We rearranged our week and took the opportunity to travel into London from Oxford. The bus was pleasant and and speedy and costs a lot less than the train off-peak day return cost of £44 each on Chilterns Trains (!). Our target was New Broadcasting House, home of the BBC in London where we had managed to secure tickets to see Just a Minute being recorded. After a queue of perhaps thirty minutes we reached the front of the queue and passed through security to the light airy corridor beyond. I don't know what I was expecting but I had not expected to be face to face with a mocked-up Dalek or Dr Who phone box. Neither had I expected there to be a very large and lovely cafe. To the left stood someone presenting the weather and spread out below was the BBC Newsroom. Behind the glass a camera occasionally rolled along its track waiting for the cue to begin the establishing shot for the headlines on the hour and half hour.
(c) Andy HebdenRecording of Just a Minute was running behind schedule and so we spent perhaps an hour being bombarded by all the news taking place around the world - quite a contrast to what I had intended.
Eventually we were able to make our way through to the Radio Theatre where two programmes of Just a Minute were recorded. The rules are simple: speak on a subject for one minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation. It was really good fun and well worth an afternoon away from the office. As a day out it was up there with my school trip to see Blind Date being recorded back in the last millennium...
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