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A box of electronics no bigger than a cigarette packet, a couple of AA batteries and a wire up your shirt. You'd think you wouldn't forget it was on your person, but in this businesses the stories of how people get caught out by a are legion.

As a matter of course when we finish filming I try and get the mic off an interviewee as soon as we're done.

It's partly out of self preservation. I have unfortunately witnessed the aural delights of a guest popping to the loo and forgetting they were still wired for sound. I can confirm that women also break wind with abandon when they think no one is listening.

It's difficult to look people in the eye when you have observed them " au naturelle". Worse still you can't really tell them or else it gets even more embarrassing.

Obviously I won't be naming names.

On the other hand you can get valuable intelligence from the unobtrusive microphone that listens to someone's every word.

On many occasions we have heard contributors muttering in no uncertain terms about us TV reporters after we've given them a grilling. Sometimes it's good to know how someone really feels about you. On these occasions it can be great fun telling them you've overheard exactly what they said.

And to prove we're all fallible; I too have fallen foul of forgetting the radio mic is happily broadcasting private comments very publicly.

TV crews get a bit competitive. After a long day it was down the pub and I struggled valiantly to keep up with the rounds of beer. Let's just say I got the worse for wear and during the night I ended up calling my maker on the big white porcelain telephone - several times.

Next morning, filming with the same crew, I glibly made out the many pints had been a mere trifle to a man of my calibre. However in a break I called a friend and spilled the beans about my near death experience after drinking too much on an empty stomach.

You've guessed it; my phone confession was overheard by the radio mic.

Inevitable ridicule and humiliation followed. I was cut down to size and rightly so.

Gordon Brown wasn't the first and he won't be the last to get caught out by the eavesdropping microphone that we really should know is always on.

ADDITION - Saturday 01 May 2010:
It was difficult finding a suitable web snippet relevant to this blog's topic, but this morning I found it. . Enjoy.

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I am ending the week full of beans, yet dog-tired at the same time.

In the middle of the night I have had a clandestine rendezvous with Look North weather forecaster Trai Anfield.

Sadly it's not as saucy as it sounds. We are working together on a documentary and this week we had the task of chasing one of the last frosts of the season.

It meant getting up at two in the morning, donning thermal underwear and filling a flask full of hot tea. Not very sexy stuff I'm sure you'll agree.

I seemed to be doing quite well on only four hours sleep, but then there was every reason to feel alive even before the sun crept above the horizon.

As well as spotting a fox bobbing along a field (is that a foxtrot?) there were the regular gentle hoots from a couple of owls to keep us company.

As their nocturnal call faded away nature continued to provide a musical accompaniment to the rising of the sun. The percussion section struck up next with the tap-tap-tap of a . Here I was freezing my bits off and coming over all and in one fell swoop.

The temperatures only just about got down to freezing, but it felt colder. There was a ground frost and we'd achieved our goal. However the forecast for the following night was even better. So I repeated the whole thing again.

This time, even more tired and yet even more invigorated by nature, I thought I'd spotted an exclusive.

There was a strange ribbon of black hanging in the air over Durham Cathedral set against a clear blue morning sky. Had I found the first true evidence of the over the UK?

I grabbed my camera and snapped away. And then I smelled it - not the sulphurous odour of the Icelandic volcano, but the acrid stench of rubber.

, but was still smouldering and it was casting a morning shroud over the city.

No exclusive, but I had recorded a frost of minus 5.5 degrees. To me that low was a real high as it was part of an experiment to demonstrate a peculiar weather phenomenon. All will be revealed when the finished programme hits the airwaves later this year.

In the meantime if you're still suffering from the winter blues can I recommend you set your alarm for the early hours and just get out into the countryside. Spring really will put a spring in your step.

As usual I leave you with something quirky and relevant to this week's blog entry. A video of a fox in the freezing snow doing something quite remarkable.

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The alarm went off at 05:00 this morning. It is an ear-piercing shrill tone from hell. With me you need that kind of aural menace. I can sleep though most things but not this alarm.

