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Newsroom Blog
Thoughts from the wandering minds of MK's finest newshounds
Welcome to our newsroom blog.
There are two of us covering the Milton Keynes and North Buckinghamshire area - Victoria and Sarah. Sarah reads the news on Heart Breakfast from 6am, whilst Victoria reads from 4pm. When we’re not on air we are hunting down news stories. You won’t find a lot of journalism in this blog – instead it’s an area for 2 wandering minds – and we’ll try and update it as often as possible. Hope you enjoy it and feel free to drop us an email at mknews@heart.co.uk
Victoria & Sarah
Tuesday 3rd November - Victoria
I'm a vegetarian so I don't like the thought of killing any animals, but I've found one that I think I could make an exception for.
The other day I was putting my pop sock on and as I turned it inside out something from inside it got me. At first I thought it was a poisonous spider that my other half had brought back from Australia on his last visit, but it turned out to be nothing more exotic than the good old English wasp. We think it had flown in there while the washing was drying outside, and he was obviously very, very angry about it. Because he stung me good and proper. My finger swelled up, it went bright red and wouldn't stop throbbing for days afterwards. I've still got a puncture mark there now and it brings shivers to my spine every time I think about it.
If I wasn't in such a state when it happened I would have turned to my aromatherapy notes from my massage course to find out which oil would magically make the pain go away. As it was the only remedy we could find online was to mix bicarbonate of soda with water....it's lucky I've got in to baking recently!!
My finger is feeling a lot better now but I'm still checking every item of clothing before I put it on, incase one of his relatives is hiding in there.
And if you're worried about what happened to the wasp, don't be. Like the good veggies we are, we let him fly away to sting his next unassuming victim. We figured the cold weather would get him soon anyway!
Wednesday 28th October - Sarah
Wednesday 13th October - Victoria
I was getting a little bit restless in the evenings (there's only so many episodes of Friends and One Tree Hill that you can watch) so I've started a massage course. It's run by the council and I picked it out because it sounded nice and chilled out. I liked the thought of getting free massages every week and occasionally rubbing someone's back in return. But it's a lot more full on than I thought! We're two weeks in and I've had homework both times. And last nights took me over an hour!
I'm also slightly concerned that I'm not remembering things as well as I used to. You know when you're little you're meant to have a memory like a sponge, well I think mine is more like a use J-cloth at the moment. I honestly can't remember whether Lavender or Eucalyptus is best for colds and which oil is meant to clear up acne.
I've also discovered that I'm quite a harsh massager. My boyfriend shook me off his hand the first time I tried my technique on him (apparently I was crushing the bones) and the lady I practised on last week went all red on her arm where I'd been kneading her too hard. It's lucky I've got this journalism lark to fall back on, because I think my career as a masseuse is over before it's even started!
Friday 25th September - Victoria
My boyfriend's Mum is coming to stay in our flat for the next week (she's on holiday from Australia) so, naturally, I have gone in to cleaning overdrive. The last two nights have been spent inside, in scruffy clothes, scrubbing and sweeping and polishing. I was so concerned about it that I got up an hour early yesterday so I could go through our food cupboards. I don't want her thinking my kitchen's a breeding ground for germs or that I don't feed her son properly. And it's a good job I went through the cupboards too. Aside from all of the spilt rice and sticky jam that needed wiping up, I couldn't believe how many out of date jars of food we had! Imagine if she'd found them...it might have looked like I was trying to poison him (although, it's true, I have been tempted a few times!)
She'll be there when I get home tonight and all I can think about is how I haven't dusted the table in the hall! I'm going to try and make up for it by being fully loaded with cooking ingredients and plan to spend my night baking wholesome treats so she leaves with good memories happy in the knowledge that her boy is being treated properly.
I hope I can keep it up all week then it'll be straight back to the pizzas!
Friday 25th September - Sarah
Catastrophe here at Heart this morning. Everyone’s worst nightmare came true – NO MILK!!!! How could this happen? Previously we’ve had the saga of no tea bags, but this time it was even worse. The tea bags were teasing me, showing off their caffeine, but I just couldn’t bring myself to drink black tea.
Thankfully – after having felt a little tired and groggy all morning someone from sales came to my rescue with some milk just after 9 and so I’m now all ready to face the rest of my day.
Good job too because Fridays are our busiest day of the week, and I think Victoria would appreciate me on form! I am, however, considering getting myself a cow that I could graze on the grass outside and then never have to go through this trauma again!
Wednesday 16th September - Sarah
I am finally over my cold and back to my normal chattery, gossiping self! I am however now in the dog house for sharing my germs with my boyfriend... whoops!
He seems to be really suffering with it – but I can’t decided whether he is being a typical man and over-reacting or whether in fact the germs have got stronger!
Anyway, I’m relieved that I’m no longer all bunged up with a nose resembling Rudolf, because today it’s celeb-tastic at Heart. I’m off to speak to former England cricketer Darren Gough, whilst Victoria will be heading off to the Centre MK to try and speak to Peter Andre. Pictures will be put on our website.
Wednesday 9th September - Sarah
I’m feeling a bit down in the dumps – I’ve got a stinking cold. I really am pathetic when I’m ill and at the slightest sniffle I’m rooting through my draws for vitamin C tablets and a bowl of boiling water to hover my head over! I also like to let myself eat whatever I want. For example yesterday I scoffed almost a whole box of maltesers as well as getting seriously stuck into some toffee, whilst huddled under my blanket watching soaps on the sofa!
I am also an annoying person who will come into work and spread my germs! I hate taking a day off work – in fact I never have taken a day off sick – I would feel so guilty lying in my bed knowing Victoria was having to work doubly hard. So instead I like to pop in and moan about my ailments!
I hope my cold gets better soon. My voice seems to have dropped a couple of octaves and my waistline is sure to increase if my “eat what you want” motto continues.
Wednesday 26th August - Sarah
As I mentioned in my last blog Victoria and I have swapped shifts for the week. She’s doing breakfast and I’m doing the drivetime news. I think we are both enjoying the change – Victoria has done some afternoon shopping, while I’m able to relax with a glass of wine each evening without having to worry about an early start.
