After a
manic start to the F1 season (12 countries in 6 months) and many other things in my life which I will use
as a suitable excuse, I'm back to my blog! I vow to never let it go so long
without updating this and if there are indeed any loyal readers out there who
happen to come across this again then I thank you for your patience!
I better
get on with writing something to repay you!
I love Malaysia and have spent a lot of time in this part of
the world but I never fail to be surprised when I step out of the airport for
the first time and the wall of heat hits. Then we get into the hire car and are met with the NO DURIAN sign. I tried the pungeant fruit a couple of years ago and can completely understand why you wouldn't want one in a car. They stink and I wasn't a great fan of the taste either but you have to try these things!
We stay at a hotel that has its own water park, along with a
lot of the teams.It is the 9th
time I have stayed there and opening the curtains to see log flumes and a water
bungee is always amusing, and slightly frustrating too as we never get time to
use it!
The first thing I do when I get here is go for reflexology
in a dodgy looking place on the street. It is the best reflexology that I have
ever had and open until 11pm so I can even sneak in after work.In my job I spend a lot of time on my feet
running around after drivers and it is particularly bad here as Sepang has one
of the biggest paddocks of the season.
My other favourite here is reading The New Straits Times
over breakfast. I love newspapers and enjoy finding out what is topical in all
the countries that we go to but the NST is one of the best. How is it written,
the stories covered, everything about it makes me smile and that is not a bad
way to start the day, is it.
Sorry for the lack of blog but since I last wrote the rain
has been of biblical proportions! It means that today Qualifying and the Race
will be on the same day for the first time since I presented my first show in
Japan 2010.
Yesterday was a long old day mostly standing outside in a big storm for hours on end. It was deemed too dangerous for the cars to go out in but safe enough for pitlane reporters! Above is a cold looking me!
Below is the link to my diary from my website that I wrote
after my Japan debut weekend - it brings it all back!
We had a lovely dinner with Mark Webber in St Kilda the
other night. He is one of the nicest guys in the sport and the fact that he
took the time to treat some of us to a night out at his home grand prix – his busiest
week of the year – says it all.
Yesterday morning I went to a beach bar to interview Lewis
Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.Sadly the
weather was pretty overcast and cold when we were filming but in typical style
by the time we left, the sun was blazing!
It was my first day in the paddock of the year and it was
pretty full on. I interviewed over ten of the 22 drivers which is no mean feat.
The day gets broken down into ten minute sections and every ten minutes is a
different interviewee, although sometimes they do clash!It means you have to be super-organised and done
your research as you are charging from one interview to the next with little
breathing space in between.
We left the circuit at around 8pm last night and heading out
for a quick dinner on Acland Street.
This morning I came into the track at 10am which is not
normal for a race weekend but everything starts later at the Australian Grand
Prix so we get the benefit of a long-lie for this race. I will watch the 3 hours of practice sessions
whilst writing my scripts for tonight’s Inside F1 show that I present on the
BBC News Channel. It goes out at 6:45pm in the UK every Friday and Saturday on
a race weekend. I’m also doing some interviews after the practice sessions
too.Basically I can relax a bit until
the end of FP2 and then I get manically busy!
So for now I will go back into script writing mode and watch
some cars!
Melbourne has an amazing enthusiasm for food, coffee,
restaurants and bars which is great because I do too!
Last night I caught up with a friend who lives here and
thanks to his local knowledge I enjoyed one of the best meals I’ve had.We went to the Builders Arms in Fitzroy http://www.buildersarmshotel.com.au/in
the north of the city and the food was just out of this world. I love the atmosphere in these places and the
friendliness of the staff who seem to have a genuine interest in making conversation.
Today I went to collect my F1 accreditation before getting a
tram up to Bridge Street for a bit of bargain hunting (unsuccessful) and a
wander into the centre of town.What I
enjoy so much about the streets outside of the centre is that they all have
their own identity and thanks to jet lag and walking around in the heat, I
stopped for a caffeine fix and even that little uneventful break was lovely.
The cafe/bars aren’t chic but they have so much character and I could have sat
at the window for ages watching the world go by.
I have returned to St Kilda where I will attempt to go for a
run before heading out tonight for an evening of ‘tucker’ and no doubt a
beverage or two with F1 driver Mark Webber who is welcoming a few of us in the
Aussie way.He won’t be having any booze
as he is a responsible athlete but as I am a guest, it would be rude not to!
So after 24 hours on 2 planes I arrived in Melbourne.The flights were uneventful but I did get the
chance to watch the much acclaimed Argo and can’t recommend it highly enough.I also managed to watch 5 episodes of my new
guilty pleasure, Nashville. Not quite so high brow but just as entertaining!
