Nigel Molesworth is a fictional character, the supposed author of a series of books about life in an English prep school named St Custard's. The books were written by Geoffrey Willans , with cartoon illustrations by Ronald Searle .
63-516: The Molesworth books were the result of an approach by Willans to the cartoonist, Searle, to illustrate a series of books based on a column he had been writing for Punch . They appeared in instalments in the children's magazine The Young Elizabethan , described by Molesworth as "the super smashing New Young Elizabethan ahem (advert.)". Searle had grown disillusioned with his highly popular St Trinian's School series but had promised his publisher Max Parrish another Christmas best-seller. While Searle
126-409: A Sunday. This has reduced the total number of continuity announcers required each day down from four to three. The Greenwich Time Signal , popularly known as "the pips", is broadcast every hour to herald the news bulletin, except at midnight and 18:00, and 22:00 on Sunday, when the chimes of Big Ben are played. There is no Greenwich Time Signal at 15:00 on Saturday or 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday due to
189-463: A broadcast signal from Radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in Great Britain. BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a wide variety of speech-related programming, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. Music is broadcast as in documentaries relating to various forms of both popular and classical music, and the long-running music-based Desert Island Discs . Sport
252-613: A cartoonist and engraver. It ceased publication in 1850. BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC . The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House , London . Since 2019, the station controller has been Mohit Bakaya . He replaced Gwyneth Williams , who had been
315-669: A continuous news service devoted to the Gulf War , Radio 4 News FM , with the main Radio 4 service transferring to long wave. Before this, Radio 4's FM frequencies had occasionally been used for additional news coverage, generally for live coverage of statements and debates in Parliament. By the start of the 1990s, Radio 4 had become available on FM in most of the UK - previously FM coverage had been restricted mainly to England and south Wales. This meant that it
378-405: A lack of female broadcasters. In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints. In addition, there has been long-running criticism by atheist and humanist groups of Thought for
441-432: A long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002. Punch was founded on 17 July 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells , on an initial investment of £25. It was jointly edited by Mayhew and Mark Lemon . It was subtitled The London Charivari in homage to Charles Philipon 's French satirical humour magazine Le Charivari . Reflecting their satiric and humorous intent,
504-464: A planned switch-off of long wave transmissions by 2025. BBC Radio 4's medium wave frequencies were switched off on 15 April 2024, which previously served as relays in areas with a weak LW signal to provide reception of BBC Radio 4 LW, such as Northern Ireland and south west England. Most were turned off at 12:27 PM BST and broadcast an endless closedown loop informing listeners to retune to other methods of reception. The final transmitter to change into
567-519: A result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference (all ITU Region 1 MW/LW broadcast frequencies are divisible by 9). At this point, Radio 4 became available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until 29 September 1984. For a time during the 1970s Radio 4 carried regional news bulletins Monday to Saturday. These were broadcast twice at breakfast, at lunchtime and at 17:55. There were also programme variations for
630-598: A satirical context; the phrase often appears in Private Eye ). It was used by J. K. Rowling to end an essay she wrote for Pegasus , the journal of the University of Exeter Department of Classics and Ancient History, reminiscing on her studies there. In fact, Rowling mentions in the essay that she had read the books. (Notably, there is mention of a 'Latin pla' which Molesworth has to read: 'the Hogwarts'. The name also crops up for
693-484: A year after broadcast as streaming audio from Radio 4's listen again page and via BBC Sounds . A selection of programmes is also available as podcasts or downloadable audio files. Many comedy and drama programmes from the Radio 4 archives are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra . Due to the capacity limitations of DAB and increasing sport broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra , BBC Radio 4 DAB has to reduce its bit rate most evenings, such that after 7 p.m. its DAB output
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#1732883959155756-403: Is also not part of the station's output, apart from during news bulletins, although between 1994 and 2023, the station's long wave frequency was used to broadcast ball-by-ball commentaries of most Test cricket matches played by England. Consequently, for around 70 days a year, listeners had to rely on FM broadcasts or DAB for mainstream Radio 4 broadcasts – the number relying solely on long wave
819-516: Is considered by many to be its flagship. There is no comparable British commercial network: Channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech-based digital radio station in October 2008 as part of a £100m cost cutting review. The station is available on FM in most of Great Britain, parts of Ireland and the north of France; LW throughout the UK and in parts of Northern Europe, and the Atlantic north of
882-559: Is recognised as its first woman contributor. In the 1860s and '70s, conservative Punch faced competition from upstart liberal journal Fun , but after about 1874, Fun' s fortunes faded. At Evans's café in London, the two journals had "round tables" in competition with each other. After months of financial difficulty and lack of market success, Punch became a staple for British drawing rooms because of its sophisticated humour and absence of offensive material, especially when viewed against
945-534: Is the second-most-popular British domestic radio station by total hours, after Radio 2 . It recorded its highest audience, of 11 million listeners, in May 2011, and was "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2023 Radio Academy Awards . It also won a Peabody Award in 2002 for File on 4: Export Controls . Costing £71.4 million (2005/6), it is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and
1008-594: Is usually in mono, even though many of its programmes are made in stereo (including its flagship drama "The Archers"), these can be heard in stereo only on FM, Digital TV on Freeview & Freesat (Ch. 704), Sky, Virgin and on line via BBC Sounds. BBC World Service, which uses BBC Radio 4 FM & DAB frequencies between 01:00 and 05:20, is in stereo, but only on Radio 4 FM & DAB and not on its own dedicated DAB channel. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts in mono on DAB, but has always been in stereo on Digital TV (Freeview / Freesat Ch 708), Sky, Virgin and online. Announcers carry out
1071-519: The Westminster Review , which published a 53-page illustrated article on Punch's first two volumes. Historian Richard Altick writes that "To judge from the number of references to it in the private letters and memoirs of the 1840s... Punch had become a household word within a year or two of its founding, beginning in the middle class and soon reaching the pinnacle of society, royalty itself". Increasing in readership and popularity throughout
1134-698: The Azores to about 20 degrees west; DAB ; Digital TV including Freeview , Freesat , Sky and Virgin Media , and on the Internet. Freesat, Sky and Virgin have a separate channel for Radio 4 LW output in mono, in addition to the FM output. The longwave signal is part of the Royal Navy's system of letters of last resort . In the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on Britain, submarine captains, in addition to other checks, check for
1197-609: The BBC National Programme . The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example, the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s. When the British Broadcasting Company first began transmissions on 14 November 1922 from station 2LO in the Strand , which it had inherited from
1260-559: The English language , including The Crystal Palace , and the " Curate's egg " (first seen in an 1895 cartoon by George du Maurier ). Several British humour classics were first serialised in Punch , such as the Diary of a Nobody and 1066 and All That . Towards the end of the 19th century, the artistic roster included Harry Furniss , Linley Sambourne , Francis Carruthers Gould , and Phil May . Among
1323-598: The Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben . The pips are only accurate on FM, and LW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and online up to 23 seconds. Radio 4 broadcasts the Shipping Forecast which, in August 2017, was 150 years old. According to RAJAR , the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 9.2 million with a listening share of 11.1% as of December 2023. BBC Radio 4
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#17328839591551386-510: The Harry Potter books. Unlike these others, however, the Molesworth books do not consist of linear storylines but rather feature Molesworth's wisdom on a variety of topics as well as his fanciful daydreams. The topics covered extend from boarding-school life to reflections on the culture of 1950s Britain. Television (then still relatively novel to British households), the start of space travel and
1449-523: The Marconi Company (one of six commercial companies which created), but technology did not yet exist either for national coverage or joint programming between transmitters . Whilst it was possible to combine large numbers of trunk telephone lines to link transmitters for individual programmes, the process was expensive and not encouraged by the General Post Office as it tied up large parts of
1512-527: The Study on 4 / Options adult education slot from Radio 4's FM frequencies. Consequently, the full Radio 4 schedule became available on FM for the first time. However, adult educational and Open University programming returned to Radio 4 in 1994 when Radio 5 was closed to make way for the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live and were broadcast until the end of the 1990s on Sunday evenings on longwave only. Between 17 January 1991 and 2 March 1991 FM broadcasts were replaced by
1575-411: The "mad maths master", who frequently appears as Molesworth's nemesis in his daydreams. St Custard's, according to Molesworth, "was built by a madman in 1836". The school's traditional local rivals are Porridge Court, who regularly beat St Custard's convincingly in all sporting events. Molesworth's spelling is consistently poor throughout all the books, as many words are rendered phonetically, including
1638-446: The BBC announced that Radio 4 will stop broadcasting opt-outs on long wave with the last opt-outs airing on 31 March 2024. The two displaced programmes, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament moved to BBC Radio 4 Extra . The daily amount of Shipping Forecasts was reduced to be broadcast 2 times on weekdays and 3 times on weekends. Test Match Special moved to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra on 31 July 2023. These end ahead of
1701-436: The Molesworth diaries that appeared in Punch between August 1939 and December 1942 in one volume titled The Lost Diaries of Nigel Molesworth . They were illustrated by Uli Meyer in the style of Ronald Searle. Some of the pupils at St Custard's: Some of the staff at St Custard's: Many of the staff are anonymous. In 1987 the character was reprised for a four-part BBC Radio 4 series, Molesworth . Written by Simon Brett,
1764-470: The Saturday Afternoon drama and the omnibus edition of The Archers respectively. Only pips broadcast on FM and LW are accurate. On digital platforms there is a delay of between three and five seconds, and up to 23 seconds online. Radio 4 programmes cover a wide variety of genre including news and current affairs, history, culture, science, religion, arts, comedy, drama and entertainment. A number of
1827-483: The anarchic puppet Mr Punch, of Punch and Judy , as their mascot—the character appears in many magazine covers—with the character also an inspiration for the magazine's name. With its satire of the contemporary, social, and political scene, Punch became a household name in Victorian Britain. Sales of 40,000 copies a week by 1850 rose above 100,000 by 1910. After the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into
1890-519: The archives was acquired by the British Library , including the Punch table. The long, oval, Victorian table was brought into the offices some time around 1855, and was used for staff meetings and on other occasions. The wooden surface is scarred with the carved initials of the magazine's long-term writers, artists, and editors, as well as six invited "strangers", including James Thurber and Charles III (then Prince of Wales ). Mark Twain declined
1953-510: The atomic age, the Davy Crockett craze and "How to be a young Elizabethan" all feature, as well as more timeless topics such as Christmas, the French, journalism (with "N. Molesworth, Ace Reporter") and "Gurls". Simon Brett later wrote two sequels to the series in which a grown-up Nigel offered his observations on subjects such as jobs, family, holidays and D.I.Y. In 2022 Korero Press published
Nigel Molesworth - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-505: The closedown loop was the Plymouth relay on 774 kHz at 4:59 PM BST. These relays stopped broadcasting the closedown loop and fell silent completely by 30 April 2024. An online schedule page lists the running order of programmes. The station broadcasts a mix of live and pre-recorded programmes. Live programming includes breakfast programme Today , magazine programme Woman's Hour , consumer affairs programme You and Yours , and (often)
2079-655: The early years, though Richard Doyle designed what became the magazine's masthead in 1849. Artists who published in Punch during the 1840s and 1850s included John Leech , Doyle, John Tenniel , and Charles Keene . This group became known as "The Punch Brotherhood", which also included Charles Dickens, who joined Bradbury and Evans after leaving Chapman and Hall in 1843. Punch' s authors and artists also contributed to another Bradbury and Evans literary magazine called Once A Week (est. 1859), created in response to Dickens' departure from Household Words . Helen Hoppner Coode contributed nineteen drawings to Punch and
2142-420: The end. Whereas the earlier version of Punch prominently featured the clownish character Punchinello (Punch of Punch and Judy ) performing antics on front covers, the resurrected Punch did not use the character, but featured on its weekly covers a photograph of a boxing glove, thus informing its readers that the new magazine intended its name to mean "punch" in the sense of a boxing blow. In 2004, much of
2205-420: The following duties from Broadcasting House: Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House. In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten. Other continuity announcers for whom it is not known whether they are freelance or BBC employees, include Joanna Kean, Kelsey Bennett, Arlene Fleming (who also used to read
2268-531: The headmaster of Porridge Court, who is named 'Hoggwart' in the book.) The phrase 'as any fule kno' was also used as the title of a Deep Purple song, " Any Fule Kno That ". The books in the series are, in order of original publication: They are part of a British tradition of children's books set at boarding schools ( school stories ), which includes the Billy Bunter stories, the Jennings novels and most recently
2331-562: The invitation, saying that the already-carved initials of William Makepeace Thackeray included his own. Punch was influential throughout the British Empire , and in countries including Turkey, India, Japan, and China, with Punch imitators appearing in Cairo, Yokohama, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. A Canadian version, Punch in Canada , was launched on 1 January 1849, by John H. Walker (1831–99),
2394-456: The magazine was sold to Bradbury and Evans , both printers and publishers. Bradbury and Evans capitalised on newly evolving mass printing technologies and also were the publishers for Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray . The term " cartoon " to refer to comic drawings was first used in Punch in 1843, when the Houses of Parliament were to be decorated with murals, and "cartoons" for
