Nighttime on Still Waters artwork

Nighttime on Still Waters

162 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago - ★★★★★ - 33 ratings

A narrowboat-based audio journal on canal life, living aboard, the elements, and the night. Perfect late-night listening for dreamers, insomniacs, night owls, nocturnalists, drifters, and nomads. For lovers Fagen's 'Nightfly', Auden's 'Night Mail', Hopper's 'Nighthawks' and the 'drifting sea-dark streets' of Dylan Thomas. For all those who used to listen to the transistor under your pillow, love the sound of distant trains and rain against the windowpanes, canals and drover's tracks, lost music, splashed puddles, fireflies and bats, hares by moonlight, windsong among pines, owl-light, the shipping forecast, and all the wonderful, terrifying, grand and tawdry avenues of the night. Cosy listening for bedtimes.

Personal Journals Society & Culture Places & Travel narrowboat canal inland waterways liveaboard weather natural world elements nature night
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Episodes

On Surveys and Winter Warmth (Listeners' questions - 6)

March 10, 2024 14:00 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MB

As the slow march of Spring travels along the canal and towpaths, tonight I answer two more questions: How do we keep the boat from freezing when we have to leave it unattended, and how long does it normally take to buy a narrowboat? Journal entry: 7th March, Thursday. “A grey wind blows  From a grey sky  Troubling the surface  Of the canal. Damson blossom  Torn from branch  Spun snow-like  With each gust. Sweet smell of woodsmoke  And the throat-catch of coal  Crosses my path, head hig...

Walking Home (In fading light)

March 03, 2024 11:00 - 34 minutes - 47.1 MB

As a family, we gained a reputation for the way our 'short  walks' often turned into marathon hikes which invariably meant staggering home long after dark (usually without a torch). In this week’s episode I reminisce on the lessons learnt, their prescient significance, and living in a culture that does growing old and dying so astonishingly badly. Journal entry: 24th February, Saturday. “Cloud cliffs, grey and climbing  Early spring sunshine  Catching the stonework traceries  And Benedict...

Rough Crossings

February 18, 2024 11:00 - 34 minutes - 48.1 MB

Welcome aboard the NB Erica on a wet winter’s night. It is a perfect night to snuggle down and listen to JM Synge’s turn of the 20th century accounts of his travels to the Aran Islands in a small currach on stormy seas.  Journal entry: 14th February, Wednesday (St. Valentine’s Day) “Outside,  No coat,  On the hill that runs down to the cut. Warm sun, fleeting,  Cloud chasing with the gulls  And the circle of two buzzards. Maggie sits, watching,  From a throne of dried grass  And teasels...

I Felt the Anchor Shift (An Update)

January 17, 2024 20:00 - 26 minutes - 35.9 MB

It has been a rather tempestuous year so far! Currently, I am many miles from the boat and have not been able to record any podcasts. I have rather rushed this episode out to update you on the reasons why I have been so quiet of late and to bring you up to date with what has been happening.   Apologies for the sound quality of this episode. I do not have my recording gear with me at the moment.  Episode Information: In this episode I read parts of the lyrics from ‘Sit Down’ by James, writ...

The Christmas Eves of Childhood

December 23, 2023 14:00 - 30 minutes - 42.4 MB

You are invited to join us for a very special episode  as we celebrate Christmas Eve onboard the Erica and remember the Christmas Eves of our childhood.  Journal entry:  21st December, Thursday, Winter Solstice “The year’s turning  And the longest night. There’s a rough wind  And angry skies. The polestar oak  Finally felled. The ducks don’t seem  To notice."   Episode Information: Can I take this opportunity to wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a happy NEW YEAR!   With special ...

Afloat with Maggie (Listeners' questions - 5)

December 17, 2023 13:00 - 32 minutes - 44.4 MB

You have seen the Instagram photographs/videos of happy boat-dogs gambolling along summer towpaths, dense with colour and sunshine, or happily curled up in front of cosy fires, but what is the reality of sharing a boat with a dog really like, especially in the winter?   Journal entry:  15th December, Friday. “All night,  The owls echoed  Along the valley  In the long tunnel  Of the night. This morning,  A magpie scratched  Her jagged song  Across the metalled dome  Of first light.” Epis...

