I promise to get up to speed with my blogging, but as I'm new to this (post #2), I'm still a day late (and, I guess, a dollar short). So I'm going to write about yesterday, Tuesday March 28.
It was fun for a number of reasons, but the bits I most enjoyed were two web TV guest spots.
The first of these was on Sky F1 HD's Midweek Report, hosted by the excellent Anna Woolhouse (@woolyanna). I was invited on the show to speak about matters of F1 moment alongside Adam Parr (@adam_s_parr), familiar to most, I expect, as the former Williams F1 CEO. More on Mr Parr anon, but before that, I have to mention that Anna has a remarkably firm handshake. There's no "for a girl" caveat necessary here: she really grabs your mitt pretty firmly by way of greeting and I can't remember being so taken with someone's grip 'n' grin since rally legend Markku Alen shook my paw in the Imola paddock a few years back.
That particular handshake is the single most memorable of my life to date, for Markku squeezed my mitt so hard, he literally made my knuckles pop – BANG! I can feel it now. In a world where 'smile, shake, chew the fat, move on' is the norm, Mr Alen seriously got my attention. Not enough, evidently, to be a man of mighty deeds back in the Group B rally era. If you are one of the original Flying Finns, you have to 'shake 'n' break, baby'.
It's not that unusual to encounter some serious palm squeezing over a race weekend. Nigel Mansell is another who likes to emphasise his machismo by crushing digits; Mark Webber is his modern-day equal. So, @woolyanna, I salute you for joining my small but glorious club of memorable hand-shakers. Next time I'll know what to expect…
So what of Adam Parr, I hear you ask. Well, I'm pleased to report that this feisty former Williams team boss remains on robust good form and is exceedingly well informed on all topics relating to the sport. That much you might expect from an individual who has fought a team's corner in such a relentlessly competitive arena.What you perhaps wouldn't anticipate is how hotly opinionated Adam remains about current controversies. Sadly those opinions must remain off the record, but for the record I'd like to state that his acute mind and nonconformist thought processes are a loss to the F1 paddock. He maintains that while Bernie Ecclestone remains in charge of F1, it would be impossible for him to return to the sport. But I'll wager he'll be back one of these days…
Web TV moment number two came later in the day, back at F1 Racing's Teddington HQ, where I chewed the fat with my esteemed colleague Peter Windsor. For anyone familiar with F1 Racing since its 1996 launch, Peter needs no introduction. He's our controversial, lucid, laser-insightful star columnist and long may he so remain. These days he's also engaged with hosting his own, self-started web TV show, The Racer's Edge (formerly known as The Flying Lap). F1R is delighted to have been able to assist PW with his endeavours to popularise his terrific (free!) webcast and I can do no more than commend it to your attention: search for 'The Racer's Edge' on YouTube or download both video and audio podcasts every week from iTunes. Once you've subscribed I can guarantee you'll feel 'under-knowledged' without it.
Peter, I should add, also wears some truly outstanding shirts on the show, from time to time, in true Forrest Gump fashion: you never know what you're going to get…
It was fun for a number of reasons, but the bits I most enjoyed were two web TV guest spots.
The first of these was on Sky F1 HD's Midweek Report, hosted by the excellent Anna Woolhouse (@woolyanna). I was invited on the show to speak about matters of F1 moment alongside Adam Parr (@adam_s_parr), familiar to most, I expect, as the former Williams F1 CEO. More on Mr Parr anon, but before that, I have to mention that Anna has a remarkably firm handshake. There's no "for a girl" caveat necessary here: she really grabs your mitt pretty firmly by way of greeting and I can't remember being so taken with someone's grip 'n' grin since rally legend Markku Alen shook my paw in the Imola paddock a few years back.
That particular handshake is the single most memorable of my life to date, for Markku squeezed my mitt so hard, he literally made my knuckles pop – BANG! I can feel it now. In a world where 'smile, shake, chew the fat, move on' is the norm, Mr Alen seriously got my attention. Not enough, evidently, to be a man of mighty deeds back in the Group B rally era. If you are one of the original Flying Finns, you have to 'shake 'n' break, baby'.
It's not that unusual to encounter some serious palm squeezing over a race weekend. Nigel Mansell is another who likes to emphasise his machismo by crushing digits; Mark Webber is his modern-day equal. So, @woolyanna, I salute you for joining my small but glorious club of memorable hand-shakers. Next time I'll know what to expect…
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Anna Woolhouse, Adam Parr & @Rowlinson_F1R in the Sky F1 HD Midweek Report studios
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Web TV moment number two came later in the day, back at F1 Racing's Teddington HQ, where I chewed the fat with my esteemed colleague Peter Windsor. For anyone familiar with F1 Racing since its 1996 launch, Peter needs no introduction. He's our controversial, lucid, laser-insightful star columnist and long may he so remain. These days he's also engaged with hosting his own, self-started web TV show, The Racer's Edge (formerly known as The Flying Lap). F1R is delighted to have been able to assist PW with his endeavours to popularise his terrific (free!) webcast and I can do no more than commend it to your attention: search for 'The Racer's Edge' on YouTube or download both video and audio podcasts every week from iTunes. Once you've subscribed I can guarantee you'll feel 'under-knowledged' without it.
Peter, I should add, also wears some truly outstanding shirts on the show, from time to time, in true Forrest Gump fashion: you never know what you're going to get…
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