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THE GINGER GUY

Making It Up As I Go Along

THIS SITE IS NOW ARCHIVE 

Two weeks ago, for the first time,  I stood up at the Glasgow Comedy Festival in front of a paying crowd, with no material and no idea what to do. That, however, is normally how most improvised comedy shows begin.

My first memory of Improv is the same for a lot of people, watching ‘Who’s Line is It Anyway’ on TV as a kid. I loved it. It was quick, weird, clever and hilarious. Ever since then I’ve always been interested by improv but I never really thought of it as something I could do.

Years later, I started going to the Fringe and seeing shows, first as a punter then as a worker. Some were better than others, but they all made me laugh, which I suppose is a minimal expectation. If I had to highlight any from last year it would have to be Showstoppers and Murder She Didn’t Write.

Showstoppers is a sell out hit every year. I first went to see them in 2015 and instantly loved them. They are improv professionals at the top of their game, making up an entire musical every night based on suggestions. It's so much fun and you can tell they love doing it.

10/10 Go see @TheShowstoppers Because you have to. #EdFest https://t.co/byTeSCyPCj

— Chris Quilietti 📻 (@ChrisQ_1) August 26, 2016

Murder She Didn’t Write was a popular show last year by Degrees Of Error . A murder mystery where someone from the crowd chose the weapon, victim and murderer. At one point they were doing two shows a day. A normal one and a ‘late night’ version where they changed it up by swapping genders or having an invited guests.

Murder She Didn't Write is brilliant. A lot of fun and a must see!!@DegreesOfError #edfringe #edfest

— Chris Quilietti 📻 (@ChrisQ_1) August 20, 2016 

For the last few years however I found myself saying to people: ‘After this years festival I’m going to take an improv class.’ But before I knew it, August had come and gone, and I hadn’t done anything about it. The Fringe would rekindle my love for the art, I’d declare that ‘this year, I’m going to do it’ and then not, a month would pass and i’d forget. A pattern of repetition so predictable, it may even constitute a game*.

Well not last year.

At the end of August I looked online and booked to take part in an Improv ‘taster’ workshop in Edinburgh. I was terrified and didn’t know what to expect. I was having war-like flashbacks to when I was in the Falkirk Children's Theatre and we had to pretend to be animals. Was it going to be like that? Or would it be full of people who knew what they were doing who would easily be able to tell that I was making it up as I went along… actually in hindsight that’s essentially what Improv is.

Once I shook off the nerves I really enjoyed the workshop then enrolled in classes. Everyone there was in the same boat. A few were actors looking to add skills to their bow, some just after for a hobby, a few wannabe comedians and those who applied on a whim. The classes were quite an eye opener for me as I thought I had an Idea of what was involved in Improv. I mean, I had watched a handful of Youtube videos on the subject, so naturally I was an expert ready for whatever they threw at me…

The most jarring thing from the first few weeks was realising I wasn’t actually funny. I can hear the shouts of “We could have told you that” but what I mean is the things that I thought were funny, weren’t. For example, I’d be in a scene and say something that I thought might get a laugh and then it didn’t. Instantly put off, focus is gone, I’m self analysing and not paying attention to my partner. It took me a while to stop analysing and start investing in the reality.

The first thing you learn about improv is the golden rule of ‘Yes, and..’ It is the accepting of whatever is going on and then adding to it. So if I say “Here is an apple” you would say “Yes and we should fill it with poison for the queen”. This is fundamental to improv as if you don't accept the reality you’re trying to create, how's is your audience going to do that? This is one of the may things that TBC teaches beginners about Improv.

While on the course I started to find out about the Edinburgh and Glasgow improv scenes. There’s a lot more to take in than I expected. I started going to the Monkey Barrel Sunday Night Shows and the Glasgow Harold Nights both of which I can highly recommend.

