BBC Radio 4 LW

Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 25/12/2009

25/12/2009

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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: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 25/12/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 25/12/2009

Daily prayer and reflection with Bishop Alan Abernethy.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 25/12/2009

How to make the best of your Christmas turkey.

Turkey is still the traditionalists' favourite for the Christmas table, so Charlotte Smith discovers how to make the best of your bird.

If you are up in time to hear Farming Today on Christmas morning, the chances are you will be fretting about a turkey. Charlotte has good news - cooking the bird is probably not as difficult as you think it is going to be, and it probably will not take you as long as you fear either.  

Charlotte has taken expert advice from the man known as the king of the fresh, free-range turkey business and she asks whether the Christmas bird has any hope of becoming a favourite all year round.

Archive on 4

Brilliant stories told using archive from the BBC and beyond.

Archive on 4: A Laureate's Legacy - The Poetry Archive

16/05/2009

A Laureate's Legacy - The Poetry Archive

BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, A Laureate's Legacy - The Poetry Archive

Andrew Motion tells the story of the proudest legacy of his time as Poet Laureate.

Andrew Motion explores and tells the story of the proudest legacy of his time as Poet Laureate, The Poetry Archive.

Andrew Motion explores and tells the story of the proudest legacy of his time as Poet Laureate, The Poetry Archive - hundreds of poems, read by their authors and all available online, free to everyone. 

Motion's stint as Poet Laureate ended with predictable discussions about his successor and what he did or didn't do. But the lasting legacy of his laureateship and the great achievement of his tenure is his creation, with sound producer Richard Carrington, of the remarkable online Poetry Archive, begun in 1999 and growing. It includes contemporary poets reading their work, including Seamus Heaney, UA Fanthorpe and Jackie Kay and historic recordings by poets including Hilaire Belloc, Siegfried Sassoon, WB Yeats and even Tennyson and Browning. As well as the poems there are sections for children and teachers, interviews with poets, poets in residence and useful information about genres, forms and metres. If you want to know what an anapaest is, or a pantoum, the Poetry Archive can help. 

Motion and Carrington talk about why they created the archive, and state that there is more to it than simply preserving poets reading their work. Motion develops his theme that poetry is primarily an aural art, and what this reveals. The poet's voice is fundamental: the windswept moor is in the voice of Ted Hughes; Charles Causley's Cornish accent and dialect are important. The sound of a poem is an aspect of its meaning. At the recording session when Carol Ann Duffy reads her book Rapture for the archive, Richard Carrington speaks about his role: not to coax a performance so much as to help the poets to be themselves. 

Andrew Motion and Richard Carrington lead us around the archive, playing gems that we might otherwise have missed. They talk, too, about what is missing, and appeal to people who might have recordings. For example, they do not know how Thomas Hardy, AE Housman and DH Lawrence sounded because as far as we know they never made recordings. But they might have, and one day they might turn up.

Bryn Terfel Masters Wine

29/08/2009

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Bryn Terfel Masters Wine

Opera singer Bryn Terfel attempts to become a master sommelier.

4 Extra Debut. Exploring his love of wine and with expert help, opera's Bryn Terfel tries out as a sommelier at a top London venue. From August 2009.

Opera singer Bryn Terfel explores his love of wine and attempts to become a master sommelier. Taking a break from the stage, Bryn meets some of the world's finest wine experts and finds out what the role of sommelier involves, from tasting to service to food matching.

Featuring contributions from wine writer Sarah Ahmed, chief examiner for The Court of Master Sommeliers Brian Julyan, managing director of Cullen Wines Vanya Cullen, sommelier at Gidleigh Park Restaurant Edouard Oger, restaurant manager at High Timber Restaurant Neleen Strauss and Master of Wine at Berry Bros Alun Griffiths.

A Parrog production for BBC Radio 4.

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.

The Museum of Curiosity

Panel show in which guests donate fascinating exhibits to a vast imaginary museum

Panel show in which three distinguished guests donate fascinating exhibits to a vast imaginary museum

The Museum of Curiosity: Series 2

The Museum of Curiosity: Series 2: Episode 6

Episode 6

Series 2

BBC Radio 4 - The Museum of Curiosity, Series 2, Episode 6

John Lloyd and Sean Lock invite guests Tim Minchin, Philip Pullman and Clive James.

John Lloyd and Sean Lock invite guests Tim Minchin, Philip Pullman and Clive James to add to the collection. From June 2009.

Panel show in which guests donate fascinating exhibits to an imaginary museum

Desert Island Discs

Castaway guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Desert Island Discs: Sir Michael Caine

20/12/2009

Sir Michael Caine

BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Sir Michael Caine

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sir Michael Caine.

Kirsty Young's castaway this Christmas is Sir Michael Caine.

In a film career that has spanned more than four decades he has won two Oscars; his credits include Alfie, The Italian Job, Hannah and Her Sisters and Educating Rita.

As well as discussing his remarkable life in films, he describes how the Queen used to cut through his back garden on her way to the horse races, discusses the secrets of a happy marriage and reveals the tricks for cooking perfect roast potatoes this Christmas.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Record: My Way, by Frank Sinatra
Book: The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand
Luxury: A large bed with 50 per cent goose down and 50 per cent feather pillows.

The Santa Tapes

The Santa Tapes: Episode 4: Santa's Everywhere

Episode 4

Episode 4: Santa's Everywhere

Santa's Everywhere

BBC Radio 4 - The Santa Tapes, Santa's Everywhere

Alan Dein catches up with Santa as he crosses the globe.

Alan Dein unwraps the oral history of Santa Claus, hearing the true stories of those who have donned the red and white costume. Alan catches up with Santa as he crosses the globe.

Alan Dein unwraps the oral history of Santa Claus, hearing the true stories of those who have donned the red and white costume, from war-torn Hungary to the icy wastes of Alaska.

Alan catches up with Santa as he crosses the globe.

Alan Dein unwraps the oral history of Santa Claus

Alan Dein unwraps the oral history of Santa Claus, hearing the true stories of those who have donned the red and white costume, from war-torn Hungary to the icy wastes of Alaska

Christmas Service

BBC Radio 4 - Christmas Service

A service with carols old and new from All Souls Church, Langham Place in London.

A service with carols old and new from All Souls Church, Langham Place in London's West End. Preacher: Rev Hugh Palmer. With the All Souls Choir, directed by Noel Tredinnick.

PAW TRACKS IN THE MOONLIGHT

Paw Tracks in the Moonlight

Paw Tracks in the Moonlight by Denis O'Connor: Episode 5

Episode 5

Paw Tracks in the Moonlight by Denis O'Connor

BBC Radio 4 - Paw Tracks in the Moonlight by Denis O'Connor, Episode 5

O'Connor reflects on Christmas Day how much better life is post kitten rescue.

Denis O'Connor reflects on Christmas Day, how much better life is after rescuing the kitten. Concluded by Kevin Whately.

It's Christmas Day and Denis O'Connor reflects on how much better his life has become since he rescued the kitten, Toby Jug.

One man's adventures with the cat he rescued in a snowstorm.

Concluded by Kevin Whately.

Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.

The adventures of one man and the cat he rescues in a snowstorm. Read by Kevin Whately.

Woman's Hour

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

Woman's Hour: Carol Ann Duffy; Childhood and Christmas

Carol Ann Duffy; Childhood and Christmas

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Carol Ann Duffy; Childhood and Christmas

Are today's children unable to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas?

Are today's children unable to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas? Plus, the the key ingredients for a perfect Christmas feast; and poetry from Carol Ann Duffy.

A Funny Sort of Sound

27/06/2009

BBC Radio 4 Extra - A Funny Sort of Sound

Julian Clary pays tribute to the wit and ingenuity of comedy musical acts.

Julian Clary on comic musical acts from bicep-flexing Mr Muscle to tea tray head-bashing Bob Blackman. With Ken Dodd. From June 2009.

Julian Clary pays tribute to the wit and ingenuity of comedy musical acts. He considers the appeal of acts like TV's Mr Muscle, Tony Holland, who won Opportunity Knocks six times in a row by flexing his biceps to the tune of Wheels Cha Cha, and Bob - AKA Tray - Blackman, whose act consisted of bashing a tea tray on his head while singing Mule Train. 

Julian also considers how the genre has evolved from the heyday of music hall theatre, and talks to Ken Dodd and Jim Tavare.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!

The life of Count Arthur Strong, one-time variety star and expert in absolutely everything

The muddled life of Count Arthur Strong, one-time variety star and expert in absolutely everything.

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!: Series 5: Episode 2: Murder Most Fouled Up

Episode 2

Episode 2: Murder Most Fouled Up

Series 5

Murder Most Fouled Up

BBC Radio 4 - Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!, Series 5, Murder Most Fouled Up

Arthur steps in to play a prominent role in Lord and Lady Preston's murder mystery.

Arthur steps in at short notice to play a prominent role in Lord and Lady Preston's murder mystery. Stars Steve Delaney and Mel Giedroyc. From December 2009.

At short notice Arthur steps in to play a prominent role in an evening Murder Mystery event for Lord and Lady Preston, his new best friends - if they did but know it! Who committed the heinous murder? Can Count Arthur solve the case? Did he do it? Was it the butler? There's only one way to find out!

