Read this: 22/03/2020 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts hello has schools closed exams at cancelled cities become ghost towns many confined and the country faces unprecedented challenges, what's the role of the British Broadcasting Corporation we all need to pull together we need to use all our available resource is to inform educate and entertain what we are working through every single day is how we can maintain and sustain those those services on behalf of the British pub at a time of unprecedented issues that will face that was Tony Hall director-general of the BBC early this week, but what do you think surely at this time media has a role to play in Keeping up morale endless speculation and going over the same news repetitively doesn't help anyone is that response typical will be looking in our inbox to find out.

Add at times of great stress can slow radio help us distress and programs of this nature on everybody's cup of tea, but I think they're one of the things Radio 4 does really well and I welcome the put some spaces provided for them and feel that they deserve a continuing place in a balanced diet of programming into the producer of a slow radio series living national treasures and asking you allowed to work on own visual radio if radios done really well like that where the sounds creates a visual picture and it makes you want to see what they're doing.

I think it's still got it should be doing and this week in are out of your comfort zone feature we asked to listeners to tune into the World book club broadcast on the world service on a rather disturbing subject when she was originally writing the novel she thought it was boring and she thought it was boring for her.

It would be boring for her readers and killing the children actually wasn't part of plan.

So she decided the children just had to call does all this regret.

He had to go and listen to such a terrifying and terrible story find out later in feedback.

Well at the end of last week's program.

I said I'd be here whatever happens even if I have to do it from my attic what I've broken my word.

I'm doing it for my kitchen because I've had to self isolate as producer.

So there will be a very ability.

I think it's some of the sound quality as we go through the program, but please bear with us and I'll join by my producers Kate Dixon to go to your inbox.

Can I get the coronavirus is at the top of it as it has every week for the past few weeks.

It's been the top item in our inbox, but I would say that there's been a change in tone initially.

I'd say it was a lot of emails in coming in saying there was just too much as listener Alison Marshall reflex, please stop but not exactly what we need to know what is happening and what we should be doing to minimise risk the constant almost 24-hour coverage is not doing much for the Nation's mental health be Clements

Every time and every moment of the day listening to Radio for The Corona virus is talked about a bit too much think we all know by now how to keep ourselves possibly free from it enough is enough we need relaxation from such a depressing subject panic is not what's needed.

Clearly some people think there's far too much coverage.

Is that what many other interesting know what I think is now happening is that we're getting lots of questions coming in obviously there's a real first two information out there.

There's also an email.

We've got about any questions 21 pilots on Friday with Chris Mason went out without an audience.

How did that go down well? This is what Janet shepherdson.

Thought I would just like to say how much more I enjoy any questions at the weekend for the lack of a live audience.

I know it was a one issue program that contributed discuss things in much more depth and without point scoring for the audience will be a pleasure to listen to.

How to know what Christmas things about it any chance was finding hope to have Chris on this week he's self isolating and when we spoke to him any questions was in a state of flux.

Well, I have come on next week then if you can't make this one and by the time this program because it goes out you know whether any questions actually is going out.

What did every program has been affected or as reflecting the coronavirus.

So what should the most important programme on Radio 4 do I refer of course to the Archers actually tell me to Guernsey with the entire world golf by Rising Tide of minutes over the Corona virus AVG appears to exist in another dimension lively living it's introverted existence cocoon from the reality we on planet Earth on a grappling with the creeping threat of coded 19 has been advancing for at least 10 weeks, but ambridge sales Celine Dion

What are the attractions of The Archers is that we listen this regard the characters as friends and we share their agonies and their expertise as such can be done from Lewisham I'm really delighted that the Archers appears to be taking place in a parallel universe without the Corona virus, please continue with this is a great distraction from Bath or go and live in Dorset chef as it seems to be a corona virus free zone.

Well.

I don't think you can be a corona virus freezer, how much longer and of course the question is open I suppose about whether the Archers will continue to record new additions Kate at have we heard from the editor of The Archers Jeremy how about the future but this is what he said on Twitter for the time being we have enough episodes recorded to keep taking listeners to ambridge as usual for the week.

So but like everyone else we are faced with a

President Assad situation where working on plans for beyond this given the significant challenges and the safety and well-being of our production team and cost of Parliament Place your listeners will understand this and will update as plants become clearer and finally there's a plea from Tania Greggs Africa in the virus pandemic spread Stevie Nicks ugly around the globe and the BBC and Radio 4 in particular, please provide some programs to distract us from the grim news some more light-hearted material humor drama especially for those who are having to isolate cells for the rest of the world ok.

