I just listened to the archive hour on radio 4. It’s an odd programme: sometimes it’s dreadful ("in 1950 there was some obscure entertainer on the radio who was dull then and is worse now"); sometimes it’s excellent.

Today it was about the Falklands invasion with recordings of the Island radio. The Falklands conflict was as enormous political event of my childhood, and I have many conflicting feelings about it. But the invasion itself involves a civilian population, with a few soldiers, at the end of military invasion they could not hope to stop. The archive hour described the events in a simple and straightforward manner, leaving the drama of the recordings to tell the story. The broadcaster showed extraordinary bravery, speaking to his children, then hoping for a return of the Islands to their peaceful state.

Originally published on my old blog site.