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SAT SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER 2015 SAT SAT 00:00 Midnight News b06rk6qw (Listen) SAT The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. SAT Followed by Weather. SAT SAT 00:30 Book of the Week b06sxw4z (Listen) SAT My History, Episode 5 SAT SAT The early life of historian Lady Antonia Fraser. Her memoir SAT describes growing up in the 1930s and 1940s but its real SAT concern is with her growing love of History. The fascination SAT began as a child - and developed into an enduring passion. SAT She writes, 'for me, the study of History has always been an SAT essential part of the enjoyment of life'. SAT SAT Born Antonia Pakenham, the eldest of the eight children of SAT the future Lord and Lady Longford, her childhood was spent SAT in Oxford where her father was a don at Christ Church. SAT Evacuation at the beginning of the war to a romantic SAT Elizabethan manor house near Oxford was an inspiration for SAT historical imaginings. There were adventures in SAT Anglo-Ireland at Dunsany Castle and Pakenham Hall, each SAT offering her treasured links to the past, which became SAT private obsessions. SAT SAT North Oxford wartime life included four years as one of the SAT few girls then admitted to the Dragon School for Boys, SAT followed by time at a convent school after her family's SAT conversion to Catholicism. Antonia's father joined the SAT Labour Government in 1945 as a Minister, which provided an SAT odd background for exploits such as working in a Bond Street SAT hat shop and a season as a self-made debutante. A job in SAT publishing, by a fortunate coincidence, followed Oxford SAT University and then the dramatic leap forward with the SAT publishing of Mary Queen of Scots, which became a worldwide SAT bestseller to general amazement - including that of the SAT author. SAT SAT In the final episode, Antonia Pakenham - now Fraser after SAT her marriage to MP Hugh Fraser - writes her first serious SAT book, a biography of Mary Queen of Scots, transforming her SAT life. SAT SAT A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT Credits SAT Author: Antonia Fraser SAT SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06rk6r2 (Listen) SAT The latest shipping forecast. SAT SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06rk6r6 (Listen) SAT SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06rk6r9 (Listen) SAT The latest shipping forecast. SAT SAT 05:30 News Briefing b06rk6rc (Listen) SAT The latest news from BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day b06s1s8b (Listen) SAT A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with SAT Cardinal Vincent Nichols. SAT SAT 05:45 iPM b06s6mdd (Listen) SAT 'I'm not ok' SAT SAT The programme that starts with its listeners. SAT SAT 06:00 News and Papers b06rk6rh (Listen) SAT The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers. SAT SAT 06:04 Weather b06rk6rm (Listen) SAT The latest weather forecast. SAT SAT 06:07 Open Country b06s0njl (Listen) SAT The Northern Lights at Christmas SAT SAT For a Christmas special Helen Mark visits the snow covered SAT landscape of Swedish Lapland in search of the mythical, and SAT often elusive, Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. In Sami SAT culture the lights are thought to emanate from the souls of SAT the dead and must be treated with immense respect. SAT Traditionally the Sami remained indoors during a display but SAT today the chance of seeing the Northern Lights brings many SAT visitors to this remote part of Sweden. Helen Mark hears SAT about the mythology which surrounds the Aurora and travels SAT by sled, snowmobile and foot to try to catch a glimpse for SAT herself. Along the way she uncovers a dramatic mountainous SAT landscape. SAT SAT 06:30 Farming Today b06s6mds (Listen) SAT Farming Today This Week SAT SAT The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. SAT Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Campbell. SAT SAT 06:57 Weather b06rk6rp (Listen) SAT The latest weather forecast. SAT SAT 07:00 Today b06s6tl9 (Listen) SAT Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in SAT Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day. SAT SAT 09:00 Saturday Live b06s6mdz (Listen) SAT Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at SAT the world. SAT SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet b06s6mf6 (Listen) SAT Series 12, Stonehenge SAT SAT Jay Rayner hosts the culinary panel programme from SAT Stonehenge. SAT SAT Audience questions are answered by food historian Dr Annie SAT Gray, master of DIY cooking Tim Hayward, Scottish chef with SAT a Catalan twist Rachel McCormack, and the singer-turned-chef SAT Andi Oliver. SAT SAT This week, the panel discuss midwinter rituals, the history SAT of festive dining, and how best to use bones in cooking. SAT They also consider the merits of neolithic eating. SAT SAT Produced by Darby Dorras SAT Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton SAT SAT Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun SAT SAT A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 11:00 Week in Westminster b06s6mfc (Listen) SAT Steve Richards of The Independent looks behind the scenes at SAT Westminster. SAT It was a year of unexpected developments at Westminster - SAT the Conservatives won a majority in the May General SAT Election, the SNP gained almost all the Scottish seats at SAT Westminster, the Liberal Democrats were nearly eliminated, SAT and the backbench left wing MP Jeremy Corbyn became leader SAT of the Labour party. Steve Richards talks to the SNP leader SAT at Westminster, Angus Robertson, and also to the Liberal SAT Democrat leader Tim Farron, about their reversals of SAT fortune. And with fellow Week In Westminster presenters SAT Isabel Hardman of the Spectator and Helen Lewis of the New SAT Statesman, he considers what all these changes portend. SAT SAT The Editor is Marie Jessel. SAT SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent b06rk6s0 (Listen) SAT Damascus Rules SAT SAT Almost better than travelling yourself! Insight, wit and SAT colour from around the globe. In this one: the tablecloth SAT approach to ending war -- serious discussions about how to SAT end the fighting in Syria; the end of another long conflict SAT may be in sight as the government in Bogota signs an interim SAT peace deal with Colombia's FARC rebels; arguments intensify SAT over territorial claims in the South China Sea -- we meet SAT Vietnamese fishermen who now find themselves in the front SAT line; the Turks and the Hungarians redouble their search for SAT the missing heart of Suleiman the Magnificent, but why are SAT they bothering? And they've got problems in Rome: alleged SAT corruption in high places, organised crime, traditional SAT shops and businesses being chased away. But the Romans are SAT putting all this to one side, at least for a few days. After SAT all, it's Christmas! And there are menus to be planned! SAT SAT 12:00 News Summary b06rk6s9 (Listen) SAT The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 12:04 Money Box b06s6mfh (Listen) SAT The Swiss bank to start charging for holding your money SAT SAT From the New Year a Swiss bank will become the first to SAT start charging customers negative interest rates. The Chief SAT Economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane has described SAT the ability to impose negative interest rates on currency SAT the "most radical and durable option" to encourage spending. SAT But could it ever happen here? SAT SAT Are the Government's plans to extend pensions freedoms to SAT people who have bought an annuity a 'step too far'? From SAT April 2016, the government will remove the restrictions on SAT buying and selling existing annuities to allow pensioners to SAT sell the income they receive for an upfront cash sum. The SAT financial services regulator has said this presents a bigger SAT consumer protection concern than the pensions freedoms. We SAT discuss with former Pensions Minister Steve Webb and Billy SAT Burrows, an independent retirement expert. SAT SAT Dido Harding, Chief Executive of Talk Talk, has been in SAT front of the Culture Select Committee this week being SAT quizzed by MPs about cyber security, following a data breach SAT in October. We speak to some of the listeners who contacted SAT us at the time. SAT SAT And UK businesses face more than £1bn in costs from the SAT introduction of the National Living Wage next year, SAT according to government advisors. Julie Abraham is from SAT hi-fi store Richer Sounds who already pay above the new SAT National Living Wage. She discusses with Rob Payne from Best SAT Western Hotels who is concerned that it will change the face SAT of the British hospitality industry. SAT SAT Presenter: Paul Lewis SAT Producer: Alex Lewis SAT Editor: Andrew Smith. SAT SAT Related links SAT SAT SAT BBC News: Pensions: Retirees can sell annuities from April SAT 2017 SAT Gov.UK: Millions given freedom over their pension as SAT government outlines new secondary annuity market SAT The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) SAT SAT Gov.UK: Pension Wise SAT Parliament.UK: TalkTalk Chief Executive questioned on SAT company's data handling practices SAT TalkTalk SAT Action Fraud SAT Gov.UK: National Living Wage (NLW) SAT Gov.UK: The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations SAT 2016 SAT Living Wage Foundation SAT Acas: Pay SAT SAT SAT Alternative Bank Switzerland SAT BBC News: Why use negative interest rates? SAT SAT 12:30 The Now Show b06s1gcg (Listen) SAT Series 47, Episode 6 SAT SAT Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Jon Holmes, John SAT Finnemore, Jess Ransom, Jasper Rees, Jake Yapp and Harry the SAT Piano for a festive look at the week's news. SAT SAT Written by the cast with additional material from Gareth SAT Gwynn, Max Davis, Liam Beirne, Sarah Campbell and Rebecca SAT Channon. SAT SAT Produced by Alexandra Smith. SAT SAT Credits SAT Presenter: Steve Punt SAT Presenter: Hugh Dennis SAT Performer: Jon Holmes SAT Performer: John Finnemore SAT Performer: Jasper Rees SAT Performer: Jessica Ransom SAT Performer: Jake Yapp SAT Performer: Harry the Piano SAT Producer: Alexandra Smith SAT SAT 12:57 Weather b06rk6sl (Listen) SAT The latest weather forecast. SAT SAT 13:00 News b06rk6ss (Listen) SAT The latest news from BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 13:10 Any Questions? b06s1gcl (Listen) SAT Kate Hoey MP, Bernard Jenkin MP, Laura Sandys, Roland Rudd SAT SAT Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion SAT from Figheldean Village Hall near Salisbury with a panel SAT including the Labour MP Kate Hoey, Conservative MP and Chair SAT of the Public Administration Committee Bernard Jenkin, Chair SAT of the European Movement Laura Sandys and the Chair of SAT Business for New Europe Roland Rudd. SAT SAT 14:00 Any Answers? b06s6n4k (Listen) SAT Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any SAT Questions? SAT SAT 14:30 Drama b06s6n4m (Listen) SAT Inspector Chen Novels, When Red Is Black SAT SAT Inspector Chen: When Red is Black SAT SAT by Qiu Xiaolong SAT SAT dramatised by John Harvey SAT SAT Crime drama set in early 1990s Shanghai. When Chen agrees to SAT do a translation job for a property developer he is given a SAT laptop, a 'little secretary' to provide for his every need, SAT and medical care for his mother. There are, it seems, no SAT strings attached . . . and then the murder of a dissident SAT writer is reported. SAT SAT Director: David Hunter SAT SAT The third dramatisation in the Inspector Chen series, SAT following on from Death of a Red Heroine & A Loyal Character SAT Dancer. SAT SAT When the murder of a dissident writer is reported Sergeant SAT Yu is forced to take charge of the investigation. The SAT victim, a middle-aged teacher with a dissident past and a SAT book notorious in the West, has been found dead in her tiny SAT room in a converted multi-family house. It is only when SAT Chen, on leave to complete a lucrative translation project SAT gets involved, and the past excavated, that the murderer is SAT eventually found. SAT SAT Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. As well as writing SAT the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, SAT he is also the author of two books of poetry translations, SAT Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang SAT (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China SAT (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have SAT been published in twenty languages. He lives in St. Louis, SAT USA with his wife and daughter. SAT SAT Credits SAT Inspector Chen: Jamie Zubairi SAT Detective Yu: Dan Li SAT Peiqin: Sarah Lam SAT Gu: Ewan Bailey SAT Old Liang: Gerard McDermott SAT Party Secretary Li: Daniel York SAT Huang: Richard Pepple SAT Lanlan: Tina Chiang SAT Qiao Ming: Chris Pavlo SAT Peng: Debra Baker SAT White Cloud: Elizabeth Chan SAT Jia: George Watkins SAT Boa Hung: Leo Wan SAT Author: Qiu Xiaolong SAT Adaptor: John Harvey SAT Director: David Hunter SAT SAT 15:30 Soul Music b06ry20g (Listen) SAT Series 21, Nimrod SAT SAT Edward Elgar's incomparable Nimrod, and the part it plays in SAT people's lives, is explored this week: SAT SAT Composed as part of the Enigma Variations in the latter part SAT of the 19th century, Nimrod was inspired by Elgar's friend SAT and music editor, Augustus Jaeger. SAT SAT In an interview for this programme, Jaeger's granddaughter, SAT Gillian Scully, talks about her grandfather and describes SAT hearing her own granddaughter playing Nimrod at a school SAT concert. SAT SAT It wasn't what Elgar intended, but Nimrod is now - and, SAT probably, forever - associated with Remembrance. The Right SAT Reverend Nigel McCulloch - National Chaplain to the Royal SAT British Legion - talks about hearing it played at the SAT Festival of Remembrance in the Royal Albert Hall stirring SAT memories of his own father who died in WW2, and serving as a SAT reminder of all those lost or injured in war. SAT SAT Margaret Evison's son, Lieutenant Mark Evison of the Welsh SAT Guards, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Nimrod played an SAT important part in his funeral which was held at The Guard's SAT Chapel in London. SAT SAT For Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive of the charity SAT Turning Point, Nimrod is a piece that reminds him of his SAT father and the struggles he had as a Nigerian immigrant to SAT the UK. SAT SAT Composer and conductor, Paul Spicer, plays through Nimrod at SAT the piano exploring why it is a piece that stirs such deep SAT emotions. SAT SAT Producer: Karen Gregor. SAT SAT Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch at the Festival of Remembrance SAT SAT Gillian Scully - the granddaughter of 'Nimrod' SAT SAT The Steamboat Springs High School Band, led by James Knapp SAT SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour b06s6tlc (Listen) SAT Weekend Woman's Hour SAT SAT Highlights from the Woman's Hour week. Presented by Jenni SAT Murray SAT Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed. SAT SAT Credits SAT Presenter: Jenni Murray SAT Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed SAT SAT 17:00 PM b06s6tlf (Listen) SAT Full coverage of the day's news. SAT SAT 17:30 iPM b06s6mdd (Listen) SAT [Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today] SAT SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast b06rk6td (Listen) SAT The latest shipping forecast. SAT SAT 17:57 Weather b06rk6tn (Listen) SAT The latest weather forecast. SAT SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06rk6tt (Listen) SAT The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 18:15 Loose Ends b06s6tlh (Listen) SAT Clive Anderson, Nikki Bedi, Russell Howard, Jay Rayner, SAT Charlie Higson, Joel Morris, Jeffrey Lewis, Honne SAT SAT Clive Anderson and Nikki Bedi are joined by Russell Howard, SAT Jay Rayner, Charlie Higson and Joel Morris for an eclectic SAT mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from SAT Jeffrey Lewis and Honne. SAT SAT Producer: Sukey Firth. SAT SAT Russell Howard SAT 'A Gert Lush Christmas' is on BBC Two on Boxing Day at SAT 21.00. SAT SAT Jay Rayner SAT The Jay Rayner Quartet plays The Stables Theatre, Milton SAT Keynes on Saturday 23 January, the Rose Theatre, Kingston on SAT 23 February and St Albans Arena on 3 March. Check Jay’s SAT website for further details. SAT SAT The new series of The Kitchen Cabinet continues on Radio 4 SAT on Saturdays at 10.30 and you can hear 'Jay Rayner Pigs SAT Out', an Archive Hour for Radio 4 at 20.00 on Boxing Day. SAT SAT SAT Joel Morris SAT 'Ladybird Books For Grown-Ups' are published by Penguin and SAT available now. SAT SAT Charlie Higson SAT 'Harry Hill in Professor Branestawm Returns' is on BBC One SAT on Christmas Eve at 17.20. SAT SAT Jeffrey Lewis SAT SAT 'Manhattan' is available now on Rough Trade. SAT SAT SAT SAT Jeffrey is playing at London's Oslo on Saturday 19th SAT December. SAT SAT Honne SAT 'Gone Are The Days' EP is available on Friday 22nd January SAT on Atlantic. SAT SAT Credits SAT Presenter: Clive Anderson SAT Presenter: Nikki Bedi SAT Interviewed Guest: Russell Howard SAT Interviewed Guest: Jay Rayner SAT Interviewed Guest: Charlie Higson SAT Interviewed Guest: Joel Morris SAT Performer: Jeffrey Lewis SAT Performer: Honne SAT Producer: Sukey Firth SAT SAT 19:00 Profile b06s6tlk (Listen) SAT Elon Musk SAT SAT Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, SAT has a plan to stop computers from taking over the world. The SAT co-founder of Paypal - who made his first fortune in his SAT twenties - has joined other tech giants to fund a SAT not-for-profit company called OpenAI. Its aim is to develop SAT the most advanced forms of artificial intelligence and then SAT to share the results. Musk is among a group of thinkers - SAT including Stephen Hawking - who have warned that AI could SAT eventually lead to the end of the human race. His idea is SAT that by making AI 'open source', powerful corporate SAT interests will be kept in check. Mark Coles explores the SAT life of a man with a passion for rockets, cars and a plan to SAT retire to Mars. SAT SAT Producers: Smita Patel and Sally Abrahams. SAT SAT 19:15 Saturday Review b06rk6v9 (Listen) SAT Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Star Wars, Serial Podcast, SAT Dickensian, Penguin Monarchs SAT SAT Dominic West and Janet McTeer star in the first major London SAT production for 30 years of Christopher Hampton's Les SAT Liaisons Dangereuses. SAT Star Wars is back. Unless you've been living in cave, it's SAT been hard to avoid. But is it any good? SAT Last year WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio created the SAT astoundingly successful Serial podcast and now there's a new SAT series unravelling the peculiar story of American soldier SAT Bowe Bergdahl SAT Dickensian is Tony "Eastenders" Jordan's mash-up of several SAT Charles Dickens stories and characters. How well does this SAT TV series capture the spirit of the originals? SAT Penguin publishing is putting out a series of 45 small SAT books, each of which tells the story of a different British SAT monarch. SAT Tom Sutcliffe is joined for the final edition of Saturday SAT Review for 2015 by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Rosie Goldsmith SAT and Patrick Gale. The producer is Oliver Jones. SAT SAT Credits SAT Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe SAT Interviewed Guest: Timberlake Wertenbaker SAT Interviewed Guest: Rosie Goldsmith SAT Interviewed Guest: Patrick Gale SAT Producer: Oliver Jones SAT SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 b06s6tlm (Listen) SAT The Selling of Sinatra SAT SAT Jazz singer Kurt Elling provides a unique take on Frank SAT Sinatra, playing with the glitz and glamour, and discovering SAT the dark undertones to a crooner's life that we thought we SAT knew. In a centenary celebration, he analyses just how much SAT image-making and effort went into turning Francis Albert SAT Sinatra into plain old "Frank." SAT SAT Sinatra had many incarnations in a sixty-year career. He was SAT born to a working-class Italian immigrant family in New SAT Jersey. His father was a lightweight boxer, bar owner and SAT firefighter. His mother Natalina was active in Democratic SAT politics and ran an illegal abortion clinic. Frank dropped SAT out of high school and began singing at his dad's bar, SAT eventually gaining the attention of bandleader Tommy Dorsey. SAT SAT With Tommy's help, Sinatra's popularity grew in the 40s, but SAT he didn't serve in the Second World War due to a perforated SAT eardrum and he attracted some bitterness as magazine SAT photographs displayed him surrounded by beautiful women and SAT making plenty of cash in New York. SAT SAT A decline in popularity and damage to his vocal chords led SAT to the "wilderness years", suicide attempts and deep SAT depression. SAT SAT With the boost of an Oscar win in 1953, Frank successfully SAT remade himself on an industrial scale with Las Vegas tours, SAT Hollywood movies, platinum records, retirements, comebacks SAT and high society connections that included the Oval Office. SAT SAT Contributors include Robert Wagner, John Lahr and Paul Anka. SAT SAT Producer: Colin McNulty SAT A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 21:00 Drama b06rwgd7 (Listen) SAT The Arabian Nights, Episode 2 SAT SAT The immortal stories of The Arabian Nights are brought to SAT life in an inventive new adaptation by Glen Neath, as SAT present and past merge into one. SAT SAT Ata Madri (Indira Varma) is in Cairo attempting to retrieve SAT a lost manuscript of The Arabian Nights that is said to SAT contain the real ending of the book. As we follow her search SAT we slip into this sea of stories. SAT SAT The Hunchback Cycle is told in this episode, including the SAT story of The Barber (Alexei Sayle) and his brothers, as well SAT as lesser known stories. SAT SAT These tales of wonder and imagination have beguiled both SAT east and west over generations and remain as seminal and SAT influential as ever. Here, the stories are told in a rich SAT world of sound by an ensemble of actors from around the SAT world. SAT SAT Sound design by Alisdair McGregor SAT Music by Michael Ward with David Lewin and Peter Rophone SAT Directed by Boz Temple-Morris SAT A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT Credits SAT Narrator: Nadim Sawalha SAT Madri: Indira Varma SAT Clive: Ewan Bailey SAT Steward: Ewan Bailey SAT Ali Zum: Waleed Elgadi SAT Thief: Waleed Elgadi SAT Chief: Waleed Elgadi SAT Tailor: Bhasker Patel SAT Tailor’s Wife: Kyria Alyssa SAT Christian: Niall Ashdown SAT Old Man: Niall Ashdown SAT Lame Young Man: Muzz Khan SAT Al-Haddar: Muzz Khan SAT Mother: Noa Bodner SAT Beautiful Woman: Noa Bodner SAT Barber: Alexei Sayle SAT Jewish Physician’s maid: Sharlit Deyzac SAT Judge’s Daughter: Sharlit Deyzac SAT Caliph: Renu Setna SAT Bakbook: Amir El-Masry SAT Jewish Physician: Amir El-Masry SAT Young Woman: Laura Hanna SAT Bakbak: Nabil Elouahabi SAT Blind Beggar: Noof McEwan SAT Watchman: Stewart Scudamore SAT Al-Ashar: Stewart Scudamore SAT Hasan: Nayef Rashed SAT Taxi Driver: Nayef Rashed SAT Director: Boz Temple-Morris SAT Adaptor: Glen Neath SAT SAT 22:00 News and Weather b06rk6vc (Listen) SAT The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, SAT followed by weather. SAT SAT 22:15 What Is IS? b06sdlmb (Listen) SAT David Aaronovitch and a range of experts untangle the SAT ideological threads that make up the 'Islamic State'. SAT SAT Following its attacks in Paris, debate has raged about SAT whether the so-called Islamic State is a political movement SAT or a religious one. SAT SAT But what if it's both, and more besides? David Aaronovitch SAT calls on testimony from journalists, historians, political SAT scientists and philosophers to explore the complex, SAT sometimes conflicting elements that have shaped this SAT organisation. SAT SAT He examines its place in the long tradition of Apocalyptic SAT anti-Westernism - a tradition that has also appeared in a SAT European Christian context, in Japan, and elsewhere. David SAT traces the role of senior figures from Saddam Hussein's SAT regime in its creation and thinking, and asks whether SAT avenging the invasion of Iraq has simply given IS its SAT opportunity to prosper, or provides its guiding mission. SAT SAT He explores the role of IS in the relationship between Sunni SAT and Shia Islam, and its use of Islamic history in its SAT worldview and its propaganda. And finally, David asks, how SAT unusual is the Islamic State? SAT SAT Producers: Phil Tinline and Wesley Stephenson. SAT SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz b06rxd48 (Listen) SAT Programme 9, 2015 SAT SAT (9/12) SAT The South of England team of Marcus Berkmann and Simon Singh SAT square up to Northern Ireland in the shape of Brian Feeney SAT and Polly Devlin. This week's contest is the last-but-one SAT occasion in which either of these teams will appear this SAT season, and both will be keen to add a victory to their SAT score-sheet so far. SAT SAT 'Can you turn DeForest Kelley into the creator of Harry Hole SAT by way of some French soap?' is just the first of the SAT cryptic puzzles which face them. Tom Sutcliffe chairs the SAT contest and will be providing helpful hints and nudges SAT wherever necessary - with the proviso that the teams score SAT fewer points the more help they need. SAT SAT Several of today's questions are the work of Round Britain SAT Quiz listeners who've submitted them to the programme in SAT recent months. And, as always, Tom will have the answer to SAT the teaser he left hanging at the end of the previous SAT edition - as well as setting a new puzzle to be thinking SAT about until next week. SAT SAT Producer: Paul Bajoria. SAT SAT Last week's teaser question SAT SAT Sheffield - Macaulay - Booth - Wagstaff - what comes next in SAT the sequence? SAT SAT Well done if you spotted that these are the original or SAT maiden names of the spouses of recent British Prime SAT Ministers, starting in the present and working backwards. SAT The answer is Thatcher. SAT SAT Samantha Sheffield married David Cameron in 1996. SAT SAT Sarah Macaulay married Gordon Brown in 2000. SAT SAT Cherie Booth married Tony Blair in 1980. SAT SAT Norma Wagstaff became Mrs Norma Major in 1970. SAT SAT So prior to that the PM's consort was Denis Thatcher. SAT SAT SAT SAT Rankings before today's programme SAT SAT The Round Britain Quiz 2015 league table as it stands after SAT 8 matches: SAT SAT 1.The Midlands Played 3 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 1 Total SAT points 57 SAT SAT 2.Wales P3 W2 D0 L1 Pts 55 SAT SAT 3.Scotland P3 W2 D0 L1 Pts 49 SAT SAT 4.South of England P2 W2 D0 L0 Pts 38 SAT SAT 5.North of England P3 W0 D0 L3 Pts 45 SAT SAT 6.Northern Ireland P2 W0 D0 L2 Pts 23 SAT SAT SAT SAT Questions in this programme SAT SAT Q1 Can you turn DeForest Kelley into the creator of Harry SAT Hole, by way of some Welsh soap? SAT SAT Q2 (from Ivan Whetton) Explain who the following people SAT are, and why you might find them colouring: A soul singer, a SAT Secretary of State, a designer of firearms and the author of SAT the Navy Hymn? SAT SAT Q3 Hypocritical nonsense, someone abject and cowardly, a SAT feast with dancing, and Richard's emblem: where would you SAT have found them all in close proximity in the 1970s? SAT SAT Q4 (Music) Can you link this piece with a fascist, a SAT novelist, a Nazi sympathiser, a Duchess and an unobtrusive SAT poultry connoisseur? SAT SAT Q5 (from Emily Burns) How can a reptile, a crab, some SAT underwear and some British money help to keep you afloat? SAT SAT Q6 Why might a restaurant welcome Alice's cat, a pony SAT stranded in the Channel Islands and one who was mad about SAT the boy? SAT SAT Q7 (Music) What's missing? SAT SAT Q8 (from Stephen Gore) What covert connection might there SAT be between: one who, according to Homer, smote his bloomin' SAT lyre; a German girl; one who presumed at Ujiji; and the SAT diminutive preferred by the former Viscount Stansgate? SAT SAT This week's teaser question SAT SAT Ten in 1901; twelve in 1948; seven in 1949. What might these SAT numbers and dates have to do with reproduction? SAT SAT Tom will reveal the solution next week. Please don't write SAT to us, it's just for fun - but we hope you enjoy working it SAT out. SAT SAT 23:30 The Echo Chamber b06rwgdc (Listen) SAT Series 6, James Fenton SAT SAT Paul Farley meets the poet James Fenton who has, in his SAT varied life, also been a war reporter, a gardener and and a SAT lyricist. He has just received the 2015 Pen Pinter prize for SAT his writing. His poems of exile, emigration and conflict SAT written over forty years of travelling into assorted bad SAT lands remain extraordinarily telling documents. Producer: SAT Tim Dee. SAT SAT SUN SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER 2015 SUN SUN 00:00 Midnight News b06s6x9p (Listen) SUN The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. SUN Followed by Weather. SUN SUN 00:30 Through the Wardrobe b03kpl7r (Listen) SUN The Rosy Rural Ruby SUN SUN In tribute to Belfast-born C.S. Lewis who died on 22nd SUN November 1963, three new short stories take us though doors SUN and portals into unexpected worlds and situations. While SUN