Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepting Jack - Six Years On... | 20090824 | In 2003, Kim Normanton spoke to a set of parents coming to terms with having a child with special needs. She revisits them to see how their stories have developed.
In the original programme Kevin, father to Jack who has Down's Syndrome, felt unable to celebrate his son's birth. Now Kevin is a secondary school teacher and talks regularly to his students about his son. Jack, now eight, has two siblings and several good friends in his mainstream school.
In the original programme Jo, mother to Briony who was born with learning difficulties and is partially deaf, couldn't bring herself to even hold her daughter, fearing that she wouldn't be able to bear the pain of losing her. Brionny is now a healthy 15-year-old and a day pupil at a school for deaf children. She has a close relationship with her mother, who works for Mencap and champions the cause of families with children with special needs.
Kim Normanton revisits parents coming to terms with having children with special needs. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| After Woolworths | 20090209 | Following the fortunes of former Woolworths employee Steve as he tries to find a new job. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| After Woolworths | 20090209 | 20090315 (R4) | Following the fortunes of former Woolworths employee Steve as he tries to find a new job. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Bravo November | 20080508 | John McDonald presents the history of the Boeing Chinook Bravo November helicopter. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Bravo November | 20080508 | 20081212 (R4) | John McDonald presents the history of the Boeing Chinook Bravo November helicopter. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Classroom Babies and Beyond | 20070425 | Britain has the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Daddy Dewick | 20070509 | Daddy Dewick: Nana Anto-Awuakye recalls her rural upbringing with a white foster family. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Earfull, From Silence Into Sound | 20081127 | 20090506 (R4) | Tim has made his living as an actor for more than 40 years. All this time he has been deaf. This programme follows him over more than a year as he has tests, consultations and finally a cochlea implant operation, and can hear again. Tim tells his story of emerging from silence into sound, and interwoven with this is a performance of Earfull, his one-man play which chronicles his move from soldier to actor, and, as he loses his hearing, from sound to silence. Tim, who is in his 70s, grew up in Blackpool, joined the army and just before he was posted overseas his girlfriend called to say she loved him. He could not make out what she said because his new rifle had damaged his hearing. Later he did marry, had two children and with only six years to go to qualify for a pension, came back to London on leave. He went to a matinee of The Mousetrap. There cannot be many whose lives were changed by this pot-boiler, but Barlow's was. He realised that what he really wanted to be was not an army officer but an actor. Despite his deafness (Olivier wrote that he too had hearing problems and Barlow should go for it anyway) he trained at the Old Vic in Bristol. It cost him - his wife left, taking the children, and he didn't get the army pension. But for 40 years now he has been an actor: working with Complicit退, the RSC, Manchester Royal Exchange; he has made a living, so has been fairly successful. But Tim's life is changing again. Over the past year or so he has been advised, assessed, tested and finally has had a cochlea implant, the insertion of an electro-magnet that directly stimulates his nerves to produce sound images. Throughout the process, from the initial tests at St Thomas's Hospital to the final tuning up, recordings were made. As the drill goes through his skull to place the device the microphone is only inches away. And the moment when it was switched on is captured too, and for the first time after four decades Tim hears someone speaking to him. At every stage Tim reflects on what is happening to him. He has been deaf for so long the prospect of hearing is daunting. Will it work? How will it affect his acting, and his life? Woven into this narrative is that of his play Earfull, a recorded live performance. The story is of falling into silence, but at the same time into acting, and the emergence from silence back into sound. But the programme does not simply tell Tim Barlow's story. At first a cochlea implant gives the aural equivalent of a pixilated visual image. Voices sound, Tim says, like Darth Vader's, and this is worked on to make it clearer and more subtle. Radio recreates this process so, rather than having it described, the listener experiences what Tim hears. The story of deaf actor Tim Barlow as he goes through treatment to restore his hearing. Stories about the lives of everyday people Tim has made his living as an actor for more than 40 years. All this time he has been deaf. This programme follows him over more than a year as he has tests, consultations and finally a cochlea implant operation, and can hear again. Tim tells his story of emerging from silence into sound, and interwoven with this is a performance of Earfull, his one-man play which chronicles his move from soldier to actor, and, as he loses his hearing, from sound to silence. Tim, who is in his 70s, grew up in Blackpool, joined the army and just before he was posted overseas his girlfriend called to say she loved him. He could not make out what she said because his new rifle had damaged his hearing. Later he did marry, had two children and with only six years to go to qualify for a pension, came back to London on leave. He went to a matinee of The Mousetrap. There cannot be many whose lives were changed by this pot-boiler, but Barlow's was. He realised that what he really wanted to be was not an army officer but an actor. Despite his deafness (Olivier wrote that he too had hearing problems and Barlow should go for it anyway) he trained at the Old Vic in Bristol. It cost him - his wife left, taking the children, and he didn't get the army pension. But for 40 years now he has been an actor: working with Complicit退, the RSC, Manchester Royal Exchange; he has made a living, so has been fairly successful. But Tim's life is changing again. Over the past year or so he has been advised, assessed, tested and finally has had a cochlea implant, the insertion of an electro-magnet that directly stimulates his nerves to produce sound images. Throughout the process, from the initial tests at St Thomas's Hospital to the final tuning up, recordings were made. As the drill goes through his skull to place the device the microphone is only inches away. And the moment when it was switched on is captured too, and for the first time after four decades Tim hears someone speaking to him. At every stage Tim reflects on what is happening to him. He has been deaf for so long the prospect of hearing is daunting. Will it work? How will it affect his acting, and his life? Woven into this narrative is that of his play Earfull, a recorded live performance. The story is of falling into silence, but at the same time into acting, and the emergence from silence back into sound. But the programme does not simply tell Tim Barlow's story. At first a cochlea implant gives the aural equivalent of a pixilated visual image. Voices sound, Tim says, like Darth Vader's, and this is worked on to make it clearer and more subtle. Radio recreates this process so, rather than having it described, the listener experiences what Tim hears. The story of deaf actor Tim Barlow as he goes through treatment to restore his hearing. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Ethicists on Call | 20070502 | Ethicists on Call: People who assist in the making of life and death medical decisions. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Father Farewell | 20090818 | Since the age of 16, Tinu Adeniji Adele has shared her life with the Radio 4 audience, including her quest to meet the Nigerian father she never knew. Finally reunited in 2002, she confronted him with many questions and began to come to terms with her Nigerian legacy.
