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From Kevin Marsh:
Apparently, the Daily Telegraph launched a thing called "Beebwatch" this week.
I think it's nice of them to do that because so many newspapers these days don't like the 91热爆 very much, so to get one of them to insist its readers watch the 91热爆 is quite a big thing. I suppose I'd have preferred it if they'd called it "Beeblisten" but I do understand how that doesn't trip off the tongue quite as well.
Anyway, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, Mr Charles Moore, has set up an email address - which is beebwatch@telegraph.co.uk - and what he wants you to do is send in lots of emails every day to tell him about all the things you've heard or watched on the 91热爆 that you think were very good and explain why the 拢116 licence fee is better value than the 拢180 or so that the Daily Telegraph costs every year. Mr Moore is, I know, a good and honourable man and therefore he will print them all in his newspaper. That鈥檚 not all. The really good thing about "Beebwatch" is hidden away in the small print where it says that teams of Daily Telegraph executives have been sent out to watch over our presenters twenty four hours a day and make sure they don't go wayward off-air including getting drunk, approaching loan sharks or mixing with wrong 'uns like civil rights lawyers, charity workers and former cabinet ministers.
This is a good thing as we found out when Sarah absent-mindedly left a bag full of new Marigold washing up gloves on the number 137 bus. We were all a bit cross at her because it looked like we'd have another build up of crusty cappuccino cups in the Today sink, just like we'd had in the heatwave. But "Beebwatch" saved us. Within minutes, a Daily Telegraph executive was dangled from Conrad Black鈥檚 helicopter-taxi onto the al fresco dining area of the Today studio returning the lost shopping to a very red-faced Sarah. Apart from this debacle, Sarah had a good week whose highlight was undoubtedly the interview with South African cricket commentator, Neil Manthorpe, and weatherman John Kettley. Sarah was trying to get to the bottom of the slur that England's victory over the Springboks at the Oval was nothing to do with the effortless superiority of our batsmen and bowlers but was in fact the result of a bit of sharp practice by the Met Office who predicted rain last Sunday and Monday. That forecast, the calumny goes, made the South Africans complacent knowing they only had to get a draw to win the series and so they sat back in their deckchairs nibbling biltong and dreaming of their triumphant return to the veldt. Well, ha!
Listen to the interview again here.
Anyway, when confronted with all the facts in the probing Today manner Mr Manthorpe tried to pretend he didn't really mean it after all but just as Sarah closed in for the kill she was knocked right off balance by Mr Kettley saying that he'd predicted sun all the time and never thought it was going to rain and they should have listened to him instead of the Met Office. I think fame has gone to his head.
The other thing that went really, really well this week was the way in which the saintly Ed was able to let his roots show. It was in Wednesday鈥檚 report on this year鈥檚 prestigious Mercury music prize which a little known but hugely talented troubadour from east London, Mr Dizzee Rascal, won. This thrilled Ed to his core because as it turned out he was at Eton with Mr Rascal鈥檚 father and had 鈥 and this is an amazing coincidence 鈥 been Mr Rascal senior鈥檚 fag.
Listen again to the interview.
There was some question in the report about what the phrase 鈥渢o big-up鈥 meant 鈥 a phrase used by Mr Rascal junior in his tearful acceptance speech the night before. Whether we got to the bottom of it or not I don鈥檛 know because I was on my way into a meeting. But I don鈥檛 think Ed did because after he came off air, the saintly one started to make a nuisance of himself in the Today kitchen, doing that funny thing with his wrist and rapping 鈥 to the tune of 鈥渂lade on da fevva鈥 - a threat that he would 鈥渂ig-up da muvva鈥 who鈥檇 made him ask Tony Benn what had happened to all the peasants 鈥渃oz dat made dis bruvva look da bling bling.鈥 Noblesse oblige indeed.
Kevin
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