Podcasts about Dartmoor

In this special episode, filmmaker and contemporary artist Alia Syed joins EMPIRE LINES live, to weave together their works in moving image, photography, and oral history, and reflect on personal experiences of migration in South Asian diasporic communities in 1960s–1970s Glasgow, through their ongoing film series, The Dhaba (2025).Drawing inspiration from the tale of St. Mungo - the patron saint and founder of Glasgow - Alia Syed's exhibition, The Ring in the Fish, is an intimate exploration of memory, cultural transmission, and identity in Scotland. In The Dhaba (2025), Alia gleans stories from a series of interviews she initiated with members of the South Asian community, exposing absences in official narratives and archives, and illuminating histories in the spaces between national identities, race, gender, and diaspora. With this new, experimental, 16mm film work, Alia explores the role of imagination in migration, and how images carried across multiple generations of migrants from India and Pakistan can create new landscapes and enable new ways of being.Alia details her relationships with ‘the second city of Empire', Swansea in Wales, and London, including her long-term creative relationship with Gilane Tawadros, her formative work, Fatima's Letter (1992), filmed at Whitechapel Underground Station, and shortlisting for the Film London Jarman Award (2018). From her current work with curator Shalmali Shetty, we discuss her many intergenerational collaborations, and relations to artist women including Jasleen Kaur, who shares Alia's experiences of ‘monocultures' in Glasgow. Alia shares the importance of audio, literature, language, and translation, in her work with film and moving image.Plus, we consider political solidarity through her life and practice, from her father's activism and connections to Yasser Arafat, to the present. Alia reflects on the CCA Glasgow as an institution – one that she recalls having occupied as a teenager, when it was known as the Third Eye Centre - including the Board's ambiguous statements around endorsing PACBI (The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) and BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), and response to Art Workers for Palestine Scotland's programme to Reclaim the CCA in June 2025.This episode was recorded live as part of the public programme for Alia Syed: The Ring in the Fish, an exhibition at CCA Glasgow, in June 2025. The exhibition was originally scheduled to continue until 26 July 2025. Join the artist in a panel discussion at Many Studios in Glasgow on Saturday 26 July.For more information, visit: instagram.com/p/DKuql9-It_3/?img_index=1Wallpaper (2008) is on view as part of Tigers & Dragons: India and Wales in Britain at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea until 2 November 2025.Read about Alia's work at John Hansard Gallery in Southampton, and relations to Jasleen Kaur and Permindar Kaur, in gowithYamo: gowithyamo.com/blog/permindar-kaur-john-hansard-galleryListen to Ingrid Pollard's EMPIRE LINES episodes, from Carbon Slowly Turning (2022) at the Turner Contemporary in Margate: pod.link/1533637675/episode/e00996c8caff991ad6da78b4d73da7e4, and with Corinne Fowler, as part of Invasion Ecology (2024) at Southcombe Barn on Dartmoor: pod.link/1533637675/episode/9f4f72cb1624f1c5ee830c397993732eNil Yalter on Exile is a Hard Job (1974-Now) at Ab-Anbar Gallery in London, part of London Gallery Weekend (LGW) 2023, on EMPIRE LINES: pod.link/1533637675/episode/36b8c7d8d613b78262e54e38ac62e70fAnd Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq Karinkurayil, sounding out 1960s migration between post-colonial Kerala and the Arab Gulf in a cassette of S. A. Jameel's Dubai Kathu Pattu (Dubai Letter Song) (1977): pod.link/1533637675/episode/417429b5c504842ddbd3c82b07f7b0f8PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.Follow EMPIRE LINES on Instagram: instagram.com/empirelinespodcastSupport EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines

El Sabueso de los BaskervilleSir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930)Translated by Arturo Costa Álvarez (1870 - 1929)El sabueso de los Baskerville, también traducido como El perro de los Baskerville o El mastín de los Baskerville, es la tercera novela de Arthur Conan Doyle que tiene como protagonista principal a Sherlock Holmes. Fue publicada por entregas en el The Strand Magazine entre 1901 y 1902. La novela está principalmente ambientada en Dartmoor, en Devon en el Condado Oeste de Inglaterra. Conan Doyle escribió esta historia poco después de regresar de Sudáfrica, donde había trabajado como voluntario médico en The Langman Field Hospital en Bloemfontein. Fue asistido en el argumento por un periodista de 30 años de edad del Daily Express llamado Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870-1907). Sus ideas provienen de la leyenda de Richard Cabell, que fue la inspiración de la leyenda de los Baskerville. Su tumba se puede ver en un pueblo llamado Buckfastleigh. (Wikipedia)Genre(s): Detective FictionLanguage: Spanish

Claire talks about her personal journey since 2016 to research and visit the haunts of the pixies on Dartmoor and elsewhere in Devon. She shares her creative process for connecting with the pixies and the landscape, pixie folklore associated with these places and some pixie sightings, including her own! This talk was recorded in 2023. To catch a fairy whisper, you have to listen closely, listen with me...

Devoncast reports on the tragic bus crash in Somerset following a school trip to Exmoor Zoo. We speak to Rachel Gilmour, the MP for Tiverton and Minehead. A Devon-based baseball team is just one win away from reaching the national finals, we hear from the Chairman of the Exeter Spitfires Matt Cousins. We meet a former Torbay councillor who says Ordnance Survey has been getting Dartmoor wrong for 140 years. And this month, The Brand New Heavies hit the stage in Devon - we caught up with founding member Andrew Levy at the Festival of Speed at Lympstone Manor to talk music and motors. Josh Tate presents this week's edition of Devoncast.

Alejandra Hart is a writer and Woodland Trust Communications Officer whose heartfelt stories inspire people to care more deeply about temperate rainforest restoration in the UK.Tom and co-host, Arifah Sheikh, learn about the unique meeting of minds that Alejandra took part in at Buckland Wood on Dartmoor, discuss why pausing to listen is so essential when we're setting out to build meaningful connections and discover how ocean and forest habitats are more intricately linked than we've ever imagined before.Check out Alejandra's brilliant blog RAINFOREST ECHOES: FROM THE AMAZON TO DARTMOOR here: https://www.rainforestrecovery.org.uk/news/rainforest-echoesFind links to all The Meaning of Trees Podcast channels and content here: https://linktr.ee/themeaningoftreespodcast

Find out more about Iman Datoo's installation, Kinnomic Botany (2022), now part of ⁠SEEDLINGS: Diasporic Imaginaries⁠, curated by Jelena Sofronijevic with Travelling Gallery in Scotland.The group exhibition, featuring Emii Alrai, Iman Datoo, Radovan Kraguly, Zeljko Kujundzic, Remi Jabłecki, Leo Robinson, and Amba Sayal-Bennett, is touring across Scotland, culminating at Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF) in August 2025.For more information, follow Travelling Gallery and EMPIRE LINES on social media, and visit: linktr.ee/SEEDLINGSTG2025

Stuart Borthwick | Doing the right thing: Customer care, community and forging real client relationshipsIn this episode of Just Covered, we meet Stuart Borthwick from Dartmoor Financial LLP – an adviser working in mortgage, equity release and estate planning for over 20 years, and specialist in later life lending. Working for a family-run, independent firm operating on the edge of Dartmoor, Stuart has a unique story. But what comes across most during our 45-minute chat is his genuine passion and enjoyment for his work. He puts proud emphasis on integrity, people-first advice, community and building real long-term connections with clients. It's a heart-warming, yet insightful discussion.This episode also covers:· Rethinking client vulnerability, Consumer Duty and avoiding longstanding assumptions about what makes clients vulnerable.· Community networking and the importance of building a community of financial support that can enhance your offering to clients. · Knowledge sharing and moving beyond the traditional client-adviser relationship to build meaningful and lasting connections with customers. 

Wild campers took on landowners in this landmark case about access to the countryside. https://uklawweekly.substack.com/subscribe Music from bensound.com

In this joyful and wide-ranging episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem sit down with artist, activist and Forest School leader Ruth Webb. Known for her giant puppets, folk beasts and street processions, Ruth shares the rich history and creative power of giant-making in the UK. The conversation explores how these large-scale creations connect communities, invite activism, and spark playful engagement with the land. Ruth explains the cultural roots of British giants, the story behind Dartmoor's legendary Crocken, and the making of the Rewilderbeest – a plant-loving folk beast built from local, foraged materials. Together they unpack the role of masks, puppets, and participation in outdoor education, activism and folklore. From the politics of taking up space in the streets to the logistics of giant storage, this episode will leave you inspired to dream big, build bigger, and involve your whole community in the creative process.⏱ Chapter Timings:00:00 – Hot BluTAC debates and meeting Ruth01:10 – Ruth's journey: theatre, activism, Forest School and giant-making03:45 – The folk history of British giants and their political roots06:30 – Symbolism, community presence, and reclaiming public space11:10 – Introducing the Rewilderbeest: folk traditions, materials and land connection16:20 – Playful plant identification with the Rewilderbeest and engaging children21:40 – Masks, puppets and why words matter: breaking the third wall in folk performance29:45 – Crocken: Dartmoor legend, Right to Roam activism, and building community identity36:15 – Tips for community builds: low-skill entry points and meaningful materials41:10 – Storage solutions and keeping giants alive across the years

In this special episode, contemporary artist Amba Sayal-Bennett joins EMPIRE LINES live, to trace the migrations of rubber seeds between South America, London, and British colonies in South Asia in the 19th century, plus the role of soil in anticolonial resistance, through their digital drawing and sculpture, Kern (2024).Rubber is a commodity that was once so highly demanded that its value surpassed that of silver. In a mission facilitated by the British government, Henry Wickham stole and trafficked 70,000 rubber seeds from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in 1876. Transported to Kew Gardens in London, they were then dispersed across Britain's colonies for cultivation. Its plural uses and potential for profit led to its proliferation across the globe - yet the soil in India, then known as the British Raj, refused to take the seeds, which the artist puts forward as a form of environmental resistance to the colonial project.Amba Sayal-Bennett's wall-based sculptures Kern (2024) and Phlo (2024) are part of their investigations into the migrations of forms, bodies, and knowledge across different sites. Presented in SEEDLINGS: Diasporic Imaginaries, currently touring Scotland with Travelling Gallery, we discuss this visual research into how colonial practices often decontextualise and appropriate forms. Amba delves botanical and anatomical drawings, and how these illustrations have been used to commodify and control plants, environments, and people. We consider through the construction and overlapping uses of terms like ‘native' and, ‘invasive', ‘indigenous', ‘naturalisation', and ‘dispersal', to challenge binaries between human and more-than-human beings, and consider ideas of home, identity, and belonging in the context of diasporas. Amba details her relationship with ornamentation, abstraction, and displacement, and how she translates her digital drawings into sculptural forms, rendered with biodegradable, but ‘unnatural', industrial plastics. Drawing on her site-specific works for Geometries of Difference (2022) at Somerset House, and Drawing Room Invites... in London, we also delve into Amba's critical engagement with sci-fi and modernist architecture, travelling to Le Corbusier's purpose-built city of Chandigarh in Punjab, the birthplace of her maternal grandparents, to explore tropical modernism.This episode was recorded live at Somerset House Studios in London, as part of the public programme for SEEDLINGS: Diasporic Imaginaries, curated by Jelena Sofronijevic with Travelling Gallery in Scotland. The group exhibition, featuring Emii Alrai, Iman Datoo, Radovan Kraguly, Zeljko Kujundzic, Remi Jabłecki, Leo Robinson, and Amba Sayal-Bennett, is touring across Scotland, culminating at Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF 2025) in August 2025.For more information, follow Travelling Gallery and EMPIRE LINES on social media, and visit: linktr.ee/SEEDLINGSTG2025Drawing Room Invites…: Anna Paterson, Alicia Reyes McNamara, Amba Sayal-Bennett is at the Drawing Room in London until 27 July 2025.For more about Between Hands and Metal (2024), a group exhibition featuring Amba Sayal-Bennett, Alia Hamaoui, and Raheel Khan at Palmer Gallery in London, read my article in gowithYamo:. gowithyamo.com/blog/palmer-gallery-maryleboneFor more science fiction and sci-fi films, hear Tanoa Sasraku on her series of Terratypes (2022-Now) at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter: pod.link/1533637675/episode/3083096d6354376421721cfbb49d0ba7For more from Invasion Ecology (2024), co-curated by Jelena Sofronijevic for Radical Ecology, and Vashti Cassinelli at Southcombe Barn, an arts space and gardens on Dartmoor, visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠radicalecology.earth/events/invasion-ecology-exhibition⁠⁠⁠⁠ and instagram.com/p/C7lYcigovSNPRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.Follow EMPIRE LINES on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/empirelinespodcast⁠⁠⁠Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/empirelines

A Herne Bay dad has issued a warning after his daughter suffered a badly broken leg when she was hit by a car while scrolling on her phone.Dashcam video shows 12 -year-old Lola walking straight out in front of the vehicle as she messaged friends on Snapchat.Also in today's episode, the founder of a Kent baby loss charity has told us she's reached out to Kelsey Parker to offer support.The podcaster, who was previously married to Tom from The Wanted, has shared that her baby son Phoenix was born sleeping a week before he was due.Kelly Wells from Making Miracles has been telling us about the help they offer to families going through baby loss.An Indian takeaway in Folkestone has been given a one-star food hygiene rating after inspectors found mouldy chopping boards and holes in the kitchen floor.Ivy was also discovered growing next a broken toilet in the staff area of The New Delhi on Sandgate Road.A meeting has been held to discuss growing concerns about anti-social behaviour in Herne Bay.One of the town's business owners has been telling us how children and teenagers are physically and verbally attacking people.Some are reportedly throwing rocks and using catapults to target residents and visitors.Elsewhere, experts in Kent are investigating whether tea can be grown in space.They have teamed up with producers in Dartmoor and are planting saplings in soils similar to those found on the surface of the Moon and Mars.And in football, defender Connor Masterson has signed a new deal with Gillingham.The 26-year-old has played over 100 league games for the Gills and started every match under new manager Gareth Ainsworth.

