We’re now on Episode Three, this podcast is still in it’s very early infancy and I’m excited to see where it will go, there are certainly lots more books I want to read aloud to you. I hope those listening have enjoyed the stories so far, this psychogeographical genre seems more apposite than ever, as we still need to stay safe, going to places through your imagination or through audio instead of packing out beaches or parks. The lockdown guidelines have become vague and malleable but the danger still remains the same.

I am going to read you Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf, not strictly a psychogeographical story, but a good one nonetheless, and one I consider to be relevant.

Virginia Woolf wrote this short story in 1917 during the First World War, in a time that’s not so unlike the times we’re living through right now. I love to hear in detail about how the actions that make up a moment affect so many different creatures, such as the snail mentioned, and the stain of the coloured petals that fall onto it’s shell and onto the brown earth beneath. I got into Virginia Woolf’s books around three years ago, after reading A Room of Ones Own. I enjoyed it so much I read it in one sitting whilst in a bookshop cafe. I’d never read anything so timeless before, and from there I became a huge fan of Woolf’s work. I often think about the gardeners at Kew, about what it must be like to walk around freely during lockdown with nobody else there. You can now watch a virtual tour of an empty Kew Gardens online, which I found to be quite a strange but relaxing experience. We’re now going back to a time when it was filled with life.