The 2023 Christmas Special! – Episode 135
In this hard-fought-for episode, Dara soldiers on alone to deliver this year’s Christmas special.
The 2023 Christmas Special! – Episode 135 Read More »
Christmas
Sappy, Silly, and Sombre: Three Tales for Festive Consumption – Episode 134
In this episode, Dara jumps in feet first to Christmas tales of yore. Reading from a compendium of Yuletide tales, he selects two contrasting entries that brought some balance to proceedings. The first is A Christmas Inspiration, a sweet and somewhat sentimental tale by L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables) of a group of young women coming to the aid of a lonely cohabitant of their boarding house.
Sappy, Silly, and Sombre: Three Tales for Festive Consumption – Episode 134 Read More »
The 2022 Christmas Special! – Episode 83
Dara ain’t gonna lie – this was a monster effort to produce! A little recital with his wife, an unexpected but most welcome interview with his daughter, and a new story for the season that’s in it, all pulled together on the day of the episode. And done while sick.
The 2022 Christmas Special! – Episode 83 Read More »
The Zero Sum Game of Loving Christmas – Episode 82
In this Christmas shopping list of an episode, Dara has a look at the festive season through the lens of Christmases past. He also considers the pressure people are put under to partake of all things yule.
The Zero Sum Game of Loving Christmas – Episode 82 Read More »
The Christmas Special! – Episode 31
This week’s episode brings you a brand new Christmas story written by Dara. What happens to the little girl who runs away from her mother in a posh department store? Will she be taken away by the in-house security team? Will her mother regain her Christmas spirit? Will she accept the help of a stranger? Find out when you listen to ‘Caramel’. The story can also be found in written form on theclearout.com, where Dara’s other Christmas stories can also be found in both written and audio formats.
The Christmas Special! – Episode 31 Read More »
Caramel
Caramel Mia didn’t enter the kitchen immediately when she got to the end of the hallway. She hovered near the door in silence and watched her mother, who was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea. More accurately, a cup of tea sat on the table beside her mother, but it was
The Hard Sell of Christmas and the Triumph of Diogenes – Episode 28
In this episode Dara has a good look at his own feelings about Christmas and goes on to explore a brief history of Christmas, and why it is something not everybody feels thrilled to celebrate. He wonders if the forced observance of anything is ever a good thing. But ultimately, he can’t shake the feeling that a little Christmas magic stirs something very deep in our collective psyche.
The Hard Sell of Christmas and the Triumph of Diogenes – Episode 28 Read More »
Everyone Should Have a Fergus
As recently promised, here is my latest Christmas story, in both written and audio form. A simple story of a little boy who weaves his own peculiar magic through this world and beyond. Have a safe and happy Christmas. Everyone Should Have a Fergus ‘Where’s the tree!’ Dad screamed. I was holding my throbbing hand
Everyone Should Have a Fergus Read More »
Christmas stories to listen to!
Well, here we are again, leaning hard into a much desired and much deserved festive period. Most Decembers since starting the blog I have tried to write and publish here a Christmas short story. There are five to date, although I am currently working on one that I hope to have up before the 25th
Christmas stories to listen to! Read More »
We have contact
“Are we living in end times? … Either way, it is hard not to feel that we are being shown a glimpse of a future to which we should expect to become accustomed. And when the world around you is physically changing, it is almost impossible for your perspective not to change with it… It