SATURDAY 22 AUGUST 2020

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m000ltfp)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Following Pappano (b09534g7)
Episode 5

The final episode in the series following the Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Sir Antonio Pappano, as he and his team prepare for a brand new staging of Puccini's Opera La Boheme.

All major opera houses rely on well established productions of repertoire classics. Puccini's La bohème is a permanent fixture in the world's top five Operas as measured by performance numbers and John Copley's 1974 staging at Covent Garden was a familiar and much loved favourite. However the time has come to replace it with a new production and the challenge to do that with a fresh staging falls to the team of Music Director Sir Antonio Pappano and stage director Richard Jones.
In five programmes across the week Radio Four follows Maestro Pappano as the new production takes shape. He works with singers, discusses the particular challenges of operating at the very highest level of Operatic performance and expectation and gives candid insights into the often perilous journey to an opening night.
We also hear from the team both on and off stage who work alongside Pappano, including the young cast who are acutely aware that the production they are replacing opened with singers like Placido Domingo and Sir Thomas Allen. There are also stage directors, set-builders, movement directors and Maestro Pappano's trusted repetiteur. But at the heart of it, in the weeks leading up to opening night and as the curtain rises, is the Music director himself, combining the orchestral brilliance of Puccini's score and the dazzling qualities of the singers on stage to produce what they all hope will be a worthy addition to the Royal Opera House's Puccini tradition.

Producer: Tom Alban.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000ltfr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000ltft)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000ltfw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m000ltfy)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000ltg0)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rev Dr Calvin T Samuel

Good morning.

On the 22nd of March 2020, like many churches across the country, we cancelled Mothering Sunday services hoping to return within a few weeks. Today marks 5 months since the Prime Minister announced #Lockdown measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, the world has changed in unforeseeable ways. Things we took for granted, freedom of movement, or the stability of global economies, proved to be illusory. Items of little significance suddenly became premium goods. Who could have predicted that toilet rolls, hand sanitizer, and eggs would number among the most highly sought consumer goods or foods?

The toll of the pandemic has been enormous: deaths in the tens of thousands and a loss of over 100,000 jobs in the UK alone. And it’s not over.

One of the things that the pandemic and #Lockdown have begun to teach us is how to live with uncertainty. In truth, uncertainty has not increased. Rather, we’ve seen how little we actually control, despite our best efforts to the contrary.

This pandemic is a lesson in learning to live in the now, because the future is unpredictable. If, like me, you’re a bit of a control freak, this is a bitter pill to swallow.

Sovereign God,
who alone holds the future,
teach us by your Spirit
how to live in the present.
In your Son, give us eyes that see
ears that hear and
hearts that gratefully apprehend,
even in the midst of great trial and loss,
something of your goodness and grace
in the world.

Amen.


SAT 05:45 Four Thought (m000ls8m)
The Craft of Surgery

Sam Gallivan examines the similarities between surgery and sculpture.

Sam is an orthopaedic surgeon, and in this talk takes us into the operating theatre to experience how it sounds, and how it feels. And it's the sense of feeling - of drilling into a bone or cutting through a ligament - where she finds unexpected similarities between surgery and sculpture. What, she asks, can each learn from the other? And how might this sense of surgery as a craft challenge the dominant way of seeing the medical world? After all, she reasons, 'to accept surgery as a craft is to accept that there are unexpected ways of knowing in medicine that we might not be able to pin down in numbers or statistics.'

Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m000m043)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m000lvcp)
Pete Waterman at Braunston Marina

Pete Waterman, is best known as part of the hugely successful music production and song-writing partnership, Stock Aitken Waterman, creating hits for artists like Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley. But he grew up in Coventry close to the canal, and years of fishing with his father while on holiday at Braunston Marina gave him an interest in the canals and their history.

Braunston Marina is situated at the junction of the Grand Union and Oxford canals, not far from Daventry. In this programme, Pete revisits his childhood holidays at the Marina and learns more about the important role it has played as the heart of the canal network.

2020 marks 50 years since the last regular commercial canal contract came to an end. It was called the Jam 'Ole Run and involved boats taking coal from around Coventry to a jam factory in London, going via Braunston. Pete finds out more about it, and gets to see one of the boats that was present on the last ever run.

Produced by Heather Simons


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m000m045)
Farming Today This Week

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


SAT 06:57 Weather (m000m047)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m000m049)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m000m04c)
Joanne Harris

Richard Coles and Michelle Ackerley are joined by writer Joanne Harris; broadcaster Peter Snow; wildlife journalist and wasp expert Ben Aldiss and chef Joshna Maharaj.

