A total joy to be invited to offer the 06.07.26 Pause for Thought on the first morning of the Sara Cox Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2! Listen here. Here’s what I shared:

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In our local park there’s a winding path – and from 8:00 in the morning it fills with kids heading to school, walking, or riding their bikes. I was walking the dog one morning in the park last week and noticed a group of adults chatting at the bottom of a little hill. They were spread right across the path, completely unaware they were blocking everybody else. Children were trudging around them. Kids riding bikes had to brake and pedal up into the long grass.

But then, there was this young girl – probably nine or ten years old. She crested the hill on her bike, she saw the adults, and she rang her bike bell. Well, the adults didn’t even look up. So she rang that bell again – they didn’t move. It was like they hadn’t woken up yet.

Finally, ten meters out, she rang that bell one more time and she yelled: “Oi! I’M INCOMING!” Suddenly the crowd woke up and scattered off the path, just in time, laughing. And the girl sailed through, triumphant.

Sara Cox – I thought of you.

It’s your first show and here you are, with energy and bells and a little bit of “Oi! Incoming!” To wake us up, to bring some joy to our days, and maybe even to move us on a bit, too. Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here.

I know you’ve got the amazing Tom Hanks coming in later. I heard him interviewed recently, about when he played Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers, the children’s television presenter who was also a Christian minister. Tom Hanks said he’d once heard Mr. Rogers say something like: if the only prayer we ever pray is “thank you, God”, that would be enough. And Tom Hanks said: I’m not really a religious person, but I love that.

I’m a Christian, and I love that, too. Whether we’re people who pray or people who don’t, wherever we are on the spirituality spectrum (or not), I think gratitude – “thank you” – is something many of us recognise.

And so, this morning, Sara, as you arrive – incoming! – I pray:

Thank you, God, for new beginnings.

Thank you for Bolton pride and a strong Lancashire accent.

Thank you for the music on the radio.

For sass and surprise, and for the gift of waking up again, however we feel about it.

Sara Cox, may your show be a blessing – a space for laughter, a force for good, and an absolute ton of fun.