The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
"Once upon a time we thought that we were the centre of the universe and that even the sun revolved around us...
Thousands of years later we know that our earliest, most basic idea about our place in the cosmos was false, and that that cosmos is vastly larger than we ever dreamed. We are mere specks..."
Richard Cohen took eight years to write his account of the sun. The sun's biography, in fact. He looks at the myth, the legend, the science. Also the social context and how the sun figures in various art forms. And, will it be with us for ever? We have to hope so. His celebration of that gold disc in the sky is now caught in five episodes...
5. How long will the sun shine? And time for the autor to seek the perfect sunset...
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
'The war's greatest photo, on my mum's wall'. A listener takes a family heirloom to the dome of St Paul's to remember the Blitz. A nine-year-old who gave up her birthday presents and stole her mum's tomatoes for charity.
And Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke reads Your News. Presented by Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey. iPM@bbc.co.uk.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Helen Mark is in Dorset to hear how the area around Studland Bay could be affected by a proposed Marine Conservation Zone and how one fishy resident has stirred up passions locally. As parts of the sea around Studland and Swanage are being considered as a possible Marine Conservation Zone, Helen finds out about the possible impacts on the local community; in particular to some of the residents of Studland Bay The bay is home to a colony of breeding sea horses and opinions are divided as to whether the delicate seagrass which is home to these creatures can be harmed by the anchoring of boats. Helen hears from the Seahorse Trust, a charity which has been researching and monitoring the seahorses, and Dr Ken Collins, an expert in seagrass. Helen also hears from some members of the local community who are concerned about the effects a possible no anchor zone could have on the economy of the area and their way of life.
The Ramblers Association is concerned funding cuts could mean many of Britain's footpaths and bridleways will be shut down or will become overgrown and unusable.
The Higher Level Stewardship Scheme has meant many farmers and landowners have been paid to create and maintain footpaths and bridleways on their land. Changes mean on future agreements they won't be paid an annual fee for doing so, leading to concerns many will shut them down. The Ramblers Association says local authority budget cuts mean Rights of Way officers are being let go and maintenance work will be reduced. Caz Graham meets a farmer in Shropshire who says without the payment he''ll close his bridle path. She asks if there are any alternatives. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.
Journalists John Pilger and Janet Daley debate the level of support for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
After Frankie Boyle's comments about Katie Price's disabled son, comedians David Schneider and Alex Horne discuss if cruelty is necessary in good comedy.
Fi Glover with author Michael Morpurgo, poet Matt Harvey, a professor of crowd dynamics and a pagan policeman; a sound sculpture of a windharp and the Inheritance Tracks of actress Lesley Manville.
Anita Anand looks at the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office around the World with the Director of FCO Consular Services Julian Braithwaite. She also talks to Professor Jim Al- Khalili about his travels in the Middle East.
producer. Chris Wilson.
Benjamin Franklin, scientist, inventor and founding father of the USA was also a song-writer. He wrote drinking songs for his friends, love songs to his wife, and songs of political protest.
David Owen Norris recreates the songs and explores what they reveal about a great eccentric. On location in Franklin's house in London, he talks to historians Lady Joan Reid, Dr Catherine Jones and Dr Julie Flavell and plays on Franklin's proudest invention - the glass armonica. With singers Gwyneth Herbert, Thomas Guthrie and Laura Crowther.
The Christmas break may be in sight. But the programme of cuts goes on. Local councils in England were given confirmation this week that their funding will be slashed. The government also announced plans to give new powers to local residents. They'll be able to force referendums on local issues and even take over libraries and post offices threatened with closure. The politicians call it 'localism.' And it's a subject here for the Conservative, Bob Blackman, and Labour's Heidi Alexander.
The House of Lords has followed the Commons by voting in favour of tripling university tuition fees in England. But the issue remains divisive. Two peers with long experience of the world of higher education take sides here. They are Labour's Lady Blackstone, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, and the Conservative, Lady Perry, the former Vice-Chancellor of South Bank Polytechnic.
Away from the stories that grab big headlines, the government has published a hitherto secret guide to how we are governed. It's called the Cabinet Manual. Here, Labour's Graham Allen, who chairs the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee of MPs, weighs its significance.
Finally, two bloggers, Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome and Anthony Wells of UK Polling Report, look ahead to next year and find big challenges facing the three main parties.
What will Kevin Connolly have to say as he leaves the United States after three years as our man in Washington? There are opinions on Americans, their use of English, their food, portions, guns, religion, music and politics. Hear all about it! In this morning's From Our Own Correspondent.
A cocaine factory is blown to pieces in a Colombian jungle clearing.
And how an extraordinary year has laid bare the good, and the bad in Chilean society.
Colombia is making progress in its long, hard, war on drugs. The big cartels have been broken up, and cocaine production is significantly down. But the fight against the traffickers is far from over, and the security forces continue to take it deep into the jungle on dangerous missions. Frank Gardner joined one of these patrols, and because of the injuries he sustained some years ago while reporting in the Gulf ....Frank arrived in his wheelchair...
Algeria is very much part of the Muslim world. But among the landmarks of its capital, Algiers is a fine imposing church. A cathedral, called "Our Lady of Africa", stands high above the Mediterranean -- the sun gleaming on its silver dome... The church has been undergoing years of much-needed renovation work. And Chloe Arnold was there to see the re-opening of the building which....all through Algeria's recent troubles....stood as a symbol of harmony between Islam and Christianity.
This has been a year that the people of Chile will never forget. 2010 happens to be the bi-centenary of the country's independence, and during it the nation has been tested in extraordinary ways. The year began with a major earthquake. And it ended with the world looking on as the thirty-three miners were rescued from beneath a mountain. Through all this Gideon Long watched the country's leader, Sebastian Pinera as he encountered both triumph and disaster....
The old debate has been given new life with RPI inflation at 4.7%, and almost no savings account paying that much. And at the same time the FTSE index is rising and rising.
So, Paul Lewis asks, should we put our savings into share-based investments to get a real return?
Also in the programme: the issue of whether to contract out of the second state pension - or stay in - has made for an interesting debate over the past two decades.
But the government is effectively ending the discussion by withdrawing the option in 2012.
This hasn't stopped one financial services provider from emailing people to encourage them to contract out though. Reporter Ben Carter investigates.
And, what should you do if you know that sometime soon you will have problems paying your mortgage?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders says you should contact your lender as soon as you realise there is a danger you might default. And we have often heard similar advice on this programmes
But one of our listeners tried to follow this advice - and hit a brick wall. Money Box investigates.
Also, the BBC has been investigating claims that one of the country's biggest loan brokers is misleading customers, despite having been told by the Office of Fair Trading to improve its business practices.
Money Box first investigated Yes Loans in May 2009, hearing complaints from some customers that they were having trouble getting a refund from the company when they asked for it.
More than a year on, some customers are still complaining refunds are not being paid, or are being delayed. The company says these complaints are a small minority, and that it is working hard to improve its service.
Plus, new levels of protection for savings are expected to be officially unveiled by the Financial Services Authority.
It is thought the limit will be increased from the current £50,000 per financial institution up to £85,000, from December 31, 2010.
But, as Bob Howard explains, some savers with building society accounts will need to spread their savings to other institutions to ensure they get maximum protection.
On the last 'normal' show of the year (next week is The Now Show panto) Marcus Brigstocke talks about the English Defence League and the other Terry Jones; Jon Holmes travels into the Matrix of real and unreal news; Mitch Benn assesses how happy we are this Christmas and our audience reflect on the most memorable moments of 2010. Plus as a one-off exclusive on Radio 7, Boxing Day listen to an extended version of this week's Now Show with extra performances from stand-up Imran Yusuf and music duo Ginger and Black.
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical discussion from the Chrysalis Theatre in the Camphill Community in Milton Keynes with questions for the panel including Oliver Letwin, Cabinet Office Minister, John Healey, Shadow Health Secretary, Laurie Penny, columnist, and Paul Staines, better known as the blogger Guido Fawkes.
Any Answers? Listeners respond to the issues raised in Any Questions? If you have a comment or question on this week's programme or would like to take part in the Any Answers? phone-in you can contact us by telephone or email. Tel: 03700 100 444 Email: any.answers@bbc.co.uk.
Shirley Valentine is a middle-aged Liverpool housewife, who reveals her innermost thoughts and fears in a manner that is both insouciant and poignant.
Once an incorrigible anti-establishment rebel, Shirley now chafes under the plodding insensitivity of her husband, Joe and the stultifying pace of her suburban routine.
Her life enters a new and exciting phase when, after her best friend, Jane, wins an all-expenses-paid vacation to Greece, Shirley is given the opportunity to travel to faraway places without her husband; she begins to see the world, and herself, in a different light.
After a much lauded run at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory the play transferred to The Trafalgar studio to continued success. After the theatre run finished on 30th October 2010, Meera walked straight into the studio to record the one woman play for BBC Radio.
Presented by Jane Garvey. Sarah Phillips on losing her mother and her online tribute performance. Ann Widdecombe talks about getting her own back on Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig. Where should we draw the line on exposing children to explicit images in galleries or museums? The menopause and questions about HRT. Stress - how much is too much? The place for women in the criminal justice system. Sherry - what makes an olorosso?
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.
Matt Lucas joins Clive to discuss Les Mis at 25 - Matt Lucas Dreams the Dream, a documentary in which Matt fulfils his dream to perform in the world famous show Les Miserables at the O2 Arena. He'll also be giving Clive the low down on Come Fly With Me, his brand new comedy collaboration with David Walliams.
Clive is joined by Steve Bell, cartoonist of the daily If. strip for the Guardian. In his new collection If. Bursts Out, Steve imagines Cleggmania buried under a heap of toads, Gordon Brown's descent from No.10 to Rochdale and Silvio Berlusconi's breast implants.
Comedy writer Andy Hamilton and his writing partner Guy Jenkin had already experienced success with Drop The Dead Donkey when they decided to tackle "an authentic evocation of the glorious chaos that is life with small children". The result was the critically acclaimed TV hit Outnumbered. Andy joins Clive to discuss improvising with under-fives and his new Radio 4 comedy Old Harry's Game in which Andy stars as a particularly grumpy Satan who is hell-bent on banning Christmas.
And Jo Bunting talks to wine-taster and bon viveur Oz Clarke about his new mission to revive the good old British pub - along with drinking buddy Hugh Dennis - in BBC Two's Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar.
With festive music from The Puppini Sisters who perform Let It Snow and All I Want For Christmas from their new album Christmas with the Puppini Sisters.
Poet Ian McMillan creates an imaginative response to a story from the week's news.
Santa protests too much when he hears his local library might close. A festive verse comedy by Ian McMillan.
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests the writers Kevin Jackson and Bidisha and the historian Kathryn Hughes review the cultural highlights of the week including Tron: Legacy
In Tron: Legacy Jeff Bridges reprises the role of computer buff Kevin Flynn that he played in the original 1982 film. His son Sam (Garret Hedlund) goes looking for his Flynn inside the game where he's been trapped all these years. Daft Punk provide the soundtrack.
Ours Are The Streets is Sunjeev Sahota's first novel. Its narrator - Imtiaz - is a second-generation Pakistani lad living in Sheffield. When he travels to Pakistan to bury his father he takes the first step on a journey which leads to his radicalisation and to his decision to become a suicide bomber.
Richard Eyre's production of Feydeau's farce A Flea In Her Ear at the Old Vic in London stars Tom Hollander as a respectable businessman - Monsieur Chandebrise - whose wife suspects him of infidelity. Her attempts to prove her suspicions lead to a spiralling series of complications, compounded by the fact that Chandebrise's doppelganger (also played by Hollander) works as a porter in a very disreputable hotel.
Upstairs Downstairs was a hugely successful ITV costume drama which ran from 1971 to 1975. It now reappears on BBC1 starring both of its creators - Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins. The action has moved on from the Edwardian era to the 1930s and 165 Eaton Square has new occupiers, but former lady's maid Rose (Jean Marsh) is persuaded to return and take up the role of housekeeper.
Norman Rockwell's America at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London assembles all 322 of the covers which the celebrated illustrator created for the Saturday Evening Post from 1916 to 1963 along with other pieces. It is the first time that these original works by the man described as "the Dickens of the paintbrush" - the archetypal chronicler of smalltown America - have been shown in the UK.
The London Palladium has always occupied a unique place in Bruce Forsyth's heart: "No theatre on this earth has ever superseded the Palladium in my affections; it's just so special . . . as intimate as a family's front room."
It was one night at the Palladium back in 1958 when Bruce Forsyth's career changed forever - a celebrated appearance with the late comedian Dickie Henderson led to Bruce being offered the highly sought after job of compere of the weekly TV variety show, 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium'. Together, the show and its new presenter, turned out to be a sensation - the highlight of the week for Britain's viewing millions and the topic of conversation in factories, offices, schools and shop floors on Monday mornings.
On the eve of the Theatre's 100th birthday - the Palladium first opened its doors to the public on Boxing Day 1919 - Bruce takes Paul Jackson on a tour of the theatre that every star of their day aspired to performing in. If you made the Palladium, you had it made. From Ella Sheilds and Dan Leno to the golden era of American stars like Frank Sinatra and Danny Kaye who had the crowds queuing round the block; from George V & George VI, to Pinky & Perky and Morcambe & Wise, the London Palladium has played host to them all.
Dramatisation by Robin Brooks of Robert Graves' ground-breaking histories of first-century Rome.
As he struggles to keep his throne, the Emperor Tiberius finds his Commander of the Guard, Sejanus, an invaluable aide against treason. And Sejanus finds Claudius an unwilling collaborator in his rise to power.
Claudius ..... Tom Goodman-Hill
Tiberius ..... Tim McInnerny
Livia ..... Harriet Walter
Caligula ..... Samuel Barnett
Sejanus ..... Sam Dale
Agrippina ..... Hattie Morahan
Antonia ..... Christine Kavanagh
Livilla ..... Leah Brotherhead
Pallas ..... Lloyd Thomas
The Fisherman ..... Adeel Akhtar
Macro ..... Tony Bell
Calpurnia ..... Sally Orrock
Plautius ..... Jude Akuwudike
Cremutius ..... Sean Baker
Officer ..... Iain Batchelor
Senator ..... Henry Devas
Plancina ..... Claire Harry
Aelia ..... Deeivya Meir
Pallas ..... Lloyd Thomas
Specially composed music by David Pickvance.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
Around 20 million people watched it and many many more words have probably been written about it. The X Factor has finished its series, but if you thought you were in for a break from the incessant drone of popular culture you're wrong. We've got the Strictly Come Dancing final next week and after that a Christmas TV schedule rich with opportunity to veg out and switch off your brain. You may argue that programmes like these are just a bit of fun - water cooler moments that we can all share and enjoy; that in a fragmented society offer us a small piece of common ground. But has our addiction to popular culture got out of hand? Is it like counterfeit currency, driving out quality and any programme that attempts to engage you mentally beyond having to punch a few numbers in to a phone to vote? Is that elitist, patronising snobbery of the worst kind or have these sorts of programmes now become so powerful that they've elevated the cult of celebrity to something we aspire to and admire, while at the same time turning a blind eye to the moral turpitude that so often goes hand in hand with that culture. Post the cultural studies revolution, who now argues that Bach is of more moral worth than Britney? Is that the triumph of democracy or demagoguery? Have the arts given in to the forces of cultural relativism and sacrificed the intellectual high ground in their quest for a wider audience? Or is the problem not the power of programmes like the X Factor, but that those in the arts industry are more interested in talking to each other rather than championing intellectual excellence. How do we judge the moral worth of art?
