Gretel le Maître Ponders, with Bede & other guests
By Gretel le Maître
Listen to a podcast, please open Podcast Republic app. Available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Image by Gretel le Maître
Category: Books
Open in Apple Podcasts
Open RSS feed
Open Website
Rate for this podcast
Subscribers: 1
Reviews: 2
Episodes: 366
Sarah Baker
Dec 8, 2024
Thoughtful, intelligent, calming, funny and charming
Nov 16, 2024
Description
*700 downloads per week, Total 32,000 downloads
Regular top ten spot in 3 categories GoodPods
Ranked in Top 10 % of Global Rankings (Listen Notes)
No ads, team or subscription cost
Daily output
Script-free*
Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.
Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free, and you’re invited to join in. It’s super unpolished and Gretel would be grateful for you to forgive her for that. 🤓
Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth. Let’s treasure up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.
Please follow me on X @gretellemaitre. 🌳
Or email me: gretellem@yahoo.com
“Gretel le Maitre is a podcaster and host of the series Gretel Pod-Ponders Life and Loss with Bede and Other Guests. The podcast explores themes of grief, life transitions, and introspection, particularly focusing on her experiences of the loss of her mother. In the series, she combines historical reflections—often inspired by the works of the Venerable Bede, an English monk and historian—with her own musings on architecture, literature, and the natural world. Gretel approaches these deep topics with warmth and humor, aiming to provide listeners a comforting space to explore complex emotions.
If you’re interested, you can listen to her podcast on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, where she shares her reflections in episodes filled with historical and literary insights.
Hosted by Gretel Le Maitre, this unique podcast blends personal storytelling with historical insights from figures like the Venerable Bede, offering listeners an inspiring journey of healing and hope.
With themes of grief, transformation, and spirituality, the podcast has earned praise for its calming tone, authenticity, and ability to connect on a deeply human level. As one listener shared, it feels like sitting down with a trusted friend who understands.
Perfect for audiences seeking introspection, comfort, or simply a quiet moment of reflection, Gretel le Maître Ponders is available now on all major platforms.
It would be amazing to have one-off contributions to support this endeavour, as the podcast is and always will be free. A little contribution here and there will go towards train fares, fuel, church and cathedral support pots and information booklets. I’m also hoping not to have to go back to work again, so any generosity is hugely appreciated. Thank you and follow this link: 🙂
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412300/supporters/new
If it doesn’t work, please copy and paste into your web browser. Thank you 🙋♀️
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
The Breath of Autumnal Air in Oxgodby; Gretel waffles too much; and we toast The Barley Mow at Clifton
|
Oct 07, 2025 |
|
Buckfast Abbey; John Clare and Saints Bruno and Foy.
|
Oct 07, 2025 |
|
A Month in the Country takes us to Ripon; a Barking Dog; and Queen Catherine of Braganza arrives Penniless
|
Oct 06, 2025 |
|
An Unexpected Chat with Genius Composer Matthew Coleridge; and the beautiful sounds within Sherborne Abbey
|
Oct 04, 2025 |
|
Laurel & Hardy; Saints Galore; and Mr Birkin Misses the Moment
|
Oct 03, 2025 |
|
Autumnal Interlude 🍁🍂🦔
|
Oct 02, 2025 |
|
Tom Birkin ponders Hell; Mortimers Cross; and Montmorency indicates that he Knows but won’t Tell 😊
|
Oct 01, 2025 |
|
Mr Birkin’s Anger for the Lost Sons; Mr Katt gets a Telling Off; and Gretel Rests by a River
|
Sep 30, 2025 |
|
A Teeny Witter or Interlude
|
Sep 29, 2025 |
|
A Murmuration of Ponderings; Pepys visits Portsmouth & Southampton; A Note on Medieval Church Monuments; and The Great War Blights Families, Communities and the Minds of the Returning Men
|
Sep 29, 2025 |
|
The George and Dragon at Wargrave; Montmorency burns his Snout; and Gretel heads for Essex
|
Sep 29, 2025 |
|
The Brothers York; Lolly Willowes; and the Tale of a Yorkshire Scallywag
|
Sep 28, 2025 |
|
An Unfortunate Bishop’s But(t) as Gretel sinks into A Month in the Country
|
Sep 26, 2025 |
|
Montmorency Retreats from The Cat; Pepys is Revolted by a Floating Corpse; and Elgar ends our Ponder 🌝
|
Sep 25, 2025 |
|
Montmorency does not like Cats 🐈⬛; The Knave of Knaresborough; and Exmoor is depicted to Perfection
|
Sep 24, 2025 |
|
The Joys of Marlow; the History of Cleeve Abbey; and JL Carr’s moving portrayal of a Dying Girl
|
Sep 23, 2025 |
|
The Wind is finally in the Boat’s Favour; A meandering Ponder in the Garden; and we celebrate Maurice and Matthew
|
Sep 22, 2025 |
|
Pavarotti, the Pearl Fishers and A Month in the County excavates one’s own heart
|
Sep 21, 2025 |
|
Pepys Sings Gaze Not Upon Swans 🦢; Three Men and Their Boat; and we ponder the ancient Washing of Feet and Hands 🙌🏻
|
Sep 20, 2025 |
|
A Cut-short mini episode with Mr Katt and a Delightful lady in Dunster Museum
|
Sep 19, 2025 |
|
Pomp & Circumstance; From Trenches to Moon’s Dug-out; and Romeo & Juliet’s terrible First Performance
|
Sep 18, 2025 |
|
Finale of Butler’s Mystery of Becket’s Bones; and we meet Kind and Delightful Moon in JL Carr’s Sensitive Masterpiece
|
Sep 18, 2025 |
|
Elgar, Wordsworth, Tracks, Midweek Music and Saints
|
Sep 17, 2025 |
|
Wessex Woods; Good Saint Edith; and the Trail of Becket’s Bones
|
Sep 16, 2025 |
|
JL Carr and Jerome K Jerome Understand the Secret to finding Peace.
