Automated voices
I’ve said it many times before, but Radio 4 is really a national treasure. The dramas and comedies are great, but I also love the little factual programmes about obscure but interesting things. Just last week I was sitting on the train at New Street station, listening to the automated announcements and wondering about the poor soul who had to say “I’m sorry for the delay to your journey” a million times until he got the required firm but sympathetic tone. Thanks to ‘Cashier Number Six, Please’ (a ‘Sunday Best’ repeat), I now know that the poor soul is Phil Sayer.
Memorably describing himself as a “gob on a stick”, he also admitted that—-as the auditory scapegoat for Railtrack’s many failings—-he’s probably the most hated man in Britain. I’m sure that he got reasonably well paid to do it, but I’m still not sure that I would have the patience to read every single station name in Britain twice: once with a rising inflection (for the start or middle of a list), and once with a falling inflection (for the end of the list). It must also be weird when you’re waiting on a platform and furious about the delay to your train to hear yourself apologising sincerely to yourself.
They also featured the voices of BT directory enquiries, in-car navigation units and of course, the queuing machines. One woman who was a “Cashier number five, please” said that she’d become quite a celebrity at the local Post Office. I was surprised to hear that this didn’t involve her getting bludgeoned to death with parcels and pension books.
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I'll add Phil Sayer to my collection of trainspotting names - I already knew that the original "Mind The Gap" was by Peter Lodge, and that the voice of the Nottingham tram is Lisa Dransfield.
[/anorak] [/embarassment]----- Can you advise what this radio programme was called and when it was broadcast? being a nerdy type, and also responsible for the automated CIS system on one of the Train Companies, I'd like to have a listen if I can..
by John Till @ 06/10/2005 4:11 pm • Permalink •
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The programme itself was called "Cashier Number Six, Please", and I think it was first broadcast on Monday 23rd May, 2005 on Radio 4.
by bsag @ 17/10/2005 4:11 pm • Permalink •
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mr till lisa dransfield is the voice of the nottingham rainbow 5 bus. the lady on the tram is called wendy and is a school teacher in Nottingham who one a competition
by bill @ 26/01/2007 7:00 pm • Permalink •
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