After a few months a friend of mine invited me to audition for an improv group based in Glasgow that were looking new members, The Improv Ninjas. I didn’t expect to audition for anyone so soon. I had hardly any performance experience and the little I did have was in front of other improvisers, arguably one of the best audiences because they’re good at pretending they’re enjoying themselves. It took me a bit of time to say 'yes, and' to the audition, eventually I decided I had nothing to lose, it was just another chance to rehearse with good improvisers, I was never going to get in.

I pulled into Glasgow early, the audition was at 3pm. The plan was to go to a coffee shop and calm myself, I was uncommonly nervous. On the way from my coffee sanctuary to the audition I stopped off to get a bottle of water (that would never leave my bag because I forgot about it) and chewing gum. Leaving the shop I realised that time had somehow moved on at speed without me and I was now running late. I ran from the shop to the venue. It’s bad enough being nervous, now I was also out of breath and stressed.

When at the door I text my friend and he took me up to the room where I was greeted by the existing Ninjas and another auditionee. It was all over in a flash. A few opening games, a handful of scenes and that was it! Train home, done. I hadn’t a clue if if the audition went well or not but that didn’t matter because I had already resigned myself to not getting it.

Turns out, I must have been ok because they let me in. I was genuinely surprised and could not wait to get into rehearsals. “How can you rehearse improv?” almost everyone asks. Improv rehearsal involves practicing the skills and techniques to get better at those, not to work on one particular plot or story. It’s also about creating a bond with your group, so you can become slick and (hopefully) funny.  

Before I knew it, it was our last rehearsal before we were due to perform at the Glasgow Comedy Festival. I had my club t-shirt and there was nothing else for it but to give it out best and support each other, and we did.

In radio, 50 minutes is a long time, but the show went by in a flash. The world premier of ‘Improv Ninjas Save The World’ was a sell out (It was only a 40 seater room but still). The suggestion we take for our show is a title, so we performed. ‘Attack of the Racist Avocados’. It was as bizarre as you can imagine, and I had so much fun. The audience left happy and I was reasonably pleased with my own performance. Everyone in the group had reason to be proud of themselves and each other. They are amazing. Yes, and I’m proud to be one of them.

*The Game in Improv

Top 5 Scottish April Fool's.

Unlike a lot of people I quite like April Fools Day, its a chance for the news to be deliberately stupid, not just by happenstance. Here are my top 5 Scottish April Fools 

5

The Edinburgh Fringe 

A giant glass roof over the Royal Mile 

Ohh, @edfringe ... very good. pic.twitter.com/5ViQMzMAUa

— Chris Quilietti 📻 (@ChrisQ_1) April 1, 2017

 It began early when I opened up my emails and saw this in my inbox from the Edinburgh Fringe. Admittedly it had me going for a second then I remembered the date. 

4

The Edinburgh Evening News

Drivers of Electric cars allowed to go 30MPH in 20MPH Zones

3

Glasgow Living 

Glass box around the Duke Of Wellington statue 



This would never work... they'd just put the cone on top of the box. 

2

The Telegraph 

Polar bears in Scotland 


Spotted in the outer hebrides apparently.... 

1 

Tennent's

Tennent's vending machine in all (good) Scottish Airports. 

Our new Flight-Size 100ml Tennent’s cans available at all Scottish airports. Ideally shaped and sized for your hand luggage. Thank us later. pic.twitter.com/nPcQdkaBgV

— Tennent's Lager (@TennentsLager) April 1, 2017

Why is it in Devon?

My phone buzzed late on a Friday, my face lit up as I took in the message; “Hi Chris, did you get my email?”. I did get the email but “sorry my laptop’s in Devon” I replied. Their confusion was palpable in the “Eh?” I got thrown back.

Other than Hibs getting drawn with Hearts in the Scottish cup tie by what looked like a drunken Rod Stewart, the only other exciting thing to happen to me in the past week was the millennial equivalent of replacing a car tyre. Taking my MacBook to get fixed. After a morning of using it, I took it from one (glamorous) location to an (equally glamorous) location across town, opened it up and I was met with a blank screen, well not entirely, there was a folder with a question mark flashing at me. Mocking me. 

