City Talk - good news and bad

Another freezing cold day yesterday, but in the evening, it was great to spend some time with Janette Fleming, a delightful librarian I’ve worked with on several occasions over the years. Janette is a reader development officer at Halton Lea library in Runcorn, and she’s organised a number of talks I’ve been involved with, as well as a Victorian mystery event, and a day-long workshop at which I first met Sophie Hannah.

On this occasion, she was pre-recording an interview for the radio station City Talk – my second visit to the Liverpool Beacon in a week, and a chance to see the illuminated night-time city from the viewing platform (which, when I first came to the city was the window for a marvellous revolving restaurant.). Our conversation ranged over a number of topics, including Dancing for the Hangman and Dr Crippen (a few years ago, Janette was the first person to hire me to give a talk on true crime, as opposed to crime fiction, and I much enjoyed it.)

However, I caught up with some sad news. I mentioned in my post of 3 April that I’d been interviewed on City Talk by the breakfast presenters Phil and Kim and that Phil Easton had given Waterloo Sunset enthusiastic and well-researched coverage. I was shocked to learn that Phil died a few days ago – without any prior warning, of a massive stroke. Oddly, I’d heard his voice just before his death – he was the announcer at Liverpool Football Club’s home matches, and he was working there when I watched the match with Chelsea last Sunday. I only met him that one time, but he was clearly a highly professional broadcaster and I’m very sorry he has died.