Afloat on birdsong, hawthorn petals and young leaves

WORDS once SPOKEN now CAPTURED

Let the Stars Sing out your Stories
Boat Life Philosophy/reflective Night Time

Let the Stars Sing out your Stories

July 24, 2022

The forecast hot weather has come and gone, but its psychological, as much as physical, effects feel a bit harder to shift. So join with me tonight as we gaze deeply into the mirrored dome of the night sky and its web of sta…

Unfamiliar Mirrors (... and a herring)
Soundscapes, Philosophy/reflective

Unfamiliar Mirrors (... and a herring)

July 10, 2022

Old stories can lift an unfamiliar mirror up to our lives so that we see ourselves anew and as we really are. Tonight, I will tell you an old story. It’s a story about a silvery day of sea fret (mist), rolling ocean waves, e…

This one unremarkable dusk
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective Night Time

This one unremarkable dusk

July 3, 2022

With apologies for sounding like an asthmatic badger, tonight we explore the special qualities of an unremarkable dusk and why we can feel so at peace with it and the darkness it can bring. Journal entry : 28th June, Tuesday…

The Colour of Water
Boat Life Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective

The Colour of Water

May 22, 2022

I want to describe to you what I saw today, but I can't. We have so many words to describe and represent the most complex of concepts. Why then is it almost impossible to describe something so simple and ordinary as the colo…

Entanglements with the Archdeacon
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective Natural World (Birds)

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)
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective History (General) Natural World (Birds) Natural World (Flora)

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
Philosophy/reflective Natural World (Birds) Natural World (Flora)

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…

The Darkest of Nights
Philosophy/reflective Natural World (Birds)

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
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective Natural World (Birds) Weather

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
Philosophy/reflective Natural World (Birds)

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…

Echoes of Distant Memories
Boat Life Philosophy/reflective History (Personal)

Echoes of Distant Memories

Jan. 16, 2022

The remnants of two days of murk still cling to the hedgerows and trees as you join us tonight on the narrowboat Erica. A very slow thaw is polishing the dulled surface of the water making reflected lights once again dance w…

The Hill
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective

The Hill

Dec. 19, 2021

As tonight’s full moon is shrouded by the fog that rolls down the hill and curls and drifts upon the water join us aboard the NB Erica as we fall once more in love with the commonplace and overlooked things. The hill may not…

Winter Wisdom (Wintrum frod)
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective History (General) Weather

Winter Wisdom (Wintrum frod)

Dec. 12, 2021

Following the epic weather of the past few weeks, we go back in time to a period that best celebrated this type of weather. In this episode we explore why the enigmatic appeal of Anglo-Saxon poetry and its fascination (or ev…

A Rhythm of Cycles
Natural World (General) Philosophy/reflective History (General) Night Time

A Rhythm of Cycles

Dec. 5, 2021

You join us on (another)stormy night, but this one is moonless and black as tar. It is the night of the new moon – the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon. The phases of the moon give us an opportunity to contemplate the intric…

Traveller's Joy
Philosophy/reflective Natural World (Flora)

Traveller's Joy

Nov. 21, 2021

The pace of autumn is gathering and a chill is creeping into the air tonight, but the stove is warm. In tonight’s episode we go off to encounter Traveller’s Joy, and explore the potency and importance of names. Journal entry…