{
    "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "title": "Listen with Other",
    "description": "",
    "home_page_url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk",
    "feed_url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/feed.json",
    "user_comment": "",
    "icon": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/website/publii-lwo-banner-3.png",
    "author": {
        "name": "Giles Booth"
    },
    "items": [
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/the-mind-children-adventure-game.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/the-mind-children-adventure-game.html",
            "title": "The Mind Children adventure game",
            "summary": "I'm writing a text-based adventure based on The Mind Children using (almost) period software - The Quill for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. While I am working on it, you can play an early version online here. It was written in Inform 7. It's not a…",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"post__iframe\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/nh7gvpV8l_c?si=DNuMRa83f4xnF2EL\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe></div>\n<p>I'm writing a text-based adventure based on The Mind Children using (almost) period software - The Quill for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.</p>\n<p>While I am working on it, <a href=\"https://blogmywiki.github.io/listenwithother/imc-inform/\">you can play an early version online here.</a> It was written in Inform 7.</p>\n<p>It's not a huge game but I hope there are enough challenges and pitfalls to keep you amused.</p>\n<p>Move in differrent directions with N, S, NW, SW etc. Pick things up with 'get shandy' etc Type 'i' to get an inevntory of what you are carrying. Remember to examine things for clues.</p>\n<p>You can also 'save' and 'restore' if you want to come back to it at a later date. </p>\n<p>There may be a seventh episode in this...</p>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/52/Screenshot-2026-08-22-at-08.58.09.png",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-09-05T20:53:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-05T20:54:25+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/inspirations-for-the-mind-children.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/inspirations-for-the-mind-children.html",
            "title": "Inspirations for The Mind Children",
            "summary": "A post on the inspirations and references used in series 9 of Listen with Other, The Mind Children. First up, of course, its main inspiration was The Tomorrow People. What if HTV had made something like it? What if it were cancelled? What if The&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<figure class=\"post__image post__image--right\"><img  style=\"font-size: inherit; outline: rgba(13, 139, 242, 0.55) solid 3px !important;\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreidnlsvskgqkgfwwbyatbsllmmkci4wvm225ciudymjfwa7u5oxz2y\" width=\"150\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></figure>A post on the inspirations and references used in series 9 of Listen with Other, The Mind Children.</p>\n<p>First up, of course, its main inspiration was <em>The Tomorrow People</em>. What if HTV had made something like it? What if it were cancelled? What if The Mind Children were not quite as benign as the Tomorrow People?</p>\n<p>I had great fun making the book cover from scratch, making the HTV Books logo and identifying the Piccolo Books font - Hobo since you ask. At least one person assumed it was real, which is always nice - and terrifying...</p>\n<figure class=\"post__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/the-mind-children.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of The Mind Children by Damon Allan. Very orange. That's a photo of one of my kids in silhouette at sunset in Cornwall. Based on the the exciting HTV network series.\" width=\"400\" height=\"588\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" srcset=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/the-mind-children-xs.jpg 640w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/the-mind-children-sm.jpg 768w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/the-mind-children-md.jpg 1024w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/the-mind-children-lg.jpg 1366w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/the-mind-children-xl.jpg 1600w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/the-mind-children-2xl.jpg 1920w\"></figure>\n<p>I have had a few of these printed up as souvenirs for friends of the podcast, and might make a version available for sale if there's any interest.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreifrq7l33iunhotrlpsxfpgjyjpkxymydkv7unf7pzzcqlceky4oyy\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The other inspiration was the recurring 'name a TV show only you remember' threads on social media. What if only two people did remember a show, childhood friends reunited by their memory? And they decide to do their own retro TV podcast about it with only a scant Wikipedia entry to go on?</p>\n<figure class=\"post__image\"><img loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48.png\" alt=\"  Post   BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo The launch of episode 4 of The Mind Children gives me an excuse to do a thread on the inspirations and references used in series 9 of Listen with Other. First up, of course, its main inspiration was The Tomorrow People. What if HTV had made something like it? What if it were cancelled...?  BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 3mo Time for a thread on the inspirations for series 8 of Listen with Other, TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS. The title, obvs, is from the song where the Beatles invented The Chemical Brothers, but the story itself was inspired by a trip to Alnwick in 2013. The bookshop is based on Barter Books, of course...  A bookshop in an old railway station. Racks of books. Neon lights in a starburst. ALT  1  1  6     BlogMyWiki @blogmywiki.bsky.social ...what if The Mind Children were not quite as benign as The Tomorrow People? I had great fun making the book cover from scratch, making the HTV Books logo and identifying the Piccolo Books font - Hobo since you ask. At least one person assumed it was real, which is always nice - and terrifying...  Cover of the Piccolo TV Times paperback of The Tomorrow People in One Law by Roger Price, based on the exciting Thames Television network series. Five young people stand round a glass table. ALT  Cover of The Mind Children by Damon Allan. Very orange. That's a photo of one of my kids in silhouette at sunset in Cornwall. Based on the the exciting HTV network series. ALT 06:30 · 7 Jul 2026 1 like  Liked by Hippolyta Loudbasket (she/her)  1   1      Write your reply  BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo The other inspiration was the recurring 'name a TV show only you remember' threads on social media. What if only two people did remember a show, childhood friends reunited by their memory? And they decide to do their own retro TV podcast about it with only a scant wikipedia entry to go on?  Wikipedia page for The Mind Children.  The Mind Children is a British children's science fiction television series created by Damon Allan. Produced by HTV for the ITV Network, the series ran from 20th July 1979 to 3rd August 1979) The theme music was composed by British music composer Lee Sparey.