Long Weekend! Yay!

Friday at last, and it's still pis*ing out of the heavens. That concerns me, as I am playing an outdoor gig on Michael Street Saturday afternoon from 2pm as part of the Spraoi festivities.

What concerned me last night was the bloody roadworks Waterford city council decided to carry out in front of my house all night. Hence the picture of the day.

This resulted in a somewhat cranky show this morning. I wasn't the only one. A certain other Beat Breakfast presenter who isn't Mary O'Neill was out dancing til 3am this morning. Not that I'm one to gossip.....

We wrapped up our Debs Disaster stories this morning. We had another great story from Natasha, but our overall winner was Lisa whose date had to climb thru her front window because the door jammed. Lisa wins the party for herself and 30 pals thanks to Jack Molloy catering.

Next week on the show, we have a great prize! We'll be sending one listener and a pal to the Liverpool vs Stoke game at Anfield on August 19th! Join us Tuesday morning to find out more.

We had an interesting survey arrive into the office - the celebrity you would pay for a date with. Top of the survey list was Megan Fox, but also in there were Jordan, Angelina, Madonna and strangely, the three Top Gear lads. Mary said she'd pay for a date with Clive Owen, and Vinny would splash the cash for Sandra Bullock! Read more about the survey here.

Other stuff from today's show.....

• This could be an interesting surprise for your girlfriend on holiday!
• If you are travelling abroad, make sure you know the local laws.
• Are the yanks getting a little too concerned about a potential attack?!

Vinny's Big Hard One
Clue: If the only brother of your dad's sister had a child, what would the child's relationship to you be?
Ans: You are that person!

Going For a Song
Clue: Church attendant - affirmative
Ans is here!

Enjoy the long weekend, and we'll talk Tuesday!
N.

Never get on a treadmill in high heels!

Today's pic of the day is a rather glum looking girl with a personal injury. Our topic of the day was "strange and stupid ways you've injured yourself." This was following on from a new report you can read here.

Your stories amazed us. We heard about mothers falling on new cats and killing them instantly, women getting on treadmills in high heels, and the eejit who threw a hammer at his bed - which then bounced back, hit him in the face and knocked out his teeth! I feel so normal after hearing these stories.

We also heard another tragic debs story from Louise. Her fella dumped her two weeks before the debs, but still said he'd go. He then disappeared the day before the debs, leaving her distraught. Her friend found another fella for her, but that didn't go well either.

Anyhow, this prompted an email from Luke - who has been to seven debs, and worked in Black Tie for four years. Luke had some handy tips for any guys going to Debs this year - and I've posted them below!

1 If you make a date go and don't cancel or back out! Your only young once

2 You need to buy a crosage for the girl to either match the dress or compliment the dress. If it’s a red dress get a white crosage. Check with the girl first though about weather she wants one that pins to the dress(it wont fall off when she dances) or else getting one for her wrist (will fall off during dancing)

3 When you buy it, get it the morning of the debs(order it in advance) and then put it in the fridge so it won't die before you give it to her.

4 You need to get chocolates for her mother (not flowers your already bringing a crosage). I always used go about finding out the mothers fave chocs cause its easy brownie points.

5 I used bring a bottle of wine but its not necessary unless you want brownie points and want to get in there with the girl and the family. A must if you want the girl as your girlfriend!

6 Next it’s the waist coat (rest of suit does not really matter). This must match the girls dress. If your not wearing one then get the tie to match but getting the waste coat and cravate/dickybow is much classier!. If your getting a dickybow and a wastecoat just get them to compliment the dress and pray for black!! If your going for the cravate and waistcoat then you can get the full matching set (but if its red you'll look way too red) so id the colour is very bright your better off getting a complimentary colour in the waist coat and then getting a matching cravate.

7 Turn up ontime and just try relax as much as possible.

8 Bring money so the girl does not have to pay for anything ( that’s the main reason she asked you anyway!!)

9 When her feat start to hurt ask her does she want to sit down and chat away to her don't ignore her.

10 Always try show up other ppls dates by being as gentlemanly( not cocky or full of yourself) as you can (esp if you know no one there) it makes her friends jealous (making her thing your great) and it makes them talk to you more so your not so nervous!

11 Talk about her and what she likes turn any conversation back on her, they love it, talking about themselves.

12 Follow the above steps to a guaranteed a good night by all and I bet one of her friends that’s there from another school will ask you to their debs!

Some other stuff from today's show....

• All the info on Spraoi can be found here
• Bad news for the Bank holiday weekend
• Did you know that Bob Geldof discovered gravity?
• This is just plain creepy

Today's Big Hard One
Clue: I'm preceded by snow. Followed by floods. I have killed before and will do so again.
Ans: A Shaving razor

Going For A Song
Clue: Vertical combination of letters makes a short appearance in a film
Find the answer here

Join us tomorrow for all the usual Friday nonsense from ten to seven!
N.

The truth is out there.....

Today's pic of the day is a lovely little note we got from Riona from Carlow - who won tickets to the Pussycat Dolls concert, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks for the letter Riona!

Today's show featured men's underwear - supposedly, one in 8 men have underwear over TEN years old. Some of these pants have holes, stains (yuck), and are discoloured. And some guys wonder why they never score....

We also dealt with doggy names. A new report reveals that old names like Fido, Patch and Rover are thing of the past. Instead, names like Dizzee Rascal, Ronaldo and Kit Kat are popular. We did a mini doggy census of the South East - and found that people are very imaginative when it comes to naming their pooches!

We talked about moving out of your parents' house - and moving back in. We had some very funny stories of adults being reminded to wash their hands, mums leaving hoovers across the hall on a Saturday night to find out what time their adult children were coming home at - and my favourite was the 24 year old who was told she couldn't go out on a Saturday night until her room was tidy!!

We finished the show with a chat amongst ourselves about aliens and UFOs. We were meant to have a guest speaker, but don't get me started....

Some other bits.....

• These guys need a Code three if they wanna have a number two!
• Bet this seemed like a great idea at the time!
• Are you as tough as this?

Today's Big Hard One
Clue: Even if you give this to someone else, you still get to keep it. What is it?
Ans: Your word!

Going For A Song
Clue: Fruit with sharp vision puts this evening in the bank
As ever, find the answer here!

Talk to u in the a.m.
N.

Scratch and Sniff

Happy Monday to ya!

Today's pic of the day is a fancy buffet. This is because our top prize is a fancy spread from Jack Molloy catering. All you have to do is tell us your debs disaster stories!

Today, Dave from Carlow told us of how he fell down the stairs six hours before his debs and ended up in Casualty. He managed to make it to his debs hours late, in an ill-fitting suit - missing the meal, and unable to drink because of the medication. Not a lot of fun, but at least his debs date was a patient and understanding girl!

We want to hear more of your debs disaster stories tomorrow! We'll pick one each day and put you into a draw on Friday to win a party catered by Jack Molloy for you and thirty pals!!


We also dealt with the issue of forgetfulness on the show this morning. A new survey has revealed that each of us forgets three things everyday - and men are worse than women at forgetting things! This lead to a flurry of stories on the textline - including a dad who forgot to collect his toddler from playschool, and a pregnant woman left standing for four hours in the rain after her partner forgot to collect her. I'd say that was a fun drive home when he finally remembered :P

A cinema in Scotland is introducing "Scratch and Sniff" for a forthcoming movie. Cards with eight smells will be handed out and at different parts of the movie, people will scratch and sniff smells like cut grass, teenage aftershave and sweaty socks. So, we asked you what tv shows would be good for this - suggestions included Master Chef, Top Gear and Baywatch. Bad shows would be Eastenders, How Clean is Your House, and Ear to the Ground!

Couple of other bits..

• Having trouble falling asleep?? Only one way to deal with that!
• We've all joined in on pile-ons in school. Not a great idea if you're the principal!
• Is this good news for the lads or the girls?

