Yesterday I went shopping for a kettle. This is not really interesting or significant (I probably wouldn't get put on ARF with a tale this dull) except that I chose it over watching football. I had been offered tickets, I could have watched or listened but I chose kitchen appliances. My younger self is horrified but the older self finds it too stressful. Exasperation, frustration and rage- the traditional lot of so many fans- appears to greater price to pay. Of course, as it turned out, we won and it would have been a rather lovely afternoon full of elation, satisfaction and smiles. So maybe I was wrong and need to revisit my middle age maturity/cowardice.

And I ended up with a toaster anyway.

Also this weekend, I enjoyed a nice little chat with Dermot on his Saturday show. Really strange to be in 'my' studio and sit in the 'wrong' seat and would always rather it be the other way round but Dermot was a Blockbusters fan so what's a boy to do? (Astute bloggers are correct in observing that the start date has changed to the 14th May). And we got a second outing in as many days for "I Feel Love' which it seems was Coffee Buzz's choice for the ARF and not as appeared on my papers, The Driver. Apologies, I take full ministerial responsibility. The Bruuuuce tune 'If I Should Fall Behind' is a belter of a tune too and rarely played.

So today ladies and gentlemen we have the Radio 2 Bookclub sitting with Gordon Ferris's Bitter Water. Gordon's previous novel, The Hanging Shed, was published on Christmas Day 2010 - it was one of 12 books Corvus published over 12 days at just £1 as a bit of an experiment based on how many people were likely to receive a Kindle on Christmas day. Turned out to be a huge success, and of all the books published, including a collection by Lee Child, it was the best seller. Daily Mail has called him 'the new Ian Rankin' which explains where we are with Biter Water. Read some here then hear him today...

And oldies on the theme of SURPRISES please. Inspired mainly by Roy Hodgson being asked to be the new England football boss and not our 'arry. And coming home with a toaster instead of a kettle.

Have a robust and controlled Monday, see you after 5.

Morning all. Busy day here, busy on the blog, all good with the world (apart from all those things which manifestly aren't).

All this 70's chat has been good stuff. I tend to side with the 'it really wasn't like that' camp. If you were a teenager in the 70's it was a time of excitement, colour and opportunity- like any peacetime decade for any teenager. The decades never fit neatly into the journalistic compartments they are required to but it will never stop them trying. Having said that, as some of you have pointed out, Johnnie Walker's 70's show is terrific stuff and a great Sunday afternoon fixture.

Meantime, it is a 2 show day with show 1 coming live from the 02 in Greenwich with our guest Mr Robert Redford. Yes really. What a star! He had quite a good 70's all things considered (and 60s and 80s etc) He is launching the Sundance Festival in the UK and seems to have an undimmed enthusiasm for film making. He's showcasing indie cinema of course but is about to act and direct again and that smile still seems to working its charm...I've decided to wear a new shirt just for him. The only problem is, he might be late. Apparently his time-keeping is not great and we're expecting him at 3.30. Don't be late Bob!

Then to Radio 2 on a taxi bike (inevitably through torrential rain) and another hot-rockin' ARF with some lovely weekend songs. Your top 70's ARF opener? Why not try that one for size.

Have an intriguing and satisfying Friday. See you after 2&5.

*Three Days of the Condor! Of course!

Well that was a busy blog! Was it the rainy-day, hunkering-down, hug-an-Aga mood? There were certainly enough wild tales out there to keep everyone going for a while, though as the rain lashes down here, maybe we'll be here for a while. Although I can't say I remember it, my paper says the April of 2000 which was the wettest on record when some places had 4 times the usual rain. In case you're wondering, there doesn't seem any way of predicting the summer on the basis of a wet spring however, so we'll just have to sit tight on that.

Yesterday I had a lovely day out in Cardiff thankyou very much. I was there for 2 hours (good games of Hangman on the way) then came back. Had a nice eggs benedict and got droughted on very heavily indeed. And that is all I can say. Them's the rules apparently.

But a fine show to come back for! Kate Humble was great (and yes, it's a fine perk The Driver-Jenny Agutter was lovely too) and the beehive on the top of Radio 2/ in Ken's studio is a fine idea. I can imagine all the paperwork and meetings but maybe that's what your producer is there for? Radio 2 Hivetime? Selling our honey as we go? I'm sure it'll be huge hit. And finishing with Foo Fighters and Fishermans Friends (then Fenella Fudge). This is what Radio 2 does.

