When Greeks Flew Kites: A Letter To Khrushchev

The BBC have recently started a monthly half-hour radio show [iPlayer or podcast] entitled When Greeks Flew Kites, in which Sarah Dunant and guests attempt to draw parallels between modern and historical events. The title comes from a half-famous 1921 Henry Ford quote:

History is bunk. What difference does it make how many times the Greeks flew their kites?

(For those who want to object that Ford actually said "more or less bunk," it turns out he said both, along with other variations on the theme.)

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Wie Einst, Lili Marleen: Songs The BBC Banned

I ran across a mention, a couple of days ago, of the fact that it was Jane Birkin's birthday. You know, her that is famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for the 1969 UK number-one hit, Je T'aime … Moi Non Plus, along with her lover (and writer of the piece) Serge Gainsbourg. It's not a song I'm particularly fond of (not because of the risqué content; I just find it boring), but it did give me an idea for a post. Which I then failed to produce in a timely fashion. Ho-hum.

So here, is a post, two days too late for the event I wished to tie it to, about songs which have been banned by the BBC.

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Radio Recommendations

Thanks to Rustiguzzi for this tip. There's a rerun of series seven of Old Harry's Game, on Radio Four.

And since I'm already on the topic, I've been listening to a fair bit of radio of late, so here's a few more recommendations from the BBC's iPlayer, for anyone interested.

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Dear Old Humph

Clicking through YouTube videos of Humphrey Lyttleton's music, I came across this televised recording of the I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue radio show. Humph passed away only nineteen days after making this, which makes the choice of song for his trumpet performance at the end somewhat poignant to say the least. I'll admit to having had something of a lump in my throat during that part.

There's nothing wrong with Jack Dee—in fact he was a great choice of replacement—but damnit, I miss Humph.
—Daz

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It Is Rocket Science

Another 'if you've got an hour to kill' post. Season one of Helen Keen's comedy-documentary (docomedy? comumentary?) radio series, It Is Rocket Science, in which she charts, in four quarter-hour snippets, humanity's first faltering steps out into the, erm, ooniverse.

One of my regular searches is for the later series(es?) (there's two others) but so far nobody's obliged by putting them on You Tube, and Auntie Beeb seems, so far, to be uninterested in repeating them (though if you're a comedy fan, their radio comedy section is a good place too check out, with regular rebroadcasts of classics going all the way back to the Goon Show, along with the latest new comedies). If anyone ever spots them somewhere, please let me know.
—Daz

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An Infinity Of Monkeys

Just a quick heads-up for anyone interested. The new series of The Infinite Monkey Cage started today. Also, in case you weren't aware, the podcast version usually contains at least a few minutes' worth that was cut from the radio broadcast.
—Daz

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