LISTEN 
The greatest songs and performances from Hollywood, Broadway and Tin Pan Alley.
Friday 17 May 2013, 11:34
And good morning to you too. Just browsing through the Rod Stewart photos from last night and hoping I can hold it together as well as Rod when I get to 68. It may well take him longer to arrange his hair in the morning but boy, does he look great. Obviously all you have to do is have 62 hits, not smoke and then sleep your way around the world. And what a surprise to find he had lost his confidence as a songwriter after some cutting criticism he received. Even the toppermost performers need love and attention and thank heavens he got his mojo back with this new album. He looked as though he was having a great time in the theatre via the red button, even though he was worried about his voice. That should be viewable for awhile (looks around for factual basis for that remark but fails).
Movie show first up with our friend Jason Isaacs and then ARF duties back to normal. Shall we take 1977? Feels about right.
Have an ingenious and creative Friday, see you at 2&5
Thursday 16 May 2013, 08:59
Wednesday 15 May 2013, 10:31
This really does feel like autumn. The heating is on, the winter coat is back out and soup is on the menu. If it wasn't for mad French oral revision around the house (ghastly, still remember mine) there would be no indication that this is May and not November. We will have to be our own little rays of sunshine.
Melvyn Bragg today. I've always enjoyed talking to Melvyn-another guest with a brain the size of a planet. His new novel is 'Grace and Mary' and is a powerful, moving and autobiographical story of a man dealing with the loss of his mother to Alzheimer's. Melvyn lost his mother last year and this book feels as though you are at the bedside with the two of them, even though he says he never took notes or anything like that. It is quite beautifully written. Lord Bragg should be good at 6.
Now the oldies. And today we'll have tunes about ARGUMENTS and ROWING. The average teenage girl has apparently 183 quarrels a year with her mother and doesn't really appreciate her till she's 23 ( the teen that is). Well time for reflection then. Your quarrelsome tunes please.
Have a spring-like and sunny Wednesday, see you after 5.
Tuesday 14 May 2013, 10:25
School run complete (not many more to go now), coffee re-heated and a show to consider. And bloggers in need of a posting. So disappointment at the lack of golds last night for Ken and Chris (and bro)-awards are hugely over rated and count for nothing. But congrats to Dermot and Steve L for theirs - awards are the perfect way of measuring your achievement against your fellow professionals. All of the above is true, you just take which bit you fancy depending on what actually happened.
So today we have a TUNESDAY, an opportunity to play some longer songs that normally get a look in (apart from when...
Monday 13 May 2013, 09:41
Well the drums were fun. Hope you enjoyed our little contribution to the 2 Day fun and games. Being unable to play an instrument myself, I always enjoy sitting at the feet of masters. Watching a master craftsman/woman is thrilling and in Evelyn Glennie and James Powell were terrific. We were hoping to have Roger Taylor but he had to pull at the last minute, so apologies for those waiting for the great man. And hearing listener choices was just what was needed; we had so many to get too but so little time! Meantime, it's back to air drums, table drums and dashboard drums to release the inner rhythm...
Friday 10 May 2013, 09:36
And a happy 2Day to you too. In previous years we have been all moved around, turning up in all sorts of unusual time slots. This time it's all about the orchestra and (as you probably know by now) as part of the build up to Friday Night Is Music Night, we are all given one section to play with. I believe I have the noisiest bunch-the percussion section. Hitting things basically. So the ARF is not really with us tonight although callers will be choosing fave songs with top percussiony bits in them (technical term). Roger Taylor will be talking to us and Dame Evelyn Glennie, possibly the worlds...
Thursday 9 May 2013, 10:00
Well another moving blog, this time en route to a Dame Jaqueline Wilson gig to celebrate her new book, a tribute to E Nesbit. Time was child 2 (like many before her) had everything JW wrote and could always be found head buried in the pages of her latest tale. We are having a picnic I think some have my Radio 2 travel rug ready, just in case.Wednesday 8 May 2013, 10:06
Calmer waters today (very calm on the blog yesterday!) and happy with that. Child 2 back safely berthed at home and tales and photos of travels will dominate conversation for quite a while. Those days of sending the film off to the chemist and waiting a week or two for the results to come back are from another era. We've skyped and facetimed and downloaded to the extent that we feel we have been a part of the travels. She missed the months of foul weather perfectly and has arrived in time for a country in bloom (if showery now here). When child 1 finishes at Uni, we might even be 5 again; so...
Tuesday 7 May 2013, 09:43
Sitting in Heathrow Terminal 4 is a lovely way to pass a few hours. Child 2 is due and I have miscalculated the time needed to cross London in the small hours. There is not much to do here though the coffee team are pretty cheerful. It was lovely to hear The Dark Lord in real time as a drove to the airport-what a great show that is! So a ridiculously small amount of sleep should mean a hysterical presenter makes it to R2 later in the day.
The main thing child 2 will notice is that child 3 is (I think) now taller than her. This may not go down well but hey ho.
I can sit here and watch the...
Friday 3 May 2013, 09:20
Rightiho another fine Friday here, sun pouring through the curtains and causing far too much sneezing. But at least I'm not on a train. I've spent a lot of time looking for good breakfasts in stations recently and am quite the expert on porridge, baguettes and butties. Kings Cross/St Pancras is the winner as far as I'm concerned for a particular porridge that I would almost prefer to my own. In fact I do prefer to my own. I might have to detour on my way to work...
So this appears to be a bank holiday in early May that won't be a total wash out. It has always been the most useless holiday but not...
