SATURDAY 11 DECEMBER 2021

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001288c)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Wintering by Katherine May (m001288f)
Episode 5

‘Some winters happen in the sun,’ writes Katherine May. ‘This particular one began on a blazing day in early September, a week before my fortieth birthday.’ When her husband becomes dangerously ill, it coincides with a moment in May’s life when she is facing professional and personal stress and an uncertain future, and it ushers in a period of what she calls ‘wintering’. ‘Everybody winters at one time or another; some winter over and over again,’ she explains. ‘Winter is a season in the cold, a fallow period in life when you’re cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress.’

Described by The Observer’s reviewer as ‘a reading cure’ and ‘a tale of hard-won celebration’, May's book is an honest, reflective, sometimes humorous account of her struggle to deal with her own bad times. She considers the healing power of rest and retreat and the consolations of nature, exploring the many ways in which we experience winter, both seasonal and personal, and offering some strategies for weathering the dark times in the year and our own lives.

Katherine May’s other books include The Electricity of Every Living Thing, her memoir of being autistic, and two novels, The Whitstable High Tide Swimming Club and Burning Out. She is the editor of The Best, Most Awful Job, an anthology of essays about motherhood, and her essays and journalism have been widely published in the UK and America. She lives by the sea in Whitstable.

Reader: Melody Grove
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001288h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001288k)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001288m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001288p)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0012sm8)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Catherine De Souza, Senior Leader of City Church in Cardiff.

Good morning. Next week I’ll be watching a filmed recording of my daughter’s first school nativity, after the school took the decision not to hold performances with parents attending in person. Earlier this year many of us would have expected this Christmas to be much more normal than last year. Many might reasonably have hoped to return to our familiar Christmas celebrations. But instead, we might now not be sure what to expect.

For lots of people Christmas brings a variety of expectations; some people look forward to celebrations and fun, perhaps waking up excited about the day and hopefully receiving a present that they like. Other people expect to experience sadness and grief as Christmas is a stark reminder of the loved one who is no longer with them to join the celebrations. Still others expect it to be a stressful time when they get to the end of the day worn out after mediating between family members who didn’t really want to spend the day together.

We’re now in a time of advent which for Christians is a time of anticipation, of expectation. It’s a time of preparing our hearts for Jesus. For 100s of years, God had spoken through the prophets to tell people to expect their messiah, the one who would come to save them. And when this messiah was born, the angel said to the shepherds “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Whatever we are expecting this Christmas, whatever uncertainty we might be in, we can be confident that Christmas can be a season of great joy because Jesus the Messiah has been born.

God, thank you that in times of uncertainty we know that you are unchanging. Thank you that no matter what we are expecting this Christmastime, we can expect joy as we celebrate the wonderful news that you are not distant but instead that you came to be God with us, Emmanuel. Amen.


SAT 05:45 Four Thought (m00127xx)
Prison Sentence

Philippa Greer discusses the imprisonment of people convicted of genocide.

Philippa is a human rights lawyer who has worked around the world. In this powerful talk she tells the story of a visit to West Africa to prepare for the funeral of a man who had recently died in prison. This man had been convicted of genocide, but Philippa reveals that many such prisoners will eventually be released, and what that suggests to her about the use of prison as a response to the most serious crimes against humanity.

Producer: Patrick Cowling.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0012fb3)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001283g)
Wizards and steam trains on the West Highland Line

In 'Wizards and Steam Trains on the West Highland Line', folk musician Ingrid Henderson explores the communities and landscapes which influence her life and work. She lives in Glenfinnan, on the shores of Loch Shiel, where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard before setting off on his much-romanticised, doomed mission to reclaim the English crown for the Stuarts. But in recent years Charlie has been almost supplanted by a fictional rival - Harry Potter. Thousands of tourists are drawn to the area, eager to see the Jacobite steam train, aka Hogwarts Express, crossing the magnificent Glenfinnan viaduct - an iconic scene in the Potter films.

Ingrid talks to Jacobite historian, Charlie MacFarlane, about this clash of cultures and - up at the viaduct - chats with Harry Potter fans who have travelled from as far afield as China, Brazil and the USA to see the Hogwarts Express. She finds out about the history of the West Highland Railway Line with museum curator, Hege Harnaes, as it celebrates its 120th anniversary and takes the train to the fishing port of Mallaig, at the end of the line. It's her home town, where her musical career started.

Former schoolteacher, Denis Rixson, recalls the heyday of the town's fishing industry and Ingrid describes how the coast and waters of this part of Scotland have inspired some of her work.

Produced by Kathleen Carragher

Photo: Alan Wilson, Friends of Glenfinnan station


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0012fb7)
11/12/21 Farming Today This Week: Trees felled by Storm Arwen, Defra Secretary on pig crisis, post-Brexit farm payments

A fortnight ago today we were waking up to many reports of fallen trees and extensive damage caused by storm Arwen. Now that it’s been possible to assess the extent of that damage, it’s clear just how serious it was. In Scotland a fifth of the annual timber harvest was been felled in one go. We hear about the challenge of processing it all at once.

Unless the Government takes action there will be no British pig industry left - that’s the latest warning from the National Pig Association which says the crisis on farms is getting worse despite ministers’ attempts to alleviate it. It estimates more than 16,000 pigs have now been culled on farms, and says more will follow. But the Defra Secretary George Eustice tells us that he's done all that was asked of him.

There are big changes facing UK farmers over the next few years, with the mammoth task of shifting from one longstanding agricultural policy, the EU’s CAP, to four new policies for farm payments across the UK. We look at new systems being planned for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0012fbc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m0012fbh)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0012fbm)
Brian May

Nikki Bedi and Mobeen Azhar are joined by Brian May, musician and astrophysicist, who played guitar on Buckingham Palace, and with the rock band Queen and is fascinated by stereoscopy AKA 3D.
Also we have: journalist and broadcaster Camilla Tominey on her experiences growing up with her mother who had alcoholism.
Johanna Basford joins us, she worked for years as a commercial illustrator – her work can be found on wallpaper, beer cans and even as tattoos – she had the idea of creating adult colouring books. Her books have since sold 21 million copies and been translated into 28 languages.
and Bear Grylls whose latest project is to encourage adventure.
Plus, comedian Mel Giedroyc chooses her Inheritance tracks: Hit me with your rhythm stick by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Sit in your lap by Kate Bush. And your Thank you.

Producer: Corinna Jones


SAT 10:30 Soul Music (m0012fbs)
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

More gospel than rock, this 1987 hit has inspired great change in people's lives and created memories for music lovers across the world.

Brendan McManus was a corporate high flyer with an inexplicable sense that his life needed to change direction. This song was the tipping point that encouraged him to make a huge decision.

Raghav Prasad writes a music blog about the songs he grew up with as a young man in India. This track takes him back to the 'chummery' where he lived in Bombay (now Mumbai) when he was starting out on what became a globe-trotting career. This song reflects both his continued urge to travel but also how he regards his Hindu faith.

Neil Brand is a musician and broadcaster and a regular Soul Music contributor. He explains that the roots of this track are more gospel than rock.

Pauline Henry was the lead singer of The Chimes. Their version of this track, with Pauline's stirring vocals, not only changed her life but was said to be Bono's favourite interpretation of the song.

Rory Coleman is a world-class athlete and life coach who loves nothing more than to run for hundreds of miles across inhospitable terrain. However, in his 20s, his life was out of control. Something had to change and this song provided inspiration.

Gail Mullin, in Kansas City, describes how much her husband loved U2 and especially this track. Shortly before he died he received a personal letter from Bono explaining what motivated him to write this song.

Scroll down on the Soul Music webpage to the 'related links' box for more info about all the guests.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0012fbw)
Financial Times' political editor, George Parker, speaks to former Conservative chief whip, Mark Harper, and Shadow Commons leader, Thangam Debbonaire, about the Prime Minister's difficult week and next week's vote on new Covid restrictions. In what was meant to be the Government's crime week, the former Conservative Lord Chancellor, Ken Clarke, gives his view on the Government's predicament and its new policies on prisons and drugs. Conservative MP, Alicia Kearns, and the Director of the Institute for Government, Bronwen Maddox, debate whether the Foreign Office is fit for purpose following revelations this week about the evacuation of Kabul. And Labour peer, Lord Grocott, discusses his latest attempt to do away with hereditary peers in the House of Lords with Charles Courtenay, the 19th Earl of Devon.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0012fc0)
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0012fc4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0012fc8)
Pioneer Zopa exits peer-to-peer lending

Sixteen years after it appeared as the first of its kind in the world, Zopa has announced it's leaving the peer-to-peer lending business to focus on banking activities. Peer-to-peer matches people who want to lend money with individuals or businesses that need it. What will it mean for Zopa investors, borrowers and the wider industry?

A new partnership is set to increase protection for people who are in debt to loan sharks. The collaboration between the Vulnerability Registration Service and the Illegal Money Lending Team will enable utility suppliers, mobile phone firms and other organisations to identify and support more of their vulnerable customers.

A married couple have two full state pensions - but one is much higher that the other. We explain why.

This week Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent warned that inflation in the UK will “comfortably exceed 5 percent” by the spring. Rock bottom interest rates on savings accounts are well below that meaning the spending power of money in them will erode over time. So might investing be the way to protect savings against rising inflation?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Researcher: Drew Miller Hyndman
Editor: Emma Rippon


SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m001287t)
Christmas Specials 2021

Episode 1

Topical satire as we run up to Christmas. With climate change catastrophe, sleaze in parliament, a continuing pandemic, there will be no shortage of laughs.

With Jon Culshaw, Lewis Macleod, Jan Ravens, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.

Written by: Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, Ed Amsden and Tom Coles, Laurence Howarth, Edward Tew, Jane McUtcheon and Vivienne Riddoch, Sophie Dickinson, Athena Kugblenu, Rob Darke and Cody Dahler.

Producer: Bill Dare
Production Coordinator: Caroline Barlow
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0012fcf)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0012fcj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0012881)
Carla Denyer, Ben Goldsmith, Dame Margaret Hodge MP, Lord Willetts

Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from the Ceres Hall, Devizes, with the co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales Carla Denyer, the financier and environmentalist Ben Goldsmith, the Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge and the Chair of the Resolution Foundation and Conservative peer Lord Willetts.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0012fcn)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:45 Drama (m0012g5j)
Lola vs Powerman

Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround is an album by the Kinks which was released in 1970 when the band's songwriter, Ray Davies, was in the middle of a legal struggle for the rights to his songs.
The album's no-holds-barred appraisal of the music industry, including song publishers, unions, the press, accountants, business managers and life on the road was thought to be a tour-de-force achieving success both critically and commercially for the group. Some of Ray Davies’ most iconic songs were written for this album, including 'Lola'.

RAY DAVIES and PAUL SIRETT have adapted the album into a brand new drama for BBC Radio 4.

Cast
SONGWRITER ..... Lee Ross
LOLA ..... Emma Frankland
EVERYMAN ..... Ben Norris
MAMMON ..... Tim McInnerny
SATAN ..... Kyle Soller
LUST ..... Sharon D Clarke
DAD ..... Harry Myers
BROTHER/SOUND ENGINEER ..... Carl Prekopp
MUM/ WIFE ..... Becky Wright

Songs by RAY DAVIES. New versions produced by RAY DAVIES at KONK
Piano & Organ, Harvey Brough
Guitar, Bill Shanley
Sound engineer music, Matt Jaggar

Medley LEE ROSS
You Still Want Me BEN NORRIS/ CARL PREKOPP
Get Back In Line HARRY MYERS
Art School Babe LEE ROSS
Denmark Street BEN NORRIS/ CARL PREKOPP
Got To Be Free THE CAST
Top Of The Pops BEN NORRIS / THE KINKS
Strangers by DAVE DAVIES_ BEN NORRIS/ CARL PREKOPP
This Time Tomorrow BEN NORRIS / EMMA FRANKLAND
The Good Life TIM McINNERNY and The Kinks
Powerman TIM McINNERY / BEN NORRIS
Rats by DAVE DAVIES_ SHARON D CLARKE
This Time Tomorrow BEN NORRIS
Look A Little On The Sunny Side EMMA FRANKLAND
A Long Way From Home HARRY MYERS
Starstruck EMMA FRANKLAND
The Moneygoround BEN NORRIS
Look a LIttle on the Sunny Side EMMA FRANKLAND
Lola EMMA FRANKLAND and The Kinks