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Matthew Taylor, Claire Fox, Clifford Longley and Michael Portillo.
Four contestants from the North of England join questionmaster Russell Davies in Manchester for the latest heat of the nationwide general knowledge quiz. Which of them will win a place in the series semi-finals?
Was "the alternative Australian national anthem" written as a political statement or a way of impressing a girl? Peggy Reynolds examines Banjo Paterson's lyric Waltzing Matilda, with help from some contemporary Australian voices.
SUNDAY 19 DECEMBER 2010
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00wnrmn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b00cjzrp)
Urban Welsh
White Rabbit
White Rabbit by Kate D'Lima.
Laura and Jed have always had a stormy relationship but this time the craziness nearly spells disaster. This story was a winner in the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition. Read by Ruth Jones.
Produced by Kate McAll
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00wnrmq)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00wnrms)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00wnrmv)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00wnrmx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00wnrv9)
The bells of St Michael, Kingsteignton, Devon.
SUN 05:45 Blond on Britain (b00wlg5f)
The House of Lords
Some of the ancient institutions of Britain - the monarchy, the House of Lords and the Church of England are often derided as archaic, outmoded and out of touch with the contemporary world. The leading political thinker Phillip Blond makes a powerful case for their continuing significance. In this piece he turns his attention to the House of Lords.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00wnrmz)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00wnrw8)
Stories of the Nativity
In a Christmas edition of Something Understood, Mark Tully considers the symbolism and meaning of the traditional nativity stories and asks what they can offer us in a contemporary context.
Some church historians now argue that, given inconsistencies in the Gospels and a variety of other empirical evidence, accounts of the Nativity should be viewed as stories rather than literal history. If this is the case, what is the significance of the stories that have been handed down to us about the birth of Jesus and what can we learn from them?
Mark Tully talks to church historian Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch about his approach to these 'stories' of the Nativity. Different approaches to the Christmas tales are found in the writing of novelist Elizabeth Goudge, poets Moira Andrew and T.S.Eliot and the Syrian mystic Deacon Ephrem and music is by Vaughan Williams, Kathy Mattea and the African Gospel Choir.
The readers are Derek Jacobi and Isla Blair.
Presenter: Mark Tully
Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b00wnry5)
Caz Graham is at a lab in Surrey which is developing a cattle vaccine for Bovine TB. The disease is the most serious animal health problem facing England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Whilst the debate rages on about whether a badger cull would reduce TB in cattle, scientists are working on a vaccine which an independent report said would be the best long term hope of solving the problem. Caz finds out how Professor Glyn Hewinson and his team at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency are trialling the BCG vaccine on cattle. It's the jab which many of us were given as teenagers, to protect against TB. The researchers have to test whether the vaccine is working by trying to infect cattle with TB and Caz visits the high security facility where this takes place. Professor Hewinson tells her that developing a cattle vaccine is a lengthy and costly process, but breakthroughs are being made. He believes, if all goes to plan, a vaccine could be licensed in the UK in 2012. Then the long process of convincing the EU to lift a ban on cattle vaccination for TB will begin in earnest. Caz also finds out about VLA research which shows that cattle can transmit TB to each other at an earlier stage in the disease than had been previously thought.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b00wnrn1)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00wnrn3)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00wnry7)
As Christmas approaches concrete walls are being erected around Churches in Baghdad and Mosul in response to escalating threats of violent attack. On this week's Sunday Jane Little talks to the Vicar of Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, about the current situation for Christians in the city and how they hope to celebrate Christmas.
We hear about the significance of the European Court of Human Rights ruling on Ireland's abortion law.
Last week the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, criticised politically correct officials for downplaying the religious message of Christmas and said that people of other faiths loved the story of Jesus' birth. Our reporter, Kevin Bocquet, visited the homes of a Muslim and Hindu family to hear how they mark the festive season.
We hear about a pioneering archive in Rwanda which it is hoped will enable the world to learn the lessons of genocide, what leads countries there and how it can be prevented in the future.
The response to our request for listeners to send in their Religious Limericks for 2011 has been so great we thought we'd read a couple out on this weekend's Sunday. You can email your 'Sundayricks' on any religious or spiritual theme you like, to us at Sunday@bbc.co.uk.
We hear from a British rabbi who, like nine hundred from around the world, has signed a letter criticising a ruling backed by dozens of Israeli rabbis forbidding Jews from renting or selling property to non-Jews.
In the first of three special features from Sudan, Matt Wells reports from a camp where victims of conflict are being overwhelmed by a mystery illness that is having a devastating impact on the young.
Former market trader and Eastenders script writer, Tony Jordan, talks to Jane about his adaptation of the Nativity, which starts on BBC One this Monday 20 December, and his journey from sceptic to believer in the ultimate Christmas drama.
Having learnt that the Stockholm suicide bomber, Taimour al-Abdaly, had walked out of a Luton mosque after he was confronted about his extremist tendencies, we hear about a project at a Brixton mosque which seeks to work with young Muslims with radical views and steer them away from extremism.
E-mail: sunday@bbc.co.uk
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00wnry9)
Fight for Sight
Phyllida Law presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Fight for Sight.
Donations to Fight for Sight should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Fight for Sight. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. You can also give online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Fight for Sight with your full name and address so they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode.
Registered Charity Number: 1111438.
SUN 07:58 Weather (b00wnrn5)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00wnrn7)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00wnsql)
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Norman Hamilton, preaches at the last of our Advent services which visits 4 cities across the nations of the United Kingdom exploring the meaning of the incarnation in daily city life. From the Chapel of Unity, Methodist College, Belfast, with the Chapel Choir, directed by Ruth McCartney. Led by The Revd. David Neilands, the College Chaplain.
SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00wlj74)
A Time for Empathy
Joan Bakewell contrasts our empathy for fictional characters on the stage and on screen with a reported growing lack of sympathy for real people in need. When the prevailing culture is one of self-regard and narcissism the quiet work of charities deserves all the more applause.
Producer: Sheila Cook.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00wnsqn)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00wnsqq)
For detailed synopses, see daily episodes
Written by: Simon Frith
Directed by: Kim Greengrass
Editor: Vanessa Whitburn
Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Tony Archer ..... Colin Skipp
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Ian Craig ..... Stephen Kennedy
Kate Madikane ..... Kellie Bright
Fallon Rogers ..... Joanna Van Kampen
Kathy Perks ..... Hedli Niklaus
Clarrie Grundy ..... Rosalind Adams
William Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Nic Hanson ..... Becky Wright
Emma Grundy ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Edward Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Vicky Tucker ..... Rachel Atkins
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Pepperell
Hayley Tucker ..... Lorraine Coady
Phoebe Tucker ..... Lucy Morris
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Lewis Carmichael ..... Robert Lister
Harry Mason ..... Michael Shelford.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00wntyl)
Nick Park
Kirsty Young's castaway is the Oscar-winning animator Nick Park.
His most famous creations are Wallace and Gromit: Gromit the silent but wise dog; Wallace, his well meaning owner with notably less brain-power. They now hold the same place in the nation's heart at Christmas that Morcambe and Wise once occupied. They are old-fashioned and quintessentially British - as familiar as bread and butter, or hoping the rain holds off - but their appeal is international.
The world they inhabit is one of Jacobs cream crackers and tea-strainers - so it's little surprise that in real life too Nick Park's own creature comforts are modest: "The thing is, I have everything I want really. I've got my little house, I've got a campervan, I love the British countryside, I'm not after yachts or things like that."
Record: I Forgot that Love Existed - Van Morrison
Book: A Collins Bird book
Luxury: My own 'Amazing pair of binoculars'
Producer: Leanne Buckle.
SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b00wld4w)
Series 58
Episode 6
Nicholas Parsons chairs the panel game that rewards those who can talk the hind leg off a donkey.
The panellists on today's show are Paul Merton, Sheila Hancock, Gyles Brandreth and Barnsley poet Ian McMillan.
The aim of the game is to speak on a given subject for sixty seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation. A task much harder than it sounds...
Today's show comes from the British Library where the show is a guest of the Evolving English exhibition.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00wntyn)
Alternative Christmas Cakes
Panettone and chocolate logs - Sheila Dillon embraces two of the cakes replacing our "traditional" Christmas cakes on our Christmas tables, and ponders what what we mean by traditional when it comes to Christmas cakes.
Panettone is a traditional Italian Christmas cake. John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College London and author of "Delizia! A History of the Italians and their Food" traces the history of this highly industrialised product from its Milanese origins, and the manufacturing of this "tradition". Reporter Dany Mitzman visits the Corsini Biscotti panettone factory in Tuscany where panettone is made in the traditional artisan style, using a mother yeast, slow proving, and cooling tipped upside down to allow the dome shape to set naturally, without additives. Their panettone is sold in through the Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range. But you can make your own - Fred Manson returned from an Andrew Whitley breadmaking course clutching a panettone recipe, and has been making his own ever since.
As a teenager Sheila Dillon's Christmas culinary rebellion took the form of baking a bouche de noel, the buttercream sculpted chocolate log believed to originate in France, and still produced by the hundred in smart patisseries today. Yule logs are now a popular range for both patiseries and supermarkets in the UK. This year's BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Award Food Champion, baker Richard Bertinet, baked Sheila his own take on the classic cake, adorned with gold leaf and powdered cabernet grape, and food historian Ivan Day tells its history in the UK.
Producer: Rebecca Moore.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b00wnrn9)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00wntyq)
A look at events around the world.
SUN 13:30 Young, Muslim and Black (b00wntys)
More than two thirds of Muslims in Britain are of South Asian ancestry, leading many to believe that Islam is the preserve of these communities. Yet in the last 2 decades, Islam has arguably become the fastest growing religion among Black people in Britain and at a time when the UK appears more disunited over faith, ethnicity and identity than ever before.
In this programme the writer and presenter, Dotun Adebayo, explores this phenomenon and asks why is Islam providing such an attractive religious alternative to Christianity for Black Britons seeking spiritual answers? What do they get from Islam that they can't get from their original faith? Is this just a rebellion against the family and society?
He will talk to young black people about the reasons for their conversion and to Bishop Joe Aldred from the Black Churches who explains where he thinks the Black Majority Churches are going wrong and why he thinks they need to smarten up and get their message across to young people so they are comfortable with church.
Conversion to Islam also has a darker side in the shape of terrorism. As Dotun Adebayo says "Ever since the penny dropped that the Richard Reid, the shoebomber was The Richard Reid I had lived with when he was a teenager in south London, I have been haunted with the question of whether I could have done anything to dissuade my petty thieving 'good lad at heart' flatmate from going down the route of militant Islam. Twenty years later I have to ask is being "young muslim and black" still a "lovely, precious dream".
Repeat.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00wlh7s)
Purleigh & District Gardeners' Society, Essex
Pippa Greenwood, Anne Swithinbank and Matthew Wilson are guests of the Purleigh & District Gardeners' Society in Essex. Peter Gibbs is the chairman.
Matthew Wilson and Anne Swithinbank are at RHS Hyde Hall, taking an alternative approach to winter pruning.
Produced by Lucy Dichmont
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:45 The Star Jelly Mystery (b00hl8n6)
The identity of mystery jelly found across the British countryside and beyond has scientists and outdoor enthusiasts stumped. Could it be alien poo, seagull puke, nappy goo or remnants of a meteorite shower? Euan McIlwraith joins in debate on the origins of 'star jelly'.
SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00wnyd1)
I, Claudius
Caligula
Dramatisation by Robin Brooks of Robert Graves' entertaining histories of Imperial Rome.
When the Emperor Tiberius dies, the young and popular Caligula succeeds his Uncle. Claudius will be the first to learn his secret.
Claudius ..... Tom Goodman-Hill
Tiberius ..... Tim McInnerny
Caligula ..... Samuel Barnett
Herod Agrippa ..... Zubin Varla
Antonia ..... Christine Kavanagh
Calpurnia ..... Sally Orrock
Drusilla ..... Deeivya Meir
Macro ..... Tony Bell
Agrippinilla ..... Claire Harry
Thrasyllus ..... Sean Baker
Doctor ..... Adeel Akhtar
Gaoler ..... Iain Batchelor
Senator ..... Lloyd Thomas
Specially composed music by David Pickvance.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (b00wnygw)
Mariella Frostrup picks her personal highlights from a year in the Open Book studio, novelist Rose Tremain and Professor of English John Mullan discuss the literary and dramatic potential bound up in sibling rivalry and new writer Sunjeev Sahota talks about his novel Ours Are The Streets.
producer: Sally Spurring.
SUN 16:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00wnygy)
Series 11
The Gate of the Year
The Gate of the Year: Peggy Reynolds hears the story behind the poem King George VI quoted in his first Christmas broadcast on 25th December 1939, written by the unknown Minnie Louise Haskins. It takes her from an unassuming suburb of Bristol to Sandringham, via the correspondence pages of The Times and the hand of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and it has popped up at the opening of two world wars and on countless teatowels, Internet sites and books of inspirational verse.
Producer Christine Hall.
SUN 17:00 Inside the IMF (b00wldvt)
In the past two years the International Monetary Fund has come out of the shadows to play a key role in efforts to fix the global financial crisis. Governments say they want it to fix the global economy as well. But what do the staff inside this institution in Washington really think about their work? And are they up to the job? The BBC Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders has had an exclusive opportunity to find out.
Producer: Neil Koenig.
SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b00wnp9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00wnrnc)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b00wnrnf)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00wnrnh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00wnyh0)
Sheila McClennon makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio
On Pick of the week this week - Sheila Hancock shares her first kiss - with a dishy Danny Kaye lookalike on a French exchange. Explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger travels across the scorching Arabian desert and Richard Cohen Chases the Sun to the Antarctic for a spectacular solar eclipse.
If the thought of family over the festive period is making you fraught - how about renting some fake relatives for the day instead? We hear why it's an increasingly popular option in Japan. Nicholas Parsons pops up playing a slimy TV host and Count Arthur Strong is having trouble finding a receipt - inside his imaginary dog
Joan Turner: The Highs and Lows of the Wacky Warbler - Radio 4
Teenage Diary - Radio 4
For the Love of a Child - Radio 4
All in the Mind - Radio 4
A Friend in Need - Radio 4
Count Arthur Strong - Radio 4
The Other Simenon - Striptease - Radio 4
Inside the Life Drawing Class - Radio 4
5 Live - Your Call - Radio 5 Live
Thesiger at 100 - Radio 4
Chasing the Sun - Radio 4
The Big Squeeze - Radio 4
Chequebook and Pen - Radio 4
Just A Minute - Radio 4
PHONE: 0370 010 0400
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Jane Worsley.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00wnyhj)
Jill is going to Lower Loxley to meet up with Nigel, Elizabeth and the children who have invited her for a ride in Cranford Crystal's hay wagon, after which they are going to the candlelit service at St Stephen's. Nigel has a serious word with Lily about being so jealous that Freddie has got a proper part in the pantomime. She has to realise that she is clever with school work, and the pantomime is Freddie's thing. Lily accepts the point and is more generous with Freddie.
