Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Count From The Splash | 20100615 | A series of new short stories - set variously in Finland, Shetland and Orkney - exploring the magical light, and white nights, of far northern summers. Count From The Splash' by Helen Dunmore. Read by Tracy Wiles. Produced by Kirsteen Cameron. Midsummer in Finland: a time of feasting and celebration. Maija's husband has been invited to a big party in the countryside by his boss Frederik - who is high up in the television industry. Tiring of the media chatter, Maija goes looking for Anna, Frederik's wife and, along the way, bumps into a friend from her childhood. She hasn't seen Birgit since they were nine and she is almost unrecognisable: badly scarred by years of drink and drug addiction. Walking together around the lake, away from the party-goers, the pair experience long-lost feelings of the excitement and energy of their childhood selves. Helen Dunmore is an acclaimed novelist, poet and children's author. After graduating from the University of York, she taught English as a foreign language in Finland. Her novels include: A Spell of Winter and The Seige. In March this year, her poem 'The Malarkey' won the National Poetry Competition. Her new novel The Betrayal is set in 1950s Leningrad. Meija meets an old school friend at a midsummer party in Finland. Read by Tracy Wiles. |
| 02 | Casting | 20100616 | Second in a series of new short stories which take their inspiration from the magical light, and white nights, of far northern summers. Casting' by Hannah McGill. Read by Claire Knight. Produced by Kirsteen Cameron. A film crew create ripples when they descend upon a tiny island community on Shetland. Hannah McGill is Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. A writer and critic, she was born in Lerwick, the capital of Shetland and Britain's most northerly town. By Hannah McGill. A pair of filmmakers land in a tiny island community on Shetland. |
| 03 | The Longest Day | 20100617 | Last in this series of new short stories which explore and describe the magical light of far northern summers. The Longest Day' by Alison Miller. Read by Tracy Wiles. Produced by Kirsteen Cameron. Leaving her old life in Glasgow behind, Jan has moved back home to Orkney. Drawn to the beauty of the landscape, and the close-knit island community, she's surprised to find herself craving romance. Fighting loneliness, she agrees to meet a stranger for a blind date, on her favourite beach, at 8pm on the longest day of the year. Alison Miller was born in Orkney, where in summer it never grows completely dark. She draws much of her inspiration to write from her island background. She now lives in Glasgow and her first novel, Demo, was set there and in two other cities, Florence and London. For her second, a work in progress, she returns to Orkney, to the sea and the light of summer as well as the winter darkness. By Alison Miller. Surprised by loneliness, Jan seeks diversion in a blind date. |