Late Night Update!

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It's the weekend!!

Hurrah! Friday has arrived. Today's pic of the day is my fantastic artwork. We were talking about doodling on the show today. It seems that doodling can improve your memory by almost a third. Volunteers asked to doodle were 29% better at remembering names read out on a dull phone message compared to their non scribblers. Researchers reckon the action of drawing prevents people from daydreaming, which is far more harmful to remembering details.

On the left is a masterpiece I have been working on for three years now. Everytime you hear a caller on Beat Breakfast, or when Vinny is waffling on, that is what I am doing! The thing is falling apart, and I'm not sure what to do next. Should I start a blank canvass? Or keep trying to find space for more doodling? Vinny reckons I should sell it on ebay, but it has too much personal value!




To other matters, today we were talking about first dates, and what would make you run away screaming. We did this because OUR bride and groom's first date will be their wedding service and reception - so we need to know what to look out for. Needless to say, all the old reliables came in.... texting during the date, dirty fingernails, bad shoes, etc. One guy said he would run if his date had bushy eyebrows!!

Cheese or No Cheese was ridiculously close this week - just one vote seperated the two! Cheese was East 17 with "It's Alright", but the winner was No Cheese.... The Verve with "Sonnet." I ain't happy! I will have to get my thinking cap for next week. Any suggestions of a good cheesy classic you can send to talk@beat102103.com

We also spoke to Kate Hyde on the show. She set up http://www.hen-party.ie and went on Dragon's Den last night to get some investment. She was successful, and she told her story on this morning's Beat Breakfast. The best part is - she's part of our team for Two Strangers and a Wedding!

Speaking of said matters, tomorrow morning's Best Of is all about Two Strangers, and what happened this week. Make sure you join me from 9.50am - and don't forget to check out the Beat website to keep yourself updated.

Today's Big Hard One:-
Q: What grows down, while it grows up?
A: A Goose or Duck (Down is the type of feathers that these birds grow!!)

Going For A Song:-
Clue: Sleepy movement of polished perky folk
A: REM - Shiny Happy People

Talk to you Monday,
N.

The end of the week is near!

This is poor young James Miller. He thought it would be a great idea to celebrate Valentine's Day by streaking across Ewood Park during a Premiership game, firing roses from a bow and arrow.... all to impress his girlfriend Jade. The end result? He was arrested, he has been banned from attending a football game for three years, he is being court martialled in the army.... and worst of all... Jade dumped him!

So today, we talked about the silly and sappiest things you have ever done in the name of love. We wanted to give our groom a list of dos and don'ts on Two Strangers and a Wedding. We were amazed at how many romantic baths, and sexy stripteases that went wrong. We had one female listener who set her hair on fire from a candle in the bath, and another guy who unintentionally got candle wax on himself during a hurling match!

Things are progressing nicely on Two Strangers. The entries are flying in, and today, we tried to answer some of the most common questions we've been getting in. Things like "are you having a laugh" and "why are you playing with people's emotions?" If you want to hear the answers to those questions, you will have to join us on the Best of - Saturday morning from 9.50am!

Couple of other stories from today's show....

• Does this sound edible to you, or is it the kind of thing you might vomit up after a night out?!
• Kate Winslet tries to help two Tipperary men escape from prison
• Read about Manuel Almunia's haunted house!

Today's Big Hard One:
Q: What number, when spelled out, contains no repeated letters, and all five vowels?
A: Five thousand

Going For A Song:-
Clue: Part of the weekend is simply unable to acquire sufficient quantities
Ans: The Saturdays - Just Can't Get Enough

Talk tomorrow at 6.50
N.

Exciting times...

So, it's been mayhem the past 36 hours since I revealed my plan on Monday morning's Beat Breakfast. If you aren't aware of it, check out all the details on http://www.beat102103.com. Basically, we are going to have a wedding on Beat Breakfast on Monday April 6th 2009. The only problem is - we don't know who is getting married yet, and neither do the bride or groom.

What I can tell you is....

• This is NOT a radio contest or competition. It's the world's most exciting social experiment.
• Anybody over the age of 18 can enter, but you must be genuinely looking for love.
• We promise to use the best technology, the most qualified people, and 100% of our efforts to stack the odds in your favour of finding true love.

We've had a mostly positive reaction so far. Some people have had genuine questions and concerns which we try our best to address. However, we've had one plonker throwing a hissy fit because gay couples can't enter. Beat 102 103 is one of the most gay friendly radio stations in the South East. In fact, we actively encouraged gay and lesbian couples to take part in our recent "Beat Your Significant Other". However, the law of the land is that gay couples can't currently marry in Ireland, so this particular twat would be better off sending his irate emails and texts to politicians on that one, rather than us. It would be the equivalent of a father getting pissed off because we are doing a mothers day competition. Get a grip!

We heard from Susan yesterday who had fallen for her boyfriend over the phone without seeing him. Jackie rang us with some concerns, but she was intrigued by it all. And this morning, we had our first entry on air for a chat. Sonia said she's always chosen the wrong type of guys, so she's putting the choice in someone else's hands to see if that works!

I can tell you that we've been quite overwhelmed with the amount of people signing up so far. If you think that you're the person for this - if you're sick of dud relationships etc, get onto the Beat website today. Or maybe you have a friend who you think would be perfect for this. We are planning to find our bride in the next two weeks!

I'll have a full update tomorrow.

Til then, take care,

N.

Friday

Just a quick update for Friday! We learned today that 2.5% of people in the UK claim to have been on television. We reckon the figure was much higher in Ireland, so we asked listeners of their experiences. Not surprisingly, we had many people unintentionally end up on tv in a drunken state. I shared two of my awful experiences - demonstrating chatup lines on live national tv, and ending up in a current affairs special on stis by accident!

Cheese or No Cheese was a much closer contest that I had expected. Cheese was "Doop" by Doop, and No Cheese was Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as today was Kurt Cobain's birthday. No Cheese won, but not by much!

We had a HUGE reaction to this week's Get It Off Your Chest. Everyone was in cranky form it seems. Some of the items mentioned were slow walkers, heels on shoes, short people with umbrellas, and Vinny had difficulty with a broken button on his tv remote. This prompted a load of texts from listeners reminding Vinny of the days when there was no remotes, and you actually had to get up and change the channel.

Answer to the Big Hard One was a fart. Forgive me, but my brain is tired and I can't remember the clue. Answer to Going For A Song was Everything but the Girl, and "Missing."

So, that's it for this week. Monday is the big day. I have a special announcement to make at 8.25. I can't say much for now, other than it promises to be a very exciting few weeks on Beat Breakfast!

Have a good weekend,
N.

Sexy GAA managers, ridiculous taxes, and memory blockages!

That's Thursday out of the way then! Today's picture of the day is of Andrea Roche with the Rockwell Rovers lads in Tipp. We're used to seeing Andrea glammed up to the nines, so it's nice to see she can wear a tracksuit like the best of us (except Vinny!). Andrea was on Beat Breakfast today talking about her Celebrity Bainisteoir work. First game is this Saturday in Roscommon, so good luck to the Rockwell lads!

How would you feel about paying a tax everytime you flush the toilet? Sounds crazy, but it may be about to happen in Australia. We asked for suggestions from listeners of other ridiculous taxes that haven't been thought of yet. Inhaling too heavily was suggested, meters on street lamps, and even a return of the window tax. I REALLY hope Brian Cowen isn't reading this blog.

Earlier in the week, we told you about a new pill which scientists are claiming blots out bad memories. And we asked which embarrassing, disgusting or traumatic memory you would use the pill for? I wanted to block out all memories of the clothing I wore in the 90s, Mary wanted to block out her memories of making the Beat Breakfast Birthday Bus pop video (if you haven't seen it yet, here's another opportunity!) , and Vinny wanted to block out the time himself and Mary appeared on stage at the Forum singing "I Got You Babe". Perhaps a pic of that might be tomorrow's pic of the day?!!!

Some other bits and pieces....

• Which deadly sin are you most guilty of?
• Can you think of ANY reason why this stunning actress may have dumped her hubby when she got famous?
• The weird story of the little boy who married a dog

Today's Big Hard One......
Q: I can be short, and sometimes hot. When displayed, I rarely impress. What am I?
A: Your temper!

Going For A Song....
Clue: Phobia of flower with tool key
Ans: Lily Allen - The Fear

Talk to you in the morning, for all the usual Friday stuff - Get It Off Your Chest, Cheese or No Cheese, and TFI Friday!!
N.

Goodbye My Lover....

Meet Radhakant Baijpai and his record-breaking growth! This man has the longest ear-hair in the world. We briefly mentioned it on today's show, but couldn't talk about it properly because Mary refused to look at the picture. She found it too disturbing.

I managed to find a poll online of the top 90s crushes that boys had. Pamela Anderson topped the poll. No surprise there. Also featured were Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Gillian Anderson. One Beat Breakfast listener mentioned Jet from Gladiators, and I have to be honest, I was quite taken aback by the amount of female listeners who were OBSESSED with Dean Cain of Superman fame - including our own Mel on Wheels!

Gavin Henson is a plonker. That is official. Who else, considering the current climate, would throw money at people on the street in an obnoxious manner. Read the details here.

Earlier in the week, Mary told us about Colin Farrell being dumped - all because he didn't thank his lack in his Golden Globes acceptance speech. So, today we discussed the silliest or oddest reasons people use when dumping someone. One girl was dumped because she got a perm, another girl dumped a fella because his hurl wasn't big enough - and Mary got dumped in her teens because the guy she was seeing wanted to concentrate on his mocks! I have had those very annoying words uttered to me......"you're just too nice".

Couple of other bits on today's show....

• The recession has hit one man hard
• Think you've had a horrible driving test?? Think again!
• Sense at last
• What are the world's most overused words?

Today's Big Hard One....
Q: What disappears going from there to here, and reappears going from here to there?
A: The Letter "T"

Going For A Song.....
Clue: Large apes have happy pen filler
Ans: Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc

Talk tomorrow,
N.

Monday Monday....Dah Dah....

First one down, and today was all about stupidity. The stupid things you've done that made you want to kick yourself. Vinny tried to light an electric cooker with a match, Niall opened a file containing a trojan virus on his laptop....and Mary went the wrong way up the escalators in the Market Cross Shopping Centre in KK!

We had some great texts - with stories including embarrassing nudity, the wrong things being said, and plenty of other craziness. We were talking about it because of this monumental act of stupidity!

Pictured above is Betty Kearney from Tramore Co. Waterford with her daughter Laura. Her son Keith rang the show last week with his embarrassing story about his mom, she spent the day being pampered, (having her hair and make-up done) shopping and dining in the Ballinakill shopping centre.

Today's Big Hard One:-
Q: I move very slowly, at an imperceptable rate. Although I take my time, I'm never late. I accompany life, and survive past demise. I am viewed with esteem in many women's eyes.
A: Hair

Going For A Song:-
Clue: Simply a Tango for Lord of baby speak's wife.
A: Lady GaGa - Just Dance.

See you in the a.m. at 6.50!
N.

Friday the 13th

Sorry the updates haven't been as regular this week! We have all been REALLY busy with the visit to the reptile zoo, and planning and preparing some of the stuff we have lined up for you in the next couple of weeks!

Today was a busy day. It's Friday the 13th, it was our last show before Valentine's Day - but more important than any of that, today was Beat Breakfast's 3rd birthday! It was on February 13th 2006 that myself and Vinny did our first breakfast show. Mary joined us in October of that year. Thanks to those that sent good wishes today!

We wrapped up two competitions this morning. Ceire and Mark had a good bash at Beat Your Significant Other - and got 18 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the phenomenal score of 30 from yesterday. We also did the draw for the VIP Mum package from the Ballinakill Shopping Centre, and Keith who called in on Monday won it for his mum!

Cheese or No Cheese was Valentine's related today. Cheese was Glenn Medeiros "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You", and No Cheese was Lauren Wood with "Falling". Two fantastic songs, but Cheese won with 72% of the vote!

We are all thrilled in the Beat 102 103 office this week, as the latest JNLR listenership figures are out, and once again, Beat is kicking ass. We have more listeners in the five counties than 2FM or Today FM. In fact, we have twice as many young adults aged 15-34 as either station! We also have more listeners than WLR, KCLR, South East Radio or Tipp FM. So, thanks for listening, and standby for an amazing couple of months on Beat. You will NOT believe what we have planned ;)

To celebrate the high listenership figures, we are going to spoil ourselves this weekend, and go for a little cosmetic surgery! You'll have to join us Monday morning at 6.50am to find out the results!

Have a great weekend,
N.

P.S. If you wanna see what it's like behind the scenes at Beat, check out this video on youtube....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnFQnQb23N8

Reptiles, Spelling, and Brainy Couples

Hello again.

Apologies for the no-show on the blog yesterday. We were busy meeting all manner of reptiles at the Reptile Village Zoo in Kilkenny. You can see pics on the official Beat website or on the official Beat bebo page. A huge thanks to James for showing us around and we highly reccommend taking a trip to Gowran, Co Kilkenny for a visit. For more info on the zoo, visit reptilevillage.net

On this morning's show, we found out what words people have difficulty spelling. Accommodation, accessory, February, opportunity, eighth, guarantee, license and restaurant proved the toughest in a recent survey.

Poor Michael Jackson ! He's suffering from an MRSA-type skin infection! It turns out he may have caught if after plastic surgery on his nose! You can read the full story here.

We were blown away by John and Laura from Waterford who got 15 EACH on this morning's Beat Your Significant Other!!! That's a combined score of 30 and it will take some beating tomorrow. They defo have one hand on that diamond penant from Stephen Bourke Jewellery Design

This morning's Hard One went as follows; Which of the following is the odd one out?
January 31st
March 31st
September 30th
July 30th
October 31st

ANS = July 30th (because it's NOT the last day of the month)

Going For A Song caused some confusion. The clue was "Chewy bar - licence to do what one wants" The answer was Wham's Freedom - not to be confused with George Michael's solo hit single called Freedom!

More of the same tomorrow morning from 6.50! Talk t'ya then :)

VB

Nuzzlebuddy :)

Hiya. Vinny B here. I've just taken a break from writing questions for Beat Your Significant Other (more of that later) to update you on what happened on this morning's show.

This morning, as we head towards Valentines Day, we heard some of the nicknames couples give each other. Our favourite was nuzzlebuddy. I still think that should only be animal related! Some of the other embarrassing names were Fatty Fatty Bum Bum, Sexy Pig, Squidgey and Pooh Face. I dare you to give thos a go on Saturday night and still get some!

As you know, Beat the Bomb has become Beat Your Significant Other for this week only. Couples from across the south east are competing for a place in the draw for a holiday in Marbella and to prove which is the brainier sex! This morning Lynda and Richard came away with a combined score of 10 (9 of that total was scored by Richard) proving for the 2nd day in a row that men are way smarter than women. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to beat Peter and Valerie from yesterday. Thye still lead with 15!

This morning's Hard One caught more than a few listeners out...
I have a bow and a bag of arrows. If I fire an arrow at mid-day and one more every minute how many will I have fired come one o'clock?
The answer is 61!

and Going For A Song; An unfocussed rural abode?
Blur - Country House

More of the same shenanigans tomorrow :) Now, back to those questions... No, wait. McDonalds for lunch? We have a winner.

Outta here. Be good.

VB

Bushfires, Baftas, Bale and Beat Your Significant Other!

Lots of things beginning with "B" on Beat Breakfast (there's two more of them!) this morning. Mary also used the word "bullshit" in a moment of anger. So, like Sesame Street, today's show was brought to you by the letter B.

We'll start with Christian Bale. You will remember his MAJOR rant last week where he lost the head completely on set. Well, he has finally apologised and he rang up an L.A. station to do so. You can hear his apology here. Mary thought it was a fair apology, but Vinny was having none of it.

We also talked about the awful tragedy in Australia. Currently, they are reporting 131 deaths from the bushfires, but the fear is that the final death toll will be much higher. We managed to get our hands on an amazing piece of audio of a terrified young woman who was trapped with 8 children, surrounded by the fire, and then rescued live on air. You can hear that audio here.

All this week on the show, we are playing Beat Your Significant Other with Stephen Bourke Jewellery Design. Each day, we have a couple battling it out on Beat the Bomb - and today Peter and Valerie played. Peter went first and got a whopping twelve, however Valerie didn't do so well, scoring a three. Their combined score is 15.

Now, time for a minor rant. Let me let you in on how things work, if you're not aware. Beat Breakfast broadcasts in delay - which means that what happens in the studio isn't broadcast for 8 seconds. This allows us to cut out or dump anything that is legally dangerous. It's essential to have when dealing with live callers. So, when we put a caller on air, the very last thing we always say to them on the phone is to turn the radio down. If the caller doesn't, it sounds really bad on air because we can hear ourselves 8 seconds behind, and the caller gets awfully confused and sounds like a bit of an eejit. So... YOU HAVE TO TURN THE RADIO OFF. Today, I had to ask Valerie three times to do it, and unfortunately, I don't think she reached her true potential on Beat the Bomb because of the confusion.

We also launched our competition with the Ballinakill shopping centre, giving you the chance to win a VIP Valentine's Day package for your mum worth over two grand!! All you have to do is finish the sentence "I love my ma, even though....." Keith was onto us today with a majorly embarrassing story about his mam screaming over a hickey he gave a girlfriend, but unfortunately, the lovebite was a birth mark. Cringe! More chances to get in on it tomorrow....

Keep Calm and Carry On is an old motivational slogan used during wartime to keep the spirits up, and it's now being used again in the UK for the current economic troubles. We asked Beat Breakfast listeners to come up with their own Irish motivational slogans, and here are a few of the best ones we received:-

• Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesnt get you anywhere.
• Everything will be ok in the end, if its not ok then its not the end.
• Aim for the moon even if you miss you ll land among the stars!
• You cant climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets!
• Life is tough, but you're tougher so get up and get on with it.

Today's Big Hard One:-
Q: You can have a lot of it....You can not have enough of it.... You can waste it but you can never get it back.
ANSWER… Time

Going For A Song:-
Clue: Sun burn hasn’t had any alcohol
Ans: Pink - Sober

Til tomorrow at 6.50!
N.

Thank Crunchie and all that....

So, it's Friday - and nobody wants to be reading or writing blogs, so I will keep this brief!

Well done to Ciara from Carlow - this week's champion on Beat the Bomb with a score of 13. Next week is Beat your Significant Other, with Stephen Bourke Jewellery Design. We shall finally find out once and for all who is more intelligent - the boys or the girls.

I told you last week that we had a record vote for Cheese or No Cheese. Well, we managed to surpass that this week with hundreds and hundreds of votes. Today was the birthday of Axl Rose and of Rick Astley - so we put them head to head on Cheese or No Cheese! "Never Gonna Give You Up" vs "Paradise City" - and to my disappointment, Guns'n'Roses won with 71% of the vote!

Next week is a busy one. We have Beat Your Significant Other, and we also have a great competition with the Brass Cock Centre on the Dunmore Road. Tell us how your Mammy made a show of you, and you could win a pamper day for her worth over two grand!! We'll also be sprucing one male listener up with a treatment at Get Your Locks Off AND it's the start of the Beat Breakfast Crew work experience programme.

We'll tell you more Monday from 6.50am!
N.

Win, Lose or Draw

I present my drawing of John Terry in drag, as suggested by Yvonne on this morning's show. I decided to capture one of the most memorable moments of the Chelsea captains career - his missed penalty against Manchester United in last season's Champions League Final. There are some differences between my drawing and the actual scene as it happened. The first is that in my picture, Terry doesn't fall. This is because he doesn't want to get his lovely flowery dress dirty. The second difference is that, unlike that fateful night in Moscow, my John Terry has a smile on his face. This is because he likes his lovely flowery dress. Either way, the outcome is the same - he missed the penalty. This proves you can change gender, but you can't change history.

VB

Beat Your Significant Other!

Right, we need you to get your finger out - and get your contact details into us!

All next week on Beat Breakfast, Beat the Bomb becomes Beat Your Significant Other.

We want you to play our daily general knowledge quiz against your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife!! You'll get the chance to prove who the bright spark is in your relationship!

The brainiest couple of the week will win a diamond pennant AND will go into the draw for the holiday away to Marbella!

And – at the end of the week, we’ll add up all the scores – and find the answer to that age old question – Who is brighter? The boys or the girls?!

All you have to do is EMAIL your contact details today to talk@beat102103.com, and get ready for the ultimate battle of the sexes…..

John Terry's Tranny Shock!

So, Poor John Terry is getting a bit of a hard time. It seems he is being taunted by rival football fans - who reckon he is the spit of pre-op transexual Lucy Smith. That's Lucy there. Draw your own conclusions!

Speaking of drawing things, today's challenge for Vinny was to draw John Terry in drag. We're awaiting his efforts. Should be up here soon. And as for the people commenting that Niall should draw too, or else stop criticising Vinny's efforts - I would like to point out that Vinny invented this game. I don't draw, but I know good art when I see it!

So, what are the things that men should NEVER do in public? This all started with a survey I read here. A contentious issue - many people disagreed with the writing longhand in a journal bit. Other nasty suggestions included picking your ears with a car key, and doing anything in public relating to toenails.

It also brought us onto the issue of hands down pants. I cannot comprehend how or why it's now acceptable for teenage boys to walk around in public with their hands down their pants inside their underwear. We had many teenage male listeners onto us, and Tommy summed it up with his text "the whole idea of the hands down your pants in public thing is that it is supposed to be 5 degrees warmer ha."

We also spoke about the tv characters whose lives you would like. This was prompted by an un-nerving story from Mary about how she REALLY wanted to be Biddy and Miley's child in Glenroe when she was small. Nowadays, she wants the life of Carrie in Sex and the City, even though she doesn't like the character. I reckoned Ken Barlow would be a good bet. What other man of that age still has such an interesting romantic life?! Other popular answers included Jack Bauer, Hugh Heffner, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch!

Do you have a type? And do you always go for the same type? We all had differing opinions on this one - Mary tended to agree that people always go for the same type whereas I thought that many people settle for the safe option, but lust after their so-called "type". The most interesting text came from a girl who type used to be chavvy-type guys, but is now into girls. Quite the change!

Read new Arsenal signing Andrey Arshavin's interesting comments on women here.

Today's Big Hard One:-
Clue: Lucy had it first, Ethel had it last, Mary O'Neill had it twice until she married Niall Power. What is it?
Ans: The letter "L"

Going For A Song:-
England's Rose and Friday night presenter is scientifically one thing leading to another.
Ans: Diana Ross - Chain Reaction

Tomorrow, it's an 80s Cheese or No Cheese, we have a chance for you to Get It Off Your Chest, and Tipperary is the final county on Beat the Bomb this week!

N.

In My Defence...

In relation to my drawing of a seahorse, I take offence to the term 'pitiful'. All present in the office agreed that it looked enough like a seahorse to pass. So I guess that's a WIN for me! :) Besides, my talents really lend themselves to the still life and abstract fields more than obscure underwater creatures. Keep the suggestions coming in! By the way, clicking on the pictures will enlarge them!

VB

Brollies, randy women and horses named Playtex!

The great thing about this job is that you really don't have a clue what you're going to be talking about from one minute to the next. The heading above is a good summary of today's show.

First things first, thanks to Anthony who made the suggestion for Win, Lose or Draw today. We asked listeners to suggest what Vinny should draw today, and Anthony suggested a seahorse. Above is the pitiful effort. Get your thinking caps on and we'll give him something REALLY difficult tomorrow!

Ciara from Carlow played Beat the Bomb this morning, and scored a whopping 13... putting her well in the lead this week. Aside from her fine score on Beat the Bomb, the thing that really amazed us was her horse! She was just back from feeding it, and the horse's name is Playtex. Wow. She claimed it had that name when she bought it, and it's very bad luck to change a horse's name. I didn't know that, but Beat Breakfast is an educational establishment each morning!

Did you hear about the man who tried not to tell a lie for a year? Read about it here. We asked listeners about the last lie they told. Lots of lies to children about broken electrical items, lies to partners about how big their bum looks, and we even had a listener who claimed she lied to her partner last night telling him he was wonderful at hurling, but he wasn't. Turns out she doesn't like the size of his hurl. Of course, some listeners suggested that the hurl wasn't the problem, it was the size of the pitch that caused issues.

The most heated debate of the day was regarding umbrellas. I feel that umbrellas aren't really needed in the snow, just in the rain - yet Vinny disagreed. This lead to a flood of texts regarding men with brollies, with numerous female texters saying it was unattractive, and no man under 40 should carry a brolly. Vinny is still sulking over it.

And finally, we spoke about the most unfortunate soap characters - who has had the toughest time of it? We couldn't decide between Belle from Home and Away, and Gail and Deirdre from Corrie. However, text of the day came from Anne who said "Gail has the same muppet haircut since she 1st came 2 Corrie in 1976. Tell her 2 stop going 2 audreys - its a shite salon."

Couple of other quick stories....
Is this the most miserable neighbour EVER?!
We're crap at haggling it seems.
And it seems that women with big chins are much randier!!

Today's Big Hard One:-
Clue: I throw her in the air, she falls down. I throw her down, she rises in the air. What am I?
Ans: A rubber ball/bouncy ball!

Going For A Song:-
Clue: Over populated semi has autumn around toes
Ans: Crowded House - Fall At Your Feet

6.50am tomorrow....be there!
N.

Win, Lose or Draw

This is definitely one of those ideas that shows how bored we were in the office today. So, Vinny says to me "What will I draw?" - and I suggest a duck-billed platypus. The picture above is the result. His drawing beside a decent drawing. Not bad considering he didn't really know what a duck-billed platypus looks like.

So, on Wednesday's show, we're going to ask listeners to suggest things that Vinny could draw and we'll put his pathetic attempts up here after the show tomorrow!

N.

Headwreckers!

Do you work with someone who just won't let you concentrate on what you're trying to do? You know like that character in the office in the Catherine Tate Show who just won't shut up? Well, that's Vinny today. I'm trying to write this blog, and it's just endless incessant chat.

Anyhow, today's show was all about the snow. Tips for making a good home-made sled, texts from people skiving off work, and joy from students who were missing their mocks! Of course, as usual, the snow had turned to slush by the time most people were out of bed. We agreed that while we all love the sight of snow, there is nothing more disappointing than the ugly sight of slush everywhere.

I thought I was doing a wonderful public service by advising listeners of the perils of snow, but Vinny and Mary seemed to find it all a bit funny.
Check out the safety tips here, and there's SNOW way you'll be in trouble. Oh, I crack myself up.....

There was more snow-related news on the show - with a dumb burglar who forgot that heavy snowfall = clear footprints.
Read more here!

Today's big hard one:-
Q: Only one colour, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What is it?

A: It's a shadow!!

Today's Going For A Song:-
Clue: Monarch of man's name flaming gender.
Ans: Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire.

Back tomorrow with the Lying King!!
N.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow......

There was only one main topic of conversation this morning....the snow! It was falling in Kilkenny and Wexford from an early stage, but it finally hit the Beat studios at 7.44 exactly. This is a pic of our Beat cars outside the studio in the snow!

Unfortunately, the snow led to absolute chaos on the region's roads - and good news for many with the schools being cancelled (especially good news if you were due to start the mocks this morning!!)

A new poll revealed the kids movies that us adults still love to watch. The results of the survey were:-
1 Shrek.
2 Pirates of the Caribbean.
3 Finding Nemo.
4 Toy Story.
5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
6 The Lion King.
7 Mrs Doubtfire.
8 Monsters Inc.
9 Ice Age.
10 Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Many Beat Breakfast listeners were stunned that the Goonies wasn't on the Top Ten list! HEY YOU GUYS!!

A funny thing happened to me over the weekend. I updated my facebook status to say that I wished it was 1995 again - and lots of people agreed with me. So, this morning, we decided to transport Beat Breakfast back to 1995. Mary remembered working in a sweet shop in KK, and starting to go to proper discos. Niall remembered chasing Spanish students - and everyone remembered the unbelievable heat that year!

Some listener memories included first jobs, having babies and baby sisters, pirate radio in the 90s, and even getting their first set of decks! The main news stories in February 1995 were Cantona's flying kick, the Lansdowne Road riots, and Home and Away was the biggest show on tv for Irish teens!

A couple of the stories we featured this morning on the show.....
Some more details on the amazing mother of 14!
News of why 8-medal-winner Michael Phelps is in trouble!
And some news as to why those big hoopy earrings may not be a great idea!

Today's Big Hard One:-
Q: What is always invisible, but never out of sight?
A: The letters "i" and "s"

And today's Going For A Song:-
Clue: First full day of weekend's editions
A: The Saturdays - "Issues".

Until tomorrow (if we make it in with the snow!!)
N.