Belated Happy 100th

I may be a bit late in getting in on this, but Sir David Attenborough hit his centenary birthday last week, and quite rightly, the world has gone a bit over-the-top with their praise, gratitude and platitudes. I'm not even sure how you can begin to say how influential, important, inspiring and intellectually important he has been. I suppose the simplest way to put it is this - in most English-speaking countries in the world, if you play a clip of his voice, people will know who he is. And for anyone who has ever been interested in the Natural World, or the making of documentaries, or the best way to broadcast, or how to run a TV station, or effective methods of education, then he has to be up there as a person to aspire to, and will almost certainly have helped pushed you in the direction that your life has taken. Has there been any programme about animals that is worth mentioning that didn't involve him? Has there been anyone in entertainment who has maintained their position as the number one exponent of his chosen field for so long? He's ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD, for God's sake, and he would still be the voice that 99% of producers would want to have associated with their show. I remember the BBC trying to phase him out a bit - whether because he wanted to ease up and retire or not, I don't know - and the programmes that were narrated by the likes of David Tennant, Sean Pertwee, or the others that they tried to get the public to accept as 'The New Voice of Nature' simply didn't land as well. He is, genuinely, unique. There will never be another person, in any field I suspect, who will last so long, achieve so much, and maintain such high standards.
I hope he goes on for many more years, and I hope he understands just what a giant he is.

RC 14-5-26