gareth bouch :: stuff & things

Just got the Stick out of hibernation today. Something else I have neglected a bit. Been checking all the music software is up to date and in good working order on the Mac so I can spend some of the long winter nights doing some useful noise making…
Results will be posted here.

Oh and this is my first post from the WordPress iPad app, so I hope it comes out nicely formatted. Or there’ll be trouble….

…of several months…

It’s strange the way communications shift. Changes in Facebook, extra input for my business and my sites on Twitter, other things too – all can shift your attention away from other platforms.
And to be honest, your own blog is where you have the most control – no character limits, no formatting restrictions. And yet I’ve been away.
Certainly feels like neglect and so I’m trying to resolve to post here more often.
Maybe not long posts or hugely long posts, but something that is allowed the space to articulate better than a Tweet for instance.
I’m not doing that today, but I will for now add a pic of Sandy Bay, Porthcawl, where we walk the dogs. It’s always good for pictures – I’m posting on Facebook and Flickr my ongoing shots of scenes and abstracts, and here’s one now – treated with the awesome Snapseed iOS App – of a view across the beach – lots of tilt shift accentuating brightness and grass texture.

Although it’s widely accepted I’m a complete Alvaro Bautista nut, I have no illusions about his championship chances this season, and I’ve always cheerd on other riders too. One rider I loved and cheered for in the top class right from his slightly ragged first season in 2006 is Aussie boy Casey Stoner. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but then plenty of people always have something to say about Dani Pedrosa or Jorge Lorenzo too. You just can’t please everyone.
Casey is a mercurial talent and a hard worker, and can work miracles when all things line up with the bike… He did a moster job of taming the Ducati to stomp through 2007 to the MotoGP title.
And this season he could well be something of a favourite again. Certainly I’m going to be rooting for him at the front of the field and I hope on the top of the podium.
He’s looking cool and confident – and fast – on the bike so far; and he’s also looking quite dapper in the new Repsol kit including some nifty aboriginal designs worked into his orangey Alpinestars boots and gloves, which because of how they look from anything other than extreme close-up has already bagged him the nickname “Tiger Paws” for 2011.

All of which is basically a preamble into a nice interview released by the Repsol Media service on the back of the testing in Sepang and ahead of the final Qatar pre-season tests.
Enjoy… Read the rest of this entry »

Just thought I should post up a quick little update, something that I’ve covered over at the VROOM website – which is that I’ve just launched the new Official website & online fanclub for Moto2 rider Scott Redding; this website is at scottredding45.com

Scott has a new manager – the charismatic and excellent Michael Bartholemy, boss of the Marc VDS Racing Team that Scott rides for in the MotoGP Moto2 championship – and he is very much in favour of doing great things online for Scott.
Getting the new official website up and running is just the first step, and I’m looking forward to being involved in taking all this stuff forward and developing a really great online presence for a really really talented guy.

As well as news, photos, videos and results, the site also has a section for Fanclub members only with exclusive downloads and great competitions. Merchandise will follow soon.

It’s great to be a part of this, and another step for VROOM in developing its Motorsports arm.
To go to the new official Scott Redding website click here…

Whilst covering the final round of the 2010 MotoGP season at Valencia in November, I was lucky enough to score an amazing interview with Sergi Sendra – he’s the Director of Dorna Sports TV Production, and I’d spent a while organising the interview so that I could publish a feature across my various MotoGP sites on the story of just what it takes to produce the international MotoGP TV feed.

He was a great guy, incredibly helpful, and it was a fascinating hour or so of learning a great deal about a subject close to my heart.
It’s a nice long read, and if you’ve any interest in MotoGP or TV production, then I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Here goes…
Read the rest of this entry »