Born in Barnsley, writer Joanne Harris MBE was a teacher for 15 years during which time three of her novels were published including Chocolat in 1999 which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliet Binoche. Since then, she has written 15 more novels, two novellas, two collections of short stories, a Dr Who novella, guest episodes for the game Zombies Run, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays, a musical and three cookbooks. She is guest director of this year's Yorkshire Festival of Story and her new book Orfeia is out in September. You can find more information about the festival via yorkshirefestivalofstory.com

Most of us get as far away as possible when we spot a wasp, but Ben Aldiss does just the opposite. A wildlife journalist and teacher who was known as Dr Wasp by his students, Ben studied wasps for his doctorate and is an expert in their behaviour and what provokes them to sting. He joins us to discuss some of the myths people believe about the insects, how to avoid getting stung, and some of his own experiences working closely with them.

Joshna Maharaj is a chef who lost her sense of smell about six years ago. She talks about the devastating effect of anosmia, how she coped with her loss in the kitchen environment and why she kept it a secret for many years. She is now undergoing smell training to help her regain her lost sense and talks about her olfactory experiments and how smell is directly connected to memory and emotion. Take Back the Tray by Joshna Maharaj is out now.

There isn’t much ground that broadcaster, journalist and historian Peter Snow hasn’t covered in his career: the first presenter of Newsnight when it launched in 1980, and the face of the election swingometer - he’s since moved on to making documentaries with his son, Dan, and now, writing books with his wife, Canadian journalist Ann MacMillan. He joins us to chat about their new book which uses 50 documents to illustrate global history. He also reminisces about his career as a journalist, surviving a plane crash and the story of his unwitting audition for the role of James Bond. Treasures of World History: The Story of Civilisation Told Through the 50 Most Important Documents by Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan is out now.

Writer Matt Haig chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Don't You Want Me by the Human League and It's Quiet Uptown from the Hamilton soundtrack. And there's a thank you to a stranger who saved a dog's life.

Producer: Paula McGinley
Editor: Eleanor Garland.


SAT 10:30 You're Dead To Me (p07qrwq7)
Stonehenge

Greg Jenner digs into the history and mystery surrounding Stonehenge. Is it really the symbol of fertility and scene of sacrifice it’s portrayed to be, and what part of Stonehenge is the henge exactly?

Featuring podcasting legend Richard Herring alongside archaeologist Susan Greaney from English Heritage. It’s history for people who don’t like history!

Produced by Dan Morelle
Script by Greg Jenner
Research by Emma Nagouse

A Muddy Knees Media production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Briefing Room (m000lvd2)
Belarus: the end of a dictatorship?

Belarus is gripped by nationwide protests, triggered by what is seen as an unfair election, rigged in favour of the country’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.

Violent clashes have led to the arrest of more than 6000 people, with many reporting beatings and torture at the hands of the police.

President Lukashenko has told protestors they would have to kill him before there was another election – but are the days numbered for the man described as Europe’s last dictator?

Contributors:

David Marples, professor of history, University of Alberta

Brian Klaas, associate professor in global politics, University College London

Olga Dryndova, editor of Belarus-Analysen, University of Bremen

Elena Korosteleva, professor of international politics, University of Kent

Team: Richard Fenton-Smith, Beth Sagar-Fenton, Kirsteen Knight
Studio Manager: James Beard
Editor: Jasper Corbett


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m000m0g0)
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m000m0g2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 The Money Clinic (m000lz7j)
Maggie and Declan

Eavesdrop as a couple open up to a relationship counsellor about their personal finances and their feelings.

Money worries are known to put a big strain on relationships, and it can be hard to talk openly and honestly without tempers flaring or heads burying deep into the sand.

In this episode, Maggie and Declan split their finances 50:50, but have significantly different living costs. Maggie spends generously on Declan and his children, but feels guilty if she spends anything on herself. They sit down with Dee Holmes, a counsellor from the relationship charity Relate, to explore why Maggie feels this anxiety, and what they both might be able to do to ease it.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Smita Patel


SAT 12:30 Summer Comedy Festival (m000ltsn)
Sara Pascoe

Superstar stand-up Sara Pascoe curates her dream festival; one for the miserable. Featuring readings from Rhik Samadder, comedy from Sophie Duker, music from Emmy the Great and a new character from Steen Raskopoulos, join Sara as she celebrates all of the things that make us tick.