She faces the realisation that she is both a London girl and a true Princess of Lagos. Returning to the bustle of Lagos, she now marks his passing and closes a chapter of her life.
Tinu Adeniji Adele closes a chapter of her life in an emotional return to Nigeria. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Getting Bi | 20110919 | Tom Robinson was the first rock star to be out-and-proud from the off and in early 1978, at the height of his fame and barely ten years after homosexuality was decriminalised in Britain, he released the song 'Glad To Be Gay'. He put it in the Top 20 and it made him an overnight gay icon - becoming the anthem of the Gay Liberation Front and sung with gusto at Pride festivals all over the country. But then in the mid 80s something happened which changed Tom's life overnight - he fell in love with a woman! The tabloid press had a field day and he was booed when he appeared on stage at the 1987 London Gay Pride Festival. In this programme, Tom assesses his own changing attitudes to bisexuality and asks if it's still a bit of a taboo in Britain today? He hears from men and women struggling to be accepted by both their straight and gay friends and relatives before dropping in on a support group for bisexual people in Birmingham. Does the extension of LGBT rights really extend to the B in the acronym? The programme hears from Stonewall, the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, from Peter Tatchell and from researchers examining how LGBT Equalities initiatives deal with bisexuality in local government. Tom finds an often invisible community struggling to be accepted and nervous about being more open. There's few statistics about the prevalence of bisexuality so Tom's trip to Bristol to hear about some new research into male bisexuality is rather enlightening. And what of the media? And what do bisexual women think of how they're portrayed? Tom finishes the programme with his own assessment of society's tendency to put people into neat little boxes as well as the updated version of 'Glad to Be Gay' which references his struggle to be accepted as bisexual. Producer: Ashley Byrne A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4. Musician and presenter Tom Robinson examines what it means to be bisexual in Britain today Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Glad to be Grey? | 20100719 | A generation of gay people have seen the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the lowering of the age of consent, and the introduction of civil partnerships but now many are having to hide their sexuality as they work out their living arrangements as they get older. Jane Hill asks - are elderly residential homes an option right now if you're gay?
Age UK has reported that older gay men and lesbians are five times less likely to access services for older people than the general population. In "Glad to be Grey?" we hear older gay men and lesbians talk about their experiences and concerns about the future particularly if they have to go into a residential retirement home. Some have experienced outright hostility from staff or fellow residents in residential care or sheltered housing. Others simply don't expect the straight people they're living with to understand the culture that has formed such an important part of their lives. Having fought the battles for equality do they face the prospect of being marginalised in old age? BBC News presenter Jane Hill examines a subject which has been largely unexplored up until now.
Jane Hill talks to older gay people facing life in residential care. Why are they afraid? Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Glad to be Grey? | 20100719 | 20101015 (R4) | A generation of gay people have seen the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the lowering of the age of consent, and the introduction of civil partnerships but now many are having to hide their sexuality as they work out their living arrangements as they get older. Jane Hill asks - are elderly residential homes an option right now if you're gay?
Age UK has reported that older gay men and lesbians are five times less likely to access services for older people than the general population. In "Glad to be Grey?" we hear older gay men and lesbians talk about their experiences and concerns about the future particularly if they have to go into a residential retirement home. Some have experienced outright hostility from staff or fellow residents in residential care or sheltered housing. Others simply don't expect the straight people they're living with to understand the culture that has formed such an important part of their lives. Having fought the battles for equality do they face the prospect of being marginalised in old age? BBC News presenter Jane Hill examines a subject which has been largely unexplored up until now.
Jane Hill talks to older gay people facing life in residential care. Why are they afraid? Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Knowing Me, Knowing Autism | 20130506 | This programme follows Robyn through her personal and professional life; juggling the demands of her own condition with her obligations to others; giving insight into autism through the people who experience it first hand. Her professional life is highly organised (courtesy of her iphone); her personal life extremely messy. But she paints with her fingers, writes lyrics, listens to music and goes to the gym; often using the routine and the ritual of these activities to manage her condition
As Robyn says: "Autism is a spectrum of conditions, everyone is different. I don't know what it would be like not to be Autistic. I suppose if I had to create a short explanation I'd say Autism is like an all-encompassing wall. People like Rain man (who had classic autism) are enclosed by a brick wall, people with Asperger's are behind a frosted glass wall often able to see out but not reach the rest of the world, you can have a wall of any thickness in between and it's not always obvious what they are made of. But others can remove bricks by finding shared interests like IT, Thomas the tank engine and football".
