Summary
David Sedaris, the American author and comedian, takes Clare Balding on a litter-picking walk in West Sussex.
When David Sedaris was a child he would clear up around the house, and keep his own bedroom perfectly tidy. This obsession has, in recent years, been transferred to the outdoors and Sedaris is now a devoted daily litter-picker, cleaning the roadside verges of Pulborough and the surrounding area.
Clare imagined that this edition of Ramblings might take her across the South Downs, occasionally reaching for a stray bottle or piece of paper. In reality it involved walking less than two miles, and filling six bin bags full to bursting with all manner of filthy rubbish. All while wearing a fetching hi-viz jacket. A very unusual edition of Ramblings!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I want to tell you why I love podcasting. Hi, my name's Tommy Dixon, |
| 0:06.3 | and I make podcasts for the BBC. I'm a big fan of stories, always loved a good book. But when I started |
| 0:12.0 | commuting for my first job, I discovered podcasts. I was blown away by how a creative idea and the right |
| 0:17.8 | mixture of sounds could take you into a whole new world full of incredible stories. You know, the type that make you go, wow. And that kind of inspired me to |
| 0:25.2 | give it a go myself, which to cut a long story short led to a BBC training scheme and a whole |
| 0:29.9 | new career giving other people that exact same feeling. So if you want to hear amazing stories |
| 0:34.1 | that make you go wow like I did, they're just a tap or click away on BBC |
| 0:38.0 | sounds. This is a BBC Radio 4 download. You're listening to me, Claire Baldwin, with another |
| 0:44.4 | edition of Ramblings. Now, usually on Ramblings, I start by describing the landscape that surrounds |
| 0:49.6 | us, the weather, the fact that it may or may not rain during the course of our walk. But the thing that stands out right now for me, in terms of the visual experience, is not |
| 0:59.0 | what's around us, it's what we're wearing. |
| 1:01.8 | Because I have been issued with a bright yellow fluorescent vest that says Horsham District Council |
| 1:08.0 | on it. |
| 1:08.9 | And one of those litter picker-upper things with a finger on it that you have a little |
| 1:13.5 | gun element and you can just go along and pick up things off the ground without bending over, |
| 1:19.1 | which is very useful. |
| 1:20.1 | And also a hoop onto which is attached a great big black bin liner. |
| 1:25.9 | Because this is not a hobby. |
| 1:28.1 | This is an obsession for my guest today. |
| 1:31.3 | I'm walking with David Sedaris, the author. |
| 1:34.3 | And litter is your thing. |
| 1:37.1 | I live for litter. |
... |
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