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Blowers Off - no longer on the air





knocky1

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2010
12,943
He can go and look at buses driving along the road. Spot pigeons and wear brightly colored clothes. Will miss him but around till September.
 




Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,719
Hove
Good old Henry retires. Great innings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40378783

Some great memories

Buys his clothes from a gentleman's outfitters in Small Dole - Peter Christian. Think he lives fairly locally. 23 years since Jonners passed, and Bloers feels like the last of that true old guard of TMS. Aggers of course, and Vic Marks still have that overlapping continuity, but with Henry retiring, it does feel like it really is well and truly the end of an era. Will definitely miss the traffic and flight updates from the commentary.
 






vegster

Sanity Clause
May 5, 2008
27,866
He has been a bit shaky for the last couple of years now and thanks to the huge influx of younger talent he's probably seen the writing on the wall. Prone to overdoing the Bus-itis and Pigeons in recent years but still pretty good fun. My favourite memory of him was from a year or so back when Michael Vaughn said to him " Henry, what on earth are you wearing today ?.....you have a yellow shirt, tangerine trousers and lime green loafers on....you look like some kind of liquorice allsort "
 


hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,088
Chandlers Ford
Will be sadly missed.

I have the cricket on in the car sometimes, and my two lads don't quite GET Henry, when his commentary shift comes round, and he comes out with something like "Oh, he's bowled him, has he? No. No that's four runs through cover. Fine stroke"

"How can you tell what's happening in the game?"
"You can't"
"Why is he considered good then? He's all over the place"
Difficult to explain, especially given that I entirely agree with them that John Motson is now utterly unlistenable, and the two I suppose are comparable.

Loved Johnston and Blofeld for many years. The narrators of my childhood.
 














The Large One

Who's Next?
Jul 7, 2003
52,343
97.2FM
Will be sadly missed.

I have the cricket on in the car sometimes, and my two lads don't quite GET Henry, when his commentary shift comes round, and he comes out with something like "Oh, he's bowled him, has he? No. No that's four runs through cover. Fine stroke"

"How can you tell what's happening in the game?"
"You can't"
"Why is he considered good then? He's all over the place"
Difficult to explain, especially given that I entirely agree with them that John Motson is now utterly unlistenable, and the two I suppose are comparable.

Loved Johnston and Blofeld for many years. The narrators of my childhood.

It's the enthusiasm of the amateur, combined with the gift of the professional, separated by a great unknown; an undefined craft. And it's that unknown which marks the difference between a commentator and a narrator.

Blowers, of course.
John Arlott
Brian Johnston
Richie Benaud
John Motson
Barry Davies
Bill McLaren
Murray Walker
Even Aggers has that 'unknown' about him.

This isn't wistful pining for an previous time; a time of youth and fun, nor an era which no longer exists - these were/are genuine narrators.
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,110
Surrey
Along with Richie Benaud and John Arlott.

British sports tend to have a "voice of [insert sport]" and Blowers was definitely the voice of cricket.

And Brian Johnston first amongst (those) 'equals'.

I know this is both controversial and almost blasphemous, but when it comes to cricket commentary, everybody seems to love an old duffer who sounds a bit clueless but actually isn't, yet is prone to childish giggles and thanking people for baking a cake.

I guess what I'm saying is that in reality, you could put any old slightly quirky, posh cricket lover, give him 2 decades presenting TMS, and he'll end up a "legend". I'm not saying Blowers won't be missed, but are there any of this sort of ilk who haven't had these sort obituary comments written about them?
 


The Large One

Who's Next?
Jul 7, 2003
52,343
97.2FM
I know this is both controversial and almost blasphemous, but when it comes to cricket commentary, everybody seems to love an old duffer who sounds a bit clueless but actually isn't, yet is prone to childish giggles and thanking people for baking a cake.

I guess what I'm saying is that in reality, you could put any old slightly quirky, posh cricket lover, give him 2 decades presenting TMS, and he'll end up a "legend". I'm not saying Blowers won't be missed, but are there any of this sort of ilk who haven't had these sort obituary comments written about them?

Therein lies the point - 'of his ilk'.

His 'ilk' are the voices of legends; of verbal craftsmen who can paint pictures on the radio, and deserve all the plaudits coming their way.
 




Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,110
Surrey
Therein lies the point - 'of his ilk'.

His 'ilk' are the voices of legends; of verbal craftsmen who can paint pictures on the radio, and deserve all the plaudits coming their way.
I'm not entirely convinced, mate. I should point out that I have no wish to denigrate Blowers - he is a splendid, likeable chap who I enjoy listening to. I just genuinely believe he is easily replaced. When Jonners threw a seven, we saw exactly the same reaction. Two decades on, and Blowers is receiving precisely the same plaudits. Maybe it's just not that difficult to be likeable if you are that sort of character?
 


Machiavelli

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2013
16,542
Fiveways
It's the enthusiasm of the amateur, combined with the gift of the professional, separated by a great unknown; an undefined craft. And it's that unknown which marks the difference between a commentator and a narrator.

Blowers, of course.
John Arlott
Brian Johnston
Richie Benaud
John Motson
Barry Davies
Bill McLaren
Murray Walker
Even Aggers has that 'unknown' about him.

This isn't wistful pining for an previous time; a time of youth and fun, nor an era which no longer exists - these were/are genuine narrators.

You are aware that a narrator unravels a narrative, and using the word narrative is a no-no on here :wink: On which, I almost believed him when he said that he was nearly 100 on the Today programme this morning.
As to Blowers, I've railed against him for ages, but this moment seems to sum up that phrase that you don't know what you've got until you lost it.
 


Gritt23

New member
Jul 7, 2003
14,902
Meopham, Kent.
Oh, gutted. yes, the writing has been on the wall for a while now, but he (and previously Brian Johnson) are characters who will simply never be replaced. A throw back from an era of easy-listening radio conversation that the broadcasters will simply not recruit again.

To add to the mystic, and the loss, is that it's so hard to explain what made them so great, and the "shows" they did on radio are not the sort of production that you get a box set of to listen to in nostalgic moments. Barring the clip of Johnners and Aggers completely losing it when running through the scorecard at the end of the day and never recovering from describing Botham's dismissal as him "failing to get his leg over", we sadly won't have any access to their brilliance.

Thanks for some truly wonderful days Blowers, when you just seemlessly kept me company while I worked, drove, or simply relaxed at home. You will be TRULY missed.

A sad, sad day.
 


Eeyore

Lord Donkey of Queen's Park
NSC Patreon
Apr 5, 2014
23,376




Behind Enemy Lines

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2003
4,797
London
Blowers, like Jonners before him, were old school, of course they were, but I hope there's still going to be a place for the eccentric and distinctive voice on the radio. Far too many commentators now sound the same. I think he was a wonderful narrator of the game; one of the great voices of cricket in my life-time. A tough act to follow. Like Benaud and Jonners, he will be missed.
 


hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,088
Chandlers Ford
It's the enthusiasm of the amateur, combined with the gift of the professional, separated by a great unknown; an undefined craft. And it's that unknown which marks the difference between a commentator and a narrator.

Blowers, of course.
John Arlott
Brian Johnston
Richie Benaud
John Motson
Barry Davies
Bill McLaren
Murray Walker
Even Aggers has that 'unknown' about him.

This isn't wistful pining for an previous time; a time of youth and fun, nor an era which no longer exists - these were/are genuine narrators.

Terrific list that, but may I please score out Motson and replace him with Peter Alliss?
 



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