What's the answer to that has the BBC said anything official well the BBC has quite a lot to say about it.

They had a couple of press releases in the last few days outlining the different measures.

They're going to take and earlier this week.

Tony Hall director-general of the BBC had this to say on Radio 4 Today programme when making some.

Coronavirus podcast which is going to give you a daily information I like better casted in an informal way and an issue.

I put it like is using our local radio stations and a scheme to make a difference which is saying how can we use our local radio networks to help people in the community to help community support each other the vulnerable people to solve issues, and I think that's going to be really important and I think the other important role to out of all this is also to keep the nation entertainment box sets Spooks the missing and French and Saunders for example and also I can say talking to the control of steam station that the history of the world in 100 objects is going to come back on Radio 4 in times of crisis.

We all need a and indeed we do service a lot of changes going on and go to the BBC website and go to press releases you can see the latest announcements and of course the over 75s who face their free licences being withdrawn have at least another couple of.

Before that happens, it will be interesting to see when the BBC decides if it ever does decide to reintroduce that policy or whether the government decides to foot the Bill instead so quite a lot of changes next week will be talking to James Purnell the director of BBC Radio and education about the latest changes to the schedules and plans for the future if you got any questions you like us to ask him do please get in touch.

This is how you can do so you can send an email to feedback at bbc.co.uk write a letter to the address is feedback PO Box 67234 London se1p 4ax you can follow activity on by using at BBC R4 feedback or you can call us and leave a phone message on 03345 standard.

Find charges apply, but it could cost more on some mobile networks all those details are on our website for asking to BBC Radio Leicester step out of their comfort zone's and listen to a program that would normally be on their radar this week.

We have Karen rasmussen from York and Milan from Bristol and we asked them to listen to The Book Club broadcast on the world service and available now on BBC sounds.

It's presented by Harriett Gilbert also presents Radio 4 a good read and this episode from the world was broadcast on Saturday to March at 3 in the morning and repeated to that afternoon first know what would be your top 3 programmes if you were stranded on that mythical desert island tonight time on a Thursday I never miss and the Life Scientific I think is excellent after that.

I wouldn't rang any program to do listen to a lot of Radio 4 right that you can mainly radio.

Mini Radio 4 Today programme the Arches and I always enjoy the 6:30 comedy on Monday evenings at the it's nature table but anything like the Unbelievable Truth I really must listens to review comedies no current affairs with asked you to do something completely different listen to the club and perhaps you could tell us how we describe this program experiments about like like a book club.

Sorry to be exactly out of my comfort zone because I find just the words book club with live audience fills me with dread.

Why because I think you'll find the author has been completely instructed by the publishers for a promotion and marketing so you feel the authors often quite lost in the process and sometimes some of the fans in these audiences are a bit.

Biggest some of them and you're my absolute favourite.

I think you're wonderful and I find that a bit creepy and the other thing out of us had me well out of my comfort zone this novel is about to a nanny who murdered her employers children so the subject matter is potentially extremely grizzly the same time as you want this mother to be this woman to be loved by your children as a second mother, but you don't want them to love her too much because you are the one you are a little bit jealous and you this is the only relationship where you pay someone for love to love someone else in prostitution for instance someone for sex but you don't pay for affection and you know when I was interviewing my female friends and asking them.

Why did you choose this woman more than this woman for being there?

French Moroccan novelist how do you actually read her work before you listen to the program and I haven't but I had read the reviews that the book has been regularly reviewed and the weekend broadsheets down critically acclaimed and I thought was very interesting.

I agree with what current says about audiences can be creepy, but I felt in this case that the questions had been carefully filtered some of the questions from the audience somewhere from by email somewhere by telephone as I think the questions have been carefully chosen and they were all fine and the Old Drew Leila slimani out because she was a very very interesting person you see a lot of people think with his book club programs they feel it's it's ok.

If you read the book but if you haven't it's quite difficult and certain to listen for a long period but you didn't find that to be the case.

They work for you.

Even though you haven't read the book or work for me fine and hours along time for someone to be interview.

I guess Lila is being interviewed a number of times before.

So she was on pretty firm ground, but as I said she was so interesting now.

There's a program like this does depend very much on the presenters Harriett Gilbert very experienced and does a good read on Radio 4.

