Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

“Everyone in town heard the lightning hit.”We’re talking about gathering places on this week’s episode; those vital places that serve our communities in so many ways. We start with a piece Stuart wrote about the Parliament buildings (a follow up to the Amazing Spaces episode from last season). Then a moving listener story about a town hall, and a story about the town hall in Dave’s hometown.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“And then one night … there were shooting stars.”  Today on the pod, two stories set in Dave’s hometown of Big Narrows, Nova Scotia, stories where the grandparents step in to help, and to work their quiet magic.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s not clear who thought up the defibrillator”On today’s episode, we’re talking about community. We’ll play one of Stuart’s opening scripts, about an inspiring community project that we learned about on our travels with the Vinyl Cafe: The Smiths Falls Station Theatre. Plus, a Dave and Morley story about a more unusual type of community venture.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Galway began flushing the toilet again in the autumn…"For all you cat lovers out there, today is your day. Today on the show we’re all about our feline friends, with two hilarious stories about the cats in Dave & Morley’s neighbourhood.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It would work so much better if we could plug the toaster in at the table”Two of your most-requested Vinyl Cafe stories on this week’s show. Some vintage Stuart McLean, at your service! Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You asked, we listened! So, this week on the pod, we’ve got two more of Stuart’s love letters to this country, what we call his Postcards from Canada.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"He looked like a kid on a roller coaster. But not one of the happy ones.”On today’s episode, two stories about transportation—and what happens when it takes on a life of its own (with a little help from Dave of course…)Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Bonjour,” he said. “Je m’appelle Dave.”Stuart loved Quebec and was proud to have grown up there. That influence is apparent in so many of his stories. We’ll play one of them today. Plus one of his Postcards from Canada, from Montreal.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It was a magnificent tree.”We’re thinking about our connection to the natural world on this week’s pod. We’ve got an essay from Stuart McLean about a Winnipeg tree that galvanized a community, and a story about a woodsman from Dave’s childhood in Cape Breton.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It was Sam’s first year in high school. And it was not going well.”On today’s episode: two of Stuart McLean's hilarious Dave & Morley stories about the wonderful world of work. And Jess talks about her work on the Vinyl Cafe.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“That afternoon, in his first true act of citizenship, Dave wore five lacy bras across the border.”This week is all about the relationship between Canada and the U.S. We’ve got a Dave & Morley story about crossing the border, plus Stuart’s essay from the Haskell Free Library and Opera house, that straddles the Canada U.S. border. An essay that has particular poignance today.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There is nothing like a wedding to addle people’s minds.”Today on the pod we’re celebrating one of Stuart’s favourite stores: The good old hardware store. We’ve got two Dave & Morley stories to illustrate the point.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“He wanted to be alone so he could try the beef-flavoured toothpaste”On this week’s episode: two fan favourites: stories about some of the sweetest characters in the Vinyl Cafe universe – the animals!Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"It began simply enough. It began with a phone call."Stuart loved talking on the phone: much of his work revolved around phone calls. Jess talks about some of the memorable phone calls you may have heard on the Vinyl Cafe radio show over the years, plus we’ve got an essay Stuart wrote about his journalistic practice and a Dave and Morley story.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“What’s in a name? When it’s yours – a lot, apparently.”We’re talking about Canadian humour today on the podcast. We're following a thread back to Stephen Leacock and the ways in which he influenced Stuart McLean's writing. We have a Dave & Morley story for you, plus a postcard from Leacock’s hometown, which includes memories of Stuart's friend, the late CBC Radio host Peter Gzowski. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Dave’s relationship with hospitals over the years has not been without problems.”The two Stuart McLean stories on today’s episode are connected in a very cool way. Both contain secret shout outs to people Stuart loved. Jess tells the backstory behind the little easter eggs like this that Stuart occasionally hid.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“They tried to stop us, says the old man. But we kept playing.”We’re talking about winter sports on this week’s episode. We’ve got two stories about hockey – a Dave & Morley story and a listener story exchange. Plus, a back story from Jess about her personal connection to sportswriting and how that informed Stuart’s research for his hockey story.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 7 of Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe started last week, did you catch the first episode? We’ll be with you every Friday until the summer. Whoo! And for those of you who have asked: Our friends at the Apostrophe Podcast Network are now offering a subscriber option. Subscribers listen to the pod ad-free – zero ads across the entire catalogue. Every week subscribers get the show early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies too… Click here to learn more about how to subscribe. There's already an early access episode waiting for you! If you are happy with the podcast just the way it is? All good! No need for you to do anything. Nothing is changing unless you want it to. Subscribe here.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It was the greatest skate of her life.” Happy New Year! Welcome back to Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe! Light a fire, get a bowl of soup, and a cozy blanket and settle in, because we’re celebrating the season today on the show. We’ve got a story exchange for you, plus an essay Stuart wrote for the radio show about walking on ice. And we have a Dave and Morley story for you about their trip to Europe to skate on the canals. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Did you take the turkey out of the freezer?”For our last episode of the season – and our last before the Holidays – two Christmas classics! Plus, a beautiful, seasonal listener story from the Vinyl Cafe Story Exchange. For many of you, these Stuart McLean stories need no introduction, so grab a cup of egg nog, put your feet up and enjoy. Merry Christmas!Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“First fires…. and then floods”On this week’s episode, two hilarious Stuart McLean stories about being out and about, Christmas visiting. Our first story is one that many of you may not have heard before, about Dave and Morley’s visit to the home of Stephanie’s boyfriend,Tommy. Tommy's parents are facing their own challenges with cooking the turkey. Jess shares a backstory about some of the characters in that story.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Eustache was bracing himself for a long and lonely Christmas”It’s December so we’re going the full festive from now until Christmas! This week, two classic Dave & Morley stories of seasonal shenanigans, plus a story exchange about a very special Christmas Eve. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Christmas in Dave’s record store is just plain fun”On today’s episode, Jess talks about the challenges of trying to create Christmas magic when you’re not necessarily feeling it yourself. That’s a bit of the back story behind Stuart’s writing of “Dave Plays Santa” - we’ll play that story for you. And we’ve got another back story connected to “Dave Plays Santa”, which links to our second story this week.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Dave stared at the duck in disbelief. The duck stared back at him.”This week, we’re back talking about birds again, with two of Stuart McLean's hilarious stories about Dave and… poultry. Yes, this week’s theme is quite specific! Our first story is one you may not have heard before: Dave decides to try his hand at small-scale poultry farming…Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Christmas Day is going to be a little strained in Dave’s neighbourhood this year.”Today on the pod we’re all about Vinyl Cafe: The Musical! To celebrate its premiere, Jess shares the story of how the musical came into being and the excitement of seeing it come to life. Plus, you can hear one of the stories that inspired the musical in the first place.Vinyl Cafe: The Musical has been held over for an additional week! It runs until December 7th. For tickets see: https://citadeltheatre.com/shows/vinyl-cafe-the-musical/Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There’s something about the ghosts who live in the house where you live.”This week something special for Remembrance Day: an essay Stuart McLean wrote about George Lawrence Price, a Canadian soldier killed in the very last moments of the first world war. And we have two Vinyl Cafe stories for you: a wartime story exchange, and a Dave and Morley story where they learn about the life of someone who lived in their house many years before.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Let me state the case for Hallowe’en”Today’s the day - Happy Hallowe’en! We’ve got a wonderful story exchange about an immigrant’s first experience of Trick or Treating. And we'll also play Stuart McLean's story about Sam and Stephanie's Halloween; it's a story about this magical evening, but it's also about growing up and finding independence.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The baker, the chef, the Indian maestro.”Today on the podcast it’s a smorgasbord from Stuart McLean. About food, about journeys and more in between! We’ve got a postcard from Canada, a moving listener story, and one of our favourite Dave and Morley stories.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There was a time when the Gander airport was the biggest airport in the world”On this week’s episode, we have three of Stuart’s opening monologues – essays about some of the places and spaces that captivated him on his travels across the country. And Jess has a backstory about the perils of mispronunciations!Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our annual Thanksgiving tradition – the Vinyl Cafe Arthur Awards. More treasures from the Vinyl Cafe archives about some amazing acts of kindness!Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The Pensionne du Quebec was lit up like a party ship”We’ve got a Quebec selection for you on today’s podcast. A story about Sam’s school trip to Quebec City, plus a Stuart McLean script about cheese making in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, and a backstory from Jess about the trip they took to write that story.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Surely Mary wouldn’t miss one of those little buttercream shrubs…”On this week’s episode of Backstage, two stories about cakes, those special occasion cakes that promise to be oh so good… That is, until Dave and co. get involved…Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“PPMS. Phantom peripheral mouse syndrome”Jess and Dave have something in common: rodent phobia! Jess shares how she got over hers. And in two hilarious Vinyl Cafe stories we’ll hear how Dave managed his.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Mary had never ever been downstairs with no clothes on. Never. Ever.”We’ve got some classic Dave and Mary Turlington adventures on this week’s episode – as they find themselves in some compromising positions! And Jess talks about how Stuart honed his onstage craft over the years.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Every year on the first day of school, to the great amazement of the kids in kindergarten…Miss MacNeal would burp the alphabet from A to Z.” Welcome back to Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe! Our first episode is all about back to school. We’ve got a story about how Dave and Morley tried to recreate the magic of their own school days for Sam (spoiler: it didn’t work out quite as they hoped); an essay Stuart wrote for a young friend going back to school; plus a backstory from Jess about what Stuart was like as a teacher.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you'll join us next Friday for Season 6 of Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe! We’ve got more Dave and Morley stories for you, more of Stuart McLean’s wonderful Vinyl Cafe essays and, of course, more behind the scenes stories from Jess Milton. Here's a taster of what's in store...Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, more from our Apostrophe Podcast Network family! We think you will enjoy, "We Regret to Inform You: The Rejection Podcast." Sidney O’Reilly shares the stories of successful people who have encountered rejection in their careers – and triumphed nonetheless. For this episode, we enter the wacky world of Monty Python and hear how risky it was for the BBC and others to take a chance on these unconventional comics. So sit back, grab your coconuts and enjoy "Rejecting Monty Python." And for part 2 of the story, check out "We Regret to Inform You" on whatever platform you are using to listen to this podcast. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something special for you for our first bonus episode. From one of my absolute favourite Vinyl Cafe radio shows, from 2011, this is Stuart and I in studio talking about bloopers! We laughed so hard recording this show. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There is nothing like a neighbour throwing money about their garden to make you feel bad about yours.” It's summer all the way on this week’s episode. In our first story, Mary Turlington unwittingly trips off a chain of events that get heated under the summer sun. And in the second, Sam and Murphy have the summer of a lifetime in Big Narrows, Cape Breton.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Whenever the cat is around, things seem to go wrong.” This week, Dave discovers a stowaway on the family road trip, with hilarious consequences. And Jess shares two more of Stuart McLean’s Postcards from Canada: from St John’s, NFLD in the east and Powell River, B.C. in the west.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something a little different this week that we think you’ll enjoy. From our friends at the Apostrophe Podcast Network: Terry O’Reilly’s “The Beatlology Interviews”.You may not know that Stuart McLean was a huge Beatles fan (though really, aren’t we all?) And he collected Beatles memorabilia. Another huge fan and collector is Terry O'Reilly. In this episode of “The Beatlology Interviews” Terry talks to actor Mark Hamill about all things Beatles... and more. Mark Hamill not only owns collectibles, he is a collectible. Mark talks about his first blush with the Beatles, how he began collecting Beatles memorabilia, that time he met George Harrison on a plane, and whether or not he let his kids play with Star Wars Toys. It's a fascinating interview. We hope you enjoy it.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonjour,” he said. “Je m’appelle Dave.”Yup, sometimes things go wrong. It happens to the best of us. Especially on the Vinyl Cafe, as you’ll hear in Stuart McLean’s Dave and Morley stories Dog Pills and Petit Lac Noir. Also on this week’s episode, Jess shares a surprising and funny backstory about the inspiration behind Dave’s mistake in Dog Pills.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"This waterslide was the waterslide to end all waterslides” We are taking a break over the summer, so in honour of our final episode of Season 1 we’ve got two Vinyl Cafe stories for you about summer. If you listen carefully you’ll hear something unusual in the first, A Letter from Camp, when Stuart inserts a personal story from his own days at his beloved summer camp. And of course, we can’t talk about summer without including the hilarious fan favourite: The Waterslide. All this and more, including a special memory from Jess of what it was like sitting backstage, stage left, and hearing Waterslide performed for the very first time.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this summer bonus episode, my conversation with long-time Vinyl Cafe and Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe recording engineer, Greg DeClute. Greg has some great stories to share about working with Stuart McLean for so many years.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There is nothing like a 20th wedding anniversary to drive home the point that you are no longer 20 years old” For our final episode of this season, two entertaining stories about summer vacations. And Jess talks about the additional perspective going further afield can bring.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When are you supposed to let your children march off alone? When are you supposed to let them learn from their mistakes” On today’s episode, two stories about childhood. And Jess talks about how one of her own childhood dreams has recently come to fruition - with the making of the upcoming Vinyl Cafe: The Musical! Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Dave said, you’re thinking about dancing, aren’t you?” We’re looking towards summer on today’s episode. We have a script Stuart wrote about a magical evening spent in pursuit of fireflies. And a story of summer evenings in Dave and Morley’s neighbourhood. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When Dave was a boy, dolls terrified him”Something a little different on today’s episode: two stories about kids' toys -- the good, the bad and the ugly! One is a story about Dave's childhood, the other is a story by Stuart about his own childhood experience with toys. Plus a backstory from Jess about how that autobiographical story got its name.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Murphy was terrified of snakes” Today’s episode features two stories that take place out and about, further afield. Dave’s Cousin Dorothy visits from England and has an exciting side adventure on their trip to Ottawa. And in the second story, Dave, Sam and Murphy make an unusual delivery. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I don’t want a birthday party, said Morley. I hate birthday parties” Some vintage Stuart McLean this week, as Morley celebrates a milestone birthday. And we have an older story for you, one you may not have heard before, where Dave is not necessarily his ‘best self’.Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here: apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.