We once again follow the one-time Variety Star as he uncompromisingly fulfils his daily list of engagements. Every day life with Count Arthur Strong is always an enlightening experience!

Steve Delaney, Alastair Kerr, David Mounfield and Mel Giedroyc star.

Produced by John Leonard and Mark Radcliffe
A Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!: Series 5

Spoof reminiscences of a former variety star

Spoof reminiscences of a former variety star. Count Arthur Strong is an expert in everything, all false starts and nervous fumbling, poorly concealed by a sheen of bravado.

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast

News, weather and Shipping Forecast updates. 

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Headlines; Shipping Forecast, 25/12/2009

National and international news and the shipping forecast.

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

Loose Ends

An eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy

Loose Ends: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Loose Ends, 25/12/2009

Clive Anderson introduces an eclectic mix of the year's best music and conversation.

Clive Anderson introduces an eclectic mix of this year's best music and conversation. With Andy Williams, Mary Wilson, Elvis Costello, Ray Davies, Jamie Cullum and Speech Debelle.

Clive Anderson reflects on the gloriously eclectic musical heritage that Loose Ends endowed to a grateful nation in 2009.

Featuring Andy Williams, Elvis Costello, Mary Wilson, Ray Davies, Stewart Copeland, Jarvis Cocker, Jamie Cullum, Charles Hazlewood, Brett Anderson, Sharon Shannon, The Kenyan Boys Choir and Mercury Prize winner Speech Debelle.

With Great Pleasure

Series bringing fresh insight into lives through literature, with guest presenters

Series bringing fresh insight into lives through literature, in which guest presenters pick readings from their favourite pieces of poetry and prose

With Great Pleasure: With Great Pleasure at Christmas

With Great Pleasure at Christmas

BBC Radio 4 - With Great Pleasure, With Great Pleasure at Christmas

James Naughtie shares some of his favourite pieces of writing.

Political journalist and Today programme presenter James Naughtie shares some of the pieces of prose and verse which have entertained and inspired him over the years.

Political journalist and Today programme presenter James Naughtie shares some of the pieces of prose and verse which have entertained and inspired him over the years. The readers are Alison Steadman, Bill Paterson and David Haig.

Extracts read in this programme:

from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by Simon Armitage (poem)
Published by Faber & Faber

from Pig Ho-oo-oey (prose)
From: Blandings Castle, by PG Wodehouse

opening line from Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene
Published by Vintage

opening line from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Published by Penguin

opening line from Scaramouche, by Giuseppe Sabbatini
Published by Hutchinson Library Services

from Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
Published by Penguin Classics

from Venice, by Jan Morris
Published by Faber & Faber

from Greenmantle, by John Buchan
Published by Wordsworth Classics

from Scoop, by Evelyn Waugh
Published by Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics

from Abducting a General
From: Words of Mercury, by Patrick Leigh Fermor, ed. Artemis Cooper
Published by John Murray

from Highways and Byways in the Western Highlands, by Seton Gordon
Published by Macmillan

The Little White Rose, by Hugh MacDiarmid (poem)
From: Hugh MacDiarmid, Selected Poetry
Published by Carcanet

Midnight, Lochinver, by Norman MacCaig (poem)
from: Norman MacCaig, Collected Poems
Published by Chatto Poetry

from The Testament of Cresseid, by Robert Henryson, trans. Seamus Heaney
Published by Faber & Faber

Letter from John Kipling to his family 1915
From: O Beloved Kids: Rudyard Kipling's letters to his children, ed. Eliot L. Gilbert
Published by Little Books

Last Post, by Carol Ann Duffy (poem)
Commissioned by the Today programme

from Point of Departure, by James Cameron
Published by Arthur Barker

from Echoes of the Jazz Age (prose)
From: The Crack-Up with Other Pieces and Stories, by F Scott Fitzgerald
Published by Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics

from Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
Published by Oxford World's Classics

Sonnet 30, by William Shakespeare (poem)
From: Shakespeare's Sonnets
Published by Gerald Duckworth

from Paradise Lost, by John Milton (poem)
From: John Milton, Complete English Poems
Published by Everyman

from Right Ho, Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse
Published by Penguin.

The Archers

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

The Archers: 24/12/2009

24/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 24/12/2009

Jill entertains the visitors in Lower Loxley's kitchen but admits to Elizabeth that she's glad it's the last day. Elizabeth feels the same even though it's been a great success. She shows Jill the Borchester Echo's double spread of Brenda's lovely photos and Nigel agrees that they should give Brenda a bonus. They've made a decent profit - including their cut from Joe Grundy Enterprises.
 
Annette dithers about going to Bridge Farm - decorating the tree is a family thing. But Helen insists that she thinks of Annette as family.
 
