S1: Isolation

In episode four of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast, Jane Garvey introduces stories on isolation, each with their own unique link to the museums and Liverpool. Act One: The Importance of Being Social Joe is about to turn 16, lockdown took away his social life and in particular the underage nightclub he attended every Monday night. It's a story we're hearing a lot since March 2020, but the difference in this story is that Joe is a young man who has Down's Syndrome. In his own words Joe details how isolation has impacted him. Act Two: Splendid Isolation The Isle of Socotra in the Indian Ocean is a wonder of biodiversity comparable to the famous Galápagos Islands. In 1898 Scottish explorer, ornithologist, botanist and then Director of Liverpool Museums (World Museum) Henry Ogg Forbes undertook a joint expedition with the British Museum to the Yemeni Island. Their discoveries were vast and in this story we speak to a successor of Forbes, Dr John-James Wilson, about the collection and to Kay van Damme, who is currently residing on the Island conducting further research. Act Three: Stuck on the Suez As the huge container ship the Evergiven ran aground and blocked passage through the Suez Canal, interest in the waterway was piqued. It was stuck for just under a week, imagine being stuck there for 8 years as the Yellow Fleet was between 1967-1975. We speak to Cath Senker author of the book Stranded in the Six-Day War, who details this often forgotten moment of diplomatic history.