Today we have a swanky pudding of somesort from Nige and oldies? It's GREED today. Tonight 'Two Greedy Italians' is back on BBC2 in Liguria (looks great) and we all feel a little greedy on Thursday with Nigel B's array of lovely dishes anyway And GREED of all kinds is in the news most of the time anyway, so that'll see us through.

Have a warm and toasty Thursday, see you after 5

Now that was a song title! Welcome to another day on the Drivetime blog and welcome to new bloggers-you are very welcome. But then you know that already. Wild and stormy here as leaves, soil and mangey fox fur blow around the estate in little whirlpools.

Really enjoyed the Chieftains and Secret Sisters yesterday. Watching them, watching each other and smiling broadly was a privilege. If you get a chance to catch them do this tour, take it! Guitarist and top folk musician Tim Edey is worth the entrance fee alone. I wish we could still film these outbursts of genius but iplayer will have to do if you missed it.

Today I am on a train to a secret location for child 3's belated birthday celebration and I am trusting that our fine rail network will ensure a speedy and reliable service to get me back to R2 in time. What could possibly go wrong?

Today we welcome Kate Humble to the show. She's become one of tv's go-to presenters for wildlife shows and today she'll be talking bees and beekeeping and I think it'll be Matt's job to dress up in all the gear. Sadly no bees will be allowed in the studio as no passes can be allocated to things that buzz. But we can do HUMBLE oldies of course. Songs of HUMILITY please will welcome.

Have a wild and energising Wednesday, see you after 5 (with a fair wind and no leaves).

I have no idea why I put that except that it's on a placard on the cover of an old Ramones album I have somewhere. It's from a song of theirs called 'Pinhead' I believe and will not be featured on the show today. But gabba gabba anyway.

Weather induced thoughts yesterday of damp beach huts and cup-a-soup produced quite a response. It seems there are few things more evocative than wet seaside holidays we have endured/enjoyed. Soggy fish and chips on the sea front, damp tents and snug caravans, going to the cinema just because it's dry- we've all done it. And this weather makes me feel it wasn't all bad. However I was tweeted by Zoe Ball offering me both soup and a damp beach hut yesterday and I am tempted to accept. My guess it would be slightly more glamourous than our Bude beach front offering with, at the very least, chocolate digestives and ginger cake on offer.

Today I'm off to talk to some keen school pupils about matters literary and thence to Radio 2 where we have The Chieftains playing on the show. Yes really. They have a terrific new album called Voice of Ages in which they celebrate their 50th anniversary with a host of new tip-top talent. Secret Sisters, Decemberists and Paolo Nutini star in a great collection of songs. Paddy Moloney and the boys will be joined by Secret Sisters and it should just sparkle from start to finish.

So it seems HAIL TO THE CHIEF oldies would work today. Chiefs were higher than chieftains but CHIEFS will work well enough. Being in charge and ruling stuff, that kind of thing.

Have a well-honed and flexible Tuesday, see you after 5.

Hooray for Monday, St George, the rain and the cold. The new week lies ahead and as we turn the central heating up another notch, we are planning a top-notch week here. How is the blog behaving now? Have all glitches been fixed? How would you rate your user experience? Hoping the news is good but please do tell...

Chris has just been relaying his weekend near-purchase of a fire engine and I am struggling to match that. I did a supermarket order and nearly bought a large jar of curry paste doesn't really have the same ring to it really. Even if it would have been the world's best curry. We had a full house with all family members present and correct. Meals were eaten, homework was tackled and Homeland was watched. And no fire engines at any stage. Not even close.

Today we have the lovely Louis Theroux with us after 6. He has a 2 part programme on what he calls 'extreme love'. The first part was on autism and this week's is about dementia. He says the 2 programmes are amongst the best he's done and on the basis of this weeks episode, he's right. Thoroughly recommended and Louis will explain more tonight.

And tunes today please for the BARD on WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHDAY (and death day also. Plenty to go at really!

Have a comfortable and realistic Monday, see you after 5

Hooray for that Friday feeling and all the optimism for the weekend. It's like a Christmas Eve every week; it might be that it's just another mooch through shopping, tv and family but who knows? It might be the best ever, full of rocknroll spontaneity, glamour and a lottery win. Me? I'd settle for a day when I don't lose 1500 words from the new book. For some unknown reason, a whole chapter just upped and left yesterday. I spent quite a while rootling around in the on-line advice world to find out if these words might still exist somewhere in a hidden folder in cyberspace. In the end I decided to write them again while they were still vaguely familiar and late last night, still raging against the machine, I finished. And who knows, maybe version 2 will be better. Or make no sense, one of the two.

