Read this: 22/04/2022 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts almost 40000 questions over 75 years is there any shughart question time hasn't discussed perhaps? This is why isn't gqt leading the way.

I'm just waiting all gardeners to garden for wildlife in feedback this week.

How many others to gqt main presenter Kathy Clugston who tells me why she can't smell the roses and

We've been to an interactive science event in Wales to hear listeners reactions to BBC Radio science programs.

I love you and I think the way that the talk about things as it is a very interesting way to say Duke 8 someone on signs and some interesting points but I did feel there was too much crammed into two shorter space of time the horse riding is more unsafe than taking ecstasy.

How well is she had a joke, but did they shared similar views about an intoxicating subject find out later in feedback?

Gardeners Question Time is just celebrated its 75th birthday and seems as popular as ever presenters and pundits come and go but the subject that just seems infinite 3 years ago over as main presenter from Eric Roberson who presented the show for more than a quarter of a century then covid hit and they will know more visits to Village halls now.

Happily GT is back on the road, and I'll be talking to Kathy Clugston the first is a lovely clip from that first show 75 years ago in 1947 Mr experts and see what they're good down here nearly 40000 questions have been asked during the 75 years of gqt that you been in.

3 years old time for your bedroom with course with covid do you get a question anything now? We had that before there's no point asking it or is it always a different answers? I think they're always is a different answer to give them the camera on perennially you know that the other and slugs and snails of course are number one favourite question but always there's a different aspect and you know with the time of year the place that we are what's turn on the climate changes and fashions different panelists there always seems to be something.

Yes, that's a great thing about gardening.

You are always learning you never know everything when you're very entertaining 75th you ask panelists.

You know what they thought I'd ensure the success of gonna scratch time.

You didn't answer the question yourself what you do, so now I suppose well.

It's the subject matter first of all is not gardening.

I mean it's all the nations favourite pastime people have always loved to grow things it brings great joy and pleasure and always has done and hopefully always well suppose that I wonder if it is also that your panel is so all them.

Find out someone's a bloody minded and sometimes minded to agree with each other and we love that we love a bit of a spot and it's always very good as you know I'm in the 4th program after that enjoyed we say enjoy a little contretemps from time to time but I mean I think the format is so tried and tested it's very very simple.

You know we have three experts listeners, put the questions to the experts and day answer them basically the format what I say.

You've been doing it the job for 3 years and on the Hill I listen to the heating quite good job.

So here's one of them and regards congratulations to Kathy Clugston for her performance on gqt performance.

She slipped into the role effortlessly following sometime as a continuity announcer and link with a voice which could only be described as being.

The fact that I come from the same part of the country is that has nothing to do with my tribute.

I don't know if this is true, but she seems to have had a cool reception from my colleagues.

Are they morning the retirement for electric that was inside coolest a did the palace of a way to see if you could do it before sleeping on the back.

You would like to think that was the case but I mean it really wasn't and thank you honey for your compliment.

I promise that Henry is a relation of mine.

You know I mean when I join you can imagine what it's like to take over a program after someone has been sharing it for 25 years will be there crabs in the legend.

I've listened to him for many people have grown up listening to Eric so you know it's a big deal and the panel.

I was very daunted.

Obviously I had no idea what was facing me and a panel could not have been more lovely and say that the news broke that it was going to be me that was taking over I have so many messages from them.

I'm called you.

No welcoming me offering me help me support, so I'm not quite sure what is detected there, but they

Fabulous was saying if you are and how much are compared professionals.

I think that you could argue that the strength, but you were an hour and and you must have felt on that first programme craggy is this going to work? I can barely remember.

It's a blur of nausea.

I've got to say but what was lovely was again the panel absolutely had my back and you they wouldn't let me fly and her and also the audience amazing Peter was there as well Peter Caves on the first recording of the traffic help Eric called where you know and give me all sorts of advice and offered his help, so I couldn't have been in safer hands.

So you just have to yourself and hope for the best gardening you know we've got some of Britain's best experts on the panel.

So it's just mind-blowing to sit and watch them just come out with the stuff.

You know it's amazing.

I've got this is also waiting for the jokes of the ceiling has people online and Duncan wants to talk about I've listened to gqt for more years and

Consider there is always sniggering about wonky veg in a like and to be fair genuine humour, but I'm just finding it far too twee lately I like Kathy cluxton, but it's not a comedy.

It's about gardening is that a fine line? You've got you want the jokes but you wanted to be taken seriously.

