Podcasts about Lake District

...in which we are joined by broadcaster, author, long-distance walker and former MP for Penrith and the Border, Rory Stewart, to discuss his new book, Middleland – Dispatches from the Borders. In a wide-ranging discussion about the 'lost kingdom of Middleland', Dave chats with Rory about long walks through the Lake District and Borderlands, about the joys of post-walk pub stays (warm socks, a book by the fire), and the meditative pace of multi-day rambles. Moving to farming, Rory raises the alarm over a new era of small farm 'clearance', urges caution over rewilding a heritage landscape, and argues that binary thinking is impeding a subsidy regime that would champion nature-based farming. Grappling with a 'Middleland' identity, we consider why the reality of Cumbria – sparsely populated, mountainous, complex – questions so many assumptions at the heart of modern politics, and learn why we should not lose confidence in our National Parks. Facing our quickfire questions, Rory describes his earliest Cumbrian memory (rescue from a snow-blocked A6 aged four), his fondness for Penrith fudge and his love of Striding Edge. Closing on a note of positivity; Rory reflects on the fact that – despite its challenges – Cumbria remains a place in which tens of thousands of people contribute to a place that brings "a type of joy, meaning and happiness that is elusive elsewhere". Rory's new book, Middleland, is out today.

In this haunting episode of Monday Mailtime, Producer Dom unpacks two unsettling stories where calm waters and seaside air conceal something far more sinister.First, Tom takes us to the tranquil Lake District, where a peaceful boat ride turns eerie when a mysterious patch of ripples, a sudden drop in temperature, and a ghostly sigh suggest someone, or something, beneath the surface hasn't let go of the past.A single wet footprint on the jetty hints at a lingering presence tied to a tragic summer storm from decades ago.Then, Demi recounts a quiet evening stroll along Brighton Pier that spirals into the uncanny.Strange knocking sounds beneath the boards, an unnatural gust of cold air, and the scent of wet rope and smoke all point to a hidden history below the tide.Locals whisper of lost deckhands and sunken structures, but could they still be reaching out from beneath the waves?Two stories.Two bodies of water.One chilling question: what happens when the past refuses to stay submerged?A Create Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Rebanks is a farmer and writer based in the Lake District. His No. 1 bestselling debut, The Shepherd's Life, was translated into sixteen languages. His second book, English Pastoral, was also a Top Ten bestseller and was named the Sunday Times Nature Book of the Year. On this episode of Little Atoms, James talks to Neil Denny about his latest book The Place of Tides. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EP166 Interview With Mark & Simon From Elinchrom UK I sit down with Mark Cheatham and Simon Burfoot from Elinchrom UK to talk about the two words that matter most when you work with light: accuracy and consistency. We dig into flash vs. continuous, shaping light (not just adding it), why reliable gear shortens your workflow, and Elinchrom's new LED 100 C—including evenly filling big softboxes and that handy internal battery. We also wander into AI: threats, tools, and why authenticity still carries the highest value.   Links: Elinchrom UK store/info: https://elinchrom.co.uk/ LED 100 C product page: https://elinchrom.co.uk/elinchrom-led-100-c Rotalux Deep Octa / strips: https://elinchrom.co.uk/elinchrom-rotalux-deep-octabox-100cm-softbox/ My workshop dates: https://masteringportraitphotography.com/workshops-and-mentoring/ Transcript: Paul: as quite a lot of, you know, I've had a love affair with Elinchrom Lighting for the past 20 something years. In fact, I'm sitting with one of the original secondhand lights I bought from the Flash Center 21 years ago in London. And on top of that, you couldn't ask for a nicer set of guys in the UK to deal with. So I'm sitting here about to talk to Simon and Mark from Elinchrom uk. I'm Paul and this is the Mastering Portrait Photography podcast. Paul: So before we get any further, tell me a little bit about who you are, each of you and the team from Elinchrom UK Mark: After you, Simon. Simon: Thank you very much, mark. Mark: That's fine. Simon: I'm, Simon Burfoot. I have, been in the industry now for longer than I care to think. 35 years almost to the, to the day. Always been in the industry even before I left school because my father was a photographer and a lighting tutor, working for various manufacturers I was always into photography, and when he started the whole lighting journey. I got on it with him, and was learning from a very young age. Did my first wedding at 16 years old. Had a Saturday job which turned into a full-time job in a retail camera shop. By the time I was 18, I was managing my own camera shop, in a little town in the Cotswolds called Cirencester. My dad always told me that to be a photographic rep in the industry, you needed to see it from all angles, to get the experience. So I ended up, working in retail, moving over to a framing company. Finishing off in a prolab, hand printing, wedding photographers pictures, processing E6 and C41, hand correcting big prints for framing for, for customers, which was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. And then ended up working for a company called Leeds Photo Visual, I was a Southwest sales guy for them. Then I moved to KJP before it became, what we know now as Wex, and got all of the customers back that I'd stolen for them for Leeds. And then really sort of started my career progressing through, and then started to work with Elinchrom, on the lighting side. Used Elinchrom way before I started working with them. I like you a bit of a love affair. I'd used lots of different lights and, just loved the quality of the light that the Elinchrom system produced. And that's down to a number of factors that I could bore you with, but it's the quality of the gear, the consistency in terms of color, and exposure. Shooting film was very important to have that consistency because we didn't have Photoshop to help us out afterwards. It was a learning journey, but I, I hit my goal after being a wedding photographer and a portrait photographer in my spare time, working towards getting out on the road, meeting people and being involved in the industry, which I love. And I think it's something that I'm scared of leaving 'cause I dunno anything else. It's a wonderful industry. It has its quirks, its, downfalls at points, but actually it's a really good group of people and everyone kind of, gets on and we all love working with each other. So we're friends rather than colleagues. Paul: I hesitate to ask, given the length of that answer, to cut Simon: You did ask. Mark: I know. Paul: a short story Mark: was wondering if I was gonna get a go. Paul: I was waiting to get to end into the podcast and I was about to sign off. Mark: So, hi Mark Cheatham, sales director for Elinchrom uk this is where it gets a little bit scary because me and Simon have probably known each other for 10 years, yet our journeys in the industry are remarkably similar. I went to college, did photography, left college, went to work at commercial photographers and hand printers. I was a hand printer, mainly black and white, anything from six by four to eight foot by four foot panels, which are horrible when you're deving in a dish. But we did it. Paul: To the generation now, deving in a dish doesn't mean anything. Simon: No, it doesn't. Mark: And, and when you're doing a eight foot by four foot print and you've got it, you're wearing most of the chemistry. You went home stinking every night. I was working in retail. As a Saturday lad and then got promoted from the Saturday lad to the manager and went to run a camera shop in a little town in the Lake District called Kendall. I stayed there for nine years. I left there, went on the road working for a brand called Olympus, where I did 10 years, I moved to Pentax, which became Rico Pentax. I did 10 years there. I've been in the industry all my life. Like Simon, I love the industry. I did go out the industry for 18 months where I went into the wonderful world of high end commercial vr, selling to blue light military, that sort of thing. And then came back. One of the, original members of Elinchrom uk. I don't do as much photography as Simon I take photos every day, probably too many looking at my Apple storage. I do shoot and I like shooting now and again, but I'm not a constant shooter like you guys i'm not a professional shooter, but when you spent 30 odd years in the industry, and part of that, I basically run the, the medium format business for Pentax. So 645D, 645Z. Yeah, it was a great time. I love the industry and, everything about it. So, yeah, that's it Paul: Obviously both of you at some point put your heads together and decided Elinchrom UK was the future. What triggered that and why do you think gimme your sales pitch for Elinchrom for a moment and then we can discuss the various merits. Simon: The sales pitch for Elinchrom is fairly straightforward. It's a nice, affordable system that does exactly what most photographers would like. We sell a lot of our modifiers, so soft boxes and things like that to other users, of Prophoto, Broncolor. Anybody else? Because actually the quality of the light that comes out the front of our diffusion material and our specular surfaces on the soft boxes is, is a lot, lot more superior than, than most. A lot more superior. A lot more Mark: A lot more superior. Paul: more superior. Simon: I'm trying to Paul: Superior. Simon: It's superior. And I think Paul, you'll agree, Paul: it's a lot more, Simon: You've used different manufacturers over the years and, I think the quality of light speaks for itself. As a photographer I want consistency. Beautiful light and the effects that the Elinchrom system gives me, I've tried other soft boxes. If you want a big contrasty, not so kind light, then use a cheaper soft box. If I've got a big tattoo guy full of piercings you're gonna put some contrasty light to create some ambience. Maybe the system for that isn't good enough, but for your standard portrait photographer in a studio, I don't think you can beat the light. Mark: I think the two key words for Elinchrom products are accuracy and consistency. And that's what, as a portrait photographer, you should be striving for, you don't want your equipment to lengthen your workflow or make your job harder in post-production. If you're using Elinchrom lights with Elinchrom soft boxes or Elinchrom modifiers, you know that you're gonna get accuracy and consistency. Which generally makes your job easier. Paul: I think there's a bit that neither of you, I don't think you've quite covered, and it's the bit of the puzzle that makes you want to use whatever is the tool of your trade. I mean, I worked with musicians, I grew up around orchestras. Watching people who utterly adore the instrument that's in their hand. It makes 'em wanna play it. If you own the instrument that you love to play, whether it's a drum kit a trumpet a violin or a piano, you will play it and get the very best out of your talent with it. It's just a joy to pick it up and use it for all the little tiny things I think it's the bit you've missed in your descriptions of it is the utter passion that people that use it have for it. Mark: I think one of the things I learned from my time in retail, which was obviously going back, a long way, even before digital cameras One of the things I learned from retail, I was in retail long before digital cameras, retail was a busier time. People would come and genuinely ask for advice. So yes, someone would come in and what's the best camera for this? Or what's the best camera for that? Honestly there is still no answer to that. All the kit was good then all the kit is good now. You might get four or five different SLRs out. And the one they'd pick at the end was the one that they felt most comfortable with and had the best connection with. When you are using something every day, every other day, however it might be, it becomes part of you. I'm a F1 fan, if you love the world of F1, you know that an F1 car, the driver doesn't sit in an F1 car, they become part of the F1 car. When you are using the same equipment day in, day out, you don't have to think about what button to press, what dial to to turn. You do it. And that, I think that's the difference between using something you genuinely love and get on with and using something because that's what you've got. And maybe that's a difference you genuinely love and get on with Elinchrom lights. So yes, they're given amazing output and I know there's, little things that you'd love to see improved on them, but that's not the light output. Paul: But the thing is, I mean, I've never, I've never heard the F1 analogy, but it's not a bad one. When you talk about these drivers and their cars and you are right, they're sort of symbiotic, so let's talk a little bit about why we use flash. So from the photographers listening who are just setting out, and that's an awful lot of our audience. I think broadly speaking, there are two roads or three roads, if you include available light if you're a portrait photographer. So there's available light. There's continuous light, and then there's strobes flash or whatever you wanna call it. Of course, there's, hybrid modeling and all sorts of things, but those are broadly the three ways that you're gonna light your scene or your subject. Why flash? What is it about that instantaneous pulse of light from a xenon tube that so appealing to photographers? Simon: I think there's a few reasons. The available light is lovely if you can control it, and by that I mean knowing how to use your camera, and control the ambient light. My experience of using available light, if you do it wrong, it can be quite flat and uninteresting. If you've got a bright, hot, sunny day, it can be harder to control than if it's a nice overcast day. But then the overcast day will provide you with some nice soft, flat lighting. Continuous light is obviously got its uses and there's a lot of people out there using it because what they see is what they get. The way I look at continuous light is you are adding to the ambient light, adding more daylight to the daylight you've already got, which isn't a problem, but you need to control that light onto the subject to make the subject look more interesting. So a no shadow, a chin shadow to show that that subject is three dimensional. There are very big limitations with LED because generally it's very unshapable. By that I mean the light is a very linear light. Light travels in straight lines anyway, but with a flash, we can shape the light, and that's why there's different shapes and sizes of modifiers, but it's very difficult to shape correctly -an LED array, the flash for me, gives me creativity. So with my flash, I get a sharper image to start with. I can put the shadows and the light exactly where I want and use the edge of a massive soft box, rather than the center if I'm using a flash gun or a constant light. It allows me to choose how much or how little contrast I put through that light, to create different dynamics in the image. It allows me to be more creative. I can kill the ambient light with flash rather than adding to it. I can change how much ambient I bring into my flash exposure. I've got a lot more control, and I'm not talking about TTL, I'm talking about full manual control of using the modifier, the flash, and me telling the camera what I want it to do, rather than the camera telling me what it thinks is right. Which generally 99% of the time is wrong. It's given me a beautiful, average exposure, but if I wanted to kill the sun behind the subject, well it's not gonna do that. It's gonna give me an average of everything. Whereas Flash will just give me that extra opportunity to be a lot more creative and have a lot more control over my picture. I've got quite a big saying in my workshops. I think a decent flash image is an image where it looks like flash wasn't used. As a flash photographer, Paul, I expect you probably agree with me, anyone can take a flash image. The control of light is important because anybody can light an image, but to light the subject within the image and control the environmental constraints, is the key to it and the most technical part of it. Mark: You've got to take your camera off P for professional to do that. You've got to turn it off p for professional and get it in manual mode. And that gives you the control Paul: Well, you say that, We have to at some point. Address the fact that AI is not just coming, it's sitting here in our studios all the time, and we are only a heartbeat away from P for professional, meaning AI analyzed and creating magic. I don't doubt for a minute. I mean, right now you're right, but not Mark: Well, at some point it will be integrated into the camera Paul: Of course it will. Mark: If you use an iPhone or any other phone, you know, we are using AI as phone photographers, your snapshots. You take your kids, your dogs, whatever they are highly modified images. Paul: Yeah. But in a lot of the modern cameras, there's AI behind the scenes, for instance, on the focusing Mark: Yeah. Paul: While we've, we are on that, we were on that thread. Let's put us back on that thread for a second. What's coming down the line with, all lighting and camera craft with ai. What are you guys seeing that maybe we're not Simon: in terms of flash technology or light technology? Paul: Alright. I mean, so I mean there's, I guess there's two angles, isn't there? What are the lights gonna do that use ai? What are the controllers gonna do, that uses ai, but more importantly, how will it hold its own in a world where I can hit a button and say, I want rebrand lighting on that face. I can do that today. Mark: Yeah. Simon: I'm not sure the lighting industry is anywhere near producing anything that is gonna give what a piece of software can give, because there's a lot more factors involved. There's what size light it is, what position that light is in, how high that light is, how low that light is. And I think the software we've all heard and played with Evoto we were talking about earlier, I was very skeptical and dubious about it to start with as everybody would be. I'm a Photoshop Lightroom user, have been for, many years. And I did some editing, in EEvoto with my five free credits to start with, three edits in, I bought some credits because I thought, actually this is very, very good. I'll never use it for lighting i'd like to think I can get that right myself. However, if somebody gives you a, a very flat image of a family outside and say, well, could you make this better for me? Well, guess what? I can do whatever you like to it. Is it gonna attack the photographer that's trying to earn a living? I think there's always a need for people to take real photographs and family photographs. I think as photographers, we need to embrace it as an aid to speed up our workflow. I don't think it will fully take over the art of photography because it's a different thing. It's not your work. It's a computer generated AI piece of work in my head. Therefore, who's responsible for that image? Who owns the copyright to that image? We deal with photographers all the time who literally point a camera, take a picture and spend three hours editing it and tell everyone that, look at this. The software's really good and it's made you look good. I think AI is capable of doing that to an extent. In five years time, we'll look back at Evoto today and what it's producing and we'll think cracky. That was awful. It's like when you watch a high definition movie from the late 1990s, you look at it and it was amazing at the time, but you look at it now and you think, crikey, look at the quality of it. I dunno if we're that far ahead where we won't get to that point. The quality is there. I mean, how much better can you go than 4K, eight K minus, all that kind of stuff. I'm unsure, but I don't think the AI side of it. Is applicable to flash at this moment in time? I don't know. Mark: I think you're right. To look at the whole, photography in general. If you are a social photographer, family photographer, whatever it might be, you are genuinely capturing that moment in time that can't be replaced. If you are a product photographer, that's a different matter. I think there's more of a threat. I think I might be right in saying. I was looking, I think I saw it on, LinkedIn. There is a fashion brand in the UK at the moment that their entire catalog of clothing has been shot without models. When you look at it on the website, there's models in it. They shoot the clothing on mannequins and then everything else is AI generated they've been developing their own AI platform now for a number of years. Does the person care Who's buying a dress for 30 quid? Probably not, but if you are photographing somebody's wedding, graduation, some, you know, a genuine moment in someone's life, I think it'd be really wrong to use any sort of AI other than a little bit of post-production, which we know is now quite standard for many people in the industry. Paul: Yeah, the curiosity for me is I suspect as an industry, Guess just released a full AI model advert in, Vogue. Declared as AI generated an ai agency created it. Everything about it is ai. There's no real photography involved except in the learning side of it. And that's a logical extension of the fact we've been Photoshopping to such a degree that the end product no longer related to the input. And we've been doing that 25 years. I started on Photoshop version one, whatever that was, 30 years More than 33. So we've kind of worked our way into a corner where the only way out of it is to continue. There's no backtracking now. Mark: Yeah. Paul: I think the damage to the industry though, or the worry for the industry, I think you're both right. I think if you can feel it, touch it, be there, there will always be that importance. In fact, the provenance of authenticity. Is the high value ticket item now, Simon: Mm-hmm. Paul: because you, everything else is synthetic, you can trust nothing. We are literally probably months away from 90% of social media being generated by ai. AI is both the consumer and the generator of almost everything online Mark: Absolutely. Paul: Goodness knows where we go. You certainly can't trust anything you read. You can't trust anything you see, so authenticity, face-to-face will become, I think a high value item. Yeah. Mark: Yeah. Paul: I think one problem for us as an industry in terms of what the damage might be is that all those people that photograph nameless products or create books, you know, use photography and then compositing for, let's say a novel that's gone, stock libraries that's gone because they're faceless. Simon: Mm-hmm. Paul: there doesn't have to be authentic. A designer can type in half a dozen keywords. Into an AI engine and get what he needs. If he doesn't get what he needs, he does it again. All of those photographers who currently own Kit are gonna look around with what do we do now? And so for those of us who specialize in weddings and portraits and family events, our market stands every chance of being diluted, which has the knock on effect of all of us having to keep an eye on AI to stay ahead of all competitors, which has the next knock on effect, that we're all gonna lean into ai, which begs the question, what happens after Because that's what happened in the Photoshop world. You know, I'm kind of, I mean, genuinely cur, and this will be a running theme on the podcast forever, is kind of prodding it and taking barometer readings as to where are we going? Mark: Yeah. I mean, who's more at threat at the moment from this technology? Is it the photographer or is it the retouch? You know, we do forget that there are retouchers That is their, they're not photographers. Paul: I don't forget. They email me 3, 4, 5 times a day. Mark: a Simon: day, Mark: You know, a highly skilled retouch isn't cheap. They've honed their craft for many years using whatever software product they prefer to use. I think they're the ones at risk now more so than the photographer. And I think we sort of lose sight of that. Looking at it from a photographer's point of view, there is a whole industry behind photography that actually is being affected more so than you guys at the moment. Simon: Mm-hmm. Paul: Yeah, I think there's truth in that, but. It's not really important. Of course, it's really important to all of those people, but this is the digital revolution that we went through as film photographers, and probably what the Daguerreotype generators went through when Fox Tolbert invented the first transfer. Negative. You know, they are, there are always these epochs in our industry and it wipes out entire skillset. You know, I mean, when we went to digital before then, like you, I could dev in a tank. Yeah. You know, and really liked it. I like I see, I suspect I just like the solitude, Mark: the dark, Paul: red light in the dark Mark: yeah. Paul: Nobody will come in. Not now. Go away. Yeah. All that kind of stuff. But of course those skills have gone, has as, have access to the equipment. I think we're there again, this feels like to me a huge transition in the industry and for those who want to keep up, AI is the keeping up whether you like it or not. Mark: Yeah. And if you don't like it, we've seen it, we're in the middle of a massive resurgence in film photography, which is great for the industry, great for the retail industry, great for the film manufacturers, chemical manufacturers, everything. You know, simon, myself, you, you, we, we, our earliest photography, whether we were shooting with flash, natural light, we were film shooters and that planes back. And what digital did, from a camera point of view, is make it easier and more accessible for less skilled people. But it's true. You know, if you shot with a digital camera now that's got a dynamic range of 15 stops, you actually don't even need to have your exposure, that accurate Go and shoot with a slide film that's got dynamic range of less than one stop and see how good you are. It has made it easier. The technology, it will always make it. Easier, but it opens up new doors, it opens up new avenues to skilled people as well as unskilled people. If you want, I'm using the word unskilled again, I'm not being, a blanket phrase, but it's true. You can pick up a digital camera now and get results that same person shooting with a slide film 20 years ago would not get add software to that post-production, everything else. It's an industry that we've seen so many changes in over the 30 odd years that we've been in it, Simon: been Mark: continue Simon: at times. It exciting Mark: The dawn of digital photography to the masses. was amazing. I was working for Olympus at the time when digital really took off and for Olympus it was amazing. They made some amazing products. We did quite well out of it and people started enjoying photography that maybe hadn't enjoyed photography before. You know, people might laugh at, you know, you, you, you're at a wedding, you're shooting a really nice wedding pool and there's always a couple of guests there which have got equipment as good as yours. Better, better than yours. Yeah. Got Simon: jobs and they can afford it. Mark: They've got proper jobs. Their pitches aren't going to be as good as yours. They're the ones laughing at everyone shooting on their phone because they've spent six grand on their new. Camera. But if shooting on a phone gets people into photography and then next year they buy a camera and two years later they upgrade their camera and it gets them into the hobby of photography? That's great for everyone. Hobbyists are as essential, as professional photographers to the industry. In fact, to keep the manufacturers going, probably more so Simon: the hobbyists are a massive part. Even if they go out and spend six or seven or 8,000 pounds on a camera because they think it's gonna make them a better photographer. Who knows in two years time with the AI side, maybe it will. That old saying, Hey Mr, that's a nice camera. I bet it takes great pictures, may become true. We have people on the lighting courses, the workshops we run, the people I train and they're asking me, okay, what sessions are we gonna use? And I'm saying, okay, well we're gonna be a hundred ISO at 125th, F 5.6. Okay, well if I point my camera at the subject, it's telling me, yeah, but you need to put it onto manual. And you see the color drain out their faces. You've got a 6,000 pound camera and you've never taken it off 'P'. Mark: True story. Simon: And we see this all the time. It's like the whole TTL strobe manual flash system. The camera's telling you what it wants to show you, but that maybe is not what you want. There are people out there that will spend a fortune on equipment but actually you could take just as good a picture with a much smaller, cheaper device with an nice bit of glass on the front if you know what you're doing. And that goes back to what Mark was saying about shooting film and slide film and digital today. Paul: I, mean, you know, I don't want this to be an echo chamber, and so what I am really interested in though, is the way that AI will change what flash photography does. I'm curious as to where we are headed in that, specific vertical. How is AI going to help and influence our ability to create great lip photography using flash? Mark: I think, Paul: I love the fact the two guys side and looked at each other. Mark: I, Simon: it's a difficult question to answer. Mark: physical light, Simon: is a difficult question to answer because if you're Mark: talking about the physical delivery of light. Simon: Not gonna change. Mark: Now, The only thing I can even compare it to, if you think about how the light is delivered, is what's the nearest thing? What's gotta change? Modern headlamps on cars, going back to cars again, you know, a modern car are using these LED arrays and they will switch on and switch off different LEDs depending on the conditions in front of them. Anti dazzle, all this sort of stuff. You know, the modern expensive headlamp is an amazing technical piece of kit. It's not just one ball, but it's hundreds in some cases of little arrays. Will that come into flash? I don't know. Will you just be able to put a soft box in front of someone and it will shape the light in the future using a massive array. Right? I dunno it, Simon: there's been many companies tested these arrays, in terms of LED Flash, And I think to be honest, that's probably the nearest it's gonna get to an AI point of view is this LED Flash. Now there's an argument to say, what is flash if I walk into a living room and flick the light on, on off really quickly, is that a flash? Mark: No, that's a folock in Paul: me Mark: turn, big lights off. Paul: Yeah. Mark: So Simon: it, you, you might be able to get these arrays to flush on and off. But LED technology, in terms of how it works, it's quite slow. It's a diode, it takes a while for it to get to its correct brightness and it takes a while for it to turn off. To try and get an LED. To work as a flash. It, it's not an explosion in a gas field tube. It's a a, a lighter emitting diode that is, is coming on and turning off again. Will AI help that? Due to the nature of its design, I don't think it can. Mark: Me and s aren't invented an AI flash anytime soon by the looks of, we're Simon: it's very secret. Mark: We're just putting everyone off Paul, Simon: It's alright. Mark: just so they don't think Simon: Yeah, Mark: Oh, it's gonna be too much hard work and we'll sort it. Paul: It's definitely coming. I don't doubt for a minute that this is all coming because there's no one not looking at anything Simon: that makes perfect sense. Paul: Right now there's an explosion of invention because everybody's trying to find an angle on everything. Simon: Mm-hmm. Paul: The guys I feel the most for are the guys who spent millions, , on these big LED film backdrop walls. Simon: Yep. Mark: So you can Paul: a car onto a flight sim, rack, and then film the whole lot in front of an LED wall. Well, it was great. And there was a market for people filming those backdrops, and now of course that's all AI generated in the LED, but that's only today's technology. Tomorrow's is, you don't need the LED wall. That's here today. VEO3 and Flow already, I mean, I had to play with one the other day for one of our lighting diagrams and it animated the whole thing. Absolute genius. Simon: Mm-hmm. Paul: I still generated the original diagram. Mark: Yeah, Paul: Yeah, that's useful. There's some skill in there still for now, but, you gotta face the music that anything that isn't, I can touch it and prod it. AI's gonna do it. Mark: Absolutely. If you've ever seen the series Mandalorian go and watch the making of the Mandalorian and they are using those big LED walls, that is their backdrop. Yeah. And it's amazing how fast they shift from, you know, they can, they don't need to build a set. Yeah. They shift from scene to scene. Paul: Well, aI is now building the scenes. But tomorrow they won't need the LED wall. 'cause AI will put it in behind the actors. Mark: Yeah. Say after Paul: that you won't need the actors because they're being forced to sign away the rights so that AI can be used. And even those that are standing their ground and saying no, well, the actors saying Yes. Are the ones being hired. You know, in the end, AI is gonna touch all of it. And so I mean, it's things like, imagine walking into a studio. Let's ignore the LED thing for a minute, by the way, that's a temporary argument, Simon: I know you're talking about. Paul: about today's, Simon: You're about the. Mark: days Paul: LEDs, Simon: we're in, We're in very, very interesting times and. I'm excited for the future. I'm excited for the new generation of photographers that are coming in to see how they work with what happens. We've gone from fully analog to me selling IMACON drum scanners that were digitizing negatives and all the five four sheet almost a shoot of properties for an estate agent were all digitized on an hassle blood scanner. And then the digital camera comes out and you start using it. It was a Kodak camera, I think the first SLRI used, Paul: Yeah. Simon: and you get the results back and you think, oh my God, it looks like it's come out of a practica MTL five B. Mark: But Simon: then suddenly the technology just changes and changes and changes and suddenly it's running away with itself and where we are today. I mean, I, I didn't like digital to start with. It was too. It was too digital. It was too sharp. It didn't have the feel of film, but do you know what? We get used to it and the files that my digital mirrorless camera provide now and my Fuji GFX medium format are absolutely stunning. But the first thing I do is turn the sharpness down because they are generally over sharp. For a lovely, beautifully lit portrait or whatever that anybody takes, it just needs knocking back a bit. We were speaking about this earlier, I did some comparison edits from what I'd done manually in Photoshop to the Evoto. Do you know what the pre-selected edits are? Great. If you not the slider back from 10 to about six, you're there or thereabouts? More is not always good. Mark: I think when it comes to imagery in our daily lives, the one thing that drives what we expect to see is TV and most people's TVs, everything's turned up to a hundred. The color, the contrast, that was a bit of a shock originally from the film to digital, crossover. Everything went from being relatively natural to way over the top Just getting back to AI and how it's gonna affect people like you and people that we work with day to day. I don't think we should be worried about that. We should be worried about the images we see on the news, not what we're seeing, hanging on people's walls and how they're gonna be affected by ai. That generally does affect everyone's daily life. Paul: Yeah, Mark: Yeah. But what Paul: people now ask me, for instance, I've photographed a couple head shots yesterday, and the one person had not ironed her blouse. And her first question was, can we sort that out in post? So this is the knock on effect people are becoming aware of what's possible. What's that? Nothing. Know, and the, the smooth clothing button in Evoto will get me quite a long way down that road and saves somebody picking up an eye and randomly, it's not me, it's now actually more work for me 'cause I shouldn't have to do it. But, you know, this is my point about the knock on effect. Our worlds are different. So I didn't really intend this to be just a great sort of circular conversation about AI cars and, future technology. It was more, I dunno, we ended up down there anyway. Simon: We went down a rabbit hole. Mark: A Paul: rabbit hole. Yeah Mark: was quite an interesting one. Simon: And I'm sorry if you've wasted your entire journey to work and we Paul: Yeah. Simon: Alright. It wasn't intended to be like that. Paul: I think it's a debate that we need to be having and there needs to be more discussion about it. Certainly for anybody that has a voice in the industry and people are listening to it because right now it might be a toddler of a technology, but it's growing faster than people realize. There is now a point in the written word online where AI is generating more than real people are generating, and AI is learning that. So AI is reading its own output. That's now beginning to happen in imagery and film and music. Simon: Well, even in Google results, you type in anything to a Google search bar. When it comes back to the results, the first section at the top is the AI generated version. And you know what, it's generally Paul: Yep. Simon: good and Paul: turn off all the rest of it now. So it's only ai. Simon: Not quite brave enough for that yet. No, not me. Mark: In terms Paul: of SEO for instance, you now need to tune it for large language models. You need to be giving. Google the LLM information you want it to learn so that you become part of that section on a website. And it, you know, this is where we are and it's happening at such a speed, every day I am learning something new about something else that's arriving. And I think TV and film is probably slightly ahead of the photography industry Mark: Yeah. Paul: The pressures on the costs are so big, Simon: Yes. Paul: Whereas the cost differential, I'm predicting our costs will actually go up, not down. Whereas in TV and film, the cost will come down dramatically. Mark: Absolutely. Simon: They are a horrifically high level anyway. That's Paul: I'm not disputing that, but I watched a demo of some new stuff online recently and they had a talking head and they literally typed in relight that with a kiss light here, hairlight there, Rembrandt variation on the front. And they did it off a flat picture and they can move the lights around as if you are moving lights. Yes. And that's there today. So that's coming our way too. And I still think the people who understand how to see light will have an advantage because you'll know when you've typed these words in that you've got it about right. It doesn't change the fact that it's going to be increasingly synthetic. The moment in the middle of it is real. We may well be asked to relight things, re clothe things that's already happening. Simon: Yeah. Paul: We get, can you just fill in my hairline? That's a fairly common one. Just removing a mole. Or removing two inches round a waist. This, we've been doing that forever. Simon: Mm-hmm. Paul: And so now it'll be done with keyword generation rather than, photoshop necessarily. Simon: I think you'll always have the people that embrace this, we can't ignore it as you rightly say. It's not going away. It's gonna get bigger, it's gonna feature more in our lives. I think there's gonna be three sets of people. It's gonna be the people like us generally on a daily basis. We're photographers or we're artists. We enjoy what we do. I enjoy correctly lighting somebody with the correct modifier properties to match light quality to get the best look and feel and the ambience of that image. And I enjoy the process of putting that together and then seeing the end result afterwards. I suppose that makes me an artist in, in, in loose terms. I think, you know, as, as, as a photographer, we are artists. You've then got another generation that are finding shortcuts. They're doing some of the job with their camera. They're making their image from an AI point of view. Does that make up an artist? I suppose it still does because they're creating their own art, but they have no interest 'cause they have no enjoyment in making that picture as good as it can be before you even hit the shutter. And then I think you've got other people, and us to an extent where you do what you need to do, you enjoy the process, you look at the images, and then you just finely tune it with a bit of AI or Photoshop retouching so I think there are different sets of people that will use AI to their advantage or completely ignore it. Mark: Yeah. I think you're right. And I think it comes down, I'm going to use another analogy here, you, you know, let's say you enjoy cooking. If you enjoy cooking, you're creating something. What's the alternative? You get a microwave meal. Well, Paul Simon: and Sarah do. Mark: No. Paul: Sarah does. Simon: We can't afford waitress. Mark: You might spend months creating your perfect risotto. You've got it right. You love it. Everyone else loves it. You share it around all your friends. Brilliant. Or you go to Waitrose, you buy one, put it three minutes in the microwave and it's done. That's yer AI I Imagery, isn't it? It's a microwave meal. Paul: There's a lot of microwave meals out there. And not that many people cook their own stuff and certainly not as many as used to. And there's a lesson. Simon: Is, Mark: but also, Simon: things have become easier Mark: there Simon: you go. Mark: I think what we also forget in the photographic industry and take the industry as a whole, and this is something I've experienced in the, in the working for manufacturers in that photography itself is, is a, is a huge hobby. There's lots of hobbyist photographers, but there's actually more people that do photography as part of another hobby, birdwatching, aviation, all that sort of thing. Anything, you know, the photography isn't the hobby, it's the birds that are the hobby, but they take photographs of, it's the planes that are the hobby, but they take photographs. They're the ones that actually keep the industry going and then they expand into other industries. They come on one of our workshops. You know, that's something that we're still and Simon still Absolutely. And yourself, educating photographers to do it right, to practice using the gear the right way, but the theory of it and getting it right. If anything that brings more people into wanting to learn to cook better, Paul: you Mark: have more chefs rather than people using microwave meals. Education's just so important. And when it comes to lighting, I wasn't competent in using flash. I'm still not, but having sat through Simon's course and other people's courses now for hundreds of times, I can light a scene sometimes, people are still gonna be hungry for education. I think some wills, some won't. If you wanna go and get that microwave risotto go and microwave u risotto. But there's always gonna be people that wanna learn how to do it properly, wanna learn from scratch, wanna learn the art of it. Creators and in a creative industry, we've got to embrace those people and bring more people into it and ensure there's more people on that journey of learning and upskilling and trying to do it properly. Um, and yes, if they use whatever technology at whatever stage in their journey, if they're getting enjoyment from it, what's it matter? Paul: Excellent. Mark: What a fine Paul: concluding statement. If they got enjoyment outta it. Yeah. Whatever. Excellent. Thank you, Mark, for your summing up. Simon: In conclusion, Paul: did that just come out your nose? What on earth. Mark: What Paul: what you can't see, dear Listener is the fact that Mark just spat his water everywhere, laughing at Si. It's been an interesting podcast. Anyway, I'm gonna drag this back onto topic for fear of it dissolving into three blokes having a pint. Mark: I think we should go for one. Simon: I think, Paul: I think we should know as well. Having said that with this conversation, maybe not. I was gonna ask you a little bit about, 'cause we've talked about strobes and the beauty of strobes, but of course Elinchrom still is more than that, and you've just launched a new LED light, so I know you like Strobe Simon. Now talk about the continuous light that also Elinchrom is producing. Simon: We have launched the Elinchrom LED 100 C. Those familiar with our Elinchrom One and Three OCF camera Flash system. It's basically a smaller unit, but still uses the OCF adapter. Elinchrom have put a lot of time into this. They've been looking at LED technology for many years, and I've been to the factory in Switzerland and seen different LED arrays being tested. The problem we had with LEDs is every single LED was different and put out a different color temperature. We're now manufacturing LEDs in batches, where they can all be matched. They all come from the same serial number batch. And the different colors of LED as well, 15 years ago, blue LEDs weren't even possible. You couldn't make a blue LED every other color, but not blue for some unknown reason. They've got the colors right now, they've got full RGB spectrum, which is perfectly accurate a 95 or 97 CRI index light. It's a true hundred watts, of light as well. From tosin through to past daylight and fully controllable like the CRO flash system in very accurate nth degrees. The LED array in the front of the, the LEDA hundred is one of the first shapeable, fully shapeable, LED arrays that I've come across and I've looked at lots. By shapeable, I mean you put it into a soft box, of any size and it's not gonna give you a hotspot in the middle, or it's not gonna light the first 12 inches of the middle of the soft box and leave the rest dark. I remember when we got the first LD and Mark got it before me And he said, I've put it onto a 70 centimeter soft box. And he said, I've taken a picture to the front. Look at this. And it was perfectly even from edge to edge. When I got it, I stuck it onto a 1 3 5 centimeter soft box and did the same and was absolutely blown away by how even it was from edge to edge. When I got my light meter out, if you remember what one of those is, uh, it, uh, it gave me a third of a stop different from the center to the outside edge. Now for an LED, that's brilliant. I mean, that's decent for a flash, but for an LED it's generally unheard of. So you can make the LED as big as you like. It's got all the special effects that some of the cheaper Chinese ones have got because people use that kind of thing. Apparently I have no idea what for. But it sits on its own in a market where there are very cheap and cheerful LEDs, that kind of do a job. And very expensive high-end LEDs that do a completely different job for the photographer that's gone hybrid and does a bit of shooting, but does a bit of video work. So, going into a solicitor's or an accountant's office where they want head shots, but also want a bit of talking head video for the MD or the CEO explaining about his company on the website. It's perfect. You can up the ISO and use the modeling lamp in generally the threes, the fives, the ones that we've got, the LEDs are brilliant. But actually the LED 100 will give you all your modifier that you've taken with you, you can use those. It's very small and light, with its own built-in battery and it will give you a very nice low iso. Talking head interview with a lovely big light source. And I've proved the point of how well it works and how nice it is at the price point it sits in. But it is our first journey into it. There will be others come in and there'll be an app control for it. And I think from an LED point of view, you're gonna say, I would say this, but actually it's one of the nicer ones I've used. And when you get yours, you can tell people exactly the same. Paul: Trust me, I will. Simon: Yes. Mark: I think Paul: very excited about it. Mark: I think the beauty of it as well is it's got an inbuilt battery. It'll give you up to 45 minutes on a full charge. You can plug it in and run it off the mains directly through the USB socket as well. But it means it's a truly portable light source. 45 minutes at a hundred watt and it's rated at a hundred watt actual light output. It's seems far in excess of that. When you actually, Simon: we had a photographer the other day who used it and he's used to using sort of 3, 2 50, 300 watt LEDs and he said put them side by side at full power. They were virtually comparable. Paul: That is certainly true, or in my case by lots. Simon: I seem to be surrounded Paul: by Elinchrom kit, Which is all good. So for anybody who's interested in buying one of these things, where'd you get them? How much are they? Simon: The LED itself, the singlehead unit is 499 inc VAT. If you want one with a charger, which sounds ridiculous, but there's always people who say, well, I don't want the charger. You can have one with a charger for 50 quid extra. So 549. The twin kit is just less than a thousand quid with chargers. And it comes in a very nice portable carry bag to, to carry them around in. Um, and, uh, yeah, available from all good photographic retailers, and, Ellen crom.co uk. Paul: Very good. So just to remind you beautiful people listening to this podcast, we only ever feature people and products, at least like this one where I've said, put a sales pitch in because I use it. It's only ever been about what we use here at the studio. I hate the idea of just being a renta-voice. You it. Mark: bought it. Paul: Yeah. That's true. You guys sold it to me. Mark: Yeah, Simon: if I gave you anything you'd tell everyone it was great. So if you buy it, no, I've bought Paul: Yeah. And then became an ambassador for you. As with everything here, I put my money where my mouth is, we will use it. We do use it. I'm really interested in the little LED light because I could have done with that the other night. It would've been perfect for a very particular need. So yes, I can highly recommend Elinchrom Fives and Threes if you're on a different system. The Rotalux, system of modifier is the best on the planet. Quick to set up, quick to take down. More importantly, the light that comes off them is just beautiful, whether it's a Godox, whether it's on a ProPhoto, which it was for me, or whether if you've really got your common sense about you on the front of an Elinchrom. And on that happy note and back to where we started, which is about lighting, I'm gonna say thanks to the guys. They came to the studio to fix a problem but it's always lovely to have them as guests here. Thank you, mark. Thank you Simon. Most importantly, you Elinchrom for creating Kit is just an absolute joy to use. If you've enjoyed the podcast, please head over to all your other episodes. Please subscribe and whatever is your podcast, play of choice, whether it's iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or a other. After you head, if you head across to masteringportraitphotography.com the spiritual home of this, particular, podcast, I will put in the show notes all the little bits of detail and where to get these things. I'll get some links off the guys as to where to look for the kit. Thank you both. I dunno when I'll be seeing you again. I suspect it will be the Convention in January if I know the way these things go. Simon: We're not gonna get invited back, are we? Mark: Probably not. Enough. Paul: And I'm gonna get a mop and clean up that water. You've just sprayed all over the floor. What is going on? Simon: wish we'd video. That was a funny sun Mark: I just didn't expect it and never usually that sort of funny and quick, Simon: It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. Paul: On that happy note, whatever else is going on in your lives, be kind to yourself. Take care.

