Makes you wonder if your need TV. Great history related “Start the Week” with Andrew Marr this morning. Made me fell ignorant about Uk history and Heroditus though.

The enigma that is Michael Gove!! He was generally pretty interesting on the program before a telling slip when discussing Churchill and Gallipoli – he noted that Churchill defined political success (or words to that effect) as the ability to move from failure to failure with unbridled enthusiasm. A very fitting quote!!!

Thank goodness R4 has resisted the need to dumb down like so much if the rest of BBC. The following program Book of the Week was pretty good too until the car journey finished and I had to stop listening sadly.

Thm, go and listen to Meet David Sedaris on iplayer. Very funny story teller

What channel stoner?

Thank goodness R4 has resisted the need to dumb down

Heard the Archers?

Oh and am I the only one to find Golden Boy Sedaris just…not that good?

What channel stoner?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011tzjy

Oh and am I the only one to find Golden Boy Sedaris just…not that good?

Probably not, and that is just fine.

I struggled to listen to Give tbh but soldiered on- his voice makes me want tp punch things – actually its just punch him tbh
He even sounds like a smug self absorbed **** – its how I imagine many STW ‘ers talk 😉
Obviously I am more Prescott 😛

The last bastion of decent journalism

It does also get the media self absorption in media stuff so I know stuff about reality tv that i only know because it was on Radio 4 – STOP THIS

I also like the fact I have listened to it for about 25 years and I am still below the average listener age…….its literally a dieing audience.

cynic-al – Member
Oh and am I the only one to find Golden Boy Sedaris just…not that good?

I hope so. 😀
Man’s a genius.

Loads of DS available on youtube, btw.

Don’t fret petal, Chubby Brown’s touring in the new year.

You’re right about the Archers though, it’s been ruined.
I blame Vanessa Whitburn.

Long term R4 listener here and I’m only 38.

I like that they are not afraid to discuss fairly high brow or niche stuff.
Archers bores me though and some of the “comedy” can be a bit crap, but there are some real gems too.

Along with the Bristol motor car, nationalisation and the digestive biscuit, Radio 4 is the pinnacle of British civilisation – the ultimate expression of what makes made us great.
Apart from You & Yours, obviously.

But of course, some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
They argue that the BBC is outdated.

They will destroy it just like they will destroy the NHS and we will be poorer for it.

There are also parasites and spongers who use the service without paying the licence fee.
I fully support a return to pulic flogging for these people.

Was listening to radio 4 on the way in, heard an interview with a woman who has tourettes*, talking about a project channel 4 did where they got disabled people to do continuity announcements – they said beforehand that we might hear the odd unexpected word. Interview went something like this;

– So Jess, that must have been the highlight of 2013 for you?
– It was pretty good biscuit thank you biscuit, it was great of channel 4 biscuit to do such a big biscuit project for disabled people biscuit biscuit, that really showcased biscuit how disabled people are biscuit hedgehog just people.
– It must have been a daunting prospect for you?
– Not really biscuit, earlier in the biscuit year I made a speech at the Royal Albert Hall biscuit, and the the channel 4 people were biscuit really supportive hedgehog, we did the whole segment ourselves including biscuit writing the piece so I had to squiggle make sure biscuit that I had enough hedgehog time to make sure biscuit I said everything that biscuit needed to be said in case it got too biscuity.

She actually did say biscuity, proper put a smile on my face to start the day. 🙂

* Jess Thom, I’ve subsequently discovered – she has an ace blog at touretteshero.com. 🙂

There are other radio stations available? Been listening for 30 years or so. What I particularly enjoy are those programmes you wouldn’t have turned on to listen to, but end up unexpectedly being drawn in to.

R4 has been a faithful companion through good and bad for all my life; even the Archers.

I only tune away from r4 (to absolute 80’s 😳 ) when the archers is on or rarely if it is a repeat i have already heard. Although Just A Minute christmas special was still funny second time round.
I am often asked at work how I know a little bit about such a large and random range of things -usually the answer is Woman’s Hour.

The shortest measureable moment in time known to man is the period between the first note of the Archers theme tune and my launching across the kitchen to **** the retune button on the radio.

That and the words “what do you think, Mr Ed Balls…”

The shortest measureable moment in time known to man is the period between the first note of the Archers theme tune and my launching across the kitchen to **** the retune button on the radio.

That and the words “what do you think, Mr Ed Balls…”

Ha. Love R4 and listen most of the time but need to get the radio turned down/off/smashed before that bloody music comes on. 🙂

Listened to R4 for a year or so. Some interesting documentaries. Don’t like the plays or the Archers though. As sad as it is, I have taken to enjoying the shipping forecast. I like Evan Davis in the morning but find John Humphrey a bit of a cantankerous old curmudgeon.

It’s the fake lifting hay bales exertion noises I can’t stand in the archers.
I’m just ‘eurrggh’ going up to the top field to ‘ eurgggh’ feed and then ‘hrrrrghgh’ start with the milking.

