The Untold - Battle Song
Grace Dent tells the story of Deborah, a dynamic barbershop singer, in the lead up to the biggest competition of the year.
Deborah loves her family, her dog and, possibly most of all, barbershop singing.
She would drive hundreds of miles each week to sing in the best choruses in southern England. Now living in Christchurch, she sings with Wessex Harmony and music runs through the fabric of the house; her husband directs her current chorus, her daughter sings in her barbershop quartet and her desk drawers are stuffed with singing medals.
Once a year the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers holds a convention to find the country's most talented chorus. Over two thousand women in sparkling outfits and identical makeup and jewellery, are pitted against each other. And Deborah starts to plan for this wonderful weekend a year ahead.
But in May she finds a lump on her breast. It is cancer.
Grace follows her through the year, looking at what Deborah is prepared to do to compete, the risks she wants to take, the sacrifices the family are prepared to make and asks what happens if she doesn't get there.
Producer: Sarah Bowen.
Published on Monday, 6th June 2016.
Available Podcasts from The Untold
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