by Lionel Seepaul, read by Burt Caesar. A vivid and disturbing story set among Trinidad's street life, about a young man at carnival time. He can do nothing right - except, play tenor pan like an angel.

Five stories by Ieading Caribbean writers which explore, challenge and celebrate the diverse cultural identity of the label "pan-Caribbean".

The afternoon readings this week go Pan-Caribbean (3.30pm R4) and in the first of the tales the word "pan" refers to the Trinidadian steel drums that feature at carnival time. Pockot is a boy with no prospects, no education and a harsh home life, who plays the tenor pan in a steel band. It is a demanding and sophisticated instrument, capable of producing 32 notes, but pan players were despised when the story was written and Pockot's is an elegiac tale, powerful and intriguing. (SG)