The BBC wants to do away with the 05:30 wake-up call on Radio 4, Fritz Spiegl's "The UK Theme" (http://www.sterlingtimes.org/music_themes20.htm) ("a jaunty medley of folk songs"), in favour of yet another news bulletin.
Telegraph article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/25/nradio25.xml)

I couldn't care less about this theme tune as I am never up that early anyhow. Do they still have the national anthem on the bbc at night when it closes?

The young ones had this down to a tee when they did the sketch with the guardsman saying "go to bed spotty"

But the constant news bulletens and current affairs programmes on Radio 4 annoy me. There isn't that much news and when they start to get interesting people to open up and start saying interesting things they cut them off as soon as they are warmed up for a time check or news or something. Why do they have to be so rigid? There is no common sense.

Even once wonderful programmes like Home Truths have descended into rubbish now.

However new comedy like Count Arthur Stong, the consultants, Ed reardon, Radio 9 has me in stitches. I wish they would play stuff like this during the day instead of crap like "from our own correspondant", which is interesting about once a month. Even feedback is great, whey can't they have it on every week?

Why do they have PM and then follow it with half an hour of news? This is just stupid. They often cover the same things. Eddie mair used to be funny but he's just too serious now.

The BBC wants to do away with the 05:30 wake-up call on Radio 4, Fritz Spiegl's "The UK Theme" (http://www.sterlingtimes.org/music_themes20.htm) ("a jaunty medley of folk songs"), in favour of yet another news bulletin.
Telegraph article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/25/nradio25.xml)
I'm always awake at this time and, before I switched to Radio 5, I always found the UK Theme to be quite a relaxing way of being woken up. It's a shame it's going. They'll be getting rid of more of the shipping forecasts next and doing away with 'The Archers'.

. They'll be getting rid of more of the shipping forecasts next and doing away with 'The Archers'.

I used to really hate the archers and swich off until it had finished, but these days I listen to it occasionally and even admit to enjoying it sometimes! Who am I turning into.?

I used to really hate the archers and swich off until it had finished, but these days I listen to it occasionally and even admit to enjoying it sometimes! Who am I turning into.?
I haven't listened to it for a while, but I do admit to reading the daily 'catch up' on the Radio 4 web site, so I'm fully up to date with what's going on.

Going back to my previous comment about the shipping forecasts; the very best thing to listen to as you fall asleep is the late night forecast just before Radio 4 switches to the World Service. The announcers' voices are so relaxing, and the place names are wonderful. It's almost poetry.

its been ok for years,why mess with it ? personally i find it better to wake up to than some loud shrieking boom boom music, personally, that is......:rolleyes:

Do you remember the April Fools Trick on Radio 4 a few years back when they did a report on the new Archers theme tune and even had Brian Eno on it whom had composed the new version.

It was sheer magic.... Apparently their switchboard jammed with complaints

P.S. meant to say - I don't understand why they would want to change it. It's pretty good and lets us know it is wakey uppy it's Radio 4 you are listening to.

Even once wonderful programmes like Home Truths have descended into rubbish now.


The legacy of the late, great, John Peel. I believe Home Truths is also to be axed. As a Rad 4 anorak myself, I have to say I find the music excrutiating to listen to. The sooner it goes, the better. As long as they don't ditch 'Sailing By' ................

The legacy of the late, great, John Peel. I believe Home Truths is also to be axed. As a Rad 4 anorak myself, I have to say I find the music excrutiating to listen to. The sooner it goes, the better. As long as they don't ditch 'Sailing By' ................
If they're getting rid of the UK theme, they must be getting rid of 'Sailing By' too, if it hasn't gone already. A few more minutes for those ever-so-vital news bulletins, that we don't have every half an hour already...

'Home Truths' has always been rubbish IMO. Lots of middle class residents of the Home Counties wibbling on about Jemima and Tarquin's latest doings.... To be fair to John Peel, it was always much worse when they had the alternative presenters - Arthur something-or-other and Sandi Toksvig ::shudder::

and Sandi Toksvig ::shudder::

I always wondered why this woman made it onto Radio and TV myself........

Wheels within Wheels, I think.

Personally, for me there is only one 5.30 in each 24hrs......the p.m version:)

The BBC wants to do away with the 05:30 wake-up call on Radio 4, Fritz Spiegl's "The UK Theme" (http://www.sterlingtimes.org/music_themes20.htm) ("a jaunty medley of folk songs"), in favour of yet another news bulletin.
Telegraph article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/25/nradio25.xml)

Another shoot yourself in the foot idea from the BBC. :(

If they're getting rid of the UK theme, they must be getting rid of 'Sailing By' too, if it hasn't gone already. A few more minutes for those ever-so-vital news bulletins, that we don't have every half an hour already...

