The Essay

The writer Esther Woolfson contrasts the solidity of Aberdeen, the 'Granite City', with the decline of the North Sea oil and gas industry, on which its economy has so relied since the 1970s. It's part of this week's series of Cornerstones - nature writing about rock, place and landscape. Author of 'Field Notes from a Hidden City', about her encounters with Aberdeen's wildlife, Esther reflects on the city's relationship with the North Sea hydrocarbons industry, and how much the city has been affected by the waning oil boom. She contrasts the city's big, public granite Victorian edifices with the slow creation in past millennia beneath the seabed of the oil and gas hydrocarbons which have powered the modern world. Among the other Cornerstones essays this week, the writer Alan Garner reflects upon flint, the stone that has enabled human civilisation, and Sara Maitland considers Lewisian gneiss, so much a rock of ages that it is two-thirds the age of the earth itself. Producer: Mark Smalley Image: Courtesy of the artist Rose Ferraby

The writer Sara Maitland conjures with a rock of ages, Lewisian gneiss. Two-thirds the age of the earth itself, and the oldest stone in the UK, it makes up parts of the Northwest Highlands and the Western Isles. It's part of this week's series of Cornerstones - nature writing about rock, place and landscape. Sara reflects on how the gneiss began its slow journey across the face of the earth more or less where Antarctica is today. It is still moving northwards, at about the same speed as our nails grow. 'Gneiss' comes from the German word meaning to sparkle, and Sara wonders whether it's this quality that convinced Neolithic builders to construct the Callanish stone circle on Lewis from this distinctive, ancient stone. The other Cornerstones essays broadcast on Radio 3 this week hears different writers reflecting on how other rocks shape landscapes and us, such as flint, North Sea oil and gas, gypsum, which is the main constituent of plaster, and the clay bricks that define our urban landscapes. Producer: Mark SmalleyImage: Courtesy of the artist Rose Ferraby

The writer Alan Garner sparks with flint, the stone that, perhaps more than any other, has enabled human civilisation. It's a stone that has featured in some of his novels, such as Red Shift, where the same Neolithic hand axe resurfaces across different times to haunt his characters. And it is time and evolution that he looks at in this essay: "My blood walked out of Africa ninety thousand years ago. We came by flint. Flint makes and kills; gives shelter, food; it clothes us. Flint clears forest. Flint brings fire. With flint we bear the cold." Alan's essay is the first of five Cornerstones this week in which different writers reflect on how a particular rock shapes both people and place. Producer: Mark SmalleyImage: Courtesy of the artist Rose Ferraby

Nikesh Shukla on Watershed in Bristol and how it helped him fall in love with the city. 5/5 Nikesh edits Rife magazine for young people in the building and explains how the spirit of Watershed is summed up in the community who use the space. "People are generous with their time, their ideas and their skills. People can be interrupted and can interrupt." Producer Clare Walker.

Travel writer Phoebe Smith on Hafod Eryri - the visitor centre on Mount Snowdon's summit. 4/5 Phoebe explains how despite herself, Hafod Eryri has grown on her, and that she has found unexpected joy at being able to drink hot chocolate on top of a mountain. Its presence says something about our chutzpah in putting a building where it doesn't belong. Producer Clare Walker.

Andrew Hurley on the haunting qualities of Chingle Hall, a 17th-century manor house near Preston. 3/5 Andrew describes the disturbing histories of the inhabitants of the hall and the many paranormal experiences of visitors. As repositories of memories and secrets, are buildings themselves sentient things and places of shifting realities? Producer Clare Walker.

Novelist Melissa Harrison on the joy of 'sleeping with books' at Gladstone's Library in North Wales, the only residential library in the UK.2/5 Melissa explains why the building allows her to sink into a state of uninterrupted concentration, allowing a thread of thought to persist not only over hours but days. Producer Clare Walker.

Pianist Stephen Hough on Wigmore Hall in London and how its "shoebox" design catches the ear.1/5 Stephen describes the hall in which he has performed and listened to numerous concerts and how its design ensures "every sound is beautifully focused."This week's Essays are celebrating British architecture. Each writer has a passionate connection with the building, revealing how our long past and complex present have led to a built environment unlike anywhere else on the planet. Producer Clare Walker Image of Wigmore Hall courtesy of Peter Dazeley.

Ian Sansom writes to Frankenstein author, Mary Shelley, to ask her how on earth she coped

A heartfelt letter reveals deep admiration for a celebrated author and their influence on life's complexities. Personal anecdotes intertwine with themes of death and nature, showcasing the emotional resonance of the author's work. The exploration of human desperation adds depth, as it delves into character development against a backdrop of mundane existence. Yet, amid the struggles, a flicker of hope persists, illuminating the enduring power of storytelling.