The wreck of the SS Penguin

I've had a busy couple of weeks – finishing a feature, and starting in Radio New Zealand International. RNZI is so fab – I'll perhaps write about it later. For now thought, I want to talk about the feature.

It'll be broadcast today, on Afternoons with Jim Moira (though it may be presented by Noelle again today).

In the middle of January, Diedre Wogan brought me on a tour of the graves of people who died in the SS Penguin, in 1909.

Anyway. It's the best piece I've done yet – and Jack Perkins even made me beam by describing it as "very good"!

It was edited by Gareth Watkins, of Access Radio as well as RNZ. A ridiculously nice man. And being a studio operator working on a feature in a big ol' Sadie suit, he is, needless to say, a magician. Gosh I love Sadie! I think Jack Perkins even has a poem of adoration to Sadie on his office wall.

As we were editing it, Diedre Wogan phoned me to ask when it would go out – what a coincidence! As she said herself, we were on the same wavelength.

It was the start of 12 days work for me, including a few news shifts in Radio New Zealand International – that was fab! Great to be back on shortwave. Shortwave + features = Connor in the groove. Incidentally since I replaced our wired router with a Wi-Fi one, I can't access the RNZI website. Very odd.

Anyway. HUGE thanks to Diedre, the Karori Historical Society, Gareth, and Phil who was watching as we edited (he's the fourth Phil I've met in RNZ. Like Steves in the World Service I reckon).

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OK OK! So I'm over a week late! I'm not good at self-promotion. I apologise! Here it is, with my mistake in the cue – it should be the worst civilian shipwreck. I think I did write ninety-nine there though, not ninety.

More unfounded BBC-Bashing

I admit to being particularly interested in the work Mark Mardell does. He has a difficult role which he seems to relish, and that's a wee bit inspirational. I'm a fan.

And in this post he posts what I think is an uncommonly cogent response to criticism, by a BBC staffer.

I'm all with Mark Mardell on this one.

When an idiot acts like an idiot, and attacks you in the process, then reply. So well done Mark.

Some of his colleagues perhaps need to note though, that if they aren't able to reply as fairly to criticism as Mark Mardell does in this, then maybe the criticism is valid. Shock horror!

Radio Lab Blog

The best show on the radio has a blog, yay!