7th-Nov-23, 03:17 PM
Due to ongoing serious health problems which I won't bore you with I have been largely inactive as regards actual slot cars since early June. So, as I have been spending a fair amount of time in bed with only crap daytime telly to stave off the boredom what is there to do? Anything is preferable to 'Bargain Hunt' and 'Homes under the Hammer' so step forward the 'Talking Utter Slot' podcast!
Being a child of the mid 20th century I wasn't actually sure what a podcast was so asked Mr Google and, after reading the answer, I came to the conclusion that it is what we used to call an audio cassette tape of some people talking! Nowadays of course you just download the thing from t'interweb rather than pressing buttons on a tape machine.
When is a podcast not a podcast?
When it morphs into a YouTube video which happened around episode 28. A podcast is essentially sound only so the series probably needs renaming but the addition of moving images is never a bad thing.
Having sorted that I fired up the tablet, plugged in the earphones and listened to/watched some episodes, most of them in fact, so are they any good or just 'utter slot'?
Mine host
The originator and lead voice is Scott Brownlee, retired Toyota PR executive, long time Slotforum member and former moderator. He also played a pivotal role in the history of the UK Slot Festival. He has been absent from the slot scene for some time but returned to the fold in late 2022 and started the podcast in question.
Supporting cast
Initially his sparring partner was Peter ??? whose surname escapes me for the moment but he is also a long time slot enthusiast based near Oxford and was one of the founding moderators on Slotforum where he goes under the pen name of Wankel Ickx. He has an off beat sense of humour which annoys some people but I quite like it. He is occasionally a bit derogatory about this site though, which is somewhat irritating as we often advertise the podcast on our front page which is a damn sight more than his beloved Slotforum does.
In more recent episodes other enthusiasts have also featured such as Gareth Jex, motorsport journalist Nick Garton, Dave Kennedy and the founding fathers of Slotforum - Doug Teggin and Alan Wakefield.
Content
Initially this was mainly confined to discussion about current events and slot car releases and they probably become less relevant as time passes. More recent episodes are much more varied though and cover a wide spectrum from slot rally via the history of forums to the disposing of collections. You can find a full list of episodes with description of content HERE. Obviously not everyone will be interested in the discussions in every episode but there is bound to be something in there to appeal to most tastes.
Criticisms?
Not much to complain about really. The sound quality on earlier episodes was a bit rough but that was soon sorted. When talking to his friends Gareth and Nick some in jokes about their local club tend to creep in which would puzzle anybody who doesn't know them. A few things could also do with a bit of expansion such as several references to the NSCC without explaining to the unitiated what it actually is.
Worth a watch/listen?
As a pleasant way to while away the hours while I was bed bound I found it great company. I really liked the way Scott doesn't take himself or the whole subject too seriously. There are well over 40 episodes at the time of writing so it is unlikely that you would want to wade through them all but I would suggest sampling one or two of the later episodes for starters. You may well get hooked, I know I have.
Being a child of the mid 20th century I wasn't actually sure what a podcast was so asked Mr Google and, after reading the answer, I came to the conclusion that it is what we used to call an audio cassette tape of some people talking! Nowadays of course you just download the thing from t'interweb rather than pressing buttons on a tape machine.
When is a podcast not a podcast?
When it morphs into a YouTube video which happened around episode 28. A podcast is essentially sound only so the series probably needs renaming but the addition of moving images is never a bad thing.
Having sorted that I fired up the tablet, plugged in the earphones and listened to/watched some episodes, most of them in fact, so are they any good or just 'utter slot'?
Mine host
The originator and lead voice is Scott Brownlee, retired Toyota PR executive, long time Slotforum member and former moderator. He also played a pivotal role in the history of the UK Slot Festival. He has been absent from the slot scene for some time but returned to the fold in late 2022 and started the podcast in question.
Supporting cast
Initially his sparring partner was Peter ??? whose surname escapes me for the moment but he is also a long time slot enthusiast based near Oxford and was one of the founding moderators on Slotforum where he goes under the pen name of Wankel Ickx. He has an off beat sense of humour which annoys some people but I quite like it. He is occasionally a bit derogatory about this site though, which is somewhat irritating as we often advertise the podcast on our front page which is a damn sight more than his beloved Slotforum does.
In more recent episodes other enthusiasts have also featured such as Gareth Jex, motorsport journalist Nick Garton, Dave Kennedy and the founding fathers of Slotforum - Doug Teggin and Alan Wakefield.
Content
Initially this was mainly confined to discussion about current events and slot car releases and they probably become less relevant as time passes. More recent episodes are much more varied though and cover a wide spectrum from slot rally via the history of forums to the disposing of collections. You can find a full list of episodes with description of content HERE. Obviously not everyone will be interested in the discussions in every episode but there is bound to be something in there to appeal to most tastes.
Criticisms?
Not much to complain about really. The sound quality on earlier episodes was a bit rough but that was soon sorted. When talking to his friends Gareth and Nick some in jokes about their local club tend to creep in which would puzzle anybody who doesn't know them. A few things could also do with a bit of expansion such as several references to the NSCC without explaining to the unitiated what it actually is.
Worth a watch/listen?
As a pleasant way to while away the hours while I was bed bound I found it great company. I really liked the way Scott doesn't take himself or the whole subject too seriously. There are well over 40 episodes at the time of writing so it is unlikely that you would want to wade through them all but I would suggest sampling one or two of the later episodes for starters. You may well get hooked, I know I have.
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