Henry Blofeld

My Dad and I went to see Henry Blofeld in his one man show last night. 'Blowers', as he is affectionally known, is the senior member of the Test Match Special (TMS) commentary team on Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live Extra. I have tried to explain to those who have never heard TMS, the ability, and pride, of the commentary team in not only commentating on a five day cricket match but also in commentating through delays, rain, and other odd incidents, but it is usually in vain. Explaining the sport itself, let alone the cult of the radion commentary, particularly the notion of a five day game between different countries that could end in a draw, is a challenge for a start.

I remember trying to do just that with Stephen Sonnenfeld and Ken Segall in a wonderful steak restaurant, Lambert's, one evening in Austin, TX. I thought I was doing ok until Stephen asked if there was any particular food that was associated with cricket, a little like hot dogs are associated with baseball and tailgating with (American) football. When I started talking about the players coming off for tea and sandwiches (cucumber ones in particular) he started to laugh. When I explained that due to the hours of play they had to come off for lunch as well, he started to fall about with laughter. The idea that the game is so long that it has to accomodate two meals a day for five days was too much. I didn't even begin on the commentators having to deal with covers being taken on and off!

'Blowers' was pretty good value, though we thought he may have had a little more content in the two hours; perhaps he is holding some back for a later tour or book. His most interesting stories were how Ian Fleming's Ernst Stavros Blofeld was inpsired by his Dad and how he passed the 'audition' for TMS as the BBC producer who auditioned him thought he was very good at 'locating' the listener. The analogy he used was that of trying to describe a picture of a horse to someone over the radio. Whereas most people would start with the horse itself, Blowers started with the frame, the background, the situation before getting to the horse. This also explains 'Blowers' penchant for talking about seemingly random things like passing buses, pigeons, and other scene setters.

It is also a good tip for any speaker trying to convey a setting, regardless if there is a radio or not involved.