... so it'll feel nicely at home with all the other rubblish that I've dumped onto this blog!
Busy old foole, unruly sunne,
Why dost thou...
No, not really. That was John Donne, complaining in metaphysical verse at the sun for rising and bringing an end to his night of passion. He liked a bit of how's your father, did John Donne. We read him for A' Level Sex, oops, I mean A' level English Literature*. I hope I've not misquoted him; I'm certain I've mis-spelt him a bit. After a hard day's toil I can not be bothered to shift my heavy frame from this long-suffering chair of mine to scan my bookshelves to check - anyway I probably lent my Oxford Book of Verse to the Bermuda Triangle (my sister) months ago so it'll not be there.
"And this," as Mike Yarwood used to say, "is me":
I like to listen to Radio Four
But there's one programme on it that's really a bore
And it's "You and Yours".
Every day from noon to the news
They talk on and on about consumer issues
And it's poor.
I'd like to complain of this dull waste of time.
So why do I listen (I can't find a rhyme)
Whilst I'm doing my chores?
It's a habit. But really I'd rather not know
Which Councils are better at clearing up snow
And which wait till it thaws.
I don't really care if Ms Chisholm from Leeds
Can't get a plumber out just when she needs
Or which kettles have flaws.
And so, I'm going to stop listening,
But first I'll write to the infernal thing
And say "up you and yours"
Apart from that, Radio Four is the best of eggs and my ambitions are to:
1) form an opinion on something and ring Any Answers with it on a Saturday afternoon;
2) be an audience member with a question on Gardeners' Question Time (imagine having (a) enough time to seriously garden (have to stop blogging for a start...) and (b) so few cares in the world that you can turn your mind to questions about which variety of cabbage grows best in a north facing, humus-rich patch just slightly to the left of the strawberries and downwind of the spuds);
3) go and see one of their funny programmes, like The Now Show or Money Box.
*it was definitely the latter and not the former - I was awarded an A for A' level English Literature.
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11 comments:
My Dad listens to Radio 4.
I prefer Radio 2. Can't beat a bit of Tel of a morning. I've never taken life too seriously.
We wake up to R4 - there's nothing like some idiot spouting on on the Today programme to wake you up. (Unlike the weather forecast - no matter how hard I try, even when there aren't small people around making unnecessary noise - any noise is unnecessary at that time of day - I still am totally incapable of listening to the weather forecast... - a bit like the way I can't concentrate on sermons either... sigh...)
Anyway - back to the point I meant to make - when I was an undergraduate one of my lecturers, otherwise only remarkable for the frequency with which he said "erm" (approx 30x per minute) was once totally flustered and overexcited - it turned out to be because a question of his was going to be answered on Gardener's Questiontime. Since there's no way I can ever emulate that, I remain content to bask in reflected glory...)
I love Radio 4 though I'm also not keen on You and Yours. But what I really hate is Front Row. I listen to R4 for news, politics, current affairs and comedy. However, I tend to turn on to cook just when Front Row is on. I just don't want to listen to arts stuff. Occasionally it's interesting, but really I hate it just because it's not what I want.
One of my ambitions is to be a guest on Just a Minute. I'd also be happy to go on programmes to talk about what's in the papers. Or write a column in a paper about my life and what I think about things.
Come to think of it, I've come pretty close to being on radio. I had my name read out on Radio 1 for winning a competition on Simon Bates show, to name the year of the records he played. The first year was 1968, the year I was born, (Lady Madonna was the track that gave it away, I had the album. Not I couldn't remember the songs from my crib!) and the second was 1984, the year I was 'studying' for my o'levels.
Or maybe not...
I won a compilation album signed by various artists, like Thomson Twins, Germaine Jackson, Nik Kershaw and various others. I still have it in the bottom of my wardrobe.
Sad.
Gemini: Your radio listening habits are clear proof that you are *7, going on *8 (24th isn't it??) whilst I'm *7 going on 78. Although I do enjoy jonathan Ross on a Sat morning.
Anne: I have the same problem with weather forecasts!!! No really I do. I try really hard to listen - sometimes it's crucial that I know what's going to happen weather-wise, but no.... It doesn't help that they start by summarising at great length what weather we've already experienced.
Sarah: I am extremely interested in your political views, so would definitely tune in if you were on the radio, esp having seen that you stood in the local elections. You've actually inspired me to find out more about the green party (I voted for them actually), but I need to know more about their manifesto. I feel v. strongly that they should be a stronger force in British politics. Thank you for the inspiration.
26th. Close! Not bad after all this time. 21st July?
Ahem. There is someone with a birthday on the 24th... Just thought I might mention it... (Queen Victoria, Leroy from Fame, Joseph Rowntree, Bob Dylan, Eric Cantona... )
Gemini: 20th, but not bad at all. Closer than I was (unless of course you've got the month wrong)!!
Anne: I seem to remember that I remembered your birthday once in recent years. Which is a major feat for me as I'm useless at that sort of thing!
I have been on the radio - when I was about 16 or 17, putting forward my views as a 'youth'. Mainly that old people - over 30, I think I said - should leave us alone and we should be allowed to make decisions for ourselves.
I've also had a brief spurt of being on tv. I was on Bob Geldof's programme about marriage a year or two ago, and then I was on 'The Heaven and Earth Show' maybe four or 5 times, again sharing my thoughts on as many things as I could manage to have thoughts on. Sadly they changed the format last summer and never asked me back.
I can simply admit to being a very slow reader!
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