It's the fans who make Silverstone so special

This blog is dedicated to a lady who will be celebrating her birthday on the 20th July this year. I don't know her name or where she lives. But as far as I'm concerned, she epitomizes the passion and dedication of British motor racing fans.

Every year, our aim with the BBC coverage of the British Grand Prix is to convey the love, the atmosphere, the humour and the uniqueness of the event to the millions across the UK who would like to be there but aren't. It's our job to get you as close to Silverstone as possible. I'd love to 'borrow' one of Bernie's planes, pick you all up and drop you off in Northamptonshire, but sadly that's not going to happen!

Last year Eddie Jordan and I set out to do a BBQ for some of the 30,000 campers who help generate Silverstone's unique atmosphere as part of a feature for the BBC 1 coverage. This year we decided to do something a little different - a touch more challenging.

On Thursday, as it pelted down with rain, EJ boldly announced: "I started out selling smoked salmon on the streets of Dublin. I can sell anything!" So off we went to try and sell ice-creams, in the pouring rain, on a chilly and overcast Friday afternoon.

I had images of two slightly crest-fallen guys, a very empty field, and a grumpy ice-cream van owner. In reality I was blown away by the hundreds of fans who were literally soaking up the atmosphere.

One sight that really made me chuckle was the family of five huddled outside on a picnic table, eating fish and chips with only one umbrella between them. They bravely struggled on in a very British way.

Once EJ and I started selling a few ice-creams, we got to chatting to the crowd and the first person I spoke to about the race told me the most awesome story: She was born whilst her parents travelled home from the 1963 Grand Prix!

That race was won by Jim Clark in his Lotus-Climax the year he won his first World Championship. Jim shared the podium with John Surtees and Graham Hill and her story summed up what is special about the British Grand Prix: History.

It's part of the fabric of our nation, part of our culture, our past and our present, something that we can all relate to. Even the most non-F1 loving friend of yours could no doubt recall Nigel Mansell's heroics in 1987 or Lewis Hamilton in the rain 21 years later.

I love some of the new circuits and they have a place in modern Formula One, but all the money in the Middle East won't buy you history. It sends a shiver down your spine as you enter the circuit year after year.

Take a look at the video here and remember that this was filmed last Friday, 24 hours before there was any competitive action on the track!

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Without the fans the British Grand Prix wouldn't be what it is and the same applies to the BBC's F1 coverage. It's you, the viewer, that make it. So it was great to jump on a three-seater bicycle with David Coulthard, a two-time Silverstone winner and Eddie to get around the campsites and local villages.

David made a great point, that as an F1 driver you never really appreciate this level of fanaticism as you arrive by helicopter, leave by helicopter, and the rest of the time you're just focused on delivering on the track.

By Thursday morning at 9am the fields were each like mini-metropolises. People not only had their tents up, but there were fully-stocked kitchen areas, communal living spaces where all the fans could get together and talk F1. Not to mention Coulthard flags, Jordan flags and many of the tents were daubed with a certain driver or team name...serious planning had gone into the whole thing. And they still had time to push us out of the mud!

Many of those campers have been doing it for years and have spent plenty of money cheering on DC or the Jordan team over the years, so it was great that we were able to get their heroes on the back of my bike to meet the people who make F1 so special.

The only slightly confusing moment was when the family in their pyjamas referred to EJ as 'Sexy Eddie', neither DC nor myself quite understood it!

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So while it's fans, old and new, and the sense that you are connecting with history by being at Silverstone. It's still essential that the old girl can compete with the Abu Dhabis and Singapores of this world. And that leads me onto the Silverstone Wing.

It did feel odd shifting the whole focus of the circuit away from the old pits/paddock complex but it's a bold move that the BRDC has been applauded for.

I remember watching one of the Red Bull's pit during the race and as the camera panned along the pitlane, following the car, I couldn't believe it was Silverstone that we were looking at.

There will most definitely be changes and it may be that the focus of the in-field section moves towards the new building. There is a view that Silverstone must avoid a 'them and us' situation where the privileged minority in the paddock with the drivers and cars whilst the fans are in a totally different place. I'd also expect the pit-lane order to change so the grandstand can see the fast teams doing their stops.

