Showing results by narrator "Charles Collingwood" in All Categories

The world's longest-running drama, The Archers, has delighted audiences ever since its launch on 1st January 1951. Today, over five million fans across generations and across the world tune in, hooked on the epic saga of everyday life in the rural village of Ambridge. This collection takes a look back at the early years of the iconic show, from the 1950s to the 1970s, and follows the fortunes of some of its pivotal characters, including Jack and Peggy Archer, Walter Gabriel, Sid Perks, and Brian and Jennifer Aldridge.

Gyles Brandreth presents the quiz show with scandal on its mind. Hosted by the least discreet man in Britain, broadcaster and national treasure Gyles Brandreth, Whispers is the panel game that celebrates all things scurrilous and salacious. Running the gauntlet of gossip are two teams of two guests, who test their wits and wit as they try to tell the difference between fact, fiction and outlandish speculation.

Betjeman's England is a place of patriotic poets and seaside coves, provincial cathedrals and eccentric dons. For 50 years, Betjeman celebrated the glories of Englishness and what it meant to be English. Against a tide of rapid change, he unearthed forgotten heroes, bygone haunts, and old-fashioned modes of thought. But as this original collection reveals, his appeal goes far beyond simple nostalgia. It lies in his passionate convictions, his humour and his humanity.

Henry Noble carries a heavy load. For the two years since the disappearance of his father, he has toiled as the family's chief breadwinner. Protector of his mother and two obnoxious younger brothers, he finds himself trapped in the drudgery of a boring job counting the King's gold, all the while dreaming of a life of magic and wizardry. When a glimmer of light appears, he snatches at it only to stumble into treachery and deceit. Henry and his timid friend Peter are forced to embark upon the scariest journey of their lives.

When Black Beauty is trained to carry a rider on his back, or to pull a carriage behind him, he finds it hard at first. But he is lucky - his first home is a good one, where his owners are kind people, who would never be cruel to a horse. But in the 19th century many people were cruel to their horses, whipping them and beating them, and using them like machines until they dropped dead. Black Beauty soon finds this out, and as he describes his life, he has many terrible stories to tell.

I like work. I find it interesting . . . I can sit and look at it for hours. ’With ideas like this, perhaps it is not a good idea to spend a holiday taking a boat trip up the River Thames. But this is what the three friends - and Montmorency the dog - decide to do. It is the sort of holiday that is fun to remember afterwards, but not so much fun to wake up to early on a cold, wet morning. This famous book has made people laugh all over the world for a hundred years . . . and they are still laughing.

The job was too good. There had to be a problem - and there was. John Duncan was an honest man, but he needed money. He had children to look after. He was ready to do anything, and his bosses knew it. They gave him the job because he couldn’t say no; he couldn’t afford to be honest. And the job was like a poison inside him. It changed him and blinded him, so that he couldn’t see the real poison - until it was too late. An Oxford Bookworms Library reader for learners of English.

You are walking through the streets of London. It is getting dark and you want to get home quickly. You enter a narrow side-street. Everything is quiet, but as you pass the door of a large, windowless building, you hear a key turning in the lock. A man comes out and looks at you. You have never seen him before, but you realize immediately that he hates you. You are shocked to discover, also, that you hate him. Who is this man that everybody hates?

Christmas is humbug, Scrooge says - just a time when you find yourself a year older and not a penny richer. The only thing that matters to Scrooge is business, and making money. But on Christmas Eve three spirits come to visit him. They take him travelling on the wings of the night to see the shadows of Christmas past, present, and future - and Scrooge learns a lesson that he will never forget.

I often walked along the shore, and one day I saw something in the sand. I went over to look at it more carefully . . . It was a footprint – the footprint of a man!’In 1659 Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a small island off the coast of South America. After fifteen years alone, he suddenly learns that there is another person on the island. But will this man be a friend – or an enemy?

Mr James Conway wants to make money. He wants to build new houses and shops - and he wants to build them on an old graveyard, on the island of Haiti.There is only one old man who still visits the graveyard; and Mr Conway is not afraid of one old man.But the old man has friends - friends in the graveyard, friends who lie dead, under the ground. And when Mr Conway starts to build his houses, he makes the terrible mistake of disturbing the sleep of the dead.

Dartmoor. A wild, wet place in the south-west of England. A place where it is easy to get lost, and to fall into the soft green earth which can pull the strongest man down to his death. A man is running for his life. Behind him comes an enormous dog - a dog from his worst dreams, a dog from hell. Between him and a terrible death stands only one person - the greatest detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes.

An extraordinary tale of desire, betrayal, and death from Britain's longest running and best loved radio serial. Wealthy, philandering gentleman farmer Brian Aldridge embarked on a casual fling with freelance translator Siobhan Hathaway, but what ensued was the most explosive affair in the history of Ambridge.

A selection of travel writing and personal observations of England in the 1930s by the thriller writer, Victor Canning. AUTHOR: Victor Canning is best known as a thriller writer, though he also wrote historical romances and books for children. Over a writing career spanning 50 years, he wrote more than 60 books and over 80 short stories. Many of his books have been filmed. “Everyman’s England” is a collection of travel articles which were published in book form in 1936.

Songwriter, broadcaster and award-winning entertainer Sir Richard Stilgoe goes out, about and around Britain in this amusing musical revue, which finds him taking a wry look at the pastimes and professions of our wayward island. In the company of a troupe of star guests including Sandi Toksvig, Emma Thompson, Kathryn Tickell, Pam Ayres and John Hegley, he visits locations ranging from the Boat Show to the City of London to perform a unique themed comedy show full of fun and laughter.

A timeless collection of poems chosen by Classic FM listeners and read by an outstanding cast of actors, including Sir John Gielgud, Joanna Lumley, and David Tennant.

Classic FM Favourite Poems is a delightful anthology of British verse chosen through a Classic FM listeners poll. This new collection draws on the huge success of Classic FM Favourite Poems, published over 10 years ago. Enjoy all your favourite poems in these wonderful recordings.