Ian is decorating the nursery for Helen when Tony calls round with a peace offering for Helen after their row last week. It's a baby monitor, but Helen already has one. It was one of the first things she bought, and she had showed it to Tony and Pat. Tony is devastated when he realises his mistake, offering to change it for something else., but the damage is done.
Ian tries to make Helen realise that Tony meant well with his gift, but Helen explains about the row. She despairs that her dad will never be able to support her in her decision to have a baby.
SUN 19:15 Americana (b00wnyjb)
For a better understanding of Washington DC beyond the Capitol, Matt Frei travels to Ward 8, in the south east quadrant of the city. He talks to DC's political legend, Marion Barry. The four-term Mayor of the '70s, '80s and '90s explains some of the current divisions the city faces and talks about his hopes for the District's future.
Hours north and west of Washington DC, Americana calls on North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson. He survived a recall vote earlier this year, now he has to make it through the holiday season working next door to Santa's headquarters.
In the melting pot of the USA, there are many holiday traditions but nearly every major city hosts a production - or two - of the Nutcracker ballet. Alastair Macaulay, Englishman and Chief Dance Critic for the New York Times, explains his current effort to uncover what it is about Tchaikovsky's work that Americans seem to adore.
SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b00jxh0z)
Red Herrings
Mangia, Mangia, Ti Fa Bene!
Short story by acclaimed crime writer Donna Leon.
Read by Greta Scacchi.
A dark tale that warns against over-indulgence... An attentive Italian housewife prepares a mouth-watering meal to beguile her taciturn husband. The title translates as "Eat! Eat! It's Good for You".
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (b00wlh2t)
Tim Harford and the More or Less team offer another numbers-eye view of the news.
This week:
Local government funding: why everything depends on Wokingham.
Inflation: who came up with the 1-3% target? Why? And why do we keep missing it?
Age-adjusted earnings: how much should you be earning if you're a 43-year-old man called David?
Correlation or causation: Are you really more likely to give birth if you live near a mobile phone mast?
And, finally, oracular Jack - our magic monkey - with his latest Ashes predictions.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00wlh84)
On Last Word this week:
Richard Holbrooke - the bulldozer of US diplomacy who negotiated an end to the war in Bosnia.
The film director Blake Edwards who brought us Peter Sellers in "The Pink Panther", Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Dudley Moore in "10".
The Russian poet Bella Akhmadulina, a superstar whose fans flocked to football stadia to hear her read
And the doyen of New York restaurateurs - Elaine Kaufman - whose eponymous eatery played host to the rich and famous.
SUN 21:00 The Report (b00wlgq4)
Ireland's Toxic Tiger
How much will British taxpayers suffer from the fallout in Ireland? British banks such as RBS and Lloyds have large debts in the Republic, and are making decisions about which to call in, threatening more pain for local communities. Morland Sanders hears protests from small contractors in Donegal where Ulster Bank want to sell off a prestige residential development at rock bottom prices. This amid questions about the part British institutions actually played in fuelling the property market bubble.
As the Irish government deals with the "toxic loans" of the Republic's banks, it's being estimated that 15% of them are in the UK. We explore how this will affect the businesses reliant on that borrowed money, and what will happen to those trophy assets such as Claridges, now 'owned' by the Republic's new holder of its toxic debts, NAMA.
The Chancellor, George Osborne may have said the £3.2bn loan to Ireland was to support a friend in need, and protect British exports, but we report on the importance to British banks and British businesses of an economic recovery in Ireland.
Producer: Ian Muir-Cochrane.
SUN 21:30 In Business (b00wlgt1)
Euro on the Rocks?
In Business
EURO ON THE ROCKS?
Euroland slides into big trouble as the crisis spreads from one country to another. In this change to the advertised programme, Peter Day asks a panel of experts what's happening and why it matters.
Producers: Caroline Bayley and Sandra Kanthal.
SUN 21:56 Radio 4 Appeal (b00wnry9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:58 Weather (b00wnrnk)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00wnyk5)
Carolyn Quinn talks to the Guardian's Chief Political Correspondent, Nick Watt, about what's happening behind the scenes at Westminster.
She discusses the big political stories with Conservative MP Ben Gummer and Labour MP Liz Kendall.
Dr Stuart McAnulla of Leeds University tells us about a new trend in British politics - the high turnover in party leaders. He explains why he believes parties are nowadays less patient with their leaders.
We have a report on why ministers of governments past and present are often accused of telling the media first about important announcements, rather than Parliament. There are comments from the Leader of the House of Commons, Sir George Young, and the former Labour Leader of the House, Jack Straw. We hear the views of a new MP, Conservative Jane Ellison, and the editor of Radio Four's Today programme.
Programme Editor: Terry Dignan.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b00wnykp)
Episode 32
BBC Radio 4 brings back a much loved TV favourite - What the Papers Say. It does what it says on the tin. In each programme a leading political journalist has a look at how the broadsheets and red tops treat the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond. This week Kevin Maguire takes the chair.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b00wlh9k)
Francine Stock talks to Peter Weir, the director of Witness and The Truman Show, about his new drama, The Way Back
The directors of Catfish, one of the big hits of the Sundance Film Festival, discuss their documentary about an on-line romance that takes a turn for the surreal.
Nikki Bedi meets the members of a community who saved their cinema from closure in Prestatyn and learns the secrets of their success
Writer Andrew Collins considers the influence of video games on modern movies and asks if they really have taken cinema to the next level.
Producer Stephen Hughes.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00wnrw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 20 DECEMBER 2010
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00wnym7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00wlg3c)
'Over by Christmas' - Race, Sport and Politics
When Jack Johnson became heavy-weight champion of the world and then knocked out the 'Great White Hope' Jim Jeffries in 1910, riots and celebrations broke out throughout the United States. Black people had a champion who stood as the finest man in the world, and many white people saw that as an image which threatened their supremacy. In sporting terms the image of the black athlete was forged, a hyper-masculine individual characterised by aggression and defined by physicality. Laurie is joined by Ben Carrington, author of Race, Sport and Politics, and the sociologist Brett St Louis to discuss the complex history of that stereotype. An image which has been both to the benefit and also to the great detriment of black people.
Also on the programme, Stuart Hallifax discusses why it was that people said that the First World War would be over by Christmas and whether they truly believed it.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00wnrv9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00wnym9)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00wnymc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00wnymf)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00wnymh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00wnzwg)
With The Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00wnzwj)
A Lincolnshire vegetable importer talks about how snow and severe weather conditions have had a disastrous effect on his business coming up to Christmas.
Beer production is the largest sector of the British drinks industry. We hear from a brewer who uses traditional fuggles and goldings hops, and the Herefordshire farmer who grows them.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Emma Weatherill.
MON 05:57 Weather (b00wnymk)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 06:00 Today (b00wp010)
Morning news and current affairs with Sarah Montague and Justin Webb, including:
07:41 Former deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine reflects on the life of Anthony Howard
07:50 As George Osborne and Vince Cable meet the bosses of Britain's biggest banks to urge them not to pay large bonuses, Peter Hahn, of the Cass Business School, and the BBC's Robert Peston examine bonus culture
08:10 The freeze continues: BAA boss Colin Matthews describes the situation at Britain's major airports
08:17 The Archers at 60.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00wp012)
Andrew Marr talks to the sculptor Anthony Caro about the development of modern British sculpture. Caro once worked out of a small garage at home, creating his growing metal structures, and it's the artist's studio that interests the art critic, Michael Peppiatt. He's attempting to capture the unique atmosphere of the tiny ramshackle studio behind Montparnasse where Alberto Giacometti lived and worked for nearly 40 years. For the last decade Sir Mark Jones has worked out of one of the grandest buildings in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum. As he prepares to step down next year, he talks about the continuing relevance of a museum that showcases objects and design. While the V+A has regularly exhibited works of fashion, several haute couture shops now pretend to be art galleries, and the writer, Justine Picardie asks how far fashion can be considered art.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wp35s)
Finishing the Hat
Episode 1
To mark his 80th birthday year, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim appraises his long career and dissects his own lyrics from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd.
In today's episode, we hear how his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein, influenced the early career of the budding composer and lyricist, and how he came to collaborate with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story.
In Finishing the Hat - a title borrowed from one of his most autobiographical songs - Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, but has provided a forensic account of the lyric-writing process.
As he discusses the lyrics for several of his major musicals from 1954 to 1981- including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd - Sondheim offers an illuminating insight into the lyric-writer's art, as well as a number of warm and witty anecdotes about the remarkable figures with whom he has worked.
He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Ethel Merman and Harold Prince.
Penetrating and self-deprecating, thoughtful and witty, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is also a window on musical theatre history since the 1950s.
Additional readings by Juliet Stevenson
Produced by Emma Harding.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00wp36k)
Presented by Jane Garvey. What special traditions do you have for the festive season? Have you maintained family rituals passed down from generation to generation - or made your own new ones? Jane is joined by columnist Lucy Mangan and writer Christina Hardyment to hear your stories in our festive phone-in.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wp4x6)
The Art of Deception, series 2
Episode 1
by Philip Palmer.
Two years after faking his own death, notorious art forger and conman Daniel Ballantyne re-emerges to resume his cat and mouse game with biographer Jessica Brown. But who is chasing who?
Daniel Ballantyne ..... David Schofield
Jessica Brown ..... Hattie Morahan
Ben ..... Matt Addis
Andrew Jarrold ..... Harry Myers
Moisha Perez ..... Stephen Greif
Lisa ..... Pandora Colin
Directed by Toby Swift
******************************
The return of Daniel Ballantyne: monster and angel, thief and fraud...and genius. He is about to face the challenge of his life. Philip Palmer's compelling serial returns to the Woman's Hour drama.
Daniel Ballantyne is one of the greatest and most successful forgers of all time. He is a rich man. And he is dead.
His 'death', however, is just another forgery - he paid a body double who was dying of cancer to impersonate him. Now, Ballantyne has nothing to fear. He has everything he needs to enjoy a contented and quiet retirement.
But instead, Ballantyne goes out of his way to make enemies. And he does this because he loves the danger. That's his first fatal flaw.
But he has a nemesis. Art expert Jessica Brown - who after writing her book on him knows Ballantyne better than anyone alive - is on his trail.
Ex-copper Andrew Jarrold, released from prison, has intimidated Jessica into finding Ballantyne.
But when Jessica does find Ballantyne, everything changes. For he has a second fatal flaw: Jessica. He duped her once, but only just; and he has come to respect her as an equal. She is the only person in the world he truly cares for.
And together - they are terrifying.
Philip Palmer is an experienced radio dramatist. He also writes for television and his third sci-fi novel, Version 43, was published in October.
MON 11:00 The Teetotaller's Guide to Boozing (b00wp55d)
Sarfraz Manzoor is teetotal, During his time at Manchester University and in his professional life he has got used to being on the edge of things as a non-drinker in the UK. In this feature he looks at the reliance on booze in the UK and asks, 'How British can you be if you don't drink?'
With more and more people choosing to abstain this may be a changing situation, but with New Year parties looming, alcohol still has a major role to play in both leisure and business.
Sarfraz Manzoor on the highs and lows of booze in Britain, and how to get by without it.
MON 11:30 Jeeves in Manhattan (b00wr6qm)
The Artistic Career of Corky
Martin Jarvis performs 'The Artistic Career of Corky', the first of two of P.G. Wodehouse's celebrated 'New York' stories, starring blithe Bertie Wooster and his urbane valet Jeeves.
Recorded in front of a live audience - a packed house at the Everyman Theatre - it was a highlight of this year's Cheltenham Festival of Literature. In this one-man tour de force, as well as the characters of Jeeves and Wooster, Jarvis also portrays spineless American artist Corky, choleric Manhattan millionaire Alexander Worple and winsome chorus girl Muriel Singer. The laughs abound!
Wodehouse wrote these sparkling stories in 1925 during the period when he was enjoying success in Manhattan as a lyric writer for American musicals. The tales provide a brilliantly humorous perspective for Jeeves and Bertie Wooster on how to deal with eccentric Americans, plus how to cope with the Brits abroad.
In 2007, Jarvis's previous one-man Wodehouse at the Festival received outstanding reviews. The Times wrote: "Outshining all was Martin Jarvis in the funniest performance of the year... an astonishing one-man tour-de-force... Jarvis switched unerringly from one character to the next, but it was more than that. He caught the essence of Wodehouse's writing in a way I thought only possible through reading." Martin Jarvis received a Theatre World Award for his performance as Jeeves in 'By Jeeves' on Broadway.
Producer/Director: Pete Atkin
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00wp55v)
What protection is there for consumers who rely on heating oil to heat their homes? The industry isn't regulated at the moment - we'll be asking if it should be. And we'll ask the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers why prices have shot up so quickly at a time of cold weather and high demand.
And knitted patterned jumpers are back in vogue. Many are based on the traditional patterns which originate on Fair Isle. Producers of the original jumpers want to licence the name so they benefit if other fashion stores sell similar products described as 'Fair Isle'. But can you copyright fashion designs?
And we'll take a look at what's been happening in the housing market in the last few months. With house prices falling, rents rising, and mortgage finance still thin on the ground. What do our experts predict for the housing market in 2011?
MON 12:57 Weather (b00wnymm)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b00wp564)
National and international news.
MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00wp5h6)
(9/17) Four more contestants join questionmaster Russell Davies at London's BBC Radio Theatre, for the latest heat in the general knowledge quiz. This week's quartet hail from Pevensey in East Sussex, High Wycombe, Cheltenham and the Rhondda. One of them will win a place in the series semi-finals in the new year.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b00wnyhj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b00wp5qn)
Series 3
Pitiless Storm
By Nick Warburton. Comedy drama starring Trevor Peacock as inspirational chef Warwick Hedges .
Warwick is in buoyant mood, confident of soon-to-be-realised wealth. He promises lavish gifts for all this Christmas. Which is unsettling. It means he's up to something.
Warwick Hedges...Trevor Peacock
Jack...Sam Dale
Marcia...Kate Buffery
Samuel...John Rowe
Zofia...Helen Longworth
Lady Geraldine...Christine Kavanagh
Doorman...Tony Bell
Directed by Claire Grove.
MON 15:00 The Archive Hour (b00x2xfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Saturday]
MON 15:45 The Bus Pass Road Trips (b00wp71b)
Episode 1
Dominic Arkwright meets the senior citizens who have used their bus passes to take to the high road.
Parishioners of St. Edburgs Church, Bicester, wanted a novel way to support their 900-year-old church and raise funds for a much-needed £1m refurbishment. With very little experience of adventuring far by bus, they set out to travel from Canterbury to York, staying with fellow christians along the way. It was a journey that would change their views on bus travel and on the great British countryside. As one pilgrim puts it; " This week has been one of the most memorable, humbling and happy weeks of my life. God was certainly looking down on us.".
MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00wntyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00wp7tl)
Philanthropy
Ernie Rea chairs Radio 4's discussion programme in which guests from different faith and non-faith perspectives debate the challenges of today's world.
Each week a panel is assembled to represent a diversity of views and opinions, which often reveal hidden, complex and sometimes contradictory understandings of the world around us.
In this programme, Ernie Rea and guests discuss whether faith inspires philanthropy and asks if greater personal wealth comes with greater responsibility to help others, less fortunate.
Producer: Karen Maurice.
MON 17:00 PM (b00wp7tn)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00wnymp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 Les Kelly's Heroes (b00wp7tq)
In this one-off special, host Les Kelly (Kevin Bishop) gives a little tinselly attention to the unsung heroes who make Britain great. Les is his usual opinionated, sincere, stupid self. The guests are mostly either mad, bad or tragic. This is the show that captures the 'we're in this together' culture, adds a bit of 'the big society' and some Seventies-style schmaltz. The 'real people' on the show include a campanologist who plays Away In A Manger with only one bell, a man campaigning for guide dogs for sighted people, and a lollipop lady with OCD.
also featuring:
Dave Lamb
Vicki Pepperdine
Julian Dutton
Laurence Howarth
Written by Bill Dare with Julian Dutton.
Produced by Bill Dare.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b00wp7ts)
Kenton is trying to catch up with his last minute Christmas cards when Pat turns up at Lower Loxley to deliver some yoghurts. Elizabeth is in a flap as she hasn't yet received Lily's main present: a mobile phone with internet, ordered through the web.
Elizabeth has set up a shot of Kenton as the highwayman surprising some children. It's a great success and will be featured in the Echo. Next year she hopes to use it in their own publicity.
Tony brings over a replacement present for Helen, a beautiful mobile for the baby. Ian really likes it and encourages Tony to waits and give it her himself. Although Tony would love to, he just leaves it with Ian.
When Helen opens the gift, she thinks it's pretty, but still feeling very hurt by Tony. She tells Ian that Pat must have put her dad up to it. Helen doesn't ring Tony, and when Pat suggests Tony might phone his daughter he sadly suggests that he'd better leave her to ring him when she's ready. But as time goes on, Tony realises that Helen isn't going to phone him at all.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b00wp874)
Ed Harris and Colin Farell in The Way Back
Six-time Oscar nominee Peter Weir directs The Way Back, starring Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Saoirse Ronan as prisoners who escape from a Siberian gulag during the second world war, and trek thousands of miles to freedom. Based on a memoir by Slawomir Rawicz, the film is reviewed by Kate Muir.
Jazz pianist and composer Julian Joseph, writer Reggie Nadelson and critic Kevin LeGendre discuss the jazz photographs of Herman Leonard, now collected in hardback. Leonard's images portray legendary musicians such as Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong in smoky clubs and after-hours sessions, along with surprisingly intimate portraits including Billie Holiday cooking a steak, under the gaze of her dog Mister.
The author and journalist A.D. Miller discusses his debut novel Snowdrops, set in a Moscow winter and charting the gradual corruption of a young British man against a background of endemic crime and debauchery.
TV critic Boyd Hilton makes his selection of Christmas television highlights
Producer Claire Bartleet.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wp4x6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Freudian Slippage (b00wp8hz)
Episode 2
David Aaronovitch explores the influence of the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud on British society. In the mid-twentieth century, Freud's idea of the unconscious had an impact well beyond the privacy of the psychoanalyst's consulting room. But, David asks, has this influence slipped away?
The programme begins at the heart of the huge crowd that gathered to oppose changes in university funding in London in November. Amid the demonstrators, social psychologist John Drury explains how Freud drew on the work of a 19th century Frenchman to develop a striking view of what happens to individuals in crowds. Their unconscious fears and wishes take them over, he suggested and they become very open to manipulation.
From there, the historian and psychoanalyst Daniel Pick tells David how these ideas seemed to make sense of Nazism. And along with historian Mathew Thomson, Pick explains how, during the Second World War, psychoanalysts were brought in by the British government to help manage a population under bombardment. The war and its aftermath marked a high water mark of psychoanalytic influence on power - from the de-Nazification process in occupied Germany to the development of the Welfare State in Britain. And they explain how Freud's ideas helped to shape the emerging consumer economy, not least through their influence on the great economist John Maynard Keynes.
With the historian of consumer psychology Rachel Bowlby, David discovers how that old model of the individual losing their will in a crowd underwent a strange transformation. The old psychology of the mob in the street was transferred to the mum in the supermarket. Both were thought to think in images. Both, it seemed, were susceptible to the hypnotic power of simple, repeated messages. And neither would let anything stop them having what they desired.
David visits London's ad land to meet the journalist John Pearson, who 50 years ago, anatomised London's real-life version of Mad Men. They trace how this model of the malleable consumer was promoted by two American intellects who appeared to be at loggerheads. Viennese psychology PhD turned ad guru Ernest Dichter, and his arch-critic Vance Packard, each had huge influence in this country with their shared vision of gullible masses manipulated by 'hidden persuaders'.
But David then visits an ad man who debunked this model in the early '70s. Robin Wight recalls how he argued that treating consumers like passive, manipulable pawns was provoking serious resistance. Wight now suggests that only neuroscience can provide the insights into the way consumers think, once promised by the Freudian Dr Dichter.
David talks to the former leading public relations adviser Julia Hobsbawm, who argues that mass manipulation remains prevalent. But he suggests that the current Government's plans to 'nudge' the population towards altering their behaviour owe little to Freudian thinking.
And back amid the demonstration in central London, Drury contends that Freud's conception of the crowd was fundamentally wrong - which is why it now has little influence on social psychology.
PRODUCER: PHIL TINLINE.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00wlgcc)
The Two Faces of Bahrain
Bahrain projects itself towards the world as an Arab state that is open to investment, progressive about change and moving confidently toward democracy. But there is another Bahrain where dissent is suppressed and critics jailed. It is a country where allegations are rife that political prisoners are routinely tortured. Bill Law investigates both sides of the Bahrain story and asks what lies behind the apparently heavy-handed repression of those who criticize the ruling al Khalifa family
Producer: Caroline Pare.
MON 21:00 Material World (b00wlgmp)
2010 - year of disasters. Floods, wild fires, volcanoes, earthquakes, and a record breaking oil spill. Material World has time and again been reporting on some of the disasters that have struck over the year. And earth scientists gather at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco to review their data from each event, Quentin Cooper asks how science helped, and what the lessons are for the future.
Producer: Roland Pease.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00wp012)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b00wnymr)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00wp8pg)
The big freeze continues - but when will the transport system thaw?
Violence in Belarus after disputed elections.
We pay tribute to our colleague, Brian Hanrahan, who died this morning.
With Ritula Shah.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wp8pj)
Daphne du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
Episode 1
Book at Bedtime: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Tamsin Greig reads episode 1 of Daphne Du Maurier's dark and intriguing gothic tale.
Her mother's dying request takes Mary Yellan on a sad journey across the bleak moorland of Cornwall to reach Jamaica Inn, the home of her Aunt Patience. With the coachman's warning echoing in her memory, Mary arrives at a dismal place to find Patience a changed woman, cowering from her overbearing husband, Joss Merlyn.
Producer: Alison Crawford.
MON 23:00 Off the Page (b00wlgjc)
I Don't Know
"I don't know" - three little words so hard to say nowadays. Doubt and uncertainty are out, confident assertions are in. Opinions, even received ones, are the order of the day. The temptation is always to bluff our way with some kind of response, however little we know about the subject in hand. Phil Hammond is a doctor and Kathy Sykes is a science professor. John Harris is a journalist whose job is to express opinions. Are they able simply to admit: "I don't know"? Dominic Arkwright presides over new writing and straight-to-the-point discussion.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00wp8q7)
Susan Hulme reports on events at Westminster, as MPs are updated on the severe weather by the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond. He also announces the route of the high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham. Editor: Rachel Byrne.
TUESDAY 21 DECEMBER 2010
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00wp9pl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wp35s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00wp9pn)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00wp9pq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00wp9ps)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00wp9pv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00wp9s3)
With the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00wp9sc)
Farmers from across the country battling with severe weather conditions and birds of prey in Norfolk struggling to find food in the snow.
English winemakers can now take on the world's finest, particularly when it comes to sparkling wines. We hear from a vineyard in Cornwall who have won prestigious international prizes for its fizz.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Emma Weatherill.
TUE 06:00 Today (b00wp9sh)
Morning news and current affairs with Sarah Montague and Justin Webb, including:
07:30 and
08:10 John Humphrys interviews Julian Assange
07:50 Could Vince Cable bring down the coalition?
08:55 How should non-Christians celebrate Christmas?
TUE 09:00 Taking a Stand (b00wp9sr)
Fergal Keane talks to Suzanne Hook. Born in Saigon at the height of the Vietnam War, she was found under a bush and taken to an orphanage. Suzanne believes her father to be a black American GI, her mother Vietnamese. Brought to Britain and adopted when she was three, she went on to marry and became a successful businesswoman. But a holiday to Vietnam in 2006 changed everything. Suzanne Hook decided to sell all her possessions in the United Kingdom and found an orphanage in the country of her birth.
TUE 09:30 I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Into Here (b00wp9sy)
Episode 5
When Spitting Image came to an end, Roger Law decided it was time for a fresh start. Having made one attempt to emigrate to Australia in the 1960s, thwarted by the cultural attaché who told him that it was 'a one way ticket to hell' , Ten years ago, Roger decided to give it a second shot. He's now living in Bondi Beach concentrating on in-depth surfing, and he's never looked back.
In the last of the series, Roger takes a journey along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide. Along the way he meets the British migrants who have no fear of snakes or spiders and have made the Australian outback their home.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wv1gc)
Finishing the Hat
Episode 2
To mark his 80th birthday year, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim appraises his long career and dissects his own lyrics from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd.
In today's episode, Sondheim recounts his experience of writing the lyrics for Gypsy - and of working with the indomitable Ethel Merman.
In Finishing the Hat - a title borrowed from one of his most autobiographical songs - Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, but has provided a forensic account of the lyric-writing process.
As he discusses the lyrics for several of his major musicals from 1954 to 1981-including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd-Sondheim offers an illuminating insight into the lyric-writer's art, as well as a number of warm and witty anecdotes about the remarkable figures with whom he has worked.
He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Ethel Merman and Harold Prince.
Penetrating and self-deprecating, thoughtful and witty, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is also a window on musical theatre history since the 1950s.
Additional readings by Juliet Stevenson
Produced by Emma Harding.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00wp9tb)
Presented by Jane Garvey. Kim Longinotto has been making documentary films for more than thirty years and her latest tells the story of Sampat Pal, the leader of a movement which champions the rights of abused women in India. Kim talks to Jane about the award winning 'Pink Saris'. Tonight, the violinist Viktoria Mullova is performing Beethoven with the London Symphony Orchestra. She joins Jane to talk of how her life has changed since she defected from the Soviet Union in 1983. And, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women murdered by violent partners. Lynne Featherstone, the Equalities Minister and Jane Keeper from the charity Refuge discuss the issues.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6l2)
The Art of Deception, series 2
Episode 2
by Philip Palmer
Jessica nears the end of her search for the supposedly dead art forger Daniel Ballantyne.
Daniel Ballantyne ..... David Schofield
Jessica Brown ..... Hattie Morahan
Stefan Hunt ..... Stephen Greif
Lisa ..... Pandora Colin
Other parts played by Kenneth Collard, Jude Akuwudike and Sally Orrock.
Directed by Toby Swift
******************************
The return of Daniel Ballantyne: monster and angel, thief and fraud...and genius. He is about to face the challenge of his life. Philip Palmer's compelling serial returns to the Woman's Hour drama.
Daniel Ballantyne is one of the greatest and most successful forgers of all time. He is a rich man. And he is dead.
His 'death', however, is just another forgery - he paid a body double who was dying of cancer to impersonate him. Now, Ballantyne has nothing to fear. He has everything he needs to enjoy a contented and quiet retirement.
But instead, Ballantyne goes out of his way to make enemies. And he does this because he loves the danger. That's his first fatal flaw.
But he has a nemesis. Art expert Jessica Brown - who after writing her book on him knows Ballantyne better than anyone alive - is on his trail.
Ex-copper Andrew Jarrold, released from prison, has intimidated Jessica into finding Ballantyne.
But when Jessica does find Ballantyne, everything changes. For he has a second fatal flaw: Jessica. He duped her once, but only just; and he has come to respect her as an equal. She is the only person in the world he truly cares for.
And together - they are terrifying.
Philip Palmer is an experienced radio dramatist. He also writes for television and his third sci-fi novel, Version 43, was published in October.
TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b00wqb54)
Series 1
Episode 34
34/40. It has been reported that lion numbers in Africa have declined by as much as 80% in the last thirty years. Estimates put the total Africa lion population at between 25,000 and 45,000 across the whole continent. This number sounds a lot, but Africa is bigger that Europe and North America combined - and some sources even say lions could become extinct in Kenya in the next decade or two. What are the causes and what are the solutions? These are big questions - Lions are highly revered creatures outside Africa and certainly pull in the tourists - but inside Africa they have been called "the neighbours from hell".
In our special series about "Ladybird Book" Britain, it's summer. What has changed in the 50 years since the first publication of the book? Chris Sperring is out and about finding out for himself during a visit to Dorset. The book describes Red Squirrels and Water Voles still in reasonable numbers, although eludes to their decline. And Chris has a unique peep into the future from a hide looking over Poole Harbour - Chris spots some animals the authors of this edition of Lady Bird Britain could not have possibly predicted would be living in Britain.
Presented by Brett Westwood
Produced by Kirsty Henderson
Series Editor Julian Hector.
TUE 11:30 John Wyndham: No Place Like Earth (b00wqb56)
'The Day of the Triffids' is one of the great post war British novels. It was the first big success for its author John Wyndham - and it came late. He was in his 40s when it was published. He went on to write a series of successful books including The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos.
His novels are set in middle class British suburbia - and have been accused of being 'cosy catastrophes', but at their heart is a streak of darkness. Wyndham was interested in how ordinary people would cope when extraordinary, and terrifying things happened to them.
His greatest successes came in the 1950s and his preoccupations were very much post war and cold war; nuclear annihilation, social breakdown and anxieties over communism. He was also prescient; he touches on climate change, genetically modified crops and species extinction. He was fascinated by evolution; would human beings one day be supplanted by something superior? He was also intriguing when it came to his heroines - they were resourceful, sensible and clever. An occasional tear might be shed, but the Wyndham girl was soon decapitating triffids or felling religious fanatics.
In 'No Place Like Earth' Dan Rebellato examines the importance and influence of John Wyndham on the history of British and American science fiction. The programme is produced in Manchester by Nicola Swords.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00wqb58)
For the second time in two weeks roads, airports and railways came to a standstill after snow hit much of the UK. But why do we struggle to cope with the effects of bad weather? Why does it bring the country to its knees in a juddering fit of incapacity - a spot of snow.
The British are a stubborn lot - we are told to stay at home but we ignore it. Across large parts of the UK, people have been battling the elements to make the daily commute into work.
