Radio 4 keeps flying the flag

Remember the fuss when BBC Radio 4 axed its UK theme? Radio 4 listeners have got hot under the collar again, this time at the suggestion that the station might also like to stop playing the national anthem at the end of each day's broadcasting. Fear not, monarchists, traditionalists ... and Radio 4 listeners inclined to resist any sort of change whatsoever. Radio 4's network manager, Dennis Nolan, went on the station's Feedback programme to reassure listeners – or disappoint, depending on your point of view – that the anthem is here to stay. Radio 4 listener Jo Meredith told the programme the station should axe this "jingoistic gesture". Not so, said Nolan. "The national anthem is a big cultural symbol and like all these symbols it's complicated – that's to say it has all sorts of emotional meanings and can be read and heard in many different ways. Some will hear it as jingoistic, others as comforting and encouraging. The intention when we play it has nothing to do with jingoism." What about a quieter version, played by a string quartet? "I guess that's a possibility," said Nolan. Whaaat? "It's a question of tradition. For most people this has the feel of the national anthem they recognise. There needs to be something slightly stirring about the national anthem to give it its true quality. It's an important part of the network. I think it will be there for a long time to come." Thank goodness for that.