CRIKEY, there's been a lot of news recently hasn't there? I mean, obviously, the world is always busy, but the last couple of weeks and months have been absurd.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I find the relentless misery, tragedy, politicking, hypocrisy and outright lies seen and heard on news channels on TV, radio, in cars, shops and - for those of you still buying them - newspapers, just a bit too much to take in.

So I actually found it a bit of a relief on Wednesday when, just before I set out on the drive to work, I realised I had mislaid the front of my car stereo.

Personally, I find it difficult to drive without some kind of soundtrack- more often than not it's a CD by a band I've never heard of that I've been asked to review, or it's an old favourite.

My radio station choices have gradually wound up the dial over the years too, and I realised this week that for the last couple of years it's more commonly been the Today Show on Radio 4, with a little break for local news on the hour. I swear, I never thought I'd see the day.

Thinking ahead before I left the house, I grabbed my mobile phone and lined up a podcast I'd heard great things about and which would last about the duration of my journey.

Initially, I found it strange - hearing the tinny voices of two very funny and knowledgeable men bickering over Bond films emanating from my shirt pocket - an emergency hands free system of sorts to replace the radio (before someone calls for my licence to be revoked) - but the change was a most welcome one.

Usually, by the time I get stuck in traffic on a morning, I'm swearing at my radio - more specifically at politicians saying "let me be perfectly clear", before refusing to answer question after question - but this journey was different.

On this journey - unlike most trips to work - I was laughing and enjoying myself, hearing fresh and genuinely funny discussions while learning facts and trivia about a subject I'm very fond of, all before I've had my first coffee of the day.

I arrived refreshed, upbeat, and ready to face the day, and once I got to my desk, caught up on the news I'd missed on the journey in. Actually, I started scanning my Twitter feeds on the walk from the car park, but I still had a smile on my face for a while.

Of course, I realise there's a sense of irony in a reporter writing about the pleasures of taking a break from reading the news (something I fully expect to see picked up in perfectly reasonable and well-thought out responses in the comments section), but ask yourself this - what was one of the most talked-about BBC news stories from last week?

Due to a technical glitch, Huw Edwards was on the air during the 10 O'Clock News for almost four minutes - depending on the channel you were watching - in complete silence.

York Press:

Huw Edwards: keeping calm while the world ends?

Social media went wild, speculating it was an emergency broadcast or the end of the world, while the next day's papers praised his professionalism for not doing anything inappropriate.

Personally, I'd like to see one of the major broadcasters commission this as a daily service - smartly-dressed professional presenters in a studio, in complete silence, as a precursor to the news: "It's ten o'clock, here is fifteen minutes of peace to help quieten your mind, before we get back to the stuff that gives you nightmares."

Obviously, it's not good to ignore local, national and international news completely - you owe it to yourself to have some idea what's going on around you - but it's nice to have a little detox or palate cleanser every now and then, and I suspect it's genuinely good for your mental health too.

There's so much tragedy, worry and negativity spewed into the world, turns out it's quite nice to have a break every once in a while.