I have visited here at the same time of year for the last
five years and I’m used to the changeable weather – today though the
temperature in Melbourne has hot 35 C. Now I know the UK is under snow so I am certainly
not going to moan but just walking around outside here you feel your skin
tightening and starting to burn, even with lotion on.
I always stay in St Kilda, near the beach for this race
which I am so grateful for. To be able to walk along to the seafront and have
breakfast in the sunshine is an amazingly positive way to start the day.I started the morning at the Beachcomber
bar/restaurant with two large coffees and some of the gorgeous fruit bread they
have here – think of the fruitiest hot cross bun – almost Christmas cake and
then put it slice form!I know there is
similar at home but it doesn’t come close to this! As I sat there myself watching
the world go by, I spotted a few F1 people as they start to trickle into the
City.
After a bit of shopping and purchasing of some neon vests
(look better than they sound) and a straw hat which will probably won’t get on
screen but will stop my head from getting burned, I hit the gym.Running 5k whilst watching rugby on TV was
really not what I had planned but as it is too hot to run outside then this was
the next best thing.
Tonight I am off out with an old friend and native
Melbournian(I am pretty sure that is
not what they are called!) and to discover some new parts of the City.
So it is time for the first pack of the season.A double header of Australia and Malaysia –
only 2 weeks away but 8 TV programmes, other filming, sweltering heat and
tropical rain makes it a tricky one when it comes to being sparing with the
suitcase weight!
As Britain focuses on snow and returns to winter, I am
wondering how I will cope with the 30c temperatures that have sizzled Melbourne
for most of the summer.The past few
years I have visited, it has been chilly and changeable.The famous “4 seasons in one day”.
Malaysia is always humid, no matter what time of the year I
have been there.The one thing I need
more than anything – frizz ease!An Afro
on me is not a great look but it is the same for every girl in the F1 paddock
so at least I am not alone.Big
thunderstorms and tropical downpours are the norm every afternoon at this time
of year but knowing it doesn’t make it any easier working in it!
I leave Sunday morning, dropping my Mum at the airport on
the way. She has been here a few days so I do get to see her on Mother’s Day,
albeit briefly.Then it is Melbourne via
Hong Kong eventually getting there late Monday night.I have films to watch, books to read and time
to think which is quite unusual. There is something very therapeutic about
switching your phone off for that length of time.
I am really looking forward to getting there and having a
day or two to catch up with friends, drink some great coffee, wine and get back
in touch with the city.
Lee x
Instead of a Melbourne pic, here is my theme tune of the day - Off to the Races, Lana del Rey
I have been pretty useless in the last few days when it
comes to writing my blog - so I apologise.I left
Barcelona on Sunday night to head to Geneva for the Motor Show where I was
launching the McLaren P1.
I have since had the most manic days! Motor Shows are more interesting than they sound. The car industry has been badly hit by the global recession
but there is a world of ‘supercars’ that is still booming. The McLaren P1 starts at £866,000!
After a successful launch on Tuesday I then hopped on a plane to get back for the BBC F1 Team Launch that
happened yesterday and it was the usual strange day of journalists coming to
interview journalists - something that I never really get used to.
We announced some great new coverage plans for BBC1 and BBC2 and our viewing
figures last year – despite moving to half highlights and half live shows –
were very good.
So on Sunday I fly to Australia and the next few days will
be getting organised for heading off and preparing all my books and information
for the season ahead. It basically means my house looks like a bomb site whilst I try to pack a couple of bags. In the almost words of PP Arnold - The first pack is the hardest, baby I know!
It is official. I have come out of hibernation! Despite the
cold, I put on nice clothes, went into London and got a pre-Spring pamper or as
I call it, a Lee MOT.
I got my nails done, a wicked (in every meaning) matt black
with sparkly black tips at Nails Inc . It sounds sinister but it goes with an
outfit later in the week.More
importantly, I got my hair chopped and quite short for me!My inspiration was the supermodel Karlie
Kloss – the hair was the closest I could get! Scott at Daniel Hersheson did a great job so now
I just need to make it look this everyday! My couple of days in the big smoke wasn’t all play though and I did
have some work which consisted of very exciting meetings involving
presenting on some different programmes from sport to music.
I also popped into the BBC to visit my former colleague Jake
Humphrey who was filming his new quiz show Beat The Pack!Randomly, one of the topics was Formula One
and Jake took great pleasure quizzing me over lunch in his game show host
way!Fortunately I would have scooped
the £2500 had I been a contestant!
Beat The Pack is
filmed in front of an audience and I always think for those who take the time
to come to these shows as a member of the audience, they get great access and a
look behind the scenes. It is not only a fun day out but a very good way for anyone
looking to get into Television to see firsthand how it works.
Here are a few links to see if you can go and watch your
favourite show live.
