Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20110919 | Published in 1961, The Day of the Sardine evokes an educational no-hoper slipping into the treacherous waters of manhood by the River Tyne. Young Arthur Haggerston has zero educational qualifications, absentee father, a mother who gives him a hard time, and a home in a slum-clearance area of Newcastle. In his first job as a coal delivery boy he discovers the joy and sadness of sex with an older married woman; drawn by his wayward pal Nosey into a series of violent encounters with Newcastle gangs,he's forced to crawl to Uncle George (deeply corrupt foreman and Labour councillor) for manual work on the laying of a new sewerage pipe . Arthur's Ma's lodger (and sometime lover), the philosophical Harry, whose career has peaked in a sardine cannery, fashions a lesson Arthur will finally understand: don't be a sardine, don't swim with the shoal; navigate your own way through life. Acclaimed by critics when first published, Sid Chaplin described his book as 'a social thriller' and its themes remain relevant today. Chaplin saw in Tyneside's fracturing working-class culture source material for a raw, comic, humane novel. Fifty years after first publication, it's abridged by his son, Michael Chaplin. Who has written extensively for radio, television and the theatre. Reader: Joe Caffrey Producer: Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Sid Chaplin's brilliantly evoked journey of a Newcastle boy to manhood 50 years ago. Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature |
| 02 | 20110920 | Sid Chaplin's acclaimed novel recounts how 50 years ago a Newcastle boy slipped into the treacherous waters of manhood. Adapted by Michael Chaplin. Young Arthur Haggerston has left school in Newcastle in the early 60's with few prospects. A job delivering coal presents various temptations but ends suddenly, and his mother's lodger tells him he must find his own way through life, and not be a sardine swimming with the shoal. Reader: Joe Caffrey Producer: Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Young Arthur Haggerston has left school in Newcastle in the early 60s with few prospects. Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature |
| 03 | 20110921 | Sid Chaplin's acclaimed novel recounts how 50 years ago a Newcastle boy slipped into the treacherous waters of manhood. Adapted by Michael Chaplin. In the Newcastle of the early 60's, Arthur Haggerston is forced to beg for a job on a building site with his Uncle George, hears of the bizarre relationship between his pal's brother and a ragman's daughter and is drawn into the excitement of an affair with an older woman and the violence of a gang vendetta. Reader: Joe Caffrey Producer: Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Arthur Haggerston is forced to beg for a job on a building site with his Uncle George. Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature |
| 04 | 20110922 | Sid Chaplin's acclaimed novel recounts how 50 years ago a Newcastle boy slipped into the treacherous waters of manhood. Adapted by Michael Chaplin. In the Newcastle of the early 60's, teenager Arthur Haggerston discovers his Uncle George is corrupt, clashes with his mother about her relationship with the lodger and takes part in a street battle before glimpsing redemption - and the beautiful Dorothy - at the Golden Bowl Mission. Reader: Joe Caffrey Producer: Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Teenager Arthur Haggerston discovers his Uncle George is corrupt. Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature |
| 05 | 20110923 | Sid Chaplin's acclaimed novel recounts how 50 years ago a Newcastle boy slipped into the treacherous waters of manhood. Adapted by Michael Chaplin. In the Newcastle of the 1960's, the young life of Arthur Haggerston reaches a crisis, as he finally meets the father who abandoned him, takes part in a vicious street battle and witnesses the aftermath of a murder. Reader: Joe Caffrey Producer: Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Arthur Haggerston finally meets the father who abandoned him. Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature |