Listening

I love to read, reading allows you to create wonderful images. It can take you to strange and magical places. You can laugh and cry, all these things are available in a book.

Well why, you might ask, are you then calling this blog listening? Easy to answer for listening does the very same thing. In the UK we have a wonderful radio station, part of the BBC it's called Radio Four. It's "talk" radio of the very best kind. There are plays, serialisations of books, documentaries, news, features on wildlife, consumer issues, just about everything you can imagine. Two weeks ago we had a full broadcast of Othello - brillient, starring the comedian Lenny Henry in his first dramatic role. This Sunday there is the dramatisation of Clarissa starring Richard Armitage (ladies if you don't know who Richard Armitage is now is the time to google!).

All this at the touch of a button. Whenever I go abroad Radio Four is the thing I miss most. I can do without fish and chips or pie and peas, even forget about Daddies Sauce, but I always find myself longing to reach out my hand and switch on my radio. At home I have one in every room. Radio Four follows me around all day long. In the early hours when I have trouble sleeping, on goes the switch. This is the time for the World Service, with news and events from all around the globe.

I grew up with Radio Four. Well it was called more sternly "The Home Service" then. My Gran always had that playing and I listened to not only Children's Hour but real grown up plays that have stayed with me all my life.

Like reading the radio feeds the imagination - we must never lose it.