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Tuesday afternoon and I've taken a temporary absence from the airwaves. Can't shake off this sore throat and cold. Going into its fifth week. Me and the rest of you. If you haven't got the stomach bug that's now doing the rounds you're probably blowing your nose and coughing up yuck.

Usually having a cold is great if you're a female broadcaster. It lowers the voice, gives us a more bassy sound and is generally considered more attractive. So they say! The alternative is smoking 20 Woodbine a day. Which I am not recommending.Ìý

Except last Sunday night, Sounds Classical, I went on air atÌýeight with a certain catch in myÌývoice, and thought of Dervla Kirwan's voiceÌýwooing us in thoseÌýads for M&S food.ÌýI could do for classical music what she has doneÌýfor high streetÌýready meals!Ìý

The bubble burstÌýnearly two hours later, five-to-ten,Ìýhalfway through an interview with when IÌýhad the biggest coughing fit ever. Ironic seeing asÌýBrian is the Ulster Orchestra's Associate Composer and on all their concert programmesÌýthere's theÌýwarning to stifle your coughs while the music is playing.Ìý

All I can remember is feeling the tickle start and then watching Brian's mouth open and close as the Herculean effort involved in stifling the coughÌýmade tears pour down my face.ÌýSo now I'm coughing very loudly and crying at the same time. The more I tried to stifle it, at one point I was under the desk, the worse it got.Ìý

I knew I was in serious diffs soÌýI handed Brian his own flyer and croakedÌýa strangledÌýsoundingÌý"you"Ìýfollowed by *cough* "read " another strangled "it" *cough* "out".

So can I apologise now to Brian and say that his new project sounds great, the bits I heard, and that it's on in the Waterfront Hall Belfast on the 20th March at 7pm. The Ulster Orchestra with 400 school children and nearly 100 elderly people singing the story of a boy called Jake who builds a gravity defying switch and floats off into outerspace.

Where I wished I could have gone at 21.55 on Sunday night past.

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