WORDS once SPOKEN now CAPTURED
July 30, 2023
The New Baby Arrives (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 3)
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...
July 23, 2023
Crochet by Lantern Light (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 2)
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 ho...
July 16, 2023
Low along the Fox Paths
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 ...
July 9, 2023
Changes (lessons from a field edge)
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 f...
July 2, 2023
Facing the Fears with Maggie
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. Endles...
June 25, 2023
Five Finger Widths (above the horizon)
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 dow...
June 18, 2023
These are the Long Days (on Windmill Hill)
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 w...
June 11, 2023
'A Little Clinker-Built Boat' (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 1)
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 ba...
June 4, 2023
In Praise of Locks (and lock-keepers)
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...
May 28, 2023
The Sun that Shone on Eden (still shines upon us here)
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 abo...
May 21, 2023
A Nightingale Sang (and the world listened)
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 r...
May 14, 2023
Up on the Roof (Waiting for the rain)
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 v...
March 26, 2023
The Three of Seven (At the conclave of oaks)
Tonight's episode will be the last for awhile. I am trying to juggle too many things and I am not coping. I hope to be back soon. Thank you for all your support it means and has meant so much to me xx Tonight, the clouds are ...
March 19, 2023
When blackbirds learn to sing
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, Frida...
March 12, 2023
Night Swimming (After the snows)
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...
Feb. 26, 2023
The Miles We Have Walked (You and Me)
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) ...
Feb. 19, 2023
Songs to the Younger Part (Hymn of the Pearl)
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 tal...
Feb. 12, 2023
Lock Wheeling
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 ...
Feb. 5, 2023
February Dawning
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 awaiti...
Jan. 29, 2023
A train in the distance ('Night Mail')
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 ...
Jan. 22, 2023
One day last summer
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 ...
Jan. 15, 2023
Tuesday Morning, 5.30am (The Voyage of Bran)
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 beau...
Jan. 8, 2023
When darkness falls (Skating on 'un-time')
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 wi...
Dec. 24, 2022
The Christmas Heron
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...