JamesWebster.com

Look after the pennies

2010-08-28T12:12:00.000+01:00

I'm about to embark on my annual money-saving exercise. I think I go through this rigamarole most years. It's like my regular mid-year crisis. I take a look at my finances and decide too much of my money disappears on random direct debits that seemingly have little benefit.

Foolishly I currently pay a fortune for mobile phone insurance, yet have no contents insurance. Coupled with the amount I am about to pay for seldom-used breakdown cover and even more rarely used travel insurance I'm trying to consolidate the pain. Those neatly packaged, yet paid-for current accounts with loads of freebies are actually starting to look quite appealing and I'm trying to negotiate the ever more confusing list of gold, silver, bronze, platinum, diamond etc options to see which might save me a bit of cash and mean I can finally afford to insure all my worldly goods.

Either that or I'll just blow the money I've saved on some bit of electronic gadgetry I don't really need!

Daily Mail Readers

2010-07-24T10:18:00.000+01:00

How stupid are Daily Mail readers? We already know they're filled with hate and bigotry thanks to the bile it pumps out through most of its pages. It's often said that a fool and his money are easily parted and if the Daily Mail's current offer for a digital radio is anything to go by you'd have to be a fool to sign up.

By collecting sixty tokens between now and September you are entitled to claim a digital radio worth £35. But taking into account the amount you have to spend on the copies of the paper plus the cash for post and packing you've parted with far more than £35. Can Daily Mail readers not add up? I'd rather just buy the radio and not have to be subjected to the vile small-minded writing that fills its pages to get my hands on the digital radio.

Or better still I'd splash out on an internet radio which is far better anyway!

When local radio works

2010-07-10T13:17:00.000+01:00

Local radio is actually bloody good. Sometimes. When it's allowed to be local usually. And before I go into my reasons why, I need to declare an interest. While I do still do work for Real Radio, this post isn't just an excuse to blow their trumpet. It really is credit where credit is due.

If you, like me, are a news junkie, then last night would have been your idea of heaven. The breaking news coverage of the end of the Raoul Moat saga was gripping. I had Sky News and BBC News on picture-in-picture split screen with the radio on in the background flicking between Five Live and Real Radio North East. And Real Radio's live phone-in with coverage of what was happening in Northumberland was superb.

It's no secret that usually the Real Radio's English stations, along with Wales, all take a thinly-disguised network show from Manchester in an evening, but thankfully the infrastructure and staffing still exists to ditch the generic programme and replace it with local content and that's what Newcastle did. They went live with an entirely speech-based rolling news format throughout the evening, on several occasions getting eyewitness accounts faster than colleagues on Sky News who quoted what they were hearing on the Real Radio programme on air.

The highlight had to be Paul Gascoigne calling in when he turned up, sounding rather worse for wear, at the police cordon with a chicken, lager, dressing gown and a fishing rod for the fugitive who he used to know. Again this exclusive was quote extensively elsewhere.

At a time when so many radio groups are shutting down entire stations and buildings and so losing the infrastructure to ditch the piped network show when necessary, it's worth looking at this potentially award winning example of why local radio should exist and be invested in, not cut to its bare bones by money men obsessed with chasing profit but cost-cutting rather than by providing compelling content to drive up the audience.

And while the owners of Real Radio are themselves preparing for more networking on their Smooth stations, at least the ability to still opt out of the networked programming will still largely exist for those occasions it is needed. I only wish the rest of the country on the Real network had been able to hear this great programming last night. It truly was a fantastic team effort.

I'm not fit to live here

2010-07-03T11:28:00.000+01:00

We're constantly being told that the country is on the brink of being bankrupt. Public services are going to be cut. People are going to lose their jobs. We all need to save money.

Well here's my suggestion ... scrap the ridiculous citizenship test. I don't know how much it costs but a single penny spent on this worthless waste of time is too much. It's the test which people wanting to become UK citizens have to take to make sure they understand more about the country. Now in principle it's a great idea. But having just taken and FAILED the test I've got to question its validity.

