Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Mermaid | 20110301 | In the first of three short stories recorded in front of an audience at the Bath Literature Festival, Marina Warner reads The Mermaid. Marina Warner is a writer of fiction, criticism and history; her works include novels and short stories as well as studies of myths, symbols, and fairytales. A niece rolls up to her Aunt's place in a flash car. It had been turned over by its previous coke-head owner, but the re-conditioning is superb. Over a lunch of samphire and crabmeat she complains about the affects of ageing, mobile phone reception and the inability of boyfriends to keep their promises. She thought Gianni was different from the others, but it turns out she escaped from his clutches just in time. Her Aunt is well used to her niece's capricious behaviour; she is, after all, every inch her mother's daughter. Revived by food and rest, the niece speeds off into the blue yonder and the Aunt finds she has an awakening of her own. Producer: Sarah Langan. By Marina Warner. A niece rolls up to her aunt's place in a flash car. |
| 02 | The Switch-off Personality | 20110302 | Three writers read their own stories in front of an audience at the Bath Festival of Literature. 2. Paul Farley reads The Switch-Off Personality. Paul Farley is a poet, playwright, and broadcaster. His poetry has won the Somerset Maugham Award, a Forward prize and the Whitbread Poetry Prize. This is the story of a young boy who wrote a letter that began, 'Dear Jim, Please can you fix it for me.'. Thirty years later, the boy who is now a man, finally gets a reply. Producer: Sarah Langan. By Paul Farley. A young boy's letter gets a reply 30 years later. |
| 03 | The Deal | 20110303 | Three writers read their own stories in front of an audience at the Bath Festival of Literature. 3. Salley Vickers reads The Deal. Salley Vickers is a novelist whose works include the word-of-mouth bestseller Miss Garnet's Angel, Mr. Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and Where Three Roads Meet. Alice is a very determined six year old. She doesn't just want a cat - she wants a marmalade girl cat. The fact of her father's allergy won't deter her in her quest. Not a natural vegetable lover, she forms an unlikely alliance with Mr Job from the allotments. From him she picks up not only a completely new lexicon of choice phrases to be stored up for future use, but also one or two lessons in guile and cunning. Now if only she can get her hands on a bottle of beer. Producer: Sarah Langan. Salley Vickers reads her own story to an audience at the Bath Festival of Literature. |