Don Haworth was a journalist, TV producer and critically acclaimed writer of radio drama. His first play was produced on the radio by Alan Ayckbourn in 1967. In the course of a long and distinguished career, he won three Giles Cooper Awards.

This is a collection of twelve BBC Radio dramas from the author’s four-decade career.

A View from the Mountain – A re-telling of the myth of Sisyphus, set in a remote valley in central Europe. As a boy, Joseph accidentally killed a man by rolling boulders down a mountainside. As punishment, he is sentenced to push boulders up the mountain for the rest of his life. An old quarryman and his wife live on a mountain carrying out the instructions of the Emperor. A surveyor decides to try and release them from their burden. It takes a very special sort of man to attempt, every day of his life, a task that by any ordinary human standards is impossible. But Merope’s husband, Joseph, is such a man.

A Summertime – A warm and gently humorous tale about unforeseen happiness and its passing, set on the Lancashire moors in 1939.

Challenged – Set in a remote part of the Pennines, a widowed mother and her son battle to come to terms with the passage of time when hired worker, Tom arrives. Son Harry, who has learning difficulties, is described by his school as ‘challenged’. With Tom’s encouragement he finds new confidence, but this creates fresh conflict for the trio.

Ernest’s Tower – Ernest is a fairground stallholder, who lives in the baleful shadow of his Uncle Leo. Leo allows him to lease a small stall or two, but Ernest has dreams of owning the tallest fairground tower in the country.

The Ultimate Invention – When his aged uncle, the Grand Duke, is hit by a thunderbolt, Alexander finds himself ruler of a backward, impoverished duchy. But salvation beckons in the shape of Francis Block.

An End and a Beginning – Tom is an affable man in his middle 50s. He has worked happily for many years with a pipe-laying gang. The prospect of early retirement is not something he would look forward to.

Events at the Salamander Hotel – A hard-up travelling salesman and his cronies evolve a novel strategy for cutting their accommodation costs when times are difficult: ‘We ought to form a stack.’ ‘What’s that in the name of God? ‘American thing Alvin knows about.’ ‘One guy pays for a room and the rest move in for free.’ ‘And why do you call it a stack? ‘ ‘Double bed. Three guys lie side by side lengthways, then four width ways across them, then three more lengthways. surmounted by another four across….’ But more serious entanglements are to follow.

Dragon – In this allegorical story reflecting on the nature of power and war, the legend of St George and the Dragon Is turned on its head.

Emma Harper – Tussles in a Theme Village – Ex-headmistress Emma Harper writes a column for a village newspaper. But when she’s poached by the local radio station, her gossip programme causes controversy, anger and revenge…

Bill Bosun – Speedily to School – Passengers love country school bus driver Bill Bosun, despite his speed making journeys both a hazard and an adventure. But his weakness is an unwillingness to see anyone in a jam. Against instruction, he waits for late pupils and gives lifts to all kinds of folk and their dogs, ducks and hens. The children adore him, but the school governors and local councillors have a different view. Bill’s future is in their hands.

Stan Rooker – Night Receptionist – Late one Saturday night, a good Samaritan Wilfred Parkin brings a man with a strange problem to the hospital reception. But Stan Rooker seems strangely reluctant to call the doctor.

Jack Acorn – Disputed Inheritance – When Fred Melthorpe inherits an estate from his estranged father, he also inherits Jack Acorn, the general factotum. But Jack’s not all he seems, so unpleasant discoveries are set to be made.