Q and A With Henry Blofeld OBE who is appearing at the Memorial Theatre on Friday 17th March. For tickets, visit the theatre’s website.
What can readers expect from the show?
In the first half of my show I’m going behind the scenes of my trip to India made in 2019 as part of the Real Marigold Hotel for the BBC. I was fortunate to be one of eight people invited. One of them was the famous actress Britt Ekland and I found myself for the first time in my life at the age of almost 80 in open combat with a Bond girl which made me forget that I was fast approaching a hundred and it made me feel like James Bond for a few days.
There are lots of good behind the scenes stories; lot of very amusing things did happen. You’ll have to come and see the show to find out more.
In the second half of the show I go back to Test Match Special (TMS) which has become a completely iconic programme in that it’s unique. I don’t think there’s another sporting programme to touch it. It’s a mixture of humanity, laughter and a programme that brings so much of life to the airwaves and also tells what might be a good cricket story as well.
There are some wonderfully amusing stories such as John Arlott’s description of the first streaker at Lords and then we’ve got Brian Johnston and the wonderful ‘Leg over,’ moment at the Oval in 1991 and lots of other equally humorous moments.
What sort of things have you been doing since you retired from commentating?
I’ve been very busy writing, doing voice overs, speeches, making commercials, commentating for the Lashings cricket team, a group of international test cricketers who have retired who play at various grounds around the UK. It’s usually for a crowd of around 3,000 people and I love it, it’s the greatest possible fun.
I love writing books which is a challenge, when you look at that first blank piece of paper and think golly, I’ve got to write 90,000 to 100,000 words, you think that’s a big bridge to climb but it’s amazing how easy it is once you get used to it. Once I’ve written the first chapter the rest just seems to follow.
Writing is an important part of my life. My next book will be out in 2024.
Was cricket always a big feature in your life from a young age?
Yes, I started watching village cricket at the age of 7 where I lived and then at prep school I fell in love with the game and started playing. I remember going to Lords and watching the England versus Australian game in the second test on 27 June in 1948 where I saw the great Don Bradman bat and I was completely hooked on cricket by then.
I hoped I was going to go on and play it. I played pretty successfully as a boy and I scored 100 at Lords when I was 16 but then I had this awful accident which put paid to a career in cricket. My love for the game very soon translated itself into writing and after two and half years in merchant banking in the city of London I started to work freelance for the Times in 1962. Broadcasting came ten years later after I chopped and changed working for various newspapers and the BBC started using me in 1972. They discovered I had a good voice and was able to string words together and the rest as they say is history.
What’s more nerve-wracking being on stage or doing a live commentary?
Being on stage, as you have a live audience in front of you but when you’re commentating there are only a few people with you in the commentary box. Regardless of how many millions may be listening to you it’s less terrifying because you can’t actually see them. I was very nervous when I first started on TMS but gradually gained confidence. On stage doing a solo show, there’s no one else to rely on for back up, you’re on your own. It keeps you on your toes. It’s much more nerve-wracking but the longer you’ve done it the more able you are to cope with any odd situations because you have the experience.
Do you miss commentating?
Yes, I loved every minute of it but I probably should have retired from it two years earlier than I did. Unfortunately, my eyes were letting me down. I was sad initially at the thought of retiring but I was worried that I might miss things that were happening on the pitch due to my eyesight. I was realistic to know that the time had come for me to stop.
What is one of your funniest moments whilst commentating?
I was pretty good at not laughing when on air as there were regular occasions when there were double entendres. I recall once when England lost two early wickets, I said that “Gooch and Gower were righting the ship,” many listeners thought I said that “Gooch and Gower were right in the shit!” There was an occasion when I was commentating my first ever test match at Lords and Brian Johnston who had long earlobes leaned towards me and suddenly tucked one ear lobe into his ear and it stuck, he’s the only person I have ever seen be able to do that. Then he tucked the other one in by this time I was trying awfully hard not to laugh and then about ten seconds later he lifted both eyebrows up and both earlobes shot out of his ears like corks out of a gun. I did completely collapse in laughter.
What are your thoughts on the current trends in cricket?
Cricket is very much split down the middle you have the advocates of the one-day event white ball cricket and those of the test match red ball cricket. Personally, I think it’s always shown to be a contest between the two, but I think it really shouldn’t be, they should live easily together because there’s a very important place for both of them.
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