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Episode details

Radio 4,06 Sep 2026,44 mins

Nepal-Tibet floods reaction, multi-faith prayer rooms, Gloucester Cathedral's new pipe organ

Sunday

Available for over a year

Over a week since the catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet, and hundreds of foreign citizens are believed to be among the more than 5,000 people still missing. Among them, a group of 16 Hindu pilgrims who had set off from a small temple in south London, the Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre. Emily Buchanan visits the community to find out how those left behind are coping. Prayer rooms are often indicated with a small sign at the airport, a quiet room off a hospital corridor marked 'multi‑faith' or 'quiet' space. These rooms are prompting fresh questions about how they are used and what their design reveals about how to accommodate faith needs in modern Britain. For many church goers, organ music is an intrinsic part of the whole experience. However, more than 400 of the UK's church pipe organs are falling silent due to neglect every year, according to a recent survey by the charity Pipe Up. Bucking the trend is Gloucester Cathedral, where a new organ now sits within restored 17th-century cases. To mark the completion of the work, a festival of celebration has been held, with its final event a Gala Concert on Saturday the 12 September. Presenter: Emily Buchanan Producers: Katy Booth and Rosie Dawson Studio Managers: Amy Brennan and Teifi James Editor: Chloe Walker

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