I had no idea what it meant, I come from a history of Windows computers, the strongest relationship i'd had with Apple was a brief fling in 2010 where I dated an iPad. It was a loving relationship, the kind you show off in public hoping it makes the papers but in the end meaningless and we agreed to part ways once I met a newer model, an iPhone.

A Mac is an emotional investment, like a first child (maybe not exactly like that) and up until this point it had given me no bother. Still the folder flashed. I did everything I could with my own knowledge and understanding but I bit down hard on the bullet and gave Ian from the Apple helpline a call. Ian was nice, he said he was in ‘the north east’ and ‘happy to help’. He had this fun quirk where whenever you asked him something he’d pause and say ‘ok, so…’ with an upper inflection. He did this every time without fail and it became a sort of sport to see how many times I could get him to say it. There were periods of waiting during the call that I’d take advantage of and play another round of the ‘Ok, so…’ game. 

In the end Ian from the north east was nice but didn’t solve my problem so he booked my laptop into the next available Genius bar appointment in Scotland which thankfully was in Stirling that day. I made a move and got the train from Glasgow and the west to the Forth Valley, a journey that is actually quite picturesque if you don’t look out of the window passing Larbert.*

I’d never seen a shopping centre so quiet. Yea it was a weekday but this place was dead. I wandered down the centre of the tall shop-lined corridor the smells of Lush and Thorntons competing with each or for priority in my nose (Lush was winning).
Glass fronted and teeming with twenty year old cool geeks, I stepped into the white walled chapel of Apple. It’s wasn’t an official Apple shop but they have ‘registered traders’ who can look at your device. Kind of in the same way that you can get a Costa Coffee from a vending machine at service stations. Yea it’s technically a Costa but not really.

The young guy behind the counter was cool. I am not. He took one look at the record of my call with Ian, opened up my laptop and confirmed what we both already knew. “Yea, its an issue with the hard drive, dude, we’ll need to send it away to get looked at”. I pathetically asked If there was anything, anything else he could do that day, “Not really bro… we could run diagnostics but it’ll probably show up the same issue”. It did. 

There was nothing else for it, It had to be sent away. I did discuss and look at other options but this was the quickest and potentially cheapest afforded to me. Enquiring where they sent the ill and infirm computers he told me; “Exeter bro”. ‘Don't call me bro' I thought, you’re sending my laptop to Devon, have some respect. In hindsight this was a little dramatic. He stuck a barcode to the lid and put it in a clear plastic bag reminiscent of a body bag and that was the last I saw of it... Until almost exactly a week later when it came back and there was no real problem just a bad cable that was cheap to fix. 

The moral of the story is. It’s just a laptop. Calm down dear. 

*Obviously a joke, I’m from Falkirk I have no legroom to take the proverbial out of Larbert. That line would have worked equally well if I’d have said: 

"A  journey that is actually quite picturesque if you don’t look out of the window passing Camelon.”

or

"A journey that is actually quite picturesque if you don’t look out of the window passing Falkirk.”

or
"A journey that is actually quite picturesque if you don’t look out of the window passing Lenzie."

Thanks for reading (If you did) you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. If you're looking for another blog, this guy is good. I also have a proper website here. 

You Should Listen To This: Cabin Pressure

I’ve been saving this one till they started repeating it on BBC Radio 4. This series is something i've been obsessed with for the last few years, and not since My Childhood love of Doctor Who have I been so enthralled by a programme. You should listen to Cabin Pressure. 

Produced for the BBC by Pozzitive, Cabin pressure is the story of a tiny charter airline staffed by four people with one plane. It follows their (literal) ups and downs as they fly everyone from a full orchestra to an abandoned cricket team. 

I first discovered it by accident a few years ago. The BBC Radio iPlayer app was fairly new at the time and it curates all of the programmes in to categories as well as stations. I often go through the comedy section to see what their is and the name pop up many times along with the image of Benedict Cumberbatch in a captains uniform. I must have just taken a punt on an episode one day and the rest as they say is… spending the next few months listning back to all the episodes I’d missed in order and falling head over ears for the world of MJN air. The friendliest sitcom on radio. 


The lynchpin behind it all is the writer, John Finnemore. An immense talent, responsible for a number of brilliant programmes on Radio 4. He also plays the part of Arthur, the loveable but dim server. Writing a sitcom can be challenging and demands good characters, the central four blend together seamlessly, they are real in a bizarre world, making you care about their wants and happy about their successes. 

The depth of it’s warmth is matched by the depths of it’s characters.

“A list of actors that wouldn’t be out of place in a play at The National."

Yes that is Sherlock playing Martin Creiff! They were originally worried when Benedict was propelled to stardom Sherlock as a groups (school's or murder’s) of young fans began to fill the audience at the recordings. It was thought that they’d come to see him and not really react (laugh) at this Radio 4 comedy but they needn't have worried as the the equation of Finemore's writing and a stellar cast makes it near impossible for anyone not to find this charmingly hilarious. 

kkbook.deviantart.com

The Sherlock and Cumberbatch fandoms have a reputation (a good one) for not doing things by halves and in the most creative way. The show was already popular but it skyrocketed (pun intended) in a way that Radio 4 sitcoms don’t usually do. Fan art, Cosplay and even a European convention called Euro Airdot Con*

*The name ‘Airdot’ is a reference to the first ever episode where Carolyn and Martin are having a discussion about who’s in charge. Him (the captain) or her (The airline owner) 

CAROLYN: Martin, you’re a berk.
MARTIN: I’m not a berk, Carolyn; I’m an airline captain.
CAROLYN: Wrong on both counts. You’re a colossal berk; and you’re not an airline captain.
(Martin sighs.): I don’t have an airline. I have one jet. You cannot put one jet in a line. If MJN is anything, it is an airdot. 

:::Some things you’ll want to know before you start listning :::

Every episode is named after the location featured and all 4 series include every letter of the alphabet.

Series 1 Abu Dhabi Boston Cremona Douz Edinburgh Fitton

Series 2 Helsinki Gdansk Ipswich Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur Limerick Molokai - Christmas Special

Series 3  Qikiqtarjuarq Paris Newcastle Ottery St. Mary Rotterdam St. Petersburg

Series 4 Timbuktu Uskerty Vaduz Wokingham Xinzhou Yverdon-les-Bains Zurich (2 parter)

The Traveling Lemon It began as a game played in an episode entitled Qikiqtarjuaq. It became a wonderful fan tribute and way to raise money for charity. 

@cabin_pressure The Travelling Lemon, The Brandenburg Gate Berlin, Germany pic.twitter.com/1dDwYJCu

— Silke Reddevil (@SilkeReddevil) August 26, 2012

@cabin_pressure here's my photo for #TheTravellingLemon Pulkovo airport, Saint-Petersburg (Pulkovo 1 terminal actually) pic.twitter.com/AehiDJEw

— Alexandrina (@surdusabsurdus) June 17, 2012

The crew play a number of games to pass the time:

• Brians Of Britan

Name as many famous people with the name Brian from the UK as you can. 

• People Who ought to have been enemies. 

Ruby Was +John Wayne / Donna Summer+ Anna Wintour

• People Who Aren’t Evil but who have evil Sounding Names

Davina McCall, Russell Crowe, Calista Flockhart 

• Books that sound better without the final letter

Three Men in a Boa, How to be Goo, Of Mice and Me

• Through Customs Rhymes 

I came through Customs and all I had to declare was some … (he pauses momentarily) … jelly from New Delhi, a tunic from Munich, some maracas from Caracas and some … cattle from Seattle.

• Rhyming Journeys 

Vienna to Siena /Poole to Goole/ Aruba to Cuba

It has a fan site with every episode fully transcribed

LISTEN TO THE FIRST EPISODE HERE 
LISTEN TO THE SECOND EPISODE HERE

Thanks for reading (If you did) you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. If you're looking for another blog, this guy is good. I also have a proper website here. 

Special thanks needs to got to www.cabinpressurefans.co.uk a brilliant resource for fans and indeed anything you want to know about cabin pressure.  

