A Cello in the Desert
Seriously...25 Okt 2016

A Cello in the Desert

Winner of this year's prestigious BBC/RGS dream journey award is Nina Plapp who sets off from the Isle of Wight with her cello 'Cuthbert' en route to India via Transylvania in a search for the roots of gypsy music.

Nina is a cellist from a large musical family and the energy and rhythms of gypsy music have always mesmerized her. Cuthbert, now 167 years old, has played in many an orchestra and was most recently under the guardianship of Nina's great aunt Bebe.

After a family send-off, Nina and Cuthbert head east on an adventure into the rich musical landscape of the gypsies. They first visit a family in Romania where she immerses herself in the wild rhythms and melodies of the Roma in rural Transylvania. Then they continue to India to seek out the original gypsies. On their way they join a chorus on the train through the desert, get locked inside a cupboard with singing girls in a Rajasthani village and play with the gypsy musicians at a wedding.

If you'd like to apply for next years Journey of a Lifetime Award and make a feature fore Radio 4 about your adventure you have until 2nd November. Look for Journey of a Lifetime on the Royal Geographical Society website. www.rgs.org/journeyofalifetime

Producer Neil McCarthy.

Episoder(484)

Conflict on Campus

Conflict on Campus

Examining how the Israel-Gaza war is affecting students here in the UK. Anwar Akhtar is a director at the Samosa Project, a media and arts charity working to create understanding across cultures. He h...

18 Jun 202429min

The Switch

The Switch

Three people from three different eras reveal what it's like to live with multiple personalities, or Dissociative Identity Disorder.A retired librarian who lived through the disorder's most controvers...

14 Jun 202428min

The Beaches

The Beaches

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. H...

7 Jun 202428min

Broken Politicians, Broken Politics

Broken Politicians, Broken Politics

Are British politicians at breaking point? In this new digital age with its high level of public scrutiny, the sheer amount of abuse, disdain and direct threat politicians get is causing their mental ...

4 Jun 202428min

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

25th April 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of Portugal's 'Carnation Revolution', which overthrew the authoritarian dictatorship of the Estado Novo ('New State') which had governed Portugal since the ...

21 Mai 202428min

Night Train

Night Train

In literature and film, night trains are the setting for intrigue and romance, espionage and sudden death. And in real life too they’re places of possibility and the expectation of new adventures. Wri...

17 Mai 202457min

True Crime 1599

True Crime 1599

For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back ...

14 Mai 202428min

Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy

Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy

With criminal gangs now controlling most of Haiti's capital and no function government, Mike Thomson explores what caused this spiralling descent to Anarchy in this predominately Christian, Caribbean ...

7 Mai 202428min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
alt-fortalt
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
synnve-og-vanessa
min-barneoppdragelse
krisemoter
fladseth
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
frokostshowet-pa-p5
198-land-med-einar-trnquist
den-politiske-situasjonen