Libby Purves meets cartoonist Gerald Scarfe; former journalist Eimear O'Callaghan; actor Greg Wise and rock climber Ben Moon.
Eimear O'Callaghan is a former BBC news editor whose book Belfast Days is based on the diary she kept in 1972 at the height of the Troubles. The book records her and her family's experiences throughout this turbulent year. From the inconvenience of British Army check-points and power cuts to the horror of shootings, bombings and almost 500 killings, her teenage jottings convey a family and community trying to function normally against a background of violence and bloodshed. Belfast Days: A 1972 Teenage Diary is published by Merrion Press.
Gerald Scarfe CBE is a political cartoonist. He started drawing for Punch and Private Eye and is now best known for his work in the New Yorker and the Sunday Times. His latest exhibition, Milk Snatcher, The Thatcher Drawings features his cartoons of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. It spans a period of 22 years from her days as a member of the shadow cabinet to her leadership of the Conservative Party, her tenure as prime minister and her political decline. Milk Snatcher, The Thatcher Drawings exhibition is at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham.
Actor Greg Wise returns to the theatre after an absence of 17 years to star in Brad Fraser's play Kill Me Now. He plays Jake Sturdy, a once successful writer, who now cares for his disabled son, Joey, with the support of a motley crew of friends and family. Greg's acting credits include the films Sense and Sensibility and Effie Gray and his theatre work ranges from Richard II to The Recruiting Officer. Kill Me Now is at the Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London.
In 1990 Ben Moon made rock climbing history with the first ascent of Hubble in the Peak District, now widely recognised as the world's first F9a graded climb. A major figure in the sport climbing movement of the 1980s and the bouldering phenomenon of the 1990s, he fell in love with climbing at seven when he was taken to the Lake District on a family holiday. His story is told in Statement - The Ben Moon Story by Ed Douglas, published by Vertebrate. Show less