I like to think that after living here for all of my 30 years I have a good grasp of the country and how it works. Working as a journalist I often pick up various scraps of knowledge that might pass some other people by, so I would have thought I'd have stood a good chance of passing the test. But no. I failed. Not just failed ... I failed by some margin.

Silly me. How foolish of me not to know in what year in the 1800s women got the right to divorce their husband, or what percentage of people (to one decimal place) were Muslim in this country in 2001. I jmean good grief, what absolute tosh. This is absurd. What are we trying to create? A nation of encylopedic bores who recite facts learnt by rote? Go on ... give it a go. See if you, like me, are also not entitled to call yourself a UK citizen ... http://www.ukcitizenshiptest.co.uk/

Limited wardrobe

2010-06-26T11:23:00.001+01:00

There's no better advert for making sure you have a varied wardrobe than the Home Secretary Theresa May. I'm no fashionista but surely it's common sense that if you only own a few suit jackets, make sure they're not so quirky and out of the ordinary that people instantly notice when you wear it pretty much all the time.

Sadly Theresa May has fallen foul of this fashion faux pas. Her baby blue coloured stormtrooper style outfit makes an appearance far too often. With its very high round neck it's very distinctive and very over warn. Theresa ... it's very nice ... but you need to hit the sales and get some more to go with it. How about you splash some of your expenses on something from TK Maxx?

Trading faces

2010-06-24T00:50:00.000+01:00

"Tonight the role of Declan Napier will be played by Erin Mullally".

What actress Jane Hall didn't say at the start of the first of this week's episodes of Neighbours here in the UK was that the role of her son Declan Napier will be played by Erin Mullally not just tonight, but every night from now on, presumably until the character permanently leaves Ramsay Street.

Now for an Aussie soap this is nothing new. The saga of how many actresses played Lucy Robinson (three) is quite famous, not to mention Scott Robinson, Toby Mangel, Beverley Armitage, Steph Scully (admittedly the original actress was only half visible in one scene before she was re-cast - I'll stop now before I sound even more geeky) but it's not happened that much in recent years. There has been the odd recasting to cover for actors' illnesses (Libby Kennedy and Cheryl Stark come to mind) but a permanent recasting is very rare.

Apparently producers reckon they've invested so much time in the character of Declan that they didn't want to lose the character when actor James Sorensen decided to leave to join the army. I guess he has been through a lot .... his character's not out of his teens and he's married with a child, his wife has since died and he's not moving on with a new girlfriend, aside from the usual teen angst ... so you can kind of see the programme makers' point. But that first time you see the character with a different face is just rather tough to get used to. They don't look right. They don't sound right. The scriptwriters insist on making the other character's refer to "Declan" by name more than is natural to make sure people realise who this stranger is and you have to believe the other characters when they don't bat an eyelid at talking to someone who's had an inexplicable facelift.

Here in the UK it's a lot rarer on our home-grown soaps though EastEnders are apparently getting ready to do a swap with a couple of their child stars, something other soaps often do as well.

But it got me thinking ... if I was to suddenly become indisposed, or fancy a radical change of direction in life which involved moving away from family and friends ... who could I get to become the new James Webster? Now I've been told in the past that I bear a passing resemblance to Gareth Gates, Michael Owen and even Steven Gerrard (what's with all the footballers?!) but judging by how it works in soap-land I wouldn't need anyone who even looks like me to take over - the picture at the top showing the lack of resemblance between the two Declans from Neighbours.

So which well-known figure should I pick? Who would my friends most like to have in my place? Answers on a postcard. Meanwhile I'm off back to watch another episode of Neighbours and count how many times they shoehorn in a reference to "Declan".

Hooked on Big Brother

2010-06-19T11:36:00.000+01:00

A week into the new series of Big Brother and I can confirm I am officially hooked, again! As usual I did my trick of watching the freaks go in on launch night to see if I could stomach it. There have been years that purely on basis of that first show I decide not to watch it.