Today's Big Hard One
Clue: Open, I am inviting. Full, I am winning. Green, I am steaming. What am I?
Ans: A house

Going For A Song:
Clue: Good French with short Joseph and Victory sign fingers have rubbish prescription
Find the answer here

Back tomorrow when we'll be dealing with Mammy's Boys and UFOs!
N

A bunch of chancers!

Tip of the day.... Never believe a word you hear from someone trying to chat you up. We learned this morning that many people tell fibs when trying to impress a member of the opposite sex. It seems it's now the norm to invent "fake hobbies" to look cool. We heard from people who had pretended they could cook and were caught out. We heard from people who claimed to have read books that they hadn't.

However, most worryingly... the most popular fake hobby was horse riding. Why? Why would you tell someone you could ride a horse when you've never been up on one?!!! Anyhow, we heard many stories of broken limbs, failed relationships and testicles like watermelons - all because of this fake hobby. Hence the picture of the day!

We also talked about people who claim your work or ideas as theirs. This goes on quite a bit in workplaces - and is particularly nasty. We mentioned this because of Gary Peach who claims it was he that came up with Neil Armstrong's classic "One Small Step for Man" quote. You can read more about Gary's claims here.

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

• It seems we don't need these anymore!
• Would you marry someone with the same name as you?!
• Fancy understanding your dog's woofs? Now you can!

Today's Big Hard One
Clue: A hole leading in, a hole leading out. I connect to a cavern that's slimy throughout.
Ans: A nose

Going For A Song
Clue: Every single person with exceptional holiness is beneath structure spanning river
Ans: Find it here

Talk in the a.m.
N.

Nerds and Ronaldo

Today's pic of the day is Mr. Cristiano Ronaldo with Siobhan O'Connor. Siobhan was on the show this morning telling her story of how this photo came about - and it wasn't easy!

She had to take four trips to Carton House, skip past security - and had Ronaldo laugh at her a couple of times before he finally posed for the pic. Luckily, her husband is a patient man!

This led us to talk about the time you actively pursued a celebrity to get an autograph, picture or just to have a nosey. Mary's long standing obsession with Fair City characters is well documented at this stage - but even I feel sorry for poor Leo who was only trying to do a bit of shopping in the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre when he was stalked by a giggling Mary O'Neill.

We also talked about geeks and nerds - and whether they are attractive. New research suggests many women would rather a geek to a metrosexual. Mary reckoned this was because geeks tend to be quite intelligent, and that can be sexy.

Some other bits from this morning's show.....

• So you're in a rock band, and all is going well until the lead singer's girlfriend announces that she wants to be in the band.....
  
• Is Ireland really ready for this vomit inducing nonsense?
• This is a serious story worth reading if you or anyone you know is planning on visiting Thailand

Vinny's Big Hard One:-
What has a mouth but doesn't speak, what runs but has no legs, and what has a bank but no money in it?
Ans: A river

Going For A Song:-
Plot of land belonging to an eejit - plant that produces a bitter fruit
Find the answer here!

Tomorrow, we're joined by Big Brother psychologist Judy James - and later in the week we hope to speak with Curly Watts!!
N.

Monday Mooning

Ahoy there!!

It's Monday, and I'm in particularly good form this morning. Mostly because of the sun shining (a rare occurrence!) - but also down to the fact that VB is on holidays. It's nice for us to get a break from each other, particularly after the whole Oxegen experience.

So just myself and Mary this week on the show - and we have some fun stuff lined up.

Speaking of Oxegen, if you haven't checked this link out yet, please do. It is footage of the Beat Crew going mental to Calvin Harris at Oxegen. Ray Colclough took the video, and it has become one of the most watched Oxegen 09 videos on youtube!

Monday's show dealt with the Mooon (hence the picture!) Today is the 40th anniversary of man first landing on the moon, and I wanted to know what you would have said if you were Neil Armstrong. Mary wasn't particularly impressed that I would have said "Up the Deise, boy".