Robyn is a professional one to one mentor to young people with Autism. She helps them with the difficulties of daily life, talking to them about money and public transport, discussing their coping strategies, and dealing with the people they come into contact with who may not understand their needs. People with autism can sometimes have problems with executive functioning tasks (planning, creating new ideas, ordering tasks) focus on detail rather than the bigger picture (known as weak central coherence), have problems with anxiety. So Robyn's job also involves helping groups like the police, social workers and paediatricians to understand these behaviours.
Her Aspergers is just one of ten disabilities she possesses. She lists the other nine (pointing out that lists are something she's good at):
1 left sided hemiplegia (a form of cerebral palsy)
Produced by Sue Mitchell.
Robyn Steward takes us into her world of autism, music, art, travel, fun and independence. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Ladies on The Door | 20100525 | Karole Seaby is 55 years old, a grandmother and a female bouncer. She's spent the last two decades working the doors of some of London's toughest venues, meeting the good, the bad, and the punchy along the way.
In Ladies On The Door, Karole tells us what it's like for women who work in the world of pub and club security.
With the help of Dr Kate O'Brien, a lecturer in Criminology who's worked as a door supervisor for her research, the programme follows Karole as she searches and manages hundreds of drunk and noisy teenagers during an average night on the job.
From scuffles at the door to finding hidden drugs and alcohol, Karole and security staff like her across the UK rarely get a quiet night. The programme hears how they handle the increasing menace of drunken girls who 'kick off', and reflects on why there has been such an increase in drunkenness and violence among some young women.
Away from the singing, shouting, pushing and shoving, Karole looks back at on over twenty years in door security, how the rules have changed for the people managing the public and how that same public has changed too.
Producer: Russell Crewe
Bouncer and granny Karole Seaby on working the doors of some of London's toughest clubs. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Let Me In | 20140203 | Seymour is a serial offender in his late 40s. A few months after he was last released, he was seen on a bench outside a prison gate, head in hands, desperate to return. Within weeks he was back inside.
In prison he thrives. He fills his time with purposeful activity, gaining respect among fellow inmates and staff. Outside, without the protective regime, he falls into old habits.
Seymour has been locked up every year for the past decade, for sentences related to his crack cocaine habit. In prison, he gets clean and commits to change; out of prison, usually after a period of success, his addiction gets the better of him.
Once back on crack, it's only a matter of time. Although "gutted" when he ends up back inside, he usually acknowledges a sense of relief.
As his current sentence ends, Seymour shares his thoughts and experiences - through his final days in prison, then out on to the streets. Will he leave crime behind? What support will be available? Can he convince his family to trust him?
BBC Radio 4 has been recording Seymour's progress since Summer 2012 and Let Me In provides rare, first-hand testimony from a man full of hope, but also fear, as he struggles to define his place in the world.
Produced and narrated by Steve Urquhart
Seymour, a repeat offender, thrives in prison but struggles to cope with life outside. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Let Me In | 20140203 | 20140209 (R4) | Seymour is a serial offender in his late 40s. A few months after he was last released, he was seen on a bench outside a prison gate, head in hands, desperate to return. Within weeks he was back inside.
In prison he thrives. He fills his time with purposeful activity, gaining respect among fellow inmates and staff. Outside, without the protective regime, he falls into old habits.
Seymour has been locked up every year for the past decade, for sentences related to his crack cocaine habit. In prison, he gets clean and commits to change; out of prison, usually after a period of success, his addiction gets the better of him.
Once back on crack, it's only a matter of time. Although "gutted" when he ends up back inside, he usually acknowledges a sense of relief.
As his current sentence ends, Seymour shares his thoughts and experiences - through his final days in prison, then out on to the streets. Will he leave crime behind? What support will be available? Can he convince his family to trust him?
BBC Radio 4 has been recording Seymour's progress since Summer 2012 and Let Me In provides rare, first-hand testimony from a man full of hope, but also fear, as he struggles to define his place in the world.
Produced and narrated by Steve Urquhart
Seymour, a repeat offender, thrives in prison but struggles to cope with life outside. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Letting Go Of James | 20110703 | 20110824 (R4) | I've driven home from work in tears many times recently, because I just don't want to let go', says Jane, James mother at the start of Letting Go of James. But the truth is that the family isn't coping with him living at home. He is 16, severely autistic, does not speak and can attack other members of the family. He has been offered a place in full time residential care, and the family is now going through the process of transition. James three brothers take part in several visits to the school and Charles, James' father, comments on the irony that the family is spending more times with James just as they are about to say goodbye. Before the final goodbye they have a last family holiday, which despite some magical moments, underlies the fact that James needs to go. On the final evening tensions are running higher than normal as his parents prepare James for bed, but there is a real moment of revelation when they all do finally say goodbye, as the youngest sibling touches James for the first time, and with time the boys begin to experience a new side of James. The process of adjusting continues for the family who do not say that they are 'happier'. They all miss James more than expected, although they can enjoy doing more together, relax a bit more and are relieved it has happened. James has a number of successful visits home - although just where home is becomes a heartbreaking issue in the programme. At Christmas he pulls his first ever cracker, but New Year leads Jane to reflect on her ongoing fears for her son. The initial honeymoon period does pass and Jane and Charles admit there are no fairytale endings. Letting Go of James ends with the recognition - from the whole family - that life will never be easy for James and that there will always be difficult choices. Producers: Anna Scott-Brown & Adam Fowler A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4. How one family copes as their 16-year-old, autistic son starts full time residential care. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Living in the Memory Room | 20130702 | Kim Normanton presents a personal programme about memory and dementia, inspired by her mother's illness. She explores a new approach to treatment: recreating the past. As her mother's memory of recent events was destroyed, Kim discovered that she could only reach her by entering the past. She began sharing memories of her mother's childhood with theatrical props: "She can't reach where I'm living anymore, so it's up to me to go back to happier days in the past and reach her."
