2013
The Path to English
BBC Radio 4, Wednesday 9th January 2013, 11.00am
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Bobby Friction talks to adults who are learning English from scratch in the UK. Many of them are immigrants or refugees from different communities and countries who arrive with little English and quickly have to adapt.
Sleepless Night
BBC Radio 4, Monday 11th February 2013, 11.00am
Produced by Nina Perry
This composed feature explores the problem of sleeplessness and the crucial relationship between sound and sleep, all set within a soundscape of noises heard during a sleepless night interwoven with specially composed music.
Ursula Vaughan Williams, Poet and Muse
BBC Radio 4, Sunday 24th March 2013, 4.40pm, and Saturday 30th March 2013, 11.30pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
The writer Irma Kurtz tells the story of the Ursula, wife of composer Vaughan Williams, and looks at her poetry with the help of her husbands friends and colleagues.
Me and My Dog
BBC Radio 4, Monday 1st April 2013, 8.00pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Presenter Mike Embley discovers how an unlikely alliance between teenage offenders and unwanted or abused dogs can give tgem both a second chance.
Found
BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 2nd April 2013 for 5 days, 1.45pm
Produced by Sara Parker
Series of stories following family members who are reunited after separation through family cicumstance, tragedy or conflict.
Poetry of Gold and Angels - San Francisco
BBC Radio 4, Sunday 18th August 2013, 4.30pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Kim Shuck, poet, educator and weaver takes us on a tour of her San Francisco - a place where a thousand stories meet.
Poetry of Gold and Angels - Los Angeles
BBC Radio 4, Sunday 25th August 2013, 4.30pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Los Angeles poet and lyricist Stephen J. Kalinich finds the real poetic voice of the city - a voice her believes to be found in the poetry of the streets.
How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love My Albatross
BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 27th August 2013, 11.30am
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Music writer Pete Paphides runs through the 5 stages of grief following a huge hit record with stories from some of those who know, including Mike Batt, Ralph McTell, Colin Vearncombe, Ivan Doroschuk and Sandie Shaw.
Auditioning for Auntie
BBC Radio 4, Monday 21st October 2013, 4.30pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Pete Paphides delves into the BBC auditions process for aspiring bands in the 1950s and 60s such as the Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Who and Pink Floyd.
A Poem for Matisse
BBC Radio 4, Monday 11th November 2013, 4.00pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Irma Kurtz looks at painter Matisse's complex relationship with poetry and words though his illustrations of various French poets.
The Songs of Molly Drake
BBC Radio 4, Thursday 21st November 2013, 11.30am
Produced by Laura Parfitt
Pete Paphides tells the story behind the privately recorded songs of Molly Drake, mother of cult singer Nick Drake, and how those songs influenced her famous son who ended his own life in 1974 at the age of 30.
In Perfect Harmony
BBC World Service, Wednesday 25th December 2013, 10.06pm
Produced by Laura Parfitt
A programme celebrating our collective love of singing in harmony, looking at when and why we do it, what it means to us musically and emotionally, and how different countries sing harmony differently.