BBC Radio 4 LW

Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 29/12/2009

29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Shipping Forecast, 29/12/2009Close 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: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 29/12/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 29/12/2009

Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Dr Martyn Atkins.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 29/12/2009

The ex-army medics who teach people in rural communities to use battlefield first aid.

Steve Peacock on the ex-army medics who are teaching people in rural communities to use battlefield first aid to survive the long wait for an ambulance to arrive.

Farms are well known to be dangerous places and the countryside in general is not a good place to have a serious accident because you could be a long way from your nearest paramedic. But help is at hand from a group of ex-army survival experts who are putting the the medical skills they learned on battlefields from the Falkland Islands and Afghanistan into practice on farms and country estates. Steve Peacock joins one of their training courses to find out how to survive a serious accident when the ambulance is more than an hour away.

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: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 29/12/2009

With Justin Webb and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk, Weather.

Test Match Special

Test Match Special: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Test Match Special, 29/12/2009

Coverage of the fourth day of the Second Test between South Africa and England in Durban.

Coverage of the fourth day of the Second Test between South Africa and England from Kingsmead, Durban. Commentary by Jonathan Agnew, Gerald De Kock and Simon Mann.

Coverage of the fourth day of the Second Test between South Africa and England from Kingsmead, Durban. Commentary by Jonathan Agnew, Gerald De Kock and Simon Mann and summaries from Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks.

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

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: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Daily Service, 29/12/2009

Christian worship and music led by Rev Dr Mark Wakelin.

Coverage of the fourth day of the Second Test between South Africa and England from Kingsmead, Durban. Commentary by Jonathan Agnew, Gerald De Kock and Simon Mann and summaries from Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks. 

Including Shipping Forecast.

Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things: Episode 1: P G Wodehouse - Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit

Episode 1

Episode 1: P G Wodehouse - Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit

P G Wodehouse - Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Bright Young Things, P G Wodehouse - Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit

An unexpected invite to spend Christmas in the country throws Jeeves's plans into disarray

4 Extra Debut. An unexpected invite to spend Christmas in the country throws Jeeves's plans into disarray. Read by Julian Rhind-Tutt.

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Short stories celebrating the riotous, witty, cocktail-swilling party people of the 1920s

Classic short stories celebrating the riotous, witty, cocktail-swilling party people of the 1920s, dubbed by Evelyn Waugh the 'Bright Young Things'

A View Through a Lens

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison on human experience and the beauty of nature

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison combines location recordings with personal narratives which highlight the uniqueness of human experience and the beauty of nature

A View Through a Lens: Series 1

A View Through a Lens: Series 1: Episode 2: Shadows

Episode 2

Episode 2: Shadows

Series 1

Shadows

BBC Radio 4 - A View Through a Lens, Series 1, Shadows

John waits offshore for young black-footed albatrosses to embark on their first flight.

Squatting on a tiny platform 30 metres offshore, John waits for young black-footed albatrosses to embark on their first flight from the shore.

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison offers a personal view of life as he finds himself in isolated and often dangerous locations across the globe filming wildlife.

2/3. SHADOWS: Squat on a tiny platform 30 metres off shore, John waits for young black-footed albatrosses to embark on their first flight from the shore. Below him in the water, shadows are patrolling back and forth, waiting for the birds to land on the waves. 

Sound recordist is Chris Watson
Producer Sarah Blunt.

Word of Mouth

Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them

Word of Mouth: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Word of Mouth, 29/12/2009

From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates silence.

From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates silence, and the times when staying silent can speak volumes.

A sweet relief for some and painfully uncomfortable for others, silence can be one of the most powerful tools in speech. From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates the times when staying silent can speak volumes.

Great Lives

Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Great Lives: Series 20

Great Lives: Episode 4: Hannah Arendt

Episode 4

Episode 4: Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt

BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, Hannah Arendt

Munira Mirza discusses the life of the influential political philosopher Hannah Arendt.

4 Extra Debut. Cultural advisor Munira Mizra chooses the 20th-century political philosopher Hannah Arendt. With Matthew Parris. From December 2009.

Matthew Parris presents the biographical series in which his guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Munira Mirza, the London Mayoral advisor on arts and culture, chooses the influential political philosopher Hannah Arendt.

She is regarded as a highly influential 20th-century political philosopher, although Arendt would have refuted the title 'philosopher' herself. Born into a secular German Jewish family, she grew up in what is now Hanover and Berlin. A student with Heidegger (with whom she had a tumultuous relationship; they divorced in 1929), Arendt survived being interrogated by the Gestapo and moved to Paris, where she lived for a number of years before immigrating to America in the 1940s, settling in New York.

Arendt was a lively part of an intellectual circle and held a number of academic posts until her death. Little known in the UK, Arendt is chosen by Munira Mirza, the London Mayoral advisor on arts and culture and a founding member of the Manifesto Club.

1989: Day by Day

1989: Day by Day: Episode 86: 29th December 1989

Episode 86

Episode 86: 29th December 1989

29th December 1989

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Day by Day, 29th December 1989

Playwright Vaclav Havel is elected president of Czechoslovakia.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago. Playwright Vaclav Havel is elected president of Czechoslovakia.

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

Playwright Vaclav Havel is elected president of Czechoslovakia.

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

PM: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - PM, 29/12/2009

Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Carolyn Quinn.

Weather

Weather: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Weather, 29/12/2009Close menu

Six O'Clock News

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4

Six O'Clock News: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Six O'Clock News, 29/12/2009

National and international news from BBC Radio 4.

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

The News at Bedtime

Twin presenters John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee present in-depth news analysis.

Twin presenters John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee present in-depth news analysis covering stories happening this 'once upon a time'.

The News at Bedtime: Series 1: Episode 4

BBC Radio 4 Extra - The News at Bedtime, Series 1, Episode 4Search BBC

Live from the Nurseryland space programme. Will the cow be launched over the moon?

Will the cow be launched over the moon? Jack Dee and Peter Capaldi are John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee. From 2009.

Twin presenters John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee present in-depth news analysis covering the latest stories happening this 'once upon a time'. 

Jim reports live from the launch site of the Nurseryland space programme as preparations are finalised to put a cow over the moon.

Written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman

Starring Jack Dee and Peter Capaldi.

With:

Peter Donaldson
Lewis MacLeod,
Alex Macqueen
Lucy Montgomery
Vicki Pepperdine
Dan Tetsell 

Producer: Simon Nicholls

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.

The News at Bedtime: Series 1

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.

Comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman covering the news in the world of nursery rhymes

Comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. Twin presenters John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee present in-depth news analysis covering the latest stories happening this 'once upon a time'.

Sneakiepeeks

Sneakiepeeks: Special Relationship

Special Relationship

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Sneakiepeeks, Special Relationship

A CIA man spends the day with Team Beagle. But will his past come back to haunt him?

A CIA man spends the day with Team Beagle. But will his past come back to haunt him? Starring Nina Conti. From December 2009.

A CIA man spends the day with Team Beagle on an exchange visit. 

But will his past come back to haunt him?


Comedy by Harry Venning and Neil Brand about a team of inept, backstabbing surveillance operatives.

Bill    ......    Richard Lumsden 
Sharla    ......    Nina Conti 
Mark    ......    Daniel Kaluuya 
Colonel    ......    Ewan Bailey 
Bristow    ......    John Biggins 
Sean    ......    Joseph Cohen Cole 
Lenny    ......    Piers Wehner 
Ignatius/Fuego    ......    Nigel Hastings 
Man    ......    Rhys Jennings

Producer: Katie Tyrrell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.

Comedy by Harry Venning and Neil Brand about a team of inept surveillance operatives

Comedy by Harry Venning and Neil Brand about a team of inept, backstabbing surveillance operatives

The Archers

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

The Archers: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 29/12/2009

David and Ruth face a parenting challenge.