What do you think of her little? I think she was very good and I think she's very good on Radio 4 as well, and this was episode 191 of World Book Club when you think it's only broadcast monthly alright if I could do the arithmetic that will tell me how many going travelling to the teams yeah, but I thought it was very to make sure the right questions are asked and she knew when to terminate the answer and went to get on to the next question I completely agree and I know that used to work beforehand about filtered but in this case.

I think it was very important because we were hearing voices from all around the world but Harris and structured it so that the author and the book itself was Central

And how about the good read comparing with a good because I'm not one Harriet has to guests and then look at three books one that you choose herself so in half an hour.

You're devoting what about 8 minutes but this one your devoted almost an hour on a single book which do you prefer can definitely the the World book club the time because you can really explore the Themes by written a few days ago that often these exercises sound like publishers blurb or celebrity endorsements from a paperback.

So you lose what what is at the heart of the exercise, but this gave it real time to go into lots of different aspects and angles and listen to a good read sometimes on Radio 4 the field, but also presents.

I do I listen to it regularly and which one do you prefer if the subject is as interesting as Lila I prefer Leila slimani.

I think as you said the the good book club manager's to vote about.

Let's to each book which is quite a speed trial this was much more leisurely and you made the point earlier about the gruesome page 1 of the book when the children are that was very interesting point because the loose women who said that when she was originally writing the novel.

She thought it was boring and she thought it was boring for her.

It would be boring for her and killing the children actually wasn't part of plan a so she said she decided the children have to go and who were the children just had to go and that's from her point of view.

That's what made the novel use of psychological thriller success that it is Harry Gilbert said we're living through the golden age of women's writing.

Do you think that's the case as an aspiring author myself.

I hope it very much is and do you think this is a worldwide phenomenon and not just a domestic one.

I think so because after all this program that were talking about is deliberately trying to bring the widest range of world voices and I was.

The quality of our to listen to Three programmes of writing which otherwise has never never have looked at how do you feel that to that incense that we are became much more aware of international writing this program as part of the Year celebration of women's writing and I am all in favour of positive discrimination and there's a bit the BBC at quite happy to push who is unashamedly a feminist Friday because before she wrote the novels is a second novel before she wrote this she was writing feminist non-fiction and before that she was a journalist.

So yes, I have no problem with that terms have been out of your comfort zone.

I don't think either of you were but let's just testing no we listen to that program again.

Yes, I think I will I will certainly give the first 10 minutes and if the first minutes is as good as the first 10 minutes of this then I will listen to it again because I say it was very interesting and Karen are you another listener for the future and I agree completely with no one on this one I have.

But I intend buying it.

I wouldn't have read it.

Otherwise as I said I was familiar with the book because it was so widely reviewed but of course.

I'm having listened to this I am interested in art and I read it over the summer well my thanks to Nolan from Bristol and Karen rasmussen from York and do let us know if you would like to take part in that feature and go outside your comfort zone.

Slow radio is meant to be calming and relaxing so this could be at the moment it encourages us to listen as closely to sounds and atmosphere has to speech living national treasures broadcaster last week on Radio 4 at lunch time at 1:45 and now available on sounds is the latest slow radio offering from the BBC how was it received by listeners, my name is Gillian Hart from Penwortham in Lancashire I think it's a fabulous program.

So reassuring to know that these crafts.

What is and crafts people still exist in our herd throwaway Society for me slow radio is a perfect Antidote to visit and often stressful working life more.

Please Nicola I'm a big fan of thought from relaxing radio programs.

I think I will even tried really deserves to be celebrated in their lifetimes instead of waiting until we don't have.

Anymore quite like to leave their hammer marks because it's very obvious that it's been you know not made by machine made by hand so kind of take quite a lot of care about making sure that the hammer texture is beautiful at in the end in the beginning.

It's just about forming a metal but in the end the last thing that happens is the thing that will be there forever two pairs of glasses one pair is by Jimmy and the purple and the eliminate side of Fire so if you're looking at the fire without is mainly say orange, but when you put them on the Eliminator orange and you're able to see much more clearly and I have two rentals that are for changing the tanks of oxygen and propane is Steven pronounce calling from Manchester

What didn't as usual was the overhang of gripping music for the fashion so much Radio 4 broadcasting it seems programme makers can't allow science or sound of someone working Stephen from Edinburgh to listen to one of these programs on paper marbling, but I thought it was a gem reflective and absorbing conveying the commitment and devotion of the Artists concerned and a very welcome contrast to the inevitably frenetic nature of current affairs coverage in the present pandemic situation Caroline Jensen with national living treasures the BBC have missed a trick here.

