Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1980, and the presenter was Roy Plumley. On a desert island this week is England's senior civil law judge and master of the

roles the right honourable Lord Denning. Our first Lord Denning what are the

roles are they the the scrolls of the law do you have them in your possession?

Well they're the old parchment rolls which many hundreds of years ago all the records were

kept on of the courts and the government they were all on parchment and not in books like we have now, but rolled up.

And these were the roles of the realm. And the master of the roles was in charge of them.

And we have many now in the public record

of us but I was in charge of the roles of the realm.

And nominally you're still responsible for the keeping?

Yes yes and I'm master with a role still.

Right. Now, this Desert Island situation, could you endure loneliness, do you think?

Well, I need either some of your records or any...

I'm not a lonely sort of person.

I'd rather have someone with me.

I'm afraid we've got rules about that,

but you do have some music as a consolation.

Does music mean a lot to you?

Oh, it depends on what kind of music you know.

Well, I'm not at all musical.

I like the lighter stuff as of all.

...