This approach to dementia is tried on a much larger scale in Hogewey Dementia Village in Holland. The village recreates the surroundings of the residents' youth, with old-fashioned furnishings, even a supermarket selling old-fashioned sweets. Kim talks to the director about ethical issues: is it right to deceive people with this 'Truman-Show' theatrical illusion?
In Britain she finds care homes increasingly using 'reminiscence objects' to stimulate dementia sufferers to share memories. Kim visits a Cornwall home where Janet Brown, known locally as 'the Memory Lady', organizes group memory sessions using old toys and kitchen utensils plucked from a memory box. "It's a horrible disease and there's no cure, but there are moments which we can make more pleasurable for those living with it, and their carers."
Kim explores the latest memory science with Dr Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster: "The biggest problem with dementia is a lack of narrative: being suspended in space without the context of memories to support you. But I've seen people with dementia who are very happy - when you're reminiscing, you really are in that world and enjoying that moment."
There are 800,000 dementia sufferers in the UK.
Producers: Kim Normanton and Elizabeth Burke.
Kim Normanton presents a moving, personal programme about memory and dementia. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Living in the Memory Room | 20130702 | 20130818 (R4) | Kim Normanton presents a personal programme about memory and dementia, inspired by her mother's illness. She explores a new approach to treatment: recreating the past. As her mother's memory of recent events was destroyed, Kim discovered that she could only reach her by entering the past. She began sharing memories of her mother's childhood with theatrical props: "She can't reach where I'm living anymore, so it's up to me to go back to happier days in the past and reach her."
This approach to dementia is tried on a much larger scale in Hogewey Dementia Village in Holland. The village recreates the surroundings of the residents' youth, with old-fashioned furnishings, even a supermarket selling old-fashioned sweets. Kim talks to the director about ethical issues: is it right to deceive people with this 'Truman-Show' theatrical illusion?
In Britain she finds care homes increasingly using 'reminiscence objects' to stimulate dementia sufferers to share memories. Kim visits a Cornwall home where Janet Brown, known locally as 'the Memory Lady', organizes group memory sessions using old toys and kitchen utensils plucked from a memory box. "It's a horrible disease and there's no cure, but there are moments which we can make more pleasurable for those living with it, and their carers."
Kim explores the latest memory science with Dr Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster: "The biggest problem with dementia is a lack of narrative: being suspended in space without the context of memories to support you. But I've seen people with dementia who are very happy - when you're reminiscing, you really are in that world and enjoying that moment."
There are 800,000 dementia sufferers in the UK.
Producers: Kim Normanton and Elizabeth Burke.
Kim Normanton presents a moving, personal programme about memory and dementia. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Living with Birdie | 20070823 | Birdie McDonald tells the extraordinary story of her life as a foster mother. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Living with Birdie | 20070823 | 20071223 (R4) | Birdie McDonald tells the extraordinary story of her life as a foster mother. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Losing To Win | 20110710 | Boxing is supposed to be about winning, about glory, about beating your man but for the journeyman losing is often the game. Meet the best kept secrets in the fight game- the 'professional opposition'. Veterans like the now retired Birmingham legend Peter Buckley (W32-L256-D12) and the hardest working journeyman today, Johnny Greaves (W3-L 64 D 0). He'll be on his way to Hull when you hear this programme for fight number 68 well on the way to achieving his dream of 100 bouts and retirement. John McDonald, Boxing M.C. and fight fan remains fascinated by these journeymen. They are the glue that holds boxing together yet often derided and misunderstood. Without one a fighter cannot begin his career, no promoter can assemble a good night of boxing. The journeyman is one phone call away from a fight that might even take place the same day as the call. Always ready to pull on his gloves, give a good fight and inevitably lose. You enter the ring, the local crowd hostile, part of a fledgling boxer's rite of passage. Just the statistic on the under card, the man who is going to be either out punched or out scored. Which doesn't mean you throw the fight, take a dive or hit the canvas as if it is Oscar night. And should any cocky young boxer take the mickey or make it too painful then there is always the chance of an upset, a boxing lesson from a seasoned pro who has seen them come and go. John McDonald follows Greaves and his brother Frankie as they prepare for bout number 68. Whilst veteran Buckley and his former trainer Nobby Nobbs remember past losses and even wins, in the process meet the matchmakers, managers and fighters who reveal just how crucial this utterly unglamorous non-champion of the ring is to the world of boxing. Producer Mark Burman. Boxing is supposed to be about winning but for the journeyman losing is often the game. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Mr Fan, From Boatperson To Horseman | 20120423 | 20130129 (R4) | Mr Fan fled Vietnam on a boat and landed in Greenwich. He grows vegetables like a Chinese peasant, and rides horses like an English gentleman. In his barber shop, he tells his tale.When radio producer Julian May or his sons need a haircut they pop round to Mr Fan. Over the years, the blond baby and the grey curls falling, his story of escape, exile, settlement and identity, has emerged.Mr Fan is from Vietnam but is Chinese. In 1979, when the Chinese crossed the border and fought a short war with her neighbour, he had to leave. His family left everything and clambered aboard an over-laden sailing boat. No one knew how to sail or navigate. Months later they reached Hong Kong and were interned. Eventually, while his father languished dying in prison, he landed in England, and settled in Greenwich.That's the past. What is interesting is the life Mr Fan leads now: very Chinese; very English. His tiny garden full of pak choi; dawn exercises in the park; table tennis. As he snips he sips green tea.But the pictures on the walls are of horses. Three times a week at a suburban riding school, among the pigtailed 'gels', this Chinese man in his sixties, trots, canters - and now gallops and jumps - in his black velvet riding hat.This is what he loves, what England has given him, and he'll never go back. He did go to Mongolia - on a riding holiday.While he cuts hair, exercises early in Greenwich Park (where he enjoyed watching the Olympic equestrian events last summer), tends his peasant patch and rides the horses he loves, Mr Fan tells his story to Julian May who, sparingly, presents a tale that reveals important aspects of identity and belonging.Producer: Julian May. Mr Fan, Vietnamese boatperson, barber, Chinese gardener, English horseman, tells his story Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Music And Silence | 20121204 | Michael Berkeley has been composing music since he was six years old. His father was a composer and, as a child, he sang for his godfather Benjamin Britten. His whole life has revolved around music. But two years ago an ordinary cold virus triggered a catastrophic loss of hearing. This programme is the story of the last year as he comes to terms with partial deafness and talks to other musicians who have suffered a similar disaster - opera singer Janine Roebuck and rock critic Nick Coleman. We begin in the Royal Albert Hall with rehearsals for the London premiere of Michael Berkeley's organ concerto at last year's Proms. As the composer, Michael is expected to give final notes on the music balance - but how can he do that when he can't be sure he is hearing it accurately? At the piano, Michael shows us powerfully how sounds are distorted and what he hears inside his head. We follow him on medical appointments as he experiments with different hearing aids. Walking in the countryside in Wales, he thinks about Beethoven and the tragic letter he writes about his deafness but, as time passes, something strange happens: Michael begins to enjoy listening to music again. His brain seems to be filling in the gaps. He goes to meet an expert in the University College London Ear Institute who reveals new research about the extraordinary connection between the ears and the brain. So he ends with a surprising message of hope. Michael is brave to speak out; some of his colleagues did not want him to make this programme. Deafness is still a taboo, the invisible disability, and yet ten million people in Britain (1 in 6) struggle to hear. Producer: Elizabeth Burke A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4. Composer Michael Berkeley talks frankly about his hearing loss. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| My Lover, My Carer | 20130205 | What happens to long-term relationships when a lover becomes a carer? Julie Fernandez talks to four couples where one partner has a severe disability about the challenges of being the carer - and the cared-for.
Natalie Burr was a world-class trampolinist, training for the Olympics. In a split second her life was turned upside-down: she misjudged a triple summersault and crashed onto the mat. She lay there, unable to feel her legs, knowing she had broken her neck. Being handed her phone, she rang her husband Shane and asked "Will you leave me?".
Many couples don't survive sudden disability - the pressures are just too great. But Shane didn't leave, and he is still together with Natalie and they have gone on to have a baby. How have they made it work? For those who do manage to stay together, how do they negotiate the sudden shift of roles?
The four couples whose lives have been transformed by disability, talk frankly and movingly about how their relationship has changed and how power has shifted between them. They talk about adjusting to a different life: all the daily stuff - making tea, mowing the grass, cuddles in a wheelchair, what to do about sex. When a lover becomes a carer it can distort intimacy in ways which can be difficult to discuss.
Julie has brittle bone disease from birth, while her husband Andrew is not disabled. She brings her own experience of disability to those for whom this is a new and sometimes devastating experience. She's both challenging and sensitive in probing taboo areas - from attitudes towards sex to feelings of guilt and exhaustion.