I’m just ‘eurrggh’ going up to the top field to ‘ eurgggh’ feed and then ‘hrrrrghgh’ start with the milking.

8)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2DQh2cQ7BM[/video]

I could quite happily live without pc, mobile phone, tv etc so long as I can get acess to R4 and R4 extra.

New series of Absolute Truth started this evening.

30+ years at the R4 coalface here! In my opinion it’s better now than it’s ever been.

Just listen to Kate Tempest’s ‘The Teens’ Speech’ from Woman’s Hour today for all of you who feel that youth is wasted on the young. Very beautiful and thought provoking.

If it wasn’t for R4 I’d lose all hope in anything. Thought for the day sometimes makes me want to shout expletives at the radio, but sometimes is very well done without being all God-pushy.

..and Mishal Husain is lovely 😀

Gone podcast to avoid the Archers:

More or Less, DID, Thinking aloud and The Bottom line being my favourite.

Still often have R4 as background.

bearnecessities – Member
..and Mishal Husain is lovely 😀

That she is. 😀

And don’t get me started on Fi Glover……

I’m sort of regaining faith in The Archers.
The last couple of years have been awful, but it’s suddenly picking up.

What with the Stand-in manager at Grey Gables, Lynda back on form and Helen getting exactly what she deserves things could get interesting.

And there’s gonna be a murrrderrrr.

Ed, in the Cider Shed, by Will.

Exciting , isn’t it?

Another thought on the subject…my last boss was told his development area was to listen to Radio 4, shows there is some sanity in this world.

Who else remembers Jack Di Manio on ‘Today’. I’ve woken up to that program for 50 years…

I must be the only R4 listener who can’t stand Just a Minute.
Don’t know why, but I suspect it’s my dislike of that smug tosser Paul Merton.
(Runs and hides behind sofa)

I must be the only R4 listener who can’t stand Just a Minute.

Nope, you’re not. 🙂

I hate it.

I adore Radio 4.

I can live without the Archers (although I agree with Billy Connolly that the theme tune should replace the national anthem) and without the plays which always feature at least one eastern European female character (always!) and without half of the Footlights-esque jolly comedy romps that’s always on slightly too loud when I come in from work and my kids are trying their best to drown it out with their own racket, but none of these diminish how brilliant it is.

Today had Alan Bennett reading the shipping forecast (not today’s, but a particularly stormy one from a couple of months ago), what a short simple delight. The randomness of it all is so enjoyable and rewarding, I love how a documentary on early Islamic civilisation will just appear midway through the afternoon and open my eyes to something I’d never known anything about.

Last month they had Seamus Heaney’s reading of his translation of Beowulf, outstanding!

Completely agree with Rusty Spanner above. This naked desire to take the BBC apart and deliver us into the grip of the Murdoch-styled OmniCorp organisations of this world is revolting, and reason enough alone to despise the sinister lickspittles driving the current government.

Last month they had Seamus Heaney’s reading of his translation of Beowulf, outstanding!

Wasn’t it just?!? If you enjoyed it, seek out other recording of Heaney reading his own stuff or just generally talking shite. His voice could mesmerise.

I must be the only R4 listener who can’t stand Just a Minute.

Nope, you’re not. I hate it.

You are both entitled to your opinions. You are wrong, or course…

mikemorini – Member

I must be the only R4 listener who can’t stand Just a Minute.
Don’t know why, but I suspect it’s my dislike of that smug tosser Paul Merton.

I often feel the same about Giles Brandreth & Graham Norton as well.
But they can be quite funny too, so I can almost forgive them. 🙂

There are also parasites and spongers who use the service without paying the licence fee.
I fully support a return to pulic flogging for these people.

Expat iplayer user here. Find a way for me to pay something and I’ll happily chip in. If only to avoid having my pulics flogged. 😉

You are both entitled to your opinions. You are wrong, or course…

That’s the beauty of 4. We’re all right.

Busses challenges DD on Deviation from STW ranting

Just a minute is like a timewarp. It is often amusing but rarely brilliant

I much prefer ISIHAG skit of it tbh

“I’d like to thank thm, without whom tens of readers all over the world wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this thread, which we all love so much etc etc…”

Any fans of ‘The Secret World’?

Funniest thing by miles at the mo.

Any fans of ‘The Secret World’?

I see William Haig in a whole new light since The Secret World started.
Plus Sean Connerys fight club was genius.

yes the William Hague is brilliant to be fair and its the best of the new stuff.

been a while since it had something brilliant though

The infinite monkey cage. 🙂

Not just the best thing on the radio but the best thing on the airwaves. Then it’s Radcliffe and Maconie on Six Music and Kemode and Mayo’s film reviews on Five live tied for second place.

Radio 4 is generally great except for John Humphries and the Archers of course.

It always puzzels me when I hear some, usually tory twunt, mp saying the public have lost confidence in the BBC – since when. The only thing halfway near from a news point of view is C4 news but then I have a bit of a weird crush on Ms Newman.