Running a marathon Izz-ard? Not for our Eddie

Last autumn I had the privilege to meet Eddie Izzard at the Labour Party Conference. I normally get really shy around celebrities, but I got chatting to his assistant at a party and plucked up the courage to ask her for an introduction. I didn't speak to him for long as I was a bit starstruck, plus he had squillions of other people clamouring all over him, but I did manage to give him a big handshake to congratulate him on managing to run a mind-blowing 43 marathons in just 51 days to raise money for Sport Relief that summer. 

He was extremely modest about his accomplishment, but having now watched two episodes of Marathon Man, which documents Eddie's mammoth challenge, I must admit I am completely blown away by his stamina, grit and determination. I'm by no means an athlete so I can't speak from experience (although I did manage a TWELVE MINUTE run recently), but from those crazy individuals I know who have run marathons, the last thing they'd want to do is to run another one the day after that, and the day after, and the day after. And so on. 

But Eddie manages to keep going. And the weird thing is, that he NEVER seems to be out of breath. After my 12-minute run I was (shamefully) gasping and could barely speak, yet Eddie seems to finish each of his marathons with no panting and can quite easily manage a conversation, seemingly without any need for recovery time. Fair enough if you're a professional athlete, but the whole premise of this challenge is that Eddie had never run more than 5 miles before.

 

It seems to me that, although Eddie is certainly not a natural athlete, he appears to possess a sort of super-human natural fitness that some professional sports competitors could only fantasise about. In the most recent episode (2 of 3), Eddie's support crew got a bit concerned about his diet as he didn't seem to be eating the right sort of food for the amount of calories he was burning off. A dietitian was drafted in, who convinced Eddie to consume a mountain of potatoes each night. But this regime only lasted one day before he was back on the ice creams, Calippos, coffee, pints and vodka shots along the way.

The programme is really inspiring, and I think my favourite parts of the documentary are when local people run or cycle alongside Eddie to encourage him to keep going. In Merseyside two young lads cycled the furthest they'd ever been, and one of the boys described it as the best day of his life (the crew called their mums to get their permission, then responsibly bought them cycle helmets and high visibility vests, which got my seal of approval. I trust they gave them a lift back home, too....).

If you haven't watched the programme I'd really urge you to do so. The first two episodes are on iPlayer, David Tennant is the narrator, and the final one is broadcast this Thursday at 10.30pm on BBC3 (bad scheduling in my opinion). Oh, and you can donate to Sport Relief here.

Image from Sport Relief.

My year in words

A whirlwind year to cap off a whirlwind decade. Here are the most notable bits that happened to me:

Happiest moment

Finding out I’d got my job at the Guardian. When I got the call I was the most shocked I’d ever been in all my life. It’s been a rollercoaster few months at work, but I absolutely love my job and work with incredible people on so many interesting projects. I am very lucky indeed.

Saddest moment

Both of my grandmothers passed away this year. My Nan was a lovely lady with a ready smile and a twinkle in her eye, and had a knack for saying hilarious things without realising it. My quirky and sharp-witted Granny lived a fascinating life and always had fabulous stories and anecdotes to tell. I miss both of them hugely, and hope that I’ve inherited at least some of their qualities.

Most nervewracking moment

Living in London for the past couple of years seems to have eroded away most of my nervous tendencies, but the two hours or so before I performed my first gig back in the summer were terrifying. Thankfully my mates in the audience kept me going and it was loads of fun.

Most surreal moment

Wandering around backstage at Glastonbury surrounded by ridiculously cool-looking people and feeling completely dumbstruck about how little old me had found herself wearing a VIP wristband. Then finding out that Michael Jackson was dead whilst listening to East 17 (couldn’t see them, the crowd was too huge). Come to think of it, I'm not really sure why I didn’t write a blog post about my Glasto experience at the time. Oh well.

Celebrity encounters

I had an *actual conversation* with Eddie Izzard, shared a lift and a restaurant with Colin Firth, Jon Snow flashed his socks at me, and an actor off the telly critiqued my short story. In fact, all of these could quite easily slot into the ‘surreal’ category above.

