SATURDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2016

SAT 00:00 Kurt Vonnegut - Report on the Barnhouse Effect (b0085hqx)
Kurt Vonnegut's tale of an academic who discovers how to control the forces of nature with his mind. Read by Stuart Milligan.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b00zdl20)
Series 11, The Impossible Dream
In this series that explores those pieces of music that never fail to move us, this week we feature, 'The Impossible Dream', a song that talks of the resilience of the human spirit. It tells the story of a quest and it's had a surprising journey of it's own. It was originally composed for the 1965 musical The Man of La Mancha which was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes story of Don Quixote. The music was written by Mitch Leigh and the lyrics by Joe Darion. Now in his 80's Leigh explains how his first writing partner was WH Auden and talks about why this particular piece struck a chord with African American friends at that time. Generations on, international Soprano Lesley Garrett recalls how this song inspired her childhood dreams in Doncaster, Yachtsman of the Year Geoff Holt talks about how this song carried him across the Atlantic on one of the most important voyages of his life and former advertising executive Rob Chew explains how this piece is helping him face lifes biggest challenge.
Producer Nicola Humphries.
SAT 01:00 Paul Temple (b007s6jt)
Paul Temple and the Lawrence Affair, A Present for Steve
More mystery afloat, as the worried detective tackles Salty West and uncovers links to his wife, Steve.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife. With Lester Mudditt as Sir Graham Forbes.
With Brewster Mason as Salty West, Belle Chrystall as Linda Teako, Simon Lack as Brian Dexter and Manning Wilson as Detective Inspector Ivor.
From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case.
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1954.
SAT 01:30 Escape from the Deep (b017mx3x)
Louis de Bernieres returns to Cephalonia, the setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin, to tell one of the greatest, most controversial, submarine escape stories of World War II.
In the village of Mavrata, in the south east corner of the Greek island of Cephalonia, is a memorial to the 60 men who died when their submarine HMS Perseus hit an Italian mine and sank, instantly, to the seabed 170 feet below.
But at the bottom of this memorial are the extraordinary words "The sole survivor John H Capes was rescued and sheltered by patriotic islanders who helped him to escape."
When John Capes, romantic, adventurer, womaniser and submarine stoker was found half-dead on a Cephalonia beach on the morning of 7th December 1941, he had a scarcely believable tale to tell: he claimed to have, almost miraculously, survived the destruction of Perseus, and have escaped, alone, from the wreck at the bottom of the sea.
For nearly 70 years after the event, Capes' story was a source of controversy for naval historians: could he really have escaped through a jammed hatch in the severely damaged, flooded vessel? Could he possibly have made it to the surface through 170 feet of water from the bottom of the Mediterranean, a depth never before survived? Could he then have swum, injured, through three miles of cold, choppy sea to the island?
Almost as extraordinary are the eighteen months Capes spent on the island before being spirited away by the Royal Navy in 1943. The islanders, at great risk to themselves, sheltered and disguised Capes from the occupying Italian forces, and fed him when they themselves were on the brink of starvation.
Louis explores John Capes' extraordinary story, and asks: could it really be true?
Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus Audio production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b0196vh2)
Honoré de Balzac - Cousin Bette, Episode 10
Cousin Bette is one of the best loved and most admired of Honore de Balzac's novels, written when his powers were at their height and marking the culmination of his extraordinary chronicle, La Comedie Humaine.
A tale of seductive women and philandering men, of passionate affairs and spiralling debts, Cousin Bette paints a vivid portrait of Paris in the 1830s and '40s. In a city full of temptations, money is king, morals are loose and the appeals of the virtuous are usually in vain. In the midst of it all sits a poor relation, Cousin Bette, like a spider in her web. Fuelled by bitterness and jealousy, she is determined to weave destruction into the lives of her extended family, the socially superior Hulots.
With her friend and accomplice, the beautiful Madame Marneffe, Bette sets out to manipulate events so that men are brought to their knees and their wives to despair, and she attains the power and prestige she seeks.
In today's final episode, the Brazilian discovers that his love has been betrayed and wrecks vengeance that quite outdoes all Bette's most wicked plans. And the incorrigible Baron is returned to his family, for now..
Cousin Bette was written in less than a year, in serial instalments, often only completed just before the deadline. Within its pages, Balzac conjures a kaleidoscope of characters from all walks of life, chronicles the rise of a grasping bourgeoisie and tells a gripping tale of jealousy, passion and treachery.
The reader is Alex Jennings.
The translator was Marion Ayton Crawford and the abridger was Sally Marmion.
The producer is Di Speirs.
SAT 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's History of Home (b009mc9d)
Ideal Home Show
Laurence talks to philosopher Alain de Botton about how our ideas of the home have changed and what the future holds, while taking a look around the 100th Ideal Home Exhibition.
SAT 02:30 Gunpowder Women (b0076vgr)
The Wife
By Stephanie Dale. Thomas Bates, the servant of conspirator Robert Catesby, faces execution. Stars Peter Meakin and Deborah McAndrew.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b018v874)
Simon Garfield - Just My Type, Episode 5
"Just My Type" - a book about fonts by Simon Garfield.
Read by Julian Rhind Tutt
From type on the high street and book covers, to the print in our homes and offices, our world is surrounded by and spelt out by fonts. Little do we realise how our everyday choices are subtly informed and manipulated by these miniature works of art. Simon Garfield explores the history of the font and the people who brought them into being.
The Font in politics. How Barack Obama used a font to win a presidency.
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Classic Serial (b01r0b17)
Pather Panchali - Song of the Road, Episode 2
Pather Panchali: Song of the Road by Bibhuti Bhushan Banerji dramatised by Tanika Gupta from a translation by T.W. Clark & Tarapada Mukerji
A classic story of poverty and sibling love set in a remote Bengali village at the beginning of the twentieth century. The life of a poor Brahmin family is seen through the eyes of young Opu and his older sister Durga. Opu has his first experiences of life outside the village and Durga now a young woman of fourteen begins to look forward to marriage and adult life but with the monsoon rains comes tragedy.
Directed by Nadia Molinari
It is the vivid and moving story of life in a rural village on the brink of change, seen through the eyes of two children. The novel deals with the relationship between destruction and creation, and is an uplifting tale of growth and love. It is a beautiful and atmospheric novel that inspired an iconic film by Satyajit Ray in 1955.
The heart of the novel and this dramatisation is the love between brother and sister. It charts family life through a collection of daily events that cumulatively create a vivid and unforgettable world. In Tanika Gupta's dramatisation Opu, now a grown man narrates the story, looking back on his childhood and to the people he has loved, in particular his older sister Durga.Tanika Gupta is an award-winning writer who has written extensively for radio, theatre, film and television. She was recently awarded an MBE; named Asian Woman of Achievement (Arts and Culture) and nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement. Her production of A Doll's House for Radio 3 recently won the best adaptation BBC Audio Drama Award.
SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b0415hbb)
Series 4, University of Bedfordshire
A quiz show hosted by Steve Punt where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from the University of Bedfordshire, "The 3rd Degree" is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners whilst delighting the current ones.
The Specialist Subjects in this episode are Psychology, Theatre and Sports Science and the questions involve Konstantin Stanislavski, Geoff Hurst, osmium and cauliflowers.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
Together with host Steve Punt, the show tours the (sometimes posh, sometimes murky, but always welcoming!) Union buildings, cafés and lecture halls of six universities across the UK.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction... In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, were particularly lively, and offered plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides...
The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list...
In this series, the universities are Bristol, Kent, Bedfordshire, Birmingham, Nottingham & Aberystwyth.
Overflow (incl Cast Lists)
The host, Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show is also someone who delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. As well as "The Now Show" he has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, on subjects as varied as "The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen" and "Getting The Gongs" - an investigation into awards ceremonies - as well as a half-hour comedy for Radio 4's 2008 Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called "The Genuine Particle". This makes him the perfect host for a show which aims to be an intellectual, fulfilling and informative quiz, but with wit and a genuine delight in exploring the subjects at hand.
The 3rd Degree is a Pozzitive production, produced by David Tyler. His radio credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Cabin Pressure, Bigipedia, The Brig Society, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The 99p Challenge, My First Planet, The Castle and even, going back a bit, Radio Active. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul & Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan's Run, The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon and exec producing Victoria Wood's dinnerladies.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 No Commitments (b01r21gq)
Series 11, Hard Times
Victoria is down in the dumps about money, while Charlotte is on a high about work. Stars Felicity Montagu. From February 2005.
SAT 05:00 Winston Back Home (b00q9280)
After All This Time, a Happy Ending
The old rogue and Nancy are set to wed at last, but how will they tie the knot? Peter Tinniswood's adventure with Bill Wallis and Shirley Dickson. From May 1994.
SAT 05:30 Chris Ramsey: Offermation (b01djr50)
South Shields comedian Chris Ramsey brings his Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show to Radio 4 via the Manchester Comedy store. He explores the notion of 'Offermation' (not very interesting personal information that we haven't asked for) and what stuff really makes our lives meaningful.
Writer and Performer....Chris Ramsey
Producer....Julia McKenzie.
SAT 06:00 William Stanton - Between Two Worlds (b0824h9v)
A government employee - jailed for leaking a secret document to the press - celebrates her freedom with a trip to the Caribbean.
She's gone there to write a book about her experience and to find peace and solitude, but her stay brings both danger and excitement.
William Stanton's drama stars Geraldine James as Miranda, Norman Rodway as Kennedy and Paterson Joseph as Maurice.
Producer: Cherry Cookson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
SAT 07:30 Hardeep Singh Kohli's Alternative Census (b00yz54v)
Episode 2
Inspired by the 2011 Census that takes place on the 27th of March, Hardeep Singh Kohli brings his own questionnaire to households across the country.
In today's programme, Hardeep Singh Kohli travels with his clipboard and questions to households in Great Yarmouth, Leicester and London. Amongst the people he meets are an elderly couple who retired to the seaside, a local councillor and a man who has been a guest at Shelter from the Storm's homeless shelter for the past year. Through their answers, they explore themes of family, community and identity.
Some of the questions that Hardeep asks are borrowed from the census, whilst others, such as 'how many times have you been in love?' and 'when were you at your happiest?' are ones that he added himself. Going from door to door with this unique questionnaire, Hardeep engages those inside in an intimate, moving, funny and heartfelt conversation, as he takes on the bold and sincere aim of gauging who we are as individuals, rather than as statistics.
Producer: Katie Burningham
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0076ydj)
Down Your Way Revisited
Down Your Way was one of Britain's longest-running radio series. It started in 1946 when BBC producer Leslie Perowne hit on the idea of spinning out a popular music programme on the BBC Home Service with short interviews with members of the public. The idea was an instant success, and Down Your Way became a staple of the BBC's radio schedules for decades. At the height of its success in the 1950s - when television had yet to make a significant impact - it was attracting 10 million listeners a week. It finished its run in 1992.
Cultural historian, Professor Jeffrey Richards argues that Down Your Way portrayed a 'heritage Britain', intent on preserving the past, which provided listeners with a reassurance that - despite all appearances to the contrary - nothing would ever really change in their green and pleasant land.
Producer: Libby Cross
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SAT 09:00 James Naughtie - I love to Read (b0824jpt)
As part of the BBC's #LovetoRead celebrations, James Naughtie (presenter of Radio 4's Bookclub and books editor for News) delves into the archives in search of the books that made him into the passionate, lifelong reader that he is.
From Austen and Dickens to Brodie and Le Carre he samples some of the BBC's most treasured readings and dramas. From the sultry opening of Atonement to the power of Moby Dick and from Brideshead to the dark streets of Vienna, James Naughtie offers up three hours of literary delights.
Persuasion by Jane Austen. Read by Juliet Stevenson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (cast below)
Bleak House by Charles Dickens (cast below)
Eveline from Dubliners by James Joyce. Read by Stephen Rea
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Read by Emma Fielding
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (cast below)
The Third Man by Graham Greene. Read by Samuel West
The Ballroom of Romance by William Trevor. Read by Niamh Cusack
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark. Read by Gerda Stevenson
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by PG Wodehouse. Read by Blake Ritson
Atonement by Ian McEwan. Read by Sian Thomas
The Pigeon Tunnel by John Le Carre - read by the author
Bleak House:
Stars Simon Cadell as Charles Dickens, Brenda Blethyn as Esther Summerson and Andrew Seear as Richard Carstone.
Brideshead Revisited:
Stars Ben Miles as Charles Ryder, Anne Marie Duff as Julia Flyte and and Eve Best as Celia Ryder.
Moby Dick:
Stars Trevor White as Ishmael and PJ Brennan as Young Ishmael.
Producer: Dymphna Flynn
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2016.
SAT 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b00t4qmv)
Series 2, My Old Man's a Tory
Angry Albert disrupts Harold's Labour party meeting.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold. With Dudley Foster as Stonelake and Beth Boyd as Miss Frobisher.
Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV.
Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick.
Produced by Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1967.
SAT 12:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b03szmd5)
From 31/12/1972
The wild-haired wacky funster tackles Britain's entry into the European Union. Apparently it's all down to Ken! From December 1972.
SAT 13:00 The Pursuits of Darleen Fyles (b0824l55)
Series 8 Omnibus
Drama about a young couple with learning disabilities. Darleen discovers she is pregnant. Starring Donna Lavin and Edmund Davies.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0824l57)
Theo Paphitis
Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis chooses 'Nobody Does It Better' by Carly Simon and 'Over the Rainbow' by Eva Cassidy.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (b0824lt2)
George Melly in the Usk Valley
Jazz singer, George Melly bought his house near Brecon, Powys, partly to escape music and partly to indulge his love of fishing. As he goes 'Down Your Way' in the Usk Valley - between Brecon and Abergavenny, George reveals how jazz has followed him to Wales - and how fishing may be under threat.
Down Your Way was a schedule staple for decades - starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of the series' success in the 1950s, it was attracting ten million listeners a week.
George Melly was born in 1926 and died in 2007.
Producer: Kerry McGeever
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0076ydj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 William Stanton - Between Two Worlds (b0824h9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Hardeep Singh Kohli's Alternative Census (b00yz54v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x66zn)
Ed Harris - Billions
by Ed Harris
One of three plays nominated as Best Single Drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2014.
Mark's wife Donna has an accident and ends up in a life-threatening coma. But when he comes home from hospital, Donna is in the kitchen. Not Donna, in fact, but a near-perfect replica provided by her insurance company.
Award-winning writer Ed Harris tells a wickedly twisted tale of love - and adjustments.
Producer/Director ... Jonquil Panting.
SAT 18:45 RD Wingfield (b00sw79x)
The Cellar
Behind a bricked-up entrance lurks a suspenseful tale of horror below stairs. Stars John Pullen and Rosalind Ayres.
SAT 19:00 James Naughtie - I love to Read (b0824jpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Comedy Club: Books to Read in Your Lifetime (b0824nl5)
Contemporary
Comedy, by its very nature requires comedians to carve out their own careers. It's an unofficial, undefined occupation learned from unofficial teachers. They go out on stage with nothing but the shirt on their back and re-create stories for their audience. Story telling is at the heart of what they do. In this programme we draw on that experience of story telling and hear about the story that has most influenced them.
Our very own Comedy Club host, Arthur Smith, will be talking to comedians Sara Pascoe, Dane Baptiste and Tiff Stevenson about their favourite contemporary books, and memories of reading, good and bad, from childhood. We'll find out which books have shaped their lives and influenced their work in the field of comedy - very much an art form with its roots in story-telling.
And popping up throughout will be interviews recorded at this year's Edinburgh festival and extracts from the BBC archive.
Produced for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sarah Wade and Kerry McCarthy.

