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Sandi Toksvig, the broadcaster and writer who currently hosts the hugely successful ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ panel show QI, chats to Zoe about her brand new book.

Sandi Toksvig, the broadcaster and writer who currently hosts the hugely successful ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ panel show QI, chats to Zoe about her brand new book. 'Toksvig's Almanac 2021' sees Sandi guide you through the calendar, shining a light on neglected corners of history, to tell the stories of the fascinating figures you never learnt about at school. These stories are also interspersed with instructive tips for the year, including in which month you're most likely to be eaten by a wolf, and the best time to sharpen your sickle. Sandi was born in Copenhagen and brought up around the world in Europe, Africa and the United States. She worked on three series of the Great British Bake Off before stepping down in early 2020.

It's nursery rhyme week at ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's Tiny Happy People project, which can help you develop a child’s language and communication skills so they get the best start in life, and so Zoe chats to speech and language expert, Dr Danielle Matthews. They're celebrating the power of nursery rhymes in helping a child's development. Studies have shown that singing to babies after they’re born makes them move around less and pay more attention. Plus talking and singing to baby in the womb will soothe baby, meaning they move less and their heart rate is slowed down.

Along with Adam Porter on news, Richie Anderson on travel and Mike Williams on sport, she and the team have the best start to your morning. With celeb guests, quizzes, headlines, tunes chosen by listeners, and more music that you can shake a glitterball at!

There's also a daily Pause For Thought with Laura Marks and listeners on the line, as Zoe entertains the nation with fun for the family!

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Tue 17 Nov 2020 06:30
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2

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Motsi Mabuse, Andy Day, Joe Wicks and Maximum Music Monday

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Music Played

  • Coldplay

    Viva La Vida

    • Viva La Vida Or Death & All His Friends.
    • Parlophone.
    • 1.

  • Gary Barlow

    Incredible

    • Music Played By Humans.
    • Polydor.

  • Gotye

    Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)

    • (CD Single).
    • Island.
    • 1.

  • Simply Red

    Stars

    • Simply Red Greatest Hits.
    • East West Records.

  • Judy Clay & William Bell

    Private Number

    • Heartbeat: Love Me Tender (Various).
    • Global Television.

  • Bobby Brown

    Two Can Play That Game

    • Now 30 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • OutKast

    Hey Ya!

    • Outkast - Speakerboxxx.
    • Arista.

  • ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Children In Need

    Stop Crying Your Heart Out (ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2 Allstars)

    • (CD Single).
    • Decca.

  • The Pointer Sisters

    I'm So Excited

    • Greatest Hits.
    • BBR.
    • 020.

  • The Cardigans

    Lovefool

    • The All Time Greatest Movie Songs.
    • Columbia/Sony Tv.

  • Bryan Adams

    When You're Gone (feat. Melanie C)

    • Bryan Adams - The Best Of Me.
    • Mercury.

  • 220 KID & JC Stewart

    Too Many Nights

    • (CD Single).
    • Polydor.

  • George Benson

    Lady Love Me (One More Time)

    • George Benson - The Very Best Of.
    • Warner E.S.P..
    • 4.

  • Callum Beattie

    Don't Walk Alone

    • People Like Us.
    • 3Beat Productions.

  • Bob Sinclar

    Love Generation (feat. Gary β€œNesta” Pine)

    • Now 63 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Bananarama

    I Heard A Rumour

    • Bananarama - Greatest Hits Collection.
    • London.

  • Michael McDonald

    Sweet Freedom

    • Michael McDonald - Sweet Freedom.
    • Warner Bros.

  • Dua Lipa

    Levitating

    • Future Nostalgia.
    • Warner Records.

  • Ed Sheeran

    Shape Of You

    • Γ· Divide.
    • Atlantic.

  • Alexander O’Neal

    Criticize

    • Hits Album 7 (Various Artists).
    • Hits.
    • 9.

  • Elton John & Kiki Dee

    Don't Go Breaking My Heart

  • Shirley Bassey

    Look But Don't Touch

    • I Owe It All To You.
    • Decca.

  • The Verve

    Bitter Sweet Symphony

    • Now That's What I Call Music! 37 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Boyzone

    Picture of You

    • Hits Zone - The Best Of 97 (Various).
    • Polygram Tv.

  • David Bowie & Mick Jagger

    Dancing In The Street

    • David Bowie - Best Of Bowie.
    • EMI.

  • Chubby Checker

    Let's Twist Again

    • Cameo Parkway 1957 - 1967 (Various Artists).
    • ABKCO Records.

  • WALK THE MOON

    Shut Up And Dance

    • (CD Single).
    • RCA.

  • The Weeknd

    Save Your Tears

    • After Hours.
    • XO/Republic.
    • 11.

  • The Four Seasons

    December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)

    • The Very Best Of.
    • Polygram Tv.
    • 11.

Pause For Thought

Pause For Thought
From Laura Marks, a campaigner for social action and interfaith relationships:
One of my secret indulgences is fresh cut flowers, another being late night chunks of chocolate.Β  Almost every week, my husband brings home a small bouquet which I do my amateur best to arrange artistically and put on our kitchen table.Β  Whilst Dan can’t tell his daffs from his delphiniums, roses from ranunculi, or lilies from lisianthus, the flowers tend to be seasonal – and most likely on offer. Regardless of what they are, this little act of kindness, tied up with a bit of soggy tissue paper, brings me disproportionate, dreamy pleasure quite literally brightening up my day.Β 
Laura Date, a young mum I read about this week, clearly feels the same.Β  New to the area, she started leaving little bunches of flowers on benches in Cirencester to brighten a stranger’s day. Other people have taken this up around the country, sometimes also leaving a simple handwritten message on a card, in thoughtful, anonymous acts of kindness. This weekend the Jewish community celebrated its annual Mitzvah Day, focussing too on acts of kindness. This year we couldn’t bring big groups of people together so a little more creativity was needed as people from all faiths and backgrounds rose to the challenge.Β 
My own family’s annual Mitzvah Day singalong (loved by at least most of the elderly residents in the care-home audience) had to be done round our kitchen table streamed from my phone.Β  Dan strummed on his guitar, my son Louis provided the harmony, and the dogs – well they just got in the way. Food collections outside shops were replaced by boxes in peoples’ front yards, sorting warm coats in synagogue halls was replaced with curb-side drop offs, and simple old-fashioned phone calls to isolated friends and family or sending home-made cards, replaced visits to people who are isolated. β€œActs of kindness never die” said former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.Β Β 
β€œThey linger in the memory, giving life to other acts in return”. As I haphazardly arranged my chrysanthemums last night, I did think momentarily about putting them on a bench.Β  Instead, I phoned my isolated mother in law, and put a few more tins in my collection box.Β  Then, just before bed, I popped just three secret squares of chocolate in my mouth, knowing full well that they will linger too, but sadly, on my hips.

Broadcast

  • Tue 17 Nov 2020 06:30
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2