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Welcome to Season 8 of the Alternative Stories and Fake Realites Podcast. 

Our new season begins with Winter Spring, an audio drama by Dr Rachel Knightley.   

Alice Winter, her brother Ash Winter and cousin Harris Spring are the third generation of a family property company, founded by their German immigrant grandfather who taught them the one thing the world would always need was good landlords. Three generations later, in order to survive, Ash has turned the business into an estate agency: the thing their grandfather hated most. A new tenant, only known as Poppy, moves into the top floor of what she discovers used to be their family home. Alice lives in the other flat with Kit, the imaginary friend she's had since childhood. As stories of future and past fight to be 'true', the story asks are we more than the stories we tell ourselves

In Winter Spring by Dr Rachel Knightley you can hear

Holly Gillanders as Poppy

Nic Lamont as Alice

Sam Kennard as Ash

David Ellis as Harris 

Adam Rhys-Davies as Kit 

Nicholas Vince as “Daddy” 

 Winter Spring was written by Rachel Knightley 

It was recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.  

Direction was by Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen.

Sound design, editing and music were by Chris Gregory 

 The script for Winter Spring is copyright Rachel Knightley and may not be reproduced in whole or part except with the written permission of the author 
 

 If you would like to find out more about Rachel Knightley and her writing coaching organisation The Writers’ Gym please go to  https://www.writersgym.com/

 You can follow Rachel on X at https://twitter.com/DrRKnightley

And on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/drrachelknightley/

 
You may also enjoy The Writers’ Gym Podcast in which Rachel, Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory have weekly conversations about writing topics.  You can listen here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-writers-gym-podcast/id1674424465

Or by searching “the writers gym” wherever you listen to podcasts. 

 
If you would like to find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/
Or contact us via office@alternativestories.com 

 
And if you would like to find out more about and support The Dex Legacy Season 3 Kickstarter please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3

 This podcast has been an Alternative Stories 2024 production presented by Holly Gillanders and Chris Gregory . 

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In this edition of the podcast we're chatting with writer, folklorist and historian Amy Boucher about plans for more from the world of her folk horror audio drama The Best of Men which was originally broadcast on this podcast. 

 

If you would like to find out more about the project to make season 2 of The Best of Men and to pledge your support to the project via our kickstarter campaign you can do so here.  Remember the campaign runs until 23rd May so please back it by then to enjoy our rewards and support our project. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cgregory/the-best-of-men-a-folk-horror-audio-drama

To listen to the first two episodes of the drama via this podcast’s archive please go to 

Part one   https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/12499890-the-best-of-men-an-audio-drama-part-one

Part two https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/12600423-the-best-of-men-an-audio-drama-part-two

And to find out more about writer Amy Boucher and the folklore of Shropshire  please follow her on X formerly twitter here https://twitter.com/g0blinegg

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Performed by Carole Pluckrose  and Ria Knowles https://www.spotlight.com/1418-7861-2841

Produced in association with The Boathouse Barking CIC.   https://www.boathousebarkingstudios.com/ Instagram Facebook

 ©Carole Pluckrose 2023

Dedicated to Edgar, Anne and Sheelagh
 
Script editors :Claire Steele,  Jill Glenn, Constellations Consultancy

With thanks for their enduring support and critical friendship to: Tony Humphreys, Nick Crean, Carl Blackburn. Mark and Dan Horn, Martin Heaney, Julie Wedge, Dorinda Hulton, Pen to Print  and Grace and Phoebe Pluckrose-Oliver 

I started writing Notes From Dad's Room in 2017, a few months following my dad, Edgar's death in November 2016. As a writer and theatre maker it was the natural place to go.    In 2015 Edgar had been given 3/4 weeks to live following a heart condition which he had managed for over 30 years. With an imminent terminal diagnosis when no more could be done to improve his health he came back from hospital to die at home.  Despite all the predictions however he lived for a further 15 months. In large part this was to do with an attitude of mind and a full engagement still in the world, family and thought despite being bedridden and confined to his bedroom. Somehow he managed to live this period largely with grace and positivity by looking outside himself into the world, and stubbornly refusing to reduce his rich imagination and sheer love of life. He travelled through this time and space in much the way he had told me stories when I was a child.  

During this time I began a Facebook group,  firstly for updates about Edgar's progress, but soon it turned into an open, tender and insightful conversation about death and dying. It was full of rich reflections and the resounding message was that it was a much welcome space to open up the often taboo discussion about mortality, our own and those we love. It was also a space to share stories of parent/child relationships, about the things we lay down in our children's lives that have a lifetime of significance. 

The play is a result of these conversations and it has been through many iterations in the intervening years, with a rehearsed reading at UEL with Ria Butler, a Zoom reading during the pandemic. It's been scrutinised by critical friends, supported by writers and writing mentors Claire Steele, Tony Humphreys, Nick Crean, Carl Blackburn. 

