The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train

Travel into Waterloo Station, as you approach London, you will see rows of Victorian houses, their long, narrow gardens stretching to the railway line.

What is true of Waterloo, is also true of Euston.

That is the setting of The Girl on the Train. What is the lives of Jason and Jess, the couple seen by the girl on the train? They seem to be an ideal couple, until one day, Rachel, the girl on the train, sees Jess with a different man.

Having somehow become part of their lives, Rachel decides to alight at the station, the road just happens to be where she once lived.

What happens, she does not know. She has no memory. She finds herself home, covered in bruises, a split lip, a crack on the head. She then learns Megan, as that is her real name, is missing, foul play suspected. So shocked is she at the receipt of this news, she walks out into a road and is hit by a taxi.

The story is told from the viewpoint of three women, Rachel (the girl on the train), Megan (who has gone missing) and Anna (married to ex-husband of Rachel).

The Girl on the Train was serialised on BBC Radio 4. Until some way through, I thought one character, split personality. In the book, it is clearer, though even then, reading, begin to wonder, are all three one and the same?

Chilling.

This is the first novel by Paula Hawkins.

Style is unusual, different voices, very much the style of My Name is Red or The Winner Stands Alone.

Alfred Hitchcock would have turned The Girl on the Train into an excellent psychological thriller.

Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair

Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair

Between 1938 and 1968 BBC broadcast on the radio classic Paul Temple series.

About half the original recordings are now lost, but the scripts remain.

BBC Radio 4 has been recreating the series, using vintage microphones and sound recordings from the period, to make as authentic as possible.

Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair was originally broadcast in 1946. It is being re-broadcast as a ten-part series.

Broadcasts are now held on-line for 30 days, which is an improvement upon 7 days, but there is absolutely no reason they cannot be held on-line indefinitely.

Two girls go missing, their bodies are found, both girls strangled, one body caught in a fisherman’s net off Whitstable, the other in Paul Temple’s garage.

The only clue: With the compliments of a Mr Gregory.

Who is Mr Gregory?

Paul Temple series was also broadcast in Germany, where they were known as street cleaners, Straßenfeger, as they cleaned everyone up from the streets as people stayed home glued to the radio.

Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair, not only had the original recording disappeared but also the scripts of Episodes 1, 2 and 6. This new production is made possible by the recent discovery by a colleague in Norwegian radio of a complete set of scripts in an old store cupboard in Oslo.

• With the Compliments of Mr Gregory (1 of 10)
• Introducing Sir Donald Murdo (2 of 10)
• The Madrid (3 of 10)
• Mr Davos Has an Alibi (4 of 10)
• Virginia van Cleeve (5 of 10)
• Concerning Mr Zola (6 of 10)
• A Woman’s Intuition (7 of 10)
• News of Mr Gregory (8 of 10)
• Millgate Steps (9 of 10)
• Presenting Mr Gregory (10 of 10)

Radio Echoes has a number of Paul Temple classics available for download.

• The Adventures Of Paul Temple

Thriller – Imogen Heap

Thriller – Michael Jackson

In October 2009 Imogen Heap appeared on Dermot O’Leary’s BBC Radio 2 show and performed live this incredible piano-only improvisation of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Rod Temperton who wrote Thriller contacted Imogen to compliment her version.

The album Thriller was released in 1982. Hard to believe, 30 years ago!