Lady Radio

What's what on the wireless. The blog accompaniment to The Lady magazine's radio column, overseen with a stern eye, a keen ear and an educated pen by Louis Barfe.

When radio goes wrong

Posted by Louis Barfe on Friday, 15 March 2013

There is a website called RadioFail dedicated to harvesting clips of disastrous wireless, and it's a thing of joy and rare beauty. One of the latest uploads is a clip from Caroline Martin's phone-in on BBC WM, in which a listener called Rosie reveals her traumatic past very cheerfully. Note Martin's gushing, fake-sounding "If you've been affected by the issues..." concern for the poor old love. Note also Rosie not taking a blind bit of notice and carrying on with hilarious consequences. If you're in a public place, plug some headphones in.

http://radiofail.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/bbc-wminge/

Daphne Oxenford

Posted by Louis Barfe on Friday, 11 January 2013

In this week's column, I note the sad passing of Daphne Oxenford and mention her work with Les Dawson, particularly playing a miserable couple called The Desponds. Here's a lovely clip of Dawson and Oxenford in action.

Remember them THIS way

Posted by Louis Barfe on Thursday, 06 December 2012

Apologies for radio silence. When the Lady site was last redesigned, I forgot how to log in. Now, some mountain rescue St Bernards have located me and dragged me back to safety and here I am, sharing with you a beautiful celebration of the jewel in radio's crown, the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

At some time in the 1980s, it was decided to liven up an underpass beneath the Westway with murals. Including this one. Don't look for it, it's not there anymore, having been painted over, but we must be profoundly grateful that someone captured it with their camera. What's that in Tony Blackburn's mouth? Some uncommonly milky BBC tea? Ectoplasm? Worse?

It's not that the likenesses are particularly bad. In fact, they're rather good. Apart from Mike Smith, obviously, which requires a certain amount of mental and retinal detachment to be readily idenitifable. It's just the composition, the use of the old BBC logo and the fact that it was no doubt used as a lavatory for the dogs and drunks of W12 that make it so very special.

15 Minute Drama - BBC Radio 4 - Not A Love Story

Posted by Louis Barfe on Friday, 11 May 2012

I don't often make a point of listening to the 15 Minute Drama that features at the end of each edition of Woman's Hour. Quite often, I'll catch the Monday instalment, resolve to listen to the rest of the week and then forget all about it. This week, there was no chance of that. Not A Love Story by Shelagh Stephenson was all about a young woman's rape ordeal. It showed brilliantly how the attack itself is only the start of the horror, and chronicled the woman's progress through the justice system, in the face of family and supposed friends who wanted her to drop the charges. I remained gripped throughout, and recommend that you listen to it before it falls off the iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qy2s

Daily tip from the lady archive

"BE careful with your mouth make-up. By careless work you may obliterate well-cut lines, and you will always achieve a badly groomed look if your lipstick is smudged and badly applied."

The Lady, Make-Up for Mouths, 8th January, 1942

More vintage tips

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