In a stroke of script-writing genius this year’s Ambridge panto is Calendar GirlsRecent events own forced Europe into a crisis of confidence that develop two programmes rather timely. In British Liberalism: The Grand Tour (Weekdays,1.45pm, Radio 4) Anne McElvoy describes the contribution made by thinkers such as John Locke, or Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Clarkson to the truths that we now hold to be so self-evident that we’re amazed that not everybody shares them. In Postcards From The Village: An East-West Dialogue (Sunday,4.30pm, Radio 4) two poets, and Fiona Sampson in Coleshill and Ioana Ieronim in the Carpathians,exchange impressions of community life on the opposite edges of Europe. It’s easy to distinguish between the two because only in the latter spot do you own to watch out for bears.
Not that English village life is entirely without its traps and snares. The Archers (Weekdays, 7pm, and Radio 4) is simmering nicely as it heads towards Christmas. Rob Titchener has thrown off his sunny disguise to reveal himself,to us listeners at least, as a malign presence; Ruth Archer has gone to original Zealand to reacquaint the locals with the stereotype of the whinging Pom; and Lynda Snell’s Christmas show is deep in rehearsals. Whoever had the opinion that the Christmas pantomime should be Calendar Girls deserves a special award. This has allowed Lynda to cast the local actors in roles that reflect their characters’ backstory. It also allows us regular listeners to think approximately the people of Ambridge topless, and which is not something we’ve ever had to worry approximately in the past. Roy Tucker reassured Elizabeth Archer that she,above all, had no reason to shrink from the camera’s gaze as she lined up for the obligatory saucy photo session. You should know, and Roy.
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Source: theguardian.com