Critical Situations
A good friend once admitted to me that his admiration for BBC Radio 2 D.J. Terry Wogan bordered on the obsessive. Since his teenage years, this friend has manoeuvred himself into numerous situations where he has been able to meet and be photographed with his hero. Had the moment presented itself I have no doubt that my friend would have invited himself back to Wogan Towers for a bite to eat, an overnight stay or – if dreams really can come true – a long-term secured tenancy.
I had better not tell him what I read in the Herald newspaper today. My former boss and ex-Controller of BBC Radio 4, James Boyle, was reviewing Terry Wogan’s latest autobiography Musn’t Grumble and suggested that the written work of this “great bletherer of the airwaves” sometimes seemed “bitchy and undignified”.
Six years ago, when I read Terry’s other autobiography Is It Me? I made a similar observation to my Wogan-obsessed friend. Well, if looks could kill! It was like I’d just told a four year old that Santa likes to creep down chimneys so he can steal toys from poor children.
But then, none of us likes a critic unless they are saying things we agree with. Also in the Herald today, for instance, was Anne Simpson’s radio review. Anne tends to side-step the Scottish radio market for most of the year so it was a nice surprise to see her praise an edition of BBC Radio Scotland’s Radio Café and highlight tomorrow’s Night Email.
Mind you, this praise was diluted by Anne’s suggestion that such programmes are something of a rarity on the station and her article read like the hostess of a posh dinner party telling you off for having poor dress sense but conceding that now and again you wear nice shoes. You wouldn't know whether to thank her or spike her After Eights with laxative.
My Mother used to tell me that if you can’t say something nice about someone then you should say nothing at all. But hey, where’s the fun in that?
