Richard Coles and Aasmar Mir are joined by Caroline Quentin. She became a national treasure as the long suffering Dorothy on Men Behaving Badly, followed by lead roles in Jonathan Creek, Blue Murder and Life of Riley. She has presented documentary series on Cornwall and India, and Restoration Home. More recently she's performed at Bristol Old Vic and in the West End. She joins us ahead of a new BBC one drama Dickensian in which she stars as Mrs Bumble, where an assortment of Dickens' characters meet in a seasonal tale.
Now the colder weather has finally come it seems a good time to talk about wood, more precisely, firewood. Lars Mytting has created a best seller with his book Norwegian Wood which details the art of chopping, stacking, drying and burning this ancient source of heat. He joins us to share his technical know how and cultural folklore.
Listener Alistair Kean wrote to us about his experience of almost becoming a cosmonaught. He tell us how he has no regrets...
Caroline Taggart is a word obsessive who has produced 20 books on the origin and meaning of words. She joins us to talk about her latest which focuses on the evolution of words and the phenomenon of the portmanteau.
Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta CBE tells us about his inheritance tracks. He chooses Ng la Banda's Echale Limon and Polo Montanez's Un Millon de Estrellas.
We have your Thank you's and our reporter Anna Bailey meets Alan Ayckbourn.
Dickensian, a drama in 20 parts for BBC1, begins over Christmas. Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting is out now. New Words for Old by Caroline Taggart is out now. Carlos Acosta returns to the London Coliseum for a limited run from 8 - 13 December 2015, with A Classical Selection, presenting highlights from Carlos' career in celebration of his 26 years as a dancer on the international stage. Alan Ayckbourn has two plays touring the UK currently: Confusions and Hero's Welcome, until 5th March 2016.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel.