Commentators

From the commentary box on a glorious summer afternoon, two veteran broadcasters settle into the gentle rhythm of describing the scene: the packed ground, the immaculate grass and the groundsman responsible for it. A passing bus on a nearby country road sends them off on a tangent about the village it serves and the spectators heading for strawberries and cream, and from there each fond observation feeds the other's. Their list of cherished English things speeds up into a breathless jumble of countryside, sweets, schoolroom discipline, nannies and motoring memories, with cream returning again and again, until the pair are shouting in something close to rapture. After a spent, awkward pause, the broadcast simply moves on to the next arrival.