Surrey Life - On the Mic - March 2012

I write a column every month for Surrey Life magazine. Here's the first:

"3.45am. I present the Breakfast Show, six days a week, on BBC Surrey – and in order to be sufficiently present in both mind and body, I have to get up at 3.45am. It’s all anyone ever wants to know.

For the record, it’s okay. I’m used to it. I’m used to the rush of adrenaline that courses round the body from 6am to 9am, followed by the inevitable post-show catatonic trough. I’m used to stumbling around Walton-on-Thames at three in the afternoon looking like a bag of spanners in the closest approximation to pyjamas I can get away with, assailing unsuspecting shop assistants with a series of half-formed yawns until I realise I’ve forgotten what I was there for in the first place.

It’s okay. It’s part of the fun.

But when I was offered the job of Breakfast Show presenter at BBC Surrey, I didn’t hesitate. Who wouldn’t want to present the biggest show on a newly-created BBC radio station in God’s Own County? People who don’t want to get up at 3.45am, I guess. Which is fine. We have a motto at work – sleeping is cheating.

The job itself is a doddle. A wise sage once told me the knack of being a radio presenter is saying something engaging, informative, intelligent and pithy, using vibrant, accessible language that will instantly strike a chord with thousands of people from wildly differing demographic groups and age ranges, every time you open your mouth. As I said, a doddle.

I have had the privilege of sitting in the presenter’s chair at BBC Surrey for going on three years, and the people I end up chatting with never fail to impress, astonish or move. I have also got to know more of the county than I ever thought possible. It’s sometimes very easy just to flit about in your own little bubble, but this job has taken me to all parts, from the urbanised commuter zones to the wilds of the east and south. For the last five years, I have been happily settled in Walton-on-Thames, with a patient wife and three delightful young children. 

I love this county dearly, so when Surrey Life’s fearsome editor suggested I hop on board, I was both thrilled and honoured. I hope you will find something in this column each month that makes you smile, reach for a stiff drink or possibly weep with pity.

And I do hope I might eventually tempt you towards tuning your radio to BBC Surrey of a morning. We’d love to count you as a friend."

You can read this on the Surrey Life website, too, of course.

Inside McLaren's Woking headquarters

At last an invite to the McLaren headquarters. Like thousands of people I have spent years driving past the futuristic, glowing McLaren sign on the A320 between Woking and Chertsey, and wondering "Just what are they doing in there?".

So, golden ticket in hand, I finally pulled up outside the McLaren security post and, scarcely believing it myself, suggested I might be expected.

I was in!

After driving past various gleaming anonymous structures and through the manicured, sculpted grounds, I swiped my visitor's card not once, but three times at various separate security points.

Under instruction from security (and with the unshakeable feeling I was being watched), I parked up and walked on my own through a long, empty, pristine white underground corridor. I then took a circular, marble-floored lift into a world of polished aluminium, sheet glass and sparkling light.

I was inside the McLaren Technology Centre. Wow.

There to greet me was the gentleman above. His name is Oliver Turvey. He's 24, he's a Cambridge engineering graduate, and he is one of the fastest racing drivers in the country right now. Oliver is also test driver for McLaren, having signed with the company after winning the BRDC Young Driver of the Year award.

When Oliver is not helping Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button (himself a previous winner of the BRDC award) push their cars to the limit, he's driving a McLaren MP4-12C in GT3.

Oliver was my guide to the McLaren HQ, which was very gracious of him, given he'd been up all night trying to adjust his sleeping patterns to Australian time ahead of the opening Grand Prix of the Formula 1 season.

During a race weekend, Oliver's job is to work the F1 simulator back at base, using information picked up by Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton during their practice laps on the F1 tracks. Don't forget, practice time is very limited, so using the information about the track gathered by the cars and drivers and running it through a simulator can massively increase the testing opportunities for the team. Here is a very cool video showcasing what Oliver and his test-driving colleague Gary Paffet get up to at McLaren - the shot of the two of them opening the double doors was filmed in the corridor I described above. The whole place looks like film set, to be honest.

