Sidepodcast

The Sidepodcast House Party 2009

Credit: F1 Lou

The best Christmas card... in the world.

Last weekend we attended the first ever real life Sidepodparty, and it was a resounding success. The two of us gathered at Alex and Kat's house in London, along with Lou, Emily, Bassano, Pat, Chris and Fourstar, but we also managed to invite those who couldn't attend via a dedicated comment thread.

Additionally, we live streamed video from several cameras while a Skype conference call was set up to bring the farthest reaches of the globe into London to join the party.

Alex has spent the whole of this month entertaining us with the Giggle's Advent Calendar and he kindly invited us all to take part in one of the episodes. The finished product came out really well, and was a nice surprise to those who hadn't attended.

During the recording we did manage to sneak some behind-the-scenes footage of the recording in action (there really were a lot of cameras). Here's the reverse angle of the same scene:

It wasn't all work, work, work though. We managed to get through a fair amount of pizza, hot sausage rolls and some lovely cookies made by Lou's mum. There may have been a small quantity of alcohol consumed too. The house was a sight to behold at times, with up to six screens running live comments, including a rather large TV communicating via Wii-Wi-Fi.

It was without a doubt the geekiest party we have ever been to and it was brilliant. We must give special shout out to Pat for turning in an official Sidepodcast T-shirt. The message as annoyingly relevant today as the day it was introduced.

Credit: Christine Blachford

Pat W and Mr.C sporting Sidepodcast tees.

If you're interested in seeing more streaming party goodness, take a look at the following videos:

• Early party scenes
• iPhone chest cam
• Late night F1 gaming action

Thank you to everybody who made the day so wonderful. Can we do it again soon please?

Daily: 20th December 2009

Sunday has dawned and there is mass confusion at Sidepodcast Towers as we have already done one podcast this weekend. We had to host an impromptu F1 Debrief yesterday due to the sheer volume of news that has come in since our last podcast. That means tonight we can concentrate solely on the Sidepoddie Awards show, as we had originally intended. Here's some info on what is in store tonight:

• The party will get underway about 8pm GMT, with a live thread opening shortly before that. I hope you've RSVP'ed to let us know if you're planning on attending, and don't forget you'll need food and drink as sustenance as the party gets underway.
• We will probably play a party tune or two, so get your requests in early, and don't forget we will be looking for volunteers to join in the Sidepodchristmas Carol. The lyrics have been narrowed down to one set on the wiki, and we'll be assigning one line at a time to as many willing voices as we can get. Familiarise yourself with it, because we'll be calling you up later.
• Be prepared to get clapping as we hand out the 2009 Sidepoddie Awards to various deserving Formula 1 personnel. As per usual, we'll be expecting an A list attendance, but if the last few years are anything to go by, it'll just be Mr C and myself. Oh well. Get prepared, put up some fairy lights and gather the mince pies, because the party is ready to get going.

That should do it for now. I'm disappointed I have to wait an entire day for the party now, but it'll be here before we know it and until then I'll see you in the comments.

Let's Get the Party Started

Today is the day. It is Sidepodcast's IRL party. No, no, we're not switching allegiances... yet. We're meeting at the one and only Alex Andronov's house for a Sidepodparty - details are on the wiki.

It started out as a regular pub meetup but turned into a party with plenty of alcohol and sausage rolls. We know that not everyone is able to make it to Alex's house on such short notice, so you can follow along here, in this very thread. Equally, if you can't stand the party nonsense, the daily is your friend.

Firstly, we imagine there will be plenty of live streaming going on. We'll embed Alex's U-Stream content here, but keep an eye on the playground for other people's streams.

There should also be plenty of photos taken, so drop.io is the place to watch. We'll try and embed as many as we can into the thread. I think I'm in charge of the comments - I'll be your Sidepodparty correspondent for the day. Let us know if you have any questions, requests, suggestions, and most of all, enjoy the day!

Daily: 12th December 2009

It's Saturday at long last, and the day of the Sidepodmeetup/real life Christmas party. We know many of you aren't able to make it to the party itself, but we'll keep it as interactive as possible, and I'll be glued to the comments, as usual. Anyway, it was a busy week in F1, so here's some related stuff we're talking about:

• Talking of meetups, Joe has been mulling over the concept of fan meetups and how he can connect with you, the reader, more. It seems to be aimed at people who might attend a race, and who might part with some cash to spend some time chatting about F1. Seems like a brilliant idea to me, head on over and leave your thoughts.
• The FIA introduced a lot of information yesterday, including a revised calendar, confirmation of the new points system, and some revised stewarding plans. We posted a breakout thread on the story, and there is more info over there. The stewarding looks to be improved, but Abu Dhabi as the last race of the year again? Were they actually watching this year?
• Since launching his new blog, Stuart has not stopped writing, which only serves to make me wonder how much we've missed out on whilst he's been blogless. Nevertheless, he has some post-Forum thoughts from Monaco, summing up the experience nicely. I don't think anything came out of the Forum that was a surprise, but it's always good to hear what is said.

That'll do it for now. Let us know how you're spending your weekend, and I will see you in the comments.

Live: There Ain't No Party, Like a Sidepodparty

The idea for a Sidepodparty was dreamt up in the comments, and was originally just going to be a few people hanging out on the Live Commenting Live... Thing, and maybe playing a few games and chatting about Christmas. Instead, we have taken over the idea, and turned it into the Sidepodcast Christmas Party. We're live streaming the whole thing, and somewhere in the middle of pulling crackers and singing carols, we'll be recording a show. The Sidepoddie Awards are now an annual tradition (here's last year's fun and games) and no expense has been spared on the 2008 lineup.

Talking of singing carols, Mr Christine dreamt up the idea of a live rendition of the "12 Days of Christmas" Formula 1 style. All the information you need is in the Wiki, and we'll obviously talk about it when the times comes. Never fear, though, it will be chaos.

We'll be live shortly, and would love to see you in the comments. Forevermore, people will look back and recall where they were the day of the inaugural Sidepodparty.

Daily: 13th December 2008

Not sure what to write really, nothing much happened today, did it? Oh yea, except for Max's small press release that has changed the entire future of Formula 1. There's so much to discuss that it really can't be covered in a small list. We've already been arguing the pros and cons of pit stops, what's next?

• Why are Renault getting special treatment? Have they already given next year's championship to Alonso?
• Alianora pointed out that the new engine rules aren't exactly clear. But that's hardly a surprise when it comes to the FIA, is it?
• Should we all go and work at F1 factories, if they get to have six weeks off a year? Make sure you don't accidentally apply for a job on the race team, though, as they're getting whittled down.
• The FIA are suggesting that market research is the way forward for any ideas that Max didn't think up, so Bernie's kindly put a poll on his site. The only answer is no, if you're in any doubt, click no. Just say no, people.

We're also in the midst of planning the live Sidepodparty for next week, so if you've got any ideas, head on over to the Wiki and pop 'em up there. See you in the comments.