The Bishop and Bill

We've become a bit weary of American cultural imperialism, but there is one US export of which we in Oxford have become curiously fond.

Bill Heine, like our own new Bishop, studied law at Oxford before deciding to follow a very different career path.  Heine claims his law degree's most useful purpose has been for defending himself; a reference perhaps to some well-documented disputes of the past. 

Heine became the controversial owner of two art-house cinemas: the Penultimate Picture Palace on the Cowley Road with its trademark Al Jolson hands and Not the Moulin Rouge in Headington. 

It was into the roof of a small terrace house on the same street as the Moulin Rouge, that there landed the body of a large shark sometime in 1986.   Perhaps the precarious aspect of this fibreglass creature reflected Heine's own business position; both cinemas subsequently closed.

Heine has found his niche in local radio and TV. He currently anchors the drive-time show on Radio Oxford.  And it was seated as co-host to this Oxford institution that Bishop John Pritchard found himself last Friday.  Heine has a relaxed demeanour but with the warmth comes a talent for extracting the essence of a point using a few well chosen words.  His counterpart this week was a man equally warm but similarly well equipped to bring depth to a discussion; both have a talent to 'communicate'.

A quick chat about the Bishop's inauguration, his role in the diocese and some of the challenges that lie ahead then we move onto the phone-in. 

The issues that troubled the people of Oxford this week included whether it is acceptable to discard apple cores in the street - this prompted a lengthy and rather too informative call on apple varieties and how their distribution across Oxford has been influenced by workers discarding their apple cores on their way to the office.  No chance of being saved by the 'pips', we're only 20 minutes in.  Fortunately the producer has to come in and read the news.

Calls on traffic and impending storms intersperse diverse discussion of such topics as the Glastonbury Festival; replica guns; modern day building standards; euthanasia and the environment.

Time flies in the studio and after two hours the Bishop has to move on, but another hour lies ahead for drive-time and its engaging host.

You can hear Bill Heine on drive-time every weekday between 4pm and 7pm on BBC Radio Oxford 95.2 FM and online.