Just thought y’all might like to know that the Ferret has been invited to provide an irregular monthly guest slot on BBC Radio 5 in sunny London, to demo and chat about the most interesting gadgets we find in our travels.

The first show went out yesterday evening, and it was a fun experience. Radio is a new departure for me, and it was quite a novelty having to explain the visuals instead of relying on a camera to do the work, but it was really enjoyable. I haven’t done live work before either, my previous broadcast work for Sky Television back in the day was all recorded beforehand.

You can listen to the Men’s Hour show here at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s37x0 – the Ferret segment starts at 23 minutes in. If you’re outside the U.K., you may have to make your own arrangements (cough) to access the show, and the recording is only stored for the next 6 days, after which it’s replaced with the latest one in the series. You can catch future live shows on Sunday evenings at 9pm, and we should be guesting every few weeks or so.

I had also not visited the shiny new BBC New Broadcasting House before, and wow what a place. Thoroughly modern and very efficient looking, it’s definitely a bang up to date BBC we’re seeing nowadays all right. Kudos and thanks to Tim Samuels, the show’s ultra cool host, Will, Olive and the whole BBC crew for making it a very entertaining experience all round. Who would have thought that babbling into a mic could be so much fun?

Here’s a few shots from my first and second visits (the first was for the pilot show the previous week).

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Notes:
* The entrance is tucked around behind the old BBC Broadcasting House, so it’s a true meeting of the old and the new.
* The space inside is incredibly light and airy, which is a huge contrast from the older BBC buildings I’ve been in to date.
* The little booths are the new equivalent of a green room, or waiting area for guests. They’re nationally themed (hence Delhi).
* The studios themselves are a little like a goldfish bowl, glass walls all round. Add in the webcams in each and it’s just a little disconcerting.
* Guests don’t actually get to play with all the knobs and buttons. We just slip on the headphones and wait for our cue. Shame!