“traces of the ancient people” [HOUN]    When Watson noted a "difficult and dangerous quest" on "the forbidden moor" in The Hound of the Baskervilles. The moor played an outsized role in that story, providing the perfect setting for this gothic tale of terror, greed, and mystery. What is the moor really like? How does the Canonical version differ from reality? Listener Nelson Pigeon wrote in to ask, and we answer. It's just a Trifle.  If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.   Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).   Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts   Links The Hound of the Baskervilles: Hunting the Dartmoor Legend by Philip Weller  All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com    Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0      

We're talking… warm bath podcasting, opera singing, more tales from Rom's European tour, lost luggage, baggy boxer shorts and Tom's Dartmoor writing retreat - where he learnt lots about ghosts in walls and pixies on bridges from a lovely tour guide. Plus, an arse pebble in Helsinki, another ethical dilemma, a podcast disruption by our alien overlords, some love for puppets and an email about Ronan Keating not eating a cream horn. For questions or comments, please email us at wolfowlpod@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you. Instagram - @wolfowlpod TikTok - @wolfowlpodcast YouTube - www.youtube.com/WolfandOwlPodcast Merch & Mailing List - https://wolfandowlpod.com A Mighty Ranga Production For sales and sponsorship enquiries: HELLO@KEEPITLIGHTMEDIA.COM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was a couple walking their dog who found the human remains in a beautiful part of Dartmoor. This grisly find led to a tricky investigation for police to find out who the person was and just what had happened to them. The answer to this investigation lay not in forensics or other technology, but good old-fashioned police work.Writing Credit: Chris WoodYou can buy Chris's second book, 'Death in the Theatre' here: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Theatre-Chris-Wood/dp/1399009117Support me at Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/UKTrueCrimeWatch my YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@Adam-uktruecrime Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever felt like one of those stubborn sheep—stuck, confused, and not quite sure which way to go? You’re not alone. In this episode, we’re diving into the comfort and power of Psalm 23 and what it truly means that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Even when we resist or wander, His love pursues us, protects us, and reminds us: in Him, we lack nothing.

In this joyful, wide-ranging episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem reunite to reflect on everything from folk rituals and land access to academic shifts and experimental puppetry. They share stories of Devon's eccentric festivals, the power of whimsy, and the Supreme Court decision that restored the right to wild camp on Dartmoor. The conversation weaves through giant puppets, PhD plans, hosting badges, and the realities of holding space for community ritual while honouring individual autonomy. Lewis also discusses wearing a utility kilt in the woods—what inspired it, how it's been received, and why it's become more than just a fashion choice. Packed with laughter, cultural insight, and reflections on change, this episode is a celebration of curiosity, connection, and embracing the unpredictable.

In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, host Jonathan Thomas speaks with Gillian Healey, an expert guide in Dartmoor National Park. They discuss Gillian's journey to becoming a Dartmoor guide, the unique features of Dartmoor, and why it should be on every American's travel bucket list (there are several important American connections!). Gillian shares her experiences in international hiking, the importance of qualifications for guiding, and the diverse attractions Dartmoor offers, from its rich history to its wildlife. The conversation also touches on conservation challenges, land ownership issues, and the cultural significance of Dartmoor, including its connections to literature and history. Listeners are encouraged to explore Dartmoor through personalized walking tours that provide a deeper connection to the landscape and its stories. Links Dartmoor Walking Tours - Gillian Healey's Website Dartmoor National Park Visit Dartmoor Down Tor | A Long Dartmoor Walk | 4K Walking Tour The Dartmoor Massacre — Why an 1815 Slaughter of American POWs in a British Prison Was All But Forgotten Takeaways Gillian Healey is a qualified Hill and Moorland leader. Dartmoor offers a unique blend of history, wildlife, and natural beauty. Personalized walking tours can cater to different interests and fitness levels. Dartmoor's landscape is a living history with ancient sites. The Dartmoor ponies are a unique and cherished part of the ecosystem. Conservation efforts are crucial for maintaining Dartmoor's natural beauty. Land ownership in Dartmoor is complex and affects access rights. Dartmoor is a place where visitors can connect with history in a tangible way. Guided walking tours provide a deeper understanding of the landscape. Dartmoor's cultural connections include literature and film. Sound Bites On Getting Lost and Finding Purpose: "The notorious Dartmoor mist came down and I was with my friends and we got a bit lost, I have to say. And they all looked to me to say, Gillian which way? And I turned around and said, I have no idea. So at that point, I just thought, you know, I love Dartmoor, but I really, if people are looking to me to get them out in and out of Dartmoor safely, I need to gain some qualifications." The Perfect Sales Pitch for Americans: "Imagine hiking through vast open moorland where you've got wild ponies roaming free and you can climb up ancient granite tors for huge panoramic views while stumbling across Bronze Age stone circles which are older than the pyramids. You know, there are no crowds there. They're just space, stories and sky." On Dartmoor's Living History: "It's not just about the nature and the views, it's also a living layered landscape where you can walk amongst Bronze Age villages and medieval farmsteads and Victorian quarries and you can come across standing stones that are older than Stonehenge and ancient clapper bridges that are still in use today." Why Walking Beats Driving: "When you're on foot you really feel the contours of the land, you feel the soft peat beneath your feet and that peat is from thousands and thousands of years of degraded trees and flora... you hear the silence between the wind and the birdsong of the skylarks and you notice the detail that are just invisible from the car window." On Land Access Rights: "Everything you say is privately owned. And they're saying, yes, but it's a national park. How can it be privately owned? Then I kind of delve into our history of 1066. William the Conqueror comes in, conquers and divides upon our land... leading to what we still have today, which is only access to 8% of our land." The Landscape Holds Memory: "It isn't just a national park, it's a walk through time... And it's just this plethora of history everywhere that you can see that you won't experience anywhere else." Chapters 00:00 Exploring Dartmoor: A Unique Landscape 05:16 Guiding Experience: Skills and Qualifications 08:58 Why Americans Should Visit Dartmoor 11:21 Personalized Tours: Tailoring Experiences 13:06 Favorite Routes: Discovering Dartmoor's Essence 15:58 Historical Context: The Dartmoor Massacre 17:20 Dartmoor Ponies: A Unique Species 19:48 Preparing for Tours: Research and Recce 22:39 Conservation Challenges: Dartmoor's Ecosystem 24:52 Land Ownership: Understanding Dartmoor's Rights 29:33 Dartmoor vs. National Parks: A Unique Experience 31:16 Connecting with History: Engaging American Visitors 32:45 Cultural Influences: Literature and Dartmoor 34:52 Walking Tours: A Deeper Connection to Dartmoor 36:55 anglotopia-podcast-outro.mp4 Video Version

After a quick chat about helping out around the house more, Joe wants to talk to David about the TV crime documentary he watched last night, which was set on Mersea Island in Essex. But David then remembers he's not yet told Joe about his wild camping trip to Sheepstor on Dartmoor, which he absolutely loved. The question is though, will Joe be interested in it enough to chat about it for the rest of the episode - or does he just want to talk about Mersea Island? Plus, in a bizarre left turn, they finish the episode off with a chat about sex shops. FOR ALL THINGS CHATABIX'Y FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE/CONTACT: YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@chatabixpodcast⁠⁠⁠ Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/chatabixpodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/chatabix1⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/chatabix⁠⁠⁠ Merch: ⁠⁠⁠https://chatabixshop.com/⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠⁠⁠chatabix@yahoo.com⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In het Britse parlement ligt al weken een amendement klaar dat de abortuswet moet veranderen: abortus moet makkelijker en toegankelijker worden. Bijna alle kamerlaeden kunnen zich hierin vinden, behalve de rechtsnationalisten Wat hebben populisten zoals Nigel Farage tegen een versoepelng van de abortuswet? En wat heeft de Amerikaanse vice-president JD Vance hiermee te maken? Ook in deze aflevering Een multimiljonair die hoopte een wettelijke tentstok te kunnen steken voor wildkamperen op zijn landgoed Dartmoor, ving bot bij het hooggerechtshof. Tot grote opluchting van duizenden natuurliefhebbers. Over Van Bekhovens Britten In van Bekhovens Britten praten Lia van Bekhoven en Connor Clerx elke week over de grootste nieuwsonderwerpen en de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Van Brexit naar binnenlandse politiek, van de Royals tot de tabloids. Waarom fascineert het VK Nederlanders meer dan zo veel andere Europese landen? Welke rol speelt het vooralsnog Verenigd Koninkrijk in Europa, nu het woord Brexit uit het Britse leven lijkt verbannen, maar de gevolgen van de beslissing om uit de EU te stappen iedere dag duidelijker worden? De Britse monarchie, en daarmee de staat, staat voor grote veranderingen na de dood van Queen Elisabeth en de kroning van haar zoon Charles. De populariteit van het Koningshuis staat op een dieptepunt. Hoe verandert de Britse monarchie onder koning Charles, en welke gevolgen heeft dat voor de Gemenebest? In Van Bekhovens Britten analyseren Lia en Connor een Koninkrijk met tanende welvaart, invloed en macht. De Conservatieve Partij leverde veertien jaar op rij de premier, maar nu heeft Labour onder Keir Starmer de teugels in handen. Hoe ziet het VK er onder Keir Starmer uit? En hoe gaan de ‘gewone’ Britten, voor zover die bestaan, daar mee om? Al deze vragen en meer komen aan bod in Van Bekhovens Britten. Een kritische blik op het Verenigd Koninkrijk, waar het een race tussen Noord-Ierland en Schotland lijkt te worden wie zich het eerst af kan scheiden van het VK. Hoe lang blijft het Koninkrijk verenigd? Na ruim 45 jaar onder de Britten heeft Lia van Bekhoven een unieke kijk op het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Als inwoner, maar zeker geen anglofiel, heeft ze een scherpe blik op het nieuws, de politiek, de monarchie en het dagelijkse leven aan de overkant van de Noordzee. Elke woensdag krijg je een nieuwe podcast over het leven van Van Bekhovens Britten in je podcastapp. Scherpe analyses, diepgang waar op de radio geen tijd voor is en een flinke portie humor. Abonneer en mis geen aflevering. Over Lia Lia van Bekhoven is correspondent Verenigd Koninkrijk voor onder andere BNR Nieuwsradio, VRT, Knack en Elsevier en is regelmatig in talkshows te zien als duider van het nieuws uit het VK. Ze woont sinds 1976 in Londen, en is naast correspondent voor radio, televisie en geschreven media ook auteur van de boeken Mama gaat uit dansen, het erfgoed van Diana, prinses van Wales (1997), Land van de gespleten God, Noord-Ierland en de troubles (2000), In Londen, 9 wandelingen door de Britse hoofdstad (2009) en Klein-Brittannië (2022).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Supreme Court has upheld the right to wild camp on Dartmoor in Darwall and another v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20. Lucy McCann talks to Darragh Coffey of 1 Crown Office Row about the decision. Read Darragh's analysis of the High Court's decision here on the UK Human Rights Blog. Law Pod UK is published by 1 Crown Office Row. Supporting articles are published on the UK Human Rights Blog. Follow and interact with the podcast team on Twitter.

