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One of the great radio voices: rich, calm, authoritative but with a just a hint of a humorous twinkle to reassure that there was a human being behind it. Seems to have been genuinely loved by his colleagues too.
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I was listening to this on R4 driving in this morning. Seemed like a great character.
They shared a very amusing anecdote about how he led a rebellion of sorts in the late 70s when the then controller of Radio 4 decided to chop the Today programme into two, change its content, and rebrand it "Up to the Hour". Peter Donaldson, having had enough of the whole thing, decided to openly ridicule it on air, infuriating the management. When they threatened to sack him, his colleagues made it very clear they would go too if this happened. Management ultimately backed down.
As you say, there was clearly genuine affection among his colleagues.
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Another voice from the past..it's what made R4 for me.
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What a lovely voice he had. When you listen to the BBC these days - especially late in the evening on R4 Extra - it's enough to make you cringe. RIP.
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For anyone wondering who Peter Donaldson was, or what he looked/sounded like ...
Begins at 0-20: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z_5gK6KIsk
RIP
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>> Begins at 0-20: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z_5gK6KIsk
Thanks for that link Dog. Other's were interesting too, particularly the tube voice who has a Cheshire accent in real life.
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RIP indeed. Lived near here, and a regular in the Rising Sun in the Nutbourne nearest here. A very agreeable cat. I may sidle into the Riser to lift a glass to his memory.
I am vaguely aware of having flounced late last night with a very rude, profane post complaining about 'stuff vanishing'. That post seems to have disappeared as well, and a good thing too. If it hasn't and I just can't find it, mods have my blessing if they suppress it.
I didn't stay away for long for some reason. A lack of principle or backbone no doubt.
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Readers of the Telegraph will have seen his full-page obituary today. The paper usually gives long obits to notable soldiers, fellow hacks and jazzmen (another old bebopper I remember, Don Rendell, has just passed on). Nice cat he was by hack standards. You can see good nature in the mugshot.
Have a loose arrangement with the beer-brewing cousin to visit the Riser - almost certainly the 'local pub' mentioned in the obit - in his honour, probably at the weekend.
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>> almost certainly
>> the 'local pub' mentioned in the obit - .
>>
>>
Not the White Horse, his famous faux pas for White House, mentioned in the obit?
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>> Not the White Horse, his famous faux pas for White House, mentioned in the obit?
I didn't notice that. Clearly CP you are a more thorough reader of full-page obits than I am, how embarrassing.
There is another local pub called the White Horse, and he must have gone there. But I associate him with the Rising Sun, and so does the brewing cousin (I checked).
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>> I didn't notice that. Clearly CP you are a more thorough reader of full-page obits
>> than I am, how embarrassing.
>>
Not really embarrassing, just necessary. After all, you're now of an age where you can observe George Burns' sage advice; a quick scan of the obituary column in your morning paper, and if your name's not in there, make breakfast. ;-)
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Peter Donaldson's obit was only half a page. The full page one was someone else's.
He lived near the White Horse. But I seldom go there and remember him often in the Rising Sun.
Nice guy anyway.
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>>
>> I didn't notice that. Clearly CP you are a more thorough reader of full-page obits
>> than I am,
It's been a lifelong habit/interest. I remember when obituaries of WW1 survivors were commonplace, now even WW2 obits are very few.
It's a strange interest - even biographies of people I've never heard of fascinate me.
The only obituary of anyone I knew was an elderly cousin I didn't know had died.
I'm again reminded of my idea that they should publish "pre-obituaries" about ten years before someone dies, so that one could go and strike up an aquaintance with interesting people while there's still time.
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Mrs C enjoys the obits too Cliff - I got her a copy of The Telegraph Book of Obituaries - Celebration of Eccentric Lives and also the Military version one year as stocking fillers, and that was a success with her, if you haven't already seen/got those.
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>> they should publish "pre-obituaries" about ten years before someone dies,
>>
Hmm. I can't quite put my finger on the flaw in that idea.
Can you give me a bit of time to think?
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>> Can you give me a bit of time to think?
At your age?
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>> >> Can you give me a bit of time to think?
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>> At your age?
>>
That's a good trigger point, possibly a little bit late. I'll put you down for an urgent pre-obituary then.
BTW, you are interesting, aren't you?
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A great friend died earlier this year, and his funeral was an assembly of all the people he would really have liked to party with before the event. It was a good do, and we had a great wake afterwards, but it would have even more fun if he'd been there. Alive, that is.
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Peter Donaldson, 1945-2015 - DP