We also talked about parents and technology. I had a very proud moment over the weekend when I received my first text message ever from my mother. This got us talking about those times when we become as proud of our parents as they were when we were little kids. We received some very funny texts about teaching parents how to use mobile phones, including one listener whose dad hasn't quite twigged what the alarm on his mobile is all about. Every morning it goes off, he tries to answer it and wonders why nobody says 'hello' back!

Couple of other bits from today's show:-

• An end to the most fun part of mass?
• This sounds like an episode of Hollyoaks!
• Are we all complete eejits to be spending a fortune on bottled water?!

Today's Big Hard One:-
I can sizzle like bacon,
I am made with an egg,
I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg,
I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole,
I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole,
What am I?
Ans: A snake

Going For A Song:-
Clue.... Males who run a store selling animals - confirmation of an immoral act
Find the answer here!

Tomorrow on the show, we ask if nerds are sexy - and we speak to the girl who managed to get her hands on Ronaldo over the weekend!!!
Talk to ya from ten to seven!
N.

Paolo Nutini with the Beat crew

Niall interviewing Jason Mraz

Great festival pic

Niall and Mary with a ridiculously tall Calvin Harris (who MAJORLY rocked on the Main stage!)

All of Vinny's dreams come true...

Em.....

Scooby and Shaggy

My Waterford hat

Sawdoctors in studio

Snow Patrol

Empty main stage!

Studio action!

OXEGEN BABY!!!

I only have time to say a quick hello because we're just out the door to Oxegen! We're not the only hardcore festival goers as we were amazed at just how many listeners texted in who were already on the way up.

Don't forget, Beat 102-103 will be a constant presence on the camp-sites so if you're there and you see us, then holler and we'll put you on the radio! If you're not, then stay tuned to your radio because we're the next best thing to being there!

Okay, I'm outta here. Have a good Oxegen everyone. Most importantly, have a safe Oxegen! See ya there!

VB

Will This Work?

So I've decided the best way to attract Una Healy's attention when the Saturdays come to Oxegen is to don a Tipperary jersey. What girl from Thurles - the very home of the GAA - could resist a man in the Blue and Gold of the Premier County? Dont hold your breath. I heard she prefers guys in rugby jerseys. Anyone know where I can get a Northampton shirt before Thursday? :)

We were a man (well actually a woman) down this morning as Mary was feeling a little under the weather. Perfect timing eh? Just a day away from leaving for Oxegen! There seems to be a bug in the Beat office because most of us have had, at least, the sniffles! It's now Lemsip and Viamin central!

So Niall has taken a turn against Daniel Radcliffe after seeing him at the premiere of the new Harry Potter film. His list grows longer by the day!

Most people thought my Big Hard One was a bit of a misnomer this morning..."What can be driven but has no wheels and sliced but remain whole?"
ANS: A golf ball.

Going For A Song; "Rubbish never pleased unless there's a downpour"
As always, follow the link to see the answer!

Back tomorrow for our final show before OXEGEN 2009!!! Talk t'ya then.

VB

How Do You Eat Yours?

Bizarrely, eggs were one of the topics of conversation on this morning's show. What started it all was a story about a company who are now selling eggs which are boiled and shelled ready to use. Now, that's lazy! Then people started listing their favourite ways to prepare eggs whether it be poached, boiled, fried or scrambled... It's the important issues that we cover on the show, fo sho! :)

Some of the other things from this morning, we continued our countdown to Oxegen. We spoke to the people at drinkaware.ie to the get the advice that you need ahead of a big weekend. You can find out more here.

Mammies! Gotta love 'em. We wondered this morning how many of you still get told off even though you're grown up and maybe not even living at home!! Niall and Mary admitted they still get lectures over their clothes and Mary's ma insists she "stand up straight" Haha! Have you got any more? Leave a comment!

Vinny's Big Hard One; "Only one colour but not one size, stuck at the bottom but easily flies. Present in sun but in rain, doing no harm and feeling no pain. What am I?"
ANS: Shadow!

