Blowing in the breeze

It's not so bad when washing can be dried on the line under blue skies at midwinter. Bliss.

I have been lying around much of the day, being entertained by the audiobook "Pacific" read by the author, Simon Winchester. He has the most wonderful voice and I have been captured by the tales of this huge ocean. 

Another man with a wonderful voice is retiring from his 35 years on the radio next week. Philip Adams has been hosting Australian Radio National's "Late Night Live" (LNL) since 1989, four nights a week at 10.30pm AEST. It is a true institution, as is Philip. 

At the start of June in 1999 I was finding sleep impossible, because my mind was filled with the shock and grief of my Pirate's death. I had tried to divert myself by listening to the radio, and it was on the third night after he died that Philip's deep tones greeted me at 10.30 and I was instantly entranced. 

After an hour my sad brain was soothed enough for me to drift off into the deepest of sleeps. I fell in love with him a little that night and I have listened to him ever since*.

LNL's discussions are a mixture of challenging, entertaining, informative, and political. Philip is a proud ex-communist and confirmed humanitarian: a man of towering intellect and great compassion. I have listened to him for a quarter of a century, these days on podcasts. 

And we have struck up intermittent correspondence over the years after shows which have particularly piqued my interest or indignation. He has the grace to respond thoughtfully and fully to people who contact him, which makes him a treasure in my book. Imagine somebody who I admire so much bothering to give me the time of day?

As he reaches his final hurrah on Thursday next week he has been interviewing many of his favourite guests while he has the chance. 

A couple of days ago it was the turn of the aforementioned Simon Winchester, and I was reminded that I'd put a couple of his audiobooks on my wishlist in BorrowBox (which our library enables me to access for free). 

Accordingly I downloaded "Pacific" yesterday: it is the perfect accompaniment to horizontality.

*= Philip knows this of course.