Have you ever felt? You've gone far too silly on occasion.

I don't think so I mean that thank you for listening for all these years.

That's really nice.

I don't know what it's like everything.

It's a balancing act and I think the humour and the phone that we have and ggt is really what makes it stand out from other gardening programmes many fabulous, but there are quite serious and so I think people really enjoyed that they enjoy that the last that we have but I would hope to that.

It's not at the expense of proper horticultural advice and I think the bulk of every week.

You'll get some really good signed horticultural tips and no high and yeah, there's the occasion me sometimes the audience are so funny.

You can't help it and I ask you a questions that.

During the pandemic just as it and started my role at home and we're having all those scrums in the supermarket for toilet roll, and I'm sure you remember well.

We are the questions like what can I grow? What can I use instead of toilet roll when you have a laugh with that so we do enjoy yourselves and also you know the panel are so passionate there so full of joy about what they do that.

It doesn't go to Selina sometimes, but we hope not too much.

Did you notice during the program became more popular because people wanted to to look away.

I mean they may feel it now in her what's going Ukraine that you can take so much that actually you suddenly realise how well therapeutic gardening well.

That's exactly that mean gardening is therapy and for many people think gardeners' question time was there.

We had a lot of email really moving from listeners.

Who said you know they've lost someone during the pandemic.

Will they were very isolated and to hear gqt every week just meant so much to them and

Amazing to hear wonderful to hear answer to what we always knew I suppose I mean a programme because it's part of the Fabric of Radio 4 feedback.

You know it's just one of those programs as always there and people get great Delight from and even if they don't garden people love to listen to it on here The Familiar voices, but it can't always be just about reassurance can it be the negatively has to do with some controversial issues and that's the subject of this email formula formula.

No longer listen to gqc in this house because of ignoring environ mental issues that may affect gardening it was a distinct lack of Enthusiasm compost for 1st of taking advantage of climate change and plant choice for another do you think you'll be slow to pick up on environmental issues getting well.

We have been talking about peat free compost on the program for probably a decade I mean obviously in my time the last 3 years.

We have covered it so much.

I mean we talk about it a lot.

Not listening in the last 3-years and I'm not sure Morris what's happened to we discuss it off and but the thing is Roger what we don't do is tell people what to do.

That's not what were therefore are not there to instruct people to live their lives without a present.

You know the Debate so we have tackled the debate with Dr pantelis avoided with talk to experts about it and actually I was in the car and her the probe on the radio and it was you know get a free compost plant your seed every single time so it's the vast majority of our panelists are free and just mention as part of the course Tony b.

Has this question to ask if the sound quality sounds a little strange.

It's cos he's on board a passenger ship a wildlife is in Christ gardeners.

Could do a lot to help why isn't gqt leading the way.

I'm just waiting all gardeners to garden for wildlife.

With wildlife in mind yeah again.

This is something that comes up a lot.

So you know whether it's a question or not generally the idea of growing for pollinators leaving spaces for wild animals at leaving things not to tidy leaving seed head all of this sort of thing that comes up really regularly on the programme.

We quite often get asked about that quite often people are asking questions about how to encourage wild Gardens because that's what we're all thinking about these days about sustainability and the environment and how to garden better, but even if they don't ask those questions.

I'm in really off on the panel.

Will say you know don't tidy leave a little bit of a rough grind had a little bit of water into your garden cover it a lot and it's something that we were thinking about a lot very much as we go forward.

I mean finally you know that question has come it's not your own garden.

Have you got one? What's it like getting better over the years? Is you do tomorrow? I tell you what it is getting better, but there was a load of poop in when it was announced.

Making of the program and I have no garden because I like many people lived in London in rented accommodation for years and years and all I had with a balcony which I cultivated a window box with great joy and love a sense move back home to Northern Ireland and I do have a house with a very small garden.

So it's just it was concrete when I moved in so it's now got some raised beds.

I've got some beautiful pots all plants that have been recommended by I am learning all the time and what a joy in a privilege to sit next to the experts week in and week out and hear get the free advice basically, but there's one bad thing for example you can't smell the roses.

Can I know yes, I have a nose make from birth which means I have no sense of smell which you know again.

It's like well.

What are you doing talking about gardening? Well? I think you know lots of people have challenges physical challenges mental challenges all sorts and gardening for everyone so whether you can't see or you can't smell or you here or you have mobility issues everyone can guard.

