Desert Island Dreamers
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oxfordtimes.co.uk Castaway Desert island dreamers As the Castaway series – in which prominent people with an Oxfordshire connection are interviewed and asked what they would take with them to the mythical island of Oxtopia – draws to a close, Sylvia Vetta takes a look to see how some have been getting on Dr Christopher Brown: January 2008, chosen museum’s Treasures Gallery. By 2009, ‘antique’ had object Arthur’s Jewel; and September 2014, become ‘object’ and the emphasis had moved from chosen object Rembrandt’s drawing of his artefacts to the life of the castaway. When he was about to retire after transforming the building and father. culture of the venerable institution, I interviewed him again but this time focused on his life, so Christopher As director of the world’s first public museum, the is the only person to have been castaway twice! He Ashmolean, Christopher was an obvious choice to be has since retired from the directorship but is active the first castaway. When I began the series I was an art academically working towards a landmark exhibition and antiques feature writer. In 2008, the question was: entitled Young Rembrandt planned for 2020, in a ‘Which work of art, antique or book would you take to collaboration between Leiden’s Lakenhal Museum and Oxtopia?’. He talked about intriguing objects from the the Ashmolean. Sir Roger and Lady Moyra Bannister: with them coincided with a retrospective of Moyra’s February 2011, chosen objects Roger, an work at the Dragon School. antique phrenology head, and Moyra, a In the following London Olympics year, Sir Roger collection of English poetry which she illustrated – the first chairman of the executive Sports Council for her children and grandchildren. in 1971 with a life-long commitment to Sport for All – was not only much in demand for interviews but he When I interviewed them the main topic of carried the Olympic flame at the Iffley Road running conversation was Sir Roger’s courageous career as track, in the stadium now named after him and took a neurologist, for which he was awarded a lifetime part in the inspirational opening ceremony. achievement award by the US National Academy His autobiography Twin Tracks was published in of Science. Courageous because in the 1950s he 2014, in which he tells of the years of enormous effort was prepared to use himself as a guinea pig in that went into ensuring that the first man to break experiments. Moyra is an artist, as is her Oxford- the four-minute mile was British. His description of based daughter Erin Townsend, and my interview May 6, 1954 is full of tension and suspense. Bettany Hughes: December 2009, chosen object was already a familiar face on our television screens. a 3,500-year-old votive offering in the shape of At that time her subjects were mostly from the a baby, discovered by Arthur Evans in Crete Greco/Roman world but since then she has embraced and now in the Ashmolean. a more global history. The BBC series Socrates, The Buddha, Confucius and a Middle Path was followed When I interviewed her in 2009, Bettany was about by Genius of the Modern World for BBC Four which to be one of the speakers at the academic opening of looked at Fredrick Nietzsche, Karl Marx and Sigmund the new Ashmolean. She described how it had played Freud. She has also been prolific in radio, two recent an inspirational role at the start of her career. Hers series being Ancient Ways and The Ideas that Make Us. Charlotte Bannister Parker: May 2012, chosen township in South Africa. object a Leonard Cheshire portrait by Peter In 2011, she launched the British branch of Greenham. the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF). It has not only thrived but in 2015 Charlotte became the Keeping pace with all the places and projects on International President of CRF. CRF empowers which the persuasive Charlotte has left her imprint disadvantaged young people across seven countries as film maker, charity director and priest is almost in Africa by training them to be radio reporters. The impossible and she has risked her life going into resulting empowerment is life changing and they dark and dangerous situations. Her husband William broadcast to more than 8 million Africans. Charlotte Parker requested a pre-nuptial agreement that she persuaded another Castaway, Radiohead’s Colin never go back to the frontline but that didn’t stop her Greenwood, to be CRF’s Global Ambassador. She also taking her whole family to live for four months in a continues her work as a priest in Oxford. Turn to page 49 October 2016 Oxfordshire Limited Edition 47 oxfordtimes.co.uk Castaway From page 47 Nancy Hunt: November 