Podcast Episodes

Playing in the Sun

Episode 71

This week, we join Sally at home, on a sunny autumn day. Listen for a meditation on play, weather, and our relationships with everyday objects.

The passage from David Copperfield can be found here.

M…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago

Calpurnia's Dream

Episode 70

‘Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies, / Yet now they fright me.’

This week, we join Sally in the early morning, after a Shakespearean dream. Listen for a meditation on the boundaries between sleeping…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

On Walking

Episode 69

‘I hate walking, it seems so pointless to me…’

This week, Sally has been musing on the importance of mobility, reflecting on the increasing role of her blue scooter in her life. Listen for a meditati…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

A European Postcard

Episode 68

This week, Sally offers us a series of vignettes from her travels, both past and present. Follow her on a journey around Europe, through the eyes of the child, adult, and writer.

The wonderful piano …

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Poppies in October

Episode 67

‘A gift, a love gift / Utterly unasked for / By a sky’

This week, Sally has been reading Sylvia Plath’s ‘Poppies in October’ (1963). Join her for this brief mediation on living generously and the res…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

The Painted Veil

Episode 66

‘There’s always hope where there’s poetry…’

This week, Sally is preparing for her narrowboat, Cerian, to journey upriver for maintenance. Join her in her engine room for a discussion of Somerset Ma…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Sadler's Birthday

Episode 65

‘Silence, quietness, that’s a way of living…’

This week, we join Sally in the attic room of her family home, where she has been reading Rose Tremain's first novel Sadler’s Birthday (1976). Follow her…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

The Gleaners

Episode 64

‘But the darkness is a kind of blanket, and she comforts me…’
This week, we join Sally on a sleepless night, on a journey through Millet’s The Gleaners (1857), via her character Pond Man. Follow her …

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Bleak House

Episode 63

‘London. Michaelmas Term lately over and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall…’

This week, Sally has been reading and teaching Charles Dickens’ Bleak House (1852). Follow her on a journe…

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago

The Weatherhouse

Episode 62

‘I’m wondering what happiness sounds like, these days…’

This week, Sally has been reading Nan Shepherd’s The Weatherhouse, and reflecting on her relationship with happiness and contentment. Join her …

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago