Send us a text

Join us around the stove tonight, on a very cosy NB Erica that is currently ice-locked into a frozen landscape, as we think about the Fimbulwinter of old, and why Midwinter might be mid-winter after all!

Journal entry:

 14th December, Wednesday.

“Ridges of frost form ribs on the sweep of hills.
 Two rooks throw calls against a sky
 Marbled by the setting sun.
 Beyond the horizon, a pheasant startles a distant wood.
 My fingers and toes burn.

Episode Information:

In this episode I read very short extracts from:
Christiane Ritter’s beautiful A Woman in the Polar Night republished in 2019 Pushkin Press.
Christina Rosetti’s poem ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ (1872).
The section on seasons from the Anglo-Saxon collection: Maxims II.
Bede's The Reckoning of Time (11th-12th century)

I also refer to:
Alexandra Harris’ (2016) Weatherland: Writers and artists under English skiespublished by Thames and Hudson
Eleanor Parker’s (2022) Winters in the Word: A journey through the Anglo-Saxon year published by Reaktion Books. 

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com. It will also allow you to become more a part of the podcast and you can leave comments, offer suggestions, and reviews. You can even, if you want, leave me a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon. 

General Details

In the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org.

Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.