It would have been so much better listening if they had been in every and linked IT to a visual medium that you could enjoy the radio experience all these creative people worked with their hands.

It's their dexterous creativity that makes some national treasures.

Who decided that these were our national treasures? That's not to say they weren't all doing really interesting work.

I was joined by the producer who spoke with the earlier from her home in Scotland where she is in isolation as are so many because of the coronavirus Kate how are you feeling? Yeah? I'm not too bad dizzy, but other than that.

I'm not too bad.

Thank you very much for joining us.

It's OK how did you come up with this idea? Well, it was inspired by the national living treasure in Japan where they recognised craftsmanship and we thought that it would be a nice idea to find those people in the UK who we could recognise for the for that they've done through their working lives in their chosen craft clear from the people you talk to that they put their craft before it is sort of financial reward, how did you?

And Tuesdays people well, it was through a process of wanting to get people from across the UK and people who dedicated their entire working life to their craft and also wanted to pick people who you know had a really special relationship with the post over from which show the connection the location and the craft was sound because throughout the program as well the the sections of into your interspersed with sounds of the the people in the case of the sculptor.

It's very clear.

What's the sound very important to you.

Yes that was that was the main thing actually I think things which I knew wouldn't have not just sound but the sounds that was pleasurable to listen to when I interviewed the contributors before I met them we talk through the sort of sounds that their craft made.

Paper marbling because obviously paper is quite quiet material, but she gave it some thought as to how she could show the process through sound all of the people in Britain to us something fabulous program, but Caroline Johnson said the BBC is Mr trick here will be in so much better if they've been in a bay tree and linked IT to a visual medium that you can enjoy alongside the radio experience and I must say I felt listening to the sculpture in particular.

I desperately wanted to see what he was doing is not a real problem with radio however descriptive you are all the individual is however evocative the sounds you can't see if radios done really well like that where the sounds creates a visual picture and it makes you want to see what they're doing.

I think it's what they should be doing because it's engaging you in such a way that you you want to see more of it a couple of things about technique one of our listeners doesn't like the music.

How did you do without a narrator all together and why did you take out your questions that you obviously ask these people because the trouble with that with taking those things out as bad as people don't get the information.

They need to appreciate the answers that are given.

I found it when they were in the flow of doing what they were doing their word starts to flow and I don't actually have to ask the questions.

I just asked some small prawns and there was a passionate about what they did that you know they just really flooded with what they were doing so I'm not sure where they're really and added that much and I think also two creators of meditative feel I think just using their voice and the sounds and the music.

Oh, I think help to do that, but I do understand that some people find music by Distraction and also I picked the music because it had a similar rhythm to the the sculptor particularly and a silversmith.

So it sort of help to create a rhythm to the to the program now.

You've done one series you hope obviously there will be another one but what have you learnt for doing the first thing? What would you not do I would definitely not record the series in winter because it was during the gaels.

I was trying to get to quite remote locations.

I was hoping to get to Iona to speak to a wave about the window fairies if I was to make another series I would definitely consider videoing the crafts people and and then having that on loading page well.

Take this out.

Thank you very much for talking to us particularly when you're not feeling at your best and I hope you do recover very quickly.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

That was Kate pistol the producer of living national treasures and finally this week.

We heard of the death of one of the greatest BBC Radio Comics really heard was 83.

So many of us who was ageless.

I don't think I heard his first radio broadcast which was on workers playtime in 1959, but I loved him on the good old days and most of all on Radio news news headlines, which ran from 1975 to 2001 he spent his life trying to cheer us up here is the opening of an edition of the news headlines in 1979 Dr Margaret Thatcher came to power on girls going to do the job next week Michael Edwards the General Custer of the car industry, but there's no room for the workshop and the unions are gone on strike.

I know see that the post office.

I'm going to get rid of Busby will there image as well perhaps.

You'll have to be a certain age, but I loved it.

How wonderful if you could turn on here to tonight and here I heard and you can hear a full obituary Roy in Radio 4 last word and that's it for this week next week as I mentioned James Purnell the radio in education will be joining us so questions, please I do remember it's Mother's Day on Sunday still were celebrating despite the crisis goodbye.