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LAST WORD
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 Friday听听听16:00-16:30
Sunday听20:30-21:00听(rpt)
Radio 4's weekly obituaries programme |
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This week |
Friday听23rd May 2008
(Rpt) Sunday听25th May
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Robert Mondavi
Vintner and business man who has died aged 94
Robert Mondavi played a leading part in putting the Californian wine industry on the international map. His dream was to create wines in the Napa Valley which could stand comparison with the great vintages of Burgundy and Bordeaux.听
Robert Mondavi鈥檚 Italian immigrant parents moved to California during prohibition and set up a legitimate business selling grapes for home wine making. In 1943, the family bought a winery called Charles Krug. For twenty years, Robert was responsible for management and PR at Krug while his younger brother Peter looked after the winemaking. But Peter didn鈥檛 agree with Robert鈥檚 vision for moving upmarket and the two men fell out spectacularly in 1963. Their mother sided with Peter - so Robert went off to set up in business on his own.
Matthew Bannister talks to听wine critic Jancis Robinson and to Harvey Posert who was a friend and听PR consultant to Robert Mondavi for many years.
Robert Mondavi was born June 18th 1913. He died May 16th 2008. |
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Pauline Campbell
Campaigner who has died aged 60
When her daughter died in prison, Pauline Campbell鈥檚 life was transformed. She became a tireless campaigner who won an award for highlighting what was called 鈥渢he distressing reality of women鈥檚 lives and deaths in prison.鈥 Now Pauline herself has been found dead near her daughter鈥檚 grave.
Pauline Campbell was a former college lecturer who lived with her daughter Sarah in the village of Malpas听 in Cheshire. But Sarah had a very troubled life. She suffered sexual abuse, became clinically depressed and started taking drugs as a teenager. By the age of eighteen she had become a self harming heroin addict. When she and a friend harrassed an elderly man on the street and stole his wallet to get money for drugs, he was so frightened that he had a heart attack and died. Sarah was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years in prison. Within 24 hours of arriving at the prison, Sarah swallowed a large quantity of prescription drugs and died.
The findings of the subsequent inquest included many criticisms of the way the prison authorities had dealt with Sarah鈥檚 case. Pauline Campbell was devastated by her daughter鈥檚 death and resolved to draw attention to the plight of vulnerable women in prison.
Matthew Bannister talks to听Deborah Coles from the organisation 'Inquest' which works with the families of those who die in custody.
Pauline Campbell was born January 20th听1948. She died May 15th听2008. |
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Michael de Larrabeiti
Writer who has died aged 73.
The writer Michael de Larrabeiti was best known for his Borrible Trilogy 鈥 tales of an urban tribe of child runaways set in Battersea in South London. However, he published many other books 鈥 including thrillers, a western, memoirs and travel writing.
He was born in London, the son of an Irish mother and a Basque father. When given a place at Keble College Oxford to study for a doctorate in French literature, Michael bought a run down house in the Oxfordshire village of Great Milton. However, he soon abandoned his studies to become a full time writer.
The Borribles was听inspired by Michael鈥檚 own childhood -听getting into mischief with a gang of friends in Battersea. The anarchic adventures were loved by children although frowned on by some adults.
Last Word talks to Michael de Larrabeiti's听daughter, Rose de Larrabeiti听 and to his friend, editor and neighbour in Great Milton for more than thirty years, Richard Balkwill.
Michael De Larrabeiti was born August听 18th 1934. He died April 18th 2008. |
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Professor Wilfrid Mellers
Writer, composer and teacher who has died aged 94
Many of the best known British composers of today studied under Professor Wilfrid Mellers at York University. Professor Mellers had been invited to join the new University in the 1960s to teach English and encourage music.听However, he soon persuaded the authorities to create a fully fledged music department with composition and performance at its heart. He was a distinguished scholar and composer in his own right, but he upset some in the classical music world by embracing the Beatles and Bob Dylan alongside more traditional composers.
Matthew Bannister talks to Wilfrid Mellers鈥 successor as Head of the Music department at York University Professor John Paynter.
Wilfrid Mellors was born April 26th听1914. He died May 16th听2008. |
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Margot Boyd
Actress who has died aged 94
To millions of Archers fans she was known as the dog woman, Marjorie Antrobus, but when the actress Margot Boyd was asked to take the part at the age of seventy one 鈥 she鈥檇 never heard of radio鈥檚 most popular soap opera.
Margot Boyd had trained at RADA and appeared in a number of West End shows, including plays by Noel Coward, Agatha Christie and Sandy Wilson. She also played many TV and radio roles including 鈥淪he Who Must Be Obeyed鈥 in the radio adaptation of Rumpole of the Bailey and appearances in ITV鈥檚 Upstairs Downstairs and the 大象传媒鈥檚 Dixon of Dock Green.听
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Margot Boyd was born September 26th 1913. She died May 20th 2008. |
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