Gnome goal

A paragon of discretion, Mr Gnome keeps his football-related preferences under wraps - he hates to disappoint.


That said, he's delighted to boost local team Coventry City, despite the fact that sky blue isn't in his (highly restricted) colour palette of choice - he goes for earthy tones.

No surprise, therefore, that he's more than chuffed to toot his metaphorical trumpet in favour of Coventry City's splendid garden gnomes, available in both home (above) and away kits.

And, should anyone be remotely interested, Mr Gnome may be about to participate in a football-gnome related discussion on his favourite radio station BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. (Saturday 27 November - shortly after 9.00am)

One feels the news room is anticipating a 'slow' day...

Adam and Joe

Not exactly a pop-music maven, Mr G unexpectedly finds himself a fan of the extraordinarily engaging double act that is Adam and Joe of the BBC 6Music digital channel.

To be honest, Mr G knows A and J best from their weekly podcast, which offers filleted highlights of their three-hour Saturday morning show - and which, for copyright reasons, contains no music apart from the tracks that Adam and Joe create themselves.

Friends since school days, the thirty-something pair sound discocertingly like one another. They are funny, articulate and self-deprecating. They manage to combine unforced charm with a hint of outre insouciance. They speak in sentences.

As with all great radio performers, they create a little world in which the listener feels included and at home. They're now totally part of Mr G's aural furniture.

No swearing, no malice, no ego trips. Yet A and J are hilarious, sharp and deliciously subversive.

Perhaps nice is the new naughty.

Jesus and James

The peerless Clive James ended this year's series of Radio 4's A Point of View with a terrific essay.

Fascinating that a 'non-believer' is so profoundly in touch with essential aspects of JC that some of his followers seem to miss.

Click here to read.

Radio daze

Today Mr Gnome was privileged to meet presenter Annie Oathen during a live broadcast on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire.

In fact, so great was Mr G's dazzlement at being caught in the media spotlight that he temporarily 'went Trappist', obliging the Human Being to answer Annie's questions on his behalf.

Packed with useful features for gardeners and allotment keepers, the programme aired from Annie's allotment on the northern fringe of Leamington Spa.

Producer Stewart Kingscott and his team opined that three hours of horticultural broadcasting would be incomplete without some gnome-related input. A short phone call followed and Mr G was booked.

Annie, a true professional, 'connected' instantly with Mr G and the Human Being, putting them at their ease as she quizzed them on a variety of topics as they toured the allotment, pausing to encounter a nearby resident gnome.

Like to hear the broadcast? Really? Please contact the HB by clicking the e-mail link to the right (under Contacts).

Radio daze

With a few exceptions, Mr G's attitude to television programmes is one of languid indifference.

But radio is a different matter.

Consequently, he's a massive fan of his HB's rather spiffy digital radio.

Crystal-clear reception and all those extra channels. He's going to get around to exploring them as soon as he can tear himself away from the pleasures of digital-only Radio 7.

Mr G, unsurprisingly, is a Radio 4 chap. But he's a frequent visitor to 5 Live, Radio 3 and Radio 2.

Classic FM? He has tried - valiantly. But he doesn't really 'get it'. Music as fridge magnets, he murmurs.

Currently giving him wireless pleasure:

• Intriguing daily documentary focusing on rural life in south-west Midlands - the HB has suggested that this is, in fact, a scripted drama. Naive, or what?
• 5 Live presenter Rhod Sharp's world-ranging Up All Night. Mr G thinks of Rhod as a friend....
• Sean Rafferty's life-enriching bletherings on Radio 3's In Tune.
• Garrison Keillor's Radio Show - woe, be gone! (Radio 7)
  

And much, much more....

Apologies to non-UK readers for whom this post may be a wee bit opaque.