However I was hoping to update you on the bags under the eyes situation. I think mine are gradually going down with the help of lots of creams, but Victoria is still looking as fresh as a daisy despite the 4.30am alarm calls. I’m so jealous! I have discovered what she’s been up to though…she’s been cheating by trudging off to bed at around 8 o’clock each night! My problem is that I love relaxing in front of the TV at night and watching all the soaps and any other semi-interesting programmes. As a result I find I can’t tear myself away and so the early night is always a distant vision!
Wednesday 26th August - Victoria
Well, we are now three days in to 'job swap', and I think the pressure of breakfast is starting to show.
Last night before I went to bed (which is probably early evening for most of you....I was tucked up by 8.30) I looked like something from a horror film. I'm quite pale as it is, but all of the colour I do have had drained from my face, apart from around my eyes which were a nice dark grey colour! A good lookalike similarity would be the angry dead-man in Ghost who Patrick Swayze meets at the train station. Anyway, I've put lots of undereye concealer on today to try and hide the truth from Sarah.
It's also affecting my speech....I don't normally have trouble talking but yesterday afternoon I did find it difficult to string a sentence together.
And I'm starting to do weird things too. This morning I forgot to put my headphones on for a bulletin (quite an essential thing it you work in radio!) and couldn't work out why things felt different to normal.
Oh well...two more days then it's back to lie ins and late nights! Can't wait!
Tuesday 25th August - Victoria
Well, first of all I have to apologise for not updating this for so long. No excuses....just spending my time keeping you guys up to date with all the latest news in MK. My favourite bits of the last few week are the couple of times I've been to Woburn Safari Park to see their new animals. I am a sucker for anything exotic and muddy!
Now, I know you're all really wanting to know about my sunflowers so here's your update.
Little Weed and Audrie did really well. They grew nice and tall and had lovely big flowers on them which loads of wasps loved and which you could see from the garden below my flat which made me happy. They lasted for about three weeks before their petals started to turn white and their leaves went brown. So about a week ago I cut them down and started to dry them. I'm going to keep their seeds so I can re grow their ancestors next year. I'm also planning on giving loads of people (including Sarah and Lucy from drive) a selection of seeds so they can be spread around MK.
And my two new little plants from Cardiff are doing really well too! They're a lot smaller than my other plants but have buds on them and are growing every day so hopefully there'll be two more smiley faces on my balcony soon!
Monday 24th August - Sarah
Victoria and I have swapped shifts for a week so she can see what it’s like doing the breakfast news and so I can enjoy a lie in and do the afternoon news! Day one is almost over and I’ve really enjoyed myself, I’ve written loads of stories and have been busy booking up interviews for the week.
Working the later shift means I can have a bit more of a social life for one week only, so I’m trying to jam pack my evenings with things to do while I have the chance!
Victoria coped with breakfast very well today, she was bright and breezy when I came in… but I wonder how long that will last?! I’m going to monitor her very closely this week and see at what stage in the week the bags under the eyes start to set in. I’m hoping my eyes might return to some normality and my panda look will have gone by the weekend! Bag updates to follow as the week goes on!
Thursday 20th August - Sarah
Oooo A-Level results day brings back memories. I chose to go to music college in Birmingham to do my degree and only needed one E grade to get in – which I think I’d got by just doing my AS exams the year before. But I do remember feeling stressed out because I still wanted to get good grades after having worked hard for the last two years.
I nervously made my way to my school with my mum and wandered in to get my brown envelope. I’d taken A-Levels in Music, History and Classical Civilisation. There were lots of mixed emotions around me with people either celebrating their grades or feeling a bit deflated because they hadn’t got what they needed to get in to their first choice university. I opened up my results and had got 2 A’s and a B so was definitely off to music college. Getting good grades made all the hours slaving over homework and coursework as well as revision guides all worth while.
But if I hadn’t done so well it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, there’s always a lot of support around and people on hand to help you make decisions if your results aren’t what you expected.
If you’re getting your results today GOOD LUCK and remember we’ve got loads of advice and tips on our website.
Friday 14th August - Sarah
I’ve had a stressful couple of weeks with the “do I get a new car, or do I save the money?” question. It’s kept me awake at night, distracted me from my evening TV viewing and caused mood swings, but now the decision has been made.
My current car is eligible for the government’s scrappage scheme so knocking two grand off the price of a brand new car seemed very appealing. However spending this sort of money is possibly the biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.
Being a bit of a geek I decided that I should compile a spreadsheet and look at the figures. I was comparing all the small cars in the market and looking at their fuel consumption and road tax and, of course, cost.
I have taken my spreadsheet everywhere with me – I have a printed out version and one on a pen drive in my handbag at all times! I kept emailing updated versions to my family for their opinions and have spent hours of my life on websites crunching numbers and reading reviews. After much consideration and many, many test drives I decided I would take the plunge and send my car to the scrap heap and get a newer model!
Finally yesterday having spent weeks dithering around I put my deposit down on a nice new car. I knew I’d have to wait a few weeks but was horrified to learn that the date they have in mind for delivery is 19th November. That’s 14 weeks away. I thought buying a car would be an easy and straightforward process – I thought that by this time next week I’d be motoring away in the new car. How naïve! However the plus side is that I now have 14 weeks to pick a name for the car. Suggestions on a postcard please!
Monday 3rd August - Victoria
What a wash out!
I was meant to be going on a hen do to the races at Glorious Goodwood this weekend. I’d got all dolled up in an old bridesmaid dress and had been eating healthily for the past week to make sure I could get in it. And then….the great British summer happened!
We were inside the race course for all of about 15 minutes (most of which were spent trying to look like we were enjoying ourselves for the bride-to-be’s sake) before she made the ever so welcome announcement that she wanted to leave.
By this time my dress had changed colour it was so wet, and I’m also fairly convinced it has shrunk a few inches, what with it being dry clean only.
The rest of the hen do was lovely though. We headed to the nearest hotel and spent our betting money on nice posh champagne instead.
It’s definitely taught me a lesson though. Whatever you try to do in this country, just make sure you do it indoors! You can’t depend on sun even in August!