The Environment Agency says the north west of England is in drought. One farmer tells us this year's crops are already ruined because of a lack of water.Two proposed reservoirs have been given 'nationally significant' status by the government to speed up the planning process. Decisions on the Lincolnshire Reservoir which is planned for an area near Sleaford and the Fens Reservoir near March in Cambridgeshire will now be accelerated. Ministers say the law will also be changed so that in the future all projects which are, as they put it, 'fundamental to national water resilience' will automatically be designated as 'nationally significant'. Farming communities are concerned about the impact on productive farmland, and one farmer says the Lincolnshire scheme will wipe out her home and her business.All week we're talking about the nation's national parks. The Scottish Government's decided not to go ahead with plans for a new national park in Galloway. After a long legal battle supreme court judges ruled that wild camping is allowed on Dartmoor, we speak to the park's chief executive. In Wales we report on a nature recovery project in Pembrokeshire which works with farmers to enhance farmland by the coast. In The Broads Norfolk farmers and environmentalists are trying to tackle the damage being caused by deer. Golden Eagles have been extinct in England since 2015 when a solitary bird died in the Lake District. But could that be about to change? A conservation project in the south of Scotland which began in 2018 has seen a huge increase in the eagle population there, and some of those birds have begun exploring places like the Northumberland National Park where one was spotted just a few weeks agoPresenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A Supreme Court ruling means wild camping is once again allowed on Dartmoor and Kaye shares a heartwarming story from a donkey sanctuary in Ethiopia providing free treatment to hard-working animals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930)Translated by Heinrich DarnocDartmoor, England, Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Der alte Sir Charles Baskerville wird in der Allee vor seinem Landsitz in Dartmoor, wo er spät abends offensichtlich auf jemanden gewartet hat, mit einem von Entsetzen entstellten Gesicht tot aufgefunden. Die Umstände seines Todes erscheinen zunächst mysteriös, zumal am Tatort die Spuren eines ungeheuer großen Hundes gefunden werden. Sollte tatsächlich der dämonische "Hund der Baskervilles" für seinen Tod verantwortlich sein? Dieser treibt sich der Sage nach auf dem nahe gelegenen Moor herum, seit Sir Hugo Baskerville, ein Vorfahr des Sir Charles, vor über 100 Jahren betrunken ein Mädchen zu Tode hetzte, das ihm nicht zu Willen sein wollte, und danach von einem monströsen und geheimnisvollen Hund angefallen und getötet wurde. Dr. Mortimer, Landarzt und alter Freund der Familie, bittet Sherlock Holmes um seine Hilfe bei diesem außergewöhnlichen Fall. Als dann der Erbe des Familienbesitzes, der in Kanada lebende junge Sir Henry Baskerville, auf dem Landsitz eintrifft, um sein Erbe anzutreten, erhält dieser einen anonymen Brief, der ihn eindringlich vor dem Moor warnt und zur sofortigen Abreise drängt. Wer will verhindern, dass Sir Henry seinen Wohnsitz auf Baskerville Hall nimmt? Was hat es mit dem entflohenen Sträfling auf sich, der sich angeblich im Moor versteckt hält? Und welche Rolle spielen der zwielichtige Naturforscher Stapleton und seine Schwester Beryl, in die sich Sir Henry verliebt? Sherlock Holmes und sein Freund Dr. Watson müssen ihren ganzen detektivischen Scharfsinn aufbieten, um hinter die Geheimnisse dieses rätselhaften Falles zu kommen. (

The Daily Quiz - Geography Today's Questions: Question 1: What is the capital of Tennessee? Question 2: In which English county is Dartmoor? Question 3: Which is the largest state in India? Question 4: Which of these colors is included on the flag of Puerto Rico? Question 5: Madrid is the capital city of which country? Question 6: Which region of the world uses '.ni' at the end of its web addresses? Question 7: What is the capital city of Suriname? Question 8: Warsaw is the capital of what country? Question 9: In which US city is Beacon Street? This podcast is produced by Klassic Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week we're looking at National Parks, last week the Supreme Court ruled that wild camping on Dartmoor is legal. Some areas, however, are dealing with anti-social behaviour and 'fly camping'. We talk to Kevin Bishop CEO of Dartmoor National Park who also sits on National Parks England about the challenges.The prolonged dry spell has had affected the growth of crops and water levels in rivers and reservoirs, but what about wildlife? We ask the British Trust for Ornithology what impact it's likely to have on wading birds and also discuss their new report which examined the impact of bird flu on wild birds like swans and barnacle geese.Plastic pollution is contaminating insects at the base of food chains, raising fresh concerns about the long-term impacts on wildlife, according to a new study by the University of Sussex. Researchers have discovered fragments of plastic in a wide range of invertebrates, which are prey for small mammals like hedgehogs. Polyester fibres, commonly shed from clothing, were the most frequently detected type of plastic and scientists think it comes from treated sewage sludge used to fertilise fields. Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Rebecca Rooney

