Full on
Full on - the title of this entry being a pretty accurate description of the week so far. I shall try and give you a summary of the main points here, which is after all the main purpose of an online diary. Unlike my usual offerings which divert off into complete randomness all too easily, which some people sadly just don't get.
I was wondering - what percentage of you out there can distinguish between when I am being deadly serious and when I am exaggerating things for comic effect? I guess you have to know me. I've been hanging around the deli counter in Sainsbury rather a lot (as you do if you are me) and I think the girls on there are getting to know me rather well now. To the extent that they know that any reduced offal that they are desperate to get rid of may tempt me, but as one of my new found friends discovered yesterday, even I have my limits. Sorry, "brawn" is off the menu, but I am sure there must be some fans out there, they wouldn't sell it otherwise, would they?
So - to the highlights of the week. From a family point of view, it was Ollie's birthday on Tuesday, meaning he is now six. He has been eagerly looking forward to it for weeks, and as he is now old enough to know what he wants, I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday. He asked if we could go to Zoomania, and if he could have a cake, and if he could have a roast dinner for his tea. We were able to oblige on all three fronts, Claire making him a fantastic "snakes and ladders" cake, and me taking care of the other two options.
A good time was had by all. So I have now been a parent for six years, my life before seems like another world.
On Wednesday I went down to meet Ross, the station manager for Radio Bicester. As you know, I've been toying for some time with the idea of having my own radio show, and they are more than happy to have me. My only concern over it all is finding the time, and to any of you who may scoff at that and think I have got all the time in the world, all I can say is, think again.
My plan for my show will be an hour long show which will be a mixture of nostalgia and chat. I am going to do a mystery year feature which will mean me playing hits from a particular year and doing news stories, other bits of trivia and factoids from the year in question. I imagine these won't be going back into ancient history, probably from any time within the last 30 years or so. I may throw in a few other bits and pieces. I'm also hoping to have some sort of interactive section where people can raise the topics of the day about local issues and we can get a bit of a discussion going - though it won't be on the phone as such facilities are not available at the station yet.
It's something I have always wanted to do - I still need to finalise arrangements and find time to do it all, but if I can get it all sorted then hopefully I will be on the airwaves in September. It will be valuable experience should any future opportunities arise - after all, one never knows what may come from small acorns. I only got into DJ'ing and running karaoke in the first place because I was at a karaoke night and the host was so drunk and incompetent he couldn't carry on and I jumped into the breach to help out. So who knows?
Lastly this week was the "official" launch of my new book, "Austerity Dad". I know it has been on sale a few weeks already, but it has been practically invisible up until now, so I have been working with a PR company for a modest fee to market the book on my behalf. The press release went out yesterday and I have had some interest and responses from some quite diverse publications which is good. I have sent out a few copies in a hope that I will get reviewed in a national publication and I also have a feature in the Oxford Mail next week which will be much more in-depth than the last one.
So, radio shows, press releases, it is all shameless self-promotion I suppose but if we don't push ourselves forward and give us the best chance of being noticed, then we can't hope to get anywhere as individuals, I feel. The more visibility one has, the more possible opportunities that can come one's way, and I for one am certainly not going to let a few knockbacks keep me down. Life's short, we can spend it with our heads down, accepting the mundane and trundling along or we can grab hold of it and give it our best shot. Even if we fail, well at least we had a go. I'm not going out of this life with any regrets of things I didn't do, I know that for sure.
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason xx
I was wondering - what percentage of you out there can distinguish between when I am being deadly serious and when I am exaggerating things for comic effect? I guess you have to know me. I've been hanging around the deli counter in Sainsbury rather a lot (as you do if you are me) and I think the girls on there are getting to know me rather well now. To the extent that they know that any reduced offal that they are desperate to get rid of may tempt me, but as one of my new found friends discovered yesterday, even I have my limits. Sorry, "brawn" is off the menu, but I am sure there must be some fans out there, they wouldn't sell it otherwise, would they?
So - to the highlights of the week. From a family point of view, it was Ollie's birthday on Tuesday, meaning he is now six. He has been eagerly looking forward to it for weeks, and as he is now old enough to know what he wants, I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday. He asked if we could go to Zoomania, and if he could have a cake, and if he could have a roast dinner for his tea. We were able to oblige on all three fronts, Claire making him a fantastic "snakes and ladders" cake, and me taking care of the other two options.
 |
| Mind out for those snakes! |
On Wednesday I went down to meet Ross, the station manager for Radio Bicester. As you know, I've been toying for some time with the idea of having my own radio show, and they are more than happy to have me. My only concern over it all is finding the time, and to any of you who may scoff at that and think I have got all the time in the world, all I can say is, think again.
My plan for my show will be an hour long show which will be a mixture of nostalgia and chat. I am going to do a mystery year feature which will mean me playing hits from a particular year and doing news stories, other bits of trivia and factoids from the year in question. I imagine these won't be going back into ancient history, probably from any time within the last 30 years or so. I may throw in a few other bits and pieces. I'm also hoping to have some sort of interactive section where people can raise the topics of the day about local issues and we can get a bit of a discussion going - though it won't be on the phone as such facilities are not available at the station yet.
It's something I have always wanted to do - I still need to finalise arrangements and find time to do it all, but if I can get it all sorted then hopefully I will be on the airwaves in September. It will be valuable experience should any future opportunities arise - after all, one never knows what may come from small acorns. I only got into DJ'ing and running karaoke in the first place because I was at a karaoke night and the host was so drunk and incompetent he couldn't carry on and I jumped into the breach to help out. So who knows?
Lastly this week was the "official" launch of my new book, "Austerity Dad". I know it has been on sale a few weeks already, but it has been practically invisible up until now, so I have been working with a PR company for a modest fee to market the book on my behalf. The press release went out yesterday and I have had some interest and responses from some quite diverse publications which is good. I have sent out a few copies in a hope that I will get reviewed in a national publication and I also have a feature in the Oxford Mail next week which will be much more in-depth than the last one.
So, radio shows, press releases, it is all shameless self-promotion I suppose but if we don't push ourselves forward and give us the best chance of being noticed, then we can't hope to get anywhere as individuals, I feel. The more visibility one has, the more possible opportunities that can come one's way, and I for one am certainly not going to let a few knockbacks keep me down. Life's short, we can spend it with our heads down, accepting the mundane and trundling along or we can grab hold of it and give it our best shot. Even if we fail, well at least we had a go. I'm not going out of this life with any regrets of things I didn't do, I know that for sure.
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason xx
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