All those involved in public life, whether it be sport, politics or the media, also have a private existence, like being on duty or off duty. Andrew Sachs was most definitely the latter. It’s a bit like the guy who punched Houdini when he wasn’t ready.

Like many others, I've been giving this issue quite a bit of thought over the last few days.  Firstly I ask myself, do I have a right to have a view or comment?  Along with the vast majority of the other 10 000 or so complainants, I did not listen to the original broadcast. It clearly was not aimed at me or my age group (50+) and I would have neither known or cared about it without all this furore.

As many have said already, what gives me the right is the fact that I pay my licence fee.  While I've always believed the £100 or so I shell out each year is a bargain, it is not an insignificant figure.  For the most part I feel proud to contribute to what I believe is one of this country's greatest institutions.

Still, I was not intending to put my oar in until I heard yesterday afternoon's edition of Running Away on Radio 4.  Under other circumstances it would have been just another of those inoffensive afternoon offerings that reflect the lighter side of life.  In this programme presenter Tim Samuels takes a 'famous guest' to one of their favourite places, gleaning aspects of their life story along the way.  Yesterday it just happened to be Andrew Sachs.

I was expecting a series of anecdotes from his acting and comedy career.  Not the case.  It turns out that Andrew Sachs, the forgotten figure in all of this, was born in Germany, and the early years of his life had him caught up in the rise of the Nazis.  His family only just managed to escape capture and for a time his father was arrested.

And while listening to these revelations, I felt the anger rising.  Ross and Brand obviously had no idea they were dealing with a character who is far more than just an old sit-com comedian; someone who has seen and endured far more in life than they could ever imagine.  We who came after owe Andrew and his generation so much and any form of belittlement like this is most upsetting.

I understand the BBC is required to cater for all ages and tastes, and this includes the young.  But somewhere in the mix there has to be an element of the sort of respect which reflects the fact that older generations were once young and edgy themselves.  But then the times themselves had an edge; one which offered challenges far greater than in today's cosetted society.

Another recommendation from Hugh MacLeod (I’ve linked to his twitters, even though this video argues it might not be such a good idea). As someone with an audience of practically zero, ickledot finds this video particularly reassuring.

Hearing of this latest embarrassment caused by BBC staff, I was reminded of another episode featured on a recent edition of Radio 4's Feedback. Apparently, BBC 6 Music's George Lamb was rude in a similar manner in a shortened interview with the Kinks' Ray Davies.

It might be worth investigating whether this behaviour is part of a trend in radio humour, a bit like what the Office did for the sitcom.  Surely programmes with such large audiences don't engage in such antics without planning.

For all interested parties, just to let you know that our five geese have gone! They’ve not been seen since last Thursday. Strange that no one saw them go and they certainly did not leave a note.
It was great to have them for a second year on our mill pond and we all hope they return in 2009.

As mentioned elsewhere, in a previous life I was involved in education in a formal sense, as a teacher. This brilliant presentation highlights some of the reasons why now I am not. Thanks go to Hugh MacLeod for the link.

Tags: education, creativity, Ideas

Watched the first episode of this series on Sunday night. Stephen Fry is a most entertaining and agreeable travel companion and his journey through the New England states was both enjoyable and informative. My one teeny tiny gripe is that each activity, interview or other item along the way was so short. I know the modern trend in all TV from dramas to documentaries is to keep things moving along at a rate, assuming an audience with the attention span of a gnat. But when the content is so interesting and the pictures so great, I would have liked him to dwell a little longer on each exploit. The interview with Sting in New York, for example, was so short it was hardly worth bothering.

Knowing that Stephen is such a technophile (he’s doing some great twitters on his current trip to Kenya), I was expecting to see a page on the BBC site with clips not seen in the broadcast. Haven’t found anything yet.

A minor criticism. Nothing to get upset about. I will be watching next Sunday.

My neighbours and I have a feeling our five friendly geese should be moving on by now and yet here they are still. We seem to remember that by this time last year, the first of their residence here, they had already gone. They seem to walking further. I caught them at the front of our building on Friday, out on the main road which runs through our village, holding up the traffic.

Overstating things a little, perhaps, but I find ‘Mark Lawson Talks to …’ on BBC4 a most refreshing departure from what has become the standard talk show format. The title says it all really. Does what it says on the can, as they say. No fuss, no gimmicks, no audience even - just two people, in a studio - talking.

Whereas most talk show interviews are considered long or ‘in-depth’ if they last longer than ten minutes, Lawson has an hour with his subject so the conversation can be allowed to develop. While conversing at such length may be beyond many of our modern celebrities, most, if not all of Lawson’s interviewees have performed well. They appear relaxed and articulate. The programme does not fall into the trap of giving people an opportunity to ‘plug’ their latest product, and this further adds to the relaxed atmosphere. Often, as in the case of Lawson’s latest guest, Melvyn Bragg, the discussion covers a whole career, whole life even.

The Bragg interview (repeated Friday October 3rd, 2.45 am! Set the Sky+) was particularly intense as he described particularly painful periods of his life - his difficulty in accepting the return of his father after the war, his teenage depression, the suicide of his first wife. Echoes of previous discussion programmes such as the famous Face to Face (ickledot is too young to remember the original broadcasts of this series) perhaps, but here the interviewee has freedom to reveal their innermost thought or not.

Mark Lawson has often criticised those who look upon television of the sixties and seventies as being a golden era, his implication being that there are programmes of quality (whatever that is) around today. His brand of ‘talk-show’ amply illustrates his point. Hope it sticks around for a while to come.