Radio review: Wake Up To Money

There's nothing quite like waking up to Wake Up To Money (5 Live). You do rather need to preface it with at least a coffee. "Tell us," Andy Verity (pictured) implored listeners at 5.30am, "how would you solve the eurozone crisis?" Still, some listeners were perky enough to quip answers. "Give all the Euro notes to Waddingtons," said one, suggesting a eurozone Monopoly game might be fun while we work out what to do next. Verity and Mickey Clark posed the question because of a new prize of £250,000 up for grabs for the best answer. Another listener responded: "Have a referendum. Now, where's my 250 grand?" Inevitably, many items on the programme currently have a certain doom and drama about them. Yesterday's show detailed the detrimental effect quantitative easing will have on pensions, and even the joke-tinged coverage of the prize was dotted with more serious stuff. "Perhaps you should be asking," Clark said, "how to stop the world economy going into a slump." The only brighter story was the return of Oddbins to the high street as a smaller chain. Its buying director explained that it will be letting customers decide what it charges for some wines, and also that as the gloom deepens, people stay in and drink. "Conversely," she said, "it's a good time for us."