Readings from the Pavilion End

Today's poem is apt for the day of rest - a cute poem by William Cowper (pronounced Cooper), one of the most popular English poets in the 18th century. In 'The Snail', Cowper meditates on the snail's solitary, hermit-like life whilst parodying its self-containment, pre-figuring today's anxieties about urban isolation. If Cowper were living today, perhaps he might write about 'The Screen'.   

After a long hiatus, we return with a love poem. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43 is a classic love poem from the Victorian era. The penultimate poem in her series of 44 sonnets, sonnet 43 catches the audience's attention instantly with its memorable opening line, "How Do I Love Thee?" How, indeed? The speaker's conversational opening rises into mythical proportions as she enumerates the cou...

Bill and Akshob discuss the latest Ashes action from the thrilling Tests in Adelaide to a disappointing Boxing Day match in Melbourne. They discuss standout performances from Alex Carey, Travis Head and Nathan Lyon, critique selection choices and spin options for England, and reflect on the fine margins that decided matches. The hosts also cover the financial and fan fallout from two short Tests a...

A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens Scrooge surprises everyone by changing his stingy ways after a transformative Christmas. He raises Bob Cratchit's salary, becomes a loving friend and second father to Tiny Tim, and commits to keeping Christmas in his heart forever. May this christmas classic remind us to be joyful and generous; Merry Christmas everyone...

Today, Bill reads his favourite Christmas poem by John Betjeman. Find more Advent readings in the archives, such as this one published last year on Christmas Eve.   

Bill reports from Adelaide after day four of the Third Test as Australia post 349 and England mount a gritty response led by Zak Crawley and Joe Root. The target of 435 (never previously attained in Test history) was always going to be too much of a challenge but England can look back on the achievement (4 wickets) as some small positives. Travis Head's superb innings and Ben Stokes' bowling late...

Bill and Colin review day three of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide where Travis Head's unbeaten 146 and disciplined Australian batting left England trailing. The hosts discuss England's poor bowling and fielding, Australia's total command, and what must change ahead of the Melbourne Test.

On a scorching day at the Adelaide Oval Australia finished on 371 with Mitchell Starc making a vital fifty while Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon ripped through England’s top order early after lunch. England slipped to 71 for 4, recovered partially thanks to Ben Stokes, but still trail by about 180 with three days to play. The episode covers heated on-field controversies over DRS and reviews, concerns...

Bill Riquier sits down with Colin Cohen after a fascinating day's play at the Adelaide Oval to recap day one of the Test: Steve Smith ruled out with concussion, Usman Khawaja stepping in with a strong 82, and Australia finishing 326 for 8 in punishing heat. They discuss key moments — Khawaja's resilience, Carey's century, England's admirable performance at fielding and bowling, and the importance...

Reporting from Barossa Valley ahead of the third Ashes Test at Adelaide, this episode previews uncertain England selection, likely returns of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon for Australia, and the debate over Usman Khawaja opening with Travis Head possibly moving to number five. It recalls Adelaide's rich Test history, recent series swings; stay tuned for daily competitive match reports.

The cricket world has been waiting with uncontrollable excitement for the first Ashes Test at Perth. No one predicted, or could have predicted, what would happen. The game started on the morning of Friday 21 November and it ended on the evening of Saturday 22 November. Bill and Akshobh discuss the extraordinary game, covering England's batting collapse, Travis Head's match-winning century, Ben Sto...

Today we have an episode inspired by Bill's recent trip to Uzbekistan, a country full of history and culture. Reading from James Elroy Flecker's verse play, published posthumously, Hasan evokes vividly the splendours and charms of ancient Bagdad.   

A familiar and beloved classic, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, commonly known as 'The Daffodils'. 

A belated episode for Singapore's 60th National Day, a poem by Edwin Nadason Thumboo (b. 1933), poet and academic who is regarded as one of the pioneers of English literature in Singapore. "Ulysses by the Merlion" comes from a collection of poems by the same name, published in 1979. The poet adopts the persona of a well-travelled Ulysses encountering the Merlion, a half-fish, half-lion creature, a...

Welcome to another episode of Readings from the Pavilion End, where Bill is joined by the (now-familiar) Akshobh Giridharadas dive into the stunning fifth test of the India-England series at the Oval. It was a tensed finale with England chasing 35 runs and India needing four wickets.  This episode discusses historical parallels (Chris Woakes' brave return after a shoulder injury calls to mind cric...

Today we have a famous pre-war poem by Welsh poet, W. H. Davies, "Leisure." Born in 1871, Davies led a life filled with adventure, including a train accident in America that resulted in the loss of a leg. His memoir, " Autobiography of a Super-Tramp ," provides a captivating account of his years of poverty and freedom.  Leisure is a startlingly simple poem of enduring relevance, beckoning us to ta...

Welcome to another episode of the Pavilion End podcast, where we dive into a captivating discussion between host Bill and Akshobh Giridharadas , a cricket writer and political theorist, about the riveting test series between England and India happening this week. The series so far has seen dramatic twists, with India feeling they should be leading 3-0, yet finding themselves 2-1 down. In this epis...

In this episode, we have an extract from a much longer Tennyson narrative poem, 'The Princess', published in 1847. The poem tells the story of a heroic princess who 'forswears the world of men and founds a women's university where men are forbidden to enter' (source: wikipedia ). 1847 was also the year of the founding of Britain's first university for women. This extract 'Now Sleeps the Crimson Pe...

Welcome to the Pavilion End podcast, where today's conversation with AKSHOBH GIRIDHARADAS , a former sports journalist turned geopolitical specialist, traverses the fascinating and ever-evolving world of cricket. Bill (in Singapore) and Akshob (now based in Washington) traverses a 12-hour time difference to delve into the imminent World Test Championship final at Lord's, a thrilling face-off betwe...

On 8 May 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces and VE (Victory to Europe) Day was celebrated across Europe and the UK. The war in Japan would continue till August 1945 and the repercussions of the war, and the pain it left for millions who were affected, last even till this day. But on that day, there were celebrations for the ending of almost six years of fighting.  On the 80th anni...

If you are listening to this, you probably enjoy poetry, but then...  Some people – that means not everyone. Not even most of them, only a few. Not counting school, where you have to, and poets themselves, you might end up with something like two per thousand. Like – but then, you can like chicken noodle soup, or compliments, or the color blue, your old scarf, your own way, petting the dog. Poetry...

It is the start of April, and we begin the month with a nonsensical poem to celebrate April Fools. Lewis Carroll's "Father William" was first published in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 in a scene where Alice recites this poem to the Caterpillar. Presented as a whimsical exchange between a boy and Father William, an elderly man whose actions defy conventional expectations of aging, the p...

Today's poem was part of a 1936 British documentary, produced by the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit to demonstrate the postal system's modernity, and to boost morale of postal workers following the Great Depression. The film, which you can find online , documents the nightly steam train that travels from London to Scotland. The so-called Postal Service train is dedicated to carrying only post...

A little bedtime story for small and big kids, enjoy!

Today we have Sonnet 29, one of the most beloved love sonnets of all time. You might be surprised that this forms part of the 'Fair Youth' series of 126 sonnets that scholars speculate were addressed not to Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, but to a young man. This compact sonnet consists of a single sentence and its meaning is direct, clear.. the speaker, in love and loved, would not trade his d...