'll be getting here in a van, while almost everyone else takes the train. The vehicle was carrying all the stuff we need to get the Septemberfest shows streaming online, and I naively assumed somebody else would load it, and deal with the manual labour. I honestly don't know why I thought that.

Six hours of service stations, some mild road rage and BBC local radio. We just missed our old friend Helen Blaby's show on BBC Northants, because we drove through the area too early, but I did get an insight into Hallsy's motorway dietary regime. A scotch egg, crisps, a samosa, a giant Aero, a pack of Skittles, and three sandwiches.

Got to the Centre for Life, which is one of our main venues, and saw plenty of 5 live logos and banners. At first, I thought we were only second on the bill, but the Ladyboys of Bangkok are actually performing next door.

When we do events like this, we no longer just turn up with mobile radio studios. If you've got Alan Shearer with a live audience in his hometown, it's well worth getting a few cameras in and allowing people to watch as well as listen. But it's not just a few cameras. It's a whole van-load of heavy equipment, and in technical terms, there's more that can go wrong.

Our brilliant video producer Guy rigged up all the equipment, dealt with the technical issues, and then directed the camerawork during the shows. He only swore once all day.

Shearer was in for an hour and a half, and answered questions from the audience honestly and openly. I genuinely thought it was brilliant. I'm from London, and I think it might be too big to have local heroes, but this guy is definitely one.

Once or twice, I forgot I was supposed to be concentrating on my camera, because I found myself listening to what he had to say. I was also totally distracted by the updates from the Liverpool game. When Steaua equalised, I felt the familiar fury. But Guy gently reminded me of my real responsibilities.

Before Alan Shearer, Richard Bacon did his show here, and we also had a 'Meet the Commentators' programme, which was live on BBC Radio Newcastle and here on the 5 live website. Later on, there was Livfest from the Souter Lighthouse, and just now, Kermode and Mayo back in the Centre for Life. Bit disappointed Peter Beardsley didn't turn up. He's a big fan of the weekly film slot.

Got a couple of days of work left, so I'll be back here when it's all done. So far, so good.

Related links

Septemberfest

Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre

Kermode and Mayo podcast