ESSENTIAL CLASSICS

I write and narrate stories for Time-Traveller and Our Classical Century:  a series of micro-productions, each delivering a bite-sized quirky historical story illustrated with music and broadcast as a regular slot in Essential Classics.

My stories so far:

  • How the railways synchronised time (broadcast 13 September 2017)
  • 17th c Theories of bird migration (broadcast 21 September 2017)
  • Seasides and bathing machines (broadcast 26 September 2017)
  • Stoke Potteries (broadcast 6 October 2017)
  • Soviet Synthesizers & the Sonic Underground (broadcast 6 November 2017)
  • Bone Piles (broadcast 26 October 2017)
  • Department Stores (broadcast 28 November 2017)
  • Il Cupolone (broadcast 21 November 2017)
  • Band Stands (broadcast 24 November 2017)
  • Road signs and musical notation (broadcast 30 October 2017)
  • Libraries (broadcast 8 December 2017)
  • Bus Shelters (broadcast 13 December 2017)
  • Tinsel (broadcast 18 December 2017)
  • Christmas Stamps (broadcast 21 December 2017)
  • Collecting Things (broadcast 4 January 2018)
  • Fairy Tales (broadcast 15th January 2018)
  • Electricity Pylons (broadcast 25th January 2018)
  • Ships in Bottles (broadcast 30 January 2018)
  • Jigsaws (broadcast 5 February 2018)
  • The Laurel & Hardy theme (broadcast 23 Feb 2018)
  • The fat of the Hotchi-Witchi (broadcast 2 March 2018)
  • The Beano (broadcast 6 March 2018)
  • Traffic Lights & Roundabouts (broadcast 15 March 2018)
  • The Waltzer – and the waltz (broadcast 19 March 2018)
  • Slinky (broadcast 26 March 2018)
  • Snowglobes (broadcast 17th April 2018)
  • The Tooth Fairy (broadcast 2 April 2018)
  • Nose Art (broadcast 13th April 2018)
  • Billy Butlin, the Holiday King (broadcast 23rd April 2018)
  • Jelly babies (broadcast 30th April 2018)
  • The Huma Bird (broadcast 7th June 2018)
  • Service Stations (broadcast 28th May 2018)
  • Wishing Wells (broadcast 23rd may 2018)
  • Composer’s Pencils (broadcast 17th May 2018)
  • Ancient Forests (broadcast 20th  June 2018)
  • Clothes Pegs (broadcast 11th June 2018)
  • Grotters Day (broadcast 6 August 2018)
  • Balloonomania (broadcast 1st August 2018)
  • Mr Wicksteed (broadcast 24th July 2018)
  • Bus Tickets (broadcast 16 August 2018)
  • Shonks the Dragon Slayer (broadcast 7 July 2018)
  • Medieval Paper (broadcast tbc)
  • George Pockock’s marvellous kite machines (broadcast 28 August 2018)
  • Flea Circuses (broadcast 3 September 2018)
  • The man who named clouds (broadcast 24 August 2018)
  • The paper-cuts of Hans Christian Anderson (broadcast 11 September 2018)
  • Scarecrows (broadcast 9 October 2018)
  • Toy Theatres (broadcast 15 October 2018)
  • Dry Stone Walls (broadcast 25 October 2018)
  • Witch Bottles (broadcast 2nd November 2018)
  • Stravinky’s organ grinder (broadcast 9 November 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: Parry’s Jerusalem (broadcast 16th November 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: first outdoor BBC Radio broadcast (broadcast 19 November 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: first night of the BBC proms (broadcast 28 November 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: birth of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (broadcast 3rd December 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: opening season of Glyndebourne (broadcast 6th December 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: Elgar, Holst and Delius died, Harry and Max were born 1934 (broadcast 7 December 2018)
  • Our Classical Century: Bizet’s First Symphony (broadcast 10th December 2018)
  • The secret language of stamps (broadcast 18 December 2018)
  • Advent calendars (broadcast 24 December 2018)
  • Mary Lucas and the concrete boathouse (broadcast 21 January 2019)
  • Ghost trains (broadcast 16 January 2019)
  • Old London bridge (broadcast 29 January 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Walton’s Crown Imperial 1937 Coronation (broadcast 4th Feb 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Barber’s Adagio for strings (broadcast 6th Feb 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (broadcast 11th Feb 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Poulenc’s Voix Humaine (broadcast 18th Feb 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Arts Council England in the 1940s (broadcast 23rd Feb 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: National Youth Orchestra (broadcast 26th February 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: 1953 Coronation (more Walton!) (broadcast 7th March 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Festival of Britain 1951 (broadcast 8th March 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: 1954 Last Night of the Proms (broadcast 1st April 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: 1957 WP of Westside Story (broadcast 9th April 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Bridge on the River Kwai (Arnold) (broadcast 11th April 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Britten’s War Requiem (broadcast 16th April 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Maria Callas (broadcast 19th April 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Andre Previn (broadcast 26th Aril 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: 8 Songs for a Mad King (broadcast 19th April 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Britten’s Owen Wingrave (broadcast 1st May 2019)
  • A nice cup of tea and a biscuit (broadcast 29th may 2019)
  • Leonardo’s Last Work of Art (broadcast 3rd June 2019)
  • Garden Gnomes (broadcast 7th June 2019)
  • Tiny Libraries (broadcast 11th June 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Simon Rattle (broadcast 17th June 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Tavener’s Protecting Veil (broadcast 20th June 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Italia 90 and The Three Tenors (broadcast 24th June 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Nigel Kennedy’s Four Seasons (broadcast 25th June 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Schindler’s List (broadcast 27th June 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Proms in the Park (broadcast 3rd July 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Colin Matthews – Pluto (broadcast 10th July 2019)
  • Our Classical Century: Suffragette anthem (broadcast 17th July 2019)
  • The Murdoch-Maidstone violins (broadcast  30th July 2019)
  • The Songs of the Durham Colliers (broadcast 24th July 2019)
  • Singing Sam the Derbyshire Minstrel (broadcast 3rd October 2019)
  • Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book of 1774 (broadcast 4th September 2019)
  • The Crosland Moor Handbell Ringers (broadcast 12th August 2019)
  • The Raggle Taggle Gypsy song (broadcast 17th September 2019)
  • Harrison Birtwistle and the Accrington Viaduct (broadcast 14th October 2019)
  • Percy Grainger’s Platform Humlet (broadcast 8th October 2019)
  • Down by the Salley Gardens (broadcast 23rd September 2019)
  • The Buttermarket Shrewsbury Wurlitzer (broadcast 12th September 2019)
  • Lacemakers’ Tells (broadcast 31st October 2019)
  • The Musicians of the Titanic (broadcast 13th November 2019)
  • Helston Flora Day (broadcast 28th November 2019)
  • Debussy at Eastbourne (broadcast 11th November 2019)
  • Vaughan Williams in Kings Lynn (broadcast 22nd November 2019)
  • Delius’ Brigg Fair
  • Moeran’s Violin Concerto
  • Besses-o-th’-barn band
  • Bournemouth Winter Gardens
  • Tom Burke, the ‘Lancashire Caruso’
  • Old Blind Sarah and the soundscape of Victorian London
  • Belle Stewart -The Berryfields of Blair
  • Arthur Bliss at Pen Pits
  • Louis Jullien

Our Classical Century

All 100 episodes of Our Classical Century can be heard here