Matt has good news for Lilian; he's being recommended for enhanced status, so he can have more visits. Lilian suggests Jennifer coming with her but Matt's not keen - it easier to keep going by forgetting about the outside world. He doesn't want anyone but Lilian to see him like this.

At the Laurels, while Jack sleeps Peggy occupies herself collating the community shop questionnaires for the steering group committee tomorrow. When Lilian comes to pick her up, she tells Peggy about Matt's reluctance to see Jennifer. Peggy understands how Matt's feeling. She knows how important it is to hold onto your dignity. It was how she coped with their father's drinking. 

Pip's eager to tell David about her decision to leave college and rushes off to find him before Ruth can stop her. Pip's exasperated when David presumes it's because she's worried about her exams. When Ruth catches up with them, David's surprised to discover Ruth already knew about his daughter's plans to ruin her life. Despite their concerns, Pip's adamant - she's not going back to college and nothing they say will change her mind. 

Later, when they're alone, Ruth tells David she's got a plan.

Episode written by Mary Cutler.

Front Row

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

Front Row: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, 29/12/2009

Mark Lawson reports on rumours of the death of the book.

Arts news and reviews. Mark Lawson reports on rumours of the death of the book.

According to some predictions, the rise of e-readers - electronic devices which can contain hundreds of books digitally - mark the end of the traditional book. In a special edition of Front Row, Mark Lawson speaks to readers, writers, publishers and e-book manufacturers about whether methods of consuming and producing literature - which we now take for granted - are coming to an end.

15 Minute Drama

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

15 Minute Drama: My Mad Grandad

15 Minute Drama: My Mad Grandad: Episode 2

My Mad Grandad

BBC Radio 4 - 15 Minute Drama, My Mad Grandad, Episode 2

Gil takes his first car trip and Grandad finds something to laugh at in the crematorium.

By Mike Scott. Touching and funny tale of family quarrels and misspent old age. Gil takes his first trip in a car and Grandad finds something to laugh at in the crematorium.

By Mike Scott. Touching and funny tale of family quarrels and misspent old age, drawing on Scott's own childhood in Lancashire.

Gil takes his first trip in a car and Grandad finds something to laugh at in the crematorium.

Mum ...... Alison Steadman
Dad ...... Matthew Kelly
Old Gil ...... Bernard Hill
Grandad ...... Kenneth Cranham
Haryley ...... Johnny Vegas
Mercy ...... Gwyneth Powell
Gil ...... Stephen Rac
Kenny ...... Joshua Swinney
Muffin ...... Tomas Brennan

Directed by Dirk Maggs

A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.

By Mike Scott. Touching and funny tale of family quarrels and misspent old age

By Mike Scott. Touching and funny tale of family quarrels and misspent old age, drawing on Scott's own childhood in Lancashire

From Tsunami to Drought

BBC Radio 4 - From Tsunami to Drought

Andrea Catherwood chairs a series of presentations offering solutions to global drought.

Andrea Catherwood chairs a series of presentations at the Royal Geographical Society organised by conservation charity Earth Watch, each offering novel solutions to global drought.

Andrea Catherwood chairs a series of presentations at the Royal Geographical Society organised by conservation charity Earth Watch, each offering novel solutions to global drought, with a Dragons' Den-style panel and an audience quizzing them about their ideas.

In Touch

News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted

In Touch: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - In Touch, 29/12/2009

Peter White talks to The Dowager Duchhess of Devonshire, who has macular degeneration.

Peter White meets The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and talks to her about the impact macular degeneration is having on her life. She also recalls the time she took tea with Hitler.

Peter White meets Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, at her home in Derbyshire. She has lived there since leaving Chatsworth House, which she and her late husband Andrew, the Duke of Devonshire, lived for almost 50 years.

