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Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 27/10/2009

27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Shipping Forecast, 27/10/2009Close menu

BBC Radio 4

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

News Briefing

News Briefing: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 27/10/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 27/10/2009

Daily prayer and reflection with the Very Rev John Cairns.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 27/10/2009

Anna Hill reports on a shoot on sight policy for wild boar in East Anglia.

Farmers in one of the largest pig-producing areas in the country have hired a marksman to shoot wild boar which they say could ruin their businesses. Anna Hill reports.

Farmers in one of the largest pig-producing areas in the country have hired a marksman to shoot wild boar which they say could ruin their businesses. Three of the animals have already been killed in East Anglia because of concerns they will spread disease. Sightings in the region are relatively new, although the species is well established in other parts of the country. Anna Hill reports.

Today

Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day

Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including religious reflections from Thought for the Day at 0748

Today: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 27/10/2009

Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.

With John Humphrys and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.

Presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis.

The number of foetuses diagnosed with Down's syndrome in England and Wales has risen by more than 70 per cent in the last 20 years. Researchers have found that more than 1,800 babies had a high chance of developing the condition, but that the number of babies being born with the condition has remained static. Joan Morris, Professor of Medical Statistics at Queen Mary, University of London, who compiled the research, and Jane Fisher, chief executive of Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC), examine the increase in the number of foetuses with Down's syndrome. 

American space agency NASA is making final preparations for the launch of its new Ares rocket, which will eventually replace the space shuttle and is hoped one day to reach Mars. Ares was commissioned by the previous White House administration and tight spending budgets are raising doubts over the future of the project. Correspondent Pallab Ghosh reports from the launch site in Florida. 

Legislation has been passed in Paris to give French citizens who live abroad their own MPs. The first will be voted for in the 2012 French national elections. This would see French people living in the UK having their own MP to the French parliament. Benedicte Pavoit, UK correspondent for France 24, discusses the new legislation. 

World leaders are meeting in a few weeks to try to draw up a new agreement on limiting carbon dioxide. Lord Stern, author of a major report into climate change, is concerned that leaders are not dedicated to reducing emissions. Lord Stern examines the climate change agenda. 

American Rapper 50 Cent has produced a book on how to get ahead in business by overcoming your fears. 50th Law, written with Robert Greene, is based on the artist's early experiences hustling on the streets of South Queens, selling drugs. Evan Davis spoke to 50 Cent about his new book, and asked him if he finds any parallels between the world he grew up in and modern corporate life. 

Thought for the Day with Dr Indarjit Singh, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations. 

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, has said the civil justice system is failing. In an interview with Radio 4, Lord Judge raised grave concerns about the system and that a threat of civil disorder could escalate from the shortfall. Bridget Prentice, under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, discusses Lord Judge's comments and the civil justice system. 

More babies with Down's syndrome are being aborted. The number of women deciding on abortion after being told their child has the condition is three times higher than it was 20 years ago. Reporter Nicola Stanbridge met one mother who had a positive test result and decided against having an abortion. Rob Llewellyn, consultant obstetrician in Swansea and Carol Boys, chief executive of the Down's Syndrome Association, discuss why more women are choosing to abort their babies with the syndrome. 

An Al Qaeda-linked Iraqi group has said it carried out Sunday's double suicide bombing in Baghdad. Correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse reports on the questions being asked about Iraq's security. 

A new book has been published that examines into our language might have changed if King Harold had defeated William the Conquerer at the Battle of Hastings. David Cowley, author of How We'd Talk If The English Had Won In 1066, and Professor Clive Upton, Head of Modern English at the University of Leeds, discuss how the battle affected the English language. 

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), the organisation which the government has asked to look into new child protection laws, has found that many people will voluntarily decide to be ISA registered. Sir Roger Singleton, head of the ISA, discusses whether firms who do not need to be Criminal Records Board checked will end up with a competitive edge over those that do. 

NASA is scheduled to launch the first of its prototype rockets for the new Ares rocket, which will replace the shuttle fleet. Cuts in the Obama administration's space spending has led to concerns over the project's future. Dr Chris Riley, science writer and documentary maker, comments on the scientific importance of Ares. 

Geologists have unveiled the skull of a huge ancient reptile which has been found on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. The skull belongs to a pliosaur, a huge creature which lived around 150 million years ago. Richard Edmunds, a geologist and Earth Science manager for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, discusses the find. 

The UN's Millennium Development Goals are due to be met by 2015. One of the goals is to reduce the number of women who die in childbirth by 75 per cent. Correspondent Lyse Doucet reports from Afghanistan, which has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world. 

What is the best philosophy for to excel in business? Entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter and philanthropist Dr Peter Lunn, author of Basic Instincts: Human Nature and the New Economics, di

The Choice

Series featuring people who have made life-altering decisions

Series featuring people who have made life-altering decisions and exploring the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences

The Choice: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Choice, 27/10/2009

Michael Buerk talks to Alex Bell about her choice to adopt children with Down's syndrome.