Producer/director drama Karen Rose
Sound engineer and designer David Thomas
Production coordinator Sarah Tombling


SAT 16:15 Woman's Hour (m0012fcs)
Jazz musician Zoe Rahman, IVF regulation, County Lines, Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace

Musician and composer, Zoe Rahman has won a MOBO, a British Jazz Award, and this week Zoe was awarded the ‘Impact Award’ at the 2021 Ivors Composer Awards.

Julia Chain the chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, made a plea for the 1990 Act governing fertility clinics and practice in this country to be updated. She argues that after 30 years, the science and culture around IVF has changed so much, and that the law needs to catch up.

This week Ministers revealed a 10-year drugs strategy which includes £300m for combating more than 2,000 county lines gangs. Sahira Irshad and Jen Jones are part of Mums United, a group of local mothers fighting against rising gang violence in Sheffield.

23-year-old Vee Kativhu was told Oxford university wasn't for people like her - she proved her teachers wrong by graduating recently from there with a degree in in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. She's now studying International Education Policy at Harvard. Her popular Youtube channel gives out studying tips and she has a new book out - Empowered: Live Your Life with Passion and Purpose.

Last week the government set out how it will improve life for women in the armed forces, in response to the Women in the Armed Forces report which came out in July. It found that service-women who were victims of bullying, harassment, discrimination and serious sexual assault were being ‘denied justice’ by a ‘woefully inadequate’ military complaints process. We heard from the Secretary of State for Defence, MP Ben Wallace.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Dianne McGregor


SAT 17:00 PM (m0012fcx)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0012fd2)
The Liz Truss Foreign Secertary One

Nick Robinson talks to the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss about mounting threats abroad, whether she's modelling herself on Mrs Thatcher and why she avoided Christmas parties last year.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0012fd6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0012fdb)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0012fdg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0012fdk)
Elvis Costello, Amelia Bullmore, Natasha Bowen, Dan Saladino, Jaz Delorean, Kay Young, George Egg, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and George Egg are joined by Elvis Costello, Amelia Bullmore, Natasha Bowen and Dan Saladino for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Jaz Delorean and Kay Young.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0012fc7)
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0012fdp)
Douglas Stuart

Author Douglas Stuart talks to John Wilson about some of the aspects of his life that inspired him to write his multi award-winning debut novel Shuggie Bain. The book tells the story of a young boy growing up in poverty in Glasgow in the 1980s, and is based on Stuart's own childhood and relationship with his mother who struggled with alcohol addiction. He also discusses his career as a fashion designer and his latest work Young Mungo.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m000kfvf)
Poetry For Sale?

Why are so many brands using poets and poems to sell their products now? Does it work? And is it new? Through poems, interviews and archive material, poet and copywriter Rishi Dastidar explores the long relationship between poetry and advertising – from the poets who have worked in advertising and those writing new poems for brands; to the companies which have used classic poems in their marketing; to the language itself and how poetic techniques work on us, and why advertisers might want to use them.

Rishi finds recordings of Clive James, WH Auden, Allen Ginsberg, Fay Weldon and George Orwell in programmes from the BBC Archives. And to bring things up to date, he speaks to: Portland-based Matthew Dickman, author of four collections of poetry and copywriter for some of the biggest ads of the last ten years, for brands such as Nike and Chrysler. To poet Jo Bell (Kith; How to be a Poet), who has written for Nationwide's advertising campaigns; and to Jim Thornton, Deputy Executive Creative Director of advertising agency VCCP, who commissions poets to write for Nationwide's ads. He also speaks to poets Will Harris (Rendang, Mixed-Race Superhero) and Clare Pollard (Incarnation; Editor of Modern Poetry in Translation) about why some poets don't feel comfortable writing for ads.