2457-476: The mural were displayed for the public; the term "cartoon" then meant a finished preliminary sketch on a large piece of cardboard, or cartone in Italian. Punch humorously appropriated the term to refer to its political cartoons, and the popularity of the Punch cartoons led to the term's widespread use. Illustrator Archibald Henning designed the cover of the magazine's first issues. The cover design varied in
2520-682: The music, film, books, arts and culture programme Front Row . Continuity is managed from Broadcasting House with news bulletins, including the hourly summaries and longer programmes such as the Six O'Clock News and Midnight News , and news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM , which by early 2013 had returned to Broadcasting House after 15 years at BBC Television Centre in White City . The news returning to Broadcasting House has also meant that newsreaders can provide cover for continuity, which regularly occurs at 23:00 each night and 16:00 on
2583-399: The names of those Molesworth knows. Grimes' name is one of the very few he spells correctly, but he always writes it in all capital letters to signify his fear of him. Regardless, many fans find this feature endearing. The phrase "as any fule kno", appended to many of Nigel's pronouncements, has achieved fame beyond its author and can sometimes be seen in the mainstream British press (usually in
Nigel Molesworth - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-515: The news) and Richard Evans. Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues, as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly " socially and culturally conservative" approach. There has been criticism of Today in particular for
2709-432: The outstanding cartoonists of the following century were Bernard Partridge , H. M. Bateman , Bernard Hollowood (who also edited the magazine from 1957 to 1968), Kenneth Mahood, and Norman Thelwell . Circulation broke the 100,000 mark around 1910, and peaked in 1947–1948 at 175,000 to 184,000. Sales declined steadily thereafter; ultimately, the magazine was forced to close in 2002 after 161 years of publication. Punch
2772-562: The parts of England not served by BBC Local Radio stations. These included Roundabout East Anglia , a VHF opt-out of the Today programme broadcast from BBC East 's studios in Norwich each weekday from 6.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. Roundabout East Anglia came to an end in August 1980, ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Norfolk . All regional news bulletins broadcast from BBC regional news bases around England ended in August 1980, apart from in
2835-452: The performance of the previous year's The Terror of St Trinian's . Nigel Molesworth is a schoolboy at St Custard's, a fictional (and dysfunctional) prep school located in a carefully unspecified part of England. It is ruled with an iron fist by Headmaster "GRIMES" (BA, Stoke-on-Trent ), who is constantly in search of cash to supplement his income and has a part-time business running a whelk stall. Other masters include Sigismund Arbuthnot,
2898-484: The programmes on Radio 4 take the form of a "magazine" show, featuring numerous small contributions over the course of the programme— Woman's Hour , From Our Own Correspondent , You and Yours . The rise of these magazine shows is primarily due to the work of Tony Whitby , controller of Radio 4 from 1970 to 1975. The station hosts a number of long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years. Most programmes are available for 30 days or over
2961-490: The remainder of the 1840s and '50s, Punch was the success story of a threepenny weekly paper that had become one of the most talked-about and enjoyed periodicals. Punch enjoyed an audience including Elizabeth Barrett , Robert Browning , Thomas Carlyle , Edward FitzGerald , Charlotte Brontë , Queen Victoria , Prince Albert , Ralph Waldo Emerson , Emily Dickinson , Herman Melville , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , and James Russell Lowell . Punch gave several phrases to
3024-451: The rights to the name, and Punch was relaunched later that year. The new version of the magazine was intended to be a spoiler aimed at Private Eye , which had published many items critical of Fayed. Punch never became profitable in its new incarnation, and at the end of May 2002, it was announced as once more ceasing publication. Press reports quoted a loss of £16 million over the six years of publication, with only 6,000 subscribers at
3087-503: The satirical press of the time. The Times and the Sunday paper News of the World used small pieces from Punch as column fillers, giving the magazine free publicity and indirectly granting a degree of respectability, a privilege not enjoyed by any other comic publication. Punch shared a friendly relationship with not only The Times , but also journals aimed at intellectual audiences such as
3150-517: The series portrayed Molesworth in middle age, still surrounded by many of the characters from his youth. Molesworth was played by Willie Rushton , with Penelope Nice as his wife Louise, and Clive Swift as the now aged ex-headmaster Grimes. In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century , Basil Fotherington-Tomas cameos in Chapter 2 as a member of the band Purple Orchestra. Punch (magazine) Punch, or The London Charivari
