Yeartides: Lughnasadh
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
BBC Sounds. Music, radio, podcasts. This is Drama of the Week.
MUSIC
In the Northern Hemisphere, as the Earth charts its elliptical path around the Sun, halfway between midsummer and the autumn equinox, there is what some call a cross-quarter day. The long, sunny days have turned the leaves golden. And this is the time for harvest. This is the time to reap what we have sown
This is Lunasa New summer days and heather bells can break in our unhealing hills There's yellow corn in yonder fields and autumn brings the shearer Oh bonnie lassie will you gang and cheer me the hail day long And love will cheer us as we gang to join yon band of shearers
Do you think they enjoy it? Who? Tractor drivers. And there's a massive queue of cars stuck behind them. Do you think it makes them feel powerful?
It's a combine harvester.
What?
It's not a tractor, it's a combine harvester.
Do you know how much of the UK is given over to agricultural land?
No, but I feel like I'm about to find out.
70%. 70%!
Right, so do you think we should go back to being hunter-gatherers?
They did have great teeth, apparently.
Look, we don't have to do this, you know.
What? We could just turn round and go home.
It's your mum's birthday. They're your family.
What is Lughnasadh (Lunasa) and why is it celebrated at mid-harvest?
They're just people I lived with a couple of decades ago.
Your mother grew you inside her body. She gave you life.
She got shot at me as soon as she could.
Are you sure she wants me to come? Yeah, she specifically mentioned it. She specifically said she never wanted to see me again.
That was years ago. She's probably forgotten. She threw a glass at me. She didn't throw it. It just kind of...
Slipped. She threw it. You don't forget that.
Maybe she's got dementia.
Maybe she wants to poison me. Maybe she wants rid of me once and for all. Was there ever an inquest into how your dad died?
He had a heart attack.
Do we know that for sure?
Well, if she offers you any mushrooms, politely decline. Oh, right, at last, he's turning off. Last chance to go back.
No, we can do this. We just have to steel ourselves because they will be judging us.
What for?
Because we just sit about on computers all day while they're up at 4am doing things.
We do things?
Look at your hands.
They're all soft and weak. They're not soft. They're at the grip strength of a 35-year-old. Says who? My trainer. Which is a key indicator of longevity, apparently.
Oh.
And you're a scientist. You're a professor.
And so are you, practically.
Well, no, actually.
What?
I don't get it.
What? Who did?
Selina.
Selina? Weren't you her PhD advisor? Yep. I'm sorry, David.
At least I don't have to do the job. Okay, I'm taking the turn in. It's happening.
It's going to be fine. We will have lunch, we will make small talk, and then in a couple of hours, when we've done our duty and completely run out of things to say, we'll get back in the car, go home and get a takeaway.
Okay, deal.
As long as she doesn't murder me with poison mushrooms.
Oh, my God.
What?
There's a marquee. There's a bloody marquee.
Lunar, sir, is a time to gather. A time for feasting and revelry.
Why would she have a marquee? I thought it was just going to be us.
Maybe she's met someone. Maybe it's a surprise wedding.
It's more likely she's got dementia.
Would your brother not have told you if she had dementia?
That's not how we work. We don't just tell each other things.
Oh, David. Hi, Mum. Hello, Claire. Happy birthday, Lynn. Oh, thank you.
How do Claire and David react to returning to David’s family farm for a birthday?
I picked them myself. They're wildflowers. Ah, yes. I can see.
What's with the marquee? I didn't realise it was going to be such a big thing, Mum.
I just thought, when was the last time we had a big party?
Never.
When I was little, we did. All the family and the neighbours would come over and later on, I thought we could have some games. Games? Like we used to play. What kind of games? Oh, you know, tug of war, ring on a string, the doughnut game, things like that.
Ring on a string?
So, where is everyone? The party's not till later.
You said to come at 12.
So you could help set up. Right. So, go and put your things inside and say hello to your brother. I need to go and sort out the PA.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:24
2
What is Lughnasadh (Lunasa) and why is it celebrated at mid-harvest?
2:24–5:04
3
How do Claire and David react to returning to David’s family farm for a birthday?
5:04–15:57
4
Why is the combine harvester and harvest timing a source of tension on the farm?
15:57–17:10
5
What practical farm problems (bull, back injury, sandwiches) highlight rural life here?
17:10–25:07
6
Who has offered to buy the family farm and what does that reveal about land value conflicts?
25:07–29:02
7
How does the play explain the history and impact of nitrogen fertiliser and the Green Revolution?
29:02–44:20