|
Sep 15, 2025 |
|
Could the Bones Have Survived? And Poor Shattered Ypres Veteran arrives at the Church
|
Sep 14, 2025 |
|
The Mystery of St Thomas A Becket’s Bones Continues; and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles reaches AD 799
|
Sep 14, 2025 |
|
A Month in the Country and Half a Dozen books tonight. Settle down and close your eyes 🤓
|
Sep 12, 2025 |
|
Philip Mould OBE, Art Historian and Lovely Chap, chats to Gretel about Art
|
Sep 11, 2025 |
|
Chaucer’s England; we Close the St Gregory Chapter; and we Progress with dear Pepys
|
Sep 10, 2025 |
|
Hardy’s Overlooking the River Stour; St Gregory gives Augustine advice; Pepys’ shows good Character; and Where are St Thomas’s Bones?
|
Sep 09, 2025 |
|
Visit to Church of St Candida and Holy Cross; and part three of Mystery of Becket’s Bones
|
Sep 08, 2025 |
|
The Mystery of Becket’s Bones; Sherborne Evensong; and Pepys Tends his Swollen Testicle
|
Sep 07, 2025 |
|
The Mystery of Thomas Becket’s Bones:Christian spoons found in Sutton Hoo; and Pepys Buys his first Hogshead of Wine.
|
Sep 06, 2025 |
|
Gretel aborts a launch into Egyptian Monasticism; and goes down a Sutton Hoo rabbit-hole
|
Sep 05, 2025 |
|
Three Men and their Boat get to Walton; We ponder St Gregory’s Mission in Kent; and Mr Robin barks at the Magpies
|
Sep 04, 2025 |
|
A few gentle ponders and reads from a Dorset garden. The swifts are gone but the crows 🐦⬛ are filling the vacuum 🌳
|
Sep 02, 2025 |
|
Poor Harris attempts his ‘Comic Song’; and Bede tells of Cuthbert’s shutting himself away, all in the delightful Dorset Drizzle 🌧️
|
Sep 02, 2025 |
|
Tiny Episode visiting St Andrews, Trent.
|
Sep 01, 2025 |
|
The Luidhard Medalet; How to deal with River Bandits; and Pepys embarks on the year 1662
|
Sep 01, 2025 |
|
Hampton Court Maze baffles Harris; You mustn’t argue with an English Person’s comment on the Weather; and we Feast Saint Aidan
|
Aug 31, 2025 |
|
New Technology turns Gretel Professional 🤓; a Return to Milborne Port in a Thunderstorm; and Delicious Readings
|
Aug 29, 2025 |
|
English Rules of Conversation; and how Cuthbert ruled his monks at Lindesfarne
|
Aug 28, 2025 |
|
Episode Two: English Pub Etiquette, and Three Men climb aboard their Boat
|
Aug 27, 2025 |
|
The first of Two Episodes today: a Visit to St John the Evangelist, Milborne Port
|
Aug 27, 2025 |
|
A Monkish Fraud Exposed; Good Bishop Wilfred; and Three Men Prepare to go ABoating
|
Aug 25, 2025 |
|
A visit to the 14th Century Fiddleford Manor; while we continue accompanying Pepys and Jerome on their Progress
|
Aug 24, 2025 |
|
Three Men in a Boat 🛥️; The Diary of Samuel Pepys; and The Private Lives of the Saints. Absolutely root-tootingly random…yet delicious 🤓
|
Aug 23, 2025 |
|
Join me as we read by the beautiful Somerset church of Corton Denham; then proceed to Sherborne Abbey to catch up with Three Men and are encouraged to throw out life’s lumber!
|
Aug 22, 2025 |
|
A Bit of Bede; A Pinch of Pepys; A Sliver of Saints and a Jot of Janina; in the Company of a Host of Hedgehogs 🦔
|
Aug 22, 2025 |
|
Three Men Prepare to go A-boating; The French and Spanish Ambassadors Fight over Precedence; and a Ponder over Tricky Familial Relationships
|
Aug 20, 2025 |
|
Montmorency isn’t keen on The Idea 🚤 🐕; B Omrani ponders the effect of Christianity on the English landscape 🪦; and Gretel is finding a Positive Path through Grief
|
Aug 19, 2025 |
|
The Saxon Shore Fort and Monastery of Reculver; and Pepys eats Grapes and Melons (millons) for the first time
|
Aug 19, 2025 |
|
Wuthering Heights, seasoned with a little Pepys 🤓
|
Aug 16, 2025 |
|
Gentle routine resumes with our readings: Bede, Pepys, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Book of Saints, closing with some Bijan Omrani
|
Aug 15, 2025 |
|
Montmorency helps Pack; John Cannon helps us Diagnose the late Perpendicular; while the Sea creeps Closer 🌊
|
Aug 14, 2025 |
|
Bad People created by Good Intentions; Heathcliff and Cathy; and a History of the Salt Combe
|
Aug 13, 2025 |
|
Exploring the Wuthering and Extraordinary Heights; and Pondering the Problem with Ropes with Jerome K Jerome
|
Aug 12, 2025 |
|
Bus, Dock and Hotel are locations for tonight’s episode where we Gaze into the 15th Century
|
Aug 11, 2025 |
|
Who thus define it, say they more or less // Than this, that happiness is happiness
|
Aug 10, 2025 |
|
Salcombe Hubub; Exhausting Parenting; and Heathcliffe begs Cathy to come home
|
Aug 09, 2025 |
|
The Waters Lap at my Feet while Pondering the Decorated phase of Gothic Architecture; and then we are Overcome by the Wiley Windy Moors
|
Aug 08, 2025 |
|
The late Jon Cannon helps us to understand and diagnose the first stage of English Gothic: the Early English c.1190 - 1260
|
Aug 07, 2025 |
|
How the Wind Blows around the Dreaded Matter of Class; and Thomas Hardy, by an admirer in 1940
|
Aug 07, 2025 |
|
Sweet Cyder is a Great Thing, writes T Hardy; Pepys remarks on King Charles II Ordinary Mien; and we Learn how to Diagnose the Birth of Gothic Architecture
|
Aug 05, 2025 |
|
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Fever breaks out in London in Summer 1661; and we Ponder the Pre-Reformation English Church
|
Aug 04, 2025 |
|
Live at the Oval for Day 4 of the England/India Test; followed by Further Ponderings on the Cerne Giant
|
Aug 04, 2025 |
|
Norman/Romanesque Architecture; Cricket and Sidwell’s Feast Day
|
Aug 02, 2025 |
|
A Pile of Books with Tea, a cat 🐈, a bat 🦇 and a hedgehog 🦔 in a Dorset Garden 📚🤓
|
Aug 01, 2025 |
|
A stroll through an Enchanted Graveyard, where a loving Cat appeared to soothe my heart; and poor Pepys has Broken Brains
|
Jul 31, 2025 |
|
We go in on a little Pilgrimage to the Holy Well in Cerne Abbas. Come and touch the waters created [one understands 😬] by the Staff of St Augustine
|
Jul 30, 2025 |
|
