Thursday 15 May 2008

in the air


Up to London on Tuesday, ready for an early morning car to Broadcasting House. We were on the Midweek programme. It was a good experience, and Libby Purves is intelligent and informed. And she thinks Richard is a "really nice man". I think she may be right...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek.shtml



...and then across the road to a Small Back Room, for a link to Dublin for RTE2's Gerry Ryan show. This one was hilarious, with Gerry asking some extremely inappropriate questions. It's hard to say whether he's really naive or just disingenuous. But it was fun wondering. And we learned what a "Biffo" is while waiting for our slot, which cuts in at about 1 hour and 17 minutes into the show (if you have the patience to 'listen again', it's either "yesterday's show" if you're reading this on Thursday, or the Wednesday show if not, until presumably in a week's time it will slide quietly off the edge of the ether and disappear for ever into the void. Hellooo? Echoooooo!


http://www.rte.ie/2fm/ryanshow/

9 comments:

  1. Yes Ryan's show was hilarious. As Richard said "Is Irish radio always like this at 10.30 in the morning!?"

    I don't know what to feel about the 'inappropriate' question stuff. Like you, I think, I tend towards the 'Well people don't actually know anything about this mostly, so they're asking out of genuine curiosity' view. But I have a friend who gets asked and she always wants to reply, "Can I just ask you if you've had any surgical procedures on your genitalia". Though she never does. I don't think ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dru (and Richard!)

    I'm here from Jo's and just to say that I loved the excerpt of your walk in the Guardian and am looking forward to reading the book. It sounds like an amazing road trip and I am so jealous I didn't do it!

    Very best wishes to you both on your travels through life. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG - I have just listened to the three radio shows and can't believe the Gerry Ryan one. I sure hope you have made a copy of that one for the archives.... that was an interview to end all interviews.... I was very embarrassed and shocked and can't believe that was daytime regular radio.

    I'm not sure I could cope with anyone asking me such detailed questions about my anatomy or who, and if, I have bonked. You were so dignified coping with it all.

    And since you did that interview I bet you will never have another problem with any interviews....

    I am still listening to that show and it is clear that Gerry just doesn't get it as he said it was fascinating listening to "those two chaps"!!!! Poor Gerry, he tried so hard. Typical of some people out there facing up to something that is beyond their understanding.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've just listened; he wasn't backwards in coming forwards, was he? He was very well prepared with his questions!

    You were great. Hope you have a lovely stressless weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've not managed to get the Gerry Ryan one to play yet... it seems I'm missing something here! I hope you've recovered from his rudeness.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've now heard most of the Irish interview... my computer was attempting to play it as something it wasn't and needed to be told what it really was... how ironic!

    I've often thought that only a man could imagine a woman might have penis envy... the book, your interviews and your blog make this seem even more evident.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Irony indeed, Caroline :-)

    It does seem prevalent, the male assumption that being a bloke is so obviously the thing to be that those who aren't are to be pitied or despised... I wonder if it's a nature or a nurture thing?

    ReplyDelete
  8. It was even more ironic than I've mentioned...

    The standard player selected by my browser was QuickTime, when it couldn't play the media it sent me to a page of all sorts of enhancements and uploads, though without giving me any clue about which might help... and in the end none of them were any use.

    I then did what I ought to have thought of earlier... did a web search. Finally I found something vaguely relevant though for a different version of my OS. At least it told me what was needed even if the instructions for how to make it work were all wrong.

    What was really needed, of course, was the RealOne player!

    ReplyDelete