SUNDAY 06 NOVEMBER 2016

SUN 00:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x66zn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:45 RD Wingfield (b00sw79x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 The Pursuits of Darleen Fyles (b0824l55)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0824l57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (b0824lt2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b0076ydj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 William Stanton - Between Two Worlds (b0824h9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Hardeep Singh Kohli's Alternative Census (b00yz54v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Gunpowder Women (b04njd1x)
Omnibus
1606 - a year after the Gunpowder Plot failed, Ann Vaux, the cousin of a conspirator faces questioning. Stars Carolyn Pickles.
SUN 07:15 Getting on Air: The Female Pioneers (b03ffkfx)
Prime Time Women
Jane Garvey investigates the stories behind five landmark moments in the history of the female voice on radio and television. How far have women really come since the early days of the wireless? To what extent are female voices now accepted as carrying the same level of authority and expertise as their male counterparts?
In the fourth programme, Prime Time Woman, Jane Garvey looks at the pioneering role played by Esther Rantzen and the campaigning programme 'That's Life' in the 1970s and 80s. She paved the way for a new style of campaigning journalism, bringing a female voice of authority to our living rooms.
We also hear from John Birt, who made the inspired choice of Cilla Black as presenter of 'Blind Date', and broadcast historians Jean Seaton and Suzanne Franks.