Best purchase

My wardrobe. I am in love with my wardrobe. I have l’amour pour l’armoire. In fact, I only added in this 'best purchase' category so I could mention my beloved piece of furniture. If there was a photo of it online I would put it here, but it's such a rare piece of (melamine? mdf?) beauty that no online record of it exists. I may have to commission a photographer to take some shots, since my amateur snapping skills would never be able to do it justice.

Best party

The Guardian Creative Christmas party at SimmonS (awesome little venue on Caledonian Road). Great music (but no rock, as I endlessly pointed out to the poor DJs), lots of happy people and way too much wine. How I made it home I’ll never know.

2009 in one word…

TWITTER. Yes, call me a nerd, but I can honestly say that - without Twitter - 2009 wouldn’t have been half as eventful. I’ve met some great people as a result, and it’s also helped me out at work; both in terms of getting to know people across the organisation whose paths I would never normally cross, but also with my job and networking with external contacts and bloggers. Thanks Twitter – yes, sometimes you can be cruel like your big sister Facebook and tell me things I don’t necessarily want to know, but overall you’re all right.

The noughties

I started this decade as an independently-minded but quiet(ish) teenager venturing off to Cardiff University to study journalism. And I gave journalism a good old go, but quickly realised it wasn’t for me after writing a few pieces for the Southern Daily Echo, where I worked as a receptionist after graduating.

In hindsight, I blatantly should’ve moved to London after Cardiff, but I chose to follow my heart to Hampshire, which was definitely the right decision at the time, and the experiences I had there have made me a much stronger person. I met some great people there and I’m adamant that I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not lived on the south coast for a few years. But London eventually beckoned and I can honestly say that moving here is the best decision I’ve ever made. I have made some wonderful friends, done well for myself career-wise (*pats self on back Trevor & Simon style*), and I’m sure sooner or later my prince will pun.

Farewell 2009!

In The 'Trick or Treat' Of It

Friday was a fun day in the office. I had loads of things to do as it was my final day at work before a week off, but in between all of that it was the inaugural Halloween Bake-Off contest and a preview screening of 'The Thick Of It', which had been filmed in the Guardian building a few months previously.

The premise of the Halloween Bake-Off, which had been conceived by one of my colleagues in the press office, was simple: bake a Halloween-themed cake, get a judge to choose the best cake based solely on looks, then sell the cakes for charity. I love cakes, but baking is definitely not one of my personal strengths. However, making Oreo balls certainly is a forte. So I decided that it would be much easier if I made some of my yummy Oreo truffles and decorated them to make them look spooky.

ERROR.

What I failed to foresee was that, although making standard Oreo balls is indeed quite simple and speedy, making fiddly ones which are meant to actually resemble something is not, especially if you've got plans for the two nights before which the truffles have to be ready. So I concocted a plan. Three nights before Bake-Off Day: crush the four packets of Oreo biscuits into a fine powder (took an hour using a tin of chopped tomatoes as a crusher and a sieve to ensure the powder was fine enough). Two nights before: mix crushed biscuits with cream cheese, mould into spooky shapes (pumpkins and skulls) and coat in appropriately-coloured melted chocolate (two hours). Night before: add the finishing touches with coloured piped icing sugar (one hour).  They turned out pretty well, but I didn't win. However, we did raise lots of cash. Photos of all of the entries are here.

A couple of hours later and it was time for The Thick Of It screening. Back in the summer the cast and crew spent the day at Kings Place filming. I spent a couple of hours during that day supervising the crew as part of my job, which was incredibly interesting. The director of the series, Armando Iannucci, is an absolute genius. I also learned that the guy who plays Elvis the driver is - in real life - the production office's accountant, and he was given the part solely because of his long and mouldable hair. He was very nice. The Guardian episode was aired last night, but as a thank you for allowing them to film in our building, they agreed to the preview screening, followed by an off-the-record Q&A with lots of the cast, along with the producer and the scriptwriter. Fascinating stuff. Here's a screenshot from the episode, walking down the stairs from the floor where I work:

Ringtone or no ringtone

I'm an idiot. In my previous post I completely neglected to mention one of the greatest TV recording experiences of my life: DEAL OR NO DEAL. The show is filmed in Bristol and the Dunlop clan went along one Friday afternoon in 2006, smack bang in the middle of the show's heyday. Going to see DOND being filmed was unlike any other TV recording experience I referred to yesterday. For one, the show is filmed in an old warehouse and it was much less like a military operation to get it. Secondly, YOU GET FREE ALCOHOL AND FOOD. This aspect of the experience was particularly excellent. Thirdly, if you play your cards right, you could very well end up on the telly yourself.

