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: #17308 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.

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.