Producer: Jane Reck
An Alfi Media Ltd production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 07:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b015mvsj)
Series 1, Episode 4
John Finnemore, writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-up in things like Miranda and That Mitchell and Webb Look returns with half an hour of his own sketches, each funnier than the last. Although, hang on, that system means starting the whole series with the least funny sketch. Might need to rethink that. OK, it's a new show filled with sketches written and performed by John Finnemore, but now no longer arranged in strict order of funniness. Also, he's cut the sketch that would have gone first.
This week's show features some musical interludes from the zoo, and a sketch that only a fool wouldn't find funny.
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is written by and stars John Finnemore. It also features Carrie Quinlan (The News Quiz, The Late Edition), Lawry Lewin (The Life & Times of Vivienne Vyle, Horrible Histories) and Simon Kane (Six Impossible Things).
Producer: Ed Morrish.
SUN 08:00 Take It From Here (b01b1s9l)
From 26/03/1958
The 10th anniversary Show, with a 'Pygmalion' spoof and The Operatic Weather Forecast.
Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and June Whitfield.
Music from Wallace Eaton and the Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1958.
SUN 08:30 Jerome K Jerome - Three Men on the Bummel (b01dhllx)
Episode 2
"In Prague we did our sightseeing with the aid of a guide. His English was decidedly weak. Indeed it was not English at all. For the first hour it was difficult to rid oneself of the conviction that the man was choking."
George, Harris and J attempt to navigate Germany by bike, but find their sense of direction sorely tested.
Adapted and performed in three episodes by Jeremy Nicholas.
Music by Jeremy Nicholas. Performed by The Grimethorpe Colliery Band
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1984.
SUN 09:00 Keeping On Keeping On: Omnibus (b0824q69)
Episode 2
Alan Bennett reads recollections and reminiscences from his recently published diaries - continuing from 2010.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0824q6c)
PP Arnold
American soul singer PP Arnold chooses 'River Deep Mountain High' by Ike & Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin's 'Natural Woman'.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0824q6f)
Americans, Stephen Sondheim
4 Extra Debut. From Gershwin to Stravinsky, the composer Stephen Sondheim shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From December 2000.
SUN 11:00 TED Radio Hour (b0824r0b)
Series 3, The Fountain of Youth
Guy Raz explores how ageing might be slowed down, and how we all might live longer and even better lives.
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
SUN 11:55 In a Nutshell (b00sj9yy)
New York New York
A snapshot from the 80s of this unique city, brought to life by writer Barry Pilton and read by Leonard Rossiter.
SUN 12:00 Take It From Here (b01b1s9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Jerome K Jerome - Three Men on the Bummel (b01dhllx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Gunpowder Women (b04njd1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Getting on Air: The Female Pioneers (b03ffkfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Sebastian Barry - Days Without End: Omnibus (b0824r0d)
Episode 1
Thomas McNulty recounts how he and John Cole came to join the US Cavalry as teenagers in Missouri, 1851, and ride out on the Oregon trail towards California.
SUN 15:45 A Mine of Serpents (b0824r0g)
4 Extra Debut. A grumpy landlord, who has fallen out with his twin brother, recalls the bonfire nights of their childhood. Reader Stephen Moore.
SUN 16:00 Saturday Drama (b04j9z7c)
Alan Bennett - Denmark Hill
Alan Bennett's idiosyncratic take on the Hamlet story adapted for radio. Seen largely through the beady eyes of a 15 year old schoolgirl, this is Bennett in black comedy mode.
The play is set in a leafy south London suburb, in the year of an election. Gwen's husband, Frank, lies ill in bed upstairs while downstairs Harriet, her daughter, is struggling with an essay on "Shakespeare's view of the family". In the aftermath of Frank's death we slowly realise we are being drawn into a strangely familiar story - a suburban Hamlet. In different guises here come Claudius, Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Polonius and Ophelia. Even the players play their part.
Denmark Hill was originally written as an uncommissioned TV/film screenplay in 1981/2. For whatever reasons, Bennett can't remember, he kept it in a drawer until it went with all his papers to the Bodleian library for archival storage. Honor Borwick urged Tristram Powell, with Bennett's permission, to search the archives. At last Powell unearthed the hand typed script.
Denmark Hill is Bennett's own kind of observational comedy, the Hamlet connections are never heavy, just lightly touched on. It is narrated by Alan Bennett, directed by Tristram Powell, adapted for radio by Honor Borwick and produced by Marilyn Imrie.
Written by Alan Bennett
Produced by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b0824swq)
Lyrical Ballads - The Nature of Inspiration
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with a rare double-act in poetry.
October 1798 saw the publication of one of the foundations of British romanticism: Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. Steve Connor begins his exploration of why this slim volume made such a profound impression on English literature and thought.
Producers: Julian May and Abigail Appleton.
First broadcast on Radio 3 in October 1998.
SUN 17:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b015mvsj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 The Man in Black (b017glqm)
Series 4, Containment
A self-storage facility off the A12 offers hope to a lost soul, but there's a sinister price attached.
Mark Gatiss returns as the sinister raconteur, The Man in Black, to introduce David Lemon's tale. Starring Clare Corbett as Helen, Rikki Lawton as Andy and Carl Prekopp as Tom.
More horrifying tales from The Man in Black. You might meet him at a luggage carousel in an airport, or behind the desk at an employment agency or he might approach you in the corridor of a care home. Wherever you encounter him, he's eager to pass on his stories. Stories to unsettle and horrify. Stories to haunt you.
Director: Gemma Jenkins
THE WRITER:
David's first feature 'Faintheart', a Film4 production starring Eddie Marsan, was the closing film at the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival and nominated for the Michael Powell award. David also wrote the short films 'Monsters and Rabbits' (for FilmLondon) and 'Dead Happy' (for Sky Movies). He has also written for the BBC1 daytime TV drama "Doctors" and the Nickelodeon children's comedy 'Summer In Transylvania'. 'Containment' is David's radio debut.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra. First broadcast in February 2011.
SUN 18:30 Ray Bradbury - Golden Apples of the Sun (b007jn3n)
The Golden Apples of the Sun, Hail and Farewell
From Ray Bradbury's collection of sci-fi short-stories: a tale about a voyage to the sun - and a young boy whose real age is a mystery...
Starring Don Fellows, Ed Bishop, Simon Treves and Judy Bennett.
Dramatised by Lawrence Gilbert.
Producer: Peter Hutchings
First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1991.
SUN 19:00 TED Radio Hour (b0824r0b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 In a Nutshell (b00sj9yy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:55 today]
SUN 20:00 Keeping On Keeping On: Omnibus (b0824q69)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0824q6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0824q6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Comedy Club: Books to Read in Your Lifetime (b0824x5f)
Classics
Our very own Comedy Club host, Arthur Smith, will be talking to comedians Zoe Lyons, Nish Kumar and Lucy Porter about their favourite classic books, and memories of reading, good and bad, from childhood. We'll find out which books have shaped their lives and influenced their work in the field of comedy - very much an art form with its roots in story-telling.
And popping up throughout will be interviews recorded at this year's Edinburgh festival and extracts from the BBC archive.
Produced for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sarah Wade and Kerry McCarthy.

MONDAY 07 NOVEMBER 2016

MON 00:00 The Man in Black (b017glqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Ray Bradbury - Golden Apples of the Sun (b007jn3n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Gunpowder Women (b04njd1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Getting on Air: The Female Pioneers (b03ffkfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Sebastian Barry - Days Without End: Omnibus (b0824r0d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 A Mine of Serpents (b0824r0g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Saturday Drama (b04j9z7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b0824swq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b015mvsj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Paul Temple (b007s84b)
Paul Temple and the Lawrence Affair, News From Sir Graham
An unexpected twist wraps up the case for the suave detective and his wife Steve - or does it?
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife. With Lester Mudditt as Sir Graham Forbes.
With Brewster Mason as Salty West and Manning Wilson as Detective Inspector Ivor.
From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case.
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1956.
MON 06:30 The Swedish Invasion (b010k2f6)
They gave us Ikea, Volvo and Abba, but now a new wave of Swedish culture is conquering the world. Swedish books, films, music and design are being lapped up in Britain and even our politicians are looking to Sweden for answers. Danny Robins, comedian and Swedophile, goes on a tour of the country to explore why we've fallen so in love with Swedishness and just what it is that we're buying into.
Sweden is the world's third biggest exporter of music, its design is coveted across the globe and, led by Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, its crime fiction is now dominating the bestseller lists. What most of us know about the Swedes though is still based on stereotypes - sexually liberated yet boring, suicidal yet happy with a perfect society - it's the land of the midnight sun, forests and lakes, few inhabitants and picturesque towns, where it feels like the most serious crime might be dropping litter. Yet, Steig Larsson's novels and Henning Mankell's Wallander series present a different vision of Sweden, as a land of serial killers, corruption and racism.
Danny speaks to Swedish rapper Dogge Doggelito to find out whether there's any truth to the fiction. Though it seems safe and well-ordered, is there a darkness lurking beneath the perfect exterior? Two of Sweden's top politicians have been assassinated; rising immigration has led to strong support for a racist political party and Sweden's egalitarian social democracy feels under threat.
But the new 'dangerous' Sweden of the crime thrillers is only part of the picture. The 'Made in Sweden' stamp is still synonymous with success, quality and cool. Danny meets young designers, chats to Swedish cultural commentators and goes in the footsteps of Stieg Larsson's characters, to explore the country's recent success.
Producer: Jo Wheeler
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:00 Heated Rollers (b007rn40)
Episode 5
Wartime heroines, and Oliver with a twist. All-women sketch show with Lynda Bellingham and Joanna Monro. From March 1999.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b080t0pc)