In this week's episode, I take a look at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter and Spring 2025. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook versions of my anthologies at my Payhip store: JUNE25 The coupon code is valid through June 17, 2025. So if you need a new ebook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 252 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is May 23rd, 2025, and today we are looking at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter and Spring 2025. We missed doing an episode last week for the simple reason that the day before I wanted to record, we had a bad thunderstorm that knocked down large portions of my fence, so my recording time was instead spent on emergency fence repair. However, the situation is under control, so hopefully we'll be back to weekly episodes for the immediate future. And now before we get to our main topics, let's have Coupon of the Week and then a progress update on my current writing projects.   So first up, Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook version of all my short story anthologies at my Payhip store and that is JUNE25. As always, the coupon code and links will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through June the 17th, 2025, so if you need a new ebook for this summer, we have got you covered.   And now an update on my current writing projects. Ghost in the Corruption is finished. It is publishing right now. In fact, I paused the publishing process to record this and so by the time this episode goes live, hopefully Ghost in the Corruption should be available at all ebook stores. My next main project now that Ghost in the Corruption is done will be Shield of Power and as of this recording I am 15,000 words into it. My secondary projects will be Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest and I'm 97,000 words into that, so hopefully that will come out very shortly after Shield of Power and I'll also be starting Ghost in the Siege, the final book in the Ghost Armor series as another secondary project and I'm currently zero words into that. So that is where I'm at with my current writing projects.   In audiobook news, Ghost in the Assembly (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is now out and should be available at all the usual audiobook stores so you can listen to that if you are traveling for the summer. Recording of Shield of Battle (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) is underway soon. I believe he's starting it this week, so hopefully we will have another audiobook in the Shield War series for you before too much longer. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects.   00:02:17 Main Topic: Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup   And now let's move on, without any further ado, to our main topic. Summer is almost upon us, which means it's time for my Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup. As usual, the movies and streaming shows are listed in order for my least favorite to my most favorite. The grades are based upon my own thoughts and opinions and are therefore wholly subjective. With all of that said, let's get to the movies and our first entry is MacGruber, which came out in 2010 and in all honesty, this might be objectively the worst movie I have ever seen. The Saturday Night Live MacGruber sketches are a parody of the old MacGyver action show from the ‘80s. And so the movie is essentially the sketch stretched out to make a parody of an ‘80s action movie. It is aggressively dumb and crude. Its only redeeming feature is that the movie knows it's quite stupid and so leans into the stupidity hard. I'll say this in its favor, MacGruber has no pretensions that is a good movie and does not take itself seriously and then runs away hard with that fact. For that he gets a plus, but nothing else. Overall grade: F+   Next up is Down Periscope, which came out in 1996. Now the fundamental question of any movie is the one Russell Crowe shouted at the audience in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?” Sadly, I was not entertained with Down Periscope. This wanted to be a parody of Cold War era submarine thrillers like The Hunt for Red October, I say wanted because it didn't really succeed. Kelsey Grammer plays Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge, an unorthodox US Navy officer who wants command of his own nuclear sub, but he's alienated a few admirals, which is not traditionally a path to career advancement in the military. Dodge gets his chance in a Navy wargame where he has to command a diesel sub against nuclear subs. Sometimes parodies are so good that they become an example of the thing they are parodying (Hot Fuzz and Star Trek: Lower Decks are excellent examples of this phenomenon). The trouble is that the movie takes itself too seriously and just isn't all that funny. A few funny bits, true, but not enough of them. In the end, this was dumb funny but didn't resonate with me the way other dumb funny movies like Dodgeball and Tropic Thunder did. Overall grade: D   Next up is Deadpool and Wolverine, which came out in 2024. Unlike Down Periscope, I was entertained with this movie, though both movies reside on the dumb funny spectrum. Deadpool and Wolverine is basically one long meta in-joke/love letter for the last 30 years of superhero movies. If you've seen enough of those movies, you'll find those movies funny, if occasionally rather tasteless. If you haven't seen enough of those movies, Deadpool and Wolverine will just be incomprehensible. The plot is that Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool gets pulled into some Marvel style multiverse nonsense. To save his universe from destruction, he needs to recruit a Wolverine since in his universe, Wolverine died heroically.   In the process, Deadpool stumbles across the worst Wolverine in the multiverse. Together they have to overcome their mutual dislike and attempt to save Deadpool's universe from destruction at the hands of a rogue branch of the Time Variance Authority. This means the movie can bring in a lot of cameos from past Marvel films. Hugh Jackman's performance really carries the movie on its back. Like I said, this movie is essentially one very long Marvel in-joke. I thought it was funny. I definitely think it can't stand on its own without having seen a sufficient number of the other Marvel movies. Overall grade: C   Our next movie is the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which came out in 2024. This is very loosely (with an emphasis on “very”) based on Operation Postmaster during World War II, when British Special Forces seized some Italian ships that had been supplying parts for German U-boats. It was entertaining to watch but it couldn't quite make up its mind tonally if it was a war thriller or a heist movie about Western desperados recruited into a crew. It kind of tried to do both at the same time, which killed the momentum. Like, the first parts of the movie where the protagonists take out a Nazi patrol boat and then free a prisoner from a base were good thriller stuff, but then the plot fused with the heist stuff and really slowed down through the middle forty percent or so. It was also oddly stylized with a lot of spaghetti western-style music that seemed out of place and some stuff just didn't make sense, like at the end after pulling off the mission, the protagonists were all arrested. That just seems bizarre since if anything, Winston Churchill and a lot of the British wartime leadership were enthusiastic about special operations and probably had too much confidence in the effectiveness of covert operations. So I did enjoy watching this, but I can see why it didn't make a lot of money at the box office. Overall Grade: C   Next up is The Gorge, which came out in 2025. This was a peculiar mix of science fiction, romance, and horror. For the romance part, perhaps shooting zombies together is a good idea for a first date. Before I dig into the movie, a brief rant. In one scene, a character is using a chainsaw with no protective gear whatsoever and she's not fighting zombies or anything in a situation where she has to pick up a chainsaw without preparing first. She's trimming branches to pass time. If you're using a chainsaw, at a minimum you want protective eyewear and headphones. Ideally you'd want chainsaw pants as well to reduce the chance of serious injury if you slip and swing the saw into your leg. Since I became a homeowner, I've used a chainsaw a number of times and believe me, you definitely want good eye and ear protection. This has been your public safety announcement for this movie review.   Anyway, loner former sniper Levi is approached by a high ranking intelligence officer giving him a mysterious job. He needs to guard a tower overlooking a mysterious mist-filled gorge for one year. On the other side of the gorge is another tower, guarded by an elite Lithuanian sniper named Drasa. Like Levi, Drasa has a fair bit of emotional damage and they're officially forbidden to communicate. However, they're both lonely and they soon start communicating over the gorge using telescopes and whiteboard messages. Eventually Levi gets emotionally close enough to Drasa to rig a zipline to cross the gorge and speak with her in person.   Unfortunately, it turns out the gorge is full of twisted creatures that storm out and attack and the job of the two snipers is to keep them contained. If Levi and Drasa want to save their lives, they'll need to unravel the dark secret within the gorge. This movie was interesting and I enjoyed watching it, but it falls apart if you think about it too much (or at all). Like the chainsaw thing I ranted about above. The entire movie runs on that sort of logic. That said, I appreciate how the filmmakers were trying something new instead of something like Deadpool and Wolverine. Additionally, this was an Apple+ movie and it's interesting how Apple's approach to streaming is to just make a whole bunch of random stuff that's totally distinct, from Ted Lasso to Mythic Quest to Severance to The Gorge. It's like, “we have more money than most countries, so we're going to make Ted Lasso because we feel like it.” Then again, Apple+ is apparently losing a billion dollars every year, so maybe they'll eventually change their minds about that approach. Overall Grade: B-   Next up is Click, which came out in 2006. Cross It's a Wonderful Life with A Christmas Carol and the comedic style of Adam Sandler and you end up with Click. Basically Sandler plays Michael Newman, a workaholic architect with a demanding boss and increasingly strained relationship with his wife and children due to his workload. In a fit of exasperation with his situation, he goes to Bed Bath and Beyond, where he encounters an eccentric employee named Morty (played entertainingly by Christopher Walken). Morty gives him a remote control that lets him fast forward through time, which Michael then uses to skip the boring and tedious parts of his life, but he overuses the remote and goes too far into the future and sees the disastrous results of his current life choices. Definitely a story used in A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life but effectively told and I was entertained (rather on the crude side, though). Overall Grade: B- Next up is Mr. Deeds, which came out in 2002. This was actually one of Adam Sandler's better movies, in my opinion. It was a remake of the ‘30s movie Mr. Deeds Goes To Town. In this new version, Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, a popular pizzeria owner in a small New Hampshire town. Unbeknownst to Deeds, his uncle is the owner of a major media mega corporation and when he dies, Deeds is his legal heir. When the company's CEO and chief lawyer arrive at the pizzeria to inform him of this fact, Deeds goes to New York and soon finds himself involved in the CEO's sinister machinations. Yet he happens to rescue an attractive woman from a mugger, but there is more to her than meets the eye. The movie was funny and not as crude, well, not quite as crude as some of Sandler's other stuff. It had good story structure and several great lines, my favorite of which was “he was weak and cowardly and wore far too much cologne.”   Sandler's movies, in a strange way, are often very medieval. Like various medieval fables had a savvy peasant outwitting pompous lords, greedy merchants, and corrupt clergymen. The best Adam Sandler protagonist tends to be a good natured everyman who defeats the modern equivalent of medieval authority figures- evil CEOs, arrogant star athletes, sinister bureaucrats and so forth. Overall Grade: B     Next up is House of David, which came out in 2025 and this is basically the story of King David from the Bible told in the format of an epic fantasy TV series. Like if someone wanted to do an epic fantasy series about Conan the Barbarian, it could follow the same stylistic format as this show. And of course Conan and David followed a similar path from adventurer to king. Anyway, if one were to pick a part of the Bible from which to make a movie or TV series, the story of David would be an excellent choice because David's life was so dramatic that it would hardly require any embellishments in the adaptation. The story is in the Books of First and Second Samuel. King Saul is ruling over the Israelites around 1000 BC or so, but has grown arrogant. Consequently, God instructs the prophet Samuel to inform Saul that the kingdom will be taken away from him and given to another. God then dispatches Samuel to anoint David as the new king of Israel. David is a humble shepherd but then enters Saul's service and undertakes feats of daring, starting with defeating the giant Goliath and leading Saul's troops to victory and battle against Israel's numerous enemies. (The Iron Age Middle East was even less peaceful than it is now.) Eventually, Saul's paranoia and madness gets the best of him and he turns on David, who flees into exile. After Saul and his sons are killed in battle with the Philistines. David returns and becomes the acknowledged king after a short civil war with Saul's surviving sons and followers.   If Saul's fatal flaw was his arrogance of pride, David's seems to have been women. While the story of David and Bathsheba is well known, David nonetheless had eight wives (most of them at the same time) and an unknown but undoubtedly large number of concubines. Naturally David's children from his various wives and concubines did not get along and David was almost deposed due to the conflicts between his children. Unlike Saul and later David's son Solomon, David was willing to repent when a prophet of God informed him of wrongdoing and to be fair to David, monogamy was generally not practiced among Early Iron Age Middle Eastern monarchies and dynastic struggles between brothers from different mothers to seize their father's kingdoms were quite common, but enough historical digression.   Back to the show, which covered David's life up to the death of Goliath. I thought it was quite well done. Good performances, good cinematography, excellent battles, good set design and costuming, and a strong soundtrack. All the actors were good, but I really think the standout performances were Stephen Lang as Samuel, Ali Sulaman is King Saul, Ayelet Zurer as Saul's wife Queen Ahinoam, and Davood Ghadami as David's jerkish (but exasperated and well-intentioned) eldest brother Eliab. Martyn Ford just looks extremely formidable as Goliath. You definitely believe no one in their right mind want to fight this guy.   Making fiction of any kind based on sacred religious texts is often tricky because no matter what you do, someone's going to get mad at you. The show has an extensive disclaimer at the beginning of each episode saying that it is fiction inspired by the Bible. That said, House of David doesn't really alter or deviate from the Biblical account, though it expands upon some things for the sake of storytelling. Queen Ahinoam is only mentioned once in the Bible as the wife of Saul, but she has an expanded role in the show and is shown as the one who essentially introduces Saul to the Witch of Endor. Goliath also gets backstory as one of the “Anakim,” a race of giants that lived in Canaan in ancient times, which is something that is only mentioned in passing in the Old Testament. Overall, I enjoyed the show and I hope it gets a second season.   What's interesting, from a larger perspective, is to see how the wheel of history keeps turning. In the 1950s and the 1960s, Biblical epics were a major film genre. The 10 Commandments and Ben Hur with Charlton Heston are probably the ones best remembered today. Eventually, the genre just sort of ran out of gas, much the way superhero movies were in vogue for about 20 years and began running out of steam around 2023 or so. Like, I enjoyed Thunderbolts (which we're going to talk about in a little bit), but it's not going to make a billion dollars the way Marvel stuff often did in the 2010s. The wheel just keeps turning and perhaps has come back around to the popularity of Biblical epics once more. Overall Grade: A   Next up is Chef, which came out in 2014. I actually saw this back in 2021, but I watched it again recently to refresh my memory and here are my thoughts. I quite liked it. It's about a chef named Carl Casper, who's increasingly unhappy with his work after he gets fired over a Twitter war with a writer who criticized his cooking. Carl is out of options and so he starts a food truck and has to both rediscover his love of cooking and reconnect with his ex-wife and 10-year-old son. In Storytelling: How to Write a Novel (my book about writing), I talked about different kinds of conflict. Carl's conflict is an excellent example of an entirely internal conflict. The critic is an external enemy, but he's basically the inciting incident.   Carl's real enemy is his own internal conflict about art versus commerce and a strained relationship with his son. I recommend the movie. It was rated R for bad language, but there's no nudity or explicit sexual content and honestly, if you've ever worked in a restaurant kitchen or a warehouse, you've heard much worse in terms of language. The movie also has an extremely valuable lesson: stay off social media when you're angry. Overall Grade: A     Next up is Thunderbolts, which came out in 2025 and I thought this was pretty good, both very dark and yet with quite a lot of humor to balance the darkness. Former assassin Yelena Belova has been working as a mercenary for the sinister director of the CIA, Valentina de Fontaine (now there's a villain name if there ever was one). Yelena has grown disillusioned with her life and career and is suffering from increasing depression since she never really dealt with the death of her sister. Valentina promises her one last job, only for Yelena to realize that Valentina decided to dispose of all her freelance contractors at once, which includes US Agent and Ghost (previously seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Antman and the Wasp). In the process of escaping Valentina's trap, Yelena stumbles across a mysterious man who identifies himself as Bob, who has no memory of how he got there, but shows increasingly unusual abilities. Yelena wants to deal with Valentina's betrayal, but it turns out one of Valentina's science projects has gotten out of control and is threatening the world. The movie was well constructed enough that it didn't rely too heavily on previous Marvel continuity. It was there, but you probably wouldn't be lost without it. It almost feels like Marvel looked at the stuff they did the last couple of years and said, okay, a lot of this didn't work, but makes great raw material for new things. It helped that the central conflict was in the end, very human and about the characters, not stopping a generic villain from getting a generic doomsday device. Overall Grade: A   Next up is The Hound of the Baskervilles, which came out in 1988. This is a movie length episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes television series, which had Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson. The plot deals with Sir Henry Baskerville, the American heir to an English manor set in the Windswept moors of Dartmoor. Apparently there's an ancestral curse laid over the Baskerville estate that manifests in the form of a spectral hound. Local rumors hold that the previous holder of the manor, Sir Charles Baskerville, was killed by the ghostly hound and many of the local people fear it. The local physician, Dr. Mortimer, is so worried about the hound that he comes to Sherlock Holmes for help. Holmes, of course, is skeptical of any supernatural explanation and soon becomes worried that an extremely subtle and sinister murderer is stalking Sir Henry.   Jeremy Brett's version of Holmes is, in my opinion, the best portrayal of the character and Edward Hardwicke's version of Watson is a calm, reliable man of action who sensibly takes a very large revolver with him when going into danger. Definitely worth watching, Overall grade: A   Next up is Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which came out in 2024. The 2020s have been a downer of a decade in many ways, but on the plus side, between Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog, people have finally figured out how to make good video game movies, so we've got that going for us. Sonic 3 was an excellent kids movie, as were the first two in the trilogy. In this one Sonic is living with Knuckles and Tails under the care of their human friends Tom and Maddy, but then a dark secret emerges. The government has been keeping a Superpowered hedgehog named Shadow in stasis and Shadow has broken out. It's up to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails to save the day.   Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik is in a funk after his defeat at Sonic's hands in the last movie, but then his long lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik returns seeking the younger Dr. Robotnik's help in his own sinister plans. Keanu Reeves was great as Shadow (think John Wick if he was a superpowered space hedgehog in a kid's movie). Jim Carrey famously said he would retire from acting unless a golden script came along and apparently that golden script was playing Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his evil grandfather Gerald. To be fair, both the Robotniks were hilarious.   It is amusing that Sonic only exists because in the 1990s, Sega wanted a flagship video game character that won't get them sued by either Nintendo or Disney. It is also amusing that the overall message of the Sonic movies seems to be not to trust the government. Overall Grade: A   Next up is Paddington in Peru, which came out in 2024. This is also an excellent kids' movie. In this installment, Paddington has settled into London with the Brown family and officially become a UK citizen. However, he receives a letter from Peru that his Aunt Lucy has mysteriously disappeared into the jungle. Distraught, Paddington and the Browns set off for Peru at once. Adventures ensue involving mysterious lost treasure, a crazy boat captain, and an order of singing nuns who might not quite be what they appear. Anyway, it's a good kids' movie. I think Paddington 2 was only slightly better because Hugh Grant as the chief villain, crazy actor Phoenix Buchanan, was one of those lightning in the bottle things like Heath Ledger as the Joker in the Dark Knight. Overall Grade: A   Now for the two best things I saw in Winter/Spring 2025. The first of them is Andor Season Two, which came out in 2025. Star Wars kind of has an age range the way Marvel stuff does now. What do I mean by that? In the Marvel comics and some of the TV series like Jessica Jones, they get into some really dark and heavy stuff, very mature themes. The MCU movies can have some darkness to them, but not as much because they're aiming at sort of escapist adventures for the general audience. Then there are kid shows like Spidey and Friends that a relative of mine just loved when he was three. You wouldn't at all feel comfortable showing a 3-year-old Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Spidey and Friends is just fine.   Star Wars now kind of has that age range to its stuff and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you want to see a dark meditation upon human nature. Sometimes you need something kid friendly to occupy the kids you're babysitting and sometimes you just want to relax and watch Mando and Baby Yoda mow down some space pirates or something. All that said, Andor Season Two is some of the darkest and the best stuff that Star Wars has ever done. It successfully shifts genres from Escapist Pulp Space Fantasy to a gritty Political/Espionage Thriller. We in the audience know that the emperor is a Sith Lord who can use Evil Space Magic and wants to make himself immortal, but that fact is totally irrelevant to the characters. Even though some of the characters are high ranking in their respective organizations, this is essentially a “ground's eye” view of the Rebellion and life under the Empire.   In some ways, this is like Star Wars' version of Wolf Hall (which we're going to talk about shortly), in that we know how it ends already, but the dramatic tension comes from the harrowing emotional journey the characters undertake on the way to their inevitable destinations. Cassian Andor is now working for the nascent Rebellion under the direction of ruthless spymaster Luthen Rael. Mon Mothma is in the Imperial Senate, covertly funneling money to the Rebellion and realizing just how much the Rebellion will require of her before the end. Syril Karn, the ineffective corporate cop from Season One, has fallen in love with the ruthless secret police supervisor Dedra Meero, but he's unaware that Director Krennic has ordered Meero to manufacture a false flag incident on the planet Gorman so the planet can be strip-mined for resources to build the Death Star and Dedra has decided to use Syril to help accomplish it. All the actors do amazing jobs with their roles. Seriously, this series as actors really should get at least one Emmy. Speaking of Director Krennic, Ben Mendelson returns as Orson Krennic, who is one of my favorite least favorite characters, if you get my drift. Krennic is the oily, treacherous middle manager we've all had to deal with or work for at some point in our lives, and Mendelson plays him excellently. He's a great villain, the sort who is ruthless to his underlings and thinks he can manipulate his superiors right up until Darth Vader starts telekinetically choking him. By contrast, the villain Major Partagaz (played by Anton Lesser) is the middle manager we wish we all had - stern but entirely fair, reasonable, and prizes efficiency and good work while despising office drama. Unfortunately, he works for the Empire's secret police, so all those good qualities are in the service of evil and therefore come to naught. Finally, Episode Eight is one of the most astonishing episodes of TV I've ever seen. It successfully captures the horror of an episode of mass violence and simultaneously has several character arcs reach their tumultuous climax and manages to be shockingly graphic without showing in a lot of actual blood. Andor was originally supposed to be five seasons, but then Peak Streaming collapsed, and so the remaining four seasons were compressed down to one. I think that was actually to the show's benefit because it generates some amazing tension and there's not a wasted moment. Overall Grade: A+   Now for the second of my two favorite things I saw, and that would be Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, which came out in 2024, but I actually saw it in 2025. This is a dramatization of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall novels about the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, who is King Henry VIII's chief lieutenant during the key years of the English Reformation. The first series came out in 2015, but the nine year gap between this and between the second series and the first series actually works quite well since Thomas Cromwell looks like he ages nine years in a single year (which may be what actually happened given how stressful working for someone like Henry VIII must have been). Anyway, in The Mirror and the Light, Cromwell has successfully arranged the downfall and execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry's previous queen. Though Cromwell is haunted by his actions, Henry still needs a queen to give him a male heir, so he marries Jane Seymour. Cromwell must navigate the deadly politics of the Tudor Court while trying to push his Protestant views of religion, serve his capricious master Henry, fend off rivals for the King's favor, and keep his own head attached to his shoulders in the process. Since Cromwell's mental state is deteriorating due to guilt over Anne's death and the downfall of his former master Cardinal Wolsey and Henry's a fickle and dangerous master at the best of times, this is an enterprise that is doomed to fail. Of course, if you're at all familiar with the history of Henry's reign and the English reformation, you know that Cromwell's story does not have a happy ending. Rather, Wolf Hall is a tragedy about a talented man who didn't walk away from his power until it was too late and he was trapped. Anyway, in my opinion, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light was just excellent. All the performances were superb. Mark Rylance is great as Cromwell and has some excellent “WTF/I'm SO screwed” expressions as Cromwell's situation grows worse and worse. Bernard Hill played the Duke of Norfolk in the first series, but sadly died before Series Two, so Timothy Spall steps in and he does an excellent job of channeling Hill's portrayal of the Duke as an ambitious, crude-humored thug.   Damien Lewis is amazing as Henry VIII and his performance captures Henry's mixture of charisma, extreme vindictiveness, and astonishing self-absorption. The real Henry was known for being extremely charming even to the end of his life, but the charm was mixed with a volcanic temper that worsened as Henry aged and may have been exacerbated by a severe head injury. Lewis's performance can shift from that charm to the deadly fury in a heartbeat. The show rather cleverly portrays Henry's growing obesity and deteriorating health by having Lewis wear a lot of big puffy coats and limp with an impressively regal walking stick.   Overall, I would say this and Andor were the best thing I saw in Winter/Spring 2025. I wouldn't say that Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is an accurate historical reputation. In real life, Cromwell was rather more thuggish and grasping (though far more competent than his rivals and his master) and of necessity the plot simplifies historical events, but it's just a superb historical drama. Overall Grade: A+ As a final note, I should say that of all the 2024 and 2025 movies mentioned here, the only one that actually saw in the theater was Thunderbolts, and I hadn't actually planned to see it in theaters, but a family member unexpectedly bought tickets for it, so I went along. Which I suppose is the movie industry's biggest problem right now. The home viewing experience is often vastly superior to going to the theater. The theater has the big screen and snacks, but at home you can have a pretty nice setup and you can pause whatever you want, go to the bathroom, and you can get snacks for much more cheaply. That's just much more comfortable than the movie theater.   Additionally, going to the theater has the same serious problem as booking a flight in that you're an enclosed space with complete strangers for several hours, which means you're potentially in a trust fall with idiots. All it takes is one person behaving badly or trying to bring their fake service dog to ruin or even cancel a flight, and the theater experience has much of the same problem, especially since the standards for acceptable public behavior have dropped so much from a combination of widespread smartphone adoption and COVID. The difference between the movie industry and the airline industry is that if you absolutely have to get from New York to Los Angeles in a single day, you have no choice but to book a flight and hope for the best. But if you want to see a movie and are willing to exercise some patience, you just have to wait a few months for it to turn up on streaming. I'm not sure how the movie industry can battle that, but sadly, it is much easier to identify problems than to solve them.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe, stay healthy, and see you all next week.

