Cabin Pressure IV - prepare for boarding.

Arthur Shappey. A serious man, with a serious announcement, and a serious face.

Bing bong. I have Cabin Pressure news. Yes, actual news! Not just news about when we hope to know when we might get news, but the news itself. All of it.  Are you ready? Ok. Here is the news. 

*Shuffles papers. Looks serious.*

The new series of Cabin Pressure will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 for six weeks starting Wednesday the 9th of January, 2013.  The cast is unchanged.

There will be three recordings. They will all be at the RADA studios in London, at 1:30 pm, on the following dates: Sunday the 2nd of December; Sunday the 16th December and Sunday the 6th of January.

You will be able to apply for free tickets to the recordings on this site, probably in two or three days time. (A tip - if past experience is anything to go by, there will be quite a short window between applications being opened and closed, so if you're keen, keep an eye on the site.) Applications will then be entered into a draw, and successful applicants will be emailed and sent their tickets.

I've been really touched by, and grateful for, all the excitement and interest people have shown about the show, here and at the try-outs, and I wish there was more I could do to help you get tickets. Unfortunately, there just isn't - partly because the BBC Ticket Unit control the draw, not me or Pozzitive, and partly because if I started, where would I stop? So all I can do is wish you the very best of luck, and hope to see you there!

Oh, one other thing - the ticket unit tend to issue more tickets than there are seats, because often people with free tickets don't turn up. Last series, this lead to a lot of people with tickets being turned away at the door, which I absolutely hate. I've asked them very nicely not to over-cater by much this time round, and I hope they listen. But even so, do bear in mind getting a ticket doesn't guarantee entry. If it was me, for instance, I would think twice before travelling a long way to see it. 

Anyway, this has got very gloomy. The main thing is, we've got recording dates, we've got transmission dates, and there will be more Cabin Pressure in two months time! 

Now all I have to do is finish writing it. 

I knew there was something. 

Bringing up the averages.

This tombstone I saw recently in an Oxfordshire graveyard tells a sad story. 

If you can't read it, it commemorates the three children of Jabez and Bithiah Hayes, who all died in infancy between 1859 and 1864, two within a fortnight of each another. 

However, if, as you walk on, reflecting gloomily on the frailty of the poor little Hayes kids, you happen to glance back at the stone, the inscription on the other side may cheer you up a little:

Nice going, Bithiah Jr! Way to keep the engraver waiting. I hope you always made a big deal of Mothering Sunday.