When Mum married Dad (95th birthday edition)

December 10, 2023 14:00 - 38 minutes - 52.5 MB

Join us on a stormy December night to listen to the next part of ‘How Mum met Dad’ in celebration of Dad’s 95th birthday. This week, we hear about their crack of dawn wedding and their honeymoon on the Norfolk Broads in the Whippet.  Journal entry:  7th December, Thursday “Untidy smoke trail of jackdaws  Stream across an iron sky  Of scalding wind and rain flail. Maggie and I pick our way  Across the sheep field,  December sings through the oaks.” Episode Information: For more informat...

When Mum met Dad (95th Birthday edition)

December 03, 2023 13:00 - 43 minutes - 60.1 MB

This week is a very special episode as we celebrate Dad’s 95th birthday and we go back in time to hear about how a 1938 Hilman Minx was instrumental in how Mum met Dad. Journal entry: 1st December, Friday “Short sections of the canal  Are covered in a frosted skim of ice.  Wafer thin  But firm enough to bear a moorhen’s weight. She walks parallel to the offside bank  Left foot raised in a high arc  Then place it flat upon the ice  Slide it forwards half an inch or so. Pivot Right foot ...

The Battered Landscapes of our Edens

November 19, 2023 13:00 - 42 minutes - 58.4 MB

Autumn is a good time for contemplation and a place by the fireside encourages reflection. Recently I have been revisiting the journals of Thomas Merton and, with the help of John Moriarty, I have found myself relearning some valuable lessons. The Edens of our flourishing are sometimes not quite what we dream them to be.  Journal entry: 15th November, Wednesday "Across the fields,   A train clatters it's way to Birmingham.  The lit carriages flickering like   A procession of glow worms   ...

When Guy Fawkes wore my old dressing gown

November 12, 2023 14:00 - 27 minutes - 38.4 MB

I've always felt that there is something rather singular about the month of November. Tonight I try to find out what it is and end up recounting the time when Guy Fawkes wore my old dressing gown (which might or might not have anything to do with it!).  Journal entry: 8th November, Wednesday. “Look down for the healing.  A reluctant dawn this morning,  South wind plays with stray raindrops  And birch leaves.  Scars of grey paving slabs lined with green.  Willowherb, spurge, dandelion.  Gr...

November Fireside Nights

November 05, 2023 13:00 - 39 minutes - 53.8 MB

It’s a foul November night, so why not come and join me aboard the Erica by the warm glow of fire light. I have with me a lovely book that I found last year in a second-hand bookshop and think that it's perfect for a night like this.    Journal entry:  1st November, Wednesday. “November is born brave  This morning. The dark water is alive  With movement  And a scatter  Of light. The walk from the boat  To car  Is under a starfield and  A bold moon.” Episode Information: In this episod...

Autumn Forest

October 29, 2023 14:00 - 35 minutes - 49.1 MB

I am not sure if it is just me, but so far autumn doesn’t feel quite so ‘autumny’ as it usually does. Therefore, I think that it is a perfect time to savour a reading from one of my most favourite childhood books, Brendon Chase by BB.   Journal entry:  26th October, Thursday. “Darkness.  Mizzle transforms the water  Into star-fields of pinpricks of light.  Evanescent. Like walking  Through the tangle  Of watery  Spiders’ webs. A dance of tiny droplets  In the torchlight’s beam.  Cloud-w...

The Rebellious Light of Beauty (The last dandelion of summer)

October 22, 2023 14:00 - 42 minutes - 58.3 MB

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the global events of the last couple of weeks. Following the battering of Storm Babet, this week’s episode offers a space for us to reflect on a world that can be often violent and far from perfect.  Journal entry: 13th October, Friday “Battered by the winds of the world  I stop to watch the free-flight of rooks  Diving from an oak into the full force  Of a westerly gale. Gothic wings outspread,  They surf the blast  Hanging on its back  In a rage of ecs...

Words & Music (Listeners' questions - 4)

October 15, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MB

The temperature outside is dipping down towards zero, so join us for a cosy night by the glow of a hot stove, as we chat about two subjects close to my heart and the surprising way that living on a boat has altered my attitude to them.  Journal entry: 13th October, Friday “Battered by the winds of the world  I stop to watch the free-flight of rooks  Diving from an oak into the full force  Of a westerly gale. Gothic wings outspread,  They surf the blast  Hanging on its back  In a rage of ...

Swings and Roundabouts (Listeners' Questions - 3)

October 08, 2023 14:00 - 35 minutes - 49 MB

There's an old and trustworthy adage on the canals: when two or more boaters meet up it is only a matter of time before the conversation will turn to the subject of toilets. So guess what the topic of this week's episode is?!  Journal entry:  3rd October, Tuesday “Light fades.  Dew Falls.  Maggie follows a rabbit’s scent-trail  Through the long, wet grass.  Two rooks head east into darkness. I struggle in the half-light   With the padlock on the gate  So we head upwards over the hill  Th...

Under the ghost of a Harvest Moon

October 01, 2023 12:00 - 19 minutes - 27.2 MB

A week of serious problems with our internet has meant that I have been unable to record the episode answering listeners’ questions. However, join us tonight to enjoy a special meeting under the ‘ghost’ of a harvest moon.  Journal entry:  29th September, Friday “Early this morning,  We met the swan slipping  Light upon the night-time mists. Behind us,  Cows stood knee deep  in milk- white meadows. This is the stillness that falls  After the storm.” Episode Information: In this episode...

Uncertain Futures (Listeners' questions - 2)

September 23, 2023 13:00 - 41 minutes - 56.6 MB

There’s a chill in the air tonight and there will be mist on the water in the morning. Join me tonight as I answer some hard questions about how viability is a long term in the Erica on the canals?  Journal entry: 21st September, Thursday “For a short while this evening  The crescent moon and the setting sun  Shared the same length of skyline.  A fiery bronze heart and the ghost of bone. Then a robin sings as rain drops fall.  Here is tranquillity and peace.  The horned moon  And evenson...

'No Regrets' (Listeners' questions - 1)

September 17, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes - 55.9 MB

On a dark night that is damp with an autumnal chill, join us as tonight I answer some of the questions posed by the listeners of this podcast which range from the decisions and motivations behind our choice to live afloat to canal etiquette.  Journal entry:  14th September, Thursday “Thin drizzle.  The jackdaws sound like  Monosyllabic gulls this evening.  Woundwort heals the breach between  The canal and me.  Red berries.  Some days that is all you need:  Rain and red berries.” Episode ...

Home thoughts of a Pilgrim (Chasing the wind)

September 10, 2023 14:00 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MB

It's a hot sultry night in the late eve of summer. Join us tonight as we spend time with the gentle words and wisdom of a friend of mine.   Journal entry:  6th September, Wednesday “This evening  The wool of traveller’s joy has caught afire  With the westward  Apricot sun.    And look at how the nettles glow  Translucent with the touch  Of unspeakable wonder.”   Episode Information: In this episode I read Chasing the Wind by Tony Bell ©2020 If you have a question, drop me a line on ni...

Roots do not hold you down (Hedge wisdom)

September 03, 2023 13:00 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MB

The hedges are ablaze with colour and they call to us of lessons that we have long forgotten.  Journal entry: 2nd September, Saturday “At the edgings of the day.  A delinquent V of geese  Transect a sinking sun.  As they reappear  Another flight has joined them.  They continue in a loose straggle  North. A cool whisper of air  As we round the base of the hill.  Distant voices float across the water.  As the sun sinks below the west  The chant of jackdaws.” Episode Information: In this e...