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Chagos Islands deal paused by last minute legal action Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trumps choreographed onslaught Violent criminals could be let out early for good behaviour under new proposals Dartmoor wild camping about responsibility not just rights Nike to raise prices as firms face tariffs uncertainty South Africans divided on Cyril Ramaphosas mauling by Donald Trump DC shooting What we know about Israeli embassy staff attack The Victorian scam artist who tried to dupe the islanders of Skye Government borrowing higher than expected in April Call for NHS to give women with dense breasts extra cancer scans

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv South Africans divided on Cyril Ramaphosas mauling by Donald Trump Violent criminals could be let out early for good behaviour under new proposals Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trumps choreographed onslaught Nike to raise prices as firms face tariffs uncertainty Government borrowing higher than expected in April Dartmoor wild camping about responsibility not just rights The Victorian scam artist who tried to dupe the islanders of Skye DC shooting What we know about Israeli embassy staff attack Call for NHS to give women with dense breasts extra cancer scans Chagos Islands deal paused by last minute legal action

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Chagos Islands deal paused by last minute legal action The Victorian scam artist who tried to dupe the islanders of Skye DC shooting What we know about Israeli embassy staff attack Violent criminals could be let out early for good behaviour under new proposals Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trumps choreographed onslaught Dartmoor wild camping about responsibility not just rights Call for NHS to give women with dense breasts extra cancer scans Nike to raise prices as firms face tariffs uncertainty Government borrowing higher than expected in April South Africans divided on Cyril Ramaphosas mauling by Donald Trump

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Violent criminals could be let out early for good behaviour under new proposals DC shooting What we know about Israeli embassy staff attack Government borrowing higher than expected in April Nike to raise prices as firms face tariffs uncertainty Call for NHS to give women with dense breasts extra cancer scans The Victorian scam artist who tried to dupe the islanders of Skye Dartmoor wild camping about responsibility not just rights Chagos Islands deal paused by last minute legal action South Africans divided on Cyril Ramaphosas mauling by Donald Trump Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trumps choreographed onslaught

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Starmer announces U turn on winter fuel payment cuts Leaked memo reveals Rayner called for tax rises West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time M and S online services to face disruption until July Higher bills push inflation to highest in more than a year Nicholas Rossi How the mask slipped during US fugitives court saga Jay Slaters friends cannot be located, inquest hears Norm star George Wendt dies at 76 Gary Linekers podcast The Rest is Football dropped by BBC after row Supreme Court rules on Dartmoor access

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Jay Slaters friends cannot be located, inquest hears Higher bills push inflation to highest in more than a year Supreme Court rules on Dartmoor access M and S online services to face disruption until July Leaked memo reveals Rayner called for tax rises Nicholas Rossi How the mask slipped during US fugitives court saga Starmer announces U turn on winter fuel payment cuts Norm star George Wendt dies at 76 Gary Linekers podcast The Rest is Football dropped by BBC after row West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Nicholas Rossi How the mask slipped during US fugitives court saga West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time Starmer announces U turn on winter fuel payment cuts Norm star George Wendt dies at 76 M and S online services to face disruption until July Gary Linekers podcast The Rest is Football dropped by BBC after row Higher bills push inflation to highest in more than a year Leaked memo reveals Rayner called for tax rises Jay Slaters friends cannot be located, inquest hears Supreme Court rules on Dartmoor access

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Gary Linekers podcast The Rest is Football dropped by BBC after row Higher bills push inflation to highest in more than a year M and S online services to face disruption until July Nicholas Rossi How the mask slipped during US fugitives court saga Norm star George Wendt dies at 76 Jay Slaters friends cannot be located, inquest hears Starmer announces U turn on winter fuel payment cuts West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time Supreme Court rules on Dartmoor access Leaked memo reveals Rayner called for tax rises

Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to ease cuts to winter fuel payments in a U-turn following mounting political pressure. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he said the change would allow "more pensioners" to receive the benefit. Also: A White House meeting between South Africa's president and Donald Trump in front of the world's media descended into an awkward confrontation. And the Supreme Court rules in favour of wild camping on Dartmoor.

Writer Francesca Simon swapped Californian sunshine for life in the UK, where she created one of the most iconic characters in children's literature — Horrid Henry. She joins us to talk fairy folklore, presidential ambitions, and the stories that shaped her.Jude Kelly, founder of Women of the World and one of the UK's most influential cultural figures, shares her journey from Toxteth to the South Bank.Writer Sophie Pierce and artist Alex Murdin open up about how the wild beauty of Dartmoor helped them process the loss of their son, Felix — and how grief, love, and nature are deeply connected.We'll spin the wheel with potter Caitlin Jenkins, whose love of ceramics is rooted in family history.And the landscape-loving writer and environmentalist Professor Robert Macfarlane brings us his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay Producer: Catherine Powell