And Going For a Song: "Huge show of aggression with incomplete condolence."
You can watch the answer here!

VB out!

Would Ronaldo wear these?

If rumours are to be believed, the Real Madrid squad will be getting down and dirty at Oxegen this year. They're gonna be in Ireland for a training camp this week, not too far away from Punchestown so we're keeping an eye out but certainly not holding our breath! Either way, we're trying to get Mary to don her Real Madrid wellies to attract some attention from Los Galacticos! I think they're rather fetching, and Mary's hoping Kaka thinks so too!

Also on this morning's show, Niall informed us that he fancied himslf as a bit of a Roger Taylor in his formative years as he spent hours in a friend's garage drumming away to Freddie Mercury songs with knitting needles during the summer.

We asked you what songs get you up and down. Btw, my joke about Je t'aime getting me up hasn't gone down too well in the office so I'll continue. This all came from Gary Barlow's admission that the song Don't Give Up by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush helped get through the rough time afer Take That's break-up.

Here are the regulars... Vinny's Big Hard One went as follows; Name a word that, when you add an 'S' becomes plural but becomes a new singular word when you add another 'S'.
Answers include Prince (which becomes princes and then princess) and Bra (bras and brass)

And Going For A Song; "One short Derek running after sidewalks."
The answer is here.

Have a good Monday! Talk to ya tomorrow when we continue our countdown to Oxegen! That reminds me, I still need some stuff...so I'm off!

L8RZ :)

VB

Happy Birthday!

It's been a week of birthdays. Beat 102-103 celebrated its 6th birthday on the 1st of July and today, Niall Power blew out the candles on his cake. He's a little older than 6 though. He's THIRTY ONE. He doesn't mind turning THIRTY ONE at all. Niall is THIRTY ONE.

Now, don't forget you can hear the best bits of the week on the Beat Breakfast Podcast which, this week, includes Gail Conway's one-on-one interview with Lady Gaga.

Next week on Beat Breakfast, we'll be giving you the chance to win a breakway to the Lake Hotel in Killarney AND one lucky listener will heading off to one a Manchester United Champions League game.

Have a good weekend everybody! I'm outta here :)

VB

Radio GaGa!

Pictured is our News Editor Gail Conway with Lady GaGa ahead of her gig at the Marquis in Cork this week. We had the full interview on this morning's Beat Breakfast. Interesting lady, although the New York drawl took getting used.

We talked about how "in tune" our parents are with popular culture. Mary reckoned her parents wouldn't have a clue who Lady GaGa is. I told the story of how my mother asked if I was on the bobo (bebo), and one listener told of how his mother was trying to rewind the dvd before dropping it back to the rental store.

Today's Big Hard One:-
Clue: What runs all the way around the house but never moves?
Ans: A fence!

Going For A Song:-
Clue: Desert watering hole builds side of house with Stevie
Find the answer here!

See you tomorrow for Get it off your chest, Cheese or No Cheese, and TFI Friday!
N.

It's Our Birthday!

Beat 102-103 is six years old today and to celebrate, we decided to get a cake and this is the one the boss brought back from Tesco. I know it doesn't say Beat 102-103 on it and it doesn't even say "Happy Birthday" and yes, there are seven candle holes (blame the boss!) but it was a sponge and it was delish.

So it's back to normal after the shock of Friday, although Michael Jackson's death still dominates the news. Some of the other topics covered on the show this morning included a rather divisive e-mail from a guy who wanted to know whether it's wise to tell his girlfriend that he's a former cheater, just for the sake of honesty. Opinion was slpit right down the middle. For the record, I thik it would be a bad idea while Mary thinks he should. Make up your own mind.

Vinny's Big Hard One went a little bit like this...I'm in rock but not in stone, I'm in mattress but not in bed, I'm in shirt but not in pants. I'm neither dead or alive. What am I?
ANS: The Letter 'R'

And Going For A Song... "Simply a bit of freedom for a former partner." You can see the answer here.

Okay, I'm off. Talk t'y a tomorrow! :)

VB