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July 29, 2005
Feel Five Live
I began listening to BBC Radio Five Live at work during the terrorist attacks in London, and was well and truly gobsmacked by the quality of the reporting. The station combines news content that blows away anything I've ever heard on North American radio with sports content and chat radio-style content that does likewise.
Phil Williams had Ricky Gervais on this morning, and it was altogether fabulous. (Listen here for the full effect.) This was absolute gold, the likes of which we really just don't see in North America. The standard of discussion here… well, there's many reasons not to want to live in the UK, but that sure as shit isn't one of them. Anyway, the best moment was undoubtedly as follows:
Williams: "Martin in Leeds says: 'Ricky, what do the extras on Extras think about Extras?'"
Gervais, without missing a beat: "Didn't eat with them, did I? They weren't allowed on my bus."
The studio was apoplectic with laughter. And then, but a few moments later, Williams was interviewing Jeffrey Donaldson about the IRA ceasefire.
I've been informally studying the British character since I was a wee lad, and there exists in it a marvellous dedication to skill in all ways of contending. This is still true, even among Brits I've met who are the same age or younger than myself. A person should be smart; he should be funny; he should be prepared to debate; and he should know how properly to mow a lawn, start a campfire and paint a house. The BBC provides evidence of such to all mankind, and this should be lauded irrespective of whatever mildly treasonous acts the network supposedly commits.
Posted by Chris Selley at July 29, 2005 12:57 AM
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Comments
You should try out BBC Radio 4.
Oh how I miss it.
Radio 4, good fish and chips and country pubs are the things I miss most about the UK.
A steriotype I know, but all the same .....
Posted by: Colin Smith at July 29, 2005 12:07 PM