Gretel le Maître Ponders Beauty, with Bede & other guests

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailIn this episode I chat to outstanding author and delightful lady Dr Eleanor Parker.  Thank you to her for her time and congratulations to her for the huge success she has had with all her books, but particularly with Winters in the World, A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year.   Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood evening and thank you so very much for joining me.  Without you I really wouldn’t do this, and it’s a blessed existence, living, enfin, as I actually wish to live: rooted in a warm home, but wandering about learning, absorbing and reading.  There is no greater pleasure for me than learning things: new nuggets of deliciousness of etymology, of history, of language, art or music.  Everything, truly, can be interesting and I finally have the space in my life to wander, like a minstrel of old, from church to church, city to city, meeting lovely and inspiring people, and experiencing new things.  All I don’t have is my mother, my sister and brother in my life; all else is well.  Key to my happiness, which has bloomed over the course of these past few months, is the warm support many of you have sent my way.  I feel snugly settled into a niche of time’s making.  The suffering and soreness of grief, bewilderment and loss, to the gentle appreciation of the world about me.  The birds, our pets, my family, my garden and this beautiful world, are all about me.  Losses are to be borne, for it would be surprising were a woman in her fifties not to have sorrowful cupboards in her life, which contain stark facts that cannot be moulded to my liking.  So if you are suffering, or lonely, or bear a cross that weighs miserably upon you, reach out to this podcast, or make contact, if you can possibly bear it, with groups or organisations that care and will respond.  The great benefit of modern technology is the ability to connect with other human beings.  Let the deriders cast their derision: face to face connections are not always possible, or not always wanted.  A very good night from me to you.  Love Gretel x🌖 Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailHello!There are 6 supporters whose addresses I don’t have, and I wanted to pop a thank you note in the post to you.  Please DM me your address if you are happy for me to send something.  The initials are:DWNLKTSSCGJ Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailHullo, hullo, how are you? We are making good progress with Villette.  If you haven’t read it before you will find, perhaps, that it creeps up on your soul and tiptoes into your mind: the images in your head of the streets, the Pensionnat, Madame Beck, and Lucy Snowe.  Be patient and let the book come to you.  One quote from the chapter ‘Villette’ struck a chord with me and I thought I would share it with you here:  ‘These feelings, however, were well kept in check by the secret but ceaseless consciousness of anxiety laying in wait on enjoyment, like a tiger crouched in a jungle.  The breathing of that beast of prey was in my ear always; his fierce heart panted close to mine; he never stirred in his lair but I felt him: I knew he waited only for sun-down to bound ravenous from his ambush’.  Brontë’s beautiful words describing how I feel about evenings, and have felt, all my life.  Another quote that puts into beautiful words how I’ve felt about life often is from today’s chapter:‘…but it seemed to me a great thing to be without heavy anxiety, and relieved from intimate trial; the negation of severe suffering was the nearest approach to happiness I expected to know.’Thank you so much for your support.  I would be hugely honoured if you would consider supporting in any of the following ways:1. Subscribe2. Leave a review and star rating 3. Download the episodes 5. Forward episodes to people who might like it.All activity like this helps hugely with the chart ratings.  I’m entering a podcast competition tomorrow so these ratings will really help my chances.  Thank you!!! 🙏 Love Gretel Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood Evening and welcome to tonight’s episode which I’ve produced just for you! Welcome newcomers and hello friends 🤗.First I visit the wonderful Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize 2026, organised by the Friends of the Ridgeway (https://share.google/OWNB5Guii9FsZ9EWJ).  Next I fly by Lacock Abbey and manage to have time alone in the cloisters; then after some pondering, I read more from Trollope, Pepys, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Charlotte Brontë.  We also toast the life of enigmatic Caedwalla. To kill pagans or not? That was the question.  I wish you a restful evening as we all spin together on the surface of this blue planet.  Let’s keep looking for the good, for the light, and walk through life’s obstacles with chins up and leaning on whatever crutches are available: stumble trip, stumble trip.  Goodnight and thank you.  Love Gretel 🌳🐦‍⬛🦔 Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailDear friends, new and old, welcome to an episode that was recorded yesterday in the Oxfordshire sunshine but took a while to publish; huge apologies for the delay and also for the absence of our readings.  What a joy an honour it was to spend time with Hedley; such a lovely human being, whose curious and boyish attitude was delightful and charming.  Please find him on social media and YouTube and follow his wonderful work.  On my way home I spent a quick but incredible hour in Laycock Abbey, which should feature in tonight’s episode.  