The work routine - combined with my old obsession with "classic of the month" which didn't work out very well this time - slowed down my usual rhythm of reading. My reading started this year really strong but suddenly stopped - I mean stopped dead cold - since "Gil Blas" (after my initial enthusiasm) became very meandering and I noticed same old situation repeating, where I would find million other things to do just so I don't have to return to the book I am currently reading. I will finish this self-imposed "classic of the month" title eventually but for now (and some time already) "Gil Blas" is gently placed aside until inspiration leads me back to it.
In the meantime I have discovered something quite wonderful : BBC Radio 4 has some really fascinating programs as a free downloads (podcasts) and as soon I found this out, I started collecting them. Two of my favorite programs (so far) are called Desert Island Discs and In Our Time. I download them when I have chance, somewhere along the way in little fishermen's towns of Norway and later enjoying them, listening one by one episode each night after I finish the work, often with a Jack & Coke, so this is really pleasure and my new hobby, my little nightly ritual. I get sloshed with excuse that this is not a drinking but in fact, a very educational experience, since I am listening serious program about history.
Desert Island Discs is a true, venerable BBC Radio institution that started way back in 1942 with a premise that a celebrity guest will discuss his/hers life trough eight of their favorite recordings and explain why this particular pieces of music mean so much to them. The BBC archives don't go all the way back to 1942 but some of 1959 conversations have been saved, with occasional 1960s interview and than from 1970s I believe almost every episode is preserved. I found it absolutely wonderful, because we all know these people as celebrities but hearing their speaking voices and their music choices is illuminating, as suddenly listener get a completely different perspective of who the celebrity guest actually is on a human level. During the previous month I indulged myself, listening countless interviews (usually one per evening) and there were some true gems: for example, 1959 interview with Alfred Hitchcock who talks about his life and upcoming new movie "Psycho". Most of the celebrity guests I chose to listen, were of course known to me, but now I perceived them differently trough radio program - legendary Ice Queen Annie Lennox turned out to be very warm and thoughtful person, Barry Manilow is deep inside still a little Jewish boy playing accordion for his family, Motown - mogul and self-made Berry Gordy still gets emotional when talking about one of the first songs he ever wrote ("To be loved") when his angry wife kicked him out of the house and so on. It is also fascinating to hear what music they want to take with them on a desert island - as expected, everybody likes to brag with their knowledge of classical music so its hilarious that TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright (from "Two fat ladies") decides that her disc of choice is "Ra Ra Rasputin". Who would ever imagine that Keith Richards loves music of Hank Williams or that Glenda Jackson shakes her booty to Tina Turner?
In Our Time is discussion program where charming and seemingly all-knowing Melvyn Bragg talks with his guests about any serious subject under the sun. There probably might be other subjects but I am a history geek so I downloaded and carefully listened episodes about history: so far I really enjoyed listening about The Aztecs, Babylon, Boudica, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Mary Magdalene, The Salem Witch Trials, Trojan War, 1816, the Year Without a Summer (when eruption of Indonesian volcano influenced climate change around the world - and accidentally gave birth to "Frankenstein"), Epic of Gilgamesh and mid 18th century The Gin Craze (when people started drinking first thing in the morning) but I still have at least seven episodes stored to enjoy later and of course BBC 4 web site has the whole archive so these two programs are really my latest hobby and I enjoy them both very much.
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