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Remembering Special Forces, Old Man Winter and Paul Kerensa

Paul Kerensa shares the biography of Christmas, Ex-Lance Corporal X on his book remembering the special forces, plus Ollie Oakenshield on playing Old Man Winter in a Cornish wood!

Chris learns about mince pies, crackers and where Christmas began from Paul Kerensa who's been studying it for his book Hark! The Biography of Christmas. Ex-Lance Corporal X tells Chris about his unique book The SAS and LRDG Roll of Honour 1941-47, honouring the special forces heroes. Ollie Oakenshield from Rogue Theatre tells us about his great job playing Old Man Winter who shares the magical story of the winter solstice in a Cornish woodland. We have your Christmas shout outs and driving home messages. Vassos chats husky racing in the Sports Locker with Caroline Kisko and Rev'd Kate Bottley provides the daily Pause For Thought dressed as an elf!

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Wed 20 Dec 2017 06:30
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2

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  • Essential festive advice from our listeners and guests.

Clips

See all clips from Remembering Special Forces, Old Man Winter and Paul Kerensa (4)

Music Played

  • Wizzard

    I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

    • That's Christmas (Various Artists).
    • EMI.

  • Leading Ladies

    I'm Every Woman

    • Songs From The Stage.
    • EastWest.

  • Band Aid

    Do They Know It's Christmas?

    • That's Christmas (Various Artists).
    • EMI.

  • The Crystals

    Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

    • A Christmas Gift For You (Phil Spect.
    • Phil Spector Int.

  • Michael Jackson

    Love Never Felt So Good (feat. Justin Timberlake) (feat. Justin Timberlake)

    • Xscape.
    • Sony Music.

  • Paul McCartney

    Wonderful Christmastime

    • The 7" Singles Box.
    • MPL.
    • 7.

  • P!nk

    Beautiful Trauma

    • (CD Single).
    • RCA.

  • Lily Allen

    Somewhere Only We Know

    • (CD Single).
    • Parlophone.

  • Louis Armstrong

    Zat You Santa Claus

    • Hipster's Holiday (Various Artists).
    • Rhino.

  • Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie

    Lay Down For Free

    • (CD Single).
    • EastWest.

  • Michael Bublé

    It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

    • Christmas: Deluxe Special Edition.
    • Reprise.
    • 1.

  • Fleet Foxes

    White Winter Hymnal

    • Fleet Foxes.
    • Bella Union.
    • 1.

  • Greg Lake

    I Believe In Father Christmas

    • The Anthology, A Musical Journey.
    • BMG.

  • Rick Astley

    Silent Night/ Mull of Kintyre (Radio 2 Session, 23 Dec 2016)

  • Ed Sheeran & µþ±ð²â´Ç²Ô³¦Ã©

    Perfect Duet

    • (CD Single).
    • Atlantic.

  • The Waitresses

    Christmas Wrapping

    • NOW That's What I Call Christmas (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Duran Duran

    A View To A Kill

    • The Best Of James Bond 30th Anniversa.
    • EMI.

  • Simon & Garfunkel

    A Hazy Shade Of Winter

    • The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel.
    • Columbia.

  • Gwen Stefani

    You Make It Feel Like Christmas (feat. Blake Shelton)

    • You Make It Feel Like Christmas.
    • Interscope.
    • 001.

  • The Beach Boys

    Frosty The Snowman

    • Merry Christmas Everybody! (Various).
    • Reader's Digest.

  • Train

    Shake Up Christmas

    • Christmas In Tahoe.
    • Fontana North.

  • Kelly Clarkson

    Underneath The Tree

    • (CD Single).
    • RCA.
    • 001.

  • Hanson

    Finally It’s Christmas

    • Finally It's Christmas.
    • S-Curve Records.

  • Bon Jovi

    Please Come Â鶹ԼÅÄ For Christmas

    • A Very Special Christmas 2 (Various).
    • A&M.

  • Chuck Berry

    Run Rudolph Run

    • Chuck Berry - The Chess Years (Cd 2).
    • Chess.

Pause for Thought

Pause for Thought

From the Reverend Kate Bottley:

ÌýIn Christmas’ past I’ve been the sort to have the perfect tree, tasteful white lights and precision bauble placement but this year, much to the joy of my children, I’ve gone for more rustic feel.

ÌýThis Christmas everything is homemade. There’s hacked greenery from the garden shaped into a wreath on the front door and potato stamped Christmas cards. Threaded popcorn onto a string to decorate the tree and home-made gingerbread men biscuits for the traditional festive feel. But I must say despite everything looking so homely I think the edible decorations were a mistake.

ÌýLast weekend after I’d finished putting the tree up, I turned my back for a second, there was an almighty crash, the tree was over and Buster our greyhound was splayed out underneath. It seems that Buster had taken a shine to the edible decorations too and in the middle of snaffling a couple had caused a fir tree disaster. We rescued the dog and most of the decorations and tidied up the best we could. He laid in his bed for the rest of day eyeing the tree with suspicion.Ìý I’m sure it isn’t the only thing that won’t go to plan over the next week or so.

ÌýThe first Christmas was pretty chaotic too, unplanned pregnancy, major accommodation fail, surprise visitors and half the farmyard in the delivery room. Far from perfect. But in the middle of it all, a brand-new family and a sleeping baby, the best gift of all, born to show the world what love really means.

ÌýWe’ve moved the gingerbread men biscuits a little higher up the tree, so the dog won’t be tempted but it doesn’t really matter because the best Christmases are not that different from that first one, chaotic, a little off plan remembering the supermarket’s promise of a ‘perfect Christmas’ just doesn’t exist and good enough is good enough. I hope and pray that your Christmas is everything you need it to be, rejoicing in those holy messy moments and the bits that are less than perfect and that when’s it’s all over both you and your Christmas tree are still standing. Ìý

Broadcast

  • Wed 20 Dec 2017 06:30
    Â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.