BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Lives in a Landscape

Factual: Life Stories

Documentary series telling original stories about real lives in Britain today

Lives in a Landscape: Series 16

Lives in a Landscape: Series 16: Episode 4: Getting the House Ready

Getting the House Ready

Episode 4

Episode 4: Getting the House Ready

Series 16

BBC Radio 4 - Lives in a Landscape, Series 16, Getting the House Ready

Repainting, plumbing, chaos and memories - a family turns a home into a wedding venue.

Myf Barker, 74, is turning her enormous home into a wedding venue in the hope that it will make money. Kate Lamble meets the family and uncovers memories amid the chaos.

74 year old Myf Barker is turning her enormous home into a wedding venue in the hope that it will make money. Kate Lamble meets the family and uncovers memories amid the chaos.

Purton House has been lived in by Myf, her late husband and her children for decades. It's a rambling family mansion with grounds, and an organic farm attached. But Myf has an eye to the future and wants to leave the house to her children as a viable business. So she's working to turn the property into a venue where weddings can be held and bridal families can stay the night.

Her main job is to convert the upstairs rooms so that they meet the standards of the most exacting couples. Old furniture has to be renovated, walls have to be painted and new bathrooms are being put in. Myf will even have to move out of her own bedroom which is being turned into a sitting room.

It's a daunting workload. Will it be ready on time?

Kate Lamble meets Myf, some of her grown up children including daughters Rowie and Talia and also Glenn, the son she fostered. She hears about the renovations and finds out what the house and its landscape symbolises for all of them, especially since the death of Rowie's husband Alex several years ago.

Producer; Emma Kingsley.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Stories about real lives in Britain today, presented by Alan Dein

Documentary series telling original stories about real lives in Britain today. Presented by Alan Dein

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Lives in a Landscape

Series 16

Episode 4: Getting the House Ready

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