Amol Rajan sits in with Simon Callow and the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
Amol Rajan is joined by thespian Simon Callow and the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. Plus we meet Andy Baxendale, the sweet consultant who makes Christmas fudge.
Amol Rajan sits in for Chris and is joined in the studio by thespian Simon Callow who gets us in the festive spirit with a reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol on the anniversary of its publication, with a live soundtrack from the award-winning Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. Plus we meet Andy Baxendale, the Sweet Consultant otherwise known as the Willy Winka of Wigan, who takes us through the history of festive confectionary, including his own Christmas fudge. Screenwriter and novelist Frank Cottrell-Boyce makes his Pause For Thought debut.
Last on
Essential festive advice from our listeners and guests.
Clips
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Simon Callow reads Dickens' A Christmas Carol live in the studio
Duration: 05:07
Music Played
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Jona Lewie
Stop The Cavalry
- The Ivor Novello Winners.
- EMI.
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Liam Gallagher
Come Back To Me
- As You Were.
- Warner Bros.
- 010.
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Josh Groban
Believe
- Noël (Deluxe Edition).
- Warner Bros.
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John Farnham
You're The Voice
- Life In The Fast Lane (Various).
- Telstar.
- 2.
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The Flying Pickets
Only You
- Christmas Love Songs (Various Artists.
- Arcade Records.
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AR Rahman & The Pussycat Dolls
Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny) (feat. Nicole Scherzinger)
- (CD Single).
- Polydor.
- 1.
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Dean Martin
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
- Christmas With The Rat Pack (Various).
- Capitol.
- 4.
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Taylor Swift
Gorgeous
- reputation.
- Big Machine.
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Kim Wilde
Hey Mister Snowman
- Wilde Winter Snowman.
- Wildeflower Records.
- 001.
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Madonna
Santa Baby
- A Very Special Christmas (Various).
- A&M.
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David Guetta
What I Did For Love (feat. Emeli Sandé) (feat. Emeli Sandé)
- Now That's What I Call Music! 90 (Various Artists).
- Now.
- 001.
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Meat Loaf
You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth
- The Very Best Of Meatloaf.
- Virgin.
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Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
Mele Kalikimaka
- Christmas Memories (Various Artists).
- Emporio.
- 1.
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Paloma Faith
Guilty
- (CD Single).
- RCA.
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Lionel Richie
All Night Long (All Night)
- Dancing In The Street (Various Artis.
- Universal Music Tv.
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The Darkness
Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)
- (CD Single).
- Atlantic.
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Toni Braxton
Un-Break My Heart
- Toni Braxton - Secrets.
- Laface.
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John Parr
St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)
- Now 1985 - The Millennium Series.
- EMI.
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Sigrid
Strangers
- (CD Single).
- Island.
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Camila Cabello
Havana (feat. Young Thug)
- (CD Single).
- Syco Music.
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Gilbert O’Sullivan
Christmas Song
- Gilbert O'Sullivan -Nothing But The B.
- Park Records.
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The Four Seasons
Who Loves You
- The Very Best Of.
- Polygram Tv.
- 1.
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Maroon 5
Sugar
- (CD Single).
- Interscope.
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U2
Get Out Of Your Own Way
- Songs Of Experience.
- Island.
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Sugababes
About You Now
- (CD Single).
- Universal.
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Status Quo
It's Christmas Time
- (CD Single).
- Universal Music TV.
- 1.
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Queen
Thank God It's Christmas
- It's Christmas Time (Various Artists).
- EMI.
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Elbow
Golden Slumbers
- (CD Single).
- Polydor.
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Adele
Set Fire To The Rain
- 21.
- XL.
- 5.
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The Look
I Am The Beat
- Now 100 Hits Even More Forgotten 80s (Various Artists).
- NOW.
Pause for Thought
From author and screenwriter, Frank Cottrell Boyce:
 This time last year my dad - he’s got dementia - caught a virus that almost killed him. We didn’t think he’d make it to last Christmas but he’s still here. Bedridden, bewildered but in his own house. He disputes that by the way. He often claims to be in his childhood home - which was destroyed in the Blitz - sometimes he’s in Trieste, where he served in the army. Sometimes he’s in a gorgeous baroque lakeside tearoom which he says is on the hard shoulder of the M6. When the neighbours call he’s charming to their faces but outraged when they’ve gone. What are they doing here in Trieste? Why are they following me?      Â
Lots of us are having this experience - seeing a parent - someone you used to depend on - becoming dependent. It’s hard. But it’s got its sweetness too. When I brush his hair or his teeth, or shave him, there’s a new physical tenderness between us. He’s the child now. With a child’s imagination. When it goes wrong - when he thinks he’s been kidnapped by Columbian guerrillas - that’s horrible. But it can also be funny and moving and there’s a fierce courage there and a restless creativity in his attempts to make sense of what’s happening to him.
 On Christmas Eve last year walking from the almost empty hospital multi storey to his ward I was trying to pray for him but didn’t know what to say. I just remembered the verse from Matthew - you must become like little children. A hard thing to do and a hard thing to watch. But then - there on the pedestrian walkway - I was overwhelmed by the thought - if this is hard for your Dad. Imagine how if felt when the father of all, the detonator of the Big Bang, the flinger of galaxies, the forger of planets, woke up in the hot, slippery, helpless body of a new born child, on a heap of hay in a stable.
 What a thought it is - for Christians like me - a God who depends on you. A father who calls to you with that sweet intimate cry of dependence.
Broadcast
- Tue 19 Dec 2017 06:30Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2
Farewell Chris Evans: The best bits from his last shows at Radio 2
After eight years of hosting the Breakfast Show, Chris Evans leaves Radio 2.
500 Words
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2's story-writing competition for kids.