Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A writer and former RAF photographer.
On the island
Eight records
The transcript has 'John Ogden', but the canonical spelling is 'John Ogdon'.
The transcript has 'Jack T. Garden', which is an obvious mangling of 'Jack Teagarden'.
The transcript quotes the lyrics which align with Johnny Cash's trucking-themed recitation; the song is also known as 'There Ain't No Easy Run'.
The transcript says 'Gwendolyn Brogdon' — ASR likely mangled the surname; the credited singer for this recording is Gwendolyn Brogden.
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The transcript says 'Rabel's Lavals' and 'Swiss Romond Orchestra' and 'Ernest Onseme' — these are mangled for 'Ravel's La Valse', 'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande', and 'Ernest Ansermet'.
Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413 (second movement)Favourite
The transcript says 'Ingrid Hebler' and 'Sir Lewis' — the performer is Ingrid Haebler; 'Sir Lewis' appears to be an ASR error (perhaps mishearing the announcement). The piece is Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 11, K. 413.
Transcript has 'Crackling Rosie' — the canonical title is 'Cracklin' Rosie'.
The transcript says 'Ginghoit Morgan Uebesveld' — the correct title is 'Ging heut' Morgen übers Feld' (from Mahler's 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen', Songs of a Wayfarer). The singer is Dame Janet Baker.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:38What are your views on this desert island existence? Could you take loneliness?
Well, I could take it, but I don't think I would enjoy it very much. I like my family life. I could be isolated if my family were with me. In fact, we live a very isolated life. We have very, very few social occasions.
Presenter asks
0:53What would you be happiest to have got away from?
Well, there's nothing. I I enjoy life so much I can't think of any I mean, I could say to you uh the phone ringing, but my wife always answers the phone when it's ringing. I can't I suppose politicians perhaps would be the one thing I would like to get away from and reports of them.
Presenter asks
1:02Is music important in your life?
Yes, I it's impo very important, really. I find that when I'm away from home, after a few days I become agitated if I don't hear a little Mozart. In fact, I go into record shops and pretend I want to buy records in order to Here something.
Presenter asks
The keepsakes
The book
The Art of Modern French Cooking
not given
just from a nostalgia point of view, perhaps I could have the art of modern French cooking
The luxury
dark room with unlimited film, paper and chemicals
If I took a dark room, could I have unlimited film and paper and chemicals
Did you show promise at school?
No. In fact, I can remember there was a boy called MacDonald, who, if he's listening to Brigham, perhaps he will remember it himself, who one day came up to me in the in the playground, and he said: Dayton, I've been thinking that Every boy in the class is either good at lessons or good at sport, and you're not good at either. Why do you think that is?
Presenter asks
3:36What did you want to be?
The war was on, and I was devoted to aeroplanes and I suppose my first ambition was to fly an aeroplane. I wasn't very fussy what sort of aeroplane I wanted to fly an aeroplane. I was also very interested in drawing. I mostly was drawing aeroplanes I suppose at that time. And luckily for me some teachers discovered this and I can remember I was encouraged to go to school all day Saturday to draw. And finally I ended up at art school full time.
Presenter asks
5:59What was the next step towards earning a living?
Well, by then I was about 26 and I did feel I wanted to do something that was realistic. I wanted to come out and find out what the world was about. So I applied to BOAC for a job as a steward with the idea of doing that for a year. And to my surprise, they accepted me. They accepted me largely because I went into a room and they said, do you speak a foreign language? And I said yes, German, which was a terrible and blatant lie, which I flush to remember now. And the examining committee spoke with each other and one of them said, well, we can't test your German since none of the examiners here speak German. And uh on the basis of that I became a BOAC steward.
“I could be isolated if my family were with me. In fact, we live a very isolated life. We have very, very few social occasions.”
“I felt rather out of place. And I suppose that that more than any other thing, that experience of being the only the sort of grammar school boy on a high powered board of directors like that, was really how I came to write 'The Ipcress File'. 'The Ipcress File' is about spies on the surface, but it's also really about a grammar school boy among public school boys and the difficulties he faces.”
“I like the research better than I like writing books. I mean the best thing of writing books is being at a party and telling some pretty girl that you write books. The worst thing is sitting at a typewriter and actually writing the book.”
“I think that probably I went off to write 'Bomber' simply because there was something that I'd not been able to say through the film of 'Oh, What a Lovely War' and I wanted to say it through a book.”
“I would try to get rescued, let me say that first of all I certainly would try to get rescued and flying a kite I think providing you had flat surfaces on it would reflect the light and with luck would reflect some sort of impulses that could be caught picked up by military forces.”
“The Mozart is the one I understand least, and so it's the one from which I would hopefully get the most continuing and growing enjoyment.”