Buckland Wood is no ordinary wood. This is magical temperate rainforest, a rare habitat not just in the UK but in the world. Cloaked in lush lichens and mosses, dotted with stone walls and bridges and with a beautiful river rambling through, it already looks and feels like a special place. But the Trust has big plans for its future. Join us to explore with rainforest guru Sam, who tells us about the bid to restore this globally important site and its huge potential to connect people with nature, store carbon and boost biodiversity. Hear why temperate rainforests are so special, along with pine marten reintroductions, backpacks on beetles and much more! Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: For today's woodland walk, we are heading into the rainforest, but I am not going very far. Well, I'm going quite far, but not to the Amazon, or South America. I'm going to to the temperate rainforest, which isn't as well known, but is actually even rarer than the tropical rainforest. It's also known as Atlantic or Celtic rainforest. And as I said, exceptionally rare. You do find it on the West Coast of Scotland, North and West Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Cumbria, parts of Northern Ireland, which sounds like a long list, but it really isn't. And what's wonderful actually is that Britain is really the place in the world to find these things. We have a very high proportion of the global area of temperate rainforest. I'm heading to Devon to see some temperate rainforests. Anyway, enough from me. Let's go talk to an expert about Devon's temperate and exciting rainforest.  Sam: So I'm Sam Manning. I'm the project officer for the Woodland Trust Rainforest Recovery Project. We are here in Buckland Wood, which is a new Woodland Trust acquisition on Dartmoor in the Dart Valley.  Adam: Fantastic. And it's it's super new because the place we came down didn't seem to have a sign on it or anything. So when did the Trust acquire this?  Sam: So we've literally just acquired this this month and it's an extension really of two other sites that we own in the Dart Valley, Ausewell Wood, which we bought about five years ago and Grey Park Wood, which we've owned for a couple of decades.  Adam: Right. And and what are we gonna do? Where are you taking me today?  Sam: So we're going to have a walk around the wood and I'm going to show you some of the aspects of the restoration work that we have planned here, we're going to go down to the Dart River, which is a really special river. It's 26 miles long. Very, very ecologically biodiverse, very important for, in terms of temperate rainforest, and look at how we can restore that through various different natural flood management methods.  Adam: Right. Lead on, Sir. So you already mentioned the keyword temperate rainforest. Is that what this is?  Sam: Yeah. So this is sort of prime what we call hyper-oceanic temperate rainforest.  Adam: You just have to say that slowly. Hypo what?  Sam: Hyper-oceanic.   Adam: Hyper-oceanic, OK.  Sam: Yes. So there's there's two different kinds of temperate rainforest broadly. There's southern oceanic, which is any rainforest woodland that receives over 1.5 metres of rainfall a year.  Adam: Right.  Sam: Or hyper-oceanic and that is 1.8 metres of rainfall and above, so slightly techy and scientific. But what it means is is that you get two distinctly different communities of lichens or lower plants, which is what makes these woodlands particularly special.  Adam: Sorry, I've already forgotten. Are we in the rain type of temperate rainforest that gets more rain or less rain?  Sam: More rain.  Adam: More rain.   Sam: Yeah it rains a lot here.   Adam: So that's the the non-oceanic one gets more rain.  Sam: The hyper-oceanic gets a lot of rain, yeah.  Adam: Hyper-oceanic. OK, so you can see I'm a poor student. OK. So, but luckily extraordinary, I mean, it's a bit there's a chill, but it's it has been lovely weather and it's definitely dry today.  Sam: Hmm yeah, this is this is quite strange for Dartmoor really, I think this is sort of the driest March in 60 years or something. So we are we are beginning to experience much, much drier springs and summers, but one of the functions of these rainforests is they are very, very good at producing their own rain and and in 2020, during the COVID lockdown, there was a real blue sky dry sort of drought level day in that March-April period. And I remember walking through this valley in the middle of the day and there was a thunderstorm and that was occurring nowhere else even in Devon or the wider country. And that's because they're effectively these sponges that accumulate a lot of rain in winter, store them, and then produce them more in summer.  Adam: Wow. And and I mean also we we think of rainforests as basically Brazil I suppose. But but we have temperate rainforests in the UK and my understanding is, I mean, they're extraordinarily rare on a, not just the UK, a global level. Just give us a sense of how special and unusual these environments are.  Sam: Yeah, that's right. So they're they're found only on 1% of the earth's land surface. So they are rarer by area than tropical rainforest.  Adam: Right. Do you happen to know? Sorry, are we going down there?   Sam: Down there yeah.   Adam: OK, so 1% temperate rainforests. Do you know what tropical rainforests are to give us a sense of proportion?  Sam: I actually don't know that, but I suspect it's probably around somewhere between 10-15%.  Adam: OK, well, I'm not gonna hold you to that *both laugh* but but that gives us a sort of sense of just how rare these are and tropical rainforests are fairly rare anyway, but OK. So these are very, very unusual environments. And what are you trying to do here then?  Sam: Well, a lot of these temperate rainforests are ancient woodlands, but they are plantations on ancient woodlands, so they are woodlands that have existed in perpetuity for as long as records go back. But a lot of them, as you can see here, have been coniferised, so they would have been cleared of their native tree species like oak, to be replaced by non-native timber crops from places like the Pacific Northwest, which which that's also ironically a temperate rainforest landscape, but those species are not co-adapted to the species we have here. So you you get these plantations that are very, very unbiodiverse, very dark, very shading and really don't work in tandem with a lot of the light-demanding rainforest species that we have, like rowans, hawthorns, oaks, that kind of thing. Of those sites I've talked about, almost half of it is conifer.  Adam: So your your first job, ironically, is to take trees out?  Sam: Well there'll be a sort of two-pronged approach really of using natural processes to diversify the forest, make it more structured, diverse. But we will need to intervene at certain times, particularly if we have really, really rare species. So in Ausewell for example, there's a species of lichen called bacidia subturgidula, so it's got a mad Latin name,   Adam: Wow, OK I'm definitely not saying that *laughs*  Sam: *laughs* But that species, for example, we have a quarter of the entire world's population of that species of lichen in Ausewell.  Adam: Right in Ausewell, which is quite a small place.  Sam: Yeah, exactly. That's about 100 hectares, so...  Adam: And that's a quarter of the global population of this lichen is in that...  Sam: Of that species, yeah. So when it comes to that, it's really about almost surgically intervening.  Adam: That's interesting. Let's let's carry on, you you better lead on, I've no idea where I'm going. So but that's interesting because I I can see planting trees, I've never heard of people actually planting like them, I didn't think that was even possible.  Sam: Yeah. So we call it translocation and and that's really only a last a last sort of nuclear option really when it comes to lichen conservation, if we have a tree where they have a really, really rare form of, a rare population of a species, then moving that to another tree may be the difference between that going extinct or not. But here now we've had this happen, what we're going to be doing is seeding it with those rainforest tree species to start to get that regeneration and there's loads over here.  Adam: What I'm still not clear about is why is the rainforest so special? It might be, oh it gets a lot of rain, who cares? A place gets a lot of rain, so does Wales, so does a lot of bits of London. It's clearly something special, it's not the trees, so what, why is having a temperate rainforest actually a good thing, what makes it special?  Sam: Well, there's there's there's a few different things. One of them is, and this is the real key one we focus on, is the biodiversity value. So the real bad, Britain in general is quite a wildlife poor place. We have quite a low species diversity, but these rainforests are absolute wells of biodiversity globally. The key ones are these epiphytes, so we're talking about lichens, bryophytes, so those are the mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Britain has over 2,000 species of lichen, it's one of the most biodiverse places on Earth in terms of lichen species, so we're really punching above our weight in terms of biodiversity in that sense, and they're only really found in these temperate rainforest habitats.  Adam: And lichen, I love lichen, and it's a real sign of air purity and everything, they're beautiful. How much do they support, like wildlife? I'm not aware of animals feeding off lichen very much, I don't think it has much nutrients in it?  Sam: Not too much at a macro level, but if you were to delve into that microscopic world, they are absolute keystone species in terms of forming the bedrock for so many invertebrates for so much sort of microbes. But they're also functionally, and this is something I'm I'm really passionate about, is looking at these forests in terms of what they can give to us functionally and the environment functionally, they are really good at fixing nitrogen. They're very, very good at fixing carbon, but but so in terms, that's what that's what makes temperate rainforest really good in terms of climate change mitigation is they hold that water, but they also are incredible carbon stores far more carbon is stored in these forests than traditional forests in the UK.  Adam: And that's lichens playing a big role in this?  Sam: A huge part, yeah, because of the pure, like the biomass of those lichens and mosses.  Adam: Ohh interesting. OK, so where are we going?  Sam: So I would quite like to go down to that river.  Adam: I'd love to go down to the river! Can I just ask, we're not going that way, are we??  Sam: No, I think we're gonna, that's one we may drive down, I think.  Adam: Drive down there?? No no we're not going to drive down there, that's not possible! *both laugh*  Sam: Yeah, we might have to go to a scenic detour around.   Adam: OK, well, there let's go down to the river. You have to lead. You look like...  Sam: So I think if we head up back to the car, shoot down, yeah.  Adam: OK. Ohh I see. OK, OK. But we're not driving down this this hill.  Sam: No, no, I think let's go down to the main Dart actually and then you can...  Adam: OK. And then get and get back, OK. Brilliant. We have come down to the river, remind me what the river is called?   Sam: This is the Webburn.   Adam: The Webburn, which leads into the Dart. We are on proper Hobbit territory now. A moss-covered stone bridge over the Webburn. We passed a little a beautiful little cottage, actually there's a number of beautiful cottages here. So explain a bit about where we are.  Sam: So we're stood on the Webburn, the Webburn watercourse and just behind us is the confluence of where it enters the Dart River and this kind of where it feeds into our aspirations for the restoration of the site. It's what many people would consider to be quite a natural looking river or natural looking watercourse. But this really as you can see it's very straight, it's very cut down into into the ground. So we call that incision and that's a product of centuries of draining and of artificial domestication of this watercourse to allow the land around it to be drier, which makes it more kind of productive for forestry.  Adam: So that's not natural?   Sam: No.  Adam: Are you gonna do anything about that? I feel like a teacher, ‘are you going to do anything about that?'!  Sam: *laughs* That that is the plan.  Adam: How how do you change, I mean, the river has cut, therefore quite a a deep edge into the land. What would you be able to do to to change that then?  Sam: Yeah. So a couple of years ago I went out to the Pacific Northwest, Canada, Vancouver Island to see their temperate rainforest and have a look at how old growth sort of ancient temperate rainforests function, but also how they restore them. And they, I asked them to take me to a river that was their best example of a really healthy rainforest river with really good salmon populations with great biodiversity that would have been unaffected by humans. And they took me to a place called Lost Shoe Creek. And and from the bottom of the watercourse where it entered the sea to the head waters, it was, you couldn't see the water. It was absolutely covered in wood, so huge trees that had fallen in, trees bank to bank, pinned against the bank. And what that does is it creates a much more dynamic river system that doesn't go in a straight line, but also holds back a lot of the gravel with the sediment and the silt that in this kind of river is making its way to the ocean. And causing a lot of damage.  Adam: So it's allowing or maybe placing actual dead trees into into the water and we can see one tree's already there, presumably that just naturally fell in.  Sam: That's right. Yeah. So if we left this for 1,000 years, it would fill, it would be effectively be a giant log jam, and we'd start to get a lot of that naturalised process happening. And then you get much more biodiversity because there's more invertebrates in the river, there's more shelter for fish and birds, there's more habitat. But what we're effectively planning on doing is is doing something what people call stage zero restoration, so taking,  accelerating that that thousand-year process and taking it back to a more naturalised river.  Adam: It's such a a spot. I think it's time for a bit of social media video, so I'll film that and you can see that on the Woodland Trust and my sites, and then we'll crack on. Sorry, I know this is really important, but this is an amazing fallen tree over a drystone wall covered in moss, I mean, I just had to stop for a moment. Look, you talked about lichen. I know, I ask you a question then stop you answering it *both laugh*. I love this lichen, it's all on this tree. It is really, really beautiful.  Sam: So this is called seastorm lichen which is one of the few lichens that has actually a romantic sort of English name that isn't Latin.  Adam: Wow. Well, very cool. Whilst you're talking, I'm gonna take a photo. OK. Yeah, go on, seastorm lichen.   Sam: Yeah, and and so a lot of the lichens will, as you can see, grow on the branches where the light is greater. So there's almost a canopy world of biodiversity up there, and what we're doing by increasing the light levels is, is drawing these lichens down to the forest floor by increasing the light levels. But this is a really, really good example of the kind of levels of deadwood we actually want to aspire to. So in, as you can see, in most of the forest, it's completely denuded of deadwood. So we'd be lucky if we get sort of 5 cubic metres of wood per hectare. In the forest of, the temperate rainforests of Canada, they have sort of 600 cubic metres a hectare of deadwood. So you you could barely even move through their forest.  Adam: And that's super, because often people want the deadwood cleared cause you go, ‘oh well it's untidy', but that's a sort of oasis of of biodiversity.  Sam: That's right. It's a whole layer of ecology that we're missing from our forests. And we recently did a study on something called the blue ground beetle, which is a an endemic rare species to temperate rainforests. We didn't know where they went in the day, so we didn't really know anything about them, they're very elusive. They come out at night, walk up the trees, and they reflect the moon off of their blue, kind of shiny carapace. They're our biggest beetle. So we did a study with Exeter University where we put GPS tracking backpacks on them.  Adam: On a beetle?  Sam: On a beetle, to find out where they went. And lo and behold, we found that they were going into these deadwood habitats and so it just it just shone a light on how important increasing deadwood in these forests is for all of those species.  Adam: Amazing. All right. I I do encourage you to follow the Woodland Trust's social media, Insta and all the rest of them and my Bluesky and Twitter or X or whatever it is you wanna do. And I'm now gonna take a photo which hopefully you'll see on any of that social media. So do follow them all. And we're going to take a pause as I pose *laughs*. Right, I'm back from my photographic expedition. Right. So you can answer the question again now about this public debate about access and and what have you. Go on, you lead on whilst we're talking.  Sam: So yeah, Dartmoor is really kind of the centre of gravity for a wider story around public, an increasing demand from the public to access land for wellbeing, recreation, connection to nature, that has been kind of growing here, particularly in this area.  Adam: Right.  Sam: There are, I think we actually sorry, we do need to go that way, I think they've blocked the path.  Adam: OK fair enough.  Sam: We're not having to scramble.  Adam: And I think we're going back to where we came from. Alright. Although that path there looks blocked.   Sam: This one looks good. Yeah.  Adam: Oh OK.  Sam: Go through this end.   Adam: Through the little stone wall. OK. Ruby's following doing social media. Ohh OK. Yeah, sorry, carry on.  Sam: So, I suppose the concern of some people might be that increasing footfall, public access to these really important fragments of temperate rainforest, it could have a damaging effect on the biodiversity here. But the reality is that in order for people to connect with, understand and care about nature, they need to have access to it. And so we need to bring people into these habitats in a sensitive and considered way to educate people about them, but the other key thing is we need to expand these habitats. So we're part of something called the South West Rainforest Alliance. And our goal collectively is to increase the amount of temperate rainforest in Devon and Cornwall, to triple it by 2050.  Adam: OK. I mean that's worth pausing on that for a moment. That's an extraordinary task. I mean it sounds a bit, I have to say I'm a bit sceptical about that, it sounds like you plucked that out the air. How on earth would you get to tripling the cover you've got?  Sam: Well, we think we can do that mostly through buffering existing temporate rainforest, so planting around them which can then make those bigger, better, more connected, but also just by introducing trees into farmed landscapes but not in a way that damages the farming. So agroforestry. But also the inclusion of hedgerows that connect up those fragments and there's been a lot of work that's being done currently in partnership with Plymouth University to model how we would do that effectively.  Adam: And the other thing that strikes me when we talk about ancient woodland, we're talking about, well, we can't create ancient woodlands, the clue's in the name, it's got to be ancient. It is different for temperate rainforests, isn't it? These things which I've heard about are achievable in a relatively short period of time. Is that right?  Sam: That's right. So we think we can create new temperate rainforest within our lifetime. So within a kind of 40-50 year woodland establishment phase and as part of the Rainforest Recovery Project, we have a strand of work that we're calling the temperate rainforest creation trials and that includes long term scientific research to tell us how best we can create rainforest the quickest. So is it doing closed canopy woodlands like this or is it individual trees in farmland? Or is it open space woodlands or maybe even natural regeneration?  Adam: Amazing. We're by the river. Let's move on with our tales from the riverbank. One thing I I wanted to ask you, I arrived here last night. And I met well, an old friend of mine called Chris Salisbury, who runs a local sort of adventure, an ecological company, taking people for adventures in the woods and telling stories and all sorts of really interesting things, and he was telling me two things that he's noted. One is the reintroduction of pine martens which I think is talked about, but also he's seen wild boar in these woods and I've never heard of that. Are those, have have you come across those stories?  Sam: Yes, so we were actually involved in the reintroduction of pine martens last year and that was a partnership between us and Devon Wildlife Trust and various other charities. And and that was a sort of very controlled planned, strategic reintroduction of a species that's been really successful. We've brought the public along with us, and they're now part of that increasingly biodiverse and resilient temperate rainforest landscape.  Adam: Right before we move on to wild boar, just educate me, what is a pine marten? Not sure, not entirely sure I know what one is.  Sam: A pine marten is a mustelid, so it's in the same family as sort of the badger, the stoat, the weasel.   Adam: Right, what's it look like?  Sam: It's it's sort of the size of a small cat, it's brown with a white bib and it looks quite a lot like a weasel, but it's larger, but they're very much arboreal mammals, so they spend most of their time in the trees.  Adam: And were they native to this land?   Sam: Yes they were.  Adam: Hunted out were they?  Sam: Hunted to extinction for their pelts and and things like that. Yeah.  Adam: So you're reintroducing them. How successful has that been?  Sam: That's been really successful. So we've reintroduced 15 animals to Dartmoor last year and we think that that will be enough of a seed population for them to start spreading naturally now.  Adam: OK. And I've heard about what, the reintroduction in other parts of the country of pine martens. Wild boar. A a harder issue I would have thought ‘cause these are quite big beasts?   Sam: Yes.  Adam: Did, did any, presumably the Trust didn't introduce them? No.  Sam: No. So they haven't been, in the same way as pine martens were, formally introduced. There's been more of a sort of natural creep, or in some cases, so there's a term that people use now called ‘beaver bombing', which which people use completely straight faced in a lot of circles now. And that is effectively guerilla reintroduction of species.  Adam: Right. OK. So these are just people who feel that they should be rewilded and just did it without any any authority or talking to the local community they just brought them in?  Sam: Exactly without going through that sort of more defined process.  Adam: And and look, clearly this is not a Woodland Trust policy, so I'm not asking you to defend it, but but the effect of that, I mean, have you noticed anything?  Sam: I think, I mean, it's a huge subject, but I think in general, if you don't bring communities along with you by educating them, by mitigating the effect of a species, it it can damage the movement in in the longer term. The other thing I'd say about boar and those larger sort of herbivores, which would have been a really important part of our ecosystem for diversifying them and keeping that process going, they will really struggle unless we have bigger, better, more connected woodlands that are more natural anyway.  Adam: Right. I understand. So we're just going through talking about this being the rainforest, but it has been amazingly dry in the spring and now you can hear that in the crunchy undergrowth of very dry leaves. You're gonna, I'm I'm an idiot anyway, but I'm concentrating on too many things so I've forgotten the name of the river for the third time *laughs*.  Sam: It's the Webburn.  Adam: The Webburn, why can't I remember the Webburn? All right. We've come down to the Webburn, to the riverbank side. It's beautifully clear this water, isn't it? There I mean it, it's it's wonderful clear. I so want to stand in that and then I'll have wet feet for the rest of the day and the journey back to London. So I'm not going to do that. How much of a threat is this sort of environment under?  Sam: So temperate rainforest once covered about 20% of the UK and they would have clothed our western seaboard which receives that amazing sort of oceanic rainfall and temperature we've been talking about. That's been reduced now to about 2% in the UK.   Adam: OK, from 20 to 2%?  Sam: From 20 to 2, so 90% loss.   Adam: Over what sort of period?  Sam: So we're talking about millennia really. So this is they would have been at their zenith about 5,000, 6,000 years ago during the Bronze Age and that progressive multi-generation story of increasing farming, of draining, of forestry, has led to the fragmentation that we see today. In Devon and Cornwall, we think it would have covered about 75%. That's now been reduced to about 8%. So a similar 90% loss both regionally and nationally.  Adam: And are you optimistic that that's about to change? Are we now seeing a different story?  Sam: I feel really optimistic, but mostly that's because I think we're facing a lot of these holistic problems at the moment around the biodiversity crisis, around climate change, and I think rainforests are an actually incredibly cheap, scalable way of restoring nature, which will help us with the biodiversity crisis, but also protect communities from climate change. By doing some of this rewetting work, by increasing increasing tree cover, we can massively reduce flooding and massively mitigate the effect of drought on our farming and on our communities as it gets worse. We are hoping to raise £2.8 million to help us achieve the goals we have here and and the site will be open once we've achieved that goal towards the end of the year. And people can go to woodlandtrust.org.uk/southwest to find more about that appeal.  Adam: So just repeat that website again so if people want, if they, if you've got your pen or your computer keyboard ready, here is the website to go to.  Sam: Thats woodlandtrust.org.uk/southwest  Adam: And they can learn learn more about it, but also contribute there can they?  Sam: That's right. Yeah. And if they want to learn more about the Rainforest Recovery Project, we are launching a website this week called rainforestrecovery.org.uk.  Adam: So by the time you hear this podcast, all of that will be available to you at the moment I can edit it all together. It is an amazing, amazing site. I am really privileged to be here. What a wonderful place. Sam, thank you very much indeed.  Sam: You're welcome.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you are listening. And do give us a review and a rating. If you want to find out more about our woods and those that are close to you, check out the Woodland Trust website. Just head to the visiting woods pages. Thank you. 

