A Point of View

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A Point of View: A Lump of Coal and a Black Bun

22/10/2023

A Lump of Coal and a Black Bun

BBC Radio 4 - A Point of View, A Lump of Coal and a Black Bun

Alex Massie on the changing face of a Scottish New Year.

Alex Massie reflects on Hogmanay through the ages, with help from Robert Louis Stevenson, the great biographer James Boswell, and the Reverend I.M Jolly.

Alex Massie delves into Hogmanays past and present. 

'The traditional 'first footing' gifts of the New Year - a lump of coal and a black bun - linger on,' Alex writes, 'though with diminished take-up and not just because few houses are coal-heated now and few people truly appreciate the black bun.' 

Producer: Adele Armstrong 
Sound: Peter Bosher 
Production coordinator: Janet Staples 
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

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