Producer: Leila Navabi
Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound design: Chris MacLean
A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m000m0g4)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m000m0g6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m000ltfb)
Charles Clarke, Stella Creasy MP, Michelle Donelan MP, Toby Young

Anita Anand presents political debate from Broadcasting House London with former Cabinet Minister Charles Clarke, the Labour MP Stella Creasy, Universities Minister Michelle Donelan and the General Secretary of the Free Speech Union Toby Young.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m000m0g8)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:40 One to One (m000jvxs)
Taking Control - Karen Darke talks to Louai Al Roumani

How do you take control of your life when you find yourself facing a crisis or unexpected events turn everything that is familiar and certain upside-down? Paralympic cyclist and athlete Karen Darke began her working life as a geologist until a climbing accident resulted in her paralysis from the chest down. Overnight her life radically changed but today she’s a full time athlete and became Paralympic Champion in Rio in 2016. In the first of three conversations about taking control of your life she talks to former Syrian Banker and author of 'Lessons from a Warzone', Louai Al Romani. When the war broke out in Syria in 2011, Louai was Head of Finance and Strategy at Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi. Here, Louai describes what he learned about coping in such difficult conditions, and how he developed the resilience and skills to ensure the bank not only survived the first 4 years of the Syrian crisis, but even thrived in the most challenging of times. Producer Sarah Blunt.


SAT 14:55 Drama (b06y8ny3)
God of Carnage

What happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with the unruly behaviour of their children? A calm and rational debate between grown-ups about the need to teach children how to behave properly? Or does it turn into a night of name-calling, tantrums and tears?

Lenny Henry stars in Yasmina Reza's play, translated by Christopher Hampton, which won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy with its London West End Production and Tony for Best Play on Broadway. It contains very strong language.

The author, Yasmina Reza, is a French playwright and novelist. Her plays Conversations after a Burial, The Passage of Winter, Art, The Unexpected Man, Life x 3 and A Spanish Play have been produced worldwide and translated into thirty-five languages.

Christopher Hampton’s work for the theatre includes The Philanthropist, Savages, Treats, Tales from Hollywood. He is also known for his translations of Ibsen, Horvath, Moliere and Chekhov Movies: A Dangerous Method, Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement, Total Eclipse, The Quiet American, Carrington, The Secret Agent and Imagining Argentina.

Cast:
Michael ..... Lenny Henry
Veronica ..... Rosie Cavaliero
Alan ..... .Joseph Millson
Annette ..... Monica Dolan

Directed by James Macdonald
Produced by Catherine Bailey

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m000m0gb)
Can sex offenders change? Camilla Thurlow, Cook the perfect with Ravinder Bhogal, Childless older women

Becky's father went to prison for sex offences against children. For a BBC documentary, Can Sex Offenders Change?, Becky met three sex offenders who didn’t go to jail, but had rehabilitation treatment in the community. We hear from Becky and Professor Belinda Whynder, Research Director Centre for Crime Offending, Prevention and Engagement at Nottingham Trent University and a co-founder of the charity Safer Living Foundation.

Former Love Island contestant Camilla Thurlow worked in explosive ordinance disposal, finding and clearing landmines in some of the world’s most dangerous and inhospitable places. She has written a book - Not the Type – Finding my place in the real world.

The Office for National Statistics has estimated that the number of women who reach 80 without children will almost triple in the next 25 years. As a result demand for paid care in nursing homes is expected to increase sharply. Why is the focus on childless women and not men, and how is the data being reported in the media? Jody Day is a psychotherapist, author and founder of Gateway Women, a global organisation for women who are involuntarily childless.

Ravinder Bhogal is a chef and restaurateur whose book, Jikoni is subtitled as proudly inauthentic recipes from an immigrant kitchen. She tells Jenni how to Cook the Perfect Coffee Rasgullas with Mascarpone Ice Cream and Espresso Caramel.

Sixteen year old Rhea from Shetland put out an appeal using an anonymous app, to anyone who wanted to share their personal stories about sexual violence. She received more than 60 responses within 24 hours. Rhea, and Lisa Ward, manager of Rape Crisis Shetland, talk about what those stories say about sexual violence within rural areas.

Mary Stewart has been called one of the great British storytellers of the 20th century. Her 1954 best-seller Madame, Will You Talk? has been dramatised in two parts for Radio 4. We speak to the writers Jane Casey and Harriet Evans who are both fans of her work.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Dianne McGregor


SAT 17:00 PM (m000m0gd)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 The Inquiry (m000m0gg)
How close are we to a vaccine for Covid-19?

Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now in development. Most vaccines take years of testing and additional time to produce at scale, but scientists are hoping to develop a coronavirus vaccine at record speed. Several potential vaccines are now in the final phase of testing but it could still be months before we discover if they are safe and can effectively prevent people from being infected. If a vaccine can be found, there are concerns about how the world will manufacture enough. There may be challenges in storing it at the right temperature and transporting it safely around the world. Plus, rich countries might hoard supplies. Although hopes are high it is entirely possible that a safe and effective vaccine is a long way off, or never discovered. Experts warn that ‘waiting for a vaccine syndrome’ could be distracting us from finding other solutions for controlling the spread of Covid-19.
Presenter: Tanya Beckett


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000m0gj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m000m0gl)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000m0gn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m000m0gq)
Ruthie Henshall, Harry Hill, Tom Ellis, Katie Melua, The Golden Dregs, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Ruthie Henshall, Harry Hill, Tom Ellis for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Katie Melua and The Golden Dregs.


SAT 19:00 The Long View (m000k9rp)
Rethink

The Unexpected Impact of World War Two on British Society

Jonathan Freedland returns with a special series of The Long View for the Radio 4 Rethink season. As the country looks for the best ways to recover from the pandemic and examine how it might change society for the better in its aftermath, Jonathan and his guests consider national crises in our past and ask how those in power at the time sought to rethink their future.

Episode Five - Prof David Kynaston on the unexpected outcomes of wartime thinking on how to rebuild post-war Britain.

Producer: Philip Sellars


SAT 19:15 Simon Schama: The Great Gallery Tours (m000kw4s)
The Courtauld

Simon Scharma introduces visits the Courtauld Gallery in London where he picks out the cream of the Impressionist collection from Cézanne, Manet and Gauguin.

Simon was inspired to make the series because, "Like many of you I'm badly missing the joy of museums and galleries. So I'm really delighted to be able to talk about four of my favourite treasure-houses of great art - the Prado, the Rijksmuseum and the Whitney in New York, and, first of all, the Courtauld Gallery in London. I hope to convey in full-colour radio the transforming power of some of their greatest paintings.“

Choosing the Courtauld also unlocked a personal story for Simon. The collection was started by the textile magnate Samuel Courtauld and the firm had become rich producing the silk substitute Rayon. Simon's father, a textile merchant, bought huge amounts of Courtauld's Rayon and Simon remembers being taken to the factory to watch production. It awakened in him an awareness of colour for the first time.

He also remembers, as a young man, being transfixed in front of Cézanne's painting Montagne Sainte-Victoire - one of an exceptional collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings assembled by Sam Courtauld, at a time when the 'French rebels' were regarded with great suspicion by the Englist art establishment. This is his first choice in his tour for this programme.

The other choices are A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Manet - full of the life of late-19th-century Paris but also the mystery of how we should regard its central figure, the lovely but preoccupied barmaid - and Nevermore, Gauguin's haunting portrait of his naked teenage lover, painted in Tahiti in 1897.

You can find the names of the paintings and a link to the gallery on the Great Gallery Tours’ programme website.

Written and Presented by Simon Schama
Produced by Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 19:45 The Californian Century (m000fpn7)
A Body on the Backlot

Stanley Tucci imagines the story of modern California as a movie screenplay, tracing the dramatic history of the state from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.

In this episode, the first man to direct a full movie in California meets a dramatic end. In 1911, 41 year old Francis Boggs was on the up, a pioneering movie director. But his luck was just about to run out.

California wants to dazzle you with its endless sunshine and visions of the future – but that’s just a mirage. Stanley Tucci plays a hard-boiled screenwriter uncovering the full, sordid truth. He knows exactly where all the bodies are buried.

His screenplays tell the stories of ten women and men who built California. It's a high risk, high reward state. A place where, if you make it, you're on top of the world. But if you don't, there's a long, long way to fall.

Also in the series, the men who lied and lied and lied again to bring water to arid LA, and the story of the superstar revivalist preacher who was as big as Chaplin – before she disappeared without trace. We'll also hear about the genius who first brought silicon to Silicon Valley, right before he became a passionate eugenicist - Silicon Valley's dirty little secret.

Over ten episodes, Stanley Tucci tells the real story of California: a story littered with dead bodies, disasters and duplicity.

Academic consultant: Dr Ian Scott, University of Manchester

Written and produced by Laurence Grissell


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b0bfwzy1)
Working Class Heroes

What do the working class heroes of 1960s cinema say about class in the Britain of 2018?

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - Woodfall films from a time when the working class was at the forefront of visions of the future. Danny Leigh, former senior curator at the BFI, looks through films when the working class was shown on the big screen as a force to be reckoned with for the first time, bringing energy and anger to transforming the world.

He takes the films back to their original settings - Nottingham, Salford, and Blackpool - to the contemporary working-class communities, to find out how people relate to them today. Danny asks if, where and why this cinematic vision of the future has been lost - and what it now means to be working class.

