Tag Archives: General

And We’re Back… (Again)

  By Lukeh | May 31, 2012 - 9:30 pm | 2012, General
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That was an unexpected bumpy ride out of nowhere wasn’t it? After a few weeks of selotaping the website back together and making things work again, it seems to me that now would be as good a time as ever to happily tell you that Gridwalk Talk is indeed back for you to enjoy to your hearts’ content.

Back up but no Backup

So, what happened? Initially just after the Spanish Grand Prix it seems the database holding WordPress and all the generated content for blog posts got corrupted in some way which was actually real frustrating. Now I’ll hold my hands up and say I should have really had a back up so considerable fail for that, but it was still an unexpected disaster that ended up in the database becoming completely empty taking everything with it. Which is not nice at all, especially when you’re a bit of a numpty who doesn’t back things up. Luckily, I could recover content up to the end of the 2011 season due to the wordpress-hosted website’s ability to export what was there. It was a matter of recovering everything from 2012, re-creating what I’d done over the winter in the move from wordpress hosted to self hosted and just making things more efficient for me. Luckily, I’ve managed to hit all 3 objectives quite quickly which I’m quite pleased about, as I was expecting it to take a few months but the work I’ve been focusing on when putting all the content back in actually went a lot quicker than I expected which is really satisfying.

The good news is very good too. Thanks to the joy that is Google Cache I’ve managed to recover every post on here and even eventually got the comments working too, so if you’ve commented on a post over this year it’ll be back on that post too. The images included have been recovered too which is mighty handy, and all categories and tags for every single post have been cleaned up to actually work and not be so confusing. The previous issue I had with tags was that they never seemed to work – even though I spent a good month or two working on them over the winter, there were still quite a few problems actually generating the content they were linked to. Luckily, this is now working fine (or at least should be!). It may not seem much but it is when you want to see what else has been created for that tag or category. Most important of all though, the site works - I mean in terms of broken links being corrected and broken images showing, which is a fair old problem with old posts where old content simply isn’t there any more but thankfully this should all be looking OK.

Something Blue

You may notice a few new things too which is pretty exciting. I’ll let you discover them for yourself but they’re around the site from place to place, in text, graphic form, automatically generated stuff, up the top, down the site, hidden in pages, all sorts. It’s kinda cool and I just like playing around with certain things. The site itself should load a lot quicker than it used to as well which I really like, especially with generating category pages which was a big problem I struggled to solve over the winter. In the past a few pages got held down a bit by loading which was a real pain but I’ve cleaned a few things up behind the scenes and it seems to be doing the job. Oh, and there will be a very often backup routine too now. It turns out that might be quite useful. Hopefully there will be more new things across the site over the summer too. Exciting times!

So, welcome back!! I must stress that as much as I’ve through everything on the site (at least 3 or 4 times I may add) there may still be problems or bugs so if you encounter any feel free to just let me know or tell me on Twitter or something. Hopefully I won’t be making a sudden disappearing act any time soon again and we can get back to some F1 blogging in peace and quiet! Woohoo!

Bigger, Better and Bloggier for 2012!

  By Lukeh | January 31, 2012 - 7:46 pm | 2012, Feature
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Hello again! Gridwalk Talk is back!

First off, Happy New Year to one and all. As you can probably assume, Gridwalk Talk is finally up again and back ready for another wonderful year of Formula 1. Unless of course you’ve never seen GWT before and you were just looking for Martin Brundle talking on the grid, to which I can only say hello! For the past few weeks I’ve taken down the site though to refocus my efforts on making it bigger and better for 2012 and to not only make it better for you guys reading but more streamlined for visiting, reading and for publishing on my part too.

The biggest change for Gridwalk Talk is of course it’s now a self hosted website away from WordPress hosting and now with it’s own lovely domain at gridwalktalk.co.uk which is all very exciting. It’s something I’ve been wrestling with for a while on whether to take the site away from the convenience of WordPress.com’s quite restrictive free hosting options but it’s about time to take it a bit further and allow myself, as someone who loves to experiment with web development and learn more, to see where we can take Gridwalk Talk whilst of course talking the wonderful world of F1. So, welcome again!

