Writer Andrea Levy presents anthologies of short pieces for radio capturing a certain off-beat spirit of London.

In tonight's programme: The Other Side of the River - South Londoner Arthur Smith conducts musician Suggs round his manor in a vain attempt to convince the north Londoner that his is the better end of town. On Monday, Suggs returns the compliment. Also: writer Peter Blegvad rings a doorbell in Hammersmith and is ushered into the fantasy world of the Central London Hatcheries and Conditioning Centre - or is he?

Plus, the regular feature Pairs in Squares, in which Jonathan Glancey randomly selects a section from the grid of London's famous streetmap and explores it in company with a well-known London companion.

Andrea Levy was born in London and holds the city close to her heart; her experience growing up here as a black Londoner pervades her novels and is the thread woven through this mix of the day-to-day and the nocturnal... of pieces taking a sidelong glance as well as a more direct approach. A blend of poetry and prose, of the factual and the fictional that together make up this diverse and diverting nightly series.

Andrea Levy sadly died of cancer aged 62 in February 2019.

Executive Producer: Simon Elmes

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010. Show less