Another long but enjoyable day at Somerset Sound - it becomes ever clearer that the best and worst part of the job is getting/having to meet people. In the morning that meant more vox. Amy said in an earlier post that she couldn't do what I do, and that's understandable, because I have a lot of trouble doing it myself.

My old claim that it feels like I'm intruding on the lives of people - by asking them what the best and worst things about mobiles phones are, in this case - still holds true. I often walk around for fairly lengthy periods of time before spying someone who looks like they'll talk, and I'm not one for taking many risks and gambling on shadier-looking types. That's something I'll have to change soon because the vox routine isn't going to go away in paid employment.

In the afternoon, though, I got to reassert my passion for the job at the cricket ground, with another England womens' international match on. I was there earlier this week, but this time we had a presenter in the commentary gantry and it was my job to find people for him to interview on the four occasions we were going on air from the ground - every half hour from 2:15 til 3:45. So I spent my afternoon haring around the ground, finding English and Aussie representatives for us to chat to. They included the chair of women's cricket at the WACA in Australia, the Australian team manager, the English ECB representative and the English team's media representative.

They may not be A list celebrities, but it was great meeting these people, all of whom were very interesting and, more importantly, very friendly. I also took photos of some of the fans for the station's website, leaving an impression on a few kids in the process. When they found out I could get into the pavilion and the players' area with my job, they started begging me to get things signed or get them in to meet the players. In the morning my job felt like a chore, but in the afternoon I felt like one of the most privileged people in the town.

Similarly, the other day someone in town recognised my name when I introduced myself, and said they'd heard my report on the radio that morning, which was nothing short of amazing and left me on cloud nine for most of the day.

On a different note, I'm stunned by what is happening in New Orleans. I'd like to think that despite what some might perceive as the degeneration of British urban areas, few if any people in this country would open fire on rescue helicopters if placed in a similar situation. I reckon that if somewhere like Liverpool experienced that kind of disaster, the British reaction would be entirely different and, dare I say it, a hell of a lot better. Watching the Channel 4 News tonight (by far the best news programme on British television), I wouldn't want to be a reporter in New Orleans right now either. With carjacking, looting and shooting going on, journalists are probably right at the top of the list of people whose cars can be commandeered without over-much remorse.

In similar vein, our news editor was cowed this morning by a discovery on an online message board. She'd gone on there (after much reassurance and persuasion having never used one before) to research a story about a girl who claimed to have trench foot from the Glastonbury Festival. The URL for the message board had been featured in the newspaper article (radio stations, especially local ones, largely exist to take whatever newspaper journalists find and dedicate more time than was originally necessary to it, not that I'm complaining since it's easier and more enjoyable). She decided going on the message board was the best way to get in touch with the girl, for whom she didn't have a contact number. Alas, on finding the message board, there was a thread dedicated to the laziness of journalists coming on the board asking questions for their stories, and how they were universally detested and should get proper jobs. Story dropped.