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Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 31/12/2009

31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Shipping Forecast, 31/12/2009Close 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: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 31/12/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 31/12/2009

Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Dr Martyn Atkins.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 31/12/2009

New smallholders Geoff and Sue Nicholls reflect on their first farming year.

New smallholders Geoff and Sue Nicholls reflect on their first farming year. From a humble beginning with a handful of cattle, Farming Today discovers how the year has gone.

Geoff and Sue Nicholls began farming their 25 acre smallholding in Devon back in January 2009, and throughout the year Farming Today has been following their progress. From a humble beginning with a handful of cattle, some chickens and the beginnings of a small orchard, we discover how the agricultural year has gone for Geoff and Sue as they endeavoured to forge their new beginning. Sarah Swadling pays a final visit to their smallholding as Geoff and Sue reflect on their first year in farming.

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: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 31/12/2009

Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.

With Sarah Montague and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.

In Our Time

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.

In Our Time: Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Mary Wollstonecraft

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft.

Melvyn Bragg and guests John Mullan, Karen O'Brien and Barbara Taylor discuss the life and ideas of the pioneering British Enlightenment thinker Mary Wollstonecraft.

Melvyn Bragg and guests John Mullan, Karen O'Brien and Barbara Taylor discuss the life and ideas of the pioneering British Enlightenment thinker Mary Wollstonecraft.Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 into a middle-class family whose status steadily sank as her inept, brutal, drunken father frittered away the family fortune. She did what she could to protect her mother from his aggression; meanwhile, her brother was slated to inherit much of the remaining fortune, while she was to receive nothing.From this unpromising but radicalising start, Wollstonecraft's career took a dizzying trajectory through a bleak period as a governess to becoming a writer, launching a polemical broadside against the political star of the day, witnessing the bloodshed of the French Revolution up close, rescuing her lover's stolen ship in Scandanavia, then marrying one of the leading philosophers of the day, William Godwin, and with him having a daughter who - though she never lived to see her grow up - would go on to write Frankenstein.But most importantly, in 1792, she published her great work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which marks her out as one of the great thinkers of the British Enlightenment, with a much stronger, more lasting influence than Godwin.  The Vindication was an attempt to apply the Enlightenment logic of rights and reason to the lives of women. Yet it was not a manifesto for the extension of the vote or the reform of divorce law, but a work of political philosophy.  And surprisingly, as recent scholarship has highlighted, it was infused with Rational Dissenting Christianity, which Wollstonecraft had absorbed during her time as a struggling teacher and writer in north London.John Mullan is Professor of English at University College, London; Karen O'Brien is Professor of English at the University of Warwick; Barbara Taylor is Professor of Modern History in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of East London.

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: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Daily Service, 31/12/2009

Christian worship and music led by Rev Tony Burnham.

Woman's Hour

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

Woman's Hour: A Celebration of Poetry

A Celebration of Poetry

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, A Celebration of Poetry

A special edition of Woman's Hour celebrating the year in poetry.

A special edition of Woman's Hour celebrating the year in poetry. Including Carol Ann Duffy on being appointed to the Poet Laureateship.

Crossing Continents

Series focusing on foreign affairs issues

Crossing Continents: Sri Lanka's Fragile Peace

Sri Lanka's Fragile Peace

BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Sri Lanka's Fragile Peace

Can the government and army that won the war in Sri Lanka now win the peace?

The BBC's Colombo correspondent Charles Haviland travels around Sri Lanka. The island's conflict may be over, but can the government and army that won the war now win the peace?

The BBC's Colombo correspondent Charles Haviland travels around Sri Lanka, the island nation which saw an epic battle to defeat the feared Tamil Tiger militants seven months ago.

The conflict may be over but many say Sri Lanka remains on a war footing - an island full of restricted areas, where refugees are on the move and newspaper editors still face death threats.

Crossing Continents tells the untold story of a fragile society, as people from the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority return to bombed-out villages and towns.

Charles Haviland explores Sri Lanka and asks if the government and army that won the war can now win the peace.

The Frost Collection

David Frost and guests look back at some of the most memorable interviews of his career

David Frost and guests look back at some of the most memorable interviews of his long career

The Frost Collection: Series 2

The Frost Collection: Series 2: Episode 2

Episode 2

Series 2

BBC Radio 4 - The Frost Collection, Series 2, Episode 2

With Sir Tim Rice, Imogen Stubbs and Anne Atkins.

Sir David Frost and guests look back at some of the most memorable interviews of his long career. With Sir Tim Rice, Imogen Stubbs and Anne Atkins.

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

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast

News, weather and Shipping Forecast updates. 

