A Vision of Ireland came out of Dev's Hole!

I was definitely too hard on the BBC in my last post. I've only just listened to their version of "The Orphan and the Mob" (as opposed to reading the text of their version), and it works incredibly well as radio. I do mourn some of the stuff they cut out, but they  jam-packed an entire half hour, which is twice their usual length for short stories, and if I were to put anything back I'd just have to take something else out. So, damn good job done by the abridger. Conor Lovett is so good I nearly cried with happiness. Perfect deadpan comic delivery throughout, and then a stunning, restrained, emotional finish that really thumps you in the heart and changes the way you feel about all the previous laughter. So subtle, and so powerful.

Given that it had to go out at 3.30 in the afternoon, they left it as strong as they probably could get away with. I wish they hadn't cut so many Tipperary placenames, but I will die a happy man having heard the line "A Vision of Ireland came out of Dev's Hole!" broadcast on the BBC in daylight.

 Meanwhile, the fact that the BBC have postponed Hanif Kureishi's story is becoming news. I have tremendous sympathy for both sides there. They're both right, given their different situations. Like a fox trying to eat a rabbit, and a rabbit trying to escape a fox, you can understand both, but they can't afford to understand each other.