26/03/2017
Clare Balding presents the topical faith programme for Mothering Sunday. Her guest this week is the author Clover Stroud and her faith guest is the landscape designer, Hannah Genders.
Last on
Clip
-
![]()
Moment of Reflection with Hannah Genders
Duration: 01:27
Music Played
-
![]()
Fleetwood Mac
Don't Stop
- 50 Years - Don't Stop.
- Warner Bros.
- 009.
-
![]()
Carly Simon
Let The River Run
- The Very Best Of Carly Simon.
- Global Television.
-
![]()
Alfie Boe
Trust
- (CD Single).
- Decca.
- 001.
-
![]()
The Claze
The Liberty Song
-
![]()
Maren Morris
My Church
- (CD Single).
- Columbia.
- 1.
-
![]()
The Byrds
Mr Tambourine Man
- Fifty Number Ones Of The 60's (Variou.
- Global Television.
-
![]()
Elton John
Island Girl
- Diamonds.
- Virgin EMI Records.
-
![]()
Aretha Franklin
I Say A Little Prayer
- Aretha Franklin - Queen Of Soul.
- Atlantic.
-
![]()
Kristyna Myles
Heaven Knows
-
![]()
Martyn Joseph
This Fragile World
-
![]()
Kevin Walke
Sons Lointains
-
![]()
Al Stewart
Year Of The Cat
- 25 Years Of Rock 'N' Roll 1977 (Various Artists).
- Connoisseur Collection.
-
![]()
LeAnn Rimes
I Need You
- (CD Single).
- Curb.
-
![]()
Sera
Optimist
-
![]()
Jack Savoretti
Back Where I Belong
- (CD Single).
- BMG Chrysalis.
-
![]()
Madison Violet
Trouble
-
![]()
Emmylou Harris
Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight
-
![]()
LP
Lost On You
- (CD Single).
- Vagrant Records.
- 002.
-
![]()
Supertramp
Dreamer
- The Very Best Of Supertramp.
- Polygram Tv.
-
![]()
Charlie Dore
Pilot Of The Airwaves
- Walking On Sunshine Vol 1.
- Kenwest.
Hannah Genders
Clare鈥檚 Faith Guest is Hannah Genders an award winning gardener who has a passion for creating beautiful gardens that are sustainable and wildlife friendly.听
Clover Stroud
Sera Owen
Live music will be performed in the studio by Sera Owen, a Welsh singer-songwriter whose recently released 鈥楲ittle Girl鈥� album has received huge critical acclaim. Sera鈥檚 genre crossing collection of songs range from Americana to folk to rock and are sung in both English and Welsh.
Mothering Sunday: Letter To Mum by Victoria Keiller
MUM
I was too late 鈥� again.听 I really believed that you鈥檇 be there for ever but when I needed you most, you鈥檇 gone.听 I longed for your hand, your smile, your calming voice, your warmth, your hug.听 Where did our last hug go?听
A strange silence had fallen.听 An emptiness, which I had never imagined could ever exist, existed with such starkness.听 It鈥檚 strange how nothing can prepare you for it.听 Since before I was born you鈥檇 been there, the one person I took for granted more than any other because you鈥檇 never let me down.听 Whatever time of day or night I鈥檇 always known I could ring or just walk in and you鈥檇 be there, unchanged, happy to see me, no matter what our last words had been.
When other people I loved had died I knew you were always there.听 I could ring you up and you鈥檇 instantly know if there was something wrong.听 I never thought you鈥檇 go.听 Somehow I thought that, because you鈥檇 never changed, you never would.听 The security you gave me was so tangible I simply couldn鈥檛 imagine a time when I couldn鈥檛 reach you.听
Your last few days seemed to take for ever but now they seem like a moment.听 Suddenly, above me there is an extraordinary void, inexplicable, intangible, unfillable; an emptiness, a noiseless pause, a colourless, silent space. 听AVK听 27/10/2005
It was some time later when I realised that you hadn鈥檛 actually gone.听 I could no longer see your face or smell your perfume, I could no longer hear your voice or hold your hand but the less I looked for you the more I found you.听
You are in our garden where I see you in the Peace rose, the bay tree, the crocuses.听 I see you in the frost and the sunset, I see your smile in the faces of our children.听 I hear your voice when I read poetry and I see the flowers you painted so patiently when I walk among the flower beds.
You are in our home, in all the beautiful things you gave us; many of which were your special treasures; I hear you playing the piano when I play; I hear your laugh when I laugh and so often, when I find something I like, I sense you there enjoying it too.
I say things and stop myself because it is what you would have said; I laugh.听 I actually feel happy when someone says 鈥淵ou鈥檙e so like your mother鈥� 鈥� how things change!
Yes, the 鈥榲oid鈥� is extraordinary but it is no longer empty; it has changed and it is full, alive, unintrusive.听 Yes, you are noiseless but I hear you, you are intangible but I feel you, invisible but I see you.
When I need you I silently call your name and I feel your strength.听 When I cry I feel your hand on my face, I hear your calming words wrap themselves around me like a cloak and I feel stronger once again. 听 听AVK 2014-16
A Poem For Mother's Day by Ali Oxtoby
My mother didn't want
chocolates or flowers
or a plant
for mothers day
she wanted . . . a poem
听
so a poem she got
I started off gently
听
I wrote that
even though she doesn't know how
she ever found time to go to work
she always finds time for us
would do anything
for us
听
how
she encourages us
in all our endeavours
cheering us on quietly behind the scenes
helping us become the person we could be
while proud of the person we are
听
how
if she were ever to disapprove
of what we were doing
she would never dream of saying
听
how
she accepted
through grace and gritted teeth
our adolescent moods
and the hurtful words
hurled at her in anger
at ourselves and the world
while patiently waiting
for us to return
to our true selves
knowing she was
our safety valve
听
I wrote about
her interest in family history
and her great pride concerning
our very tenuous, unconfirmed link
with Robbie Burns
听
then I got a bit cheeky
听
I wrote about her valiant attempt
to clear 80
years worth of clutter
when she really wants
to be painting, metal detecting
learning french
I help her shift it from room to room
like most of us
she has trouble letting go
听
I wrote about her love for her family
how her best holidays
her only holidays
revolve around visiting
her nearest and dearest
none of whom
live in France
听
I wrote about the challenge
of dealing with her addiction
...to digestives
how she bravely limits herself
to two per cup of tea
without limiting
the cups of tea
听
I wrote about how she gets tipsy
after one sherry
how she gets the giggles
at inappropriate times
in inappropriate places
even when she hasn't had
a sherry
听
I wrote about how she listens to us
with great attention
once she's found her hearing aid
and the battery to go in it
and the charger
which is almost impossible
in all that clutter
even with
divining rods
听
I wrote about her open and enquiring mind
and her interest in all things Ancient -
the Pyramids, Atlantis...my dad
听
then I got serious
听
I wrote about how when we were small
she wasn't the first to say
out of sheer frustration and fatigue
you'll miss me when I'm gone
I seem to remember her
actually packing her bags
on one occasion
听
I wrote about how lucky I am
to still have a mother
when many of my friends do not
I am especially lucky to have her
听
I believe
she's the sort of woman
who wouldn't mind her daughter
sharing a poem about her
with all and sundry
as long as she was
somewhere else
听
There!
I wrote it all down in a poem
your mother's day gift
and yes...I will
miss you
听
From Heart to Heart by听Ali Oxtoby (published by kind
permission of the author)
Broadcast
- Sun 26 Mar 2017 07:00麻豆约拍 Radio 2