Radio Bristol info

Latest entry

• Ben Orr
• Monday 19th November

Every so often local radio breaks new ground, reaches a new audience and pushes the zeitgeist. Here on The Richard Lewis show we do that every day - so perhaps you can explain to me just why we're so happy to get our chairs re-covered!

The new chairs - and the repairmen!

Alex from Hanham and his brother Tom heard our plea for new seat covers - and they stepped in to save our backsides. They run a local company which re-upholsters car seats, so had the tools and a bit of time with which to complete the job.

You may think that the chairs don't look great - well you'd be wrong. Grey is very much the colour du jour in Paris and Milan, and the extra thick foam has already helped to ease the aches and pains of two grouchy geezers.

All they wanted in return was a tour of BBC Bristol - which didn't take long! So the deal was done, the chairs are refurbished and as you can see, the results are absolutely wonderful. Huge thanks to Alex and Tom for coming in to help us out. Obviously, the quality of the show will be even better now that the two of us are sat in such luxurious chairs...

Latest entry

• Ben Orr
• Friday 9th November

These are our chairs and they're the best that we've got. As you can see they are in dire need of re-covering, so we're looking for a talented seamstress who can make us a couple of new seat covers. It's a cheeky ask we know, but look at our sad sad faces!

Our sad looking chairs

Bear in mind that, as well as taking the considerable weight of Richard and me, these chairs also take punishment from Dave Barrett and Sir Trevor of Fry. The delicate posterior of Ali Vowles also occupies the chairs on a weekend.

So, if you think you can help us out, please get in touch by emailing therichardlewisshow@bbc.co.uk - our bottoms really need your help on this one!

• Ben Orr
• Thursday, 8 November

Hello. First of all, apologies for the lack of blog updates over the last few months. We've all been very busy - or at least that's the official line and we're sticking to it!

I don't know if you heard the Halloween special which we broadcast on, erm, Halloween. It was a bravely creative piece of improvised drama (!) which has caused a bit of a stir amongst our ever expanding audience.

You can see the video of how we really did it by clicking here:

As you can see from the comments added by listeners towards the bottom of the page, some people loved it and some people have vowed never to forgive us!

As for those of you who saw through our Crowley Manor special, I hope you still enjoyed it as a piece of radio. We certainly had great fun making it - the only problem we're left with is working out what the heck we're going to do next year.

Meanwhile, Richard's unfortunate habit of calling me The Wookie seems to be catching on. I don't mind - it's better than some of the names he calls me off air!

For those of you who still can't work out why he's given me that nickname - perhaps a glance at the video mentioned above will give you a clue. You see, I'm a hirsute man, so in Richard's warped mind he thinks that I look like The Wookie from the Star Wars films. I'd rather be Han Solo obviously, but being The Wookie means I am able to fly the Millennium Falcon on my own occasionally so that's ok with me.

Hopefully we'll be able to find the time in our incredibly busy schedule to keep the blog updated a bit more regularly - but in the meantime there's time for one last piece of very exciting information.

You may remember our excellent pantomime from last year, well fear not, we have another one in the pipeline for this Christmas! I can exclusively reveal also that it will feature a bona-fide genuine Hollywood starlet! For more on that and all the other specials we're planning for the festive period - stay tuned ...

Ta ta for now!

• Richard Lewis
• Monday, 18 June

The country has been treated to a right old downpour over the last week, though you'd have to say we've come out of it nigh on unscathed. Which is more than can be said of the cows I saw as I travelled up the M5 to a 'do' on Saturday night.

We'd just gone over a bridge that I didn't remember, and past a lake that I'd never seen before when I realised it wasn't a bridge, or a lake but flood water that was creeping up to the surface of the road.

And then there they were. A small grouping - is there a diminutive of herd? a moo perhaps, of cows. Trapped. On the tiniest of islands. The sides of the island were steep and muddy and in the middle, standing udder by tail were the cows, desperately trying not to move. Believe me I could spot the desperation on those Friesian's faces from 200 yards away.

They're probably still there, though I hope not, seven cows on an island. Sounds like a new ITV reality show.

• Ben Orr
• Thursday, 29 March

Now I know this is hard to believe, but there are actually people living in the West who haven't heard of The Richard Lewis Show. Where have they been I wonder? Living under a rock? Perhaps the batteries in the radio went and they were never replaced. Surely it can't be that they are still listening to Steve Wright or (whisper it) GWR... I mean, let's be serious here!

Anyway, occasionally I have have to speak to a potential guest and try and persuade them to join us on the show. A question I often get asked is "what sort of questions will you ask me?". This is a very difficult question to answer. Our show is not scripted at all, so it's nigh on impossible to advise people what they will be asked.

Anyway, I don't really like that tactic of planning interviews too heavily ahead of time. For me, the best interviews are as close as can be to a natural conversation - and if anything, that's what we aim for every day.

Elsewhere the reaction to our Diary of Distinction has been very impressive. I like the man who became a millionaire on his 30th birthday - there are many others, but you'll have to keep listening to hear them.

Oh, and I've been seconded to become Steve Yabsley's aide as well. This is good news for me as it means 2 hours extra pay every day, plus I get to experience the unique genius that is Yabbo. Richard is still my first love though - I had to write that or he'd sit on me, which is not a very nice proposition at all...

Ta ta for now!

• Producer Jo
• Tuesday, 6 March

I was blessed with a musical ear and cursed with a pretty bad singing voice. This means that despite 30-something years of pretending otherwise, I'm not the next Shirley Bassey.

I've come to this conclusion because Ben, Richard and I have recorded a charity record for Comic Relief. It's a comedy version of the classic duet Something Stupid with a rap in the middle.

On the scale of charity records it's not exactly the next Band Aid, but it was great fun to do and fulfilled one of life's little ambitions to record a single. Now though I have proof that I can't hold much of a note - and I was the only one of the three of us trying to!

Despite that though I suspect listeners to the show will be subjected to it in the hope that it will encourage people to donate or raise some money for Comic Relief - donate or we'll play it again!

If nothing else it's funny - and although my friends and family may not be pleased to hear it - I'm still going to be singing loudly in the car. I'm hitting all the right notes - just not necessarily in the right order.

*note from Ben - I'm not sure that your last sentence is accurate!

• Next