(3) Premise (edit) Three teenagers appear one day in a village, with no explanation. They look perfectly normal except for all having blue eyes which sometimes change colour to green. They can't explain anything about who they are or where they came from. The authorities don't know what to do with them, and they are adopted by three different families in the village. It becomes apparent that the teenagers have exceptionally high intelligence, and are telepathic. The three teenagers are, in fact, aliens sent to Earth in order to prevent it from being destroyed by environmental and political catastrophes. Although the three boys help fight injustices, there is a suggestion that they are saving the Earth for eventual alien colonisation. ALT  1   1     BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo As always, the music by  @leesparey.bsky.social  is key, it helps me write as well as sounding amazing. And the podcast-within-a-podcast gave great scope for the annoyingly chirpy podcast theme (listen carefully and you can hear its original title) and the ad music... Let's talk about Flange...  1   2     BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo I made a virtue of Listen with Other not having ads, so what better thing to do than... add some spoof ads? I now realise this isn't as original idea as I thought, thank you  @loudbasket.bsky.social  for alerting me to Done Disappeared, but some people enjoy Flange's frequent pivots...  3   1     BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo Podcast hosts Bob and Dave! They are, of course, named after Bob Baker and Dave Martin, friends of my brother, most famous for writing episodes of Doctor Who, but who also wrote episodes of Shoestring and things for HTV like Machinegunner and King of the Castle set around Bristol...  DVD release of King of the Castle. 'The macabre benchmark for 1970s children's television drama'. A montage of faces round a a tower block. ALT  Leonard Rossiter as the debt collector or 'machine gunner'. ALT  1  2      BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo Bob and Dave witnessed the filming of the title sequence of The Mind Children. In the show the village is called 'Compton Magna' but they say their village was called 'Stanton Maltravers' - which means they are in the same fictional universe as Listen with Other series 1, The Merry Milkmaids...  1       BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo So that's two layers of the fictional village, elements of which were based on the village in North Somerset where I grew up in the long hot summer of 1976, drinking Top Deck shandy whilst licking a Count Dracula lolly, shameless haunted, tartrazine generation stuff. I never had a space hopper, mind  A rusty can of Top Deck limeade and lager shandy ALT  Comic strip ad for Count Dracula's deadly secret lollies. &quot;Look, it was Pete all the time!&quot; ALT  1   1     BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo The plastics factory in episode 1 is a nod to British Cellophane, which is a backdrop variously to my story in series 3 about the ouija board, The Ring O'Bells, a letter to Fortean Times, and  @raynewman.bsky.social 's FT article and fiction too...  BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 4mo Last year British Cellophane, ahem, rang a bell. I'd already read a story by Ray Newman set in a similar factory, but then I discovered his Fortean Times article that made the link more real. This was the spark for my story...  The Haunted Factory I'm writing with a postscript to 'The Haunted Factory [FT369:55, Aug 2018] in which Ray Newman describes tales of deaths and hauntings at the old British Cellophane factory in Bridgwater in Somerset. By chance I recently saw a post by Ray on social media in which he mentioned his dad having worked for British Cellophane. This jogged a memory: in the late 1970s there was a bit of fad for Ouija boards. Indeed I think a mainstream boardgame company like Parker Bros may even have produced a version. It seems odd now, but 10-year-old me took part in Ouija board sessions with my adult siblings and parents. The only thing I recall is that we were 'contacted' by someone who said he worked for British Cellophane and mentioned a pub called the Ring O'Bells. I mentioned this ALT  to Ray who put me on to his 2018 article, and the coincidence is indeed striking. Were we contacted by one of the workers killed in the factory? Ray even confirmed there is indeed a pub called the Ring O'Bells in Ashcott, a village about 10 miles (16km) from the factory. My brother, the only other living (!) member of the 1970s family Ouija board party, confirms the detail about British Cellophane. He said we were also given a name (we can't remember it). He called the company at the time and they said they'd never heard of him. Had a family member heard the same stories Ray heard as a child and was pushing the glass? We lived in North Somerset, which seems close enough, but we had no links with Bridgwater, which in those days seemed a world away. The family Ouija board sessions stopped abruptly. I don't know whether my parents and siblings got too spooked, or if it was the influence of our village vicar who, my mother told me, spoke out against dabbling with the dead in such ways. Giles Booth London ALT  1       BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo In episode 2, The Playing Fields of England, the sadistic headmaster is named Mr Houston after the actor Glyn Houston who played... a sadistic headmaster in an episode of Shoestring. St Botolph's church is named after Posy Simmonds' 'The Silent Three of St Botolph's' which is in turn named after...  Eddie Shoestring and Glyn Houston's headmaster on a railway station bench. ALT  1       BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo ...The Silent Three comic strip...  BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 3mo Various characters on the island are named after the author of and characters in the 1950s girls' comic strip The Silent Three, which in turn inspired Posy Simmonds...  www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/silent3.htm www.lambiek.net/artists/f/fl...      1       BlogMyWiki  @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 2mo Bob and Dave describing how they used to play at being The Mind Children is of course from my own childhood, when we would play at being The Tomorrow People and argue over who got to be John...  Nicholas Young, who played John in The Tomorrow People, then and now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq5O8q_evtk ALT  1      Read 1 more reply   BlogMyWiki @blogmywiki.bsky.social Home Explore Notifications Chat Feeds Lists Saved Profile Settings  New post  Following  Discover  BBC micro:bit More feeds Trending  1. Labor Day weekend 2. Pentagon polygraphs Joint Staff over leaks 3. UK reacts to far-right street violence 4. College football season opens 5. Bluesky's 38 most influential posters poll Feedback ∙ Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Help  Wikipedia page for The Mind Children.  The Mind Children is a British children's science fiction television series created by Damon Allan. Produced by HTV for the ITV Network, the series ran from 20th July 1979 to 3rd August 1979) The theme music was composed by British music composer Lee Sparey.(3) Premise (edit) Three teenagers appear one day in a village, with no explanation. They look perfectly normal except for all having blue eyes which sometimes change colour to green. They can't explain anything about who they are or where they came from. The authorities don't know what to do with them, and they are adopted by three different families in the village. It becomes apparent that the teenagers have exceptionally high intelligence, and are telepathic. The three teenagers are, in fact, aliens sent to Earth in order to prevent it from being destroyed by environmental and political catastrophes. Although the three boys help fight injustices, there is a suggestion that they are saving the Earth for eventual alien colonisation.