Photo: BBC

I used to work on a show called Dick & Dom in da Bungalow – a Saturday morning kids’ TV show on BBC One which I totally LOVED working on. It was daft, original, funny, bonkers and a bit mad as well. 

The good news is that if you’ve been missing da Bungalow since it ended a couple of years ago, you can now re-live those magic moments with Da Dick & Dom Dairies. From my vague recollection I think there are about 25 episodes, so that should keep you going for a while!

You can see what episodes (if any) are still available to view on the iPlayer here, otherwise catch it at 8am weekday mornings on BBC Two.  I’m looking forward to seeing if any of my warped inventions have made it into the series. Sadly I don’t think Mr Corned Beef Head will have as he never really took off in the way I hoped

I had a very quick trip to London this week! It was strange being back in Television Centre, but good at the same time! I managed to pack quite a bit in.

In the morning I had a Children In Need debrief where we talked about how last year’s show had gone, and plans for this year’s. Then I scooted off into London to meet my Dad for a coffee then went clothes shopping.

After that it was time to meet some former Bungalow colleagues for drinks! That’s Jamie (with his eyes creepily half closed), Lee, Helen and Julia in the top pic, and Sam, TJ and me in the bottom one.

It was great to catch up with them and all the CBBC gossip. But I was a bit knackered seeing as I’d been up since 4.15 in the morning, so it was quite a tame night!

The next morning, it was back out to Heathrow – from Canary Wharf where my Dad lives, it took 2 hours to drive there which was a bit stressful, ‘cos I thought I was going to miss my flight. It actually took us an hour and a half to drive three miles! That’s something I don’t miss about London…..

Dick & Dom in da Bungalow – a show I used to work on which is sadly missed. If only work now was as interesting or half as much fun! I got an e-mail today to say that the boys DJing on a night – Dick & Dom DJ in da Club – at Turnmills in London at the end of this month, and it’s all in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. Sounds like it should be a good night!

I’m hoping to be able to make it myself if I can get time off work (it’s on a Wednesday) and sort out flights – could be a nice reunion for the production team. If you were a fan of the Bungalow, you should get yourself down there – it’s all in a good cause!

Get your ticket from ticketweb.

Well I was over in London last week for a course, which went pretty well actually. I think I learnt a lot from it, which will hopefully benefit me as I start learning the ropes involved with being a producer.

I also took some time out to go to Television Centre in London and catch up with everyone (nearly everyone) that I worked with on the Bungalow. They really are a great bunch of people – I feel I’ve made a lot of friends through working on the show, and it was brilliant seeing them all again – I just wish the night had lasted longer!

The only problem was that I started drinking about five o’clock and hadn’t eaten anything, so I got well and truly hammered very quickly. Maybe it’s just as well the night didn’t go on for longer actually. Apologies for anyone that had to listen to me talking rubbish, but it was brilliant seeing everyone again. It made me realise how much I miss working in London. There are more photos here.

P.S. Thank you Mr Hepworth for pointing out how boring my blog has been recently. I have tried to remedy that with some interesting posts today!

P.P.S. Some of the Bungalow team have been working on The Slammer, a new show which sounds like it’s going to be great. Check it out this Friday on CBBC ONE at 4.55!

One of the highlights of my recent trip to the US would have to be my trip to Chicago to see my mate Rob (who I met whilst working on the Bungalow), and his wife Marie.

That’s them in the pic above. I had a really great time staying with them for two days. One of the highlights would have to be the day we went into Chicago itself. I love big, busy cities, so Chicago was pretty perfect for me.

We started off grabbing a quick bite to eat in Chipotle (one of my wee sis’s favourites) before heading down to the Millenium Park, which I thought was brilliant. It had some really cool public art – like the Cloud Gate sculpture (in the pic above) which resembles a massive shiny bean. It was getting a lot of attention, but maybe not as much as the Crown Fountain – basically two 50ft glass block towers which have video images of people displayed on them. They’re in a shallow pool of water as you can see below, and it was full of kids and adults going mad in the water, trying to keep cool.

After a long walk round, we had a drink in the Signature Lounge – a bar on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower – Chicago’s second tallest building. It was very, very high up. At first we didn’t manage to get a seat at the window, but following an incredible sprint by Rob he managed to get us a table there. SuperRob! Slightly Scary Rob too.

A bottle of wine later, we caught the L Train to Boystown, which is the cool part of town which just also happens to be the gay part of town. We had a quick couple of drinks in a bar which was ‘atmospheric’ – right down to the middle aged blonde guy in a white skintight polo neck singing SHOWTUNES! He was loud.

After that, dinner at a lively restaurant called Ping Pong, and then off for some more drinks (erm, can’t remember the name of the bar that we went to after the meal!). Before we knew it, it was time to head back home – a bit tipsy, but not too bad!

The next day, I flew right back to Dallas. I was really glad I made the trip though – here’s hoping it won’t be long before I get to do it again – if Rob and Marie are willing! More photos of my trip to Chicago are here.

If you don’t know, I used to work on the Saturday morning show, Dick & Dom in da Bungalow. I miss it! Anyways, I got an e-mail from Dick (above) today to say he’s taking part in a cycle ride from London to Paris this August to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society. I’m gonna sponsor him with some cash, (as soon as I get paid), and it’s a worthy cause, so I reckon you should too! Click here to sponsor him and let’s raise some cash!

In some other Bungalow related news today, I got an e-mail from Bart and Simon (no relation!) – both big Bungalow fans – to say a new site that they’ve created about the Bungalow has gone live today, so head on over to the Da Bungalow Online and check it out!

I was hoping to make it across to London to help out this weekend, but I’m unfortunately only a week away from the show I’m working on transmitting (don’t bother asking what it is – it’s not interesting!) and also I’m skint after going a bit mad with the cash.

Anyway, if you’re in London, there is an extra 2pm show on the Sunday afternoon now, which tickets are apparently still available for, so get booking them!

Well last week saw the number of people in the Bungalow office sadly depleted as everyone leaves – to go to new jobs, contracts, or even as they leave the country as in Rob’s (above) case.

So to say cheerio (and to have one last Bungalow drinking session), we had a party (really Rob’s leaving do) at The Old Crown on New Oxford Street (great pub by the way). The usual drunken photos are here.

Rob’s off to Chicago with his wife Marie, and will be sadly missed! He was a constant source of inappropriate comments, and weird thoughts and ideas (most of which he said I knicked. But I didn’t.) He was a good mate for me as well. We did numerous road trips around the UK on a punishing schedule, as we auditioned Bungalowheads for the show, but we always had a laugh, even when we were arguing.

Good luck Rob and Marie in Chicago – you’ll be missed!

Well, that’s it! No more – the last ever Bungalow episode went out on Saturday. It was a bit weird to be honest – there were a lot more people around than there would normally be, which meant it was a lot busier than it would normally be. So it didn’t really feel like a normal show, which is probably a good thing.

We had loads of positive feedback- both internally and externally – on the last show, which is always great – nice to know our efforts are appreciated! Also some comments on the highlights show which went out last Sunday – what a nightmare it was putting that together – I thought it would never end, but the nice comments made it worth it.

After the end, it was off to the bar for a drink, then off home for a sleep before going to the wrap party. The party was great fun – and there was plenty of entertainment in the way of films etc which took a very humorous look back at the Bungalow’s history.

So, it’s a bit weird in the office now – everyone kind of packing things away, and people heading off to new programmes already. I’m looking forward to getting a good break – off to Belfast this weekend, and then off to the US the week after that to relax and recover!