SPRING HAS SPRUNG

You can feel it in the air. Also I noticed over the Bank Holiday doing the extra hour up until 7am, which is frankly a far more civilised time, that it is now getting light in the mornings. This puts a noticeable spring in the step and I stride with renewed purpose across the park after the show. Gardens are looking nice too. On my way through the other day one of the park keepers suddenly leapt into a flower bed and snatched something from the middle of the bed of red ones (who do you think I am - Alan Titchmarsh? I didn't learn plants at school. I can recognise roses and tulips and that’s about it). He wrenched something from the bed and handed them to a passer by. Three yellow ones. Must have been planted there by mistake. I suppose it feels a bit like a vain person plucking out any grey hairs they spot using the mirrored walls of the lift whilst ascending to the 6th floor of the BBC first thing in the morning. Hmmm wonder who that could be?

I like this time of year. It makes me feel more positive about the coming months. Having said that I nearly found myself a victim of crime last week. I was off to see ABC at the Royal Albert Hall and was going to meet my friend "Finance Susan" who works in the money industry - but is not a fat cat bonussed-up banker, before we start hissing at her - for something to eat before the gig. I needed some more cash so put my card into an ATM which promptly swallowed it. When I examined the machine carefully I realised someone had stuck a plastic "fairing" over the card slot. It didn't take much to prise it off and there was my card. I handed the bit of redundant plastic to the person behind me and warned them about it and headed off. It was only later that I realised that they were probably the felon trying to steal unsuspecting people’s cash cards.

Be careful out there!

ABC were reprising their "Lexicon of Love" album. I have always liked this record ever since the first time I played it on the Hi fi system pictured in a previous blog when it was released and suddenly feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up as it was so wonderful. Martin Fry was in great voice and it was a truly wonderful concert. There was just one vitally important thing missing…..the gold lame suit. For an encore the band ripped through "The Look of Love" again and Fry bounded onto the stage wearing the aforementioned suit. He is now a suit just as Madonna is a conical bra and George Michael is a public convenience. Which is a shame as so much of what makes the headlines tends to detract from the artists’ achievements. I am still not sure I would accept a lift from George though given his record for being found asleep at the wheel. Finance Susan said midway through the encore. "Do you think it is an original, that suit. I think it is….it’s a little tight".

Liz Kershaw turned up as well and I hadn't realised she was an ABC fan. She was, but admitted to being more of a "Spands" girl and was looking forward to seeing the reformed Spandau Ballet later this year. We had lunch the other day and were sitting outside a café in the sunshine when a man came over and asked if anyone minded having their picture taken. He had obviously recognised her, I assumed. This was a woman who has been "gunged" on Noel’s House Party so she is a visible presence! Turns out he was from Google Earth so is probably a bit more careful after the chastening experience his colleague had the other week being politely berated in a very British fashion in a small village when he tried to photograph it. The story as covered by the Jeremy Vine show. So if you go to the website and type in "Clipstone Street London" you should find us mid chow.

As we are still trying to be positive despite all the terrible things happening here and around the world I thought what we needed was a picture that showed some creatures just don't have a care in the world. The new Radio 2 website is looking good and we are particularly proud of the show page. There will be a new picture there soon but we wanted there to be images that reflected the show. Hence a set of traffic lights. A megaphone, a pair of boxer shorts and a kitten in a boot! That may not make a lot of sense but we feel that by listening to the show maybe it will……eventually.

Now for a feel good picture of Dad’s cat sitting on the bonnet of my car. Aaaaah!