Showing results by narrator "Robert Various" in All Categories

Welcome to the inside-out world of Mitchell and Webb, a strange and surreal place populated by misfits, eccentrics, talking animals and a few stray Radio 4 arts programme presenters. Included here are all five series of their fantastically skewed comedy show, packed with offbeat sketches and peculiar characters. Meet seedy snooker commentators Ted and Peter; poorly matched crime-fighting duo Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit; a cop who doesn't get results but, by God, he does things by the book; and some nervous Nazis who've just noticed their caps have skulls on them.

On 3 December 1976, just weeks before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions, seven gunmen from West Kingston stormed his house. Marley survived and went on to perform at the free concert. Not a lot was recorded about the fate of the seven gunmen, but much has been said, whispered and sung about in the streets of West Kingston.

The name of your first-born. The face of your lover. Your age. Your address... What would happen if your memory of these began to fade? When Claire starts to write her Memory Book, she already knows that this scrapbook of mementoes will soon be all her daughters and husband have of her. But how can she hold onto the past when her future is slipping through her fingers...?

When Margaret's fiancé, John, is hospitalized for depression, she faces a choice: carry on with their plans or leave. She decides to marry him. This is the story of what unfolds from this act of love and faith, when their three children help their mother to care for Michael. Told in alternating points of view by all five members of the family, this searing, gut-wrenching and yet frequently hilarious novel brings alive with remarkable poignancy the depth of family love.

Christopher Lee's highly acclaimed and award-winning BBC Radio 4 history of the British Empire.

Kate Martinelli has seen her share of peculiar things as a San Francisco cop but never anything quite like this: an ornate Victorian sitting room straight out of a Sherlock Holmes story - complete with violin, tobacco-filled Persian slipper, and gunshots in the wallpaper that spell out the initials of the late queen.

Moments of change, chance encounters, twists of fate that create a new way of thinking or being: The stories in Dear Life build to form a radiant, indelible portrait of just how dangerous and strange ordinary life can be. The collection includes four powerful pieces, "autobiographical in Feeling", set during the time of Munro's own childhood, in the area where she grew up.

Here are the voices of London - rich and poor, native and immigrant, women and men. From the woman whose voice announces the stations on the London Underground to the man who plants the trees along Oxford Street; from a Pakistani currency trader to a Guardsman at Buckingham Palace - together, these voices paint a vivid, epic and wholly fresh portrait of 21st Century London.

Ever since that first primordial fireball exploded in the void countless aeons ago, people have been doing comic sketches on the radio. And this is no exception. These two mouth-watering series feature a whole host of tasty takeaway skits and shenanigans, from 'The Man At Parties No-One Wants To Talk To' and 'Britain's Stupidest Postman' to sauna novices, the perfect Proms punter and Batman in his dotage. Other highlights include regular characters Mr Makesalotofmistakes, who can't seem to get anything right, and smug yuppies Richard and Dulcie ('Rich and Dull') Perrier.

Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands and soldiers pounding at the door. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north. Meanwhile, Holmes needs the wisdom of his wife, whom he discovers has gone missing. As Holmes searches and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it’s too late.

Comedian and broadcaster Arthur Smith plays tour guide to fifteen well-known personalities, as they visit places that are meaningful to them and remember pivotal moments in their lives. Through genial chat, humorous banter and gentle probing, he discovers just what made these locations so special and significant—and opens the floodgates to some amazing personal stories.

Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan presents a stunning retrospective of the first 10 years of the author’s work. It is a compilation of more than 200,000 words of short fiction, including many of her most acclaimed stories as well as some of the author’s personal favorites; several previously uncollected, hard-to-find pieces; her sci-fi novella, The Dry Salvages; and a rare collaboration with Poppy Z. Brite.

The truth weighs nothing… Klara Walldeen, orphaned as a child and brought up by her grandparents, is now a political aide in Brussels. And she has just seen something she shouldn't. On the other side of the world, an old spy hides. Once, he was a man so dedicated that he abandoned his daughter. Now the only thing he lives for is swimming. Then Klara is thrown into a terrifying chase through Europe. Only the Swimmer can save her. But time is running out.

One of the great icons of mysticism, by the Persian poet who has captured today’s spiritual audience - now in a first-ever English translation by his premier interpreter. In an intriguing and deeply personal introduction to the exquisitely packaged The Glance, Coleman Barks interprets this love that transcends time, gender, sex, and age. This program features 12 sensational poems enhanced with music to intensify the mystical Rumi experience.

In The Ape's Wife and Other Stories - Kiernan's 12th collection of short fiction since 2001 - she displays the impressive range that characterizes her work. With her usual disregard for genre boundaries, she masterfully navigates the territories that have traditionally been labeled dark fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, steampunk, and neo-noir.