Speech Radio You Have Listened To Lately

[johncorrigan]

I'm re-posting this about The Islander, which I think I put under the wrong heading:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rcc3

I don't think I've ever been so entertained and thrilled than by Friday afternoon's R4 Drama at 2.15.
The whole thing was performed by just two women who did all the voices, sung and spoken, along with a lot of technical wizardry. They swung in and out of music. poetry and witty dialogue in seamless fashion. I was utterly transported and I really recommend this, especially using headphones to get the full effect. Music superb with clever rhythmic patterns.

The two-hander female cast sing all the songs, perform a whole host of characters, while weaving, building and layering their voices to create all the sound effects into an expansive, ethereal soundscape for the ears and imagination.
Performed and sung by Kirsty Findlay and Bethany Tennick
Winner of Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award – Edinburgh Fringe 2019

Thanks, ardcarp. That was brilliant...wonderful performances by Kirsty and Bethany and a great variety of accents in there too.

[johncorrigan]

I like Laura Barton. Years ago she used to do excellent, if occasional, music columns in the Guardian, and she occasionally shows up on the Beeb. Last week she started a three-part series on Radio 4 entitled 'Laura Barton's Notes on Music'.
Episode 1 was called 'Seventeen', which brings together a myriad of songs about being 17 - very entertaining. Episode 2 is 'Happy Sad', about the the sweet allure of a sad song. She's got a lovely soft voice and I really enjoyed these shows. Next week's show is 'One True Love'.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000t4t3

[ardcarp]

Thanks for that heads-up!

[DracoM]

Laura any relation to Dick?

[johncorrigan]

I like Laura Barton. Years ago she used to do excellent, if occasional, music columns in the Guardian, and she occasionally shows up on the Beeb. Last week she started a three-part series on Radio 4 entitled 'Laura Barton's Notes on Music'.
Episode 1 was called 'Seventeen', which brings together a myriad of songs about being 17 - very entertaining. Episode 2 is 'Happy Sad', about the the sweet allure of a sad song. She's got a lovely soft voice and I really enjoyed these shows. Next week's show is 'One True Love'.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000t4t3

Further to my comments on Laura Barton's series, yesterday's final episode, 'One True Love', was the best of an excellent trio. Essentially, it's like a love letter from Laura to The Boss, and I thought it was a fantastic piece of radio...I found it informative, moving and a bit of a laugh too. If you are even remotely interested in Springsteen, I thoroughly recommend it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tlv5

[eighthobstruction]

Further to my comments on Laura Barton's series, yesterday's final episode, 'One True Love', was the best of an excellent trio. Essentially, it's like a love letter from Laura to The Boss, and I thought it was a fantastic piece of radio...I found it informative, moving and a bit of a laugh too. If you are even remotely interested in Springsteen, I thoroughly recommend it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tlv5

....you are right john.....enjoyable 30 mins....

[DracoM]

'Lessons in a Crisis' / R4 / Evan Davies

[ardcarp]

Lev's Violin Book of the week, written by Helen Attlee.
There's been a series of short 15 min episodes this week about a woman (presumably the author) delving into the history of an old, battered but apparently excellent-sounding violin. Her search takes her to Cremona and Scotland! I won't do a spoiler by revealing the outcome. But I found the story well-written...and appealing obviously to a non-specialist audience.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m000tl93

[DracoM]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000tv20

Phillppe Sands on John Le Carre.

[johncorrigan]

Fortunately, BBC Radio 4 was back on schedule in time for 'Archive on 4' last night. 'Gargarin and the Lost Moon' was a very interesting reminder of the early days of the space race, commemorating the 60th anniversary on the 12th April of Yuri's dangerous spaceshot by the Russians to take a big lead in the space race.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v24g

[johncorrigan]

'The Great Post Office Trial' an alarming, horrifying 10-part tale on Radio 4 by journalist, Nick Wallis. Riveting.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jfyv

[LMcD]

'The Great Post Office Trial' an alarming, horrifying 10-part tale on Radio 4 by journalist, Nick Wallis. Riveting.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jfyv

I heard this when it was first broadcast - as you say, an alarming and horrifying tale.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Regularly featured in Private Eye for years. The board of directors of the PO were completely negligent in oversight - never asked and investigated why the rash of alleged criminality amongst sub-postmasters who had bought their corner stores to make a living? And one of those directors is a serving member of the non-stipendiary clergy in the C of E. The hope is that the damages for negligent or malicious prosecutions, deprivation of liberty and living will be eye watering. (I'm behind with my reading of Private Eye, but I have half a notion, though, that ultimately, "losses" sustained by actions in that period might be underwritten by the Treasury).

I don't know who staffs the PO investigations team but they have (and should not have) the power to prosecute. Speculating, outfits like that are often staffed by ex-policemen who have taken their pension at the first opportunity. Thinking about it, they are completely unregulated in those roles - they don't have the Independant police complaints body to worry about. I met professionally some of those sorts, and a number of them were, putting the best gloss on it, short-cut merchants. I do hope they lose the power to prosecute, or at the very least become subject to the CPS authorisation process.

On the subject of the Eye, whilst I don't maintain an index, quite a few issues from their columns over the years (and years) are becoming exposed to the harsh glare of sunlight - for example the revolving door between private sector placemen in the government machine (not to be classed with decent career civil servants in my book) who then go on to roles in the commercial sector they dealt with. The HMRC officials who construct the tax legislation labyrinth who then go on to work for the Big 5 (5?) accountancy firms and know exactly where the low tax secret escape routes can be found. And yet people still comment that compared to other countries, we ain't seen nothing yet if we call that corruption.

I have taken a Times digital subscription. I keep wondering whether to give it up - I should really make my first priority the News They Don't Want Us to Know. I'm not talking about deranged conspiracy theorists who think we are in the End Times - I'm talking about Private Eye!

[DracoM]

[johncorrigan]

Regularly featured in Private Eye for years. The board of directors of the PO were completely negligent in oversight - never asked and investigated why the rash of alleged criminality amongst sub-postmasters who had bought their corner stores to make a living? And one of those directors is a serving member of the non-stipendiary clergy in the C of E. The hope is that the damages for negligent or malicious prosecutions, deprivation of liberty and living will be eye watering. (I'm behind with my reading of Private Eye, but I have half a notion, though, that ultimately, "losses" sustained by actions in that period might be underwritten by the Treasury).

I don't know who staffs the PO investigations team but they have (and should not have) the power to prosecute. Speculating, outfits like that are often staffed by ex-policemen who have taken their pension at the first opportunity. Thinking about it, they are completely unregulated in those roles - they don't have the Independant police complaints body to worry about. I met professionally some of those sorts, and a number of them were, putting the best gloss on it, short-cut merchants. I do hope they lose the power to prosecute, or at the very least become subject to the CPS authorisation process.

There were a number of things in Nick Wallis' ten-parter, CS, which have brought the issue up-to-date. For one thing the collusion of the Union with the Post Office to refuse to defend their own members - could it have been because the union was financially supported by the Post Office? The Union called their members who fell foul of the so-called infallible computer system 'thieves', and that decision came from the top of the organisation. According to Wallis, the authority of the PO to investigate and charge people went back to the days of highwaymen robbing coaches. The unwillingness of the Post Office to try to help these people to clear their problems was horrifying, and they would charge and imprison people instead; and use hugely expensive litigation against anyone who tried to challenge its authority. I had never thought of the PO as being a Goliath, but they certainly yielded enormous power. Even though the sub-postmasters eventually beat the PO in court (after over ten years), there are people who still have a criminal conviction as a result of being found guilty of something they were innocent of. The courts are now looking at a number of cases to overturn verdicts but the belief is that there are hundreds of people whose cases are being reviewed...and all the time the PO told individual sub-postmasters caught up in the scandal that they were the only ones who were having any issue with the system. A horrific tale, and there are people within the PO hierarchy who should be called to account, rather than having been given a package and a hefty pay-off. Fascinating series.