The Diary of Samuel Pepys.
This week its 1665.
Radio 4 Extra
Daily 14:30 - 14:45 repeated 00:30 - 00:45
Monday 1 A severe frost brings London's horses to a standstill and the streets are given over to football.
Tuesday 2 A freezing cold winter gives way to a May heatwave, and the dreaded bubonic plague claims its first victims.
Wednesday 3 More people infected with plague, while Sam is busy with navy work, since England is now at war with the Dutch.
Thursday 4 In spite of sickness and fear around him, Sam has one of the most enjoyable nights of his life.
Friday 5 By the end of the year, deaths from the plague begin to go down, and London starts to recover.
There is an omnibus on Sunday 06:00 - 07:15 and 12:00 - 13:15.
We still have wars and plague (ebola).
We still have moaners moaning about the weather.
His diary tells us he was a pillock who was about as much use as a wet blanket and his attempts to big up himself sound as daft now as they were 350 years ago. We won the navy battles with the Dutch despite his help because he was obviously one of those civil servants who spent all day gawping out the window trying to think of what to write in his diary when he got home.
Pepys lived in the little ice age and he saw the Thames freezing up many times in his life and wrote about it in his diary. This is what makes his diary interesting. I don't know if he went skating on the frozen Thames but if he did falling on his backside would be the high point (though maybe not for him).