As copywriter, Rishi Dastidar has written for a wide number of brands including O2 and Barclays. His second poetry collection, Saffron Jack, was published in the UK in 2020 by Nine Arches Press.

Image Credit: Jeremy Deller - More Poetry Is Needed, 2014
St Mary’s Car Park, Swansea - Commissioned by Locws International for Art Across The City, Swansea, 2014
Courtesy of The Artist and The Modern Institute/ Toby Webster Ltd., Glasgow
Photo: Locws International

Produced by Mair Bosworth


SAT 21:00 Brief Lives (b04gcdtd)
Series 7

Episode 5

Brief Lives by Tom Fry and Sharon Kelly. Ep 5 of 6
Sarah has always had a difficult relationship with her father, Saul. So matters become complicated when she and her sister Rebecca cross swords over the care of him. And Frank and Cheryl make a momentous decision about their future.

Frank................................David Schofield
Sarah...............................Kathryn Hunt
Ronnie.............................Rachel Austin
Cheryl.............................Mandi Symonds
Saul...............................Stuart Richman
Rebecca.........................Verity May-Henry
Judge............................Malcolm Raeburn
Director/Producer Gary Brown


SAT 21:45 The Poet and the Echo (b09r3y04)
Hope Is the Thing with Feathers

Writers choose poems as inspiration for new stories.

Episode 5/5

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

A man tries to revive his marriage.

A poignant story inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem about hope stirring, even in the darkest of times. By the poet and short-story writer, Kathryn Simmonds.

Credits

Writer ..... Kathryn Simmonds
Reader ..... Robert Jack
Producer ..... Kirsty Williams

A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:00 News (m0012fdy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (m00127vn)
60 Years of the Contraceptive Pill

It’s 60 years since the contraceptive pill was made available on the NHS. It has had a revolutionary impact on women’s lives and on society. In 1961 women often married at an early age and many were expected to stay at home and raise a family while men went out to work. The ability for women to have control of their own fertility meant they could choose to have children and a career on their own terms. The availability of the pill undoubtedly changed the nature of sexual relationships, even if it was not the single cause of the sexual revolution. While many view sex without the possibility of pregnancy as integral to a woman’s moral agency, social conservatives argue that separating sex from reproduction threatens the traditional family unit, which they see as the foundation of a stable society. More recently, there has been a backlash by some women against hormonal contraceptives to try to reclaim autonomy over their bodies. 60 years on, we live in a very different society but can we say we have made progress when it comes to attitudes towards women and sex? Teenage girls report sexual abuse in schools and on social media, while concern is growing among experts about the impact on children of readily-available pornographic images. If this isn’t where we hoped we might be, where do we go from here? Where now for women’s liberation? Is it time for another sexual revolution? With Dr. Sarah Jarvis, Caroline Farrow, Emma Chan and Louise Perry.

Producer: Dan Tierney.


SAT 23:00 Quote... Unquote (m00127fz)
Frank Gardner, Sathnam Sanghera, John Lloyd

The celebrity panel game about quotations, hosted by Nigel Rees, returns with a series celebrating its 500th programme.

This episode features:
- Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent, bestselling author and thriller writer.
- Sathnam Sanghera, writer for The Times, presenter for Channel 4, and author of 'EmpireLand'
- John Lloyd, Quote...Unquote's co-creator and original producer, who went on to create such delights as QI, The News Quiz and Blackadder.

Reader of the Quotations: Charlotte Green
Production Co-Ordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Producer: Ella Watts
Executive Producer: James Robinson

This programme is a BBC Studios Audio production.


SAT 23:30 Uncanny (m0012g94)
Case 8: The UFO in the Playground

Danny Robins returns to his investigation into the Todmorden UFO case to assess new evidence that has come in from listeners - and also hears from two compelling new witnesses, one in Wales and one in Africa, who both experienced UFO encounters as children.

Do their experiences shed any light on the ongoing mystery of possible alien contact with humans? Is the truth out there?

Written and presented by Danny Robins
Editor and Sound Designer: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Lanterns on the Lake
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard

A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4