You might think that upping the site in such a way may see me want to further it into a larger F1 based website but that could be farther from the truth. As a blogger, I want to blog. I don’t want to report news, or report exclusives, or just be a media outlet reporting stuff from the proper professionals. I simply want to share my thoughts on current events in the sport, create unique and interesting pieces to create discussion, and just quite frankly enjoy what I do and that’s blogging about a sport I love to bits. So don’t expect GWT to go changing in that aspect – it’ll be all about the blogging and hopefully continuing to create things that interest you visiting and along the line we’ll have a good time, yeah? Wonderful stuff.

With the car launches on our doorstep and testing not far away, the paddock is starting to wake up from it’s winter hibernation and we’re already approaching that first engine being fired up in the Australian paddock in March. 2012 is going to be a fantastic year and I only want to make it better by bringing you stuff that you can read and hopefully enjoy reading just as much as I enjoy writing it. The really wonderful thing about moving GWT into a self dependant site away from WordPress’ free hosting is the fact it opens doors to trying new stuff behind the scenes and what you can see too. Of course, if you have any issues with the new site and encounter any glitches or issues please of course let me know below or on Twitter. Feel free to say hello there too!

So, let’s get going with 2012! Welcome back to Gridwalk Talk!

If real life was more like F1…

  By Lukeh | October 7, 2011 - 9:34 pm | 2011, Formula 1, Humour
5 Comments

Lewis' checkout technique was always controversial but fast

…everytime we went out for a drive, we’d chat inside a pen about how that drive went.
…all the dashboard controls would be on the steering wheel itself
…Kwik Fit’s tyre sales would go through the roof
…you would have a fake version of yourself on Twitter.
…mechanics would be walking all over the road checking cars whilst they wait for traffic lights
…stopping at garages would be insanely quick, although whether we would be able to refuel is another question.
…buses and trains would arrive at destinations and timed by the tenth and thousandth of a second.
…all corners on roads would have a red and white apex
…you’d be constantly pulled over if your name was also Lewis Hamilton.
…all traffic lights would consist of 5 lights going out.
…Children’s programming would be replaced by GP2 and other feeder series’ coverage
…motorway warnings would be replaced by coloured flags
…going out for a drive would be preceded by several practise drives to put rubber on your route
…driving laws would change every year.
…Christian Horner would be a BBC presenter for, well, everything
…sat navs would inform us of the car ahead’s strategy and tyre choice
…buying a new car would result in launching it in front of your family and friends on stage
…television shows would always miss the good bits and instead replay the first five minutes several times
…Bernie Ecclestone would be Prime Minister and Jean Todt would be President. There’s a thought.
…standing on your bonnet fisting the air after a drive would be considered a good idea.
…once you park your car you wouldn’t be able to modify it or touch it until the next drive.
…all cars on the road would follow the same line around roundabouts and corners.
…there would be an obsessive desire to express rain is approaching from the north/south at a specific time, only to be wrong
…grassy country fields would be replaced by tarmac run-offs
…the Bible would be replaced by a set of regulations.
…watching your car sitting in parc ferme would replace Big Brother.
…family caravan holidays would take place in a motorhome.
…The Chain would be the national anthem.

Can you think of more? Comment below and let me know!

I Want My BBC

  By Lukeh | August 20, 2011 - 10:00 am | 2011, Feature, Formula 1
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Over the past few weeks’ there have been plenty of comments, blog posts, articles, fans on TV and crazy online petitions displaying the anger and upset at the news of the Sky deal for 2012, and how much it’s screwed the fans over in the UK. Don’t get me wrong, it was a huge shock and next year will be interesting for possibly negative reasons, but I’m not going to go on about that in this post. I don’t see why I should; what could I possibly entertain you with that everyone else has said in the last few weeks? Instead, let me tell you why I’m going to embrace every possible moment of 2011 I possibly can on the BBC and why no one I feel will do it better.