As long as the rain talks (I will listen)

August 27, 2023 11:00 - 36 minutes - 49.5 MB

Rain has a quality to touch us both physically and emotionally. Thomas Merton and Tristan Gooley are two very different people, but both offer insights into the language of rain and what we can learn through listening to it.  Journal entry: 24th August, Thursday  "We drop down the hill  To field-edge and thistledown smoke.  A moorhen scatters at our approach  Leaving only a fading trace in the water.  Maggie methodically sniffs the undergrowth  While I search for gold in the clouds.  A be...

An August-coloured Evening

August 20, 2023 13:00 - 29 minutes - 40 MB

Tonight, we celebrate and enjoy a special August evening at the moorings, filled with golden light, gentle chatter, a rolling wind, duck call and church bells. A rare ‘August-coloured’ evening.  Journal entry: 15th August, Tuesday “Chasing clouds and sunshine.  The ground still wet from yesterday's rain  We walk the loop, Maggie reacquainting herself  With familiar places.  Me too. It seems a while.  It's good to be out again.  The air smells green and fresh." Episode Information: In th...

Adventures and Departures (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 4)

August 06, 2023 14:00 - 30 minutes - 42.3 MB

Life afloat can throw up some rather singular challenges from being frozen in to sinking, running aground, being attacked by wild kittens and the dangers of runaway working boats!! Join us tonight as we ride out Storm Antoni (apologies for some background rain patter) for the concluding reading of The Kathy Chronicles, where the decision is made to leave life on the canal and embrace new adventures.       Episode Information: You can see some family photographs from this time by going to t...

The New Baby Arrives (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 3)

July 30, 2023 11:00 - 32 minutes - 44.2 MB

What was it like to give birth on small 30 ft boat in the 1960s? Mum continues her account of her life afloat on the Kathy in this week’s instalment of ‘The Kathy Chronicles’. We hear about the some of the challenges and joys of bringing up two very small children on a boat as well as Dad’s battle with the Pithers stove and a strange event that remains a mystery.      Episode Information: You can hear earlier episodes of 'The Kathy' Chronicles here: One, Two.   You can see some family phot...

Crochet by Lantern Light (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 2)

July 23, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 43.9 MB

What was it really like to live on board a 30ft canal boat in the late 1950s before there were such things as service points and fully equipped marinas? This week we continue with ‘The Kathy Chronicles’ where Mum describes how they began to settle into life afloat, whilst making extensive alterations, as well their plans for the arrival of a new baby. She provides a fascinating picture of the realities of what it was like to live-aboard a canal boat in the late 1950s and early 1960s.      E...

Low along the Fox Paths

July 16, 2023 13:00 - 29 minutes - 40.1 MB

It’s a wild and wet July night of wind and rain. So why not step aboard for a while as we meander down some fox trails and contemplate the pleasure of sunshine and dark skies. Journal entry: 11th July, Tuesday “A quarter to midnight.  Lying in bed and listening  To the drum of rain  On the cabin roof. All day I have watched the dark  Clouds boil in the cauldron  Of the west.  Storm heads tower  In castle greys. Maggie and I stood  On the hill with no name  Watching the ragged veils  Of ...

Changes (lessons from a field edge)

July 09, 2023 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.7 MB

Join us tonight on a hot sticky night of lingering light and stubborn twilight. With the summer’s tilt shifting wider and deeper changes are felt. "Life is a motion. Life is growth. It is never static," says the corner of a field. Journal entry:  4th July, Tuesday "Goldfinch carnival   Among the teasel heads  And early sun. Dark clouds to the west  Bringing rain.  Spindrift of fine drizzle  Freewheels on the breeze. The cows are in no hurry  Neither am I."   Episode Information: In t...

Facing the Fears with Maggie

July 02, 2023 11:00 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MB

This has been rather an unexpected and eventful week. This is a special episode where we welcome a board a new fellow traveller (along the canals and through life). Journal entry:  30th June, Friday “Endless motorways. Endless traffic.  Red lights all the way.  A frightened face and soulful eyes.  I sit on the stairs out of sight; out of the way. A short drizzle of rain.  The smell of hay in fields.  Sitting as darkness falls,  My arm is licked by a new friend." Episode Information: Ph...

