Radio Review: 17 May
When I found out that BBC local radio in Yorkshire had a weekly hour-long show devoted to the weather, I imagined it might be like the Four Yorkshiremen sketch from At Last The 1948 Show, with competitive tykes trying to outdo each other about the extremes of climate they had endured. Mercifully, it’s nothing of the sort. Your host for this rollicking 60 minutes is Paul Hudson, regional TV weatherman and honorary Mayor of Wetwang, succeeding to the title after the sad demise of Richard Whiteley. It would be easy, lazy and cheap to plonk Hudson in a studio and have him and guests peering out of the window, so taking the show to the people is to be applauded. Last week, it was presented from a boat off the coast of Scarborough and concentrated on coastal weather.
The Regal Lady, for that is the vessel’s excellent name, took 1,200 people to safety in the Dunkirk evacuation under constant shelling. These days, she lives a gentler life in Scarborough Harbour. There was a touch of Yorkshire arrogance in the captain’s manner when he declared that ‘The sun only shines in Scarborough’, but it’s a lovely place so I’ll let him off.
Another guest, Nick Taylor, the commodore of Scarborough Yacht Club, explained the contrasting weather conditions and how they affect boating types. A good westerly gust means plenty of sail power with the sea remaining flat, while an easterly makes for choppy waters. It’s usually either one or the other, so the sailors hope for westerlies all the time.
There was also a nice little feature on the importance of the Shipping Forecast to sailors and insomniacs, as well as a dip into the archives, remembering the astonishing and unexpected collapse of the Holbeck Hall Hotel into the sea in June 1993, as a result of a landslip.
Paul Hudson’s Weather Show is informative and educational, while also being entertaining. It stands out amid the beige voiced dullardry, middle-of-the road music and uninspired phone-ins that seem to dominate. The fact it is networked across several stations is the only thing that stops me saying that this is what local radio should be all about.
Paul Hudson’s Weather Show is on BBC Radio Humberside on Saturdays and BBC Radio York on Sundays. Times vary.
PUB LANDLORD ROCKS OUT
Comedian Al Murray, best known for his Pub Landlord character, is joining digital station Planet Rock for a Sunday morning show called Defender Of The Planet Rock Tradition. When not performing comedy, Murray can often be found rocking out behind a drum kit.Follow Louis on Twitter: @LFBarfe or email him at: wireless@cheeseford.net
For Louis’ blog: www.lady.co.uk