The way my mind works

Who is this?

For reasons that need not detain us here, I found myself saying the phrase: 'with a spoon in my hand' this morning. This fired up a connection in my brain somewhere and next thing I knew I was singing 'With a song in my heart' - which of course put me in mind of 'The Yorkshire Pudding Programme'. This is not, as Mr Thorley quipped, the latest recipe book to hit the shelves, but is the way I used to refer to the old radio programme Two Way Family Favourites.


Are you following? 'With a song...' was the theme tune to TWFF. Why the Yorkshires reference? Because in my memory bank this is what my mum was cooking whenever the show was on when I was a young lass.  Now, I'm sure this recollection has been distorted by the lens of time, because I can't imagine we had this savoury delight every week, or that Mum's timing was so impeccable. Nevertheless, that's how my mind jumped from one thing to another.

If you can remember this programme, then I'm sorry but you're older than you think you are - although checking the dates, I learned that although it began just after the end of the Second World War  it wasn't axed until 1984! It's heyday though, was definitely the 1950s, '60s and '70s. TWFF was broadcast on the Light Programme (which became Radio 2) and was hosted by real-life couple Cliff Michelmore and Jean Metcalfe (above). It was originally devised as a way for British families to keep in touch with relatives serving in the forces overseas, initially in Germany, but later extending to include Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. It's USP (although they didn't call it that then) was that it played mostly recorded music as opposed to live performances, which was the norm. Ah, different times.