A Tribute to the Joys of BBC Radio

Back again.

It feels like a long time since I last posted here. And it is, though for good reasons I think. First, I have been looking after my lovely little baby girl, which has been wonderful. Second, and rather more sadly, my Mum fell ill, very ill, and passed away. So, caught between the two extremes - birth and death - blogging hasn't been a main priority.

Anyway. Like I said, I'm back now, and thinking to expand what I cover on this blog from TV and film through to novels and non-fiction. However, my primary mode of media 'consumption' has been Radio 4 podcasts and BBC Radio's 'Listen Again' function.

I have long been a podcast fan - especially Radio Five's film reviews with the Good Doctor, Mark Kermode - but am now addicted to Radio 4's 'Start The Week' with Andrew Marr, which I always used to miss! Never again ... . I also listen to 'Thinking Allowed', which covers a diverse and eclectic range of topics, 'Front Row's weekly catch-up, Mayo's Book Review panel from Radio Five, 'Composer of the Week' and 'Music Matters' from Radio 3 and the archives of Radio 4's 'In Our Time' (I'll confess I was already addicted to this), and 'Open Book', with 'Book Club' once a month, thrown in for good measure.

Of course, if it wasn't for the long time spent sitting around when feeding a baby, and the joys of broadband connectivity, I doubt I'd be so hooked. Maybe it's a feature of getting older too? When I was younger, I was music-oriented only in my radio listening habits, apart from sport on Five Live. But now I find the 'talkie' stuff most compelling of all. There's something very intimate about radio, and of course, with a laptop or radio to hand, there's the bonus of portability too. I also prefer juicy debate in this format, certainly compared to TV where less information seems to be imparted to us, because of the pressures of 'presentation.' Everything is bite-sized, easily digestible, and has to look good. Radio is much more immersive and there seems to be more 'time' to truly get to grips with a topic.

Anyway. I'm going to update this blog with three separate posts covering TV, Film and Books I've enjoyed or hated in 2008. It's not a particularly high calibre list in terms of intellectual prowess - mainly comfort viewing/reading.