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BBC Radio 4 - 92 to 94 FM and 198 Long Wave

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OPEN COUNTRY

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	PROGRAMME INFO

	Saturday 6.10-6.35am Repeated Thursday 1.30-2.00pm


	From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique. Email: [email protected] Postal address: Open Country, BBC Radio 4, Birmingham, B5 7QQ.


	LISTEN AGAIN


	Listen to Open Country for 12 November


	PRESENTERS

	HELEN MARK and RICHARD URIDGE



	More about Helen Mark




	More about Richard Uridge


	PROGRAMME DETAILS

	Saturday 12 November
This week Helen travels to Lincolnshire to look at all things artistic - but she finds it's a county where art and surprise go hand-in-hand. Its wide, sweeping flat landscape has proved a natural home for the RAF and Helen pays a visit to RAF Scampton. Opened in 1916, it was the home of the Dambusters Squadron, but is now the base for the Red Arrows. Helen meets the nine pilots of this elite squadron as they rehearse their aerial ballet and talks to Red 1 - Squadron Leader Dicky Patounas - who's responsible for the choreography. But it's not just pretty patterns in the sky - every manoeuvre they make is based on aerial combat. Away from the noise of the air display, Helen finds some peace in Lincoln Cathedral, where the Vice Chancellor and librarian Dr Nicholas Bennett explains that the art in the building has always reflected the current period - hidden under the seats of the misericords are a range of carvings, some of which are surprisingly raunchy, but which were relevant to the everyday lives of the people who carved them. Today the dynamic nature of the cathedral continues. Helen meets sculptor Nicolas Moreton, who's temporarily in residence there, exhibiting modern art that some people wouldn't expect to see in a cathedral. Nicolas explains how the work is actually relevant to the venue and says that, even if people don't like his work, by bringing art to the people he hopes they will see that art is not frightening and exclusive. Nicolas and his exhibition have now left Lincoln, but you can catch up with him at Manchester Cathedral early in February 2006. And if the Red Arrows weren't loud enough, just outside the village of Hackthorn, Helen comes across Mick Burns, busy with a chainsaw. And although trained in forestry, these days Mick uses this violent piece of equipment to create works of art out of scrap wood. From mushrooms and owls to whole carved trees, Mick explains that chainsaws can indeed be used for creative purposes and shows Helen some tricks of the trade. Email Open Country: [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for external web sites

	RELATED LINKS BBC Holiday Category BBC Country file