So why do we react so badly to a little 'weather'?
Is it because unlike some other parts of Europe like the Scandinavian countries we just don't get enough of it and as such are never properly prepared for it.
Call You&Yours with Julian Worricker on 03700 100 400 and tell us what your experience of the snow has been.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b00wp9px)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b00wqb5b)
National and international news.
TUE 13:30 Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It (b00wqb5d)
Billy Preston was a musical genius. A child prodigy, he was first seen as a small boy performing live on national TV with Nat King Cole. He was a star of the Hammond Organ, an accomplished dancer and a talented singer-songwriter. He is the only person 'officially' recognised as the fifth Beatle, although that title would turn out to be more of a millstone than a milestone. By the 1970s he'd written three number one singles, toured and recorded with the Rolling Stones and collaborated with some of the biggest names in pop: Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, Sly Stone, the Jackson 5 and Aretha Franklin to name just a few. His musical career was out of this world but his personal life was a disaster. He spent much of his life battling with drugs and even ended up in jail.
Fellow keyboard player and fan Rick Wakeman explores his incredible story. With contributions from the likes of Jools Holland, Bill Wyman, Pete Townshend and many more, this documentary also reveals - for the first time - the secret he spent his life suppressing. A secret his former manager Joyce Moore believes fuelled his personal problems.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00wp7ts)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b00wqbb8)
Mark Lawson - What Do You Know?
When Natasha Lonsdale, loving mother and respected businesswoman goes missing, neither her husband, her family or even her lover have any idea why. Natasha it appears had a secret life; a life which is now starting to unfold in both the newspapers and on the worldwide web with devastating results. Do any of us ever really know who any one else is - even after 20 years of marriage? Mark Lawson's, 'What do you Know?', suggests not.
Cast
DCI Parsons - Roger Allam
Natasha Lonsdale - Rebecca Saire
Barbara - Margot Leicester
Desmond - Andrew Sachs
Dan - John McAndrew
Nick - Richard Dormer
Peter - Nick Dunning
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.
TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00wqbbq)
Astronomers have now detected hundreds of planets orbiting stars other than our own. Many of them are gas giants but some could be rocky bodies not dissimilar to our own Earth. And of course, the question most people would like answered is do they harbour life? It's a difficult question to answer, not least, what would we look for? This week one Home Planet listener has a surprising suggestion, go hunting for gold. We've a proposal for a novel memorial in space, ponder the role of low level radiation in driving evolution and ask whether there is somewhere in the world that is experiencing a heat wave to counterbalance the UK's current cold winter.
The panel this week comprises the astronomer Dr Carolin Crawford of Cambridge University; the Director of Living With Environmental Change Professor Andrew Watkinson and Professor Philip Stott, an environmental scientist from London University.
Contact:
Home Planet
BBC Radio 4
PO Box 3096
Brighton
BN1 1PL
Or email home.planet@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Richard Daniel
Producer: Toby Murcott
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Fifty Years before the Masthead (b00xlynz)
Episode 3
As a tribute to the late Anthony Howard, we hear again one episode of a recent series on his lifetime in journalism. With contributions from fellow broadcasters Sue MacGregor and Charles Wheeler and the novelists Julian Barnes and Martin Amis. Anthony Howard recalls his early journalistic adventures before being signed up in 1965 to become Whitehall correspondent for the Sunday Times. The paper boasted that their latest journalistic recruit would 'prise open' the Labour government's secrets but the Prime Minister Harold Wilson soon put a stop to that. Another opportunity beckoned, however, and Anthony Howard became Washington correspondent for the Observer before editing The New Statesman.
TUE 15:45 The Bus Pass Road Trips (b00wv757)
Episode 2
Dominic Arkwright meets people who've used their bus passes for adventurous road trips.
Today he meets Olwen Leebrook, the Welsh pensioner who set out to visit all thirteen of the old Welsh counties by bus. It was a journey that would open her eyes to the real beauty of her native country.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00wqbdv)
Michael Rosen begins a new series by exploring the British Library's first ever exhibition on the history of English. The exhibition is called "Evolving English", and Michael's guests include David Crystal, the author of the book of the same name. Comics, adverts, text messages and trading records have all been used by the British Library to chart the development of English from a language spoken on a small island to the global language we know today. The curators explain how they chose the exhibits, including the earliest surviving copy of Beowulf, the King James Bible, and the poem "Essay to Miss Catharine Jay", which contains the phrase "I wrote 2 U B 4", printed well over a hundred years before the advent of text messaging.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00wqbjq)
Series 23
Samuel Beckett
Business guru Sir Gerry Robinson was born in Ireland but moved to England in his teens, and he chooses Samuel Beckett, another Irishman who lived away for much of his life - in Paris. Gerry, a late convert to Beckett's plays, loves him because he's accepting of the human condition: that we're all locked in this repetitive pattern. We don't want to keep on doing the same thing over and over again, but we do. Presenter Matthew Parris is also joined by Jim Knowlson, who was a personal friend of Samuel Beckett for 19 years, and is his authorised biographer. He reveals that Beckett was far from the dour gloomy figure of popular imagination, and was in fact very good company - as long as you didn't interrupt him when he was watching the rugby on the telly on a Saturday afternoon.
Producer: Beth O'Dea.
TUE 17:00 PM (b00wqbjs)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00wp9pz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 My Teenage Diary (b01gd7lz)
Series 2
Victoria Coren
Rufus Hound hosts this six-part comedy series in which celebrities are asked to revisit their teenage diaries and read them out in public for the very first time. This week, Victoria Coren.
Producer: Victoria Payne
A TalkbackThames production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00wqbjx)
Lynda is pleased that Coriander, Justin and Oscar are coming for Christmas. Coriander has some of Oscar's baby things for Helen.
There's a problem in the dairy when Lynda telephones Pat to say that the yoghurts she bought from Ambridge Organics are strawberry rather than raspberry as labelled. On further investigation Pat finds out that Vicky carelessly labelled them wrongly. Underwoods have also been sent a wrong batch. Pat is irritated. It's a complication she doesn't need. Vicky frets that she's more trouble than she's worth. Susan is preparing for her 'family' party on Christmas Eve. She's doing special canapés to impress Brian and Jennifer.
Pat is worried that Helen may not going to come to Bridge Farm for the traditional Christmas tree decorating. She asks Tom if he'll go and ask her. Tom takes the rocking chair from Bridge Farm as an excuse to call, but Helen rumbles him. She will come on Christmas Eve but she's not staying over to Christmas Day.
Tom breaks the news to Pat who's upset that Helen will be waking up on Christmas Day on her own. Tom reassures her that next year Helen will have the baby.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00wqch0)
Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway; Discs of the Year
Anne Hathaway, Oscar-nominated for her role as a drug addict in Rachel Getting Married, talks about her new film Love and Other Drugs. She also reflects on the artistic inspiration for her portrayal of the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, and the plans for her to play Judy Garland.
Front Row invites three experts in the fields of classical, pop and world music to select their favourite album of year. Helen Wallace, Kate Mossman and Robin Denselow each reveal their selections, and discuss all three choices.
The acclaimed Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has just received a six year prison sentence and has been banned from making films in Iran for the next 20 years. Front Row assesses his career so far.
As media regulator OfCom confirms that product placement will be permitted in dramas, soaps, entertainment and sport shows on commercial TV networks in the UK from next February, Stephen Armstrong considers its possible effects.
Producer Nicki Paxman.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6l2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Listen to the Word! (b00wqcnd)
It is as modern as Marconi, as global as Coca-Cola, as race-blind as Benetton and as troubling to authority as Marxism once was. Pentecostalism is a religion that is, very simply, beating modernity at its own game. The Richard Dawkins of this world may think of religion as some throwback to earlier times but Pentecostalism was invented at the beginning of the twentieth century and is the very model of a modern Christianity - disturbing not only to hard-line atheists but even to the Catholic Church and the Chinese Communist Party.
Nearly one quarter of the 2 billion Christians in the world are Pentecostals - and counting... This feature will explore just what it is that has made Pentecostalism the indispensable form of today's Christianity.
Presenter Philip Dodd explores its extraordinary global reach - from the backstreets of Yorkshire's Grimethorpe to Korea's Seoul, home of the largest Pentecostal church in the world, from Sao Paolo to Washington. He also explores its love affair with modernity - not for nothing was it founded in Los Angeles the same year Marconi experimented with a wireless voice; not for nothing is the mobile phone how it recruits and keeps its believers.
The programme also highlights its challenge to the rationalism of the Enlightenment through its loyalty to people's experience of God, unmediated by either the authority of the Word or the reason of secularism. Along with Disney, Pentecostalism is a central part of the contemporary 'experience economy'.
Above all, this programme will show that, no less than radio itself, Pentecostalism is committed to the absolute power of the voice.
Presenter: Philip Dodd
Producer: Simon Hollis
A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00wqd02)
Peter White presents a festive edition in which Richard Lane meets a blind cook from West Wales, who shows him how to make a nut roast fit for any Christmas table.
And the perfect presents for you and your loved ones. From gloves to gadgets regulars Tony Sharman, Lee Kumutat and Ian Macrae with recommendations for last minute gifts.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00wqd1w)
Mental Illness - The Remote Psychiatrist - Who Do You Think You Are?
One in four of us is said to have a mental health problem. It's a statistic that's almost as well-used and well-known as the entreaty to eat your five a day. But where has this near-ubiquitous statistic come from, and is there research that backs it up ?
Claudia talks to neuroscientist, Jamie Horder, about his personal quest to find the original source for the one in four figure and to Til Wykes, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation at the Institute of Psychiatry King's College London and Jerome Wakefield, Professor of Social Work at New York University and co-author of The Loss of Sadness, about the complexities of measuring rates of mental illness.
Providing mental health care on remote islands is a difficult business, and territories on the other side of the world present particular problems. Eleven years ago, Dr Tim McInerney began visiting the Falkland Islands and became their "remote" psychiatrist. He manages his case load by telephone and then twice a year, takes a trip out there, to visit his patients and the small group of staff who help run mental health services.
On his latest visit, as a new Mental Health Act is just about to be introduced by the Port Stanley Council, he takes with him an All In the Mind recorder, and keeps a diary. He talks to service users who describe the challenges of being ill, when everybody, everywhere, knows who you are.
Programmes like Who Do You Think You Are on BBC1 are extremely popular, and more and more people are tracing their family trees. Claudia hears from Peter Fischer, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Graz in Austria, about intriguing new research suggesting that thinking and focussing on your ancestors, can make you smarter!
Producer: Fiona Hill.
TUE 21:30 Taking a Stand (b00wp9sr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b00wp9q1)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00wqd1y)
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wv8g1)
Daphne du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
Episode 2
Book at Bedtime: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Tamsin Greig reads episode 2 of Daphne Du Maurier's dark and intriguing gothic tale.
After the death of her mother, Mary Yellan has come to live at Jamaica Inn with her Aunt Patience. She has discovered her aunt much changed and living in terror of her vicious husband, Joss Merlyn. Deciding she must stay for the sake of her aunt, Mary is affected by the inn's brooding power and unwillingly drawn into the dark deeds of Joss and his accomplices.
Producer: Alison Crawford.
TUE 23:00 The Phone (b00wqd20)
Going Dark, by Peter Jukes
By Peter Jukes.
A series of late night thrillers, each connected by a mysterious mobile phone. When his daughter goes missing, Matt must track her down by following the clues left on her mobile phone.
Matt . . . . . Ivan Kaye
Paula . . . . . Christine Kavanagh
Gerry . . . . . Sean Baker
Caitlin . . . . . Deeivya Meir
Raz . . . . . Adeel Ahktar
Jade . . . . . Leah Brotherhead.
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00wqd22)
Susan Hulme and team report on events at Westminster - on the last day of Commons business before MPs' Christmas break. Top story: the Chancellor George Osborne takes question time. Editor: Rachel Byrne.
WEDNESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2010
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00wq9sd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wv1gc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00wq9sg)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00wq9sj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00wq9sl)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00wq9sn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00wsqv1)
With the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00wsqv3)
Around 6% of the UK's homes use oil for heating - supplied by tanker delivery to the door. But high demand and snowy conditions have meant some deliveries are being delayed by weeks. Anna Hill hears concerns from one community buyer that people may freeze to death if they're left without fuel. She also speaks to a fuel delivery company battling with conditions in Devon to reach vulnerable people who say many who have supplies are crying wolf to jump the ladder on deliveries.
And researchers at the University of Aberdeen have devised a way to tackle the varroa mite which is killing off honeybees. They can trick them into self-destructing!
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.
WED 06:00 Today (b00wsqv5)
Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b00wsqv7)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Gordon Buchanan, Les Persaud, Reece Shearsmith and Vicki Amedume.
Gordon has worked as a wildlife cameraman for nearly twenty years, specialising in filming dangerous predators, including tigers and leopards in Bhutan, jaguars in the Amazon, and lions in Africa. In 'The Bear Family and Me' on BBC Two, Gordon spends a year with a family of wild Black Bears in the forests of Minnesota.
Les Persaud's sixteen year old son Stefan was killed in South London after a minor row between him and another teenager. Out of this tragic event, he came up with the idea of mentoring children caught up in gang culture, got his son's friends together and set up 'The Options Project', which goes into primary schools to help children understand the consequences of knives and knife crime.
Reece Shearsmith is the actor and writer who first came to prominence as the co-writer and one of the stars of the cult BBC comedy series 'The League of Gentlemen'. He is also co-writer and star of the BBC's 'Psychoville'. He has appeared as 'Leo Bloom' in 'The Producers' and 'Art' in the West End and can currently be seen in 'Ghost Stories' at the Duke of York's Theatre, London.
Vicki Amedume is a contemporary circus performer and aerialist who founded 'Upswing' circus in 2004. Upswing will be performing their latest work, 'Fallen' as part of the London International Mime Festival (LIMF). It is a powerful story of what it means to be a woman and mother, alone in a foreign land, weaving dance, aerial and circus with African spirituality, and is based on Vicki's own mother's story of coming to the UK from Ghana. 'Fallen' is at South Bank Centre's Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wv1hb)
Finishing the Hat
Episode 3
To mark his 80th birthday year, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim appraises his long career and dissects his own lyrics from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd.
In today's episode, he discusses his first outing on Broadway with his own music - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - and the critical importance of getting the opening number just right.
In Finishing the Hat - a title borrowed from one of his most autobiographical songs - Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, but has provided a forensic account of the lyric-writing process.
As he discusses the lyrics for several of his major musicals from 1954 to 1981-including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd-Sondheim offers an illuminating insight into the lyric-writer's art, as well as a number of warm and witty anecdotes about the remarkable figures with whom he has worked.
He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Ethel Merman and Harold Prince.
Penetrating and self-deprecating, thoughtful and witty, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is also a window on musical theatre history since the 1950s.
Additional readings by Juliet Stevenson
Produced by Emma Harding.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00ws7ms)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Brassicas - the best ways to cook them up over Christmas with Xanthe Clay. Sarah Driver Jowitt on helping to rescue the "miracle baby" of Haiti Landina Seignon. We look at the changing profile of the older woman on TV and go out into a freezing Bournemouth evening and meet Mary Randall, from the Salvation army, who washes the feet of the homeless.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6m5)
The Art of Deception, series 2
Episode 3
by Philip Palmer
Jessica has agreed to be painted by Ballantyne. But what else does he have designs on?