\" width=\"1081\" height=\"665\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" srcset=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48-xs.png 640w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48-sm.png 768w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48-md.png 1024w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48-lg.png 1366w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48-xl.png 1600w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/responsive/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-09.26.48-2xl.png 1920w\"></figure>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div class=\"css-146c3p1 r-1xnzce8\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">As always, the music by Lee Sparey i<a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7wbu5s2kcsdtnkovvz2mlfal\" role=\"link\" data-no-underline=\"1\" class=\"css-1jxf684 r-1xnzce8 r-1loqt21\"></a>s key, it helps me write as well as sounding amazing. And the podcast-within-a-podcast gave great scope for the annoyingly chirpy podcast theme (listen carefully and you can hear its original title) and the ad music.</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div class=\"css-146c3p1 r-1xnzce8\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">Ok. Let's talk about Flange...</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\"> </div>\n<div>I made a virtue of Listen with Other not having ads, so what better thing to do than... add some spoof ads? I now realise this isn't as original idea as I thought, thank you Hippolyta Loudbasket (possibly not her real name) for alerting me to <a href=\"https://shapeofcontent.com/done-disappeared-true-crime-podcast-john-david-booter/\">Done Disappeared. </a>Some people enjoy Flange's frequent pivots. Perhaps <em>too many,</em> as at one point I was wondering if the spoof ads are better than my actual podcast.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreibtu5ug274dc4v5wry65rgazsd344istxmtydxus2hcxdtfhqntnm\" alt=\"DVD release of King of the Castle. 'The macabre benchmark for 1970s children's television drama'. A montage of faces round a a tower block.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>Podcast hosts Bob and Dave are, of course, named after Bob Baker and Dave Martin, friends of one of my elder brothers. Baker &amp; Martin were most famous for writing episodes of <em>Doctor Who</em>, but they also wrote episodes of <em>Shoestring</em> and things for HTV like <em>Machinegunner</em> and <em>King of the Castle</em> set in and around Bristol.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihkwew6ujtvps7rn2fjlbl5ht4rxphcrasjyunrimrl2e4rsqcd3e\" alt=\"Leonard Rossiter as the debt collector or 'machine gunner'.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>Bob and Dave witnessed the filming of the title sequence of The Mind Children. In the show the village is called 'Compton Magna' but they say their village was called 'Stanton Maltravers' - which means they are in the same radiophonic universe as Listen with Other series 1, <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-the-scenes-of-the-merry-milkmaids.html\">The Merry Milkmaids</a>.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreigmqylo6gt7zroz7hjxnobrdek3lylwjng52pa5vgszl4ow62ywsm\" alt=\"Comic strip ad for Count Dracula's deadly secret lollies. &quot;Look, it was Pete all the time!&quot;\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>So that's two layers of the fictional village, elements of which were based on the village in North Somerset where I grew up in the long hot summer of 1976, drinking Top Deck shandy whilst licking a Count Dracula lolly, shameless haunted, tartrazine generation stuff. I never had a space hopper, mind.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihuahohvysexsccqskun63pf5px7dvylsi6eoerukr67gpxmxbjwq\" alt=\"A rusty can of Top Deck limeade and lager shandy\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>The plastics factory in episode 1 is a nod to British Cellophane, which is a backdrop variously to my story in series 3 about the ouija board, The Ring O'Bells, a letter to <em>Fortean Times</em>, and Ray Newman's FT article and fiction too, which I referenced <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-the-ring-obells.html\">here</a>.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihfidi3r7ynp4m2gmb27hgthqoad2s5r6vhxzrmvj6vlhbm2xu3oq\" alt=\"Eddie Shoestring and Glyn Houston's headmaster on a railway station bench.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>In episode 2, The Playing Fields of England, the sadistic headmaster is named Mr Houston after the actor Glyn Houston who played a sadistic headmaster in an episode of <em>Shoestring</em>.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>St Botolph's church is named after Posy Simmonds' 'The Silent Three of St Botolph's' which is in turn named after The Silent Three comic strip I referenced in <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-tomorrow-never-knows.html\">Tomorrow Never Knows</a>.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-146c3p1\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">Bob and Dave describing how they used to play at being The Mind Children is of course from my own childhood, when we would play at being <em>The Tomorrow People</em> and argue over who got to be John.</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreid34o5jkbxsjsgcsqmoc3veb3hygxhbd4i5mbojl4yjyclw7txmza\" alt=\"Nicholas Young, who played John in The Tomorrow People, then and now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq5O8q_evtk\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq5O8q_evtk\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq5O8q_evtk</a></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">David Horovitch gets a mention as the only cast member they can name partly because I can see him playing an insurance inspector and also because of my unforgivable soft-spot for <em>Bognor</em> (Thames TV, 1981-2).</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreigu7ubde7aokku4pmmpdlfgyzclm4qq2o6vnflhbpesliht7lcfkm\" alt=\"Still from the tiltes of Bognor. A paper cut-out of David Horovitch is shot in a fairground type shooting gallery. \" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">he reporter Catherine Street in episode 3 is named after one of my childhood friend's sisters because frankly I'd run out of inspiration by then and I wanted a plausible name... and yes I did really carry my books round in a Key Markets bag, like Bulman...</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreielcuqeh4mfcs7hhpcytvcjdsijzkml3lqtk7me2i6hfyel645kca\" alt=\"Key Markets 163 knock down prices every day carrier bag\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreib63poxwterbvosm7edjr5npnem4ytsy4jvrpn6barix6okdrp5hi\" alt=\"Don Henderson as Bulman and Fiona Mollison in Strangers, Granada, 1978-\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n</div>\n</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>In episode 4 of The Mind Children, the mini-computer at the school fair was real, though I don't think it wrote stories but played games. As I recall, Joanne Coffey's dad worked for DEC so I think our Somerset school may have hosted a PDP11. Maybe that's why I love these machines?</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreiekm547ndfcjb7wkieg7wgnswbzepw7xn4dg3rb5wyqrrp25pbnlu\" alt=\"A 1970s mini computer with orange and red rocker switches and LEDs. It's beautiful. \" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreih4qg3uq2kw2f7fv7gnqjompaaawur72fjgdssvc3shuhh6f5vffm\" alt=\"A PDP11 computer in a rack next to a teletype machine\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-146c3p1\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">The inane pop-a-lop-a-fab-tastic Radio 1 deejay in episode 5 refers to going down the 'Hat and Stick' for a swift half: it's the Crown &amp; Sceptre near Broadcasting, and indeed Egton, House.</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\" data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreiado5lhns6jnfa6bsbhk5yym6xnlfybrjhgplzq4xrdul3rkw6dh4\" alt=\"A pub on a street corner in a handsome Fitzrovia building \nhttps://camra.org.uk/pubs/crown-sceptre-london-129253\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">What can I say about episode 6? It all goes a bit Children of Quatermass Dæmon Stones.