One Word. Fantastic.

Yep, well done on it Tom - You should be proud :)

Brilliant, really enjoyed it. A masterpeice.

I thought that was great and I'm not usually a fan of radio plays. If only the BBC could transfer drama of that quality onto tv.

I can't listen to this :(
Being a mac user yourself maybe you could tell me what to download so that I can?
I have VLC player but it won't play in that - I also have windows media player for mac, but it won't play in that either :(
Wish I could listen to it!

Seems to work for me - have you got Real Player?

Yep, you need to download Realplayer *shudder*

You can get it here.

Worked fine for my iMac, I think flip4mac does the trick
http://www.flip4mac.com/

I also have flip4mac but that won't work and I have previously downloaded realplayer but can't get it to work :( me and electricals never get on :( any other suggestions?

Ooh - got it working just listening to it now..... very good so far :D

In reply to Paul_M, I kept looking back through onto realplayer (Thinking it was actually a program rather than just audio).

That would be great, a drama based upon real life and none of that one round of compressions + breaths and they're alive and walking around kinda thing.

Really Good. The writer did a great job of assembling lots of your stories into a narrative.

How much input did you have? Was it your idea to put the father storyline in there? I know it's something that you feel strongly about.

Brilliant, its made me want to get the book, well done :D will have to listen again!

Oh, Tom.

I loved it. I was in tears at the scene with Paul in the ambulance, the killer was the dad reciting the date of birth with the time he was born.

You did good. Real good!

Good work, both to you, Tom and the BBC!

You should get a something to stick on yer Mantlepice for that :)

Really excellent. You should be proud of yourself

Very good. I missed the last two minutes so I'll have to listen again.
Uninterrupted listening (When you have four kids you'll appreciate the rarity of this) as I was alone driving down the M74 /M6 from Scotland - just got to Tebay where FM reception dies completely at 9.55. Damn it.

What can I say - this was truly amazing and I hope there is more like this to come

Cool!
Again, you're a paramedic... no you're a tech... no you're a para.
I wish the BBC would get the difference.
Doesn't stop the prog from being great it's just the pedant coming out in me ;0)

well done to you and Monks and Freeman etc.

I enjoyed it, except for the bit right at the end, which seemed perhaps a little bit too neat-and-tidy (especially given that during the programme, the point was made repeatedly that things don't end up neat-and-tidy).

There were a lot of bits that were very recognisable from the book and the blog which gained a certain 'something' from being said out loud in a grumpy voice, rather than just being read off a screen. Made me giggle several times.

Definitely one to be proud of. :)

Was the ending neat and tidy!? *SPOILER*

As I understood it, Paul has contracted HIV and tried to top himself. So Kelly brings his boots in at the end and says they need him - doesn't mean he's going to continue as a paramedic. There's no answer to this. It's just this kind of uncertainty and, well, bleak reality, that's missing from the stuff on TV.

As I see it, there is no redemption at the end; just the contrast between Kelly's optimism and Paul's cynicism - and the point that one day she'll be just as warn away as he is.

*MORE SPOILER*

No, I meant the Dad Stuff. I agree about the Kelly/Paul contrast, that was really nicely done. But the idea that his dad could remember his date of birth and all that, and would come to the hospital, I just couldn't buy it.

Excellent - hope there's more of this to come.

enjoyed that very much - cynical but realistic I am sure

send it to the health secretary and Gordon Brown for bedtime listening

I see what people are saying about the dad bit. Part of me agrees in that real life isn't like that but then again sometimes it takes a massive shock to jolt someone out of their 'me me me' stance. Maybe the idea behind it was that the dad realised that someone needed him.

I loved it, I want to listen to it again later. Martin Freeman was definately right for the part.

Just wanted to say I reallly enjoyed it - though not as much as your blogposts. I think its harder to get the ambivalence and complexity over in an hour of radio, so I'm looking forward to your next book. :-)

Hi Tom,

really enjoyed the play. It must be very satisfying to get this kind of recognition. Martin Freeman doesn't speak as I'd imagine you would!

My wife and I have been fans since for ages (bought the book, donated to the Mac fund, way back in the day!), and she thinks you are hotter than you think you are (you're not, btw)

Never posted before, but now you are getting really famous, thought I'd say hi!

Keep up the good work (EMT and blogging!)
`cheers
Steve

PS. Radio play works fine on the Macbook. Is it podcast anywhere?

Spot on, Thank You.

Absolutely, god damn, amazing.

Quite brilliant, and deeply moving. nearly had to turn it off a few times but stuck with it.

Was a bit difficult to bear in mind the fact that it *was* a work of fiction, which made the ending more difficult to listen to.

Overall, a superb drama, and that's coming from me who doesn't tend to listen to radio dramas at the best of times.

You and the book were good inspiration there Tom, a great play, really enjoyed it.

Another posting newbie here, although I've been reading your blog for ages and bought the book a while back. I loved the play, I realise you didn't write it, but the tone was so similar to the book - the exasperation with those who abuse the system. My boyfriend is a nurse in a rural emergency service in Spain and reading your blog has helped me understand the kind of pressures he is under and what he has to deal with and has probably saved a lot of arguments! Thanks Tom

Excellent! A friend in Edinburgh told me about it and I had to listen - very good!

Played by Martin Freeman no less. Go Tom!