Off Air... with Jane and Fi - That seal has a malevolent look about him - with Michaela Strachan

Episode Date: January 11, 2023

Jane and Fi are joined by 'Winter Watch' presenter Michaela Strachan, who solves the mystery of why there's no 'Summer Watch'... Also, do you like going to school reunions? What will happen when radio presenters are replaced by robots? And what's that seal doing in M&S? If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: [e-mail] Assistant Producer: Kate Lee Times Radio Producer: Rosie Cutler Podcast Executive Producer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now have I upset you because I said that I had thought about having a go with an AI co-pres radio presenter? A little bit you have. Have I? I genuinely didn't mean to. No, I know. But obviously I go home and I try not to be hurt. I try not to look hurt, but I do go home and, you know, the evenings are long.

Are they difficult? Well, they're difficult at the moment because I've got to read Prince Harry's book. I've set myself a target. You don't have to. It's like any book. You can just go, you know, I've read the first chapter and I'm not, you know, it's just not really for me. Well, for the bloody thing now, I thought there might be a chance of getting a free one, but nothing happened. I think you can put that on expenses.

Do you think I could? Yeah. Okay, perhaps I should. No. Oh, I don't know. It's worth it. I'll ponder it. I'll ponder it. I will ponder it.

But I tell you what did hit home last night, because I am going to read it. I will read the whole thing. I haven't got very far with it. But it is really quite, it makes you ponder how you conduct yourself because he does recount the night that his mum died unfortunately though he wasn't to know that was the night she had rung him and he was really too busy playing to talk to

her and he did speak to her but not for long and it was all pretty dismissive because his cousins were there and he was at Balmoral and so he just ran off to play. And that bit has stayed with me because you just think, just think about that. I mean, I know it's obvious. I'm just going to keep that in my mind for how I end phone calls. Let's put it that way. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, well, I really mean it.

Yes, in case it's the last time. Because it's clearly hung over him, as has so much other stuff, since that time. because he's clearly got a very healthy understanding of trauma and mental health. And he's in the company of lots of people who are devoting their entire professional lives to better mental health and understanding, you know, the psychology of war, of trauma, of grief, of loss, you know, all of those things. So do you think that, I don't know, I suppose, do you feel that there's something a little bit too much being asked of you as the reader to, you know, over-sympathise with somebody and their memories, when actually maybe they're just a bit not quite as painful now as they might be being made out to be in the book?

Look, it's very, very hard for your mother to die when you're 12. No, totally. It just isn't. It didn't happen to me. So I'm very grateful it didn't happen to me. And I know one person I was at school with who did lose her mum while we were at school. And I think it was exceptionally difficult. And in those days, this is back in the 80s, very little was said.

And that's the way we rolled. But Diana died in 97. And I just really, I worry for a man who has had that much therapy and help and is still so, so traumatised. And it's not something that you ever get over. I'm not saying that at all. I'm not being naive about the depth of his emotion. But there's something that just I find uncomfortable and I know I'd find really uncomfortable as a reader.

I don't want to know him that well. No, and I think it does feel invasive. And there are sections about now King Charles, even at the very beginning, which is the only bit I've read, where Harry mentions that his father talked about his terrible time at school and hints that he barely survived it. So you wonder what sort of, I think he was probably subjected, I think he was subjected to the most hideous bullying at school.

At Gordonstoun. Yeah. So anyway, it's all, you know, it just, they just seem like quite a troubled group of people. Yeah. In one way or another. But isn't it weird? I mean, you know, if you do read all the way through the book,

you will have a different relationship with that man for the rest of your life. And every single person... I'll know more about him. Yeah, every single person who reads the book will have this incredibly close relationship with him. And I hope that goes OK. For everybody involved. Now, do you want to read out a critical email, please?

Oh, gosh, now, which one would you like? The second one, the first one first one well all of them really uh dear jane and fee just a quick line to say how much i'm enjoying your new podcast what emails have you got have we got different ones please remember this is from s that you are broadcasting not just chatting i wish you would remember that oh that one okay so you need to continue to speak up you both regularly tail off into a mutter and we can't hear it. I thought your producer might have spotted this, but maybe they don't give you one at Times Radio. Right. So on the on the radio show, we're not speaking up. We're drifting off because we definitely drift off on the podcast.

