Programme Information

BBC Radio 2 presenter Bob Harris

As part of BBC Radio 2's celebration of this year's Country Music Association Awards, Bob Harris takes a guided tour through much-loved building The Ryman Auditorium, in downtown Nashville, as part of BBC Radio 2's celebration of the 43rd annual Country Music Association Awards.

Accompanied by celebrity tour guides, including Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart, Bob discovers the magical atmosphere of country music's "mother church" and hears performances from the building's history. He goes backstage to the themed dressing rooms, experiences the famed stage acoustic at first hand, wanders through the museum and talks to country fans who visit the auditorium from all over the world.

The Ryman Auditorium is the most important building in Country Music history. Opened in 1892, it was originally called the Union Gospel Tabernacle, a church built by hell-raising steamboat captain Tom Ryman, who was converted to religion after attending a revival with Southern evangelist Samuel Jones. Following Ryman's death, the building took his name and became the South's leading music venue, featuring performers such as Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Sergei Rachmaninov.

In 1943, it became the home of the long-running WSM radio show, The Grand Ole Opry, staging performances from country legends including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and, for one night only, Elvis Presley. When the Opry moved out of town in the mid Seventies, The Ryman became vacant and fell into disrepair. Over the next 20 years, the venue was used for various film sets, including Coal Miner's Daughter (the Loretta Lynn biopic starring Sissy Spacek), Honky Tonk Man (Clint Eastwood) and Nashville (Robert Altman).

However, it was not until Emmylou Harris recorded her Grammy Award-winning live album at the venue in 1992 that public interest in The Ryman was re-awakened, and it was saved from imminent demolition. Newly refurbished, but still with its original wooden pews, it re-opened in 1994, and now plays host to performers from every genre of music, including Tony Bennett, Coldplay, Elvis Costello and Neil Young. Since 1999, it has once again welcomed The Grand Ole Opry Radio Show, during the winter months and, each year, celebrates its country music roots when it hosts the Americana Music Association awards show.

On Friday 13 November, at 10pm, Dale Winton celebrates the CMA awards, live, from Nashville, in Dale's Pick Of The CMAs on BBC Radio 2.

Presenter/Bob Harris, Producer/Al Booth

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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The Blaggers Guide To Jazz Ep 1/6

Thursday 12 November

10.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 2

David Quantick takes a comic look at the mystical, magical and misunderstood world of jazz in a new, six-part series of The Blaggers Guide.

The series explains the basic terminology, provides a guide to the major players, as well as some of the places synonymous with the genre.

This first episode focuses on Duke Ellington, the saxophone and bop.

Presenter/David Quantick, Producer/Simon Poole

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Professor Lisa Jardine

Professor Lisa Jardine is one of Britain's most prominent, public intellectuals. She's a professional historian, regular broadcaster and Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority – a controversial job for any public figure.

In this lecture, entitled "Newfangled Families", delivered to an audience at BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking festival at The Sage, Gateshead, Lisa Jardine argues that the science of reproduction will create some of the century's most challenging ethical dilemmas, unleashing profound moral choices and complex emotions. As a historian, she reflects on the lessons to be learnt from ethical dilemmas of the past.

Presenter/Lisa Jardine, Producer/Kirsty Pope

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

The Railway Siding by Jonathan Holloway is a contemporary ghost story set on the overnight train from Haverfordwest to Paddington.

Jack Gittes is an out-of-work architect with tricky domestic issues hanging over him. However, when an exciting yet challenging design project for a new health centre comes his way, Jack's last-minute inspiration takes him on a late-night train journey to London to deliver the drawings within the deadline.

Onboard the train, Jack encounters a garrulous guard who regards rail travel as occupying its own hermetic world. Jack also encounters another passenger, an attractive, stylish young woman in Forties clothing. Their conversation is curiously stilted, not always connecting. Fortified by cups of tea which Jack fetches from the Guard's compartment, she tells of her previous intention to leave her suburban husband and children for a rendezvous with her lover at Reading station. But she did not alight at Reading and is now on her way back to the domestic life she hasn't the heart to shatter.

The train pulls into a dark and misty siding near Swindon to allow freight trains to pass and, on a second tea run, Jack tells the Guard about his fellow female passenger. But, when they return to the carriage, she is nowhere to be seen and the Guard has a rather chilling historical tale to tell about a woman called Hope Cairns.

Arriving at Paddington, the very reality of the journey is challenged for Jack but his encounter with Hope encourages him to make an effort to salvage his marriage and perhaps his sanity.

The cast stars Sam Dale as Jack, Lydia Leonard as Hope and Ewan Hooper as the Guard. Mark Lewis stars as the Stationmaster.

Producer/David Hunter

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

BBC 5 Live Sport presenter Eleanor Oldroyd

Eleanor Oldroyd has the latest sports news and is joined by Iain Carter and guests for The Headline Hour – discussing the latest sports issues making the news.

At 8pm, there's a Winter Olympics Special, taking a look ahead to Vancouver 2010.

From 9pm, Matt Dawson and guests present 5 Live Rugby, with the latest news and reviews from rugby union's autumn internationals.

At 10pm, two of 5 Live Sport's pundits get some sporting issues off their chests in And Another Thing.

Presenter/Eleanor Oldroyd, Producer/Patrick Whiteside

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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BBC Radio 5 Live's Gavin Lee reports on a unique attempt at reconciliation that brings together individuals who were pitted against each other by the "war on terror".

Presenter/Gavin Lee, Producer/Edward Main

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Marc Riley's live studio band are Swedish indie-poppers Sad Day For Puppets.

They promise to be an interesting listen with songwriter Martin Källholm sighting the no-nonsense rock of Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, Kiss and Aerosmith as his inspiration.

Presenter/Marc Riley, Producer/Michelle Choudhry

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Gideon Coe presents a classic concert from Talk Talk and archive sessions from Belgian surrealists Deus, the enigmatic Danielle Dax, Aerial M (aka American indie legend Dave Pajo) and Greenwich Village icon (and novelty hit-maker) Melanie.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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In the final episode in the series, a number of Al's friends and colleagues talk about the challenges of working with enigmatic star Al Green.

This programme was first broadcast in 2005.

Presenter/Paul Sexton, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Simran thinks she has come up with a way to pay for Kesar to go to private school, in today's visit to Silver Street. Jaggy needs convincing but agrees to think about it. Later, Simran asks Jodie's advice on another idea she has for saving money.

Later, Sway's celebrity studio guest chats to Jodie about relationships. He mentions the facts that Sway seems pretty loved-up about his girlfriend in Pakistan. Jodie listens awkwardly as he adds there must be some good men in the world who aren't already taken.

Simran is played by Balvinder Sopal, Jaggy by Jay Kiyani, Sway by Nicholas Bailey, Jodie by Vineeta Rishi, Mary by Carole Nimmons and Apache Indian by himself.

BBC Asian Network Publicity