Iron and Wood

Dear Listener,

This week, we have a woodcutter, a mysterious old woman, a sailor, a lace maker and some magic ... sounds like the makings of a fairytale! I hope you enjoy it. Here's a direct link to the MP3.

Don't forget to subscribe with i-Tunes or using the feed.

This week's soundtrack comes from the brooding ambient cello of Jami Sieber's "Unspoken" with a dose of pianistic wonderment from Giorgio Costantini's "Atmosphere".

Sweet dreams!

Seymour

Michigan Water

Dear Listener,

Welcome to episode 26. This one takes us back to a hard winter in Harlem, December 1939. Jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton is planning a major come-back from relative obscurity and we get a glimpse of this musical giant in a moment of loneliness and weakness. Tragically, he died just over a year later on the brink of a return to the limelight and we will never know what might have been.

I have always been fascinated by Jelly's life and music and I find the story of his later years quite poignant so this is a sort of a tribute as well as a nod to the fact that most of the listeners to this podcast are stateside residents.

So, here's the direct link, but if you enjoy the podcast why not subscribe to the feed or on iTunes (it's free).

Music this week is from the man himself.

Sweet dreams ....

The Wisdom of Things Found

Dear Listener,

What do you see? What do you hear?If you play close attention to anything, animal, vegetable or mineral, in time it will disclose some secret wisdom to you that you are obligated to share with others. I have become fascinated by the insights that "things" can impart to us and this story continues the journey with "Things Found" that I am also documenting on my blog.

Here is a story about a man who knew all that he knew because of what the sea brought to him, and he had an unusual way of sharing it.

As usual, here is a direct link to the Mp3 for this week's episode. You can also listen using the flash player above or subscribe to the feed or listen on iTunes. You can also pop over to Magnatune to hear the full album from which this week's background music is taken: "Water and Sky" by Kourosh Dini - beautiful!

Please consider leaving some feedback for us about the podcast. We are excited to see (from our stats) that there are a growing number of listeners around the world, over 100 episodes are downloaded every day ... but who are you? We'd love to hear from you.

Enjoy.

Wishing you sweet dreams as always ....

Fighting Lions

Dear Listener,

Well, I wasn't actually "fighting lions" but some pretty crazy stuff kicked off last time I was in Rome. I suppose it had more to do with a wolf than a lion...

I hope that you enjoy Episode 24. For the old-fashioned, here is the direct link (right click to download onto your hard drive) or you may be able to use the player on the screen. For the new-fashioned, here's the feed and here's the iTunes link.

The soundtrack for this week's podcast is from Magnatune as usual and the album is called "The Lost Mode". Regular listeners, see if you notice, producer Tim has found a way to make the voice recording even cleaner.

Please leave some feedback if you are enjoying the podcasts or if there's some sort of thing you'd like to hear more (or less) of.

Until next week ... sweet dreams!

The Ferryman

Dear Listener,

Here's your direct link for episode 23 of "Stories from the Borders of Sleep."

Turpin Whittington has a few problems: an unusual name, complete deafness in his left ear and an uncontrollable tendency to get lost in fairy-land; but somehow he makes good. Here is a tale of a strange thing that happened to him on his way to school. You'll meet a couple of interesting characters and you'll learn about "tree wine", which I thoroughly recommend you try some time.

The soundtrack for this week's podcast features some beautifully ethereal flute from Suzanne Teng's "Enchanted Winds" album.

Enjoy the story and have sweet dreams until next time ...

The Unhappy Body by Lord Dunsany

Dear Listener,

We are back and starting this year with something slightly different that may happen again if the response is positive. Before I continue, here is a direct link to the MP3 if you need it.

Every so often, we'd like to unearth a long-forgotten gem by another author, whose work has come to rest in the the public domain, and to give it the "Borders of Sleep" treatment. This is inspired by the wonderful narrator, Xe Sands, and the brilliant #GoingPublic project that you can read about here and listen to on soundcloud. Every Friday, there is fresh audio material there from the public domain and creative commons.

So here is a strange tale of a conversation between a soul and a body who don't get on too well. It was originally published in 1910 by the Irish author, Lord Dunsany, whose full name was, "Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany." His imagination was as wild and far ranging as his name; as the collection from which this story is drawn (A Dreamer's Tales) amply demonstrates. You can read some more on Project Gutenberg.

The soundtrack for this weeks episode is from the album Glass Desert by Harlan Williams. Great music for mind-travel!

Well then, please let us know if you do or don't enjoy this week's offering and, until next week, wishing you ...

Sweet dreams ...

Moving in Mysterious Ways

Dear Listener,

What if this is all just a big game? And what if that big game is just a small part of another big game? Are we doomed forever to the narrow confines of what we believe can or can't be done? What happens when you start to question ... everything?

After a short interruption we are back with Episode 21 for you. A story that betrays my fascination with chess, and other things. Here, if you need it, is a direct link to the audio file.

The sound track for this weeks episode is from Distant City by Davide Viterbo on Magnatune. And ... that voice on the intro is the voice of my producer, Tim - so now you know what he sounds like. Nice work, Tim, thank you!

May all the happiness of the season be with you!

And ... sweet dreams ...

Bear Bridge

Dear Listener,

Here we go with episode 20!

Here's a direct link to this week's episode, right click and save link to download it to your hard drive. If you enjoy these stories, please consider leaving some feedback as a comment and/or subscribing on i-Tunes or RSS.

I hope you enjoy this story about how a little village came to be called Bakerton after a baker and a miller saved it from some savage bears with cunning and magic. You will even learn to speak a handy bit of the bear's language.

The soundtrack is from Magnatune artists: Ehren Starks and Anthony Salvo.

Wishing you sweet dreams ... until next time ...

Subterranean

Dear Listener,

Here is a story that is stitched together from ideas that occurred to me while out walking the dog, my ponderings on the nature of fear, a dream from a long time ago, and a more recent journey in my own soul - it kind of emerged over the course of the last week.

Is there something in you that needs unblocking so it can come to life again?

Here's the direct link for this week's episode. If you have time, check out the archive to download any of the previous 18 episodes and I hope you find something you like.

The atmospheric sound track is by Indidginus from the album Circa Diem - worth a listen right through by itself as it takes the listener on an aural journey from dawn to night ...

Sweet dreams ...

The Seven Legged Spider

Dear Listener,

Here's the direct link to the MP3 of this week's episode, to download it "right click" and "save link as". You can also listen by clicking on the flash player above or via iTunes or by subscribing to the feed with any other podcast client.

I have no doubt that many of you will recognise this story as yet another variant of a popular folk tale. I remember hearing it as a child. usually the "take home message" is something to do with collaborating and contributing to a greater effort, but here's my take on it ...

If you enjoy the background music on these podcasts, it is all available from magnatune.com where you can listen online for free or download stuff for a bargain subscription. This weeks soundtrack is from Countryside Stroll by Cari Live.

If you have been enjoying the podcasts, please leave us some feedback as a comment. We know that people must be listening because the stats tell us so, but who and what? We'd love to hear from you.

Until next week, enjoy, and ... sweet dreams ...