Readings from the Pavilion End

S3 Ep 1: A Conversation with Nirgunan Tiruchelvam: Who was the greater bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan or Shane Warne?

Today's conversation is with the esteemed Nirgunan Tiruchelvam discussing the merits of two of the greatest spin bowlers of all-time, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne.
Read also 'Clash of the Titans' on the blog. 

S2 Ep 7: Charles Augustus Fortescue by Hilaire Belloc

Today is Monday, where some might begin with fresh resolve to start the week doing things right. We might take inspiration from the subject of today's poem, Charles Augustus Fortescue. Mutton fat for supper, anyone? Carpe diem cras – seize the day tomorrow. 
Find the poem here. 

S2 Ep 6: Joe Root: England’s Greatest Batter?

In this episode, Bill writes from the Pavilion End. Listen to his case for why Joe Root might just be England's greatest batter. Find the full essay on the blog: https://billpavilionend.com/joe-root-englands-greatest-batter/

S2 Ep 5: Fifteen Million Plastic Bags by Adrian Mitchell

Mitchell was a journalist, playwright and protest poet committed to Nuclear Disarmament. The subject of this poem are the vast reserves of body bags stored up in anticipation during the Cold War for millions of fatalities. Angela Carter described him, a “joyous, acrid and demotic tumbling lyricist Pied Piper determinedly singing us away from catastrophe.”
Find the poem here. 

S2 Ep 4: To Autumn by John Keats

This sensuous poem is the final work in Keats's '1819 odesto' - recall the Nightingale from Season 1, Episode 5. The abundance of autumnal harvests is set against an undercurrent of unease and transience. Notice how the florid descriptions of nature is set against the formal rhetoric associated with odes.This also poem marks the poet's own autumn as he succumbed to tuberculosis in 1821 at just 25. 

S2 Ep 3: Life by Anna Laetitia Barbauld

We are nearing the end of September - alas! Today's poem is an extract that reminds us of how mysterious life is. The opening lines of the poem, not narrated in this episode is 'Animula, vagula, blandula' or, 'Charming little soul, hastening away' purportedly attributed to a dying Emperor Hadrian. 
Read the full poem and a commentary here. 

S2 Ep 2: September 1, 1939 by W. H. Auden

Today's poem is a dense and complex work written at the beginning of WWII. Composed of 99 lines, it addresses the bleakness of war and violence, ancient and modern, and responds to the threat of annihilation through an eerily tidy structure.
A poem that Auden would try (and fail) to revise, describing it as "infected with an incurable dishonesty", it nonetheless continues to resonate 85 years later. 

S2 Ep1: A conversation with Imran Khwaja, Deputy Chair of the International Cricket Council

We begin season 2 with a chat from the Pavilion End from the insightful Imran Khwaja (International Cricket Council). We have a wide ranging discussion, beginning from his love for cricket to issues like the effects of inequality of membership statuses on elite performance, and musings on the future of test cricket. Enjoy!

Ep 14: We are such stuff As dreams are made on.. Prospero's soliloquy, The Tempest, Act 4 by William Shakespeare

Prospero addresses Ferdinand and Miranda's after their wedding masque. The temporary revelry of the masque is compared to the fleetingness of life. It is commonly interpreted as an autobiographical reflection on the temporality of Shakespeare's own theatrical career as, based on scholarship, the play was his last solely conceived play.
Find the text and a short commentary here. 

Ep 13: Little Red Riding Hood by Roald Dahl

In celebration of Singapore's National Day, we're bringing you something a bit different today: a cheeky narrative poem by the legendary children's writer Roald Dahl. He offers a twist on the classic tale, adding his signature wit and dark humor. As we take a day off to celebrate Singapore's birthday, with red proudly displayed on the flag, enjoy this delightful retelling.
Find the full poem here.