Producers Elizabeth Burke and Hilary Dunn
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Julie Fernandez asks what happens to long-term relationships when a lover becomes a carer? Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Never Too Late to Seperate | 20070405 | Kim Normanton explores how to disentangle years of married life and how to start again. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Political Interference | 20070418 | Roger Bolton recalls a fierce but invisible Cold War battle. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Remembering Millie | 20120430 | Millie died when she was 22 months, but the impact of her life and death is still emerging. Remembering Millie, celebrates her life through the stories of her family, friends, neighbours, a teacher at her brother's school, a hairdresser who cut her hair once, and even people who never met her. At 20 weeks into their 3rd pregnancy, Martin and Frances discovered that their unborn daughter had a rare neurological genetic condition. Her head and brain were not developing properly. Professionals said she might not have a face and strongly advised a termination. But they went ahead with the pregnancy, and not only did Millie unexpectedly survive the birth, but she lived longer than anyone had predicted. She remained the size of a newborn, had a flat nose and cleft palate, never sat up and was fed by a tube her whole life; yet she touched the lives of everyone who met her. When Martin and Frances move away from Oxford where Millie was born and is buried, they negotiate feeling that they've left her behind. In the new place with new people they continue to keep her memory alive. Millie's grandmother says, she goes on being, because she's remembered so much, and a friend observes, the family's moving on, and thriving, loving and enjoying life, and this isn't because Millie isn't there any more, it's because Millie WAS there. In the programme her parents speak openly about how Millie has affected them and in tears describe her death. Music and readings from the funeral underpin the programme, and capture the sorrow, but also the joy of Millie's life. There's so much that's positive in the family's testimony, and in those of people who knew and loved Millie, or whose lives have been changed by Millie's story, that the programme both challenges and comforts in equal measure. Producer: Anna Scott-Brown A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4. Millie died at 22 months. Her 'little life' is celebrated, its ongoing impact considered. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| School for Communists | 20070920 | Jim Riordan recalls his education at the Higher Party School for Communists in Moscow. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| School for Communists | 20070920 | 20080825 (R4) | Jim Riordan recalls his education at the Higher Party School for Communists in Moscow. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Skiing For Ghana | 20110207 | Six years ago, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong strapped on a set of skis for the first time. Fast forward to 2010 and he's the first Ghanaian to take part in the Winter Olympics. This is an incredible achievement, but ultimately Kwame has a greater goal: to bring Skiing to Ghana. Ghana is famous for cocoa production, Kofi Annan and the extraordinary national football team. Ski resorts are not on the list. However, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong wants to build the first ever artificial ski slope just a few degrees north of the equator. He's the first ever Ghanaian to compete in the Winter Olympics and he wants others to follow. The lack of snow in his native land won't stop him. He's gained the approval of the tribal chief in Mamfe where the slope is to be situated and initial work will begin next year against the picturesque backdrop of Ghana's Akuapem Hills. Kwame is taking the task very seriously; 'I want to remove the stigma of sport in Africa, where too often it's considered something that dummies do,' he says. 'Education can go hand-in-hand with leisure and recreation. It doesn't have to be a choice of one or the other. I want people to see that.'. Ghana is famous for cocoa, Kofi Annan and football. Not skiing. Until now... Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Son of a Preacher Man | 20070830 | Darcus Howe, son of an Anglican priest, talks to others whose fathers were in the clergy. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Son of a Preacher Man | 20070830 | 20080811 (R4) | Darcus Howe, son of an Anglican priest, talks to others whose fathers were in the clergy. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Switzerland for a Franc | 20090316 | Miles Warde follows what happened when British businessman Bruno Prior responded to an advert in The Times advertising a ski resort for sale for one Swiss franc.
The main lift breaks in Bruno's first season in charge at the resort, the falling pound hampers his ability to invest and two villagers refuse to sell land where he hopes to build a new hotel.
What happened when a British businessman bought a ski resort for one Swiss franc. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Switzerland for a Franc | 20090316 | 20090420 (R4) | Miles Warde follows what happened when British businessman Bruno Prior responded to an advert in The Times advertising a ski resort for sale for one Swiss franc.
The main lift breaks in Bruno's first season in charge at the resort, the falling pound hampers his ability to invest and two villagers refuse to sell land where he hopes to build a new hotel.
What happened when a British businessman bought a ski resort for one Swiss franc. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| Teenage Kicks | 20070913 | Profile of Patience Bush, who helps families combat their children's antisocial behaviour. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Teenage Kicks | 20080128 | Profile of Patience Bush, who helps families combat their children's antisocial behaviour. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| The 99 | 20090706 | DJ Bobby Friction tells the story of Dr Naif Al-Mutawa, the psychologist and businessman who has created the first collection of Muslim comic book superheroes - The 99 - that are sweeping the Arab world, and arriving soon in Europe. Based on the 99 attributes of Allah in the Koran, the cartoons are not without controversy. Bobby visits Naif in Kuwait on the eve of the opening of The 99's first theme park, and tells the story of his quest to become known as 'the Walt Disney of the Arabic world'.
The story of the man who has created the first collection of Muslim comic book superheroes Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| The 99 | 20090706 | 20090828 (R4) | DJ Bobby Friction tells the story of Dr Naif Al-Mutawa, the psychologist and businessman who has created the first collection of Muslim comic book superheroes - The 99 - that are sweeping the Arab world, and arriving soon in Europe. Based on the 99 attributes of Allah in the Koran, the cartoons are not without controversy. Bobby visits Naif in Kuwait on the eve of the opening of The 99's first theme park, and tells the story of his quest to become known as 'the Walt Disney of the Arabic world'.
The story of the man who has created the first collection of Muslim comic book superheroes Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| The Boxing Civil Servant | 20090223 | Journalist Jackie Ashley tells the story of how her fifty-something friend Miranda Carter, a high-flying civil servant at the Department of Transport, astonished friends and family when she announced that she was applying for a licence as a boxing promoter.
By day she continues to work in the corridors of power in Whitehall, but in the evenings and at weekends she mixes with the raucous boxing crowd of York Hall, Bethnal Green, in the East End of London.
Jackie Ashley tells the story of how her friend began a new career as a boxing promoter. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| The Boxing Civil Servant | 20090223 | 20090518 (R4) | Journalist Jackie Ashley tells the story of how her fifty-something friend Miranda Carter, a high-flying civil servant at the Department of Transport, astonished friends and family when she announced that she was applying for a licence as a boxing promoter.
By day she continues to work in the corridors of power in Whitehall, but in the evenings and at weekends she mixes with the raucous boxing crowd of York Hall, Bethnal Green, in the East End of London.
