A Half Day in the Life of...

Last week, snow had made filming some driving sequences impossible. We decided that we'd shoot what we could and reschedule filming what was missing for yesterday. I had plans at 7pm, so the suggestion of a half day's work was ideal. Even with a round trip of just over 7hrs, I calculated that I'd still be able to make it back down to London for a reunion with some friends I'd not seen for over a year. My bad.
My train from London entered Birmingham late, so I missed my connection to Shrewsbury in Shropshire. I jumped in a cab. An hour and 20 minutes later and over a ton worse off, I arrived at Loton Park. I was 20 minutes late. 
I would be learning to drive last year's Lotus Eater gravity racer for a challenge that will take place in Saarsburg, Germany next month. I've never been a huge fan of F1, driving games or anything like that, so I had no real ideas about racing lines, when to brake and such like. I was nervous and due to crappy weather, the downhill course was very wet. Still, it was a better alternative to snow. I needn't have worried too much as I was working with some of Fifth Gear's finest behind-the-camera crews and a team led by Mr. David Ackroyd, one of The Gadget Show's favourite constructors. Now, last year, Jason did most of the driving, but as this was my challenge, I would have to make sure my skills were up to scratch. I had four runs down the buttock-clenchingly twisty track, reaching speeds of around 60kph. By the end of my session, I felt good about my progress and much better about my racing driving. Now, we get on with making improvements to the existing Lotus Eater. It sucks that I can't give more deets or even pics (just this post could get me into hot water), but you'll love what we're doing. I can pretty much guarantee that. I'm better prepared for next month's challenge than I could hope, but it IS a biggie.

First Day Back!

Happy New Year, gadget people! Today marked the first studio shoot of the new series (starts 14^th February). I thought I'd give you a behind the scenes peak at our team busy at work...

Woah ... A Text-Based Post!

Whew!! What a year its been. The Gadget Show has gone from strength to strength in '10 and we've ended on a high. New faces have joined the team on screen as well as off and '11 is already shaping up well. You are in for a treat.
You are reading my blog. How ridiculous is that?! I figured there were a few things I wanted to share with you that required a li'l more space than Twitter would allow, so I've set this up. It'll mostly be video clips of me doing stuff with the gang, but every once in a while will feature the written rantings of a mad presenter. Me.

So, as Christmas approaches, I find myself with some free time (rare, but well received). I don't have any filming commitments until the new year and all my shopping has been done. What to do? Well, if like me, you like to doodle, this site might be for you. It's http://www.bostin.org.uk/ and it allows you to set up a virtual tee-shirt store. You design your own tees for sale. I've put one design up for sale (see banner above or go to www.odogg.bostin.net/) and hope to have another up in a week or so. Hope you like 'em.
Have a fantastic Chrimbo/festive season. See you in the New Year.

Ortis Deley

Lions Chowing Down!

The money shot! And this is before the professional cameras start rolling!

Safari So Good!

Day 1 on the plains of the Shamwari Game Reserve.