Daniel Ballantyne ..... David Schofield
Jessica Brown ..... Hattie Morahan
Directed by Toby Swift
******************************
The return of Daniel Ballantyne: monster and angel, thief and fraud...and genius. He is about to face the challenge of his life. Philip Palmer's compelling serial returns to the Woman's Hour drama.
Daniel Ballantyne is one of the greatest and most successful forgers of all time. He is a rich man. And he is dead.
His 'death', however, is just another forgery - he paid a body double who was dying of cancer to impersonate him. Now, Ballantyne has nothing to fear. He has everything he needs to enjoy a contented and quiet retirement.
But instead, Ballantyne goes out of his way to make enemies. And he does this because he loves the danger. That's his first fatal flaw.
But he has a nemesis. Art expert Jessica Brown - who after writing her book on him knows Ballantyne better than anyone alive - is on his trail.
Ex-copper Andrew Jarrold, released from prison, has intimidated Jessica into finding Ballantyne.
But when Jessica does find Ballantyne, everything changes. For he has a second fatal flaw: Jessica. He duped her once, but only just; and he has come to respect her as an equal. She is the only person in the world he truly cares for.
And together - they are terrifying.
Philip Palmer is an experienced radio dramatist. He also writes for television and his third sci-fi novel, Version 43, was published in October.
WED 11:00 Australian Wanted in Woodhall Spa (b00wsqv9)
Chris Ledgard tells the story of one small-scale international cricket exchange and explores its rich history: the tradition of overseas cricketers playing for amateur clubs in the backwaters of England.
'Australian wanted for Woodhall Spa Cricket Club'. Such adverts can be found on any number of English cricket club websites. All over England, small cricket clubs welcome foreign players for the summer eason, committing themselves to supporting the players - with work or accommodation - on the understanding that they'll bring a sparkle to the score sheet.
This documentary follows one such exchange at Potterne cricket club in Wiltshire and weaves in its rich and fascinating history - which has seen some noble names playing in obscure places.
Chris meets Zimbabwean cricketer Dylan Higgins, who's come to this quintessentially English village club direct from Harare. The team captain is Graham Gaiger, who runs the construction company that provides Dylan with a job. Will the incoming sporting hero meet the expectation of the club? And how do overseas players go down with the local girls?
A fascinating, light-hearted observational documentary with a backbone of social history, on what happens when a new face is brought into the bosom of a tight band of sporting fanatics.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery
WED 11:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00wsqvc)
Series 6
Calendar Boys
Arthur is informed by Malcolm that there is an emergency meeting to be held in order to discuss raising funds for the local Church Hall, which is in dire straits and requires important improvements to remain open.
In true Arthur style he comes up with an idea or two to help the fund-raising process, hoping to involve as many of his friends in the process.
With an idea finally put to the committee and inevitably agreed to, after Arthur's persuasive words, the 'stage is set' for a fund-raising project that will surely turn heads and raise Arthur's personal profile as well as the much needed funding for the Church...
Cast:
Count Arthur Strong ..... Steve Delaney
Man, Wilf, Policeman ...... Alastair Kerr
Ref, Geoffrey, Child ..... Dave Mounfield
Mother, Sally,Woman ..... Mel Giedroyc
Malcolm ..... Terry Kilkelly
Prodcuers: Richard Daws, Mark Radcliffe & John Leonard
A Komedia Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00wsqw2)
We have the incredible tale of the man who set up a fake airline. The conman duped leading industry professionals into helping him try to start a service from Teeside to London. One man admits he should have smelled a rat when business meetings were held in the local McDonalds.
Also, is there a Liquid Petroleum Gas shortage? We investigate concerns from listeners who've emailed to say there's a supply problem, and claims that prices have jumped by 55% in the past year. We hear from the trade association UK Liquid Petroluem Gas.
The government's pulled the plug on a project to centralise and modernise Fire Control centres in England. It's the IT part of the project that failed. We speak to Clive Betts MP (Chair of the Department for Communities and Local Government Select Committee) who wants an investigation into how the project went so badly wrong.
And Winifred visits a hospice where residents meet children, with the aim of normalising death.
WED 12:57 Weather (b00wq9sq)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b00wsqxr)
National and international news.
WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00wsqxt)
As revelations about Vince Cable's thoughts on Murdoch owned News Corp's bid for BSkyB come to light, Steve Hewlett looks at The Telegraph's role in reporting the story and asks where this leaves News Corp's bid.
It's nearly thirty years since Rupert Murdoch bought The Times. Through freedom of information requests, the BBC has gained an insight into how the deal was done. Graham Stewart, author of The History of The Times: The Murdoch Years and Ben Fenton, Media Correspondent for the Financial Times, discuss the deal and the parallels with Murdoch's current bid for BSkyB.
Upstairs or Downton? The creator of Upstairs Downstairs has suggested that ITV's successful Downton Abbey borrowed too heavily from her drama. With the BBC set to re-launch an updated version of Upstairs Downstairs this Christmas, freelance TV critic Emma Cox and Gareth McLean, soaps editor at The Radio Times, discuss who will win out in the costume drama wars.
The producer is Simon Tillotson.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b00wqbjx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b00jm2nr)
Shakespeare a la Carte
One of the highlights of the 2008 Brighton Festival was turned into an Afternoon Play for BBC Radio 4. Shakespeare A La Carte took the public by storm when it offered audiences the chance to order up their favourite bits of Shakespeare, together with coffee and croissant.
Pippa Smith, Head of Education at the Brighton Festival had the idea after a disappointing encounter at the Edinburgh Festival. "I saw a flyer advertising Shakespeare for breakfast. But breakfast turned out to be stewed tea in polystyrene cups and the Shakespeare was a lame production of 'Love Labour's Lost.' I came away with an entire show in my head. I knew I could create something much classier than this - the bards best bits performed by leading talent from the RSC and National."
Smith approached Richard Hahlo, Jonathan Cullen and Fiona Dunn, who form the theatre company Hydrocracker. They devised a show where the actors, masquerading as waiters in a Pizza Restaurant, take over the performance when they hear that the real actors have been delayed driving down from Stratford. For the radio adaptation two extra characters played by Sian Webber and Richard Attlee, have been created.
Says Richard Hahlo: "They frame the action for those listening at home. It's good that we will record it live, because what you get are big chunks of Shakespeare interwoven into the to-ing and fro-ing of these waiters trying to get these speeches organised."
Cast:
Peter Quince ..... Richard Hahlo
Nick Bottom ..... Jonathan Cullen
Frances Flute ...... Fiona Dunn
Hermione ..... San Webber
Crispin ......Richard Attlee
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00wsr2s)
Vincent Duggleby and guests will answer your questions about saving for children and collecting toys as a financial investment on this afternoon's Money Box Live.
If you want to give a financial gift to a child this Christmas, you may want to talk to our experts about choosing a cash account or starting an investment plan.
Or perhaps you have a question about collecting toys as an investment? What gives a treasured toy more than sentimental value? For tips and advice pick up the phone.
Phone lines open at
1.30 this afternoon and the number to call is 03700 100 444. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher. The programme starts after the three o'clock news. That number again 03700 100 444.
WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00ljyz1)
The Adventures of Mr Thake
Thake in America
Written by J.B. Morton.
The hapless traveller sends news home to Beachcomber after losing his hat at Niagara Falls...
In 1924 the writer J.B. Morton adopted the name 'Beachcomber' and began a humorous column in the Daily Express which was to run for over 50 years. Reading about the odd lives of Beachcomber's characters - whether they were nonsensical, puritanical, pompous or simply insane - became part of the ritual of breakfast throughout the land.
A typical example of Beachcomber's gift for creating what G.K. Chesterton described as "a huge thunderous wind of elemental and essential laughter," is Mr Thake.
Out of print since the 1930s, The Adventures of Mr Thake is a collection of letters to Beachcomber, sent home from the calamitous travels abroad of a gentleman of considerably more leisure than sense. Oswald Bletisloe Hattersley Thake is, to be blunt, an upper-class twit.
Described affectionately as "a caricature of his nation" here we have the fascinating spectacle of a Wooster with no Jeeves to rescue him. Whether he is losing his heart to young gold diggers on board the S.S. Lutetia while losing his hat overboard and wondering whether to stop the ship, or being fleeced in the nightclubs of Paris, Thake never quite understands what is happening to him - or why...
Reader: Leslie Phillips
Producer/Abridger: Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:45 The Bus Pass Road Trips (b00wv78z)
Episode 3
Dominic Arkwright meets senior citizens who have used their bus passes to take on adventurous road trips.
Today he meets a man who set out to prove that the humble bus pass could be used to travel the entire length of the country - for free.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00wr5mw)
Class at Christmas
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, children gathered beneath a sparking tree, a table groaning with turkey.....the cliches of the season are as alive and well as they were in Dickens time. But does everybody have equal access to the bounty of Christmas and the good will of others? The geographer, Steve Millington, finds that the distaste some middle class people feel for 'excessive' displays of xmas lights in working class areas reveals a narrative of class hostility which echoes Victorian attitudes to the 'undeserving' poor. He joins Laurie Taylor, the sociologist Bev Skeggs and the historian Julie Marie Strange to explore Christmas, compassion and class, then and now.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00wqd1w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 17:00 PM (b00wsr2v)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00wq9ss)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Shappi Talk (b00wr9q6)
Series 2
Divorce and the Single Mother
Shappi Khorsandi uses her own personal experience by taking an acerbic look at what it's like to go through divorce and to become an unexpected single mother. She reveals the challenges and comic consequences of becoming divorced and what it's like raising a young child.
Armed with this experience, Shappi also has a light-hearted chat with model and fellow single mother Jerry Hall, where they find time to compare fascinating notes!
Australian comedian Celia Pacquola provides some additional laughs giving her perspective on the subject and there'll be a themed song from Duncan Oakley.
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b00wqf96)
Worried for the success of Susan's party, Chris and Alice are planning party games to take along. Chris is enthusiastic when he hears Alice's plans for 'Pin the red nose on Rudolf' and playing charades.
Carol singers come into the Bull. Jolene is moved when they sing one of Sid's favourite carols, See Amid the Winter Snow.
Because of Clarrie's broken wrist, Nic is taking her shopping. Clarrie thanks Nic for her help, especially cleaning the kitchen after Eddie and Joe had got all the turkeys ready for selling. Nic brings in the shopping while Clarrie keeps the children occupied. Nic is worried to hear that Ed, Emma and George are coming for Christmas lunch. Clarrie says she will be delegating tasks to everyone, it will be fine.
Later Nic calls with good news. She's decided that she, Will and the kids will come for Christmas dinner after all. They will go to her mum's on Boxing Day, so she'll be able to give Clarrie a hand with the cooking. She tells a white lie, assuring a worried Clarrie that Will was fine about it. Clarrie is pleased and very grateful.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b00wsr2z)
Little Fockers; music biographies
Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Barbra Streisand and Owen Wilson return to our cinemas in Little Fockers, the third film in the Meet the Parents saga, with the Focker and Byrnes families bracing themselves this time for the arrival of a baby. Ryan Gilbey reviews.
Bill Gold is the art director behind the posters for more than 2000 films. His first poster was for Casablanca in 1942 and his career over the next 60 years is a history of Hollywood itself. As a new book of his images is published, he looks back at some of his most memorable designs.
Life, the autobiography of Rolling Stone Keith Richards, and Decoded, by Jay-Z, are among the most successful music memoirs to hit bookshelves this year. David Hepworth reviews them and adds his own selection of music books from 2010.
The author and professor of literature John Sutherland joins John Wilson to pose some literary teasers and demystify some of the darker reaches of literary jargon.
Producer Philippa Ritchie.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6m5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b00wsr31)
Lord Bingham
In the first of a new series of Unreliable Evidence, a leading member of the former Labour Government reveals how his party's post 9/11 anti-terrorism policies were 'morally undermined' by one of the greatest judges since the Second World War.
Lord Bingham, who died earlier this year, had ruled that detention of foreign terror suspects without charge breached their human rights. And after retiring in 2008, the former senior Law Lord argued that Britain's invasion of Iraq in 2003 had contravened international law.
Former Labour Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, joins Supreme Court Justices Lord Hope and Lady Hale, and legal academic Prof Philippe Sands QC to discuss Lord Bingham's impact on public life.
In a remarkably frank contribution, Lord Falconer pays tribute to Lord Bingham's brilliance but reveals how his judgments, particularly over the detention of terrorist suspects in Belmarsh, 'morally undermined' the Government and forced it to adopt less tough measures.
Lord Falconer also admits that he had been troubled by Lord Bingham's condemnation of the Government's decision to go to war against Iraq.
Producer: Brian King
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:45 Blond on Britain (b00wsr33)
The Church of England
Some of the ancient institutions of Britain - the monarchy, the House of Lords and the Church of England are often derided as archaic, outmoded and out of touch with the contemporary world. The leading political thinker Phillip Blond, the creator of the concept of the "Red Tory", makes a powerful case for their continuing significance. In the last of three talks, Phillip turns his attention to the Church of England. He argues that an established church still has an ongoing relevance in Britain's mixed constitution, helping protect the rights of believers and non-believers alike. Its appeal to a transcendent standard, he says, ensures the roles of monarch, government and people are kept in mutual play.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
WED 21:00 Science vs The Stradivarius (b00nf33g)
Can modern technology identify the elusive components that give Stradivarius violins a unique voice? Analysts have submitted the master instruments to a battery of tests, from CT scans to burning original samples of varnish, but are they just chasing a myth? Professor Trevor Cox investigates.
(Tasmin Little finishes the programme playing her Stradivarius.)
Producer: Erika Wright.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b00wsqv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b00wq9sv)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00wsr35)
The Senate votes to sign the START treaty.But will Congress in 2011 support President Obama on denuclearisation ?
Poor early diagnosis explains low British cancer survival rates.
More pressure on President Laurent Gbagbo from the UN as he brings in mercenaries from Liberia
with Robin Lustig.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wv8hv)
Daphne du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
Episode 3
Book at Bedtime: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Tamsin Greig reads the third episode of Daphne Du Maurier's dark and intriguing gothic tale.
Mary has discovered the truth about the clandestine activities at Jamaica Inn and why her aunt Patience lives in terror of her husband, Mary's Uncle Joss. In this episode Mary has an encounter with her Uncle's younger brother, Jem Merlyn and Squire Bassat pays an unexpected visit.
Producer: Alison Crawford.
WED 23:00 iGod (b00ws7md)
Ego
iGOD is a highly original and funny new late-night comedy series for Radio 4. It stars Simon Day (The Fast Show) and David Soul (Starsky & Hutch) and is written by one of the head writers of the BAFTA award-winning The Thick Of It, Sean Gray and produced by Simon Nicholls (Ed Reardon's Week / News At Bedtime).
We all worry about the end of the world, as economists and environmentalists speak in apocalyptic terms everyday. iGOD says that trying to predict the end of the world is as pointless as moisturising an elephant's elbow.
In each episode, an unnamed, all-seeing narrator (David Soul - Starsky and Hutch) shows us that it is stupid to be worrying, as he looks back at some of the most entertaining apocalypses on parallel Earths. Each week our case study is a normal bloke called Ian (Simon Day) who manages to accidentally initiate the apocalypse of a different parallel world through a seemingly harmless single act (telling a lie, being lazy, cooking some lambshanks). A succession of comic vignettes ensue that escalate to the end of a parallel world.
With a full-range of sound effects and wonderfully funny and surreal twists, iGOD will be a true aural extravaganza.
Written by
SEAN GRAY
Produced by
SIMON NICHOLLS.
WED 23:15 Comic Fringes (b00m8qc4)
Comic Fringes: Series 5
Hair of the Dead
Written and read by Sarah Millican.
Kitty does the hair of the dead. Just the front... A moving (and very funny) short story about a compassionate undertaker's assistant.
Another chance to hear this series of short stories by leading comedians recorded live in front of a packed audience at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009. Still to come - at the same time over the next couple of Wednesdays - are stories by Jon Richardson and Susan Calman.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00wsr37)
Mark D'Arcy and team with the news from Parliament. On the last day of term before the Christmas recess, only the House of Lords has been sitting. Editor: Rachel Byrne.
THURSDAY 23 DECEMBER 2010
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00wq9sx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wv1hb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00wq9sz)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00wq9t1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00wq9t3)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00wq9t5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00wqd7m)
With the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00wqd82)
A vegetable grower in Worcestershire is having to heat empty greenhouses to prevent the snow settling and its weight cracking the glass. We catch up with Gareth Barlow, the young farmer we've been following throughout the year as he takes his sheep to slaughter. And a Devon dairy farmer struggles with frozen water.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Weatherill.
THU 06:00 Today (b00wqd8n)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and James Naughtie, including:
07:50 Sir Max Hastings and Colonel Richard Kemp on the likelihood of success in Afghanistan.
08:10 How to avoid a travel nightmare on the days before Christmas.
08:20 Is the build up to Christmas all too stressful to actually enjoy the day when it comes?
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00wqdc7)
The Industrial Revolution
In the first of two programmes, Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Industrial Revolution.Between the middle of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth, Britain was transformed. This was a revolution, but not a political one: over the course of a few generations industrialisation swept the nation. Inventions such as the machine loom and the steam engine changed the face of manufacturing; cheap iron and steel became widely available; and vast new cities grew up around factory towns.All this had profound effects - not all of them positive - as an agrarian and primitive society was turned into an industrial empire, the richest nation on Earth. But why did this revolution take place here rather than abroad? And why did it begin in the first place?With:Jeremy BlackProfessor of History at the University of ExeterPat HudsonProfessor Emerita of History at Cardiff UniversityWilliam AshworthSenior Lecturer in History at the University of Liverpool.Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wv1jw)
Finishing the Hat
Episode 4
To mark his 80th birthday year, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim appraises his long career and dissects his own lyrics from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd.
In Finishing the Hat - a title borrowed from one of his most autobiographical songs - Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, but has provided a forensic account of the lyric-writing process.
As he discusses the lyrics for several of his major musicals from 1954 to 1981-including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd-Sondheim offers an illuminating insight into the lyric-writer's art, as well as a number of warm and witty anecdotes about the remarkable figures with whom he has worked.
He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Ethel Merman and Harold Prince.
Penetrating and self-deprecating, thoughtful and witty, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is also a window on musical theatre history since the 1950s.
Additional readings by Juliet Stevenson
Produced by Emma Harding.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00wqdc9)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Rolf Harris on painting his vision of a Shakespearian dream. The government wants to get troubled families into work - are family champions the way to do it? The women in Pakistan who face giving birth in the aftermath of the floods - we hear from the charity Save the Children on challenges they face. MP and former international chessplayer Angela Eagle takes on the chess-master who has said there's never been a great female chess-player.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6rk)
The Art of Deception, series 2
Episode 4
by Philip Palmer.
Ballantyne and Jessica arrive in London with the endgame approaching. Who will be the first to make a move?
Daniel Ballantyne ..... David Schofield
Jessica Brown ..... Hattie Morahan
DC Morgan ..... Sally Orrock
Gondolier / Waiter ..... Iain Batchelor
Driected by Toby Swift
******************************
The return of Daniel Ballantyne: monster and angel, thief and fraud...and genius. He is about to face the challenge of his life. Philip Palmer's compelling serial returns to the Woman's Hour drama.
Daniel Ballantyne is one of the greatest and most successful forgers of all time. He is a rich man. And he is dead.
His 'death', however, is just another forgery - he paid a body double who was dying of cancer to impersonate him. Now, Ballantyne has nothing to fear. He has everything he needs to enjoy a contented and quiet retirement.
But instead, Ballantyne goes out of his way to make enemies. And he does this because he loves the danger. That's his first fatal flaw.
But he has a nemesis. Art expert Jessica Brown - who after writing her book on him knows Ballantyne better than anyone alive - is on his trail.
Ex-copper Andrew Jarrold, released from prison, has intimidated Jessica into finding Ballantyne.
But when Jessica does find Ballantyne, everything changes. For he has a second fatal flaw: Jessica. He duped her once, but only just; and he has come to respect her as an equal. She is the only person in the world he truly cares for.
And together - they are terrifying.
Philip Palmer is an experienced radio dramatist. He also writes for television and his third sci-fi novel, Version 43, was published in October.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00wqdcc)
Senegal
It is called "Laamb" or "La Lutte Sénégalaise". Originating in the countryside as a test of strength for farmers and fishermen, Senegalese wresting moved to the city with the migrants. It took on punching to become "La Lutte avec frappe". It involves special charms, singers, drummers and excited crowds, with the champions now earning huge amounts of money. In Crossing Continents David Goldblatt examines how wrestling has become Senegal's most popular sport, deposing even football.
Producer: John Murphy.
THU 11:30 Eagle: The Space Age Weekly (b00wqdx6)
Sir Tim Rice explores the lasting appeal of British magazine Eagle and the impact of its flagship character Dan Dare.
Eagle ran in two main incarnations between 1950 and 1994. Dan Dare, often referred to as "Biggles in space", is regarded in some circles as the greatest British science fiction hero of the 20th century
In this feature we chart the influences behind the comic, and explore the life of its creator Marcus Morris, a fascinating man who began the publication because of his concern over 'horrific' US comics which presented 'disturbing' storylines which he felt 'corrupted British youth'.
The programme reveals how Dan Dare was originally envisaged as a space chaplain before becoming the popular astronaut. It also examines the work of illustrator Frank Hampson who introduced technology years ahead of its time. Hampson knew the Space Age was on its way while serving in the Second World War and seeing the German VI rockets. He made the Dan Dare strips as realistic as possible by dressing his team in spacesuits and uniforms, basing the look of the fictional characters on his colleagues.
We reveal how the stories had educational value and, along with Dan Dare, we look at other Eagle offerings including Shakespeare's plays and the Greek myths which ran as comic strips.
Featuring contributions from author Philip Pullman, Sally Morris the daughter of Eagle Creator Marcus and Eagle Society member David Britton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00wqf74)
Ofcom tell us the latest on their investigation into the mobile phone operator Talk Talk - on charges of false billing and mis-selling.
It may be cold outside but some High Street Shops are registering temperatures as high as those in Jamaica - we hear about the latest research on the amount of energy they're wasting and find out how the pressure group Close The Doors is hoping to expand its campaign across the UK to highlight the problem.
And we catch up with how sporting preparations are progressing for the London Olympics. Can we look forward to a clutch of Gold Meals for Team GB in 2012?
THU 12:57 Weather (b00wq9t7)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b00wqf8h)
National and international news.
THU 13:30 Questions, Questions (b00wqf8k)
Stewart Henderson returns to Radio 4 with a sparkling new series of Questions Questions - the programme which offers answers to those intriguing questions of every day life, inspired by current events and popular culture.
Now in its eighteenth series, QQ has become something of an institution on Radio 4 providing informed and ingenious answers to questions such as, How do you know when a volcano is extinct? When was the conventional heart icon first drawn? How do woodpeckers keep their beaks sharp? What is a Siamese Blood Chit?
Each programme is compiled directly from the well-informed and inquisitive Radio 4 audience, who bring their unrivalled collective brain to bear on these puzzlers every week.
In this richly informative programme all manner of questions are looked into. Some recent enquiries that sparked particularly large responses included: What happened to all the wrought iron fencing that was collected during the Second World War? Is it possible to create one sound, which completely cancels out another sound? How was the direction of writing originally established?
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b00wqf96)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b00wqfg9)
Leon Garfield - Devil in the Fog
Episode 1
Highwaymen, duels, swirling fogs, escaped convicts - part one of a thrilling two-part dramatisation of Leon Garfield's classic 18th C. mystery adventure.
Dramatised by Martin Jameson
Episode 1 of 2
Directed by Marc Beeby
14 year-old George is the oldest of the seven Treet children. Captained by their larger-than-life father, the Treets are touring thespians, forever on the edge of poverty. But their normally happy lives are shadowed by the twice yearly arrival of "the Stranger" who hands Mr Treet a sum of money and disappears. This year, however, the Stranger appears for the last time and Mr Treet reveals to George that he is the son of a nobleman, Sir John Dexter. Now, George must, reluctantly, be returned to him.
At the gloomy Dexter family home, George is welcomed by Sir John, who is recovering from a pistol wound received in the course of a duel with his black-hearted brother Richard. Richard has been imprisoned as a result. George does his best to settle into life in his forbidding new home.
But trouble is waiting in the fog that surrounds the house. Richard Dexter has escaped from Newgate and is hiding in a nearby copse. What's more, it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to kill George...
THU 15:00 Open Country (b00wmmcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:07 on Saturday]
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00wnry9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00ljyz3)
The Adventures of Mr Thake
Thake and the French Widow
Written by J.B. Morton.
Beachcomber receives word from Paris that the gregarious toff has lost his heart - and most of his valuables - to a bewitching femme fatale...
In 1924 the writer J.B. Morton adopted the name 'Beachcomber' and began a humorous column in the Daily Express which was to run for over 50 years. Reading about the odd lives of Beachcomber's characters - whether they were nonsensical, puritanical, pompous or simply insane - became part of the ritual of breakfast throughout the land.
A typical example of Beachcomber's gift for creating what G.K. Chesterton described as "a huge thunderous wind of elemental and essential laughter," is Mr Thake.
Out of print since the 1930s, The Adventures of Mr Thake is a collection of letters to Beachcomber, sent home from the calamitous travels abroad of a gentleman of considerably more leisure than sense. Oswald Bletisloe Hattersley Thake is, to be blunt, an upper-class twit.
Described affectionately as "a caricature of his nation" here we have the fascinating spectacle of a Wooster with no Jeeves to rescue him. Whether he is losing his heart to young gold diggers on board the S.S. Lutetia while losing his hat overboard and wondering whether to stop the ship, or being fleeced in the nightclubs of Paris, Thake never quite understands what is happening to him - or why...
Reader: Leslie Phillips
Producer/Abridger: Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:45 The Bus Pass Road Trips (b00wv7cf)
Episode 4
Dominic Arkwright meets senior citizens who have used their bus passes to take on adventurous road trips.
Today he meets a free-wheeling woman who makes it up as she goes along.
THU 16:00 Open Book (b00wnygw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:30 Material World (b00wqfn4)
Our latest hominid cousin - new DNA evidence from a Siberian cave reveals our complex genetic past; lessons from Einstein- reminiscences of an aspiring scientist who got advice from the best qualified of family friends; cooking the perfect Christmas turkey - advice from a molecular gastronomist.
Producer: Roland Pease.
THU 17:00 PM (b00wqfn6)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including at
5.57pm Weather.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00wq9t9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Old Harry's Game (b00wqfn8)
Christmas Special
Christmas Spirit
Satan decides to ban Christmas in Hell.
Two-parter written by and starring Andy Hamilton.
With Annette Crosbie as Edith, Robert Duncan as Scumspawn, Jimmy Mulville as Thomas.
And Felicity Montagu, Nick Revell, Philip Pope and Michael Fentons Stevens.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b00wqfnb)
Doting grandmother Lynda is looking after Oscar. She takes him to the dress rehearsal of Dick Whittingon, where he is entranced by Nigel in full costume as Sarah the Cook. The rehearsal goes well and Nigel manages all his quick changes, assisted by Lorna and Caroline.
Helen gives Lynda some bath-time treats for Coriander and Oscar, to say thank you for the baby clothes that Coriander brought for her.
Elizabeth is pleased about the photograph of the highwayman in the Echo. It came out well. She's still worried about not yet receiving Lily's mobile phone, which apparently went out two days previously. Nigel, worried that Elizabeth is taking everything too seriously, sets about having a bit of fun with her. This involves both he and Kenton dressing up as the highwayman and surprising her then running off quickly. Elizabeth finally rumbles that there are two highwayman. She enjoys the joke with Nigel, and they share a romantic moment together.
Back at Helen's flat, Ian has finished the nursery. Helen telephones him, leaving a message of thanks. It's all lovely and she can't wait to organise the curtains and furniture.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b00wqfnd)
Howard Jacobson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zaha Hadid, Colin Firth, Mumford and Sons, Christian Marclay
Mark Lawson unwraps interviews with the names behind the arts headlines of the year, including artist Christian Marclay, creator of the acclaimed video The Clock, which lasts for 24 hours, architect Zaha Hadid, novelist Howard Jacobson, actors Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberpatch and musicans Mumford and Sons.
Producer: Robyn Read.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6rk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b00wqfng)
Wikileaks
Simon Cox talks to current and former members of Wikileaks to find out how it operates. He investigates how the organisation was set up, and how it handles its own leaks and internal dissent.
Producer: Jo Mathys.
THU 20:30 In Business (b00wqfnj)
Asia Bling
New places are leaping to prominence in the pampered world of luxury.
Peter Day hears from some of the people behind the extraordinary hunger for luxury in Asia.
Producer : Sandra Kanthal.
THU 21:00 Saving Species (b00wqb54)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00wqdc7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b00wq9tc)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00wqfnl)
Opposition candidates in Belarus' Presidential elections face 15 year jail terms . Can the West help?
Frightened Christians cancel services in Baghdad.
Could marriage guidance help the coalition ?
with Robin Lustig.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wv8m3)
Daphne du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
Episode 4
Book at Bedtime: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Tamsin Greig reads the fourth episode of Daphne Du Maurier's dark and intriguing gothic tale. Lost on the moor, Mary is helped by a local vicar who becomes her confidant.
Producer: Alison Crawford.
THU 23:00 Elvenquest (b00wqfnn)
Series 2
Episode 6
The noble band of Questers are in a pub and within touching distance of getting their hands on the Sword of Asnagar.
Lord Darkness still has a few tricks up his sleeve and he's not about to let the possibility of eternal dominion over Lower Earth slip through his fingers without pulling out all the stops.
Will the Questers be strong enough to handle the immense power of the Sword? Or, as ever with these things, will they be tempted over to the Dark Side...?
