The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[HARRIET HAVARD]

I slept through Breakfast this morning, but a friend, staying with us at present, has just remarked that the presenter was so intense in her gasping for breath, that she needs anxiety counselling. I told her not to worry, as this does not appear to be a problem for this presenter, as all the Radio 3 a.m. presenters are evidently taught to do it.

But it was interesting hear this comment from an unbiased neutral.

CBH is renown for her big breths...Which probably explains how she got the job.

[antongould]

Young lady presenting Breakfast for the last two mornings - nice picture of her waiting to give Mr. Cameron some daffs on the website. Can't be whatevered to look back and see if she has been mentioned hereabouts before. Seemed quite pleasant as I chased the grandchildren around .....only 3 pieces in the first half hour of Saturday including John Field. Ended her stint on an appropriate bit of Keith Jarrett....so possibly not all bad?

[french frank]

Young lady presenting Breakfast for the last two mornings - nice picture of her waiting to give Mr. Cameron some daffs on the website. Can't be whatevered to look back and see if she has been mentioned hereabouts before. Seemed quite pleasant as I chased the grandchildren around .....only 3 pieces in the first half hour of Saturday including John Field. Ended her stint on an appropriate bit of Keith Jarrett....so possibly not all bad?

Just been emailed about her - Victoria Meakin from (sometimes) Radio 5 Live. Could illustrate the point that you don't absolutely have to be a professional musician/musicologist (nor an actress, novelist, political commentator!) in order to be a perfectly competent Breakfast presenter. Just careful preparation ...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But any of the BBC regulars and thousands of others who no-one has yet heard of could present Breakfast. That isn't the issue. The "careful preparation" is:

1. Repeat your name every 5 minutes.
2. Ask for texts and tweets; if you don't get any, make a few up.
3. Smarm over the listeners throughout.
4. Start speaking as soon as the music stops (or even earlier) and don't stop to take a breath (except in midsentence) as the listeners are hanging on to your every word and will switch off if there is anything resembling silence.
5. Choose your music carefully by checking that all the pieces of background music played between your important chatter would fit on one side of a 78 rpm disc.
6. Keep a musical balance - i.e. nothing more recent than "The Lark Ascending".
7. Ensure your grammatical howlers will pass unnoticed by speaking them with a posh accent.
8. Thank the listeners for their company, even though they you don't know who they are and (like my cat) don't really care whether you live or die.
9. Practise passing the baton to the Essential Classics, again ensuring there is no sound gap of any kind, just to ensure that listeners will not switch off or retune to something requiring more advanced utilisation of the brain.

[french frank]

5. Choose your music carefully by checking that ...

I thought you were going to say, 'that it has already been played once this week'. Someone is grumping on Facebook that as R3 is the 'culture station' why do some presenters struggle to pronounce French, German and Italian titles ...

[amateur51]

I thought you were going to say, 'that it has already been played once this week'. Someone is grumping on Facebook that as R3 is the 'culture station' why do some presenters struggle to pronounce French, German and Italian titles ...

Grumping?

Anything like twerking?

I think we should be told!

[Serial_Apologist]

Grumping?

Anything like twerking?

I think we should be told!

I think you're getting mixed up with "humping", Ams!

[french frank]

Grumping?
[...]
I think we should be told!

Being grumpy.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I like the word " grumping".

[underthecountertenor]

Just been emailed about her - Victoria Meakin from (sometimes) Radio 5 Live. Could illustrate the point that you don't absolutely have to be a professional musician/musicologist (nor an actress, novelist, political commentator!) in order to be a perfectly competent Breakfast presenter. Just careful preparation ...

Well, since you mention it, what I heard of her was perfectly incompetent and completely unprepared. I've just dipped into this morning's programme to see if there was a tribute to Carlo Bergonzi. There sort of was, but she made a hash of it, not mentioning the aria played (Celeste Aida), or the orchestra or conductor, and generally giving the impression that she had no idea who Bergonzi was. Later on, she managed to make a complete mess of pronouncing the Missa Iam Christus Astra Ascenderat, saying 'I am' instead of iam both before and after it was played (no one on hand to correct her, evidently). She clearly felt much more at home reading out emails about walking down the aisle to Widor's toccata etc etc. Reinforcing the general impression that, in the absence of Martin H, they'll chuck anyone on of a weekend.

[french frank]

Well, since you mention it, what I heard of her was perfectly incompetent and completely unprepared. I've just dipped into this morning's programme to see if there was a tribute to Carlo Bergonzi. There sort of was, but she made a hash of it, not mentioning the aria played (Celeste Aida), or the orchestra or conductor, and generally giving the impression that she had no idea who Bergonzi was. Later on, she managed to make a complete mess of pronouncing the Missa Iam Christus Astra Ascenderat, saying 'I am' instead of iam both before and after it was played (no one on hand to correct her, evidently). She clearly felt much more at home reading out emails about walking down the aisle to Widor's toccata etc etc. Reinforcing the general impression that, in the absence of Martin H, they'll chuck anyone on of a weekend.

I will listen ... Though I can see from the playlist that Carlo Bergonzi performed the whole of Aida entirely alone, all four acts - it took 5 minutes.

[underthecountertenor]

I will listen ... Though I can see from the playlist that Carlo Bergonzi performed the whole of Aida entirely alone, all four acts - it took 5 minutes.

Such versatility! Such speed!
PT is doing Bergonzi much greater justice this morning.

[jean]

...she managed to make a complete mess of pronouncing the Missa Iam Christus Astra Ascenderat, saying 'I am' instead of iam both before and after it was played...

Yes, that was pretty excruciating, but an easy mistake to make if you're reading a printed text and don't know Latin.

(I've given up commenting on the young gentlemen who offer strange pronunciations of Latin in the course of Choral Evensong - even sometimes from the pulpit!)

[amateur51]

Being grumpy.

I wonder if scotty is making a note in his beloved dictionary

[Serial_Apologist]

I wonder if scotty is making a note in his beloved dictionary

I'm willing to bet he hasn't stopped grumping!