The line up we all love. Even EJ. Sometimes. [Credit: Mark Thompson

Since the much anticipated switch from ITV back onto the home of F1 in the UK on the BBC, the coverage has been absolutely awesome. Over and over, it seems the coverage has managed to get better and despite criticisms of bias, focusing on the same people and the odd thing here and there, it’s always made me proud what we have with the BBC right now. I mean, things will never be perfect and it’s obvious to respect that. Some things will always upset some people that others may absolutely love – it’s just natural of an audience as large as what the BBC get. I think back to the days of Rosenthal, Jardine, Blundell, Ryder (and I liked the first two!) and it’s such a gulf in quality for how well presented, covered and expressed the coverage is now. The effort isn’t just there because it’s expensive and they have to in order to justify the fee, but rather because it feels like there’s genuine desire to create the absolute best piece of motorsport programming in the world. I do believe we get that with the BBC F1 coverage. The VT stuff before the race, the build up, the choice between the commentary on TV and the utterly awesome 5 Live F1 team, the follow up after the race, the red button, and so on and so on… it’s just a hell of a service to be given.

One of the best additions to my F1 world was the decision to make Jake Humphrey the head honcho of the on-air anchoring duties, blatantly looking after Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard. When Jake was initially announced it came with much wonder, as he was very much seen as that BBC guy on the Olympics who wasn’t as bad as Adrian Chiles but came from CBBC. He seemed awfully inexperienced in the world of F1 to be doing the job, but if you want to see an example of someone sitting on a horse and learning to ride it instantly you got that with Jake. The man’s been a blessing for F1 presenting. Since 2009, his calm style, his experience in front of the camera, his ability to walk and talk of course, the fact he actually knew what he was talking about and seemed to love every second of what he did made him the perfect choice. Jake still continues to come across constantly on the screen and he’s a large part of what makes BBC F1 so enjoyable to watch. I’ll miss that every fortnight in 2011. It felt awful watching the awkwardness clearly being felt for the team in Hungary to deal with the then-sudden news before that race weekend.

It’s not just the presenting team that have made this era of Formula 1 so enjoyable to watch on TV though. Of course, the BBC saw the complete eradication of advertisements during the race but we get so much from the coverage. This ranges from the introducing videos looking at the latest scandal/news in our beloved sport, or the fact you can still be sitting there for two hours after the race watching a discussion on the red button. It just doesn’t get old. Even then, a few hours later you’ll find the Ted Kravitz stuff on the website and corresponding follow up articles from the likes of Brundle and co on the website on following days from a Grand Prix. It’s this constant effort and stream of information from what the BBC do that kind of shock me how much of a change it made from the ITV days. I realise this whole thing probably sounds like a huge kiss-ass of the BBC but what else can I say when every bit of effort they make for the sport I love makes me appreciate what they do for us fans?

It hurts knowing it won’t be the same in 2012. Honest to god, it hurts like hell. (Overseas fans, feel free to look at this and tut!) But I’m refusing to let that ruin anything this season.

What I say to you F1 fans in the UK is to watch every bit of what the BBC have to offer and just enjoy it this year. Don’t moan about silly little things like when they endlessly question Christian Horner (OK, you can moan at that) or whatever gets on your nerves, just remember what might be in the future and what we have now that works so well. Of course, Sky come with these big promises and endless technology. Yet I find myself watching their other sports like the football or cricket and it kind of frustrates me expecting Formula 1 to be presented like that. It just doesn’t seem right. Yes, it’s stuck up and obnoxious and I’m not turning this into an anti-Sky post, but I want my BBC.

There’s nothing I can do with the Sky stuff. The idea frustrates me, irritates me, disgusts me but I’m just a blogger with a single voice, just another Formula 1 fan of about 14 years, a number to the millions that make up the UK population. But I’ll take my stage on here and make every use of it I possibly can to make sure I can express every bit of gratitude and thank you for what we’ve seen on the BBC in their short time. When they took the rights from 2009 onwards it felt like an exciting new time for television coverage in the UKand like many I’m shocked it’ll be split up so quickly. But I refuse to be weighed down by the negatives and instead I’ll sit down next weekend at Spa and enjoy every second because what the BBC do they do best – making the sport I love utterly amazing to watch thanks to the way they cover it. So thank you BBC. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done so far.

Let’s just hope F1 in the UK one day find its way back home to its own bed and not decide to spend nights away at the rich hotel.

