Friday, October 19, 2012

Mike Harding Sacked.

67 year old folk artist and comedian, Mike Harding, has been sacked from his weekly show on Radio 2 and is more than a tad resentful.
I have two 'takes' on this.
I have twice seen him before a capacity audience at Sheffield City Hall perform brilliantly. Even if he were not a good folk artist, his humour alone caused multiple belly laughs. Wonderful.
The other side of the coin is that his folk show on radio was one of the most 'wooden' I have ever come across. Every word uttered sounded as though it were being read from a 5 by 3 card with added tedium.
Nonetheless, to sack a man without explanation (his version of events) would be wrong considering how he had helped increase the show's profile and audience in spite of his deficiencies as a programme presenter.
(As someone who still broadcasts - I feel that my view is a valid assessment of the guy.)
See if you can find some of his serious songs online - they are VERY good: Ginny Bobbin, The Wild Geese, The Accrington Pals, July Wakes et al. The comic songs, for me, only work when live.

Prayers of Jane Austen.

The little-known prayers written by Jane Austen. Jane Austen (1775-1817) on engraving from  1873.  (Photo: Getty/iStock) It is now 250 years...