Michael Buerk interviews people who have made life-altering decisions. He talks to single mother Alex Bell about her choice to adopt children with Down's syndrome.

Michael Buerk interviews people who have made life-altering decisions and talks them through the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences.

He talks to single mother Alex Bell about her choice to adopt children with Down's syndrome.

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

Parting Shots

Matthew Parris marks the passing of the valedictory despatch from British ambassadors

Matthew Parris marks the passing of the valedictory despatch, the traditional final telegram home in which British ambassadors could let their hair down and settle a few scores

Parting Shots: Series 1: Episode 2

Episode 2

Series 1

BBC Radio 4 - Parting Shots, Series 1, Episode 2

How diplomacy requires an ambassador to see beyond the shortcomings of foreign hosts.

How successful diplomacy requires an ambassador to both see beyond the shortcomings of their foreign hosts and persuade them to look kindly on our own.

Matthew Parris marks the passing of the valedictory despatch, the traditional final telegram home in which British ambassadors could let their hair down and settle a few scores. The series features newly declassified Foreign Office files alongside interviews with the diplomats who wrote them.

How successful diplomacy requires an ambassador to both see beyond the shortcomings of their foreign hosts and persuade them to look kindly on our own.

Parting Shots: Series 1

Matthew Parris marks the passing of the valedictory despatch of the British ambassador

Matthew Parris marks the passing of the valedictory despatch, the traditional final telegram home in which British ambassadors could let their hair down and settle a few scores. The series features newly declassified Foreign Office files alongside interviews with the diplomats who wrote them. 


Matthew delves into the archives to find valedictories in which ambassadors heading into retirement poked fun at foreign nations where they had served.

Daily Service

Spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

Daily Service: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Daily Service, 27/10/2009

Christian worship and music led by Michael Wakelin.

Woman's Hour

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Woman's Hour: Patricia Cornwell; Misconceptions about rape victims

Patricia Cornwell; Misconceptions about rape victims

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Patricia Cornwell; Misconceptions about rape victims

American crime writer, Patricia Cornwell on Dr Kay Scarpetta.

American crime writer, Patricia Cornwell on Dr Kay Scarpetta. Plus; should juries be educated about the range of possible responses to a sexual assault?

Science vs The Stradivarius

BBC Radio 4 - Science vs The Stradivarius

Can science master the Stradivarius? Professor Trevor Cox investigates.

Can modern technology identify the elusive components of a Stradivarius violin or is science just chasing a myth? Professor Trevor Cox investigates.

Can modern technology identify the elusive components that give Stradivarius violins a unique voice? Analysts have submitted the master instruments to a battery of tests, from CT scans to burning original samples of varnish, but are they just chasing a myth? Professor Trevor Cox investigates.

(Tasmin Little finishes the programme playing her Stradivarius.)

Producer: Erika Wright.

Art Attack

Art Attack: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Art Attack, Episode 1

Tim Marlow looks at attacks on art carried out in the name of politics and religion.

4 Extra Debut. Tim Marlow investigates some of the most renowned attacks on art carried out in the name of politics and religion. From October 2009.

An assault on the Mona Lisa with a teacup raises the question, why do people attack art? In two programmes the art historian and broadcasters Tim Marlow (programme one) and Lawrence Pollard (programme two) investigate centuries of attacks on art works from the earliest times to the present day. Charting the reasons why and telling the stories of some of the most sensational and provocative attacks, they explore how the wilful destruction of art is as old as art itself and how it shows no signs of stopping. Statues are demolished in the name of religion, photographs doctored for political reasons, paintings are slashed and protestors even urinate on art works. Art is attacked so that the power of a particular work is nullified, in order to eradicate the art's subject from the face of the earth, as a publicity seeking stunt and even - and increasingly - to make an artistic comment on the existing artwork. Do these attacks have anything in common? Can art be made by breaking existing art? Why are art attacks continuing? 

Programme 1 
Tim Marlow looks at some of the most renowned attacks on art carried out in the name of politics and religion. He speaks to Professor Eamon Duffy in the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral, which was desecrated in the sixteenth century during the Reformation. A place which is beautiful in its brokenness, with the damage (defaced figures and empty pedestals) clearly visible.

On 10th March 1914, suffragette Mary Richardson attacked Velazquez's Rokeby Venus with an axe at the National Gallery in London. Her motive for the attack was to bring to public attention the cruelty and hypocrisy of the Government's treatment of Emily Pankhurst. Professor Lynn Nead discusses the wider political issues of this act and the public outrage that followed.

For the past three decades, author and photo-historian David King has assembled the world's largest archive of photographs, posters and paintings from the Soviet era. Tim takes a look at his collection and discusses the doctoring of photographs by the Communists for propaganda purposes.

The Bamiyan Buddhas, which were arguably Afghanistan's most important historical monument, were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 causing an international outcry. What does it mean to destroy art for your beliefs?

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Series investigating attacks on art works, from the earliest times to the present day

Series investigating the history of attacks on art works, from the earliest times to the present day

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast

News, weather and Shipping Forecast updates. 

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Headlines; Shipping Forecast, 27/10/2009

National and international news and the shipping forecast.

The latest national and international news headlines, followed by the shipping forecast.

You and Yours

You and Yours: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, 27/10/2009

Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.

Weather

Weather: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Weather, 27/10/2009Close menu

World at One

Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.

World at One: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - World at One, 27/10/2009

National and international news with Martha Kearney.

Baroque and Roll: Townshend on Purcell

BBC Radio 4 - Baroque and Roll: Townshend on Purcell

Pete Townshend talks about the influence on his songwriting of composer Henry Purcell.

The Who guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend talks about the band's career and reveals the influence on his songwriting of Baroque composer Henry Purcell.

The Who guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend talks about the band's career and reveals the influence on his songwriting of Baroque composer Henry Purcell. 

When Pete was a struggling 20-year-old musician he was turned on to Purcell by his manager, Kit Lambert. It was Kit's recommendation of Purcell's Gordian Knot Untied that struck the loudest chord with Pete, awakening him to a lineage in English music that seemed strangely familiar. Immersing himself in the music, he soon set about writing The Who's first album. 

Pete reveals how he drew on Purcell's dramatic genius for his most intriguing compositions. From his first mini-rock opera to his masterpiece, Tommy, and from his enduring Lifehouse project through to his current musical endeavour, there has always been a Purcellian presence.

The Archers

An intense and gripping week of events unfolds in Ambridge. Listen to all the drama here.

The Archers: 26/10/2009

26/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 26/10/2009

Ed and Mike are on a roll with the new business. They've been to the farm in Wales and feel very positive about buying in the new cows. They discuss which villages they should target with the new milk round. Mike thinks Downham and Fawcett Magna might be the place to start. They decide to go down to the Bull for a pint. 

At the pub, Jazzer is still behaving in an uncharacteristic way - smoking and drinking less and even refusing a pint proffered by Wayne. Fallon's very cheerful, because new guitarist Rollo has fixed up a couple of good gigs before Christmas. One of them is at the Tram Shed in Felpersham. Jazzer reckons it's a bit rough there and she'll need a good roadie to look after her. Wayne has some good news of his own - his girlfriend Emmy has decided to take him back. Fallon is pleased for him.

Will comes in, angry because he thinks Ed has deliberately blocked him in, in the car park. Ed is 
needled, and a row develops. To everyone's amazement, Jazzer steps in and smoothes it all over, taking Ed's keys and going out with Will to move the car. 

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.

Drama on 4

Drama from BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

Afternoon Drama: Dickens Confidential

Drama on 4: Dickens Confidential: Episode 5: Murder in the Red Barn

Episode 5

Episode 5: Murder in the Red Barn

Dickens Confidential

Murder in the Red Barn

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Dickens Confidential, Murder in the Red Barn

By Mike Walker. The body of a young baby is found floating on the River Thames.

When the body of a young baby is found floating on the River Thames, the Herald's chief correspondent Daniel Parker is given the task of finding out why.

Series of plays looking at how Charles Dickens, as the head of a daily paper, would have tackled bringing the news to the masses.

By Mike Walker.

When the body of a young baby is found floating on the River Thames, the Herald's chief correspondent Daniel Parker is given the task of finding out why.

While his investigations take him and Charles Dickens into the poverty stricken areas of the City, Agnes is in the thick of philanthropy and theatricals in Belgravia.

Charles Dickens ...... Dan Stevens
Agnes Paxton ...... Eleanor Howell
Daniel Parker ...... Andrew Buchan
Mr Dudman ...... Henry Goodman
Mrs Dudman ...... Joan Walker
Sarah ...... Liz Sutherland
Mrs Kindly ...... Helen Longworth
The Boatman ...... John Rowe
Equerry/Stallholder/PC ...... Chris Pavlo

Directed by Tracey Neale.

Drama on 4: Dickens Confidential

Series of plays in which Charles Dickens is the head of a daily paper

Series of plays looking at how Charles Dickens, as the head of a daily paper, would have tackled bringing the news to the masses

Making History

Popular history series where the past connects with the present.

Making History: 27/10/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Making History, 27/10/2009

Are some green lanes and place names in southern England a reminder of a Welsh invasion?

Vanessa Collingridge explores ordinary people's links with the past. Are some green lanes and place names in southern England a reminder of an earlier Welsh invasion?

Vanessa Collingridge presents the series exploring ordinary people's links with the past. 

