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Saturday 5th September - In Search of the Holy Quail
1 September 2009by Noble (1)On BBC Radio 4, 10.30am, Saturday 5th September, sandwiched between “Excess Baggage” and “Beyond Westminster” is “In Search of the Holy Quail”.
It’s a radio show about 3 musicians who explore the rugged terrain of the Shetland Islands in search of a Quail, presented by Marc Riley (BBC6, The Fall), Martin Noble (myself/British Sea Power) and Guy Gurvey (BBC6, Elbow).
We travel to to Sumburgh Head on the southern tip of Shetland Mainland, to a traditional Shetland music session in a Lerwick pub and to Mousa Broch, one of the world’s largest Storm Petrel breeding colonies, on their search for the elusive bird. As there are no more than four quail seen in the Shetlands during a typical season, the chances of seeing one are slim.
One mature lady birdwatcher asked what we were doing on the small island of Mousa at midnight (We were drinking Whisky, watching Storm Petrels and talking rubbish).
Once she was informed what we were doing she replied “Oh! Radio 4 has really gone downhill”
Noble
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Hi Martin, Funny to hear the “Holy Quail”, sad but not suprised you didn’t find any . I was the bloke you bumped into on Moussa who plastered Woody’s house ! After a fantastic trip to Shetland, I ventured into the Ashdown Forest to listen to Nightjars – more birds making weird noises at night. But nothing matches up to those Storm Petrels – somethin else for sure. Dave.
— Dave Boddington · 6. September 2009 · #