As an adult I would lose the will to live if forced to listen to a standard radio football phone in but Danny Baker’s brand of inspired lunacy is different. The stories he inspires the audience to tell!
This week one caller told of playing football in the garden as a child. One of the makeshift goalposts was provided by the mound which marked the grave of a lion. Which reminded me of these Belloc ditties
The Lion & The Tiger
The Lion, the Lion, he dwells in the waste,
He has a big head and a very small waist;
But his shoulders are stark, and his jaws they are grim,
And a good little child will not play with him.
The Tiger, on the other hand, is kittenish and mild,
And makes a pretty playfellow for any little child.
And mothers of large families (Who claim to common sense)
Will find a tiger well repays the trouble and expense.
Every mother, even of only one, has had her tiger moment
*****
Every mother of 4 knows that a garden surrounded by a wall is worth all the labour saving devices yet invented
Lancelot Hogben - Dangerous Thoughts: Planning for Human Survival
