In 1979, As It Happens debuted its
reading of The Shepherd, narrated by then-host Alan Maitland, whose
dulcet, comforting tones earned him the nickname "Fireside Al."
The year is 1957. An RAF pilot is heading home from
Germany for Christmas. Fog sets in and all radio communication is lost.
For one Royal Air Force pilot, one last hurdle remains between himself and a cozy Christmas morning in England. A sixty-six-minute flight in his Vampire fighter plane from Germany to Lakenheath. A routine flight plan and a full tank of fuel. What could go wrong?
But as the fog begins to close in, the compass goes haywire and the radio dies, leaving him in silence, lost and alone up in the inky black sky. All hope seems lost as he accepts his fate when, out of nowhere, a vintage fighter-bomber appears and is miraculously trying to make contact.
For one lonely pilot this is a miracle, but really the mystery has just begun ...
CBC Radio has aired this reading every Christmas Eve or close to it. I am listening to it as I write at this link. The Shepherd | CBC.ca. It is about 30 minutes.
The short book is avilable on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.ca/Shepherd-Frederick-Forsyth/dp/1804943908/ref=sr_1_1
If you are a movie fan, John Travolta stars in this 2:29 movie from 2023.
I do enjoy CBC radio.
ReplyDeleteSo do I. Many great programs
DeleteNot one I knew. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome
DeleteSo good to keep up with your doings. Hope you and Tanya are having a good Xmas season. "The Shepherd" is one of my farm memories of this time of year and I probably heard it when it was first broadcast one winter evening coming back home for supper from our south place.
ReplyDeleteThis time of year I would be rock picking(old ranches being converted to farming tended to need lots of that and rocks could be picked off the frozen dirt) and CBK was one of the few Canadian stations not drowned out by yankee stations down there by the 49th.
Funny, when I try to picture "fireside Al" an image of cowboy
Al standing by a branding fire whetting the blade on his castrating knife keeps intruding on top of the warm and cuddly Al Maitland.
Happy trails my friend and many warm memories to you
Blair Backman
Hello, Blair. Great to hear from you. How is everything with you? Love when you drop in and comment like this. Cold winter here and I suppose the Island is just balmy?
DeleteOh yes, I've listened many times to Alan Maitland's reading of "The Shepherd." It's a real Canadian Christmas tradition! At least for those of us of a certain age!
ReplyDeleteI try to listen to it every year or every second year
DeleteI've listened to "The Shepherd" and Fireside Al for many years. A true Christmas Eve Tradition. BTW I was at the CBC studios in Toronto last Friday for the Food Bank fundraiser "Make the Season Kind", met lots of the radio hosts and even got interviewed.... may be shown on NYEve. Had a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome. You work with Food Bank? It certainly needs all the help it can get right now
DeleteNo I dont work with the food bank, I was at the cbc studios for a fundraiser.
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