</div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">Headmistress Mrs Earnshaw is based on my real Somerset primary school headmistress who was (like my parents) from Burnley so I named her after the family firm...</div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreib6lfeq5fedsmsyy3jnjjx6i6lpxq44hih7uxubjrrjhr3ywdsjv4\" alt=\"A newspaper cutting showing a factory 'Earnshaw Bros Booth cabinet makers'\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreialbpecqmszc4zr45a24ewdfa345c3alqe2xx4i3njqnxksfozvle\" alt=\"card for the 1973 Manchester Exhibition - EARNSHAW BROS. &amp; BOOTH LTD.\nhave pleasure in inviting you\nto view their latest productions at\nThe 1973 Manchester Echibition\nHon, 23 June)\nWed. 27 june\nThur. 28 June\nHours\n9.00 a.m. - 6.30 p.m.\nDaily\nNU-LINE\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">...and the mural. Yes Dave was right, it really is real. My Somerset village hall had (has?) a mural depicting real people dancing round a maypole, including the artist's daughter. It was painted by Alan Durman who drew British Rail posters. Now after me, \"Now is the month of maying...\"</div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreifivp22rbqeu7um5ommkhuwvxc7p7qccwzgy3ok4thv737z6eif2u\" alt=\"A mural in classic railway poster style showing people dancing round a Maypole on a village green. You can see a river, a church, a clump of trees on a hill (Kelston round hill)\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">If you found that thread interesting, why not listen to The Mind Children? It's series 9 of LISTEN WITH OTHER on all major (and minor) podcast providers and <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-9-the-mind-children.html\">here</a>.</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/51/the-mind-children-2.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-07-07T06:26:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-06T08:38:53+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-tomorrow-never-knows.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-tomorrow-never-knows.html",
            "title": "Behind Tomorrow Never Knows",
            "summary": "Time for a post on the inspirations for series 8 of Listen with Other, TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS. The title, obvs, is from the song where The Beatles invented The Chemical Brothers, but the story itself was inspired by a trip to Alnwick in 2013. The&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<p>Time for a post on the inspirations for series 8 of Listen with Other, TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS.</p>\n<p>The title, obvs, is from the song where The Beatles invented The Chemical Brothers, but the story itself was inspired by a trip to Alnwick in 2013. The bookshop is based on Barter Books, of course.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreidmxqmpw57ss2pwfu2zeip5r6sr6yf2fobg62dspxvhwymlooenwi\" alt=\"A bookshop in an old railway station. Racks of books. Neon lights in a starburst.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The island, its causeway, castle and upturned boats are, naturally, based on Lindisfarne.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreieqh7llb4dehihp3huiappqv6j33lqtsgdagbaucymeek532uhwbq\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreieydd66bp5dtqqxxxejj3g32yn75zgclmqtu7h5nq7oe7cjlnqs7m\" alt=\"a boy and a castle\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreib4zzeg6hoxvfz5vbo3tnesqrttteyqwyf3z77drbi7yxbgnhydim\" alt=\"sheds made from upturned boats\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The idea for the story about a dystopian Luddite near-future has been hanging around as an unfinished YAF (young adult fiction) novel for years, originally set in far-off... 2025. It was at one time about Brexit but when I came to rewrite it, I realised it was now also about AI. Ah yes the computers... it's peppered with references....</p>\n<p>Housekeeper Mrs Hopper is named after Rear Admiral and computer scientist <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper\">Grace Hopper </a>(1906-1992).</p>\n<p>Kim herself is named after the first computer I ever used, the MOS Technologies / Commodore Kim-1. Here is that very computer which I still have. It powers on but has a memory fault. I know how it feels. Probably has a terrible pain in all the diodes down its left-hand side.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreidlv4smfclhizzrmyrc4ghldea3gr7xwasmnmtmimz4wtzptwrtwe\" alt=\"a green single board computer with all its chips on display, a calculator-style keypad and LED display\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>When Kim is looking at old books: 'Once a hand-made card fell out of one, a huge red felt heart on the front and inside the inscription ‘don’t forget you are awesome.’ This happened to me in 2010. The missing rectangles on the backs of books are barcodes, now-forbidden digital technology.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreigtwjx3i3spt3ecdcakyivw74nb4ewrm7fvkohsux523er4ptkg6q\" alt=\"Inside of a valentine's card saying 'don't forget to BE awesome'\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The rotting family car with the missing dashboard was inspired by our awful Renault Grand Scenic whose gas discharge display failed with ruinously expensive consequences.</p>\n<p>The town mechanic Mr Tramiel is named after <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tramiel\">Jack, the founder of Commodore</a>.</p>\n<p>Mean Dr Jamieson, however, drives my old 2CV. Perhaps it was her mother's car?</p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreibaozec5cafzpzhzt5tgwklfmjbpbqdunnie3xgmjd6ncgz735lwq\" alt=\"Look it was the 80s, ok. \nA young me with a green and white 2CV Dolly. I miss that car.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Various characters on the island are named after the author of and characters in the 1950s girls' comic strip <a href=\"http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/silent3.htm\">The Silent Three</a>, which in turn inspired Posy Simmonds.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreida6oxn5hfdt6nkcnmiiozcnuuxxm6xwszssanlcqcizhlpj3jtiu\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Fearsome island schoolteacher Miss Henfrey is named after Janet Henfrey who played a similar role in both Dennis Potter's <em>Stand-up Nigel Barton</em> (1965) AND <em>The Singing Detective</em> (1986). Amazingly it seems, at the time of writing, that Janet is still with us.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreicz6zfd3bxbz22m24trkyboj5pvwecnx4b4xnryq5zq3xvnphqepm\" alt=\"1965 screen capture of Janet Henfrey looking fierce in the classroom.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihskz53aprm23zntr5v7h7dwx6jddx7tmdenzku73qsbgte4naqoa\" alt=\"The wartime school in The Singing Detective. A woman and a boy who points, blaming someone else for a crime.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Various goings on on the island are, of course, inspired by <em>Children of the Stones</em> and <em>The Prisoner</em>, I'll leave you to spot those to avoid spoilers, sweetie. And the computers are back! The Kim-1 had at its heart the 6502 processor, hence grandad's book, door code and 'what a year 2056 will be...'</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreieavinlmfkjnylg7op7k5zgopejs3ltzjlceipd3uy7gdeu6773su\" alt=\"my own 6502 breadboard computer\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreigsz4a2xmk5oazfxb37exftqmmzrgvntoltyyzhtrge6mgrmhi23y\" alt=\"a huge block diagram of the Kim-1 computer, BBC micro:bit for scale\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The Britten of 'Britten's faction' is named after Kathleen Booth, née Britten, who wrote - I believe - the first published book on computer programming (1953).