Hello again, I hope all is good and that you had an enjoyable couple of weeks. Mine have been as ever busy and pretty varied. I was due to meet up for a cup of tea with a mate of mine the other week. When I received a phone call from him apologising for the fact that he would not be round to see me as he had in his words “just done something really stupid”. When I pressed him on this matter I found out that he had put unleaded petrol in his diesel vehicle. A vehicle he has had for over six months I would like to add at this stage. Initially he was told his breakdown service provider would send their mobile fuel removal unit. Which for them to actually have one of these suggests this sort of thing happens more often than I realised. But he would have had to wait over two hours for that to arrive. So instead he got towed to a local garage, who managed to deal with the issue shall we say. An annoying mistake that cost him time and money he wasn’t expecting to lose and most importantly lost him the chance to share a cup of tea or two with me. His loss. I phoned another mate of ours with the intention of making fun of my friends predicament, until he pointed out very early on he couldn’t really make fun of him because he had done the same thing once! I am now wondering if I am one of the few people in the country who has not put the wrong fuel in a car.

There was so much going on last weekend event wise it was insane with Robbie Williams playing Wembley Stadium, Bruce Springsteen playing the Olympic Park, Wimbledon continuing, the British Grand Prix and of course Glastonbury. I watched quite a bit of it on television really wishing I was there up to the point where the music finished and I could just go upstairs to my comfy bed rather than sleeping in a tent. Having been before it is an amazing event and still worth a few days roughing it in a sleeping bag to be part of the fun and the madness. Highlights for me included Nile Rogers and Chic, Primal Scream and the Artic Monkey’s, who I saw last timed they headlined at Glastonbury. I did enjoy seeing Kenny Rogers performance in the Sunday afternoon slot that during my times at the festival I have seen Shirley Bassey and Neil Diamond play in. It is just the perfect sort of thing for that time in the weekend. No exception this year with thousands of people singing along with and swaying to the seventy-five year old Country & Western Star. Where else in the world would you get that other that Glastonbury. I thought the Rolling Stones were excellent and showed why they are arguably the best and coolest rock and roll band in the world. A great set full of hits, led by the worryingly energetic Mick Jagger and backed up by the coolest and most laid back guitarists in Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards. I know some people were less than complementary about them, but they are wrong and to slightly clean up and use a quote from the legend that is Danny Baker “I would like to see anyone who had a pop at The Stones still be that good at their jobs when they are seventy!

I mentioned this briefly earlier on but Bruce Springsteen was back playing Hard Rock Calling at the Olympic Park last Saturday. He and the E-Street Band played the whole of the Born in The USA album as well as many more of “The Boss’s” Hits. I was lucky enough to be in Hyde Park for last year’s Hard Rock event. When after playing for over three hours Bruce suddenly decides to bring Sir Paul McCartney out for the encore. Which has to be my greatest live concert moment ever. Even the fact that the concert was famously cut short when someone was actually brave enough to pull the plug while they were still playing it was still brilliant. It was a truly amazing evening and one that will live on in my memory for ever. Mainly for the shock, excitement and delight when the former Beatle appeared. Class.

Last Sunday it was the Tringe Festival Roving Comedy Night 2013 the event that now traditionally kicks off the three week comedy festival in Tring. And the arena where I made my stand up comedy debut last year. So this year I went along to support and enjoy this year’s trainees as they performed for the first time in public. It bought back so many great memories for me from my time doing it, the nerves, the excitement, the thrill and the buzz I got from completing those first four gigs and then the joy meeting up with all my fellow comedians at the end of the night to talk about our experiences of the evening. It was a lot more relaxing watching it rather then being involved in it if I am honest and despite being in it last year it was the first time I had actually been to it as an audience member. It was a great night. All the first time comedians did really well and it was brilliant to see Dominic Holland, Duncan Oakley, Silky and Tony Law play such intimate gigs. Basically it was just a very funny night. It was also good to catch up with some people who did the night with me last year including Tony Law who was the professional comedian I went round with and Silky who I gave a lift back to his hotel last year. He was on excellent form all night. Another person I was really pleased to be able to grab a chat with was the comedy guru himself Logan Murray who takes the eight week course that leads up to the Roving Comedy Night performance. He trains all of the comedians and as someone who did his course last year I would recommend it to anyone, great teacher and a very funny man. Well done to Ben Moorhouse who runs the Tringe Festival. Once again the line up for this year’s event is brilliant it is like a who’s who of comedy.

At the moment I am in the middle of working with the team at Regatta Radio helping them to cover the Henley Regatta in all it’s glory. We have a great team of commentators bringing the action to life. I am having a wonderful time being involved and working with everyone there. It is final’s day tomorrow, which I am really looking forward to. I think I am slowly becoming an expert on rowing you know. With the main thing I have learnt being that compared to these athletes I am really unfit. They have a love of early mornings and exercising well beyond the means of normal human beings to achieve their goals. Not only that but I have also discovered that I am to tall and to heavy to be a cox, so I can not even be the one who just sits there shouting instructions.

And finally just another quick reminder that I will be making an appearance at Radio Rocks on Sunday 11th August, which is an event raising money for Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio, where I started my broadcasting career. It will feature Brian “Nasher” Nash from Frankie Goes To Hollywood plus lots of fantastic bands and a bit of comedy to. If you fancy coming along for some good music and a good laugh then follow the link below for ticket details.
http://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/8971/chk/5dfb

Have fun and we will speak again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Hello again, how’s it going? The last two weeks have flown by with lots happening plus we have even had more than a fleeting appearance from that big bright yellow thing in the sky. Which has been a welcome sight after what seemed like the longest winter ever.

It has not only been the weather that has been improving recently. I also found out I was slightly richer than I expected. I was going through some old radio files and folders of mine last week when I came across seventy pounds in cash. I must have put it there at some point for a reason but I honestly can’t remember what that reason might have been. But this excitement instantly turned to concern as I noticed the notes in question were so old that they had been taken out of circulation some time ago. So I was then worried that they might actually be worthless. Thankfully after a quick check on the internet all was good again. Although I found out that they were definitely not legal tender.  I also discovered that they never actually lose their value and that the Bank of England have to exchange them plus High Street Banks can do so at their own discretion. So I went straight to my local bank who happily exchanged the notes for me for ones I could actually use. Giving me a nice seventy pound bonus that day. I am not sure how long the money had been hidden there but the two five pound notes included in the find became obsolete more than ten years ago. For the last seven days I have been searching the house to try and find out where else I may have stored cash in the past.

I spent another great day at Wembley Stadium last weekend, including quite a bit of time just hanging around in the England Dressing Room and The Royal Box, as you do. And I can tell you those 107 steps from the pitch to the box must be a tough walk after you have lost a game there. I found them hard enough without even having actually played a match. While I was there they were getting ready for the host of Summer Concerts to be held at the Stadium including performances from Robbie Williams and Bruce Springsteen both of whom I wouldn’t mind seeing. I have seen them both live a couple of times before and they are truly amazing live performers, who really do put on great shows. The International Poker Stadium Tour was also taking place while I was there. With the players competing in massive domes on the pitch with each one being named after a different footballer so one of them was called the Beckham Room for example. Looking at the prize money that was on offer I am thinking of taking up the game and trying to get good at it very quickly. I will be doing some work with the FA and Wembley over the summer, which I am really looking forward to. It should be a lot of fun.

I have to confess I am partial to a nice day or evening at the races. Last Monday I went to Windsor Races with my parents to celebrate my Dad’s birthday, his idea not mine. Though I did applaud his choice of treat, mind you that was all the clapping I did all night. It is a lovely little course and a really fun, friendly and exciting evening out, plus it does serve some exceptionally nice Fish & Chips. Which I enjoyed before the first race as I do not like to gamble on an empty stomach. I have no idea about form, how to spot a good horse or anything like that I simply pick the name I like and go from there really. I like going to the bookies closest to the track once I have picked a horse. As I do like moving between them to try and get the best odds on it. Which to be fair is normally difficult as they have good communication between them and normally are all offering the same. I did not have any winners but it was still a good fun evening out. And just to prove that I am not completely rubbish I did manage to pick the Derby Winner at Epsom last Saturday. Thanks to “Ruler of the World” for bringing me in a few quid. I saw the winning jockey Ryan Moore at Windsor but I didn’t get the chance to shake his hand and thank him personally.