novelist and playwright Lucy Caldwell charts a defining SUN moment in the life of someone struggling with their sense of SUN identity, a woman gets to know her neighbours a little more SUN intimately than she could ever have expected in a story from SUN novelist and screenwriter Glenn Patterson. And finally in a SUN new story from Frank Cottrell Boyce we discover what might SUN happen if C.S. Lewis himself were to discover an opening to SUN another world. What might such a world contain? SUN SUN The Rosy Rural Ruby by Frank Cottrell Boyce SUN Read by David Troughton SUN Produced in Belfast by Heather Larmour. SUN SUN Credits SUN Reader: David Troughton SUN Producer: Heather Larmour SUN Writer: Frank Cottrell Boyce SUN SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06s6x9r (Listen) SUN The latest shipping forecast. SUN SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06s6x9t (Listen) SUN SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06s6x9w (Listen) SUN The latest shipping forecast. SUN SUN 05:30 News Briefing b06s6x9y (Listen) SUN The latest news from BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday b06s6zll (Listen) SUN Bells from the High Cathedral of Saints Peter and Mary, SUN Cologne, Germany. SUN SUN 05:45 Profile b06s6tlk (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday] SUN SUN 06:00 News Headlines b06s6xbc (Listen) SUN The latest national and international news. SUN SUN 06:05 Something Understood b06s6zln (Listen) SUN At the Darkest Point SUN SUN At the moment of mid-winter, John McCarthy explores how we SUN cope with dark times, how we express our feelings and how we SUN find a way through. SUN SUN Dark and difficult times are part of our human experience. SUN On the news we encounter human suffering - on a scale so SUN massive and distant from our immediate lives, whether man SUN made or as a result of natural disasters, it is often SUN impossible to take in or begin to understand. SUN SUN Most of us have more local and intimate dark times to cope SUN with. Sickness, loss of loved ones, financial worries - SUN these are all examples of darkness that can come in the SUN middle of the day. SUN SUN And there is also the dark that is pure loneliness. SUN SUN Since first reading it as a schoolboy, John has found solace SUN in George Herbert's poem, The Flower, which emphasises SUN renewal and return after the dark tempests of the night. SUN SUN There's a new commission from the poet Jen Hadfield who SUN sends us a postcard from the winter darkness of Shetland, SUN readings of poems by Rilke and Byron, and the composer and SUN sound artist Janek Schaefer tells the story of how he came SUN to create a piece of music - White Lights of Divine Darkness SUN (for Sir John Tavener). SUN SUN The readers are Joshua Elliot, Serena Jennings and Jen SUN Hadfield. SUN SUN Produced by Natalie Steed SUN A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN Readings SUN Title: Darkness (extract) SUN SUN Author: Lord Byron SUN SUN Publisher: Oxford University Press SUN SUN ISBN: 019953733X SUN Title: Alone (extract) SUN SUN Synopsis: Extract from a memoir by the explorer and SUN adventurer Richard Byrd who, in 1934, spent 5 months alone SUN in the Antarctic winter dark. SUN SUN Author: Richard E ByrdPublisher: Palmer Press SUN SUN ISBN: 1447424107 SUN Title: Postcard from Darkness SUN SUN Synopsis: A specially commissioned piece from the Shetland SUN poet Jen Hadfield SUN SUN Author: Jen Hadfield SUN SUN Publisher: SUN SUN ISBN: SUN Title: You darkness, that I come from SUN SUN Synopsis: Author: Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Robert SUN Bly SUN SUN Publisher: Harper Perennial SUN SUN ISBN: 0060907274 SUN Title: The Flower SUN SUN Synopsis: Author: George Herbert SUN SUN Publisher: Penguin Classics SUN SUN ISBN: 0141392045 SUN SUN Synopsis: an extract from Lord Byron’s long poem, Darkness SUN LINKS: SUN SUN The picture used for this programme is Nightfishin’ by the SUN Shetland artist Kristi Cumming. SUN http://www.kristicumming.com/ SUN SUN Jen Hadfield’s blog SUN http://rogueseeds.blogspot.co.uk/ SUN SUN Professor Janek Schaefer’s blog SUN http://www.audioh.com/ SUN SUN 06:35 On Your Farm b06s6zlq (Listen) SUN Christmas Goose SUN SUN Judith Dryden raises a hundred geese and five hundred SUN turkeys for the Christmas dinner tables of North East SUN England. This year a popular storyline in The Archers about SUN geese farming means that she's already sold out. SUN SUN Caz Graham joins Judith and some very vocal birds on the SUN family farm near Sunderland to hear how keeping Christmas SUN poultry is the perfect diversification for a busy arable SUN farm. SUN SUN 06:57 Weather b06s6xbf (Listen) SUN The latest weather forecast. SUN SUN 07:00 News and Papers b06s6xbh (Listen) SUN The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers. SUN SUN 07:10 Sunday b06s6zls (Listen) SUN Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme, SUN presented by Edward Stourton. SUN SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal b06s6zm5 (Listen) SUN Save the Rhino SUN SUN Sam Taylor presents The Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Save the SUN Rhino SUN Registered Charity No 1035072 SUN To Give: SUN - Freephone 0800 404 8144 SUN - Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope SUN 'Save the Rhino'. SUN - Cheques should be made payable to 'Save the Rhino'. SUN SUN Save the Rhino International SUN SUN Every eight hours a rhino is brutally killed for its horn. SUN At the current rate of poaching, rhinos could become extinct SUN in just ten years’ time. But with the world’s support we can SUN stop this. SUN Save the Rhino International is working with project SUN partners across the globe to stop the poaching crisis and SUN ensure that all five rhino species are protected in the wild SUN for future generations. SUN SUN The Rhino Dog Squad SUN In the last three years almost 10% of Kenya’s rhinos have SUN been killed by poachers. But there's a team of elite rangers SUN and dogs on the frontline fighting back. It’s the rhinos' SUN new best friends: the Rhino Dog Squad. SUN SUN Canine crime-fighters SUN SUN With the rhino poaching threat increasing, it is important SUN that rhino sanctuaries have well-equipped and highly-trained SUN dog units needed to stay one step ahead of the poachers. SUN Dogs are extremely useful for their track, scent and attack SUN skills. They can track criminals, search vehicles for SUN weapons and apprehend suspects so rangers can safely make SUN arrests. SUN SUN Protecting rhinos and communities SUN SUN The Rhino Dog Squad also protects other endangered wildlife SUN and helps to reduce crime in local communities. Your SUN donations will help train more dogs and their handlers, SUN provide important veterinary care, and buy essential SUN equipment for dogs and rangers. SUN SUN 07:57 Weather b06s6xbk (Listen) SUN The latest weather forecast. SUN SUN 08:00 News and Papers b06s6xbr (Listen) SUN The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers. SUN SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship b06s6zm8 (Listen) SUN Seeing Salvation SUN SUN The last in an Advent series 'Learning to see' from SUN Methodist College Belfast. Preacher: the Bishop of Meath & SUN Kildare Pat Storey - who was the UK's first female bishop SUN and a former pupil of 'Methody.' Led by the Rev David SUN Neilands. Readings: Luke 1:46-56 and John 21:4-13. Carols SUN sung by the famous Methodist College Choir include: O Little SUN Town - arr. Bob Chilcott; A Maiden Most Gentle - arr. Andrew SUN Carter; Silent Night - Franz Gruber arr. Bob Chilcott; SUN Shepherd's Carol - Bob Chilcott; The Colours of Christmas - SUN John Rutter; What Child is This? - Thomas Hewitt Jones; Once SUN in Royal - arr Philip Stopford; Ding Dong Merily on High - SUN arr Philip Stopford. SUN Director of Music: Ruth McCartney SUN Organist: Donal McCann. SUN Producer: Etta Halliday. SUN SUN 08:48 A Point of View b06s1gcn (Listen) SUN Howard Jacobson: Christmas SUN SUN A weekly reflection on a topical issue. SUN SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day b04mlvxt (Listen) SUN Ivory Gull SUN SUN Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship SUN with them, from around the world. SUN SUN Chris Packham presents the ivory gull from the northern SUN polar seas. Ivory gulls breed on rocky outcrops and cliffs SUN and has a near-circumpolar distribution, spending most of SUN the year near the edge of the pack ice throughout Arctic SUN Europe, Arctic Russia, Greenland and Canada. They regularly SUN venture farther north than any other bird. The adults are SUN brilliant white with black legs and black eyes; their only SUN splash of colour is on the bill which is a pastel rainbow of SUN blue, green, yellow and pink. At rest they look rather SUN dove-like. Although their colour suggests purity, their SUN tastes are definitely not. Ivory gulls are scavengers. Dead SUN seals or whales will draw them from miles around and those SUN birds which have turned up as rare winter visitors to the UK SUN have often shown an uncanny ability to locate strandline SUN corpses of porpoises, dolphins or seals. Diet aside these SUN are entrancing gulls to watch as they loaf on icebergs or SUN waft angelically over arctic seas. SUN SUN Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) SUN SUN Webpage image courtesy of Steven Kazlowski / naturepl.com SUN SUN NPL Ref SUN 01296371 SUN © Steven Kazlowski / naturepl.com SUN SUN Recording of ivory gull by Stewart D MacDonald & William SUN W.H. Gunn / Ref: ML137334 SUN SUN This programme contains a wildtrack SUN recording of ivory gull SUN kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab SUN of Ornithology; recorded by Stewart D MacDonald & William SUN W.H. Gunn on 8 Jul 1970, at Grise Fjord, Ellesmere Island, SUN Nunavut, Canada. SUN SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House b06s6xcd (Listen) SUN Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation SUN about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy SUN O'Connell. SUN SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus b06s7y32 (Listen) SUN Adam and Ian are getting married, and has Lynda bitten off SUN more than she can chew? SUN SUN Credits SUN Writer: Keri Davies SUN Director: Marina Caldarone SUN Editor: Sean O'Connor SUN Jill Archer: Patricia Greene SUN David Archer: Tim Bentinck SUN Pip Archer: Daisy Badger SUN Kenton Archer: Richard Attlee SUN Brian Aldridge: Charles Collingwood SUN Jennifer Aldridge: Angela Piper SUN Lilian Bellamy: Sunny Ormonde SUN Susan Carter: Charlotte Martin SUN Ian Craig: Stephen Kennedy SUN Rex Fairbrother: Nick Barber SUN Toby Fairbrother: Rhys Bevan SUN Joe Grundy: Edward Kelsey SUN Eddie Grundy: Trevor Harrison SUN Clarrie Grundy: Heather Bell SUN Shula Hebden Lloyd: Judy Bennett SUN Matthew Holman: Michael Winder SUN Dr Richard Locke: William Gaminara SUN Adam Macy: Andrew Wincott SUN Kirsty Miller: Annabelle Dowler SUN Elizabeth Pargetter: Alison Dowling SUN Robert Snell: Graham Blockey SUN Lynda Snell: Carole Boyd SUN Charlie Thomas: Felix Scott SUN Helen Titchener: Louiza Patikas SUN Rob Titchener: Timothy Watson SUN Roy Tucker: Ian Pepperell SUN SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs b06s7y34 (Listen) SUN Commander Chris Hadfield SUN SUN Kirsty Young's castaway is Chris Hadfield. SUN SUN He was the first Canadian commander of the International SUN Space Station and took part in three space missions spending SUN a total of 166 days orbiting the Earth. He has spent over 14 SUN hours doing two space walks. SUN SUN He flew his first eight day mission into space in 1995 SUN during which he visited the Russian space station Mir. In SUN 2001 he paid his first visit to the International Space SUN Station to help install Canadarm2, a robot arm helping to SUN build the station which was launched three years previously. SUN In 2012 he began his final five month stay in space on board SUN the ISS. It was on this mission that his videos of life in SUN space - including a film of him singing David Bowie's Space SUN Oddity and accompanying himself on guitar - led to him SUN enjoying a huge following on social media. SUN SUN Chris was born in 1959 in Ontario, the second of five SUN children: his father was a pilot and the family lived on a SUN farm. He mapped out his future career aged nine when he SUN watched Neil Armstrong become the first person to walk on SUN the moon in 1969. In pursuit of his dream Chris first become SUN an Air Cadet, then attended military college, becoming a SUN fighter pilot and then a test pilot, as well as an SUN aeronautical engineer. He finally achieved his ambition of SUN becoming an astronaut in 1992. SUN SUN He went onto become the Chief of Robotics at the NASA SUN Astronaut Office and Chief of International Space Station SUN Operations at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. SUN Following his final space mission, Chris retired from the SUN Canadian Space Agency in July 2013. Amongst the awards he's SUN received are the military Meritorious Service Cross, NASA's SUN Exceptional Service Medal and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee SUN Medal. SUN SUN Producer: Cathy Drysdale. SUN SUN Credits SUN Presenter: Kirsty Young SUN Interviewed Guest: Chris Hadfield SUN Producer: Cathy Drysdale SUN SUN 12:00 News Summary b06s6xcg (Listen) SUN The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue b06rxn53 (Listen) SUN Series 64, Episode 3 SUN SUN The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit SUN to the Grand Opera House in York. Regulars Barry Cryer, SUN Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel SUN by Sandi Toksvig, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell SUN provides piano accompaniment. SUN Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Radio Comedy SUN production. SUN SUN Credits SUN Presenter: Jack Dee SUN Panellist: Barry Cryer SUN Panellist: Graeme Garden SUN Panellist: Tim Brooke-Taylor SUN Panellist: Sandi Toksvig SUN Producer: Jon Naismith SUN SUN 12:32 Food Programme b06s7y36 (Listen) SUN No Mere Trifle SUN SUN For some, trifle is an essential part of Christmas - a star SUN centrepiece at the dinner table. For others its a reminder SUN of 70s food hell - soggy sponge, jelly, hundreds and SUN thousands dissolving into custard and cream and possibly SUN crowned with glace cherries. Tim Hayward argues pretty much SUN every food writer of the last 50 years has pronounced on SUN trifle in a massively doctrinaire fashion. He wants to fight SUN the prejudice to delve into the shared secret recipes for SUN quick and 'dirty' trifles and investigates the 'golden SUN rules' to get every trifle doubter on side. SUN SUN Presented by Tim Hayward. SUN Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock. SUN SUN Black Forest Trifle, by Sarah Lavelle SUN SUN 400g chocolate sponge or shop-bought brownies SUN SUN 50g black cherry or Morello cherry jam SUN SUN 100 g Kirsch SUN SUN 300 g pitted black cherries (in syrup or kirsch) SUN SUN 300 ml double cream SUN SUN A few fresh cherries, stems attached (optional) SUN For the chocolate custard: SUN SUN 100 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids) SUN SUN 300 ml whole milk SUN SUN 300 ml double cream SUN SUN 1 vanilla pod, split SUN SUN 6 egg yolks SUN SUN 100 g caster sugar SUN SUN 2 tbsp cocoa SUN SUN 1 tbsp cornflour SUN SUN First make the custard as this will need to chill before you SUN make up the trifle. Melt the chocolate either in a saucepan SUN over a very low heat – this will need constant care and SUN attention if it isn’t to separate – or in a heat proof bowl SUN over a saucepan of simmering water. If you are using fresh SUN cherries for decoration, dip them briefly in the chocolate SUN to coat, and leave them on a non stick surface to cool down SUN and set. SUN SUN While the chocolate is melting, put the milk and cream into SUN a saucepan with the split vanilla pod. Heat slowly until it SUN is just below boiling point, then remove from the heat and SUN allow to cool a little. SUN SUN Put the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa and cornflour into a bowl. SUN Using a balloon whisk or electric handheld beaters, whisk SUN everything together until the mixture is airy and mousse SUN like. SUN SUN Pour the milk and cream over the egg mixture and mix to SUN combine, then add the chocolate. Continue to mix until you SUN no pale flecks of mixture remain, then pour into a saucepan. SUN SUN Cook the custard over a low to medium heat, stirring SUN constantly, until the custard has thickened – you need it to SUN be the texture of thick double cream to get it to the right SUN consistency once it has cooled down. This will take anything SUN between 5 and 15 minutes. SUN SUN Transfer the custard to a jug and put a layer of cling film SUN over it to prevent a skin forming. Leave to chill. SUN SUN You are now ready to assemble the trifle. Cut the cake or SUN brownies into 2cm thick slices and sandwich together with SUN the jam. Arrange in the bottom of your trifle bowl, then SUN pour over the Kirsch. Add the cherries, then pour over the SUN custard. SUN SUN Whisk the double cream until it forms soft peaks and will SUN still pour – just. Smooth this over the custard. SUN SUN Decorate with grated chocolate or chocolate curls – or the SUN fresh, chocolate dipped cherries if you have them. SUN SUN The Purist's Trifle, by Catehrine Phipps SUN SUN 400 g madeira cake or bought trifle sponges SUN SUN 50 g apricot, raspberry or quince jam SUN SUN 200g homemade ratafia or amaretto biscuits or bought SUN equivalent SUN SUN 150 ml sherry – we like Oloroso SUN SUN 50 ml brandy (or another 50ml sherry) SUN SUN 1 portion of custard OR a 500ml pot of fresh custard, SUN chilled SUN SUN 300 ml double cream SUN SUN 50g flaked almonds SUN SUN If using the madeira cake, cut into 2cm slices and sandwich SUN with the jam. Arrange over the base of your trifle bowl. SUN Pour over half the sherry and brandy if using, then add the SUN biscuits. Pour over the rest of the alcohol. SUN SUN Pour the custard over the cake and biscuits. Whisk the cream SUN into soft peaks – no more or it will be harder to spread SUN evenly, then spoon this over the custard, levelling it out SUN with a spatula if necessary. SUN SUN Put the flaked almonds in a frying pan, then toast on a SUN medium heat for a couple of minutes, tossing regularly, SUN until lightly golden all over. Do not leave the almonds SUN alone as they will always burn when neglected! Transfer the SUN almonds to a plate to cool, then scatter over the cream. SUN SUN Chill until you are ready to serve. SUN SUN Credits SUN Presenter: Tim Hayward SUN Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock SUN SUN 12:57 Weather b06s6xcj (Listen) SUN The latest weather forecast. SUN SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend b06svv2y (Listen) SUN News and analysis including the global effects of low oil SUN prices plus saving Libya's antiquities. Presented by Shaun SUN Ley. SUN SUN 13:30 Chrismukkah and Other Cultural Mash-ups b06s7y5w (Listen) SUN As the number of inter-faith marriages in Britain increases, SUN we uncover a growing phenomenon - the cultural mash-up. SUN Sharmini Selvarajah meets the families who are getting SUN creative as they combine different religious and cultural SUN traditions to create their own unique festivals. SUN SUN Embracing multiple festivals has always come naturally to SUN Sharmini. She grew up in a British-Asian family, celebrating SUN Christmas, Diwali and Tamil New Year. Now that she's married SUN to a Jewish American, Passover, Thanksgiving and July 4th SUN also feature. SUN SUN Every year she throws a Chrismukkah party for family and SUN friends, where latkes sit next to mince pies on the table, SUN and Christmas carols are sung alongside Hanukkah blessings. SUN She's curious about how other mixed families combine their SUN various beliefs and customs. SUN SUN The Sommers celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. Their SUN blue and white Christmas tree is topped by a homemade star SUN of David. Their three sons say the best part of combining SUN Jewish and Christian December traditions is "double the SUN presents - double the fun!" SUN SUN But their Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Romain, warns that not all SUN interfaith couples are prepared for the challenges of the SUN festive season: "It's a time of year that can be for some SUN families enormously enriching, but for others it's a major SUN trauma. And it brings all issues of mixed faith marriage to SUN the fore, issues they've been able to sweep under the carpet SUN for the rest of the year." SUN SUN Sharmini spends Easter Monday hunting for chocolate eggs SUN with Amy who's a Christian, her Muslim husband Takbir, and SUN their extended family. But she also hears from those who SUN don't feel so positively about mashing things up. Is there a SUN risk of diluting celebrations by merging them, so that each SUN is inadequately marked? Does it lead to confusion for SUN children growing up in interfaith families? SUN SUN Producer: Hannah Marshall SUN A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time b06s1b8y (Listen) SUN Harpenden SUN SUN Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from SUN Harpenden in Hertfordshire. SUN SUN James Wong, Matt Biggs, and Anne Swithinbank answer the SUN audience's gardening questions on misshapen potatoes, SUN unsightly fairy rings and how to contain an unruly SUN Crabapple. SUN SUN The panellists also offer their topical tips regarding SUN post-flood garden care. SUN SUN And in the features, RHS Wisley's Matthew Pottage SUN investigates what could be the country's oldest Christmas SUN tree. SUN SUN Produced by Howard Shannon SUN Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton SUN A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN Questions and Answers SUN Q – We grow ‘Pink Fir Apple’ potatoes on our allotment – in SUN the past two years, about half of the potatoes have grown SUN into strange shapes with small potatoes growing out of the SUN main one. It is getting more common with the ones nearest SUN the surface suffering most. What’s causing this? SUN Anne – I think they’re very impressive! What you could do SUN is break the smaller ones off to make them easier to cook, SUN but there’s certainly nothing wrong with them.Matt – These SUN are bred to grow like this – it’s a sign of good growth. SUN Q – When we take up our Dahlias we are told to turn them SUN upside down so that the sap runs out through the stalks. SUN With so many of us leaving our Dahlias in the ground, thus SUN the sap running back into the plant, why don’t the plants SUN rot? SUN Matt – A lot of the practices follow traditions and often SUN they are over-fussy. If you’re in an area where you don’t SUN expect to have a cold winter you can leave them and just SUN make sure the tubers are well protected.Anne – Sometimes I SUN lift them because they can get huge underground! I once left SUN A Dahlia ‘David Howard’ in for ages and when I did lift it, SUN it was almost unmanageable!James – I don’t bother with any SUN of this at all. It seems like it’s a Victorian practice SUN from when they were growing Dahlias for show. No need for SUN it. SUN Q – I collect seeds from the best of my chillis, Padrons, SUN peppers, and other non-F1 crops for planting the following SUN year – the quality and quantity I have harvested over the SUN years has definitely improved. Is this due to selective SUN improvements in the strain or other factors such as climate? SUN James – It can only really be a genetic factor. You’d have SUN to have been picking for an awful long time for climate SUN change to be a factor. I know of people in the Midlands who SUN have been collecting strains of things such as Amaranthus SUN and they’ve been doing it for 20 or 30years in coffee tins SUN in their shed. In a comparison with modern varieties, it is SUN astonishing how much more vigorous and well adapted these SUN are just within a couple of decades. SUN Q – What can I do to keep our 30-year-old ‘John Downie’ Crab SUN apple tree under control? I prune it hard every winter, it SUN has lots of blossom and is increasingly infected with woolly SUN aphid. SUN Matt – What you have to realise is once you’ve started SUN pruning in such a way then you have to carry on. Would have SUN been best to leave it in the first place I’m afraid. Anne – SUN Best to thin plants to keep size under control rather than SUN chip chop around the edgeJames – When you start out SUN gardening you need to be careful because you may think SUN you’re cutting it back but what you’re doing is sparking off SUN an internal cascade of chemicals that turns on the growth SUN hormone of the plant. SUN Q – I’ve got a large Magnolia tree in my garden which, SUN because of the warm weather, has got masses of buds on it – SUN when is the best time to prune it? SUN Anne – Magnolias don’t really like being pruned to be honest SUN – if you’ve absolutely got to, then do it in the winter. In SUN the spring it’ll send up some vigorous new shoots – so SUN you’ll need to rub them out before they can really get SUN growing.Matt – Also, use a sharp pruning saw so that you SUN don’t snag them.James – The rule for getting the most SUN natural shape with shrubs rather than a hedge is to take out SUN whole branches right from the centre as opposed to tip SUN pruning them. SUN Q – How can I get rid of Fairy Rings in the lawn? I don’t SUN like the look of them SUN Anne – Difficult question! It rather depends on the lawn. If SUN the lawn is small you can just wait for them to drop off the SUN edge, as they get wider and wider. The alternative is to SUN dig them out but you have to go a good foot (30cm) either SUN side and a good spade depth down. And then re-soil and SUN re-turf. SUN Q – Helleborus – I’ve been advised that one should cut SUN plants right down in the early winter and then give them a SUN good slug of fertiliser. Is this good advice? SUN Anne – These will be the Lenten Hellebores (Helliborus SUN hybridus) – they tend to open in Feb/March. I can never SUN bring myself to cut them right back – I tend to take off the SUN damaged leaves and certainly any spotted ones. I’ll do SUN another cut when they’re pushing back and they’ve got some SUN new leaf. There’s no right or wrong here.James – They’re the SUN perfect plant for a living wall – or planting them in SUN Dicksonia trunks the big tree fern trunks and treating them SUN like an epiphyte – they’ll need a bit of help to get them SUN wired on but once they’re there and if you live in a damp SUN climate you’ll be away! SUN Topical Tips – Post-flood care SUN James – The wonderful thing about plants is they are SUN self-generating. The flood might have brought with it lots SUN of nourishing silt to naturally fertilise so you could see SUN big improvements soon.Ann – I think you need to do nothing SUN and see what happens. Make sure it has completely drained SUN and see how the plants recover on their own.Matt – SUN Definitely wear gloves for quite a while afterwards to avoid SUN coming into contact with sewage. Also, try and let the soil SUN dry afterward so you don’t compact it too much. SUN Q – My husband and I disagree about the content of our SUN compost! I think that a bit of soil acts as an activator; he SUN doesn’t. Could the panel mediate? SUN James – I agree that soil would add the right SUN micro-organisms to the compost that would help break it SUN down.Matt – I wouldn’t add soil. I would add some of your SUN previous compost heap.Anne – I don’t add soil but it is SUN getting in there on the roots of weeds – so I don’t think SUN it’s a bad thing.James – What you really need is Oyster SUN Mushroom Spawn and stick that in your compost – lightly mix SUN and water well. This will devour any carbon-rich material SUN meaning you get a quicker compost and you get a free harvest SUN of fancy mushrooms! SUN SUN SUN 14:45 The Listening Project b06s7y5y (Listen) SUN Fi Glover introduces conversations between Syrians who have SUN had to flee their country and who find life in Lebanon gives SUN them little hope for their futures. SUN SUN This is the first time The Listening Project has recorded SUN abroad. The conversations were facilitated by Oxfam. SUN SUN The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a SUN snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the SUN UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to SUN them about a subject they've never discussed intimately SUN before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK SUN by teams of producers from local and national radio stations SUN who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're SUN not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - SUN lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key SUN moment of connection between the participants. Most of the SUN unedited conversations are being archived by the British SUN Library and used to build up a collection of voices SUN capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade SUN of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening SUN Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject SUN SUN Producer: Marya Burgess. SUN SUN 15:00 Drama b06s7ztr (Listen) SUN Memsahib Emma, Episode 1 SUN SUN Tanika Gupta's