Monday 3rd August - Sarah
On Sunday evening I was lucky enough to take a flight in a hot air balloon over MK. We took off from near Willen Lake and ended up coming down in a field just past Cranfield. I couldn’t believe how smooth the take off was, we just went up very gradually and sailed off into the distance – it was so gentle and so very tranquil. I think the highlight of the whole experience was when we went low over a field and a deer started chasing the balloon. It was strange watching other people just getting on with their busy lives while I was hanging around in the sky!
I took lots of pictures while I was up in the air. Click here to see them
Thursday 30th July - Sarah
There’s a huge advertising campaign going on at the moment telling us to choose our ‘swine flu friend’. Now, I’ve not allocated my swine buddy yet, but I bet there is a queue forming as I type (rather like the queue down the street in Mary Poppins when they advertise for a new nanny) to fill this vacant position.
It would be a tough job to buddy with me, because I’m quite a difficult patient and think I know best at all times! So because I think people would get fed up with being my buddy quiet quickly I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a selection. First of all I would have my boyfriend on hand to mop my fevered brow (!) and my mum to bring me nice meals. (I’m never sure whether you’re meant to starve a fever or feed a cold, or is it the other way round?! If in doubt, I think, just eat!) I would also nominate Ros from the Breakfast show to bring me nice cakes – she’s very good at baking and the sugar would give me some energy. I think Stephen Fry should pop by if he has a chance and tell me jokes through the letter box (he can’t come into the house in case he catches the nasty bug) and finally just for the pick-me-up I would need maybe Ben Fogle could kindly send me a signed photo. What with his flesh eating bug saga and trip to the South Pole I think he could probably do without swine flu.
Tuesday 28th July - Victoria
Well, my sunflowers are out! Both of them opened up over the weekend and look lovely. I’ve had to prop them up with chairs because they were a bit droopy but other than that they are perfect.
And they might have some new friends soon too. I think my flat’s got a reputation as a bit of a sunflower haven and I’ve been given two new little seedlings to grow. Now, it is the wrong time of year for them so it might be touch and go (I’m not sure if I could handle losing another sunflower…it’s quite traumatic) but I’ll keep you posted! (For the record this is proof that I’m getting old….I never thought the most exciting thing I’d have to talk about would be plants).
And further evidence of my sad life is that the other thing I’m quite worked up about at the moment is One Tree Hill. I know I’m about five years behind but I’ve totally fallen in love with it (esp. Lucas) so am planning on spending the considerable future in front of old box sets until I’m up to date!
Any suggestions on how to liven things up for me in MK please get in touch!!
Friday 24th July - Sarah
Great excitement here at Heart this week. Victoria and I have moved into our new newsroom. We now have windows which therefore gives us natural sunlight! The excitement was immense.
Although most of the move went smoothly – all the technical stuff works like phones and computers – there has been one issue along the way. Our lads Hollyoaks calendar COULD be facing the bin!
At Heart the majority of people working here are women, in fact there are only 4 men in the building. But it would seem the chaps aren’t particularly pleased with our hunky Hollyoaks calendar. Now my argument is that it’s been up for the last 7 months so should surely be able to stay – but I fear we are fighting a losing battle.
So – just in case it gets confined to the bin – I’ve been looking into other calendars we could have. Naturally the first one I googled was Ben Fogle – but unfortunately there isn’t one (am contemplating tweeting him to notify him of this obvious gap in the market). Now I am looking into a Take That one for Victoria. But, should the worst case scenario happen, I’m not sure that you can even buy calendars in July! And to make matters worse – we’ve not even got to our fav hunk – Chris Fountain who plays Justin – yet, he’s not on the calendar until August. (sobs).
Wednesday 22nd July - Victoria
I’m on a bit of a mission at the moment to “tone up”. Have decided I want nice arms and a six pack.
So when I go to the gym I go down to the scary bit at the back where all the big men hang out. It really does make me nervous and I probably look a bit ridiculous using my three kg weights compared to the massive ones they lift. I also get really worried that they’re going to come up to me and tell me I’m doing it all wrong. I just make up my own exercises, you see – which is probably why my triceps are just as pathetic as when I started.
And then there’s my tummy. I really hate doing sit ups so was quite pleased to hear that Power Plate is a good cheat’s way of toning up. Pleased that was, until I tried it. I nearly fell off I was jiggling about so much. I ended up frozen to the spot because I was too scared to risk moving and rolling on to the floor. I really don’t understand how people manage to do exercises on them – the most I can do is squat and hold on for dear life!
Wednesday 22nd July - Sarah
I had a really nasty surprise when I woke up this morning. I could feel something on the side of my face. I put on my glasses and looked in the mirror, only to discover a strepsil stuck to my cheek!
I’ve got a really sore throat at the moment and last night had decided to stuck on a throat sweet while I tried to get to sleep. However it must have slipped out and onto the pillow, and then somehow ended up on my face! It must have been stuck to me for quite some time because it was a right nightmare to try and prize off this morning. Thankfully after some scratching and picking I managed to free myself, and after a good wash there was no stickiness left!
Although I’m still laughing about it now, I can’t help but imagine what would have happened if I’d ended it up stuck in my hair. I don’t think that at 4:15am I would have had the ability to deal with it sensibly and would undoubtedly have ended up cutting away huge chuncks out of my hair.
Friday 17th July - Victoria
Quite a few people have been coming up to me and consoling me about the loss of Seymour (see my last blog) so I thought you might like an update on how my other two sunflowers are coming along.
Well, since I last wrote, I've given them both names (Audrey and Little Weed) and they're continuing to grow well. It was a bit windy the other morning so I had to get up early to make sure they were all ok, but luckily there was no damage.
Both of them are taller than me now and it looks like they're ready to open at any time.
It's a bitter sweet time really, knowing that Seymour should have been showing them the way, but at least some happiness will come from what could have been a triple tragedy.
Other than nursing my sunflowers I've been going running (I've signed up for the Bananaman 10k chase in September and am a bit worried about whether my legs are up to it.)
It's all calmed down on the Take That front so not much stalking to report. Instead I'm enjoying watching Sarah work her way through her Ben Fogle obsession.
Looking forward to the weekend (have my eye on some nice shoes to buy) and ready to work hard on Monday now Cat's left...I don't think I'll know what's hit me!
