Any Questions

Subject: FW: Any Questions.

 

 

"Any Questions", or at least the chairmanship of the program, is changing hands as Johnathan Dimbleby steps down after at least three decades of running the show. He was the skillful skipper of the show, the guiding hand when things began to get out of hand, , that element of conformity and good sense which has made the show one of the best BBCs flagship programs.

For those of you who do not live here, this weekly program Any Questions, gathers people who are leading lights in their particular field and politicians who appear as the mouthpiece of parliament (not necessarily of ourselves) to discuss the political / economic questions that are current in the news.
Johnathan Dimbleby comes from one of the famous families in the UK. In my childhood the Dimbleby family were famous for the father, Richard Dimbleby a commentator on the BBC.  Invariably he headed up those grand moments of state, the Funerals of our heads of state, the Coronation of our Queen, it was always the measured tone of Richard Dimbleby describing the Pomp and Circumstance, the attendant Kings and Queens, the Lords and Ladies, the costumes they wear and the historical notice it brings to us all. The troops who form the procession, the regiments and what they represent, their role in Empire were all provided by Richards measured tone, the quiet but detailed backdrop to the splendor of the occasion.
His resonant voice, his rhythmic and knowledgeable description was a masterpiece of the world of radio which we enjoyed before television invaded our every minute.
That other BBC icon is Johnathan's older, possibly more famous brother, David who become famous for his epic wild life programs which have become a benchmark across the globe for revealing the animal kingdom in all its splendid complexity.
Davids commentary and the magnificent photography which became even more magnificent and revealing with the use drones and cameras recording months of footage, cut down to only a half hour program, the average attention span of today's homo sapiens.
Tonight it's Johnathan's turn to take a bow but entwined is the debt we owe to this family of broadcasters who, as a whole and individually, envisioned a world and for a short time made it ours.