Clare Francis

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 1977

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

Roy Plomley's castaway is sailor and journalist Clare Francis.

Favourite track: La Mer by Claude Debussy Book: Volume on physics Luxury: Fresh-water shower

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.
0:05.8	For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.
0:08.8	The program was originally broadcast in 1977, and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. Our castaway this week holds the sailing record for the fastest single-handed
0:36.2	Atlantic crossing by a woman, it's Claire Francis. Claire you know what loneliness
0:42.1	is with what degree of dread would you face a fairly long
0:45.2	isolation on a desert island? Well I know loneliness when I know I'm going to see people within
0:51.9	a fixed time which is a very different thing from an
0:55.4	indefinite loneliness.
0:56.8	So, oh my goodness, I think I'd have to keep myself very busy and not think too much.
1:02.1	I think the secret is not to think too much on your long
1:05.4	voyages do you take music oh yes I take cassettes and a cassette player and I play quite
1:10.8	a lot of music particularly in the evenings.
1:13.0	What sort of thing stands up best in that sort of circumstance?
1:17.0	Well, you want something that really means a great deal to you, I think.
1:20.0	Something very special.
1:22.0	Right. What's the first very special. Very special.
1:23.0	Right.
1:24.0	What's the first very special record you have there?
1:26.0	Well, it sounds extraordinary, but it's actually La Mer,
1:30.0	de Bousse's La Mer.
1:32.0	But only because it's a beautiful bit of music, not because it's particularly about the sea. Oh, The Oh, The Debus is La Meer, conducting the New Phil Hamerne Orchestra. Clear, you were brought up in Surrey by the River Thames.
2:35.0	Is that where you started to sail?
	...

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