Jackie Ashley tells the story of how her friend began a new career as a boxing promoter. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| The Girl In The Picture | 20100518 | 20100613 (R4) | Kim Phuc, subject of an iconic picture from the Vietnam War, tells her story as she's reunited with the ITN reporter who helped save her life 38 years ago. The image of a nine year old girl screaming as she ran naked down a road in Trang Bang after suffering extreme burns in a Napalm chemical attack became one of the most famous photographs of the Vietnam War. But what happened to the 'Girl in the Picture'? In an emotional meeting, former ITN reporter Christopher Wain - who helped to save her life that day - is reunited with Kim for the first time in 38 years. They recall the events of June 8th 1972 and Kim hears for the first time the lengths to which Chris went to get her life-saving treatment. She tells how Nick Ut's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph has helped and haunted her in equal measure. She explains how she was recruited as a 'symbol of war' before finally escaping Government control by fleeing to Canada. She managed to live a normal life for a while but was discovered by the press again in the 1990s. She soon realised she had to take control of the photograph and decided to use her fame to help others by establishing a charity for child victims of war called 'The Kim Phuc Foundation'. The burns Kim suffered in 1972 left her scarred for life and still take their toll on her body. She's in constant pain and has to take regular breaks. But it doesn't stop her living a busy life. As part of the programme, Kim also meets Ali Abbas, who lost both his arms and sixteen members of his family in the Iraq War. The pair share their experiences and Kim offers him advice on living a normal life and finding a way to forgive. The programme is presented by Christopher Wain. Producer: Ashley Byrne. A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4. Kim Phuc, subject of an iconic photograph from the Vietnam War, tells her story. Stories about the lives of everyday people Kim Phuc, subject of an iconic picture from the Vietnam War, tells her story as she's reunited with the ITN reporter who helped save her life 38 years ago. The image of a nine year old girl screaming as she ran naked down a road in Trang Bang after suffering extreme burns in a Napalm chemical attack became one of the most famous photographs of the Vietnam War. But what happened to the 'Girl in the Picture'? In an emotional meeting, former ITN reporter Christopher Wain - who helped to save her life that day - is reunited with Kim for the first time in 38 years. They recall the events of June 8th 1972 and Kim hears for the first time the lengths to which Chris went to get her life-saving treatment. She tells how Nick Ut's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph has helped and haunted her in equal measure. She explains how she was recruited as a 'symbol of war' before finally escaping Government control by fleeing to Canada. She managed to live a normal life for a while but was discovered by the press again in the 1990s. She soon realised she had to take control of the photograph and decided to use her fame to help others by establishing a charity for child victims of war called 'The Kim Phuc Foundation'. The burns Kim suffered in 1972 left her scarred for life and still take their toll on her body. She's in constant pain and has to take regular breaks. But it doesn't stop her living a busy life. As part of the programme, Kim also meets Ali Abbas, who lost both his arms and sixteen members of his family in the Iraq War. The pair share their experiences and Kim offers him advice on living a normal life and finding a way to forgive. The programme is presented by Christopher Wain. Producer: Ashley Byrne. A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4. Kim Phuc, subject of an iconic photograph from the Vietnam War, tells her story. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| The Imam Of Peace | 20110124 | 20110321 (R4) | Nadene Ghouri profiles John Butt, an Englishman who travelled to South Asia on the hippy trail, converted to Islam and trained as an imam. For the last few decades his mission has been to spread a message of peace and tolerance across Pakistan and Afghanistan. He set up a series of radio stations across the Swat Valley in Northern Pakistan and established a madrassa in Jalalabad in Afghanistan, preaching his own version of a moderate inclusive Islam. Now this work is getting tougher. The Swat operation was hit by last year's flooding while militants attacked his madrassa, burning down a building. The jihadist threat means it is too dangerous for John Butt to travel to the Swat Valley or to visit his project in Jalalabad. Nadene Ghouri asks who's winning - John or the extremists? Producer: Bill Law. How an English Muslim convert spread a message of tolerance in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| The Long Walk | 20120326 | Twice awarded the George Medal for bravery, as well as an MBE for Gallantry, Peter Gurney, the former head of the Metropolitan Police Explosives Squad, was defusing bombs when international terror groups like Black September first began to use IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) as their weapon of choice. As one of the world's top bomb disposal officers, he was in the front line as the IRA campaign spread to the mainland. He defused hundreds of bombs and saved many lives and he describes the long walk, the journey, always made alone, by a bomb disposal officer towards the suspect device. In It's My Story: The Long Walk, BBC Northern Ireland's Political Editor, Mark Devenport, tracks Peter Gurney's career over forty years, as he and his colleagues played a deadly game of catch up with the bomb makers and their increasingly sophisticated devices. Police officers, including the former head of the Anti Terrorist Squad, remember the IRA bombing campaigns in England, including the booby-trapped Wimpy Bar bomb in 1981 in London's Oxford Street. This killed instantly Peter Gurney's close friend and colleague, Ken Howarth, but after finding his body, Mr Gurney had to check for secondary devices and then go on to defuse a similar device in another building. There are never-before-heard tapes, recorded in real time by Mr Gurney into a tiny micro-cassette strapped to his spine (the part of a person's body most likely to protect the recordings should his luck run out). These dramatic tapes, reveal Mr Gurney, cautious about booby-traps, discovering an IRA arms cache of guns, explosives and booby-trap devices hidden in a forest. And 21 years after the IRA's audacious attempt to murder the Prime Minister and his cabinet, Peter Gurney returns to Number 10 Downing Street, where, in one of the last major jobs of his career, he defused one of the mortar bombs fired through the hole in the roof of a transit van, parked in Whitehall. Producer: Fiona Hill. Peter Gurney, former head of the Met's Explosives Squad, on a lifetime of bomb disposal. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| The Man Whose Mind Exploded | 20080522 | Toby Amies meets Drako Oho Zarhazar, an extraordinary resident of a Brighton council estate. Drako has modelled for Salvador Dali, been filmed by Andy Warhol, spent some wild times with Keith Richards and danced at the London Palladium. He has also been in two comas, had two nervous breakdowns and made two suicide attempts. He now has almost no short term memory and has filled his flat with thousands of pieces of paper to remind him of who he is and what is happening in his life.
