WORDS once SPOKEN now CAPTURED
June 8, 2025
A brooding sky and mirrored waters (Fen Country)
Join us on a quiet night of summer rain as we listen to rooks and explore the beauty and ambiguities of two liminal places with a lot in common. We learn about the web-footed fenmen and are guided by Luke Sherlock to a ruined church under haunting skies. Journal entry: 6th June, Friday “We walk thr…
March 16, 2025
Cloud Herder (Won't you spin us one last story?)
Along the towpath, the battle between winter and spring has begun with days of warmth and days of sleet. Although even the young ducks teach us a lesson in conflict avoidance. Join us tonight as we celebrate the lives of two ...
Feb. 9, 2025
Orion Still Looks Down (On the land my shadow knows)
Send us a text It’s a bitingly cold, sleety night. There’s a warning of snow in the forecast for later. It’s a perfect night to sit together around a warm stove snug inside the Erica’s cabin, while the wild world rages outsid...
Jan. 26, 2025
The Changes that Come
Send us a text There seems to be an awful lot of change happening recently, often unasked and with far-reaching consequences. Knowing how to deal with it can be difficult and lead us to feeling unbalanced and overwhelmed. How...
Jan. 4, 2025
Into the Silence (The Undreaming)
Send us a text I am probably not the only one feeling a little disoriented and uncertain about what the upcoming year will hold. While it is great to have plans and dreams, these are not always possible and sometimes, I think...
Nov. 17, 2024
The Days of No Shadow (... and then a deer barked)
Send us a text Recently, Britain experienced a blocking high pressure system, leading to an extended period of ‘anticyclonic gloom.’ Such are the conditions in which myths are created and, as the story of Blodeuwedd and Lleu ...
Nov. 3, 2024
"Stretched into Tales that Leave a Mark"
Send us a text Two rather wonderful things have happened recently which has prompted me to take a reflective look back at this podcast and the journey we have taken together. One of these was being sent some excerpts of essay...
Oct. 20, 2024
The Long Village (Villages and tribes)
Send us a text Tonight, we are hunkered down awaiting another storm. So, come and join us for a cosy night as we reflect on the fairly unique nature of canal-life and the community that it supports, with thanks to Wayne (NB ...
July 28, 2024
Meursault's Walk & Mine (Dad's ashes)
Join me tonight as I recount a strange and rather unnerving experience that I had just over a week ago, of feeling as if I were walking in the footsteps of Meursault, the main character of one of my favourite books, Albert Ca...
July 14, 2024
Spun by Wonderment (above Hemel Hempstead)
There are times that can touch us deeply. Very often they are not about finding a place of peace or somewhere outstandingly beautiful. It is something else. Something beyond these things. It is about encountering something wo...
June 30, 2024
Living inside the Seasons
This episode was inspired by a sentence in Beth Kempton's Wabi Sabi and explores how calendars can connect us more closely to the world around us. Join us tonight as we explore the year through the eyes of some Japanese poets...
April 14, 2024
Just shadows on a summer lawn
For us the river of the year has, so far, been roaring and fierce. It is difficult, at times, to see the bank or to even know whether we are floating or sinking. However, that is only one small part of the picture. What follo...
March 3, 2024
Walking Home (In fading light)
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 l...
Jan. 17, 2024
I Felt the Anchor Shift (An Update)
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...
Nov. 19, 2023
The Battered Landscapes of our Edens
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...
Oct. 22, 2023
The Rebellious Light of Beauty (The last dandelion of summer)
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 p...
Sept. 10, 2023
Home thoughts of a Pilgrim (Chasing the wind)
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 ...
Sept. 3, 2023
Roots do not hold you down (Hedge wisdom)
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 reappea...
Aug. 27, 2023
As long as the rain talks (I will listen)
A warm dry week has ended with chasing shadows and showers. It looks like a dampish Bank Holiday! Therefore, this might be a good time to consider more deeply on the quality that rain has to touch us both physically and emoti...
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...
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...
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...
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...