Oh, yeah. But that's the kind of half of the appeal, because we're very well aware that a lot of the listeners are also drifting off. Yeah, so this is like the, you know, elasticated waist trouser of broadcasting. So don't expect anything slick and super. But gosh, yes, we will definitely sit up straight, get to the end of a sentence all at the same volume. Well, we'll try. We'll just wisp it off there.

Oh, tomorrow we're talking to Jane Mulkerins about something that I have heard about, and Jane Mulkerins is associate editor of The Times magazine, but she's going to talk to us on the live show tomorrow, and perhaps it'll make it into our fair as well, about audio porn, which, do you think this could be a line of work? Well, do you know what, Jane? Don't laugh, because I'm not saying this to make people laugh.

Oh, no, you did that voiceover, didn't you? It's been a long time coming. And actually, years and years ago, I wrote a book ages ago about local radio around the world and discussed it then because it just seemed to be... Because it's such an obvious medium. It's incredibly... Why didn't you establish a multi-billion pound business

on the strength of it then well um so broadcasting regulations wouldn't allow it there was no such thing as podcasting this was in the pre-digital days so you had to apply for a license uh but it was um it just seemed to be i mean some people in america had tried to do it but even for American standards of radio, and they have really different regulation, nobody had managed to get something started. But I'm amazed that it's taken this long for somebody to go... Never repeat that joke again, by the way. As it formed in my head, I just thought,

I'm not saying this as a joke, it's actually what I want to say. How better could I have said that? I hope we will be able to have a short excerpt of the audio porn, just whatever is broadcastable and podcastable tomorrow. I should say, I don't think I'm going to really involve myself too closely in this world because I can't deal with a snog on the archers. Can you not? No, I really can't.

There have been a couple of quite famous sex scenes in the archers over the years. I know you always just say you stop listening as soon as I reference The Archers. But there will be people listening to this who love The Archers as much as I do. And I think there was a very famous sex scene in a shower featuring Sid Perks.

You see, that's why I can't go there. Because it's a sex scene with Sid Perks. I think radio sex is actually very hard to do. Well, yes, I agree. I agree. I don't really want to listen to audio porn. No, but you've just said it, but you think it might be lucrative. But of course.

Yeah, no, of course it would be. But presumably people would stay awake throughout that. I believe they would. Yeah. Because there's no point in drifting off before the... Climax? Conclusion, I was going to say. OK.

Charlotte says, just a quick line to say I'm enjoying your podcast and it's got me through some difficult times lately. Many hours spent driving to and from, visiting my father in a local hospice and now the job of sorting out his house as he died a couple of weeks before Christmas. Charlotte, I'm very sorry to hear that your dad has died and those weeks going backwards and forwards to the hospice must have been tough. But I think hospices are amazing places. I hope your dad got fantastic care in the one that he was in. And I know this is a funny thing to say, but in some ways you are lucky to be in a hospice, I think, at end of life because they understand that process and they do it really well.

So I hope your dad's experience of it. I know this sounds funny, but I mean, it was a good one. Anyway, you can always write back and tell us how it went, but I'm glad we were able to keep you company, Charlotte. Thank you. Yes, lots of very genuine, very sincere love from both of us. Can I just tell you about something that I saw on the Twittersphere? It was a photograph of

the front of a bookshop in Swindon, Bert's Books, where they'd done a display where they'd paired up Spare by Prince Harold with Bella Mackey's best-selling How to Kill Your Family. And it's just alternate books all the way along. Bella will hate that because it might mean an uplift in sales. Which, incidentally, is the last thing she bloody needs.

Anyway, I think that just shows a little bit of funny imagination on behalf of Bert's Books, and I'd like to commend the independent bookshop for doing needs. Anyway, I think that just shows a little bit of funny imagination on behalf of Burt's Books, and I'd like to commend the Independent Bookshop for doing that. Yes, well done. It's gotten them a lot of coverage. I can't believe I just said gotten. It's got them a great deal of coverage. Don't include gotten.

We do have a producer, by the way. Young Kate is here. Attention is the last thing she wants. Do you think we drift off a bit on the live show? Have you noticed that? No. No. Would you tell us if we did?

Yes, she would. I think she would. She'd do it incredibly nicely. I got into trouble today because I double-clicked on something, Jane, in the top of the hour at four o'clock. It was all over the shop. I wonder whether an alien, a foreign power, had carried out a cyber attack on you at one point.

God, they're everywhere, aren't they? Yes, it is a little concerning. But we must put our best foot forward and carry on because life presents many challenges. And a lovely bit of comfort coming our way next week is the new series of Winter Watch. The BBC has a number of... They're actually called by the BBC watches, if you can believe it.

Spring Watch. Autumn Watch. And this one. Winter Watch. And we do ask during the course of this interview why there's no summer watch and the answer is really dull but also at the same time curiously compelling because because Michaela just tells us why it's not possible to do a summer watch and it's really now you know you won't it won't ask the question anymore and you can really bore people at local events over the course of the weekend if you meet somebody

and ask them if they're looking forward to Winter Watch and then you can say, I don't know why there isn't... And you can tell them why there's no Summer Watch. So one of the big presenters... I'll tell you what, all the fun times are yours, aren't they? Well, I am going to a social event at the weekend, so I will be able to furnish people with that information.

Michaela Strachan has been presenting live television forever, and that's possibly why she's so incredibly good at it. She's brilliant on Winter Watch and all the other watches alongside Chris Packham. And the new series starts on the BBC on the 17th of January. And it's going to be set in Norfolk and in Edinburgh. And it specialises in all sorts of entertainment involving voles and otters and there's always a beaver or two and lots of birds and then there also tends to be some footage of animals having sex which a lot of people get very upset about although it does happen in every single series so it's almost like they're doing it deliberately if you ask me. Anyway

Michaela joined us from what looked like her sumptuous home in Cape Town in South Africa. Although, as she goes on to explain in the course of the conversation, it's not quite that simple in South Africa at the moment. But we did start by asking her how it feels to be part of such a well-loved show. You know, we have a really loyal audience and it's the loyal audience that says that sort of thing. And Chris Packham, of course, tells the audience. But of course it's, you know, it's amazing to be on a program that people love so much. And I'd say we've got that loyal audience and that gives us really great positive feedback. And it's wonderful, isn't it?

When you look at social media and 90% of your feedback is positive because you do other shows and it's not so great. So it's a lovely show to do. And I think it just celebrates British wildlife. People can really connect with it. They can relate with it. It has humour in it as well. There's always something surprising.

There's new science that we do. And what I love is when people say, you know, it's like making an appointment to sit with a bunch of friends on a sofa and chat about wildlife and and we that's what we try and do give that warmth to the program but there's also a certain amount of jeopardy involved because sometimes things fail to happen let's be honest I think some of the best reviews I've read are when they say you know there's this program where they they, now we're going to look at the nest of the blue tit and they cut to the nest and there's absolutely nothing in it.

And then, you know, Michaela Strachan will say, well, a minute ago we saw this. But, you know, that's wildlife. It's unpredictable. We can't write it. We can't direct it. So, yes, sometimes we do cut to things and nothing happens. But the great thing is with the sort of cameras that we've got and the technology that we've got these days, we're always recording. So even if we cut something and there's nothing at that particular moment, we've always got what was interesting, you know, five minutes beforehand or an hour beforehand or the day before. So we've always got something to back up what we're saying. So we're not just watching, you know, empty nests or empty badger sets or whatever. So, yeah, it could be unpredictable, but I think that's what we enjoy so much,

the unpredictability of it. So you join us from a delightful setting of Cape Town today, I think, Michaela. Jane and I are lucky enough to be able to see in the studio that you've got sunshine on your face. I don't think you're not having to wear as many clothes as we're wearing here in London. So you spend most of your time in South Africa. think you're not having to wear as many clothes as we're wearing here in London. So you spend most of your time in South Africa. Would you say now that's very much where you actually live? This is my home. And yes, we're incredibly lucky to have the sunshine here. But let me tell you what we do have in South Africa that will shock your listeners is we've got what's called load shedding. And it basically means we have rolling blackouts and these have

been going on for quite some months now and they have different stages and today is a really bad stage because we're on stage six which means we have four different sections of blackouts for two and a half hours each and why are you having those why why are those imposed on you because we haven't got enough electricity to go around the country and that's largely due to corruption of the way that the energy has been managed over the years and it hasn't been updated and there's as I say there's been a lot of corruption and there's just not enough electricity and a lot of things break down all the time and when they break down they have to be shut down and And then there's even less electricity. So the country is in a real mess with this energy crisis at the moment.

I think if there weren't other stories going on, we'd probably have heard a lot more about that, actually, Michaela. Yeah. So what is life like then? Does the electricity just go off? It just goes just goes off it's a dramatic off yeah yeah and i had a friend from the uk having dinner with me yesterday and we were at home and i and you we've all got an app and the app will tell you each day when you're not going to have electricity and so i said to oh at 10 o'clock in half an hour would the electricity go off she said oh really okay and then at 10 o'clock everything went off and we're sitting in the pitch black having dinner she's like she thought this was hilariously funny because i don't think she quite believed what i was saying that literally and then we look out over the valley where i live and you know there's very few lights i mean a lot of people have been sensible and got generators now but we haven't we haven't got a generator we have got something that keeps the wi-fi going which is why i can talk to

you now because i i've got that ups that helps me with the Wi-Fi. Otherwise, I'd be on data, which is a little bit unreliable. And Cape Town's also struggled with water hugely, hasn't it? In the past, yeah, we've had a water crisis. We were almost one of the first cities to have to switch off our municipal water because our dam levels were so low. And again, that's been because it's been mismanaged and there's been no forethought. And cities have got so much bigger, but no one's thought to change the water supply. And obviously, climate change and our rainfall has been less.

We're doing OK at the moment, but we actually, during that time, decided to go on to borehole water. So when we don't have electricity, our particular house doesn't have water either because we work on borehole in a pump. So we're left without electricity and water. And it's been really interesting listening to radio programs here because we've all got so used to it that we're kind of laughing about it. Whereas actually we should all be really angry about it, angry about the fact that there's been so much corruption and mismanagement that you know in in what should be a first world country although it's bordering on not being first world at the moment you know that we we have literally i mean today i think that's like 10 hours of no electricity and no ludicrous no end to the power cuts in sight no end at the moment i mean they've said for the foreseeable future um or no until further notice that's the that's the latest until further

notice we're on stage six which is one of the highest stages of of what we call load shedding um and you know for for us as a household, it's inconvenient. But for small businesses, it's a complete disaster. And as you know, in the UK, people have been talking a lot about the price of energy, which has been a disaster for business. You know, we've got that and no electricity. So if you're a small business and you're trying to do building work and suddenly, you know, you can't use a drill or whatever for two and a half hours, that really cuts your working day down. You know, if you're a printer, if you're a baker, all of these jobs that people have and these businesses that people have that are seriously affected by not having electricity. You know, it is, it's a disaster for the economy. But as Fee and I said at the start there, at least you've got the sunshine, Michaela.

We've got the sunshine. Well, as Fia and I said at the start there, at least you've got the sunshine, Michaela. We've got the sunshine. We are back with our guest this afternoon, Michaela Strachan, who is joining us from Cape Town. You mentioned climate change, Michaela. Winter Watch starts next week, the 17th, I've got written down here. And in terms of climate change and the programme, well, it's been a very mild but very wet winter, certainly in England. What have you been told about what awaits you in Norfolk next week?

Well, that's the thing. It's so unpredictable. We did Autumn Watch and it was surprisingly mild. And then literally after Autumn Watch, there was that freezing cold spell where there was snow. And now it's very, very wet. You don't really understand how that affects wildlife until after the season, when you can look back on it. But it will be fascinating to see, you know, what the two weeks brings. And who knows? I mean, one week could be completely mild and then the next week could be freezing cold.

I mean, it really is that unpredictable, isn't it? So has the natural world changed perceptively during the time that you've been doing the watches? Have you noticed you and Chris and I know there are other presenters as well, but have you noticed habitats changing? Have you noticed migration patterns changing, for example? There's been huge changes. I mean, I think one of the biggest is that, and one of the most shocking was when we went, we did one in Calaverock. And, you know, that is a reserve for wildlife. And I was amazed actually how little we saw. And I think that's what can be quite shocking is, you know, even if you're in a reserve that's managed for wildlife. You have to look for the wildlife. And so there's a lot less wildlife than there used to be.