If you want to hear the result of my visit to McLaren, click here:

http://audioboo.fm/boos/713960-bbcsurrey-goes-behind-the-scenes-at-woking-f1-team-hq-mclaren

 
At the end of our conversation, Oliver mentioned The Pit Wall - a blow-by-blow feed of McLaren's progress through the season. You can find it here on the McLaren website - and, of course, follow them on twitter.
 
It was fun seeing what goes on at McLaren - there is so much I didn't even begin to cover - the car production plant and the controversial plans for the applied technology centre being just two.

This company is a very important part of Surrey's economy, and the county's image around the world. I hope Thursday's visit to their HQ will be the first of many.

Miss Surrey 2012 and me

Her name is Shenise Bennett, she's lovely, and she is the new Miss Surrey. I will update this blog with some more information as soon as I come off air, but in the meantime you can enjoy a photo of me looking like a bag of spanners and Shenise looking fabulous.

Would you like to write a blog post here?

I don't know why this didn't occur to me before. I get lots of emails from people on lots of subjects. Many do not get read out on air.

Many do. But many are redacted so they fit the constraints of the medium. It's difficult to make long chunks of text, no matter how coherent, sound entertaining.

So how about opening up the BBC Surrey Breakfast Blog to all-comers? It's your show, it's now your blog.

If there is something you would like to post on here, please send me an email - nick.wallis@bbc.co.uk and mark it for publication on this blog. Any subject you like. If you can email pictures to accompany your text, even better.

I took this photograph a few moments ago of a teddy bear which has found its way to my desk.

Brightens things up a bit, doesn't it?

So:

1) Pictures are good. The more the better.

2) Any subject you like - your strongly-held opinions are more than welcome, as is your wistful pursuit of random ephemera.

3) 400-600 words feels about right.
 
IMPORTANT: I will edit/moderate/enhance/append any submissions as I see fit. By submitting something for the blog, you are surrendering any copyright claim to it. You are also giving not just me, but the entire BBC the right to use it on any format, platform anywhere in the world, and in perpetuity. This applies to photos, poems and any other creative work you might want to send in too.
 
That's quite a severe note to end on, isn't it? Basically don't send anything in which you think might have any monetary value now, or in the future. This is all just about having a bit of fun and opening up a useful forum to listeners, twitter followers and blog readers in Surrey, North East Hampshire and beyond.
 
I look forward to reading your submissions!

New record low temperature for Surrey

Well there's something to tell your grandchildren: "I survived Surrey's coldest night on record".

According to Ian Currie, a respected independent weather expert, the temperature dropped to -18.4 C overnight in Chipstead Valley, near Redhill.

This beats the previous record of -17.2 C in Milford, near Godalming, which has held the record since 24 Feb 1947.

So yes, it is a bit chilly this morning.

Whilst Ian's reading will need official confirmation from the Met Office, he knows what he is doing and unless something has gone very wrong with his equipment, I am sure the Met Office will rubber stamp the readings and the record will stand.

Colin in Send has taken to emailing in temperature readings from his van's dashboard.

Once mentioned on the radio, it started a trend. Here are a selection of the BBC Surrey Breakfast Dashboard Temperature Photographs:

On twitter, @dontforgetchaos kindly posts: This was in farnborough about 0710 this morning...

And this on twitter from @Lisa_Francesca in Reigate...

This from @sladester100:  "Dash Temp. Brrr In Woking and remained the same though Frimley to Farnborough!"
 
 

Yes I did point out to the "sladester" he appeared to be listening to a downmarket radio station. His reply?

"heheh. It must've swapped itself by accident..."

I'd get that looked at, if I were you.

This from @minimodz "2.30am and it was cooooold in Bisley"

From @2weddings: "#DTP from Epsom. On my way to filming location (where its supposed to be summer!)" - we have a hashtag!!!

And finally from Alex Burnett (@slammedeluxe) who seems to have a rather cool car: "Morning Nick! Driving through the Surrey hills to work this morning it's -11c"

Brr, indeed. Take care!

Nick

When is a frost not a frost?

The Met Office claimed there was a frost last night (31 Jan into 1 Feb). I didn't see one where I live in Walton-on-Thames, nor was there one when I got to work in Guildford. So I asked listeners and tweeters to send in a Frost Report. The general consensus was that there was a slight frost in Epsom and Farnham, but everywhere else was frost free.

Not so, according to Chris, who sent the following email, entitled The Great Frost Delusion:

"Good Morning Nick,
I was listening to the show this morning and heard the various comments about a lack of a frost in various locations. There was most definitely a frost last night and will be for several nights to come. What people expect to see is the frozen condensation/dew which we associate with frosty nights because frost is associated with still clear nights. This gives the well known white ice effect on lawns, trees and surfaces.
What we have at the moment, particularly in the south east, is a noticeable breeze. The temperature is well below freezing but no visible 'white frosting' appears because of the drying effect of the breeze. The actual frost itself, even without the white telltale, can be much more destructive that usual as the windchill drives it further into the ground, plants and buildings.
So you don't have to scratch it out of the weather forecast because it IS definitely frosty...
Kind Regards Chris Hunter, Farnham"

The Queen visits Surrey

Her Majesty The Queen is visiting Guildford Cathedral this morning, then she's off to Redhill this afternoon to officially open East Surrey College's new campus.

So this morning I asked for our listeners' brushes with royalty. I set up an arbitrary exclusion zone - I only wanted stories from people who had been within five yards of the royal family. Bonus points would be given for hand-shaking and actual conversation.

In the words of Marti DiBergi from Spinal Tap - I got that; but I got more... a lot more...

Richard from Bramley:
My mum during the war was in the army and a driver - she came round the corner and there was a car stopped - and a woman trying to change her tyre. It was the Queen (Princess Elizabeth at the time). She helped her change it!

Antonia from Farnborough told us on air about making the Queen Mother a Tia Maria coffee.

Robert from Farnborough told us a brilliant story on air about how at the age of 10 in 1944 he was playing with a friend in the grounds of Albury Park near Guildford, then owned by the Duke of Northumberland. They were playing near some azaelia bushes quite a way into the park when they rounded a bush to be confronted by a party of seven or so people. Everything stopped, and then one of the group, The Queen (later Queen Mother), stepped forward to shout:

"What on earth are you doing here? Get out!"

which they very promptly did.

Angela of Arford sends this email (which I have edited a bit):

"Dear Nick

It was 1965, I was 17 years old and a flower power child. I was working for Surrey County Council conducting a traffic survey about a possible by-pass around Haslemere.

Without realising, the policeman I was working with flagged down the Duke of Edinburgh and directed his car into a layby. He was driving with Uffa Fox, the sailing chappy, in his open Alvis.

After explaining the reason for flagging him down, our conversation went as follows:
Where are you going? “Cowdray Park”

Where have you come from? “Windsor”

What is the purpose of your journey? “Polo”

Although he looked familiar, I had no idea who he was - the policeman had to fill me in. I was still standing on the same patch of road 6 to 8 hours later and the Duke came driving back in the other direction - he tooted to me!!"

Hana from Guildford was held by Princess Diana as a baby.

Anonymous texts: Thirty years ago my son and daughter were spoken to by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh when she opened the Sussex Police Training Headquarters in Lewes. I was so overwhelmed I forgot to take a photo.

Ray from New Haw was working for St John Ambulance at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party and went to grab a bite to eat from the Royal Kitchens. On his way out of the building he met the Duke of Edinburgh, who was lost, and had to give him directions back to the garden party. The Duke explained he didn't come down to this part of the building much.

And finally Shirley from Guildford spoke to us on air at 8.42 this morning - this was the text that set it off:

I was lucky to be Commanded to the Palace to 2004 for the first Christmas party The Queen held for the public. I was nominated by the Surrey Advertiser for my charity work. She spoke to me for three minutes - most of the conversation was about who was my hairdresser and she told me who her hairdresser was.
 
We fleshed out Shirley's story on air and it became a lovely moment - if you want to hear it you have six days from the date of this blog post before it disappears. Click here and scroll forward 2hrs 42m.
 
I would also recommend having a listen to Robert from Farnborough's story, click on the same link and scroll forward 1hr 47m.
 
Actually the whole show is a bit of a royal fest from 7am, so if you like that sort of thing - start 1hr in. If you want to know what part my daughter is playing in the school nativity play, start from the beginning.
 
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the show and I'm sorry if I didn't get a chance to mention your royal experience in this blog post.
 
God Save The Queen!