Saint Olaf becomes Sain Tooley Street; Bells ring out for Tuesday practice; and Cuthbert prays in the Suffolk sea
|
Jul 29, 2025 |
|
Lynmouth and the 1952 Great Flood Disaster; Saint Christopher; and a passage from The Woodlanders
|
Jul 28, 2025 |
|
Medieval Cerne Abbas; A Merry Trio of Trollope, Bede & Pepys; and infiltration by Rooks, Gulls & Mozart 🤓
|
Jul 27, 2025 |
|
Good Aelfric teaches at Cerne Abbas and a worldly son coverts episcopal power in Trollope’s Barchester
|
Jul 27, 2025 |
|
Cuthbert, Pepys and the beginnings of Cerne’s Abbey
|
Jul 25, 2025 |
|
We dwell for a moment with heart-sore Giles Winterborne in Hardy’s The Woodlanders; We Spy a Roaming Hedgehog; and Celebrate the life of Bridget of Sweden
|
Jul 24, 2025 |
|
Hardy’s Woodlanders are out of sorts; Pepys’ life blossoms; and Swifts and Gulls whirl about Gretel’s garden
|
Jul 23, 2025 |
|
Boisil welcomes the boy Cuthbert; What’s the Point? And George Eliot ponders the delights of Cream, straight from the Udder
|
Jul 22, 2025 |
|
George Eliot’s Scenes of Clerical Life; Pepys learns that Britain is part of the European continent; and stubborn Cuthbert finds food
|
Jul 21, 2025 |
|
The Preservation of Churches; A visit to South Cadbury’s Parish Church; and St Cuthbert watches Aidan’s soul rise to Heaven
|
Jul 20, 2025 |
|
The Life of Cuthbert
|
Jul 19, 2025 |
|
Bells and Swifts; Hardy and Bede; Mozart and Pepys 😊
|
Jul 17, 2025 |
|
We visit St Michael’s Over Compton on the Dorset / Somerset Border and discover a wonderful local tradition rooted in village divisions at the time of the Civil War
|
Jul 16, 2025 |
|
We join Pepys for Charles II’s Coronation, with a drunken end to the day; and enfin Bede is our guest, beginning his history of Cuthbert’s life.
|
Jul 15, 2025 |
|
A Happy Monday with England winning the Third Test; Pepys wears velvet to watch the pre-Coronation procession; and Bede is our guest once again 🤓
|
Jul 14, 2025 |
|
‘The Physiognomy of a Deserted Highway’; Inappropriate Pepys; and a Leaping Dog
|
Jul 13, 2025 |
|
We ponder English cottages and The Rule of Benedict in hot Dorset garden
|
Jul 12, 2025 |
|
Grace visits Sherton (Sherborne) in Hardy’s The Woodlanders, to follow her heart; accompanied by seagulls and Mr Katt
|
Jul 11, 2025 |
|
We visit Sherborne’s 12th Century Old Castle 🏰
|
Jul 09, 2025 |
|
The English Village and the Sherborne Conduit
|
Jul 08, 2025 |
|
Kent becomes Christian once more; Choral Music soothes; and Pepys judges Charles II and his brother quite ordinary.
|
Jul 07, 2025 |
|
Pepys’ thoughts on the King; Childhood Music; and the Debate continues
|
Jul 06, 2025 |
|
Horace Walpole counters Thomas More in The Great Debate; and we Ponder Early Christianity in Cornwall
|
Jul 05, 2025 |
|
Murder of Princes; Time to Stop and Stare; the Cornish Sea and Sore Hearts
|
Jul 04, 2025 |
|
A Lost Episode; Thomas More speaks the apparent final concerned words of Edward IV; and we look forward to time by the Cornish Coast
|
Jul 03, 2025 |
|
Covid Returns; Dunstan’s early life in Glastonbury; and poor Oliver Plunkett
|
Jul 02, 2025 |
|
A return to a Dorset garden where Thomas More tells of Richard III’s pitiless cruelty; Samuel Pepys turns 28; and we ponder Saint Peter
|
Jul 01, 2025 |
|
A hot June day, out and about in Bury St Edmunds
|
Jul 01, 2025 |
|
We’re back in beautiful Bury St Edmund’s; Visit the resting place of Martha’s Vineyard’s Marthas; & ponder the origins and development of Peterborough 🌟
|
Jun 30, 2025 |
|
The Dastardly Richard III, by Thomas More; and the Slaughter of the Fowls on a Sultry Saturday
|
Jun 28, 2025 |
|
St Wulfsige and Dunstan; Cyril of Alexander; and Mrs Bat 🦇
|
Jun 27, 2025 |
|
A Gold Ring Found; Cromwell’s Head in the eaves of Westminster Hall; and Bede tells of Cuthbert’s childhood as Gretel watches the sunrise 🌅
|
Jun 26, 2025 |
|
Bede uses the phrase ‘hair-splitting’; dead Cromwell is hanged at Tyburn; and we ponder the Royal Bones in Sherborne Abbey
|
Jun 25, 2025 |
|
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Dunstan, Pepys and Bede
|
Jun 24, 2025 |
|
Charles Dickens writes of New Year’s Eve; Saint Etheldreda and Ponderings on Grief
|
Jun 23, 2025 |
|
The Boisterous Royal Ascot, Pepys and young Dunstan
|
Jun 22, 2025 |
|
An Introduction to the Great Dunstan on a Warm Solstice Eve
|
Jun 20, 2025 |
|
The bells ring and we ponder English Houses with Betjeman
|
Jun 19, 2025 |
|
Poor Henchard contemplates the River below; and we ponder London with a woeful extract from John Betjeman
|
Jun 18, 2025 |
|
John Betjeman on Churchyards; we close the year 1660; and remember St Alban
|
Jun 17, 2025 |
|
Blue Peter in 1971; the resetting of Canterbury Cathedral’s East End and a Wistful John Clare
|
Jun 16, 2025 |
|
Pepys, St Vitus and Medieval Power Play in Canterbury
|
Jun 15, 2025 |
|
We visit Thomas Hardy’s childhood church, St Michael’s Stinsford, and catch a little of the King’s Birthday Parade. 🇬🇧
|
Jun 14, 2025 |
|
Pepys eats Neat’s Tongue; we celebrate Leo III and Anthony of Padua; and ponder Canterbury Cathedral’s Crypt
|
Jun 13, 2025 |
|
Evolution of Canterbury Cathedral; Pepys wants to inspect his Mother’s Kidney Stone; and we ponder the Perpendicular
|
Jun 12, 2025 |
|
Pepys Prospers; we ponder the Decorated Gothic Period and T Hardy lulls with his gentle Poetry
|
Jun 11, 2025 |
|
Canterbury Part III
|
Jun 10, 2025 |
|
Canterbury Part II
|
Jun 10, 2025 |
|
Canterbury Part I
|
Jun 10, 2025 |
|
Early English Churches; Early Cornish and Irish Christianity; and Archbishop Mellitus
|
Jun 07, 2025 |
|
Norbert’s Day; Pepys has Diaper Napkins; and Pevsner describe Sherborne Old Castle
|
Jun 06, 2025 |
|
A Wessex Poem; Poor Boniface is Murdered as an Old Man; and Pepys falls out with his Wife
|
Jun 05, 2025 |
|
Hardy’s poignant poetry; and Pepys hears Organ music in Westminster for the first time.
|
Jun 04, 2025 |
|
Saxon Crosses; Hardy’s education; and a Rainy Tuesday
|
Jun 03, 2025 |
|
We discover Iona was called Hii; dear Walter Scott woos our hearts; and Pepys ruefully clocks the severed limbs of ‘traytors’
|
Jun 02, 2025 |
|
Pepys watches the death of a Regicide; we ponder Egdon Heath and celebrate a clutch of Saints
|
Jun 01, 2025 |
|
Pepys is taken aback by grand Clerical Vestments; we commemorate poor Jeanne D’Arc; and we visit Thomas Hardy in his home
|
May 31, 2025 |
|
Possible Ghost of Emma Gifford sings in her old Church St Juliot’s; Witchery in Boscastle; and Bloodlines
|
May 30, 2025 |
|
Pepys drinks his first Cupp of Tea 🫖 while we take a walk among grasses and graves.
|
May 29, 2025 |
|
Cornish sounds; Hengist and Horsa; and an evening visit to a cliff-top Church
|
May 28, 2025 |
|
The Venerable Bede: a Celebration
|
May 27, 2025 |
|
Origins of Oratorios; Saint Augustine’s Feast Day; and Pepys discusses whether True Argument is at the Heart of a good Tragedie
|
May 26, 2025 |
|
Saints, Celtic Christians, a thieving Servant, and we make a start on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
|
May 25, 2025 |
|
We remember David of Scotland 🏴; Celebrate France 🇫🇷; Ponder human nature; and eagerly anticipate tonight’s episode where we begin…
|
May 25, 2025 |
|
A tour inside a 1533 Chancel that’s lost its Nave; Why the Lord Chancellor sits atop a Bale of Wool; and we hear Swallows, Warblers and Long-Tailed Tits
|
May 24, 2025 |
|
A Litter of Puppies for Pepys; The Abingdon Manuscript; and good William of Rochester.
|
May 23, 2025 |
|
A Deep Ponder on Universal Trials of Life
|
May 22, 2025 |
|
The Winchester Chronicle, The Court of Pleas and Pepys buys Lobster 🦞
|
May 22, 2025 |
|
Hares, Saints and Rain
|
May 21, 2025 |
|
The early 19th Century Microcosm of London by Pugin and Rawlinson; Mr Wren accompanies Pepy’s Diaries
|
May 20, 2025 |
|
The Restoration was about restoring Parliament’s Sovereignty, says W Churchill, brilliantly; and we reflect on the great St Dunstan
|
May 19, 2025 |
|
The Sherborne Abbey Fire of 1437: Townsman against Monk; A Fateful Font Fight
|
May 18, 2025 |
|
Grief; Saint Madron; Birdsong and a fretful Pepys
|
May 17, 2025 |
|
Brendan the Navigator, Carantoc, Peregrine of Auxerre and Simon Stock; meanwhile Churchill discusses pre-Restoration power-play; and dear Pepys’ wench takes abed
|
May 16, 2025 |
|
Early English Gothic; the Psychiatric Innovations of Gheel; and Pepys returns to his Wife’s warm bed.
|
May 15, 2025 |
|
Emily Dickinson; Matthias the Apostle; and poor Pepys awakes Bed-Wetted and missing his beloved Wife
|
May 14, 2025 |
|
King Charles II arrives at Dover; his long trials at an end. General Monke and Charles play these Restoration days exquisitely.
|
May 13, 2025 |
|
Winston Churchill tells of the build-up the The Anarchy after an Old King loses his beloved teenage son; We ponder the possible suppression by Lanfranc of unorthodox Celtic Saints; and Pepys discovers beautiful Delft
|
May 12, 2025 |
|
Pepys organises the painting of the new King’s Arms
|
May 11, 2025 |
|
Fascinating Irish Saints and a happy May Day in 1660 London
|
May 10, 2025 |
|
Tom Holland talks Podcasts, Donald Trump, and the joys of cricket
|
May 10, 2025 |
|
Cerne Abbas, spilt wine and Pepys plays ninepins
|
May 09, 2025 |
|
Pepys’ Progress and a Blackbird 🐦⬛
|
May 08, 2025 |
|
A Sombre Wednesday; Painting for the first time as an Adult; and Pepys commemorates his Stone Operation
|
May 07, 2025 |
|
National Treasure and priest Angela Tilbury chats about grief and her new book; and author Andrew Heavens discusses his fascinating book The Prince and the Plunder
|
May 07, 2025 |
|
An Interview with Author Bijan Omrani who discusses his book God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England
|
May 06, 2025 |
|
An introduction to the author Bijan Omrani and Pepys worries for his Wife in preparing for his Sea Voyage
|
May 05, 2025 |
|
Dear Samuel Pepys tells that all London doth now toast the health of King Charles
|
May 04, 2025 |
|
Pepys toasts the King, as the Restoration appears inevitable; and we touch on dear Bede once more, to explore his early Influence
|
May 03, 2025 |
|
Welcome to Friday evening’s progress with Pepys, the Saints, with a bit of live Bach. And - huge joy - the swifts have returned!
|
May 02, 2025 |
|
All of London joyfully watches and applauds every step of General Monke.
|
May 01, 2025 |
|
Pepys talks of wine, General Monke, unpaid soldiers and huge buttocks in today’s episode; To pick up the ashes or not?
|
Apr 30, 2025 |
|
Garden birds, Saint Catherine of Siena and we finish Pepys’ first month
|
Apr 29, 2025 |
|
Pepys takes us into his world where it is a cold and frosty January and no-one knows how the country will be governed.
|
Apr 28, 2025 |
|
The Diary (wonderful, fascinating and joyful) of Samuel Pepys. Day One: let’s go 🤗🤓
|
Apr 27, 2025 |
|
A Visit to Thomas Hardy’s cottage; and a Tender Farewell to Bede in his own Words
|
Apr 26, 2025 |
|
Saint Mark is remembered; Eustacia is rebuked and we hear of Bede’s death from Saint Cuthbert
|
Apr 25, 2025 |
|
We come to the end! A tender close to Bede’s Ecclesiastical History
|
Apr 24, 2025 |
|
Saint George’s Day! 🏴 Witches 🧙 of Dorset; a piece of perfection from Thomas Hardy
|
Apr 23, 2025 |
|
An evening Ponder; history of St Edmundsbury; a trio of Saints and the Tonsure Matter
|
Apr 22, 2025 |
|
Spooky Easter Evening Wanderings in Bury St Edmund’s; Caedwalla and other Saints; and finally we understand Easter dating 😊
|
Apr 21, 2025 |
|
An impromptu chat Revd Canon Mark Haworth after Evensong in St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; a family visit for Easter Sunday
|
Apr 20, 2025 |
|
The magnificent achievements of the Scriptoriums. And more dense ‘explanation’ of the Easter problem. 🤓
|
Apr 19, 2025 |
|
Good Friday! Mozart and Easter.
|
Apr 18, 2025 |
|
Sunshine in Dorset as we learn of Bernadette of Lourdes; We ponder most people are seeking to be kind; and King of the Picts shows us how Dilpmacy is done.
|
Apr 17, 2025 |
|
Norman the Photographer; an Arundel Church and Bede’s Progress
|
Apr 16, 2025 |
|
An art exhibition at the National Gallery; Downing Street Preacher; Grievous Tears and Obscure Celtish Saints
|
Apr 15, 2025 |
|
A Blackbird, Tudor houses and Abbey Music
|
Apr 14, 2025 |
|
We visit Arundel Castle and climb the Norman Keep; Two April Saints and the death of Wilfrid
|
Apr 13, 2025 |
|
A trip to Arundel; more tales of Wilfred’s life
|
Apr 12, 2025 |
|
The Count of Mortain’s Cornish land; a Great Tit; Wilfred’s early life and Ponderings on Church and State
|
Apr 11, 2025 |
|
Some Solitude from May Sarton, the Norman Arch and our own Aldhelm
|
Apr 10, 2025 |
|
A trip to see Hamilton with a happy daughter; and Parakeets in St James’s Park
|
Apr 09, 2025 |
|
Green grass and blue skies in England are the beautiful backdrop to this evening’s ponderings 🌻
|
Apr 08, 2025 |
|
Organ music from Evensong; a Salad of Saints and a Marvellous description of pre-Crusade Jerusalem and Bethlehem
|
Apr 07, 2025 |
|
The Great Gatsby’s prescient diagnosis of America; a very persistent Wren; Abbey bells a-calling; and the founding of Shaftesbury.
|
Apr 06, 2025 |
|
Ponderings on Melancholia; More strange Saints and yet another Tale of Alarm from our Pious Friend of Yore
|
Apr 05, 2025 |
|
Murder in medieval Cornwall; St Ambrose and our Venerable Bede 🤓
|
Apr 04, 2025 |
|
Origins St Gennys Church in North Cornwall; Today’s two Saints; and a warm Hello 👋
|
Apr 03, 2025 |
|
Dorset Smugglers; Naked Welsh Saints and the sound of the Atlantic Ocean. Welcome to Cornwall 🤗
|
Mar 29, 2025 |
|
The Alchemy of Poetry; More on Roman Roads; and Bede conjures up devilish imaginings
|
Mar 28, 2025 |
|
Evidence for Roman Roads into Cornwall; and Bede tells of testimony of a man who rose from death.
|
Mar 27, 2025 |
|
Commemorating today’s Saints; Early English architecture and our Gentle Bede
|
Mar 26, 2025 |
|
River sounds; Crying a river; Poorly Doggo and Marvellous Alfred.
|
Mar 25, 2025 |
|
Come to Thomas Hardy’s land of birth, passing a Roman Road; and then let’s hear of a double murder
|
Mar 24, 2025 |
|
Alfred the Great, master strategist, creates currency from oaths.
|
Mar 23, 2025 |
|
A spring visit to a pretty Dorset church; and King Alfred burns the cakes.
|
Mar 22, 2025 |
|
Live violin 🎻 magic from Dorset Fiddlers; and pondering that Wonder and Beauty often springs from cracks and imperfections.
|
Mar 21, 2025 |
|
A Grandson on losing his Grandma; and a return home to routine and restful reality.
|
Mar 20, 2025 |
|
The dreadfulness of crematoriums. What a forlorn end to a wonderful life. And so we read about Gothic architecture to clear the mind and cleanse the palette.
|
Mar 19, 2025 |
|
Histories of Four Saints and Throwing Control to the Four Winds; the Serenity to accept the Things we Cannot Change is Hard to Harness
|
Mar 18, 2025 |
|
We learn about popular Saint Patrick, for whom many Guinnesses will have been drunk today. Melancholy as a quiet, tidal emotion.
|
Mar 17, 2025 |
|
A Happy Sunday with Family and Sunshine; Wise words from a Young Girl; and Gentle Bede
|
Mar 16, 2025 |
|
A Few Quiet Readings.
|
Mar 15, 2025 |
|
Ponderings on the some of the consequences of the Norman Conquest; and Bede tells of yet another miracle
|
Mar 14, 2025 |
|
Churchill tells of early Celtic Christianity; and we progress with Bede as Doggo dreams fitfully ☺️
|
Mar 13, 2025 |
|
Leaning into the wind, with a few new books at my elbow; and Bede’s Fifth Book begun on Farne Island.
|
Mar 12, 2025 |
|
Winchester Cathedral offers balm to the soul after holding my mother’s hand for the last time.
|
Mar 11, 2025 |
|
Glorious, Delicious Southwark; a Forlorn return to Chelsea; and we close Bede’s 4th Book 🤓
|
Mar 10, 2025 |
|
The Making of the Thames and the Middlesex Saucer; Quiet Bede accompanied by the practising Choir of Sherborne Abbey
|
Mar 09, 2025 |
|
Do you know your ‘Wics’? Gretel goes deep into Middlesex; Poor Bede can’t let Cuthbert go; but he’s not like Binker
|
Mar 08, 2025 |
|
Grief is Tough; a Robin visits; the Irish Famine and the death of Cuthbert
|
Mar 07, 2025 |
|
Filial bell-ringing; Queen Victoria rejects anti-semitism; a word on Diocletian; and Cuthbert enthrals his fellows.
|
Mar 06, 2025 |
|
Calm readings with cat on lap, candles lit and tea by my side. In history we find comfort for it right-sizes the present times.
|
Mar 05, 2025 |
|
More Adventures in Stratford-upon-Avon, in the Guild Chapel, the Swan Theatre, and with actor Enzo Cilenti in the Dirty Duck pub.
|
Mar 04, 2025 |
|
A trip to Stratford-upon-Avon with Bede
|
Mar 03, 2025 |
|
Taking the Somerset air and contemplating a forthcoming exhibition Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350; Roman roads and more chatterings from Bede
|
Mar 02, 2025 |
|
A second time in two weeks to lie next to a human in love and protection.
|
Mar 01, 2025 |
|
A Wessex Wander and Progress with Churchill and Bede’s histories. Aching for my mother. 😔
|
Feb 28, 2025 |
|
Darkness and Light after Death; and Tom Holland brings some Comfort 🌷
|
Feb 27, 2025 |
|
Oh Let us have Valiant Hearts; Gratitude for Kindness; and the Legacy of Hilde
|
Feb 26, 2025 |
|
The Church of Lady St Mary, Wareham; and Hilde of Whitby.
|
Feb 25, 2025 |
|
Ponderings on Grief, a little Mozart, and Venerable Bede tells of a Veritable Samson
|
Feb 24, 2025 |
|
Elgar’s Enigma Variations; Sea-Swimming and Gentle Bede
|
Feb 23, 2025 |
|
Exploring Wareham; the Romans look back to the Danube; and we prepare for Bede’s hymn to the Virgin Queen 😬🫖
|
Feb 22, 2025 |
|
A trip to Wareham to visit the Saxon church of St Martin; and Bede talks of bones, virgins and eels 🤓
|
Feb 21, 2025 |
|
Not Waving but Drowning; the Birds bring Joy; as do Books 📚
|
Feb 20, 2025 |
|
Boy, this is tough! Grief overwhelms; Suetonius finally overwhelms the Britons; and monks flock to hear chanting superstar John
|
Feb 19, 2025 |
|
A Candle lit in the Abbey; Early Roof Construction in Churches; and Dark Deals regarding the Isle of Wight are recounted by Bede
|
Feb 18, 2025 |
|
The Beginning of The Rest of My Life; Let’s Read about Chelsea
|
Feb 17, 2025 |
|
A Cold Day of Calm after the Storm;
|
Feb 17, 2025 |
|
Home for Respite after a terrible morning; Churchill tells us of Boudicca
|
Feb 16, 2025 |
|
Warrior Mother; Carlyle’s Truth-Forged approach to writing about the French Revolution 🇫🇷; and Venerable, gentle Bede.
|
Feb 15, 2025 |
|
By my bed stay awhile, and read of Thomas Carlyle
|
Feb 14, 2025 |
|
Episode 131, February 13th 🫖
|
Feb 13, 2025 |
|
Not ready! A foolish lament. Pubs as cosy cocoons; and Bede tries to get heard over the London punters. Wednesday oft is weaved of woe. 🫖
|
Feb 12, 2025 |
|
One Day at a Time, and Finding Peace within. With the help of gentle readings.
|
Feb 11, 2025 |
|
Good evening let’s ponder about London, hospitals and losing track in Bede’s narrative
|
Feb 10, 2025 |
|
A Dash from Dorset to London
|
Feb 10, 2025 |
|
Hallelujah, it’s time for Saturday histories.
|
Feb 08, 2025 |
|
Mr Katt battles for the lap as he’s told stories of Caesar and long-dead Nuns
|
Feb 07, 2025 |
|
February is Spring's Promise; A visit to a hidden Dorset hamlet ; and Caesar is surprised by the turning tides
|
Feb 06, 2025 |
|
A peek into Sherborne Abbey; Norman Churches; and the Iron Age
|
Feb 05, 2025 |
|
A Windy Bridge-Crossing and Historical Musings
|
Feb 04, 2025 |
|
High hopes and Gratitude are our Sword and Shield; Julius Caesar sniffs the English shores; and Bede records some sensible Synodical Decisions
|
Feb 03, 2025 |
|
Another visit to Mr Robin and the Church at Corton Denham; we finish Winston Churchill’s marvellous Preface to his History
|
Feb 02, 2025 |
|
Sadness; Sherborne’s Conduit; and Remembering Chad
|
Feb 01, 2025 |
|
Les oiseaux, Churchill’s History and Chad’s last hours; our first garden pot of tea 🫖
|
Jan 31, 2025 |
|
Sherborne Bells strike Twelve; Spring Birds Gladden the Heart; Churchill's Preface to his History; and Bede
|
Jan 30, 2025 |
|
Hallelujah for Handel; London Dining in 1915 and Catholicism blooms in England
|
Jan 29, 2025 |
|
Bell-ringing, AA Milne poetry and Book Four begun
|
Jan 28, 2025 |
|
The streets of London; listening in to Choir Practice (and weeping); A message of love to dear America 🇺🇸 and we close Book Three with Bede
|
Jan 27, 2025 |
|
Epiphany Service at Chelsea Old Church, Finding Peace in beautiful old Buildings, and Bede
|
Jan 26, 2025 |
|
A London Mooch About with Bede in my Back-Pocket
|
Jan 25, 2025 |
|
Rural society in the 1840s; the Ubiquity of Social Division; and our dear Bede
|
Jan 24, 2025 |
|
Seagulls swirl over Sherborne Abbey; their Freedom contrasting with the poor condemned of Newgate Gaol. Charles Dickens at his descriptive best.
|
Jan 23, 2025 |
|
A Visit, by Charles Dickens, to Newgate Gaol; and Bede tells of the Goodness of the Northumbrian Clergy
|
Jan 22, 2025 |
|
A Gentle Zooming in on Thomas Hardy’s Under The Greenwood Tree
|
Jan 22, 2025 |
|
Hope is the Thing with Feathers; a Walk in the Meadow; and Easter is settled
|
Jan 21, 2025 |
|
An introduction to Thomas Hardy from 1940 and more Easter arguments
|
Jan 20, 2025 |
|
Sunday is Music Day 😀; Saxon Costume; The Arguments about Easter rumble on
|
Jan 19, 2025 |
|
Housewives’ tips from the Abbey bench; Saxon clothing; and Bede frets again about Easter
|
Jan 18, 2025 |
|
Home Sweet Home with special guest Mr Katt as we read about the American Civil War before our friend Bede
|
Jan 17, 2025 |
|
Podcasting from a Battersea Care Home, Chelsea History, a Choir Practice and a Saxon Princess offered to God
|
Jan 16, 2025 |
|
Tony Slattery’s best friend Erica talks to the podcast of her sadness
|
Jan 15, 2025 |
|
An explanation for Episode 100 and a Bede tells of a boy’s survival
|
Jan 15, 2025 |
|
Noisy bird-fellows by the Thames; Friendship; Tea and Gentle Bede
|
Jan 14, 2025 |
|
A Full Moon in Vibrant London; in the company of our Venerable friend
|
Jan 13, 2025 |
|
Sunday remembrances of Flodden Field and the power of Iona
|
Jan 12, 2025 |
|
Hello let’s look at January’s sparkling 🌔 and wonder about life 🤗
|
Jan 11, 2025 |
|
Friday poems and readings: a gentle end to the week.
|
Jan 10, 2025 |
|
Welcome to Thursday night’s gentle pondering and readings
|
Jan 09, 2025 |
|
Love, not embarrassment, for one’s roots; Dick Dewy and Fancy Day get ready for their pretty marriage; and more wisdom from Ireland
|
Jan 08, 2025 |
|
A Joyful Tuesday of literature, children, birds and Bede
|
Jan 07, 2025 |
|
An Owl, Family Pressures and The Candle of the North 🕯️
|
Jan 06, 2025 |
|
The Three Kings Carol live from Sherborne Abbey and Aidan Protects Bamburgh from the Flames 🔥
|
Jan 05, 2025 |
|
The Still Small Voice of Wisdom; the Shape of Trees and Aidan’s Miracles
|
Jan 04, 2025 |
|
Frosty Friday the third; time to right-size and humble Aidan
|
Jan 03, 2025 |
|
A Winter’s Visit to a Secret Church, Self-Pity and Oswiu
|
Jan 02, 2025 |
|
A quiet start to 2025 with Pepys and Bede
|
Jan 01, 2025 |
|
A Happy New Year from Baedeker and Bede
|
Dec 31, 2024 |
|
A night in Oxford and a visit to the Ashmolean Museum
|
Dec 30, 2024 |
|
Syrian monasticism, Somerset Ham Stone and Miracles after the death of Oswald
|
Dec 29, 2024 |
|
Early Holy Land Monasticism; Charles II is visited by Russians and Oswald is killed in Battle
|
Dec 28, 2024 |
|
Twixt Yule and Year End 🕯️😊
|
Dec 27, 2024 |
|
Double Bede for Boxing Day
|
Dec 26, 2024 |
|
Christmas Day ⭐️
|
Dec 25, 2024 |
|
Music, Carols and Early Irish Christians ⭐️
|
Dec 24, 2024 |
|
Canadian wolves and bears; and St Columba is given Iona
|
Dec 23, 2024 |
|
Under the Greenwood Tree and the history of Oswald
|
Dec 22, 2024 |
|
The Sun Stands Still, and the wind curls round Gretel in Castleton
|
Dec 21, 2024 |
|
A Christmas Carol and King Oswald
|
Dec 20, 2024 |
|
A Thursday evening Robin and Bede takes us to Book Three
|
Dec 19, 2024 |
|
Achingly beautiful words by Walter Scott from 1806
|
Dec 18, 2024 |
|
Tuesday gratitude and the death of poor Edwin
|
Dec 17, 2024 |
|
Monday magic Moon and a reading by the Abbey
|
Dec 16, 2024 |
|
Completing Charles II Coronation Day and Bede
|
Dec 15, 2024 |
|
Organ Music, Tears, A Coronation and a Clever Pope
|
Dec 14, 2024 |
|
We march onwards with Bede
|
Dec 13, 2024 |
|
A day of bustle in festive Londres with Fabritius, the Christmas Tree and David Tennant
|
Dec 12, 2024 |
|
Rowdy London, Serene Leanda de Lisle and a 12th Century Church
|
Dec 11, 2024 |
|
Gretel takes you to a river and inside an Abbey for some quiet ponderings. 🎄😀
|
Dec 10, 2024 |
|
Old and New Sherborne Castles
|
Dec 09, 2024 |
|
Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree on Christmas morning; and King Edwin receives a holy visitor.
|
Dec 08, 2024 |
|
Sherborne, Betjeman and Bede. Welcome!
|
Dec 07, 2024 |
|
A Graveyard, an Apology, Pepys and a Wily Pope
|
Dec 06, 2024 |
|
Fifth day in December, by a Dorset river and listening to the extraordinary words of Pope Boniface to a long-dead British king ✨
|
Dec 05, 2024 |
|
Thomas Hardy and Pepys join Bede for todays episode with peaceful Gretel
|
Dec 04, 2024 |
|
Come inside an old Bishops Caundle Church 🤓
|
Dec 03, 2024 |
|
Fear, Families from the Past, Abbey Bells and a Pallium given
|
Dec 02, 2024 |
|
Winter and Advent Cometh 😊🔔
|
Dec 01, 2024 |
|
Must be Santa, Advent Eve, Cnut and Mellitus. 🔔
|
Nov 30, 2024 |
|
The Darkling Thrush, the Nightingale and the death of Aethelberht
|
Nov 29, 2024 |
|
Thursday shenanigans with Gretel 🥳
|
Nov 28, 2024 |
|
Gentle midweek pondering by river and readings in the darkening garden.
|
Nov 27, 2024 |
|
Hurrah for Home! And the return of our Venerable Bede.
|
Nov 26, 2024 |
|
Monday dash to London, leaving Bede in Dorset. Germany’s history to the rescue 🇩🇪
|
Nov 25, 2024 |
|
Thomas Hardy, John Clare and a stormy Sunday; while Augustine bullies the Britons
|
Nov 24, 2024 |
|
A windy walk to Sherborne Abbey, a look inside, and a famous passage from Bede’s history.
|
Nov 23, 2024 |
|
Pope Gregory dies and we look back on his life.
|
Nov 22, 2024 |
|
Thomas of Canterbury on a snowy Thursday, and a new book in Bede’s histories
|
Nov 21, 2024 |
|
Having courage of mind, English hedges, and our Venerable companion closes Book 1.
|
Nov 20, 2024 |
|
Dissonance, the marvellous Weekend Book and Pope Gregory charms King Aethelberht 🌳
|
Nov 19, 2024 |
|
The greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason
|
Nov 18, 2024 |
|
Sunday ponderings about Hampstead Heath, Byron and Pope Gregory's pragmatic view on pagan shrines
|
Nov 17, 2024 |
|
A Bleak Saturday dash to London
|
Nov 16, 2024 |
|
Country soundscapes, church crawling and Bede
|
Nov 15, 2024 |
|
Saxon Churches and Bede on a Thursday evening
|
Nov 14, 2024 |
|
Malmesbury ahoy! And Bede discusses the sin of night-time ‘illusions’.
|
Nov 13, 2024 |
|
Tuesday with Dunstan, Aldhelm and Bede
|
Nov 12, 2024 |
|
St Augustine asks his boss awkward questions about women, sex and menstruation
|
Nov 11, 2024 |
|
Remembrance; Bedlam Hospital and Bede.
|
Nov 10, 2024 |
|
Shelley, Sherborne, Scriptoriums and St Augustine 🍂
|
Nov 09, 2024 |
|
Overcoming dread, old Wessex and St Augustine give us a gentle time to pause
|
Nov 08, 2024 |
|
Gretel takes you inside a very old church in the Somerset Hills before our progress with St Augustine
|
Nov 07, 2024 |
|
Join me for a gentle twenty minutes of historical readings and a few ponderings.
|
Nov 06, 2024 |
|
A wearisome day, put to bed with our usual peaceful readings.
|
Nov 05, 2024 |
|
Cosy candle-lit readings and ponderings on a Monday afternoon 🤓
|
Nov 04, 2024 |
|
A drizzle, damp Sunday, with seagulls, history books and the wind for company
|
Nov 03, 2024 |
|
London churches and Bede
|
Nov 02, 2024 |
|
A new month of life and loss with Gretel and the ecclesiastical history of England with Bede 🤓
|
Nov 01, 2024 |
|
Halloween Thursday with Gretel and Bede. Families can be tricky
|
Oct 31, 2024 |
|
Please do join me as we continue with Bede’s progress 🤓
|
Oct 30, 2024 |
|
A quiet Tuesday in the new Anglo-Saxon Englannd
|
Oct 29, 2024 |
|
Quiet Monday at Rotten Row with our Venerable friend
|
Oct 28, 2024 |
|
Sunday with Mr Katt, Hyde Park and marauding Saxons 🤓
|
Oct 27, 2024 |
|
Gretel makes a mistake while the birds chirrup merrily and Bede tells of incoming Anglo-Saxons
|
Oct 26, 2024 |
|
Bede takes centre stage as we return to England 🌅
|
Oct 25, 2024 |
|
Thursday in Paris. A balmy day at the Louvre 🇫🇷
|
Oct 24, 2024 |
|
Bonjour! C’est Mercredi. Holiday ponderings and chaotic times told by Monsieur Vénérable 🤓🇫🇷
|
Oct 23, 2024 |
|
Bonsoir mes amis. 🌞 Paris, the National Anthem and Monsieur Bede
|
Oct 22, 2024 |
|
Monday good cheer and Bede
|
Oct 21, 2024 |
|
Welcome to Sunday rain, The Cheshire Cheese and Bede
|
Oct 20, 2024 |
|
A jittery Saturday from Bede to Tyburn Gallows
|
Oct 19, 2024 |
|
An eleventh day of short musings with Gretel, Bede and a bit of Baedeker’s Primrose Hill.
|
Oct 18, 2024 |
|
Shine on Harvest Moon with autumn 🍂 sunshine, Gretel and Bede
|
Oct 17, 2024 |
|
Please join me on day nine for nine quiet minutes. 🌳
|
Oct 16, 2024 |
|
Eleanor Farjeon and Bede share a platform on this eighth day of podpondering with Gretel 🙋♀️🌳
|
Oct 15, 2024 |
|
A Monday muse with Gretel, the dog and Bede. Come join us. 🤓
|
Oct 14, 2024 |
|
A potter with Bede around Corton Denham
|
Oct 13, 2024 |
|
A candlelight muse with Bede on a fifth day.
|
Oct 12, 2024 |
|
Gretel goes forth with Bede on day four. Wishing everyone a restful Friday evening.
|
Oct 11, 2024 |
|
The Birds and the Bede. Come join me for day three, walking in the Dorset woods.
|
Oct 10, 2024 |
|
Grief and Bede. Come join me in the library for day two.
|
Oct 09, 2024 |
|
Gretel, Grief and Bede. Let's kick things off..
|
Oct 08, 2024 |