Thank you to kind Hedley, the Gabriel Varden of Didcot.  I look forward to our next rencontre. 🙋‍♀️ Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood afternoon and happy Tuesday.  We meet the curious Stanhopes in Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Towers: ‘Their conduct to each other was the same as to the world; they bore and forebore’.  We progress (not far) with Pepys (won’t it be good to get to 1664?).  We progress too with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles but fall foul of the fact we are reading a version that combined them so that dates and events repeat; in this example the Lady of the Mercians died on two different dates.  We chat about ‘beating the bounds’.  Does your village or town beat the bounds?  If not, when did it stop?  Let me know and I’ll read your reply out on a future episode.  Finally we read our second chapter of Villette.  It will take a few chapters to settle into it. Don’t give up on it - or me! Finally, if you think what I do here is ok, I would love for you to forward the episode or podcast to a few people who might like it.  I suppose people who have open minds about how podcasts should be presented and open minds too about their interests.  I would be hugely grateful. Very finally, thank you, because if no one listened, or if the listeners reduced too much, I would of course have to stop this mad enterprise.  My children would then breathe a sigh of relief and hope I get a real job that could pay for better holidays than Cornwall 😁 Lots of love and thank you xx 🌳🎈🦔PS Hedgehog comes every night, so I will try to bring her/him back into the episodes.  Life is so puppy-dominated at the mo, but praying it’ll get easier soon.   Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood evening, how are you?  Can we really be so far into this year.  Why does time gallop 🏇?  Why cannot spring rest awhile: dawdle, dally, linger or tarry?  Welcome to the fifth season, where we begin Charlotte Brontë’s exquisite novel, Villette.  A gentle, soft-treading opening until you suddenly realise that you are deeply in.  Enveloped in perceptive, intelligent brilliance.  It starts at around 30 minutes if you’d rather skip the church visiting.  Thank you for joining me and for your support.  Love Gretel  x Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailTonight is our penultimate Barnaby Rudge, which is preceded with the usual garden chatter.  Thank you so much for joining me, as always.   Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood evening and welcome to today’s episode where we progress with Barchester Towers and Chapters LXXVI and LXXVII of Barnaby Rudge. Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood evening fair friends and any newcomers, welcome.  There is no Dickens in this episode, so those wanting to tune in to the next episode can skip this one if they are not in the mood for witterings.  Barchester Towers is proving to be a delight; and I hope you are enjoying it.  I have found the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles under a bookcase, so I can continue with that tomorrow.  Thank you for messaging me.  I think Barnaby Rudge is now being enjoyed by most people.  I  will visit more churches over the next week, and I look forward to starting Charlotte Brontë’s sublime Villette.  Goodnight. I wish you a very happy Easter.  Love Gretel  x Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood evening and welcome to this special episode where I meet the wonderful, intrepid and extraordinary Philippa Langley MBE.  Philippa talks of her childhood, and of teenage bullying; of Charles II and those skeletons in the Westminster Abbey urn; of the 2025 court case; a ‘hunchback’ conspiracy discovered by Steve Coogan; of current research, and of future plans.   Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailGood evening This second episode includes only Chapter LXVII of Barnaby Rudge.  Is the tide turning?  Is a glimmer of light challenging the dark?  Let’s see… Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan MailHulloooo and welcome to another episode of this odd podcast that takes you on random adventures through life.  Please go straight to minute 28 if you want to miss out the ridiculous chatter.  Thank you to my kind volunteer subscribers and  to my lovely new subscriber D.  I appreciate it so much.  Your voluntary subscriptions cover the charge by Buzzsprout to publish the podcast and leaves a handful of coins over to pop in church boxes.  The sunshine in England transforms the country: in how it looks and feels, and in how people act towards one another.  Hunched shoulders drop, pinched faces soften, and smiles are more freely given.  The sounds of lawn-mowers and the chirruping of the mating birds are abundant.  Those suffering are granted a little soothing of their poor hearts, as they can take tea in their gardens, cry softly to the sound of the generous-hearted robin, and shut their eyes, allowing the warmth of the sun to caress their eyelids, and for some feeling of comfort, so profoundly needed, to seep into their weary bones.  Best wishes to all and lots of love to those who are suffering.Gretel x Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Actor Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.  Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland, John Simpson, Eleanor Parker, Philippa Langley and Katie Channon.  Unpolished and unscripted but no ads and no requests for anything but your company.  Trying to make the world a gentler place with literature, history and nature.  Please don’t expect to find a...