First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"Well it's 4 o'clock on this lovely, peaceful Christmas afternoon and this is Dickie Bird here being a very happy Christmas worm. You know, I got really sentimental after the morning show today, and I thought about poor, old Steve Kelly having to come in here and spend the afternoon away from his lovely wife and happy kids, so bachelor-boy Dickie volunteered and here I am. You know, I must be crackers, mad or crazy, but to tell you the truth, we're having a pretty good time in Metro Sound today. There's definitely a party atmosphere. We've got the food, we've got the goodies and the odd drink or two, so don't you feel too sorry for us. And, anyway, Hilary Sandeman has promised all us Christmas workers an extra four weeks holiday in the Caribbean as a means of compensation, so that can't be at all bad. An awfully nice boss Hilary is. So I hope that you'll stay with us and let us join your party, or if you haven't got a party of your own, you come and join ours. So cheers everybody in this great big, weird and wonderful city of ours. And listen folks, I'm not going to tell you what the time is today, or tell you what the traffic is doing, or tell you what's happening with the weather. Oh no, we're gonna have a day away from all that. I'm just gonna sit back, play you some very nice music, talk my head off, and tell you some of the worst jokes that you're ever likely to repeat. So in the meantime, here's a little bit of music while I tuck in to my Christmas pud. Merry Christmas, everybody, God bless us, everyone."
"A war about wafers."
"Alan Bird is getting nothing he wants this Christmas."
"Bill Paterson — Alan Bird"
"Eleanor David — Maddy"
"Clare Grogan — Charlotte"
"Alex Norton — Trevor"
"Patrick Malahide — Colin"
"Rikki Fulton — Hilary"
"Roberto Bernardi — "Mr. McCool""
"George Rossi — Bruno"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.