In this special episode, historian Corinne Fowler joins EMPIRE LINES live with visual artist and researcher Ingrid Pollard, linking rural British landscapes, buildings, and houses, to global histories of transatlantic slavery, through their book, Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain (2024).Though integral to national identity in Britain, the countryside is rarely seen as having anything to do with British colonialism. In Our Island Stories, historian Corinne Fowler brings together rural life and colonial rule, through ten country walks with various companions. These journeys combine local and global history, connecting the Cotswolds to Calcutta, Dolgellau to Virginia, and Grasmere to Canton. They also highlight how the British Empire transformed rural lives, whether in Welsh sheep farms or Cornish copper mines, presenting both opportunity and exploitation.Corinne explains how the booming profits of overseas colonial activities directly contributed to enclosure, land clearances, and dispossession in England. They highlight how these histories, usually considered separately, persist in the lives of their descendants and our landscapes today. We explore the two-way flows of colonial plant cultures, as evident in WIlliam Wordsworth's 19th century poems about daffodils, as contemporary works of literature by Chinua Achebe and Grace Nichols.Contemporary artist - and walking companion - Ingrid Pollard shares their research into ferns, seeds, and magic, across Northumberland, the Lake District, and South West England, Ingrid details histories of lacemaking in Devon and Cornwall, and we explore representations of ‘African' and Caribbean flowers in art. Bringing together Ingrid and Corinne's works, installed at the exhibition, Invasion Ecology, at Southcombe Barn on Dartmoor, we also explore their previous collaborations including the project, Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reimagined. Plus, Corinne questions ‘cancel culture' in the British media and academia, drawing on their experiences as Professor of Colonialism and Heritage in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester.Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain by Corinne Fowler is published by Penguin, and available in all good bookshops and online. You can pre-order the paperback, released on 1 May 2025. This episode was recorded live as part of the programme for Invasion Ecology, co-curated by Jelena Sofronijevic for Radical Ecology, and Vashti Cassinelli at Southcombe Barn, an arts space and gardens on Dartmoor. The central group exhibition, featuring Ingrid Pollard, Iman Datoo, Hanna Tuulikki, Ashish Ghadiali, Fern Leigh Albert, and Ashanti Hare, ran from 1 June to 10 August 2024.The wider programme featured anti-colonial talks and workshops with exhibiting artists, writers, researchers, and gardeners, reimagining more empathic connections between humans, plants, animals, and landscapes. For more information, follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Radical Ecology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Southcombe Barn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on social media, and visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠radicalecology.earth/events/invasion-ecology-exhibition⁠⁠⁠⁠.Watch the full video conversation online, via Radical Ecology: https://vimeo.com/995929731And find all the links in the first Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8cyHX2I28You can also listen to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠EMPIRE LINES x Invasion Ecology Spotify playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, for episodes with Paul Gilroy, Lubaina Himid, Johny Pitts, and Imani Jacqueline Brown, plus partners from the University of Exeter, KARST, CAST, and the Eden Project in Cornwall.PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.Follow EMPIRE LINES on Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/empirelinespodcast⁠And Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936⁠Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/empirelines

Zoe Langley-Wathen is a writer, speaker, and adventure seeker who has spent over a decade inspiring others to embrace the outdoors. From solo-walking the South West Coast Path in 2011 to becoming the first woman to walk the Wales Coast Path in 2012, Zoe has continually pushed her boundaries—while navigating the realities of midlife, imposter syndrome, and solo adventures. In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, Zoe shares the journey behind her latest book, 630 Miles Braver: Mid-lifing on the South West Coast Path, which chronicles her transformative experience walking the iconic trail. She opens up about the challenges of writing, the joy of creative expression, and why she's passionate about encouraging midlife women to step outside their comfort zones.  We also dive into her upcoming coastline walk of mainland Great Britain, the logistics of planning such a mammoth adventure, and her mission to prove that adventure has no age limit. Tune in to hear Zoe's incredible story, her insights on bravery, and her advice on making adventure a lifelong pursuit. *** Listen to Zoe on previous episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast  Nov 7, 2017 - Zoe Langley-Wathen - Walking Adventures include the South West Coastal Path, Wales Coast Path  Aug 29, 2019 - Zoe Langley-Wathen - Her love for long distance walking, #100mappydays & Head Right Out   *** Catch the latest episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast, dropping every Tuesday at 7 am UK time! Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women.  Want to play a part in uplifting female representation in the media? Support the Tough Girl Podcast on Patreon! Your generosity helps shine a spotlight on female role models in the world of adventure and physical challenges. Join us in making a positive impact by visiting www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you for your amazing support! *** Show notes Writer, speaker and adventure seeker Walking the SWCP solo in 2011 Becoming the first woman to walk the Wales Coast Path in 2012 Peri-menopause! From living in a house in Dorset to living on a narrow boat Living in Somerset and loving life and adventures Knowing Zoe since 2015  Women's Adventure Expo in Bristol  Speaking to Zoe in 2017 on the Tough Girl Podcast  Starting her own podcast in 2021- Headrighout Speaking to midlife women who are pushing their comfort zone in the outdoors Wanting to promote adventure for midlife women  What happened in 2020 and 2021 The covid years…. Glamping in an empty house for 4 months The Yes Tribe  Saying yes to the book! Being inspired by The Salt Path  5,000 word chapter.. Seeing her words and drawings in print  Being a creative person and loving the creative process The biggest book of YES!  Her writing journey and putting her story down on paper Book: 630 Miles Braver - midlifing on the South West Coast Path Writing every morning  Connecting with the London writers salon  Discussing the book with Mike and reliving the memories  Book get published on the 15th April  25th April 2025 - The Salt Path movie goes live in the UK  Walking from her home in Somerset to Cornwall Saltlines Performance  Going walking solo again in 2024 (after 10 years) Re routing over Dartmoor, crossing flooded rivers and challenging walking! Making new friends and being invited to a wedding!  The next adventure….. Wanting to walk the coast of mainland Great Britain 1st October 2025….. The route and the plan  Walking anticlockwise from Poole Harbour to Brighton to London The rules… Daily distances… going for lower millage days Costs and estimated budget needed for the 2 of them over the 2 years 4 months Renting the house out and paying for the challenge The challenge of Scotland  King Charles 3rd Coastal Path  Snow or midgets - what's the best time of year to be in Scotland  The right to roam in Scotland  John O'Groats Trail  The inlets in Western Scotland… Figuring it out when you get there  Don't let the fear of the unknown stop you from enjoying the adventure  Raising funds for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance   Raising awareness about the positive benefits of adventure for any age Working as an Ambassador for Adventure Mind  Registering for a Guinness World Record How to connect with Zoe & Mike while they are on their adventures  Final words of wisdom and advice  Bravery and taking on new challenges The power of discovering that adventure has no age limit  Finding ways to step outside your comfort zone  Reading and listening to other people doing similar things  The power of writing things down  What do you want to do and how do you feel about it Keep a diary and a record of what you've done  Reflect back on the journey, what would you do again, what would you do differently?   Social Media Website www.headrightout.com  Instagram @headrightout  Facebook @headrightout  Head Right Out Podcast  Book: 630 Miles Braver: Midlifing on the South West Coast Path  Book: Biggest Book of Yes: 49 Short Adventure Stories (The Big Book of Yes 3)   