Can I get much much joy if my garden I absolutely love it, and I was just get much out of Gardeners Question sound thank you very much and thank you Roger are thanks to Kathy Clugston Gardeners Question Time and that 75th birthday program is now available on BBC sounds.

Please do let us know your thoughts about that interview or of course anything to do with BBC Radio and play this is how you can get in touch you can send an email to feedback at bbc.co.uk or write a letter to the addresses feedback box 672 34 London SE18 4ax.

You can follow activity on Twitter by using BBC R4 feedback or you can call us and leave a phone message on 0333 444 5004.

When did landline charges apply but it could cost more on some mobile networks all those details are on our website each week, we're asking to BBC Radio listeners to step out of their comfort zone and listen to a program that would normally be on their radar this week.

We have Georgina Broadhead from the Isle of Wight in Shetland to guess about this far apart.

Is it possible to be in the British Isles just to get a sense of your listening habits though, so do you know what would be your top 3 programmes? If you were done that has Thailand it's very difficult one but I could have something is going to make me laugh.

So I'm going to go for a Sorry I Haven't a Clue something to entertain so that be a drama such as brief lives and finally because it's just started again and I've got how much I do it the reunion with Kirsty Wark please ok now that and Ella what's your bite your tongue.

For me, I love p.m.

You and yours and the food programme where we asked you to listen to something rather different and episode of a deeply human on the world service which proposed to explain how we do what we do the particular episode we asked you to listen to in the second series asked the question.

Why do we use in toxicants you can buy BBC sounds separate the centre of content service of the information you learnt the style in which the protein was produced and then the presented itself about the content.

Did you learn anything so you got taken to a bit of a journey intoxicants is humans on Need for them and I thought the fact it went into some of the historical data and the impact of intoxicants on animals the science as well and the cultural aspects of how we using documents was really interesting.

Did you learn anything from? Did you think it was an information-rich program? I thought that.

Very interesting points raised I have to be honest a lot of the points that were raised I was already aware of probably from having listen to Radio 4 for such a long time but I did feel overall there was too much crammed into two shorter space of time and that the interesting bits should have been expanded upon perhaps different format C I didn't think that at all and I think the time scale as well as 23 minutes sort to the point went quite wide which I really liked and I will sort the use of quotes and some of the sound effects and music really kind of brought it together and for me I said it felt more like a conversation in that 23 minutes then the documentary presenter did not seem to be lacking in self-confidence stage name of she was slightly swaggering performance in some ways, wasn't it?

Is a Performer musician and I thought they came across as a Performer in this in it? I was engaged that made me want to listen what I really liked the can a personal story using the Reflections of how have affected them throughout their lives and what they've done and kind of funny stories as well and for me it felt like talking to a friend as a result of that and having a really interesting conversation with someone with a bit more in myself for me.

If I was reading gauge quiet as a friend.

I'm sure she's very interesting lovely person.

I didn't feel that this was the right format for her and that it was for me.

It was just too chatty and there wasn't enough meat on the bones.

Perhaps says more about me than her when researchers allowed elephants to drink from a boozie trough.

They took detailed notes on their behaviour the things that they wrote down really swinging.

Increase patients and increased aggression which are you looking for this things because that's what humans do or you know it's really hard and taxation benefit.

What can we pick up the style of the program and the musical effect and soon it's a co-production with American public radio and I wondered if this affected the style.

Do you think it's quite American Georgina in the approach.

Yes very much.

So and I found the sound effects irritating and intrusive and I found myself concentrating more fact those elements of it did annoy.

Hello did it sound Mid-Atlantic to you this the result of a co-production with two different sides of the Atlantic absolutely I would say it was more multicultural wasn't that additional can a program in but for me actually.

I think it was a benefits.

So it was using these kind of different quotes that I would never heard of individuals that.

You not have come into contact with my living in the UK and for me.

I thought it was probably was a bit of a show-off showing the centre with all the sound effects but for me absolutely engaging well as discussed.

We always ask the same question you know you out of your comfort zone and the second question sometimes we do listen again Georgina I don't need to ask you do well to be fair.

I did subscribe and I did listen to the next one in the series and I didn't like that either so unfortunately no, I won't be listening to it again.

Oh, no, will you listen again? Are you had to be comfort sound out of my comfort zone from the topic? It's not normally something I would have listened to about intoxicants in the area of interest but not well.

That's a draw One or isn't it? But last question are you surprised that these sorts of programs and pod?