Are some green lanes and place names in southern England a reminder of an earlier Welsh invasion?

Afternoon Reading

Short stories or abridged books, often from new writers

Afternoon Reading: Sophie Hannah - The Fantastic Book of Everybody's Secrets

Afternoon Reading: Sophie Hannah - The Fantastic Book of Everybody's Secrets: Episode 1: The Octopus Nest

Episode 1: The Octopus Nest

Sophie Hannah - The Fantastic Book of Everybody's Secrets

The Octopus Nest

BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Reading, Sophie Hannah - The Fantastic Book of Everybody's Secrets, The Octopus NestSearch BBC

Claire and Timothy wonder why a strange woman is appearing in their family photos.

Claire and Timothy wonder why a strange woman is appearing in their family photos. Read by Helen Bradbury.

Series of chilling tales from crime writer Sophie Hannah's first short story collection. 

Claire and Timothy have no idea why there's a strange woman appearing in so many of their family photographs. As Claire stumbles across the answer, she is more frightened than ever. 

Read by Helen Bradbury.

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

Series of chilling tales from crime writer Sophie Hannah's first short story collection

Amanda Vickery - A History of Private Life

Amanda Vickery - A History of Private Life: Episode 22: Taste

Episode 22

Episode 22: Taste

Taste

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Amanda Vickery - A History of Private Life, Taste

The story of an 18th-century couple who spend life doing up their magnificent houses.

Historian Amanda Vickery follows the tale of a fashionable 18th-century couple who spent their life together doing up their magnificent houses.

Historian Amanda Vickery presents a series which reveals the hidden history of home over 400 years. She draws on first-hand accounts from letters and diaries, many of which have never been heard before. Including songs which have been specially recorded for the series. 

These days we take it for granted that the home is a place of refuge in which we express our true self; that idea was an invention of the 18th century. Prof Vickery explores the invention of taste, and the role of interior decor in creating both social prestige and a successful marriage.

Taste - and the making of a marriage. The story of an 18th-century couple, the Graftons - fashionable, rich, and deeply in love - who spend life together doing up their magnificent houses. 

Readers: Deborah Findlay, John Sessions, Madeleine Brolly and Simon Tcherniak.

Singers: Gwyneth Herbert and Thomas Guthrie, with David Owen Norris at the keyboard.

A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.

Historian Amanda Vickery reveals the hidden history of home over 400 years

Historian Amanda Vickery presents a series which reveals the hidden history of home over 400 years, drawing on first-hand accounts from letters and diaries

The Law Show

Conversation about the laws making headlines, and the laws that shape everyday life.

The Law Show is your guide to the law and the legal decisions that have a bearing on everyone in the UK.

Weekly conversation that will give you an in-depth understanding of the law stories making news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it's unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.

Law in Action

The Law Show: Interview with Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge

Interview with Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge

BBC Radio 4 - The Law Show, Interview with Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge

Clive Coleman talks to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge.

Clive Coleman talks to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, about sentencing, the viability of short prison sentences and the problems of access to justice in the civil courts.

Clive Coleman talks to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Igor Judge, in his first broadcast interview since taking up the post.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Lord Judge discusses issues ranging from sentencing and the viability of short prison sentences to the problems of access to justice in the civil courts.

A Good Read

A Good Read: David Edgar and Helen Cross

David Edgar and Helen Cross

BBC Radio 4 - A Good Read, David Edgar and Helen CrossClose menu

Sue MacGregor, David Edgar and Helen Cross discuss books at the Birmingham Book Festival.

4 Extra Debut. David Edgar, Helen Cross and Sue MacGregor discuss favourite books by Anthony Trollope, Naomi Wolf and Graham Greene. From 2009.

Sue MacGregor talks to playwright David Edgar and novelist Helen Cross at the Birmingham Book Festival about their favourite books - titles by Graham Greene, Anthony Trollope and Naomi Wolf.

Books featured:  

The Warden by Anthony Trollope, Penguin Classics

The Treehouse by Naomi Wolf, Virago Press

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, Vintage Classics

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.

1989: Day by Day

1989: Day by Day: Episode 23: 27th October 1989

Episode 23

Episode 23: 27th October 1989

27th October 1989

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Day by Day, 27th October 1989

Margaret Thatcher's leadership style comes under fire after a quick Cabinet reshuffle.

Margaret Thatcher's leadership style comes under fire after a quick Cabinet reshuffle; the IRA admits killing a British soldier and his six-month-old baby in West Germany.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Margaret Thatcher's leadership style comes under fire after a quick Cabinet reshuffle; the IRA admits killing a British soldier and his six-month-old baby in West Germany; new East German premier Egon Krenz agrees to release reformist protestors.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago

Afternoon news and current affairs programme

Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines

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1989: Day by Day

Episode 23: 27th October 1989

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