3213-438: The southwest as until January 1983 there was no BBC Local Radio in the southwest so these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme, Morning Sou'West , continued to be broadcast from the BBC studios in Plymouth on VHF and on the Radio 4 medium wave Plymouth relay until 31 December 1982. The launch of Radio 5 on 27 August 1990 saw the removal of Open University , schools programming, children's programmes and
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#17328839591553276-730: The station controller since 2010. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM , LW and DAB , and on BBC Sounds , it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland , northern France and Northern Europe . It is available on Freeview , Sky , and Virgin Media . Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after BBC Radio 2 . BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM heralded on air by
3339-545: The station was transferred to the new British Broadcasting Company which in 1923 took up the nearby Savoy Hill for its broadcasting studios. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1923, the twelve chimes of Big Ben were broadcast for the first time to mark the new year. In 1927 the company became the British Broadcasting Corporation . On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the BBC Regional Programme and
3402-454: The telephone network. The stations that followed the establishment of 2LO in London were therefore autonomously programmed using local talent and facilities. By May 1923, simultaneous broadcasting was technically possible at least between main transmitters and relay stations , the quality was not felt to be high enough to provide a national service or regular simultaneous broadcasts. In 1924, it
3465-545: The two editors took for their name and masthead the anarchic glove puppet, Mr. Punch, of Punch and Judy ; the name also referred to a joke made early on about one of the magazine's first editors, Lemon, that " punch is nothing without lemon". Mayhew ceased to be joint editor in 1842 and became "suggestor in chief" until he severed his connection in 1845. The magazine initially struggled for readers, except for an 1842 Almanack issue which shocked its creators by selling 90,000 copies. In December 1842 due to financial difficulties,
3528-425: Was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells . Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term " cartoon " in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. Artists at Punch included John Tenniel who, from 1850, was the chief cartoon artist at the magazine for over 50 years. The editors took
3591-460: Was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on 30 September 1967, when the BBC restructured and renamed its domestic radio stations, in response to the challenge of offshore radio . It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency (1,500 metres) previously held by Radio 2 - later moved to 198 kHz as
3654-542: Was collected in book formats from the late 19th century, which included Pick of the Punch annuals with cartoons and text features, Punch and the War (a 1941 collection of WWII-related cartoons), and A Big Bowl of Punch – which was republished a number of times. Many Punch cartoonists of the late 20th century published collections of their own, partly based on Punch contributions. In early 1996, businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed bought
3717-471: Was felt that technical standards had improved enough for London to start to provide the majority of the output, cutting the local stations back to providing items of local interest. Each of these main stations were broadcast at approximately 1 kilowatt (kW): Each of these relay stations were broadcast at approximately 120 watts (W): The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and
3780-607: Was initially sceptical about another school-based project, he was won over by the examples he was given to read by Willans. Between the initial publication in 1953 and Willans' death in 1958 at the age of 47 three books were completed and most of a fourth ( Back in the Jug Agane ) written; the Compleet Molesworth anthology was also under way. The first book, Down with Skool! , was published in October 1953 and by that Christmas had sold, according to Searle, 53,848 copies, surpassing
3843-484: Was now a small minority. The cricket broadcasts took precedence over on-the-hour news bulletins, but not the Shipping Forecast , carried since Radio 4's move to long wave in 1978 because long wave can be received clearly at sea. Initially the power was 100 watts on 350 metres (857 kHz ). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the "operator" had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922
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#17328839591553906-434: Was possible for the main Radio 4 service to be transferred from LW to FM, and this took place on 16 September 1991 with opt-outs - extra shipping forecasts, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament , joined in 1994 by Test Match Special . Longwave also occasionally opted out at other times, such as to broadcast special services, the most recent being when Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010 . On 30 May 2023,
3969-531: Was widely emulated worldwide and was popular throughout the British Empire . The experience of Britons in British colonies, especially in India, influenced Punch and its iconography. Tenniel's Punch cartoons of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny led to a surge in the magazine's popularity. India was frequently caricatured in Punch and was an important source of knowledge on the subcontinent for British readers. Punch material
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