Radio Recap – 22 January 2023

Michael opens the show with his usual burst of high energy, helping my coffee to kick in. “Remember, it’s not my show. It’s OUR show.” And off we go …

While Michael was doing some shout-outs I couldn’t help admiring his crisp and meticulous diction and his steady pace of speaking. A few weeks ago I had problems understanding his rapid-fire delivery. Today he’s textbook perfect, for me at least, and I loved it. You’ll have to forgive me. We Americans don’t speak English! Not properly anyway.

On the Ball. The first contestant, Mark, who is DEFINITELY a talker, got stuck on ‘musical duos.’ Michael had to nudge him and nudge him until he remembered Ball & Boe. The only problem was Mark couldn’t remember Alfie’s name, which tickled Michael to no end. The second contestant, Toni, is a musical theater performer, which Michael loved. He even got her to sing. As usual, there were lots of laughs, lots of teasing, making it an excellent On the Ball.

Orna’s mention of ice covering a place that had the words ‘Brass Knockers’ in it set Michael off on a giggle-fit. Oh, Michael, it doesn’t take much, does it? But then, we’d be disappointed if you didn’t find something to laugh at. Otherwise, their segment was almost … well … normal … I think this was a first!

Michael’s first interview is with Al Murray, a stand-up comedian. Apparently, Mr. Murray has a beautiful tan from working in Jamaica, making Michael green with envy. Anyway, The Spitting Image was an anarchist TV show that began in the 60’s which Al Murray has brought to the stage with life-sized puppets, all representing real people. I believe the show is called IDIOTS ASSEMBLED. It was hard to catch, I apologize. Murray was speaking faster than I could type! It sounds very political and quite sarcastic, which could be such fun. He described it as a 3D cartoon. Michael seemed to absolutely love doing this interview, which always makes it interesting for his audience.

Michael’s second interview is with Dr. Meg Arroll, a psychologist, who has a book coming out in early Feb: TINY TRAUMAS. This is about the smaller daily hurts or problems which can build up and weigh you down. She said there are 3 stages of dealing with them. Awareness. Acceptance. Action. She does an exercise with Michael. I don’t want to give details. You need to listen to this yourself. Michael’s raw and honest. I think I need this book! Tiny traumas describes my life these days. A fascinating interview on so many levels.

One last thing. Congratulations to Michael and Ste Softley as they celebrate 10 years of collaboration on this radio show. Well done! Here’s to 10 more.

So that’s a wrap for this Sunday. As always, the show flies by, leaving me wanting more. Michael has once again set the tone for this day. If only I could bottle this feeling to be uncorked and used when necessary throughout the long week …