The incompetence or just downright negligence of the BBC in relation to their archive never ceases to amaze. In 2004 when Paddy received his Knighthood he made the ‘Faces of the Week’ page on the BBC website. They also included a snippet of an interview with Paddy where he describes the loss of his rucksack in Munich in 1934. I have asked the BBC if they have a copy of the remainder of this interview (date of interview unknown), but their reply was that they had either lost it or it had been erased.
You can listen to the interview on the BBC page here but you will need RealPlayer (remember that?).
Click here to play the interview straight off.
Patrick Leigh Fermor 
Do you have the South Bank Show profile, 1989, I think?
No Michael – I don’t have a copy. I must get around to asking for it. Someone will know where it is.
Further to my 2 comments of 17/2/12 re an audiotape of a BBC interview with PLF, with the help of a colleague, Stan. Bohdan, the interview is now on a digital file, which I am e-mailing to the operator of this website.
I have an audiotape cassette recording of an interview with Paddy from about sometime between 1990-92. He was interviewed on the BBC radio programme “The Art of Travel” by Annette Kobrack (I’m not sure of the spelling of her surname). The programme was about 30 minutes long, dealing with his early life and with his famed journey to Constantinople.
If you ever get that tape converted to digital format I am sure we would all like to hear it!
Leave it with me. I will investigate what can be done.
you can play it on VLC
RealPlayer? Get real. Perhaps some kindly Technoid following this blog will have compassion for Mac using Friends of Paddy and tell us a way to enable this file for QuickTime.
Best speak to the BBC. Please tell them to get Real. There is no other way. You will have to find how to play Real on your Mac
Good heaven ……… Please do let us know if and when your effors with the BBC pay off.