WORDS once SPOKEN now CAPTURED
A Nightingale Sang (and the world listened)
May 21, 2023
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 …
Up on the Roof (Waiting for the rain)
May 14, 2023
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 …
Of cormorants and graduands
Nov. 13, 2022
This week saw the return of the cormorant which prompts a visit to Ernest Ingersoll to find out why they have no voice. A fairly severe reaction to the Covid jab meant that I missed attending this year’s graduation ceremony …
Down by the Cattle Pond
July 31, 2022
There is a spot of ground that is special to me. Perhaps you have one too. They often are not particularly attractive, but somehow they are places we can go to find quietness. Join me to tonight when we visit one of my speci…
The Dog Days of Summer
July 17, 2022
These are the long days. The days of heat and dust. The days of quiet skies and dulled colours. Days of eclipse and renewal. These are the dog days of summer. Journal entry : 23rd July, Saturday [should read 16th July - blam…
Caught in a Rhyme
June 5, 2022
On the week that the cygnets of our swan pair hatched, we explore the rather contradictory nature of the canal through the eyes of poets Jo Bell, Nancy Campbell, and Ian MacMillan. We find romance amidst the unromantic and b…
On Drying Days (Like This)
May 29, 2022
May slowly rolls into June, but is summer really here? The towpaths and hedgerows are garlanded in summer colours and the ducks (and swans) are beginning to move into their time of eclipse. Some of the mallard drakes are beg…
Entanglements with the Archdeacon
April 17, 2022
The archdeacon is one of the colourful local characters who live here. Irascible and combative, he is nevertheless an important part of the social life of this small portion of the watery world. He’s a feral domestic duck w…
I have Heard the Roar of Spring (and it is fearful)
April 3, 2022
Just as the wind swung north with its sting of sleet and hail, the first batch of ducklings were hatched this week. It was a far from simple event! However, as winter attempted to reassert itself with some biting winds and s…
Steps out of Step
March 27, 2022
A week of glorious spring weather has heightened springtime activity along the canal sides and nearby fields. It also coincides with a particularly busy period personally. My response and those of the birds and animals aroun…
Wings of Angels (Cyril)
March 13, 2022
Over the last few weeks, we have watched our little swan family slowly begin the new phases in each of their lives. Whilst it can feel sad, it is also a celebration of the life of young Cyril who is now strong enough and equ…
The Darkest of Nights
Feb. 27, 2022
February has been a month of storms both meteorological and figurative that have left many of us feeling battered and anxious. Such storms leave their marks upon the landscape and familiar terrains can become strange, alien,…
Windy Days and Nights
Feb. 13, 2022
You join us tonight at the end of a rather windy day. There seems to be a fairly common feeling that we have been encountering a lot of blustery winds recently, both meteorologically and metaphorically. Tonight, we stoke the…
Solitary Stranger: The Wigeon
Feb. 6, 2022
This week we have been joined by a solitary stranger from the north. Probably blown south-west on last week’s northerly storm winds a wigeon has arrived. The appearance of this diminutive figure prompts us to find out a litt…
Winter on the Moorings
Jan. 23, 2022
As we begin to enter the depths of winter, this episode celebrates with a soundscape of winter at the moorings that tries to capture the life and energy of this season. Journal entry : “18h January, Tuesday. A rich winter mo…