Paddy O’Connell

“Rhod was a grand master who taught me a lot about radio, the BBC and the USA.  However he could also be quite innocent.  When covering the US Mid Terms of 1994, Rhod gave me and my two colleagues a nearly-full bottle of Wild Turkey to celebrate a fabulous programme with a couple of neat bourbons each.  It was two in the morning and he was going to bed and we shared one each.  After he’d left we three finished the bottle, so bought one the next day to return half full.  But we then finished that off too, so we bought a third bottle, which we then returned to him half-full.  He replied ‘Ooh.  I’m surprised you only had a couple.'”

Paddy O’Connell, Presenter Broadcasting House, BBC Radio Four