Friday 8 January 2010

GOODBYEEE AND WELCOME DEPARTMENT Ss!

So we reach the end of an era this week. And we have a few fond farewells:

Top producers Andy Warrell and Simon Tester are moving on.

Andy is producing the brand new Simon Mayo Drivetime show. (I have never actually met Simon but he did give me a "Tweet of confidence" the other day so that was kind of him. He obviously doesn't sleep too well.

Simon is off to the Claudia Winkleman programme. So I expect to see him on the red carpet in LA wearing a wide variety of hats.

They have been brilliant and a lot of fun to work with. It may have been early in the morning but we always had a good time. There are very few jobs I would imagine where grown men are paid to fool around. Apart from the Chuckle Brothers that is.

The knock on effect of the earlier start to the new Chris Evans breakfast show is that The Best Time of the Day show is starting and finishing an hour earlier. So from Monday I hope you are going to join me between 2 and 5. It will be interesting to see how the body clock copes with the change after 16 years in the current slot.

If this means that you now won’t be able to catch the programme if you don't surface until after 5, but all is not lost. You have a variety of options. The best one is to get up an hour earlier as that way you will get more done and, effectively, when you draw your terminal breath you can say to yourself, "You know, I lived more than others". You can also look at the health benefits: being up and active longer means you burn more calories. This can then be a trade off. Up earlier so as a reward another pint, another couple of chocolate biscuits or a bacon sarnie. Also, more time means better efficiency. You will get more done. The boss will love you. You will be promoted and so, therefore, will end up being impossibly rich and admired by lesser folk who don't demonstrate the same application, tenacity and single-mindedness that you do! It can only be a win/win situation.

If, for some odd reason, you are unable to make it you can always catch up on the show via the iPlayer and download the "Oddcast" every Friday.

We may be earlier but one thing will not change: the stupidity will continue!




So who is going to be joining the "Best Time of the Day Show"?

We welcome Stefano Softley. For this is his name. He tried to shorten it to "Ste". However, we were having none of that.

So I give you, "Ss"!!







This is my new producer and fwend, Ss. He is from Bradford in West Yorkshire, he likes badminton and the gym and he has a snake as a pet. The snake is called "Sss". He brings fruit to eat in the morning and he wears a woolly hat. He is not bald - it is just something young people do.

He feels the cold so sometimes wears his fleece. I think he needs to eat more lard.



2010 is barely a week old and already something good has happened. My mate Libido Boy came to stay and after the shoe on New Years day we went to get some breakfast. Whilst we were eating, a strange expression came over his face and he suddenly grabbed my cup of coffee. "I can smell it, I can smell it!!" he cried. Two years back he lost his sense of smell. Not through accident nor disease, it apparently is just one of those things that can happen. He has been taking some medication and it appears his sense of smell is on the way back.

I know this is not exactly throwing your crutches away at the medicine show and shouting, "I can walk praise the Lord". Nor is it the last scene in It’s a Wonderful Life. However, “it is amazing how much you miss when you can't smell,” he says.

He has now gone on a sniffing tour. So if a chap comes up to you and starts smelling you, don't be offended. That is Libido Boy just catching up.

12 comments:

Electro-Kevin said...

I'm sorry. Listening to you in the early hours is all very well - but it's simply a case of there being one thing to look forward to in what makes for an otherwise shitty start to the day.

I'm surprised you didn't get the Wogan slot. I think you would have been perfect for it.

I like Chris Evans very much - but you would have been a far less dramatic transition and the daytime public would have got the chance to hear what you're like.

moggy said...

WEY HEY ALEX LESTER ,S GOT A SS LOOKING AFTER THE BACK ROOM HE LOOKS WELL HARD ! AND THE METAL TEE SHIRT WE ARE IN FOR A GREAT SHOE in colin thats what i am calling 2010
i think the blogs a good one again its sad that the road crew has gone but hey ALEX LESTER SHOE still best night time fun ,music. tune in folks
YOU KNOW YOU WANT TOO
MOGGYX

Decaff Dora said...

Workin' two till five, what a way to make a livin.. (as Dolly would say).
A change can't possibly be as good as a rest in this case! But hope it goes really well for you. Will drift in and out, as one does, and keep an eye on the web and an ear on 'Listen again.' You're great.

TruckerMark said...

Well Alex you will catch more truckers as they roll out thru the night with your early start. Alas will miss you but will catch up with the iplayer (very useful).

The blow is softened by having SK on when getting the truck on the road.

Love the shoe and hey how;s that kitten getting on Heston Scratchwood Jnr

Trucker Mark

Danny Porter said...

Losing TW was bad enough, but losing you as well (i start work at 5am) is just a crime. BBC bosses should be shot.

I'm not happy.

Twilight said...

I too think you would have been the obvious heir to Wogan - you first choice, Richard Allinson second. Maybe you just don't mix with the right people? ;-)

Ah well, I'll carry on pick and mixin' from the i-player thingie, time slots mean nothing to us ex-pats, far from home.
Hope all goes well for you and Ss.

tripleseven said...

Hi Alex

Just wanted to let you know that you made my drive from Exeter to Heathrow on the morning of Wednesday 6 January a lot better than I expected it to be - it's a shame my normal hours don't let me listen to your show more often.

Fish for Justice took my mind off the scary conditions on the M4 - may I suggest the use of a particularly big and spiky fish inserted somewhere delicate for people that tailgate in slippery snow!!

tailendcharlie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lady Lara Croft said...

'So if a chap comes up to you and starts smelling you, don't be offended'

..I never am

artisan said...

I start work at 3.30am so I'll miss more now. Not happy at having to endure extra Sarah kennedy prattling. I'll have to get t'internet in our bakery to listen on iplayer.

GrrrNasher said...

Hey Alex, I'm really missing the shoe. My day starts at 5am - just in time to hear you sign out. There is NO one to cheer me up first thing in the morning – my radio now remains silent. Why couldn't those mean bosses have moved you an hour FORWARD and not back. Booooo Hooooo.

Thank goodness for the internet but it is not the same as hearing you live.

Snap Dragon - even more snappy now you don't entertain us Halflings when we need you most!

ACCox said...

Hello Alex. Why did you cut your hair? You look so cool with long locks. You should be setting an example to the youngsters, no wonder SS has to wear a woolly hat.

As for the miraculous sniffing - gives a whole new meaning to Wake Up and Smell The Coffee

I'm a Time Warp Listener, could you tell my future self I have done the litter tray and fed the cats... this will make sense if you read it out in your show.