It is three minutes after ten. A very good morning to you. It's Friday. I don't know. I'm of an age where I still think of crunchies and crackerjack. Anybody else get that? Is that generational thing? Friday's made me think of crunchies and crackerjack. Half of you won't know what crackerjack is, will you? I digress already. This is probably a new record. I have a question to ask you about industrial action

that I have never asked you before

and I can't quite believe that I've never asked you before

because I cannot wait to hear your answers to that question.

And regular, well, should we say veteran listeners to the program?

Can we talk of veterans now, veterans?

Or loyal, long-time listeners, first-time caller,

long-time listeners to the program um

I'm going to wheel out one of my time honored anecdotes at this point because I think it is you think

it is highly pertinent to the question that I'm about to ask you and it is a story that I've been sharing with you. I haven't done it for over a year. People, this is the only thing people say to me, if I, if, if, if, if, if, if, if they're kind enough to, to stop me and say a few kind words out in public, the only catchphrase, I think I have is the one born of the story that I'm about to share. Is that a big

enough clue for you? Is that, do you know where we are now? Do you know where we're going with

this? When I was at school, when I was about 11 or 12 years old, it was customary for Wednesday

afternoons to be taken up with lectures by interesting individuals

with interesting stories to tell.

Now, younger listeners may need a bit of a heads up.

I actually know, I suppose, because of the press conferences during the COVID-19 crisis, you know what slides are.

You remember when next slide, please, became a nationwide catchphrase.

Well, these lectures that I had as a youngster would involve about 140 smelly kids.

And we were smelly. I mean mean the laundry regulations at my boarding schools

were a thing to behold they were positively medieval on occasion so about a hundred and twenty

smelly kids sitting cross-legged identically clothed sitting cross-legged on the floor of the gym in a in a sort

of prefabricated building in the Worcestershire

...