A voice on local radio

A voice on local radio

The presenter Clara Hughes chronicled the everyday lives of shopkeepers, teachers, drivers and the other residents of a northern harbour town. Hughes, (9) ________ to her friends as “Clara”, hosted the morning programme for nearly forty years. Its distinctly regional humour (10) ________ nothing to hamper its national success. It was said to have nine million listeners across three countries, and it (11) ________ Hughes widely famous. Hughes displayed unflaggingly sharp observation and a fairly gentle, if sometimes downbeat, humour. She was given (12) ________ anxiety and low spirits, and there was an underlying tenderness in her interviews, a bitter-sweet quality that clearly fascinated many of her listeners. In the 1950s, the programme had a loyal following (13) ________ intellectuals, but Hughes was happy to point (14) ________ that she herself had failed music, chemistry, history and French at school. When someone (15) ________ her an intellectual, she had to ask (16) ________ that description meant.