glorious adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma SUN is set in mid 19th Century India. SUN Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Bhattacharjee SUN sees SUN no need for love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her SUN more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But SUN her SUN plans soon lead her into all kinds of trouble. SUN SUN Directed by Tracey Neale. SUN SUN Credits SUN Emma Bhattacharjee: Manjinder Virk SUN Roy: Navin Chowdhry SUN Bhattacharjee: Silas Carson SUN Krishna: Maya Sondhi SUN Sumit Chowdhury: Raj Ghatak SUN Miss Bates: Meera Syal SUN Mrs Weston: Tracy Wiles SUN Mr Elton: Leo Wan SUN Author: Jane Austen SUN Adaptor: Tanika Gupta SUN Director: Tracey Neale SUN SUN 16:00 Open Book b06s8027 (Listen) SUN Samuel Bjork SUN SUN Open Book this week will be devoted to contemporary SUN Norwegian literature. Crime writer Samuel Bjork talks to SUN Mariella Frostrup about his bestselling thriller I'm SUN Travelling Alone, which has just been translated into SUN English. His weary detective Holger Munch finds himself SUN investigating the sad disappearance of six year old girls, a SUN crime which becomes horribly personal for him. SUN Also on the programme the Norwegian writing sensation Karl SUN Ove Knausgaard reveals the book he'd never lend, and we hear SUN the latest news from Norway's bookscene. SUN SUN Read the opening chapter from I'm Travelling Alone by Samuel SUN Bjork SUN I'm Travelling Alone: Chapter 1 SUN by Samuel Bjork SUN SUN Credits SUN Presenter: Mariella Frostrup SUN Interviewed Guest: Samuel Bjork SUN SUN 16:30 The Echo Chamber b06s8029 (Listen) SUN Series 6, Wendy Cope and Lachlan Mackinnon SUN SUN Paul Farley hears new poems from Wendy Cope and Lachlan SUN Mackinnon at their home in Ely. Since 'Making Cocoa for SUN Kingsley Amis', her first collection, was published in 1986, SUN Wendy Cope has been among the most popular of poets in SUN Britain and her poems have lent ideas to the national SUN imagination. Her husband, Lachlan Mackinnon, has published SUN four highly regarded collections too and is a great poet of SUN love and loss as well as being as funny as his wife. SUN Producer: Tim Dee. SUN SUN 17:00 Volunteer Nation b06ryrmz (Listen) SUN Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane explores a SUN hidden engine of the British economy - its volunteers. The SUN UK has an unpaid army of workers which hides in plain sight. SUN "This is a fantastic success story, which is largely missed. SUN And it could be even more of a success story if people knew SUN about it," says Haldane, the country's most senior SUN economist. He speaks both from his professional expertise SUN and his personal experience, as he is a volunteer himself. SUN This makes him one of the estimated 15 million people who SUN volunteer in Britain regularly. Their efforts keep the SUN country's sports clubs, libraries, hospitals and countless SUN other facilities open and running. But their efforts are SUN often unmeasured, unrecognized and sometimes used, it is SUN argued, as a substitute for services and employment once SUN provided by the state. Haldane explores the impact this SUN volunteer army has on our economy and our communities and SUN asks what more we could do to harness their efforts for the SUN greater good of us all. SUN Producer: Sandra Kanthal. SUN SUN 17:40 Profile b06s6tlk (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday] SUN SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast b06s6xcl (Listen) SUN The latest shipping forecast. SUN SUN 17:57 Weather b06s6xcn (Listen) SUN The latest weather forecast. SUN SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06s6xcq (Listen) SUN The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week b06s802h (Listen) SUN John Waite SUN SUN John Waite chooses his highlights from the best of BBC Radio SUN this week. SUN SUN The most talked about topic in 2015 was the colour of a SUN dress. Forty million of us twittered on about whether it was SUN blue and black or gold and white. This week John has radio SUN moments this week that he thinks you'll find equally SUN memorable. When a president sings, Jim Naughtie chokes and SUN Jeremy Vine gets his fingers chewed off .. by a man eating SUN Shetland Pony. Yes for thrills and spills - who needs Star SUN Wars. SUN SUN The BBC Radio iPlayer pick is The Morecambe and Wise Show SUN SUN Producer: Stephen Garner SUN SUN The BBC Pick of the Week team: Kay Bishton & Elodie SUN Chatelain. SUN SUN 19:00 The Archers b06s802k (Listen) SUN It is a big day for Eddie, and is Susan organising a SUN cover-up? SUN SUN 19:15 June Whitfield: 90 Not Out b06s8556 (Listen) SUN Take It From Here to Happy Ever After SUN SUN In an age of instant celebrity, what does it take to SUN maintain a long career in entertainment? SUN SUN June Whitfield is one of our best-known faces and most SUN widely loved stars. She has recently turned 90 years old. SUN It's an ideal opportunity for BBC Radio 4 to wish her a SUN happy birthday and toast her long, successful career - a SUN career which is still ongoing. SUN SUN Joanna Lumley visited June at home in Wimbledon to re-live SUN some of her finest comedy moments and explore how the SUN entertainment industry has changed - most notably the SUN expanded roles for women as performers, writers and SUN producers - during her remarkable career. SUN SUN Radio has been vital to June's success, but it was TV that SUN brought her to the hearts of millions. This first of two SUN programmes looks back and listens to her first footsteps on SUN the path to fame - at first on radio in Take It From Here, SUN then alongside almost every big name comic of the 50s, 60s SUN and 70s, until Terry and June put her name in the title of SUN that most successful of sitcoms. SUN SUN Joanna Lumley, a co-star with June in Absolutely Fabulous, SUN listens back to some selected gems from the archives and SUN discusses the highs and lows of her time in the SUN entertainment business. SUN SUN Presenter: Joanna Lumley SUN Producer: Steve Doherty SUN A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN 19:45 From the Vineyard b06s80ff (Listen) SUN Pinotage SUN SUN Pinotage, written and read by Christopher Hope SUN SUN Mysterious Marta attends to her wine-making tasks in the SUN Cape region, watched over by SUN the owner of the estate. Then something happens.. SUN SUN Producer Duncan Minshull. SUN SUN Credits SUN Reader: Christopher Hope SUN Writer: Christopher Hope SUN Producer: Duncan Minshull SUN SUN 20:00 Feedback b06s6vy9 (Listen) SUN On Wednesday James Naughtie made an emotional sign off on SUN the Today programme as he left the presenter seat after 21 SUN years. What were listeners' favourite Naughtie moments? We SUN hear highlights from two decades of broadcasting, from SUN discussion of Auberon Waugh's nipples to the famous Jeremy SUN Hunt gaff. SUN SUN In the aftermath of the Scottish referendum, and the SNP's SUN success in the general election, BBC Scotland is also having SUN a debate around the extent of its own independence. A SUN committee in Holyrood has called on the BBC to release more SUN budgetary power for BBC Scotland, with more money and SUN services. With that as the backdrop, BBC Radio Scotland SUN introduced a more analytical schedule to suit the new SUN political landscape, but with more live music as well. Is it SUN working for the listeners? Roger Bolton talks to Jeff SUN Zycinski, the head of BBC Radio Scotland. SUN SUN BBC Radio 3 are looking ahead to the New Year with a brand SUN new production of Artist Descending a Staircase, a radio SUN play written over 40 years ago by Sir Tom Stoppard, one of SUN the greatest living dramatists. Roger speaks to Sir Tom SUN about the peculiarities and creative opportunities that come SUN with writing for radio. SUN SUN In the world of The Archers, the Grundy family has had a SUN tough start to the festive season but listeners welcomed an SUN emotional twist in the story this week, ushering in a SUN happier Christmas for 94-year-old Joe. SUN SUN Producer: Katherine Godfrey SUN A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4. SUN SUN 20:30 Last Word b06s1b92 (Listen) SUN Mick Murphy, Ahmed Chalabi, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Brajraj SUN Mahapatra and Holly Woodlawn SUN SUN Matthew Bannister on SUN SUN The Irish cyclist, strong man and farm labourer Mick Murphy SUN who won a famous victory in the 1958 round Ireland race. SUN SUN The Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi who boasted that he SUN tricked the Americans into invading his country. SUN SUN The American soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs, who was the first SUN black singer to appear at La Scala in Milan. SUN SUN Ther last surviving Indian king from the days of the British SUN Raj. Brajraj Mahapatra ended his days in poverty. SUN SUN And Holly Woodlawn, the transgender actress who starred in SUN Andy Warhol's film "Trash" and Lou Reed's song "Walk On The SUN Wild Side" SUN SUN Mick Murphy SUN SUN Matthew spoke to documentary film-maker; Peter Woods. Sports SUN Presenter; Weeshie Fogarty pays tribute. SUN SUN Born 28 April 1934; died 10 September 2015 aged 81 SUN SUN Ahmed Chalabi SUN SUN Matthew spoke to BBC Middle East correspondent; Jim Muir. SUN SUN Born 30 October 1944; died 3 November 2015 aged 71 SUN SUN Mattiwilda Dobbs SUN SUN Matthew spoke to Singer and Academic; Dr Darryl Taylor. SUN SUN Born 11 July 1925; died 8 December 2015 aged 90 SUN SUN Brajraj Mahapatra SUN SUN Matthew spoke with Assistant Editor at The Indian SUN Express; Debabrata Mohanty. SUN SUN Born 15 October 1921, died 30 November 2015 aged 94 SUN SUN Holly Woodlawn SUN SUN Born 26 October 1946; died 6 December 2015 aged 69 SUN SUN 21:00 Money Box b06s6mfh (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday] SUN SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal b06s6zm5 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today] SUN SUN 21:30 In Business b06s0qyc (Listen) SUN The Sexy Salaryman SUN SUN The white collar worker has become a central figure in TV SUN series and comic books in Japan. SUN SUN Ruth Alexander travels to Tokyo to explore the rise of the SUN middle manager as cult hero, speaking to best-seller SUN novelists, manga artists and TV directors about why the SUN workplace makes such good drama. SUN SUN She finds out what the fictional exploits of the 'salaryman' SUN tell us about doing business in Japan, and hears about the SUN emergence of a new character getting attention in popular SUN culture - the salarywoman. SUN SUN Presented and Produced by Ruth Alexander. SUN SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour b06s6xcv (Listen) SUN Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts SUN and commentators. SUN SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say b06s80ml (Listen) SUN George Parker of The Financial Times analyses how the SUN newspapers are covering the biggest stories. SUN SUN 23:00 The Film Programme b06s0njn (Listen) SUN Star Wars - do you remember the first time? SUN SUN Francine Stock asks listeners: Do you remember the first SUN time with Star Wars ? SUN SUN She hears from people who have seen the first film over 20 SUN times, who could recite every line of dialogue, and were SUN inspired to become pilots, designers and IT boffins thanks SUN to Star Wars. And from an extra whose hair can be briefly SUN viewed in his role as a X-Wing pilot and a listener whose SUN father played the oboe on the famous soundtrack. Francine is SUN joined in studio by scientist and presenter Adam Rutherford SUN who has felt the Force on more than one occasion, and still SUN has the toys to prove it. SUN SUN Credits SUN Presenter: Francine Stock SUN Interviewed Guest: Adam Rutherford SUN SUN 23:30 Something Understood b06s6zln (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today] SUN SUN MON MONDAY 21 DECEMBER 2015 MON MON 00:00 Midnight News b06s6xdy (Listen) MON The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. MON Followed by Weather. MON MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed b06rz91s (Listen) MON Chess worlds, Competitive entrepreneurs MON MON Chess players: Laurie Taylor talks to Gary Fine, Professor MON of Sociology at Northwestern University, and author of a MON study into the complex, committed and conflict ridden worlds MON of chess communities, both amateur and professional. They're MON joined by John Saunders, chess player and writer. Also, the MON competitive culture of the self-made man. Simon Down, MON Professor of Management at Anglia Ruskin University, MON discusses his study of businessmen whose talk of luxury cars MON and loads of cash represented a bid to gain a higher MON position in the hierarchy of their group. MON MON Producer: Charlie Taylor. MON MON RELATED LINKS MON Simon Down at Anglia Ruskin University MON Gary Fine at Northwestern University, USA MON John Saunders, Associate Editor of Chess Magazine MON READING LIST MON Gary Alan Fine, *Players and Pawns*, (University of Chicago MON Press, 2015) MON MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday b06s6zll (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday] MON MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06s6xf0 (Listen) MON The latest shipping forecast. MON MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06s6xf2 (Listen) MON MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06s6xf4 (Listen) MON The latest shipping forecast. MON MON 05:30 News Briefing b06s6xf6 (Listen) MON The latest news from BBC Radio 4. MON MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day b06s85kb (Listen) MON A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with MON Cardinal Vincent Nichols. MON MON 05:45 Farming Today b06s85kg (Listen) MON Flooding Clear Up MON MON The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. MON Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally MON Challoner. MON MON 05:56 Weather b06s6xf8 (Listen) MON The latest weather forecast for farmers. MON MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day b04t0vhm (Listen) MON Asian Koel MON MON Michael Palin presents the Asian koel's arrival to an Indian MON orchard. This long-tailed glossy blue-black bird, is a MON well-known British harbinger of spring, and like it's MON British counterpart, it is a cuckoo. MON MON The koel's plaintive call is heard from late March until MON July around villages and in wooded countryside from Pakistan MON east to Indonesia and southern China. In India, it MON symbolises the birth of a new season, the flowering of MON fruit-trees, the bloom of romance and all that's good about MON spring. The koel's song can be heard in many Bollywood MON movies and has inspired poems and folk songs; it's even MON rumoured to help mangoes ripen faster. MON MON This almost universal feel-good factor doesn't extend to its MON victims, because the koel is after all a cuckoo, and lays MON its eggs in other birds' nests. Asian Koels are parasitic on MON a wide range of birds, but in India especially, on House MON Crows and Jungle Crows. MON MON Asian/Western/Common Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) MON MON Webpage image courtesy of Hanne and Jens Eriksen / MON naturepl.com. MON MON NPL Ref MON 01212812 MON © Hanne and Jens Eriksen / naturepl.com MON MON Recording of Asian koel by Arnoud B van den Berg / Ref: ML MON 70213 MON MON This programme contains a MON wildtrack recording of the Asian koel MON kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab MON of Ornithology; recorded by Arnoud B va denBerg on 19 Mar MON 1989, West of Ko Libong, Trang, Thailand. MON MON 06:00 Today b06s8712 (Listen) MON Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, MON Weather and Thought for the Day. MON MON 09:00 Start the Week b06s8714 (Listen) MON Space Survival and Exploration MON MON On Start the Week, as the first Briton heads into space for MON two decades, Andrew Marr explores the future of space MON travel. Kevin Fong is an expert in space medicine and in MON this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures looks at MON how to survive in outer space. The Astronomer Royal Martin MON Rees questions whether human space travel is worth the money MON or the risk, while the astrophysicist Carole Haswell MON searches distant galaxies for habitable exoplanets. Stephen MON Baxter is a writer of hard science fiction who, as a member MON of the British Interplanetary Society, investigates star MON ship design and extra-terrestrial liberty. MON Producer: Katy Hickman. MON MON Credits MON Presenter: Andrew Marr MON Interviewed Guest: Kevin Fong MON Interviewed Guest: Carole Haswell MON Interviewed Guest: Stephen Baxter MON Producer: Katy Hickman MON Interviewed Guest: Martin Rees MON MON 09:45 Book of the Week b06s8716 (Listen) MON The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, Episode 1 MON MON In 2012, Robert Penn felled (and replanted) a great ash from MON a Welsh wood. He set out to explore the true value of the MON tree of which we have made the greatest and most varied use MON in human history. How many things can be made from one tree? MON MON Over the next two years he travelled across Britain, to MON Europe and the USA, to the workshops and barns of a MON generation of craftsmen committed to working in wood. He MON watched them make over 45 artefacts and tools that have been MON in continual use for centuries, if not millennia. MON MON Today, he begins his search for the perfect tree in woodland MON near his South Wales home. It's a bitter, Elizabethan winter MON and snow lies on the forests. After a long hunt, he gets a MON call from a forester in Herefordshire. MON MON This is a tale about the joy of making things in wood, of MON its touch and smell, its many uses and the resonant, calming MON effect of running our hands along a wooden surface. It is a MON celebration of man's close relationship with this greatest MON of natural materials and a reminder of the value of things MON made by hand and made to last. MON MON Abridged by Jo Coombs MON Produced by Hannah Marshall MON A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. MON MON Credits MON Author: Robert Penn MON Abridger: Jo Coombs MON Producer: Hannah Marshall MON MON 10:00 Woman's Hour b06s8718 (Listen) MON Jane Garvey presents the programme that offers a female MON perspective on the world. MON MON Credits MON Presenter: Jane Garvey MON MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama b06s871b (Listen) MON I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, A Man of MON Jollity MON MON The story of the rise and fall of a collaboration between MON three men who dominated Victorian musical theatre and have MON left a lasting legacy. Everyone has heard of the immortal MON Gilbert and Sullivan, but who knows about the man who MON brought them success, George Grossmith, the original Modern MON Major General? MON MON Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks' delightful comedy drama MON about the entertainer George Grossmith, who was plucked from MON his humble touring circuit to become the star of the Gilbert MON & Sullivan Savoy Operas, staying for twelve years. Grossmith MON was central to why Gilbert and Sullivan operas became so MON successful and continue to be so today. MON MON Simon Butteriss, who plays Grossmith, is best known as a MON performer in the Gilbert and Sullivan patter roles, which he MON continues to sing all over the world to a huge fan base. MON Robin Brooks' work for Radio 4 includes Ulysses, I Claudius, MON The Great Scott and Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl. His recent MON dramatisation of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea starring MON Jeremy Irons has been shortlisted for a BBC Audio Drama MON Award, 2016. MON MON Episode One: A Man of Jollity MON It's 1877 and Gilbert and Sullivan cast George Grossmith, a MON touring comedian, as the leading man in their new opera, The MON Sorcerer. But there's one problem. He's not a singer. Will MON the society clown hold his own among the divas and thereby MON change the face of musical theatre forever? MON MON Pianist: Gretel Dowdeswell MON Sound Designer: Alisdair McGregor MON MON Written by Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks MON Directed by Simon Butteriss and Fiona McAlpine MON Produced by Fiona McAlpine MON MON An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4. MON MON Credits MON George Grossmith: Simon Butteriss MON Arthur Sullivan: Alex Jennings MON WS Gilbert: Rupert Vansittart MON Writer: Simon Butteriss MON Writer: Robin Brooks MON Director: Simon Butteriss MON Director: Fiona McAlpine MON Producer: Fiona McAlpine MON MON 11:00 The Disused Chapel on the Cornish Skyline b06s871d (Listen) MON Petroc Trelawny investigates what has happened to a MON distinguishing feature of Cornwall, its chapels. MON MON Petroc grew up in St Martin, on the Lizard, and went to MON Sunday school at the Methodist chapel. Producer Julian May MON lived in Carnon Downs, near Truro. He sometimes went to MON Quenchwell Chapel. Cornish life revolved round chapels: as MON well as services and Sunday schools there were 'tea treats', MON anniversary feasts, concerts and a strong social network. MON MON Clive Buckingham, a Methodist and an architect, takes Petroc MON to Ponsanooth, a small village with a huge, beautiful, grade MON II* listed chapel that seats 600. Once workers from the MON nearby gunpowder works filled its pews. These, like Cornish MON miners and fishermen were wild people. Then, in the 19th MON century, came religious revival. Billy Bray, famously MON dissolute, was 'saved', became a preacher and built chapels MON with his own hands. MON MON In the 1850's, archivist David Thomas says, there were 1,200 MON chapels in Cornwall. Fewer than 200 are still used. Today MON only 20 or so people worship at Ponsanooth. The disused MON chapel on the Cornish skyline is a familiar sight. MON MON But, Petroc discovers, some find new life. St Martin chapel MON is now a family home. Quenchwell chapel has been converted, MON too, and Tipu Choudhury tells Petroc how it became the MON Cornwall Islamic Community Centre. The chapel on the skyline MON at Tregona is tiny, made of cob and remote. Petroc meets MON Andrew Tebbs and Jane Darke, artists who, resisting attempts MON to turn it into a holiday cottage, are making it an art MON space, an amenity, as it always was, for locals. MON MON Petroc tells the story of the abandonment and rebirth of MON Cornwall's chapels. He meets, too, those still worshipping, MON who think it's not the chapels that need converting, but the MON people. MON MON Producer: Julian May. MON MON 11:30 The Missing Hancocks b06s87ls (Listen) MON The Trial of Father Christmas MON MON Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of MON Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's comedy classic Hancock's Half MON Hour. The first modern sitcom, it made stars of Tony MON Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Galton MON and Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing MON partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are MON missing from the BBC archives, and have not been heard since MON their original transmission nearly sixty years ago. Now, MON after a highly successful first series, another five of MON those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a MON live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre, featuring a stellar MON cast led by Kevin McNally as The Lad Himself. MON MON Tonight's episode: The Trial Of Father Christmas. For the MON show's contribution to the festive season, The Anthony MON Hancock Strolling Players present a cautionary tale of MON Christmas as it might be... MON MON Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic MON score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show MON stars Kevin McNally, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin MON Sebastian, Susy Kane and John Finnemore. The Trial Of Father MON Christmas was first broadcast on the 21st December 1955. MON MON Produced be Ed Morrish & Neil Pearson. MON MON Written by Ray Galton & Simpson MON MON A BBC Radio Comedy Production. MON MON Credits MON Tony Hancock: Kevin McNally MON Bill Kerr: Kevin Eldon MON Sid James: Simon Greenall MON Kenneth Williams: Robin Sebastian MON Andree Melly: Susy Kane MON Graham Stark: John Finnemore MON Writer: Ray Galton MON Writer: Alan Simpson MON Producer: Ed Morrish MON Producer: Neil Pearson MON MON 12:00 News Summary b06s6xfb (Listen) MON The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. MON MON 12:04 Home Front b06kv6s3 (Listen) MON 21 December 1915 - Florrie Wilson MON MON On this day, as Folkestone began to recover from a major MON landslide, it appears that the Wilsons have all developed MON little rituals. MON MON Written by Richard Monks MON Directed by Jessica Dromgoole MON MON Notes MON This is the first episode of Season 6 of Home Front, a MON season set in Sandgate, near Folkestone, focused on Nursing MON and Casualties, led by writer Shaun McKenna. In late 1915, MON and early 1916, the flow of wounded from (and medical staff MON to) France was on the increase, although it hadn't yet hit MON the near-industrial heights it would reach later in 1916. MON This, combined with the moment when it appeared that MON conscription would become inevitable, changed the narrative MON of Great War Britain completely. MON MON Season 6 boasts some new faces alongside our regulars. MON Martine McCutcheon (EastEnders) joins the cast as Ruby MON Tulliver, half sister of the deceased Archie, Aimee Ffion MON Edwards (The Detectorists) has a cameo as June Grey, a MON prostitute, Jamie Foreman (Layer Cake) takes over the role MON of Albert Wilson, and Alice Lowe (Sightseers) plays Winifred MON Dinsdale, a pioneer member of the Women's Police Service. MON MON Credits MON Florrie Wilson: Claire Rushbrook MON Albert Wilson: Jamie Foreman MON Adam Wilson: Billy Kennedy MON Kitty Lumley: Ami Metcalf MON Roland Pemble: Jack Holden MON Foreman: Richard Pepple MON Writer: Richard Monks MON Director: Jessica Dromgoole MON MON 12:15 You and Yours b06s87lv (Listen) MON Space tourism, Solar subsidies, Loneliness in Japan MON MON The man who's bought a ticket into space: when will tourists MON actually be able to take off? MON MON Is it still worth getting solar panels on your roof? MON MON And we report from Japan on how loneliness is being tackled MON among its ageing population. MON MON Presenter: Winifred Robinson MON Producer: Jon Douglas. MON MON 12:57 Weather b06s6xff (Listen) MON The latest weather forecast. MON MON 13:00 World at One b06s87tf (Listen) MON Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark MON Mardell. MON MON 13:45 Roger Law: Art and Seoul b06s87tk (Listen) MON Artist Roger Law has long been fascinated by the culture of MON Korea. From stunning ceramics to films and music, South MON Korea has it all. Roger travels to the 21st century city of MON Seoul to find out what fires up the Korean imagination. MON MON In the first of the series, Roger Law discovers how Korean MON potters became so skilled at ceramics that the Japanese MON decided to kidnap them. MON MON Producer Mark Rickards. MON MON 14:00 The Archers b06s802k (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday] MON MON 14:15 Afternoon Drama b03pmk7f (Listen) MON Wildsong MON MON The writer Joseph Wilde and musician Tim van Eyken take the MON main roles in their new play 'Wildsong'. Integral to the MON drama Wilde has written is Tim van Eyken's music, a MON soundscape composed using recordings made on the Somerset MON Levels. MON MON Vic leaves the comfort of the city, in search of his brother MON Reg, last heard of living somewhere in rural Somerset. Their MON father is dying, and he wants to see his son before the end. MON Vic's search takes him far into the watery land of the MON Somerset Levels. Striving to persuade his brother to return, MON Vic reluctantly shares his life of withy cutting, cider and MON singing. The place, its life and sounds - its wildsong - MON begin to change him. But Reg's recalcitrance and Vic's MON desperation - his own life is not as ordered and secure as MON he makes out - lead to a dangerous confrontation as, in a MON violent storm, the Somerset Levels flood. MON MON Director - Julian May. MON MON Credits MON Reg: Tim van Eyken MON Vic: Joseph Wilde MON Winny: Carys Eleri MON Guard: John Norton MON Cidermaker: John Norton MON Henry: Sean Murray MON Director: Julian May MON Writer: Tim van Eyken MON Composer: Joseph Wilde MON MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz b06s89lx (Listen) MON Programme 10, 2015 MON MON (10/12) MON Tom Sutcliffe chairs a contest between the Scots (Val MON McDermid and Roddy Lumsden) and Northern Ireland (Polly MON Devlin and Brian Feeney). The last time they clashed, the MON Scots claimed victory: can the tables be turned today? The MON stakes are high, as this is the last appearance either team MON will be making in the programme this year. MON MON The panellists might sigh with relief at seeing references MON to crime fiction and popular music; but what about cricket, MON 19th century art, Classical mythology and the geography of MON Paris? They'll need knowledge of all of these to arrive at MON the answers to today's impenetrable-sounding problems, with MON Tom on hand to provide a gentle hint, or even just a raised MON eyebrow, where necessary. MON MON Tom will also have the answer to the teaser puzzle which may MON have kept you guessing since last week's contest. MON MON Producer: Paul Bajoria. MON MON 15:30 Food Programme b06s7y36 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday] MON MON 16:00 My Life on Paper b05xhwr2 (Listen) MON Across Britain, sixth formers are preparing to write and MON embellish their UCAS personal statements as they apply to MON university. MON MON Actress, playwright and mother Jane Godber explores how MON creative you can get in 4000 characters - the limits of a MON personal statement - what if you really had to tell the MON truth about your life? MON MON If you wrote that the most influential people in your life MON are not Jack Kerouac and Tennyson, but your mum or your dad, MON who is paralysed. That you are more mature than most MON sixth-formers because you've been the main carer for your MON mum and sisters since you were thirteen. MON MON Jane hears from students, admissions tutors and heads of MON sixth-form, as well as creative writing tutors Ian Marchant MON and Helen Cross. She also attempts to write her own short MON biog, with the help of daughter Martha and a large packet of MON marshmallows. MON MON Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. MON MON 16:30 Beyond Belief b06s8bpt (Listen) MON Yule MON MON December 21st - the shortest day in the year - is the day MON pagans across Europe are marking the Winter Solstice; an MON ancient festival, connected to the lowest position of the MON sun in the sky. It has been celebrated for millennia, and MON yet, its relationship to the relatively recent Christian MON celebration of Christmas is inseparable. It is no MON coincidence that a festival marking the 'rebirth' of the new MON sun in the sky comes just days before the celebration of the MON birth of Jesus, seen by Christians as the Son of God. How MON did this relationship develop? Where did many of the MON familiar customs we associate with Christmas come from? MON MON Ernie Rea explores the pagan origins of Christmas with MON Ronald Hutton, professor of History at Bristol University; MON JJ Middleway, a celebrant and ritualist based in the Druid MON tradition; and the reverend Steve Hollinghurst, a Church of MON England vicar and author of 'New Age Paganism and Christian MON Mission'. MON MON Producer: MON Amanda Hancox. MON MON 17:00 PM b06s8bpw (Listen) MON News interviews, context and analysis. MON MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06s6xfk (Listen) MON The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. MON MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue b06s8bpy (Listen) MON Series 64, Episode 4 MON MON The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the Grand MON Opera House in York. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and MON Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Sandi Toksvig MON with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano MON accompaniment. MON Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Radio Comedy MON production. MON MON Credits MON Presenter: Jack Dee MON Panellist: Barry Cryer MON Panellist: Graeme Garden MON Panellist: Tim Brooke-Taylor MON Panellist: Sandi Toksvig MON Producer: Jon Naismith MON MON 19:00 The Archers b06s8bq0 (Listen) MON David feels vulnerable, and Helen just needs a good rest. MON MON 19:15 Front Row b06s8bq2 (Listen) MON Arts news, interviews and reviews. MON MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama b06s871b (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today] MON MON 20:00 The Philosopher's Arms b06s8bq4 (Listen) MON Series 5, Hate Speech MON MON The Philosopher's Arms, presented by Matthew Sweet, asks MON whether speech can harm. Helping us come to an answer, we MON have a philosopher, cartoonist and a man who was arrested MON for hate speech. MON MON 20:30 Crossing Continents b06rzd48 (Listen) MON Cambodia: Trust Me, I'm not a Doctor MON MON The Cambodian government has recently announced a clampdown MON on unlicensed doctors. This comes after a mass infection of MON HIV in a rural village, blamed on an unlicensed doctor MON re-using syringes. The "doctor", recently convicted of MON manslaughter, has just begun a 25 year prison sentence. MON MON For millions of people, self-taught, unlicensed doctors are MON often their cheapest - and only - option if they fall ill. MON Cambodia has one of the world's lowest numbers of doctors MON per head of population, on a par with Afghanistan. For MON Crossing Continents, John Murphy travels outside the capital MON Phnom Penh to see whether the government clampdown is having MON an effect. He finds evidence that self-taught doctors are MON still operating in villages, without hindrance - and with MON plenty of local support. Producer Helen Grady. MON MON 21:00 Putting Science to Work b06rxyct (Listen) MON Air Pollution MON MON As the recent VW scandal reminds us, the exhaust from petrol MON and, in particular, diesel cars are damaging our health. So MON what can science do to help? Jim Al-Khalili invites three MON scientists into the studio to explain how their research or MON technology could help reduce pollution from dirty car MON exhausts. Professor of Chemistry, Tony Ryan makes the case MON for smart materials that absorb noxious gases. If only MON everyone could treat their jeans with nanoparticles that MON that clean up the air as they walk around town. Professor MON Clare Grey and her team are working on the next generation MON of batteries for electric cars. And engineer, Bernard Porter MON is a champion of hydrogen fuel cells. So, which technology MON is best designed to help us reduce air pollution in our MON cities? Who deserves the lion's share of Jim's imaginary pot MON of research funding to help us tackle this problem? MON MON Producer: Anna Buckley. MON MON 21:30 Start the Week b06s8714 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] MON MON 21:58 Weather b06s6xfm (Listen) MON The latest weather forecast. MON MON 22:00 The World Tonight b06s8br9 (Listen) MON In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective. MON MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime b06s8bsg (Listen) MON A Snow Garden and Other Stories, A Faraway Smell of Lemon MON MON Rachel Joyce's new collection "A Snow Garden and Other MON Stories" glides through the festive season with interlinked MON stories which delight and surprise. From an unexpected birth MON at an airport full of stranded travellers, a famous son MON wanting to escape the madness for a normal family dinner, to MON a divorced father's wish to give his two little boys the one MON thing they really want, a white Christmas. Five stories as MON funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should MON be. MON MON Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and MON international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold MON Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The MON Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the MON Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker MON Prize and has been translated into 34 languages. MON MON She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original MON afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4. MON MON Read by ..... Rachel Joyce MON Produced & Directed by ..... Gemma McMullan. MON MON Credits MON Reader: Rachel Joyce MON Author: Rachel Joyce MON Director: Gemma McMullan MON Producer: Gemma McMullan MON MON 23:00 Mastertapes b06s8brc (Listen) MON Series 5, Georgie Fame (the A-Side) MON MON John Wilson returns with a new series of Mastertapes, in MON which he talks to leading artists about the album that made MON them or changed them. Future programmes in the series MON include Donovan discussing 'Sunshine Superman', Steel Pulse MON returning to 'Handsworth Revolution' and Squeeze talking MON about 'East Side Story' MON MON Series 5, Programme 1, A-side. 'Rhythm & Blues At The MON Flamingo' with Georgie Fame MON MON At the age of 16, former apprentice cotton weaver, Clive MON Powell, successfully auditioned for pop impresario Larry MON Parnes who then forced him to change his name to Georgie MON Fame. MON MON After touring alongside Marty Wilde, Joe Brown, Gene Vincent MON and Eddie Cochran, Georgie played the piano in Billy Fury's MON backing band, the Blue Flames. By March 1962 it was Georgie MON Fame and the Blue Flames who began a three year residency at MON the Flamingo Club in London's Soho. MON MON Including tracks like 'Night Train', 'Work Song', 'Baby, MON Please Don't Go' and 'Do The Dog', 'Rhythm And Blues at the MON Flamingo' captured the vibrancy and excitement of the famous MON and notorious club which played a significant part in the MON breakdown of racial prejudice in post-war British society. MON MON Here Georgie Fame talks candidly with John Wilson about the MON album that started it all and, together with some of the MON original Blue Flames (including guitarist Colin Green, MON saxophonist Mick Eve and trumpeter Eddie 'Tan Tan' Thornton) MON as well as his two sons Tristan and James Powell, play MON exclusive versions of some of the key tracks. MON MON The B-side of the programme, where it's the turn of the MON audience to ask the questions, can be heard on Tuesday 22nd MON December at 3.30pm. MON MON Producer: Paul Kobrak. MON MON 23:30 Stepping Stones b064ygkt (Listen) MON Stick by the Sea: A Childhood Tale MON MON Broadcaster Piers Plowright explores five sound-worlds - MON some from far back in his life and some more recent - which MON still resonate with him. MON MON In this first episode, he returns to the small Welsh village MON he was evacuated to during the Second World War, to find the MON family that took him, his mother, and sister, into their MON house. MON MON With four of the Thomas siblings, now all in the 80s, he MON explores their different, sometimes conflicting, memories of MON the years 1943 to 1945 and remembers and recreates the MON sounds that surrounded them. MON MON Produced by Alan Hall MON A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4. MON MON 23:45 Today in Parliament b06s8brf (Listen) MON Sean Curran reports from Westminster. MON MON TUE TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2015 TUE TUE 00:00 Midnight News b06s6xgw (Listen) TUE The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. TUE Followed by Weather. TUE TUE 00:30 Book of the Week b06s8716 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday] TUE TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06s6xgy (Listen) TUE The latest shipping forecast. TUE TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06s6xh0 (Listen) TUE TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06s6xh2 (Listen) TUE The latest shipping forecast. TUE TUE 05:30 News Briefing b06s6xh4 (Listen) TUE The latest news from BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day b06s98c7 (Listen) TUE A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with TUE Cardinal Vincent Nichols. TUE TUE 05:45 Farming Today b06s98c9 (Listen) TUE The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. TUE Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sarah Swadling. TUE TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day b04t0vl3 (Listen) TUE Ostrich TUE TUE Michael Palin presents the avian record breaking ostrich in TUE the Kalahari Desert. Ostriches are ornithological TUE record-breakers. The black and white adult male ostrich is TUE taller and heavier than any other living bird, reaching TUE almost 3 metres in height and weighing a whopping 150 TUE kilograms. Females are smaller but lay the largest eggs of TUE any bird. The ostrich's eye measures 5cm in diameter and is TUE the largest of any land vertebrate. TUE TUE Ostriches live in the wide open landscapes of central, TUE eastern and South-West Africa. As well as being tall and TUE observant, Ostriches also minimise their chances of being TUE predated on, by living in groups and sharing lookout duties, TUE or staying close to sharp-eyed antelope and zebra herds. TUE They can also use their powerful legs to try and outrun a TUE predator, reaching speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour TUE which makes them the fastest avian runner. TUE TUE Ostrich (Struthio camelus) TUE TUE Webpage image courtesy of Denis-Huot / naturepl.com. TUE TUE NPL Ref TUE 01441194 TUE © Denis-Huot / naturepl.com. TUE TUE 06:00 Today b06s98cc (Listen) TUE Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, TUE Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day. TUE TUE 09:00 The Long View b06s98cf (Listen) TUE Jonathan Freedland finds out how today's concerns about the TUE privacy of our communications, and debates about encryption, TUE have intriguing precedents in the 17th century. TUE TUE Producer Clare Walker. TUE TUE 09:30 The Misogyny Book Club b064kk77 (Listen) TUE Hands Up, Misogynists! TUE TUE What does the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey say about TUE how women see themselves? TUE TUE This is the final programme of a series exploring misogyny TUE in our most read books, including the Bible, Hamlet, fairy TUE tales and Sons and Lovers. Jo Fidgen and company discuss how TUE E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey reflects or subverts the TUE hatred of women depicted in these earlier texts. TUE TUE The conversation ranges over violence towards women; the TUE taboo of sexual curiosity; and broaches an uncomfortable TUE question: can a feminist also be a misogynist? TUE TUE 09:45 Book of the Week b06t4l4r (Listen) TUE The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, Episode 2 TUE TUE In 2012, Robert Penn felled (and replanted) a great ash from TUE a Welsh wood. He set out to explore the true value of the TUE tree of which we have made the greatest and most varied use TUE in human history. How many things can be made from one tree? TUE TUE Over the next two years he travelled across Britain, to TUE Europe and the USA, to the workshops and barns of a TUE generation of craftsmen committed to working in wood. He TUE watched them make over 45 artefacts and tools that have been TUE in continual use for centuries, if not millennia. TUE TUE With snow on the ground, a team of tree surgeons help to TUE bring the tree down. Once the timber has been sawn into TUE planks, Rob's project to see how many things can be made TUE from one ash tree really begins. He starts with one of the TUE earliest associations between man and ash - tool handles. It TUE was the attaching of stone tool heads to wooden handles TUE which allowed our Neolithic ancestors to cultivate the land, TUE build homes, furniture, canoes and much more. TUE TUE This is a tale about the joy of making things in wood, of TUE its touch and smell, its many uses, and the resonant, TUE calming effect of running our hands along a wooden surface. TUE It is a celebration of man's close relationship with this TUE greatest of natural materials and a reminder of the value of TUE things made by hand and made to last. TUE TUE Abridged by Jo Coombs TUE Produced by Hannah Marshall TUE A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE Credits TUE Author: Robert Penn TUE Abridger: Jo Coombs TUE Producer: Hannah Marshall TUE TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour b06s98ch (Listen) TUE Jane Garvey presents the programme that offers a female TUE perspective on the world. TUE TUE Credits TUE Presenter: Jane Garvey TUE TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama b06s98ck (Listen) TUE I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, Ruler of the TUE Queen's Navee TUE TUE The story of the rise and fall of a collaboration between TUE three men who dominated Victorian musical theatre and have TUE left a lasting legacy. Everyone has heard of the immortal TUE Gilbert and Sullivan, but who knows about the man who TUE brought them success, George Grossmith, the original Modern TUE Major General? TUE TUE Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks' delightful comedy drama TUE about the entertainer George Grossmith, who was plucked from TUE his humble touring circuit to become the star of the Gilbert TUE & Sullivan Savoy Operas, staying for twelve years. Grossmith TUE was central to why Gilbert and Sullivan operas became so TUE successful and continue to be so today. TUE TUE Simon Butteriss, who plays Grossmith, is best known as a TUE performer in the Gilbert and Sullivan patter roles, which he TUE continues to sing all over the world to a huge fan base. TUE Robin Brooks' work for Radio 4 includes Ulysses, I Claudius, TUE The Great Scott and Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl. His recent TUE dramatisation of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea starring TUE Jeremy Irons has been shortlisted for a BBC Audio Drama TUE Award, 2016. TUE TUE Episode Two: Ruler of the Queen's Navee TUE It's 1878. HMS Pinafore looks set to fail in a London TUE heatwave, and Gilbert blames the disaster on Grossmith's TUE vulgar performance. Can Grossmith save his career along with TUE the sinking ship, and will Gilbert realise he's created a TUE star, not a monster? TUE TUE Pianist: Gretel Dowdeswell TUE Sound Designer: Alisdair McGregor TUE TUE Written by Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks TUE Directed by Simon Butteriss and Fiona McAlpine TUE Produced by Fiona McAlpine TUE TUE An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE Credits TUE George Grossmith: Simon Butteriss TUE Arthur Sullivan: Alex Jennings TUE WS Gilbert: Rupert Vansittart TUE Writer: Simon Butteriss TUE Writer: Robin Brooks TUE Director: Simon Butteriss TUE Director: Fiona McAlpine TUE Producer: Fiona McAlpine TUE TUE 11:00 Putting Science to Work b06s9d1f (Listen) TUE Infuriating Packaging TUE TUE Opening presents can be quite a challenge. Toys incarcerated TUE in rigid transparent plastic cases can bring tears, not of TUE joy. Not to mention vacuum-packed luxury foods that are just TUE impossible to get into. So, can science save us from TUE infuriating packaging? And, if so, which technology is most TUE likely to deliver us from this irksome everyday problem? TUE Three scientists battle it out in the studio, pitching for TUE Jim's imaginary pot of research money. Dr Alaster Yoxall is TUE determined to understand what makes things fiddly. Professor TUE Mark Miodownik dreams of packages that can be opened by your TUE mobile phone. While Professor Lynne Boddy believes mushrooms TUE as the new polystyrene. Could the future of packaging be TUE mouldable mould? TUE TUE Producer: Anna Buckley. TUE TUE 11:30 Soul Music b06s9d1h (Listen) TUE Series 21, Fairytale of New York TUE TUE The tragi-comic tale of love gone sour and shattered dreams TUE eloquently depicted in the Christmas classic Fairytale of TUE New York is the focus of this edition of Soul Music. James TUE Fearnley, pianist with The Pogues recounts how the song TUE started off as a transatlantic love story between an Irish TUE seafarer missing his girl at Christmas before becoming the TUE bittersweet reminiscences of the Irish immigrant down on his TUE luck in the Big Apple, attempting to win back the woman he TUE wooed with promises of 'cars big as bars and rivers of TUE gold'. TUE TUE Gaelic footballer Alisha Jordan came to New York to play TUE football aged 17 from County Meath in Ireland. Despite being TUE dazzled by the glamour and pace of New York City, she missed TUE her family and friends and stencilled the words 'Fairytale TUE of New York' on her apartment wall as an affirmation of her TUE determination to make the most of her new life in the city. TUE When she was later attacked on the street by a stranger, the TUE words came to signify her battle to recover and not to TUE let the horrific facial injuries she suffered defeat her or TUE her ambition to captain her football team. TUE Rachel Burdett posted the video of the song onto her friend TUE Michelle's social media page to let her know she was TUE thinking of her and praying for her safe return when TUE Michelle went missing suddenly one December. Stories of TUE redemption and of a recognition that Christmas is often not TUE the fairytale we are sold, told through a seasonal TUE favourite. TUE TUE Producer: Maggie Ayre. TUE TUE 12:00 News Summary b06s6xh6 (Listen) TUE The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE 12:04 Home Front b06kv7ds (Listen) TUE 22 December 1915 - Dorothea Winwood TUE TUE Minister of munitions, David Lloyd George made an official TUE visit to armaments factories in Newcastle, and it is TUE Dorothea's first day at the Bevan Hospital. TUE TUE Written by Richard Monks TUE Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. TUE TUE Credits TUE Dorothea Winwood: Rachel Shelley TUE Alec Poole: Tom Stuart TUE Bob Capeling: Joe Sims TUE Dolly Clout: Elaine Claxton TUE Olive Hargreaves: Rhiannon Neads TUE Isabel Graham: Keely Beresford TUE Max Davenport: Trevor White TUE Nell Kingsley: Alice St Clair TUE Dr Streatfield: Chris Pavlo TUE Soldier: Leo Wan TUE Orderly: David Hounslow TUE Nurse: Katie Redford TUE Writer: Richard Monks TUE Director: Jessica Dromgoole TUE TUE 12:15 You and Yours b06s9d1k (Listen) TUE Call You and Yours TUE TUE Consumer phone-in. TUE TUE 12:57 Weather b06s6xh8 (Listen) TUE The latest weather forecast. TUE TUE 13:00 World at One b06s9d1m (Listen) TUE Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark TUE Mardell. TUE TUE 13:45 Roger Law: Art and Seoul b06tflfk (Listen) TUE Artist Roger Law has long been fascinated by the culture of TUE Korea. From stunning ceramics to films and music, South TUE Korea has it all. Roger travels to the 21st century city of TUE Seoul to find out what fires up the Korean imagination. TUE TUE Seoul is the place to go for anyone who wants plastic TUE surgery, and Roger wants to know why. Is there something in TUE the Korean psyche which can be helped by a nose job? And can TUE they make him look like George Clooney? TUE TUE Producer Mark Rickards. TUE TUE 14:00 The Archers b06s8bq0 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 14:15 Drama b06s9d1p (Listen) TUE McLevy, The Seventh Veil TUE TUE New series. 2/4. The Seventh Veil. TUE TUE Victorian detective drama starring Brian Cox and Siobhan TUE Redmond. TUE TUE Written by David Ashton. TUE TUE Chief Constable Murray Craddock is outraged when an exotic TUE dancer arrives in Leith. TUE TUE But it's all part of Jean Brash's plans to repay some old TUE debts. TUE TUE Other parts played by the cast. TUE Producer/Director: Bruce Young TUE BBC Scotland. TUE TUE Credits TUE McLevy: Brian Cox TUE Jean: Siobhan Redmond TUE Mulholland: Michael Perceval-Maxwell TUE Roach: David Ashton TUE Logan Hamilton: Derek Riddell TUE Craddock: David Robb TUE Ewart Buckler: Hugh Ross TUE Louisa: Teresa Gallagher TUE Jed Gilmour: Brian Ferguson TUE Cammie Fraser: Matt McClure TUE Director: Bruce Young TUE Producer: Bruce Young TUE Writer: David Ashton TUE TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet b06s6mf6 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday] TUE TUE 15:30 Mastertapes b06s9d1r (Listen) TUE Series 5, Georgie Fame (the B-Side) TUE TUE John Wilson returns with a new series of Mastertapes, in TUE which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about TUE the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front TUE of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. TUE Future programmes in the series include Donovan discussing TUE 'Sunshine Superman', Steel Pulse returning to 'Handsworth TUE Revolution' and Squeeze talking about 'East Side Story' TUE TUE Programme 2 (B-side): Having discussed the making of 'Rhythm TUE & Blues at the Flamingo' (in the A-side of the programme, TUE broadcast on Monday 21st December and available online), TUE Georgie Fame responds to questions from the audience and TUE performs exclusive live versions of some of the tracks from TUE the album (accompanied by his sons James and Tristan Powell, TUE as well as a few of the original Blue Flames). TUE TUE Producer: Paul Kobrak. TUE TUE 16:00 The Human Zoo b06s9d1t (Listen) TUE Series 7, 22/12/2015 TUE TUE The series that looks at current events through the lens of TUE psychology. From scandals to markets, elections to traffic TUE jams, discover the nuts and bolts of human behaviour that TUE link public life to our most private thoughts and TUE motivations. TUE TUE Michael Blastland investigates, with resident Zoo TUE psychologist Nick Chater, Professor of Behavioural Science TUE at Warwick Business School, and roving reporter Timandra TUE Harkness. TUE TUE Producers: Dom Byrne and Eve Streeter TUE A Pier production for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE 16:30 Great Lives b06s9d1w (Listen) TUE Series 38, Alvin Hall chooses James Baldwin TUE TUE Alvin Hall is the friendly face of financial reality, TUE lecturing, writing and broadcasting on the subject of TUE managing money. But he is also passionately interested in TUE fine art, music and literature, and his nomination for a TUE Great Life is that of writer and Civil Rights activist, TUE James Baldwin. TUE Baldwin was born in 1924 in Harlem and his achievements in TUE overcoming a difficult start in life were prodigious. For TUE much of his life he lived outside the United States, TUE returning in the late 1950s to support the nascent Civil TUE Rights movement, though the Movement itself had some TUE problems with his homosexuality. Throughout his life he TUE continued to write about the experiences of being black in TUE 20th century America and is now widely regarded as the TUE pre-eminent African-American writer of the century. TUE TUE Dr Douglas Field of the University of Manchester, who has TUE written several books on James Baldwin, discusses Baldwin's TUE life and achievements with Alvin and with Matthew Parris. TUE TUE Producer Christine Hall. TUE TUE Credits TUE Presenter: Matthew Parris TUE Interviewed Guest: Alvin Hall TUE Interviewed Guest: Douglas Field TUE Producer: Christine Hall TUE TUE 17:00 PM b06s9d1y (Listen) TUE Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis. TUE TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06s6xhb (Listen) TUE The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE 18:30 Don't Make Me Laugh b06s9d20 (Listen) TUE Don't Make Me Laugh Christmas Special TUE TUE David Baddiel hosts a Christmas edition of the anti-comedy TUE show, where the only task for the guests is to avoid making TUE the audience laugh. TUE TUE Frank Skinner, Hugh Dennis, Ellie Taylor and Dan Schreiber TUE face the challenge of resisting all their natural instincts, TUE talking about a series of funny subjects without making any TUE jokes. TUE TUE Producer: Dave Cribb TUE A So Radio production for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE Credits TUE Presenter: David Baddiel TUE Panellist: Frank Skinner TUE Panellist: Hugh Dennis TUE Panellist: Ellie Taylor TUE Panellist: Dan Schreiber TUE Producer: Dave Cribb TUE TUE 19:00 The Archers b06s9d22 (Listen) TUE There is a gathering at Keeper's Cottage, and a new taker TUE for one of Susan's tabards. TUE TUE 19:15 Front Row b06s9d24 (Listen) TUE Arts news, interviews and reviews. TUE TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama b06s98ck (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today] TUE TUE 20:00 A Meaty Problem b06s9d26 (Listen) TUE Restaurateur Henry Dimbleby unravels the deep-seated TUE attachment of the British to eating meat. TUE TUE Henry wants to cut down on his meat consumption. Many TUE scientists and policy makers think this is a good idea - for TUE global food sustainability, climate change and health. In an TUE effort to understand why he is finding it so difficult, he TUE unpicks the cultural history of the British and their TUE relationship to eating meat. TUE TUE We join Henry as he hosts a vegetarian Sunday lunch for his TUE family, without his beloved joint of meat. He speaks to TUE cultural historian Ben Rogers, author of Beef and Liberty, TUE and learns that the British have long been identified with TUE their beef consumption - propaganda which sets them above TUE the French during the 18th century wars, the fashionably TUE obese John Bull character portrayed in start contrast to the TUE weak and feeble Frenchman existing on a diet of gruel and TUE snails. TUE TUE Dr Annie Gray recalls the popularity of the ditty O the TUE Roast Beef Of Old England, sung spontaneously by audiences TUE in the playhouses of 18th century England. TUE TUE With meat eating such a strong part of our cultural TUE identity, Henry asks how we might go about re-programming TUE ourselves so that we can reduce our intake? Like it or not, TUE meat-eating is still very much associated with masculinity TUE and psychotherapist Susie Orbach suggests reasons why men TUE find it more difficult to reduce meat-eating than women. TUE TUE Henry speaks to Professor of Food Policy at City University TUE London, Tim Lang about whether personal choice can be TUE enough, or whether governmental policy, taxes or rations are TUE needed to change eating habits and prevent a global food TUE crisis. TUE Produced by Victoria Shepherd TUE A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE 20:40 In Touch b06s9d2b (Listen) TUE News, views and information for people who are blind or TUE partially sighted. TUE TUE 21:00 The Listeners b06s9d2d (Listen) TUE Series 3, Episode 1 TUE TUE Listening is about more than hearing as we discover in this TUE new series of 3 programmes. The first programme explores TUE three very different experiences of listening to speech with TUE a poet, a speech dialect coach and Chair of Samaritans. Jan TUE Haydn Rowles is an accent and dialect coach whose interest TUE in dialect began when she noticed how her parents who were TUE born in different counties spoke with different accents; and TUE that the same was true of her and her siblings. Jan not only TUE hears sounds she sees them; "When I listen to a person's TUE voice I don't see it, I hear it" and she offers a TUE fascinating insight into her visual experiences of sound. TUE Katrina Porteus has spent much of her life in County Durham TUE and Northumberland writing about the fishing communities and TUE coastal landscape where she lives. 