18/05/2011

This week Libby Purves is joined by Dr Kevin Jones, Vic Armstrong, Vidal Sassoon and Peter Jefferson. Dr Kevin Jones is an NHS Consultant in Acute Medicine at the Royal Bolton Hospital and is also a comedian. He features in a short film, 'Dying for a Laugh', along with stand-up comedians including Shappi Khorsandi, Ricky Tomlinson, and Dave Spikey, all reflecting (and joking) about the taboo subject of death. The film supports National Dying Matters Awareness Week which aims to get people talking more openly about end of life care and dying. Vic Armstrong is a British-born stuntman and director. He has worked in the movie industry for forty years, as stunt double for Indiana Jones, James Bond and Superman, and has directed action scenes for three James Bond movies, 'Mission Impossible 3' and 'I Am Legend', to name but a few. His autobiography, 'The True Adventures of The World's Greatest Stuntman' is published by Titan Books. Vidal Sassoon is known as the man who 'changed the world with a pair of scissors', with the Bauhaus-inspired hair styles he pioneered in the 1960s and his 'wash and wear' philosophy. His life story is a true rags to riches one, told in a new film Vidal Sassoon The Movie which traces his path from his early days in an orphanage in the East End, to his time as a soldier in Israel, his beginnings on Bond Street and ultimately to international success and celebrity. Peter Jefferson is a former BBC announcer who read the shipping forecast on Radio 4 for over forty years. He's now written a book detailing the history of this British institution and looking at its broader cultural influence. 'And Now the Shipping Forecast' is published by UIT Cambridge.