This morning's soundtrack is an old The Band compilation which I never worked my way through, but hearing again all that great Levon Helm music last night after he passed away yesterday, has made it a must-listen today. And Dirt Farmer was a great record.

So today, a 2 show day as 5 Live beckons again for some movie chat for 2 hours till 4, and then to R2 for some Drivetime ARF and a party to start the weekend with a flourish. I'm thinking something big, bright and brassy, what about you?

Have an energy-filled and computer crash-free Friday, see you after 2 and 5.

Yes here we are again an another day on the Drivetime blog. Unusually for this week there isn't a howling a gale just yet, in this, the wettest drought ever. But it'll come and the sandbags are at the back door when it does. I have an early start going to see some film or other so cracking on with the show plans already.

Lovely to have TV's Steph McGovern sitting in for Rebecca as Ms Pike had a rest day at the synchronised swimming. Breakfast TV in the morning, Radio 2 in the evening and then on the train to Hull to talk caravans. She must be the hardest working member of the BBC's finance types. And just before the Hull train, we all trooped off to another farewell do, but this was for our very own part-time Pauline who is leaving the BBC after a thousand years of service. I've worked with Pauline since 2001 and she is, as you know, a great asset to any show. I suspect she is leaving in a 'might-be-back-in-a-different-contractual-situation' kind of way but good luck to the mighty PTP!

Today it's Nigel with some Malaysian street food for your hungry journey home and oldies please for THE OLDEST MAN IN THE WORLD. He is Jiroemon Kimura and he is 115 today. Yes really. So songs please for Mr Kimura, an encouragement to us all. Way to go Jiroemon!

Have a significant yet whimsical Thursday, see you after 5

Good morning bloggers all, new ones, returning ones and faithful-always-there-ones. Another lousy day here and a few more on the way it seems. One of the 3 worders yesterday was 'soaked in drought' which sort of summed it up really. Too little, too late apparently according to the weather folk and the blooming and blossoming trees are taking lots of the rain for their private needs. So we continue to drink the rain, water the grass with washing up water and only hose the foxes very occasionally (the man said it was ok).

Last night, post-show I went to Ronnie Scotts in London for the first time since a memorable show with Stevie Wonder for Radio 1. He was there to promote his new album and we had a live show lined up, a large live audience and a gorgeous piano for the Motown legend. It was just that Stevie didn't want to sing the new songs. No sir, none of them. We got there in the end but now without a few, as Sir Alex Ferguson would call it, 'squeaky-bum-moments'. Yesterday, with Georgie Fame selling out downstairs, we went upstairs to watch a young guy called Luke Sital-Singh who I first heard before Easter and has a terrific voice and wonderful control. A great future for him and a great future for Ren Harvieu who was knockout. It takes a very brave and talented voice to nail Roy Orbison's 'Crying' live but Ren did it and I hope won over many more fans.

Today we welcome Mathew Kelly to Drivetime who is starring in a new production of Educating Rita. It starts in London and then heads off on a National Tour. He trained as an actor before light-ent took him for some big hit shows. But his acting has won him many accolades and he'll tell you more tonight.

And oldies tonight? Well the newly announced Olympic motto is 'Inspire A Generation'. Which is fine but maybe there are song titles which could work better? So OLYMPIC MOTTO oldies please. So over to you,fair bloggers.

Have a dry and cheerily optimistic Wednesday, see you after 5.

Lousy weather around the estate, howling gales and the central heating pumping away nicely. Apparently if it carries on like this for 4 months, the water shortage will be over. So much to look forward too! We all enjoyed being back on Drivetime yesterday-that's drivetime where you drive cars. The woman on the lottery show who mucked up the 25K question as to who took over DT 2 years ago and plumped for Steve Wright has had plenty of time to regret her radio listening choices. I got so many messages from viewers who were wondering whether it was a compliment or not and I'm still not sure. I think I felt Dale's quiet despair...

Loved being back yesterday and we will love today too with one of the most remarkable new voices around. When Ren Harvieu sings, heads turn. Her song Through the Night was such a wonderful debut and I've been looking forward to her album ever since. And get this. She was born in 1990. I know, me too. If you saw her on BBC Introducing you'll know she can cut it live with stylish aplomb. Considering she broke her back just before the album was due to be released, we should be grateful she's here at all. Ren after 6.

And oldies I think for NATIONAL GARDENING WEEK which is this week. Ha! Fat chance. But it may well be better with you. Songs for the greenfingered please.

Have a fine and dandy Tuesday, see you after 5

...And it was only a week. Feels like ages. Must have been busy.