He reflects on when and how working class women, and communities other than an indigenous white working class were included in films. He explores the importance of the first generation of immigrant workers and how they have shaped class identity.

Danny also explores his own relationship to the films. His parents were working class children from Nottingham and Bradford of the 1950s - one becoming socially mobile and the other not. In both cases, it was film that helped him to know what they came from.

The programme also tells the story of Woodfall Films itself. The company was founded in Chelsea, around the corner from the Royal Court Theatre, although there isn't a Woodfall film set in London.

At a time when the whole issue of class is hotly contested and even the term "working class" is sometimes claimed to be outdated, Danny Leigh uses film archive to suggest a new sense of working class identity - distinct from, but connected to, big-screen visions of the past.

Producer: Jo Meek
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:00 Tracks (m000118l)
Series 3: Chimera

Chimera: Episode Two

Part two of the conspiracy thriller by Matthew Broughton. Starring Hattie Morahan and Jonathan Forbes.

In the aftermath of the Slate disaster, Helen investigates another building that collapsed 30 years ago – a fertility clinic in Snowdonia run by medical pioneers, Mayflower.

A gripping thriller, chart-topping podcast and winner of Best Sound (BBC Audio Drama Awards) and Best Fiction (British Podcast Awards), now Tracks is back with another 9 part headphone-filling thrill-ride.

Helen…. Hattie Morahan
Freddy….. Jonathan Forbes
Mark….. Rhodri Meilir
Claire….. Eiry Thomas
Tim….. Stewart Wright

Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


SAT 21:45 Rapunzel (b060bwdn)
A Shaggy Bob Story

The second of three specially-commissioned tales by Julie Mayhew - her first stories for radio - taking their inspiration not only from the Rapunzel story made familiar by the Brothers Grimm, but also from some of the traditional European tales that influenced them.

In modern settings, each story features a girl with a tall tower of her own and the possibilities of an open window...

Episode 2: A Shaggy Bob Story
A story of very long hair - and head lice.

Julie Mayhew has written three plays for radio, including A Shoebox Of Snow which was nominated for Best Drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards in 2012. Her first novel, Red Ink (2013), was nominated for the 2014 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Her second, The Big Lie, will be published in the summer of 2015. Julie is a founder and host of the short story cabaret, The Berko Speakeasy.

Reader: Julie Mayhew

Produced by Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News (m000m04j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Grounded with Louis Theroux (p08g4wm2)
7. Miriam Margolyes

In Grounded with Louis Theroux, Louis’s using the lockdown to track down some high-profile people he’s been longing to talk to – a fascinating mix of the celebrated, the controversial and the mysterious.

in this episode, Louis speaks to actor and documentary-maker, Miriam Margolyes. In a wide-ranging and provocative conversation, they discuss sexuality, anti-Semitism in the UK and her hatred of housework.

Produced by Paul Kobrak
A Mindhouse production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m000lv71)
Heat 8, 2020

(8/17)
Russell Davies chairs the latest heat of the general knowledge quiz from the studios of Media City UK in Salford. Once again this week's competitors answer Russell's questions without an audience present - but there's no less at stake, as the winner goes through to the series semi-finals and, come the autumn, could even find themselves taking home the silver trophy as the official 2020 BBC Brain of Britain.

The Beat the Brains interlude also provides a chance for a listener to win a prize by outwitting the panel with questions of his or her own devising.

Today's competitors are
Graham Barker, a former dental surgeon from Merseyside
Rev Wayne Clarke, a Baptist minister from Manchester
James MacKenzie, a client director from Bradford
Steve Peek, from Wilmslow in Cheshire, who's retired.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets (m000lsv2)
A Festival of Dialect

In this first programme of the series, actor and writer Catherine Harvey heads to Blackpool for the annual Dialect Festival, which took place before lockdown.

The festival is a celebration of dialect speaking and writing - with participants from as far afield as Cornwall and Northumberland, Kent and Cumbria, gathering for a weekend of poetry, storytelling and song.

Catherine catches up with festival founder Sid Calderbank at a hotel on the seafront to discuss this unique meeting of dialect enthusiasts, and enjoys dialect performances from all over England. She talks to Rod Dimbleby, Chair of the Yorkshire Dialect Society, about Joseph Wright and the first Dialect Dictionary, and to writer and historian Paul Salveson about the future of dialect in our modern world, before the Festival draws to a close at nearby Little Marton windmill - now a museum to local dialect writer Allen Clarke (aka Teddy Ashton) whose work once inspired Tolstoy.

Other episodes in this series look at dialect poetry in East Lincolnshire, The Black Country and The Forest of Dean.

A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4