The Duchess has had macular degeneration for about five years and says the thing she most struggles with is reading. She says she is fortunate to have many friends and helpers at the house who read things to her, although sometimes what they read to her from the newspapers isn't always the bit she might choose. Magnifiers help her only for the odd word or two and she prefers to use people rather than gadgets to help her.

The Duchess talks about her life as the youngest of the famous Mitford sisters and tells Peter about the time she went to Austria with her mother to see her sister Unity, and together they were invited to have tea with Hitler in his flat. The Duchess said it was strange as she remembers he rang a bell, but nobody came. She also speaks of her passion for Elvis Presley and says she has visited his former home, Graceland, twice. She also has an Elvis novelty phone and a piece of his garden fence as souvenirs. 

The Duchess thought her family was quite normal when she was younger, and only later reaslied that maybe it was a little different - one of the differences being that the man she called Uncle Harold was known to the rest of the country as prime minister Harold MacMillan. The Duchess takes Peter to see her hens, for which she also has a passion, and has owned her own hens since she was six years old.

Case Notes

Medical programme exploring a different topic each week

Medical programme exploring a different topic each week, with reports and input from experts

Case Notes: Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

BBC Radio 4 - Case Notes, Childhood Obesity

Dr Mark Porter on the teenagers who are helping researchers to track childhood obesity.

Dr Mark Porter reports on a study by researchers in Plymouth, who have been weighing a group of children since they were born 13 years ago to track when problems with obesity start.

Dr Mark Porter reports on the unique study that is tracking obesity from childhood. Researchers in Plymouth have been following the progress of a group of 300 children since they were born. Now they are teenagers, and data from taking blood samples and weighing them has helped the scientists to reveal that obesity follows gender lines and that diet is more important than exercise when it comes to losing weight.

Defining The Decade

Defining The Decade: Episode 3: Mission Accomplished

Episode 3

Episode 3: Mission Accomplished

Mission Accomplished

BBC Radio 4 - Defining The Decade, Mission Accomplished

The decade began with total US dominance and ended with a challenge from the rise of China

Edward Stourton tries to make sense of a decade which began with untrammelled US power and ended with the US's reputation damaged and its dominance challenged by the rise of China.

Edward Stourton tries to make sense of a decade in which history has been put on fast forward. There has been a revolution in the way we communicate, widespread alarm about the planet's very survival and a challenge to the world order. What does it mean for the way we live as we head into 2010? 

A decade which began with untrammelled American power and ended with America's reputation damaged and its dominance challenged by the rise of China.

Edward Stourton tries to make sense of the past decade

Edward Stourton tries to make sense of the past decade, in which history has been put on fast forward. What does it all mean for the way we live as we head into 2010?

The World Tonight

In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and major breaking news from a global perspective

The World Tonight: 29/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The World Tonight, 29/12/2009

Al-Qaeda claims a bomb plot was hatched in Yemen. Is it another Afghanistan?

News and analysis with Ritula Shah. Al Qaeda claims a bomb plot was hatched in Yemen. Is it another Afghanistan? Plus what will a hung parliament mean for Britain in 2010?

National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

Al-Qaeda claims a bomb plot was hatched in Yemen. Is it another Afghanistan? 

How airport body scanners may be idle because of indecision by the European Commission.

What will a hung parliament mean for Britain in 2010?

Book at Bedtime

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world

Book at Bedtime: Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

Book at Bedtime: Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver: Episode 2

Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime, Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver, Episode 2

As Katri visits more often, Anna gets a first sight of the young woman's unusual qualities

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Shipping Forecast

29/12/2009

Genres

Brand

1989: Day by Day

Episode 86: 29th December 1989

Genres

Formats

Series

Shipping Forecast

29/12/2009

Genres

Formats

Brand

Weather

29/12/2009

Genres

Formats

Brand

Weather

29/12/2009

Genres

Formats

Brand

Shipping Forecast

30/12/2009

Genres

Formats

Brand

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