So what was was the truth about missing Boris? OPINION

When Boris Johnson went to Luxembourg he ended up being ‘ambushed’ and ‘set up’, according to The Sun which said that Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel ‘milked the whooping cheers and applause from anti-Brexiteer protesters after empty-chairing Boris Johnson’.

It was different in The Irish Sun. It said Boris had asked for the press conference to be moved inside but the room couldn’t hold so many press, so had to be held outside, prompting our PM to walk off.

In Ireland, Bettel had to go it alone next to an empty podium. In the UK, Boris was stitched up. Who do you believe?

My first moment on air and they really took the mic!

David Cameron has written a book about his time as PM. My friend has written a book about her love life. So, after 26 years of broadcasting to the south coast, I’m sure there is a book in me too.

Celebrities I’ve met, how they’ve behaved, the ones I’ve loved and the ones I never want to meet again, even if they were heroes of mine.

Let’s go back to 1996. I was 23 and about to host my first show on Power FM, a station I’d listen to since day one in 1988 and longed to be a DJ there.

At that time Power FM was massive. It beat Radio 1 and ruled the airwaves for the under-35s. Its best days were arguably still to come but the station at that time was changing.

It had recently become part of the Capital Radio Group and the old order was being replaced as the station started to mirror its London-based sister station.

Exciting new times were ahead for the station, with big events like Power in the Park and Power in Portsmouth, of which I’d go on to host many.

I didn’t sleep much before my first show.

It was a hot last August day in 1996, but I still spent an hour in the boiling hot smoking room at Radio House and got through a whole packet before my time came, straight after the 1pm news.

I received a frosty reception from staff, being of the new order and, awkwardly, I followed on from the chap I was permanently replacing.

My first link was to introduce the listener-led One O’Clock Office Block, five songs in a row picked by one workplace. The microphone sounded awful, all echoey and distant, not like the amazing wall of sound I thought it would be from listening to the station.

Then, the bloke I was replacing, strolled into the studio, smirking. He turned the microphone around to face the right way and left without a word. Gutted!

Until that day, every microphone I’d used pointed towards me, this one was hanging from a gantry above but had been moved around. How was I to know? Great start Rick.

Next week, I land the breakfast show and life changes, sometimes not for the better.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Second carrier will cement navy in world’s top three

I’m excited about the December arrival of our second giant aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, in Portsmouth Harbour. This is just as HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in the US to receive her F-35B fighter jets.

We’re a cynical lot though. On social media, among the messages of excitement, there are ones talking about the ship being mothballed and others saying the carriers are no more than sitting ducks, probably the same people who moaned about our navy not being powerful enough.

For me this enhances our navy as being in the world’s top three. Not sure? Go to YouTube and watch Britain’s Biggest Warship. You’ll change your mind.