I have odd habits in bed at night! (now then . . . remember, I do the jokes here!) One of them is that I often go to sleep with a radio ear-piece burbling away in my ear (so as not to disturb the little 'Memsahib' who can cut up rough if her beauty sleep is disturbed). I used to tune in to the World Service but found it rather repetitive, so now I stick to Radio 5 Live. You will notice that both are talk radio stations because I found that when I tried Classic FM the music would often be so enthralling I actually couldn't get to sleep. Anyway, last night I settled down only to discover that the BBC (and apparently, the rest of the world) has gone into a sort of catatonic shock over the death of Mr. Michael Jackson, the well-known clown whose antics have kept us all chuckling over the years. It was obvious that to poor little Richard Bacon on Radio 5 the end of the world had occurred as he endlessly repeated in shocked, hushed tones that, so to speak, yet another warbler had fallen off the twig but that this one might actually cause the earth to wobble on its axis. One might have thought that 'St.' Obama, himself, had passed away - fat chance! Anyway, it was obvious that the BBC was going to indulge itself in an all-night welter of wet, windy sentimentality over a not very talented song-and-dance man so I tore the ear-piece out and lay awake most of the night listening to the little 'Memsahib's' breathing - which became rather fast and agitated at one stage - she must have been dreaming of me, I suppose.
Additional: Paul Waugh has a rather charming vignette concerning the late Mr. Jackson, here.
One good thing about being in China is I don't have to be subjected to the constant media over kill about MJ. Still, his death is big news here.
Why don't you buy yourself a MP3 player and download some podcasts? Laying besides my wife I am listening to Radio Derb, Hugh Hewitt, G. Gordon Liddy, EconTalk, to name a few. All full of sensible talk.
Posted by: Andis Kaulins | Saturday, 27 June 2009 at 09:34
Hello, Andis. My son suggested the same thing and it sounds like a good idea for holidays but for the purposes of falling asleep at night I find I need something that is only slightly interesting and with a fairly fast change-over of subjects - lest one becomes too interested and remain awake. Radio 5 Live is usually pretty good in that respect but when some celeb hits the news they lose their heads and their sense of proportion!
How's that little 'demon' of yours? I keep an eye on your blog and he looks to be at that age where he's into everything. Never mind, with children its the first 30 years that are the worst!
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 27 June 2009 at 10:43