holidays

[Martin Wheatley]

Tom Roche wrote :
 >I say good for jp, taking a month off. It is practically
 >unprecedented, is it not? OK so we have no A+ fresh sounds
 >for a month, we'll manage.

 >But think back to the dark days when he wouldn't dare even
 >take one day off for fear his job would be gone when he returned.
 >Over-paranoid perhaps, but at least now he finally believes he
 >has the stature to feel his slot is safe (he's always had the
 >stature of course  what's new is that he finally agrees!)


Nobody would argue that he deserves a break or that he will
continue as before when he comes back.  It's just that
when any other dj goes for a holiday they get a replacement
not their show swallowed up by other progs.  There are even
some specialist shows who have regular replacement djs from
outside the BBCs normal roster.

Even if they don't have someone long term in mind they could have
brought in appropriate guest presenters as they do on the Breezeblock
when Mary Annes away. I'd have loved to hear someone like Gedge do it

The fact that they haven't done any of this does give one a sinking
feeling about what might happen when John eventually goes as he must
(time even catches up with legends!).
The suspicion is that John has become bigger than the show and as
far as the management is concerned its he who fills the time not the music.
I agree there would be a considerable irony in this given his past history
at the BBC but there it is.

martinw