RADIO CHOICE

THE rippling sand dunes of the world’s oldest desert cover much of Namibia, where strange plants, which live for a thousand years, survive. In the main port, Tyrolean houses, with gables and balconies, add to the surrealism of the landscape. Namibia was once a German colony where, in 1904, German troops massacred Herero and Nama men, women and children. CROSSING CONTINENTS

(RADIO 4, 11AM) hears how Namibia is now suing Germany for compensation for these historic atrocities.

JULIE HESMONDHALGH

(pictured) presents RED LETTER DAYS (RADIO 4,

11.30AM), a programme on significant birthdays. She talks about the pleasure she got from planting 50 trees to mark her 50th birthday, and hears a poetic, poignant contribution from Lemn Sissay about the sadness

of birthdays for those who grow up in care, with no family celebrations.

DAVID SEDARIS and his sister Amy had a pretend chat show when they were children, with Amy always at ease in front of the imaginary camera. Decades later, Amy has her own U.S. TV show, where audiences roll in the aisles at her improvised gags. David, meanwhile, hones and polishes his material before embarking on one of his sell-out comedy tours. In the third of his new series MEET DAVID SEDARIS (RADIO 4, 6.30PM), he looks at the siblings’ different styles.