Blogs

This is the thing with hopping around France on an almost literal whistle stop tour following the beautiful game - you never get to see the beautiful sights.

“A Golden generation” – the glib catchphrase that’s trotted out more times than a pantomime horse on a theatre stage in this modern era of international football.

England’s has supposedly come and gone with Sven’s time; Wales are right slap bang in the middle of one having missed chances with previous incarnations; Northern Ireland and Iceland are surely experiencing one at the moment…and then there’s Belgium.

Should've blogged yesterday really, but there's not much to say about long interminable waits in airport departure lounges awaiting delayed connecting flights. And I'd come across as a moaner, which I'm not really.

I've had a few moans come my way on social media for suggesting that Wales' win over Slovakia was a perfect example of their togetherness and commitment-and no little skill from Bale, Allen and others too. But that's not enough to escape the 'lucky' tag from some correspondents to me and talk of a 'scuffed winner'.

So what?

Grève - a strike.

There's your French lesson for the day. I learned that word pretty swiftly on my first day in Bordeaux, a day of 'trams, planes and not-so-mobiles'.

The plane part from Gatwick was straightforward enough, and once outside the arrivals building, I even successfully negotiated my way to where the shuttle bus was, utilising the kind of spoken French not heard since Arthur Bostrom was in his pomp.

As usual, I have absolutely no idea what to expect over the next month, other than anticipating a lot of stress in making flights potentially affected by hastily called air traffic control disputes, a lot of lying awake wondering if the phone will ring at 5.57am to cover Alan Brazil, and hopefully a lot of scintillating football.

I'm back behind the TalkSPORT commentary mic for Euro 2016, a role I last had in South Africa for the station 6 years ago, before my gigs as a Matchday/Programme host and then England correspondent in subsequent times.

I’m back (KERRONG!!!!) back in the DTK groove…

Like a spider in the house at autumn time, you can’t keep me out of Dressed To Kill for long. Some 18 months after I depped for Matt in Birkenhead and Chesterfield, I made a return to the drum stool – in slightly different circumstances.

So Planet Rock then eh? That escalated quickly…

I mentioned in my previous blog the notion of ‘luck’ and ‘right place/right time’ with regard to how opportunities in broadcasting sometimes present themselves. Well, the events that led to me making my presenting debut on Planet Rock last week is as good an example of that as any to me.

Many’s the time I’ve received a message either through this here website, or a Tweet/Facebook message – sometimes even a personal email finds its way to me via a 3rd party – asking for advice on how to ‘make it’ in the radio industry.

Giving an answer feels almost fraudulent from my personal perspective, as my route into broadcasting was about as conventional as a Hawkwind B-side. But let me try and answer as best I can, all the same.

I have to tell you that few things are more satisfying in life than hearing the producer of your album that you’ve laboured over for 18 months say, “That’s it – job’s a good ‘un mate!”

The other week, Alex Cooper and I finally completed work on what will be released in September 2015 as ‘Second Time Around’ – what’s known in the trade as a ‘sophomore release’ apparently…certainly saves the need for overuse of the word ‘second’ in my case.

So I’m at it again.

When ‘Prove You Wrong’ was released in March 2013, it felt like a culmination of things; all the years of trying to make the best of my abilities as a muso and come up with an album of which I could be justly and permanently proud. And I felt I achieved that.