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Headlines; Shipping Forecast, 31/12/2009

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: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, 31/12/2009

Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.

Weather

Weather: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Weather, 31/12/2009Close menu

World at One

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

World at One: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - World at One, 31/12/2009

National and international news with Shaun Ley.

Questions, Questions

Problem-solving programme addressing listeners' questions

Problem-solving programme which addresses the intriguing and seemingly imponderable questions posed by everday life

Questions, Questions: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Questions, Questions, 31/12/2009

Stewart Henderson answers those intriguing questions from everyday life.

Stewart Henderson answers those intriguing questions from everyday life.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

The Archers

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

The Archers: 30/12/2009

30/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 30/12/2009

Jennifer tells Lilian that Peggy's filling her time at the Laurels reading the shop questionnaires. Brian isn't happy. Getting rid of the shop was supposed to stop Peggy working. Lilian tells Jennifer that Matt is touched by her offered to visit but he can't face anyone. Jennifer says she wouldn't judge him, but she understands. 

Pip tells Ruth she hasn't made any friends at college. Ruth says things might change in the second term. Maybe Pip could go back until Easter? Then if she still isn't happy, they'll respect her decision to leave. Pip agrees. Later, David wonders what they'll do if she does leave at Easter. Ruth says they'll have to hope that doesn't happen.

Helen tells Ian she owes him an apology. He was right about Leon. Ian's sorry he was, and proposes lunch on New Year's Day to take her mind off things, but Helen declines. 

Pat is pleased the village seems to want to keep the shop. They now need to elect a committee. Later, Pat asks Helen if she'd like to be involved, to keep her mind off things. Pat is sad that Helen didn't take up Ian's lunch offer but Helen isn't ready to be cheered up just yet. 

Episode written by Mary Cutler.

Drama on 4

Drama from BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

Afternoon Play

Drama on 4: Fireworks at the Villa Lucia

Fireworks at the Villa Lucia

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Fireworks at the Villa Lucia

Comedy drama by Paul Mendelson. A struggling writer tries to sell his dog-eared screenplay

Comedy by Paul Mendelson. A struggling writer tries to sell his screenplay to a cult movie director and pressgangs his wife into masquerading as a psychotic Venezuelan ex-soap star.

Comedy drama by Paul Mendelson. 

When Pete, a struggling TV writer, and his wife Julie find themselves staying in the same Italian villa as cult movie director David Joe Jakes, he tries to sell his dog-eared screenplay as the true story of how he met his wife. The fireworks begin when he pressgangs his wife into pretending to be a fiery, psychotic, Venezuelan ex-soap star, while he masquerades as her psychoanalyst. 

With Philip Whitchurch, Samantha Bond, Kerry Shale, Megg Nicol. 

Pete ...... Philip Whitchurch
Julie/Julia ...... Samantha Bond
David ...... Kerry Shale
Cassie ...... Megg Nicol
Lucia/Mrs Booth ...... Flamina Cinque
Elio/Eric ...... Dan Starkey

Directed by David Ian Neville.

Open Country

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

Open Country: Blue Moon

26/12/2009

Blue Moon

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Blue Moon

Helen Mark celebrates December's Blue Moon with artist Elspeth Owen.

Helen Mark celebrates December's Blue Moon with artist Elspeth Owen, who is living outside and walking every night as part of an eccentric and unique project.

Helen Mark celebrates December's Blue Moon with artist Elspeth Owen, who is living outside and walking every night as part of an eccentric and unique project.  

When there are two full moons in one calendar month, the second of those moons is called a Blue Moon. Elspeth Owen, who is in her 70s, has decided to live outside between the first full moon (on the 2nd of December) and the second full moon (on the 31st). She wants to discover something about the dark, about fear and about using her senses differently.

For this Open Country special, Helen Mark visits Elspeth, who lives in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester, when the sky is at its darkest - mid-way through her project.

Radio 4 Appeal

Highlighting a charity and appealing for donations. The presenters donate their time.

A weekly programme highlighting the work of a charity and appealing for donations. The presenters give their time without payment.

Radio 4 Appeal: Alstrom Syndrome UK

27/12/2009

Alstrom Syndrome UK

BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 Appeal, Alstrom Syndrome UKSearch BBC

Kay Parkinson appeals on behalf of Alstrom Syndrome UK.

Kay Parkinson appeals on behalf of Alstrom Syndrome UK.

Donations to Alstrom Syndrome UK should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Alstrom Syndrome UK. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Alstrom Syndrome UK with your full name and address so they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode. 

Registered Charity Number 1071196.

Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things: Episode 3: Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Episode 3

Episode 3: Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Bright Young Things, Bernice Bobs Her Hair

By F Scott Fitzgerald. Revenge comes in the shape of a daring new hairstyle.

By F Scott Fitzgerald. A tale from the heady Jazz Age of the 1920s, where revenge comes in the shape of a daring new hairstyle. Read by Laurel Lefkow.

And now the second of our stories celebrating the riotous, cocktail-swilling, 'Bright Young Things' of the interwar years. Laurel Lefkow reads F Scott Fitzgerald's classic Jazz Age tale set in 1920s California, 'Bernice Bobs her Hair', in which revenge comes in the shape of a daring new hairstyle.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of 'The Beautiful and the Damned', 'Tender is the Night' and 'The Great Gatsby', is regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. His stories epitomised the Jazz Age, which he defined as a 'generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken'. 

Written by F Scott Fitzgerald
Read by Laurel Lefkow
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Justine Willett.

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.

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 4: Flying Elk

Episode 4

Episode 4: Flying Elk

Series 1

Flying Elk

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

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison recalls a flight from Sweden to Scotland with two moose.

A flight from Sweden to Scotland proves a filming challenge for wildlife cameraman John Aitchison with two moose among his companions.

1/5. 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. In this programme, John films a flight from Sweden to Scotland but this is no ordinary flight as his companions include two moose, and in order to fit the moose into the plane the toilet has to be removed, and then the moose have to be seduced! Its a very long flight.

Presented by John Aitchison
Produced by Sarah Blunt.

Open Book

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books, talking to authors and publishers and unearthing lost classics

Open Book: Diana Athill, Giles Foden, John Carey, DJ Taylor and Jenny Uglow

Diana Athill, Giles Foden, John Carey, DJ Taylor and Jenny Uglow

BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, Diana Athill, Giles Foden, John Carey, DJ Taylor and Jenny Uglow

Mariella Frostrup investigates the role of the editor in the publication of a book.

Mariella Frostrup and guests discuss a generally unheralded figure in the writing of a book - its editor. With Diana Athill, Giles Foden, John Carey, DJ Taylor and Jenny Uglow.

Mariella Frostrup and her guests discuss a generally unheralded figure in the writing of a book - its editor.

Mariella talks to Diana Athill, the former editor of novelists including VS Naipaul, John Updike and Jean Rhys, and herself the author of Stet, an acclaimed memoir of her life in publishing.

John Carey, the author of a recent biography of William Golding, explains how Golding's masterpiece Lord of the Flies was saved from the rejects pile - and extensively remodelled - by Golding's first editor.

The editor and writer Jenny Uglow reveals some of the tricks of her trade, and the novelists Giles Foden and DJ Taylor discuss how novelists rely on - and sometimes ignore - their editors, from Dickens to the present day.

Material World

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines. Each week, scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects

Material World: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Material World, 31/12/2009

Quentin Cooper looks into the continuing role of enthusiasts at the front line of research

Quentin Cooper looks into the continuing role of enthusiasts at the front line of research.

'Amateur' is not a term that's always considered as a compliment, but it should be, argue amateur scientists. The word amateur comes from the French 'amour', meaning someone who loves what they do. At one stage in the past, nearly all scientists were amateurs. Quentin Cooper looks into the continuing role of enthusiasts at the front line of research.

He is joined by Dr Adam Rutherford from the journal Nature, Professor Rob Fuller, who co-ordinates the work of 30,000 volunteers for the British Trust for Ornithology, prize-winning young scientist Hannah Stuart, and founder President of the Society for Amateur Scientists in the USA, Dr Shawn Carlson. He also visits the garden observatory of Tom Boles, who monitors 12,000 galaxies for exploding stars from his home in Suffolk.

1989: Day by Day

1989: Day by Day: Episode 88: 31st December 1989

Episode 88

Episode 88: 31st December 1989

31st December 1989

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Day by Day, 31st December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago. A new Europe sees in a new year.

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

A new Europe sees in a new year.

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: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - PM, 31/12/2009

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

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

Six O'Clock News

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4

Six O'Clock News: 31/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Six O'Clock News, 31/12/2009

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 6

Episode 6

BBC Radio 4 Extra - The News at Bedtime, Series 1, Episode 6Search BBC

Why did Mr Dumpty really fall off the wall? Mary Mary is on the shocking case.

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Programme Index

Shipping Forecast

31/12/2009

Genres

Brand

Weather

31/12/2009

Genres

Brand

1989: Day by Day

Episode 88: 31st December 1989

Genres

Series

Shipping Forecast

31/12/2009

Genres

Brand

Weather

31/12/2009

Genres

Brand

Weather

31/12/2009

Genres

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Shipping Forecast

01/01/2010

Genres

Brand

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