The New Social Sport

  By Lukeh | April 22, 2011 - 9:22 pm | 2011, Feature, Formula 1
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Jenson is just one of many in F1 now constantly tweeting

Over the years as I’ve grown up watching Formula 1 it’s been easy to notice how closed the sport has become as it’s grown much more exclusive and expensive in it’s ways. You have this paddock club type of stuff going on and media accreditation and this and that and all sorts of malarkey that pretty much stops the ‘riff raff’ getting in and whatnot. Although the sport appears to be opening up more and more with the likes of Virgin and Lotus constantly offering paddock tours and pit garage visits, there’s something for me at least that has changed so very much in the last few years about Formula 1 that has made it so much more human to me as a fan sitting at home – the social side of it, and by that I mean how much social networking has integrated itself into the sport and in particular the quick updating form of Twitter.

I’m a fan of Twitter as I’m sure you know if you know me well, and if there’s one thing I really enjoy about F1 now with the popularity rise of Twitter as a service it’s how much you get to hear from drivers now even with those crazy little thoughts you and I may get that you realise they get too. It makes the drivers seem much more… normal, if you get my drift. At the time of writing, I believe I count 16 or so of the 24 man grid that are actively on Twitter and sharing not only their thought and feelings but also sharing news and, most importantly to me, communicating with the fans that support them and look up to them. Of course it would be stupid to simply assume that is it – reserve drivers, team management, team personel, commentators, presenters, journalists, photographers, and so on and so on, it seems absolutely everyone from every part of Formula 1 seems to be on Twitter – and all for the better too. The Sidepodcast Twitter list does a far better job than I ever could at representing just how much Twitter has become a part of F1. It really does feel like there’s someone from every corner of the sport to talk to and hear from!

There’s plenty to appreciate about having such open access to these candid thoughts and updates as far as I’m concerned. For me I very much appreciate hearing what people have to say that you wouldn’t normally get to hear from – whether it be photographers documenting their journeys, experiences and thoughts about how they go about their job, to marshalls or pit crew openly expressing their feelings and what, it’s just that open link between us fans who may never have what they have and just getting the chance to be included as part of that world even through the form of a 140 character message. Maybe it’s just me personally wanting to be within the paddock that badly (as desperate as that sounds) but I just appreciate the fact that these people who are on Twitter provide the opportunity to get much more of a transparent view of someone who works in that world I look up to.

Another example of being brought into the F1 world! (Image courtesy of Lou Johnson)

Another example that shows just how important Twitter seems to have become as part of Formula 1 can be seen as it can in a lot of TV shows now in how it can be used once more as a link between viewers watching a race at home and those at the circuit, whether it be asking questions or getting involved or whatever. As part of the BBC coverage Jake Humphrey carries around an iPad  BBC branded Tablet but uses it to get feedback from fans, to pass on questions, to find out what people think and so on and so on. It makes the coverage so much more interesting personally having that extra degree of interaction, especially with so many people knowing of how powerful and useful Twitter can be these days. Even at either Malaysia or Australia, the mention of twitter got Jenson Button talking about his own twitter and following him which I just found kind of cool even if Jake only asked one question from the site!

It’s worth mentioning more than just the sport inside the paddock though, because the Formula 1 following on Twitter is absolutely awesome. There’s so many brilliant people on there that it makes discussions and sharing news and just finding fellow fans such a treat at times. I suppose this is just me broadcasting my own feelings about the service though, and I can understand if people don’t ‘get it’ or feel it has it’s place or could just be a fad. For me, Twitter is most definitely here to stay with Formula 1 because it’s never been so easy to communicate with the people you most admire in the sport and even better to have that chance to hear from ones you normally wouldn’t have seen years ago let alone heard from. It makes the sport seem much more normal, much more human and actually part of this world that this platform of feelings, communication and news can be so easily accessible and broadcast from. That added link of interaction between fans and the sport is absolutely essential for a sport that can be so incredibly expensive to simply watch and I just really appreciate the fact we can talk to the drivers, hear stuff from the team, find out more from mechanics, personnel and photographers and even try to contribute to the TV shows too. F1′s not the only sport to have such a backing on Twitter of course, but as an F1 fan it just makes me love it even more I think finally having this level of transparency it so desperately needed.

Finally, I mentioned it earlier but I do very much recommend the Sidepodcast Twitter list when it comes to finding who you want to follow in terms of Formula 1 related stuff because it is the most in depth list I’ve seen when it comes to the sport by a mile. I am convinced it has everyone and their mother on there.