2014, chosen clinics reaching object a reproduction of Leonardo da over 600 people Vinci’s Last Supper. a day over the last four years. Radio presenter Castaway Jo Thoenes told The young me about an inspirational charity called people from Nasio Trust. From humble beginnings in a Oxfordshire shack it had gone on to build and run two helped on day centres where it was supporting more one of those than 300 orphans and vulnerable children in temporary clinics where Kenya, many of whom were HIV positive. they were Its founder Nancy Hunt had persuaded Jo to filmed by the climb Kilimanjaro to help raise money for the BBC treating charity. The story of the Nasio Trust is bound children with up with the story of its Kenyan-born founder, painful jiggers who left her successful career in the Thames (parasitic fleas Valley Police to grow the charity. which burrow Since she was castaway, the number of deep) in their orphans Nasio supports within the community feet. In 2015 in Kenya self-sufficient by 2020 through (not in orphanages) has risen to more than we started work on building a medical centre selling the excess spirulina not needed for 400. which is now running and benefiting the the children. To help Nancy achieve her aim, In 2015, The Children’s Radio Foundation whole community.” another Castaway, writer Helen Peacocke (CRF) led by Charlotte Bannister Parker and With funding from Kennington Overseas created 25 recipes in which spirulina is an Nasio took 16 young people, mostly from Aid, in 2014, Nasio built 40 tanks in which optional ingredient. Green Power the Spirulina Wallingford School, to Kenya. CRF trained to grow spirulina – an algae with the highest most of them, along with young Kenyans, to protein content of any natural food (50-70 Cookbook is on sale on the Nasio website be radio reporters to connect with each other per cent). When it is added to their diet, HIV (thenasiotrust.org). and broadcast the results. Nancy said: “We children are much healthier, put on weight For her work in Oxfordshire and Kenya, partnered with the Red Cross and regional and develop normally. Nancy was given the 2014 NatWest Venus hospitals to run annual temporary medical Nancy aims to make the Nasio projects Award for inspirational person. George McGavin: February 2009, chosen least-loved roads in the country. object Fitzroy’s storm barometer. When I interviewed the entomologist, naturalist and television personality George The BBC’s Desert Island Discs send their McGavin he had recently taken part in the castaways alone to an island but my concept series The Lost Land of the Jaguar. Since of Oxtopia was that all 118 castaways being castaway, he has been on the team should be together on the island and create involved in The Lost Land of the Volcano, The a new civilisation. There have been a few Lost Land of the Tiger and The Dark, about debates involving castaways where they have the nocturnal activities of animals. suggested what of Oxford they would like to In 2014, George presented the two-part recreate in Oxtopia and what they would like series Monkey Planet for BBC Four. George to leave behind. There was usually consensus said he would spend his time on the island on the latter: the A34 must be one of the cataloguing the wildlife. Dwina Gibb: October 2015, chosen object Requiem. Dwina, has recently written a large supply of paper and pencils poetry for several public events in Ireland (although she really wanted to take her for a special Druidic Conference in England house with its contents). launching The Mount Haemus Lectures. She said: “I am preparing my new Irish Since I interviewed her, Dwina has been farcical play for production, The Divil At supporting live performances of her late The Fingerpost. But close to my heart is the husband Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and her transcribing of some of my late husband son Robin-John’s composition, The Titanic Robin’s private and poignant memoirs.” Peggy Seeger: October 2012, chosen She said: “I’ve been getting older and trying object a naturally polished stone. to do it with grace and dignity. Getting ill and then getting better, helping a biographer, Jean Peggy is folk royalty and the ups and downs Freedman, to write my biography. I lived it, of her long and adventurous career were she writes it. It’s coming out in March 2017. riveting. Since we spoke, her famous brother The memoir I am writing will most likely be Pete Seeger died, in January 2014. Barack entitled The First Time Ever and at 81 it will Obama called him “America’s tuning fork” be the last time ever that I write a memoir. because Pete believed in “the power of song” I’m still touring – but I spend much time to bring social change.