hello, i m john wilson, welcome to this cultural life, the radio four podcast, in which i ask leading creative figures to reveal the key moments in their life, and the most important cultural works that fired their own artistic imagination. my guest is director, screenwriter and playwright mike leigh. he s known for gritty social dramas, including vera drake and secrets and lies. domestic comedies like life is sweet and happy go lucky, and historical stories, including mr turner and peterloo. i spoke to him in one of the many radio studios in bbc broadcasting house. mike, welcome to this cultural life. let s take you to the beginning. what is your earliest cultural memory? as a kid, we had, and i was exposed to. ..pantomime, live theatre of various sorts. circus. the circus was a big deal. variety. live variety, the old, you know, descendants of the music hall, including, at the age of nine, a trip to the ardwick hippodrome in manchester to see laurel and hardy live on stage.
further strike action. good morning from wimbledon on day three of the championships. after rain disrupted much of the play, 87 matches are scheduled for today as they try to clear the backlog. a rest day for andy murray though, as he eases into round two on a day where only eight matches were completed. the forecast today is sunshine and showers the forecast today is sunshine and showers. showers fairly hit and miss for most showers. showers fairly hit and miss for most of showers. showers fairly hit and miss for most of us. many of us staying dry all for most of us. many of us staying dry all day for most of us. many of us staying dry all day. we will be back with more dry all day. we will be back with more details later on in the programme. it s wednesday, the 5th ofjuly. today marks the 75th anniversary of the nhs a milestone that s brought warnings the service won t be around for its 100th year without investment and change. today s landmark is being celebrat
top story. carlos alcaraz won his first wimbledon title, defeating the overwhelming favorite djokovic after five hours play. djokovic was denied his 24th straight grand slam title. as a brutal wave continues, phoenix and another daily record of 118 degrees. heat warnings have been issued for more than 100 million americans. officials warning of [inaudible] stretching from california to florida. back to dateline. fro two days after the murders. mourners gathered outside josh an amber s home for a vigil. amber s sister, angela, still on high alert. i remember just having a sense of, is somebody watching me? did you ask law enforcement. do we have reason to be nervous here? yeah. and they told us we didn t. but still, it doesn t always settle your mind. her parents, chris and marcia, where struggling with how close they had come to losing their grandson too. josh junior, who had been right
alcaraz rallying pulling out a return that sounded a thunderous applause where he evened the match. the two titans trading shots in a game of attrition. one game took over 27 minutes with the fire match lasting 4:42, the third launchest lasting ever at wimbledon. djokovic losing his cool, smashing his racket, while alcaraz showed incredible grit against the greatest of all time. and alcaraz falling to the grass almost in disbelief, after he dethroned the four-time defending champion for his first wimbledon title. it s a dream come true for me, as i said before, of course, it s great to win, you know, but even if i had lost, you know, i would be really proud of myself. you know, in this run, making history in this beautiful tournament. you know, ayg a final
alcaraz could really make a much of it. ~ alcaraz could really make a much of it. . , ., , alcaraz could really make a much of it. 1 , . , ., , it. we shall see. that will be the focus of the it. we shall see. that will be the focus of the attention for - it. we shall see. that will be the focus of the attention for most l focus of the attention for most people where you are, but it s not the only final today, is it? ida. people where you are, but it s not the only final today, is it? the only finaltoday, is it? no, the rest of these the only finaltoday, is it? no, the rest of these championships - the only finaltoday, is it? no, the rest of these championships come j the only final today, is it? no, the i rest of these championships come to an end. we havejust seen in the last hour that alfie hewett, the british player going for his first wimbledon title. remember, he has one like all the other grand slams, seven singles titles, and this was the one he was chasing more than any ot