BBC Music Awards 2016

jamiesimonds.com

In my continued pursuit as 'jack of all trades and master of none' I returned as an Artist Liaison Rep to the 3rd Annual BBC Music awards in London. 

For me, it was four days in total, beginning on the Saturday and traveling from Glasgow Central to London Euston on the train. Thankfully I’d booked early enough in advance that I could travel first class on the cheap. When you imagine ‘First Class’ on a train you imagine the Orient Express, silver service, being waited hand on foot, fine wines and perhaps even a murder that's solved buy another passenger that happens to be a Belgian detective. 

Arriving into London I journeyed towards Canning Town and to the ExCeL centre. To give you an Idea of the size of this place it’s like an airport with less planes an extra terminal and you can take your pick of coffee from one of the two Costa Coffee’s… and we did. 

::BRIEF SIDE NOTE ABOUT THE HOTEL::

I’m not fussy (really I’m not) about hotels. But this place would have made Basil Fawlty blush. The restaurant attached to it was just called ‘PUB’ It was boiling hot and had an open kebab shop in the corner. The smell of grease and chunky chips did not amuse a tired team up early that day. The rooms were tiny and we had two working plugs out of six. The shower was smaller than a matchbox and the water was intermittently hot and cold every few seconds. But apart from that it was fine. Oh and the towels were weird...

After a day of smooth rehearsals and a night of slagging off the hotel, it was show day…

Slightly later start for us, but the day soon became busy as the stars and request entourage’s began to arrive and press schedules including interviews and pre-records began. Culminating in the red carpet walk and finally, the onstage performance, live on the telly. I think I’m right when I say this was the first time it has been live live, previous years it’s been as-live or time shifted?

After the show we had a bit of a de-rig to do and didn’t get out of the venue till after midnight but not before a team photo. 

A photo posted by Cerys Butcher (@ceryselizabethm) on Dec 12, 2016 at 3:44pm PST

A photo posted by Cerys Butcher (@ceryselizabethm) on Dec 20, 2016 at 2:53pm PST

:::::::::::::My own personal highlights include:::::::::::::  

The Food. An army marches on it’s stomach (not said by Napoleon) and It takes an army to put on an event like this, thankfully the food supplied by ‘Eat to the Beat’ (Not sure if they’re named after the Blondie album) is superb. 

Behind the scenes at #BBCMusicAwards in Artist and Crew Catering! #TeamEatToTheBeat pic.twitter.com/RmSvuwuasI

— Eat to the Beat (@Eattothebeat) December 12, 2016

The people. This event is very well ran and it takes a hard working and slick team to achieve that. Everyone was on top form and in good humour. 

The constant supply of tea and coffee.

This is an odd one but… twitter? What I mean is, when you’re part of something that's trending online it's a cool feeling. I still have to explain what it is to my gran though. 

Ending up on the telly…well we were asked: 

Thanks for reading (If you did) you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. If you're looking for another blog, this guy is good. I also have a proper website here. 

The Christmas Void

Teddy Kelley

So aye...

It's that week between Christmas and New Year celebrations where DJ's make a joke of reminding you what day it is and it's acceptable to eat chocolate for any or all meals. If you need help with your confectionary consumption i've created the definitive list of sweets in a Celebrations tin. (Well plastic box (mid when they used to be real tins?))

So, in real terms. pic.twitter.com/ZFKaUEHaIG

— Chris Quilietti (@ChrisQ_1) December 26, 2016

I had a really nice family christmas this year including a lot of wine and the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

#MerryChristmas from #Me and Granny Quilietti!

A photo posted by Chris Quilietti (@chrisq1) on Dec 25, 2016 at 11:54am PST

One thing I also did was live radio. It something i've done for the last few years and it's a lot of fun. I also think it's incredibly important and it can be easily forgotten how much people connect with the Radio. Its one to one and that connection can be incredibly powerful. 

As this proves:

(Via @JamesCridland )

The show I did on Christmas day didn't receive any heartfelt and sad calls but it did include plenty of cheesy music and a report on Santa Clause. 