'Home Truths' has always been rubbish IMO. Lots of middle class residents of the Home Counties wibbling on about Jemima and Tarquin's latest doings.... To be fair to John Peel, it was always much worse when they had the alternative presenters - Arthur something-or-other and Sandi Toksvig ::shudder::
At least Sailing By is relaxing and does compliment the Shipping Forecast. The UK Theme really drives me nuts though. Rad 4 never tries to pretend it is anything other than a News and Current Affairs network, but I take your point about incessant bulletins. As for Home Truths being the preserve of the middle class, home counties mob, again, I would have to agree but how many working class non home counties folk listen to Rad 4 and want to contribute to the show? Obviously, not a lot. I doubt whether a story about little Chardonnay Kylie's latest ASBO would go down well with the dinner party set ....:)

At least Sailing By is relaxing and does compliment the Shipping Forecast. The UK Theme really drives me nuts though. Rad 4 never tries to pretend it is anything other than a News and Current Affairs network, but I take your point about incessant bulletins.
I think Radio 4's tag is 'Intelligent Speech' , while Radio 5 is supposed to be the news channel ('Live News, Live Sport'). I like 'Sailing By', but I do find it a little snore-inducing. I guess that's part of the point in playing it at that time though.
As for Home Truths being the preserve of the middle class, home counties mob, again, I would have to agree but how many working class non home counties folk listen to Rad 4 and want to contribute to the show? Obviously, not a lot. I doubt whether a story about little Chardonnay Kylie's latest ASBO would go down well with the dinner party set ....:)
I agree. I'm not saying that 'Home Truths' should appeal to the great unwashed like myself. I was just commenting that I find the content trivial and unammusing to say the least. There used to be a travel programme in that slot (or maybe it was Saturday morning; not sure), hosted by the late, great Pete McCarthey. Now that was class.

I loved Home Truths - my Saturday morning wallow in the bath programme.

:)

Haven't listened to it since The Man passed on - it was his show and that was that.

With regard to 'The UK Theme' I remember hearing it first when I was in my late teens - when Radio 4 went on to long wave it was used to mark the 'break' between the BBC World Service and Radio 4. I seem to remember that you'd get the BBC World Service sign off with a few bars of Lili Bolero and then the UK Theme. Very much part of my late teens - 1978, 79 I think when I first heard it.

It reminds me a lot of Vaughn-Williams's 'Fantasia on the theme of Greensleeves' which I absolutely adore.

Joe

The legacy of the late, great, John Peel. I believe Home Truths is also to be axed. As a Rad 4 anorak myself, I have to say I find the music excrutiating to listen to. The sooner it goes, the better. As long as they don't ditch 'Sailing By' ................

Yes even when John Peel was still with us I noticed that Home Truths was starting to loose it's lustre. Poor peely was being worked to death by the Beeb, as they moved his main radio1 music show into an early morning graveyard slot and he obviously wasn't enjoying himself as much any more.

Only Tom Robinson is worth listening to in my view as one of the regular presenters, the only one with a great voice and an interesting presenting manner.

Home truths, a programme which I used to love, I feel has now run it's course and I am glad they are going to axe it.

I think Radio 4's tag is 'Intelligent Speech' , while Radio 5 is supposed to be the news channel ('Live News, Live Sport'). I like 'Sailing By', but I do find it a little snore-inducing. I guess that's part of the point in playing it at that time though.

I agree. I'm not saying that 'Home Truths' should appeal to the great unwashed like myself. I was just commenting that I find the content trivial and unammusing to say the least. There used to be a travel programme in that slot (or maybe it was Saturday morning; not sure), hosted by the late, great Pete McCarthey. Now that was class.
Well, it certainly has gone downhill since JP died. There has, however, been a lot of heart rending stuff on HT. I think they tend to restrict it to one serious story per week though. I can only ever remember HT being in the Saturday morning, 9am slot. I really wish they would transfer the 'God Slot' to LW on a Sunday though and give Melvyn Bragg a one way ticket to a land, far, far, away......................

I'm a fan of The World Tonight, with Robin Lustig - I also have Today[I] on a podcast!

:)

Yeah Home Truths is just NOT the same anymore; somehow JP had that magic touch which made all the difference; Maureen Lipman also stood in for him while he was on holiday and wasnt I glad to see the back of her. I'm not terribly happy that they're getting rid of the early morning alarm and although I seldom find myself up so late anymore, their closing down theme is also fairly relaxing.

The Arthur Strong show is an invention of absolute genius.

It's about time it was moved over to BBC TV.

It's one of those rare radio programmes that actually makes me laugh out loud.

There are a lot of excellent comedy programmes on Radio 4; 'The Now Show' is may favourite, along with 'Old Harry's Game', but I'm not sure if that's still on. Repeats of it are still broadcast on BBC7 though. I listened to a few on the net over christmas. Some of the comedy is, admitedly, sub-Edinburgh Fringe stuff, but on the whole it's great. Quite a few comedy programmes on TV originally started off on Radio 4. 'Little Britain' was one, I think.

The drama is excellent too. BBC7 are currently broadcasting repeats of the Radio 4 Sherlock Holmes dramatisations (with Clive Merrison as Holmes, who's absolutely brilliant in the role). Anyone interested should go to the BBC7 Listen Again Website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listenagain/thursday/). I believe it's 'The Engineer's Thumb' today.

The Arthur Strong show is an invention of absolute genius.

It's about time it was moved over to BBC TV.

It's one of those rare radio programmes that actually makes me laugh out loud.
Dear Dishwasher,
I normally agree with you about most things but in my opinion, Little Britain, Chris Morris, Dead Ringers etc. were all much funnier when they were on the radio before they had bloated egos and TV fame.

I think Count Arthur would be fantastic live with lots of unexpected effing and jeffing, but on the TV it just wouldn't be funny.