Series 17, Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
John Finnemore, Frankie Boyle, Jeremy Hardy and Lucy Porter are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as Donald Trump, musicals, weddings and Oxbridge.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jr74)
Series 3, Around the World the Burkiss Way
Books are plundered, but what the Dickens is going on?
Starring Fred Harris, Jo Kendall, Nigel Rees and Chris Emmett .
Cult sketch comedy series which originally ran from 1976 to 1980.
Scripted by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall.
Producer: John Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1978.
MON 08:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007k1sl)
The Bank Loan
1948: Will a visit to the pier in Frambourne-on-Sea pour cold water on the renovation plans?
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation starring John Le Mesurier as Arthur Wilson, Ian Lavender as Frank Pike, Bill Pertwee as Bert Hodges and Vivienne Martin as Miss Perkins.
After a pilot episode was made in 1981, Arthur Lowe sadly died. So this 13-part series was revamped to feature the Dad's Army characters played by Pertwee and Lavender instead. The series was later adapted for ITV by Yorkshire TV.
Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, based on the characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1983.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b00mbg96)
Series 55, Edinburgh Festival
Nicholas Parsons' 60-second challenges to Paul Merton, Janey Godley, Richard Herring and Sue Perkins. From August 2009.
MON 09:30 The Change (b00nmtwl)
Series 1, Birth of the Blues
Transvestite George gets thrilling news, then a bombshell drops. Stars Lynda Bellingham and Chris Ellison. From November 2001.
MON 10:00 Anthony Trollope - Miss MacKenzie (b01pglt7)
Episode 1
Miss Mackenzie, a woman past the bloom of youth, inherits a fortune and is then beset by suitors. But whom will she choose?
Anthony Trollope's tale stars David Troughton as Anthony Trollope, Hattie Morahan as Miss Mackenzie, Philip Franks as John Ball and Margaret Tyzack as Lady Ball.
Dramatised by Martyn Wade
Director: Tracey Neale
Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope was the runner-up in BBC Radio 4's 'Neglected Classics' vote in 2011.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
MON 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf3h6)
Everything a Parent Needs to Know
Made for 4 Extra. Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
Helen, a single mother, is struggling to bring up her two children, Jessica and Paul, following a painful divorce. We hear her trying different strategies to cope with little Jessica, and her attempts are juxtaposed with extracts from a selection of parenting books. Read by Emma Fielding.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
MON 11:15 The Charm Factory (b03h7ffw)
Series 2, Happy Days and Lonely Nights
It's 1954: As Irene struggles with a career at home, Alex seems to be turning into the bad boy on the Hollywood big-screen.
Series 2 about the lives of four young actors fresh from Charm School.
Starring Tabitha Wady as Irene, Giles Thomas as Alex, Charlie Simpson as Hugh, John Sharian as Stan, Beth Chalmers as Mary, Sarah- Jane Holm as Peggy and Charlie Simpson as Hugh.
Written by Sue Teddern
Director: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
MON 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jr74)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007k1sl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Paul Temple (b007s84b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Swedish Invasion (b010k2f6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pfv98)
Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek, Episode 1
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 1
Lady Dona St Columb flees high society London for the family estate in Cornwall, only to discover that a stranger has been sleeping in her bed.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017vp92)
The Secret Room
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook explores the social history of the post office.
Throughout its history, the Post Office has been a consistently progressive and democratising force in society. Launched in 1516 by Henry VIII, the Royal Mail was intended to support official communications and bolster intelligence. It was only a rise in literacy, trade and interest that stimulated a demand for a public service.
It became a vehicle for literacy, free speech, commerce and communications in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, before evolving into a kind of prototypical welfare state in the early twentieth century, when it was the largest employer in the world. The Post Office has become a cherished social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world.
It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post
In the paranoid era of the English Civil War the postal network became an important instrument of state control. In a secret room deep in the post office building, agents opened and copied letters from suspected dissidents on a grand scale.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Historical Consultant: Susan Whyman
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors:Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qkw)
Diagnosis
Maureen Wetherby keeps seeing a shadow out of the corner of her eye. She visits Doctor Merrily for some test results. With Val McLane.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b0194l3b)
Stop What You're Doing and Read This, Memories and Expectations
Passionate, funny, revelatory and inspiring, this series is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading; about the way it inspires us, the tangible impact it can have on our well-being and the importance it holds for us now and will continue to hold in the future.
Stop What You're Doing And Read This! features five of our finest authors and advocates from the world of publishing. Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Carmen Callil and Mark Haddon, are all united here in a passionate belief in the distinctive and irreplaceable pleasures and powers of reading. Their essays argue that reading literature is, and must continue to be, a fundamental part of our daily life, as it directly improves our mental health and well-being, enriches our experience and broadens our imaginations.
As the ways people read, what they read, where they buy their books and in what format are all changing rapidly, this series argues unapologetically for the paramount importance of books and reading in a fast-moving, dislocated, technology-obsessed world.
Today; Michael Rosen reads Memories and Expectations, in which he describes his childhood, family and books and the blurring of the lines in his remembrance of each.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Anthony Trollope - Miss MacKenzie (b01pglt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b00mbg96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 The Change (b00nmtwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Heated Rollers (b007rn40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b080t0pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g7xq3)
The Secret of the Growing Gold
Fair hair becomes an unusual tool of marital revenge. A tale from the mind behind 'Dracula', read by Dyfed Thomas.
Bram Stoker's tales abridged in 5 episodes by Donald Bancroft
Producer: David Benedictus
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
MON 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jggl0)
Chronicles of Ait - The Saxon Stones, Episode 1
Written by Michael Butt
Chronicles of Ait -The Saxon Stones finds author and one-time TV historian Linus Scott returning to the remote east coast settlement of Ait to attend the funeral of his childhood mentor, Kenrick, a scholar of Old English who had rescued the young boy from a problem background. But also attending the ceremony is a stranger, Alice Pyper, who, to Scott's surprise, appears to have had some connection to the deceased man. When Alice begins snooping around Kenrick's house, Scott confronts her, and the first door is opened onto a labyrinthine mystery that leads deep into the history of the Saxon Stones and the ominous myth of Dracamuth.
Cast:
Linus Scott . . . . . Greg Wise
Alice Pyper . . . . . Amanda Drew
Darlene . . . . . Heather Craney
Thurgis . . . . . Richard Hope
Irwin . . . . . Christopher James
Aidan . . . . . Jonathan Keeble
Child Linus . . . . .James Foster
Produced & Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076dk8)
Fiammetta Rocco & Maxwell Hutchinson
Rosie Boycott and her guests - the writer Fiammetta Rocco and the architect Maxwell Hutchinson- discuss favourite books by Aminatta Forna, John Keay and Charles Frazier. From 2003.
The Devil That Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna
Publisher: HarperCollins
The Great Arc by John Keay
Publisher: HarperCollins
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Publisher: Sceptre.
MON 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jr74)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007k1sl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Paul Temple (b007s84b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Swedish Invasion (b010k2f6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf3h6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 The Charm Factory (b03h7ffw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b080t0pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Chain Reaction (b03s71cz)
Series 9, Graham Linehan talks to Adam Buxton
Chain Reaction is Radio 4's long running hostless chat show where last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer.
The final episode in the series sees Father Ted and IT crowd writer Graham Linehan talking to comedian, actor and one half of Adam and Joe, Adam Buxton.
Producer ... Carl Cooper.
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b083cs48)
The best in contemporary comedy. Cariad Lloyd chats to Paul Foxcroft about all things improv.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (b080xx1d)
Series 49, Episode 1
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Andy Zaltzman, Kiri Pritchard McClean, Adam Kay, Gemma Arrowsmith and Xenia Wickett to present the news via topical stand up and sketches.
Written by the cast with additional material from Jon Hunter, Liam Beirne, Robin Morgan and Dan Kiss.
Producer Alexandra Smith
BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:30 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b00z5hrv)
Series 1, Episode 1
Helen Keen, Peter Serafinowicz and Susy Kane star in this funny, off-beat but factually accurate account of the science of rockets and the brilliant but occasionally warped brains behind it all.
Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill.
Produced by Gareth Edwards
This week we look at the three fathers of modern rocket science: 19th Century self-taught Russian visionary Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky and his dreams of orbiting space stations and Martian colonies; American Robert H Goddard, derided in The New York Times in the 1920s for his prediction of a lunar landing (they printed a retraction the day after the Apollo 11 launch); Transylvanian-German Hermann Oberth with his brilliant theories about space travel and his horrifying theories about racial supremacy. Plus Helen reveals the surprising connection between space travel and a coach tour of the Jewels of the Rhineland.
It is performed by Helen Keen, and stars Peter Serafinowicz as The Voice of Space, with other parts played by Susy Kane.
MON 23:45 Quando, Quando, Quando (b007zd2c)
Fishy Business
Brother Carlos panics when protection racketeers visit the salon. Stars Rainer Hersch and Catherine Tate. From November 1999.

