Radar: What I’m Reading, Watching, Listening To This Week - 1st July

"It's an excellent listen and I'm hooked."

Reading

I was given a bundle of poetry books from a neighbour clearing out their home last week (as seen in the photo above). So, I’ve been going through some of these books, dipping in and out. Jo Shapcott is a poet I’d heard of but until now hadn’t really read. So, I’ve been enjoying her collection Of Mutability and will report back more when I’ve had time to reflect on that. 

I’ve always enjoyed the work of Helen Dunmore, so getting these books was a nice chance to go back to her collection Inside the Wave. This was her last collection of poetry before she died in 2017 of cancer. The book went on to win the 2018 Costa Book of the Year Prize. In the year before Dunmore’s death (she was 64 when she passed away) she published Inside the Wave, a novel Birdcage Walk (which is also fantastic) and a book for children. Reading these poems in retrospect, knowing that the book was published a few months before she died makes for a very poignant experience. I did a little research into the book and found a short video of her daughter, Tessa Charnley, talking about her memories, and reading a poem which she sent to her immediate weeks before her death. This poem has now been added to subsequent reprints, but interestingly this version I’ve been given must have been published before her death as it does not include it. You can read the additional poem, Hold Out Your Arms, here. The whole book is incredibly moving and the last poem ‘September Rain’ is particularly powerful, ending with these three lines:

I am on the deep deep water

Lightly held by one ankle

Out of my depth, waiting.  

There is so much to admire about this collection, and reading these poems you cannot help but feel a sense of communion with Dunmore - these are poems which pull you in, and speak quietly but importantly. We get the sense of someone who, despite her terminal illness, seemed to accept death and, not only that, but was determined to embrace every day. And what lesson does poetry teach us but that? At the end of ‘My life’s stem was cut’ she writes:

I know I am dying

But why not keep flowering

As long as I can

From my cut stem?

Listening 

The Wargame (SkyNews/Tortoise)

What would happen if Russia attacked the UK? The Wargame is a podcast which simulates an attack on the UK by Russia. The podcast seeks to recreate what would happen in a COBRA meeting, and plays out the various scenarios. I’ve been totally gripped by this podcast and it’s made me think about three things:

1. How badly we seem to have invested/neglected to invest in defence as a country since the end of the second world war.

2. How dependent we would be on others, particularly America  to come to our rescue in the event of an attack.

3. We should not take peace for granted. 

The panel is made up of highly experienced and qualified people such as Ben Wallace, former defence secretary who plays The Prime Minister, and others including Jack Straw, Amber Rudd, Mark Sedwill and Baroness Helena Kennedy. It’s narrated by Deborah Haynes who’s incredibly clear in her explanations of what’s going on and interjects at the right times to elucidate on certain points too. It’s an excellent listen and I’m hooked, even if it does make me wonder about what’s really going on in our country on a daily basis that we don’t know about. But, maybe it’s better that way - ignorance is bliss, after all.

Watching

The Gold on BBC iPlayer - I haven’t had a chance to start this yet, but it’s my plan to start watching it this week. I enjoyed the first series and as I’ve been looking for a new series this should be a good one, if all the reviews so far are to be believed.