However, I think this year's race goes down as a huge success. Building a new pit complex and putting in the infrastructure to match, however, wouldn't have made it a weekend to remember. It was the fact that despite the inevitable, slow march of time meaning Silverstone has to change - one thing remained. The fans, and it is they who truly make Silverstone a race weekend to remember.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/07/its_the_fans_who_make_silverst.html

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Food trucks for August 6 match vs TFC

Supporters are encouraged to follow each of the five food trucks on Twitter. Ticket plans and game packages, as well as individual game tickets, are available for purchase at dcunited.com/tickets

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Lady Gaga Dishes On New Music Video

Clip, likely for 'You And I,' is about how 'when you're away from someone you love, it's torture,' Gaga says.
By Jocelyn Vena


Lady Gaga
Photo: FilmMagic

Lady Gaga is giving her little monsters some juicy details about her forthcoming music video, which she just shot in Nebraska. While she never confirms or denies that the video is for her track "You And I," reading between the lines gives it all away.

"Well, I shot my new music video here," she dished to Omaha radio station 94.1, hearing the track on the radio for the first time. "I've got to tell you, I don't think there's anything hotter than being in a cornfield in Nebraska.

"It was so sweet, and I looked out and it's so beautiful, that tall corn. ... Then all of a sudden you start to see these monsters pop up. I love this place so much, and it really comes from a genuine place. The person who I wrote this song about has been my buddy and my best friend since I was 19 years old, and he's from here," she added of her pal Luc Carl. "And I love this state so much."

While not revealing whether a previously promised mermaid will make a cameo, she did share quite a lot about the plot for the video.

"Well, it was actually kind of perfect the way it worked out 'cause the premise of the video is that I've walked all the way from New York City to Nebraska to get him back," she said. "I'm walking with no luggage and no nothing and it's just me and my ankles are bleeding a little bit and there's grass stuck in my shoes and I've got this outfit on and it's real sort of New York clothing and I'm sprinting.

"And the [video is about the] idea that when you're away from someone you love, it's torture," she continued. "I knew I wanted the video to be about me sprinting back and walking hundreds of thousands of miles to get him back."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1667921/lady-gaga-you-and-i-music-video.jhtml

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Bruno Mars Says VMA Win Would Be 'Coolest Thing Ever'

'The Lazy Song' clip is up against Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and LMFAO for Best Choreography.
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Bruno Mars
Photo: MTV News

Bruno Mars' heartfelt clip for "Grenade" is up for three Moonmen at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards: Video of the Year, Best Male Video and Best Pop Video. He's obviously very excited by these three nods, but it's his fourth that really gets "The Lazy Song" singer going.

He can't wait to see if he can beat out Beyoncé ("Run the World (Girls)"), Britney Spears ("Till the World Ends"), Lady Gaga ("Judas") and LMFAO ("Party Rock Anthem") for Best Choreography for his track about just wanting to stay home and chill out.

"You know what I'm excited for? As much as I put blood, sweat and tears into 'Grenade,' I'm excited for 'The Lazy Song,' Best Choreography," he dished to MTV News. "That is amazing."

In the video, Bruno is captured hanging out at home, dancing around his living room and monkeying around with a few, well, monkeys. "I called up my friends the Poreotics [from 'America's Best Dance Crew'] and we shot this and choreographed this in one day," he recalled of the fun video. "And I think that would be the coolest thing ever if I went home and saw a Moonman that said: Best Choreography, Bruno Mars, 'The Lazy Song.' "

As silly and ironic as it seems for the singer to win the award for that track, he did put a lot of the same "blood, sweat and tears" into it as he did for "Grenade." "We worked really hard on it, and we wanted to give people something to laugh at and show personality in the song and what we're talking about," he said. " 'The Lazy Song' is not necessarily the song you want to hear in the club, but we put our monkey dance to it."

The 28th annual will air live on Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for your favorites in the general categories by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668478/bruno-mars-the-lazy-song-vma.jhtml

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