Fantasy-based sitcom set in Lower Earth written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto.
Sam …. Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness …. Alistair McGowan
Dean/Kreech …. Kevin Eldon
Vidar …. Darren Boyd
Amis ‘The Chosen One’ …. Dave Lamb
Penthiselea …. Sophie Winkleman
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.
THU 23:30 It Was A Dark and Stormy Night (b00nyxvw)
We may no longer be familiar with his novels, nor with his scientific theories, but thanks largely to the Snoopy Cartoons, the Goon show and sundry other borrowers and mockers, everyone can quote part of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's opening sentence:
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
San Jose University in California now run a very popular Dark and Stormy Night competition. The winner is charged with writing the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.
But Ian Peacock has a sneaking feeling that there's more to Bulwer-Lytton than being simply the patron saint of Victorian gothic kitsch. He was hugely popular in his lifetime (Dickens and Mary Shelley were fans). Works like 'Pelham' and 'The Last Days of Pompeii' made him a literary star. And he was fascinated by scientific discovery, as well as the spookier side of life: his novel 'The Coming Race' is still dear to the science fiction community. It was in this book that he created Vril - electro-magnetic energy which fuels flying machines and automata, and even makes telepathy possible. Add Vril to bovine and you end up with the popular beef-tea energy drink Bovril - another Bulwer-Lytton legacy. He also coined the phrases 'the great unwashed' and 'the almighty dollar.' As if that isn't enough for one life, Bulwer-Lytton became an outrageous dandy, served as an MP, dabbled in the occult, and had a wife who publicly heckled and libelled him for decades. And Wagner was an enthusiast, using one of Lytton's novels as the basis for his early opera Rienzi.
Bulwer-Lytton's stormy life, his writing and his popularity are Ian's focus in this programme. He visits Knebworth Hall, Lytton's home for many years and the source of some of his darker writing and he talks to Professor John Sutherland to judge his literary merits. Sutherland describes him as, amongst other things, 'the father of the English detective novel, science fiction, the fantasy novel and the thriller.'
Producer: Tom Alban.
FRIDAY 24 DECEMBER 2010
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00wq9tf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wv1jw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00wq9th)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00wq9tk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00wq9tm)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00wq9tp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00wqfy1)
Daily prayer and reflection.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00wqfy3)
In Devon, milk tanker drivers have been working extra hours and carrying sacks of grit on their lorries to try to reach remote farms. Bargain hunters at a poultry sale in Aylsham, Norfolk bid for their Christmas birds. We join the young farmer Gareth Barlow as he prepares his lamb for the farm shop. And Anna Hill visits a Suffolk vineyard.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Weatherill.
FRI 06:00 Today (b00wqfy5)
Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day with Pope Benedict XVI.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00wntyl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wv1lp)
Finishing the Hat
Episode 5
To mark his 80th birthday year, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim appraises his long career and dissects his own lyrics from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd.
In today's episode, he talks about the inspiration behind the music and lyrics of his 'love song to London' - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
In Finishing the Hat - a title borrowed from one of his most autobiographical songs - Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, but has provided a forensic account of the lyric-writing process.
As he discusses the lyrics for several of his major musicals from 1954 to 1981-including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd-Sondheim offers an illuminating insight into the lyric-writer's art, as well as a number of warm and witty anecdotes about the remarkable figures with whom he has worked.
He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Ethel Merman and Harold Prince.
Penetrating and self-deprecating, thoughtful and witty, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is also a window on musical theatre history since the 1950s.
Additional readings by Juliet Stevenson
Produced by Emma Harding.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00wqgmd)
Presented by Jenni Murray.
Since the announcement that Prince William will marry his fiancée next year, there is already evidence of 'the Kate Middleton effect'. The New York based National Sapphire Company has been inundated with orders for replica engagement rings and competitors are also offering there own version. But, should you only say it with diamonds? The jewellery expert Joanna Hardy and Nicholas Wainright, the Managing Director of Boodles make a case for diamonds and sapphires.
Earlier this week the Education Secretary Michael Gove partially backed down over his decision to scrap the 162 million pound Schools Sports Partnership in England. The Commonwealth Games medal winner Diane Modahl visits her old school in Moss Side, Manchester to identify young sporting talent.
For many of us a Boxing Day walk is the best antidote to the excesses of the previous day and it's often a group affair with family or friends but, for the rest of the year how many women would ever consider setting off on a day's hike alone? Sheperdess Alison O'Neill, and walker Jean Margetts join Jenni to consider the pleasures of walking solo.
For nearly 130 years the Brighouse and Rastrick brass band has entertained audiences in Yorkshire and beyond, but there was one unwritten rule - all the band's full-time members were men. But, this Christmas they now have there first full time female member. The cornet player Laura Hirst joins the programme.
Producer Helen Roberts.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6sg)
The Art of Deception, series 2
Episode 5
by Philip Palmer
With Ballantyne under arrest, Jessica looks to have delivered the final sting in the tale.
Daniel Ballantyne ..... David Schofield
Jessica Brown ..... Hattie Morahan
Directed by Toby Swift
******************************
The return of Daniel Ballantyne: monster and angel, thief and fraud...and genius. He is about to face the challenge of his life. Philip Palmer's compelling serial returns to the Woman's Hour drama.
Daniel Ballantyne is one of the greatest and most successful forgers of all time. He is a rich man. And he is dead.
His 'death', however, is just another forgery - he paid a body double who was dying of cancer to impersonate him. Now, Ballantyne has nothing to fear. He has everything he needs to enjoy a contented and quiet retirement.
But instead, Ballantyne goes out of his way to make enemies. And he does this because he loves the danger. That's his first fatal flaw.
But he has a nemesis. Art expert Jessica Brown - who after writing her book on him knows Ballantyne better than anyone alive - is on his trail.
Ex-copper Andrew Jarrold, released from prison, has intimidated Jessica into finding Ballantyne.
But when Jessica does find Ballantyne, everything changes. For he has a second fatal flaw: Jessica. He duped her once, but only just; and he has come to respect her as an equal. She is the only person in the world he truly cares for.
And together - they are terrifying.
Philip Palmer is an experienced radio dramatist. He also writes for television and his third sci-fi novel, Version 43, was published in October.
FRI 11:00 Merry Christmas Morris Minor! (b00wqgmg)
Martin Wainwright sets off through the snow to give seasonal best wishes to the owners of Britain's favourite mass produced car - and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the special edition Morris Minor Million - the rarest minor of all.
Highlight of the programme is a special rendition of 'Jingle Bells' from a Morris Minor 'choir.'
Martin has a soft spot for the little car - often described as a large jelly mold with a speedometer sitting like a clock on the dashboard, and orange fingers for indicators. For it's time though, according to Stirling Moss, it was a nippy little car. Martin meets a mechanic who 'soups' the car up, owners like Dave Brown from 'The Mighty Boosh' and the drivers who 'danced ' their Morris Minors at the end of the Manchester Commonwealth Games .
Finally, using the horn, various clunks and clicks from the car door and boot, and a squeak from the chassis, he conducts a unique version of ' Jingle Bells' by the Morris Minor 'choir.'
Producers: Janet Graves and Geoff Bird
A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 11:30 Electric Ink (b01k68hg)
Series 2
Episode 4
Can struggling journalist Maddox make a splash with a tip-off over political corruption that could unseat the coalition?
A comic satire set in the struggling world of newspapers.
A group of dysfunctional journalists attempt to cover major news stories whilst grappling with the demands of a multi-platform environment, as circulation figures plummet as the recession means half the workforce is laid off.
Written by Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson.
Maddox ..... John Sessions
Oliver ..... Alex Jennings
Freddy ..... Stephen Wight
Carol ..... Polly Frame
Masha ..... Debbie Chazen
Julie Compton ..... Joanna Monro
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010..
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00wqgml)
"Bob's Granny Surprise" - In today's episode Bob's going great guns with an internet bride until her grandmother makes an appearance! The second part of our series on the adaptation of "Delete This At Your Peril - the Bob Servant E-mails" by Neil Forsyth.
Plus the West Coast Main Line is the country's busiest long distance railway and passengers are fed up with the overcrowded carriages. So why could a brand new pendolino sit in storage for twelve months? We'll find out.
And, most of us will have bought at least one cook book as a Christmas present - but can you get better recipes, for free, online?
FRI 12:57 Weather (b00wq9tr)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b00wqgmn)
National and international news.
FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00wqgmq)
Tim Harford narrates "A More or Less Christmas Carol" in which Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of banking past, present and future.
Featuring interviews with: Andrew Haldane from the Bank of England; Simon Johnson, the former chief economist of the IMF; the MIT economist Andrew Lo; Gillian Tett, the author of Fool's Gold; the economist John Kay; the philosopher and consultant Jamie Whyte; and Angela Knight from the British Bankers' Association. Starring the cast of the Giant Olive Theatre Company (and Robert Peston).
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00wqfnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b00wqgms)
Leon Garfield - Devil in the Fog
Episode 2
What murky secrets lie at the heart of the fog? Who is the principal? And who is the Devil? Part two of a dramatisation of Leon Garfield's thrilling 18th C. mystery adventure.
Dramatised by Martin Jameson
Epiosde 2 of 2
Directed by Marc Beeby.
FRI 15:00 A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (b00wqgmv)
The annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols live from the chapel of King's College, Cambridge.
FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00wqgmx)
Francine Stock talks to Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal about his new comedy Love And Other Drugs.
The star of The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg, reveals why he's not on Facebook even though he played its creator Mark Zuckerberg
Tamara Drewe scribe Moira Buffini and independent cinema owner Kevin Markwick discuss the year in film
Colin Shindler reveals the most successful film of 1960, the year of La Dolce Vita, L'Avventura, Psycho, Peeping Tom and Saturday Night And Sunday Morning.
FRI 17:00 PM (b00wqgmz)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including at
5.57pm Weather.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00wq9tt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:15 15 Minute Musical (b00wqgn1)
Series 6
Dr Bruce
15 Minute Musical - a bite-size treat that melts in the ear not in the hand.
Bruce Forsyth tirelessly defends his Saturday Tea Time TV dominance in Dr Bruce a 15 Minute Musical delicacy with music by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Starring: Richie Webb, Dave Lamb and Jess Robinson
Written by: Richie Webb, Dave Cohen and David Quantick
Music by: Richie Webb
Music Production: Matt Katz
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
The fun-size yet satisfying musicals take an easily identifiable public figure and gives them a West End Musical make-over. The fabricated, sugar-coated story is told in an original, never heard before musical that will provide all the thrills of a West End theatre experience but without the exorbitant ticket price, uncomfortable seat and restricted view.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00wqgn3)
Series 32
Christmas Panto
The Now Show team take a satirical look back at the year through the medium of pantomime.
Starring Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, with Mitch Benn, Marcus Brigstocke, Jon Holmes and Laura Shavin.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00wqgq5)
It's Christmas Eve, and at Bridge Farm the family are decorating the Christmas tree together. Helen and Tony still haven't made up their differences though and the atmosphere is strained. Helen asks Tom to take her home after they've shared the moment of putting the Christmas Tree lights on.
At Ambridge View , it's rather quiet, and there is some awkwardness in the conversation between Jennifer and Susan. It's with relief that they greet the arrival of Christopher and Alice. To Susan's surprise they announce that everyone is going to play party games. Soon the evening is going with a swing as Jennifer and Susan partner each other in charades.
Eventually, Susan has to bring out more food, and it seems as though the party isn't going to end.
At Lower Loxley Nigel and Elizabeth are wrapping up last minute Christmas presents. To Elizabeth's relief, Lily's mobile phone finally arrived that morning. Elizabeth and Nigel share a warm moment, contemplating how lovely it is to come down on Christmas morning to the sight of presents under the tree. With the room lights turned off, and in the light of the tree, they share a Christmas kiss.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00wqgrg)
Aaron Sorkin, Christopher Nolan, Julian Fellowes, Belinda Bauer, Tony Warren, John Eliot Gardiner
Mark Lawson unwraps a further selection of interviews with the names behind the year's arts headlines, including Julian Fellowes, creator of the TV series Downton Abbey, conductor John Eliot Gardiner, crime writer Belinda Bauer. Aaron Sorkin and Christopher Nolan discuss their films The Social Network and Inception and Tony Warren and Bill Tarmey discuss Coronation Street.
Producer Robyn Read.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wv6sg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Marley Was Dead (b00wqhlv)
By John Nicholson and Richard Katz.
A Christmas Carol, but not as you've ever heard it before. A surprise all-star cast gather to bring Dickens' timeless classic to life. Introduced by Jonathan Dimbleby.
Narrator . . . . . John Nicholson
Scrooge . . . . . Richard Katz
Cratchit . . . . . Javier Marzan
Farhana . . . . . Sirine Saba
Claire . . . . . Sophie Russell
Oliver . . . . . Joshua Swinney
Martha . . . . . Martha Katz
Jesse . . . . . Jesse Katz
With Edward Kelsey, Jane Horrocks, Dara O'Briain, Charlotte Green,
Richard Madeley, Peter Purves, Gwyneth Williams and Chris Evans
Produced by Steven Canny.
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.
The play is devised by one of the UK's most exciting touring comic theatre companies, Peepolykus (pronounced: people-like-us).
"Peepolykus should receive subsidy from the NHS to tour the country and bring a delight to audiences with shows that dispel stress, anxiety and depression" The British Theatre Review
"In comedy terms, what Peepolykus can do is limitless" Variety.
FRI 21:00 With Great Pleasure (b00wqhm5)
James Naughtie
Political journalist and Today programme presenter James Naughtie shares with an audience some of the pieces of prose and verse which have entertained and inspired him over the years. The readers are Alison Steadman, Bill Paterson and David Haig.
Producer Christine Hall.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b00wq9tw)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00wqhmz)
In a special edition of The World Tonight from Jerusalem, Paul Moss asks how changes in Israeli society over the past few years have changed attitudes to the Palestinians and Israel's Arab citizens, and influenced views towards Israel in the United States. He also discusses how these changes have affected the prospects for peace in the Middle East with a panel of leading Israelis.
The panellists:
Israel Harel, political commentator and founder member of Gush Emunim, Jewish settler movement
Anat Saragusti, Israeli documentary maker and activist
Oded Eran, Institute for National Security Studies and former Israeli diplomat
With Paul Moss.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wv8ql)
Daphne du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
Episode 5
Book at Bedtime: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Tamsin Greig reads the fifth episode of Daphne Du Maurier's dark and intriguing gothic tale.
Mary has found a confidant in the vicar Francis Davey, but he's advised her that any accusations against her uncle are unlikely to hold up in court. In this episode Mary's friendship with Jem deepens and when her uncle Joss embarks on a drinking binge she learns the true nature of his business.
Producer: Alison Crawford.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00wqbjq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Midnight Mass (b00wqhq5)
Live from The Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of St Chad in Birmingham. The Most Rev'd Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, celebrates the First Mass of Christmas and gives the homily. The Cathedral Singers, many of whom are staff and students at the Birmingham Conservatoire sing carols and Christmas hymns to welcome the birth of Christ under the direction of the Director of Music David Saint, accompanied by organist, Nigel Morris.
Producer: Clair Jaquiss.