Greetings to all bloggers and here we go with some more lovely Drivetime business for you. I have been mainly in the Suffolk indoors pounding my keyboard and then occasionally wandering out to eat chips. And in the process met many people with nice things to say about the show which, as you can imagine, I never tire of hearing! I always tune away when on hols as it isn't very relaxing otherwise (largely to Radio 3 this time! Hooray for the Delius controversy!) so have missed it all but hope Liza treated you well. Didn't see any chaffinches, but did manage a goldfinch which always a good start to the day

Bloggers Deebee and Dougal wandered to the Cambridge Wordfest yesterday (and maybe others!) to hear a chat about this book thing I've been doing. I still feel like an imposter to be in the same program as the likes of Michael Rosen and Alain de Botton but hey ho. It is a wonderful experience to have wide-eyed children asking you questions about what happens to Itch and where ideas come from etc. I might just carry on this writing thing for a while...

So today we welcome another book club author and we've gone for only our second non-fiction choice - Luck by Ed Smith. Ed was a cricketer with Kent, Middlesex and England but since retiring has become a Times leader writer and author. Luck is a fascinating examination of the extent to which we control our destiny and you can read a chapter while you are on this here site. Give it a go, it is intriguing stuff. And so, of course, we do LUCK, CHANCE and FATE themed oldies please. You remember how this goes...

Have a refreshingly vibrant Monday, see you after 5.

Good Friday greetings to you all. Yes team still working today (apart from slacker Matt) and strangely we turn up an hour earlier than normal at 4pm. There's no Steve Wright today, It's Al Murray doing a show for 2 hours and then we pick up for THREE hours. We can never fit everything in anyway so this is a jolly good chance to spread our wings and (to mix metaphors) put our feet up.

So your ARF opener gets an earlier outing today but the principles are the same. No weedy opening, no soft then loud nonsense, just big and pulse-racing from the off. Thank you for your participation, though I am wondering who will be around today. Everyone seems to be off and doing other things- do pop in and tell us you're there. I used to enjoy bank holidays as it gave us new presenters with a point to prove a few shows while the big beasts were on holiday. It was your big chance! Make it count! So ridiculous amounts of work would get done and voice-overs honed to perfection as you gazed at your name in the Radio Times and hoped that someone would notice that you weren't a total idiot. I'm blogging while listening to Pick of the Pops from last Saturday (what a boon that iplayer is!)when Tony was playing the end of March1986 which was when I was first allowed onto Radio 1. I was doing a 2 week stand-in while ooh-Gary Davies was on Easter holiday and boy was that a nerve-shredding exercise. Announce the new chart on Tuesday? Are you mad? Sitting through that lunchtime Newsbeat was the longest 15 minutes of my life.

Still, it all worked out ok.

I'm off for a (Gary Davies style) easter break for a week and that search for something to keep everyone happy while the weather is rubbish. Have a great Easter but tell me your ARF choice before you disappear!

Have a great and good Friday, see you at 4.

Hail to the fine and hearty of the blog. Getting to the computer as the house fills up can be a struggle-I'm having to get up earlier just to type these few words. Every room seems to be full of someone or other. We'd got used to fewer, now we are bursting at the seams. And that's before the eggs are consumed. I was on the egg search yesterday, trying to match the correct treat with the appropriate family member-and what a racket the whole thing is. This section of the shop was like the toy store at Christmas; elbows out, heads down and charge. White chocolate with cocoa nibs and walnut? Over there...90% cocoa with a marmalade and saffron gel? That shelf there...Oh you want a swiss chocolate egg enrobed in chilli and salt from Mesopotamia and and sprinkled with cocoa shavings, hand carved with madam's name? Join the queue. I'm sure the garage on the way home would have sufficed. I'm happy with sherbet lemons in case you were asking.

But I do think EASTER EGG or CHOCOLATE oldies might work. It's clear from the confession earlier in the week that eggs are being consumed all the time, particularly your children's. I'm off next week so this is as close as we come to Easter on the oldies front and CHOCOLATE seems to work. Granted we won't get to play any of Bach's St John Passion but our new friends at Radio 3 might help you out there. Let the musical egg hunt begin...

Nigel today is talking Happy Veal Escalope. I had never eaten veal until this show came along but Nigel reassures me that rose (can't find my accents but assume it's there) veal is happy veal and I can rest assured all is well.

And everyones sympathies to blogger Jilly. I can't write out poems here because of copyright issues but if you can find a book called Benedictus, A Book Of Blessings by John O'Donohue, you might find something appropriate.

