Category Archives: Worlds Shortest Radio Show
How to buy a second hand car.
I met up with my old friend Laurence Barber today. We were supposed to be talking about work and ended up talking about second hand cars. We both love cars but not in a Top Gear, petrol-head way. It’s about the freedom and independence they bring, the means to be in a different place every […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
Twelve A stars.
Out of a possible twelve. In other words, “100%”. To put it another way, “Could not have been better”. Or maybe “Top of the Year”. My daughter’s GCSE results arrived this morning and made me as proud as it’s possible to be. In one so talented, she also has a lovely absence of arrogance. She’d […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
To Mike Smith’s funeral.
He wasn’t a close friend but I liked him a lot. His wife asked me to come so of course, I did and was delighted to see that God had not been invited. Having endured countless requiems that were quite literally godawful, I found this lovely secular service sad but uplifting. It was a wonderful […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
Lunch with Maybank.
Ian Maybank and I have an only one stipulation when meeting for lunch. The name of the venue must be a clunking great pun. Hence we’ve enjoyed fish & chips at The Codfather, sweet & sour chicken at Kung Food and today it was pie & mash at The Pie Minister. This track seems appropriate […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
Back to the Bush.
The Premier League is back and this season, unlike almost all previous ones, QPR are in the top flight. I used to live in Shepherds Bush, a ten minute walk from Loftus Road and I went along to most home games. But then came marriage, children and a move north into Arsenal country. Meanwhile QPR, […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
Happy Birthday to the last great bank manager.
His name’s Don Williamson, 80 today and long retired from being branch manager at NatWest in Kensington. He’s my ex-girlfriend’s dad and a wonderful human being. Don came from an era when a bank manager was a well-known and respected figure, a pillar of the local community and genuinely concerned for his customers’ financial well-being. […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
I always liked Adam Faith.
Never a great singer, he was nonetheless a huge star in the early 60s, in that strange post-rock’n’roll, pre-Beatles era. This is probably the only good record he ever made but he was a smart and resourceful survivor. He came from nothing, lived on his wits and never, ever gave up. When the “singing” career […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
The Railway in West Hampstead…..
…used to have regular comedy nights. The pub was five minutes from me so I went quite a lot. One night they introduced a surprise guest – Robin Williams, Hollywood superstar and the most famous stand-up comedian in the world. He was in London promoting a movie and just wanted to try out some new […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
The British obsession with the weather….
…can be inexplicable. I remember an American writer saying to me, “But you guys don’t even have weather”. In the US they suffer real extremes of hot and cold, as well as have hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. How they must laugh every time they see the UK brought to a standstill by a light flurry […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next
John Bishop on Radio 2.
What were they thinking of? Having him sitting in for Graham Norton yesterday morning. John Bishop is a great stand-up and a very funny man. But with his thick accent and poor diction, he was a disastrous choice for a radio presenter. Unfortunately, it now seems that if you’re famous for something other than presenting […]

- The New Roman...5th Aug 2016
- I met him onc...3rd Aug 2016
- Fifty years a...31st Jul 2016
- One of my fav...30th Jul 2016
- Owen Smith ha...28th Jul 2016
- Why aren't "t...27th Jul 2016
- Russian athle...25th Jul 2016
- The sound of ...24th Jul 2016
- Sam the Sham?22nd Jul 2016
- This isn't ju...20th Jul 2016
- The only bit ...15th Jul 2016
- We have a new...13th Jul 2016
- I'll tell you...11th Jul 2016
- It's my birth...3rd Jul 2016
- Just looking ...2nd Jul 2016 prev next