I’ll never forget that phone call, where I was and what I was doing. I was driving home with my sister when I got the call from a radio station. The competition was for a Trip to Mykonos. We pulled over and parked the car. My sister was practically screaming. I just had to do one thing. Answer the question correctly.
There were two other callers on the line. In a panic I asked the producer ‘What’s the topic?’ and she replied ‘Famous Greeks’. It made sense the competition was for a trip to Greece. I was then put on hold and so I put the phone on loudspeaker. The music on the phone was the same as the on the radio. Fancy that? Then my sister had a panic attack because she couldn’t believe I was going to be on the radio. I wasn’t really fazed being an experienced comper and having many and I mean many close calls and runner up prizes.
Next, we got Googling. Famous Greeks? Jennifer Aniston…..um who else? I could smell the beach at Mykonos. I felt I so had this. They had picked me after all to ring. My WOL must have stood out from the crowd. It felt meant to be. Then lady luck chose me as the first person to go. Unlucky because the first person to guess who the famous Greek was went into the draw. Being first I would have the first clue. Could I guess it with one clue?
Now I can’t remember the first clue but I remember the answer I said as It was the first thing that popped into my head. You see I was scared if I delayed my answer they would say ‘Times up!’ so in a hurry I said ‘Alex Dimitriades!’ (I was a big fan of Heartbreak High when I was a kid). Their response cut me like a knife. ‘Sorry, but good try’. Then it was onto the next person. My heart sank. My sister sat frozen with the phone, enthralled by the whole thing. I think the third person got the correct answer but being the third person was an advantage! The mystery Greek ended up being John Stamos (I also was a big fan of Full House as a kid).
This competition has always stuck in my head as the one that got away. Sure I don’t know if I would of won in the next stage but I was so close! Radio competitions are fun to listen to but being on the other side can be complicated and filled with disappointment. I prefer the mystery of never finding out the outcomes of all the competitions I enter.
Since then I have tried many times to get back on but it seems you have to an avid listener to the radio and hear the clues, code words and call outs.
Looking back it is a great memory of my sister and I huddled in my car, the excitement of it all and playing the game. My sister still talks about it and recently I heard a 10K competition that I thought maybe I should try. I’m tempted but I think lady luck gave me my chance.
Has anyone won anything on the radio and what do you think of radio competitions? Let everyone know in the comments…