Friday 17th July - Cat - Our Work Experience gal
So I have come to the end of my 3 weeks work placement at Heart MK. And all I can say is it’s been such a fantastic and valuable experience!
It’s been amazing to get stuck in and work as an actual journalist. I’m currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Leeds University, so to get real experience of how a newsroom operates is such a thrill. Also it’s been great to cover my hometown of Milton Keynes, as I know the area so well!
Luckily, I’ve been given so much to do, which is great as I really was expecting to just be making endless cups of tea all day! I’ve been sent out to interview so many interesting people, my personal favourite being Daley Thompson, who for a double Olympic winning champion was so down to earth and funny. He really made me feel at ease as it was quite a daunting experience! Although he did make fun of one of my questions, when I asked him if he thought sport helped him when he was younger…..what I meant was in terms of getting involved in team-building games and learning the value of sportsmanship, as he was in MK promoting sport as a way of getting young people out of gang crime, but he retorted with “I’m a double Olympic champion, of course it did!” Oops.
Another highlight for me was getting to meet Paul Ince at stadium:mk when he announced he was coming back to the MK Dons. Unfortunately me and Lou looked a bit of a state when we got there as the heavens decided to open just as we left! Not even our groovy Heart waterproofs could protect us!
Meeting the veterans of Bletchley Park was also a real awe-inspiring experience and the couple who met there and later married were just the cutest people ever!
I’ve done so much stuff to list it all here, which I’m sure would be boring for everyone anyway! But it really has been so interesting and great fun.
Overall, I’ve had a lovely time working here and learnt so much about researching, writing and editing news stories over the last 3 weeks. I’d just like to say thank you so much to Vikki and Sarah for letting me get involved with so many stories and showing me the ropes! They have been great to work with and I definitely want to come back at Christmas for much more Heart news antics!
Friday 17th July - Sarah (again!)
I was so confused when I got up this morning. As I was brushing my teeth I noticed that for the first time in months it was totally dark outside. I had to do a double take. Now, I know we’ve had the longest day and I’ve even noticed the mornings getting slightly darker – but I just couldn’t believe it when it was pitch black outside!
I don’t mind getting up and driving in to work at 4am when the sun is rising and the birds are tweeting. However it feels like such a drag when it’s still dark.
I’m hoping that the darkness was because we’re in for a day of heavy rain and thundery showers. Maybe when/if the weather picks up it will be lighter again? I do hope so.
Wednesday 15th July - Sarah
I’m considering suing whoever put ‘Easy Peel’ on the bag of tangerines that I brought this week. Yesterday I was attacked by the juice from the fruit as I tried in vain to peel off the skin, and this morning I’ve just had to give up because it’s far too hard to peel.
I’ve got juice down my clean top and tiny bits of tangerine skin under my nails. And despite all this faffing around I’ve still not even had a segment. I look like a child who has managed to get their food everywhere but in their mouth – and I’m in a stinking bad mood!
Why put ‘Easy Peel’ on the label when it is anything but?! It is so frustrating. All I want is one of my 5 a day – and at this rate I think I’m going to struggle. GRRRR.
However, I think EasyJet might have missed a trick here. They could come along and save my fruity world. Why don’t they branch out from planes and hotels to EasyPeel? After all the colour of a tangerine fits in with their colour scheme and they could be helping us get healthy. Maybe I’ll pitch my idea to them… I’m sure they’ll jump at it!
Tuesday 14th July - Sarah
On Sunday night I went to Wembley to watch Oasis. It was amazing – although I do have one rant I’d like to share. Why do people throw beer during the gig?
At £4 a pint you would have thought that people would be savouring every last drop – but it seems some people have more money than sense as plastic cups with beer in were being slung around the stadium.
It really ruined my enjoyment of the concert because I felt like I was on edge all the time waiting to be blasted with beer. Only a few drops got me, and I was feeling quite pleased with myself having brought tickets in what I thought must be a fairly respectable stand… but then just as the last song was on I think the excitement got too much for one fan who hurled their plastic cup in the air and it got yours truly! I was outraged! Having survived the majority of the gig unscathed I was suddenly ‘hit’ in the closing couple of minutes. I was so cross.
I just don’t understand why people think it’s cool to throw beer?! Weird.
Monday 13th July - Victoria
Saturday was a sad day. To understand why, I need to take you back to Christmas day.
My sister bought me a little pot of grow your own sunflowers. Since March I’ve been nurturing three little flowers…keeping them in the airing cupboard, transferring them in to bigger pots, tying them to stakes, spraying them with bug spray. And they were doing so well. Two of them grew taller than me (not that difficult) and I was looking forward to having three lovely smiling faces looking down from our balcony.
Now, I know parents aren’t meant to have favourites, but I did have a special bond with one of my sunflowers (I’d called him Seymour after the man in Little Shop of Horrors). He was the tallest and was going to have the biggest flower.
But on Saturday we came back from lunch in the theatre district and poor Seymour has been garrotted.
He’d grown so big that the twine we’d used to tie him to a stick as a baby had totally cut through his stalk.
I’m not ashamed to say that I cried.
So I quickly rescued my two, slightly-less-loved plants and have put them safely out of the way of the wind, but I still can’t help feeling disappointed with what I’m left with. I was so close to having the best sunflower in MK (was going to pretend a child grew it so I could enter a competition) and now I’ll have to settle for second best.
Am sure I’ll grow to love the remaining two but I know it won’t be the same as if Seymour was still alive.
Thursday 2nd July - Victoria
Great things really do happen if you say “yes”. It’s true!
I came in to work yesterday to an e mail from a colleague who had a spare Take That ticket for their Wembley gig on Friday. At first I ignored it, then I looked again and got a bit more tempted, then thought about it some more and then remembered my new motto (“Say yes to (almost) anything”). So I asked for the ticket and spent a nervous few hours waiting for a reply. And just before I left work for the day got a lovely e mail back saying the ticket was mine. Woohoooooooo!
So tomorrow I shall be hot footing it down to Wembley to see the lovely Take That. As you can imagine, I’m very excited.
