#bbcradio4 — Public Fediverse posts

(yet another look at UK education)

Comps
Archive on 4

Financial Times columnist turned teacher Lucy Kellaway takes a personal journey through the education revolution launched fifty years ago to replace grammars and secondary moderns with comprehensives. The ambition was noble: the same opportunities for every child. But the story of Comps suggests that when lofty ideals collide with reality, things don’t always turn out as planned.

Lucy visits two very different models of comp trying to reconcile the history and their local demands and priorities, and speaks to three of the most influential politicians responsible for shaping today's state secondary school system - Lords Baker, Blunkett and Gove. She also discovers the deep roots of the tensions and challenges facing today's comps in a journey through a rich archive that charts the evolution of the comprehensive system in the last fifty years.
Producer: Jonathan Brunert

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57 minutes

On air

Today
20:00
BBC Radio 4
More episodes

#BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00316l1

Loose Ends

Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands

Loose Ends

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.

The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.

Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.

Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.

And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.

Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden

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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

Loose Ends

Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands

Loose Ends

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.

The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.

Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.

Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.

And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.

Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)

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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

Loose Ends

Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands

Loose Ends

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.

The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.

Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.

Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.

And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.

Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

Loose Ends

Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands

Loose Ends

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.

The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.

Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.

Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.

And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.

Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

Loose Ends

Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands

Loose Ends

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.

The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.

Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.

Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.

And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.

Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

https://www.europesays.com/people/214180/ Burnham and Macron discuss small boats and bringing UK closer to Europe #AndyBurnham #BBCRadio4's #Burnham #DowningStreet #EmmanuelMacron #europe #French #macron #No10 #The"megaDinghies" #UK #Ukraine

Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:

• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestry

For me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.

#BBCRadio4 #words #French #BayeuxTapestry

Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:

• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestry

For me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.

#BBCRadio4 #words #French #BayeuxTapestry

Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:

• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestry

For me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.

#BBCRadio4 #words #French #BayeuxTapestry

Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:

• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestry

For me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.

#BBCRadio4 #words #French #BayeuxTapestry

Chef celebrates inclusion in top food critic’s book https://www.diningandcooking.com/chefs/5596/ #BBCRadio4's #BBCSounds #Chef #cool" #DumplingKing #JayRayner #JayRayner's #McIntyre #McIntyre's #Rayner #RobMcIntyre #TheKitchenCabinet

Chef celebrates inclusion in top food critic’s book https://www.diningandcooking.com/chefs/5596/ #BBCRadio4's #BBCSounds #Chef #cool" #DumplingKing #JayRayner #JayRayner's #McIntyre #McIntyre's #Rayner #RobMcIntyre #TheKitchenCabinet

Chef celebrates inclusion in top food critic’s book https://www.diningandcooking.com/chefs/5596/ #BBCRadio4's #BBCSounds #Chef #cool" #DumplingKing #JayRayner #JayRayner's #McIntyre #McIntyre's #Rayner #RobMcIntyre #TheKitchenCabinet

Andy Burnham praises UK-EU ties in meeting with Emmanuel Macron

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has praised the UK-EU relationship as he holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron…
#Europe #EU #andyburnham #BBCRadio4's #Burnham #DowningStreet #EuropeanUnion #French #macron
https://www.europesays.com/europe/129690/

Last Word (BBCRadio4 Obit Show)

Roy Hattersley
Daphne Hamilton-Fairley
Roger Cook
Sterling Betancourt

Last Word

Lord Roy Hattersley, the former Deputy Leader of the Labour party. He was born and brought up in Sheffield. In his book A Yorkshire Boyhood, he confessed to being passionate about three things: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire County Cricket and socialist politics. His friend and colleague, Lord Kinnock, pays tribute.

Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, spoke out for tolerance after her husband was killed by an IRA bomb. He had inspired her to become a speech therapist and after his death she set up one of the first specialist schools for dyslexia and other special educational needs. She named it Fairley House, after her husband. Her daughter Diana Hamilton-Fairley shares her memories.

