Day 0 - Preparations

Hi All, time to start blogging.

I have been selected to be the new International Voice for the 2008 Euromilhoes Lisboa - Dakar Rally. Its quite an honour and quite a job. Not only will i be travelling with the Dakar, everyday for 22 days but i will also need to voice over a 26 minute programme telling the story of the day. Whether the 30 countries that the programme is sent to use it or not, the information i give will be the basis for everyone elses commentary.
The other daunting thing about this is that i am filling some huge shoes; Carlton Kirby, who now voices DTM on MotorsTV did the job for years before Toby Moody took over. Toby is one of the best voices on TV, best known for his work on the MotoGP weekends on Eurosport. Then came Martin Haven, again a Eurosport man who does GP2 and WTCC and finally for 2008 it will be me, little old me. I've seen the event on TV, heard many commentators speak on the incredible journey everyone goes through and yes, it was an ambition to once work on it but i expected that to come, like it did for my father, later on in my career not at the start.
So i am scared, i dont know what to expect and least of all my GCSE french has not been utilised for some 8 years, i'll be on my own with huge expectation and responsibility on my shoulders, i could blabber on for days....

I am also a little bit excited. For every word written on my Mauritanian visa, a little flutter was set off in my belly, for every needle in my arm, my stomach churned further, i may have got a lot to do, but boy, what an adventure. Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and for us, a stop in Western Sahara in a tent, and flying about in Helicopters and Hercules, it sounds like a great way to spend January.

I'm guessing the reality will be quite different to the real thing and thus it will give me good material for my blog, for now i best carry on packing and working out what to bring, i've heard the nights are like sleeping on a glacier while the days are like, well, being in the desert.