BBC Radio 4 LW

Doon The Watta

Doon The Watta: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Doon The Watta, Episode 1

Nicholas Parsons revisits the Clyde, where he was an apprentice in the 1940s.

Nicholas Parsons goes 'doon the watta' to the Clyde, where he worked as an apprentice in the 1940s, to rekindle memories of his life in Glasgow and journey down the river he loves.

Nicholas Parsons was only just 16 when his parents sent him from his relatively privileged home in London to the industrially hardened city of Glasgow. It was January 1940 and with the country still at war, the Parsons felt the best place for their teenage son was serving his country north of the border. So with the help of an uncle, Nicholas secured an engineering apprenticeship on the busy River Clyde. For 5 years he combined his studies at Glasgow university with work for the Drysdales firm.

60 years on Nicholas Parsons goes back to the place where he was sent as a boy but grew into a man. By day he had a tough education from the uncompromisingly tough men of the Clyde, but by night he had the freedom to discover his talents on stage and perform to packed out theatres and concert halls full of the men with whom he was clocking on and off.

In this series Nicholas returns back to Glasgow and retraces the life he once had, starting his journey in the YMCA digs he came to call home.

He'll also revisit Glasgow University and the department of Engineering where he studied. It's still at the centre of expertise in teaching and research in shipbuilding today. He'll find out how the profession of shipbuilding has changed.

Producer: Lyndon Saunders
An All Out production for BBC Radio 4.

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Nicholas Parsons revisits the Clyde, where he was an apprentice in the 1940s

Nicholas Parsons goes 'doon the watta' to the Clyde, where he worked as an apprentice in the 1940s, to rekindle memories of his life in Glasgow and journey down the river he loves

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