Whenever Take That come to town I always regress to my teenage self so I’ve spent the last few months talking non stop about them. It’ll be nice (mainly for everyone around me) to get my obsession out of my system and start living a normal, grown up life again.
So one more sleep until Take That. And two more sleeps until Take That Take Two (am going on Saturday too)
And then I promise to stop talking about them (for now!)
Wednesday 1st July - Victoria
When I was flying to Cyprus I watched Yes Man with Jim Carrey and I’ve decided that I am now going to be the Yes Girl and agree to do (almost) anything I’m asked. So, to start as I mean to go on, I went Wake Boarding on Monday. I’ve seen people doing it loads of times before on Willen Lake but had no idea how nervous I’d be when I actually got there. Leaning forward before you get pulled in to the water by a fast moving cable really is quite scary! I was convinced I’d fall off as soon as I hit the water, but surprised myself by making it as far as the second corner. Unfortunately on all of my three attempts that was my furthest point. I just couldn’t get past the bollards before a massive pull sent me flying from my board (I should add at this point that I was only kneeling….it’ll take a few more goes before I’m anywhere near ready to stand!)
So once you fall off your board that’s where the real fun begins! I ended up in the middle of the lake with sea weed lapping at my feet and needed to dodge other fast moving wake boarders to get to the walk ways. Once I made it I managed to very un-lady-likely haul myself on to the side and then balance all the way to the end to attempt it all again.
I had a fantastic time and definitely want to go back to see if I can make it to the next bend, but for now I’m left with sore arms (I struggled to put my T shirt on this morning!) and bruises in a few odd places!
Well, I’m back from Cyprus. My sister’s wedding was absolutely beautiful and my waterproof mascara held up well. The dress fit (woohoo for crash diets!) and both the bride and groom made it to the altar. All in all a very successful day. The only problem now is how I can possibly top such a grand event! Luckily there’s no sign of an engagement ring for me so have some time to think about it.Since I’ve got back it’s just been go, go, go.
John Bercow’s been elected as the speaker of the House of Commons and of course we have the disturbing story of four sexual assaults on Milton Keynes Redways.
And then, probably most shocking of all, is the news of Michael Jackson’s death. It was hard to go to sleep last night after hearing about it and I think a lot of us here stayed up watching events unfold on the TV. It still doesn’t feel real and I think it’ll take a while before it all sinks in properly. So many of us can't remember him ever not being 'on the scene' and it certainly seems like his legacy will carry on for many years to come.
Wednesday 24th June - Sarah
Well Paula Radcliffe can relax – I am certainly NOT going to be challenging her for the marathon title at the 2012 Olympics.
Last night I went for a run – for the first time in years. I was dragged out by two friends and they said we’d take it easy because it was my first time. Despite telling them before hand just how rubbish I am they still seemed shocked when just 200 yards up the road I was pulling up because I was out of breathe.
I spent most of the half an hour of hell walking, with a very red face and muttering to myself about what a silly idea this was. When I got home I was sick and started aching. O the pain! This morning I have cramp in my left leg that won’t go away, I have very sore legs and back ache!
I have quite a few friends who go running and I just can’t understand what they get out of it. I would much rather sit and watch television while supping a lovely cup of tea!
Monday 22nd June - Sarah
I’ve had one of those weekends when by Sunday night you don’t feel like you’ve had a weekend at all!
On Saturday I spent much of the day finishing off cleaning out the flat I used to live in – scrubbing away at limescale on taps and re-painting walls. My other half was cleaning the carpets and just as we were about to pack up and go back to our nice new flat for a cup of tea there was a knock at the door. We opened it to find an estate agent there ready to show some people round. They came in and had a quick look and then left. Just as they left we noticed some marks on the carpet – they’d only brought mud into the flat and all over the cream carpets. We had to start our work again and in very bad moods.
I worked on Sunday morning and when I got home James and I decided to take a dog we are looking after for a long walk. We walked miles up the canal in Leighton to a pub and then back again. The dog, James and I were all exhausted. As I got up to come to work this morning my feet were still hurting.
Victoria is back today after two weeks off. I’m very excited about seeing pictures from her sister’s wedding – I bet she has loads of stories too. Can’t wait!!
Tuesday 16th June - Sarah
Moving, moving, moving. That seems to be all I’ve thought about for the last two weeks. And thank goodness it’s all over now. I moved literally up the road and round the corner on Saturday – which I reckon was one of the hottest days of the year so far. It was horrendous, however the new flat is nice and clean and I have already made a resolution to clean every night so it stays that way. Wonder how long that’ll last!?
I am now considering putting my new found art skills to the test and thinking of painting a picture for the wall in my bedroom. I’m just not sure what to paint though. Painter’s block has set in!
Friday 12th June - Sarah
Yesterday I felt like I was on “Jim’ll fix It” – a show I always wanted to be on as a child. I got to do one of my dream interviews.
It was about 10.45am and I was sat at my desk when my news editor called me into the studio. He asked me to take over an interview he was meant to do but he’d double booked himself. Now, this was an interview that we do over a special phone line that goes straight into a studio somewhere else in the country, this time in London. Huw shoved a press release in front of me, and told me raise the fader and start. As he was wandering out of the studio I raised the fader …. Click Here to hear what happened.
I nearly collapsed I was so excited. Now let me give you a bit of background – I have had a crush on Ben Fogle 
ever since seeing him on ‘Shipwrecked 2000’ which was a programme where a selection on people were put on some tiny island off the coast of Scotland and had to survive for a year. Since then I’ve avidly followed him through the news, watched him on TV and stage and even gone as far as joining an appreciation group on facebook!
But the shock of actually speaking to him and knowing he was listening to me for once, meant that all the questions I’ve lined up in my head that I’d like to ask him (i.e will you marry me?) just completely disappeared. I was gobsmacked. I seemed to go into auto pilot and started asking questions about barbecuing which I’d discovered the interview was meant to be about.
I’ll admit that it’s not my best interview, although I did learn that the most unusual food he’s eaten is guinea pig! Yuk! As I came off the line hundred of other questions I should have asked came into my head – like the most obvious ‘what’s your next project’ – but I would challenge anyone put in that position, interviewing a person they’ve had a crush on for years, to think straight!