Radio Royal Christmas Roadshow 2016

Tom Rickhuss

Every December Forth Valleys hospital radio station Radio Royal pitch up to the band stand in Stirling city center, play some music and shake a few cans. This is all to help raise money for the charity, helping them to continue their good work.
Kat Low a presenter on the station has seen around 20 roadshows thinks the weather makes them special as well as the people; "People are generally happier and there's always a buzz about the city"



Radio Royal was formed in 1976 and commenced broadcasting in May 1977. Staffed entirely by volunteers, Radio Royal now broadcasts via television sets to patients and online via the website and mobile apps.

Radio Royal is the call sign of Forth Valley Broadcasting, a recognised charity SC013447

BBC Radio Scotland Music Extra

In Scotland on the 23rd to the 30th November this year there was a new station on the DAB Dial. 

MUSIC| We've launched! BBC Radio Scotland Music Extra is a go and we will be broadcasting for the next 8 days. #RSXtra pic.twitter.com/kSo3rwXBz0

— BBC Radio Scotland (@BBCRadioScot) November 23, 2016

Radio Scotland Music Extra was a pop up music service from BBC Radio Scotland, broadcasting for 8 days, showcasing new and not so new Scottish Musical talent. It’s always difficult to judge the numerical success of a station that's only around for a short period of time.
In these kind of cases, a good measure is the bounce back reaction, the most of which has been positive!

Here  are some of my own personal highlights:

Jules and The Blue Garnets 

Had an amazing day@ #RSXtra @BBCRadioScot playing tracks from the new EP #InTheEarlyHours lovely ppl,great studio,incredible day #livemusic pic.twitter.com/Tl0A2bq27P

— Jules&TheBlueGarnets (@blue_garnets) November 23, 2016

Ricky Ross Meets Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples

The Vault With Garry Innes 

@artificialphotography

Stuart Cosgrove

"Because of this station, Music Extra, we’re only beginning now to scratch the surface of our own popular culture. This should be something that runs and runs and runs."

Berlin

My birthday is a middle birthday. It’s about the middle of the year and about the middle of the month. This means there’s a good distance from any major holiday and I never received special attention in class at school. (One teacher at primary school gave us a cushion you could sit on all day if you were in class on your birthday)

This year I decide to do something different, go away for a bit and do something interesting.

So naturally, I went to Berlin.

Travelling from London was exciting but I had a constant twang of nervousness. I'd traveled by myself before but not this far and not this... spontaneously? Landing at Berlin Schönefeld Airport the first person I spoke to was a guy I met on the plane, who happened to be sitting next to me and we just started talking to each other. James was lovely and oddly he too was traveling to the city for the first time and also had no idea where to go or what to do. Having an equally lost companion was, comforting.

Heading straight into the center, we went for lunch. Sitting outside a place by the Spree, the aroma of beer and sound of lapping river was masked by how anxious I was to get to my accommodation for the visit. I hadn’t heard from my host since before leaving the UK, and I was worried. My impromptu comrade picked up on my nerves and though our conversation, left me with some bits of advice from his experience of travelling alone in his early 20’s, including the perennial ‘If in doubt, find an Irish bar’

We parted ways and I quickly sobered to exactly where I was, my next move? To get in contact with my host and after a lot of calls that rang out (and after a brief bout of fainting after looking at the prices on Late Rooms) I managed to get in touch. Generally I settle for a hotel or staying with someone I know. This was a last minute Airbnb, staying with Bernard and his roommate Janis. Janis turned out to be the only person I actually met from the apartment, once when I arrived and once as I was leaving, waking him up both times (I think he was an art student).
Any worries I had were broken apart by just how nice the room was, spacious and modern, there was a little welcome note and complimentary towel waiting for me.

The room was out by Sonnenallee* in the Turkish part of town, busy streets full of mix and match tables and chairs, the smell or kabab and tobacco accompanied sounds of European traffic. My first night was spent close to my place, checking out local shops (including a Lidl). Being in the Turkish area of town is like constantly being in Glasgow city center at 11PM, it’s always acceptable to have a kabab.


