Chris had started the week hearing the show through one ear
The first problem of Monday was technical and physical.
Chris could hear properly through only one ear.
The imbalance made the whole studio sound wrong.
Scott suggested ear candles and other dubious remedies while Chris repeatedly tested whether the problem had cleared.
It had not.
For a presenter who needed headphones for several hours, suddenly having one ear effectively disappear was extremely disorientating.
Cardiff invited Radio 1 to the office party
Listener Lek was part of Cardiff’s Early Help Team.
The group supported children, parents and families across several services.
Like workplaces everywhere in 2020, its Christmas party could not happen in a normal venue.
Instead roughly two dozen colleagues were meeting remotely on Microsoft Teams.
Lek invited Scott and Chris.
They accepted.
The result was a strange hybrid in which some staff were still officially working, some had taken the day off, some were drinking and everybody had Radio 1 dropping in and out of the party.
Scott, who already preferred Zoom to Teams largely because he disliked changing software, reluctantly entered the Microsoft environment.
The show brought its own party games
The team already played Don’t Look It Up together on ordinary workdays, although delays between different radios had created accusations of cheating.
For the party, Scott and Chris brought The Who Game, Bangers and quiz rounds directly onto the call.
One round asked whether names belonged to boxers or television dancers.
Scott somehow scored three out of three despite admitting much of the method was simply choosing the category whose name he did not recognise.
Later, the whole party became the Bangers jury.
Instead of one caller deciding, dozens of people shouted for their preferred track.
It was noisy, messy and probably more entertaining than another scheduled Teams icebreaker.
Office-party confessions removed all identifying details
The show also asked listeners to confess the worst thing they had done at previous office Christmas parties.
There would be no callback.
No names.
No attempt to identify the workplace.
That freedom produced extremely honest messages.
One listener had attended a party in a museum and attempted to climb onto a dinosaur exhibit after drinking.
Scott immediately issued the obvious disclaimer that nobody should ever do this while also admitting that “I once rode a dinosaur at the office party” was a spectacular story.
One confession actually ended with a marriage
Another listener had joined a company, attended her first office party and met an attractive man.
They spent the night together.
Only afterwards did she discover he was her boss’s boyfriend.
The situation was messy.
But the boss and boyfriend later separated.
The listener and the man eventually married.
Scott and Chris realised that, morally complicated beginning aside, the story had somehow transformed into a long-term romantic ending.
Other messages were far less printable.
The feature confirmed exactly why employers had reasons to fear the traditional office party.
Perhaps a virtual 2020 version was safer after all.
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