Humphrey Lyttleton

I was sorry to hear that Humphrey Lyttleton had died. I didn't really know him for his jazz playing (Louis Armstrong said that he was the greatest British trumpeter). I knew him from the great Radio 4 programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - one of the great radio inventions, following directly from a very silly 1960s series I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. I once saw the team live at a tribute performance to the late Willie Rushton. Lyttleton as Chairman provided the ideal foli to the comedians who appeared as panellists in this antidote to panel games. His introductions, full of smutty double entrendres that only he could get away with, said with deadpan seriousness that was superby funny. I think he is truly irreplacable, and I doubt that any further programmes will be made.

Counterpoint on Radio 4

I went to a recording (well two rounds to be exact) of the Radio 4 music quiz Counterpoint at the recently renovated Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House. A new series begins to be broadcast from 24th March. This quiz was associated for many years with the late Ned Sherrin, and will now be chaired by Paul Gambaccini, who has a very different style. I thought Ned would be irreplacable by Paul has taken the quiz in a different, perhaps lighter direction. I don't mean the quality of the questions have been diluted or the music is less serious, but his handling of the contestants is gentler, and gives them the space to think and makes the quiz somehow more tense, and enjoyable. Mr Gambaccini is also a writer of great sensitivity, and many years ago his book Love Letters, struck a great chord with me. I hope the audiences for Counterpoint will grow and grow.

My Sunday morning routine not improved....

Now I usually have a Sunday morning routine - it involves a lot of medication, but it also involves the radio. This morning I woke up really early and stumbled across a fascinating item

on the World Service at 4.30 am. It was a tour of Stephen Timms MP's constituency - East Ham. This also happens to be where I live, and this was a gem of a programme. Stephen Timms is a committed Christian, and doesn't hide it. Most of his constituents aren't. A large number are Muslims, there is a big Sikh community, and there is allegedly the largest Temple outside Southern India for Hindus. A very deprived area these faiths offer comfort to the community that governmental agencies don't. There has been a tradition of Christian missions to the East End, and these missions are now continued by a variety of evangelical groups, often (but not entirely) of African or Black origins.

Anyway, back to Sundays. I enjoy the Sunday programme at 7 am, then A Point of View, just before 9 am and then Broadcasting House. At 10 am I move to Radio 2 and listen to Steve Wright's Love Songs. At 11 am I come to a problem. Before Christmas Michael Parkinson retired and was succeeded brilliantly by Clive Anderson in the Sunday Supplement slot. To my disappointment Eamonn Holmes has turned up - and he is really dire. The papers review spent a lot of time on sport - yawn yawn. Lets talk politics, current affairs and world affairs with some weight - like Parkinson and Anderson always did. Holmes doesn't seem to have any kind of intelligence. His questions and comments are banal or just silly. I think I need to change my Sunday routine.

OneWord Radio

What a pity that OneWord Radio closed down last weekend. This radio station was a wonderful collection of book readings and interviews with authors. Is there another UK station to provide that kind of service? I'm pleased that BBC Radio 7 is doing more lengthy dramas though.

DAB Radios

Whilst I was in Manchester last week we went to the wonderful John Lewis

at Cheadle and I was delighted to see how cheap DAB radios have become, so I bought one, and I now carry it around the flat, so I can hear the world service, oneradio and BBC Radio 7 24 hiurs a day. The only problem I have is the enormous number of tapes I have - can you get tape players any longer - what do I do when my current tape decks give up the ghost - and the same applies to VHS video players.

Michael Parkinson

The end of an era soon for BBC Radio listeners (or perhaps another hiccup towards the end of an era) as the long running series of Parkinson programmes on a Sunday morning will be coming to an end before too long. A while a go Michael announced he was stopping his television programmes, and this morning it emerged on his programme that he will be stopping radio as well. I just hope they get someone equally as good to do that two hour period each Sunday - maybe Clive Anderson.

Alan Coren

It was sad to hear of the death of Alan Coren. Anyone who listens to Radio 4 will remember his contributions - especially on The News Quiz. Always erudite, slightly prejudiced, witty, a bit of a grumpy old man, railing against the ludicrous nature of modern life - but always good value. Coming shortly after the death of another Radio 4 stalwart, Ned Sherrin this is a sad time for the loyal followers of Radio 4.

40 years

It hardly seems like 40 years since I was writing to Tony Benn as the Postmaster
General to beg him to save

to save the pirate radio
stations that had sprung up
across the North Sea - either

on board ships or perched on top of old World
War II forts stuck on mud
banks off the coast of Essex.
The real problem was that the BBC Light Programme of the 1960s wasn't playing the music that teenagers wanted to listen to. Although there was Radio Luxembourg it was hard to pick up on the transistor portable radios that had just come into vogue, and the big family radiograms were tuned invariably to the Home Service or the joys of Housewife's Choice and Worker's Playtime. There were no real 'disc jockeys' and the playlist was heavily restricted and censored. So, the pirates were closed down (they interfered with emergency and shipping wavelengths in those pre FM/VHF/Digital days of very restricted broadcasting opportunities) and Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 were created. A very British solution - commercial radio has never really caught on, but listening figures for the BBC seem to ever increase.

Ladies of Letters

I'm so pleased that a new series of the great comedy 'Ladies of Letters' is featuring on Radio 4 this week. This time the series is called 'Ladies of Letters say NO!' Starring those great treasures Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge it can be heard at 10.45am and 7.45pm. If you hear just one episode you will become an addict - just as I am! This couple of 'friends' have been through so much together over the years - imprisonment, love affairs, the pain and delights of children, and always falling out and making up throufh correspondence - first by letters, then through the Internet and emails. Go listen!

Clive Anderson - What a star!

Now I'm a total radio addict, I have the radio on throughout the day. I am now becoming an enormous fan of Clive Anderson. He's been filling in for Parkinson on his Radio 2 show on Sunday mornings, and I have to say he does that kind of show tremendously well - talking about the papers, entertainment, theatre, music and films. Now he's filling in for Sandi Toksvig on the News Quiz. Now I love Sandi - she is so good on this show, chairing with an infectious laugh, but I have to say Clive is probably even better - and funnier.

Showtunes - Radio 2

Sunday afternoons have been a bit of a problem on Radio 2. Normally Elaine Paige presents a programme of tunes from the shows - the West End, Broadway and Hollywood. She is awful - I like the tunes but NOT her - everything about her drives me mad!

However, John Barrowman took over this week - and how wonderful he is! Paul O'Grady (who was on the previous couple of weeks) was pretty good too, but John is just too good to be true!

Linda Smith

I was very sorry to hear that Linda Smith had died. And only 48 - so very young. She was truly a part of the fabric of Radio 4 and no surprise to find she was voted the wittiest person on radio - and described by her friend Jeremy Hardy "She was the greatest Englishwoman." She's going to be missed - and so much more could have been expected from her.
What else has happened today? Well, the bird flu is now cat flu - a domestic cat has been diagnosed in Germany. Time to stop all animals and birds being transported in and out of Britain now. I'm going to try and avoid eating chicken - although how can we stop eating eggs - they are included in so many foodstuffs nowadays.
Reading: I finished Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I was impressed by his writing style and there were some very good short stories included in the same volume. Maybe I should try and find "In Cold Blood"
I've now moved on to the epic tale of the American Civil War "Cold Mountain". Although I'm only a few pages in, I'm already gripped!
And I'm still looking for suggestions about films to go and see. Trouble is there is a Book Event at my local library on Saturday - can I manage both?