A thing about Desert Island Discs

I’m going through a Desert Island Discs phase at the moment because I’m bored of sifting through Spotify trying to avoid Justin Bieber.

Every single episode of DID is now available online. From the very first in 1942 (Roy Plumley interviewing Admiral Sir Edward Evans, most well-known for being the second-in-command on Scott’s last, fatal Antarctic expedition), to more recent ones. Sigrid Rausing (hypnotic voice), Bill Gates (bit boring), and a fascinating and suprisingly perky Scottish professor called Sue Black, a forensic anthropologist, which means she’s worked in places like Kosovo and Sierra Leone helping to identify bodies from very little remains. More often than not, it’s the people you’ve never heard of who are the most interesting.

I’ve just howled my way through Princess Margaret’s contribution, recorded in 1984. You must listen to it. Roy grovellingly respectful throughout (Ma’am this, Ma’am that), while Margaret takes us through her eight choices. Her second track is Scotland the Brave. ‘I hope that it’s recorded by the pipes and drums of my regiment, the Royal Highland Fusiliers,’ she says.

‘Buckingham Palace must be a terribly daunting place from its sheer size?’ says Roy, at another point.

‘Well, no,’ says Margaret. ‘Buckingham Palace is a terribly cosy house.’ She pronounces it ‘hice.’

Bliss.

Find ’em all HERE. Or you can download them via the BBC Radio iPlayer app. Over 3,000 of them. Marvs for long car journeys.

 

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