> I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. You, Sandiford-Mitchell,
> dialled my Bolton phone number and invited me out for a driver's
> lager. It certainly wasn't your female so-called friend. Would
you
> say you had the voice of a slightly gay ice hockey player? If so,
I
> am sure it was you.

Errm... I'm not sure if you're being entirely serious here! I really
don't think I phoned you up... I know I must be getting old though as
you've just reminded me about something I'd completely forgotten.
For some obscure reason I attended a James Stannage reunion in about
1991 ... I've no idea where it was or why i found myself there, but
it just had James Stannage hanging around looking bored while loads
of old people sat around drinking tea... I'm sure I spotted Sam
Pierce there though!!!


> I was aware of your evil presence as the anti-BFSS, but I wasn't
> going to let it bother me. Not so many years on, anyway. Your
> letters to James H Reeve were truly awful in a toe-curling way, in
> stark contrast to mine, but we both pailed in comparison to Eric's
> work.

I openly admit to my letters being totally garbage! I put 0 effort
into them just writing whatever came into my head at the time.
Listening to the tapes now though, while some of it is embarrasingly
awful, some I don't know how I came up with some of it as a very
naive 13/14/15 year old...



> No, several weeks after your phone call, I too got a letter from
> James. I was at University at the time, but I was visiting home
> with the letter in my knap sack. I inadvertently left it out on
the
> unpleasant bedside cabinet thing [stage note: fake mahogany...this
> was Bolton of course]. It was written in James' erudite style. I
> had previously complained at the fact that you had been in touch
> when I believed you to have been the antichrist. He replied with
> the following words (amongst others):
>
> "I am sorry that Sandiford-Mitchell has managed to foist himself
> upon you"
>
> Unfortunately the letter was picked up and read by my mother who
> concluded that I was therefore homosexual which, whilst not being
> true, nevertheless flavoured the next several years of our
> relationship.


How bizarre!


> In some ways I am deeply envious of your successful career in local
> radio. In radio terms you must be at least as successful as James,
> and many times more successful than me, although I did meet Timmy
> Mallett and just last night was hanging out with the female
> presenter of DIY SOS. Of all of the contributors, you were the
> worst; yet you have done yourself (and all of us) proud.
>
> Bless you.
>
> Martoole

Awww how sweet of you to say so.... I began my exciting radio career
post-Reeve once a week on James Stannage programme in 1990, but even
with that great start, it remained dormant until in 1999 it sprung
into life thanks to the incompetance of a radio station in the town
where I then lived, Warrington.

I listened to 107.2 WIRE FM's Saturday Sport programme expecting to
be able to follow how Runcorn and Warrington Town were doing, but no,
they just had national IRN sport feeds and ignored the local games.
So I phoned them up and asked why they were ignoring their local
teams... and their answer was that they'd love to do reports on them,
except they had no reporters and no money to pay one even if there
was one.

So, problem solved as I volunteered my services for free, and they
handed me an expensive ISDN outside broadcast kit and sent me off to
the Autoquest Stadium to report live on Widnes Vikings v Oldham in a
pre-season friendly. Great, except my knowledge of Rugby League
isn't what it should have been to be a radio reporter for it. I made
several classic mistakes but still was sent to Dewsbury Rams v Widnes
and Doncaster Dragons v Widnes. Then it was suggested that I might
be better at football, so I started my non-league football road to
stardom reporting on Runcorn FC home and away for 18 months before I
couldn't afford to do it any more... and was picked up by the BBC
where I have been for the last 4 seasons. I reckon I must have been
on the radio more regularly than James these last few years... that's
something I never thought would happen.

I can see you're facinated by that potted history of my broadcasting
career... more exciting than the tour of Greater Manchester's bus
stations that I used to write in about. I just used to totally make
up things about it, like I wrote in once that I went to Ashton-u-Lyne
bus station and there was a sign that said "Ashton Bus Station - much
better than the one in Macclesfield" which obviously was total drivel
that I had just made up.


Simon