TUESDAY 08 NOVEMBER 2016

TUE 00:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g7xq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jggl0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076dk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Paul Temple (b007s84b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The Swedish Invasion (b010k2f6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pfv98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017vp92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b0194l3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Anthony Trollope - Miss MacKenzie (b01pglt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00mbg96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The Change (b00nmtwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Heated Rollers (b007rn40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b080t0pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Paul Temple (b007s8rj)
Paul Temple and the Lawrence Affair, Another Suspect
The suave detective and wife Steve face peril afloat, in their battle to uncover the truth...
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife. With Lester Mudditt as Sir Graham Forbes.
With Simon Lack as Brian Dexter, Marjorie Mars as Julie De Silva and Manning Wilson as Detective Inspector Ivor.
From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case.
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1954.
TUE 06:30 Pop Goes the Bible! (b018851w)
As the 400th anniversary of the translation of the Bible into English draws to a close Paul Gambaccini picks out some of the 100's of pop songs that have been inspired by the Old and New Testaments. The stories, characters and text have led to a huge catalogue of songs ranging from Elvis Presley ('Adam and Evil'), to Bob Dylan (Highway 61 Revisited), Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice ('Joseph' and 'Jesus Christ, Superstar'), The Byrds (Turn! Turn! Turn!), Leonard Cohen ('Hallelujah'), and U2 ('40' and 'Yahweh').
Paul talks to Tim Rice about his early schooling which laid down for him an intimate knowledge of Bible stories. One of his favourites was that of 'Joseph' and the musical that evolved became the foundation of the Rice/Lloyd-Webber partnership. His fascination with the stories and characters took Rice not only on to 'Jesus Christ, Superstar' but more recently to the story of King David and Saul. He talks about his continued absorption in the people within the pages of the Bible.
Diana Lipton, an Old Testament scholar, shows how many popular song treatments refresh the ancient stories by setting them in an entirely different and often contemporary context. She cites Bob Dylan's treatment of the story of Abraham and Isaac in 'Highway 61 Revisited', but also finds a connection in Tom Jones' hit 'Delilah'. Although the only Biblical connection is the name 'Delilah', the blind passion of both the character in the song and Samson provokes the same disastrous outcome.
U2, with their song '40', took much of the lyric from Psalm 40, and rock critic Neil McCormick points to the close connection between Bono and his religious upbringing, a connection which - as in many of the songs in this programme - feeds into popular song culture.
Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 07:00 Edgar Wallace - Educated Evans (b03yzlyf)
A Judge of Racing
Can the 1920s tipster help a friend in trouble and acquire valuable information along the way? Stars Roy Hudd and Andrew Sachs. From August 1996.
TUE 07:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b080t886)
Series 11, Episode 5
Comedy. The curmudgeonly author takes listeners through his week.
TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jld2)
Series 2, Homes Fit for Heroes
Harold quarrels with his Dad Albert over his plan to pack him off to travel the world.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold. With Marie Makino as Miss Lottersby and Olwen Brookes as the Matron.
Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV.
Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick.
Produced by Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1967.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jq8w)
The Big Big Big Ben Bungle
Clangers are dropped - and the bare truth is exposed in Westminster! Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. From July 1977.
TUE 09:00 The Now Show (b080xx1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b00z5hrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Quando, Quando, Quando (b007zd2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Anthony Trollope - Miss MacKenzie (b01pgs6s)
Episode 2
After two marriage proposals, Margaret Mackenzie has turned down the first, but what of the second? Stars Hattie Morahan.
TUE 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf6c6)
Sweet Home
An old, German woman arrives in an English village, buys some woodland, and constructs a gingerbread cottage in a clearing. The locals are suspicious, and concerns increase when the weather worsens, VAT goes up to 20%, the Post Office closes, and the high-speed broadband connection date is postponed. Could the old woman have anything to do with these misfortunes? Read by Emma Fielding.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
TUE 11:15 The Charm Factory (b03h7y6p)
Series 2, Secret Love
1950s London, and actors Hugh and Betty marry in order to hide what's really going on in their private lives. With Jan Goodman.
TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jld2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jq8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Paul Temple (b007s8rj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Pop Goes the Bible! (b018851w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pfzcv)
Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek, Episode 2
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 2
Lady Dona revels in her new found freedom, encounters the local gentry and finds a secret passage to the sea.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017wy75)
The London Penny Post
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication.
Launched in 1680 by London merchant, William Dockwra, the Penny Post was the first accessible and cheap method for sending mail within the capital. Costing the equivalent of £6 today, there were receiving houses all over London and the suburbs where you could go to post a letter and expect same day delivery.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Historical Consultant: Susan Whyman
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors:Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlc)
The House of Spirits
Maureen has recently learned that she has a tumour behind her eye. Undaunted, she wants to know what the future holds. Stars Val McClane.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b019lvg7)
Stop What You're Doing and Read This, A Bed. A Book. A Mountain
Passionate, funny, revelatory and inspiring, this series is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading; about the way it inspires us, the tangible impact it can have on our well-being and the importance it holds for us now and will continue to hold in the future.
Stop What You're Doing And Read This! features five of our finest authors and advocates from the world of publishing. Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Carmen Callil and Mark Haddon, are all united here in a passionate belief in the distinctive and irreplaceable pleasures and powers of reading. Their essays argue that reading literature is, and must continue to be, a fundamental part of our daily life, as it directly improves our mental health and well-being, enriches our experience and broadens our imaginations.
As the ways people read, what they read, where they buy their books and in what format are all changing rapidly, this series argues unapologetically for the paramount importance of books and reading in a fast-moving, dislocated, technology-obsessed world.
From reading about the Cairngorms in bed Jeanette Winterson reveals how books open doors to new worlds for readers and passionately the power of words to transport us in A Bed. A Book. A Mountain.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Anthony Trollope - Miss MacKenzie (b01pgs6s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Counterpoint (b08258hv)
2006, Semi-Final 1
Ned Sherrin quizzes Graham Holliday from Teddington, Max Kaufman from London and Paul McKenna from Sutton Coldfield.
TUE 16:30 Chambers (b007jpd0)
Series 2, Conditional Fees
John Fuller-Carp wants victory in a 'no win, no fee' case of a broken thumb and a can of figs. Stars John Bird. From June 1998.
TUE 17:00 Edgar Wallace - Educated Evans (b03yzlyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b080t886)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g8766)
The Coming of Abel Behenna
Two rivals in love make a pact. Will it end in betrayal? Another tale from the Dracula author, read by Dyfed Thomas.
TUE 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jgll7)
Chronicles of Ait - The Saxon Stones, Episode 2
Written by Michael Butt
Chronicles of Ait -The Saxon Stones finds author and one-time TV historian Linus Scott returning to the remote east coast settlement of Ait to attend the funeral of his childhood mentor, Kenrick, a scholar of Old English who had rescued the young boy from a problem background. But also attending the ceremony is a stranger, Alice Pyper, who, to Scott's surprise, appears to have had some connection to the deceased man. When Alice begins snooping around Kenrick's house, Scott confronts her, and the first door is opened onto a labyrinthine mystery that leads deep into the history of the Saxon Stones and the ominous myth of Dracamuth.
Cast:
Linus Scott . . . . . Greg Wise
Alice Pyper . . . . . Amanda Drew
Darlene . . . . . Heather Craney
Thurgis . . . . . Richard Hope
Irwin . . . . . Christopher James
Lord Ethel/Aidan . . . . . Jonathan Keeble
Child Linus . . . . . James Foster
Produced & Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Comic to Comic (b007jw9k)
Series 1, Omid Djalili
The British-Iranian comedian tells Bruce Morton how disco-dancing and experimental theatre shaped his life and work. From August 2005.
TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jld2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jq8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Paul Temple (b007s8rj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Pop Goes the Bible! (b018851w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf6c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 The Charm Factory (b03h7y6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Ed Reardon's Week (b080t886)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 The Maltby Collection (b00y2x2m)
Series 2, Episode 6
Love is all around? It is Prunella and Julian's wedding day. Stars Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt. From July 2008.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b083cs64)
The best in contemporary comedy. Cariad Lloyd chats to Paul Foxcroft about all things improv.
TUE 23:00 Beauty of Britain (b00n0prf)
Series 1, Seagulls Over Sue Ryder
Comedy by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson. Beauty Olonga works as a carer for the Featherdown Agency and sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to achieve their goals in the land of semi-skimmed milk. We see Britain through her eyes - its overheated houses, its disappointing church services and its over-fondness for cauliflower cheese.
Beauty discovers the glories of Weston-super-Mare's charity shops and experiences the disappointment of her first British funeral.
Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Mr Collinson ...... Malcolm Tierney
Jill ...... Pippa Haywood
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen/Bus Driver/Shop Assistant ...... Nicola Sanderson
Mrs Gupte ...... Indira Joshi
Anil ...... Paul Sharma
Derek/Waiter/Church Reader ...... Christopher Douglas
Minister ...... Dan Tetsell
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.
TUE 23:30 Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off (b00pk7zr)
Series 4, Las Vegas
He's back! But this time, he's got a computer! Budleigh Salterton's most famous citizen has been grounded by both the Home Office and his father, so he's set up GWH Travvel ("2 Ms, 2 Gs, 2 Vs - bit of a mix up at the printers").
Run from his bedroom in Budleigh Salterton, with the help of his long-suffering former Primary School teacher Mr Timmis and the hindrance of his sister Charlotte, it's a one-stop Travel/Advice/Events Management/Website service, where each week his schemes range far and wide - whether it's roaming the country lecturing would-be overlanders on how to pack a rucksack ("If in doubt, put it in. And double it"), or finding someone a zebra for a corporate promotion ("I'll look in the Phone Book - how hard can it be? Now, "A to D"...), GWH Travvel stays true to its motto - "We do it all, so you won't want to".
This time, it's Viva Las Vegas as Giles accidentally gets three wives in a row and loses the jackpot as he tries his hand at poker and roulette - and comes up the exact opposite of trumps. The game is Texas Hold 'Em, the flop is huge, Giles has the nuts and we're crying all the way to the river, and no-one has a clue what any of that means. Because, as the old saying goes - what happens in Vegas. makes everyone in Budleigh Salterton very cross indeed.
Starring Marcus Brigstocke as Giles.
Giles Wemmbley Hogg ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Tommy "Tomahawk" Hayes ..... Kerry Shale
Nadine ..... Matilda Ziegler
Mr Timmis ..... Adrian Scarborough
Charlotte Wemmbley Hogg ..... Catherine Shepherd
Tony ..... Lou Hirsch
Mikey ..... David Armand
Written by Marcus Brigstocke & Jeremy Salsby.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.

WEDNESDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2016

WED 00:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g8766)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jgll7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Comic to Comic (b007jw9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Paul Temple (b007s8rj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Pop Goes the Bible! (b018851w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pfzcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017wy75)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b019lvg7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Anthony Trollope - Miss MacKenzie (b01pgs6s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Counterpoint (b08258hv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Chambers (b007jpd0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Edgar Wallace - Educated Evans (b03yzlyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b080t886)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Paul Temple (b007swg7)
Paul Temple and the Lawrence Affair, Return to London
With the case nearly cracked - the suave detective invites all the suspects to a cocktail party.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife. With Lester Mudditt as Sir Graham Forbes.
With Dorothy Holmes-Gore as Mary Gardner, John Gabriel as Ernest de Silva, Arthur Ridley as Detective Inspector Vosper and Manning Wilson as Detective Inspector Ivor.
From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case.
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1954.
WED 06:30 Good in Vestments (b011p7sr)
Amidst the rustle of silk, the drape of damask and the questions over whether the green or the red lining is better, the Reverend Richard Coles explores the ancient tradition of ecclesiastical vestment-wearing.
At the recent Royal Wedding, all eyes may have been on Catherine Middleton's dress, but the magnificent vestments worn by the Archbishop of Canterbury also caught peoples' attention.
Why do clergy still wear these clothes, who designs and sews them and has the emergence of women priests made any difference to who's wearing what in church?
In this programme, Rev Richard Coles talks to various members of the clergy and historians to find out more about the traditions and developments in the way vestments have been adopted by Anglicans and Catholics.
He goes to one of London's oldest vestment companies to meet priests being measured for their new clothes, and to talk to the seamstresses who stitch the chasubles and stoles by hand.
As well as hearing about the traditional designs, he investigates how some clergy are seeking out new pictures and patterns - and asks what that says about the role of vestments in an increasingly secular society.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
WED 07:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k23r)
Series 2, Direct Action
A man with a tape measure spells trouble for Rabbi Fine. Stars Tracy-Ann Oberman and David de Keyser. From September 2000.
WED 07:30 Rich Hall's (US Election) Breakdown (b080w5pw)
Multi award-winning comedian and US Citizen Rich Hall follows the closing stages of the US Presidential race, offering an acerbic look at the electoral system and the two candidates vying for the most important job in the world.
A combination of stand-up, sketch and interview, Rich Hall's (US Election) Breakdown broadcasts live from the fictional IBBC network in Washington to the whole of the United States.
Rich and his producer Nick Doody take calls from every corner of the United States to hear the concerns of voters, offering their take on the issues troubling the American electorate.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b03ph1bs)
Frustrating the Spark of Invention
Can Able Seaman Johnson win a 'man-powered flight' competition, despite the assistance of Pertwee?
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Heather, Ronnie Barker as Able Seaman Johnson, Tenniel Evans as Taffy Goldstein and Michael Bates as the Padre.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1967.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
The Student Prince
The lad is lured to Moravia as an unknowing decoy for the endangered Crown Prince.
Starring Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1956.
WED 09:00 The Food Quiz (b0076tc6)
Series 3, Episode 1
4 Extra Debut. On Jay Rayner's menu are Stephen Fry, Elisabeth Luard, Cyrus Todiwala and Clarissa Dickson Wright. From August 2005.
WED 09:30 Up the Garden Path (b007zj4x)
Series 1, Over and Out
Maria makes up with hubby Gwyn, and Izzy has a surprise for Michael and Louise. Stars Imelda Staunton. From December 1987.
WED 10:00 Classic Serial (b00d6432)
Tobias Smollett - The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Episode 1
Tobias Smollet's uproarious satire of 18th-century life, dramatised by Yvonne Antrobus.
Squire Bramble and family embark on their whistle-stop tour of Great Britain. They encounter adventure, mayhem and the enigmatic Humphry Clinker.
Mathew Bramble ...... Nigel Anthony
Tabitha Bramble ...... Marcia Warren
Lydia Melford ...... Helen Longworth
Jery Melford ...... Dan Starkey
Winifred Jenkins ...... Joanna Page
Humphry Clinker ...... Stuart McLoughlin
Sir Ulic Mackilligut ...... Sam Dale
John Thomas ...... Ben Crowe
Barton ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Lord Newcastle ...... John Rowe
Other parts played by Stephen Critchlow, Liz Sutherland and Chris Pavlo.
Directed by Marc Beeby.
WED 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf8jk)
Scaling Never
Young Jacob is the son of a Mormon church leader. When his sister Issy dies, he hopes that she might be resurrected - in the same way that miracles occur in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. Read by Emma Fielding.
This story - Scaling Never - was the basis for Carys Bray's triumphant first novel, A Song for Issy Bradley, which was broadcast on Book At Bedtime on BBC Radio 4.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
WED 11:15 The Charm Factory (b03h7z6g)
Series 2, Answer Me
In 1950s London, Phyllis Dent is a successful star. But her gambling husband Eddie is on the way down. With Luisa Bradshaw-White.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b03ph1bs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Paul Temple (b007swg7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Good in Vestments (b011p7sr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pg553)
Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek, Episode 3
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 3
Dona is captured by pirates, which is not altogether unpleasant, and finds she is not the only one who has come to Navron for refuge.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017x0vh)
A Culture of Letters
During the eighteenth century an expanding postal network offered new possibilities for long-distance relationships. From travelling preachers to sailors and their families, people from all backgrounds found ways to write home.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Historical Consultant: Susan Whyman
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors:Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlw)
The Nurse
Maureen can't understand what all the fuss is about. A nurse is due at her house any minute, and she is not looking forward to it. Stars Val McLane.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b019lzgl)
Stop What You're Doing and Read This, Mindful Reading
Passionate, funny, revelatory and inspiring, this series is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading; about the way it inspires us, the tangible impact it can have on our well-being and the importance it holds for us now and will continue to hold in the future.
Stop What You're Doing And Read This! features five of our finest authors and advocates from the world of publishing. Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Carmen Callil and Mark Haddon, are all united here in a passionate belief in the distinctive and irreplaceable pleasures and powers of reading. Their essays argue that reading literature is, and must continue to be, a fundamental part of our daily life, as it directly improves our mental health and well-being, enriches our experience and broadens our imaginations.
As the ways people read, what they read, where they buy their books and in what format are all changing rapidly, this series argues unapologetically for the paramount importance of books and reading in a fast-moving, dislocated, technology-obsessed world.
In 'Mindful Reading' Tim Parks revels in the very particular impact of letters and words on a page, on how they impact our senses and transport us and on what reading really means in the fullest sense - from the functional to the evocative and enriching.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Classic Serial (b00d6432)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The Food Quiz (b0076tc6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Up the Garden Path (b007zj4x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k23r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Rich Hall's (US Election) Breakdown (b080w5pw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g97vd)
The Dream in the Dead House
An Englishman in Munich receives a most unexpected rescue. Another tale from the Dracula author, read by Dyfed Thomas.
WED 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jhdgj)
Chronicles of Ait - The Saxon Stones, Episode 3
Written by Michael Butt
Chronicles of Ait -The Saxon Stones finds author and one-time TV historian Linus Scott returning to the remote east coast settlement of Ait to attend the funeral of his childhood mentor, Kenrick, a scholar of Old English who had rescued the young boy from a problem background. But also attending the ceremony is a stranger, Alice Pyper, who, to Scott's surprise, appears to have had some connection to the deceased man. When Alice begins snooping around Kenrick's house, Scott confronts her, and the first door is opened onto a labyrinthine mystery that leads deep into the history of the Saxon Stones and the ominous myth of Dracamuth.
Cast:
Linus Scott . . . . . Greg Wise
Alice Pyper . . . . . Amanda Drew
Darlene . . . . . Heather Craney
Thurgis . . . . . Richard Hope
Irwin . . . . . Christopher James
Lord Ethel . . . . . Jonathan Keeble
Produced & Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00l5mhs)
Vegas
4 Extra Debut. Dominic Arkwright, Joe Queenan, Karen Marchbank and Michael Simkins debate the excesses and quirks of Las Vegas. From June 2009.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b03ph1bs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Paul Temple (b007swg7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Good in Vestments (b011p7sr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf8jk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 The Charm Factory (b03h7z6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Rich Hall's (US Election) Breakdown (b080w5pw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Meera Syal's Asian Comedy Night (b01qdwwr)
Episode 1
Meera Syal and Tommy Sandhu introduce a celebration of British Asian stand up comedy from the BBC Radio Theatre in London.
With Shazia Mirza, Imran Yusuf, Humza Badman, Kulvinder Ghir, Hyde Panesar and Pakistan's first stand up comedian Sami Shah.
Producer: Jon Holmes
Made for the BBC Asian Network by Tonic Productions and first broadcast in July 2012.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b083cs8x)
The best in contemporary comedy. Cariad Lloyd chats to Paul Foxcroft about all things improv.
WED 23:00 Ivor Cutler - A Stuggy Pren (b00d45qp)
Episode 5
Songster Ivor Cutler slips a disc and shares his secrets about moonshine, housemaids and a bully called Smith.
WED 23:15 All the World's a Globe (b007jwwz)
Episode 8
The National Theatre of Brent's definitive history of Earth reaches the 20th century, with special guest Ben Kingsley. From June 1990.
WED 23:30 In and Out of the Kitchen (b016x4sv)
Series 1, April 21st to 25th
Each episode of In And Out Of The Kitchen comprises the entries from the kitchen diary of cookery writer, Damien Trench. In a mixture of narrative, dialogue and recipes, Damien unflinchingly captures every angle of his day-to-day life, "no matter how grizzly or, indeed, how gristly".
This second episode finds Damien reluctantly drawn into accepting a job for a supermarket's online magazine, whilst Anthony resolves to start the "courgette diet" and lose a few pounds.
The programme also features Damien's easy-to-follow recipes for:
- a simple Lobster Bisque
- comforting Lardy Cake
- relaxing Nettle Tea
and
- easy Wiener Schnitzel.
Cast:
Miles Jupp as Damien Trench
Justin Edwards as Anthony
with
Margaret Cabourn-Smith as Geraldine McBeef
Brendan Dempsey as Mr Mullaney
Philip Fox as Ian Frobisher
Producer: Sam Michell.

THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016

THU 00:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g97vd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jhdgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00l5mhs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Paul Temple (b007swg7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Good in Vestments (b011p7sr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pg553)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017x0vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b019lzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Classic Serial (b00d6432)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Food Quiz (b0076tc6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Up the Garden Path (b007zj4x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k23r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Rich Hall's (US Election) Breakdown (b080w5pw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01c8cbq)
Episode 1
Grand Central station, New York. 1:23pm. What starts as a normal day on the city subway becomes a race against time when a busy commuter train is hijacked - by four armed men. As the hostages await their fate, a terrifying game of cat and mouse begins...
Read by William Hope.
John Godey's thriller abridged in 5-parts by Neville Teller.
A best-seller in 1973, 'The Taking of Pelham 123' was made into the 1974 film starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, a 1998 TV-movie remake of the same title, and a 2009 film starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. The novel's impact - and that of the subsequent 1974 film - apparently resulted in New York's City Transit Authority banning any scheduling of a train departing Pelham station at 1:23 for many years.
Using the pen name John Godey, Brooklyn-born author Morton Freedgood's crime novels include 'A Thrill a Minute With Jack Albany', 'Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Kill Today' and 'The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome'.
Producer: Heather Larmour
Made for BBC Radio Extra by BBC Northern Ireland.
First broadcast in 2012.
THU 06:30 Tales from the Digital Archive (b010m9sw)
Once a writer's archive consisted of letters, badly-typed first drafts and corrected manuscripts. But now they write on computers and communicate by email, what clues to their creative process remain? Archaeologist Christine Finn sets out to explore how the new generation of archive from the digital age will be made accessible to future generations.
She hears from Erika Farr, the Coordinator for Digital Archives at Emory University in America, which recently acquired Salman Rushdie's archive. It is a definitive 21st century archive, including emails, discs, and the computers on which he wrote his best-selling books.
Meanwhile the British Library is also addressing the digital challenge. Christine meets their first-ever Curator of Digital Manuscripts, Jeremy John, who explains how they're developing a 21st century approach to the preservation of the writer's environment. Instead of having to travel to Ted Hughes' Devon home to view his work-place, devotees will be able to access a digital reconstruction of his study via th BL website.
Christine Finn also discusses the impact of technology on the art of archiving the work of writers and poets with novelist Fay Weldon, exploring how these developments affect authors, their readers, and potential biographers. She hears from Margaret Atwood's biographer, Professor Nathalie Cooke, Associate Provost of McGill University in Montreal, and from Bobby Friedman, who has written an unofficial biography of politician John Bercow.
The traditional lament is the loss of data, as email replaces letters and drafts disappear with the delete key. But here Finn celebrates the new technology that is as much a part of an archive as the words themselves.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
THU 07:00 Any Other Business (b013n7gx)
Episode 5
The argy bargy of Chesbury politics presents a brand new Chestnut and a spot of blackmail.
Lucy Flannery's local government sitcom stars Nelson David, John Duttine, James Grout, Rosy Fordham, Nick Hardy, Howard Lew Lewis, Toby Longworth, Jan Ravens, Vivienne Rochester and June Whitfield.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1995.
THU 07:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b080xj88)
An Encounter with Mr Newton
Lucy Porter's sitcom set in pre-enlightenment Edinburgh. This week intellectual giant Isaac Newton (Gavin Mitchell) is in town and he's struggling with a new theory to explain why things keep falling on his head.
He encounters the members of the Fair Intellectual club - a secret society for the scholarly improvement of young ladies. With the help of carefree socialite Ishbel (Caroline Deyga), devout clergyman's daughter Marjory (Samara Maclaren) and maths boffin Alison (Jessica Hardwick), the penny finally drops.
Mr Newton also has to contend with Alison's idiot brother Robert (Simon Donaldson), Ishbel's ancient retainer Kennedy (Gordon Kennedy) and a rented pineapple.
Music by Aly Macrae
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b03tr5pj)
Doddy's Comic Cuts
What a wonderful day it is for proving married couples can be genuinely happy! Ken has his work cut out. From January 1974.
THU 08:30 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b01sjj1t)
From 01/05/1978
Chips connoisseurs - and Ern hires a French au pair, in the legendary comic duo's final show for the BBC.
With Anne Hamilton and Allan Cuthbertson and a song from The Nolan Sisters.
Written and adapted by Eddie Braben.
Music from Peter Knight and his Orchestra.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in May 1978.
THU 09:00 The Personality Test (b00mf3kk)
Series 2, Roy Hattersley
The former Labour Party deputy leader quizzes a panel about himself. With Sue Perkins and Lucy Porter. From December 2006.
THU 09:30 Crazy Big Fish (b0075zhm)
We Are Family
The Hull women are in the paper and now Sandy, Rita and Gladys are stopping over at Pauline's. Stars Rachel Davies. From December 2000.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b00d8h6p)
Tobias Smollett - The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Episode 2
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Tobias Smollet's uproarious satire of 18th-century life, dramatised by Yvonne Antrobus.
The family is stranded. Bramble is keen to continue their grand tour, but how can they leave London when Humphry is in gaol?
Mathew Bramble ...... Nigel Anthony
Tabitha Bramble ...... Marcia Warren
Lydia Melford ...... Helen Longworth
Jery Melford ...... Dan Starkey
Winifred Jenkins ...... Joanna Page
Humphry Clinker ...... Stuart McLoughlin
Lieutenant Lismahago ...... John Rowe
Mr Martin ...... Chris Pavlo
Mr Micklewhimmen ...... Sam Dale
Dutton/Wilson ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Gaoler ...... Stephen Critchlow
Directed by Marc Beeby.
THU 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yfsgy)
The Rescue
While shopping in a large supermarket, a father starts to watch the rescue of some miners in Chile on one of the televisions on display in the store. He's planning to go and visit his drug-addict son, who has hit 'rock bottom'. He hopes that, somehow, some day, his son too may be rescued. Read by Emma Fielding.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
THU 11:15 The Charm Factory (b03h849l)
Series 2, I Still Believe
1950s London, and film star Alex is back from Hollywood, missing Irene. News forces him to change direction. With Giles Thomas.
THU 12:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b03tr5pj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b01sjj1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01c8cbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Tales from the Digital Archive (b010m9sw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pghc1)
Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek, Episode 4
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 4
Lady Dona socializes with French pirates and English gentry, juggling her two different lives.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017x3pj)
The Mail Coach
Introduced in 1784 the mail coach slashed journey times by two thirds, provided a new state of the art form of public transport, and allowed newspapers to reach the provinces within 24 hours. The time-pieces carried by guards also had the unintended consequence of creating standard UK time in the era before GMT.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines its impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Historical Consultant: Susan Whyman
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors:Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qmd)
The Turkish Bath
Diagnosed with a tumour behind her eye, Maureen plans to meet her old football-playing pal Maud. Stars Val McLane.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b019lzlz)
Stop What You're Doing and Read This, True Daemons
Passionate, funny, revelatory and inspiring, this series is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading; about the way it inspires us, the tangible impact it can have on our well-being and the importance it holds for us now and will continue to hold in the future.
Stop What You're Doing And Read This! features five of our finest authors and advocates from the world of publishing. Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Carmen Callil and Mark Haddon, are all united here in a passionate belief in the distinctive and irreplaceable pleasures and powers of reading. Their essays argue that reading literature is, and must continue to be, a fundamental part of our daily life, as it directly improves our mental health and well-being, enriches our experience and broadens our imaginations.
As the ways people read, what they read, where they buy their books and in what format are all changing rapidly, this series argues unapologetically for the paramount importance of books and reading in a fast-moving, dislocated, technology-obsessed world.
From a childhood on Melbourne's beaches to a publishing career in London, Carmen Callil has been surrounded by and immersed in books. In 'True Daemons' she describes the guiding powers of books and the enrichment she has enjoyed from reading.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b00d8h6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Personality Test (b00mf3kk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Crazy Big Fish (b0075zhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Any Other Business (b013n7gx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b080xj88)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g8bxg)
A Dream of Red Hands
Jacob Settle hides a dark past. What does his dream mean? Another tale from the Dracula author, read by Dyfed Thomas.
THU 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jhjcc)
Chronicles of Ait - The Saxon Stones, Episode 4
Written by Michael Butt
Chronicles of Ait -The Saxon Stones finds author and one-time TV historian Linus Scott returning to the remote east coast settlement of Ait to attend the funeral of his childhood mentor, Kenrick, a scholar of Old English who had rescued the young boy from a problem background. But also attending the ceremony is a stranger, Alice Pyper, who, to Scott's surprise, appears to have had some connection to the deceased man. When Alice begins snooping around Kenrick's house, Scott confronts her, and the first door is opened onto a labyrinthine mystery that leads deep into the history of the Saxon Stones and the ominous myth of Dracamuth.
Cast:
Linus Scott . . . . . Greg Wise
Alice Pyper . . . . . Amanda Drew
Darlene . . . . . Heather Craney
Irwin . . . . . Christopher James
Lord Ethel/Aidan . . . . . Jonathan Keeble
Child Linus . . . . . James Foster
Produced & Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b008khxw)
Series 14, Alfred Russel Wallace
4 Extra Debut. Travel writer Redmond O'Hanlon proposes the pioneering naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. With Matthew Parris. From January 2008.
THU 19:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b03tr5pj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b01sjj1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01c8cbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Tales from the Digital Archive (b010m9sw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yfsgy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 The Charm Factory (b03h849l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 The Fair Intellectual Club (b080xj88)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Strangers on Trains (b00db0x3)
Episode 3
Nat Segnit is on a quest to venture inside travellers' minds with tales of doomed dates. With Stewart Wright. From September 2008.
THU 22:45 One (b007716v)
Series 1, Episode 1
The sketch show where no sketch features more than one voice.
Written by David Quantick and starring Dan Maier, Lizzie Roper, Graeme Garden, Deborah Norton, Andrew Crawford, Dan Antopolski and Jeremy Clarkson as himself.
THU 23:00 Old Harry's Game (b00w6j8w)
Series 6, Discoveries
Satan introduces historian Edith to Adam and Eve, but they are none too bright. Stars Andy Hamilton. From September 2007.
THU 23:30 The Masterson Inheritance (b007jqyg)
Series 3, Masterson Rides Again
The life of young Billy at his Victorian boarding school. Improvised historical family saga with Paul Merton. From July 1995.

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

FRI 00:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g8bxg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jhjcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b008khxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01c8cbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Tales from the Digital Archive (b010m9sw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pghc1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017x3pj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b019lzlz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b00d8h6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Personality Test (b00mf3kk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Crazy Big Fish (b0075zhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Any Other Business (b013n7gx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b080xj88)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01chylv)
Episode 2
With terrified hostages, the brutal hijackers make demands to the Transit Authority. William Hope reads John Godey's thriller.
FRI 06:30 The Poppy Factory (b016x22w)
Chris Ledgard explores the story of The Poppy Factory in Surrey where, for nearly ninety years, former members of the armed forces have made millions of poppies and wreaths for Remembrance Sunday.
In 1922, Major George Howson, the founder of the Disabled Society, wrote to his parents: "I have been given a cheque for £2,000 to make poppies with. It is a large responsibility and will be very difficult. If the experiment is successful it will be the start of an industry to employ 150 men. I do not think it can be a great success, but it is worth doing."
Major Howson's pessimism was short-lived. His workforce grew rapidly and, a few years later, The Poppy Factory had to move from the Old Kent Road in London to bigger premises in Richmond, Surrey. Soon, more than 350 men had jobs there.
The factory is still in the same place and still staffed by former servicemen and women and their dependants, some of whom are coping with stress disorders. We meet them and hear about the history of this remarkable institution. Millions of poppies are now made by home workers in the surrounding area, like Mr and Mrs King, all of whom have a connection with the armed services. We go out in the Poppy Van to meet the Kings who, between them, put together five thousand remembrance poppies a week, every week of the year.
We'll hear how the charity is coping with a dwindling workforce and a shift to mechanised production. Flats on the large Richmond site are now let out to provide money which is being used all over the country to help members of the armed forces find civilian work. Chris discovers how the money helped Caroline Plank, a Territorial Army Signaller with 8 months' service in Afghanistan who now lives on a houseboat on the River Avon.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
FRI 07:00 London Calling (b05ndzw7)
In the Beginning
Back to the BBC's early wireless days of 1922.
The microphone jammed if a speaker talked too loudly, the letters of praise and complaint flooded in, and then a new Director-General, John Brown, came to take over the British Broadcasting Company.
Written by Jimmy Perry, the man behind Dad's Army and Hi-De-Hi.
Starring Graham Crowden as John Brown, Jimmy Perry as Colonel Beecham, Roy Hudd as Fred "Keep 'em Laughing" Hicks, Bill Pertwee as Sergeant Lucas, Jeffrey Holland as Roger Eccles and Joann Munro as Miss Nightingale
Producer: Jo Clegg.
First broadcast nightly on BBC Radio 2 in September 1994.
FRI 07:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01s0qnc)
Series 5, Episode 4
Activist comedian Mark Thomas considers policy suggestions for a People's Manifesto. Recorded in the BBC Radio Theatre, London. Producer: Colin Anderson.
FRI 08:00 Yes Minister (b007jmpx)
Series 1, The Right to Know
MP Jim Hacker tries to excavate himself from problems with badgers.
Starring Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby and Derek Fowldes as Bernard.
With Diana Hoddinott as Annie, Peter Cellier as Sir Frederick and Gerry Cowper as Lucy.
Bill Nighy as Frank Weisel, Richard Vernon as Sir Desmond, Richard Davies as Morgan and Arthur Cox as George.
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn satirical sitcom ran on BBC TV between 1980 and 1984. Yes Minister is centred around the hapless Jim Hacker and a collection of civil service underlings headed by the Machiavellian Sir Humphrey Appleby and obsequious Bernard.
Adapted for radio by producer Pete Atkin.
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1983.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jv9v)
The Spon Plague
Britain is gripped by a strange epidemic - leaving a path of bare knees in its wake. Stars Spike Milligan. From March 1958.
FRI 09:00 The 3rd Degree (b041vvvy)
Series 4, Aberystwyth University
A quiz show hosted by Steve Punt where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from Aberystwyth University, "The 3rd Degree" is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners whilst delighting the current ones.
The Specialist Subjects in this episode are Welsh Literature & Folklore, Information Management and Art History and the questions involve alien visitations, a mechanical lifesize doll, a perfect circle, a shark, some scorpions and Swedish massage.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
Together with host Steve Punt, the show tours the (sometimes posh, sometimes murky, but always welcoming!) Union buildings, cafés and lecture halls of six universities across the UK.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction... In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, were particularly lively, and offered plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides...
The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list...
In this series, the universities are Bristol, Kent, Bedfordshire, Birmingham, Nottingham & Aberystwyth.
Overflow (incl Cast Lists)
The host, Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show is also someone who delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. As well as "The Now Show" he has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, on subjects as varied as "The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen" and "Getting The Gongs" - an investigation into awards ceremonies - as well as a half-hour comedy for Radio 4's 2008 Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called "The Genuine Particle". This makes him the perfect host for a show which aims to be an intellectual, fulfilling and informative quiz, but with wit and a genuine delight in exploring the subjects at hand.
The 3rd Degree is a Pozzitive production, produced by David Tyler. His radio credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Cabin Pressure, Bigipedia, The Brig Society, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The 99p Challenge, My First Planet, The Castle and even, going back a bit, Radio Active. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul & Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan's Run, The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon and exec producing Victoria Wood's dinnerladies.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 09:30 No Commitments (b01r7mlb)
Series 11, Taking Chances
Victoria and Roger have money worries, while Anna has got a secret to keep for Emily. Stars Rosemary Leach. From February 2005.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b00dcgdw)
Tobias Smollett - The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Episode 3
Tobias Smollet's uproarious satire of 18th-century life, dramatised by Yvonne Antrobus.
The Bramble family's adventures continue as they begin the long trip home, a journey full of surprises and unexpected revelations.
Mathew Bramble ...... Nigel Anthony
Tabitha Bramble ...... Marcia Warren
Lydia Melford ...... Helen Longworth
Jery Melford ...... Dan Starkey
Winifred Jenkins ...... Joanna Page
Humphry Clinker ...... Stuart McLoughlin
Lieutenant Lismahago ...... John Rowe
Sir Thomas Bullford ...... Trevor Peacock
Oxmington/Dennison ...... Sam Dale
Wilson/French valet ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Frogmore ...... Stephen Critchlow
Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Joan Walker and Ben Crowe.