Roger Cook was the intrepid investigative journalist who pioneered the technique known as “doorstepping” - challenging those he suspected of wrongdoing face to face with the camera or tape recorder running. First on Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme Checkpoint and then on ITV’s The Cook Report he took on criminals and fraudsters on behalf of listeners and viewers. Matthew talks to his colleague Tim Tate.

Sterling Betancourt was a pioneer of steel pan music from Trinidad and Tobago. He was one of the first to bring the instrument to Britain in the 1950s and went on to play a big role in the early days of the Notting Hill Carnival. Sterling’s wife Beatrice Elokbi tells his story.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ribika Moktan
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy

downloadable to keep in mp3 format

#BBCTheLastWord #BBCLastWord #BBCRadio4

#RoyHattersley
#DaphneHamiltonFairley
#RogerCook
#SterlingBetancourt

(Steelpan is West Indian #Gamelan 👍)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002xpcb

Bombing of the Minab School

[ languge use ]
2026-04-29 0710-0720ish
Reporter says Centcom/Pentagon is saying "a review" is underway prior to there being "an investigation" or "further probe".

[ QuangoNote: i figured out a couple of weeks ago that the military-security class have started using the word "review" instead of "investigation" -- "reviews" can last as long as you want them to and so are technically compliant with laws/regulation ]

wiki -- 2026 Minab school attack
... the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school of the Shahrak-e Al-Mahdi neighbourhood in Minab, Hormozgan province in southern Iran was destroyed by a missile ...

#BBCRadio4 #BBCTodayProgramme #2026MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchool

Bombing of the Minab School

[ languge use ]
2026-04-29 0710-0720ish
Reporter says Centcom/Pentagon is saying "a review" is underway prior to there being "an investigation" or "further probe".

[ QuangoNote: i figured out a couple of weeks ago that the military-security class have started using the word "review" instead of "investigation" -- "reviews" can last as long as you want them to and so are technically compliant with laws/regulation ]

wiki -- 2026 Minab school attack
... the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school of the Shahrak-e Al-Mahdi neighbourhood in Minab, Hormozgan province in southern Iran was destroyed by a missile ...

#BBCRadio4 #BBCTodayProgramme #2026MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchool

Bombing of the Minab School

[ languge use ]
2026-04-29 0710-0720ish
Reporter says Centcom/Pentagon is saying "a review" is underway prior to there being "an investigation" or "further probe".

[ QuangoNote: i figured out a couple of weeks ago that the military-security class have started using the word "review" instead of "investigation" -- "reviews" can last as long as you want them to and so are technically compliant with laws/regulation ]

wiki -- 2026 Minab school attack
... the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school of the Shahrak-e Al-Mahdi neighbourhood in Minab, Hormozgan province in southern Iran was destroyed by a missile ...

#BBCRadio4 #BBCTodayProgramme #2026MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchool

Bombing of the Minab School

[ languge use ]
2026-04-29 0710-0720ish
Reporter says Centcom/Pentagon is saying "a review" is underway prior to there being "an investigation" or "further probe".

[ QuangoNote: i figured out a couple of weeks ago that the military-security class have started using the word "review" instead of "investigation" -- "reviews" can last as long as you want them to and so are technically compliant with laws/regulation ]

wiki -- 2026 Minab school attack
... the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school of the Shahrak-e Al-Mahdi neighbourhood in Minab, Hormozgan province in southern Iran was destroyed by a missile ...

#BBCRadio4 #BBCTodayProgramme #2026MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchool

Bombing of the Minab School

[ languge use ]
2026-04-29 0710-0720ish
Reporter says Centcom/Pentagon is saying "a review" is underway prior to there being "an investigation" or "further probe".

[ QuangoNote: i figured out a couple of weeks ago that the military-security class have started using the word "review" instead of "investigation" -- "reviews" can last as long as you want them to and so are technically compliant with laws/regulation ]

wiki -- 2026 Minab school attack
... the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school of the Shahrak-e Al-Mahdi neighbourhood in Minab, Hormozgan province in southern Iran was destroyed by a missile ...

#BBCRadio4 #BBCTodayProgramme #2026MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchoolAttack #MinabSchool