Monday November 10th, 2009.
Just had the best afternoon in ages. Which is odd considering I only managed about 2 hours sleep last night and by 10am after the show this morning I was on the floor. Sleeping. Nearly. For the new dubai92.com website, we are all having new photos taken. Now, sometimes this can be fun. It is always nice to have a nice photo taken of yourself to send back to the family. But sometimes it can be a little tedious just standing about for ages. Today however we were very lucky in the fact we got to go to the Stu Williamson photography studios for our next set of snaps. These though, let me tell you, are anything but snaps. We just had a laugh for two hours. Jumping, running, eating a cassette! Oh yeah. Also Stu had a wooden rocking horse in his studio. It turns out that he bought it in Whitley Bay, where I live in the UK! What a coincidence. So we had to get it in the shots. See the outcome when the new website launches! I am off to get off the make up. Can’t wait to see the photos. Thanks Stu.
My song of the day – Embrace – Gravity
Sunday November 8th, 2009.
Right then. After two weeks on The Tom & Dan Show in the evening, the bosses have popped Dan and me on Breakfast to keep things ticking over whilst Cb&Gb are Big Dealing in NY. Love the fact me and my best mate are on Breakfast. Will be a fun two weeks. First day today and I spent most of the morning at the airport. We were doing the Big Deal Wildcard. I went off to the airport and announced at 7.30am where I was. The first person to find me got on the next flight to NYC on Virgin! Well done to Jacques who managed to find me quicker than anyone else. A nice relaxing start to two weeks of 4am starts!
My song of the day – Moloko – The Time Is Now
Saturday November 7th, 2009
Superb weekend. Dubai Sound City and Michael Jackson ‘This Is It’. MJ to begin with. It was a brilliant film. The shows planned in London would have been absolutely huge. The work that was going in was just mind blowing. So sad that we will never get to see that show being performed, and of course, MJ will be forever missed.
DSC then. Went along on Friday night. Brilliant. Got there to see a packed Irish Village, a great atmosphere and great bands. I even managed to get a lovely media pass from the lovely Z, so therefore got to the front and took some pictures. I didn’t have a camping pass, so had to leave at the end of the night. What? It wasn’t a camping festival? Oh right, I thought that the tents were few and far between. Anyway, went back on the Saturday and even though it was quieter, the music was still as good. Dan Black a huge surprise, Alphabeat great, The Parlotones superb with just two members and then The Wombats! I missed. Because Dan and I are on breakfast in the morning, and sadly that means staying up later than midnight is not a good idea. Great weekend though.
My song of the day – Dan Black – Symphonies
Wednesday November 4th, 2009.
Before the show today, Dan and I had a brilliant couple of hours! Behind work here at Studio City lies the Dubai polo club. What a superb spot it is, and quite often, us work lot have a spot of lunch there. Today was different however. We were invited to learn how not only to ride a horse, but also how to play polo. All in two hours. I actually can’t remember the last time I was on a horse, although am convinced I have been on one. I think maybe a pony. On Blackpool beach. So I wasn’t exactly confident about this. We were all given our horse however, and helped on. And then off we went. When I sahy that, I mean, shuffle slightly to the left a bit. Give us 40 minutes though and we were cantering away! It felt like galloping, the wind in my face, my whip helping the horse speed on and on and to be honest, I was flying. Looking back on the video, you just don’t quite get the speed aspect. But wow, I was flying! Yep. We were then told how to play Polo. On the ground. Had a little practice with the stick. All seemed well. We managed to hit the ball. Good. So put the two together and polo pros we are. Nope. It turns out it is a little tricky to actually hit the ball whilst clinging on for dear life on a horse. Especially when going at speeds I was travelling at.
My song of the day – Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone
Sunday November 1st, 2009.