In this episode, we're chatting about:Michelle's birthday trip to The Lake District and our excitement for the bookish girl autumn Maisie Peters is teasing with her new singleCaitlin's brief thoughts on The Life of a ShowgirlKalynn Bayron's supernatural twist on Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein (which Michelle hasn't read)An update on Michelle's journey through watching SupernaturalSecond-chance dual timeline rom-com Love Overdue by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus For your convenience, here's everything else we mentioned in this episode:We love the vibe from everything Maisie Peters has teased about her new album'Our Review of Life of a Showgirl' by the Shameless podcastOur interview with Kalynn BayronKatabasis by R.F. KuangMary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne EekhoutScot and Bothered by Alexandra KileyWhile You Were Reading and Fancy Meeting You Here by Ali Berg and Michelle KalusThe Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances by Steph VizardEnjoyed this episode? Share it with a bookish friend to help spread the word. We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Luke's HAARP Time Warp: Part 13 Marion has to fight off foreign invaders. Based on a post by somethin fishy, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Chapter 60. The next month went much of the same way. Luke stayed in York and sent subordinates out to deal with rebellious nobles. Marion would get fucked in the ass once a week or so. She got her revenge on Gabriel near the end of July when Luke first fucked her ass. That had been one hell of a night. Gabriel had been screaming so loud that Marion had to get ear muffs so that her ears weren't ringing. Luke had his cock sliding in and out of Gabriel's ass while he had two fingers pounding her pussy. Since Marion and Luke had been doing anal about once a week for a couple of weeks, Luke was building even more stamina so he wasn't wiped out after Gabriel's ass like he had been from Marion's so he was pretty chipper the next morning while Marion was bouncing off the walls. Gabriel however was so sore that she couldn't even get out of bed. Every muscle seemed like it weighed a thousand pounds. Marion fixed this when she grabbed the blanket that Gabriel had been wrapped in and pulled her out of bed and onto the floor. Luke had pushed the curtains open and the sunlight hit Gabriel square in the face. This made her groan and she groaned more still when Marion said that they would be riding out to watch army maneuvers today. Luke knew that this was a lie but he was enjoying Marion's revenge too much to correct her. They were actually planned for tomorrow but Luke knew that Gabriel didn't know that. The troops didn't even know it yet for this would be a drill for a surprise invasion. Marion wanted to make sure that the army could respond quickly and Luke knew why. The historical Norse invasion was coming up and Marion wanted to make sure that they didn't get into York. Since it was still early in the day, the water hadn't warmed up yet so it was still a bit chilly when Marion dumped a sore Gabriel into the tub and started scrubbing her down. As Marion was scrubbing her down, she slipped a finger into Gabriel's pussy and Gabriel's body reacted automatically to Marion's finger and her hips started to thrust into Marion's hand. Marion then used the thumb on the same hand to rub Gabriel's clit and Gabriel started to moan softly for Gabriel was really enjoying Marion's touch. What she failed to realize was that Marion had slid her other hand down behind her. As Gabriel was really getting into it, Marion slipped a couple of fingers up Gabriel's ass. Gabriel's eyes about popped out of her head when she felt where Marion's hands were at. Gabriel tried to protest but the words died in her throat when Marion leaned in and kissed her. Their tongues started wrestling and Gabriel was going higher and higher as her hips thrust back and fought as her fucked herself on Marion's fingers. As Marion was sending Gabriel into the stratosphere, Luke was leaning against the door frame, enjoying the show and slowing stroking his cock. Soon he was stroking in time with Gabriel's thrust and soon both of them were getting close. Marion had heard Luke then looked back at him and winked. She controlled Gabriel's thrusting and began to tease her. She did this partly to give Gabriel a more explosive orgasm and partly to do the same for Luke. After almost ten minutes, Gabriel was having problems keeping her head above water and Marion's fingers were starting to hurt so she gave Gabriel a few good flicks and sent her hurtling over the edge. This made Luke go as well and he shot loads of cum all over the floor while Gabriel screamed at the top of her lungs. The only reason that she didn't drown was that Marion was holding her up at this time. Luke slowly slide down the door frame until he was sitting on the floor. Eventually Gabriel was able to open her eyes and slowly lifted herself out of the tub with Marion's help, of course. Luke had recovered by this time and had washed his cock up so that he could get dressed for the day. Gabriel was pissed when Luke told her that the maneuvers were not happening that day and spent the rest of the day pretending to be mad at Marion but they both knew better. Toward the end of August, Marion got the intelligence report that she had been expecting. King Hardrada of Norway was on the move with Harold Godwinson's brother Tostig. Marion was determined that this would not be a repeat of the invasion in Luke's world were York's forces were defeated and they narrowly avoided capture. She sent her very small fleet to sea. Not to fight but to observe and report back. Luke didn't want to spend much money on the navy at this point being that they still had more than enough enemies on land to deal with. Marion's scouts watched the Norwegians every step of the way; and so far, they were playing right to the historical account. When the Norwegian army landed at Riccall, Marion was sent for a loop by a new intelligence report. The Norwegian army had got a hold of firearms and while they were not nearly as advanced as Marion's, this gave her pause. When Luke read the report, he said that it sounded like they had flintlock muskets. He explained that without examining them he didn't know if they were smoothbore or rifled. If they were rifled then they would have a real battle on their hands while if they were smoothbore then as long as they kept the enemy at arm's length then they should be okay. Marion's big advantage was that her forces knew how to use their weapons while Luke doubted that the enemy did, but you never know. It was 19 September 1066, the day before the battle. Everything was ready and Marion's commanders knew the full composition of the enemy forces and they had very good maps of the terrain between the armies. They knew what they were going to be fighting for and they could see the enemy fires at Riccall. That evening Marion went to find Luke to make sure that they hadn't overlooked anything. It took a while to find him. It wasn't that he was hiding, it was just that he hadn't done this in almost a year. She finally found him sitting on a log, watching the evening sun set. She knew what this meant, he was thinking of his former family and time. “Luke” she said softly. He answered without looking at her. “Are we doing right Marion? Would it be better to let England develop along its historical lines or should we stop that right here and send the world on a new path?” When he turned to look at her, she was shocked for Luke was obviously extremely worried. “That question wasn't rhetorical Marion, are we making a serious fuck up?” “Well, you read the reports. History has already shifted for the Norwegians had firearms that in your history didn't show up until the 1700's. Do you think Harold's army could beat the Norwegians this time around since he has no firearms? “No, Harold's army wouldn't stand a chance.” “Then do you think it would be worth it to subject this country's people to the horrors of foreign occupation? After you have seen first-hand the results of that.” “Thank you, Marion. That actually helps quite a lot.” “That's not all you were thinking was it?” “No, it wasn't. Why am I even here? I mean at every time in my life when things are really going my way something happens and everything that I held dear was ripped away from me. The last thing I want to do is to lose you too Marion. You, Gabriel, Pollyanna, Matt, Alice, Mackenzie; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to any of you. What if I am sent back to where I came from by whatever brought me here in the first place? Will people continue with what we have been working for or will they fall back into the way things were before?” Luke continued; “How about after all this; will the people remember my warnings and avoid the biggest pitfalls in the next millennium or will the people forget like they have always done and repeat the same mistakes from my history? Slavery, wars, famine, man-made climate change; will humans learn enough and remember enough from me to avoid all that shit or will they make all those things worse?” “I honestly don't know darling. I do that you have changed my life in ways that I never thought possible and if I died tomorrow and had a chance to either go back to when we first met or go directly to heaven, I would go back to when we first met for the last year and a half has been simply amazing. If somehow you get transported back to your time or you get yourself killed then I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that your lessons will be remembered and learnt from so the humanity can hopefully avoid the pitfalls from your history.” “Thank you. Thank you” cried Luke as Marion wrapped her slender arms around him and held him tight. She held him until he had cried himself out. By now the stars were out so Luke laid back in the grass and Marion snuggled up in his arm and looked up at the night sky with Luke. They stayed like this until they heard Gabriel calling out for Marion. She sounded panicked and she was. Marion had disappeared without a trace and nobody had seen her in well over an hour. Chapter 61. Marion has to suffer another personal loss. It was late June in the court of King Hardrada of Norway when a strange man approached him. The man wore just thread bare clothing for he had been traveling for many weeks and his beard was long. The man claimed to have a weapon so powerful that even a mire child who knew how to use it could easily defeat the most powerful and skilled of warriors. When the king heard this; he and his entire retinue fell over laughing but the mystery man was not dismayed. The man stood quietly until the king could recover. “I have a few of these weapons with me your majesty and I will be very happy to demonstrate their power to you.” “Very well, if you insist; but you must do this outside because I don't want my floors soaked with your blood!” The retinue started laughing again but the mystery man just smiled. Everyone went outside and the King's best warrior stepped forward in full armor and with his fearsome battle axe shining in the late morning sun. The mystery man just stood there and waited. Finally having enough of this the warrior charged and the mystery man pulled some smallish thing out from under his coat. He raised it up and smoke and flame came out of the end of it. The warrior's head jerked back and he fell, blood and brains coming out of a large hole in the back of his head. Everyone was stunned for this man had just defeated one of the best warriors in the kingdom without even breaking a sweat. “How is this possible?” demanding the King. “Witchcraft?” “No, your majesty. I have made a new type of weapon that uses a special powder to propel a projectile forward with enough speed to punch right through the thickest armor that a man can wear and still move. Furthermore, I can teach your people how to make this powder and the weapon that uses it. All I ask for in return is protection from a very dangerous man who told me that if he finds out that I am telling anyone these secrets that he will hunt me down and tear me apart with his bare hands. I believe him for he makes even you look small and weak your majesty; for I have seen him send one of his fists through the side of a barrel. His name is Luke and he is the husband of Marion of York as well as the commander of her army.” “Very well. But should you fail; I will rip you apart with my bare hands.” “Yes, your majesty” the man said as he bowed. After the man was escorted out, the King turned to Tostig. “Well, he comes to us from your area of England. What do you know about this Marion and her husband?” “I have met Marion on a number of occasions and her beauty would put Aphrodite to shame milord. She is also timid and weak although the way that man talks that might have changed since I last met her. I have never met her husband but last year it was rumored that she and her sister were saved from an ambush by a passing stranger. This is probably the same man as her husband.” “Very well. We shall see what kind of weapons our new friend can make for us. After all this deal is costing me almost nothing.” Three weeks later, the mystery man, who had been identified as an alchemist, presented the King with thirty weapons and the men to use them. These weapons were a bit slow to load but they didn't require too much skill to use which made the soldiers much cheaper to train. These were muzzle loading weapons that used a flint striking steel to set off the powder. Starting with the bullet shapes that Luke used, the alchemist designed a round that was conical and could be easily loaded but would still grip the rifling. He quickly proved that these men could hit their targets at almost three hundred paces away. They would be vulnerable to cavalry but with bayonets for the rifles, that problem was lessened some. The King was deeply impressed and asked how many weapons like these the man could produce in a couple of months. The man told him that he could probably make a couple of hundred but also that training to use these new weapons was very important because if they were not used properly, they were very dangerous for the user. By now the King had got reports that Marion was now in complete control of York and the surrounding area and nobles that opposed her were deposed of very quickly. She had accomplished this by using the same kind of weapons that this man was making. Tostig was impressed by how much stronger Marion seemed in these reports from when he had known her. Her husband on the other hand was made out to be much bigger than Goliath and stronger than a horse. Some of the reports even mentioned that Marion was in a relationship with the head of her personal guard and to Tostig's complete surprise the guard in question was another woman named Gabriel. In fact, it seemed like almost a full quarter of Marion's army was made up of women. This was always good for a laugh at parties and soon Marion's army was the butt of every joke. What wasn't a joke however was that it had soundly defeated every single army that came up against it and usually in less time than it took to eat a proper dinner. Finally, it was time to sail for England. The King traveled first to Scotland where he got extra troops from his ally, Malcom the third of Scotland. Then he met up with Tostig's forces, who had been raiding coastal England, before they made their landing at Riccall. All together the King had about nine thousand battle hardened soldiers. They set up base and they were amazed at how much more advanced and wealthier the area was. The roads were straight and very well made. The village had running hot and cold water and a sewer system to carry away the waste. The houses were made of identical bricks that were as hard as stone and they had tile roofs. The advancements continued inside because most of the houses in this area had toilets and solar hot water heaters already installed. Everyone in the army was simply amazed at how advanced these “primitive English” were. The king was really glad then that he had ordered the alchemist to come along even though he protested furiously. Before the whole army had even disembarked the King got reports that enemy cavalry had been seen in the area. Apparently, they were scouts for they took off before they had gotten too close. The King ordered his riflemen to be ready and to see if they could shoot the next one, they saw. Within half an hour, the king heard gunshots and when he went to investigate, he found that one of the enemy scouts had been killed. The man's gear was very strange for the man was dressed in green, brown, and black shirt and pants. In addition, he wore a strange helmet. When the helmet was taken off the man's long braided hair came out. Wait, this was a female soldier of about nineteen or so and she was very fit. She carried a strange gun which the king ordered taken back to one of the ships so that it could be sent back to Norway. The knife and sword she carried seemed to be made of a very strange steel so they were put on the ships as well. If they kept getting more loot like this, then they were going to need more ships for their return to Norway. They continued to see enemy scouts but none of them stayed put long enough to give the riflemen a shot. Finally, after a very long day the army bedded down for tomorrow, they would march on York. Chapter 62. Gabriel had been frantic to find Marion and Luke. One of the scouts had not returned and the reports said that she had been killed. Apparently, she had been taken by surprise and shot at around two hundred meters. “Well, that settles it. They have to have rifles; for smoothbore muskets wouldn't have traveled that far.” Luke stated. He then turned to Marion. “I think that I'm going to be needing Gabriel tomorrow with my rifle. Also, you should get the fuck out of York in case we lose.” “Luke you might be my husband but I am your commander and I will be with my army tomorrow. I will loan you Gabriel though. Taking out the commanders would make it so much easier for everyone.” Gabriel had been gifted with Luke's old rifle and spotting scope once he had started making smokeless powder. He could only make it in small quantities and it was a pain to make but he was able to make enough rounds to train Gabriel in how to be a sniper and he had even trained one of the other body guards to be the spotter. Gabriel nodded and took off to find her spotter so that they could get back to York and get their gear ready before the battle. Gabriel was good enough with Luke's old rifle to shoot someone's eye out at fifteen hundred meters. With her using smokeless powder, nobody would see where she was at either. Marion, Gabriel, and Luke finally retired for the evening after they had checked on the army. The morale was high, the troops confidence in their commander, gear, and themselves. They knew what they were fighting for and were determined to win, no matter the cost. That evening none of the three were really in the mood for any loving. Marion was sad for she had known the scout who had been killed and she had been one of Marion's friends. Gabriel was worried about Marion and Luke was worried about the coming battle and the future. This would be the first time that Marion's army had faced a truly professional army and one that had weapons that were much closer to his own. All they did that night was Gabriel cradled Marion while both were cradled by Luke. It took them awhile to fall asleep that night and the next morning came way too early. Luke made sure that Gabriel and her spotter had ate a large breakfast that morning for he didn't know when they would be able to eat again. While they were eating, Luke discussed tactics with them. This would by Gabriel's first time being a sniper and Luke wouldn't be there to look over her shoulder. He had made sure that both of them were trained well but the real battlefield is very different from training. After the two were done eating, Luke helped them with their gear. He had made both of them ghillie suits based on his old one and had helped them pick out what foliage to use for additional camouflage. The sun was just lighting up the eastern sky when the two of them headed into the marsh that was east of the likely battlefield. The spot that Luke had picked to do battle was near the original battlefield where the Norwegians had beat the first group of English soldiers. He had his right flank anchored the river Ouse and his left anchored on the same marshland that Gabriel and her spotter were using. He made sure that all of his soldiers had a good breakfast and cooked food for Marion and himself. He always did their cooking in the field because Marion was terrible at cooking while Luke liked to cook. He had woken the dragoons up first for he had a plan. He would send the dragoons in first to raid the enemy camp, just to stir them up so that they would do what Luke wanted them to do. Normally this was something that he wouldn't have done but they had got a message the day before about a Scottish army that had invaded the Lake District to retake it. Luke had to finish this battle up fast so that he could send part of the army up to deal with the Scots. An additional consideration was that the enemy didn't really have any cavalry at their disposal. As soon as the infantry were finishing their breakfast, gunfire broke out in the distance, marking the start of the battle. Luke started working at getting the army into formation and into their positions. They would be positioned along a road with a slight hill in front of it. This way, his troops would have some protection against the enemy riflemen. Luke urged his horse up to the top of the hill so that he could watch the battle down at the enemy camp. From what he could see, his dragoons had caught the enemy with their pants down and were going through them like a buzz saw. Luke began to worry though for if they couldn't disengage with the enemy before they could from up then they would be at a disadvantage; and he could see that some of the enemy units were getting themselves into formation. Luke turned to his bugler: “Send the signal for the dragoons to retreat on the double!” “What's wrong Luke?” Marion asked. “Those god-damned fucking idiots are letting themselves get tangled up with the enemy, just like they were ordered not to!” Luke continued to watch as his dragoons broke contact, but some of them had been too tangled up to retreat. The ones that couldn't retreat were cut down within minutes. Luke watched as his troops routed and he came really close to blowing a gasket. He had to stop this and he knew just how to do it: “Flagbearer; With Me Now!” he shouted and spurred his horse into a hard run. He and the flagbearer raced toward the routing dragoons. Even at this distance, Luke could see the fear on the soldier's faces. As Luke came closer, the soldiers began to slow down. Luke stopped his horse suddenly, causing it to rear up. As his horse reared up, he took off his helmet and waved it vigorously at the onrushing troopers.  Slowly the rout stopped as the soldiers were able to calm down and take heart at Luke's commanding presence. By the time the first of them passed Luke, they had slowed down to a trot. Luke turned his horse and slowly trotted back to his own lines. He had some misgivings about this commander before the battle and now his misgivings had proven true. He was pissed with himself for not listening to them and it had cost him a number of dragoons. On his way back to his lines, he placed the commander that had got the dragoons tangled up with the enemy, against Luke's strict orders not to, under arrest. Since the second-in-command had been killed in the raid, Luke turned to one of the squadron commanders. She was a young woman of about twenty-five or so with a husband and three kids. Luke knew that while she was extremely daring, she wouldn't take stupid risk like the other idiot had. Her mouth almost fell off when Luke told her of her promotion and he ordered her to get her troops back into formation and to wait of orders. Luke was almost back to his lines when he heard a sharp crack. He of course knew what that sound was. Gabriel was starting to pick off the enemy. He just hoped that she wouldn't shoot too fast. He got back to the small ridge and turned to look back over the battlefield. The enemy had been stirred up for they were advancing in force. He was pleased to hear that Gabriel was keeping her shooting slow so that the enemy would have a much harder time figuring out where she was at. Chapter 63. The night after the scout had been killed the King and Tostig talked strategy. The King was getting very interested in this land and he was starting to lean toward adding all of Marion's land to his kingdom. The thing that impressed him most was that the house that he was staying in wasn't much more than an average house in the area but yet it had running hot and cold water, clear glass in the windows, and had a number of books most of which made no sense to either the King or Tostig. Their alchemist friend was able to read the books and he explained what each book was about. There seemed to be books on everything from medicine to books for children and the King was extremely impressed by the amount of knowledge in this one house even if he thought that most of it was just ridiculous. After the King had enjoyed a hot bath, he went to bed. Normally he would have taken a whore to bed with him, but every civilian was gone from the area before he had arrived. Not fucking a bitch before bed left him feeling something akin to indigestion but he figured that after his victorious army beat the shit out of Marion's army, he would take her for his own personal whore. The next morning, the sun was just starting to light up the eastern sky the King was awaken by large amounts of gunfire outside. He bolted to the window and what he saw terrified him. The enemy cavalry had surprised his own forces and were slaughtering them. He tore out of the house that he was staying in without even putting his armor on and started to organize his own forces. Fortunately, his troops were all battle hardened and they hadn't routed for if they had, they would have been slaughtered. As it was, with the King rallying his forces, the enemy cavalry was forced to retreat and their retreat quickly became a rout. Some of the cavalry had been cut off by his men and they were cut down. They had only managed to catch only fifty or so of the enemy cavalry and when they realized what was going on and they wouldn't be able to retreat; they fought to the death trying to take as many invaders with them as possible. The King was deeply impressed with their skill and courage. He was equally disturbed though to find that ten of the fifty dead were woman and that they had fought just as fiercely as the men. Watching the enemy retreat, the King saw two riders came out from the enemy lines. One of them was flying a flag that was white with a red crossed bar through it. The alchemist had told him that this was the flag that Marion had adopted and that she called it the flag of St. George. Whoever these men were, the enemy rout almost halted in its tracks and they were quickly reorganizing. The king started working furiously to get his troops in formation. At first, he was planning on leaving some of his soldiers back to guard the boats, but the cavalry raid had killed a large number of his men and he would now need every man he could get. Hardrada positioned himself on his left flank, the one closest to the river, and Tostig on the right, closest to the marsh. It didn't take long to get everyone in formation and they started advancing toward York. Once the troops cleared the village and got out into the open countryside, Hardrada heard a distant crack and he could see that somehow Tostig had been killed. The crack kind of sounded like a gunshot, but nobody could see any smoke and even his alchemist didn't know what had happened. The king ordered his soldiers to double time it so that they could engage with the enemy forces before more of his men were killed. Every minute or so Hardrada would hear that crack again and he watched as another one of his other commanders would be killed. By now though, they were only about four hundred paces away from the enemy lines. Looking ahead, he saw large pillows of smoke erupt from the enemy position and then he heard a strange whistling sound. He listened as the whistle got closer and watched as a large amount of earth was thrown up in front of them. Before he had time to think, the smoke erupted again from the enemy lines. This time those things hit his men and he watched as a number of his men just disappeared. Hardrada lost all the color in his face. If he stayed out here too much longer, his men would be slaughtered, but he was so close so he quickened the march some more and this time the enemy overshot. By now they were only about two hundred paces from the enemy lines, so the king ordered his musketeers to shoot at anything that moved ahead of them. Almost as soon as his men got into position, the enemy infantry made itself known. There were thousands of them and they were all dressed identically. Hardrada then realized that he had walked into a trap and the cavalry raid did