This year's bunch seemed just as bizarre when they went in as they often do, but after giving them the benefit of the doubt over the first couple of days I'm stuck with it and now I'm eagerly awaiting my daily dose of housemate action. It has to be said that if it wasn't for the fact I know this is the last series there is a chance I might not have stuck with it.

After the first I couldn't be more delighted to have seen the back of Rachael. The Beyonce look-a-like spent the entire first week looking down her nose at people, notably the blonde Aussie John-James. His comments to her have bordered on bullying at times but all things considered I can see where she's coming from. As for her opponents - Sunshine's on borrowed time. The girl has no point. If she vanished tomorrow I couldn't care less. And squatter Shabby I love and hate in equal measure. She seems to be quite 'with it' but then she throws a tantrum. At least it's interesting to watch.

Elsewhere you've got rough-Manc Corin who's actually quite sweet. Buxom Josie is an absolute delight. Posh-boy Ben is the sort of guy I usually hate but his dry wit is very endearing.

And what does the future hold for the newly-evicted Rachael - well who'd have thought it. She wants to get her kit off in the lads mags. She should enjoy her week of fame. It'll be another equally vacuous girl who gets kicked out next week no doubt and she'll also be queuing up to get her baps out for cash.

UK 'wins' Eurovision

2010-05-31T23:02:00.001+01:00

"Poor old Josh". Having just crammed three hours of Eurovision fun into around an hour and a half I think Graham Norton got it right when he summed it up with those three little words. Poor old Josh. He didn't deserve to come last and it's true - he did give a very credible performance. They'd tweaked the song and sorted out the pretty naff choreography that left him looking very wooden at the UK final.

Sadly the song, while being perfectly fine, just didn't stand out. Josh put his all into and he sung with gusto and (take note Jemini!) he sung in tune as well, but it clearly just wasn't enough. My favourite was Belgium - the man on his guitar. No gimmicks, just nice singing. Maybe old fashioned but it was very good. Germany didn't do it for me. And if one act sticks out it's got to be the three women whose dresses morphed into butterflies. Brilliant! Take a rubbish song and literally dress it up in a daft frock. A-may-zing.

So what are left with? Well thankfully not the dreaded "nul points" but nonetheless a dreadfully embarrassing last place. Maybe Europe hate us after all. Maybe they have every right to. Who knows? Josh can hold his head high though - he didn't disgrace himself. And actually - maybe we won after all. Perhaps Josh was deliberately saddled with a song that had no chance so that we didn't have to foot the bill for staging the event next year. So in a funny sort of way, given the fact we're constantly being told we have less money than Greece, we did actually win. Cos next year we can still go to the party, but not have to pay for it. I'll get my ticket booked.

Hot drinks are wrong

2010-05-24T19:27:00.000+01:00

It's not taken long for my new colleagues to get used to the fact that I don't like hot drinks. Never have. I won't say never will - but after this many years I think it's unlikely.

Despite that most people still find it quite awkward when they're doing a round of drinks and wonder whether to offer me one so I can politely decline or just move on down the desk while explaining to the next person why they've seemingly missed me out.

Part of me wishes I could drink hot drinks but, well, they just leave me cold. They do nothing for me. They certainly don't quench my thirst. Coffee has been known to give me stomach ache. But I'd love to be part of the hot drink gang. I like the idea of it, but a glass of water or a cup of squash is so much more refreshing. The very occasional hot chocolate can be nice, but then I almost class that as food. It's a bit like soup in that respect. It certainly doesn't quench my thirst.

But I do feel sorry for those who can't understand why I don't like the hot drinks in the same way I can't understand why they do. I think it's one we just have to agree to disagree on.

Don't be a gracious loser

2010-05-22T10:24:00.003+01:00

Let your feelings show! That's what I say. There's no point being polite and nice when inside you're absolutely furious.

How many times have you seen those star-studded awards ceremonies on TV and when each winner is announced you see the other nominees politely clapping and smiling, seemingly in agreement? It happens all the time, yet you know that inside they're thinking 'That should be me' as said celebrity marches up to the stage with loud applause and a beaming grin on their face. Well not this week. Someone has seen sense and it was a joy to watch!

