David Hepworth gets all poetic with Seamus Heaney, Pam Ayres and Shakespeare (but not that one)
Seamus Heaney was clearly a great poet. However, it was on the radio that he was able to use the full range of his gifts: an ability to compose thoughts whose seriousness made them worth hearing in language that ensured they were easy to remember, and then to put them over in a Stradivarius of a voice which made them a delight to listen to. *Radio Heaney *(Sunday, 4.30pm, R4) celebrates his contributions to the medium he loved so well, from his first interview on Radio Ulster in 1966 through his Desert Island Discs appearance to the cello music played at his funeral. For the son of a farmer in County Derry in the 40s, radio was a lifeline. The signals came down from an aerial in a tree, through a hole drilled in a window frame and into the big set alongside which the boy would huddle to listen. When the wind blew, the tree shook, the signal wavered and he was aware of "the sway of language and its furtherings". There's a short clip of him talking about the Troubles which should be heard by anyone who thinks there is nothing new to be said about the social divide in that part of the world. He talks about Ulster people's "delicacy" in avoiding mention of the province's residential elephant and we should all rejoice to hear him reclaim the word "banter" from the likes of Rio Ferdinand.
*A Life Less Ordinary *(Saturday, 8pm, R4) deals with the ordeal suffered by Christopher Jefferies after he was arrested on suspicion of the 2010 murder of his tenant Joanna Yeates. He was paraded through the front pages and on the TV news before being released with no charge, having learned in the most painful way that the world of Witchfinder General isn't as far away as we like to think. The tabloids behaved disgracefully, followed at a safe distance by some broadsheets. The programme, which was made with the full cooperation of Jefferies, hints that they were all encouraged by the fact that social media had already decided that he was guilty because, well, just look at his picture. That's us, that is.
Nicholas Shakespeare's Priscilla is an ideal *Book Of The Week *(Weekdays, 9.45am, R4). It's the story of his mysterious, glamorous aunt who died in 1982. She'd been a model and ballerina in Paris before the second world war, had lived there during the occupation and apparently spent time in a concentration camp. After her death he sets out to find out more about what happened Over There. His family knows little and are saying less: "Priscilla was like many of those in Paris in the 1950s who, having survived the war, protected their memories of it." It's read by the author and perfectly paced to ensure you want to find out what Priscilla did next.
The humour in *Ayres On The Air* (Friday, 11.30am, R4) might be a bit obvious but it's not without the kind of Middle England wisdom that Radio 4 sometimes likes to think it's above. Pam Ayres's reflections on the difficult experience of having a child leave home to go to university – and the even more difficult one of having him come back – will find a ready ear in her audience, as will her poem about the ferocious boastfulness of grandmothers.
Finally, modesty forbids me from naming the honey-voiced wiseacre helping the Silver Shadow examine Stevie Wonder's Talking Book and Michael Jackson's Thriller in the new series of *Johnnie Walker's Long Players* (Thursday, 10pm, R2), but I'm sure you'll agree his trenchant views should be heard more often and his fee increased. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
Seamus Heaney was clearly a great poet. However, it was on the radio that he was able to use the full range of his gifts: an ability to compose thoughts whose seriousness made them worth hearing in language that ensured they were easy to remember, and then to put them over in a Stradivarius of a voice which made them a delight to listen to. *Radio Heaney *(Sunday, 4.30pm, R4) celebrates his contributions to the medium he loved so well, from his first interview on Radio Ulster in 1966 through his Desert Island Discs appearance to the cello music played at his funeral. For the son of a farmer in County Derry in the 40s, radio was a lifeline. The signals came down from an aerial in a tree, through a hole drilled in a window frame and into the big set alongside which the boy would huddle to listen. When the wind blew, the tree shook, the signal wavered and he was aware of "the sway of language and its furtherings". There's a short clip of him talking about the Troubles which should be heard by anyone who thinks there is nothing new to be said about the social divide in that part of the world. He talks about Ulster people's "delicacy" in avoiding mention of the province's residential elephant and we should all rejoice to hear him reclaim the word "banter" from the likes of Rio Ferdinand.
*A Life Less Ordinary *(Saturday, 8pm, R4) deals with the ordeal suffered by Christopher Jefferies after he was arrested on suspicion of the 2010 murder of his tenant Joanna Yeates. He was paraded through the front pages and on the TV news before being released with no charge, having learned in the most painful way that the world of Witchfinder General isn't as far away as we like to think. The tabloids behaved disgracefully, followed at a safe distance by some broadsheets. The programme, which was made with the full cooperation of Jefferies, hints that they were all encouraged by the fact that social media had already decided that he was guilty because, well, just look at his picture. That's us, that is.
Nicholas Shakespeare's Priscilla is an ideal *Book Of The Week *(Weekdays, 9.45am, R4). It's the story of his mysterious, glamorous aunt who died in 1982. She'd been a model and ballerina in Paris before the second world war, had lived there during the occupation and apparently spent time in a concentration camp. After her death he sets out to find out more about what happened Over There. His family knows little and are saying less: "Priscilla was like many of those in Paris in the 1950s who, having survived the war, protected their memories of it." It's read by the author and perfectly paced to ensure you want to find out what Priscilla did next.
The humour in *Ayres On The Air* (Friday, 11.30am, R4) might be a bit obvious but it's not without the kind of Middle England wisdom that Radio 4 sometimes likes to think it's above. Pam Ayres's reflections on the difficult experience of having a child leave home to go to university – and the even more difficult one of having him come back – will find a ready ear in her audience, as will her poem about the ferocious boastfulness of grandmothers.
Finally, modesty forbids me from naming the honey-voiced wiseacre helping the Silver Shadow examine Stevie Wonder's Talking Book and Michael Jackson's Thriller in the new series of *Johnnie Walker's Long Players* (Thursday, 10pm, R2), but I'm sure you'll agree his trenchant views should be heard more often and his fee increased. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
