26 DECEMBER 1941, Page 4

One of the momentous questions of the day, I gather,

is whether Mr. Wilfred Pickles, possessor of a Doric accent publi- cised as an agreeable relief from the too dulcet tones and cultured inflexions of some more familiar B.B.C. Chrysostoms, shall be continued as an announcer after his probationary month is up. On this vital topic I would only observe that accent is by no means everything. Mr. Pickles, or any other recruit, must fail, however seductive his pronunciation, unless he can read as well as Alvar Lidell, Alan Howland and the rest. " They have, in fact, set a standard well beyond the reach of a high percentage of aspirants. Accent is one thing, expression another, and intelligent expression counts for a great deal, even in the reading of news-bulletins.

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