just what the enemy commander wanted it to do. It had tricked Hardrada into launching his attack early. He watched as the front rank of soldiers raised their guns. Suddenly they all disappeared behind a wall of smoke. What happened to his men though was much worse for almost all his own riflemen had been mowed down and a large number of his regular troops had been killed. Within seconds, another smoke cloud erupted and more of his men were mowed down. If things kept on at this pace, they might not even make it to the enemy lines but what surprised him the most was that the front line of enemy troops fired again. This was much faster than his own could fire. Then he felt something hot hit him in the leg and he went down. Luke had been watching the enemy lines getting thinned out very quickly by his troops. It was now time to finish this battle up. He turned to his remaining cavalry and ordered them to charge. Luke was pleased to see that his new cavalry commander was doing very well despite being in command for only about twenty minutes. Her cavalry quickly overwhelmed the remaining enemy forces and rode all the way to Riccall and managed to capture all the enemy ships before any of them could get away. Now, all that had to be done was to mop up any of the opposing troops that had escaped the trap. The dragoons swept the village, going from room to room. Anyone they found that didn't surrender immediately was cut down. After the village was cleared, the prisoners were rounded up and marched back toward York. There was work to do and Luke's troops were looking forward to watching these arrogant foreigners digging mass graves for all their dead and individual graves for all of Marion's dead soldiers. As soon as Luke's cavalry had swept the town and signaled that the coast was clear, Luke ordered the medical corps to get to work on saving as many of the wounded as possible. After they had started out, Luke ordered the artillery to get ready to march for they had to get up north as fast as possible. He would only be sending part of them, for he had reports that King Godwinson was approaching fast and Luke didn't know how he was going to react to Marion and he wasn't going to take any chances. Luke then rode over to the marsh and called out for Gabriel. He watched and listened. He had to call for her twice more before he saw the glint of glass. He smiled as he rode over and Gabriel stood up. “You need to be more careful about the sunlight and that scope darling. I saw it glint in the sun and that is what gave you away.” “Okay Luke. I will be more careful from now on.” “Oh, one more thing, you two were never in this marsh and if anyone ask neither of you know anything about shots coming from the marsh.” “But…” That was as far as Gabriel got before the look on Luke's face told her shut up and not argue. She quickly figured out that Luke wanted to keep her abilities hidden for as long as possible. She and her spotter started to make their way back through the marsh, making sure to leave as little evidence as possible. Chapter 64. As the prisoners were forced to dig the mass graves, the wounded were cleared off the field and since they were so close to York, they were taken right to the new hospital. Alice was very proud of this hospital as well she should be. It was four stories tall and had the world's first elevators in it. These were used to move patients, equipment, and supplies between the floors. All the windows were covered in two pane glass windows and the building even had central heating and a primitive but effective cooling system. Hardrada had been one of those that had been picked up on the battlefield and now he looked around in amazement at all the sights and sounds. At the hospital he started protesting about having to wait; after all he was a king. Alice was the doctor on triage duty so she was the one who had to calm him down. “What is all that complaining about?” “I'm the King of Norway” Hardrada hissed “Why am I still waiting to have this bullet taken out of my leg?” Alice leaned over and checked his tag. “Let me explain something to you. I don't give a fucking rat's ass if you're the King of Norway or the god damned fucking pope. When you come in here, the severity of the wound determines the order in which you are worked on and your wounds are not that serious. This is My hospital, and I make the rules here.” With that Alice continued on her rounds. Hardrada laid there stunned. Nobody had ever talked back to him, ever. Finally, it was his turn to get worked on. He watched as he was taken into a very clean room that was very well lit. Alice was again the one to work on him. She started by putting some liquid over his wound that numbed it and he was amazed at how good it felt. She then used a probe to find the bullet. The king had been lucky in that the bullet had missed the bone. In twenty minutes, Alice was done and one of her nurses finished by putting a dressing on the wound. Hardrada was then taken to a recovery ward, where he was able to look around at all the other wounded men. Almost all of them were his too. Before long he got tired and fell asleep. Back in the field, Luke was overseeing the 1st division, 1st brigade along with one battalion of dragoons in their preparation for them heading to the lake district. The structure of the army was fairly simple. A division had twelve thousand soldiers in it. It had four brigades with three thousand soldiers each. One of the brigades was cavalry and the division commander would assign cavalry where ever they were needed at the moment. The other three were primarily infantry. Each brigade had three battalions with a thousand soldiers each. This was then broken down into three regiments of three hundred and a one hundred strong artillery unit with ten large guns. Each regiment had three, one hundred strong companies. Each company was broken into three platoons of thirty and a heavy weapons unit. This is where the motors were at and when Luke had managed to get machine guns available, would be here as well. The cavalry had their own artillery in quick firing 75mm guns that were light enough to keep up with the cavalry. So far Luke had one whole division at his disposal and one brigade of what would eventually become the second division. As Luke was finishing up with helping in the preparations, he got a message that put a temporary halt to everything, King Godwinson would be at York by tomorrow morning and he had almost thirteen thousand troops with him. Luke was hoping to avoid a battle with him but it was far better to be safe than sorry, plus it was only a single day delay and with the railroad, Luke's soldiers could move much quickly than any other army. He soon got another message but this time from Alice saying that she had the King of Norway in her hospital. ‘Well fuck, this is going to get interesting.' Thought Luke. He was sure that Godwinson would demand that Hardrada be turned over to him but he was currently under the care of Alice and Luke would do almost anything to support her. Marion would too for that matter. As he watched a cavalry detachment go by, he remembered the commander that he had placed under arrest. By now the former commander had figured out that she was in deep shit. She had disobeyed Luke's direct order because she had hoped to win the battle for herself and the glory with it. Now she sat in a dark, cramped cell awaiting her fate. She knew that while Luke was usually easy going as a commander, when he gave direct orders, he expected them to be followed and if you didn't then you had better have a damn good excuse. She didn't have that and everyone knew it. She had got into trouble because she had been too reckless again and now her only hope was that Luke would have her executed quickly. She heard the door being unlocked and the guards came in to get her. She went with them, with her head held high for she had accepted her fate and was determined not to show any cowardice. As she expected, she was led into the military courtroom where she saw Luke in the witness area. What really scared her was that Marion herself was the judge and her reputation for being harsh was far worse than Luke's. Marion read the charges against her and asked for her to explain her actions. The commander figured that she was fucked anyway so she told the brutal truth. She had been glory-hunting and kept advancing when she had seen the enemy forming up because she wanted to win by herself. After the commander finished, Luke was called up to the stand to give his side of things. He explained his orders not to get tangled up and produced several other commanders who had heard the order for he had issued the order in the pre-battle briefing. Other witnesses told of how the commander kept pushing on despite her orders. After all the statements, the jury went into a small room off to the side. They came back five minutes later with the verdict. The commander was found guilty of disobeying direct orders and endangering her comrades. For these crimes, the death sentence was recommended. Marion agreed and the commander was sentenced to be executed by firing squad. The firing squad was to be drawn from the same soldiers who she had formally led. Marion's biggest problem here was there were too many volunteers for the firing squad. Marion only needed six but instead every trooper that had been in the former commander's unit eagerly volunteered and fifteen percent of that unit was women. So instead, Marion decided to hold a lottery. The six soldiers had been selected and they and the former commander were led to the execution area. She was blindfolded and stood against a wall. When the squad fired, not one missed their mark for they were all angry with their former commander for she had risked all their lives too many times. Worse it wasn't to save others which would have been celebrated; it had been for her own personal glory. After all the paperwork was done, her body was taken and buried in one of the mass graves. She would get no tombstone or last rites. Luke was deep in paperwork when he heard a knock on his office door. “Enter” then seeing who it was. “Hey Alice. What's up doc?” “Ha, ha very funny. I came here to tell you that King Hardrada is now awake and I already sent word to Marion.” “Okay. I'm on my way” Luke said as he lifted himself out of his chair while thinking ‘I'm really getting too old for this shit.' When Luke got to the hospital, Marion was already there and talking with the king so Luke walked up beside her. Marion saw who it was and turned her attention back to the king “Your majesty, may I introduce my husband and commanding general, Luke. Luke, meet King Hardrada of Norway.” Luke hated nobility and Marion knew this so this could get interesting. Luke nodded toward the king and as Marion figured, Luke was being purposely insulting of the king. ‘Oh well' she thought. Hardrada of course had been offended and was trying to challenge Luke to a dual. Marion of course put an end to this for she knew that Luke would crush the king and Marion could get a lot of money for the king if he was kept alive. She pulled out her gun and pointed it at the king while she told Luke to go away until he could stop acting like a child. “I am terribly sorry about that your majesty but my husband hates nobility even though I am nobility as well.” This was to show just how powerful she was to the king. Marion had known a head of time just how Luke would act because that was how he always acted with nobility. Of course, Marion had hoped that Luke would be polite but he actually didn't know the proper procedures for dealing with royalty and more to the point didn't care so Marion used this to her advantage. After Marion had managed to get the king calmed down, they actually had a nice talk and Marion found out about how he had got the guns and she learned that the alchemist had been killed during the battle. By the time that Marion and Hardrada were done talking, Luke had left and it was dinner time. Marion then had an idea. She asked Hardrada if he would like to come to dinner with her, not as a king but as a guest. This, she explained would keep her husband down and would actually help the conversation. Since Hardrada was hungry and didn't have much else to do, he agreed. Marion got permission from Alice to take Hardrada out of the hospital, as long as she brought him back after dinner for, he was still her patient. Marion ordered a stretcher for the king and took him back to the castle. When they got to the castle Marion excused herself so that she could get changed while the king was taken to her dining room. For the entire trip, the king was deeply impressed with just how advanced Marion's lands were compared to his. They had hot and cold running water, working sewers, clear window glass, lamps that produced an amazing amount of light form just a little flame and the flame burned cleanly. Luke wasn't an electrical engineer and he was having problems getting things with more voltage than the telegraph to work properly. He knew that eventually he would get there, it's just that electrical things were not instinctive to Luke like mechanical or chemical things were. The king had just got settled in his chair when Luke came in. Luke was clean and was wearing regular clothes. Luke had been told by Marion to be on his best behavior or he wasn't going to get laid for a week. Honestly Luke didn't really care but figured ‘oh well, I could be civil for an hour or so.' Since the king and Luke were alone for a minute, they took the time to take stock of each other. Hardrada had never met a man that was as big as Luke or as kind for it was almost immediately clear to the king that Luke was very considerate of people around him and Hardrada thought that he might be able to use this to trick his way out of captivity. It took the king a while, but he eventually figured out that Luke was actually very intelligent and was very good at hiding it when he wanted to. Furthermore he was completely loyal to his wife and her word was law. The men had been talking for about ten minutes when Marion and Gabriel joined them. To Luke's delight, Marion had also brought Mackenzie with her. Usually, Luke would eat his supper while he held Mackenzie on his lap. He would always give her small pieces of whatever he was eating and usually she would eat it; it just took her awhile. Mackenzie would always light up any room that she was in for she has at the age where she was really cute to almost every adult and could always get them to smile. She did the same that evening. Hardrada actually forgot for a little while that he was technically a prisoner as Mackenzie played with his large fingers. He actually felt like he had sat down to a simple family dinner and he had actually forgot what it was like and seeing Mackenzie, Gabriel, Marion, and especially Luke laughing and smiling as they ate warmed the king's heart tremendously. They had one ugly moment when the Luke told the story of his background, Hardrada called him out on it. “I know that you are lying about where you came from, Now tell me why.” Demanded the king. Luke just looked at him and his face got hard as he handed Mackenzie off to Marion. “Yes, I am lying about my background and I could care less about who you think you are, I will not tell you about where I came from. When I first came here, I was plenty strong enough to stove you into a horseshoe and I am in much better shape now then I was.” “I second that.” Said Marion with a smirk causing Gabriel to blow the wine that she had been drinking all over. The ladies started laughing and Gabriel fell off her chair when Luke blushed. Normally he never blushed but this time he did. All this laughter helped settle the room back down again and the rest of dinner went by smoothly. After dinner, Marion had the king taken back to the hospital telling him; “Sorry doctor's orders and you are under her care.” After the king had been taken away Luke, Marion, and Gabriel discussed what to do about Godwinson's approaching army. They decided that in the morning, they would go out with the bodyguard unit and a squadron of cavalry to talk to the king and try to avoid hostilities. Chapter 65. The next morning, the three of them woke up at about 3 am. Luke wanted to be out of town before the sun got up so that if they had to fight the king, he would have some room to fight before they got to York. After Gabriel got dressed, she went to wake up the rest of the bodyguards while Luke went to get the cavalry ready to go. Marion went and made sure that the other commanders were up so that they could race out of York at a moment's notice. Within an hour, the welcoming party was ready to go and the rest of the army was stirring. Marion's party rode out on the road that they knew Godwinson was on and just as the sun was lighting up the sky, they found him. His army was getting ready to march when Marion's party came into sight. Luke ordered the squadron to hold their position, stay out of sight, and not attack unless Godwinson attacked first. Next, he had a flagbearer come with him and Marion to meet the king. The eleven of them galloped up to the king's army. Once at the guards Marion told them; “I am Marion of York here to see the king.” The guards were not sure of what to do with her for they were not use to women being in the field and half of Marion's party were women. Luckily, before one of them could make a wisecrack about that, an officer came up. He had served in one of the armies that Luke had crushed a couple of months before so he knew who Luke was and he had heard tales of Marion. Seeing her in the flesh, he could see that the tales were true. He sent a messenger to the king and invited Marion's party to dismount. They politely refused and the officer didn't blame them. After all, if he had been in their position, he wouldn't have dismounted either. The king came up and Marion's party then dismounted, even Luke. He saw no benefit in insulting the king at this time, after all he would be dead in a couple of weeks. Marion kneeled before the king and Luke was glad that he wasn't the ruler of the area because he definitely wouldn't kneel before anyone but God. When the rest of the party kneeled however, he had a problem but Luke being Luke remained standing. Fortunately, Marion was prepared for this: “I would like to apologize for my general not kneeling your majesty” she said without even looking at Luke “but the only person he will kneel before is God, although he has kneeled before me before I suspect that was mostly for show.” “You never looked back, how did you know that he refuses to kneel before the rightful king of these lands?” asked the king. “Your majesty. That man is not only my army's commanding general, but he is also my husband and has saved my life a number of times over the last year and a half.” “Ah” The king then moved around to stand directly before Luke and actually felt more than a little uneasy for; he had never met a man that was so large. “You do know that it is a crime not to kneel before the god chosen ruler of these lands?” Marion held her eyes shut and cringed for she knew what was coming and she wasn't disappointed. “God chosen, seriously?” sorted Luke “No king or queen is chosen by God; they are chosen by men who are too lazy or ignorant to rule themselves. Do you actually think that God really cares what happens down here on Earth; after all he is eternal and we are mortal?” As Marion had feared the king had set off Luke's temper and there was no going back now. “Do you not believe in God?” asked an increasingly angry king. “Fuck no. I have seen more death and destruction caused by people in the name of their god then I care to remember. As far as I am concerned, I have the right to my beliefs as well as Everyone else and as long as those beliefs are practiced peacefully then I have no problems with them. That is one reason why I encouraged my wife to protect any Jews and ALL other religious groups in the area.” Marion now knew that she would have to act fast before the king and Luke came to blows. “Excuse me your majesty” she said as she wormed her way in-between Luke and the king “what my blunt husband is trying to say is that as complex as God's word is, it helps to have as many viewpoints as possible to try to further our understanding of it. Plus, we are all God's children so why should the Jews or any other group not be protected as well. And while on the Jewish question, was Jesus not Jewish himself after all and did he not die so that all of our sins be forgiven?” She then turned to Luke and shifted to modern English “Before you make an even bigger ass of yourself, why don't you go do something useful, honey” At first Luke was pissed and then he smiled: “Admit it, you just like watching my ass as I walk away!” Every one of the guards had to stifle a laugh and Marion had to bite her tongue. “Luke, go so you don't get us into deeper trouble. Please?” “Fine” Luke then grabbed hold of Marion's ass and picked her up so they could share a kiss and of course she instinctually her wrapped her legs around Luke. Before he put her down, they starred into each other's eyes for a moment, just to tell each other that everything was good and that they loved each other. Luke gently put her down and remounted his horse. He raced back to the top of the hill that was hiding the rest of the troops and he turned to watch over Marion's group. When Marion turned back to the king, she could see that he was still mulling over what she had asked him, so she waited for him to finish. Finally, he appeared to finish. “Well, that is a matter for another time. I need to get going so that I may be able to beat back those damn Vikings and my treacherous brother.” “Actually, your majesty, that is why we came here this morning.” Marion turned and gave the signal. A small band of horses came over the top of the hill, escorting a liter. When they got to the king; Marion asked the king to come with her as she went over to the liter and pulled back the sheet revealing the king's dead brother. She just hoped that he didn't ask too many questions about the type of wound that he had received for when Gabriel shot him; the bullet had blown off the entire of the back of his head. The king looked sad for a moment before he shook himself back to the present. “As you can see your majesty, we have already defeated your brother and his Viking allies. In fact, King Hardrada is as this moment recovering from a leg wound back in York and before you ask, none of the Viking army escaped.” “I must go see Hardrada for myself you understand. I feel that I cannot simply take your word for it.” “Of course, your majesty. Your army is welcome to come into York as well, as long as they behave themselves and leave their arms back in their camp.” “My army will travel where ever they choose and they will not disarm!” At this Marion's guards instantly became more visibly alert. “I am sorry your majesty, but your army will not be permitted to bring their weapons into York” At this the King drew his sword. Within a blink of an eye all of Marion's guards had their weapons out and Gabriel moved to where she was between the King and Marion. In the distance, Marion could hear the sounds of her cavalry escort moving and within moments, they became visible over the top of the hill with Luke right out in front. “As you can see your majesty, I have an army at my back as well and they are ready, unlike yours. Plus, if you really insist on trying to fight me, you Will be the first one killed for the young woman in front of you will kill anyone who threatens me.” Marion was doing her level best to stay calm and she hoped that the king would see reason. Gabriel at least hadn't drawn her weapons yet but it was clear from her posture that she could within a fraction of a second. The king then did something stupid as he tried to move Gabriel to the side. she flipped him over her body and onto the ground. As she was flipping him, she managed to get his sword away from him. She then held it to his throat and demanded that he back down and apologize to her mistress, Marion. Marion then gently moved Gabriel out of the way as she offered her hand to help the king get back up which he took. When he was back on his feet, Gabriel returned his sword to him. “As you can see your majesty, I was not joking and unless you want that army behind me to attack then I strongly suggest that we come to terms. You can come into York to see Hardrada for yourself, you can retain your arms, and bring alone one armed guard. Your army can come into York as well as long as they behave themselves and they leave their arms back in their camp. If they misbehave then they will be subject to the laws of the people of York. Also, while Hardrada is in my care, he will not be harmed for he is currently under a doctor's care and her word is law in the hospital.” “Her word?” “Yes, your majesty. We believe in equal rights for both men and woman. That is one reason why a good size part of my army is made up of women. The head doctor is a woman, one of my best engineers is a woman, and of course my head guard is a woman.” The king took a deep breath. Marion had him over a barrel and they both knew it. If he wanted to confirm that Hardrada's army had indeed been crushed then he would have to accept Marion's terms for her army was ready to charge while his was mostly getting ready to march and it would take them some time to get into proper formation. “Very well, I accept your terms.” “Good! How soon will you be ready to go?” “Not long.” “My troops will escort you to York then. Just make sure that your men understand that they are to be on their best behavior while in My lands. As long as they behave then nobody will have any problems.” Marion turned away with her guards, remounted, and rode back to her army. The king meanwhile was a bit dumbfounded. How the hell did things come to this; him being beaten by two different women. Flustered he turned to give the orders to his army. After he was done, he quietly observed Marion's army. Even at this distance, it was obvious that her army was a professional one and the king couldn't help but to get a little bit jealous for most of his was levy spearmen. Finally, his army began to march and as promised, Marion's army escorted them to York. As they got closer, everyone in the King's army was deeply impressed with just how advanced everything was. The roads were better than anything they had ever seen before and the farmers working the fields were doing so much faster than any of the king's men had ever seen. People barely stopped what they were doing to watch their king's army and truth be told, the king found that more than a bit disturbing. It was clear to him that their loyalty was with Marion, not him. What he found even more disturbing was just how professional Marion's army was. They were all uniformed identically and they followed orders without question. Their weapons were very strange and the king became to suspect that the reports that he had been getting of their devilish weapons were not some fairly tale, but the truth. He was even more confused when he saw his first train. Marion had stopped the army at a crossing so that the train could go through. Then turning to the king, Marion explained “Trains, your majesty, always have the right of way for they cannot stop quickly.” This train was loaded with military equipment headed for her lands in the land district. It was one of her artillery units that was getting a head start being that the train was going that way anyway. After the train passed, they continued on their way. Marion led them to a large field, just outside of York. It was the same field that the peasants had kept their livestock in during the Sheffield invasion. “Your men can set up their camp here your majesty. Just make sure to remind them No Weapons On Them While In The City Of York!” With this, Marion's army disengaged and returned to their barracks while Luke came up beside her. The two of them watched as the king's army began to set up camp. After the king had seen to the important things, he and his guard rode up to Marion. “I wish to meet with Hardrada now.” “Yes, your majesty. This way if you please.” With that Marion and Luke turned their horses to head into York. Going into York, the king felt like he was a child going into the big city for the first time. It had changed so much since he had been here in February. The city was now clean, the people were healthy, and they were everywhere. Even though it was September, the king could smell no sewage at all. The roads were no longer dirt but were made out of some kind of very strange stone. There were trees and shrubs planted along the sides of the road. People seemed like they were in a constant hurry, but they all waved to Marion and Luke. The king then noticed that the old houses were being slowly replaced with new ones that were made of brick and stone. New construction was happening everywhere it seemed. Along the street, he noticed oddly shaped metal objects that were painted bright red. Finally, he had to ask his host about all these things. “What are all these things that I am seeing?” “Not to worry, but we will answer at least most of your questions after you meet with Hardrada and we eat some lunch” responded Luke. To be continued in part 14, Based on a post by somethin fishy, for Sex Stories.

