To my surprise, Mike Stafford was on live Monday, Christmas Eve morning on GNR 640. I expected a reroll.

What I heard instead was vintage Stafford, the guy who did the old 10-12 shift, as he openly admitted he hadn't prepared anything and was essentially winging it. And as a bonus, he was flying solo, since his co-host was off.  

It was terrific radio, as he, his producer and board op, ran through trivial topics from where the Food Basics was in his neighbourhood, why a woman and her pet companion fish were turned down from flying on an airline and the reason kids taking radio at Humber should never refuse to work the Christmas shift. Oh, and I loved the many annoyed references to CHFI and their All Christmas format

He openly admitted he wasn't trying too hard and at one point called his efforts "a dumpster fire." At the top and bottom of the clock, he noted, "We burned off another half hour!" before throwing to the news. 

For one brief day, no interviews, nothing serious and a glimpse back at the show many here recall fondly, before he went on to a regimented no-time-for-anything serious shared morning program. I'm not sure if he'll appreciate this compliment, but it was wonderfully entertaining. And I wish I could hear him doing a lot more shows like it.