In the course of a blog postage recounting “A Day In The Life”, Outa_Spaceman describes his experience of listening to yesterday’s edition of Hooting Yard On The Air on Resonance104.4FM, broadcast, as ever, live:

Prep and light the fire, hang washing on clothes airer and get comfortable for Hooting Yard on the Air.

Familiar strains of the Caucasian Lullaby fade into horrific coughing and spluttering, ‘Oh God’ intones the despairing voice of Mr. Key, Caucasian Lullaby cuts back in and plays for a distressingly long time. I begin to worry that I might actually have heard Mr. Key’s last gasp. Caucasian Lullaby fades again and Mr. Key resumes the entertainment that I know and love as Hooting Yard on the Air.

Write email to congratulate Mr. Key on best start (in hindsight) to Hooting Yard on the Air ever.

I did indeed manage to time a fit of strangulated choking perfectly to coincide with the start of the programme. At 6.30 PM, I was fine and chipper. Ten or fifteen seconds later I was racked by heaving convulsive coughs and, as I signalled wildly for John, the sound engineer, to bring the music back up, I was unable to breathe. I then staggered out of the studio to the kitchen to get a beaker of water, where I heard, from the office above, the voice of Resonance supremo Ed Baxter calling “Terrific beginning to the show, Frank!”

I gulped down water and gradually regained my composure. Such are the joys of live radio.