PAUL ENGLISH LIVE #122 · Scouring the Shire: Tolkien, IDs and Building Things That Last

Broadcasts live every Thursday at 8:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com

A lively, freewheeling episode from the shed and studio: after the usual level‑wrangling mayhem with Eric Von Essex, we dive into the week’s UK digital‑ID climb‑down and what it might really signal, with a clip from Rupert Lowe sparking a wider chat about vigilance, media amnesia and not falling back asleep. From there we slip into dreamland proper: Paul has just finished a three‑week reread of The Lord of the Rings and shares what Tolkien’s prose, themes and the (missing‑from-the-film) “Scouring of the Shire” say about our present moment—the long shadow, the nature of power, and the work of restoring home. Peter Hitchens’ on‑air recitation opens a defence of poetry-by-heart in schools; we read Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est and compare screen and page—Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old, Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives—and why sustained reading changes our inner weather. Hour two loosens the tie: humour (Hitchcock, Kenneth Williams, Monty Python, Hale & Pace) as medicine, and practical “building not brooding”: bone broth and GAPS basics; farmers, bowler hats and the coming Foodfinder’s/health hubs; local music for a new station; and even a detour into minting, money and BSV for resilient exchange. It’s equal parts rain‑lashed Britain, blue‑remembered hills, and plans to scour our own shires—together.

• J.R.R. Tolkien — The Tolkien Estate: https://www.tolkienestate.com/
• The Lord of the Rings (Deluxe Illustrated by the Author) — Harper Academic edition: https://www.harperacademic.com/book/9780063274730/the-lord-of-the-rings-deluxe-illustrated-by-the-author
• They Shall Not Grow Old (2018), dir. Peter Jackson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Shall_Not_Grow_Old
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), dir. William Wyler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_Years_of_Our_Lives
• A. E. Housman — “Into my heart an air that kills” (from A Shropshire Lad): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_my_heart_an_air_that_kills
• Wilfred Owen — “Dulce et Decorum Est” (Poetry Foundation text): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est
• BBC Question Time — programme overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_Time_(TV_programme)
• Gustav Holst — The Planets (suite): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Planets
• Larken Rose — official site: https://www.larkenrose.com/
• Dr Natasha Campbell‑McBride — GAPS official site: https://www.gaps.me/
• Sunshine Minting — official site: https://www.sunshinemint.com/
• BSV Blockchain — official site: https://bsvblockchain.org/
• WhatsOnChain — BSV blockchain explorer: https://whatsonchain.com/
• 4K Download — official site: https://www.4kdownload.com/
• Euro·Folk·Radio — official site: https://eurofolkradio.com/
• YouTube — main platform: https://www.youtube.com/
• Rumble — main platform: https://rumble.com/
• UK Prime Minister — official GOV.UK profile (Keir Starmer): https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/prime-minister