Guy Lloyd: Guy Thoughts

A dreaded call from the boss

When I get the call from my boss at the radio station, I know it’s unlikely to be an offer of a pay rise or an interview with Rihanna. The chances are, I’ve done something wrong or I’m going to be asked to do something that I don’t want to do. Call me pessimistic but I’m nearly always right on this one. And so it proved yesterday, when I was out filming with my other work, Latest TV and I got THE CALL from my boss. I knew Rihanna was on the verge of releasing a new single but I also knew that she’d probably want to chat with ‘Grimmy’, rather than me. Fair enough Grimmy, she’s yours. Have you interviewed Dr. Karl Kennedy from Neighbours? You can only dream boy.
Anyway, back to the call from my boss. It wasn’t so much bad news, more catastrophic. It was only Tuesday and this call had pretty much written off the rest of my week and probably screwed up my weekend too. And it was the six words that I dreaded most: “Can you cover Breakfast this week?”. Which translated means, “would you like to get up at 3.30am every morning this week?”. How can you reply to that sensibly? “Yes, please. I was planning on having three hours sleep a night anyway, so we may as well throw in a radio show in to the mix.”
Being the consummate professional, I kept these thoughts to myself and gave him this classic delayed response, “can I get back to you after I’ve finished filming?”. Which translated means, “I’ve got an hour to make an excuse up and get out of this”. The hour passed. I couldn’t really think of anything to do, apart from walking in to the sea. And that felt a little drastic. And very choppy, this time of year. I bit the bullet, rearranged all my school runs, meetings, etc. and gave him the answer he was looking for. Through gritted teeth.

Now this may sound very ungrateful. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware that I am doing my dream job and I feel lucky to still be doing it after ten years. But getting up at 3.30am? Seriously? I remember the days of getting in at that time. Something I can occasionally still do when I’m on Drive. Who are these people listening to the radio at this time? Vampires? I quickly realised the negativity was creeping in and I had to cut that out, to get in the zone to actually entertain these creatures of the night.
Luckily, I have a fantastic co-host (the lovely Hana Neter) and she brought me grapes (I’m such a diva) and she made everything alright. And actually, despite the extreme lack of sleep, I’m never happier than when I am on the radio (apart from hanging out with my family, if my wife is reading this). Yes, I feel jet-lagged and I’m not really sure what I’m doing. But it’s still the radio. And I love it.