Just a minute

Just a minute BBC R4 Host Nicholas Parsons with Julian Clary, Stephen Fry and David Tennant

Is a show on BBC Radio4 which involves public speaking (free and spontaneous) on a given subject for 1 minute 🙂 For example like this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02jrpxz/player

“David Tennant’s days with the Royal Shakespeare Company came in useful when he was asked to talk for 60 seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation on the topic, ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ (Release date: 11 Feb 2015)”

And it was his first time on the show 🙂

I love the English language although i know i’ll never be as good at it as i wish… I find i’m often reminded by how beautiful it actually is not watching the news or reading papers, not even reading books, but hearing people speak, actors in particular. Of course the language is their main professional tool and they probably understand it better than most of us, but still, the capacity some of them have to express ideas fluently, in a very rich vocabulary is fascinating. And it’s not only the vocabulary, it’s also the accents that I find fascinating. I could listen to people like Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, Stephen Fry, Richard Armitage, Ewan McGregor talk for hours and not get bored (and many more, the list is just too long to mention them all). Not just because they seem to always have something interesting to say, but also because of the way they say things and how they use the language and the words.

Of course reading enriches our vocabulary, but I think the active use of the language, the sounds and words show us how truly beautiful English can really be. And however much I like to experience it spoken on a stage, I find the unrestricted use of it in free speech even more fascinating. (Especially when it doesn’t come through discourse used by politicians, although I appreciate it when they are competent at it.)

I didn’t know about this show, but it is amazing fun and tests the speakers under quite stressful conditions 🙂 There are of course rules ..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02jrq42/player

“(Doctor) Who’s the new boy on Just a Minute? The rules are simple. Or are they? Just a Minute virgin, David Tennant gets confused and receives a lesson in the English language from Nicholas Parsons. David joins veterans Stephen Fry, Julian Clary and Paul Merton for a hilarious Just a Minute challenge. (Release date: 11 Feb 2015)”

In case you want to listen to the whole 30 min of the show, the link is below 🙂 We can safely say David knows a lot about Shakespeare 😉 And can talk about it quite brilliantly. But there is a lot more in there to listen to from some very competent guests, good fun and a lot of innuendo 😉  Enjoy!! (it is available for another 28 days)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b051ryqd

“Episode 1 Just a Minute, Series 71 Episode 1 of 8

It’s the return of Radio 4’s classic panel game in which the contestants are challenged to speak on a given subject for a minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation. This series, the guests include Jenny Eclair, Stephen Fry, Sheila Hancock, Robin Ince Paul Merton, Graham Norton, and trying his hand at the game for the first time, the tenth doctor, David Tennant. Recorded at the BBC’s Radio Theatre and Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, this long running and popular series enters its 47th year with the same wonderful host, Nicholas Parsons.Kicking off this first episode in the series are Julian Clary, Stephen Fry, Paul Merton and David Tennant who makes his first impressive appearance on the show. Subjects include Exit, Pursued by a Bear, which is Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction.”