Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Medic, academic and policy advisor; expert on a rare tissue autoimmune disease and 2nd woman president of the Royal College of Physicians.
On the island
Eight records
from Handel's Messiah. The trumpet shall sound from Handel's Messiah, sung there by John Tomlinson, with the English concert and choir conducted by Trevor Pinnock.
Io son l'umile ancella (Adriana's Aria)
from Cilea's opera Adriana Lecouvreur. Adriana's aria from Cilea's opera Adriana Lecouvreur sung by Renata Scotto there with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by James Levine.
Ether, performed by the Ted Nash Big Band. It's part of his suite.
Tapping away there were the feet of Daniel Harabarondo to Tea for Two. That was recorded by Gilles Roussel.
Part of the Song and Dance of Tears played there by the Hong Kong Philharmonic composed and conducted by Bright Scheng.
Laudate DominumFavourite
from Mozart's Solemn Vespers of the Confessor. Lodate Dominum from Mozart's Vesperi Solanesti Confessori sung by Kirita Canawa with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Colin Davis.
Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge
It's from the 15th century Christmas carol roll of Trinity College. We do not know who wrote it, but it was played at the blessing of our wedding in Trinity College.
Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown
Jean Kelly, with Singing in the Rain, which was composed by Arthur Fried and Nacio Herb Brown.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:24In twenty fourteen I saw that you were involved in something called the Great Dames Race. It was a race at Cambridge. You got the best time. You you beat Dame Mary Archer by eleven seconds, I think. Are you one of those people for whom it's the winning and not the taking part that's important?
I think first of all the taking part is important. In that particular race it is, because six of us race for the Children's Hospice, and we do it each year. That's the most important thing. But it is nice to win too.
Presenter asks
2:53Now that you're a person who likes taking risks, what sort of risks do you find the most satisfying?
The most satisfying have been risks about my career, because I was very bad at doing it in perhaps the first fifty years of my life, and then I got very, very much better as I got older. I realized I could take risks and the world wouldn't fall apart.
Presenter asks
5:32So, um, Dame Carol Black, you're expected to deliver this report on addictions and obesity, as I mentioned, to the government. It's going to come out soon. I know you're not going to give me the conclusion, but what's been the focus of your interest?
The keepsakes
The book
Irina Ratushinskaya et al. (anthology of diarists)
I'm going to take The Assassin's Cloak. It's an anthology of the world's greatest diarists. Often the extracts are dating from the 1600s, and I feel it will connect me to people, which has been such an important part of my life.
The luxury
How do you help people who are in our benefit system due to an addiction with either drugs or alcohol, or perhaps they're because of a problem with obesity, what do you have to do to make it possible for them to get closer to the labour market and, if possible, return to work?
Presenter asks
6:02The vexed question then of obesity and personal responsibility. How much do you think individuals should take on the chin the fact that in the end it's up to them?
I think it is a difficult question. I have yet to meet a woman who wished to be fat. And of course, I think there is an element of personal responsibility for our own health. And of course, being obese can damage your health. But I think it's how do you trigger the right response in people? Because lecturing people, bashing them on the head, on the whole, we know, doesn't get us there. And I think the really difficult thing is to understand and to find ways enabling people to want to do this for themselves, we know it's hugely difficult to do.
Presenter asks
7:09You say bashing them on the head. I'm some might say that, well, you know, withdrawing their benefits or limiting their benefits in response to their inability to lose weight is bashing them on the head. What would you say?
There's no evidence that taking things away from people, whether it be their benefits or anything else, so far in all the research I've done, either in this country or internationally, that that will get us to where we want to be. On the contrary, there is some evidence that doing that may in fact have the opposite effect. And being in treatment alone. And having treatment indeed successful treatment will not get you closer to the labour market. You need other things. So, for example, you need to ensure a person has a home, you need to ensure that there is in work support, maybe support for up to a year. And I would like to see that support for work becoming part
Presenter asks
8:44Would you recommend three simple things to enable people to have a healthier and better life?
Well, first of all, can I say I don't think government alone can do this. Government may be the enabler, but actually we're talking about what can employers facilitate. And if you wish to have a healthy and well workforce, you need a chief executive who believes in their health and well-being, you need to train line managers to be aware of health and well being, a good employer will make available things which will help your mental health. I would almost put your mental health above your physical health, ensuring that you care, trying to keep them positive.
“As long as I can run, I will run, because it gives me some sort of release, and I can think when I run. I don't know why, but I can solve problems.”
“I realized I could take risks and the world wouldn't fall apart.”
“I think what I regret most is that I haven't read the children's classics. I've never had the time to go back, perhaps I should. And it wasn't part of the environment.”
“I think if I'm being honest. I want it to escape.”
“I think they saw quite a lot of resilience. Which I think I do have. They saw that I wanted to go somewhere. I don't think I knew where I wanted to go, but I think they saw themselves as helping me along a journey.”
“The one single thing I would want them to remember is have a go. If you don't apply for something, or go for something, you can never get it. You can only regret afterwards. So it would be have a go.”