'A poem begins and ends TUE in listening' she says. For Katrina, listening extends to TUE the sounds of the words; whether they be soft sounds or hard TUE sounds, and beyond the meaning of the words to the rhythm of TUE language and the music of the dialect as we discover. Jenni TUE McCartney is our third listener. She has been working with TUE Samaritans for over 30 years, first as a volunteer and now TUE as Chair. "Listening is absolutely crucial to what we do" TUE she says, Started by Chad Varra in 1953, Samaritans is a TUE charity which provides confidential emotional support for TUE people who are experiencing feelings of distress, despair or TUE suicidal thoughts, and is available 24 hours a day, every TUE day. At its simplest, Samaritans is about listening. "Every TUE 6 seconds somebody contacts Samaritans". Listening perhaps TUE has never been more important. Producer Sarah Blunt. TUE TUE JAN HAYDN ROWLES TUE TUE Jan Hadyn Rowles is an accent and dialect coach. She trained TUE as an actor and then later as a voice and dialect coach. TUE TUE For more information about her work: TUE http://www.voicecoach.tv/coaches/JanHaydnRowles.htm TUE TUE KATRINA PORTEUS TUE TUE Katrina Porteus is a poet, historian and broadcaster. She TUE has spent much of her life in County Durham and TUE Northumberland and much of her work has been inspired by the TUE inshore fishing community of the Northumberland coast and TUE the cultural and natural history of the area. TUE TUE For more information about her work: TUE http://www.katrinaporteous.co.uk/ TUE TUE The extracts of her TUE Radio Poems TUE used in TUE *The Listeners* TUE were taken from: TUE *Dunstanburgh Castle; a secret as old as the stones* TUE produced by Julian May. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, TUE 09/2/2004. The extract also features the actor Trevor Fox. TUE TUE JENNI McCARTNEY TUE TUE Jenni McCartney has been with Samaritans for over 30 years TUE having joined as a Volunteer. Today she is Chair of TUE Samaritans. TUE http://www.samaritans.org/ TUE TUE 21:30 The Long View b06s98cf (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] TUE TUE 21:58 Weather b06s6xhd (Listen) TUE The latest weather forecast. TUE TUE 22:00 The World Tonight b06s9d2g (Listen) TUE In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective. TUE TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime b06t2gq5 (Listen) TUE A Snow Garden and Other Stories, A Snow Garden TUE TUE Rachel Joyce's new collection "A Snow Garden and Other TUE Stories" glides through the festive season with interlinked TUE stories which delight and surprise. From an unexpected birth TUE at an airport full of stranded travellers, a famous son TUE wanting to escape the madness for a normal family dinner, to TUE a divorced father's wish to give his two little boys the one TUE thing they really want, a white Christmas. Five stories as TUE funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should TUE be. TUE TUE Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and TUE international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold TUE Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The TUE Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the TUE Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker TUE Prize and has been translated into 34 languages. TUE TUE She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original TUE afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE Read by ..... Rachel Joyce TUE Produced & Directed by ..... Gemma McMullan. TUE TUE Credits TUE Author: Rachel Joyce TUE TUE 23:00 The Show What You Wrote b06s9f1j (Listen) TUE Series 3, Crime and Punishment TUE TUE John Thomson, Shobna Gulati, Fiona Clarke, Chris Jack, and TUE Gavin Webster star, as Radio 4's themed sketch show made TUE entirely from contributions sent in by the public continues TUE its third series. The best ideas have been chosen from TUE thousands of submissions from new writers resulting in a TUE show like no other. TUE TUE This third episode of the series takes the theme of "Crime & TUE Punishment", and features some remarkably literal TUE highwaymen, a door-to-door salesman who is in no way a TUE conman, and an HR policy that shows it's always best to read TUE the small print. TUE TUE Written by Cassie Atkinson, Tim Craig, Sarah Glenister, TUE Helen Green, Jack Hall, Dai Hill, Joe Hodgson, Gabby TUE Hutchinson Crouch, Rose Johnson, Graham Kilvington, Derek TUE Martin, Steve Nelson, Owen Seddon & Emlyn Williams. TUE TUE Script editor ... Jon Hunter TUE Producers ... Ed Morrish and Paul Sheehan. TUE TUE A BBC Radio Comedy Production. TUE TUE Credits TUE Ensemble: John Thomson TUE Ensemble: Shobna Gulati TUE Ensemble: Fiona Clarke TUE Ensemble: Chris Jack TUE Ensemble: Gavin Webster TUE Producer: Ed Morrish TUE Producer: Paul Sheehan TUE TUE 23:30 Stepping Stones b064z75g (Listen) TUE The Chuckler: A Short Ride in a Smart Machine TUE TUE Broadcaster Piers Plowright explores five sound-worlds - TUE some from far back in his life and some more recent - which TUE still resonate with him. TUE TUE In this third episode, Piers goes for a drive with his two TUE daughters in a Morris Minor, the same model and vintage as TUE the one he owned between 1968 and 1990. As his only car, he TUE discovers just what made it so special when the family was TUE growing up. TUE TUE Produced by Alan Hall TUE A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4. TUE TUE 23:45 Today in Parliament b06s9f1l (Listen) TUE Susan Hulme reports from Westminster. TUE TUE WED WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER 2015 WED WED 00:00 Midnight News b06s6xjg (Listen) WED The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. WED Followed by Weather. WED WED 00:30 Book of the Week b06t4l4r (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday] WED WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06s6xjj (Listen) WED The latest shipping forecast. WED WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06s6xjl (Listen) WED WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06s6xjn (Listen) WED The latest shipping forecast. WED WED 05:30 News Briefing b06s6xjq (Listen) WED The latest news from BBC Radio 4. WED WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day b06s9f9t (Listen) WED A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with WED Cardinal Vincent Nichols. WED WED 05:45 Farming Today b06s9f9w (Listen) WED The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. WED Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sarah Swadling. WED WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day b04t0vp4 (Listen) WED Mauritius Kestrel WED WED Michael Palin presents the Mauritius kestrel from the island WED of Mauritius. Today the calls of several hundred Mauritius WED kestrels ring out across the forests and farmland of the WED island, so it's hard to believe that as recently as the WED early 1970s, only four birds could be found in the wild. WED WED These smart chestnut falcons were almost wiped out by a WED cocktail of threats ...destruction of their evergreen WED forests, pesticides and the introduction of predators such WED as monkeys, mongooses, rats and cats. When a species is so WED critically endangered there aren't many options, and WED conservationists decided that their only choice was to take WED some of the wild Mauritius kestrels into captivity. WED WED By 1993, 300 Mauritius kestrels had been released and by WED November of that year there were as many as 65 breeding WED pairs in the wild. Now the kestrels are back, hovering above WED the landscapes that nearly lost them forever. WED WED Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus) WED WED Webpage image courtesy of Mark Cawardine / naturepl.com. WED WED NPL Ref WED 01315489 WED © Mark Cawardine / naturepl.com. WED WED Recording of Mauritius kestrel by Jon P Erickson / Ref: ML WED 167409 WED WED This programme contains a WED wildtrack recording of the Mauritius kestrel WED kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab WED of Ornithology; recorded by Jon P Erickson on 4 Nov 2009, in WED the lower gorges, 1.5km NWW of Black River Gorges National WED Park, Black River, Maruitius. WED WED 06:00 Today b06s9j70 (Listen) WED Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, WED Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day. WED WED 09:00 Midweek b06s9j72 (Listen) WED Lively and diverse conversation. WED WED 09:45 Book of the Week b06t4l4t (Listen) WED The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, Episode 3 WED WED In 2012, Robert Penn felled (and replanted) a great ash from WED a Welsh wood. He set out to explore the true value of the WED tree of which we have made the greatest and most varied use WED in human history. How many things can be made from one tree? WED WED Over the next two years he travelled across Britain, to WED Europe and the USA, to the workshops and barns of a WED generation of craftsmen committed to working in wood. He WED watched them make over 45 artefacts and tools that have been WED in continual use for centuries, if not millennia. WED WED Rob takes a carefully selected log to Robin Wood, Britain's WED best-known wood-turner. He has agreed to use it to form a WED nest of three bowls - a difficult task, "the Holy grail of WED turning". As he works the wood in his Peak District cow WED shed, he's following a craft which dates back to ancient WED times - a beautifully decorated Celtic ash bowl was found at WED the Iron Age site of Glastonbury Lake village. And from the WED fall of the Roman Empire, a culture of woodware thrived in WED Britain. For at least a thousand years from AD 500, every WED man and woman in Europe, from kings and queens to paupers WED and serfs, ate and drank each day from a wooden vessel WED turned on a lathe. WED WED This is a tale about the joy of making things in wood, of WED its touch and smell, its many uses, and the resonant, WED calming effect of running our hands along a wooden surface. WED It is a celebration of man's close relationship with this WED greatest of natural materials and a reminder of the value of WED things made by hand and made to last. WED WED Abridged by Jo Coombs WED Produced by Hannah Marshall WED A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED Credits WED Author: Robert Penn WED Abridger: Jo Coombs WED Producer: Hannah Marshall WED WED 10:00 Woman's Hour b06s9j74 (Listen) WED Jane Garvey presents the programme that offers a female WED perspective on the world. WED WED Credits WED Presenter: Jane Garvey WED WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama b06s9j76 (Listen) WED I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, A WED Disagreeable Man WED WED The story of the rise and fall of a collaboration between WED three men who dominated Victorian musical theatre and have WED left a lasting legacy. Everyone has heard of the immortal WED Gilbert and Sullivan, but who knows about the man who WED brought them success, George Grossmith, the original Modern WED Major General? WED WED Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks' delightful comedy drama WED about the entertainer George Grossmith, who was plucked from WED his humble touring circuit to become the star of the Gilbert WED & Sullivan Savoy Operas, staying for twelve years. Grossmith WED was central to why Gilbert and Sullivan operas became so WED successful and continue to be so today. WED WED Simon Butteriss, who plays Grossmith, is best known as a WED performer in the Gilbert and Sullivan patter roles, which he WED continues to sing all over the world to a huge fan base. WED Robin Brooks' work for Radio 4 includes Ulysses, I Claudius, WED The Great Scott and Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl. His recent WED dramatisation of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea starring WED Jeremy Irons has been shortlisted for a BBC Audio Drama WED Award, 2016. WED WED Episode Three: A Disagreeable Man 1 WED It's 1884 and after great success with The Pirates of WED Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan move their operas to their WED very own Savoy Theatre. But after the successful runs of WED Patience and Iolanthe, the third opera, Princess Ida, fails WED to catch fire and tempers fray. WED WED Pianist: Gretel Dowdeswell WED Sound Designer: Alisdair McGregor WED WED Written by Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks WED Directed by Simon Butteriss and Fiona McAlpine WED Produced by Fiona McAlpine WED WED An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED Credits WED George Grossmith: Simon Butteriss WED Arthur Sullivan: Alex Jennings WED WS Gilbert: Rupert Vansittart WED Writer: Simon Butteriss WED Writer: Robin Brooks WED Director: Simon Butteriss WED Director: Fiona McAlpine WED Producer: Fiona McAlpine WED WED 10:55 The Listening Project b06s9j78 (Listen) WED Oscar and Isaac - Badges and Adventures WED WED Fi Glover introduces a conversation recorded at the CBBC WED Live and Digital Festival in Hull, between ten year olds who WED are well aware of the life skills they can learn in the Cub WED Scouts. Another conversation in the series that proves it's WED surprising what you hear when you listen, and this one can WED be seen, animated, on http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc WED WED The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a WED snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the WED UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to WED them about a subject they've never discussed intimately WED before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK WED by teams of producers from local and national radio stations WED who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're WED not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - WED lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key WED moment of connection between the participants. Most of the WED unedited conversations are being archived by the British WED Library and used to build up a collection of voices WED capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade WED of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening WED Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject WED WED Producer: Marya Burgess. WED WED 11:00 Stars of Wonder b06s9j7b (Listen) WED Miranda Sawyer explores the magic of that enduring British WED ritual, the school nativity play. WED WED Charlie Higson, Samira Ahmed, Simon Armitage, Tracey Thorn, WED Rory McGrath, Clare Grogan and Mark Billingham are among WED those inspired - or scarred - by the experience. WED WED Northworld Primary School in Hackney opens its doors to WED reveal the inside story of its 2015 production from casting WED to opening night. WED WED A Trevor Dann's Company production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED 11:30 The Stanley Baxter Playhouse b06s9j7d (Listen) WED Series 7, Two Desperate Men WED WED Inspired by a story by O. Henry, we travel to Perthshire in WED the days when the streets had more horses than horsepower. WED We encounter two 1930s tricksters who get their just deserts WED when they attempt to kidnap and hold to ransom a young lad WED who's learned a thing or two from the Wild West. WED WED Stanley Baxter and Joe Caffrey are those two desperate men WED and young member of the Royal Lyceum Youth Theatre Tom WED Borley is the lad who gets the better of them in this WED classic screwball comedy. WED WED Written by Colin MacDonald WED WED Directed by Marilyn Imrie WED A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED Credits WED Hughie: Stanley Baxter WED Bill: Joe Caffrey WED Logan: Tom Borley WED Director: Marilyn Imrie WED Producer: Catherine Bailey WED Writer: Colin MacDonald WED WED 12:00 News Summary b06s6xjs (Listen) WED The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. WED WED 12:04 Home Front b06kv7k7 (Listen) WED 23 December 1915 - Albert Wilson WED WED On this day, Vera Brittain's fiancé, Roland Leighton, died WED in France, and in Folkestone, Albert tries to lift the curse WED on the house of Wilson. WED WED Written by Richard Monks WED Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. WED WED Credits WED Albert Wilson: Jamie Foreman WED Florrie Wilson: Claire Rushbrook WED June Grey: Aimee-Ffion Edwards WED Norman Harris: Sean Baker WED Eric Morton: Paul Rainbow WED Peggy Jeffrey: Jane Slavin WED Timpson: David Hounslow WED Writer: Richard Monks WED Director: Jessica Dromgoole WED WED 12:15 You and Yours b06s9j7g (Listen) WED Consumer affairs programme. WED WED 12:57 Weather b06s6xjv (Listen) WED The latest weather forecast. WED WED 13:00 World at One b06s9j7j (Listen) WED Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark WED Mardell. WED WED 13:45 Roger Law: Art and Seoul b06tfn7q (Listen) WED Artist Roger Law has long been fascinated by the culture of WED Korea. From stunning ceramics to films and music, South WED Korea has it all. Roger travels to the 21st century city of WED Seoul to find out what fires up the Korean imagination. WED WED Korean films are becoming more popular in the west, but WED there is still a long tradition we know little about. Roger WED visits the 'Hollywood of Seoul' to find out how their movies WED get made. WED WED Producer Mark Rickards. WED WED 14:00 The Archers b06s9d22 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 14:15 Tumanbay b06s9j7l (Listen) WED Hidden Knowledge WED WED Tumanbay, the beating heart of a vast empire, is threatened WED by a rebellion in a far-off province and a mysterious force WED devouring the city from within. WED WED Gregor (Rufus Wright), Master of the Palace Guard, is WED charged by Sultan Al-Ghuri (Raad Rawi) with the task of WED rooting out this insurgence and crushing it. WED WED As Shajar, the sultan's chief wife (Sarah Beck Mather), WED plots her son Madu's (Danny Ashok) succession to the throne, WED Gregor, master of the palace guard, is determined to WED discover what it is she has taken from the aged Hafiz and is WED having repaired in the workshop of a pair of artisans in the WED city. Marching with the army out to the provinces, Madu's WED slave find solace with an unlikely companion. WED WED Epic saga created by John Dryden and Mike Walker inspired by WED the Mamluk slave-dynasty of Egypt. WED WED Music - Sacha Putnam WED Sound Design - Steve Bond, Jon Ouin WED Editors - Ania Przygoda, James Morgan WED Producers - Emma Hearn, Nadir Khan, John Dryden WED WED Written by Mike Walker WED Directed by John Dryden WED WED A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED Credits WED Gregor: Rufus Wright WED Heaven: Olivia Popica WED Slave: Akin Gazi WED Cadali: Matthew Marsh WED Sarah: Nina Yndis WED Ibn: Nabil Elouahabi WED Shajar: Sarah Beck Mather WED Madu: Danny Ashok WED Daniel: Gareth Kennerley WED General Qulan: Christopher Fulford WED Boy: Darwin Brokenbro WED Hameed Brother: Christian Hillborg WED Hameed Brother: Alec Utgoff WED Rajik: Akbar Kurtha WED Pamira: Nathalie Armin WED Writer: Mike Walker WED Director: John Dryden WED Producer: Emma Hearn WED Producer: Nadir Khan WED Producer: John Dryden WED WED 15:00 The Educators b06s9j7n (Listen) WED The First Teachers WED WED The most important educator in most children's lives is WED their parents, and the first five years is deemed to be WED critical. Sarah Montague meets Margy Whalley, the co-founder WED of Pen Green Children's Centre and Research Base in Corby, WED Northamptonshire. WED WED For thirty years, the centre has been educating parents WED about the way their children behave and learn, and using the WED insights of parents and nursery staff to understand the WED learning process of every child. WED WED Ranked outstanding in every one of its Ofsted reports, Pen WED Green has influenced other centres and early years provision WED in the UK, and plays an ongoing role in early years WED research. WED WED Presenter: Sarah Montague WED Producer: Joel Moors. WED WED 15:30 The Listeners b06s9d2d (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed b06s9j7q (Listen) WED A Special Programme on Rituals WED WED Rituals at Christmas & beyond. Laurie Taylor presents a WED special programme on the place of rituals in everyday life. WED How have they changed over time and do we still need them? WED He's joined by Adam Kuper, Centennial Professor in WED Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political WED Science; Marina Warner, writer and mythographer and WED Elizabeth Pleck, Professor Emeritu of History and Human WED Development & Family Studies at the University of Illinois. WED WED Producer: Jayne Egerton. WED WED 16:30 The Media Show b06s9j7s (Listen) WED Topical programme about the fast-changing media world. WED WED 17:00 PM b06s9l59 (Listen) WED Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis. WED WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06s6xjz (Listen) WED The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. WED WED 18:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups b06s9l5c (Listen) WED Series 3, A Christmas Not Special WED WED Episode 6, 'A Christmas Not Special'. A ring of the doorbell WED interrupts an already unconventional Wrigglesworth family WED Christmas. WED WED Series 3 of the sitcom where Tom Wrigglesworth phones home WED for his weekly check-in with his Mum, Dad and Gran, giving WED listeners a glimpse into his family background and the WED influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and WED hang-ups. WED WED Episode 6 "A Christmas Not Special": The Wrigglesworths WED receive a Christmas visitor while Tom struggles to get home WED in time for dinner. WED WED Starring Tom Wrigglesworth, Paul Copley, Kate Anthony, WED Elizabeth Bennett and Chris Pavlo. WED Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with WED additional material by Miles Jupp WED Produced by Richard Morris WED WED A BBC Radio Comedy Production. WED WED Credits WED Actor: Tom Wrigglesworth WED Actor: Paul Copley WED Actor: Kate Anthony WED Actor: Elizabeth Bennett WED Actor: Chris Pavlo WED Writer: Tom Wrigglesworth WED Writer: James Kettle WED Writer: Miles Jupp WED Producer: Richard Morris WED WED 19:00 The Archers b06s9l5f (Listen) WED Does Rob have Christmas all wrapped up? The Fairbrothers are WED off to market. WED WED 19:15 Front Row b06s9l5h (Listen) WED Arts news, interviews and reviews. WED WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama b06s9j76 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today] WED WED 20:00 Natural Histories b05w9drk (Listen) WED Natural Histories Live - The Big Story WED WED Natural Histories: The Big Story WED WED Lions, Sharks, Whales and Apes are four well known A-lister WED groups of animals that have got under our skin, enthralled WED us with their wildness and inspired literature, film, myth WED and legend. But so have Cockroaches and Fleas and the much WED lesser known Burbot and Mandrakes. Natural Histories has WED brought 25 groups of animals and plants together across 25 WED episodes to tell the stories of nature's influences on human WED culture from across the globe. WED WED The Big Story, a special live event presented by satirical WED comedian Rory Bremner and Natural Histories presenter Brett WED Westwood tells a story of the earth from Dinosaurs to WED people. With comedy, music, readings and discussion all held WED in the spectacular Hinze Hall of the Natural History Museum. WED We tell a uniquely Big Story of 100 million years' worth of WED natural history. WED WED Rory Bremner WED WED Rory Bremner has been brightening up our screens for over 25 WED years with his unique brand of comedy and satire. He is WED widely rated as Britain’s sharpest impressionist and he WED impersonates over 100 people, from Tony Blair to Mohamed al WED Fayed; Rory once managed to get through to Margaret Beckett WED whilst impersonating Gordon Brown. WED WED These days he’s equally in demand as a columnist for WED newspapers and magazines, as a documentary presenter and is WED one of the country’s leading after-dinner speakers. WED WED Brett Westwood WED WED Brett Westwood is an award-winning producer, presenter and WED naturalist. In addition to presenting *Natural Histories*, WED his other acclaimed Radio 4 series range from WED Saving Species WED and WED Tweet of the Day WED (winner of Best Radio Series 2014); to WED The Diaries of Brett Westwood WED He is also a presenter for Springwatch and Autumnwatch. WED WED Professor Paul Barrett WED Professor Paul Barrett is a world-leading expert on the WED evolution and biology of dinosaurs and other extinct WED reptiles and has published more than 100 scientific papers WED and books. He joined the WED Natural History Museum WED in 2003 and is a Merit Researcher in the Department of WED Earth Sciences and Head of Division for Fossil Vertebrates, WED Anthropology and Micropalaeontology. Prior to this he held WED academic appointments at the Universities of Cambridge and WED Oxford. WED His main areas of interest are in WED the biology of plant-eating dinosaurs WED describing new dinosaurs, and in large-scale evolutionary WED processes, such as the coevolution of animals and plants WED through time. WED During the course of this work, he has travelled extensively WED to work on museum collections around the world and conducted WED fieldwork in China, the UK and South Africa. He is currently WED President of the WED Palaeontographical Society WED holds numerous editorial positions and sits on the councils WED and committees of several learned societies. WED Twitter: WED @NHMdinolab WED WED Richard Jones WED WED Richard Jones is a nationally acclaimed entomologist, a WED fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and of the Linnean WED Society of London, and past president of the British WED Entomological and Natural History Society. WED WED He has been fascinated by wildlife since a childhood WED exploring the South Downs and Sussex Weald after plants and WED insects. He now writes about insects, wildlife and the WED environment for the likes of WED BBC Wildlife WED Gardeners’ World and Countryfile and has regular radio WED appearances on programmes like Radio 4’s WED Home Planet WED and Woman’s Hour. WED WED WED WED He is author of several books on insects and wildlife WED including: Create Ponds, Attract Wildlife and Control Pests WED (Impact Publishing and Henry Doubleday Research Association, WED 2004/2005), Nano Nature (Harper Collins, 2008), Beekeeper’s WED Bible (HarperCollins, 2010), Extreme Insects (HarperCollins, WED 2010, now in paperback). WED WED Sophie Cox WED WED Sophie Cox is a 14-year-old musician who composed Emma's WED Song in memory of her cousin Emma Speer who was suffering WED from terminal breast cancer. Sophie wanted to write a song WED to raise money for the charity Marie Curie, which uses a WED daffodil as its emblem, and found inspiration for the chorus WED from the poem ‘Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth. She WED recorded the song on August 31, two days before Emma died at WED the age of 33. Since then WED the song has had more than 13,000 views on YouTube WED and has been released as a single via iTunes and Amazon. WED WED Dr Sandra Knapp WED Dr Sandra Knapp is a specialist on the taxonomy of the WED nightshade family, Solanaceae and has spent much time in the WED field in Central and South America collecting plants. Her WED particular focus of research is the taxonomy of Solanum, the WED genus that contains potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants and is WED one of only a handful of flowering plant genera with more WED than 1000 species. WED Sandy came to the Natural History Museum in 1992 and has WED described more than 75 new species of plants. She is the WED author of several popular books on the history of science WED and botanical exploration, including the award-winning WED Potted Histories WED (2004). She is also the author of more than 175 WED peer-reviewed scientific papers and actively involved in WED promoting the role of taxonomy worldwide. WED In 2009 she was honoured by the WED Peter Raven Outreach Award WED by the WED American Society of Plant Taxonomists WED and the UK National Biodiversity Network’s WED John Burnett Medal WED WED Sir Tim Smit WED WED In 1987 Sir Tim Smit moved to