Happy Halloween for yesterday. This time last year my Mum and brother had just been to visit and I was experiencing the delights of Waxy’s in Bur Dubai. The year before that, I had not long been back in the UK working away at Hereward FM in Peterborough after just returning from my 2nd holiday to Dubai, and the year before that I was in London. I don’t know why, but I seem to be in a reflective mood at the moment. I like looking back and smiling at happy times. That isn’t to say I’m not enjoying the present. I am. A lot. Dan and I are back on air at 8 tonight. Yesterday was all about the Big Deal and we were there filming the behind-the-scenes video for it. Which you can see here http://vimeo.com/7367068. As well as that, we both counted down your 20 biggest songs on the chart. It has been a non-stop weekend, but again, an enjoyable one. A very enjoyable creek walk and dinner at Ravi’s were also packed in. Some would say that kind of busy schedule is not too dissimilar to a Formula One driver. My jeep on the way home however, barely touched 100kph. Which is a tad slower than what those Yas Marina circuit chaps were achieving this weekend.
My song of the day – James Morrison – You Give Me Something.
Thursday October 29th, 2009.
The last week honestly feels like one of the busiest I have ever had. In a good way. It has been a really nice week. Being on the radio with my best mate, producing the show with my best mate, making videos with my….yep, you guessed it, best mate, speaking with home, running and meetings plus whatever else. It has been good. So first week of The Tom & Dan Show done. We are happy at how it has gone. It has been a good starting point to go ahead and make better and better hopefully. My passion for it all has come back. I have always took care and pride in what I do, or I would like to think so at least. But I think Dan and I both want this to work so much, the enthusiasm is back. The kind of feeling I had when I first got on the radio. The same feeling that can be lost without realising it as you start to go through the motions. It is great to be going into the studio really excited about the next 4 hours again.
On a slightly less positive note. Still waiting to get paid, and shall I buy the iPhone that is on offer this weekend? As I haven’t been paid, I guess not. Almost November. Blimey.
My song of the day – LadyHawke – Magic
Tuesday October 27th, 2009.
During a busy week like this, it is important to stop for an hour and take a break. Not a lunch break, not a nap but a massage. So that is what I did this afternoon before the show. Show 3 tonight and Dan and me are still loving every minute. We introduced ‘Karaoke Lottery’ last night which involves us typing ‘Karaoke’ into YouTube and signing whatever comes up. Spaceman is also proving popular as he tries to find the car parking spaces around Dubai each night. It has also been a nice week catching up with home. They have been listening to the show which has been nice. Hello Whitley Bay!
My song of the day – Stereophonics – Innocent
Monday October 26th, 2009.
First show done last night and we were both delighted at how it went. As we said, I don’t think we have felt that amount of pressure for a while. It was just good fun once we were on and we really had enjoyed it. Already the week is turning into a busy one, but an enjoyable one. Show 2 tonight and delighted to hear that when CB and GB are in New York, Dan and me will be covering for them on Breakfast. Very exciting.
Canvas picture of Newcastle done. I love it, and it is now proudly hanging on the wall above the tele. I now have 3 canvas prints of photos from the North East of England. Feel a little bad as Dan must feel like the South has been forgotten about.
My song of the day – Groove Armada – I Won’t Kneel
Sunday October 25th, 2009.
Back blogging after a little break. Nice to be writing again, although I haven’t actually stopped. For my OCD requirements, seemed to make sense to start again today….
The first day of the Tom & Dan Show on Dubai 92. We start at 8 tonight and we are both genuinely really excited, if a little nervous. It’s a great opportunity for us, and will be a brilliant learning curve. Lets see where we can take the Tom & Dan brand. It will be a fun ride! You know a few years ago Dan and I were both doing an overnight show for two different stations for the same company in the South of England. To keep ourselves awake we would call each other and stay on the phone for most of the 5 hours we were on the air. It was during one of those phone calls back in 2006 that we joked about coming here to Dubai. We mentioned it because a good friend of ours used to work here called Jonathan. As quickly as we decided we would live here, we forgot about the whole conversation. Not knowing how we would ever do it, and to be honest, why would anyone want to leave a job that involved working 1 – 6am 5 nights a week. I find it funny looking back, finding ourselves here and also being able to do a show together. We will be giving this our best shot.
In other news. Over the weekend, had my final game of tennis with Mark before he and Kellie move back to London this week. We had a good game at the Ritz Carlton and in the shadows of JBR, we battled it out for the final few hours. I lost. Again. Afterwards, a good time relaxing on the terrace. My canvas of Newcastle however, is still not ready. Hopefully tomorrow. Can’t wait to see it.
My song of the day – Royksopp – This Must Be It