*Sonnenallee is also the title of a 1999 film.  A comedy about East Berlin

Having quickly learned that you only need one ticket to travel on ANY mode of public transport in Berlin I made my way into the center. In my head I was  a cool and intrepid traveler with a rucksack and one train ticket. Exploring the hippest and most underground parts of the city and experiencing the Berlin you see in 90’s films like Sonnenallee. In truth, I had no Idea so I did what any millennial would do, I asked Twitter:

@ChrisQ_1 Check out @travelsofadam and his travel blog. He's based in Berlin 👍

— Lewis Henshall (@ljhenshall) September 9, 2016

@travelsofadam @ljhenshall A beginners guide would be good. But I'll slide into your DM's!

— Chris Quilietti (@ChrisQ_1) September 9, 2016

Adam was great to have in my pocket (on my phone) for two reasons. One; He is a fantastic travel writer and blogger who lives in Berlin after having visited and fallen in love with the place. He’s forgotten more about being there than I’ll ever know. Two; when I had random questions, I could pester him and he was always quick and helpful.

My questions ranged from the obvious:


To the specific:

The vague:

To the ones I had to find out myself:

That’s shorthand for “Tell me about the Gay culture here as my only reference is Matt Smith in Christopher and his kind” I eventually managed to get comfortable and wander around wherever I wanted to. The most striking part of the trip for me was the history. As much as Berlin is a super modern and international city. There are parts that seem frozen in its dark history. I didn’t believe a friend of mine when they said you could still see bullet holes in buildings. You can. Some structures had the marks of restoration and the filling in of the brickwork bullet-wounds but the battle of Berlin was visible. That alongside memorials and plaques, is one of the things i’ll take away from this trip.

Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

A hub for the creative and home for the hipster, Berlin is a stunning city, caught in time that is a symbol of its own reunification. The international home for all. This was most evident for me when I visited Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg, they do a thing called Street Food Thursday that just bustles with life. The smell of fresh baking, cured meats and beer. Soundtracked with laughter, chatter and sizzling grills. It was life, tasty, tasty life.

I forced myself to have a beer, I don’t think I regret it.

Markthalle Neun

https://markthalleneun.de/

If you’re planning on going to Berlin, I recommend a few things:

Go for longer than a few days. You’ll want more time than you have.

Get furious about how cheap the transport is.

Try and have a basic plan for your days but keep it flexible.

Don’t feel like you shouldn’t do the touristy stuff.

Don’t do just the touristy stuff

And you absolutely have to read:

http://travelsofadam.com/city-guides/berlin/

The Scottish Athletics Awards

Bit late with this one... 

I has a wonderful time a few weeks ago at the Scottish Athletics awards. 

Correct, I was not up for any kind of award but I was providing the voice over for the event.  Originally the plan was to pre record all of the inserts before the night, but on reflection  (and a look at how much their was to say) I ended up doing it live. 

I was hidden for most of the night at the back off the room, only getting out for dinner and a cup of tea. Cosied in between the sound desk and black theatre masking I nicked a small table from  the foyer to place my water and script on. 

That's my night announcing at the #SALAwards16 done! pic.twitter.com/Y8zMBGazmV

— Chris Quilietti (@ChrisQ_1) October 29, 2016

It was a fun night and all the award were very well deserved! I think awards dinners is definitely the part of athletics I could get into.

You can find out more about Scottish Athletics here:
http://www.scottishathletics.org.uk/

More great coverage today @hssport Media Partners #SALAwards16. @fisher_stewart on @lauramuiruns see https://t.co/9hnOV5xptw @sweirz pic.twitter.com/D0kldk23DH

— scottishathletics (@scotathletics) October 31, 2016

Sick Kids Save Point

PHOTO:Pawel Kadysz

There are many odd ways to raise a bit of money. But before you jump into a bath of baked beans let me tell you about this one.

My friend Chris Walker wanted to raise money for a cause that meant a lot to him.  In order to do that, he needed a computer, coffee and a whole lot of video games.