Toby Amies meets Drako Oho Zarhazar, a man with no short-term memory. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| The Prisoner Released | 20130521 | Three years after he was sent to prison, PJ is about to be released. But getting out can be more daunting than going in. In prison there's food, warmth, shelter; there's healthcare, education and work; there's discipline, structure and routine.
This is PJ's first prison sentence. He came in aged 18 with a street robbery conviction related to his gambling addiction. He's been counting down the days but is concerned he has become institutionalised. As the big moment approaches, his emotions turn from excitement to trepidation.
In this first person account, PJ speaks openly and honestly about his fears of what's to come. He's worried about finding somewhere to live and getting in to work. But there are other issues he will have to face - re-establishing his relationship with his family, the temptation to commit crime and walking past the bookmakers he believes resulted in him going to prison in the first place.
With rare access inside prison, we accompany PJ during his last few days inside, the final night in his cell and his walk through the prison gates and into the uncertainty of freedom. We then follow him during the days, weeks and months after prison as he attempts to re-establish himself in society. We hear his first meeting with his probation officer, his struggle to find a place to live and his efforts to find work. We also discover whether he'll return to his gambling habit and find out how he reacts when presented with the opportunity to commit crime.
Produced by Chris Impey
A personal account of the challenges of leaving a prison cell for the outside world. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| The Tic Lady | 20070516 | The Tic Lady: Fran Abrams finds out why people still opt to borrow from a doorstep lender. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Where Are You Really From? | 20070816 | Journalist Tim Brannigan was told he was adopted. Later, he discovered the truth. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| Where Are You Really From? | 20070816 | 20071216 (R4) | Journalist Tim Brannigan was told he was adopted. Later, he discovered the truth. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| White Chief Humphrey | 20120507 | From sitcom to chiefdom - Michael Palin introduces the story of Humphrey Barclay's journey from TV comedy to an African village in Ghana. Humphrey Barclay is the man behind some of Britain's best loved sitcoms. He started with the Cambridge Footlights and rubbed shoulders with the best of comic talent, soon finding himself working with John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones in television shows such as 'Do Not Adjust Your Set'. Humphrey stayed behind the scenes as a producer, but now he has come centre stage in a very different world. Today Humphrey Barclay's work is a far cry from TV studios and scripts. We find him dressed in the most elaborate robes and taking part in African rituals, as we discover his life as a Chief in the remote Ghanaian village of Kwahu Tafo. It all came about thanks to an African actor who played a part in 'Desmond's', a sitcom Humphrey made in the late 1980s for Channel Four. Set in a barbershop in south London, it starred Gyearbour Asante from Ghana, with whom Humphrey soon had a strong personal friendship. When Gyearbour died, it was clear to Humphrey that he needed to attend his funeral in Ghana, and he made plans for the journey. The funeral lasted three days, and at the end of the elaborate ritual, Humphrey received an unusual request: would he like to join the royal family as a chief? The only answer seemed to be 'yes'. We join Humphrey as he journeys from the capital Accra up into the interior of Ghana to his adopted village on the high Kwahu plateau. Humphrey will be with the villagers to celebrate Ghana's Independence Day, marking the moment that British colonial rule ended in 1957. He'll take us on a tour of his duties as 'Nkosuohene', or development chief, and he'll take us to see the sacred rock Buruku. Most importantly he'll show us some of the achievements of his time as chieftain of this remote Ghanaian outpost, where he has helped build a library, a music academy, as well as set up many medical projects. From the Finchley Road to the Kwahu plateau - this will be a journey that links Humphrey's two disparate worlds and show what can happen when life takes an unexpected turn. Michael Palin introduces Humphrey Barclay, who has become an African chief. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| White Girl Running: Melanie Verwoerd | 20070906 | The extraordinary political journey of a white Afrikaner woman who became an ANC MP. Stories about the lives of everyday people | ||
| White Girl Running: Melanie Verwoerd | 20070906 | 20080222 (R4) | The extraordinary political journey of a white Afrikaner woman who became an ANC MP. Stories about the lives of everyday people | |
| 18 | 18 | 20090216 | Following a group of Bristol teenagers who are about to turn 18, hearing how they plan to mark the transition to adulthood at a time when 'youth' is the subject of more discussion, legislation, fear and opprobrium than ever. These young people offer a snapshot of a generation at a point of change, as some prepare for University, some for vocational training, others face unemployment or even parenthood.
Following a group of Bristol teenagers who are about to turn 18. Stories about the lives of everyday people |