Anyone who knows me knows that I would never pass up on the opportunity to put myself in a potentially embarrassing situation, so I actively sought out the researcher with the clipboard who was selecting the three audience members to open the boxes at the end of the show for the viewers' competition. Of-course, these were the days before Ofcom ruled that such money-making competitions were actually a little bit wrong.

Happily, the clipboard guy agreed for me and my brother to be two of the box-openers at the end, so after a quick lesson on how to open the box without looking like a fool (place one hand on top of the box, then rip the tag off with the other before lifting the lid with both hands) we were ushered to special seats in the audience with easy access to the relevant plinth.

Let's just say the next hour or so that followed was a bit of an ordeal. Not only was I terrified of my big box-opening moment, but my phone decided to start vibrating at a very crucial and dramatic part of the proceedings. I got away with it and dismantled my phone, a small sense of calm enveloping me, safe in the knowledge that it definitely couldn't go off again. About 10 minutes later, someone else's phone started ringing. 'Phew', I thought to myself, 'I'm not the only silly person in this room'. Except slowly I began to realise that I recognised the relentless ringtone, and then I realised that it wasn't a ringtone after all, it was my sodding iPod with The Subways blaring out of the headphones! I'd left it unlocked in my bag and I'd obviously nudged it on, and my attempts to muffle the noise with my feet only seemed to be making it louder. Somehow I managed to get away with that as well.

So, the moment of truth. I took my place in the middle of the plinth behind box number two, absolutely terrified, as you can see from my face, here:

'Please don't choose two, please don't choose two', I mentally pleaded with the random audience member who had been selected by Edmonds. They chose number three, panic over. Here are a couple of photos of the actual box opening:

  
The relief I felt at the moment above is almost indescribable. It was a lot of fun, thanks Noel!

There ain't no party like a...political conference

There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed after being away, and the past couple of weeks I've been here, there and everywhere. Ok, slight exaggeration. More specifically, I've been in Brighton and Manchester working at the Labour and Tory Party Conferences respectively.

Working at these events gave me a valuable insight into the machinations of politics, as well as giving me a feeling for the two political parties who will be vying to run our country within the next six months. The nature of the work I was doing at the conferences meant that I didn't get to attend the big speeches or fringe events (other than the ones we were hosting), but simply wandering around the venues, speaking to the delegates and rubbing shoulders with the politicians gave me a real sense of where each party is likely to be headed.

Some of the most interesting / amusing / thought-provoking encounters over the fortnight:

• At the Labour Party Conference Guardian / Observer party I eventually plucked up the courage to chat with Eddie Izzard about his recent multiple marathons charity effort. He was so nice but I got slightly star struck and tongue-tied.
• Competition for seats in the Midland Hotel bar in Manchester was fierce - even at 2.30am - so we ended up sharing a table with a cross-dressing Tory with the most fabulous nails you have ever seen. Listening to him talk about why he'd attended the Conservative Party Conference for the last decade, despite being labelled the 'most unlikely person to be here', was absolutely fascinating. An interesting article about how the party appears to be embracing the LGBT community is here.
• Having a press pass meant that I could pretty much access all areas. Walking along the media gantry alongside the main auditorium whilst a well-known newsreader was having his make-up airbrushed on was a particularly surreal moment.
• Ken Clarke - who took part in one of our fringe events - is a great character, but I disagree with his views on the smoking ban.
  
• On our last night in Brighton, we somehow ended up dining in the same restaurant as COLIN FIRTH! Oh, and Alistair Darling and Caroline Lucas were there too. Another one of those 'how the hell did I end up here?' moments.
  
• John Snow: an absolute gentleman who wears the best ties and socks, and I now have a crush.
• Our IT guys who provided remote comms support to our journalists and worked very long hours deserve a huge pat on the back.
• Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell is actually a GENIUS. Watch him at work here.
  

