I'm Alan Partridge! (well, for a fortnight anyway)

12-Dec-10 - The oddest things turn up in December. I'd been invited a month previously to do a fortnight's broadcasting in Newbury. It was a pilot series for a company called Immedia plc (founded by Bruno Brookes of Radio 1 fame) which does in-house radio for commercial companies, international groups and, in my case BUPA care homes, of which there are some 300. The pilot was going out to about a dozen of them and was to run from 12-Dec-10 to Christmas Day inclusive. The programme was from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm and, as Newbury is a two-hour drive from where I live, it wasn't going to be practical to commute, especially given that we'd had snow at the beginning of the month and might be in for some more (which, indeed, we were).  After a good deal of research it became clear that nobody was going to rent me a room for just two weeks (besides, I hate house-shares), so, as I may have mentioned before, I am something of a fan of budget Travelodge-type hotels (rather Like Alan Partridge at the Linton Travel-Tavern), and I found one at the right price at Membury services on the M4. Day's Inn, it's called, on the westbound carriageway, but as a resident you're allowed to use the 'secret bridge' which connects nearly all motorway service areas but is closed to the public.

It was a 16-mile drive to the studios, but it was all motorway or dual carriageway, so less than half an hour. The staff were excellent - they loaded and unloaded my car, carried my bags to the room every night when I got back, opened the security barrier for me and allowed me to park close to the main door. The room was large, clean and comfortable with a good-sized work desk, TV with 30-odd channels that actually worked, and free wifi, and when the snow did come - a good three inches of it - and it was freezing outside, I was as warm as toast. All this for £35 a night

The only thing missing was, of course a bar/restaurant because the hotel is right next door to the motorway services building. Trouble is, it only serves 'motorway food', so my daily routine involved going to a supermarket in Newbury and stocking up on sandwiches, sausage rolls, and cup-a-soups (and wine, of course) and picnicking in the hotel when I got back. It worked very well, especially when I realised that there was a pizza takeaway next door to the studios... I did think, however, that they could have made a bit extra by doing a deal with the services to offer a 'takeaway' service delivered to your hotel room. I stayed in a hotel in Stockholm once which had a deal with a takeaway next door to provide room service. No doubt the hotel got a cut, and the guests got something to eat if they were in late. Just a thought.

 On the whole it was quite an enjoyable and unusual way to spend a couple of weeks and get paid for it, and I was safely back home by 8:00 pm on Christmas night, looking forward to welcoming the family, who were coming down for a few days on the Monday between Christmas and New Year.

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