Peel away the layers. (John Peel (Radio 1))

Name: daseaford

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Product:	John Peel (Radio 1)
Date:	23/10/01 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Show., Very Entertaining.

Disadvantages: None.

Saturday mornings mean different things to different people. For young children it is the time to watch cartoons on TV, for teenagers it is the time to lay in bed and moan and for adults it is the time to catch up on all the jobs and chores that have been accumulating during the week.

But there is an alternative that may well appeal to adults, no not that! On a Saturday morning between 9.00am and 10.00am is a programme on BBC Radio 4 called Home Truths. This is hosted by John Peel and is a very pleasant way to pass an hour either relaxing in bed or sitting in your favourite chair (away from the cartoons and the moaning teenagers).

John Peel seems have always been on the radio and there is something very reassuring about hearing a familiar voice on your radio. He has a very distinctive voice and I am sure his character and appearance has not changed for years.

The programme is a collection of contributions and stories from listeners that are related in a very informal way, but very clearly and concisely put together. Although each programme can stand on its own merits, you will appreciate the show more if you listen for a few weeks running. Little themes continue from week to week, as well as new items being introduced each week.

Some of the stories relate listeners experiences that I am sure they may have kept secret for years, but John Peel seems to have a great knack in getting people to open up and tell their stories as if they have totally forgot that they are being recorded for national radio.

To the listener it seems almost as if it just a chat over a cup of coffee, or a pint in the local village pub. You almost feel at times as if you shouldn’t be listening, as these are private or family stories, but you are enthralled by the interesting tales.

I love the programme. Often you can relate to the stories from experiences in your own life and it tends to put things nicely into perspective. Every Saturda
y I find myself thinking OK I have a lot of things to do now, so I will just listen to the first few minutes, but an hour later I am still glued to the radio.

If you want to read more about the programme you can look on the BBC web site at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/

Also if you miss the programme, or want to listen to it at a different time there is a link on the web site to listen to the programme. If I miss the show on a Saturday I have to find a pair of headphones on a Monday and try to look intelligent whilst working on my PC as I listen to the programme.

I feel that John Peel is like an old friend, although I have never met the man. I know that his children are William, Alexandra, Thomas and Florence and his wife is Sheila, although in recent years he does use her name much more, whereas he always used to just refer to her as The Pig. Perhaps he is mellowing as he gets older, like the rest of us.

The programme relies on people contacting it and this is made easy by a whole collection of contact methods including: telephone, fax, letter, text message and e-mail.

If you can spare an hour on a Saturday morning then do give it a listen. You won’t hear any pop music, no adverts, no plugs for books. Just interesting people, telling the rest of us about their lives. I can highly recommend it.

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