Shattered

We are now roughly halfway through the upgrade to our digital audio system at work, and are at the rather trying stage of having some equipment changed over and some not. As anyone with some knowledge of digital sound will know, mixed sampling rates are a Very Bad Thing. One producer colleague remarked that I had the patience of a saint when persevering with a technical issue. I told him it's a basic requirement of the job when you're a Studio Manager. To let off steam tonight, after I'd done the prep and transmission of Front Row on Radio 4, I went for a rare meal out with my workmate Sue. Hopefully we have set the world to rights a bit now, though I am completely shattered and it's only Wednesday!

I went for a 30-minute leg-stretch to Carnaby Street and back during my rest break this afternoon. The shattered-looking Union Jack stretched across it seemed to symbolise the probable repercussions of a "Yes" vote in the fast-approaching Scottish independence referendum. The news programmes are really stepping up their coverage this week, with analysis of what might happen in each of the two possible scenarios after the results are declared. The final outcome of this vote is historically momentous and incredibly important. It will affect deeply the lives of 5 million Scots and many, many millions more of us who live in the rest of the UK too.