It’s years since I’ve been nervous before doing the radio, but I got a slight hint of those once-familiar nerves before the first London This Week this afternoon.

I caught the ten something from Chelmsford. It was full of French students and Portugese holidaymakers on their way back from Ipswich of all places. The tubes were running as far af Farringdon but no further, so I got off and walked from there to ITN, arriving to find superproducer-Sam already at her desk working on my intros.

We ran through what each of us had already come up with, and put our heads together for some of the later links, then headed into studio 2 to record some bits and bobs to be dropped in at the appropriate moments.

But before I knew it, it was five-to-one, and I was trailing already the show. Five minutes later, the news was done, Rupert was fading up the mics and saying something about history (I think it was ‘make history’ rather than ‘you’re history’) and we rolled into the first interview, with the pastor of the American Church in London on the effects of September 11th one year one.

Time passes at warp speed when you’re on air - always - but today’s show, being just an hour long, was over before I’d barely noticed it begin. Having so much to keep my eye on, like the new order of breaks and ads, the compacted running order that squeezed more guests into a single hour than we do in a whole two-hour edition of The Lab, and a new production team to work with I hurtled towards the end with an adrenaline headache that throbbed for the rest of the afternoon.

I’m going to reserve judgement on how it went until I get a chance to hear it back tomorrow. I know I stumbled a couple of times, and welcoming the first guest to ‘The Lab’ rather than ‘London this Week’ was a silly mistake, so I know there is a little work to be done, but I’ve been reminding myself all day that it was week one, and I was finding my feet.

I’d almost made myself a big ‘London this Week’ sign to prop up on the desk and remind myself. Seems I should have done.

Relieved that we had the first edition out of the way, Sam thanked each other for the hard work, stumbled up the stairs and chatted for a while at the front of ITN.

Having spent the afternoon thinking about things, the overwhelming feeling is how familiar and safe The Lab now feels in comparison. After two years I know that show inside out. I know where the breaks fall, I know the little phrases that push it along smoothly, and I know what Steve’s Challenge means when he makes signals through the glass.

But where’s the excitement in living your life safe?

Took myself out into the fields to walk this afternoon. I thought sunlight and a fresh breeze might blow away my headache. The countryside was filled with wild fruit. Thousands upon thousands of blackberries. Redcurrants. Rose hips. Damsons and apples. I kicked myself for not bringing a bag so I could pick them and freeze them.

They’ll still be there next weekend, though.

There is still time.

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