But then where we are at the moment in Wild Ken Hill in Norfolk, that's being managed as a farm, that's being managed for wildlife, which is a really positive change. And we've been surprised just how much wildlife we've seen on a working farm. So, you know, there's a lot of negatives, obviously, and a lot of change for the worse. But with, you know, with things like Wild Ken Hill, that's a real positive change for the future, which is hopeful. And those are the things that we really try and hang on to, because there is so much negativity when you're talking about wildlife

and conservation environments at the moment. And, you know, we're a wildlife depleted country. So you have to hang on to those positives and try and grasp them and encourage them. So, Michaela, you could really say, couldn't you, at the moment that we've never been more disconnected from the natural world in terms of how we're treating it. Yet we've never had more access to it in terms of being able to see bits of it so do you think that it's actually really only by being in it by getting into nature that we get attached to it to the point that we can change our habits well you say we're disconnected and of course we are but again you know i mean i'm always trying to put a positive spin on things. I'm known for it. But I do think that the one positive thing, well, one of the positive things about COVID was that it made people appreciate their own surroundings, their natural surroundings and what was on their doorstep.

held on to that um because you know so many people that's all they saw for a long time and they speak they begun to notice things and because people weren't in cars as much and on trains as much and they were walking more they begun to notice seasons changing and the wildlife around them which gave people a renewed appreciation but of course you're right i mean we we've got so much cement so many cities and and cities are growing so much that people are disconnected. And I think what certainly what I have to often remind myself of is, you know, I feel very connected to wildlife because that's my passion. And so most of my friends are people that are passionate about wildlife. I surround myself with similar people. But of course, we're not the majority. So, I mean, you are absolutely right.

There's an awful lot of people that are incredibly disconnected, which is so sad because I think as, you know, as children, most children are fascinated by the natural world. It's such an innate thing to be born with, to have that fascination of seeing a butterfly or a worm or a blue tit or an eagle or whatever. And, you know, as we get so busy with our lives and so connected to screen time, then that fascination and that connection does go. And I think certainly as parents, you have to really work at keeping that connection going.

Yeah, but then as soon as you do, especially I think with teenagers, I mean, the hardest people to get out into nature, but as soon as you do, especially, I think, with teenagers, I mean, the hardest people to get out into nature. But as soon as they are, there's just almost incontrovertible evidence that it reduces anxiety. There is a very powerful kind of calming effect. We underuse that now, don't you think? Yeah, and there has been scientific proof that going out into nature and connecting with wildlife in the natural world does reduce your stress. But I think, again, you know, going back to positives, that that is something that we're really recognising now.

And, you know, people are talking so much more about it. And it's something that we do focus a lot on, on the watches. And it's something that we do focus a lot on, on the watches. And, you know, we've got one of the pre-recorded pieces that we do this time is about a guy that connects with photography, wildlife photography. And he's an ex-soldier and ex-policeman that had PTSD and, you know, was on the verge of committing suicide when he got into connecting back with wildlife. And it saved him. And he said, you know, this without my back with wildlife and it saved him. And he said, you know, this without my connection to wildlife and photography, I would be a very, very different person. And I think, you know, it's a really uplifting piece.

And we often do focus on pieces like that because wildlife and that connection has made a massive difference to people with mental health issues. Quick question, Michaela, from a listener called Helen, who says, what about solar power in South Africa? Well, funny enough, I had a conversation with the builder today just about that. We have solar on our roof for a geyser, but we don't have it for the whole house. And it is something that in the last few years, as you can imagine imagine with a energy crisis like we're facing is um definitely becoming more popular and again on the radio today i was listening and they were saying if you you know want to make money in the next few years because this crisis isn't going to go away quickly then get into alternative energy for

for individual households so it is and and the builder told me that it's actually quite quite hard to get your license to do it you know there there are restrictions to who can do it which is great because it means that you know you're not just just going to get any old bod putting a solar panel on your roof that doesn't know what they're doing so um there is legislation around it which is uh positive news so yeah i mean and and there there are a lot of projects now, as you can imagine, when you've got a crisis like this, all sorts of people are saying, right, come on, let's do something. So you know what, I mean, it could end up being the best thing that's happened to the country, because it's forced us to change. And I've got this thing about human species, you know,

we're so intelligent, so bright, but we only react properly in a crisis and when there's a crisis we're great you look at covid crisis what do we do we we found a way to you know control it and to manage it um and the thing is with that with climate change is people a lot of people don't realize they're in a crisis until you know you get a flood or you get a fire or something affects you personally. Otherwise, it's a distant chatter and everyone's talking about it, but it's not really affecting me, so I don't need to worry. And you know that we're all guilty of it.

I'm just looking at an image actually in The Times today of heavy rain has already led to flooding in parts of the country, notably Tewksbury and Gloucestershire, and I think there's more rain forecast. So you sense that issue is not going to get any better anytime soon, probably get a lot worse in the next couple of weeks. Can we just talk briefly about your fantastic on-screen relationship with Chris Packham?