Tuesday 9th June - Sarah
Well it’s going to be an exciting week. Victoria is off for 2 weeks, and instead of soaking in the rain in MK she’ll be soaking up the sun in Cyprus at her sister’s wedding. So while Victoria battles trying to get into all these fantastic dresses Louise Parry is going to be joining me in MK. I’m sure we’ll moan about the weather, which looks like it’s going to be dull and damp all week, and wish we were abroad too.
Also this week I am moving flats. I moved houses quite a lot in my student days and am usually ultra organised. But I can safely say that this time it is going to be horrendous. I haven’t even got the boxes to put things in yet, let alone started to pack. I move on Saturday which thankfully looks like it might be a dry day. There’s so much to sort out. I’m sure I’ll get there in the end, but I’m just looking forward to it all being over.
Friday 5th June - Victoria
Good news on the dress front!
For those of you following our blogs, you’ll know I’ve been desperately slimming to get in to the bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding. And….success! I can now walk, sit and breathe in said item! To celebrate I’ve just had a piece of Ros’ flapjack.
Then…to add to the good news….my lovely “dress-that-I-got-stuck-in” has arrived in a bigger size and it fits perfectly (well, almost perfectly….my boyfriend still needs to pull it over my head for me, but no where near as bad as the fitting room scenario….see last blog for info)
So I’m almost all set for my holiday. Need a few more boob-tubes (can’t get strap lines for the wedding!) and then we’re off. We’re going to
Monday 1st June - Victoria
Have you ever tried on an outfit in a shop fitting room and then got stuck in it? No? Me neither....until Saturday. I found the most amazing dress in Centre:MK this weekend, but apparently lots of other people love it too and the shop only had one size left. Now, I admit it was a few sizes smaller than I normally wear, but I thought I'd give it a go (I have been on a diet after all!) I was so pleased when I managed to get it on and it looked fab (even if I do say so myself!). I'd decided when I was going to wear it (night before my sister's wedding) and was possibly the most excited I'd ever been about an outfit. But when I tried to take it over my head it wouldn't go. I was stuck....properly stuck! It wouldn't go over my hips either and I had no idea what to do with myself. I was shopping on my own and there was no way I was going to admit to the fitting room lady that I couldn't get out of the dress. I spent about 20 minutes tugging and pulling and squirming around trying to get it off me. My body had red marks all over it from where the material had got stuck. I really was nearly in tears at one point, and I was desperately trying to think of excuses as to why I needed to leave the shop in the dress. But luckily, divine intervention stepped in. I'm not a religious person but things were so desperate that I did look to the fitting room roof and utter a short prayer and...just like that....the dress came off over my head. I've never been so relieved in my whole life! But it was a mixture of relieve and dissapointment because I did so love that dress....I've ordered the next size up online!
Tuesday 26th May - Victoria
Well I got back from a lovely weekend in Bruges to the very exciting news that David Cameron was coming to Milton Keynes!
So, lots to talk about....let's start with the holiday! Camping was fantastic. It chucked it down on our second night there but it gave me a great excuse to finish my Breaking Dawn book (it's all about vampires...have you read it? You should!) and be "at one" with nature. Luckily the biggest bug we had in the tent was a daddy longlegs, otherwise I wouldn't be writing such glowing reports about the experience.
We managed to forget duvet and pillow so needed a bit of inventiveness there but other than that everything went really well.
On our last night we found a Jazz festival in a little town called Breda. I don't actually like Jazz, but the strawberry beer was lovely.
And then, a nice welcome back by Mr Cameron. This time I was allowed close to him and even got to shake his hand and ask a question....what an improvement! We'll be on first name terms soon!
Tuesday 26th May - Sarah
Well, you could fry an egg on my back this morning. Yesterday, (Bank Holiday Monday) I went for a lovely long walk from Ashridge to Ivanhoe Beacon. I was even carrying my suntan lotion in my bag but foolishly didn’t think the sun was really that strong. Judging by my rather red face and skin this morning though that wasn’t the case.
Got an exciting start to the week this week. David Cameron is coming to MK this morning. Victoria is going to go along and quiz him on his reforms. I’m expecting she’ll take loads of pictures too so keep your eyes peeled. Last time he came to MK Victoria had a bit of a run in with one of Cameron’s ‘people’ as she tried to barge into his off stage area. Hopefully she’ll have more success today.
I, on the other hand, am going to a car dealership to find out how the scrappage scheme is going one week on. the way petrol is going up again I'm wondering whether the mode of transport in this picture would be cheaper!?
I’ve got a cheeky day off on Friday to make my bank holiday 4 days long instead of 3. We’re going camping in Bruge (doesn’t that sound posh?!) and I can’t wait. I love being in fields! But it always takes a lot longer to get ready to go away than you think...after this I still have a big long list of things to do (including find my passport), so I will be brief.
Tonight I went to the Tour Series. I still feel a bit cross-eyed after watching the cyclists go so fast. We were all waiting for a pile up but (luckily) that didn’t materialise. My feet still haven’t warmed up either, so how the two girls managed to stand there in hot pants (or were they cycling shorts?) and vests I’ll never know. (have a look at our pics if you don’t know what I’m talking about!)
I always feel quite proud of myself when I cycle round MK on my pink bike, but when I was next to the mega fit cyclists on their super whizzy light weight bikes, I did look like a bit of an amateur.
James Cracknell was there....he really is quite lovely. Unfortunately I was working so – luckily for him – I had to be professional and act like I wasn’t excited. Underneath my cool exterior though I was dying to run over and prod him! I do like a celebrity!
Thursday 21st May - Sarah
I’m suffering a bit this morning after a horrific incident in the kitchen yesterday evening. I had decided to cook curry for tea so, as it said on the back of the jar, I diced my chicken and put the oil in the pan to heat up. Then there was a knock at the door. Off I trotted to answer the door, where I was greeted by a salesman. He kept me talking for about 10 minutes when I suddenly noticed I was surrounded my smoke. Dashing off to the kitchen I realised that the oil was the reason for the, by now, rather thick smoke. Throwing open all the windows I tried to ventilate the flat. Thankfully within about 40 minutes the smoke had dispersed and after a few sprays of air freshener no one would have noticed a thing. However, although I don’t want to go through that sort of shock again (and the subsequent cough I now have) the whole experience got rid of the rather tricky salesman pretty quickly! As soon as he saw the smoke he scarpered!