It's been a tough year for politicians, and the next few months are undoubtedly going to be an even bigger political rollercoaster ride as the election campaigns properly kick-off. I think it's important to remember that - no matter how set in stone the election result appears to be at this stage - we still have the democratic power to determine the outcome ourselves. 

It's not going to be an easy choice for many voters next year, but I'm of the opinion that helping to determine the political direction of your country really shouldn't be an easy decision to make. I just hope that the effort required to make this decision doesn't put too many people off from exercising their democratic right to vote. If disenchantment with the political system does get the better of us, then I think the outcome is indeed already decided. That's all I'm saying...

Frost/Nixon fact/fiction?

Another reason why I love living in London. I got into work ridiculously early on Monday as a result of a big leak in my flat (long story). As a consequence of my early start, I managed to spot an advert in the Guardian offering free tickets to a preview screening of 'Frost/Nixon' much earlier than I normally would have done, and managed to get my hands on a pair.

So Thursday night, just hours after the film had picked up five Oscar nominations, off we went to Cineworld Haymarket after a beer and a sausage at my favourite pub, The Harp. The foyer was packed, with hundreds of people all clutching their printed tickets, and amongst the throng was none other than former Lib Dem leader, Charles Kennedy. I do like my celebrity spotting, so I was quite chuffed with this one. Then, when we took our seats in the grand, art deco Screen 1, we spotted legendary broadcaster John Humphrys (whose real first name is apparently Desmond, according to Wikipedia). Turns out that, as well as watching the film for free, we were to be treated to a Q&A session after the screening with Charles, John, Observer film critic Philip French and Channel 4 news broadcaster Samira Ahmed, hosted by the Observer's political editor, Gaby Hinsliff.

It was riveting stuff, with lots of intelligent debate about the film itself (I thoroughly enjoyed it, although the Q&A session sparked the panel to deliberate whether it should have simply stuck to the facts, rather than adding in bits such as the late night phonecall between the two lead players), as well as some amusing anecdotes from John Humphrys after he was asked whether he believes Gordon Brown is 'Nixonian'. According to Humphrys, Brown, like Nixon, has a 'desperate need to be loved'.

A fab evening, and spookily, all as a result of my own, rather less complicated, 'Watergate'.

FAME AT LAST

It's been a long time coming, but I am delighted to announce that I have OFFICIALLY hit the big time. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, my aforementioned encounter with The Fonz has indeed been deemed newsworthy (ahem) enough to print in our fair capital's most respected publication, the London Lite. And you can tell it's a classy rag cos the ink don't come off on yer fingers, innit. I might as well retire now.

Too cool for school...

...Or at least I thought The Fonz was until I saw him at the Teaching Awards today. Fonzie, aka legendary superstar actor person Henry Winkler, is apparently a spokesperson for the Dyslexia Association, hence he was there. And what a gent. After a couple of sips of wine I felt confident enough to approach, dragging my two slightly less-convinced colleagues with me, and he was happy to pose for a photograph. The most impressive thing about the rendezvous was that he REMEMBERED WHO WE WERE and even made an effort to say goodbye to us before he left. What an absolute diamond! Oh, and the awards themselves were pretty good too, thanks for the hospitality Cafe Royal!

Gotcha

I saw Dave Lee Travis (aka, 'DLT') in Hyde Park today. Or at least I was assured it was him - all I could see was the top of his head, which is very grey and fuzzy. A bit like a boom mike. Some lovely friends from work joined me to read the Sunday papers in the park (I have to read the papers every day for my job). I was delighted to see that my favourite artist, Banksy, was interviewed in the Mail on Sunday's 'Live' magazine - his first ever interview. It's only when you start to read the article that you realise that the guy being interviewed might not actually be Banksy after all, although the journalist is '99% sure'. Well, that's ok then....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/moslive/article-1024130/Breaking-Banksy-The-interview-worlds-elusive-artist.html

So today I saw someone who may have been DLT, and read about someone who might be Banksy. Or perhaps DLT IS Banksy. That would be cool. Then we could call him 'BLT'. Harhar.