Through making this piece we want to share the story of a journey of love and caring and the liminal space inhabited in the time of impending loss. We know that so many of us live lives of caring behind closed doors and the toll emotionally and economically can be enormous. We want to share this story as an act of commonality and solidarity with those travelling this path right now. 

 I am also a celebrant and have learnt so much from my work with families in grief when supporting them in writing and officiating funeral ceremonies.  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolepluckrose/
Carole Pluckrose instagram
 
Tickets and further details of our writing workshop day on 1st July https://tinyurl.com/354ut7s3

Support The Dex Legacy Season 2 fundraiser https://ti

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This edition is called Raven.  It features the short story "The Raven's Call" by Charis McRoberts and a preview of The Seeing Trees, our forthcoming audio drama which features a raven. This podcast also includes interviews with Charis McRoberts, Kaitlin Felix author of "The Seeing Trees" and Amy Forrest.

The Raven's Call is written and performed by Charis McRoberts with music by Chris Gregory.  It is reproduced with Charis' permission.

The Seeing Trees trailer features the voices of Lewie Watson, Tiffany Clare, Charlie Richards and Amy Forrest.  The Seeing Trees is written by Kaitlin Felix and will be published on the podcast on Friday 4th June.  You can also hear a short interview with Kaitlin

We also reproduce an interview from the BBC's Podcast Radio Hour in which Amy Forrest talks about the ways in which Alternative Stories has adapted to the Covid 19 pandemic.  This is the full version of a piece which was truncated for the BBC broadcast.

Sound design, music and mixing are by Chris Gregory.  Music is published by Scared Crow Music.

The presenter in this edition of the podcast is Kelli Winkler

Find out more about Charis McRoberts by following her on social media where she posts as https://twitter.com/CharisMcRoberts

Find out more about Kaitlin Felix by following her on twitter https://twitter.com/KatiGirl90 and at her website https://katifelix.com/

You can follow Amy Forrest on Twitter https://twitter.com/amyforrest26

Join us for The Seeing Trees, the full audio drama in our next podcast.

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In part 3 of our series on creating audio drama we discuss sound design and music with guests Hedley Knights from We Fix Space Junk, Daniel French from Fishbonius Sound Design and the Chronosphere Fiction Podcast, Richard Campbell from Red Valley, John Bartmann of the How I Make Music podcast and Chris Gregory of Alternative Stories and Fake Realities.

If you've ever wanted to get into creating audio drama this podcast will help you master the basic skills of sound design and editing you'll need to learn.  We also hope that established sound designers and composers will find plenty to enjoy and learn in this podcast.

You heard clips from the following shows in this podcast

We Fix Space Junk
Red Valley
Chronosphere Fiction
Alternative Stories and Fake Realities
You also heard the track " Heart of Acceptance" by John Bartmann

All extracts and clips are provided by the contributors and are used with their permission. They may not be reproduced except with the owner's consent.

Follow our contributors on social media and listen to their shows here

Hedley Knights https://twitter.com/Hedley_K
Hedley's production company : Battle Bird https://twitter.com/BattleBirdProd
and We Fix Space Junk https://twitter.com/WeFixSpaceJunk
Listen and by We Fix Space Junk merch here  https://battlebird.productions/

Daniel French https://twitter.com/Fishbonius
Chronosphere Fiction https://twitter.com/ChronosphereFi1
Listen to Chronosphere Fiction here http://chronosphere.podbean.com/

Richard Campbell
Red Valley Podcast https://twitter.com/RedValleyPod
Listen to Red Valley here https://pod.link/redvalley

John Bartmann https://twitter.com/johnisthemusic
Website and podcast http://johnbartmann.com/music/

Chris Gregory
Alternative Stories and Fake Realities https://twitter.com/StoriesAlt

Sound design and mixing in this edition were by Chris Gregory
The Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Theme music is by Chris Gregory and published by Scared Crow Music
The presenter in this edition is Kelli Winkler 

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Selkie is an original audio drama by Signe Maene.  Selkies are mythical creatures from northern European folklore.  Seals that can transform to human form by shedding their skin they are particularly prevalent in Scottish folklore .  In our story, Andrew discovers a selkie whilst walking on the beach near his home.  He immediately falls in love aiming to make the selkie his wife.

In Selkie by Signe Maene the parts were played as follows

Sophie Macnair as The Selkie
Lewie Watson as Andrew
Simone Low as Andrew's Mother
Kelsey Griffin as a Selkie and singer of Ae Fond Kiss
Stevie Skinner as a Selkie

The music is arranged and performed by John Spiers based on the traditional folk tune "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry"
"Ae Fond Kiss" (trad. with lyrics by Robert Burns) is performed by Kelsey Griffin
Additional music and soundscapes are by Chris Gregory and published by Scared Crow Music

Sound effects are from Freesound.org
Sound mixing and editing are by Chris Gregory
The presenter in this edition is Kelli Winkler

Signe Maene is a Belgian writer, academic and folklore specialist.  You can follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/MaeneSigne and view her website at https://signemaene.com/

John Spiers is a folk musician and player of many squeezebox style instruments.  You can follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/squeezyjohn and view his website here  https://squeezyjohn.com/. Follow John's YouTube channel to see and hear him in action https://www.youtube.com/user/squeezyjohn1

Follow Alternative Stories on Twitter at https://twitter.com/StoriesAlt
On Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
And contact us directly via office@alternativestories.com 

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In this short bonus edition we preview our forthcoming audio drama Selkie by Signe Maene.  We talk to Signe herself and to Sophie Macnair who plays the selkie in our story. We also hear from John Spiers, the folk musician who performs the theme music for the drama.

 In this edition you heard the voices of
Signe Maene
Sophie Macnair
John Spiers
Simone Low
Lewie Watson
Kelsey Griffin

If you would like to find out more about Signe Maene and her other work please visit her website https://signemaene.com/
You can also follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/MaeneSigne
and on instagram https://www.instagram.com/signemaene/?hl=en

If you'd like to find out more about John Spiers and his various projects please visit his website https://squeezyjohn.com/
follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/squeezyjohn
and subscribe to his YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJHIyrMTAG9ZiE_AtnJRcZg

You can follow Sophie Macnair on twitter here https://twitter.com/liloldsoph

If you'd like to see the video version of the trailer included in this podcast you can visit the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities YouTube Channel  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKUqSlCAsOnOWU0eIMANScA

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In this edition, the second in our series featuring women poets from Cornwall in the South West of England, we feature the work of Mary J Oliver.  We also look at Cornwall itself and its enduring influence on artists, writers and poets with presenter Hollye Sangster.

The poems featured in this podcast are

"To the uninhabited Island of Cara" read by Tiffany Clare with music and soundscape by Chris Gregory
"Torso to Torso" read by Tiffany Clare
"Undressing the Dead" and "Play to Win" both read by Piers Owen with music by Judith Bailey performed by Deborah Came (piano)
"NGO Lunch Break : Accra" read by Jade Matthew with music and soundscape by Chris Gregory

Some of the poems in this podcast are included in Mary's 2019 book "Jim Neat : The Case of a Young Man Down on His Luck" which is published by Seren Books

We would like to thank Mary J Oliver for her help and cooperation in the making of this podcast and for her ongoing support of our podcast.

The presenter in today's edition is Hollye Sangster with additional contributions from Kelli Winkler

Sound effects used in this podcast were from Freesound.org

If you would like to find out more about Mary J Oliver please follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/mjoliver4

and to read more about Mary and her book, "Jim Neat" (the subject of a previous Alternative Stories Podcast) please click here  https://www.jimneat.com/

You can purchase "Jim Neat" directly from Seren Books by clicking here https://www.serenbooks.com/

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A Memory of Robin is an audio drama from writer David Green.  It tells the story of Gem, the daughter of a woman called Robin whose last few days of life we follow through extracts from her voice diary as she seeks to escape the confines of an increasingly oppressive and totalitarian government.

In A Memory of Robin by David Green characters were played as follows:

Robin - Jackie Jorgenson
Gem, her daughter - Abby Hilden
The Voice of the Nation - Kelli Winkler

A Memory of Robin was based on the short story of the same name by David Green.  Additional material and adaptation were by Chris Gregory.

Original music was composed and performed by Chris Gregory and published by Scared Crow Music
Sound design ,editing and soundscapes were by Chris Gregory
Sound effects were from Freesound.org

The presenter was Kelli Winkler

Find out more about David Green by following him on twitter https://twitter.com/DavidpGreen83
And visit his website www.davidgreenwritercom.wordpress.com
And facebook https://www.facebook.com/davidgreenwriter/

Be Warned: Episode contains swearing and references to suicide

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In the first of a series of short podcasts featuring female poets from the county of Cornwall in the extreme south west of England we feature Sarah Cave and her poem cycle The Eidolon Triptych. Poems are read by Jade Matthew with music and soundscapes by Chris Gregory

The Eidolon Triptych is written by Sarah Cave and performed here with her full permission and cooperation.
 
The soundscapes used in this edition are published by Scared Crow Music and sound effects are from Freesound.Org.

The presenter in this edition is Kelli Winkler

If you would like to find out more about Sarah Cave please follow her on twitter where she posts as https://twitter.com/campanilecave

You can find more of Sarah's work at https://www.knivesforksandspoonspress.co.uk/ and, as mentioned in the podcast,  at https://www.guillemotpress.co.uk/

We'll be featuring more women poets from Cornwall on the podcast soon.  These will include, Mary J Oliver, Ella Frears, Lesley Hale and Angela Stoner.  Please subscribe to hear these editions and our other content. 

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