Coming from the world service will it make you more likely to research what the world service is doing Gorgie certainly guess.

I will try and brought my Outlook more.

I do into the world service and it has encouraged me to look even further yes, and I have you I sometimes think the Shetland you almost the world services partly for you by the way.

I have travelled the world as well world service has been with me, but this is my thinking of the world service is very much for the news any kind of Us Space Program like this and it's certainly has made me realise the breath that has an offer on the world service and absolutely with the going to more of this.

I actually don't even think something like this was available through the BBC sounds so really intrigued me people with glad to hear that Ella and Georgina thank you very

Thanks, thank you.

In our new occasional series feedback has been imitating gqt and going on the road to talk to BBC listeners this week.

We're in Wales to find out what list is make of science programming on BBC Radio if you need they do listen to it.

I'll produce Italian beach while set an interactive science exhibition in Cardiff where techniquest Dan Ketteringham go for mature.

So, this is the material Matters own which is all chemistry based.

It's the person that you walk into in techniquest quite a lot of high-tech stuff in here.

We've got an interactive periodic table people are able to drag and drop different elements merge them together and see what they create.

We're missing techniquest with my children and is quite interesting to come back as I used to work here, but it was very long time ago, so it's interesting to see how it's changed and see which exhibit space the hob and see the new stuff as well listen to Radio 4 and in particular.

Do you listen to any Radio 4 science program the interesting in the past of listen to on the way to job interviews took? I don't know I don't know just getting the mood and getting the zone and feel positive about science inspired.

That's what I'm doing of sand.

Are you making little Islands out of Sound we love working every lesson, but it's really

Things that children can refer to outside of class so we as well as using the iPlayer Ouija sometimes referred them to BBC sounds where they can go and listen to it shows of interesting things that we've enjoyed the kind of you do outside of school that links into what they doing inside school walking into the our world sections of this is all these exhibits are environmental based.

We currently looking at a popular.

It's a bit cold earthquake.

So you stand on this side of a mat and you select real earthquakes from history and you can then feel a little part of what it might have been to explore different places around the world.

Mostly top-of-mind is the Infinite Monkey Cage podcast which I listen to occasionally one that was a bit of a feature in the family is 13 minutes to the moon which got my son a bit inspired around the Space Race particularly during lockdown download podcasts and things like that to listen to particular on the train on the way back from work and in the car maybe otherwise I'll be streaming the Radio 4 programmes as I'm cooking or something like that in the kitchen really enjoy listen to Radio 4 subscribe to a haircut on BBC sounds on the summer science point of view I suppose Curious Case of really interesting listen and read accessible to be but myself and scientific interest and suppose it also exploring things that.

Play trigger your mind on everyday things.

I think I remember one of the brother and fry episode might be about how Wi-Fi works.

Just recently example where we all live with Wi-Fi every single day you take a moment to figure out.

How works you mind blown?

Over here we have our r o v which is a little bit of a submarine essentially in a tank that visitors can use joysticks to control move around turn the lights off make it Dave this evening little brother on the front that they can control as well now the email clearly and what is it you like about that to you because you don't have a science background natural relaxed way of talking to me and putting it across to the general public one so I trying to figure out which one goes to which really so yeah.

Some big and that look like the old in the car, so what I listen to can vary quite a bit but brighter different things and I like the person with the Life Scientific it's interesting to hear people's workers involved and how it comes to do the things they have an infinite monkey cage on there for me to get something out of learning something.

He didn't know about this but there is a lighter so I'm not sitting through a lot of heavy material.

Yeah.

A really interesting I listen to Radio 4 listen to the Today programme and p.m.

But also programmes like the Infinite Monkey Cage do you think of the Infinite Monkey Cage your somebody with an engineering background the accusation sometime some people of a science and Engineering background as it's coming down.

What would you be your response you I would say the humerus next to the program really Sparks a great deal of Interest because all of the points that are raised on here for Monkey Cage are very valid very serious and factual and I think it's fascinating now heading to possibly one of the favourite of the new exhibits that we put in recently and this one is called hurricane listeners can just imagine a small room with a very large fan that you can turn on and I will save on a hot day to wonderful exhibit to experience.

And that was a producer Alan beach being blown away by some of those comments however he did come across a large number of people who didn't listen to any BBC Radio let alone science programs and that's it for this week next week would be talking to presenter Johnny diamond about his podcast Putin to let us have your comments and questions about until then goodbye.