Five Finger Widths (above the horizon)

June 25, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 48 MB

Watching the sun sink below the horizon, particularly after long sunny days such as these, can evoke a mass of mental and emotional responses that seem to tap into something deep within us. Join us this week as week count down a setting sun and reflect on the rich culture it created.   Journal entry:  23rd June, Friday. “The alder saplings are growing thick at the water’s edge  Vying with the green spears of teasel  And purple knapweed plumes. This time last year  Some of them were formi...

These are the Long Days (on Windmill Hill)

June 18, 2023 12:00 - 30 minutes - 42.5 MB

These are the days when the nights are short and the days are long. On the cusp of the summer solstice, the year's turning reaches its zenith, join me tonight in celebrating the unique joys (and challenges) of the long days with a special visit to Windmill Hill (Grid reference SP 33 42). Journal entry: 14th June, Wednesday “Sun down.  A lone swan swims up the canal.  Serene strokes from strong feet.  Each ripple she makes catches fire.  The goldcrests’ chatter falls silent  And the bank-s...

'A Little Clinker-Built Boat' (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 1)

June 11, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 44.7 MB

Travel back in time to the scorching summer of 1959. Although the canals were still mainly used by working boats, leisure cruising was growing in popularity and so too the idea of living on a canal boat. Tonight, I take us back to that world as I read Mum’s reminiscences of the decision to live on a boat with a young baby, eventually finding their future home, the Kathy, and their nail-biting journey taking her to their home mooring. Some of which could sound all too familiar to modern canal...

In Praise of Locks (and lock-keepers)

June 04, 2023 13:00 - 35 minutes - 48.3 MB

There’s something almost indefinably special about canal and river locks. Tonight, I relate my struggle to outwit the ghost of Odd Lock as well as take time to celebrate the lock-keepers of old and their newer iteration – the volunteer lockie (I’m guessing at the spelling!)  Journal entry:  2nd June, Friday “North easterly winds  Grey skies.  But there are five ducklings  Braving the bluster  And a swallow scissors low over  A meadow of buttercups.  This light makes the yellow Irises blaze...

The Sun that Shone on Eden (still shines upon us here)

May 28, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes - 55.7 MB

Come with me for a walk by the canal and I will show you something wonderful! This week we explore how names and memories have the power to root and reinforce our connections with home and tell us something very important about ourselves.  Journal entry:  27th May, Saturday “Late afternoon sun slants into  The tobacco-coloured waters.  Fifteen or more carp weightless  Among the cow pastures of weed-drift. With a flick of a tail, they all glide as one  In a lithe piscine murmuration  Look...

A Nightingale Sang (and the world listened)

May 21, 2023 12:00 - 42 minutes - 58.2 MB

This week marked the anniversary of what has been considered by many to be one of the most important cultural events of the twentieth century. Tonight, we try to recapture that moment and explore why its power to move still remains today.  Journal entry: 18th May, Thursday, “Is there anything more beautiful  Than the softness  Of April and May light  While the clouds scramble  For height  Amid a sky of towering blue?” Episode Information: In this episode I read from: Charlie Connelly (202...

Up on the Roof (Waiting for the rain)

May 14, 2023 10:00 - 33 minutes - 45.6 MB

We are back! Spring sunshine and showers are transforming the fields and the canal and it is wonderful to be behind the microphone once again! The roof of a narrowboat can acts as a special extra room offering you panoramic views of a world of thee worlds. Why not climb up here and join us up on the roof of the Erica to enjoy rook play and the approach of a thunderstorm. This episode is dedicated especially to Stu and Vania.     Journal entry: 10th May, Wednesday “A game of Pooh-sticks ...

