Midweek - 19/05/2010

This week Libby Purves is joined by Anna Carter, Nicolai Lilin, Michael Holding and Jennie Buckman. Anna Carter runs Carter's Steam Fair which she helped set up with her late husband John over thirty years ago. It started when he began collecting old fair equipment which had become unfashionable or derelict. Sadly he died ten years ago but Anna decided to carry the tradition on with the help of her family. The fair travels around London and South East, as far as Weston Super Mare, for seven months a year. Nicolai Lilin gained his 'education' as a member of the Siberian Urkas, a self contained criminal fraternity in Eastern Europe. His upbringing was defined by an elaborate set of rituals and a strict code of honour. By the age of six he had been given his first knife and by the age of twelve he had been convicted of attempted murder. Now living in Italy, he combines being a novelist with working as a tattoo artist. His latest book 'Siberian Education' is published by Canongate. Michael Holding is the legendary West Indian fast bowler, one of the fastest the world of cricket has ever seen. He went by the haunting nickname of 'Whispering Death', claiming 249 Test wickets. He's now a highly respected pundit for Sky Sports. His autobiography 'No Holding Back' is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Jennie Buckman is a playwright and theatre director and former Head of Acting at RADA. In July 2007 she started a new theatre company 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants'. For her latest work, she has reinvented the story of Pandora's Box with five original plays inspired by real life stories and contemporary feelings about the contents of the box. PANDORA is on at the Arcola Theatre.