You can still donate to Chris's page here:
https://sksp.everydayhero.com/uk/chriswalkersksp
Sick Kids Save Point is the UK's biggest charity gaming marathon and this year marks its seventh year raising funds for The Sick Kids Friends Foundation

You Should Listen To This: Stephen Nolan US Election Debate, Live from Indiana

I think you should listen to this:
US Election: Live Debate from Indiana Stephen Nolan

It's getting ever closer to the US elections 2016 or as it's more commonly known

I've often cited Stephen Nolan as one of my favourite broadcasters. (I would also recommend his mid morning show on Radio Ulster) he has a unique way of dealing with loud callers angrily planting their opinion flag, politics the way it is in Northern Ireland he's used to people with solid opinions. The other thing I like about him is the amount of compassion and understanding he shows to vulnerable contributors trying to tell their story.

One of the busiest people in tv and radio, he presents an evening show on BBC Radio 5 live (Thur-Sun) A recent addition of this show was live from a bar in Terre Haute, Indiana.

2nd @bbc5live special from Terre Haute starts 930pm .American audience have q's & I'll try to keep control . Well, just a little control ! pic.twitter.com/4dBWZTTGd1

— Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) October 15, 2016

 It's an incredible listen, I happened to come across it while it was live and have since digested the whole thing. The nature of debate and discussion around this vote, the anger, confusion, vitriol and passion of the last 3 months is amplified in this programme. Nolan is on tremendous form, commanding the discussion, at times having no choice but to shout to be heard. He manages to raise his voice in a commanding non aggressive way while also showing respect to the speakers.

'It's my show sir....Don't make me stand up' - Stephen Nolan 

With all the coverage and other debates flying around, he asks factual and honest questions and doesn't let them get off without answering them. One of my highlights is when he goes to a young voter who describes this as his 'second election' and gets his thoughts. The young man is quiet and doesn't sound to confident, but Nolan pushes him slightly and ends up getting an honest and interesting question from him. Hes a presenter who understands and uses the power of silence, and isn't afraid to pause before asking a question, making the listener lean in slightly. 

— Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) October 15, 2016

You should listen to this... My Dad Wrote A Porno

If you see someone covering their mouth, trying to stifle laughter on the Monday morning commute, chances are they're listening to My Dad Wrote a Porno. This now worldwide hit is in its second series and has only gotten better with age. 

Jamie Morton has the (no doubt skin crawling) task of reading out his dad’s self-published erotica (‘Self-published erotica’ should not be a thing, but it is) to his friends James Cooper and Alice Levine (BBC Radio 1). Each episode they delve into another chapter and follow the adventures of 'Pots and Pans' buisness lady Belina Blumenthal. Picking it apart, line by line, comma by misused comma with hilarious effect. 

The things that make this podcast a must listen are:

The dynamic between Jamie, James and Alice is very real, they have known each other for years and you can tell that by listning to them. A lot of double or triple headed podcasts could learn a lot from their on-mic relationship.

Simple format, strong content. The layout of each episode is formulaic and easy to follow. The brief recap is a good icebreaker and warm up for the coming episode. The content (Belinda Blinked) is a gift to us all, but mostly this podcast. You can’t predict where it is going and worryingly, become invested in the characters (‘Characters' is to be read with a question mark).

They give you just enough of the drug to keep you addicted. Each episode is very well edited. Never too long, and always packed with the best bits. The commonplace thing for a lot of podcasts of this style to do is to keep in the ramblings of conversations, when they don’t need to.

A lot of what the trio do each episode is very basic. I mean that in the nicest way. Radio as a medium is at its most powerful when;

You talk to one person.

Have core values and themes but move the narrative along.

Welcome the listener like a friend

Make them feel like they are ‘in on the joke’.
My Dad Wrote A Porno does all of the above, and it works. It works so well, it’s a regular at the top of the Itunes chart.

I guarantee you’ll be laughing your pomegranate’s off at this smutty hit. 

Here is a good place to start
BEST OF BOOK ONE