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POMS, PIPS AND PING PONG
For most hours of the day the Today programme newsroom is alive with bright, eager, young journalists striving to bring you the most interesting, important stories delivered in the most accessible way. There is an exciting bustle of activity; you can hear the earnest discussions; and sense the neurons firing. But let鈥檚 be honest - not at 4am. Presenters arriving at the start of their shift are lucky to be greeted with a grunt 鈥 not that we鈥檙e capable of replying with much more. It鈥檚 like walking into the land of the living dead 鈥 such is the torpor. But occasionally - just occasionally - you know the moment you walk in something鈥檚 up. And Friday was just such a day. Jim Naughtie greeted me with the shout, 鈥淚t鈥檚 still going on!鈥 There鈥檚 one thing that excites Jim more than any other 鈥 a good parliamentary story and they don鈥檛 come much better than all night sittings on controversial legislation. When I鈥檇 gone to bed I鈥檇 presumed there鈥檇 be some resolution in the night to the debate on the Prevention of Terror Bill. But not only had it gone through the night it was clearly set to continue through the next day. The overnight team, usually watching obscure foreign stories at that time, had been following the intense and fascinating debate and were planning for each eventuality. No wonder their danders were up. At 5am we watched the bizarre and impressive scene of the red benches of the House of Lords filling up with peers returning to vote - yet again - on the bill. The challenge for planning a programme on a story like this is that the very people you need to speak to may be voting in the chamber at the time you need them. You go on air not knowing who you鈥檝e got and when. As it turned out, we got who we wanted when we wanted them.
One of the many joys of working with Jim is the chance to marvel at his brain. He is a vast (metaphorically speaking) databank of information. The trick is to challenge him: who came second in a by-election twenty years ago? What constituency does an mp represent? And who was their predecessor in the seat? When was the last all-night sitting and on what subject? He rarely falters. For someone who is becoming increasingly convinced that whatever goes into my head each day must leak out onto the pillow at night, Jim鈥檚 ability is truly enviable. And that is one of the reasons why when the request came for a Today programme team to go on University Challenge I didn鈥檛 hesitate. Absolutely no way. What on earth would possess me to put myself through that? What little I do know would disappear in the sheer blinding panic of being questioned in front of the cameras by Jeremy Paxman. Even the thought of it makes me break out into a sweat. John 鈥 I鈥檓 sure for different reasons 鈥 came to the same conclusion. But Jim, he relished the prospect. At least he did, but as the day approaches he, Ed Stourton, Carolyn Quinn and Iain Watson have been looking distinctly queasy. I shall be watching from my sofa with a large drink, a ready answer and a sense of immense relief.
It won鈥檛 surprise you to hear we鈥檙e rather snooty at the Today programme about other parts of the 91热爆 (It won鈥檛 surprise them either). So when the 91热爆 has stories about China on all its programmes as part of a coordinated China Week, at Today we come over all superior. We couldn鈥檛 resist the chance to speak to Lord Patten on Thursday who was in China for 91热爆 One鈥檚 Question Time on a panel alongside a Chinese government minister. As he said, it鈥檚 an event unthinkable even a couple of years ago, but what a shame the Chinese people don鈥檛 get to see it.
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We also couldn鈥檛 resist the other 91热爆-wide event running all week - Comic Relief. We held a competition to put a celebrity in Victoria Wood鈥檚 version of the Archers. The winner Stephen Fry came on with her on Friday and the two gave a duet of that famous tune 鈥 pom tee pom tee pom tee pom, pom tee pom tee pom pom.
Listen Again
From poms to pips. You can hear them whenever your mobile phone rings if you want by downloading a ringtone of the famous Radio Four sound from this website. What you pay goes to Comic Relief charities.
Listen Again
I could have done with such a ringtone last Friday. I was making my way to Harrogate for the Liberal Democrat party conference from where we presented the programme on Saturday morning. The party leader Charles Kennedy had agreed to do an interview but was only available to prerecord one on Friday late afternoon. I left London straight after the programme and with seven hours in hand expected to arrive in plenty of time. More fool me. Trains, snow, late connections put paid to that. Much to the frustration of my fellow passengers, as the journey time lengthened, my mobile phone rang more frequently. My producer Sean Johnson already in Harrogate was tracking my progress and we tried to consider what our plan b should be. I tried not to catch my fellow passengers鈥 eyes as I questioned whether I could really interview Charles Kennedy over a mobile phone line from a crowded train coach?
Time to go and catch up on the latest round of ping pong at Westminster. Twenty four hours after the terror debate started, it鈥檚 still going. Perhaps 鈥 like us - they need some pips to shut them up.
Beep beep beeeeep.
Sarah
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