Euro 2012 Podcasts

It's been a week since the start of the tournament which means I've had the chance to listen to the range of Euro 2012 podcasts on offer. I think they are one of the best ways of gaining analysis of the tournament. Here's the selection I've been listening to in my order of preference...

5 Live Football Daily podcast. This is made up of the station's analysis of the matches on the previous day. It comprises of the post match thoughts of the commentator and summariser of each of the day's games at the final whistle and the studio discussion with ex-pros afterwards. It's shorter and thus more manageable than most of the other podcasts at around 20 minutes each. However, the 5 Live Football Daily would really benefit from including the goal commentary since this is the climax of each of the matches covered, but this might not be possible because of rights restrictions.

The Guardian Football Daily podcast. James Richardson, of Football Italia fame, presents the podcast with a number of football journalists including Barry Glendenning, Rafa Honigstein and Sid Lowe. They discuss their thoughts on the day's matches and inject humour at any opportunity. I really like the fact that Richardson interviews journalists from the countries of the teams that have been playing - this gives you a different perspective on the game. Because of it's length at more than 30 minutes you do get more analysis than with the 5 Live podcast but it can drag on a little and the in jokes are tiresome at times.

Keys and Gray on Talksport podcast. Whatever you might think of Richard Keys and Andy Gray, they do present an impressive show on Talksport in their interviews with some of the biggest names in sport. They podcast their best interviews of the day separately so you get a few short podcasts everyday. During Euro 2012 this has included insightful interviews with football journalists from the country of the team they are talking about.

The Game podcast by The Times. Gabriele Marcotti leads the discussion with Times journalists including Rory Smith and Matt Dickinson. The main difference with this podcast is that it is every four days and not daily - which is fine for covering the league season but not tournament football, which has new developments every day. I also don't like the way Marcotti presents it from a studio but talks to the journalists (who are in Ukraine and Poland) on a dodgy mobile phone line. Why not find WiFi and do it on Skype? However these are some of the UK's top sports journalists and do offer an insight into the game that you don't get on TV. I don't doubt that Marcotti is an excellent journalist but he can struggle to sound excited and enthusiastic about the football he's talking about!

Let me know if you've come across any other podcasts that cover Euro 2012.

Outdoor Gym

Outdoor gyms are being installed in more and more parks. One of the latest to open is in Penistone, near Barnsley, and I've been to have a go...

Why WI?

A room filled with older women singing Jerusalem, eating cake and drinking tea then finishing with jam making. Stereotypes are easy to come up with when you're thinking about The Women's Institute. But in Sheffield that assumption is being challenged as something quite surprising is happening. More and more younger women are signing up as members of the WI. The city centre Seven Hills branch, which started in 2009, is now full to capacity with 101 members. Most of them are in their 20s and 30s. So many women are wanting to join that they're now having to turn away new members. It's not surprising then that a new branch is starting in the Crosspool area of Sheffield, on the West of the city.

In order to do a report for BBC Radio Sheffield on this story I managed to go where very few men have been in the past, a WI meeting. The room was full of about seventy women, packed into a church hall, chattering away to each other, drinking tea and chomping on home made cake. This was March's meeting of the Sheffield Seven Hills branch and tonight the activity was tea tasting.

Looking around the hall, it was striking how many younger faces there were packed into the room, the average age of their membership is 33. As part of my report I asked some of the members why they enjoy WI. One woman in her 30s told me "I moved to Sheffield six years ago and I knew nobody apart from my partner. The WI has been a really good opportunity for me to get to know women in the same situation as me." 

So what attracts women to the WI? "Friendships, activities and tea and cake - what more could I want?" according to another woman.

As it says on the Seven Hills branch WI website: 'forget the stereotypes...this is WI for the 21st century'. The website details some of the activities they've been up to at their meetings including belly dancing and burlesque. Yet they haven't abandoned the essence of the Women's Institute - members have also learnt to make jam and still sing Jerusalem at their AGM!

Undoubtedly the opportunity to make new friends is central to the Seven Hills WI's success but I think there are other factors. Make and do and mend is not only on trend but also necessary in the financial climate with people taking up crafts that have been neglected for a generation. Vintage or shabby chic is definitely in fashion; these designs are visible on every high street and programmes like 'Kirstie's Homemade Home' and 'Handmade Britain' are raising the profile of arts and crafts and the Women's Institute. And ultimately, WI offers women a cheap night out.

If this Sheffield example of how the Women's Institute is working is replicated elsewhere in the country, its future is in safe hands - The WI for a new generation, acknowledging the old but embracing the new.

Here's my report on the meeting...

listen to ‘Women's Institute’ on Audioboo