The death of Barry Norman at last allows me to correct a compliment he once paid me on Radio 4. When he was working on the Guardian I showed him an advance proof of an article about professional bakers, which noted that a major hazard of the job could be the impact of flour dust on the eyes. The headline on the proof was “Masterbaking can make you blind” which Barry thought hilarious and attributed to me.
In fact, it was a provisional offering by Stewart Wavell, a features subeditor. As head of department I was sadly obliged to substitute something much duller.
