From Our Home Correspondent

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Mishal Husain presents despatches from journalists and writers across the UK.

Mishal Husain presents a monthly series featuring despatches from journalists and writers across the UK on all aspects of life in contemporary Britain.

28/01/2018

BBC Radio 4 FM

From Our Home Correspondent: 25/08/2020

25/08/2020

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Home Correspondent, 25/08/2020

Unusual Edinburgh, low traffic, Cotswold opera, a close big brother and the time barrier.

Mishal Husain presents pieces on Edinburgh seen afresh, lockdown vehicle bans, a back garden opera house in the Cotswolds, a very special big brother and breaking the time barrier.

Mishal Husain presents a range of perspectives on Britain today.

Edinburgh is usually thronged with crowds and alive with performers from around the world at Festival time. But the Scottish capital is in decidedly unfamiliar guise this August. Long-time resident, James Naughtie, experiences a city that is not itself.

Sparked by the shift in living patterns during lockdown, councils in England have implemented low traffic neigbourhoods aimed at cutting the number of vehicles on busy streets. But, as Tom Edwards, BBC London's Transport Correspondent, discovers, while residents like the respite, for motorists the new measures add to already time-consuming journeys. 

Deep in the Cotswolds lies an opera house popular with aficionados for miles around. This summer, though, silence - not music - has reigned there. Gillian Powell, part of Longborough Festival Opera's team, reflects on what she has been missing, what's still been possible to do and what she might be able to look forward to next year.

During the Hindu festival of Janmastimi - a time of family reunion and celebration - Harshad Mistry received particularly sad and unwelcome news - the passing of his Motabhai or big brother. It has prompted not only poignant memories but also thoughts about ambition, kinship and community.

And Ian McMillan reveals his youthful attempts with a friend at breaking the time barrier in Barnsley - with the help of a hill of sand and a baked bean tin - and explains why it's something that still preoccupies him.

Producer Simon Coates

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