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Sara has her bonsai tree blues solved by botanical boffin Paul Thomas who tells us how we can look after household plants and get the most out of them. Plus the Half Wower returns.

Sara has her horticultural hitches solved by botanical boffin Paul Thomas, who tells us how we can look after household plants more and get the most out of them. Plus there's 30 minutes of standout hits in the Half Wower and Vassos is joined in the Sports Locker by champion ultra-runner Dan Lawson. Today's Pause For Thought comes from the Reverend Kate Bottley.

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Thu 5 Jan 2017 06:30

Music Played

  • Mary Mary

    Shackles (Praise You)

    • Huge Hits 2000 (Various Artists).
    • Global Television.
  • Deacon Blue

    Gone

    • (CD Single).
    • EarMusic.
    • 001.
  • The Jacksons

    Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)

    • Rhythm Divine 2 (Various Artists).
    • Dino.
  • The Bees

    Chicken Payback

    • (CD Single).
    • Virgin.
  • Yazoo

    Situation

    • Alison Moyet Singles.
    • Columbia.
  • Oasis

    Songbird

    • (CD Single).
    • Big Brother Records.
  • Spin Doctors

    Two Princes

    • Driving Rock (Various Artists).
    • Global Records & Tapes.
  • Lukas Graham

    You're Not There

    • (CD Single).
    • Warner Bros.
    • 010.
  • Freeez

    Southern Freeez

    • 25 Years Of Rock'n'Roll: 1980 (Va).
    • Connoisseur Collection.
    • 6.
  • Rick Astley

    Budapest (Radio 2 Session 8th April 2016)

  • Zara Larsson

    Lush Life

    • (CD Single).
    • Sony Music.
    • 001.
  • Glenn Miller

    In The Mood

    • Big Bands (Various Artists).
    • Music & Memories.
  • Tom Odell

    Silhouette

    • (CD Single).
    • Columbia.
  • Lauryn Hill

    Doo Wop (That Thing)

    • Walk On - Hits From The Last 2 Decade.
    • Columbia.
  • Go West

    We Close Our Eyes

    • Now 1985 - The Millennium Series.
    • EMI.
  • Paolo Nutini

    10/10

    • Sunny Side Up.
    • Atlantic.
    • 1.
  • Take That

    Never Forget

    • Now That's What I Call Music 1995 (Various Artists).
    • Now.
  • Take That

    Could It Be Magic

    • Take That - Greatest Hits.
    • RCA.
  • The Communards

    Don't Leave Me This Way (feat. Sarah Jane Morris)

    • Now 1986 (Various Artists).
    • Now.
  • µþ±ð²â´Ç²Ô³¦Ã©

    Irreplaceable

    • B Day.
    • RCA.
  • Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

    Jimmy Mack

    • Leaders Of The Pack (Various Artists.
    • Polygram Tv.
  • Kaiser Chiefs

    We Stay Together

    • (CD Single).
    • Fiction.
  • The Mavericks

    Dance the Night Away

    • Ultimate Country (Various Artists).
    • Telstar.
  • Taylor Swift

    Red

    • Red.
    • Mercury.
  • Travis

    Flowers In The Window

    • (CD Single).
    • Independiente.
  • Kelvin Jones

    As You Wake Up

    • (CD Single).
    • Epic.
  • Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

    The Message

  • Super Furry Animals

    Juxtaposed With U

    • (CD Single).
    • Sony.
  • Simple Minds

    Sanctify Yourself (Acoustic Version)

    • Acoustic.
    • Caroline.
  • Florence + The Machine

    Shake It Out

    • Island.
  • Blossoms

    Blown Rose

    • Blossoms.
    • Virgin EMI.
    • 007.

Pause For Thought

Pause For Thought

The Reverend Kate Bottley a Church of England priest in North Nottinghamshire:

Ìý

My Nan was a big fan of Christmas, she’d buy things all through the year and once September had passed would say repeatedly ‘It'll soon be here’ and the older she got the more excited she seemed to become, her tree which went up in early December was covered with chocolates and toys and on Sundays and after a tea of jelly and evaporated milk my brother David and I would be allowed to have a pick from the tree. My Nan was a big fan of Christmas.

But the other thing she’d say a lot, usually starting at about 2 o clock on Boxing Day, was ‘I'm glad it's all over’, the tree would come down, the decorations packed away and the tinsel tidied, put back into the old suitcase that lived on top of the wardrobe.

Lots of us are packing away Christmas this week, the tree in our living room will stay up until twelfth night, we’ll bless the house for the year ahead and although the nativity scene will stay for a bit longer, the lounge will look a little barer and a lot bigger after Friday.

There’s plenty I'll miss about the last few weeks, being at home, family and silly games, nativity plays and carols.

But like my Nan used to say I'll also be glad it's over, not because I don't love it and not because the story of that special baby is just for December the 25th,Ìý but because if it was as Wizzard wanted it to be and was Christmas every day, I worry I'd not appreciate how special it really is. It's only because we don't have something for while that when we get to do it all again we can appreciate it. The feasting is so much lovelier after a little bit of fasting.

We've got almost 12 months before Christmas rolls around again, plenty of time to get ourselves excited and ready and while of course I'm hoping for the joy to last all year, I'm glad for now to be saying tirrah to tinsel and bye bye to baubles for just a little while,Ìý because then I'll be ready to welcome them all over again in just 353 days… 14 hours and 33 seconds….Ìý

Broadcast

  • Thu 5 Jan 2017 06:30

Farewell Chris Evans: The best bits from his last shows at Radio 2

After eight years of hosting the Breakfast Show, Chris Evans leaves Radio 2.

500 Words

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 2's story-writing competition for kids.