Radio

– So the broadcast was a success?
– I think so. It's not something I've ever had the good fortune to experience before: to be broadcast live to the nation on the BBC.
– And was the nation appreciative?
– It's difficult to tell exactly what an entire nation thinks. I like to think that, on the whole, it was suitably impressed.
– I wish I had heard it.
– There's still time. On the iPlayer thing.
– Does your contribution stand out?
– Who can tell? I tried to give an honest and heart-felt performance. But it may have been lost, to some extent, amid the general mélange.
– You were in the audience?
– Yes.
– So your contribution would have been – in the main – clapping?
– I prefer to use the term applause. But not only applause: there were times when we – the audience – responded to the presenter's commentary: polite chuckles to his humorous remarks; gasps of mild incredulity at astonishing factual details; that sort of thing.
– I suppose you could have made a more recognisable contribution by standing up and shouting something controversial at the top of your voice.
– But then they would have manhandled me out of the studio. Not to mention that it would have been somewhat impolite, and hardly in keeping with the cultured nature of the programme being recorded.
– But sometimes it's all about impact. Even if short-lived. And resulting in your being hauled away by the police.