Heavy reading

Press, 23 September 1980, Page 15

Heavy reading

The year’s weightiest book must surely be “The Macmillan Dictionary of Sport and Games.” It contains 1.25 million words and ranges from bowls in ancient Egypt to beetlefighting in modern. Thailand. It was all compiled by one man, a London schoolteacher called J. A. Cuddon, who tonight talks on “8.8. C. World of Books” about some of the surprises in the book and about the need for humour in looking at sport. Concert programme, 7 p.m. • The New Zealand writer, James McNeish, can be heard tonight in “8.8. C. World of Books.” He talks about the fascination with Israel and its people which led to his latest book, “Belonging.” It is a record of conversations with 15 Israelis who came from backgrounds as diverse as Siberia, America, and Arab villages. He describes Israel as “the most paradoxical, most infuriating country in the world.” A new pop-up children’s book has won the Kate Greenaway Award for children’s literature. Called “Haunted House” by Jan Pienowski, it has ghosts and monsters that really do jump out at you as you turn the pages. The author is asked why it does not frighten small children nearly as much as it does adults. “8.8. C. World of Books,” Concert programme, 7 p.m.

Schoolgirl’s tale “Pania’s Story” tells of the life of a 15-year-old schoolgirl named Pania. She tells of the death of her mother, her father’s illness, her friends from school, and her leisuretime activities in this programme, which was first broadcast as part of Radio New Zealand’s “Spectrum” series. The programme was developed from a school project which was handed to the “Spectrum” producer, Alwyn Owen, who began reading it out of politeness more than anything else. He was impressed by the story and the way it was written, and converted it into a radio documentary. “It is,” says Alwyn Owen, “a simple and moving account of a young girl growing up in the city, writing with insight and love.” National programme, 8 p.m. Local cellist The New Zealand cellist, Ross Pople, who was back in New Zealand from London for a concert ter recently, can be heard recorded from a recital ue gave in Christchurch. With Bruce Greenfield, piano, he presents Debussy’s Sonata in D minor,

but first he alone plays the Kodaly Sonata for solo cello, Opus 8. Concert programme, S p.m. N.Z. symphony Jenny McLeod’s Little Symphony of 1963 can be heard at 8.42 p.m. in the Concert programme series of seven programmes showcasing symphonic works by New Zealand composers. Peter Zwartz conducts the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. ‘Word play’ “Word Play” is a lighthearted programme, produced by Radio New Zealand in Auckland, which presents a panel of four in contest with words and music. To play the game the panelists recognise voices and tunes of the past, identify sounds, debate the validity of words real or imaginery,. and at the same time look for and correct errors in a quoted passage of literature. The team consists of Bute Hewes, Alice Worsleyr, Marcus Craig, and Jenny Anderson. The questions are posed by the chairman, Bill Leathwick. Tonight’s programme is •• repeated from last Sunday. National programme, 8.45 p.m.