Cornwall. He and John Nelson WED together ‘discovered’ and then restored the Lost Gardens of WED Heligan. Tim remains a Director of the gardens to the WED present day. WED WED WED WED Sir Tim Smit is WED Executive Vice-Chairman, and Co-founder of the award-winning WED Eden Project WED near St Austell in Cornwall. Eden began as a dream in 1995 WED and opened its doors to the public in 2000, since when more WED than 16 million people have come to see what was once a WED sterile pit turned into a cradle of life containing WED world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic WED of human endeavour. Eden has contributed over £1 billion WED into the Cornish economy. Eden is proud of its success in WED changing people’s perception of the potential for and the WED application of science, by communicating and interpreting WED scientific concepts through the use of art, drama and WED storytelling as well as living up to its mission to take a WED pivotal role in local regeneration. It demonstrates once and WED for all that sustainability is not about sandals and nut WED cutlets, it is about good business practice and the WED citizenship values of the future. WED WED Richard Lewington WED WED Richard Lewington is an WED illustrator WED specialising mainly in field guides on insects and other WED invertebrates and has painted bees and butterflies on Royal WED Mail stamps and illustrated a mini Easter egg field guide WED for Waitrose. WED WED He has always been interested in the natural world, WED influenced by his father and grandfather who were both keen WED countrymen. For the artist, he believes there can be no area WED of greater diversity, with an infinite range of shapes, WED colours and textures, and with more species than a person WED could ever hope to illustrate in many lifetimes. His younger WED brother, Ian, is one of the best bird illustrators in the WED world. WED WED Professor Tim Birkhead WED WED Professor Tim Birkhead, of the University of Sheffield’s WED Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, first visited WED Skomer Island in 1972. No one had tried to conduct a census WED of guillemots before and Professor Birkhead came up with an WED innovative way to count the birds and determine how many WED chicks were produced each year. WED WED By marking birds individually with colour rings Professor WED Birkhead was able to measure their breeding success, see how WED old they are when they first start to breed and see how long WED the birds live. WED WED When Professor Birkhead began his studies the guillemot WED population breeding on Skomer was just 2,000 individuals, WED yet pictures of the island thirty years earlier showed that WED there had been around 100,000 guillemots then. In 2011 the WED population showed signs of recovery as around 20,000 WED individuals were recorded. WED WED Esther Woolfson WED WED Esther Woolfson was brought up in Glasgow and studied WED Chinese at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Edinburgh WED University. WED WED Her critically acclaimed short stories have appeared in many WED anthologies including 'New Writing Scotland' and several WED volumes of 'Scottish Short Stories'and have been read on WED Radio 4. WED WED She has won prizes for them and for nature writing. She was WED awarded a Scottish Arts Council Travel Grant which enabled WED her to travel in Poland and Lithuania. WED WED Esther won the Waterstone's/Arvon short prize prize for her WED short story 'Passing On' and her short story 'Statues' was WED shortlisted for the Macallan Prize. WED WED Her short story,'Chagall' is in the Scottish Arts Council WED on-line short story archive and her article, 'Trump in WED Scotland' was published in the American magazine n+1. WED WED Her book on natural history, Corvus was published by Granta WED in August, 2008. It was Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. Her WED novel Piano Angel was published by Two Ravens Press October WED 2008. WED WED Esther took part in an Artists' Residency at Aberdeen WED University's Centre for Environmental Sustainability. She WED gave a paper on the relationship between the arts and WED science, in which she examined the breaking-down of the WED traditional separation between the disciplines. WED WED Esther was Writer in Residence at Kielder as part of the WED Hexham Book Festival in 2012. WED WED 'Field Notes From a Hidden City' is about the relationship WED between the urban and the 'wild', between the people who WED live in cities and the most common species who share our WED living space - pigeons, spiders, rats, squirrels. It touches WED on themes of biology, climate change, phenology and the WED ethics of human-animal relations. It is published in WED February 2013. WED WED Twitter WED : WED WED @EWoolfson WED WED Professor Erica Fudge WED Erica Fudge is Professor of English Studies at the WED University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. She is the author of a WED number of books and essays on human-animal relations in the WED English Renaissance and in the contemporary age. WED Her work has also appeared in WED History Today WED magazine. She is the director of the WED British Animal Studies Network WED WED Hannah Brown WED Hannah Brown WED is an animal welfare lawyer and Legal and Project Manager at WED the Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare (ALAW), an WED organisation of lawyers working with the animal welfare WED community. WED WED She regularly works with and advises a number of the UK’s WED leading animal welfare organisations, providing strategic WED and bespoke legal advice. Whilst appreciating the invaluable WED work undertaken by front line organisations such as WED sanctuaries and rescue centres, Hannah would like to see WED fundamental changes in our attitude towards and treatment of WED non-human animals, and believes that the best way to achieve WED this is through changes in the law. WED WED Mike Pitts WED WED Michael Pitts specializes in filming underwater and is WED regarded as one of Britain's foremost underwater cameramen. WED However, he is equally happy shooting on the surface or from WED the air. Amongst his many awards he has received Emmys for WED cinematography on two BBC landmark series: David WED Attenborough's 'Private Life of Plants' and 'Blue Planet'. WED WED In 2012 he was responsible for the underwater filming of the WED Sir David Attenborough 3D series on the Galapagos produced WED by Sky/Colossus. Formatted for cinema the series was WED released as a film in selected UK cinemas in 2014. He has WED recently returned from the Falklands and Ascension Island WED after filming on the new BBC NHU series 'Atlantic'. WED WED Currently he is working on his own production, which follows WED the changing seasons and the work of a landscape artist. WED WED Richard Sabin WED Richard Sabin is Principal Curator in the Department of Life WED Sciences at the WED Natural History Museum WED specialising in the study of the form and function of marine WED mammal skeletal anatomy. WED He is special advisor to the NHM’s WED UK Strandings Project WED carries out endangered species identification work for UK WED and international law enforcement, and develops WED internationally recognised protocols and techniques for the WED extraction of genetic material from the Museum's research WED specimens. WED WED Professor David Macdonald WED WED Prof David Macdonald is Director of the WED Wildlife Conservation Unit (WildCRU) WED one of the most high-profile science based conservation WED groups in the world, which he founded in 1986. Prof WED Macdonald has won numerous awards. He was recognised by BBC WED Wildlife Magazine as among the 'top ten most influential WED living conservationists' in 2007. WED WED Prof Macdonald was admitted to the Fellowship of the Royal WED Society of Edinburgh in 2008. WED WED Prof Macdonald was made a CBE for services to natural WED sciences in the Queen's Birthday Honours list 2010. WED WED Tamsin Greig WED WED Tamsin Greig has had a long-running part as WED Debbie Aldridge in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers WED since 1991 WED WED Tamsin was born in Kent in 1966 and describes herself as WED having been the temperamental and noisy middle child of an WED expressive mother and a much older father. She took part in WED numerous school plays so it seemed logical to continue her WED interest in drama by studying the subject at the University WED of Birmingham - which was just across the road from the BBC WED studios where The Archers was recorded. WED WED Tamsin has undertaken theatre roles, voice-over, television WED and film work. Television includes BBC productions Happiness WED (with Paul Whitehouse), People Like Us and The World Of Pub; WED Channel 4's comedy series Black Books; HTV's Wycliffe and WED LWT's Blind Men. She has filmed Miranda and Pure and has WED narrated for the National Geographic, History and BBC WED Natural History channels. WED WED Other TV work includes: Green Wing (Channel 4); The Lenny WED Henry Show; Love Soup; When I'm 64 (a television film for WED the BBC); and Episodes, with Matt le Blanc (Joey from WED Friends). WED WED Films include "Shaun Of The Dead"; and "Cheese Makes You WED Dream". WED WED Sarah Angliss WED Sarah Angliss WED is a composer, performer and roboticist. On stage, she’s WED often accompanied by musical automata – machines she’s WED devised and built to create a performance with an arresting WED and uncanny physical presence. She composed music for Eugene WED O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape (Old Vic, London) directed by WED Richard Jones; Lucy Prebble’s The Effect (National Theatre), WED directed by Rupert Goold; and the BFI’s Gothic and Sci-fi WED seasons - including a live reimagining of The Midwich WED Cuckoos with Bela and Stephen, directed by David Battcock. A WED theremin player, she was invited to perform in The Moog Lab WED when it visited Supersonic. Other festival performances WED include Harmonic Series (Southbank, London), Bring to Light, WED Flatpack, Supernormal and Prima Vista (Estonia). Sarah’s WED also an historian of sound, with work published by the WED Science Museum, Smithsonian and The Wire Magazine. On BBC WED Radio 4, she’s demonstrated the art of phonograph recording WED and explored the eighteenth century practice of teaching WED human tunes to songbirds (The Bird Fancyer’s Delight, WED produced by Neil McCarthy). She’s a Visiting Research Fellow WED at SPR Goldsmiths, London. WED WED Examples of Sarah's work can be heard on WED Soundcloud WED WED WED Stephen Hiscock WED Stephen Hiscock WED is composer, drummer and percussionist and founder of member WED of one of the world’s most innovative percussion chamber WED groups - ensemblebash. During the life of the group he has WED performed world premieres of works by Steve Reich, Stewart WED Copeland, Nitin Sawhney, Django Bates, Eric Whitacre, Imogen WED Heap, Keith Tippett and Tan Dun. Other collaborators include WED Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Evelyn Glennie, Chick Corea, WED Kathryn Tickell, The Hilliard Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia and WED the BBC Singers. We’ve also played at several BBC Proms and WED undertaken major tours in Europe, Asia, Australia and WED Africa. WED WED Stephen spent several study periods in Ghana learning WED traditional styles of music with master musicians from the WED National Dance Company of Ghana and The Pan African WED specialised in dondo and brekete drumming from the Dagomba WED people in the north of Ghana and was taught by the great WED Ibrahim Abukari. My other teachers were Afadina Tsikpa and WED Emmanuel Osei Awuku with whom he learnt Agbekor (war WED drumming), Fontomfrom (royal music of the Ashanti), Kete WED (funeral music) and Kpanlogo. WED WED As a drum kit player, Stephen played with Aimee Mann, WED Squeeze, Nanci Griffith, Arthur Darvill, Richard Durrant WED (drum kit, bicycles and bells!) amongst others and is WED currently drummer for Mark Eitzel (American Music Club) and WED dark electronica band Black Channels. Stephen also works WED most years at Shakespeare’s Globe as percussionist and WED musical director. An important collaboration is with Sarah WED Angliss in the band ‘Spacedog’ featuring theremins, robots, WED baroque recorder, handbells and vibes. Our most recent gigs WED have included the Edinburgh Science Festival, Green Man WED Festival, Prima Vista in Estonia and a BFI-commissioned live WED film soundtrack performed at the NFT as part of their recent WED major ‘Gothic’ series in 2013. WED WED Stephen’s composing work has covered short films, WED advertisements, theatre and the concert hall. Artists WED Stephen has written for include Stephen Gutman, Richard WED Benjafield, New Noise, Joby Burgess, ensemblebash, The WED Mavron Quartet and Thames Valley Male Voice Choir - the WED winners of European Choir of the Year (2010). Amongst other WED places his works have been performed at the Melbourne WED Festival, Aardklop Festival (South Africa), Purcell Room, WED Festival Hall and a national tour of Ghana. Most recently WED I’ve been writing for the theatre. ‘X&Y’ - a two-hander with WED Marcus Du Sautoy and Victoria Gould - produced by the WED Science Museum and performed at Glastonbury and most of the WED major UK science festivals. Stephen has also composed the WED music (and was the solo onstage musician/performer) in WED ‘Lionboy’ produced by Complicite which toured in the first WED half of 2015 to the UK, Hong Kong, South Korea, South Africa WED and played for two weeks on Broadway in New York. WED WED Some other notable works include ‘Underneath’ - a twenty WED minute commission for five hundred young people to open the WED Bath International Music Festival (2010) at Bath Abbey. WED Stephen has also set the poetry of prisoners in song form WED for the BBC radio series “Ballads of Reading Jail”. This won WED a Sony Gold Award in 2011. I’ve written children’s songs for WED Facepack Theatre’s educational show which has toured WED hundreds of UK schools over the past seven years and also WED composed the score for the film ’The Driver’ - a major WED documentary for Qatari TV, shown as the centrepiece of Qatar WED National Day celebrations in 2012. Stephen is currently WED working on ‘Light in the Himalayas’ - a major feature film WED from Dos Rios films based in Seattle and LA. This is WED expected to be released in late 2015. WED WED Bela Emerson WED Bela Emerson WED is an innovative cellist / tenor guitarist who composes live WED using electronic processing. She has performed residencies WED at Sydney Opera House and Royal Festival Hall, as well as WED being commissioned by BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction, and has WED four solo releases. Her compositions for live acrobats WED Mimbre WED and filmmaker WED Tereza Buskova WED were supported by PRS and Arts Council England. Bela works WED with Sarah Angliss and Stephen Hiscock on live soundtracking WED projects for the BBC and BFI. WED WED Bela also works as a community musician with WED Open Strings Music WED and WED Rhythmix’s Wishing Well WED using music as a tool for connection, engagement and WED wellbeing. WED WED 21:00 Would You Eat an Alien? b06s5qqm (Listen) WED Sociable Aliens WED WED In this 4 part series Christine Nicol, professor of Animal WED Welfare at the University of Bristol, explores the WED fascinating and challenging subject of animal sentience and WED welfare. To help delve into the nuances we set up an WED intriguing scenario... WED Jake the Spaceman (aka comedian Jake Yapp) has crash-landed WED on a remote planet and doesn't have much food to keep him WED going until he is rescued. Fortunately, the planet is WED teeming with alien life forms that are edible, but which WED ones should he eat? He wants to cause the minimum amount of WED pain and distress to the creatures, so what does he need to WED know about the nature of the beings on the planet? Can they WED feel pain? If so, how can he minimise suffering? Will eating WED an alien cause distress to others? Is the alien so aware and WED sensitive to its environment that Jake needs to consider WED whether it is a non-human person? WED Christine will interview animal welfare scientists, WED philosophers and wildlife biologists to get under the skin WED of animal sentience and the potential consequences of WED accepting that animals are conscious, aware creatures. WED These big questions generate surprising and challenging WED insights into our attitudes to other life. When you know WED absolutely nothing about the alien in front of you, what do WED you need to know before eating it? WED WED Dr Liesbeth Bolhuis WED Dr Liesbeth Bolhuis is an Assistant Professor in Animal WED Sciences at Wageningen University in Gelderland in the WED Netherlands. She leads a research team WED investigating Behavioural Physiology research. The team's WED main focus is to study the WED impact of early life environmental conditions on behavioural WED development, welfare and health of farm animals WED Many welfare and health problems in farm animals arise from WED a mismatch between the animals adaptive capacity and the WED conditions they are exposed to. We investigate how genetic WED background, early life experiences and characteristics of WED the environment influence behavioural and physiological WED processes that reflect or affect animal welfare, health and WED productivity. WED WED WED Professor Nickie Charles WED Nickie Charles is Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies in WED the Sociology Department at the University of Warwick where WED she teaches courses on Human-Animal relations. She has WED worked with the WED Mass Observation Project WED to explore human-animal relations and has a particular WED interest in how it is that animals come to be regarded as WED family members. WED She is also beginning to explore the effects of introducing WED PAT dogs into universities so that students are able to WED interact with them. Among her most recent books are WED Families in Transition WED and WED Nature, Society and Environmental Crisis WED and WED Human and Other Animals WED which she co-edited with Bob Carter. WED She has set up an inter-disciplinary research network at the WED University of Warwick, WED Animals and post-human futures WED WED Professor Timothy Clutton-Brock WED Professor Timothy Clutton-Brock is a zoologist best known WED for his comparative studies of the behavioural ecology of WED mammals. Whilst his early work focused on social behaviour WED in primates, he later concentrated on three long-term WED studies of animals in the wild: red deer on the Scottish WED island of Rùm; Soay sheep on St Kilda, also in Scotland; and WED meerkats in the southern Kalahari of Africa. WED His remarkable WED 15-year study of red deer WED revealed how differences in the mortality and feeding WED behaviour of the sexes are linked to the highly polygamous WED mating system of these animals. Through this work, he WED greatly improved our understanding of how sexual and WED parental behaviours evolve and are related to the ecological WED conditions in which animals live. WED In 1997, he was awarded the WED Frink Medal WED of the Zoological Society of London, and in 1998 he received WED the WED Marsh Award for Ecology of the British Ecological Society WED WED Professor Phyllis Lee WED Profesor Phyllis Lee was educated at Stanford University in WED California and moved to the UK after a spell working with WED Jane Goodall in Tanzania WED in the mid 1970s. She completed her PhD in animal behaviour WED at Cambridge in 1981 with the eminent ethologists, WED Richard Wrangham WED and WED Robert Hinde WED and returned to Kenya in 1982 to study the WED Amboseli elephants with Cynthia Moss WED - work which continues to this day. WED Previously a Reader in Behavioural Biology and Conservation WED at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Downing WED College, she is now Professor and Head of Psychology in the WED School of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling WED and a core member of the WED Scottish Primate Research Group WED WED Professor Mike Mendl WED Mike Mendl, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the WED University of Bristol, is a leading animal welfare WED researcher and has studied a wide range of species including WED companion, farm and laboratory animals. He is a pioneer in WED the study of ‘cognitive bias’, investigating the links WED between cognition, consciousness and emotion in animals. His WED applied work, for example on factors affecting aggression WED and tail-biting in pigs, has also yielded knowledge of WED practical benefit to improving welfare. WED His exceptional achievements in the advancement of animal WED welfare over many years were when he was awarded the WED Universities Federation for Animal Welfare WED for outstanding contributions to animal welfare science in WED 2014, and the 2015 WED RSPCA/BSAS award for Innovative Developments in Animal WED Welfare WED WED Professor Peter Singer WED Peter Singer is often described as the world’s most WED influential living philosopher. In 2005, Time magazine named WED him WED one of the 100 most influential people in the world WED and in 2013 he was third in the WED Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute’s ranking of Global Thought WED Leaders WED He is known especially for his work on the ethics of our WED treatment of animals, for his controversial critique of the WED sanctity of life ethics in bioethics, and for his writing on WED the obligations of the affluent to aid those living in WED extreme poverty. He first became well-known internationally WED after the publication of WED Animal Liberation in 1975 WED In 2011, Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” WED list of the 100 best non-fiction books published in English WED since the magazine began, in 1923. WED Picture: Denise Applewhite - Princeton University WED WED Professor Roger Scruton WED Roger Scruton WED is a philosopher, public commentator and author of over 40 WED books. He has specialised in aesthetics with particular WED attention to music and architecture. WED He engages in contemporary political and cultural debates WED from the standpoint of a conservative thinker and is well WED known as a powerful polemicist. He is a fellow of the WED Royal Society of Literature WED and a fellow of the WED British Academy WED WED Professor Dan Weary WED Professor Dan Weary works with students and colleagues in WED the WED Animal Welfare Program WED at the University of British Columbia using behavioural and WED other non-invasive measures to objectively assess various WED aspects of animal well-being. One focus of recent work is WED the dairy cow, and welfare issues important in this species. WED His work currently focusses on the development of objective WED methods of assessing animal well-being. This includes more WED basic research on how vocal and other behaviors can provide WED us with information about an animal’s physical and emotional WED state, as well as how these measures can be applied to find WED better ways of handling animals WED WED WED 21:30 Midweek b06s9j72 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] WED WED 22:00 The World Tonight b06s9l5k (Listen) WED In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective. WED WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime b06t2gr4 (Listen) WED A Snow Garden and Other Stories, I'll Be Home for Christmas WED WED Rachel Joyce's new collection "A Snow Garden and Other WED Stories" glides through the festive season with interlinked WED stories which delight and surprise. From an unexpected birth WED at an airport full of stranded travellers, a famous son WED wanting to escape the madness for a normal family dinner, to WED a divorced father's wish to give his two little boys the one WED thing they really want, a white Christmas. Five stories as WED funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should WED be. WED WED Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and WED international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold WED Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The WED Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the WED Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker WED Prize and has been translated into 34 languages. WED WED She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original WED afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4. WED WED Read by ..... Rachel Joyce WED Produced & Directed by ..... Gemma McMullan. WED WED Credits WED Reader: Rachel Joyce WED Author: Rachel Joyce WED Director: Gemma McMullan WED Producer: Gemma McMullan WED WED 23:00 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair b06s9l5m (Listen) WED Series 2, Waiting For Billy WED WED by Jenny Eclair WED WED Patsy ..... Anita Dobson WED Produced by Sally Avens WED WED Patsy and Billy are a rock and roll Darby and Joan. She's WED been with him through the good times and now the bad. With WED the money gone and the band members dying off can Patsy's WED secret stay hidden for good. WED WED Credits WED Patsy: Anita Dobson WED Producer: Sally Avens WED Writer: Jenny Eclair WED WED 23:15 Before They Were Famous b03gg7nr (Listen) WED Series 2, Episode 4 WED WED Even the most successful of writers have, at some point, had WED to take day jobs to pay the bills. WED WED Ian Leslie presents the second series of this Radio 4 spoof WED documentary, which sheds light on the often surprising jobs WED done by the world's best known writers in the days before WED they were able to make a living from their art. WED WED In a project of literary archaeology, Leslie unearths WED archive examples of early work by great writers, including WED Fortune Cookie messages written by Germaine Greer, a WED political manifesto by the young JK Rowling, and a car WED manual written by Dan Brown. In newspaper articles, WED advertising copy, and company correspondence, we get a WED fascinating glimpse into the embryonic development of our WED best-loved literary voices. WED WED We may know them today for their novels, plays or poems but, WED once upon a time, they were just people with a dream - and a WED rent bill looming at the end of the month. WED WED Producers: Anna Silver and Claire Broughton WED A Hat Trick Production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED Credits WED Jackie Collins: Abigail Burdess WED Harold Pinter: Mark Evans WED Mr Gidley: Simon Kane WED Presenter: Ian Leslie WED Dr Seuss: Katy Wix WED Germaine Greer: Katy Wix WED Producer: Anna Silver WED Producer: Claire Broughton WED WED 23:30 Stepping Stones b064zmb4 (Listen) WED Splash: The Water in Winter WED WED Broadcaster Piers Plowright explores five sound-worlds - WED some from far back in his life and some more recent - which WED still resonate with him. WED WED In this fourth episode, Piers goes for a winter swim in the WED Men's Pond on Hampstead Heath and discovers how special the WED sounds are - wild-life, swimmers, the distant hum of London WED - on a January morning. WED WED Produced by Alan Hall WED A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED 23:45 Nabokov's Christmas b01pfy5p (Listen) WED by Vladimir Nabokov. WED WED An intensely moving short story about a father mourning the WED death of his son. On Christmas Eve, a grieving father moves WED around the family home gathering together some of his son's WED effects. This leads him to discover things that he did not WED know about his beloved son and also to find something among WED his belongings that will renew his will to live. WED WED Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg in 1899, the WED eldest son of an aristocratic family. Nabokov is arguably WED most famous for his 1955 novel LOLITA. WED WED Read by Robert Glenister. WED WED Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. WED WED THU THURSDAY 24 DECEMBER 2015 THU THU 00:00 Midnight News b06s6xmq (Listen) THU The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. THU Followed by Weather. THU THU 00:30 Book of the Week b06t4l4t (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday] THU THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06s6xms (Listen) THU The latest shipping forecast. THU THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06s6xmv (Listen) THU THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06s6xmx (Listen) THU The latest shipping forecast. THU THU 05:30 News Briefing b06s6xn0 (Listen) THU The latest news from BBC Radio 4. THU THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day b06s9pwz (Listen) THU A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with THU Cardinal Vincent Nichols. THU THU 05:45 Farming Today b06s9px1 (Listen) THU The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. THU Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sarah Swadling. THU THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day b04t0vqb (Listen) THU Chowchilla THU THU Michael Palin presents the secretive chowchilla from THU Queensland, Australia. The chowchilla gets its name from its THU song, which is one of the most distinctive sounds of the THU coastal rainforest of north-east Queensland. You're not THU likely to see the bird though because it