steepholm

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Christ's wounds! What the hell is up with the Sunday programme? First they make Martin Luther a personal friend of J. S. Bach, and this morning they claim that William Tyndale was the first man to translate the Bible into English! [32 minutes in] This is meant to be a specialist programme on religious affairs, for God's sake!

Since I'm talking about Radio 4, though, let me (by way of BBC balance) recommend a really excellent two-handed drama from yesterday afternoon, David Greig's The Letter of Last Resort. It's like a mixture of Yes Prime Minister and Pirandello (as one of the characters ruefully acknowledges), and it's also the cleverest exposition of the madness of MAD that I've heard. Thirty-five minutes of quality drama - and I don't often say that about Radio 4.

Oh dear, BBC! There are bloopers, and then there are bloopers, and then there is having a reporter on a programme specifically devoted to religious topics declare that Martin Luther was a personal acquaintance of J. S. Bach and often listened to his music in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig (24 minutes in).

Anyone can make a slip of the tongue, but this was a pre-recorded report! It must have been signed off by the editor of the Sunday programme, and although I was drifting in and out of sleep I don't remember an apology at the end of the show either. Surely their Twitter account must have been chirping like the dawn chorus?