Welcome to the first podcast episode of 2020 and we’re delighted to have the brilliant Cole Moreton in the studio to talk about his new book The Light Keeper.
Cole Moreton is an author and broadcaster exploring who we are and how we live. He writes for Event, the Mail on Sunday magazine, and was named Interviewer of the Year at the Press Awards in 2016. His Radio 4 series, The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away, won gold as the Radio Academy’s Audio Moment of the Year in 2016. His first book, Hungry for Home, was shortlisted for the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Cole lives by the coast near Beachy Head and spends as much time as possible staring out to sea.
The Light Keeper is something of a departure for him in that it’s a novel, whereas his previous books have been non-fiction although told in a narrative style. What makes it even more interesting is that he and his band, The Light Keepers, have recorded an album of songs inspired by the book. We play several of the songs during this episode.
Cole’s previous books include Hungry For Home, My Father Was A Hero, Is God Still An Englishman? and the deeply moving The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away, which tells the true story of two families brought together by a heart transplant.
In this episode we talk about the dramatic setting for The Light Keeper and about the fantastic work done by the Beachy Head Chaplaincy and The Samaritans. And, as usual, we range across a wide field of discussion topics that include the Chuckle Brothers, Scarlett Johansson, the extraordinary journey of Juliana Buhring, the untimely death of the Apostrophe Society, May Savidge moving her house – literally – and gatecrashing the funeral of the Kray Twins’ mum.
We also say thanks to all of the authors who guested on our podcast in 2019 and the photographers, web-designers, musicians and studio owners who helped us to get it off the ground.
It’s a good one!
Books referenced in this episode include:
