Daily Mail

RADIO CHOICE

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‘OUTGOING, fun-loving people of all shapes and sizes wanted.’ This advert in a New York newspaper caught the eye of David Sedaris. Weighed down with student debt, he answered the advert and became an elf at Macy’s Santaland. He had to fill in ten pages of forms, be interviewe­d twice and give a urine test before he was allowed to don the green tights. DAVID SEDARIS: THE SANTALAND DIARIES (11.30AM, RADIO 4) is a wildly funny reading, taking us through some of the more bizarre and occasional­ly grotesque moments of life in Santa’s grotto.

DICKENS’S enigmatic Inspector Bucket from Bleak House makes an appearance in WORDS AND MUSIC (5PM, RADIO 3), a selection of poetry, prose and music on the subject of detectives; the world-weary Philip

Marlowe and Sam Spade are also on the roll call. The readers are Hayley Atwell (pictured) and Mark Strong, and the music includes tracks from Chet Baker.

ROBERT BURNS took down the words of Auld Lang Syne from an old man, who told the Scottish poet that it was a very ancient song. The first verse of the original version is about love grown cold; Burns later added some lyrics of his own. SOUL MUSIC (6.30PM, RADIO 4 EXTRA) looks at the background to the song, as well as hearing stories of love, sorrow and parting associated with it.

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