It's grim up North.   But thankfully, it's also weird. Deliciously, darkly, disturbingly weird!   This week we are celebrating the Northern Weird Project – six novellas published by Wild Hunt Books (including one by yours truly!). In this first roundtable, I've gathered two of the writers and the genius behind the project, Ariell Cacciola, to talk about Northern literary culture in the North, haunted landscapes, isolated oddness, and the North/South divide.   Gemma Fairclough brings The Retreat, her story of creepy wellness culture in the Lake District, and Katherine Clements has written a psycho-geographic haunting of the Yorkshire moors in Turbine 34. Yet whilst displaying the diversity of northern weirdness, these two novellas are twinned and entwined in fascinating ways.   Enjoy – there's more coming all week.   Other books mentioned: Bear Season (2024), by Gemma Fairclough The Coffin Path (2018), by Katherine Clements Every Day is Mother's Day (1985), by Hilary Mantel Beyond Black (2005), by Hilary Mantel A Place of Greater Safety (1992), by Hilary Mantel Dark Matter (2010), by Michelle Paver The Night Ocean (2017), by Paul LaFarge   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luke's HAARP Time Warp: Part 10 Marion settles into the life of a ruler. Based on a post by somethin fishy, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Lukke's next stop was the blacksmith shop although these days it would be better to call it a foundry or a small steel mill. Since Bard had taken over the business had grown tremendously and he was now running 24/7. The biggest problem he was having was the constant lack of raw materials; he couldn't get enough iron ore, coal, or limestone. Overall, Luke was impressed with the job that Bard had been doing. After all he had managed to keep the arms flowing to Marion in enough quantity to arm her entire army with firearms. Bard was also working on building steam engine locomotives but again the material shortage was putting a real kink in his schedule and if it wasn't materials then his other great annoyance would make itself known. The general inability for anyone to accurately tell time without having to look at the sun. The general lack of watches or even the ability of people to read was constantly driving him nuts. When Bard saw Luke though, he's mood improved drastically. After all, as bad as his life was, Luke's was far worse. He had to deal with the possibility of being killed or assassinated on a daily basis; he had to deal with keeping the army clothed and fed while working to train the army; he had to manage over a dozen industries in which he had to train all the workers and make all the machines himself. If that wasn't enough, his wife was one of the most powerful nobles in the north. After they talked for a few hours and Luke taught Bard some more steel making tricks, Luke left. He was feeling much better and his next stop was one that he didn't want to make grumpy for it was finally time to go see his daughter. By the time that Luke got to where his daughter was staying; he was feeling his exhaustion. Fortunately, Mackenzie was napping so Luke followed her example and passed out on the floor but not before the couple that took care of her told him how well she was doing. It seemed that she was as tough as nails and stubborn as hell. Luke managed to sleep for almost an hour before Mackenzie's crying woke him up. Her wet nurse was there in a minute and nursed her. Luke stood, leaning against the door frame and watched; he really wished that they had a bottle so that he could feed her himself. He missed his daughter so much that not a day didn't go by that he wondered how the hell Marion did it. She was now almost a head taller and was putting on weight nicely. Luke stayed there for the rest of the day and slept there that night. During the day he played almost constantly with Mackenzie. Her caretakers were glad just to have some time off for she was a real handful and seemed to have much more energy than the typical kid of her age. That night they were both so tired that Luke had fallen asleep on the floor and Mackenzie used him for a pillow. Usually, she would wake up several times during the night, but that night she slept right through. When they woke up, Luke changed her, much to her caretaker's surprise. Before long though, it was time for Luke to go for, he had to get back to his duties in York. He said bye to everyone and promised to try and visit more often. Of course, once Bard had managed to get enough steel to build a railroad, then Luke would be able to visit much more often. It was late morning by the time that Luke left for York. This time he didn't hurry. He took his time to stop and watch village life, to smell flowers, or to watch the wildlife. Going this slow would mean that he would have to either go on through the night or stop and camp for the night. Since he didn't have any of his gear with him, he decided to ride through the night. As the sun was coming up the next morning, Luke found himself looking down on York in about the same spot that Marion had stopped his party when they had first arrived in York. He stopped here and thought about all that had happened before and since. After going through everything in his mind, he came to the solid conclusion that he was much happier here in the 11th century they he had ever been in the 21st. With that he sent his horse in motion again and resumed his trip back to York. As he silently made his way through the city, he was pleased to see that people were once again beginning to put weight on. The city was now much cleaner than it had been the first time he had been here and the people looked so much better. Not only that but they seemed happier too. As he worked his way down the streets, people would stop and thank him for everything that he had done to help them for now under Marion, jobs were becoming plentiful and they were well paid. Food was flowing into the markets again and people could afford it. Most of them were still disappointed about her sexuality but had come to the conclusion that if her husband, the biggest man that any of them had ever seen, didn't care then maybe they shouldn't either. Eventually Luke had got back to the castle gates and with it back to duty. Chapter 46. Luke's first stop was to see Marion. It took him a while to find her for she was with Pollyanna. She was still alive so that was something. Other than that, she was about the same was when Luke took off. Luke's good mood was almost erased when he saw Marion though for, she looked like shit. She had barely slept since Luke had left. Gabriel had offered to stay and watch Pollyanna so that Marion could go and get some sleep but she had refused. Luke knew what he had to do so he gently picked Marion up and carried her to their bedroom. To his surprise she didn't argue too much. Before he left, he told Gabriel to wake him up in a couple of hours for he knew that he had mountains of paperwork to get through. Oh, the joys of bureaucracy but without it, civilization just wouldn't be possible. Once back in their chambers, Luke started warming up some water. He carefully stripped Marion and sat her down. She was so tired that she was acting more like a limp noodle. After the water was warmed up, Luke carefully washed Marion's body with a washrag. After he had her clean, he laid her out in bed and covered her up. He then proceeded to wash himself. After he was done, he crawled into bed and pulling some of the cover over himself; passed out. Almost three hours later, Gabriel woke Luke up as he wanted. She was about to wake Marion up when he stopped her and whispered to let Marion sleep. Gabriel nodded and helped Luke get dressed. As Gabriel was helping him, she just couldn't help herself as she gently grabbed Luke's cock and gave it a couple of tugs. When Luke looked at her, she had a very naughty look on her face and a glimmer in her eyes. Luke smiled at her and whispered, “Sorry but I want to let Marion get some sleep, plus I have a shitload of paperwork to get down before I can do much of anything else.” Gabriel gave him a pouty face and said: “Party-pooper.” Luke smiled as he finished getting dressed and lead Gabriel out. Luke spent the rest of the day reading reports from the front and from the various industries in which he had an interest in or owned outright. All in all, things were looking good. All his companies were growing like weeds and at the front the army continued to kick ass. One of the best things he came across was that they now had an uninterrupted telegraph line between York and the lake district. This allowed Luke to follow the battles in almost real time and issue orders in time for them to do serious good. Most of the lake district was surrendering instead of trying to fight off Marion's army. It was to almost to the point to where the army just had to march into an area and the local rulers would surrender and accept Marion's standard deal in which they would follow all the laws to the letter and in turn the people would get to help shape said laws. Of course, this wouldn't kick in until at least sixty percent of the population were literate. The hardest thing for the local nobles to accept was that they could no longer own serfs under any circumstances. If they needed farm help, then that help had to be hired at an agreed upon price between the land owner and the job seeker. The job seeker was entitled to know what the other workers were being paid and how the employer treated the other employees. If an employer tried to withhold a worker's wages then that worker could file a complaint with Marion's labor board. They would then investigate. If the employee was indeed correct then the employer would be fined 1000% of the amount that they illegally withheld. Half of the money would go to the employee and half would go to the government. If the employer had done nothing illegal, then the employee would then have to provide free labor to that employer for the amount of 500% of what the employee claimed was stolen from them and the same amount of free labor for the government. In addition, the various employers in the area couldn't conspire with each other to keep wages down. If they did, then all their assets would be seized and they would be thrown in prison where they would have to do hard labor. It also helped the population of the lake district to get behind Marion that she was making sure to invest heavily in the area. The road linking York and the lake district was coming along well and the steam powered machinery that Luke had designed and helped build was really making the work go much faster and to a much higher quality. Luke had been so occupied with the reports that he lost track of time and was surprised when Marion came in with his supper. Luke looked up at her: “What are you up to sweetheart?” “Just bringing my favorite general his dinner.” “It's not dinnertime yet.” “Honey, believe it or not it's actually well past dinner.” “Oh” With that Luke cleared a space on his desk so that Marion could put his dinner down. After she did, he reached up and pulled her onto his lap. She squealed at this and “tried” to get away but Luke held on and wrapped his arms around her. With this she settled down and leaned against Luke's chest while he ate. Her hair had come loose during their playing and now was spread across her face like a golden blanket. Luke gently brushed it out of her face and gave her a very gentle kiss that was loaded with passion. He offered her some of his food but Marion had already eaten and was full. That didn't stop her though, from sneaking in and nibbling a bit on Luke. After Luke had finished, Marion hopped off his lap so that he could get up and stretch out. After all he had been reading reports and sending orders for hours without getting up. “So, any word on Pollyanna?” he asked after he had worked some of the kinks out. “Alice says that she is starting to show signing of improvement.” “Oh good” Luke gave Marion a warm smile. He went over to the safe that he had custom built and opening it; pulled out his computer and put on some music that he and Marion could dance to. This was something that Marion had never seen Luke do and she was thrilled for she loved to dance. She had secretly been wanting to dance with Luke since they first met but Luke had never shown in interest before. They danced for hours to a mix of slow and fast dances to music from Luke's world and music that Luke had carefully recorded from Marion's. They were so into each other that neither of them even noticed Gabriel come in and sit down to watch. Gabriel sat and watched the two dance for almost half an hour before she worked up enough nerve to interrupt for she was feeling left out a bit. “May I cut in?” Gabriel asked. Both Luke and Marion almost jumped through the ceiling and when they realized what happened all three broke down into laughter. “Of course, you can darling” said Marion. “Now for the important question, with whom do you want to dance with?” “Umm” Gabriel was mentally kicking herself for she hadn't thought about that. “No offense Marion, but do you mind if I dance with Luke for a bit?” Marion bowed to Gabriel and stepped out of the way. She went over to get some wine while Luke and Gabriel started dancing. While they danced, Marion watched them. She had to admit that Gabriel seemed to be starting to pay more attention to Luke but Marion loved both of them so much that she just couldn't find it in her to be jealous. After she had finished her wine which took her a number of songs because she was drinking very slowly; she put down her glass, walked up, and tapped Luke on his shoulder: “Excuse sir me but my I have this next dance with my girlfriend?” Luke bowed deeply and stepped out of the way so the ladies could dance. It was now his turn to get some wine. While he was working on his wine, he finished cleaning off his desk and put the reports in his safe. There was information in there that he definitely didn't want to have fall into enemy hands. After he was done, he checked the time and was surprised to see how late it was. He went over and turned the music off and put his computer away. Marion gave him a suspicious look but this disappeared when Luke told her what time it was. Luke locked up his office and the three of them returned to their chambers. As soon as they got through the door, Marion started to work on stripping Gabriel. This caught her by surprise but she wasn't complaining. She was going to start stripping Marion, but Luke had beaten her to it so Gabriel started working on Luke's clothing. Gabriel might not have had as much interest in men as Marion did; but she still knew her way around, so before long, she had Luke's cock as hard as the castle walls. By this time Marion also had Gabriel soaking wet. Luke picked them both up and with both of them squealing he laid them out on the bed. He started by nibbling on Marion's toes while he rubbed Gabriel's feet. Then he would switch making sure to divide his attention roughly evenly. Slowly he worked his way up both women. In the meantime, Gabriel and Marion were kissing and caressing each other's tits. Their nipples were hard enough to cut glass when Luke got to their pussies. Here he could see that they both could use a shave. That is if they intended to keep clean shaven. Luke didn't really care one way or the other although when pressed he had a slight preference toward a neatly trimmed pussy. He liked the feeling of his fingers going through their soft pussy hair. He started out with his pussy eating by working on Gabriel. After all he had started off by nibbling on Marion's feet. Within minutes he had Gabriel barely able to breath. She had to admit that there was something about a man's beard and mustache that really got her pussy flowing. At least that was the way that Luke had his trimmed. He had kept it trimmed up neatly and this was enough to drive Gabriel nuts. It didn't help that Marion was sucking on her nipple at the same time and since her hair was still loose; tickled Gabriel's stomach and her other tit. Her body finally had enough and she started convulsing. This would have felt good expect that Luke and Marion were holding her body down lightly and she couldn't curl up like it wanted to. Gabriel cam so hard that her eyes rolled up into her head. Luke and Marion looked down at Gabriel and the mess she made with satisfied looks on their faces. As Marion was admiring their handy work; Luke suddenly knocked her over and began to work on her pussy too. Luke loved the taste of both women but his favorite was still Marion. She was not only his lovely wife but she had just a little bit sweeter nectar which was fitting being as she was the goddess of beauty. Marion though wasn't having it. She pushed Luke up and over onto his back. She then spun around so that he could work her pussy while she sucked on him. Marion normally wouldn't have minded if Luke made her cum with his tongue for, he was truly talented with it, but she wanted something more tonight. If she was going to pass out from her Luke induced orgasms which is usually what happened then she wanted his steaming hot cum deep inside her where she hoped that it could do its job. After Marion was happy with the state of Luke's cock and her pussy; she once again spun herself around and very slowly impaled herself. Somehow, they both knew before they started that tonight was going to be a night for long, slow, passionate long making. As Marion would slowly rise and fall on Luke's cock, she worked him with her Kegel muscles. After some minutes of this, she spun around while still impaled and went reverse cowgirl. She liked this because she could lean back against Luke's strong chest and the underside of his cock would rub on the top side of her cunt. An added bonus was the Luke could easily message her tits and clit in this position. After a while Luke flipped both of them over so that he could share in the work and pleasure of being on top. He would first push in and down and then when he was stopped in that direction, he would push up and go in a little deeper. This he knew would drive Marion nuts; for doing this, Luke hit every one of her sensitive spots. Things were no different this time for Marion was shouting at the top of her lungs within a minute. Luke kept the same motion and speed up. If Marion would try to speed things up, then he would slow down so that the same speed would be maintained. Marion kept her singing up for she couldn't do much else. Her singing and yelling did finally wake Gabriel up. Marion started shaking like a leaf and this made Luke go into overdrive. He pounded her with everything he had and basically forced Marion's pussy to explode. As she compressed down on him, he exploded as well. Both of their eyes rolled back into their heads as Gabriel started sucking on Marion's tits again. Soon both Marion and Luke were spent. Luke was barely able to roll off and the only reason that he did at all was that Gabriel gave him a bit of a push for she wanted to eat Marion' cream filled cunt. But first she cleaned off Luke cream covered cock. Gabriel just loved the taste of her two favorite people. After she had thoroughly cleaned Luke off; she started in on Marion. Before long Marion was moaning again and had her hands buried in Gabriel's hair. Gabriel had thought that Luke was done for the evening so she was surprised when she felt a large rough hand gently rubbing her pussy lips. Luke was an expert with his fingers and despite their size, they were very nimble. Soon Gabriel was getting wet again but her moans were drowned out in Marion's pussy. The extra vibration from Gabriel's moaning really got Marion going. Marion was able to look down for just a second and in the moonlight streaming through the window; she could see Luke getting ready to line up his soldier for another mission. Marion knew this mission started when she felt Gabriel move forward a bit and start moaning harder. Marion swiped another pillow so that she could watch as Luke pounded her lover's pussy. Marion was truly enjoying watching her husband fucking Gabriel. Since Gabriel was being distracted by Luke's cock, she wasn't licking Marion as much but that didn't matter because Gabriel's increasing moaning was doing a really good job on Marion. Gabriel's moaning increased as Luke increased his speed. This in turn; pushed Marion closer still to another orgasm of her own. Things hit a crescendo when Luke exploded again. Normally he wouldn't have cum this soon after cumming in his wife, but Gabriel's pussy was still very tight because she hadn't had a child yet. Additionally, he felt kind of like a porn star because he could see Marion watching him fucking her lover and this gave him one hell of an ego boost. Gabriel felt Luke swell and his hot cum shoot up inside her. This set her second orgasm off which in turn set off Marion's second. All three of them were now completely exhausted. Luke laid down on his back and each woman took a shoulder. Marion pulled the covers over them and they quickly fell into a very deep sleep. Chapter 47. The next month or so went about the same. The three of them would wake up just before the sun came up and would get breakfast. Then Marion and Gabriel would go out into the town to check on the progress of various projects and to talk with the people. Gabriel would always take notes of anything that Marion would need to look into. At first the people didn't want anything to really do with them, but as time passed, they began a accept Marion and Gabriel. It helped tremendously that the concerns that they told Marion were taken care of or at least looked into. Luke meanwhile would always start his day off with reports from the front and would send out orders or work on organize supplies to be sent off. They would gather again for lunch and catch each other up on what all was going on and offer their suggestions for various problems. After lunch, it was down to the hospital to visit the sick and wounded. They always saved Pollyanna for last so that they could sit and talk with her. She was starting to finally recover in addition to getting close to giving birth. After visiting with Pollyanna, it was Luke's turn to visit some of his projects like the powder mill or the textile mill that he had built to provide the army with uniforms. When he wasn't making uniforms for the army, he was making clothes for the people. These cost much less to make then other textiles so he could sell them for much less. While Luke was doing this, Marion took care of her civil administration duties. These usually took the rest of her day. Supper was always about seven in the evening and this was their stopping point for the day. The rule was that unless it was a matter of life or death, business stopped at supper. After they ate, they would play games or work on their hobbies for a couple of hours. Luke had set up a workshop in the castle so that he could make various items. Marion found that she had a talent for singing and composing music and Gabriel did woodworking. About an hour after dinner one of them would start heating up the water for their nightly bathes. They always bathed together so they could save water and time. Plus, it was fun. After bath time, it was bed time. Usually, Luke would alternate which woman he flooded with cum. After their romp between the sheets, the woman would use Luke as their pillow and go to sleep. Alice, in the meantime, had found someone of her own. She had always been a little jealous of Marion after all Luke was a very kind and gentle lover. She had been out in town one morning to buy some more herbs when she almost ran into a young man in uniform. He had been on leave to attend him mother's funeral and he was on his way back to his unit. They apologized to each other and ended up leaning against each other, laughing. After that, they ended up in one of the taverns where they talked for a couple of hours. There they found out more about each other. His name was Markus Fletcher and he had joined Marion's army because he had been an escaped serf from one of Cecilia's estates. He deeply impressed with the fact that Alice was a doctor and furthermore she knew exactly what she was doing for the most part unlike every other doctor in the known world. The fact that she was a doctor didn't bother him in the slightest and this impressed Alice, who was use to men losing interest once they learned that she had no intention of giving up medicine. For his part, he was impressed that Alice didn't care about his former occupation of serf. The important thing was that he was trying to make himself better and was working hard at it. He had enrolled in classes through the army to learn how to read and write. This was needed if he was going to advance up the ranks. Finally, they had to get going. They exchanged contact information and agreed to try and stay in contact. Over the weeks, they wrote back and forth and got closer. Alice just loved Markus's sense of humor and his dry wit while Markus adored Alice's intelligence. The fact that she had flaming red hair and bright green eyes didn't hurt matters either. Then the letters from Markus stopped. At first Alice wasn't too concerned for he was a soldier after all but as time passed, she started getting worried. She knew that the army was taking light causalities in their campaign in the lake district. Every few days she would get a new batch of casualties from the front. By the time they got to her, they were mostly stable but she still had plenty of work to do. One of these wounded looked kind of familiar but the bandages across the lad's face kept her from recognizing him. She did the first time she went to change the bandages though. This man who looked like he had caught a club to the face was none other than Markus. Alice was relieved for Markus was alive and he quickly became her favorite patient. While under Alice's care; Markus became interested in medicine and volunteered for medic training for by this time his reading and writing had gotten very good. After he got over the blood and guts, Markus started proving that he had a talent for medicine. Pollyanna continued her healing under Alice's close watch. She had been relieved that her child had survived and was even more relieved when Matt didn't leave her. After all it wasn't unheard of for husbands to leave their wives after the misses had suffered such terrible injuries. Instead, he transferred to the York engineering brigade, so that he could stay close to Pollyanna, despite the fact that he had to take a low-level supervisor position. This unit was responsible for overseeing all the engineering projects going on all around York and truth be told Matt wasn't much of an engineer; he was a natural supervisor though. Pollyanna continued to advise in all engineering projects that didn't involve her having to go into the field. Luke had made her a table that she could pull up to her bed so that she could work from bed when she was hurting. Normally though she just worked from her office which was just down the hall from her and Matt's chambers so that she wouldn't have to risk stairs. The army campaigning in the Lake District continued to win battle after battle. It was getting to the point where nobody wanted to fight them and towns would open their gates to Marion's army without even being told to. As the army campaigned, they built roads and bridges to help solidify the conquest. For the labor to build these projects the army hired anyone who wanted a good paying job. To fund the construction, the army used funds that had been seized from rebellious nobles and from the light taxes that Marion had put in place. These taxes were actually popular with the people because nobody was exempt, no matter who. It didn't hurt matters that the economy in Marion's lands was starting to grow rapidly. This was fueled by her light but fair taxes and the complete elimination of tolls to use the roads. Now anyone could take goods anywhere in Marion's lands and not pay to use the road network. If they transported them by water, they still had to pay to use the locks but that money was used to maintain the locks. These combined with the absolutely unprecedented demand for raw materials from the industries being built in and around York, to pump money into the economy. To keep inflation down, Marion used taxes to suck up the extra money floating around. She would adjust them about every two months and this actually worked very well. Luke told her that eventually this would get to be too complex but they would cross that bridge when they got there. Everyone knew that it would take a while before all the changes to take full effect but Marion had done a very good job of making changes that would have immediate affects to buy time to make the serious changes. Marion of course got the credit for all this happening, but she refused to accept it saying that everyone had contributed. Those close to her knew that Luke was really the force driving many of these new ideas but he would never admit to it. Chapter 48. It was now late April, at least that's what Luke said. One of the changes that he was fighting for was to standardize calendars and time keeping. The lake district had been pacified for the time being so Luke recalled the army. He had another reason and that was he had started getting disturbing intelligence reports coming from the south. Apparently, some of the more rambunctious nobles in the mid-lands had started eyeing Marion's land and were recruiting a large army to take it by force. Their first attempt though was by diplomacy. The most powerful noble among them had offered to marry Marion and in this way, he could protect her with her being a woman and all. Marion sat quietly through the ambassador's entire presentation of why she should marry the noble. The presenter was none other than the noble's younger brother and he assured Marion that his brother's army would crush anyone who would threaten these lands if she would marry him. What the presenter didn't notice though his self-confident presentation was that everyone in the room who was associated with Marion was doing their level best to not break out in laughter. They all knew just how much Marion loved Luke and just how powerful Marion's army truly was. Marion was polite through the entire presentation, and had to give some of the others in the room the stink eye to keep them quiet. One of those that Marion had to quiet down was Gabriel. By now she knew that she was pregnant and was very thankful for she had always loved children. Gabriel had to literally bite her tongue to keep from laughing and telling the arrogant idiot off. Marion though had another idea that would buy her some time to safely recall her army. “You make a very persuasive argument milord, but with something of this magnitude I feel that it would be better for everyone if your brother would come here and make his case for himself. This had nothing to do with you; just that we have so far done well and I do not wish to risk damaging the progress that we have made by making a decision without abdicate evidence.” “You are a very wise young woman milady. I will give my brother your response and I expect that he will accept your most gracious invitation.” “Very well then; I await him eagerly. Guard. See this man to his horse and safely out of York.” “Yes Milady!” snapped the guard. “This way sir.” On his way out, the brother couldn't help but notice all the beautiful woman that inhabited the castle and it was a mighty battle to restrain himself to keep from tasting the local cuisine, but he did have an important mission to do. Anyway, there would be plenty of time to fuck the local bitches senseless after his brother had married Marion. He would have been far less confident if he had seen what happened in the hall after he left. Marion managed to keep everyone quiet until about ten seconds after that idiot had walked out the door. Then God himself couldn't keep the people from laughing their asses off. “Was that an ambassador or a comedian?” asked a crying Gabriel. She had been laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe. “Tell you what. If science is ever able to figure it out; I'll let you know.” Was Marion's response. This garnished even more laughter from everyone in the hall. It was almost half an hour before anyone in the hall was able to really function again. During this time Luke had walked in and was thoroughly confused. ‘Whiskey! Tango! Foxtrot! Had he done something funny?' thought Luke. When Marion filled him in on what happened; he couldn't help but chuckle. “So honey, you going to have some fun with this?” Marion smiled widely and nodded at him. After Luke escorted Marion from the hall he asked: “So, what's you thinking sweetheart?” “Not sure yet, but we should have a few days to figure something out to really put those idiots back in their place.” They walked back to their chambers to relax a little before dinner. Today they just laid on their bed and talked as they slowly caressed each other. “You know something Luke? I think Gabriel is pregnant.” Luke smiled at this “I figured as much but how did you find out?” Marion was shocked “How did you find out?” “I said “figured” not “found” sweetheart. I've been noticing that she hasn't been feeling good in the morning and she has been going bathroom more at night then before.” “I keep forgetting how observant you are.” “It's not hard when you two insist on using me as a pillow. I know when either of you get up in the middle of the night.” Marion just smiled at Luke for she truly enjoyed sleeping on Luke's shoulder and she knew that he loved having her there. They continued to just lay there until it was time for dinner. Today it had been Gabriel's turn to make dinner; so, Luke and Marion got up and went to their personal dinner room. This room had formally been a storage room, but Luke had converted it into a romantic dining room with just enough room for the immediate family. Since Gabriel was family, she had a seat at the table. Dinner tonight was roast duck. Luke had scored the duck the day before when he had been out hunting. This was something that he did a couple of times a month. He would go fishing at least once a week even as busy as he was. After Gabriel brought the food in, she stood and said: “Before we eat, I have an announcement to make” she paused here “I'm pregnant!” Marion jumped up and the ladies held each other as they jumped up and down. Luke tipped his glass toward Gabriel and offered his congratulations. It took Marion and Gabriel a few minutes to calm down enough so that they could eat. Normally Luke would have been slightly annoyed but Marion had finally moved Mackenzie and her caregivers to York the day before, because the real owners of their original house had returned. They offered to let Marion keep the house, but she insisted that it was their house after all and they should be the ones to live in it. All in all, Luke's life was finally looking good. That night Luke was restless so Marion and Gabriel went to bed without him. Usually this happened once a month or so. Luke had suffered from occasional insomnia ever sense he had been in Iraq and he figured that he would suffer it for the rest of his life. Eventually he would be able to go to sleep but it would be early in the morning. He worked at making Alice some more tools for a while and then he made his way back to his chambers to settle down in his chair. He had just settled down when he heard the sound of the lock on the door moving. If he had been asleep then he wouldn't have noticed it but he was still awake. Someone was trying to sneak into their room. Luke raced to the rear of their chambers to where Marion and Gabriel were sleeping soundly. Luke placed a hand across each of their mouths to keep them quiet. They woke up instantly and when they figured out that it was Luke's hand on their mouths, they settled down instantly. “Someone's trying to get in.” Luke whispered. Gabriel and Marion were up in a flash and both grabbed their weapons. Luke already had his and was by the door when two men crept through. Luke waited until after the men had passed before he peaked out the door. The last thing he wanted to do was to step in front of more men. Seeing none, he turned his attention back to the men in the room. He needn't worry about these two for Marion and Gabriel both took one and killed the assassins quietly. In the darkness, Luke could hear someone else ask if they were done yet. Luke crept out and found a smaller man hiding in the shadows. A quick strike to the head and the stranger was out cold. Luke checked the rest of the room and finding no one; he relocked the door and propped a chair against it. He then signaled that the coast was clear. Gabriel quickly lit a lamp so that they could see. The two that the ladies dispatched, didn't have much on them, but the one that Luke had captured, was dressed like a minor noble. Luke threw a bucket of cold water in the man's face and he began to wake up. Marion didn't waste any time putting clothes on. She put her foot right over the man's balls. “You have ten seconds to tell me what you're doing here before I crush your balls.” The man started protesting but all Marion did was count down. As she counted down, she gradually increased the pressure on the idiot's balls. When she reached two, the man gave in. “Alright, alright” the man gasped trying to hold tears back for Marion hadn't been holding back in her pressure. After the man gave, Marion took her foot off his balls. “Tell us everything you know and make it quick unless you want to eat your balls.” The man started singing like a canary. “I used to be employed by your sister, but when the group's leader vanished, I took off. The last thing I wanted was to be near Cecilia after that failure. I found employment with Vincent, Duke of Sheffield. He tasked me with isolating you for he is after your lands.” The man started sharing at Marion and Gabriel. He had never seen grown women that had no hair below the neck and this fascinated him. Everyone that he had ever known would have never shaved their body hair off. His eyes traced the lady's curves and he tried to remember every little detail. “Okay tell us everything about this Vincent clown.” said Luke. When the man looked at Luke, he nearly fainted. During this whole time, Luke had been behind the man and therefore out of sight. Just to scare the man some more, Luke picked up one of the tools for the fireplace and bent the formally straight handle into a tight circle. As intended the man pissed his pants at seeing this. “Well Marion you think this will fit this bastard's neck?” “Um looks a little big there.” snickered Gabriel and Marion smiled at her. Luke held the loop of metal up to the man's neck for size and made a show of adjusting it. By this time the man was beyond scared and would have traveled to the depths of hell just to get away from this giant of a man. “Look here master assassin. If you answer all of this man's questions truthfully then I will consider letting you go.” Marion then turned to Gabriel “Gabriel can you go get the guards and find out how these idiots got in?” Gabriel threw a robe on and took off down the hall. “How would you know if I am truthful?” “The giant is really good at telling if people are telling him the truth.” Luke looked down at the man “Why is Vincent looking to take Marion's land?” “He is always wanting more land and the recent boom had attracted his attention.” “How many soldiers does he have at his disposal?” “I have no idea, I swear.” “Is he planning on using military force?” The captive shrugged. “What was your mission tonight?” “We were tasked with killing the head body guard and Marion's husband. Marion was not to be harmed. He wanted to take over and force her to marry him.” Luke already knew that the noble's brother that visited earlier was a different noble. He was now really glad that he had been able to marry Marion first. “Last question. What will happen to you since you failed?” “Who said I failed?” “Well, the fact that Marion's husband is the one questioning you and is about to kill you would be a good indication that you failed. Now how to kill you?” Before Luke could kill the man, the guards came in with Gabriel. Luke watched carefully as the guards took out the dead bodies and he saw just what he was looking for. One of the guards had been bought off. He knew this when he saw the look of recognition in one of their faces. Luckily, he was the one guard that wasn't carrying a body. On his way out, Luke asked him to stay to take custody of the captured man. Gabriel was busy telling Marion about how the assassins got in. They had cut the throat of one of the side door guards and took his keys. The other guard had seemed to have vanished. Luke had his suspicions about the missing guard but before he could make them known, the turncoat guard stuck. He took his knife and thrust it into Luke's back, or tried to anyway. Luke had been watching and saw the guard move to where he was out of Luke's line of sight. As soon as Luke heard the man take a bit of a deeper breath, Luke turned to his side and took a quick step back. This caused the guard to miss with his initial thrust. Luke grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand and took his left elbow and drove it into the man's face knocking him out. Luke then looked over at the captive to see that the man had just realized that he had completely failed for the fear was evident. Marion ordered that he be taken and hung in the dungeon until dead and that his body given to Alice so that she could teach a new group of students, proper surgical techniques. Luke meanwhile had searched the turncoat guard and had found the payment he had received. Luke was stunned at just how much the guard had been paid but Marion wasn't. She knew of the noble that the assassin spoke of and knew that he was very wealthy. Luke stripped the guard of his weapons and carried him to the dungeon where he could be dealt with later. When Luke got back, he found Gabriel comforting an obviously distraught Marion. Luke made sure to lock the door and he rushed to Marion's side as well. Marion had come so close to losing everything again and she was getting close to her limit. Luke gently rubbed his hand across her back for she had never even bothered to put any clothes on. “Marion” he said softly. She slowly looked at him with her puffy red eyes “Let me ask you something. What would your life had been like if we hadn't have met? Just think about that for a minute. If William hadn't killed you in the ambush then you would have been most likely been brought back here where you would have been raped day and night. Gabriel here almost suffered that fate as well. Now you have a beautiful child and two people how love you more than life itself. In addition, you are trying to change the world and many of those that are feeling threatened by this are the ones who have the power now and they are not going to want to give up their power so easily.” “I know Luke, somedays that's all I think about. It's just with everything that's happened; is all this worth it?” “Marion you know that we can't answer that question for you. You are going to have to find the answer to that yourself.” With that Luke gently laid Marion back on the bed. He stripped and crawled into bed with her. By now she was quietly crying so Luke gently moved her so that she was resting on one of Luke's massive shoulders. Gabriel took her rob off and climbed into her regular spot. From here she could look right into Marion's eyes and the image she saw was one of distress and terror. Gabriel knew the reasons for those looks so she didn't have to ask. Eventually Marion was able to cry herself to sleep and Gabriel soon joined her. Luke though remained awake for he was still worried and he needed some time to think. Chapter 49. Marion's expands her control. The next morning, Marion woke up terrified and alone. It had been a long night for her because she had almost constant nightmares. Images of Gabriel on fire and Luke hanging from a tree, gutted; filled her head. Also, images of Pollyanna giving birth and her child split open on a pike while still attached by the umbilical cord; her own child being tossed into a pig pen and being eaten alive also flew around her head. All this while she was tied to a stake so unable to do anything about any of this. Her cries just garnished cheers from the crowd who were being led be Cecilia. Marion had even begged to be killed but nobody would take the couple of seconds to kill her. On more than one occasion during the night; Marion had woken up screaming bloody murder, only to realize that she was safe in her bed and Luke's strong arms were wrapped around her. Finally, she woke up for the day and she realized that she had been sweating all night for she was very tacky and the sheets were soaked. Looking out the window, Marion figured that it was almost ten in the morning. ‘Shit' she thought for she had a lot of work that she had to do today. Marion managed to drag her feet out of bed and sit upright. Her head was pounding and she felt very warm and weak. This was the worst she had felt since she had gotten extremely sick when she was young. It took her almost five minutes to crawl out of bed and make it to where Luke had installed a water faucet. Eventually he claimed that he would have hot and cold water available but for now it was only cold. He got the water there by using the steam engine that he had to power his shop, to pump water up to the roof of the castle, where he had put large tanks in to hold the water. This way the entire castle could have running water and he would only need to pump the water up there once a day, usually in the evening. Luke had even managed to hook these water tanks into a primitive fire suppression system for the castle. He was still working on making enough flushing toilets for everyone, but there was enough in place to manage and nobody had to use chamber pots anymore. As this plumbing was coming online, the seasonal diseases that usually made their yearly appearance were absent this year in locals where the sanitation system had been upgraded. Marion threw water in her face in an attempt to wake herself up. It took some time but the cold water plus the sunlight started to work their magic on her. After she had washed her face, she went over to the window where she let the warm sunlight drench her nude body. As she slowly moved around, her hair began to flow again and started catching the morning light sending golden rays through the room. The warmth of the sun felt so good on her skin that she almost fell asleep standing up. The warmth also helped to loosen up her stiff muscles. After twenty minutes of standing in the sun she felt good enough to get dressed and to go get some work done. The first order of business today was to find out everything about the turncoat guard. Marion walked into her office, only to find Gabriel and Luke hard at work. As she came through the door Luke said without looking up: “You don't need to worry about that turncoat guard anymore. We had him executed this morning after we pumped him for information. It looks like he was a greedy bastard who also didn't like the fact that you have such a close relationship to Gabriel or to me for that matter. He still thought that Cecilia should still be the ruler for “she was born first and it was her right”.” At this Luke scoffed and refocused on the paperwork in front of him. He had already gone through all of his paperwork for that morning. Since the main body of the army was on their way back home, they didn't make an overwhelming amount of work for Luke. Gabriel in the meantime was going through the intelligence reports from their spies that they had all over England. Right now, the only threat to them was from the area around Sheffield and once the army had got back in a couple of days, that threat would diminish greatly. They knew that nobles in the area had teamed up and were rapidly building a large army to take on Marion. After Marion had been filled in on everything, she nodded and went off to check on Pollyanna. She was in better spirits this morning for she was actually feeling pretty good for once so she was able to actually get some work of her own done. Marion stayed and talked with Pollyanna until it was lunchtime. After lunch Marion, Gabriel, and Luke toured the town to see what all was going on. This took much longer than it used to because the town was so busy. It seemed like on every street corner someone was trying to sell something. The whole place was now more like one big market. All these sights and sounds made Marion smile. Not only was the town more alive now but with all this commerce going on, her tax coffers were going to swell. Most people barely recognized them for there were so many new people in town that most had only heard descriptions so vague that Marion could be standing right in front of them and they wouldn't know it. Before they went back for the evening, they bought stuff for dinner. After dinner, Luke continued to work on Alice's new tools and the solar water heaters that he had been tinkering with. Life for Marion continued much in this same way for the next week. At least her nightmares were calming down and she was actually able to get through the night without screaming. Her army made it back safe and sound and she had given most of them a week's leave so that they could visit with their families or just relax. Many of the soldiers also had a lot of loot from this expedition and they were eager to spend it. Some got drunk, some used it to pay off debts, some used it to buy a piece of land for themselves, and still others were thinking about starting a family of their own. Speaking of family, Marion had also made sure to spend time with her small family. She really enjoyed watching Luke play with their daughter and after some warming up, Marion enjoyed playing as well. Luke had even moved their daughter into their chambers so that they could help take care of her. Marion was confused by this but figured that it was important to Luke so she didn't complain about it too much. Chapter 50. It was the during the first week of May that the noble who had proposed through his brother, made it to York and he was amazed at just how much wealth had found its way into the city. In fact, Marion wasn't even bothering to rebuild the walls for she had decreed that the town would grow in that direction first. This would give her time to have the rest of the walls demolished. First, some of Pollyanna's engineers would go out and lay out the new section of town. Then crews would start excavating for the sewer and water system. Since there were no such thing as environmental reviews or any of that B S, the crews were able to work fast. After the underground infrastructure had been put in place, the roads would be put in on top and then the buildings could be built. The two nobles and their entourage managed to get themselves lost for the city was changing so rapidly. They also had themselves a run in with Marion's new city police force. They had been stopped be someone directing traffic away from a construction area and the nobles didn't like a commoner telling them what to do and they took offense. The commoner fought back against the nobles and this attracted the attention of a pair passing officers. The officers listened to both sides of the story and then gave the nobles two options: apologize to the commoner or spend the night in jail. The nobles attempted to make themselves a third option but this was slammed shut when the officers beat the crap out of the entourage. The nobles then apologized and were on their way with proper directions this time. At the castle gates, the nobles were forced to disarm. It was here that they learned of the assassination attempt and Marion was done with taking chances. Once in the castle, they were still further amazed since it seemed like every square centimeter of castle was having work done to it. The nobles watched as copper pipes were put in for fresh water and iron pipes to haul away waste. Plate glass windows were also being put in. This was something else that Luke had introduced. Sure, windows had existed before but they were all handmade and inconsistent. That inconsistency offended Luke's engineering soul so he had started doing stuff about it. One of the results was the windows. Once they had managed to make their way to the great hall where most nobles did business and Marion had spoken with the brother; they learned that Marion conducted her business from an office down the hall. Stepping through the office door, the nobles were almost ran over by workers. Men and women were going in every which direction carrying reports and other papers. Many more people were working from desk filling out reports. They were escorted to the back of the room where they were met by a large door with two very fearsome looking guards on it and never mind that one of the guards was a woman. After the nobles explained just who they were, one of the guards opened the door and stuck their head in. The nobles were just able to hear the guard announce their presence. The guard then told them to go right in, but the entourage would have to stay outside. They were directed to a comfortable lounge where they could wait. All through this the nobles were having a hard time containing themselves for most of the women working were showing much more skin than they were used to seeing outside of a whorehouse. The older one's composer was almost completely undone when he saw Marion and Gabriel for the first time. He had been warned by the younger brother but the older one didn't quite believe him and now seeing Marion he could see that his younger brother didn't exaggerate anything and it anything wasn't kind enough toward the ladies' beauty. It didn't help that the way Gabriel was bent over, the men could see right down her blouse that she was wearing and they could watch her tits gently sway back and forth. To be continued in part 11, Based on a post by somethin fishy, for Sex Stories.