</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreicfwdsyb2ve3iauu4fnwj6qce6s6evifscumkhtxdt2qtp6s67boy\" alt=\"Kathleen Booth looking cool as fuck with one of the machines she and her husband built at Birkbeck College, London, in the 1950s\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreia2esnzsz4h24m5hzkeg5nbrrb2v5y4rbmkshse7r6jz7hchxriau\" alt=\"A hardback book called Automatic Digital Calculators by Booth &amp; Booth. I took this in 2017 in the British Library when I read this in one sitting along with The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The computer screen menu was inspired by early 90s newsroom systems. The BBC World Service used one called EDiT, a variant of BASYS, which has an area called BUSH.GRAFFITI and a mode to connect to other systems, and the NPR one had a Lynx text web browser.</p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihixtym6rwimmfeca4smjotjxxgmhi5inpncpze2vlhkcsgt7npue\" alt=\"USER NAME: COMMODORE\nLOCATION: ISLAND.MENU\nOPTIONS\n1 MAIL\n2 CONNECT\n3 LYNX\n4 FTP\n5 GRAFFITI\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS would never have been finished without the inspiration of <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7wbu5s2kcsdtnkovvz2mlfal\" role=\"link\" data-no-underline=\"1\" class=\"css-1jxf684 r-1loqt21\" style=\"font-size: inherit;\">@leesparey.bsky.social</a><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">'s brilliant music.</span></p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">If any of this has piqued your interest, you can find it as series 8 of LISTEN WITH OTHER on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-8-tomorrow-never-knows.html\">here</a>.</span></p>\n<div class=\"post__iframe\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/biKm1EDOsLA?si=Vza4c5IpFHqfp3Z-\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe></div>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/50/lwo-tnk-4.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-05-31T09:15:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-05T17:37:15+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/down-fathoms-dived-the-cable-lies.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/down-fathoms-dived-the-cable-lies.html",
            "title": "Down fathoms dived, the cable lies.",
            "summary": "A little post on the inspirations behind series 7 of Listen with Other: Hello World. The main story was inspired by the very real history of Victorian transatlantic telegraphy and Wildman Whitehouse passing excessive currents through the early cable. Those first transatlantic cables didn't land&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<p>A little post on the inspirations behind series 7 of Listen with Other: Hello World.</p>\n<p>The main story was inspired by the very real history of Victorian transatlantic telegraphy and Wildman Whitehouse passing excessive currents through the early cable.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreial4ar62oum42pxpazrpgrzkskuotyjtiicreyniwqh4hqqefm3xu\" alt=\"Exhibit of broken and faulty undersea cables in Porthcurno\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Those first transatlantic cables didn't land in Cornwall, but many others did in Porthcurno and indeed in Mousehole, where the two cables visible on the beach inspired me to write and record this story.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreigebcwgar6vwnvfrux2buq7ui3knjdanqek5udf4ozmurmgbcc4i4\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The pub in the village is called 'The Knockers Arms' - Knockers being creatures of Cornish folklore, said to inhabit mines and play tricks on miners. I may also have been thinking of the 1984 Children's Film Foundation film <em>Haunters of the Deep</em> but that's another story...</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreie3dpz5ajr6mqzhdqpraocpnl7onroyx2qfuikecnyvcy5d4lba3q\" alt=\"a boy and a girl by a disused tin mine\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The curator of the museum is, of course, a close relation of Mark Gatiss' museum curator in his wonderful little series <em>Crooked House</em>.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreiau5kht7p3g6welh227ngkakg7bvnyao2pwycp2vaqtljgczewcm4\" alt=\"Mark Gatiss as a museum curator in his 3-part 2008 BBC series Crooked House.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>The poem 'Down fathoms dived, the cable lies...' is real, from an 1865 humour magazine called, optimistically, <em>Fun</em>. The failure of the transatlantic cable was ripe for satire...</p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreiatif6zfj7imdxwyrg5bxn4pusavhssw74muxgtdylna3gpwszoua\" alt=\"THE SEVERED CABLE\n‘Down fathoms dived, the cable lies–\n  From its end’s “dead earth” conveyed,\nDrawing pearls from mermaids’ eyes:\n  Some day still it must be laid,\nThough shares suffer now on ’Change;\nIf they didn’t ’twould be strange,\nSince the sea-nymphs ring its knell.\nHark! now I hear them–ding-dong bell!\nDing-dong bell!’\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>If that's sparked your interest, you can hear 'Hello World' as series 7 of LISTEN WITH OTHER on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, other podcast providers and <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-7-hello-world.html\">here</a>.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihtirntulzdhx2u46o2audqvq6ia4usafopkrdsoas2ed3l5p6l64\" alt=\"A Victorian cartoon of Puck on a buoy by a severed undersea telegraph cables. The caption is BUOYED WITH HOPE.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Oh, and the title of episode 3 is a reference to the TV play I willed into existence and which suggests Daphne du Maurier was the best writer Doctor Who never had.</p>\n<div class=\"post__iframe\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZM41YuWBaNM?si=CMBSZEXPk0OqgsIY\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe></div>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/49/lwo-7-1-hello-world.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-05-17T20:25:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-05T17:23:13+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/the-genesis-of-esprit-de-corpse.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/the-genesis-of-esprit-de-corpse.html",
            "title": "The genesis of Esprit de Corpse",
            "summary": "Series 5 of Listen with Other was a guest contribution from Ray Newman: The Interchange. You can read about it on his excellent blog here. So now a look at the genesis and inspiration of series 6, ESPRIT DE CORPSE. First up, unusually, I did&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<p>Series 5 of Listen with Other was a guest contribution from Ray Newman: The Interchange. You can read about it on his excellent blog <a href=\"https://precastreinforced.co.uk/2026/04/15/1-the-interchange-thin-places-in-hard-concrete-story-by-story/\">here</a>.</p>\n<p>So now a look at the genesis and inspiration of series 6, ESPRIT DE CORPSE.</p>\n<p>First up, unusually, I did an intro explaining who I wanted to play each role. The story has been hanging around a long time. In 2010 I expanded it, adding an overnight stay, as a radio play. In 2011 I submitted it to the BBC Writers' Room.</p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreicgte37cpncyswiupc73uhbfbkphjjmunto2435dmpp2tpno6rlcq\" alt=\"British Broadcasting Corporation Grafton House 379/81 Euston Road London NWI 3AU\nTelephone 020 7765 2703 Fax 020 7765 5570 Email writersroom@bbc.co.uk\nVision\nWritersroom\nbbc.co.uk/writersoom\nGiles Booth\n09-March-2011\nDear Giles\nThank you for sending us your script Esprit de Corpse to BBC writersroom, which we have now read.\nI'm afraid we have decided not to take things further with you on the basis of this script, and so we are returning it to you. It is worth noting that only a relatively small proportion of the scripts we receive are given feedback and I include below our script reader's comments, which I hope you will find useful:\nEsprit de Corpse is an enjoyable and diverting read, which hurtles along nicely, and makes the most of its team-building story. The audio directions are crisp and evocative, the story builds momentum and the humour is increasingly dark. But sometimes the play sits uncomfortably between comedy and drama, and for the conclusion to really hit home we need to know more about the characters and their relationship to each other. The ending, with the apparent death of Ken, reads a bit glibly. All four members of the group appear complicit in his apparent death - although it's never made clear - and discuss it as a tragic accident. Their unconcern is alarming considering none of them has been portrayed as a potential murderer, and even though they are now bonded as a team, their complicity is rather jarring. Jessica and Peter are having an affair, Malcolm's product is going down the pan, and Delyth seems particularly blameless, but none of these seems to be a strong reason for homicide, particularly as the foursome all come across as polite or muddled. Furthermore, not all of their lies have been revealed to each other, so it reads a bit oddly that they should all conspire together. The ending, although enjoyable and startling, could be all the more powerful with a trou\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Hell, listener, if an uneasy mix between comedy and drama is a crime, I don't want to be innocent. But what of the story's inspiration? It was based (ending aside) on a very real and very disastrous BBC residential team-building event in an 'outward bound' type centre in Kent.</p>\n<p>In the space of a couple of days we went from being a mildly dysfunctional team, to being a team of two factions who hated each other. The bicycle theft incident was core to this. The moderator announcing his resignation also really happened.</p>\n<p>The hut in the woods is also real. It's not in Kent, though. It is (or was) in the grounds of BBC Wood Norton, the training centre near Evesham which definitely does not have an emergency broadcast facility in a nuclear bunker.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihgmb7g7vf6wwm6f5tnhqy7w2t6hlz3gajpz6pwvhghbzaq4pi6je\" alt=\"A dilapidated half-timbered hut in a forest\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreidhhmcrcij6z5vdziqi2yz2jerfh667nyfwrd5amhjvn32f2kw4qi\" alt=\"rusted enamel signs 'valve for emptying reservoir' 'to manor'\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Maybe one day I'll get to make the full radio play version. Some people liked it:</p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreife7ojh4wzval7e4ydxggew3bizox7ddm4jndga3mwlthqhaknr3y\" alt=\"1.\nJESSICA:\nDELYTH:\nPETER:\nMALCOLM:\nRotten luck.\nSlipping and hitting his head on that spade...\nAnd falling all that way down the shaf...\nTragic. And on his last day, as well...\nTHE CAR ZOOMS OFF.\nGiles. This is brillant, Funny, Interesting charades. Different ustenes wu denhhy with one g the four. And au dusthe the 'monvahor!\nI line Delyth and I really wanted to hnd art a bit more abat her, And then malcolm - he's the CEo but why Is he so wet? Is it worth beehna him hp a bit so he understand that inel petent a dinger as tenanet as\nhimselfaut ho be?\nPlease do not take this as antiasm.\nI thinh t needs a bit more hot In tems a length, Duration is quite short. But athenvise excellent work.\n1%\n• both\nte 20s,\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreig75ntpcdatopbjpnt7fny75pv5ijlt4fbekxpdu4tjg3oibj5rle\" alt=\"Giles,\nI really like this see the notes.\nThe novel I like too. Can I give it the sound Recordist?\nHe reads incessantly \" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/48/lwo-6-3-esprit.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-05-10T09:16:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-05T09:21:32+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/inside-room-623.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/inside-room-623.html",
            "title": "Inside Room 623",
            "summary": "This is the fourth post in a series, a look at inspirations in my fourth Listen with Other story 'The Curious Case of Room 623'. First up, why 623? As a child whenever we stayed in a big hotel, it always seemed to be room&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<figure class=\"post__image post__image--right\"><img loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/623-2.jpg\" alt=\"a tower block\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" srcset=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/responsive/623-2-xs.jpg 640w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/responsive/623-2-sm.jpg 768w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/responsive/623-2-md.jpg 1024w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/responsive/623-2-lg.jpg 1366w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/responsive/623-2-xl.jpg 1600w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/responsive/623-2-2xl.jpg 1920w\"></figure>This is the fourth post in a series, a look at inspirations in my fourth Listen with Other story 'The Curious Case of Room 623'.</p>\n<p>First up, why 623? As a child whenever we stayed in a big hotel, it always seemed to be room 623. No idea why. The number has just lodged in my brain as an inevitable room number.</p>\n<p>The podcast 'The Unexplained Universe of Roger Unthank' is, of course, entirely fictitious and you should not draw any parallels between that and a real podcast that featured a story about strange goings on in a university hall of residence tower block. The similarity is slightly <em>uncanny</em>, though.</p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">The University of Lowlands is, naturally, lifted from Andrew Davies' <em>A Very Peculiar Practice</em>. I meant to write some nuns in at some point, but may have forgotten. Or decided nuns would be too on the nose.</span></p>\n<p>Yes Professor Strangely-Wyrd is a terrible name, but it was revealed to me in a dream so we all have to go along with it I'm afraid. Did you notice one key thing about the professor though? Their gender is not mentioned once in the story. Did you assume they were male? Hmmm.</p>\n<figure class=\"post__image post__image--right\"><img  src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreib3zucr2twurtammrr2jazozbutfdxu2tmowcmwh5khye4xqxhria\" alt=\"A brick tower block that is about to be demolished.\" width=\"351\" height=\"495\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></figure>Trellis Tower is partly inspired by the now-demolished tower in Owens Park, Fallowfield, University of Manchester. I was lucky to be in nearby Tree Court F, relatively near the ground. I imagine Trellis Tower to be taller and more concrete-y.</p>\n<p>Podcast researcher Fiona Scott is named after someone I was at primary school with. After one summer holiday (Plymouth, I think) it turned out totally coincidentally she'd been in the same hotel in room 523. My family had been, of course, in room 623.</p>\n<p>The dead student's housemates were inspired by real housemates as was the cassette letter incident. Look, if I can't have some fun with trauma 40 years after the fact, when can I? The intended recipient of the cassette letter in real life was of course...</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreicz7beb46mkbcwwc5wevv6wtranskitj3fm6ifmi7n7raxdqzqeaq\" alt=\"A plastic wallet full of notes mostly written in blue fountain pen ink. One in marker pen on top says 'who's sulking...?!'\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\"> </div>\n<div>Finally: did the Prof take up Fiona Scott's offer to make a new podcast debunking the paranormal? I like to think so. I'd quite like to bring them, and Cassie, back for another outing one day.</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>If any of this has piqued your interest, you can listen <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-4-the-curious-case-of-room-623.html\">here</a>.</div>\n</div>\n<p> </p>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/47/623-1.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-05-04T15:30:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-04T07:34:16+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-the-ring-obells.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-the-ring-obells.html",
            "title": "Behind the Ring O&#x27;Bells",
            "summary": "Third post in my behind-the-episodes series, this time a look at the inspirations and Easter eggs in series 3 of Listen with Other, 'The Ring O'Bells.' First up, yes my mother really did buy the entire contents of a corner shop that was closing down,&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"css-146c3p1 r-1xnzce8\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><figure class=\"post__image post__image--right\"><img loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2.jpg\" alt=\"Ouija board\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" srcset=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/responsive/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2-xs.jpg 640w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/responsive/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2-sm.jpg 768w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/responsive/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2-md.jpg 1024w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/responsive/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2-lg.jpg 1366w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/responsive/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2-xl.jpg 1600w ,https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/responsive/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells-2-2xl.jpg 1920w\"></figure>Third post in my behind-the-episodes series, this time a look at the inspirations and Easter eggs in series 3 of Listen with Other, 'The Ring O'Bells.'</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div class=\"css-146c3p1 r-1xnzce8\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">First up, yes my mother really did buy the entire contents of a corner shop that was closing down, and nobody really knew why. And of course, yes we really did have family Ouija board nights back in the 1970s, and we did get 'messages' from someone connected with a pub called 'The Ring O'Bells'. The 'spirit' said he worked for British Cellophane.</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">Last year British Cellophane, ahem, rang a bell. I'd already read a story by Ray Newman set in a similar factory, but then I discovered his <em>Fortean Times </em>article that made the link more real. This was the spark for my story...</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><figure class=\"post__image post__image--left\"><img  src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreie3he47boy6lva5kl574rc5z5rowcxrzwlfcghcsvj5fu7jjmolhm\" alt=\"The Haunted FactoryI'm writing with a postscript to 'The Haunted Factory[FT369:55, Aug 2018] in whichRay Newman describes tales of deaths and hauntings at the old British Cellophane factory in Bridgwater in Somerset. By chance I recently saw a post by Ray on social media in which he mentioned his dad having worked for British Cellophane.This jogged a memory: in the late 1970s there was a bit of fad for Ouija boards. Indeed I think a mainstream boardgame company like Parker Bros may even have produced a version.It seems odd now, but 10-year-old me took part in Ouija board sessions with my adult siblings and parents. The only thing I recall is that we were 'contacted' by someone who said he worked for British Cellophane and mentioned a pub called the Ring O'Bells. I mentioned this\" width=\"332\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></figure></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><figure class=\"post__image post__image--right\"><img  src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreickqcr72nnohe5lsfa6my5ykr655fwd4ddu6qpxtd6j3le3yga6dy\" alt=\"to Ray who put me on to his 2018 article, and the coincidence is indeed striking. Were we contacted by one of the workers killed in the factory? Ray even confirmed there is indeed a pub called the Ring O'Bells in Ashcott, a village about 10 miles (16km) from the factory.My brother, the only other living (!) member of the 1970s family Ouija board party, confirms the detail about British Cellophane.He said we were also given a name (we can't remember it). He called the company at the time and they said they'd never heard of him.Had a family member heard the same stories Ray heard as a child and was pushing the glass?We lived in North Somerset, which seems close enough, but we had no links with Bridgwater, which in those days seemed a world away.The family Ouija board sessions stopped abruptly. I don't know whether my parents and siblings got too spooked, or if it was the influence of our village vicar who, my mother told me, spoke out against dabbling with the dead in such ways.Giles BoothLondon\" width=\"294\" height=\"681\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></figure></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">The *entirely fictional* terrible paranormal podcast our narrator appeared on, The Unexplained Universe of Roger Unthank, will occur again in the next series of Listen with Other. It's entirely fictional, ok?</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">The A303 appears because, according to Mr Fatboy Slim, everyone needs A303...</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">In episode 2 we learn that the narrator's father worked for the MOD and was a radio ham, all true of course. You can probably guess what the Morse code and RTTY (radio teletype) sounds in this episode are spelling out... .-. .. -. --. --- -... . .-.. .-.. ...</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">f that's piqued your interest, look for series 3 of Listen with Other on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, other podcast providers and <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-3-the-ring-obells.html\">here</a>.</div>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/46/lwo-3-1-ring-o-bells.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-04-21T21:45:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-04T07:13:40+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/inspirations-behind-no-service.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/inspirations-behind-no-service.html",
            "title": "Inspirations behind No Service",