spends its time THU skulking on the forest floor. Chowchillas belong to the THU family known as logrunners because they feed and nest on or THU near ground-level. They're stout thrush-like birds; the THU males are dark brown with a white chest and throat, whilst THU the female's throat is rusty-orange. THU THU Chowchillas have been found to sing with different dialects THU in different areas. Within say, 50 hectares, all the family THU groups of pairs and non-breeding younger birds may share the THU same dialect. But in an adjacent area, the families may THU assemble some of their song components slightly differently. THU Over time, their song culture could change and a new dialect THU would be born. THU THU Chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii) THU THU Webpage image courtesy of Tim Laman / naturepl.com. THU THU NPL Ref THU 01239484 THU © Tim Laman / naturepl.com. THU THU Recording of chowchilla by Mark B Robbins / Ref: ML 77590 THU THU This programme contains a THU wildtrack recording of the chowchilla THU kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab THU of Ornithology; recorded by Mark B Robbins on 6 Jan 1991; in THU Topaz, 10.0 km SE of Malanda, Queensland, Australia. THU THU 06:00 Today b06s9rz7 (Listen) THU Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, THU Weather and Thought for the Day. THU THU 09:00 In Our Time b06s9rz9 (Listen) THU Michael Faraday THU THU Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the eminent 19th-century THU scientist Michael Faraday. Born into a poor working-class THU family, he received little formal schooling but became THU interested in science while working as a bookbinder's THU apprentice. He is celebrated today for carrying out THU pioneering research into the relationship between THU electricity and magnetism. Faraday showed that if a wire was THU turned in the presence of a magnet or a magnet was turned in THU relation to a wire, an electric current was generated. This THU ground-breaking discovery led to the development of the THU electric generator and ultimately to modern power stations. THU During his life he became the most famous scientist in THU Britain and he played a key role in founding the Royal THU Institution's Christmas lectures which continue today. THU THU With: THU THU Geoffrey Cantor THU Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the THU University of Leeds THU THU Laura Herz THU Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford THU THU Frank James THU Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution THU THU Producer: Victoria Brignell. THU THU Credits THU Presenter: Melvyn Bragg THU Interviewed Guest: Geoffrey Cantor THU Interviewed Guest: Laura Herz THU Interviewed Guest: Frank James THU Producer: Victoria Brignell THU THU 09:45 Book of the Week b06t4lr0 (Listen) THU The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, Episode 4 THU THU In 2012, Rob Penn felled (and replanted) a great ash from a THU Welsh wood. He set out to explore the true value of the tree THU of which we have made the greatest and most varied use in THU human history. How many things can be made from one tree? THU THU Over the next two years he travelled across Britain, to THU Europe and the USA, to the workshops and barns of a THU generation of craftsmen committed to working in wood. He THU watched them make over 45 artefacts and tools that have been THU in continual use for centuries, if not millennia. THU THU With his family losing interest in the project, Rob decides THU to make something out of his ash that his children will THU enjoy - a wooden toboggan. Packing some logs into an old ski THU bag, he takes the train to Austria where he meets Christian THU Glasser. There are fifteen to twenty traditional toboggan THU manufacturers left across the Alps and Christian's firm, THU founded by his great-great-uncle in 1909, is one of them. He THU uses steam to bend the wood into runners, support bars and THU bridges - a technique which is recorded on an Ancient THU Egyptian tomb. A toboggan, or sled, is the oldest vehicle THU known to man, so Rob's children, and the 10 000 other people THU who buy a toboggan from Christian each year, are part of a THU rich tradition. THU THU This is a tale about the joy of making things in wood, of THU its touch and smell, its many uses, and the resonant, THU calming effect of running our hands along a wooden surface. THU It is a celebration of man's close relationship with this THU greatest of natural materials and a reminder of the value of THU things made by hand and made to last. THU THU Abridged by Jo Coombs THU Produced by Hannah Marshall THU A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. THU THU Credits THU Author: Robert Penn THU Abridger: Jo Coombs THU Producer: Hannah Marshall THU THU 10:00 Woman's Hour b06s9rzc (Listen) THU Jenni Murray presents the programme that offers a female THU perspective on the world. THU THU Credits THU Presenter: Jenni Murray THU THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama b06s9rzf (Listen) THU I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, A Savoy THU Cocktail THU THU The story of the rise and fall of a collaboration between THU three men who dominated Victorian musical theatre and have THU left a lasting legacy. Everyone has heard of the immortal THU Gilbert and Sullivan, but who knows about the man who THU brought them success, George Grossmith, the original Modern THU Major General? THU THU Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks' delightful comedy drama THU about the entertainer George Grossmith, who was plucked from THU his humble touring circuit to become the star of the Gilbert THU & Sullivan Savoy Operas, staying for twelve years. Grossmith THU was central to why Gilbert and Sullivan operas became so THU successful and continue to be so today. THU THU Simon Butteriss, who plays Grossmith, is best known as a THU performer in the Gilbert and Sullivan patter roles, which he THU continues to sing all over the world to a huge fan base. THU Robin Brooks' work for Radio 4 includes Ulysses, I Claudius, THU The Great Scott and Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl. His recent THU dramatisation of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea starring THU Jeremy Irons has been shortlisted for a BBC Audio Drama THU Award, 2016. THU THU Episode Four. A Savoy Cocktail THU It's 1885 and Grossmith is now the toast of the Savoy Opera, THU with a starring role as Ko-Ko in The Mikado - but his nerves THU and Gilbert's demands threaten to get the better of him. THU Will the clash of egos and a dose of laudanum wreck the THU show? THU THU Pianist: Gretel Dowdeswell THU Sound Designer: Alisdair McGregor THU THU Written by Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks THU Directed by Simon Butteriss and Fiona McAlpine THU Produced by Fiona McAlpine THU THU An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4. THU THU Credits THU George Grossmith: Simon Butteriss THU Arthur Sullivan: Alex Jennings THU WS Gilbert: Rupert Vansittart THU Writer: Simon Butteriss THU Writer: Robin Brooks THU Director: Simon Butteriss THU Director: Fiona McAlpine THU Producer: Fiona McAlpine THU THU 11:00 Crossing Continents b06s9rzh (Listen) THU Saving India's Parsis THU THU Reports from around the world. THU THU 11:30 Brain Tingles b06s9rzk (Listen) THU The comedian and actor Isy Suttie sets out to explore how THU creativity is influenced by the mysterious and medically THU controversial phenomenon ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian THU Response). Ever since she was little, Isy has been THU experiencing what she and her family describe as 'head THU squeezing' - a euphoric, incredibly relaxing version of THU goose bumps that starts around the head or face and travels THU around the body. A few years ago she realised not everyone THU got this feeling, that it's got a name - ASMR, or 'brain THU tingles'. There are hoards of online videos designed to THU trigger the feeling - often involving whispering women THU offering to book you a golfing holiday, test your eyes, wrap THU your gifts or tutor you on how to fold the perfect towel. THU Isy watches some ASMR videos with fellow comedian Joe THU Lycett, who's also experienced it, as has the journalist and THU musician Rhodri Marsden. Zoe Fothergill and Claire Tolan are THU two artists who've made work inspired by ASMR videos. Isy THU speaks to Charlotte Luke aka The ASMR Angel who has THU thousands of internet followers. She meets Dr Nick Davis THU who's carried out research into ASMR and she heads off to THU Sheffield University where she's wired up to a machine which THU tests her responses to different videos, to try to unravel THU how and when ASMR occurs. THU THU 12:00 News Summary b06s6xn4 (Listen) THU The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. THU THU 12:04 Home Front b06kvbfp (Listen) THU 24 December 1915 - Marion Wardle THU THU On this day, the Turkish attacked the British Indian THU garrison at Kut al Amara, and Marion meets a charming THU soldier. THU THU Written by Richard Monks THU Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. THU THU Credits THU Marion Wardle: Laura Elphinstone THU Margaret Bishop: Catherine Bailey THU Bob Capeling: Joe Sims THU Edie Chadwick: Kathryn Beaumont THU Lilian Frost: Alex Tregear THU Ruth Billings: Katie Redford THU Sylvia Graham: Joanna David THU Stuart McVey: George Watkins THU Writer: Richard Monks THU Director: Jessica Dromgoole THU THU 12:15 You and Yours b06s9rzp (Listen) THU Consumer affairs programme. THU THU 12:54 Radio 4 Appeal b06s6zm5 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday] THU THU 12:57 Weather b06s6xn6 (Listen) THU The latest weather forecast. THU THU 13:00 World at One b06s9rzr (Listen) THU Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark THU Mardell. THU THU 13:45 Roger Law: Art and Seoul b06tfs4w (Listen) THU Artist Roger Law has long been fascinated by the culture of THU Korea. From stunning ceramics to films and music, South THU Korea has it all. Roger travels to the 21st century city of THU Seoul to find out what fires up the Korean imagination. THU THU Roger travels out of Seoul to visit the island of Jeju. It's THU a holiday spot, but one with a remarkable selection of THU unusual museums. From teddy bears to stones, they all have THU their place in the cabinets of curiosities. THU THU Producer Mark Rickards. THU THU 14:00 The Archers b06s9l5f (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 14:15 Drama b06tk8hw (Listen) THU Suggs: My Mad-Life Crisis THU THU The Madness frontman tells his funny and moving true-life THU story. THU THU The death of Suggs' beloved cat on his fiftieth birthday THU triggers a personal quest to discover what happened to the THU father he never knew. Stunned by what he learns, Suggs takes THU us back to his childhood and his first appearance on Top Of THU The Pops at the age of eighteen. THU THU Adapted for radio by Owen Lewis from the stage play My Life THU In Words And Music by Graham McPherson and Toby Follet. THU THU Other parts played by Ewan Bailey and Philippa Stanton. THU THU Pianist: Dean Mumford THU THU Director: Owen Lewis THU Producer: Karen Rose THU A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4. THU THU Credits THU Actor: Suggs THU Actor: Ewan Bailey THU Actor: Philippa Stanton THU Writer: Graham McPherson THU Writer: Toby Follet THU Abridger: Owen Lewis THU Director: Owen Lewis THU Producer: Karen Rose THU THU 15:00 A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols b06s9rzt (Listen) THU Live from the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge THU THU Hymn: Once in Royal David's City (desc. David Willcocks) THU Bidding Prayer read by the Dean THU What Sweeter Music? (John Rutter) THU First lesson: Genesis 3 vv 8-19 read by a Chorister THU This is the truth sent from above (Ralph Vaughan Williams) THU Adam Lay Ybounden (Boris Ord) THU Second lesson: Genesis 22 vv 15-18 read by a Choral Scholar THU Ding, Dong, Merrily on High (David Willcocks) THU In Dulci Jubilo (Robert Lucas Pearsall) THU Third lesson: Isaiah 9 vv 2, 6-7 read by a member of the THU College staff. THU Sussex Carol (arr. David Willcocks) THU Hymn: It came upon the midnight clear (desc. Stephen THU Cleobury) THU Fourth lesson: Isaiah 11 vv 1-3a, 4a, 6-9 read by a THU representative of the City of Cambridge. THU A Tender Shoot (arr. Otto Goldschmidt) THU A Spotless Rose (Philip Ledger) THU Fifth lesson: Luke 1 vv 26-38 read by the Master over the THU Choristers. THU The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (arr. David Willcocks) THU Nova, Nova (John Scott) THU Sixth lesson: Luke 2 vv 1 -7 read by the Chaplain THU In The Bleak Midwinter (Harold Darke) THU Dormi, Jesu (John Rutter) THU Seventh lesson: Luke 2 vv 8-16 read by the Director of Music THU The Shepherd's Carol (Bob Chilcott) THU Hymn: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (arr. David Willcocks) THU Eighth lesson: Matthew 2 vv 1-12 read by the Vice-Provost THU The Flight (Richard Causton - newly commissioned) THU Here is the Little Door (Herbert Howells) THU Ninth lesson: John 1 vv 1-14 read by the Provost THU Hymn: O come, all ye faithful (arr. David Willcocks) THU Blessing THU Hymn: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (arr. David Willcocks) THU THU Organ voluntaries: THU In dulci jubilo (BWV 729) (Bach) THU Sortie on 'In dulci jubilo' (David Briggs) [broadcast on THU Radio 3 on Christmas Day only] THU THU Director of Music: Stephen Cleobury THU Organ Scholar: Tom Etheridge THU Organ Scholar: Richard Gowers THU Producer: Philip Billson THU THU For many around the world, A Festival of Nine Lessons and THU Carols, live from the candlelit Chapel of King's College, THU Cambridge, marks the beginning of Christmas. It is based THU around nine Bible readings which tell the story of the THU loving purposes of God. They are interspersed with carols THU old and new, sung by the world-famous chapel choir who also THU lead the congregation in traditional Christmas hymns. THU THU Explanatory notes from Director of Music Stephen Cleobury: THU THU "This year's selection has a very strong King's basis. The THU commissioned carol is from Richard Causton, a Fellow of THU King's College, and a university lecturer in composition. He THU has, in turn, commissioned a new text from George Szirtes, THU which has strong contemporary resonances. THU THU In September we heard the sad news of the death of one of my THU predecessors here at King's, the legendary Sir David THU Willcocks. His many carol arrangements and descants are THU known the world over, and we include a number of these. Near THU the beginning and the end are pieces by Vaughan Williams and THU Howells, both composers having been very closely associated THU with David Willcocks. THU THU Also, during the summer, the world of church and organ music THU mourned the loss of John Scott, whose setting of Nova, Nova THU comes after the Annunciation lesson. THU THU We mark the 70th birthday of John Rutter by including two of THU the carols he has written for King's over the years. Bob THU Chilcott, 60 this year, is a former chorister and choral THU scholar of King's, and his commission for the Choir is also THU programmed. THU THU Carols by Boris Ord, Harold Darke and Philip Ledger also THU find a place. Ord and Ledger were, respectively, the THU predecessor and successor of Willcocks, while Darke looked THU after the Choir during WW2." THU THU Notes on the commissioned carol - Richard Causton writes: THU Earlier this year I spent a great deal of time in libraries THU looking for a suitable text for my new carol and although I THU unearthed many old and very beautiful poems about the THU Nativity, I struggled to find one that I really wanted to THU set to music. I had a growing sense that at this precise THU moment it is perverse to be writing a piece about a child THU born in poverty, away from home and forced to flee with his THU parents, without in any way paying reference to the THU appalling refugee crisis that is currently unfolding. THU THU I phoned my friend, the poet George Szirtes to ask if he THU might be prepared to write me a poem which could encompass THU some of these ideas. By complete coincidence, the very day I THU phoned he was in Hungary, at Budapest railway station THU talking to the refugees who were stuck there while trying to THU leave the country. Within days, George sent me a poem that THU is at once beautiful, eloquent and hard-hitting. THU THU 16:30 The Film Programme b06s9rzw (Listen) THU A festive edition with the best films of the year THU THU Francine Stock presents a festive edition with the best THU films of the year. THU THU Credits THU Presenter: Francine Stock THU THU 17:00 PM b06s9rzy (Listen) THU News interviews, context and analysis. THU THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06s6xnb (Listen) THU The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. THU THU 18:15 Bridget Christie's Christmas List b06s9s00 (Listen) THU Father Christmas helps Bridget bring about a feminist THU Christmas for 2015, whether he wants to or not. THU THU Featuring (much to their surprise) Miles Jupp, Robin Ince, THU Jon Culshaw and Leo Wan. THU THU A Christmas show for everyone. Even men. THU THU Written by and starring Bridget Christie. THU THU Producer..Alexandra Smith THU A BBC Radio Comedy Production. THU THU Credits THU Presenter: Bridget Christie THU Performer: Fred MacAulay THU Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith THU THU 18:30 Tina C: Herstory b06s9s02 (Listen) THU Episode 4 THU THU Country music legend Tina C brings us right up to date with THU a (slightly) festive look at where she is today. Bob Harris THU quizzes her about her ambitions for the future, and a live THU country band take us through some of her biggest hits. THU THU Written and performed by Christopher Green. THU Additional voices: Susan Jameson & Leo Wan. THU The Band: Duncan Walsh-Atkins, Phil Hardisty, Mark Wraith. THU Produced by Victoria Lloyd. THU THU 19:00 The Archers b06s9s8d (Listen) THU It is Christmas Eve in Ambridge, and Lynda is just grateful THU for what she has. THU THU 19:15 Front Row b06s9s8g (Listen) THU Arts news, interviews and reviews. THU THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama b06s9rzf (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today] THU THU 20:00 The Report b06s9s8j (Listen) THU A not so merry migrant Christmas in Vienna THU THU Thousands of migrants are stuck in Vienna, their journey to THU Germany cut short. Will they ever realise their European THU dreams? Frances Stonor Saunders reports. THU THU Producer: Lucy Proctor. THU THU 20:30 In Business b06s9shq (Listen) THU Christmas, Made in China THU THU Peter Day visits the Chinese city which makes most of the THU world's Christmas decorations THU THU Producers: Charlotte Pritchard & David Rhodes. THU THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science b06s9shs (Listen) THU Series that investigates the news in science and science in THU the news. THU THU 21:30 In Our Time b06s9rz9 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] THU THU 22:00 The World Tonight b06s9shv (Listen) THU In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective. THU THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime b06t2h53 (Listen) THU A Snow Garden and Other Stories, Christmas Day at the THU Airport THU THU Rachel Joyce's new collection "A Snow Garden and Other THU Stories" glides through the festive season with interlinked THU stories which delight and surprise. From an unexpected birth THU at an airport full of stranded travellers, a famous son THU wanting to escape the madness for a normal family dinner, to THU a divorced father's wish to give his two little boys the one THU thing they really want, a white Christmas. Five stories as THU funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should THU be. THU THU Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and THU international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold THU Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The THU Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the THU Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker THU Prize and has been translated into 34 languages. THU THU She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original THU afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4. THU THU Read by ..... Rachel Joyce THU Produced & Directed by ..... Gemma McMullan. THU THU Credits THU Reader: Rachel Joyce THU Author: Rachel Joyce THU Director: Gemma McMullan THU Producer: Gemma McMullan THU THU 23:00 Love in Recovery b06s9szk (Listen) THU Christmas Eve THU THU Heart-warming comedy drama set in Alcoholics Anonymous on THU Christmas Eve, written by Pete Jackson and inspired by his THU own road to recovery. Starring Sue Johnston, John Hannah, THU Eddie Marsan, Rebecca Front, Paul Kaye and Julia Deakin. THU THU It's Christmas Eve and the church hall is empty - except for THU self-appointed group leader Andy, who's waiting for the rest THU of his Alcoholics Anonymous group to turn up. Just in case THU anyone needs him. After all, Christmas can be a difficult THU time for recovering alcoholics - especially when your THU support group is this load of idiots. THU THU But nothing proves more difficult than this particular THU Christmas Eve as, one by one, the members arrive, each with THU a different reason for seeking out the meeting hall. But THU whatever their troubles, one thing is clear - no one is THU there for a meeting. THU THU Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent THU time in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as most THU people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate THU souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well THU as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult THU time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of THU hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship. THU THU There are many different kinds of AA meetings. Love in THU Recovery is about meetings where people tell their stories. THU There are funny stories, sad stories, stories of small THU victories and milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, THU and those stories that you really shouldn't laugh at - but THU still do, along with the storyteller. THU THU A second series of Love in Recovery will return to Radio 4 THU next year. THU THU Cast: THU Marion........Julia Deakin THU Fiona..........Rebecca Front THU Simon.........John Hannah THU Julie............Sue Johnston THU Danno.........Paul Kaye THU Andy............Eddie Marsan THU THU Written and created by Pete Jackson THU THU Producer/Director: Ben Worsfield THU A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4. THU THU Credits THU Marion: Julia Deakin THU Fiona: Rebecca Front THU Simon: John Hannah THU Julie: Sue Johnston THU Danno: Paul Kaye THU Andy: Eddie Marsan THU Writer: Pete Jackson THU Producer: Ben Worsfield THU Director: Ben Worsfield THU THU 23:30 Midnight Mass b06s9szm (Listen) THU The First Mass of Christmas comes live from Brentwood THU Cathedral in Essex. The service is led by the Bishop of THU Brentwood, the Rt Rev Alan Williams, and the preacher is the THU Dean, Fr Martin Boland. Music includes hymns 'O come all ye THU faithful', 'On Christmas Night all Christians Sing' and THU 'Hark! The herald angels sing'. Brentwood Cathedral Choir is THU directed by Andrew Wright and the organists are Stephen King THU and James Devor. Producer Andrew Earis. THU THU FRI FRIDAY 25 DECEMBER 2015 FRI FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast b06s6xpr (Listen) FRI The latest shipping forecast. FRI FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes b06s6xpt (Listen) FRI FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast b06s6xpw (Listen) FRI The latest shipping forecast. FRI FRI 05:30 News Briefing b06s6xpy (Listen) FRI The latest news from BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day b06sbl8w (Listen) FRI A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with FRI Cardinal Vincent Nichols. FRI FRI 05:45 Farming Today b06sbl8y (Listen) FRI Flowers at Christmas FRI FRI Sarah Swadling joins the winter Narcissi harvest on the FRI Isles of Scilly. FRI FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day b04t0vfj (Listen) FRI Northern Cardinal FRI FRI Michael Palin presents the northern cardinal from a New FRI York's Central Park. Northern Cardinals are finch-like birds FRI and make British robins look positively anaemic. They are FRI common residents in the south and east of North America FRI where they live in woods, parks and gardens. Your first FRI sighting of these vermilion birds with their black masks and FRI outrageous crests comes as a shock. They seem too tropically FRI colourful to brave the dull North American winter. FRI FRI Only the male Cardinals are bright red. Females are browner FRI with flashes of red on their wings and red bills. Both sexes FRI obtain their red colours from seeds and other foods which FRI contain carotenoid pigments. FRI Their familiarity and eye-catching colours have endeared FRI cardinals to North Americans. No fewer than seven states, FRI including Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio have adopted cardinals FRI as their state bird and it's also the mascot. FRI FRI Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) FRI FRI Webpage image courtesy of Rolf Nussbaumer / naturepl.com. FRI FRI NPL Ref FRI 01294239 FRI © Rolf Nussbaumer / naturepl.com. FRI FRI 06:00 Natural Histories b05w9drk (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Wednesday] FRI FRI 07:00 Desert Island Discs b06s7y34 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday] FRI FRI 07:45 Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor by John Cheever FRI b06sbl90 (Listen) FRI Martin Freeman reads John Cheever's classic Christmas tale FRI about the power of giving. On Christmas day Charlie, a down FRI on his luck lift attendant, laments his lack of upward FRI mobility. But the generosity of the residents in the wealthy FRI New York apartment building where he works takes him by FRI surprise. A cautionary tale of generosity, indulgence and FRI the law of unintended consequences. FRI FRI 08:00 Just a Minute b06sbl92 (Listen) FRI Junior Just a Minute, 25/12/2015 FRI FRI The classic BBC Radio panel game gets a youthful twist, as FRI 11-13 year olds join established players of the game to FRI speak for a minute without hesitation, repetition or FRI deviation. FRI FRI Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence make up the grown-up half of FRI each team, along with young players Joe from Leicester and FRI Sophie from Burton-on-Trent. FRI FRI Recorded at the BBC's Radio Theatre with the same wonderful FRI host as Just A Minute, Nicholas Parsons. FRI FRI Credits FRI Presenter: Nicholas Parsons FRI FRI 08:30 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats b06t3skh (Listen) FRI Episode 1 FRI FRI On Christmas Day 1937 , nearly two years before book FRI publication, five of T.S Eliot's Practical Cats poems were FRI broadcast as readings by Geoffrey Tandy on BBC Radio . The FRI Radio Times wrote' For some time past Mr Eliot has been FRI amusing and instructing the offspring of some of his friends FRI in verse on the subject of cats. These poems are not the FRI kind that have been usually associated with his name'. FRI FRI Over 75 years later, one of our greatest actors, Oscar- FRI winning Jeremy Irons re-visits the original five poems along FRI with the further ten which make up the Old Possum's Book of FRI Practical Cats . FRI FRI In this treat for Christmas day you will find familiar FRI much-loved characters including Growltiger, Mungojerrie , FRI Rumpleteaser, Old Deutoronomy, Mr Mistoffelees, Macavity Gus FRI and Skimbleshanks . These are cats who are notorious , lurk FRI in shadows, baffle Scotland yard, dance by the light of the FRI moon and who must not be woken . They are found on trains, FRI in the theatre, in the high street. They juggle, sleep, FRI conjure, are curious and bore but they all show another side FRI of one of our most important British poets . FRI FRI T.S Eliot 's poems have been enjoyed by many in the musical FRI Cats, but here we return to the poems without any music and FRI celebrate the inventiveness in the original words. Following FRI on from his powerful readings of The Waste land , Four FRI Quartets and The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock for BBC FRI Radio 4 Jeremy Irons continues his radio journey through the FRI works of T.S Eliot with the cats . FRI FRI The Naming of Cats FRI Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat FRI Growltiger's Last Stand FRI The Rum Tum Tugger FRI The Song of the Jellicles FRI Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer FRI Old Deuteronomy FRI Of the Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles FRI Mr Mistoffelees FRI Macavity:The Mystery Cat FRI FRI Directed in Salford by Susan Roberts. FRI FRI 09:00 Christmas Service b06sbl94 (Listen) FRI Nick Baines is the Anglican Bishop of Leeds, known for FRI 'musing' on social media as a 'restless bishop'. As Bishop FRI of the Church of England's newest diocese of West Yorkshire FRI and the Dales, he'll preach from Ripon Cathedral on FRI Christmas morning. The Cathedral is at the heart of what FRI since mediaeval times has been a thriving market town. FRI Monasteries have stood on this site since the 7th century FRI and both city and cathedral retain strong and intimate links FRI with the surrounding North Yorkshire countryside, where FRI stables and shepherds are practical everyday realities. FRI Organist and Director of Music Andrew Bryden, Assistant FRI Director of Music Tim Harper. Producer: Rowan Morton FRI Gledhill. FRI FRI 09:45 Book of the Week b06t4pw9 (Listen) FRI The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, Episode 5 FRI FRI In 2012, Robert Penn felled (and replanted) a great ash from FRI a Welsh wood. He set out to explore the true value of the FRI tree of which we have made the greatest and most varied use FRI in human history. How many things can be made from one tree? FRI FRI Over the next two years he travelled across Britain, to FRI Europe and the USA, to the workshops and barns of a FRI generation of craftsmen committed to working in wood. He FRI watched them make over 45 artefacts and tools that have been FRI in continual use for centuries, if not millennia. FRI FRI For his final project, Rob wants to create a totem to embody FRI his reverence not just for his tree, but for all Ash trees - FRI a writing desk. It's an ambitious project. With his friend FRI Andy Dix, he selects the perfect piece of timber for each FRI component. The finished product and its distinctive smell FRI takes Rob back to the day his tree was felled. As his time FRI with the tree comes to an end, his new rapport with the ash FRI is just beginning. FRI FRI This is a tale about the joy of making things in wood, of FRI its touch and smell, its many uses, and the resonant, FRI calming effect of running our hands along a wooden surface. FRI It is a celebration of man's close relationship with this FRI greatest of natural materials and a reminder of the value of FRI things made by hand and made to last. FRI FRI Abridged by Jo Coombs FRI Produced by Hannah Marshall FRI A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI Credits FRI Author: Robert Penn FRI Abridger: Jo Coombs FRI Producer: Hannah Marshall FRI FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour b06sbpmz (Listen) FRI Claudia Winkleman, Odette Toilette, Romesh and Shanthi FRI Ranganathan FRI FRI Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey host a Christmas party with FRI perfume expert Odette Toilette, drinks writer Alice FRI Lascelles and chef Jeremy Lee. FRI FRI Credits FRI Presenter: Jenni Murray FRI Presenter: Jane Garvey FRI Interviewed Guest: Odette Toilette FRI Interviewed Guest: Alice Lascelles FRI Interviewed Guest: Jeremy Lee FRI FRI 11:15 15 Minute Drama b06sbpn1 (Listen) FRI I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, Piano and I FRI FRI The story of the rise and fall of a collaboration between FRI three men who dominated Victorian musical theatre and have FRI left a lasting legacy. Everyone has heard of the immortal FRI Gilbert and Sullivan, but who knows about the man who FRI brought them success, George Grossmith, the original Modern FRI Major General? FRI FRI Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks' delightful comedy drama FRI about the entertainer George Grossmith, who was plucked from FRI his humble touring circuit to become the star of the Gilbert FRI & Sullivan Savoy Operas, staying for twelve years. Grossmith FRI was central to why Gilbert and Sullivan operas became so FRI successful and continue to be so today. FRI FRI Simon Butteriss, who plays Grossmith, is best known as a FRI performer in the Gilbert and Sullivan patter roles, which he FRI continues to sing all over the world to a huge fan base. FRI Robin Brooks' work for Radio 4 includes Ulysses, I Claudius, FRI The Great Scott and Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl. His recent FRI dramatisation of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea starring FRI Jeremy Irons has been shortlisted for a BBC Audio Drama FRI Award, 2016. FRI FRI Episode Five: Piano and I FRI It's 1889 and, after twelve years at the Savoy Opera, FRI Grossmith decides to go solo. Gilbert and Sullivan lose FRI their golden goose. While he flies, they struggle to replace FRI him. Will there be a re-union? And if so, will they all be FRI able to bear it? FRI FRI Pianist: Gretel Dowdeswell FRI Sound Designer: Alisdair McGregor FRI FRI Written by Simon Butteriss and Robin Brooks FRI Directed by Simon Butteriss and Fiona McAlpine FRI Produced by Fiona McAlpine FRI FRI An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI Credits FRI George Grossmith: Simon Butteriss FRI Arthur Sullivan: Alex Jennings FRI WS Gilbert: Rupert Vansittart FRI Writer: Simon Butteriss FRI Writer: Robin Brooks FRI Director: Simon Butteriss FRI Director: Fiona McAlpine FRI Producer: Fiona McAlpine FRI FRI 11:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b06sbpn3 (Listen) FRI Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! Christmas Special FRI FRI Christmas creeps up on Arthur, leaving him little time to FRI plan his festive arrangements. FRI FRI Count Arthur Strong - one time Variety Star, now sole FRI proprietor and owner of Doncaster's Academy of Performance - FRI is a show business legend, raconteur, and lecturer FRI extraordinaire. In this one off episode, the sudden arrival FRI of Christmas ("We've only just celebrated Easter!") FRI surprises Arthur. Could the lack of seasonal planning FRI possibly see Arthur miss out on his Turkey? FRI FRI All false starts and nervous fumbling badly covered up by a FRI delicate sheen of bravado and self-assurance, and an expert FRI in everything from the world of entertainment to the origin FRI of the species, everyday life with Arthur is an FRI enlightening, sometimes frustrating, never dull experience. FRI FRI Count Arthur Strong is supported in the Christmas special by FRI his Radio Repertory Company (like the RSC only better) - FRI Alastair Kerr, Dave Mounfield and Mel Giedroyc. FRI FRI Steve Delaney has been performing as Count Arthur Strong FRI since the late 90s. In the last fifteen years the character FRI has stepped from Edinburgh cult to mainstay of BBC Comedy, FRI with seven series on BBC Radio 4, and a TV sitcom that has FRI stepped from BBC2 to BBC1 and will return for a third series FRI in 2016. FRI FRI A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI Credits FRI Count Arthur Strong: Steve Delaney FRI FRI 12:00 News Summary b06s6xq0 (Listen) FRI The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 12:04 Home Front b06kvc3t (Listen) FRI Christmas Day 1915 - Adeline Lumley FRI FRI On this day, J M Barrie presented the Peter Pan cup to a 13 FRI year old who swam the Serpentine, and Adeline Lumley makes a FRI Christmas wish. FRI FRI Written by Richard Monks & Shaun McKenna FRI Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. FRI FRI Credits FRI Adeline Lumley: Helen Schlesinger FRI Cora Gidley: Joanna Monro FRI Gabriel Graham: Michael Bertenshaw FRI Isabel Graham: Keely Beresford FRI Johnnie Marshall: Paul Ready FRI Kitty Lumley: Ami Metcalf FRI Phyllis Marshall: Christine Absolom FRI Sylvia Graham: Joanna David FRI Soldier: Caolan McCarthy FRI Soldier: Leo Wan FRI Writer: Richard Monks FRI Writer: Shaun McKenna FRI Director: Jessica Dromgoole FRI FRI 12:15 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats b06t3tq6 (Listen) FRI Episode 2 FRI FRI On Christmas Day 1937 , nearly two years before book FRI publication, five of T.S Eliot's Practical Cats poems were FRI broadcast as readings by Geoffrey Tandy on BBC Radio . The FRI Radio Times wrote' For some time past Mr Eliot has been FRI amusing and instructing the offspring of some of his friends FRI in verse on the subject of cats. These poems are not the FRI kind that have been usually associated with his name'. FRI FRI Over 75 years later, one of our greatest actors, Oscar- FRI winning Jeremy Irons re-visits the original five poems along FRI with the further ten which make up the Old Possum's Book of FRI Practical Cats . FRI FRI In this treat for Christmas day you will find familiar FRI much-loved characters including Growltiger, Mungojerrie , FRI Rumpleteaser, Old Deutoronomy, Mr Mistoffelees, Macavity Gus FRI and Skimbleshanks . These are cats who are notorious , lurk FRI in shadows, baffle Scotland yard, dance by the light of the FRI moon and who must not be woken . They are found on trains, FRI in the theatre, in the high street. They juggle, sleep, FRI conjure, are curious and bore but they all show another side FRI of one of our most important British poets . FRI FRI T.S Eliot 's poems have been enjoyed by many in the musical FRI Cats, but here we return to the poems without any music and FRI celebrate the inventiveness in the original words. Following FRI on from his powerful readings of The Waste land , Four FRI Quartets and The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock for BBC FRI Radio 4 Jeremy Irons continues his radio journey through the FRI works of T.S Eliot with the cats . FRI FRI Gus:The Theatre Cat FRI The Old Gumbie Cat FRI Bustopher Jones:The Cat about Town FRI Cat Morgan introduces himself FRI The Ad-dressing of Cats. FRI FRI 12:30 June Whitfield: 90 Not Out b06s8556 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Sunday] FRI FRI 13:00 News Summary b06sbqs7 (Listen) FRI The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 13:15 Singing Piaf with No Regrets b06rzd4b (Listen) FRI The Paris-based singer Caroline Nin listens to those drawn FRI to sing the music of the legendary French performer, born FRI 100 years ago this week in the working class Parisian FRI district of Belleville. FRI FRI Edith Piaf's influence on French popular song and, more FRI widely, on French and European culture has barely waned FRI since she first found fame and, to this day, her legend FRI lives on - in the myths that surround her life and in the FRI songs that people still sing. FRI FRI Caroline Nin is intimate with Piaf, through her own show FRI based on the singer's legacy. For this anniversary FRI programme, she meets some of those - including employees at FRI the French National Library, a Japanese tribute singer, FRI visitors to Piaf's grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery and a FRI former prostitute who worked the bars of Pigalle - who can't FRI resist singing Piaf ... with no regrets. FRI FRI Produced by Catherine Guilyardi and Alan Hall FRI A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 13:45 Roger Law: Art and Seoul b06tfxh9 (Listen) FRI Artist Roger Law has long been fascinated by the culture of FRI Korea. From stunning ceramics to films and music, South FRI Korea has it all. Roger travels to the 21st century city of FRI Seoul to find out what fires up the Korean imagination. FRI FRI In the last in the series, Roger Law tries some Korean food FRI for Christmas Day. Not all of it is to his taste, but the FRI national dish of kimchi hits the spot. FRI FRI Producer Mark Rickards. FRI FRI 14:00 The Archers b06s9s8d (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 14:15 Drama b06sbrxh (Listen) FRI The Hunting of the Snark FRI FRI The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll FRI FRI Tony Robinson narrates this new adaptation of Lewis FRI Carroll's classic masterpiece following a strange assortment FRI of characters on their quest for an elusive beast. Led by a FRI bell-ringing Captain, this motley crew must brave terrifying FRI danger in their chaotic pursuit of a creature known as FRI Snark. Accompanied by specially composed music and songs, FRI this surreal tale questions whether anything is really what FRI it seems. FRI FRI Music and songs composed by Katie Chatburn FRI FRI Music performed by Katie Chatburn, Dorry Macaulay, Kathryn FRI Williams, Stephen Cordiner and Jasper Wilkinson FRI FRI Directed by Charlotte Riches. FRI FRI Credits FRI Narrator: Tony Robinson FRI Bellman: Eric Potts FRI Baker: Paul Barnhill FRI Butcher: Everal A Walsh FRI Barrister: Jonathan Keeble FRI Snark: Jonathan Keeble FRI Beaver: Stephen Hoyle FRI Director: Charlotte Riches FRI Author: Lewis Carroll FRI FRI 15:00 HM The Queen b06sbrxk (Listen) FRI The Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth and the FRI nation, followed by the national anthem. FRI FRI 15:05 News Summary b06sbrxm (Listen) FRI The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 15:15 Alice Is Still in Wonderland b06pb5pw (Listen) FRI Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has become an icon of FRI British culture - the bizarre story and flamboyant FRI illustrations have inspired all kinds of imagery, fashion, FRI architecture, theatre, decoration and events. But its FRI sinister undercurrents and dreamscape have also impressed FRI artists and musicians. FRI FRI On the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis FRI Carroll's book, lead singer and song writer of alternative FRI rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, Siouxsie Sioux, FRI explores its strange allure. FRI FRI "From 8 onwards, I returned to those pictures of strange, FRI impossible animals and freakish, devious adults as I FRI followed the solitary, brave girl, from one weird encounter FRI to the next. I was struck that Alice could grow or shrink at FRI the bite of a cake or the sip of a drink - my body was FRI changing by the day and I was desperate to be older and FRI taller, like my sister, as I wobbled around in my mum's high FRI heels. The Mad Hatter, the Dozy Dormouse, the Mock Turtle, FRI the Duchess' baby pig and playing croquet with flamingos as FRI mallets all made me laugh and I loved the floating head of FRI the grinning Cheshire Cat who couldn't be beheaded. FRI FRI But there was something else that drew me into Wonderland FRI that I couldn't have named then, though I sensed its FRI irreverence - something darker about adults and their rules FRI and their craziness and endless unreasonableness. Alice was FRI an ally and the book helped me dream myself out of the FRI London suburbs." Siouxsie Sioux FRI FRI Siouxsie Sioux travels to Oxford to retrace Lewis Carroll's FRI inspiration and influence. With an Un-Oxford soundtrack. FRI FRI A Cast Iron Radio production for BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 15:45 Shorts b06scz8q (Listen) FRI New Irish Writing, A World of One's Own FRI FRI A new series of original stories from some of Ireland's most FRI exciting writers. FRI FRI In wintry Newry an elderly man embarks on a new adventure in FRI a story by Eugene O'Hare while Lisa McInerney brings us a FRI kid doing a bunk off school, and a man thinks fondly of his FRI glamorous new girlfriend in Kevin Maher's story of love and FRI leather jackets. FRI FRI Writer ..... Eugene O'Hare FRI Reader ..... Ian McElhinney FRI FRI Producer ...... Jenny Thompson. FRI FRI Credits FRI Writer: Eugene O'Hare FRI Reader: Ian McElhinney FRI Producer: Jenny Thompson FRI FRI 16:00 A Good Read b0639w3x (Listen) FRI Miriam Margolyes and Mark Haddon FRI FRI Harriett Gilbert is joined by actress Miriam Margolyes and FRI writer Mark Haddon to discuss favourite books, including FRI 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, 'Breakfast at FRI Tiffany's' by Truman Capote and 'To the Lighthouse' by FRI Virginia Woolf. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. FRI FRI Credits FRI Presenter: Harriett Gilbert FRI Interviewed Guest: Miriam Margolyes FRI Interviewed Guest: Mark Haddon FRI Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery FRI FRI 16:27 The Infinite Monkey Cage b06scz8s (Listen) FRI The Infinite Monkey Cage Christmas Special FRI FRI The Science of Doctor Who FRI Brian Cox and Robin Ince celebrate the festive season with a FRI look at the science of Doctor Who. Swapping the infinite FRI cage for the Tardis, they are joined on stage by comedian FRI Ross Noble, Professor Fay Dowker, Oscar winning special FX FRI director Paul Franklin, author and Doctor Who writer Simon FRI Guerrier and the Very Reverend Victor Stock. They discuss FRI the real science of time travel, the tardis and why FRI wormholes are inaccurately named (according to Ross!). FRI FRI 16:55 The Listening Project b06scz8v (Listen) FRI Aiden and Jack - Growing Up with Rugby FRI FRI Fi Glover introduces a conversation recorded at the CBBC FRI Live and Digital Festival in Hull, between friends who have FRI been training together since they were 6 and have a very FRI advanced knowledge of Rugby League. Another conversation in FRI the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when FRI you listen, and this one can be seen, animated, on FRI http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc FRI FRI The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a FRI snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the FRI UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to FRI them about a subject they've never discussed intimately FRI before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK FRI by teams of producers from local and national radio stations FRI who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're FRI not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - FRI lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key FRI moment of connection between the participants. Most of the FRI unedited conversations are being archived by the British FRI Library and used to build up a collection of voices FRI capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade FRI of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening FRI Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject FRI FRI Producer: Marya Burgess. FRI FRI 17:00 With Great Pleasure b06scz8x (Listen) FRI With Great Pleasure at Christmas: Penelope Keith FRI FRI Penelope Keith, star of The Good Life and To The Manor Born, FRI presents her favourite and funniest readings to the audience FRI at the Radio Theatre, with readings by Tamsin Greig and FRI Michael Cochrane, and carols sung by The Bach Choir. FRI Penelope plays scenes from The Importance of Being Earnest FRI by Oscar Wilde and from Star Quality by Noel Coward: her FRI audition piece for the RSC. Her other picks reflect her life FRI and her passions. They include a Christmas parody by Keith FRI Waterhouse, an extract from Emma by Jane Austen, Swifts by FRI Ted Hughes, The Craft of Comedy by Athene Seyler and Stephen FRI Haggard, Counting Chickens by the Duchess of Devonshire, The FRI Snow Goose by Paul Gallico, Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, FRI The Donkey by GK Chesterton and A Countrywoman's Notes by FRI Rosemary Verey. FRI Also featuring an unforgettable moment from Brian Johnston FRI on Test Match Special. FRI Producer Beth O'Dea. FRI FRI Credits FRI Presenter: Penelope Keith FRI Reader: Tamsin Greig FRI Reader: Michael Cochrane FRI Producer: Beth O'Dea FRI FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News b06s6xqb (Listen) FRI The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI 18:15 Pam Ayres at Christmas b06scz8z (Listen) FRI Much-loved poet, comedienne and broadcaster Pam Ayres brings FRI us 'Operation Christmas'. FRI FRI This Christmas for the first time ever, long-married Pam and FRI Gordon are on their own. But how to spend the festive FRI season? A posh hotel? A cruise? Extreme sports? FRI FRI Fortunately the crisis is resolved by a letter from the FRI NHS.... FRI FRI Written by Pam Ayres FRI Starring Pam Ayres as Pam and Geoffrey Whitehead as Gordon. FRI Produced by Claire Jones. FRI FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers b06scz91 (Listen) FRI Christmas Special FRI FRI Politicians, media pundits and celebrities are given a FRI Christmas roasting, with lashings of satirical gravy. The FRI perfect antidote to all the tears you've shed over the FRI Christmas TV ads. FRI FRI Where can you experience the last ever episode of Downton FRI Abbey, a preview of The Archers, and the shock revelation FRI that none of the news on Radio 4's Today programme during FRI the Christmas season is real. It's all pre-recorded while FRI Sara, Jon and the rest of the team sun themselves in the FRI Bahamas. All that and more in the Christmas edition of Dead FRI Ringers. FRI FRI Starring Jon Culshaw, Lewis MacLeod, Jan Ravens, Debra FRI Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey. FRI Producer...Bill Dare FRI A BBC Radio Comedy Production. FRI FRI Credits FRI Performer: Jon Culshaw FRI Performer: Debra Stephenson FRI Performer: Jan Ravens FRI Performer: Lewis Macleod FRI Performer: Duncan Wisbey FRI FRI 19:00 The Archers b06scz93 (Listen) FRI King's School Worcester Choir ..... conducted by Simon FRI Taranczuk. FRI FRI Credits FRI Writer: Simon Frith FRI Director: Kim Greengrass FRI Editor: Sean O'Connor FRI Jill Archer: Patricia Greene FRI David Archer: Tim Bentinck FRI Pip Archer: Daisy Badger FRI Pat Archer: Patricia Gallimore FRI Jennifer Aldridge: Angela Piper FRI Phoebe Aldridge: Lucy Morris FRI Lilian Bellamy: Sunny Ormonde FRI Susan Carter: Charlotte Martin FRI Ian Craig: Stephen Kennedy FRI Justin Elliott: Simon Williams FRI Toby Fairbrother: Rhys Bevan FRI Alan Franks: John Telfer FRI Joe Grundy: Edward Kelsey FRI Eddie Grundy: Trevor Harrison FRI Clarrie Grundy: Heather Bell FRI Shula Hebden Lloyd: Judy Bennett FRI Matthew Holman: Michael Winder FRI Dr Richard Locke: William Gaminara FRI Adam Macy: Andrew Wincott FRI Elizabeth Pargetter: Alison Dowling FRI Lynda Snell: Carole Boyd FRI Leonie Snell: Jasmine Hyde FRI Charlie Thomas: Felix Scott FRI Helen Titchener: Louiza Patikas FRI Rob Titchener: Timothy Watson FRI Peggy Woolley: June Spencer FRI FRI 19:15 Front Row b06scz95 (Listen) FRI News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, FRI literature, film and music. FRI FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama b06sbpn1 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today] FRI FRI 20:00 Archive on 4 b06386cs (Listen) FRI Shhhhhhh FRI FRI Examining the nature of silence might not seem the most FRI obvious thing to do on the radio, the medium most wholly FRI given over to noise and which was in its day seen as a FRI direct threat to the realm of silence in our personal and FRI public lives. It might seem, too, that silence is a singular FRI thing, an absence that offers little to any would-be FRI investigation. But it's a subject that's fascinated Lucy FRI Powell ever since she was set a koan by a Zen master, who FRI asked her what the sound is before the bird sings. Now she FRI sets out to answer that problem through an analysis of FRI archive recordings from religious scholars, authors, FRI comedians and poets, as well as conducting fresh interviews FRI with the likes of conductor Edward Gardner, neuro-scientist FRI Jan Schnupp and Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo, who spent seven FRI years on silent retreat in a Himalayan cave. She hears a FRI freshly composed improvisation on the theme of silence from FRI the classical duo 'Folie a Deux Femmes' and argues that in FRI fact silence is a rich, multiple property that can vary FRI dramatically depending on the context within which it is FRI placed. FRI FRI Producer: Geoff Bird FRI Presenter: Lucy Powell. FRI FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus b06kvjhx (Listen) FRI 21-25 December 1915 FRI FRI In the week following a massive landslide at the Warren, FRI just east of Folkestone, the townsfolk are preparing for FRI Christmas. FRI FRI Written by Richard Monks FRI Directed by Jessica Dromgoole FRI FRI Story-led by Shaun McKenna FRI Sound: Martha Littlehailes FRI Matthew Strachan FRI Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews. FRI FRI Credits FRI Adam Wilson: Billy Kennedy FRI Adeline Lumley: Helen Schlesinger FRI Albert Wilson: Jamie Foreman FRI Alec Poole: Tom Stuart FRI Bob Capeling: Joe Sims FRI Cora Gidley: Joanna Monro FRI Dolly Clout: Elaine Claxton FRI Dorothea Winwood: Rachel Shelley FRI Edie Chadwick: Kathryn Beaumont FRI Eric Morton: Paul Rainbow FRI Florrie Wilson: Claire Rushbrook FRI Gabriel Graham: Michael Bertenshaw FRI Dr Streatfield: Chris Pavlo FRI Isabel Graham: Keely Beresford FRI Johnnie Marshall: Paul Ready FRI June Grey: Aimee-Ffion Edwards FRI Kitty Lumley: Ami Metcalf FRI Lilian Frost: Alex Tregear FRI Margaret Bishop: Catherine Bailey FRI Marion Wardle: Laura Elphinstone FRI Max Davenport: Trevor White FRI Nell Kingsley: Alice St Clair FRI Norman Harris: Sean Baker FRI Olive Hargreaves: Rhiannon Neads FRI Peggy Jeffrey: Jane Slavin FRI Phyllis Marshall: Christine Absolom FRI Roland Pemble: Jack Holden FRI Ruth Billings: Katie Redford FRI Stuart McVey: George Watkins FRI Sylvia Graham: Joanna David FRI Timpson: David Hounslow FRI Soldier: Caolan McCarthy FRI Foreman: Richard Pepple FRI Soldier: Leo Wan FRI Orderly: David Hounslow FRI Nurse: Katie Redford FRI Writer: Richard Monks FRI Director: Jessica Dromgoole FRI FRI 21:58 Weather b06s6xqd (Listen) FRI The latest weather forecast. FRI FRI 22:00 Drama b05pmrtk (Listen) FRI A Year at the Races FRI FRI By Neil Brand. FRI FRI Nearing the end of his career Groucho Marx meets a young FRI star-struck fan, who also happens to be a wisecracking horse FRI doctor. Determined to keep her idol's star shining, she FRI attempts to teach the old funny man some new comedy tricks. FRI A fast-talking comedy drama about fame and the lasting power FRI of a witty-one-liner. FRI FRI Directed by Helen Perry FRI A BBC Cymru Wales Production FRI FRI This programme is available to UK listeners only. FRI FRI Credits FRI Groucho: Toby Jones FRI Selma: Jenna Augen FRI Loretta: Tracy-Ann Oberman FRI Eddie: Ewan Bailey FRI Director: Helen Perry FRI Writer: Neil Brand FRI FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime b06t2hm4 (Listen) FRI A Snow Garden and Other Stories, Trees FRI FRI Rachel Joyce's new collection "A Snow Garden and Other FRI Stories" glides through the festive season with interlinked FRI stories which delight and surprise. From an unexpected birth FRI at an airport full of stranded travellers, a famous son FRI wanting to escape the madness for a normal family dinner, to FRI a divorced father's wish to give his two little boys the one FRI thing they really want, a white Christmas. Five stories as FRI funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should FRI be. FRI FRI Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and FRI international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FRI Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The FRI Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the FRI Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker FRI Prize and has been translated into 34 languages. FRI FRI She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original FRI afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4. FRI FRI Read by ..... Rachel Joyce FRI Produced & Directed by ..... Gemma McMullan. FRI FRI Credits FRI Reader: Rachel Joyce FRI Author: Rachel Joyce FRI Director: Gemma McMullan FRI Producer: Gemma McMullan FRI FRI 23:00 Tim Key's Christmas Poetry Programme b06sddm9 (Listen) FRI Tim Key has pulled out all the stops for his Christmas FRI special - he's hired a barn, a cow and a set of sleigh bells FRI for his long suffering musician, Tom Basden. He also has a FRI fist-full of festive poems ready for recital. But no amount FRI of yuletide joy can hide Tom's despair at having to work on FRI Christmas day. FRI FRI Written and presented by Tim Key FRI With Tom Basden and Katy Wix FRI FRI Produced by James Robinson FRI A BBC Cymru Wales Production. FRI FRI Credits FRI Writer: Tim Key FRI Performer: Tim Key FRI Performer: Tom Basden FRI Performer: Katy Wix FRI Producer: James Robinson FRI FRI 23:30 Great Lives b06s9d1w (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday] FRI FRI 23:55 The Listening Project b06sddmc (Listen) FRI Yasmin and Lana - Sharing a Room FRI FRI Fi Glover introduces a conversation recorded at the CBBC FRI Live and Digital Festival in Hull, between sisters FRI negotiating the early morning wake-up call, once the younger FRI one joins the elder at secondary school. Another FRI conversation that proves it's surprising what you hear when FRI you listen, and this one can be seen, animated, on FRI http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc FRI FRI The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a FRI snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the FRI UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to FRI them about a subject they've never discussed intimately FRI before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK FRI by teams of producers from local and national radio stations FRI who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're FRI not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - FRI lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key FRI moment of connection between the participants. Most of the FRI unedited conversations are being archived by the British FRI Library and used to build up a collection of voices FRI capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade FRI of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening FRI Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject FRI FRI Producer: Marya Burgess. FRI
18 December, 2015
Radio 4 Listings for 19/12/2015 - 25/12/2015
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