Directed by Marc Beeby.
FRI 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yg5pg)
Under Covers
Carol Evans's bra has blown off the washing line into some tall leyandii. As she struggles to retrieve it, two teenage girls next door laugh cruelly at their elderly, widowed neighbour. Their thoughtless comments are juxtaposed with Carol's own recollections of her deceased husband - with whom she continued to enjoy a warm and loving relationship following her mastectomy. Clever and moving story read by Emma Fielding.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
FRI 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b0196td4)
Jo Shapcott - Erebus
A poetic drama by Jo Shapcott about the search for the North-West Passage. The 1845 expedition led by John Franklin was lost in the ice and never returned. The mysteries remain. In the intervening time rescue and, subsequently, archaeological expeditions have gone in search of clues as to what went wrong. Fragments of evidence have been found in the ice and latterly frozen bodies too. Why did the mission fail, did the sailors resort to eating their colleagues, were there encounters with Inuit and if so what did the local ice-experts make of the men who carried an organ and a library of books with them as they struggled from their ice-bound ships looking for help?
With Russell Boulter, David Birrell, Peter Marinker, John Mackay and Jasmine Hyde. Music by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Tim Dee.
FRI 12:00 Yes Minister (b007jmpx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jv9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01chylv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Poppy Factory (b016x22w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01pglw6)
Daphne Du Maurier - Frenchman's Creek, Episode 5
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 5
Dona enjoys her newfound secret friendship and is invited to accompany the pirates on their next adventure.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017x4fv)
Freepost
In the early 1800s the post office operated an expensive and illogical payment system. This forced letter-writers into ever more imaginative ways of avoiding postage, from using private couriers, to hiding letters in barrels of butter, to sending coded newspapers. MPs were allowed to send letters for free, but as only a signature was required it created a system that was ripe for abuse.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Historical Consultant: Susan Whyman
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors:Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qmw)
Carla's Facial
Maureen does not let her tumour diagnosis stop her from going for a facial appointment with her daughter. Stars Val McClane.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b019lzsy)
Stop What You're Doing and Read This, The Right Words in the Right Order
Passionate, funny, revelatory and inspiring, this series is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading; about the way it inspires us, the tangible impact it can have on our well-being and the importance it holds for us now and will continue to hold in the future.
Stop What You're Doing And Read This! features five of our finest authors and advocates from the world of publishing. Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Carmen Callil and Mark Haddon, are all united here in a passionate belief in the distinctive and irreplaceable pleasures and powers of reading. Their essays argue that reading literature is, and must continue to be, a fundamental part of our daily life, as it directly improves our mental health and well-being, enriches our experience and broadens our imaginations.
As the ways people read, what they read, where they buy their books and in what format are all changing rapidly, this series argues unapologetically for the paramount importance of books and reading in a fast-moving, dislocated, technology-obsessed world.
From the moment he won six Penguin Classics in a school competition Mark Haddon has been an avid reader. But it's not the plots of books he focuses on but the words themselves, the images they conjure up, the world's they introduce him to. In 'The Right Words In the Right Order' he explains how reading, and reading the right books at the right time is a life-enhancing experience.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b00dcgdw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The 3rd Degree (b041vvvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 No Commitments (b01r7mlb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 London Calling (b05ndzw7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01s0qnc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Bram Stoker - Midnight Tales (b01g9873)
The Squaw
An arrogant American earns himself a truly horrific retribution. The final tale from the Dracula author, read by Dyfed Thomas.
FRI 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b01jhnyc)
Chronicles of Ait - The Saxon Stones, Episode 5
Written by Michael Butt
Chronicles of Ait -The Saxon Stones finds author and one-time TV historian Linus Scott returning to the remote east coast settlement of Ait to attend the funeral of his childhood mentor, Kenrick, a scholar of Old English who had rescued the young boy from a problem background. But also attending the ceremony is a stranger, Alice Pyper, who, to Scott's surprise, appears to have had some connection to the deceased man. When Alice begins snooping around Kenrick's house, Scott confronts her, and the first door is opened onto a labyrinthine mystery that leads deep into the history of the Saxon Stones and the ominous myth of Dracamuth.
Cast:
Linus Scott . . . . . Greg Wise
Alice Pyper . . . . . Amanda Drew
Darlene . . . . . Heather Craney
Thurgis . . . . . Richard Hope
Irwin . . . . . Christopher James
Lord Ethel . . . . . Jonathan Keeble
Child Linus . . . . . James Foster
Produced & Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b00zlk07)
Series 11, Schubert's Winterreise
Schubert's Winterreise
Written the year before Schubert's death aged just 31, these 24 songs based on poems by Wilhelm Müller describe a journey that takes us ever deeper into the frozen landscape of the soul. Singers Thomas Hampson, Mark Padmore, Alice Coote and David Pisaro describe the experience of immersing themselves in this music. And Bernard Keefe tells of the time he sang these songs in Hiroshima to survivors of the bomb.
Producer, Rosie Boulton.
FRI 19:00 Yes Minister (b007jmpx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jv9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 John Godey - The Taking of Pelham 123 (b01chylv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 The Poppy Factory (b016x22w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yg5pg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b0196td4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01s0qnc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Nurse (b03w18yq)
Series 1, Episode 2
A brand new series starring Paul Whitehouse and Esther Coles, with Rosie Cavaliero, Simon Day, Cecilia Noble and Marcia Warren.
The series follows Elizabeth, a Community Psychiatric Nurse in her forties, into the homes of her patients (or Service Users in today's jargon). It recounts their humorous, sad and often bewildering daily interactions with the nurse, whose job is to assess their progress, dispense their medication and offer comfort and support.
Compassionate and caring, Elizabeth is aware that she cannot cure her patients, only help them manage their various conditions. She visits the following characters throughout the series:
Lorrie and Maurice: Lorrie, in her fifties, is of Caribbean descent and has schizophrenia. Lorrie's life is made tolerable by her unshakeable faith in Jesus, and Maurice, who has a crush on her and wants to do all he can to help. So much so that he ends up getting on everyone's nerves.
Billy: Billy feels safer in jail than outside, a state of affairs the nurse is trying to rectify. She is hampered by the ubiquitous presence of Billy's mate, Tony.
Graham: in his forties, is morbidly obese due to an eating disorder. Matters aren't helped by his mum 'treating' him to sugary and fatty snacks at all times.
Ray: is bipolar and a rock and roll survivor from the Sixties. It is not clear how much of his 'fame' is simply a product of his imagination.
Phyllis: in her seventies, has Alzheimer's. She is sweet, charming and exasperating. Her son Gary does his best but if he has to hear 'I danced for the Queen Mum once' one more time he will explode.
Herbert is an old school gentleman in his late Seventies. Herbert corresponds with many great literary figures unconcerned that they are, for the most part, dead.
Nurse is written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings, who have collaborated many time in the past, including on The Fast Show, Down the Line and Happiness.
Written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with additional material from Esther Coles
Producers: Paul Whitehouse and Tilusha Ghelani
A Down the Line production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 22:45 Jigsaw (b01qwgm6)
Series 1, Episode 2
Stand-up comedians Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema combine their talents to piece together a rapid-fire and surreal sketch show. Produced by Colin Anderson.
FRI 23:00 Blue Jam (b08262wb)
Series 3, Episode 3
From the mind of Chris Morris leaks onto radio in this dreamlike combination of comedy and music. Julia Davis, Kevin Eldon, David Cann, Mark Heap and Amelia Bullmore.
Are you still lying curare-still, seeking relief in feigning dead? Then welcome, oo-tazz welcome. Chris Morris is here to help you wallow in the melancholy, for third series of this subversive radio classic.
Immediately prior to Blue Jam's initial burst on radio, Chris Morris had caused a furore with Channel 4's Brass Eye. Yet Blue Jam managed to be a total departure from his previous work. Originally airing in the early hours on BBC Radio 1, it's a blend of ambient music, deadpan ( sometimes brutal ) sketches and offbeat monologues. A whole audio landscape of the subconscious, the ad-hoc low-fi sheen of production lending it a kind of verisimilitude.
In sharp contrast with the personality-led comedies of recent years, Blue Jam makes a virtue of anonymity. Borat scribe Pater Baynham and Father Ted creator Graham Linehan are among the writers. Rightly winning a clutch of Sony Awards, it remains unique - nothing before or after was remotely like it.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in February 1999.