Product Description

Who is Radio 4's 'fourteen-stone budgie'? How did Phyllis Willis and Mavis Davis make announcer Charlotte Green lose her cool? What does 'Ruth' really think about The Archers? When did Today stop having a keep-fit spot? And who was the Spam Fritter Man, and what became of him? This wonderful history-cum-guide answers these and many other questions about the irreplaceable world of Radio 4. It is an essential reading for every devotee.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20900 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

The Times, 29 September 2007
`cosy, celebratory ... It is a happy book, celebrating Radio 4 as above all a friend and companion.'

The Independent, 28 September 2007
'congenial - chatty, a little bit personal ... it's hard to imagine what more a Radio 4 fan could want.'

The Guardian, September 2007
'insiderish'

Customer Reviews

Primarily for Radio 4 Aficionados
As a lifelong Radio 4 listener I rather enjoyed this jaunt through the history and methodology of my favourite listening post. Each chapter deals with a segment of the Radio 4 programming day, starting at dawn and working through to 'Sailing By', with lots of interesting asides, mini-biographies, and juicy titbits about famous and infamous management decisions.

Within each chapter are 'boxes' giving additional outlines about well-know or well-loved personalities and so on. The idea is a good one, but I found the endless asides impaired thr general flow of my reading so eventually resorted to reading them only when I had finished whole chapters.

If you are keen Radio 4 listener you are bound to find something interesting in this (I loved details about sound effects in 'The Archers', for example). But Radio 4 is also a kind of strange freemasonry with its own rules which regulars love and others probably hate. If you are not already intimate with its routines this book may be best avoided.

A comfort blanket for the soul of middle England
If, like me, you have Radio Four within your DNA; if you still miss Fritz Spiegl's evocative UK theme in the morning and can only sleep to the gently intoned litany of Viking Faroes Dogger et al; if truth sounds like Sue Mcgregor, wisdom like Jenny Murray and you are still sitting comfortably, ready to begin then coming across the book is like finding a never-before seen family photo album and scrapbook, and appreciating those around you to day, buy getting to know their roots and what came before. A hot water bottle for those whose mornings start with the courtesy of Lionel Blue returning us to Jim and John and whose afternoons perk up with PM at 5 PM and whose ears yearn for the sounds that are forever Ambridge.

Radio 4 is good for you
A well thought out journey through the Radio 4 day commenting on programmes past and present with insights into the art of the scheduler and profiles of famous presenters.
The book shows how Radio 4 has evolved from the old Home Service to become a well respected speech based radio station. Perhaps a book for those who already know and love Radio 4.