Yesterday I did an hour and a quarter in the studio at BBC Radio Norfolk, on Graham Barnard and Karen Buchanan’s morning show. The plan was to celebrate France and all things French as it was July 14th – Bastille Day – and as their guest travel journalist, I was there to give listeners a quick tour around some of the places I’ve visited. They’d already made a start when I arrived, but I was amazed when Karen said to me off-mike “Hopefully your bit will lift things. You’ve no idea how many emails and texts we’ve received.”
It seems that even in sleepy Norfolk there is an undercurrent of rabid xenophobia. The most common comment was “Why should you be doing a programme devoted to the French? Would they do something similar on St George’s Day?” And of course the truth is they probably wouldn’t.
But it is fair to say that we have a large stake in what brought about Bastille Day – the French Revolution. Thomas Paine, the man who inspired it, was born and brought up in Norfolk. And while Spain has snuck in to pole position over recent years, France has traditionally been Britain’s most popular holiday destination.
So yes, I was delighted to celebrate France on a day when they would be celebrating themselves, and helping to remind listeners why it is we like going there for our holidays.