The Three of Seven (At the conclave of oaks)

March 26, 2023 12:00 - 34 minutes - 46.9 MB

Tonight, the clouds are racing and the young moon has already dipped below the horizon. Spring comes roaring on the back of a raging southwesterly. Join the Erica on a windy March night as, with the help of Rory's favourite book, we explore the significance of the conclave of oaks on the hill top.  Journal entry: 21st March, Tuesday. “Long day.  Darkness has long since fallen.  On the bank, the two swans emerge,  Glowing ghostly white.  Their beaks quietly nibbling the grass.  Night-time ...

When blackbirds learn to sing

March 19, 2023 13:00 - 33 minutes - 46.1 MB

After a blustery week of wild, mad, March weather, why not join us tonight as we enjoy a sunny moment beside the canal and contemplate on the powerful word-play of some very old Celtic bards.  Journal entry:  17th March, Friday “The sun is warm  To the west the clouds are Prussian blue  Like mountains of the imagination.  A woodpecker laughs  From somewhere across the fields  Which fill with lambs  And the sound of young  Calling to old.  A branch hangs whose scars are unhidden.” Episode...

Night Swimming (After the snows)

March 12, 2023 13:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MB

Curl up with us tonight as we enjoy the warmth of a cosy cabin as snow gives way to sweeping rain and our stove glows brightly in the gathering darkness. Journal entry: 10th March, Friday “The convocation of oaks rises to my view  From a swirling mist of snow and blown spindrift.  Their trunks wrapped white.  Icicles hang from their branches. I want to say,  “Don’t worry,  Spring is on its way.” But they know that.  They have known that before I was born  They have known that for centur...

The Miles We Have Walked (You and Me)

February 26, 2023 14:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MB

This episode is dedicated to my pair of walking boots who has shared life with me for nearly 45 years (and both of us are still going strong). We have walked miles together. Where have they taken me and to what (and to whom) will they take me in the future?  Journal entry: 24th February, Friday “The jackdaws' chant hangs  Among the eaves of the ancient wood.  Aconite, anemones, and ransoms,  Green spears among rich leaf mould. A church on a hill  Swims among deep drifts  Of snowdrops  A...

Songs to the Younger Part (Hymn of the Pearl)

February 19, 2023 15:00 - 56 minutes - 39.1 MB

Blustery late winter nights are perfect for retelling old stories. Tonight we listen again with new ears to the ancient story told in the 'hymn of the pearl' and explore how old myths and folktales can weave such powerful tales if we just allow them tell their own stories.   Journal entry: 15th February, Wednesday “An old moon leans back against the dawn.  Gulls scythe and cry  Between street lamps and traffic noise. Chaos above and chaos below.  But between the concrete  There is green....

Lock Wheeling

February 12, 2023 13:00 - 35 minutes - 24.6 MB

Any boater who is faced with the prospect of numerous locks ahead will know how wonderful it is to find someone who is prepared to take on ‘lock-wheeling’ duties. This episode takes some time out to reflect on the podcast as well as explore the many listeners who have become tireless lock-wheelers for it.  Journal entry:  10th February, Friday “Ice skates lines across the water.  A thin brittle veneer that cannot hold  The oak’s reflection. The morning sun sets fire to the reeds.  I am d...

February Dawning

February 05, 2023 12:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MB

All along the canal side, the wintery tees and hedgerows are filling with spring song and life. Subtle shifts and changes, the play of light through the trees, the shimmering reflection of an old oak, auger new seasons awaiting us. It might still be winter and cold weather is on the way, but why not join me tonight in a ‘secret’ spot, canal-side, where we can listen together to February dawning?  Journal entry:  1st February, Wednesday. "The conclave of oaks at the top of the hill  Bask i...

A train in the distance ('Night Mail')

January 29, 2023 12:00 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MB

Canals and railways are often very close near neighbours and so trains can be a frequent part of the canal soundscapes. This week we explore why the sound of a train in the distance (thanks to Paul Simon) can be so evocative which gives me the opportunity to reminisce about my childhood and revisit some wonderful poems.  Journal entry:   24th January, Tuesday. “Racing head. Not much sleep.  So I am out here, trying to walk it out. The ground crunches and splinters into Icy shards.  The k...

One day last summer

January 22, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MB

Join us around the warmth of a glowing stove tonight as ice once more grips the boat and freezing fog thickly mantles the winter-naked trees. On nights like these, it is good to remember summer days and so, tonight’s episode takes us back to one particular day late last summer.  Journal entry:  16th January, Monday “A westering sun paints the opposite bank in amber,  Soil and bark glow warm with gold.  A tangle of twisted roots, bramble brush and rabbit holes. Eight ducks emerge from the...

Tuesday Morning, 5.30am (The Voyage of Bran)

January 15, 2023 14:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MB

Rain and mud are all around us at the moment, but there is wonder there too. The ancient myth of ‘The Voyage of Bran’ helps us to find the extraordinary within the ordinary and (with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel) the beauty of Tuesday Morning, 5.30am. Journal entry:  13th January, Friday “Boggy ground, although I am high on the hill.  Standing in the cluster of four oaks waiting.  Waiting for I don’t know what. I turn, and behind me, the sunrises in red and gold  Through the dense br...

When darkness falls (Skating on 'un-time')

January 08, 2023 15:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MB

Happy New Year! New Years can be exciting times, marking new beginnings, a clean page, awakening dormant dreams and ambitions. However, sometimes it is not always like that. This year, in particular, many face the new year with trepidation, filled with anxieties, a sense of being overwhelmed and unable to cope.  What do we do when the future looks dark? *Please note that this episode candidly discusses issues of mental health*   Journal entry: 4th January, Wednesday. "Silver light on Cot...

The Christmas Heron

December 24, 2022 14:00 - 45 minutes - 31.1 MB

It’s Christmas Eve and the perfect time for a canal-side story. Have you ever heard of the Christmas Heron? No? Well, there’s probably a very good reason for that, but I will tell it to you anyway. So, curl up in your special armchair by the stove and I will tell you all about the Christmas Heron. Journal entry:                        24th December, Saturday (Christmas Eve). “Christmas Eve dawns with a silvered light.  The canal is mirror calm. A choir of rook song.  A lone swan flying s...

'Earth stood hard as iron...'

December 18, 2022 14:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MB

Join us around the stove tonight, on a very cosy NB Erica that is currently ice-locked into a frozen landscape, as we think about the Fimbulwinter of old, and why Midwinter might be mid-winter after all! Journal entry:  14th December, Wednesday. “Ridges of frost form ribs on the sweep of hills.  Two rooks throw calls against a sky  Marbled by the setting sun.  Beyond the horizon, a pheasant startles a distant wood.  My fingers and toes burn. Episode Information: In this episode I read v...

Those eyes of old (look out at me)

December 11, 2022 14:00 - 34 minutes - 23.4 MB

“Those eyes of old look at me and, through the haze of your futures, I look back at you…”  On this freezing December night, snuggle closer to the stove as I reflect on the strangeness of coming across an old photograph of me as a small child as well as the adventures of the Archdeacon on ice.     Journal entry:  9th December, Friday “The scent of wood smoke and cold air.  The warm, dry sound of someone splitting firewood.  Each teasel head is framed in a perfect halo of sunlight.  Today,...

Nightwalk 2 (Moon shadows across the water)

December 04, 2022 14:00 - 40 minutes - 28.1 MB

The night is chill and crisp, a bright moon rides the racing clouds and stars shimmer on the surface of the canal. It’s a perfect night for a night walk. Snuggle down and wrap up warm as you join me on a canal walk washed by moon light.    Journal entry: 29th November, Tuesday “Reluctant daylight.  The sun's cold shoulder.  Three ducks bob on ruffled water.  I walk on uphill  Grateful for thick socks.”  Episode Information: In this episode I read an extract from Niall Mac Coitir’s retel...

Twitter Mentions

@noswpod 162 Episodes
@petetuffrey 5 Episodes
@minutes_peace 2 Episodes
@andygriffee 1 Episode
@greenknowemanor 1 Episode
@andrewpphotos 1 Episode
@themindfulnb 1 Episode
@onawhim_nb 1 Episode