Because, well, he's a singular individual, isn't he? He's a very, very interesting man with an absolute breadth of knowledge, like your own. And you've worked with him for years. But I'm just going to suggest that he may not, and you can contradict me, he may not be the easiest person to work with. He's an amazing person to work with. He's so utterly supportive. And I mean, he's quirky. You know, when you're that much of an individual, you're going to be slightly quirky and different. And he is different um but once you get

to know him well I mean everybody that works with him adores him and respects him and and you know he's he really is the glue that keeps the program together and he's he's just yeah I mean I as you can tell I I think he's great I love him and I hugely admire him um and I think it's very easy for me to work with him because I know him so well. And we've we've watched each other grow up. And, you know, you can get I often say this. You can get two really good presenters and put them on a programme. And let's face it, we've all seen it on telly where it just doesn't quite work because there's not there's not that that connection, that onscreen connection. And as well as the on-screen connection that is naturally

there we've got history and you can't buy history can you it's we've been working together since well for 30 odd years and so we've watched each other grow and change and and so it's a very very easy relationship and I think why it works so well as you say I mean his knowledge is unbelievable and that's partly because he you know he is autistic and so he has that incredible memory and you know if people do have autism and use it in the right way it can be such a massive bonus because there's no way I can remember the stuff that he remembers you know I just about remember what we did last watch and he'll remember the date and exactly what it was and the bird and where it was.

He'll remember every detail. And I think that's why our onscreen relationship works well, because he's very into the detail. And I'm very much into the bigger picture and the emotion of a wildlife place or an animal or whatever. So I think that's why we complement each other so well. Michaela, answer this question very very carefully because the squirrels are listening do you prefer the wildlife of the uk or the wildlife of south africa okay so i'm gonna answer that i'm not gonna say which one but what i love about no you're not allowed to just be relentlessly positive about this one. We need a firm, honest answer. Let me compare.

Because when people come to South Africa on safari, what do they want to see? What would you want to see if you came to South Africa? Well, I want to see, is it the Big Four or the Big Five? I can't remember. The Big Five, yeah. It's the Big Five. So everybody wants to go and see a lion. What does a lion do?

It's 20 hours a day. It sleeps, you know, and everyone's staring at this sleeping lion and they're really excited, you know, including myself. I love seeing a sleeping lion. But because we don't have those sexy animals in the UK, or we don't have many, shall I say, sexy animals in the UK, it means we have to focus on the smaller stuff that you wouldn't dream of doing a film about if you were coming to film in Africa. So, for instance, we've got a film on something called a backswimmer, which is this little creature that lives on the surface of the water in a pond, sort of an upside down, and it's a ferocious predator. Now, you wouldn't do a film on that if you were coming to Africa. You'd do a

film on all the sexy stuff, all beautiful birds but actually that back swimmer is far more interesting than than a sleeping lion well i think there is now a series in michaela strachan's unsexy south african animals yes i'd watch that i think that's a hit i have to say that britain's animal population is currently reeling uh michaela strachan's assessment of them they've been completely dissed. I don't know how you could do that, Michaela. Really enjoyed talking to you and very excited for the new series,

which starts eight o'clock on January the 17th, which is, when is that next week? Is that, ooh? Tuesday. Tuesday, okay. So Tuesday to Friday this season for two weeks. So you've got eight one-hour shows to look forward to. Yes, but why is there no summer watch?

Everyone's asked me to ask that. It's partly because we do our spring watch quite late. People always go, oh, spring's over. But, you know, you don't want to watch eggs in a nest. You want to watch birds fledging. So it has to be later in the season. But you're going to laugh at this. It also has something to do with the scheduling of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Of course. So we have to come after the Chelsea Flower Show because all the outside broadcast trucks are being used on the Chelsea Flower Show. So that's another reason why we're late in the spring. TV presenter Michaela Strachan, who was one of the most positive people that we've had on the programme in a very long time. She managed to turn every single possibility of a disadvantage into something of an advantage.

