Best Literary Humour Podcasts (2025)

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Hampton Court Maze baffles Harris; You mustn’t argue with an English Person’s comment on the Weather; and we Feast Saint Aidan 37:33

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3h ago37:33

37:33

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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New Technology turns Gretel Professional 🤓; a Return to Milborne Port in a Thunderstorm; and Delicious Readings 40:02

1h ago40:02

40:02

Send us a text Hallo and a very warm welcome to this ridiculous endeavour known as Gretel Le Maître Ponders. How are do and what are you up to? Please do feel free to email me and let me know about who you are, where you live and what your interests are. Love Gretel 🤗🙋‍♀️👣 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOO…

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English Rules of Conversation; and how Cuthbert ruled his monks at Lindesfarne 39:10

5h ago39:10

39:10

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Episode Two: English Pub Etiquette, and Three Men climb aboard their Boat 40:23

15h ago40:23

40:23

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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The first of Two Episodes today: a Visit to St John the Evangelist, Milborne Port 30:01

18h ago30:01

30:01

Send us a text Hallo! There are two episodes today and this one is purely my visit to the beautiful parish church of Milborne Port with is Saxon wall in the chancel and its many Romanesque features. For those who are interested in following the readings, they will be in the second episode which I will publish in a few hours. With very best wishes, …

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I Yam what I Yam - Tattoo Crazy 15:09

1d ago15:09

15:09

I Yam what I Yam – Tattoo’s Crazy Popeye, the spinach eating cartoon sailor of the 1930s and 40s said it best. He knew who he was and had the tattoos to prove it. Identity emerges. Some know day one and can’t wait to get going. This is one of those days. THIS IS A TRUE STORY INKED ON SKIN AND MEMORY. Dirty Stupid Wisdom is a podcast written and rea…

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A Monkish Fraud Exposed; Good Bishop Wilfred; and Three Men Prepare to go ABoating 36:34

3d ago36:34

36:34

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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A visit to the 14th Century Fiddleford Manor; while we continue accompanying Pepys and Jerome on their Progress 30:48

4d ago30:48

30:48

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Three Men in a Boat 🛥️; The Diary of Samuel Pepys; and The Private Lives of the Saints. Absolutely root-tootingly random…yet delicious 🤓 47:08

6d ago47:08

47:08

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Join me as we read by the beautiful Somerset church of Corton Denham; then proceed to Sherborne Abbey to catch up with Three Men and are encouraged to throw out life’s lumber! 34:17

9d ago34:17

34:17

Send us a text Is it time to throw out the lumber? Have we too much in our life? Too much of what we don’t need, weighing us down and hindering us from journeying lightly through our lives. What is it we need? And what is it we don’t need? If you manage to throw out some lumber, do let me know. For every day there’s a sunrise and sunset to enjoy. W…

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A Bit of Bede; A Pinch of Pepys; A Sliver of Saints and a Jot of Janina; in the Company of a Host of Hedgehogs 🦔 37:28

6d ago37:28

37:28

Send us a text Helloo and thank you for honouring me with your time and company. It’s wonderful to have you with me in my garden late on a Thursday night for some gentle readings and companionship. It is by learning that we understand that we don’t know it all; and therefore not only do we enjoy having our curiosity piqued and then satisfied, but w…

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Three Men Prepare to go A-boating; The French and Spanish Ambassadors Fight over Precedence; and a Ponder over Tricky Familial Relationships 29:11

8d ago29:11

29:11

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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If I Were Me 15:52

8d ago15:52

15:52

Those self-help gurus must live perfect lives, right? So why do they look like they just came out of rehab? Knowing the right thing to do and doing it are not the same thing at all. That’s why bakeries sell out by 2pm. THIS IS THE STORY OF HUMANITY Vs COMMON SENSE Dirty Stupid Wisdom is a podcast written and read by Ben Keaton – actor, writer, Oliv…

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Montmorency isn’t keen on The Idea 🚤 🐕; B Omrani ponders the effect of Christianity on the English landscape 🪦; and Gretel is finding a Positive Path through Grief 56:59

