大象传媒

We think of hope as such a positive thing but Mark Tully considers the dangers of false optimism, and the despair that can follow the collapse of great expectations.

He takes two examples.

On New Year's Eve 1918, the ship, the Lolaire (Pro: You Lair Uh) was bringing over 300 survivors of the First World War back to their loved ones on the Hebridean Island of Lewis and Harris. This return was one of great hope - for those returning, for those waiting, for the Island, and for the world after such a catastrophic war which had ended just six weeks before.

The following day would be a New Year. But in the small hours the ship was caught in a storm as it approached the harbour and sank within sight of the crowds on the shore. Most were drowned. It seems the amount of despair is sometimes exponentially linked to the amount of positive expectation.

And Mark Tully also looks at a contemporary story of infertility, where regular hope is followed by regular despair, and there can often be a desire not to hope, at all, for fear of the disappointment that follows.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Mark Tully also looks at how enduring hope can be a respite, and one that can be continually reached. And the words of Martin Luther King, and the music of Frank Sinatra add another positive note in favour of Dreams, and High Hopes.

Presented by Mark Tully
Produced by Adam Fowler
An Unique production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.