Although I think I've got family in Cape Town, actually. And so I did know a bit about the power cuts, but they haven't really been because there are so many other, frankly, as far as we're concerned, bigger stories going on at the moment, not least the war in Ukraine. But I think if that were happening to us on a daily basis, and at least it's their summer there, so they aren't really inconvenienced. Although you imagine in poorer areas, hospitals, schools, this must be an absolute nightmare. Yes. As she was speaking, actually, I was just thinking of some of those huge townships outside Cape Town. Yeah, the Cape Flats. So if you don't have access to any kind of alternative energy supplies or a big freezer that might stay on for the two hours of the power cuts and all of that type of stuff.

you know, the two hours of the power cuts and all of that type of stuff. We had an email from Leslie, who is, oh, she's a chief marketing officer at a law company. There's Swanky. Thank you, Leslie. Really lovely to hear, Michaela. She was a school friend from nearly 50 plus years ago. Sorry, Michaela. Just great to follow your career. But always remember you refusing to sing in mrs alban's class um well i think she's certainly got over her stage fright hasn't she oh michaela crikey i wonder whether they could get back in touch properly i was sent to old girls magazine this week and uh i've just do you do you enjoy going back do you go to school reunions and things like that into a school

i've been back to the school a few times yeah do you like it do you do you know do you see people and it you know it reminds you of great times and kind of ticks a box I still see uh let me see six of my of my friends from school so I'm and we're really fairly close contact I would say yeah in fact very close contact so does it bring back happy happy memories some happy, some not so. I mean, I was only talking to my daughter about this today. I think that change from primary to secondary school can be really tough. And I was at a school where I was bumping along pretty much at the bottom of the class until we got to the sixth form, you know, where you could do what you were reasonably good at. So I would say I had average memories until the sixth

form and i loved the sixth form okay i've never have you never been to a school no i've never been to the school i think no i've never been to a formal school reunion but i don't really need to no um no i don't think i will if that's you won't no oh no i don't think so. I don't really like going back, Jane. Full throttle forward. Right, so when I am replaced by that computer-generated bot-prez that you'll be working with, I will never see you again. No, but it doesn't matter, because you did say today you felt you might be allergic to me. Well, no, because the question I didn't get round to asking Michaela

is, is it true that she's allergic to elephants? Oh, yes, she is, isn't she? Well, we should have asked her. Sorry, I just found that on the floor. Oh, this is my story that I wanted to mention. We are muttering now, so don't worry. We're just about to go. We're edging towards a finish.

I've got to go and fix a dodgy flush on a loo, so I don't want to leave it too long. Well, let me just bring you hungry seal angles for residency at Fishing Lake. A hungry seal has forced a popular fishing lake to shut for three weeks after eating three grand's worth of fish. The grey seal, believed to be about a year old, was first spotted swimming up the River Roach in Essex on December 6th. It was then seen in Marks and Spencer's. No, not in Marks and Spencer's. It was then seen in Marks Hall Fishery on December the 12th.

It's been estimated that £3,000 worth of fish stock has been lost and more than £500 in day tickets to the lake. Now, the reason I'm doing this is because the seal has been captured on camera. And what an ugly bugger it is, by the way. Look at that. And also very fat in the face. Yeah, I was just about to say that that's humongous isn't it yep and he's got a rather a nasty is it a he we don't know we'll assume so rather a nasty kind of uh malevolent malevolent yeah i know a little shit i mean and he's been eating all that fish and they can't get rid of it. This fellow's losing money and overfist.

I don't know. I tell you what, I would have laughed long and loud if the end to that story had been he turned up in Marks and Spencer's. I just said that to be funny. OK, have a reasonable night. I mean, you can't really ask for more and hopefully we'll be able to see you and talk to you again. No, that didn't make sense.

We'll reconvene tomorrow. We certainly will. And our big guests on the programme, if you want to join us live on that between three and five on Times Radio, all the way up to the edges, will be TV hunk, Ross Kemp. Get out of my pub!

So just imagine both Jane and I will have our arms folded, our biceps on display, we'll be in the bouncer stance and off we go with Mr Kemp. I can't do better than that. That's it. You have been listening to Off Air with Jane Garvey and Fee Glover.

Our Times Radio producer is Rosie Cutler and the podcast executive producer is Ben Mitchell. Now you can listen to us on the free Times Radio app or you can download every episode from wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget that if you like what you heard and thought, hey, I want to listen to this, but live, then you can Monday to Thursday, 3 till 5 on Times Radio.

Embrace the live radio jeopardy. Thank you for listening and hope you can join us off 3 till 5 on Times Radio embrace the live radio jeopardy thank you for listening and hope you can join us off air very soon goodbye