As the owner of a radio alarm clock, I could theoretically start listening to the Today programme before I’m even awake, but I rarely do. I tell myself it’s too much for first thing; that it’s bound to put me in a bad mood with some interview or other; that Today can wait until tomorrow – or at least until I’ve had my breakfast and a blitz of the somewhat jollier Times Radio. The levée, I say in a Bertie Woosterish sort of way, demands something light.
When you crave something thought-provoking but also comforting, nothing beats a few minutes of prayer
But then I find myself waking up unintentionally early, switching to Radio 4 and discovering that Prayer for the Day is about to begin. Prayer for the Day is never light, and it certainly isn’t Woosterish, but it sounds gentle enough for the sixth hour, and so I lie there and listen.
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