Category Archives: Worlds Shortest Radio Show

Stephen Lewis died yesterday, aged 88. In the 1970s, he was a household name. Or rather his character from On The Buses was. Lewis played Blakey, the hapless inspector whose famous catchphrase made him a gift for impressionists. On The Buses was one of most popular sitcoms ever seen on British television. Especially in our […]

Brian Matthew presents Sounds of the 60s on Radio 2 because that decade was his heyday as a radio presenter. For the same reason, Johnnie Walker presents Sounds of the 70s. But Sounds of the 80s is presented by Sara Cox. Why? She didn’t join Radio 1 until 2000 and has no connection with the […]

…were three Indian boys who worked at the cinema where I had a part time job. These weren’t their real names and I was reminded of this when listening to a documentary on Radio 4 about Asian immigrants who came to this country in the 60s and 70s. One interviewee talked about how he and […]

It started as a bit of a jape. The Labour leadership candidates were all so dull that veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn was persuaded to stand too. Nobody expected him to win, but now it looks very much as though he might. An unlikely coalition of left-wing activists and right-wing Tories have joined the Labour Party […]

The posthumous allegations surrounding Ted Heath have again raised the eyebrows of suspicion at older men who have chosen not to marry. This is all very different from the way they were once regarded. Bachelors were viewed as more masculine than married men, not less so. Bachelors had rooms, landladies and lives filled with glamour […]

This week saw the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. But anyone who grew up over the ensuing four decades feared that it would happen again. Though Ronald Reagan had other ideas. History is already being kinder to Reagan. When he was President, he was widely dismissed as either […]

The veteran actor died this morning aged 90, taking with him Arthur Daley, one of British television’s greatest creations. This role in Minder made him hugely famous in the autumn of his career. The word “minder” is now commonplace but when Minder came out, very few people knew what it meant. And what’s often forgotten […]

Both were born of white mothers and African fathers but no one ever refers to Dame Shirley as black. But of course, it would be naive to suggest that they’re not very different cases. Given America’s history of segregation and the ongoing struggle for civil rights, the election of its first non-white president was hugely […]

Because they’re the sort of tributes paid to someone who, shall we say, wasn’t universally adored. It’s sad that she’s died and in every obituary, there is great mention of her working-class Liverpool background, her association with The Beatles, her huge fame as a singer in the 60s and TV personality in the 80s. There […]

The term “Blue Moon” refers to rare occurrence of a second full moon in one calendar month. I missed it. Of course I did. I seldom see the moon. Especially at this time of the year when it’s unlikely to appear before about 10pm. The older we get, the earlier our nights become. My great […]