Living with apartheid: Bill Frankel
The death this week of , former President of South Africa, will cause many South Africans to reflect on all that has changed there since the dark days of apartheid. Bill Frankel was born into a white Jewish family in Johannesburg, and grew up questioning why their society was so cruelly divided.
Despite being liberals his parents kept black servants, and Bill remembers as a child being asked by them to sign a pass just to be allowed out of the house in the evening. There were separate buses, separate swimming pools, separate entrances at the post office.
When Bill went to university in Cape Town he soon became active in the anti-apartheid student movement. His house was often used as a safe house, where illegal documents were stashed under the bed. Towards the end of his degree his name came to the attention of the Minister of Justice, who gave a speech referring to him as a trouble-maker, and he knew he had to flee the country.
After an unsettled year in Australia he came to England to practise law, and was soon approached to take part in the . He was Mr X, the money man in London who over the course of 25 years, managed to effectively smuggle 100 million pounds of justice into South Africa to pay for proper legal representation of activists in court. Without this secret fund, Nelson Mandela and almost all of the black members of his inner circle may well have been executed.
With apologies that I caught only a snippet of the programme, would it be possible for the gentleman who mentioned a poem about S.A. and a song about Johannesburg to e-mail me with details as I am a trustee of the Sparrow Schools Foundation (UK) which supports children at the Sparrow Schools in Johannesburg and we are looking for an appropriate reading for our carol service in aid of Sparrow on 6th december.
Complain about this postMany thanks, Richard Bernhard.
I just wanted to register how much I enjoyed listening to Bill Frankel's interview yesterday. A real inspiration for anyone today who is fighting injustice.
It is always therapeutic to listen to anyone who has personally met Nelson Mandela;a real "star" in the ral sense of the word.
Best regards,
Terry Waller
Complain about this postSorry but I have to say Saturday Live's a dog's breakfast of a programme which - as ever - is filled/cluttered with the usual suspects (yawn - as one does on Sat morn) and subjects us to, it has to be said, excerable poetry readings.
I appreciate Fi tries valiantly to 'jolly us along' but to be honest Paddy and the Sunday mob (which in a sense Sat Live follows too closely) are a far better bet. Although I could have done without Guy Ritchie's mother-in-law. I mean puuuurlease. Now we know why Guy's a prat and where Madonna's woeful attempt at an upper-middle class accent came from.
I have to say I was surprised to have much enjoyed Gyles Brandreth's (whose strangulated, layered tones can be most irritating) programmes. And I was looking forward to a new Sat morn slot. After all let's face it, after the awful, positively mind-numbing desperation of 'Home Truths' (which seemed to give creedance to every numptie in the universe) anything but ANYTHING would have been better.
Thing is, Sat Live tries TOO hard. I know what it's TRYING to do. But....'Il ne worky pas' I'm afraid. There's not enough balance between us being entertained and, ideally, a more general magazine format, that at least has SOME gravitas. When in the week you have the superb 'Women's Hour' (every male should be made to listen to it!) anchored by the sublime Jenni Murray, Sat Live's light years away from ever working.
A complete re-work and re-think's required. And pretty darn quick if you ask me.
Complain about this postJust want to say this programmes got worse and Mark Danzigers defense of it on feedback tonight (Sunday) was an absolute disgrace. It doesn't seem to matter how little people like this, how bad the show is or even I suspect how low the viewing figures are - Mark Loves Fee Glovebox and so we have to suffer her inanity too.
Just fabulous.
Complain about this postI found this item particularly moving, and the rest of the programme a joy; I should mention that I am a particularly discerning listener!
Complain about this postI really get annoyed with people who mispronounce the word 'apartheid', especially when theyare interviewing a native South African who pronounces the word correctly. Both Fi and the resident poet showed disrespect to Bill Frankel in this programme by persistently mispronouncing the word that he was pronouncing correctly! Shame on you!
Complain about this postWhat an uncomfotable and patronising interview that was with the referee from Wales - topped when the group in the studion had a fab plummy laugh at the phrase 'economically inactive'. For what its worth you ignorant oafs, economically inactive is not a politically correct way of saying unemployed, refers to a whole group of people who are well, not economically active - like carers and people with disabilities, etc. There was also the lovely point where Glover, in that slimy and sarcastic way she has, says to the woman on the phone "oh we're hanging on your every word' and giggled.
God do we really need this awful programme where the very worst of the metropolitan elite belittle and patronise people from the provinces?
Complain about this postI listened to the show on Saturday, and found it really interesting.
At school we are doing a project in RS about discrimination. A have to research a particular person who has challenged prejudice and i was inspired by Bill Frankel, and was hoping to base the project on you.
There are a few questions i would like to ask you
for example:-
was it hard to escape to England?
What inspired you?
please could you e-mail me with the answers and more information
Thank you very much
Anna
Complain about this postAnother show ruined by Fi Glover who sounds like a female version of Clive james minus the wit.
Complain about this postMonotonous and unfunny.
I laughed [seriously] aloud a few times.
Complain about this postFi Glover is OK when she does interviews on serious subjects where the interviewee has to be handled sensitively. But she is terrible when she tries to be funny. People have commented they don't like her sarcasm, but sarcasm would be OK if that is was it was. Her style seems to me more a combination of arch comments and what are intended to be smart remarks.
Complain about this postMy wife & I feel really sorry for the moaning minnies who cannot tune into Fi's quick-thinking, intelligent and witty approach to broadcasting. Coupled with the guests, the interviews and the poetry (especially the poetry) we consider the result to be a great way to start the weekend.
Complain about this postHave to agree with everyone that finds Fi Glover's 'humour' grating. I'm sure she's a pleasant enough person in real life but her radio persona is just too smug and self-satisfied. She really must find a way of toning this down or the show will simply shed listeners. I know Damazer insists that she's the future of Radio 4 but of the many friends that listen to the station I do not know a single one that enjoys her broadcasting style. Sorry.
Complain about this postThe programme is lively and delightful and usually extremely interesting. It's got me into the habit of listening to the rest of the morning's radio too. Fi Glover is an excellent presenter!
Complain about this postPlease pass my website on to Madonna if she's looking for a nice private place to stay for Christmas - her and the family can share Christmas Lunch with me and my animal family!!! and for a fraction of the 250, 000 demanded in the Maldives. She's already been to Barbados so she knows how nice and safe it is for children.
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