While catching up on the British Soap Awards I was keeping my fingers crossed that at last Emmerdale might just get the number of awards it actually deserves, but sadly it wasn't too be. EastEnders picked up most of them (yes they did a great live episode at the end of a great 'Who killed Archie' storyline but it was just one episode - not worthy of THAT many awards!) at the expense of some great work by the teams on the other shows.

Particularly good recently was Emmerdale's storyline involving Aaron struggling to accept that he's gay. I don't mind owning up to being moved to tears several times by Danny Miller's excellent portrayal throughout. And similarly I don't mind admitting he had me laughing out loud as the camera showed him rolling his eyes in frustration as the Yorkshire soap showed him and his fellow cast members losing out in almost all the awards to their rivals. The rest of the nominees were clapping politely but his more visible displeasure was much more fun to watch! Good for you Danny!

Role reversals

2010-05-20T01:10:00.001+01:00

Have you ever found yourself on the opposite side of a situation that you've experienced dozens of times but from the other angle? Well my new job means I've done that twice this week now and both times it's felt slightly odd.

The first was earlier in the week when I produced my first late bulletin at Calendar. You're basically responsible for writing it, editing the clips of video to put in it and then sitting in the gallery and counting the presenter through the bulletin in their earpiece to make sure it all runs to time. Having been forced to present many a bulletin at Channel M, often without someone counting in my ear and working out my own timings as we went along I appreciate how important it is to have that reassuring voice while you're in front of the camera.

And for the second .... well when I previously worked full-time at Real Radio, back in the halcyon days when commercial radio stations felt able to do more than the now meagre five minute hourly bulletins, I regularly presented the main afternoon news programme for fifteen minutes at 5 O'Clock. One of my favourite parts of the show was the link-up with Yorkshire TV for a preview of what was coming up on Calendar that night.

Well tonight the inevitable happened when it was me on the other end of the line speaking to my old colleagues (now the presenter rather than the newsreader) about what stories would be making the headlines later on. And how bizarre it felt to hear myself saying similar things that I'd heard countless times before!

The format of the link up is for the radio presenter to link into each of three stories with something like, "You've got more on the murder trial of blah blah blah..." and it was always a running joke that whoever was talking from Calendar would answer each prompt with the obligatory "That's right...." If you're not a member of the media you could be forgiven for thinking these chats are off-the-cuff spontaneous conversations. Anyone in the media will tell you that couldn't be further from the truth. They're well scripted. Both parties have agreed the questions, in fact the one answering them has probably written them. More often than not the "That's right..." get added in as a vain attempt to make them sound more chatty.

So did I sound chatty tonight? Probably not. Will I sound chattier next time? Hopefully. That is once I get my head around being on the other end of that oh so familiar conversation!

Posting a letter

2010-05-19T02:07:00.001+01:00

So it's my day off. And it's Tuesday. I feel bad saying that one of the things I most like about my new job is having days off. That makes it sound as though I don't like being at work, but that's not true. Far from it. But what is quite nice is having the occasional day off during the week - the perk of a nine day fortnight.

I had things quite nice in my last job not having to work weekends at all. But since returning to Real Radio on a Saturday morning since Christmas my days off have been few and far between and not working weekends at Channel M meant I very rarely had a weekday day off. And *how* I have missed them. They are so productive.

It must be partly because everyone else is still at work so there is little else to do with my time than catch up on all my odds and ends. So armed with my 'to do' list I started the day aiming to tick off as many tasks as possible. It always seems that on a day off you have a letter to post. Not sure why. But I did indeed have two to post today and a parcel to collect as well. Then there were the utility companies I needed to speak to, the shopping to buy, the washing to do, the doctor and dentist appointments to arrange. I've been cooking on gas! All ticked off.

Then it gets to the evening and I head off for my first run since moving back to Leeds and my first trip to the swimming pool (shameful considering I've been here around a month and it's over the road from my house) and then got a few computery bits of stuff sorted in the evening as well.

There's definitely a lot to be said for weekday days off. Two weeks now to write my next letter to post!