Dark Clouds, Silver Linings
We’ve created a Youtube channel and we are filling it with stories.
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We’ve had a fantastic response to our first three Story Fridays Online! Loads of views, and the audience are loving them! Many MANY thanks to all the wonderful writers and all the fantastic actors who have brought this project to fruition!
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Week One | Week Two | Week Three
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Week Three: Story Friday Dark Clouds, Silver Linings
Olly introduces our stories as usual. The easiest way to view Olly, and then the stories is to click on the PLAYLIST. Alternatively, click on the links below for each individual story
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The 4th Is Impossible
Written by Mark Hynes, read by Felix Hayes
A teenage aristocrat discovers the truth of PG Wodehouse’s observation: golf like measles is best caught and dealt with while young. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Humour. Life in an oddball family. Not Corona.
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Pearls
Written by Stephen Tuffin, read by Tim Bell
West Bay (Summer 1974). A girl, a boy, and a beautiful bay feature in this tale of pearls, poems and dirty great clouds. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: 1970s. Teenage relationships. Not Corona
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Unravelling
Written by Ali Bacon, read by Alice Barclay
Two bits of cloth and some elastic, how hard can it be to make a facemask? Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Humour. Relationships. Life Under Lockdown
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Fifteen Minutes of Fame
Written by Christine Roberts, read by Susie Riddell
Unmasking the truth – a careworker tells it like it is. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Key workers. Politics. Corona.
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The Moths, They Sing To Me
Written by Robert Garnham, read by Feargus Woods Dunlop
The moths are singing. Or are they? Why doesn’t anyone believe the research scientist, staying at a cabin deep in the forest? Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Whimsical. Not Corona.
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Hall of Mirrors
Written by Elaine Miles, read by Lynne Forbes
Jaywalking, a one-way system in the supermarket, getting all dressed up with nowhere to go, and making ketchup from scratch? What’s going on? Oh, wait … Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Lighthearted. Working life. Life Under Lockdown.
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Week Two: Story Friday Dark Clouds, Silver Linings
Olly Langdon introduces our new batch of stories, which went live on May 1st! Writers have written, actors have recorded, and now you can watch and listen!
The easiest way to view the stories is to click on the PLAYLIST. Alternatively, click on the links below for each individual story.
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The Longest Journey
Written by Clare Reddaway, read by Sarah Goddard
She was one for the wild spaces, the empty places. So when she wasn’t allowed to step over the threshold of her basement flat, things went a little haywire. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Mental health. Creativity. Life Under Lockdown.
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The Sanity Clause
Written by Malcolm Dixon, read by Adam Fuller
Big girls, mean girls, tell Joe’s daughter that Santa isn’t real. It’s all only make-believe. Does that matter? Well, it matters to her. Joe struggles to explain how he sees the world—and why. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Family relationships. Imagination/truth. Not Corona.
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Quicksands
Written by Chiara Vascotto, read by Amy Vickers
What happens when a dream holiday turns sour, and the future that once seemed bright becomes uncertain? A woman reflects on love, vulnerability, and plan Bs. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Pregnancy. Relationships. Not Corona
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Every Donation Counts
Written by David Mathews, read by Eamonn Fleming
Frank sleeps here and there, sometimes in the night shelter. You’ll recognise him around town by the bright new laces in his boots, but whatever you do, say nothing about them to Frank. And the boots themselves? Well, who knows? Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Homelessness. Footwear. Not Corona.
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Corvidae
Written by Francesca Blishen, read by Berri George
I can hear the crows cawing on the hill. Are they warning me? I have lived my life in anticipation of this virus. So what now? Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Key workers. BAME. Corona.
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Silver Sodding Linings
Written by Philip Douch, read by Jacob Aldcroft
Why does my mother always have to look for the positives? A young man entertains us with the frustrations of an overly jolly parent. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Light-hearted. Mother/son relationships. Life Under Lockdown.
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Week One: Dark Clouds, Silver Linings
Olly Langdon introduces our project here. There are links under Olly’s intro to all of the stories, you can click on the links below or click on the PLAYLIST to hear them all.
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A New Cosmic Order After The Apocalypse
Written by Julie Hayman, read by Kirsty Cox
What has she found on Baby Jake’s grave? Is it a football? Or is it something much, much more peculiar? An original, other-worldly and warm-hearted story. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Fantasy. Mothers. Not Corona.
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My Dad The Superhero
Written by Judith Adam, read by Eve Ward
‘Where’s Dad? Why isn’t he home?’ Judith Adam wrote this story for a little girl whose dad really is working long hours right now. We are thrilled that for the first time Story Fridays has a child reading one of our stories – welcome Eve! Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Family relationships. Key workers. Life under lockdown.
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Whirlwind Romance
Written and read by Stephanie Weston
A (semi) professional meteorologist recounts how alarming weather conditions in the village of Upper Dullbury nearly cause a crisis, as the cattle start to exhibit the most astonishing of behaviours… Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Comedy. Weather. Cows.
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The Pillars of the Earth
Written by Jonathan Evans, read by Oliver Langdon
All may be quiet on the Gloucester Road, but one man has some tricky family relationships to cope with, some of which involve Chagger’s Disease and the enlightening effects of a Ken Follett novel. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Light-hearted. Family relationships. Life under lockdown.
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For The Kid
Written by John Holland, read by Caroline Garland
How can a simple kidnapping get this complicated? Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Comedy. Kidnap. Parent/child relationships.
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The Winter Hare
Written by Heather Lister, read by Meg Whelan
Did I love my brother? This is the question raised in this beautifully written, wise piece about the death of the writer’s brother. A profound study of grief and memory that is ultimately uplifting. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Bereavement. Sibling relationships. Nature.
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Biscuits As Metaphors
Written by Mark Rutterford, read by Bryn Holding
They might call it ‘comfort eating’, but that‘s only half the story. Here’s the LINK.
Themes: Light-hearted, warm. Biscuits. Life under lockdown.