Meantime a military-style plan is afoot to hide cheap and nasty eggs in the soil of the estate. The kids will go looking but doubtless the mangey fox will get them first. Ho hum.

Have a well-rounded and encouraging Thursday, see you after 5

Whoah there young bloggers! Much panda-based enthusiasm yesterday as we hurtled through those tunes. It got a little steamy in there for a moment! Still it was a good story and the Marvin Gaye sounded terrific I thought. Let's see what we can do today...

No snow on the estate but the gentle and reassuring hum of the central heating system working on full. April was always like this of course and I have (not so pleasant) memories of waking up in my parents caravan in the New Forest snow, the condensation having frozen inside and lighting the gas stove to warm the place up. You learnt great bladder control in those circumstances.

This warm office feels fine to me now but a show needs to be done and we welcome Michael Grade to talk TV. He's got a new series on Radio 2 which started on Wednesday looking at the history of television. And who better? He's the only man to run the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, a man steeped in the world of showbiz. With Bernard Delfont and Lou Grade as uncles, his path was set, entering the TV world in 1973 having already been a roadie for The Shadows and representing Morecambe and Wise! Hearing him tell the story of TV here and in the US is great fun-he regularly knows more about the shows in question than the stars themselves! Michael Grade or Baron Grade of Yarmouth as we may be pleased to call him, on from 6.

So inevitably it's TELEVISION oldies please to take us through to 7o'clock. The joys (and otherwise) of the box, in song. Thanks.

Have a well-wrapped and sure-footed Wednesday, see you after 5

Somethings in the hols are easier, some much trickier. Driving, eating sweets and chocolate, getting to the computer- all easier. Getting to the gym, staying sane and working- less so. So the Easter break beckons with some of us hunkered down for blizzards, others still daring to wear the shorts. Yesterday's correspondence to the show had all that, with snow in Dundee and sunbathing in Eastbourne-a nation divided. Farmer on the radio this morning said we'd need 3 months of steady rain to get back to normal. And not just any rain- a steady, relentless drizzle is what he needed. The estate has become a dustbowl which even the mangey foxes find trying.

Once I escape the tangle of weeds and cactus and make it to R2, a fine show awaits of course. Today we speak to journalist Alex Crawford, 3 times winner of the Royal Television Society's Journalist of the Year. She has just spent an extraordinary few months reporting on the Libyan uprising and was the lone journalist able to report from the rebel army convoy that captured Green Square in Tripoli. Her reports for Sky News earned her many accolades and an OBE in the New Year Honours List this year. I knew Alex when we were both at BBC Radio Nottingham-she in the newsroom, me spinning vinyl. Today we will re-create those heady days- she in Jo'burg, me playing songs from a hard drive playout system (not quite as romantic really). Her book is 'Colonel Gaddafi's Hat' and Alex will be with us after 6.

And oldies I think for the GIANT PANDAS of Edinburgh Zoo. This of course is TIAN TIAN and YANG GUAN who have something like a 5 minute window to get it together either today or tomorrow and then they go back to ignoring each other. The stakes are high, we are excited, the zookeepers are excited, it's just the pandas we are not sure about. Over to you guys...

Have a fragrant and glowing Tuesday, see you after 5

And good morning to you bloggers all on this fine Monday morning. Some may be off already, others carry on relentlessly. Some may be already eating hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies but here on Drivetime we will stick to our Lenten schedule of carrying on. Until next week, obviously when we will rest briefly.

Ours was a weekend of coughs, home made pizza and the relentless tyranny of writing a thousand words a day for book2. No relaxation or enjoyment is allowed until the word count monster has been satisfied. And it never seems satisfied, it always comes up with reasons why you're a slacker and a lightweight . Today I will copy and paste War and Peace into the document just to see it digest 561,093 words. It might even be impressed for a moment.

Today we gather round the R2 Bookclub table and talk about The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. It's not a Titanic book at all but is a debut novel about surviving at sea and then surviving in court. Grace Winter is newly-wed but newly-capsized too and finds herself adrift in an overcrowded lifeboat. When she returns, she faces trial for murder. Apparently this was commonplace; survivors of shipwrecks would be tried for their actions at sea but Grace Winter is a terrific fighter and survivor. You can read some of The Lifeboat here, then listen to Charlotte after 6, followed by the webchat.

And really I think LIFEBOAT oldies would be only fair. Songs for the Lifeboat please in the normal manner, thankyou.

Have a sparkly and memorable Monday. See you after 5