Monday 18th May - Victoria
I had so much fun in Milton Keynes last week....it was celebrity tastic! Harriet Harman paid a visit to Beanhill so we could quiz her about expenses, and then (more importantly!) McFly were at HMV on Thursday. What nice boys! It was Harry (my favourite) and Dougie who told me all about the naked handstands they do on tour. The day after was just as exciting too....I went on a wild goose chase after a tip off that Take That were in town. I didn't manage to find them but will keep looking and if I do happen across them, you will be sure to hear about it! (In fact, I'll never shut up about it!)
After my celebrity stalking, it was my sister's hen do. It all went really well...the sun shone and many bottles of champagne were drunk! I'm still suffering this morning though and think I'll stay off the booze until the wedding now (or at least until next weekend). It's only four weeks to go and then I'll be the last single girl in my family. I'd like it to stay that way for a while and am hoping there's no surprise proposals around the corner...don't think I could handle the responsibility of being a wife just yet!
Monday 18th May - Sarah
Well it’s the start of another week and the mornings are getting even lighter! I had a great weekend with two high points.
Firstly I went to see Jimmy Carr’s show at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable on Saturday night. It was a late night show starting at 10pm. Having been at work since 6.30am that morning I was slightly concerned that I’d fall asleep and be ridiculed. However there was no way anyone could have nodded off. It was so rowdy and funny. How he can stand there for 2 and a half hours and tell joke after joke baffles me. I highly recommend seeing him if you get the chance, however in parts I found it hard to keep up with the jokes. He was reeling them off while I was still musing over why a previous joke was funny. It was very quick paced!
The second highlight of the weekend was meeting the latest addition to the Rock family, Bob. Bob is my mum’s new goldfish. When I was very young my parents brought my brother and I a goldfish each. Sadly mine passed away. However my brother’s fish, called Zippy, is still alive and must be around 16 or 17 years old. But Zippy was lonely so along came Bob. And what a bargain Bob has been. For less than a fiver he has given Zippy a new lease of life, zipping around his tank.
Tuesday 11th May - Victoria
I'm feeling very proud of myself at the moment because I'm managing to stick to my healthy eating / exercise plan (well, since the weekend anyway). I'm only managing to be good because there's just a month to go until my sister's wedding and the dress I am wearing is soooo tight....there is no room to breathe, let alone eat, so I must be as thin as possible by the time we go away. I hope that every time you say "no" to a piece of chocolate you lose an extra calorie, because we've got lots of sweets in the office at the moment and I'm very pleased to say I haven't had any yet. I've also been doing lots of running...I made it to the MK Bowl last night and reminisced about getting lost in the car park there when we went to see Take That.
Other than desperately trying to be thin, I've been busy planning my sister's hen do for this Saturday. I used to think I'd be a great events planner but am not so sure after my efforts with this...I've got no idea who's coming and if it rains then we're all going to be sitting in a field in Cambridge in pretty dresses with nowhere to hide. Keep your fingers crossed for sun.....I am!!
Monday 11th May - Sarah
Well I’m in a great mood this morning. Traditionally on a Monday I’m in a grump until about 9am, thinking of all those people still in bed while I’m at work. But this morning that isn’t the case – and it’s all down to my drive into work.
Today has been the first time this year that it has been reasonably light on my way to work. Last week I reached the landmark of not needing to put on my full beam at all as I drove along the A5 at 4.30am. And this morning, as I drove in, the sun was rising and the birds were singing. It was lovely. Nothing can damped my mood! At one point along the journey I even wondered if I needed my lights on at all. I may have to go to bed early each night, and I may have to drag myself out of bed at 4.17am (I have worked out that I need exactly 13 minutes to get ready before leaving the house!) but -until the novelty of driving to work in the daylight wears off – I am chuffed that I get to see the best bit of the day!
Thursday 7th May - Victoria
I've recently moved in with my boyfriend and so far everything is going really well. The only problem is I've found I'm becoming very reliant on him and slipping in to being a housewife far too easily. He's taken on the role of doing all the manly things like putting furniture together and lifting heavy boxes, and I've found myself doing a lot of sweeping and cooking. So to redress the balance, last night I decided to do my first bit of DIY! I put some hooks up (one of which is for my feather duster!) and was (and still am) very proud of myself. I didn't just use a drill, but a spirit level and a tape measure too! It's a lot harder than it looks and there were a few times I wanted to call for help, but I fought the urge to be a pathetic girl and manag, , ed all by myself! So a very big day for me (and equality). Tonight I might put some pictures up!
Wednesday 6th May - Sarah
Disaster has struck this morning here at Heart, which has totally disrupted my morning routine.
As soon as I get to work at 5am I am on autopilot walking through my ‘morning routine’. I go to the kitchen and put the kettle on, then go to my desk and turn my computer on. Next I go into the studio and make sure that computer is working. Then I go to the kitchen to make my cup of tea, turning the TV on as I go past.
But this morning all was going well until I went to make my tea. I realised that the teabags weren’t out on the side. Looking a little further I discovered there were no teabags I the kitchen whatsoever. This completely threw me. I spent about 3 minutes in the kitchen staring at my mug and water with complete disbelief. Even when I made it back to my desk I found it hard to get into the morning regime. This teabag situation has even gone as far as disrupting my breakfast, which I normally have at 7.05am, and which today I’ve not even got round to yet and it’s nearly 9!
I’m going to have to go out and get an emergency stash.
Thursday April 30th - Sarah
Why is it that whenever you are in a rush to get somewhere you get stuck behind the slowest moving cars possible?!
Yesterday afternoon I took , my boyfriend to Luton Airport to catch a flight. Luckily we had left plenty , of time to get there. F, irst of all we got stuck in a long traffic jam trying to get through Dunstable and just as we cleared that we got stuck in a long queue behind a hearse. Every turn we wanted to take it, took too, and my boyfriend was getting more and more agitated. Then to add more misery to the already fraught journey we discovered we were not only behind a hearse but also behind a horse and cart! When was the last time you got stuck behind a horse and cart and a hearse?! Typical. A trip that should’ve taken about 30mins took more like 50! Thankfully he made the flight fine and even had time to fit in a beer in departures.