            "summary": "Now, a post about the Easter eggs and inspirations in series 2 of Listen with Other, 'No Service'... They're actually quite simple, as almost everything is a reference to one of two books. First the title, is a play on The Owl Service by Alan&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<p>Now, a post about the Easter eggs and inspirations in series 2 of Listen with Other, 'No Service'...</p>\n<p>They're actually quite simple, as almost everything is a reference to one of two books. First the title, is a play on <em>The Owl Service</em> by Alan Garner, my favourite Garner book as a child. The owl pattern on the plates also features in the cover art...</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreiaua3xg777q7gei7hkwpb26fqpvt2s2brmzxmj4yhvptcnkgpgr3u\" alt=\"An early version of the artwork from 2014 with the picture from the 1970s Armada Lions paperback edition of The Owl Service.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div class=\"css-146c3p1\" dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">Episode 2 is named after the second book, <em>Lucy and Tom at Christmas</em>, a picture book by Shirley Hughes that became a sacred seasonal text when my children were young. The siblings are named after them also, of course...</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreifx5x7emn5hqgv7grbgxygiioel7dlhuzb4hkgfscwk446gnuliym\" alt=\"A page of the Shirley Hughes book. Lucy and Tom stir the pudding. &quot;Christmas is coming! Lucy and Tom\nare helping to stir the Christmas pudding.\nAs they stir they each make a wish.&quot;\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\">The book Delyth gave Tom is clearly <em>The Owl Service</em>, and it becomes apparent when they get into the loft room that she had a childhood obsession with the book and possibly the TV series (though she would have been *way* too young to see it first time round)...</div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreidluteb6qrvj55jiszsp2wuwqsdhmx7zhm64ttaoxvuzwmsf7nhue\" alt=\"Gwyn, Roger and Alison as played by Michael Holden, Francis Wallis and Gillian Hills.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\" data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">Ah yes, the loft room. The way Lucy and Tom get up there was inspired by a real-life event. In 3rd year 6th form, Matthew Norris and I had English lessons on our own with Mr Clare in a house across the street from the main school building. We noticed a hatch into a locked loft room...</div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreifuneszhk2ccv3enqshtntprmwlwwpkqkervcavbafqve4mwgopue\" alt=\"A very Bristol house typical of the Redland end of Clifton.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">We moved furniture and forced the hatch open, then waited for Mr Clare to arrive and dangled various surreal objects down through the hatch in some kind of homage to absurdist drama. I know we sound tedious, I promise we were not...</div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreigk22tjyl3jvlqb7hswo6y7nl3egiwyrchnho5fvty37wdlxmmrjq\" alt=\"Some actors in an absurdist play\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">he scratching sounds in the loft are, of course, a direct lift (a loft lift, if you like) from <em>The Owl Service</em>. The paper owls and the name 'Gwyn' up there point to Delyth's childhood obsession with the Alan Garner story. Next time, I'll dive into the inspiration for 'The Ring O'Bells'.</div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreiayf3a6cbeh34szuqdkfinq2uelmjotdnfat3j4qvtnmpw2b5ioqu\" alt=\"Alison shows Roger a paper owl she has made from the pattern on the plates, from the 1969 Granada TV adaptation of The Owl Service.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n<div data-expoimage=\"true\">If that has piqued your interest, you can listen to No Service by looking for series 2 of Listen with Other on major podcast providers and <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-2-no-service.html\">here</a>.</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/31/lwo-2-4-no-service.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2026-04-19T09:26:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-05T20:41:47+01:00"
        },
        {
            "id": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-the-scenes-of-the-merry-milkmaids.html",
            "url": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/behind-the-scenes-of-the-merry-milkmaids.html",
            "title": "Behind the Scenes of the Merry Milkmaids",
            "summary": "Here's a little post about some of the Easter eggs buried in various Listen with Other stories. First up: The Merry Milkmaids and the number three... The bands Kate and Dave listen to in the car on the way to Somerset are Alt-J, Portishead, Massive&hellip;",
            "content_html": "<p>Here's a little post about some of the Easter eggs buried in various Listen with Other stories. First up: <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-1-the-merry-m.html\">The Merry Milkmaids</a> and the number three...</p>\n<p>The bands Kate and Dave listen to in the car on the way to Somerset are Alt-J, Portishead, Massive Attack, Placebo, Public Service Broadcasting, Heaven 17, Saint Etienne, Placebo, the Thompson Twins and Fun Boy Three - all trios. Da da da. Damn, should have added that.</p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">The storm they get caught up in is called Storm Arthur because of a certain legendary </span><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot_and_Guinevere\" style=\"font-size: inherit;\">bizarre love triangle</a><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">.</span></p>\n<p>The third entry in the holiday rental's guest book, \"the perfect escape. The romance of the stones entwined and embraced us all. Alice, Jon and Sarah\" was inspired by a threesome described in an old Radio 4 programme about holiday home visitor's books called <em>The Ice-cube Tray Needs Replacing</em>.</p>\n<p>The firefighter in episode 2 Dave recalls from his fire warden training was based on a real firefighter who did BBC fire training who himself must have been based on Keith Lard in Phoenix Nights who was, in turn, totally NOT based on a real fire fighter called &amp;c &amp;c.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:55w6os2defr4oz2ncsk6dodp/bafkreihjazsqmj22vuklvtdnzww2c4d4xd3mu5flklgdylok7qj766szja\" alt=\"Mark Gatiss and Lee Ingleby in Crooked House.\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" data-is-external-image=\"true\"></p>\n<p>Kate being frequently woken at the same time, 3.43am, by a banging sound is, of course, a reference to the third episode of Mark Gatiss' splendid mini-series <em>Crooked House</em>. I'd do a bit more breaking and entering of that series later in Listen with Other, but we'll get to that later...</p>\n<p>The village where they stay, Stanton Maltravers, is of course made up. Somerset place names are so mad and wonderful it's hard to invent a convincing one, so I did a cut and shut of two real ones. Stanton Maltravers would also reappear in series 9.</p>\n<p>The cover photos of Stanton Drew were graciously donated by</p>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx r-xoduu5\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx r-xoduu5\"><a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zcivmn5ryyeuynfmoiyx7kwi\" role=\"link\" data-no-underline=\"1\" class=\"css-1jxf684 r-1loqt21\">@raynewman.bsky.social</a></div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>The guidebook says the stone, er, triangle was a folly built in the late 1700s by Tertius Maltravers. Tertius, of course, means 'third' and a name given to the third son, who would normally, one assumes, be destined for the cloth. (Incidentally, I once taught an Octavia, who was, yes, child no. 8.)</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>Triangles remind me that Alt-J, mentioned earlier, is the Mac keyboard combination for a triangle: ∆</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div>I think that’s pretty much all of the references in <a href=\"https://listenwithother.co.uk/series-1-the-merry-m.html\">The Merry Milkmaids</a>. It’s probably the most Easter eggy Listen with Other story because I wanted to do with the number 3 what Peter Cook did with 17 in <em>Consequences</em>...</div>\n<div> </div>\n<div> </div>\n<div> </div>\n</div>\n<p> </p>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" data-word-wrap=\"1\"> </div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\">\n<div class=\"css-g5y9jx\" data-expoimage=\"true\"> </div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>",
            "image": "https://listenwithother.co.uk/media/posts/17/The-Merry-Milkmaids-blog-3x1.jpg",
            "author": {
                "name": "Giles Booth"
            },
            "tags": [
            ],
            "date_published": "2025-04-10T21:24:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2026-09-03T07:13:28+01:00"
        }
    ]
}