I have not done too many live DJ gigs recently but the other Sunday’s I dusted off my CD’s and did the disco at my second cousin’s sons Christening, which was great fun. Family events are always entertaining as you do get very well supplied with drinks but you also do get a more direct approach when it comes to requesting songs or giving you feedback on the songs you are playing. It all went well so do not fear I have still got it. It was nice to get back behind the mixing desk and get a crowd going. I have got a few more gigs lined up for later in the year to look forward to.

I went on a midweek road trip down to the West Country to have a couple of meetings about potential future projects with the BBC. The sun was shinning and the traffic was not to bad, so it was actually quite a nice and relaxing cruise up and down the M4. I went to BBC Bristol first, which I have to say is a very impressive building from the outside and the inside. Not only that but a really friendly place to visit to. It was a very useful and productive meeting but I am not sure what the final outcome may be at this stage. Then from there it was off to Swindon to meet a few more people at BBC Wiltshire, once again to talk about some upcoming opportunities.

On my way back from Swindon I popped in to see a mate, his wife and their one year old son. When I arrived we went straight into their garden to enjoy the sunshine and I found myself playing a bit of football and messing about in the sand pit with the little lad, not my mate. Which bearing in mind I do not have kids myself was something I was not really used to, but I think I coped with it alright. We then went inside for a bit and his son ended up holding my hand and walking with me up and down the living room for a bit. Later on I found out that he will not normally even let his mum or dad hold his hand and walk with him. So I am not sure if that means I am welcome back there in the future of not. Or if I am now on the potential baby sitter list. Once the little one had gone to bed my friend then fired up the BBQ. Which was the first one I have had this year. Burgers and sausages just seem to taste so much better when cooked outside on charcoal for some unexplainable reason. Fingers crossed that will be the first of many this summer.

It’s the final of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent tonight.  I have to confess I have been watching this series and I worryingly also have to confess that I tend to agree with Simon Cowell’s comments and judgements a lot of the time. Although the show does discover some very talented performers. I think their focus is more on making a great TV show than worrying about new talent too much. Which I think can be the only explanation how some of the acts that made it to the semi finals, did so. The other danger is that it seems to be becoming more of a singing show, with the occasional dance group thrown in. It never seems to have enough different variety acts in it for me. I know there are plenty of good ones in the UK, so I guess they probably must be put off by the shows format. And by the fact that the people who generally vote and a lot of the judges do not seem that keen on real variety acts. For that reason I would like to see Attraction, the impressionist or the young comedian win this year but suspect it will be either a singing or dancing act still. That said I will still very much be watching the final and enjoying it for what it is good light hearted entertainment hosted brilliantly by Ant & Dec.

I am really looking forward to being involved with Regatta Radio this year at The Henley Regatta. I will be working onsite there between the 3rd and 7th July. Helping to produce their coverage of all the boat races and interviews as well as bringing a flavour of the event to the airwaves. It will be great to get such a close behind the scenes look at this huge traditional annual event.

And finally tickets are now on sale for the Stoke Mandeville Hospital Fundraiser in August that I will be making an appearance at to do a bit of hosting. The Radio Rocks Music Festival is taking place at the Westcott Sports and Social Club on Sunday 11th August. For more details just click on this link http://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/8971/chk/5dfb

Have fun and we will speak again in a fortnight. Cheers Neil.

Hi there, how’s things with you? I am still patiently waiting for the summer to arrive and the weather to warm up a little, some days when you look out of the window it takes a while to remember that we are nearly at the end of May. All this talk of Global Warming they should have called it Global Wetting. That would have been closer to the truth. And if I am completely honest it would have made me pay a little more attention to it. Basically I like being warm but I don’t like being wet.

So a couple of Monday’s ago it was the Sony Radio Awards hosted by Chris Evans at a very swanky hotel in London. Congratulations to all the winners. It was nice to see a lot of people who I either know or have at least met being recognised and rewarded for their efforts over the last twelve months. I have never been to the actual awards but I did get to go to the nominations event once. It was held in a trendy bar just off Piccadilly Circus in London and hosted by Margarita Taylor. To be fair it was good fun mingling with pretty much everyone from the world of radio. At one point I was standing between Johnnie Walker and Neil Fox, (who I actually got a signed photo of when I was a teenager and he was presenting the evening show on Capital FM). Ever the daredevil Dr Fox’s publicity picture back then was made to look like he was skydiving. The only thing that is slightly more worrying than that, is the fact that I think I might still have it somewhere.

While we are talking about awards ceremonies did you see the TV BAFTA’s the other week? It was very well anchored by Graham Norton in his own unique style. He managed to keep it moving along very nicely, which is no easy feat. I always like to watch the people who come on to give out awards, when they try pre written skits or some comedy banter which just doesn’t work and leaves the audience stunned and confused. There were a few of those to enjoy this year. My favourite two winners on the night were Olivia Coleman and Sheridan Smith. Simply because clearly neither had expected to win. They were both extremely nervous and didn’t really know what to say. Which led to some lovely real and honest moments of people just being surprised and happy at winning. I think I might just prefer that to the people who come on and give perfectly rehearsed acceptance speeches. But then again if everyone just came up, cried and swore it would lose it’s impact and effect a little. Well done to Olivia and Sheridan two very deserving winners in my opinion.

I was so pleased to see Yeovil Town win the League One Play Off Final at Wembley to gain promotion to the Championship for next season. That is an amazing achievement for a club, who after spending five years in Somerset and working quite closely with I still have an affinity to. I still always look out for their results. I was actually working for Ivel fm last time they got to the League One Play Off Final against Blackpool in 2007. I presented a whole football special show live from Wembley including full commentary along with Nathan Cooper, Daniel Freeman and Ali King. The disappointment that evening back in Yeovil after losing the match was evident with a real subdued atmosphere in the town. So I would have loved to have been there after the win this time around I bet the place was absolutely buzzing. I was also working in Yeovil when they won promotion from League Two to League One going up as champions. There was an open top bus tour around the town to celebrate the teams efforts and I was lucky enough to be able to get a place on it to cover it for the radio station. It was a great experience with thousands of fans lining the streets to cheer, clap and join in the massive party. And I even got to hold one of the players winners medals for a bit. Before we finished up in the centre of the town we did a tour of lots of the local schools in the area with all the players getting off and signing autographs. As I was with them I found myself signing quite a few autographs that day to but if I am honest I have no idea if that is because they recognised me from the radio or because they just thought I was one of the footballers. Congratulations to Yeovil Town and all the best for next season.

As I have mentioned before I am a big fan of Twitter and use it quite a bit mainly to keep up to date with what people I like are doing.  Professionally as in what TV shows they are in and when they are gigging, not so much as when they are cutting the lawn or doing the washing. Now if you are a regular user of the social networking site you will be able to relate to this I reckon. Last weekend I got a reply from Gary Barlow, which I was pretty pleased about considering we have not actually met as yet. It wasn’t a long message but he did acknowledge me, so I will settle for that. And I am now expecting an invite to help host his next charity concert. I also got a nice RT and a reply from Chris Ramsay. All because we were having a brief comical chat about that classic film Back to the Future. I saw Chris perform as part of the Tringe Festival in Aylesbury last year and he was hilarious. He is coming back to Tring to perform later this year.  So I may have to get myself along to that I think. You can of course follow me on Twitter if you wish I am simply @NeilQuigley

Last Night I went and saw the brilliant Ellie Taylor headline the latest Laughing Badger Comedy Night at the Rose & Crown in Hemel Hempstead. It was a very funny night with her being supported by several other excellent stand ups. She was absolutely lovely and a lot taller than I realised. I am not short but she towered over me. I have performed at a few Laughing Badger nights myself and they are always nice events to do. They do have some fantastic gigs coming up over the next couple of months, so for more details check out their website.  http://www.laughingbadger.co.uk/

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining the team at Regatta Radio this year to help produce their coverage of the Henley Regatta from Wednesday 3rd July to Sunday 7th July. I am really looking forward to it. It will be great fun and good to work with Danny Cox again to help with broadcasting a truly great sporting spectacle. Also just a quick a reminder that I will be at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio “Our Radio Rocks” event on Sunday 11th August doing a little bit of hosting and general messing about there with a few old friends.

And finally I do have quite a few interesting meetings lined up over the next two weeks about future projects or events that I may well be involved in this summer. As ever I will give you more information on them when I have it myself and when I am allowed to tell you. The latest on the TV show that I had the meeting about at the start of May  is that filming will be taking place in late August or during September for the first series of what will be a brand new show. I am still awaiting final confirmation on my involvement at the minute. And my appearance in the “Always the DJ” short film will now definitely be shot in June with the finished project currently  planned for release sometime in the Autumn.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Thanks Neil.

Hello again, how’s it going? I trust you managed to enjoy some of the sun we have had recently . Normally it tends to work out that whenever it is sunny I am working inside but by a happy coincidence this was not actually the case this time. So we are already in May then and last Saturday it was Star Wars Day or May the Fourth as it is also known. I am a big fan of the films and I’m delighted to hear they have announced plans to make a new instalment to be filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. Though I think they missed a trick not announcing it last weekend, may be I should get in contact and give them some PR advice. I wonder if I can get an extra role in it, I reckon I would look quite good as a Jedi.

It has been a busy but fun couple of weeks. The other Friday I was up in London for a meeting about a new TV show, which I am hoping to be involved in. I can’t say to much about it at this point as it is still in the early stages of production. But what I can say I think is it’s a new TV format to the UK but is a style of show that is already very popular in certain parts of Europe. My trip to see them involved me messing about in front of a camera for a bit, which is never time wasted in my opinion. They seem like a great bunch and it was a good laugh. The current plan is to shoot a pilot for it sometime in June. So I will be able to give your more information then I hope.

The short film “Behind The Painted Smile” that I am appearing in started shooting on location last Sunday. So I went along to meet the rest of the team and help out with some of the production requirements on the day. It was really good to get the project underway and get to know the rest of the cast and crew better. It meant we were outside all day working on some key scenes in the story and even though it did not feel particularly warm I still managed to get a bit of a tan. Plus the writer and producer treated me to dinner after which is never a bad end to any work day.  I am really looking forward to filming my piece for it and seeing the finished project. Rest assured I will keep you up to date with this and let you know when I have shot my scenes and then when it will be released. I am still waiting for confirmation of that date currently.

I always like to see people I have met or interviewed doing well and always keep an eye on their career to see how they are getting on. So I was delighted to hear the hugely talented Elsie getting some national radio airplay with her new song “Your Loving Arms” a cover of the Billie Ray Martin song from 1994. I met her when she came on one of my radio shows when she was on tour in Somerset. She was great fun to interview, nice and a really good laugh plus she does has a brilliant voice to. Not only that but she had just got back from working with Robbie Williams performing backing vocals on an album of songs he was producing at that time. And since then she has gone on to work as one of Tom Jones backing singers performing with him all over the world. All this as well as pursuing her own solo career. She is a great girl, who loves her music and works hard at it, so I wish her all the best and hope her current single really takes off for her.

When I was a teenager I used to watch Wycombe Wanderers on a regular basis and I did honestly have an unsuccessful trial for their youth team. Anyway last Saturday there was a Wycombe Legends match taking place at their home stadium Adams Park. So for old times sake I went along to the game with my parents. To see a lot of the players I used to watch as a kid. It is fair to say some of them have aged better than others.  That said I found out this week that I am actually old enough now to be able to play for a veterans football team. It was a fun afternoon and you could tell they were really enjoying being back together and back out there on the pitch. Over the last decade I have been lucky enough to have played football against and with a couple of them. And up close you can see just how good they really are. So it was nice to catch up with them again after. And to top the day off my dad bought me a pint. Happy Days!

It was nice to have the first Bank Holiday Monday of the year this week wasn’t it? I used mine to catch up with some mates for a few drinks and a lovely bite to eat in Beaconsfield. Why is it that time goes so much quicker when you are sitting in a pub beer garden than when you are sitting down at work. Surely it can’t just be the alcohol. That reminds me it looks like I may be working at this year’s Henley Regatta as part of the production team for the Regatta Radio which will be great fun. I have never actually been to the event before although I have been to Henley itself loads of times. Summer is on the way.

And finally it is the radio Oscars this coming Monday 13th May, so good luck to all my radio friends who have been nominated. I hope you have a fun and enjoyable night at the ceremony and that you win of course. The entertainment is pretty decent this year with Robbie Williams being one of the acts performing. So to misquote Judith Charmers “I wish I was there”.

Have fun and we will speak again in a couple of weeks. Thanks Neil.