Campsite laundries. Warm and dry. Often home to a small library. Romantic novels. Celebrity tittle-tattle. Even the odd men’s periodical. Railway Modeller. That sort of thing. Women’s magazines. More learned publications. The Monthly. Advertisement for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. Reminds me of the sort of thing you’d find in the back pages of the Economist. For the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service. Copy cats. Suppose that’s espionage for you.
Scrubs up well. Not my words exactly. Rather those of breakfast radio presenter Mike "Locco" O’Loughlin. Describing Queensland Premier Anna Bligh. On air. With her. Aussies bit less deferential than might be the case in Blighty. I mean, could you imagine a British broadcaster mentioning something similar to, say, Ann Widdecombe?
I’d come along to Queensland’s 4CA Talk Radio to chat with "Locco". My slot delayed a little by the chance appearance of the Premier. Whatever her politics, I’d a huge admiration for the leadership she’s shown during the various natural disasters that have beset Queensland of late. And a great choice of warm-up act. I was chuffed.
Always difficult to judge your own interview. As ever, completely cuffed. No idea exactly what’ll come up. Reliant on my Official Audience – my Mum and Dad – for feedback. Faith in their frankness. Thumbs up. Enjoyed teasing "Locco" about the drizzle outside – in truth, record Monsoon rains. And he’s a fellow cyclist. Chatting off air with him about his own experiences of riding along the banks of the River Danube. The route I’d followed across Europe.