RADIO CHOICE

BEARDS had been banned in the Army, but the freezing conditions endured by troops during the Crimean War made shaving impossible, so facial hair flourished in the military. This helped to bring ‘soup strainers’, ‘mutton chops’, ‘Piccadilly weepers’ and other forms of facial hair roaring back into fashion. In this week’s edition of THE LONG VIEW (RADIO 4, 9AM, 9.30PM), Jonathan Freedland compares the popularity of beards in the 19th and 21st centuries.

SHELLS exploded over East Aleppo and warplanes tore through the skies as rebel troops retreated before government and allied forces. In the middle of this mayhem, BBC reporter Mike Thomson took a call from a terrified mother with three children. It was a short, desperate call — and after that, there was silence.