I had to be up because I'd set myself the target of seeing the sun rise this morning. With the high above the UK it promised to be a special dawn.

I chose a spot near and right on cue an orange glow started to emerge on the horizon. As you can see it was worth it.

I was filming it for a programme to go out later in the year. Although I'm a producer I do some elementary filming myself. If you're into photography you'll know getting the sun as it rises or sets is not easy.

For the anoraks: I eventually settled for ND2 settings at F11. We use Sony Z1's. Eventually the sequence will be speeded up, but it should look good.

An inquisitive seal popped his head above the water to see what I was up to for a while but he seemd more interested in finding his breakfast. Sat on the cliff edge I was contemplating something similar but less fishy.

Being up and about that time in the morning was beautiful and relaxing even without the spectacular light show on offer, but it was noticeable how tranquil it was.

Aircraft use the lighthouse as a marker for their final approach into , but of course this morning there wasn't a single plane in the sky. The only sound was the lapping of the water on the shore and bird calls as they flew across the bay.

I was up at the airport yesterday and as well as the empty check-in desks inside it really was eerie how quiet the place was outside. Not a single aircraft engine running, no lorries reversing to the tune of an annoying beeper, no luggage trolleys noisily trundling along pavements.

All the roar and crackle of the volcano hundreds of miles away not only closed the UK airways down, it made it a quieter place for all of us.

Every cloud does have a silver lining.

And my regular bit of blog madness. . If you are thinking of going in a plane would you want this guy as your pilot - or is it all a fake?

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The Easter break gave way to the much anticipated .

I'm a bit of a political anorak and normally I'd be getting all excited about a general election but my mind has been elsewhere this week.

The reason is I'm now a weather anorak. To me the latest forecast is now more engrossing than Dimbleby's .

I've been asked to work on a special programme which will air later this year, but without giving too much away the whole shoot is weather dependent.

I was in yesterday taking a delightful walk amongst the wild daffodils with my camera.

Whereas it had been raining in Great Ayton and I was tempted to turn back, I perservered knowing that this pleasant dale in the has its own microclimate. As you can see those yellow blooms all looked picture perfect in the late afternoon sunshine.

It's days like that that really make this job wonderful. Full of the joys of spring there's an extra bounce in my step for tomorrow's task. I'm giving . I've been asked to explain just how much detective work went into a story I did for Inside Out back in 2008.

I spent several months digging around archives to try locate living relatives of a Sunderland seafarer who, as an elderly man in the 1920's, had been recorded on wax cylinders singing sea shanties.

It was like an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are" but in reverse. It led to a tearful moment when the relatives heard their great-great-grandfather singing to them from beyond the grave.

It's wonderful to be able to give people a behind the scenes glimpse of what goes into making a programme.

From strolling through endless fields of daffodils to sharing the secrets of journalistic detective work it's been a very enjoyable week.

Election? What election?

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I have been off for a short while - hence no blog updates for a bit.

Strange how things repeat themselves. I spent a few days in London and decided to go to Burlesque Idol. It's the Pop Idol format but for aspiring performers.

There is a real art to burlesque as I discovered a couple of series ago when we did a film about the scene in the North East and delved into its early history.

We visited the grave of 19th Century burlesque legend . As you can see from the picture, modern performer Miss Kittie Klaw made a fabulous impression in the gothic cemetery.

Anyway back to the weekend and on stage seven wannabe burlesque artistes tried to impress the judges and the voting public. My choice took the prize after a "1940's housewife coming home with the shopping" routine. Lots of comedy.

The following night I went to see the This came about as a recommendation from John Hardy from Sunderland who we featured in a film about his time with the .

In the show puppeteers do an amazing job of creating a life-size horse character with all the noises and movements. It's so captivating it reduces you to tears as the animal is used by both sides in the First World War.

Both events had echoes from films we've done and in one weekend I'd gone from high-camp but fun to high-brow and engrossing. As varied as an episode of Inside Out really.

Best wishes for the Easter break and I leave you with my usual zany blog item.
and watch it to the end. It just shows how you can turn everything on its head.

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