12d ago56:59

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Send us a text Good evening dear friends, subscribers and new listeners: welcome! This podcast seeks to rejoice in the world about us. Please join me on this journey of gentleness, compassion, curiosity and the absence of greed, negativity and monetary profit. Share your thoughts, ideas, ponders with me and let me know if I have permission to share…

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The Saxon Shore Fort and Monastery of Reculver; and Pepys eats Grapes and Melons (millons) for the first time 26:14

9d ago26:14

26:14

Send us a text Erratum: I say it’s Monday which……. it isn’t 😬🥴 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Wuthering Heights, seasoned with a little Pepys 🤓 55:41

12d ago55:41

55:41

Send us a text Good evening and welcome to this episode where we conclude looking at E Brontë‘s startling novel, that takes an evening to read and a lifetime to digest. Like the clouds above the moors, like her brother, father, sisters and friends, Emily understands perhaps that we human animals are creatures of ever shape and time-shifting forms. …

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Gentle routine resumes with our readings: Bede, Pepys, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Book of Saints, closing with some Bijan Omrani 45:40

13d ago45:40

45:40

Send us a text Good evening, I would be so honoured if you would join me for a long half an hour of gentle ponderings and readings, as we sit in a Dorset garden, and rejoice in the big skies and merry crows, while grieving the flight of the swifts to warmer lands. Let’s hope the fledglings survive, to return next year to the golden sheltered eaves …

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Montmorency helps Pack; John Cannon helps us Diagnose the late Perpendicular; while the Sea creeps Closer 🌊 36:51

14d ago36:51

36:51

Send us a text Good evening and thank you so much for joining me. Thank you to my new subscriber Majorie: I really appreciate your support so very much. If you have time and appreciate anything about this funny old podcast, I would love it if you would kindly rate the podcast, or give it a thumbs up; perhaps send an episode to a friend who is isola…

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Bad People created by Good Intentions; Heathcliff and Cathy; and a History of the Salt Combe 35:57

15d ago35:57

35:57

Send us a text Hello and welcome to today’s episode. Thank you so much for supporting this endeavour, with all its warts and all. Love Gretel xx 🪿 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Do…

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Watching Not Drowning 15:05

16d ago15:05

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Acting is a mad business. You get to do things you’d run from in the real world. 'You’ll be naked in this scene.' 'I feckin won’t!' 'So will she.' 'Oh. Ok then.' Some roles get under your skin. Others swallow you whole. The thrill is intoxicating, the comedown brutal. Somewhere along the way you may forget where the character ends and you begin. TH…

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Exploring the Wuthering and Extraordinary Heights; and Pondering the Problem with Ropes with Jerome K Jerome 33:56

16d ago33:56

33:56

Send us a text Welcome and thank you do much for your company 🌞 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Bus, Dock and Hotel are locations for tonight’s episode where we Gaze into the 15th Century 49:31

17d ago49:31

49:31

Send us a text Dear kind friends and (possibly bewildered) new friends, welcome to tonight’s usual slightly chaotic episode. Thank you so very much for your kindness and support. And do go very gently. 🌞 Love Gretel x Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Tr…

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Who thus define it, say they more or less // Than this, that happiness is happiness 36:59

18d ago36:59

36:59

Send us a text Hello and thank you for joining me for tonight’s episode from Devon, where we eavesdrop on an outdoor Sunday church service; we visit St Winwalloe’s hilltop church; we conclude wonderful Jon Cannon’s description of the Gothic; and Alexander Pope ponders happiness 🦉 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.…

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Salcombe Hubub; Exhausting Parenting; and Heathcliffe begs Cathy to come home 28:28

18d ago28:28

28:28

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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The Waters Lap at my Feet while Pondering the Decorated phase of Gothic Architecture; and then we are Overcome by the Wiley Windy Moors 34:20

20d ago34:20

34:20

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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The late Jon Cannon helps us to understand and diagnose the first stage of English Gothic: the Early English c.1190 - 1260 35:56

21d ago35:56

35:56

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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How the Wind Blows around the Dreaded Matter of Class; and Thomas Hardy, by an admirer in 1940 36:54

21d ago36:54

36:54

Send us a text Hallo and thank you so much for joining me today. There will be a second episode of our usual readings this evening. Love Gretel xx Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Do…

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Sweet Cyder is a Great Thing, writes T Hardy; Pepys remarks on King Charles II Ordinary Mien; and we Learn how to Diagnose the Birth of Gothic Architecture 30:06

26d ago30:06

30:06

Send us a text Good evening dear friends, old and new. This is more of an audio-journal than a podcast, so do bear that in mind and refrain, if at all possible, from giving me a low rating, which grieves me much 😓. I have no team, money or equipment and I’d be so grateful if you’d take that into account. And if you’ve not yet rated this, I’d be ove…

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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Fever breaks out in London in Summer 1661; and we Ponder the Pre-Reformation English Church 29:31

25d ago29:31

29:31

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Live at the Oval for Day 4 of the England/India Test; followed by Further Ponderings on the Cerne Giant 44:23

24d ago44:23

44:23

Send us a text Hallo This is not my usual type of episode so do skip if you prefer the quiet readings. The noisy cricket lasts for ten minutes, followed by thoughts and readings about the Cerne Giant. Please forgive my poor performance - a bit tired today. Very warm wishes to you all. [email protected] Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings a…

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Norman/Romanesque Architecture; Cricket and Sidwell’s Feast Day 33:12

26d ago33:12

33:12

Send us a text In tonight’s episode we learn how to ‘diagnose’ Norman/Romanesque architecture, and catch up with the Saints and Mr Pepys. Thank you for joining me and do feel free to get in touch: I’d love to know more about you. My email is: [email protected] Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCA…

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A Pile of Books with Tea, a cat 🐈, a bat 🦇 and a hedgehog 🦔 in a Dorset Garden 📚🤓 47:00

27d ago47:00

47:00

Send us a text I am so glad you have decided to join me in my Dorset garden, in the dark on this Friday evening for a celebration of books. Our guest authors tonight are: -Professor Alice Roberts -Samuel Pepys -ThomasHardy -Anthony Trollope -David Hugh Farmer -Jon Cannon -Dr Francis Young Welcome! And do let me know which authors you would like to …

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A stroll through an Enchanted Graveyard, where a loving Cat appeared to soothe my heart; and poor Pepys has Broken Brains 30:24

29d ago30:24

30:24

Send us a text Hello dear friends and newcomers, welcome to my daily voice-note to you 🤗 Today I finish my Cerne Abbas pilgrimage with a wander around what remains of the monastery. At the moment, I earn £34 a month from this ridiculously amateur endeavour, which is no doubt all I deserve, but it would be wonderful to increase that a little, so if …

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We go in on a little Pilgrimage to the Holy Well in Cerne Abbas. Come and touch the waters created [one understands 😬] by the Staff of St Augustine 36:09

30d ago36:09

36:09

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Gone North 11:43

1M ago11:43

11:43

There are lots of ways to lose friends — not returning a lawnmower, fancying the wife, constantly leaving wee on the floor after bathroom visits. All of them in the canon of possibility. I just didn’t see this one coming. This episode is about the bewilderment of loss. The not-calling, not-texting, not-saying-goodbye kind of ending that leaves you …

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Saint Olaf becomes Sain Tooley Street; Bells ring out for Tuesday practice; and Cuthbert prays in the Suffolk sea 21:27

1M ago21:27

21:27

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Lynmouth and the 1952 Great Flood Disaster; Saint Christopher; and a passage from The Woodlanders 39:45

1M ago39:45

39:45

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Medieval Cerne Abbas; A Merry Trio of Trollope, Bede & Pepys; and infiltration by Rooks, Gulls & Mozart 🤓 39:27

1M ago39:27

39:27

Send us a text Good evening. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday evening. How are you? Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝…

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Good Aelfric teaches at Cerne Abbas and a worldly son coverts episcopal power in Trollope’s Barchester 30:54

1M ago30:54

30:54

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Cuthbert, Pepys and the beginnings of Cerne’s Abbey 31:37

1M ago31:37

31:37

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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We dwell for a moment with heart-sore Giles Winterborne in Hardy’s The Woodlanders; We Spy a Roaming Hedgehog; and Celebrate the life of Bridget of Sweden 38:43

1M ago38:43

38:43

Send us a text Good evening and thank you so much for joining me. We gently peruse tonight the usual random clutch of literary treasures, and are joined not only by the usual suspects (Mr Katt, gulls, swifts and goldfinches), but also by Mrs Hedgehog who trotted, in a most ladylike way, though in the style peculiar to small, snouty, prickly mammals…

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Hardy’s Woodlanders are out of sorts; Pepys’ life blossoms; and Swifts and Gulls whirl about Gretel’s garden 47:05

1M ago47:05

47:05

Send us a text Thank you so much for joining me. I’ve had a lovely message from one of my wonderful subscribers that I’ve asked permission to share here:Hi Gretel, I really enjoyed today’s (Tuesday) episode, especially the ambient noise 😊. I love hearing the birds, bells, traffic, etc, as a background. Your topic of “what’s the point?” really reson…

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Take His Cards 13:06

1M ago13:06

13:06

Ben Keaton is a drinker in constant search of that sweet spot. That mix if soft warm, witty repartee embodied by his childhood heroes. This episode is a hymn to booze and online shopping. Those next day deliveries are just full of surprises after a few glasses of red. 'Did I really order nipple tassels? Well, better try them on then.' THIS IS A TRU…

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Boisil welcomes the boy Cuthbert; What’s the Point? And George Eliot ponders the delights of Cream, straight from the Udder 32:54

1M ago32:54

32:54

Send us a text Good afternoon and all my very best wishes to you on this Tuesday towards the end of July 2025. How can it be? When I received my Regular Commission on passing out from Sandhurst in 1996, I noted with incredulity that the date I would have to retire as an army officer was May 2027. This date seemed ridiculously futuristic and I remem…

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George Eliot’s Scenes of Clerical Life; Pepys learns that Britain is part of the European continent; and stubborn Cuthbert finds food 26:09

1M ago26:09

26:09

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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The Preservation of Churches; A visit to South Cadbury’s Parish Church; and St Cuthbert watches Aidan’s soul rise to Heaven 28:01

1M ago28:01

28:01

Send us a text My apologies, the church of South Cadbury is St Thomas À Beckett, not John the Baptist as I stated in my narrative. 🧐🫢 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Lov…

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The Life of Cuthbert 22:37

1M ago22:37

22:37

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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Bells and Swifts; Hardy and Bede; Mozart and Pepys 😊 32:14

1M ago32:14

32:14

Send us a text Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spirituality Weekly chart 27,000 Downloads 🥳 Love Gretel 🌝By Gretel le Maître

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We visit St Michael’s Over Compton on the Dorset / Somerset Border and discover a wonderful local tradition rooted in village divisions at the time of the Civil War 40:26

2M ago40:26

40:26

Send us a text Dear friends I’ve just remembered that this episode begins with late night frolics with Mrs Tiggywinkle 🦔 Do bear with it if the sound of munching gets too much 😅😳 Support the show Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes. #1 GOODPODS PODCAST OF THE WEEK: #1 in the Top 100 Places & Travel Weekly chart #1 in the Top 100 Spi…

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He Keeps a List 17:36

2M ago17:36

17:36

Ben Keaton keeps a list of people he hates. It’s not a list you’d write down. It’s a private tally of rage. Petty. Profound. Occasionally piss-soaked. This episode is about the fantasies we quietly enjoy and the hatreds we politely deny— It might include a theatre director who pours a pint over your head. I wonder who HE is? There’s no grand soluti…