Tom isn't keen on Annette being there but agrees to be nice to her. He teases Helen about her alleged boyfriend. Helen points out that both Brenda and Annette have met Leon. When Tom asks Annette what he's like, she's not forthcoming. Pat's sure they'll meet him soon though. When Helen makes a fuss of how good it is to have Annette there, Annette gets a bit tearful. If it hadn't been for Helen, she doesn't know what would have happened. Helen points out that if it hadn't been for Annette, her life would have been infinitely duller. 

As Tom gets the lights working, Annette agrees they look beautiful and Helen announces that now Christmas can begin.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.

Drama on 4

Drama from BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

Afternoon Drama: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Drama on 4: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Episode 1: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

Episode 1

Episode 1: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

Precious Ramotswe has an important new client from the incomprehensible world of football.

Precious Ramotswe is about to get in over her head. She's got an important new client from the incomprehensible world of football, but she's without her loyal assistant Mma Makutsi.

Written and dramatised by Alexander McCall Smith, from his hugely popular series of books set in Botswana.

Precious Ramotswe, owner of The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, is about to get in over her head. She's got an important new client from the incomprehensible world of football, but she's on her own as her loyal assistant Mma Makutsi is distracted by the return of a troublesome figure from her past.

Directed by Eilidh McCreadie.

Drama on 4: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

A series of plays adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's popular novels

A series of plays adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's popular novels about African detective Precious Ramotswe

HM The Queen

BBC Radio 4 - HM The Queen

The Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth and the nation.

The Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth and the nation, followed by the national anthem.

News

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4

News: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News, 25/12/2009

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

Drama on 4: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Episode 2: The Seller of Beds

Episode 2: The Seller of Beds

The Seller of Beds

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, The Seller of Beds

The detectives are embroiled in the murky world of the football cheat.

The detectives are embroiled in the murky world of the football cheat as they investigate the recent bad form of the Kalahari Swoopers. But Mma Ramotswe's problems don't end there.

Written and dramatised by Alexander McCall Smith, from his hugely popular series of books set in Botswana.

The detectives are embroiled in the murky world of the football cheat as they investigate the recent bad form of the Kalahari Swoopers. But Mma Ramotswe's problems don't end there - she must confront an issue which has been avoided for too long. Could it be the end of the road for the tiny white van? 

Mma Ramotswe ...... Claire Benedict
Mma Makutsi ...... Nadine Marshall
Mr JLB Matekoni ...... Ben Onwukwe
Mr Molofololo ...... Mo Sesay
Mma Tafa ...... Gbemisola Ikumelo
Fanwell ...... Beru Tessema
Grandmother ...... Albie Parsons
Puso Boy ...... Kedar Williams-Stirling
Oteng Boleleng ...... Emmanuel Ighodaro
Charlie ...... Tyrone Lewis
Violet Sepotho ...... Anna Bengo
Phuti Raduphuti ...... Nyasha Hatendi

Directed by Eilidh McCreadie.

Frequently Asked Questions

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Frequently Asked Questions

Ian Sansom examines the changing relationship between authors and their readers.

Writer Ian Sansom examines the changing nature of the relationship, and contact, between authors and their readers. From 2009.

Writer Ian Samson traces the relationship between authors and their readers through the changing nature of the contact between them.

Featuring:  

Susan Hill
Hilary Mantel
Michael Rosen
Toby Lift
Joanna Prior
Linda Grant
Geoffrey Dyer
Monica Ali
Robert McCrum
Nikki Gerrard
Sean French

Producer: Sara Davies

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.

The Film Programme

The latest releases, the hottest stars and the leading directors, plus news and insights

The latest releases, the hottest stars and the leading directors, plus news and insights from the film world

The Film Programme: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Film Programme, 25/12/2009

Francine Stock talks to 92-year-old actress Googie Withers, star of Night And The City.

Francine Stock talks to 92-year-old actress Googie Withers, star of Night And The City, It Always Rains On Sunday and Dead Of Night.

Francine Stock talks to 92-year-old actress Googie Withers, star of Night And The City, It Always Rains On Sunday and Dead Of Night, about Alfred Hitchock, Michael Powell and George Formby.

1989: Day by Day

1989: Day by Day: Episode 82: 25th December 1989

Episode 82

Episode 82: 25th December 1989

25th December 1989

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Day by Day, 25th December 1989

Ceausescu and his wife are executed in Romania.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago. Ceausescu and his wife are executed in Romania.

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

Ceausescu and his wife are executed in Romania.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

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

Pick of the Year

Yearly round-up of the best BBC programmes, selected by radio personalities

Pick of the Year: 25/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Pick of the Year, 25/12/2009

Rob Brydon unwraps the best of the year's offerings from across BBC radio.

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1989: Day by Day

Episode 82: 25th December 1989

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26/12/2009

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