James Rebanks is a farmer turned author in England's Lake District. In his farming memoirs The Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral, he tells his story of rightsizing an unprofitable, environmentally unsustainable farm.

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan, Simon, and Ashley explore the powerful relationship between nature, neurodivergence, chronic pain, and seasonal change. Recorded after a neurodivergent getaway in the Lake District, the trio reflect on the healing power of natural environments, the sensory overwhelm of urban life, and how embracing seasonal rhythms can support mental health and regulation for autistic and ADHD adults.Through candid storytelling and humour, they unpack the challenges of pain management, executive dysfunction, and winter transition, and share personal rituals, mindset shifts, and unexpected joys found in the natural world.Together, they explore:How nature acts as a powerful regulatory tool for neurodivergent brainsWhy modern urban environments can overwhelm autistic and ADHD sensory systemsThe role of barefoot grounding, light exposure, and circadian rhythms in daily wellbeingPractical strategies for navigating winter transitions, layering, and seasonal overwhelmPain, fatigue, and adapting outdoor experiences to fit different physical needsUsing photography, VR, and creative rituals to stay connected to nature indoors Embracing cosiness, Christmas lights, and simple joys during the winter monthsWhether you find winter draining, chronic pain exhausting, or city life overstimulating, this episode offers practical strategies and heartfelt conversation to remind you that neurodivergent people aren't broken—the environments we live in often are.Our Sponsors:

Exploring beautiful Ambleside in the Lake District, England is the perfect mix of outdoor adventure and rich history. Tucked at the northern edge of Lake Windermere, Ambleside is a charming village that offers some of the best walks in the Lake District along with fascinating stories from its past.In this episode, we set out on hikes like Todd Crag and Loughrigg Fell — both delivering sweeping views without an all-day climb. We'll also wander to Rydal Water and Grasmere — landscapes that inspired poets and still feel timeless today.But Ambleside isn't just about the trails. The village is full of history, from Roman ruins to centuries-old stone buildings that give it that unmistakable Lakeland character. Along the way, I'll share tips on where to eat, shop and relax, plus the best times to visit so you can soak up Ambleside's charm without the crowds.Whether you're here for the hiking, the history or simply the atmosphere of one of the Lake District's most beloved spots, Ambleside is a destination that deserves a place on your travel list.Tune in for:Scenic walks with unforgettable views (Todd Crag, Loughrigg Fell & more)A peek into Ambleside's Roman and cultural historyVillage highlights: cafés, shops & places to exploreTravel tips on when to go and how to get thereWhether you come for the trails or the tales, Ambleside, England is the kind of place you carry home with you.Want to chat more about this destination?Send me a message at Lynne@WanderYourWay.comIn this episode:1:11: Intro2:28: Placing it on the map6:09: Todd Crag and Loughrigg Fell11:56: Rydal Waters16:15: Grasmere19:59: Roman Ruins23:09: Lake Windermere24:51: The Village of Ambleside27:40: Food recommendations38:17: Shops43:20: Logistics49:16: Wrapping it upImportant links:Lake District National ParkAmblesideApple PieCopper PotFellinisLucy's on a PlateWander Your Way ResourcesEagle Creek Wander Your Way AdventuresWander Your WayLakeland Retreats ★ Support this podcast ★

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️HOME TRAILS returns for another podcast in residence!This time we head to Keswick in the Lake District to bring you coverage of the Altra 13 Valleys Ultra.We talk to the runners as they prepare to race the 13,7,5 and 2 valley races.We speak to the male and female winners and find out what it takes to  complete the loops in the iconic landscape of the Lakes.We have in depth interviews with the runners at the front of the races and we find out what it takes to stay on the mic with the race MC's Matt Ward and Beth Pascall.If you were there and you were interviewed by Ultrarunning Sam, then dive in to the video because nobody was left out of the final cut!HT@ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

This month, we start with the Regen Food Systems Prize and a chance to win £20k to support your business. Next, we hear about an artist-founded wool business in the Lake District and speak with landowners backing the Right to Roam across England. We end with a look at the growing British sustainable flower movement, plus a special call-out about a new project exploring the impact of our Cereal series, six years on. Regen Food Systems Prize Details https://www.regen-gathering.com/food-system-prize https://lakedistricttweed.com/pages/about https://thewoollibrary.uk/pages/about-us https://woodlandvalley.co.uk/beavers/ https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/ https://www.schoolofsustainablefloristry.co.uk https://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk https://farmerama.co/about/cereal/ We have just started researching for a long episode and report reflecting on the impact of the Cereal series and where the new grains movement is at 6 years on. We would love to hear from anyone who listened to the series and felt like it impacted their life in some way. We want to share your stories and celebrate all the work that is happening! Please do email us on farmeramaradio@gmail.com or look out for the announcement of our crowd-sourcing of short audio notes for our soundmap of the impact - we would love to have your voice shared on there!

4/4: This file covers CMB aftermath, Gamow's vindication, and Hoyle's controversial final years. CMB proved Big Bang theory, establishing cosmos temperature at 2.73 Kelvin and age at 13.8 billion years. Gamow (died 1968) wrote Princeton researchers, seeking recognition for his and Ralph Alpher's 1940s CMBcalculations. Hoyle's work with Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge and William Fowler on heavy elements was genius, but only Fowler received the Nobel Prize. Hoyle never forgave Willie Fowler. Speculation includes the committee distancing from Hoyle's fringe theories or Hans Bethe misunderstanding Hoyle's role. Hoyle moved to Lake District, pursuing panspermia theory—life spreading via cosmic travelers. He rejected Darwinian evolution, claiming Earth too young, ironically gaining young-earth creationist support despite atheism. He proposed diseases like AIDS arrived via comets, viewed as eccentric. Both were "seat-of-the-pants thinkers," though Hoyle more stubbornly clung to strange concepts. Flashes of Creation: George Gamow, Fred Hoyle, and the Great Big Bang Debate, by Paul Halpern

In this episode, I investigate the worst guide book in the world. It's the Holy Grail of travel podcasts, and in a sense, the Gareth Bale of it as well - in that it underperformed internationally. I pursue a lead that unpicks the origins of the worst guide book in the world, "My Lovely Lake Disctrict" by Jemima Penk. This pursuite leads directly to snooker. Music and Sounds courtesty of Zapsplat.com

Coniston Water in England’s beautiful Lake District is a favorite vacation spot for families in the UK. The waters are perfect for boating, swimming, and other water sports. That beautiful setting, however, was also the site of great tragedy. In 1967, Donald Campbell was piloting his hydroplane Bluebird K7, seeking to break the world water speed record. He reached a top speed of 328 mph (528 km/h) but didn’t live to celebrate the achievement as Bluebird crashed, killing Campbell. Tragic moments can happen in beautiful places. In Genesis 2, the Creator “took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (v. 15). The garden was a masterpiece, yet when placed in this paradise, the man and woman disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into His creation (3:6-7). Today, we continue to see the destructive effects of their tragic choice. But Jesus came to offer life to us—people who were dead in our sins. The apostle Paul, referring to that, wrote, “Just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [Jesus Christ] the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Because of Jesus, the most beautiful home of all awaits us. Out of beauty came tragedy. And by God’s grace, out of tragedy came eternal beauty.

Send us your Mediocre 5 Star ReviewThis week on the Casual Camping Podcast, it's not one of Tim's finest hours.With his mates bailing because the forecast promised buckets of rain and gale-force winds, Tim headed solo to the Lake District determined to prove them wrong. Spoiler alert: the weather won.From leaky tents to soggy kit and a string of small disasters that piled up like wet socks, Tim fought valiantly for 24 hours before finally admitting defeat, packing it all in, and driving home with his tail firmly between his legs.It's a tale of perseverance, poor prep, and the reminder that sometimes camping just laughs in your face. Join Ade and Tim as they relive the misadventure, share the lessons learned, and find the funny side of a very damp weekend.DISCLAIMER: Casual Camping Podcast accepts no liability and does not officially recommend any products or endorse any techniques discussed in an individual podcast episode or shown on Casual Camping Podcast social media accounts. Individuals should make their own informed decision and risk assessment of any products or advice prior to any purchase or useSupport the showCheck Out Our Socials:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1333082837320305/?_rdrInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/casualcampingpodcast/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO9F70wD5P16dbKV20rTtwegIcBDtKY8QThreads: https://www.threads.net/@casualcampingpodcast?invite=0

Matthew rose to fame as the winner of the BBC's Survivor UK in 2023. Since then, he's built a loyal following on TikTok, garnering more than 4.3 million likes. Based in the Lake District, Matthew enjoys watersports, football and running. He's also passionate about raising awareness around mental health and homelessness. In this conversation, Matthew talks about the death of his grandma, Bernadette, keeping her memory alive, and the fear of death.You can also watch a subtitled version of the conversation on YouTube.On the Marie Curie Couch aims to open up conversations about death, break down the taboo and encourage people to share their end of life plans.This podcast is made by Marie Curie – the UK's leading end of life charity. For more information about the vital work we do, head to mariecurie.org.ukOn the Marie Curie Couch is produced and edited by Marie Curie, with support from Ultimate Content. The music featured is Time Lapse by PanOceanic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textImagine this: William Wordsworth, in the early 1800s, walking the hills of England's Lake District. He stops to watch a field of daffodils swaying in the breeze, and suddenly, the moment becomes eternal. For Wordsworth, nature is not just scenery — it is a teacher, a healer, even a kind of companion. The world outside reflects the life within.  And it's reflective moments like these that remind us: literature is never written in isolation… it's a conversation that stretches across centuries. Wordsworth's vision would echo far beyond his own time.” For Wordsworth, nature is not just scenery — it is a teacher, a healer, even a companion. The world outside reflects the life within.Now, shift forward a century. Robert Frost, in rural New England, standing at a fork in a snowy path. His tone is different. Nature is still the stage, but here it is a testing ground. The woods are ‘lovely, dark and deep,' but they are also a reminder of choices, obligations, even mortality. But Frost's world carried a sharper edge. If Wordsworth saw nature as a gentle teacher, Frost often saw it as a mirror of human struggle — full of choices, boundaries, and unanswered questions. Where Wordsworth sought transcendence, Frost leaned into ambiguity. Yet both, in their own ways, turned the soil of everyday life into poetry that still speaks to us today.What ties these two poets together? Both reject lofty, artificial language. They wanted poetry in the voice of ordinary people — the farmer, the shepherd, the walker on a country road. Both believed that truth could be found in the quietest moments: a walk by a river, a stone wall between neighbors, a road not taken.But here's the tension. Wordsworth looks at nature and sees transcendence — a spiritual renewal. Frost looks at the same natural world and sees ambiguity, sometimes even danger. And yet, together, they teach us how a flower, or a snowfall, or even the silence of the woods can become a doorway to the deepest truths about human life.Support the showThank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

Autumn in Europe is pure magic. Forests blaze in shades of red and gold, vineyards glow against rolling hills, and crisp air makes every walk feel like a storybook moment. If you've ever dreamed of experiencing the best of fall foliage in Europe, this episode is for you.I'll take you to places where autumn truly comes alive — from the golden vineyards of Umbria, Italy, to the misty woodlands of Scotland, where every turn feels like stepping into a painting. Along the way, I'll share why these landscapes are so breathtaking in autumn and give you tips for planning your own seasonal escape.Whether it's strolling through historic towns framed by fiery hillsides, hiking trails that crunch with fallen leaves, or settling into a cozy pub after a day outdoors, Europe in the fall has a rhythm all its own.So brew a cup of something warm, wrap yourself in a blanket, and hit play. Let's chase autumn together and discover some of the most spectacular places to see fall foliage in Europe.

Yes, we're back. And this week Joe interviews a surprise special guest on the podcast who tells us all about an article wot he wrote. Also we have BIG NEWS about the Mid-faith Crisis Church Away Weekend 2026! Join us in the Lake District for a weekend of conversation, relaxation and reflection. The Mid-faith Crisis Church Weekend Away 2026 - Book Now! Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mid-faith Crisis Facebook Page Nick's Blog Mentioned in this episode: Inception Point — AI spam podcasts with no listeners – Pivot to AI The Mid-faith Crisis Church Weekend Away 2026 Bryn Haworth We've learned all we can from US megachurches. Let's be inspired by the Global Majority Church | Nick Page

In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, Jonathan Thomas explores the beauty and cultural significance of Cumbria and the Lake District. He shares his personal experiences, literary connections, and the planning process for his trip, including a writer's retreat. The conversation delves into the stunning landscapes, historical sites, and the unique charm of the region, emphasizing its importance in British culture and literature. Links Derwent Pencil Museum Wordsworth House visit Brougham Castle article Ullswater steamer boat experience Hardknott Roman Fort Muncaster Castle podcast interview episode "The Shepherd's Life" by James Rebanks "English Pastoral" by James Rebanks "The Place of Tides" by James Rebanks "The Natural World of Winnie the Pooh" by Kathryn Aalto Writing Wild: Women Poets, Ramblers, and Mavericks Who Shape How We See the Natural World by Kathryn Aalto "Adventures in Anglotopia" by Jonathan Thomas Takeaways Cumbria and the Lake District are remote yet culturally rich destinations. The region is deeply connected to British literature, especially with figures like Wordsworth. Planning a trip to Cumbria requires careful consideration of travel logistics. Exploring the Lake District offers breathtaking views and unique experiences. The writer's retreat provided invaluable insights into writing about landscapes. Driving the Hardknott Pass is a thrilling adventure for travelers. Cumbria is a popular holiday destination for British tourists. The local cuisine, including Cumbria sausage and Kendall mint cake, is worth trying. The landscape of Cumbria is characterized by its mountains and lakes. Future visits to Cumbria should include more literary and historical sites. Sound Bites "Many would argue that the soul of British culture and literature kind of lives in the Lake District, mostly because of its connections with William Wordsworth and his poetry." "It was the furthest point that the Romans went when they had conquered Britain. They actually built a fort at Hardknot that had a view of the Irish Sea." "The Hardknott Pass is Britain's most steepest and dangerous road... it has a 15% grade. The regulations on US highways are like that the grade can't be more than 3 or 4%. So this is 15%." "After she became famous, rich and famous from the Beatrix Potter books, she dedicated herself to preserving the landscape of the Lake District... The reason so much of the Lake District landscape is protected is because of Beatrix Potter." "It's a place British people travel for holiday... if you really want to get a sense of Britishness and how they vacation and how they holiday then Cumbria and the Lake District is the place to go for that." "Every turn of the road is like the most beautiful place you've ever seen... I had just had no idea how incredibly beautiful England and Britain's mountain landscapes can be." "The sun doesn't set to like 11 p.m. in the summer... we had these author events that would go to like 11 o'clock and there was still like this twilight at 11 p.m." "Getting to Cumbria and the Lake District is the hard part... it's very remote. It's as far away from London as you can get going into Scotland." "It's really been a place where people kind of scrap in existence... There was never a lot of wealth generated there like in other places like say the Cotswolds." "You really the best way to get around is by car because the Lake District is very poorly served by trains and buses because it's so remote." Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Cumbria and the Lake District 05:11 Literary Connections and Personal Journey 10:37 Planning the Trip to Cumbria 17:05 Exploring the Lake District 23:42 The Writer's Retreat Experience 25:21 Cumberland Lake District: A Legacy of Farming and Writing 26:33 Transformative Writing Retreat Experiences 28:19 The Journey of Self-Publishing and Creative Growth 29:56 Exploring the Hard Knot Pass: A Thrilling Adventure 32:49 Historical Insights: The Hard Knot Roman Fort 34:09 Serendipitous Discoveries: Riding the Steam Railway 35:09 Moncaster Castle: A Historical Exploration 38:03 Reflections on the Cumbria Experience 39:58 Cultural and Historical Significance of the Lake District 43:29 Travel Tips and Recommendations for the Lake District 49:09 anglotopia-podcast-outro.mp4 Video Version

In Touch visits the Lake District and tags along to Ellie Bennet's holiday. Ellie booked a sighted guide through a free guiding service called Cumbrain Visions. Cumbrian Visions provides visually impaired holiday makers with a guide to accompany them on their various activities. There is also a similar service happening in Cornwall and Devon, called The Cliffden Buddies, which came first. Julian Griffen, of The Cliffden Buddies and Lee Hodgson of Cumbrian Visions tell In Touch about their services and how it all got started.For more information: Cumbrian Visions Founder and Coordinator: Lee Hodgson Tel: 07976 669708 Email: hodgson@liverdogs.co.ukCliffden Buddies Founder and Coordinator: Jules Griffen Tel: 07500 206948 Email: cliffden.buddies@outlook.comPresenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio' in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

This podcast is one with a twist. Instead of the good stories of God speaking, we're sharing the bad! We all love a good God conversation story. God is still speaking as powerfully and creatively as he did in Bible days. But the nature of our flawed humanity is that we can get it wrong. We can make mistakes. We can use the claim to hearing God's voice to manipulate others. The result is real damage to people's lives. It's important that we don't overlook the bad stories or pretend they don't exist. Instead they become a learning opportunity when we see where things went wrong. That's why on the show in this episode, we talk with long time pastor Paul Hudson from the Elim group of churches in the UK. As a pastor of pastors, he's seen the worst (and the best!) of the prophetic world and has plenty of wisdom to share about how to avoid the pitfalls.  You'll hear about: Paul's story growing up in a Christian environment and how two simple words from the Holy Spirit completely changed his heart towards international mission. From there, God used him to establish a global network beyond his own nation. A tragic story of a young man and woman who believed God spoke to them about marriage. They married quickly without consultation from others and their marriage broke up within 6 months due to abuse. Here we learn how consultation in community - especially those who are willing to disagree - is crucial. Paul's own story of God speaking to warn him and how he twisted it around because he didn't like what he heard. Thankfully God gave him a further message that enabled him to redeem the situation. Reflections on the Apostle's Paul experience when the disciples mis-interpreted the prophetic word they heard about Paul's journey to Jerusalem (Acts 21). Throughout the stories, you'll hear some recurring themes! We share the bad stories so we don't have to repeat them. Let's be smart enough as well as humble enough to learn from the experiences of others! Subscribe to God Conversations with Tania Harris and never miss an episode!   Join the journey to hearing God's voice. Start your free 7-day God Conversations devotional today! Pray, promote and give. God Conversations is donor-funded and made possible through the generosity of people like you! Become a partner today. Equip your church to hear God's voice. Join our community of church leaders for monthly insights and a free preview of 50 Days of God Conversations resource.   About Paul Hudson After planting a church in the Lake District of the UK for 4 years, Paul pastored a church in West Yorkshire for 17 years. During that time, Paul also became the International Missions Director for the Elim denomination and established the Elim Global Network which is now in over 60 nations of the world and made up of thousands of churches. Five years later, he holds a regional role, leading 105 churches in the UK and acting as the pastors' pastor. He continues to serve as the General Secretary of the Elim Global Network.

In an old house by the Glebeshire coast, silence lingers more heavily than the sound of the sea. Its walls hold an atmosphere of watchfulness, as though the house itself remembers lives once lived within it. To a grieving visitor, it offers not terror but something stranger, something that cannot easily be explained. “The Little Ghost” by Hugh Walpole was first published in When Churchyards Yawn (1931), edited by Cynthia Asquith, and later collected in Walpole's own volume All Souls' Night (1931). Hugh Walpole (1884–1941) was a bestselling English novelist and short story writer. He is remembered for his Lake District saga The Herries Chronicle and for a handful of haunting tales that combine psychological insight with Gothic atmosphere. Here is my ebook and audiobook store payhip.com/TheClassicGhostStoriesPodcast For 33% discount - use coupon 33OFFGHOSTPOD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cliffords ruled northern England for 500 years through loyalty, lawsuits, and superior castle-building skills. From the legendary "Shepherd Lord" who hid in the Lake District for 24 years to Lady Anne Clifford, who fought a 40-year legal battle to inherit four castles and rebuilt them all to prove her point. When neighbors joined rebellions, the Cliffords chose the crown, and it paid off spectacularly.Tudorcon from Home reservations: https://www.englandcast.com/TudorconFromHomeUse code EARLYBIRD to join the Privy Council Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're talking to Jake Atkinson, a rider who's made a meteoric rise in the sport, despite growing up far from the perfect training grounds for what he's now doing. From the trails of the Lake District to competing on the world stage, Jake's story is one of trusting the process, leaning into the challenge, and making huge strides in a short space of time. We dig into how he's done it, the lessons learned along the way, and where he's heading next. So sit back, hit play, and enjoy this conversation with Jake Atkinson. You can also watch this episode on YouTube here. You can follow Jake on Instagram @jakeatkinson and find his latest edit here. Podcast Stuff Listener Offers Downtime listeners can now get 10% off of Stashed Space Rails. Stashed is the ultimate way to sort your bike storage. Their clever design means you can get way more bikes into the same space and easily access whichever one you want to ride that day. If you have 2 or more bikes in your garage, they are definitely worth checking out. Just head to stashedproducts.com/downtime and use the code DOWNTIME at the checkout for 10% off your entire order. And just so you know, we get 10% of the sale too, so it's a win win. Patreon I would love it if you were able to support the podcast via a regular Patreon donation. Donations start from as little as £3 per month. That's less than £1 per episode and less than the price of a take away coffee. Every little counts and these donations will really help me keep the podcast going and hopefully take it to the next level. To help out, head here. Merch If you want to support the podcast and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. We now also have local manufacture for most products in the US as well as the UK. So check it out now over at downtimepodcast.com/shop. Newsletter If you want a bit more Downtime in your life, then you can join my newsletter where I'll provide you with a bit of behind the scenes info on the podcast, interesting bits and pieces from around the mountain bike world, some mini-reviews of products that I've been using and like, partner offers and more. You can do that over at downtimepodcast.com/newsletter. Follow Us Give us a follow on Instagram @downtimepodcast or Facebook @downtimepodcast to keep up to date and chat in the comments. For everything video, including riding videos, bike checks and more, subscribe over at youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast. Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don't forget to follow it. Episodes will get delivered to your device as soon as it's available and it's totally free. You'll find all the links you need at downtimepodcast.com/follow. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at downtimepodcast.com/episodes Photo - Guy Fatal

On today's Season 15 finale, we are joined by the brilliant Stephen Mangan - actor, presenter, writer, and someone with a truly adventurous travel spirit. You'll know him from a vast array of TV , film and stage hits - The Split, Green Wing, Episodes, Portrait Artist of the Year - and most recently, as the host of ITV's Caribbean-set hit game show The Fortune Hotel, which is back for its second season.Stephen is a natural storyteller, and in this conversation we really get to go on a journey. From long, cassette-filled car trips back to his family's roots in wild, windswept County Mayo - where he has 53 first cousins! - to body surfing in the Atlantic with his kids, sleeping under the redwoods in California, living on £4 a day while interrailing across Europe, and living in an ultra luxury hotel in Grenada for a month - Stephen has truly embraced travel in all its forms.Destination Recap:County Mayo, Ireland Sonoma County, California, USABeltane Ranch, Sonoma, USADerwent Water, Lake District, UKFalkirk Wheel, Scotland GrenadaIndiaBhutan MoroccoJapanThe Fortune Hotel S2 continues Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th August on ITV1 and ITVX. You can also catch up on the first two episodes of the series on ITVX now.Thanks so much for listening today. If you want to be the first to find out who is joining me next time, come and follow me on Instagram I'm @hollyrubenstein, and you'll also find me on TikTok - I'd love to hear from you. And if you can't wait until then, remember there's the first 14 seasons to catch up on, that's over 155 episodes to keep you busy.I'm now on maternity leave for a few months but keep an eye out for some special episodes dropping into your feed from time to time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I walk with woodland and street photographer Mali Davies through the winding paths of Savernake Forest, a place steeped in centuries of history. Beneath the canopy of ancient oaks and beeches, we talk about the role forests have played in Britain's story, and why their protection has never been more important. Mali shares the practical kit he relies on for photographing in woodland, his thoughts on composition, and the small details that bring these vast, living spaces to life in an image. It's a conversation about history, craft, and the quiet beauty of trees that have stood watch for hundreds of years. We also talk about the importance of family, a special pilgrimage to the top of a mountain fell in the Lake District and how street photography is becoming an important outlet to him too. Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

