Recording of the week: Oak Apple Day

This week’s selection comes from Sarah Kirk-Browne, Cataloguer (Digital Multimedia Collections). Sunday 29 May is Oak Apple Day in England. You may also have heard this called Royal Oak Day, Show Oak Day or Shick Shack Day, depending where in the country you live. 29.5.17 Castleton Oak Apple Day 073…




Recording of the week: an intriguing description of a legendary media figure

This week’s selection comes from Mary Stewart, Lead Curator of Oral History and Director of National Life Stories. Cherkley Court, home of Lord Beaverbrook and the setting for his meeting with Bob Edwards described in this audio clip. Photo by Ian Capper via Wikimedia, Creative Commons attribution CC BY-SA 2.0….




Recording of the week: On climbing mountains – a woman’s view

This week’s selection comes from Giulia Baldorilli, Sound and Vision Reference Specialist. Photo by Cade Prior via Unsplash In this oral history interview, Jean Drummond looks back at the times when she used to rock climb as part of the Pinnacle Club, a UK based club of women climbers that…




Recording of the week: From potato market to sound archive

This week’s selection comes from Myriam Fellous-Sigrist, Data Protection and Rights Clearance Officer. Life in Wartime, Covent Garden Market. Photo credit: Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, via Wikimedia Commons. Some interviews make you travel far away, but some shine a light on the history of the building where you…




Recording of the week: Have you heard a hedgehog huff?

This week’s selection comes from Dr Madeline White, Curator of Oral History. We all know what a hedgehog looks like: small, brown, covered in prickly spines, adorable by any measure. Few of us have seen one in the wild though, much less heard the noises they make. As nocturnal creatures…