Wednesday April 29th - Sarah
I survived the art class…and actually really, really enjoyed it. I turned up at the hall where the class was taking place feeling a bit nervous, but I was immediately put at ease. My first major task was to draw a shell. Mine needs a bit more work – I don’t really understand shading so it looked very much like a 5 year old had drawn it whereas everyone else’s seemed to pop out of the page. As the rest of the class went on to watercolour a plant and a bottle I did a colour wheel and generally experimented with mixing colours. To finish I experimented with letting colours run or merge together but tipping my paper around – I painted fish shapes to do this.
I was going to bring in my pictures to work today but totally forgot (getting up at 4.15am does that to you!) but I’ll bring them in tomorrow and upload a picture. I can’t wait till next week!
Tuesday April 28th - Sarah
So one thing ends and another starts.
Today is the final day of the cereal diet. I’m not sure how much we, ight I’ve lost because I didn’t weigh myself to start with – but my jeans definitely feel baggier. Just got to keep it that way. I think the hardest thing is going to be avoiding binge scoffing my Easter Eggs! On the plus side, I’m going to save a fortune on milk!
So as my dieting draws to the end I have a new fad… watercolour painting. I’m expecting this to be a challenge - I have absolutely no artistic ability and find drawing even a square problematic. When I was at school I used to do everything I could to avoid art. I used to persuade my music teachers to come in on ‘art day’ and then book my music lessons during the art lessons. In fact art and sports days were the two things I tried to avoid at all costs! On one occasion the homework was to draw the view from your bedroom window. Now, my view was the brick wall of the garage, so obviously that is what I drew. It didn’t go down well with my art teacher who said I should have just drawn the garden instead!
I saw the advert for these art classes when I was out shopping and I thought I’d like to give it a go. I explained over the phone to the lady who will be leading the sessions that I struggled with art at school, but she still seemed keen for me to come along – I wonder if she’ll feel the same way at 4pm this afternoon! I will keep you updated with my progress – and if I can work out how to I’ll upload up a sample of my art!
Monday April 20th - Sarah
Well almost a week into the diet and I’m craving chocolate like you wouldn’t believe!
The cereal diet has been going really well. Not sure how much weight I’ve lost, but I have noticed that I can’t eat as much as I was before. Portions that I would happily have made my way through before last week I now can’t finish. It’s great news for my boyfriend who is always more than happy to clean my plate!
However, I must admit that after managing 5 days with no chocolate I fell off the wagon on Sunday. I was watching the FA Cup semi-final in a pub in MK with some friends, cheering on Everton, and I spotted a chocolate and orange puddle pudding on the menu. I just had to have it – my life wouldn’t be complete without it! Unsurprisingly I had no problem clearing my bowl. But the feeling of guilt afterwards was awful. So with just a week and a day left of the diet I’m determined not to flounder again. And to try and work off that puddle pudding I’m going to do 10 star jumps every half an hour in between my bulletins this morning!
Monday April 20th - Victoria
Well this weekend was the first of my bridesmaid duties. And it was AMAZING!!! I don't want to go to a wedding now unless I have an important role to play. It made me feel so special with all those people looking at me (yes, yes, I know it was really the brides day, but I want to stake a claim to some of the attention!)
Everything went well (apart from the wedding car breaking down and the bride and her dad having to hitch a lift with some 17 year old boy racers!) and I woke up with that sinking feeling this morning when something you’ve been looking forward to is over.
So to combat that I’m putting all efforts in to my sister getting hitched. The only problem is the dress I’m wearing for that one is very tight still! So am on a health kick. Still no plans for the cereal diet, but I did turn down one of Ros’s gingerbread biscuits this morning. Very self controlled!,
Wednesday 15th April - Sarah
Well one day into the ‘fight the flab’ attempt and I am really missing ice-cream, chocolate and crisps.
I’m not normally a person who does diets, but I’ve been kicked into action after a shopping expedition at the Centre MK over the bank holiday.
I went into the first shop and picked out a lovely pair of high-waisted trousers. I took them into the changing room and tried them on… they wouldn’t even do up. At first I thought someone must have put a size 8 on the size 10 hanger... but when I checked the tag they were in fact a size 10. I then concluded that, of course, it must be that the shop’s sizes are up the creek, so I shook my head and went off to anothe, r shop.
In the next shop I tried on another pair of size 10 trousers and yet again, they wouldn’t come over my thighs! It was at that moment that reality hit. All those yummy cakes, biscuits and chocolates that Ros kindly brings in each morning have stored themselves on my thighs! I was gutted.
I took myself off to a well known supermarket where I brought a well known brand of cereal that claims; if you eat two bowls for two meals for two weeks then you’ll drop a jean size.
I’m determined to stick to it for two weeks. So instead of snacking on crisps and chocolate I’m snacking on fruit and vegetable. The only problem is all my Easter Eggs are sat in my lounge staring at me, begging to be eaten. It’s going to be a long two weeks.
Wednesday 15th April – Victoria.
I've got to that age where all of my friends are getting married. So far five of them are doing it this year, and I'm lucky enough to be bridesmaid for three of them.
The first wedding's t,, his Saturday and I can't wait. The dresses are gorgeous and I'm not eating any of my easter eggs until the day after in case I can't fit in to mine. (No plans to do the cereal diet like Sarah though! I like my sandwiches too much!)
I spoke to the bride last night who’s busy putting last minute plans in place and it made my really nervous. Have been practicing my walk down the aisle and poses for photos. But most important is the dancing….have a special request in for Rule The World.
Anyway, I'm writing this back in Milton Keynes, having spent a few weeks with our sister station in Dunstable while they did some work here. It's nice to be back in MK....although I will miss working with the other news guys. Sarah’s back tomorrow so it won’t be so quiet. We’ve had a new wall put up so there's a lovely smell of paint and it’s all bright and shiny.
Looking forward to catching up on all the MK gossip…will obviously keep you updated!
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