In a world that often feels dominated by technology and constant change, it's easy to forget that some people are still living by the rhythms of ancient traditions. James Rebanks, an author and shepherd, is one of them, and in today's episode, he shares what following a way of life that has endured for thousands of years can teach us about modern life and the things that matter.James offers a glimpse at the often ignored and misunderstood world of pastoral life in England's Lake District, which isn't just about working with sheep and cattle but maintaining a deep connection to past generations, a commitment to community, and a sense of purpose. He takes us through the life of a fell shepherd, where the timeless values of hard work, seasonality, stewardship, and stillness still get lived out day to day.Resources Related to the PodcastJames' booksGrazing SchoolThe Poetics of Manhood by Michael HerzfeldBraiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererDying Breed article: 5 Things Farmers Have Taught Me About Work, Life, and LegacyWendell Berry's booksRegeneratist Allen WilliamsRegeneratist Greg JudyConnect With James RebanksJames on XJames on IGSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    review With the Angels Part 1 by John Dorney (two parts) When the Doctor's latest attempt to return Harry and Naomi home goes awry, they find themselves recruited by UNIT for a special mission. A mission involving a new and terrifying breed of Weeping Angel. Amid betrayal and manipulation, the Doctor and friends are trapped by a destiny they cannot escape. The future is calling... and so is the past. Catastrophix by Lizzie Hopley (two parts) Harry Sullivan and Naomi Cross are on Earth at two different points in a timeline that has gone badly wrong. Back in his own time with UNIT, Harry is in the Lake District, unaware of the horrors to come. Four decades on, Naomi is adrift on an ocean in an apocalyptic nightmare. What is causing the Earth's unnatural end? As the Doctor scours the years, he meets someone from his past with the tools to help - a mechanic called Ray. With the Angels Part 2 by John Dorney (two parts) A billionaire's birthday party on a super-yacht is the setting for the final battle with the Angels. And the Doctor is on the guest list. The Bladukas family have no idea how dangerous these creatures are. But they're about to find out. Can an old friend help the Doctor prevent a tragedy? **Please note: The collector's edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,500 copies**  

In this episode we're camping in the Lake District and attending the 150th Keswick Convention, plus making a quick trip to Scotland! Plus we're excited about our three new chickens, and staying busy over the summer.

"Tucked between North Wales and the serene good looks of the Lake District, gritty, vital Liverpool provides an indelible and grounded dose of "real" urban England. It proved to be one of my favourite destinations on my whistle-stop romp with Trafalgar's Real Britain tour. Yes, Beatles fans flock to Liverpool to learn about the Fab Four's early days, but the city's appeal extends far beyond those towering music legends." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Half a million pounds is going from the UK Government to a project aiming to improve soils in Ukraine. The ongoing research, being run by the Royal Agricultural University, has identified significant damage to soils from the war there - things like heavy metal contamination from bombardments. The new money will help set up soil labs. We speak to the professor leading it and a farmer in Ukraine.Small changes in the way a river catchment is managed can have a big impact - reconnecting floodplains, re-wiggling rivers and slowing the flow upstream can reduce the flood and pollution risk and encourage more biodiversity. A ‘whole Cumbria strategy', which involves three River Trusts, the Environment Agency and Natural England – has just been named as one of only four finalists for a prestigious global award, the Thiess International River prize. It's up against river projects in the USA and Albania. We see the kind of work the Cumbrian River Restoration Partnership Programme is doing in the Lake District.The Environment Agency's urging farmers to think ahead and get ready for storage of slurry this winter.Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

“I knew teaching 20 classes a week wasn't sustainable. I wanted to find something slower, more spacious.”Lucy Sesto (@sestoyoga) shares how her journey from GB acrobatic gymnast to sought-after yoga teacher shaped a uniquely grounded and artistic approach to teaching. With a background in Psychology and Sociology, Lucy combines movement and self-inquiry in a way that feels both intelligent and deeply human.We explore her shift from gym floors and reception desks to managing a London wellness studio, teaching corporate yoga, running international retreats, and working alongside Joe Wicks on the Bodycoach platform. Lucy speaks openly about her intention to “make art, not content” on social media, the pressures of constant creation, and the power of stepping back to reconnect with joy and creativity.She also unpacks the emotional reality of holding space for others, setting boundaries, and how yoga and psychology beautifully intertwine. Whether you're a yoga teacher, a creative entrepreneur, or someone figuring out your next chapter, Lucy offers grounded wisdom and gentle humour on how to live and work more authentically—and why slowing down is sometimes the most radical thing you can do.WANT TO BE A YOGA TEACHER? - training in London, UK every Spring and Fall at triyoga Camden - https://tr.ee/1UILsE-WANT TO RETREAT WITH ME? - next stop, a Lake District castle - https://tr.ee/t4NViA-MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW US …@adamhusler - https://tr.ee/b8QKyF@honestlyunbalanced - https://tr.ee/i1PXpT @iamhollyhusler - https://tr.ee/0ORJPX-PERKS FOR YOU10% off Liforme yoga mats with code HUSLER10 - https://tr.ee/PEju3010% off expert validated wellbeing brand at Healf via this link - https://tr.ee/dPMj2Y 10% off Colorful Standard clothing with code ADAMHUSLERCS10 - https://tr.ee/R1ugsk20% off Vivobarefoot shoes with code HUSLER20 - https://tr.ee/3Hs8kU5% off Nurosym vagus nerve stimulation device with code ADAMH5 https://tr.ee/CCbg8x25% off our online studio full of yoga, sound and meditation, with code HONEST25 (25% off single 12 month membership or reoccurring monthly membership until cancellation) - https://tr.ee/GCQdTB

"“So many guys look in the mirror and don't recognise themselves anymore. Step one is taking back your physicality.”In this energising and brutally honest episode, we sit down with Rory Williams (@rory_strongdad)— fitness coach, father of two, and creator of the “Strong Dad” movement—to explore what it really means to be a modern father. Rory opens up about the pressures dads face today: being present, being providers, and being strong—mentally, emotionally, and physically.We discuss the silent struggles of fatherhood: lack of support, loneliness, and society's limited celebration of committed dads. Rory shares practical tools for reclaiming your physicality and identity through strength training, early-morning routines, and daily habits—without sacrificing your role as a present, engaged parent.He also reveals how he grew his social media presence from 7k to over 80k in under a year by speaking directly to modern fathers with raw honesty and clean storytelling. If you're a dad who's ever felt lost, exhausted, or just wants to get back on track—physically or mentally—this episode offers powerful motivation, useful strategies, and a reminder that you're not alone.-WANT TO BE A YOGA TEACHER? - training in London, UK every Spring and Fall at triyoga Camden - https://tr.ee/1UILsE-WANT TO RETREAT WITH ME? - next stop, a Lake District castle - https://tr.ee/t4NViA-MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW US …@adamhusler - https://tr.ee/b8QKyF@honestlyunbalanced - https://tr.ee/i1PXpT @iamhollyhusler - https://tr.ee/0ORJPX-PERKS FOR YOU10% off Liforme yoga mats with code HUSLER10 - https://tr.ee/PEju3010% off expert validated wellbeing brand at Healf via this link - https://tr.ee/dPMj2Y 10% off Colorful Standard clothing with code ADAMHUSLERCS10 - https://tr.ee/R1ugsk20% off Vivobarefoot shoes with code HUSLER20 - https://tr.ee/3Hs8kU5% off Nurosym vagus nerve stimulation device with code ADAMH5 https://tr.ee/CCbg8x25% off our online studio full of yoga, sound and meditation, with code HONEST25 (25% off single 12 month membership or reoccurring monthly membership until cancellation) - https://tr.ee/GCQdTB

"It's undoubtedly Britain's equivalent to our Queenstown Lakes district. Windermere and the Lake District is England's favourite national park, a sprawling tourist honeypot that stretches across hundreds of square kilometres of rugged Cumbrian countryside, woodland valleys, shimmering tarns and lakes – all backed by strikingly craggy mountains. It was the 18th century Romantic poets who captured the world's imagination, igniting the region's first tourism wave. Since then, the stature of the Lake District has only grown as a getaway destination, the wave has never crested, culminating in the district securing World Heritage status just eight years ago." Read Mike's full article here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're enjoying our summer holidays, but Eden and Asher are pushing on with some of their GCSE studies regardless. Mirabelle's sharing about the paw print badge projects we're doing, we share about a fun trip to Southport and Blackpool, and we look ahead to a trip to the Lake District.

Take a look here to see how I can help you publish your book!In this week's episode, I chat to author and illustrator Gemma Denham, whose debut adult novel The Storm is a gripping locked-room mystery set in the Lake District. We talk about Gemma's fascinating path from children's book illustrator to crime writer, why she made the switch, and how a personal 40-before-40 challenge helped her finally write her first novel.We also dig into the benefits of writing retreats, plotting versus pantsing, and the pressures of following up your first book—especially when you're already deep into book four!✏️ In This Episode:– The inspiration behind The Storm and its remote, cut-off setting – Why writing crime fiction was a natural step after illustrating picture books – Gemma's structured-but-flexible plotting process and how she lets her characters lead – How visual thinking and cover design influence her approach to books – The reality of professional edits and what “show don't tell” really means – How mini-plotting sessions and character work can keep your writing on track – Why the second book can feel tougher than the first—even without external pressure – Using feedback from trusted beta readers and writer friends to level up

st Host eThis week (on the hottest day of the year) we are talking about Joseph Pocklington. A man with a dream to become an architect, and who was fortunate enough to have enough money to make that dream a reality despite a complete lack of skill.Creating a series of questionable buildings across Nottinghamshire, Joseph then set his sights on the Lake District. However, he found that the locals were a bit less tolerant of his 'beautification' of the area.Given the moniker: 'The Man With No Taste', Joseph knew he needed to do something big to win over the people of Cumbria......But fortunately he had already built a fort complete with a gun battery on his own personal island, so the solution seemed obvious.Guest Host: (A very hot) Emma Heathcote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HUNTING THE CHILDCATCHER - Stefan Heidegger had clearly convinced Saltire to leave his dorm in the middle of the night. He had snatched him off into the darkness of the Lake District. We were a day behind but we were catching up fast. Part 2 of 3 This episode contains swearing, horror, sexual references, drug references, drug abuse, distress, references to violence, references to child abuse. Listener discretion is advised. For merchandise and transcripts go to: www.sherlockandco.co.ukFor ad-free, early access to adventures in full go to www.patreon.com/sherlockandco To get in touch via email: docjwatsonmd@gmail.com Follow me @DocJWatsonMD on twitter and BlueSky, or sherlockandcopod on TikTok, instagram and YouTube.  This podcast is property of Goalhanger Podcasts. Copyright 2025.SHERLOCK AND CO. Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Paul Waggott as Dr. John Watson Harry Attwell as Sherlock Holmes Marta da Silva as Mariana Ametxazurra Luke Jasztal as Tom Huxtable Jake Burlow as Jim Wilder Thomas Mitchells as Benjamin Duke Adam Jarrell as Reuben Hayes Additional voices Darcey Ferguson Joel EmeryAdam Jarrell Jake Burlow Written by Joel Emery Directed by Adam Jarrell Editing and Sound Design by Holy Smokes AudioProduced by Neil Fearn and Jon Gill Executive Producer Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we raise our mugs and reflect on the inaugural Tea & Trails Ultra, an unforgettable celebration of endurance, friendship, and the wild beauty of the Lake District.

INTO THE DARKNESS - we had been struggling financially for a few weeks and now we had to pay some bills. Mariana and I needed Sherlock's help to raise funds via some wealthy client cases... and boy did he find us a case. We headed to the Lake District, to Moorhill. To look for the child of a billionaire. Part 1 of 3 This episode contains swearing, horror, sexual references, drug references, drug abuse, distress, references to violence. Listener discretion is advised. For merchandise and transcripts go to: www.sherlockandco.co.uk For ad-free, early access to adventures in full go to www.patreon.com/sherlockandco To get in touch via email: docjwatsonmd@gmail.com Follow me @DocJWatsonMD on twitter and BlueSky, or sherlockandcopod on TikTok, instagram and YouTube.  This podcast is property of Goalhanger Podcasts. Copyright 2025. SHERLOCK AND CO.Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Paul Waggott as Dr. John Watson Harry Attwell as Sherlock Holmes Marta da Silva as Mariana Ametxazurra Luke Jasztal as Tom Huxtable Thomas Mitchells as Benjamin Duke Additional voices Darcey Ferguson Joel Emery Adam Jarrell Jake Burlow Written by Joel Emery Directed by Adam Jarrell Editing and Sound Design by Holy Smokes Audio Produced by Neil Fearn and Jon Gill Executive Producer Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adam Keen(@adam_keen_ashtanga) returns to the mic to unpack decades of experience as a yoga practitioner, teacher, and deep thinker. Practising since 1999 and one of the rare few to complete the Advanced A series in Mysore under Sharathji, Adam shares insights that only years of dedication can offer—cutting through the fluff of modern yoga while still teaching with compassion, humour, and nuance.Drawing on his experience running a Mysore programme in London for over a decade and his time immersed in the roots of Ashtanga at Purple Valley Goa, we explore; spinal stimulation, aging as a teacher, spiritual bypassing, social media illusions, and whether yoga is becoming just another performance art. For those interested in intelligent, inclusive, and reality-based yoga, this episode offers clarity, humility, and some laugh-out-loud truths.Adam now shares his reflections through the Keen on Yoga podcast, YouTube, and social media—Whether you're a newer teacher or a long-time student, this conversation offers sharp insight into how we can honour yoga's roots while teaching in today's world-—and why sometimes the most revolutionary thing we can do is admit we're still figuring it out.YOGA TEACHERS - join my 75 hour mentor and education programme - https://tr.ee/uzn6xj - or deepen your skill in my weekly online teachers practice on the Honestly Unbalanced studio - https://tr.ee/GCQdTB - or join me on my trainings around Europe - https://tr.ee/3KKLdz-WANT TO BE A YOGA TEACHER? - training in London, UK every Spring and Fall at triyoga Camden - https://tr.ee/1UILsE-WANT TO RETREAT WITH ME? - next stop, a Lake District castle - https://tr.ee/t4NViA-MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW US …@adamhusler - https://tr.ee/b8QKyF@honestlyunbalanced - https://tr.ee/i1PXpT @iamhollyhusler - https://tr.ee/0ORJPX-PERKS FOR YOU10% off Liforme yoga mats with code HUSLER10 - https://tr.ee/PEju3010% off expert validated wellbeing brand at Healf via this link - https://tr.ee/dPMj2Y 10% off Colorful Standard clothing with code ADAMHUSLERCS10 - https://tr.ee/R1ugsk20% off Vivobarefoot shoes with code HUSLER20 - https://tr.ee/3Hs8kU5% off Nurosym vagus nerve stimulation device with code ADAMH5 https://tr.ee/CCbg8x25% off our online studio full of yoga, sound and meditation, with code HONEST25 (25% off single 12 month membership or reoccurring monthly membership until cancellation) - https://tr.ee/GCQdTB

What does it take to climb your hardest route at 50—and then hold the rope while someone else pushes that same line even further?For Neil Gresham, that moment came on Lexicon, a bold and beautiful E11 route he bolted and climbed later in life. In this conversation, Neil shares the full story—from discovering the line in the Lake District to the deep personal shift that allowed him to reach a new peak, years after he thought he'd already hit it.We also talk about what it was like to support a rare flash attempt by another world-class climber (whose recent film on Lexicon just dropped), and how that moment made Neil reflect on performance, legacy, and the long game.But this episode goes far beyond a single climb.We explore:Why Neil climbed his hardest routes after 45The nutrition and training strategies that helped him recover faster in his 50s than in his 20sWhat most athletes misunderstand about agingCoaching climbers into their 70s—including how he succeeded working with Rob MathesonThe mindset shift that helped him let go of pressure and finally enjoy the process againWhether you're a climber or not, Neil's story is about curiosity, adaptation, and staying sharp—mentally and physically—as the years go by.References & Resources:

Today we welcome Ben Briggs onto the R2Kast!

My friend Simon Curtis, who has died aged 70, was one of the small band of people who work tirelessly, for no pay and few thanks, to promote poetry. An excellent poet himself, he edited two magazines and helped many struggling writers into print.His heroes were Wordsworth, Hardy and Causley. His own poetry, which rhymed and was perfectly accessible, was distinguished by, in his words, its "shrewd, ironic and Horatian tone". It ranged from accomplished light verse, which was often very funny, to deeply affecting poems about family bereavement. He appeared in the Faber Poetry Introduction 6 (1985).Simon was born in Burnley, Lancashire, the son of Susan, an English teacher, and the Rev Douglas Curtis, a vicar, and grew up in Northamptonshire. Armed with an English degree from Cambridge University, and a PhD from Essex, on Darwin as writer and scientist, he became a lecturer in comparative literature at Manchester University. He was active in the Hardy Society, editing the Thomas Hardy Journal for several years, worked quietly for the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and spent a lot of time caring for his mother, who lived to a great age.Eventually, he moved to Plymouth and in 2010 took over from me as the editor of the little magazine The Interpreter's House, which he made, in Hardy's phrase, "a house of hospitalities". We were both determined that it shouldn't be just a platform for the editor's friends but should be open to good poets of all stripes.But early in 2013 all plans had to be shelved as this active outdoor man was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Though paralysed below the waist, he remained positive, continued to watch the yellowhammers outside his window and never allowed his many visitors to feel downhearted. Shoestring Press rushed out a volume of his new and selected poems, Comet Over Greens Norton, which contains all his best work.Simon was old-fashioned in the best kind of ways, a former 1960s student who canvassed for Labour but who dressed conservatively and retained a stiff upper lip and immaculate manners. He hated pollution, literary infighting, and public greed and waste. He loved bird-watching, football, woodcuts and the Lake District.-bio via Merryn Williams' 2014 Obituary for Curtis in The Guardian This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

Danny sits down with Ben Fisher, Head of Design at Rebellion, to discuss their latest game: Atomfall. Atomfall: https://store.steampowered.com/app/801800/Atomfall/ iTunes Page: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/noclip/id1385062988 RSS Feed: http://noclippodcast.libsyn.com/rss Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XYk92ubrXpvPVk1lin4VB?si=JRAcPnlvQ0-YJWU9XiW9pg Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/noclippodcast Watch our docs: https://youtube.com/noclipvideo Crewcast channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/noclippodcast Learn About Noclip: https://www.noclip.video Become a Patron and get early access to new episodes: https://www.patreon.com/noclip Follow @noclipvideo on Twitter Chapters: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:20 - Thanking our Patreon supporters! 0:05:03 - Welcome Ben Fisher, Head of Design @ Rebellion 0:06:29 - Where did the idea for Atomfall come from? 0:09:44 - Moving Away from an Open World 0:19:33 - Crafting the Vibes of Atomfall's Regions 0:25:57 - Getting the Player to Trust the World 0:27:52 - Rebellion's Approach to Quest Design in Atomfall 0:37:47 - Fine-Tuning Atomfall's Combat 0:44:45 - Fast Travel vs. Shortcuts 0:47:57 - Atomfall's Positive Response 0:50:26 - What would you have done differently? 0:51:55 - Designing with Sequels in Mind (Or not!) 0:54:26 - Sign Off + Tips for visiting The Lake District 

Last week, the boys (Russell Myers and Ian Vogler) were on tour in Italy, and this week, it's the girls back in charge again with Pod Save the King host Ann Gripper joined by Daily Mirror deputy royal editor Jennifer Newton. Prince William has many titles and roles - the Prince of Wales being just one of them - and he added football pundit to that list, giving his take on his beloved Aston Villa during their Champions League clash with PSG. Ann and Jen explain why they were impressed by his live TV appearance on TNT Sports. Plus Kate visited the Lake District with the Scouts, connecting with nature. Ann tells Jen why she could watch the Princess of Wales exploring nature all day. They also chat about Meghan's new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, Prince Harry's recent visit to Ukraine, and the upcoming Easter celebrations and commemorations for VE Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Operation Matrix saw a drugs gang of ten men sentenced to more than 120 years in prison for their part in a £53 million supply of cocaine into the UK.But what is the story between the headlines? It all started when Cumbria Police asked the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit to arrest a local drug dealer who was operating in beautiful Windermere, at the heart of the Lake District...Support me at Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/UKTrueCrimeWatch my YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@Adam-uktruecrimeSourceshttps://www.uktruecrime.com/2025/04/15/operation-matrix Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.