Great Lives Folgen

BS Johnson was born in Hammersmith in 1933. A wartime evacuee, he never quite shook a sense of dislocation for the rest of his life. Holly's favourite book, she calls it the gateway drug to his work, is Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry. It's the tale of a disaffected accountant who applies the principles of double-entry book keeping to his own life; any perceived slight permits him to repay the same on somebody else. These stretch from minor acts of personal revenge to poisoning London's water and blowing up the House of Commons."The things I find attractive about him are the things I'm a little bit scared of. His work is so raw - it's so different to how I feel." Holly WalshJoining Holly and Matthew Parris is the novelist Jonathan Coe, author of The Rotter's Club and Like a Fiery Elephant, an award-winning biography of BS Johnson's life.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Pat Nevin chooses Johan Cruyff who was part of the Dutch revolution of the 1970s. He burst onto the international stage at the 1974 World Cup with an incredible piece of skill against Sweden later dubbed the 'Cruyff turn'. Cruyff went on to play for Barcelona before retiring young only to be forced to return after some poor business investments wiped out his fortune. He played in the States before returning to coach at his beloved Ajax and Barcelona where he amassed more trophies, steadfastly sticking to his brand of 'total football' and changing how the game was played.Pat Nevin remembers the gasp of the crowd who witnessed the 'Cruyff turn', and still admires how this thin, intelligent footballer used speed and guile to outwit opponents. But the former Chelsea and Everton great says that it's Cruyff's imprint on the way that football is now played that impresses him most, an influence, Pat says, that can be seen at the top of the Premier League table today with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City playing a version of Dutch 'total football'.As Pep himself said about his former Barcelona coach, "Johan Cruyff painted the chapel, and Barcelona coaches since merely restore or improve it."The Dutch journalist and author of 'Johan Cruyff: Always on the Attack' Auke Kok, sheds light on Johan's childhood, his early years as an Ajax player, and how Cruyff's stubborn attitude was both a strength and a weakness throughout his life.Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Toby FieldOther guests in the new series include the UK government vaccine taskforce head, Kate Bingham; chef Romy Gill; and BAFTA winner Holly Walsh who has picked the cult sixties writer, BS Johnson.

Susie Boyt picks Judy Garland, the child star who became one of the most famous entertainers of the twentieth century. June 2022 will be the centenary of her birth."All people ever said to me was, ‘You have got to toughen up,'" Susie told us. "You cannot go round nursing these wild cascades of feelings, or you’re never going to have a happy life. Then one day my mother took me to see The Wizard of Oz. It was the first film I ever saw at the cinema, and when I heard Dorothy singing Over the Rainbow, I thought, here is someone whose feelings seem to run as high as my own and she’s not hiding it, she’s not embarrassed by it, she’s not ashamed. She was leading with her feelings as though they were the best thing life contains."Joining Susie Boyt is John Fricke, leading Judy Garland expert who put her ability to thrill her audiences far ahead of the many tabloid accounts of her life.The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer in Bristol is Miles Warde