Hi story lovers! We're off to look for pixies on Dartmoor for this lovely folktale. Dartmoor is a real place and it's very magical! It's situated in the county of Devon, in the west of England. People have inhabited the moorland for about 10,000 years, but the land is ancient, stretching back into the primordial mist. It's an important reserve for rare plants and animals, and of course, PIXIES! Pixies are mischievous sprites, a bit like fairies. They can be trixy but can also be kind to those who respect them. You can find out more about pixies HERE. If you want to know more about mysterious Dartmoor, you can do so HERE. Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!! So hop on over and help to support us.  We really want to keep the podcast going, but we can't do it without your help!!! You can follow us and join us on: Patreon Facebook   Instagram Thanks for listening! Theme Music by Leo Grazebrook on GarageBand Storytelling and singing by Emily Hanna-Grazebrook Bye 'O Baby Lullaby - Traditional American Folksong Produced by Andy Grazebrook Art by Light Creative Sound effects by Zapsplat

This week we're taking a closer look at the rural lives of islanders around our shores. A survey by the Young Islanders Network found the biggest concern for young people in Scotland's islands, is housing – or a lack of it. We speak to people about some of the problems they've faced - and some of the solutions.The Environment Food and Rural Affairs select Committee of MPs has been grilling the farming minister Daniel Zeichner about the repercussions of suspending the Sustainable Farming Incentive, or SFI, which gives payments to farmers for environmental work. Thousands of farmers have already joined, but it was abruptly closed to new applicants on 11th March. Trees are being planted on Dartmoor to help alleviate flooding. A team lead by the National Park Authority is using a method developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki which plants a wide variety of native species close together to encourage rapid tree growth.Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Welcome to episode 61 of the Nurtured by Nature podcast, today I'm delighted to bring you a special bonus episode in support of Podcasthon, a fast-growing non-profit initiative that has united over 1700 podcasters around the world to raise awareness for the charitable cause that are close to our hearts. It's an opportunity to use the podcasting community as a vehicle for social change by amplifying the voices and work of non-profits around the world, being the change we want to see. I make no secret of my love of trees and having had the opportunity to spend time with their team in person, for this special episode I choose to shine a spotlight on the amazing work of the Devon based charity Moor Trees, who are dedicated to recreating native woodland across Dartmoor. I share a brief introduction to some of their incredible work, from collecting seeds from the native trees on Dartmoor to nurturing them into healthy saplings in their community nurseries and then the meticulous planning that goes into preparation the for planting these trees to ensure they will grow into the thriving woodland habitats of tomorrow. Learn More About Moor Trees:Moor Trees is dedicated to recreating native woodland across Dartmoor and surrounding areas. Although our region seems to be well wooded, much of the forest is commercial softwoods, Victorian game plantations and shelter belts. True natural woodland, rich with native birds & butterflies, is rare, mostly found in the steep valley fringes of Dartmoor.We aim to restore native broadleaf woodland by growing trees from locally collected seed in our community tree nurseries, & planting them as new woodland on private & public land.We use the local provenance trees that we grow at our two community tree nurseries in our woodland creation schemes. Each autumn we gather thousands of seeds with the aim of germinating & growing new seedlings. We currently have more than 100,000 growing in our nurseries getting ready for a future in the woodlands of tomorrow.We are regenerating vital woodlands on Dartmoor, including Wiseman's Wood. With your support we can grow local trees and restore habitats. We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary throughout 2025, help do your bit for nature by supporting us to achieve our vision of a wilder more natural Dartmoor.Website: https://moortrees.org/DONATE: https://moortrees.org/support-us/donate/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moortrees.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moor-trees/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moortrees/Podcasthon unites podcasters globally, raising awareness for various charitable causes. If this resonates with you, learn more at  www.podcasthon.org Then, help spread the word.Support the showThank you for being part of this journey with me, please Subscribe so you don't miss our future episodes, leave a review & share with friends to help these messages ripple out across the world. More information about the Podcast & our host Fiona MacKay: Fiona Mackay Photography WebsiteConnect with us & join the conversation on social media:Instagram @FionaMacKayPhotographyFacebook @FionaMacKayPhotographyTwitter @FiMacKay

In April 1977, a family discovered the remains of 15 ponies, all of which had broken bones and were mutilated by unknown assailants. Over the decades, other animals, including sheep, have been mysteriously mutilated in Dartmoor. Some researchers believe extraterrestrials or non-human intelligent creatures are responsible. Also, UFO researcher Stan Gordon reported in his 2022 book, CREEPY CRYPTIDS, of a strange encounter a man and woman had in western Pennsylvania in 2014 with a giant spider. Fearing the giant spider might prove dangerous, the man clubbed the critter with a hefty piece of lumber in an effort to kill it, but the enlarged arachnid instead disappeared into thin air. Finally, a new segment of “Cornfield of Pure Idiocy” is presented.Links/Sources:UFOs – Legendary DartmoorKILLERS on the MOORCREEPY CRYPTIDS by Stan Gordon: https://amzn.to/3FyINv3Support Extraterrestrial Reality/Quirk Zone on Patreon:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/Extraterrestrial_Reality⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out my YouTube channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quirk Zone - YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Extraterrestrial Reality Book Recommendations:Link to ROSWELL: THE ULTIMATE COLD CASE: CLOSED: https://amzn.to/3O2loSILink to COMMUNION by Whitley Strieber: https://amzn.to/3xuPGqiLink to THE THREAT by David M. Jacobs: https://amzn.to/3Lk52njLink to TOP SECRET/MAJIC by Stanton Friedman: https://amzn.to/3xvidfvLink to NEED TO KNOW by Timothy Good:  https://amzn.to/3BNftfTLink to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 1:  https://amzn.to/3xxJvlvLink to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 2: https://amzn.to/3UhdQ1lLink to THE ALLAGASH ABDUCTIONS: https://amzn.to/3qNkLSgUFO CRASH RETRIEVALS by Leonard Stringfield: https://amzn.to/3RGEZKsFLYING SAUCERS FROM OUTER SPACE by Major Donald Keyhoe: https://amzn.to/3S7WkxvCAPTURED: THE BETTY AND BARNEY HILL UFO EXPERIENCE by Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden: https://amzn.to/3tKNVXn

In April 1977, a family discovered the remains of 15 ponies, all of which had broken bones and were mutilated by unknown assailants. Over the decades, other animals, including sheep, have been mysteriously mutilated in Dartmoor. Some researchers believe extraterrestrials or non-human intelligent creatures are responsible. Also, UFO researcher Stan Gordon reported in his 2022 book, CREEPY CRYPTIDS, of a strange encounter a man and woman had in western Pennsylvania in 2014 with a giant spider. Fearing the giant spider might prove dangerous, the man clubbed the critter with a hefty piece of lumber in an effort to kill it, but the enlarged arachnid instead disappeared into thin air. Finally, a new segment of “Cornfield of Pure Idiocy” is presented.Links/Sources:UFOs – Legendary DartmoorKILLERS on the MOORCREEPY CRYPTIDS by Stan Gordon: https://amzn.to/3FyINv3Support Extraterrestrial Reality/Quirk Zone on Patreon:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/Extraterrestrial_Reality⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out my YouTube channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quirk Zone - YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Extraterrestrial Reality Book Recommendations:Link to ROSWELL: THE ULTIMATE COLD CASE: CLOSED: https://amzn.to/3O2loSILink to COMMUNION by Whitley Strieber: https://amzn.to/3xuPGqiLink to THE THREAT by David M. Jacobs: https://amzn.to/3Lk52njLink to TOP SECRET/MAJIC by Stanton Friedman: https://amzn.to/3xvidfvLink to NEED TO KNOW by Timothy Good:  https://amzn.to/3BNftfTLink to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 1:  https://amzn.to/3xxJvlvLink to UFOS AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE, VOLUME 2: https://amzn.to/3UhdQ1lLink to THE ALLAGASH ABDUCTIONS: https://amzn.to/3qNkLSgUFO CRASH RETRIEVALS by Leonard Stringfield: https://amzn.to/3RGEZKsFLYING SAUCERS FROM OUTER SPACE by Major Donald Keyhoe: https://amzn.to/3S7WkxvCAPTURED: THE BETTY AND BARNEY HILL UFO EXPERIENCE by Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden: https://amzn.to/3tKNVXn

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Qatar Airways Crew handled dead body on flight appropriately Gene Hackman What we know about the deaths of the film star and his wife Chris Mason Starmer wins Trump over but uncertainty over Ukraine lingers Lands End lighthouse fog alarm sounding all day, all night Key takeaways from Keir Starmers talks with Donald Trump Lloyds, Halifax and TSB banking apps not working, thousands say The US supermax prison the government hopes will solve UK prison crisis Katy Perry will head to space on Blue Origin all women flight Ive lost 4,500 sheep to thieves on Dartmoor England GPs hope to see more patients after agreeing new deal

Swollen by winter rains, a tiny stream, known as a rill, swarms almost vertically down a cleft in the hillside. As you listen from a bridge above, the stream feels alive, its cleansing sound washing away all weariness. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Sarah Williams, introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

***This episode has been our Jonah and has been cursed from the beginning! We are re-releasing it because the first version had fuzzy audio***Chris and Simon wind up the old gramophone and share some numbers from angelic choirs, the nodding ones beyond the grave, and from the rarely good people in the hollow hill. Sing along with a banshee! Trill to a phantom air from Dartmoor! Rhapsodize over an orca's mermaid song! And shake your tambourine at yellow bats, breeding foxes, Dolly Parton and finger-chewing nereids! Are our listeners in harmony with the Music of the Spheres or are these mysterious melodies something more mundane? Kudos also to our organ player from Ohio and to the poltergeist who follows us through the recording BibliographyParacoustics: Sound & The Paranormal, edited by Steven T. Parson s & Callum E. CooperMusic from Elsewhere, Haunting Tunes From Mythical Beings, Hidden Worlds, and Other Curious Sources, Doug Skinner, 2024. Has music notation. “anomalous music”  including fairy, trow [troh or trouw ow and troll music, Spiritualist music, “music of the sky people”No Earthly Sounds- Faery Music, Song & Verse, John KruseMusic and the paranormal : an encyclopedic dictionaryMelvyn J. Willin (Author)Shaman of Oberstdorf: Chonrad Stoeckhlin and the Phantoms of the NightBy Wolfgang Behringer chapter on unearthly music in the AlpsThe Music of “An Adventure”, Ian Parrott, 1966Barbara Hillers: “Music from the Otherworld: Modern Gaelic Legends about Fairy Music” in Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, Vol. 14 (1994), p59Ríonach Uí Ógáin: “Music Learned from the Fairies” in Béaloideas Bay la Gish 60-61 (1992-3), pp197-214 Chapter on fairy music in The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands & Islands, Alasdair Alpin MacGregor 1937https://archive.org/details/peatfireflamefol00macg/page/30/mode/2up?q=gigha&view=theaterLovely and Mysterious: The Music of Fairyland, Chris Woodyard, Fortean Times October 2014NAD A study of Some Unusual “Other-World” Experiences, D. Scott RogoNAD Vol. 2 A psychic study of the “Music of the Spheres”, D. Scott RogoMusica Trascendentale, E. Bozzano, 1943

This is Clare's 25th year of making Ramblings and one thing she has always enjoyed is walking all year round, in any weather. No matter how windy, how cold or how wet she'll be out recording in the company of an equally weatherproof interviewee. Winter is her favourite season for a stroll and today she's found someone else who feels the same… Richard Shimell's book, Trees in Winter, is about the healing properties of nature and walking especially during the coldest season. When the inclination for so many is to stay indoors, he's out drawing inspiration for his detailed and beautiful lino-cut prints of winter trees. Although his book features many prints of Dartmoor trees, he now lives in Grosmont near Abergavenny in south Wales and this is where he leads Clare for a walk up the hill near his home. The Graig Syfyrddin, or just The Graig, is 423m/1388ft and is on the Three Castles walk. Clare and Richard had a wonderfully clear day with far-reaching views.Find out more about Richard and his book on his website: https://richardshimell.co.ukPresenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor