Gary Heales, curator of "Toys: a serious business" at Vestry House Museum gives us the low-down on how the exhibition came into being, and which of the toys on show date from his own childhood.

Vestry House Museum - Toys exhibition - Gary Heales - full interview (11min)

Philip Creasy reads A. E. Housman's poem, 'From far, from eve and morning' in the garden at Vestry House Museum as part of the 'Poets for Sales' installation (part of the E17 Art Trail 2014).

Recorded & edited by Matt Taylor.

Poets for Sale: Philip Creasy reads 'From far, from eve and morning'

Tom Lynch performs 'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' recorded live at Vestry House Museum as part of the 'Tales from the Trenches' event in association with Stow Festival 2014.

Recorded/edited by Matt Taylor on 14th September 2014.

Photo: Stephanie Waterman / Stow Festival


Lyrics:

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me?


And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Tom Lynch (Vestry House Museum)

Another beautiful song performed by Tom Lynch at 'Tales from the Trenches'. Part of StowFest 2014.

Recorded & edited by Matt Taylor.
Photo: Stephanie Waterman

Lyrics:

Oh how do you do, young Willy McBride
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside
And rest for a while in the warm summer sun
I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done
And I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the great fallen in 1916
Well I hope you died quick
And I hope you died clean
Or Willy McBride, was is it slow and obscene

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined
And though you died back in 1916
To that loyal heart you're forever nineteen
Or are you a stranger without even a name 
Forever enshrined behind some old glass pane
In an old photograph torn, tattered, and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest

The sun shining down on these green fields of France
The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance
The trenches have vanished long under the plow
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard that's still no mans land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation were butchered and damned

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest

And I can't help but wonder oh Willy McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause
Did you really believe that this war would end wars
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing and dying it was all done in vain
Oh Willy McBride it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest

Green Fields of France - Tom Lynch (Vestry House Museum)

Enjoy a 9 minute (OK, 8 mins 42 seconds) guided taster tour of Vestry House Musem with our Assistant Curator, Gary Heales.

Listen at home if you're not in London or, for the full interactive experience, simply download the file to your phone and start just outside the main door to Vestry House from where Gary will guide you inside, telling you all kinds of fascinating facts about Vestry House's history as the workhouse for Walthamstow. You'll also learn what 'oakum' is and why the Royal Navy was so desperate for it. And finally you can discover how the Bremer car got a number plate decades after it was built.

Recorded & edited by Matt Taylor.


Vestry House Museum: Audio Tour (with Gary Heales)

John McCarthy explores the sacred and profane place of birds in our daily lives.

He considers the many spiritual meanings birds have for humans. From doves as biblical heralds of the Holy Spirit to ravens in the Qur'an, birds are at the iconic heart of almost all world religions. But how did they get there? Is it their ability to fly which grips us? Or the apparent purity and beauty of (many) of their songs and calls?

Along the way, John explores the parallels between listening to Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending, hearing a dawn chorus in Kielder Forest and seeking a personal pathway to the divine. He also recalls a bird-inspired moment of hope during his time in captivity in Lebanon - a memory triggered by the music of the singer, Fairouz.

John meets keen birdwatcher and author, Stephen Moss who tells how his love of birds helped him through divorce and bereavement, and reveals the true meanings of birdsong, which prove to be both paradoxical and far more profane than sacred.

The programme includes poetry from John Clare, prose from Gerald Durrell, and music from Canteloube, Respighi and Chris Watson.

The readers are Madeleine Bowyer and Peter Marinker.

Producer: Matt Taylor
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Something Understood - A Wing And A Prayer 14 Feb 2016

A couple of trails for extended versions of the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs.

Desert Island Discs - Long Play - Trail 2

Desert Island Discs - Long Play - Trail 1

A short interview with Walthamstow's favourite Escalator Motivator, Leon Tsui, winner of Heart FM's Tube's Got Talent.

Discover why he's like a particle accelerator, learn how to pronounce his surname properly and be sure to listen right to the end for a special farewell treat from Leon.

He's @leonmktsui on Twitter.
 

Leon Tsui - Tube's Got Talent Winner - Interview

A feature on the You & Yours programme about the annual award for the best book title, featuring vox pops I recorded in Waterstones Bookshop.

You & Yours - Waterstones Vox Pops - Book Titles

A feature I produced for BBC Radio 4's You & Yours programme on the rising popularity of scented candles.

Presented by Peter White with guest Odette Toilette.
Recorded in John Lewis, Oxford Street.

You & Yours - Scented Candles feature

Matt Taylor meets Paul Boakye to find out more about the 25th Anniversary Production of his play 'Boy With Beer'.

'Boy with Beer' runs 8-26 November 2016 at the Kings Head Theatre, Islington, London.

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Brixton, 1991. The morning after the night before.

“That club last night... I was buzzing, you know”

As London waves goodbye to the 1980s and embraces the new rave scene, Karl is having a hard time holding on to his Ghanaian roots and Donovan is on the run – from his girlfriend.

Playwright Paul Boakye discusses 'Boy with Beer'

Audio lover, mirthster & producer for BBC Radio 4 and others.

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