TODAY’S RADIO

Living World

6.35AM, RADIO 4

Pigeons find their way home using their internal magnetic compass, observations of the position of the sun and a sense of smell that helps them to assess wind direction. They also use roads, railways and motorways, as they can recognise the transport systems that lead them to their roosts. In this archive programme, Chris Armstrong reports on the details of his study on pigeon navigation at Oxford University’s Wytham Field Station.

Desert Island Discs Revisited – The Critical Eye

10.15AM, 9.15PM, RADIO 4 EXTRA

The late A.A. Gill spent a lost decade of his life in a haze of drugs and alcohol, moving from squat to squat. He survived this deadly regime, thanks to an intervention by his GP, and threw himself with the fervour of an obsessive into the world of cooking and restaurant

Gaby Roslin (7.15pm, Radio 4)

reviewing. He could hardly spell a word, but wrote like an angel. We get a chance to hear about A.A. Gill’s life and his favourite music in this archive programme.

Desert Island Discs

11.15AM, RADIO 4

The veteran football commentator John Motson, who has recently hung up his microphone after 50 years in the job, is Kirsty Young’s castaway this week. But will the Match of the Day theme music make his list of eight recordings?

What Sweetness Touched Your Tongue?

4.30PM, RADIO 4

Dorothy Barnes was an Edwardian cook who became a shepherd’s wife. All through her life, she wrote down recipes in a little black notebook; some are for long forgotten dishes such as railway pudding and puzzle pudding. Her granddaughter, the poet Alison Brackenbury, looks through Dorothy’s favourite recipes and gets a taste of the past.

Gaby’s Talking Pictures

7.15PM, RADIO 4

Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona do some impressive impersonations of stars of the screen in this second of a film quiz series hosted by

Gaby Roslin. Team captains John Thomson and Ellie Taylor are joined by the actress Sarah Hadland and the comedian Marcus Brigstocke.