I have made a brief reference to Alistair Cooke before, and today I find he is to retire. More than his keen observation of all matters 'America', I think it is his voice, diction and pace that I will remember him most for. He came from an era when radio was king and words were well chosen and ideas clearly expressed. If we were honest with ourselves, we'd admit it was still king now, but these days the glitz of moving pictures and the cult of celebrity gets more attention. The BBC asks if it is the "end of an era?", and I think I'd have to reply "yes". Fortunately, the BBC website has a lot of archives of his programmes and you'll find a link to his last letter on that page.
Posted by Joe at March 2, 2004 10:57 PMI remember how his enchanting voice projecting his weekly Letter from America could bring me to a mesmerized halt as I passed through the "radio room" in our house.
Posted by: martin at March 3, 2004 10:17 AM