Poor reception for Wogan's replacement
Sometimes, in idle moments, I find myself doing mental audits of my material possessions.
I suppose the fact that I don’t really have enough money to warrant a similar counting exercise with cash must have a lot to do with it, so I count everything else.
Now I know we have no less than 12 radio sets dotted around Pilgrim HQ, tuned to various stations according to taste.
I freely admit I am a Radio Two fan and have been for many years. Sadly, Radio Two is not anything like as good as in former times when the team of presenters tended to have a little more substance than some of the current variety, some of whom I would cheerfully drop down a well.
For several decades a chap called Wogan was the main man on Radio Two, building up a formidable and, I have to say, well-deserved reputation as the only sensible reason why anyone would choose to wake up before midday. His dry wit and sense of the absurd appealed to many people and his listener ratings were always at the top of the list.
Now in semi-retirement to a Sunday slot, Sir Terence is sadly missed by a sleepy nation as it tries to get going for the working day. Try as I might, I cannot really get to grips with the new fellow on the early show. His incessant and inane babble fails to inform, entertain or amuse – the chances are he will not last, or at least I hope that is the case.
My most used radio set is the small alarm/radio/clock by my bed. It brings such talent as Janice Long, Bob Harris, Alex Lester and Sarah Kennedy to while away the long, wakeful hours of the night when sleep is not possible.
These nocturnal presenters are clearly the best at their trade. They are sensitively tuned to the needs of sleepless listeners and, best of all, they refrain from that nasty vice common among the daytime mob, that of laughing immoderately at their own wit or, more frequently, the lack of it.
Although it might be suggested that when judged against the likes of Ray Moore, John Dunn and others, the standard of presenters on Radio Two has fallen in recent times, but, as they say, a change is as good as a rest – I appreciate changes for the better.
A long-term feature of Radio Two has always been Pause for Thought, a few minutes of airtime when selected non-broadcasting types get to offer their take on some aspect or another of life. For far too long this was the sole province of a fairly narrow range of godmongers who, in spite of their best intentions, did little for morale.
Nowadays, maybe conceding that non-believers, sceptics and maybe even the odd pagan or two also listen to Radio Two, it is possible to receive a pleasant interlude of reasoning without suffering a biblical earbashing.
When the digital scam got going with the televisions, the big sell was free access to a huge number of channels, including those specialising in sport, news, travel etc., but when it happened it took only minutes to realise the multi-channel dream was, in fact, a mere variation of the same old rubbish.
This tragedy has yet to spread to the radio services and I offer a plea that it should not be allowed to do so. Radio is the last refuge of anyone seeking entertainment, or even enlightenment, without their choices being subjected to the whims of people like a certain Mr Murdoch and his trash merchants.
So, on behalf of the thinking listener, may I politely ask the radio planners to keep well away from programmes which feature any form of cooking, nauseous celebs, sport or environmental propaganda thinly disguised as wildlife documentaries et al, and to concentrate on material suitable for those with a functioning brain, thank you very much.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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