Yes I am an old prude.

Errrm mimmi Fear of Flying is currently ON the radio!

I read A Fear of Flying when it first came out and couldn't for the life of me see what made it feminist literature. Sex and swearing, ok, so the point is...?

I listened to the dramatization to try again to make sense of the hype. Nope.... still can't see it. Unless it's trying to say 'Look, see how we women can have sex and swear!' Not feminist and not clever, imo.

Keep up, wot!

I do so agree with NanKate and LesleyC! I cannot understand the thinking behind the broadcasting of Fear of Flying during the daytime hours. I am obviously an old prude but, frankly, proud of it! I rarely listen to Womans Hour these days as I find their constant discussions and airing of all things sexual/transgender et al plus their very smug self-satisfied and cosy style of presentation frankly repelling.

Who???

I bet her mind is totally barren.

I hope you gave that evil cow a piece of your mind Elred!

Why is this particular f word used as a noun, adjective, verb, adverb etc. and really means nothing at all? When you think of all the other words in the dictionary, it's very repetitive, boring and shows a barren mind. Why can't authors and comedians see this? Silly question! They do it for publicity or to sell more books. I remember Kenneth Tynan using it for the first time on television, and he was banned for years afterwards. The BBC must have some odd people at the top now (whom we are paying for, don't forget).

Ironically I came on this thread as a respite from the Pedants' Corner one on 'off of'! It had been disrupted by a poster who enjoys annoying people with gratuitous obscenities.

Lesley - I'm going to look at the ST!

There was an article in the Sunday Times by the radio reviewer talking about how inappropriate it is to broadcast Fear of Flying at 10.45 in the morning. I haven't listened to it, but sometimes I think boundaries are being pushed too far. I wish there was another word instead of "prude" for people like me who likes a bit of reticence and modesty in talking about sexual matters publicly.

LOL ! I think I should have written 50 shades not 40

No NanKate, I don't think you're a prude at all. I feel the same as you, there is no need for it. Sadly though, its seems the 'norm' these days to many people.
I watched the program you referred to once when I owned a tv, that was enough, I found it to be a load of nonsense anyway.
I no longer have a tv & don't miss it one bit. I have my laptop & have a much better choice of things to watch & learn. Even when I had cable tv it was hard to find a decent program, most of it was garbage. I have also learnt alot about what is really going on in the world, rather than what the mainstream biased tv news programs feed us.
I know I've gone off the topic a bit but you obviously are a decent lady with morals & we shouldn't have to listen to inappropriate language, especially, as you pointed out, on a day time programme, its totally unnecessary. Maybe try listening to the radio instead

I would have switched off too! I just don`t want to hear about other peoples sex lives .
I started to read Forty shades on the recommendation of my DIL , what badly written utter rubbish , she thought it was wonderful . She is a well educated ,sweet girl so I guess its an age thing !

I visited DD when she and (then) new husband had just moved into their first flat. It was on the ground floor. The first floor flat was arranged differently and their bedroom was above DD's kitchen. She and I were sitting having a quiet cup of tea on afternoon when the couple above...well...let's say due to their wooden floors you could hear everything. The whole ceiling was vibrating. I am not sure who was more mortified, me or DD. But whenever I visited after that we always had tea in the living room

My dad was exactly the same! All my friends watched Top of the Pops, Man from Uncle and Forsyte Saga (was this the beginning of cult viewing?) and I wasn't allowed to watch any of those! I was totally left out at school.

When I was a teen living at home, dad was so strict about what we watched. I was not allowed to see Dr. Kildare, or Peyton Place. All my friends would discuss these programmes and I was left out. Even if anyone started kissing on tv dad would get up and switch it off. Bless him. I wish he was still here. He was born in 1913 so of course he was prudish.

Maybe some books are just to read in your head, not out loud in front of the whole world.
Back in the 60s we had a copy of The Perfumed Garden - they'll be putting that on the radio next (although I think it was rather more poetic.)

You're saying it's swearing, but in fact Fear of Flying just uses these words correctly. The whole thesis of the book is Isadora's search for the Zipless 'Encounter' [so as not to raise your collective blood pressure]. I had wondered how they were going to do it with euphemisms, but they have gone whole hog.

She names sexual parts the way most people do especially during those Encounters.

There is no watershed for R4 as it's an adult network. That's Adult as in grownup, not the trade name for schoolboy-interest.

What did drive me nuts this week was the really bad first play in their Riot Grrls series, Monday's was about 60s relationships and was so stuffed with stereotypes there was no room for a plot. The later two [#3 is on now] not quite so bad, but the author had not bothered to talk to anyone older than herself for the 60s story, she had just read old Daily Express cuttings.

We saw a comedian (I can't remember his name but he wore a crazy suit all covered in question marks) in a club back in the mid 1970s and his catch phrase was 'kinell! It was funny and somehow not offensive even though it was obvious what it stood for. It was even funnier that there was a footballer at the time whose name was (Paul) Cannell and commentators used his name loads when the Magpies were playing. It cracked us up every time.

However, I despise unnecessary swearing. I like to shout something expressive if I hurt myself, drop something or something goes wrong but it's usually fishcakes, fiddle or rats! Occasionally, I shout 'blood and sand!' or 'dash, bother and blow!'
I once shouted 'fish!' loudly and someone nearby asked if it was a clean way of shouting the actual f word. I denied it but I suppose it has a similar feel...

The very occasional use of the F-word for effect can be funny, but when repeated many times, like any word it's just boring.

One of the reasons I can't stand Bob Geldof. He's a very bright, articulate man but peppers any interview with the f word.

TriciaF - it will be interesting to see if 'Feedback' gets sacks of letters about this. Trouble is, if people complain, they are classed as 'Mary Whitehouses' and therefore some reactionary, old-fashioned biddy who doesn't understand that the world has moved on. I can just hear the patronising tone of the BBC representative!

I was thinking of starting a thread about this myself. I tried to read 'Fear of Flying' when it was first published. I wasn't a prude then and I'm not one now, but I thought it was awful - coarse, and without much literary skill at all. I know we all liked shocking people then but this was just beyond the pale. The BBC must be mad to have put it on the radio at 10.45 a.m. and 7.45 p.m. I know there is no 9 p.m. watershed on the radio, but I think it's time there was. I rarely listen to Woman's Hour now - much too militant, self-satisfied and, to be frank, boring.

I took my 2 GC to see Avenue Q the musical,they are 15&16 and I knew there was 'adult language' in it,as I'm very broad minded I thought supervised we'd all have a bit of a giggle. Most of it was OK until two puppets start to have rampant sex both regular and oral !!! Well my poor hubby nearly died of embarrassment! My GS and I laughed it out and my dear GD didn't quite know what to do. We did talk about it on the way home and all decided it was 75% OK but we wouldn't go and see it again. Hubby still can't believe I took us all to watch it!!! Well I didn't know!!!

I might make the effort to write and complain:
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/