Welcome

Hi there !

Following the advice of many people, I have begun to start my first blog - and here it is ! I feel like a guy who has just asked this beautiful girl to dance whilst the music was nice and loud and fast, and now the sodding DJ has just put on a slow set - my message to you the reader (or the girl in the dance scene), is to be gentle !!

I am an Irishman who during the day is a professional radio broadcaster and who at night turns into something very different ! I used host a late night radio program, which aimed, through me and a panel of guests, to run a fine comb through the news and current affairs of the day just gone and try and dissect what had happened and, more importantly, why !

It was called, ironically enough, Late Night Live and went out on the Irish talk station NewsTalk106-108fm (www.newstalk.ie) but because of the economic downturn, and worldwide recession, they (the powers that be) decided to axe my show, and make me and my team redundant !

I cannot really describe how that made me feel, but I CAN tell you that I left that room, feeling that I had just had a sparring bout with Mike Tyson. The news came from nowhere and caught me completely by surprise. I still cannot quite figure it out ! The show had just one 2 National Radio Awards and in terms of listener participation, we had the second highest on the station - AND all of that came with pretty much ZERO support from management. There are still people working in the station who are as useful as a chocolate tea pot, and yet they are still there. I could go on, but I would bore you to tears and put myself in a bad mood.

Anyway, since all of that, I have kept myself busy - and here perhaps IS something worth reading. If you find yourself left out in the cold, and you feel very very p*ssed off, then do NOT sit around and sulk and expect the phone to ring with Spielberg on the other end, saying he wants YOU to be his new star - cos that ain't gonna happen ! Likewise, buying lots of lotto tickets is in the parlance of a bookie - 'an outside chance'

Get active ! Do something ! I made a complete annoyance out of myself and rang everyone I knew that was in business and asked 'is there anything I can do to help you out ?' I have baby sat, done deliveries, drove a car to the UK, voiced some ads, coached others in how to use their own voice in their own productions, delivered horses from one part of the country to another, been a contributer on other radio stations, lectured in 2 colleges (and now one of them wants me to do more), taken photos for a book and I have got some great work sitting in for others when they cannot do their radio shows - the bottom point is, do anything that will 1. get you a few bob (no matter how small) and 2. gets you out and about and not moping at home.

I describe my current situation as like having a load of jigsaw pieces, but I just want to make one puzzle ! I have to say that if I was to go into one job tomorrow, I would sort of miss the life of not knowing what you're going to be doing tomorrow or the day after, but I would NOT miss the financial uncertainty that it brings

Here I must mention my girlfriend A, without whom I would be lost ! Quite simply, she has paid for our house, since my money well ran dry. Don't get me wrong, some of the work was well paid and great, but sometimes it is very hard to GET paid and whilst I would chip in as best I could and as often, without her, I (we) would be lost.

I fully realise I am lucky to have such a girl by my side, and I also realise that not everyone has such luck, but then I was unlucky to lose the feckin job in the first place !

If such a fate has befallen you (and it seems to be happening to a lot more people these days) try and be as positive as possible and although the future may not look bright, view it as maybe time to try something else. I know of one accountant who now works in a bar and loves it - he told me that biggest problem he had was telling himself that he was a qualified accountant and that they don't work behind bars !

I told him - 'they do now'