Alan Dein presents documentaries about modern Britain. BBC Radio 4’s critically acclaimed series in which award-winning presenter Alan Dein goes in search of original stories from around the country – featuring people and places which are usually overlooked by the news.
Episodes available:
Indefinitely 
Wed, 13 Mar 13
Duration:
28 mins
When Terry Chambers became wheelchair-bound after a stroke, he needed someone to push him through the streets of Crouch End in North London. He already had one carer but it wasn't enough. So he placed a jokey advert in the local newsagent's window - "Pusher needed for Silly Old Fart in Wheelchair" and found Robert.
Wed, 6 Mar 13
Duration:
29 mins
When Dave Clifford left the Metropolitan police after thirty years of service he didn’t opt for an easy life: instead of retirement he took a job as head of year at a London academy and eight years on he’s still there. Alan Dein meets him and finds out more about the pastoral care he delivers, including sorting out the mysterious case of chicken bones found spread across the canteen floor and the baffling antics of teenage pupils who have been filming themselves as they cough and splutter whilst eating cinnamon!
Wed, 27 Feb 13
Duration:
28 mins
Muchelney means 'Great Island' and this village in the Somerset Levels is often cut off. In the highest flood in living memory Alan Dein meets the people who live on this occasional island.
Wed, 20 Feb 13
Duration:
29 mins
Fancy buying a zoo? If so, here is your chance - a private zoo in Borth, Wales has been put on the market. Alan Dein visits to meet the animals, the owners, and their stories. Producer: Sarah Jane Hall
Thu, 25 Oct 12
Duration:
28 mins
Alan Dein visits a Hastings allotment and finds that a plot of land means a lot more to people than a place to grow vegetables. He joins various allotmenteers as they tend their plot and hears how differently they use it. A young family have created a haven where the children learn about nature; a teacher who tended the land as a means of combatting depression and two friends meet under a full moon to await the wild original inhabitants of the allotment. Producers: Sarah Bowen and Neil McCarthy
Wed, 17 Oct 12
Duration:
28 mins
Burdiehouse is a council scheme on the outermost tip of Edinburgh and it's here, hidden away from the world outside, that Alan Dein encounters the pigeon, or doo men, locked in a constant battle to capture each other's birds. These men are neighbours but when it comes to pigeons the battle lines are drawn. Producer: Caitlin Smith
Thu, 11 Oct 12
Duration:
28 mins
Arguably the longest commute in the UK, the Caledonian Sleeper is a quarter of a mile long. Alan Dein rides with three regulars, through a long night of the long distance commuter, to find out where home really lies. Producer: Sara Jane Hall
Wed, 3 Oct 12
Duration:
28 mins
Maureen's cat has gone astray. On the same Portsmouth street, the Fletcher family have found a cat which they're growing very fond of. The cat has brought the family back together after a nightmare summer holiday with their teenage children. But does their feline peacemaker actually belong to Maureen? Producer: Laurence Grissell
Wed, 23 May 12
Duration:
28 mins
It's Easter 2012 and Redcar steelworks sees a fiery and unlikely resurrection when its blast furnace is relit. Amongst the flames Alan Dein hears from lives shaped by steel. Producer: Mark Burman
Fri, 18 May 12
Duration:
28 mins
The people of Portrush in Northern Ireland are hoping that the arrival of the Irish Open golf tournament will breathe new life into this seaside town which was a once thriving holiday resort. For four days the town will turn into a golf lover's paradise. An injection of cash from the government is paying for the demolition of derelict buildings and a major spring clean. But some in Portrush fear this will be a temporary patch-up job and that once the world's TV cameras depart things will return to normal. Producer: Claire Burgoyne
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