I adapted this story from one that appears in the writings of Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Christian pastor who was imprisoned by the communists for his faith. He spent some 14 years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement and enduring torture on a daily basis. He was beaten so badly he was never able to wear shoes again. In spite of this he has written some of the most profound and powerful stories and sermons I have ever read. He was a master of the parable and this one, about a caged bird, is just one of the many that came to mean a great deal more to him, no doubt, as he lay in his cell.

The sound-track is from David Modica's album "The Waters Wide" - available from magnatune.com

The latest podcast from www.bordersofsleep.com. This one is a "fairy tale" ... well ... it does have fairies in it but it may not be "happily ever after" in the quite the same way as most fairy tales end. You will also hear about two letters, and two wars, and two sworn enemies, but most of all you'll hear about two handkerchiefs. The soundtrack contains music  by Jami Sieber, available from magnatune.com. Story by Seymour Jacklin, artwork by Robyn Trainer and production by Tim Wiles.

A cautionary tale, and not for the feint of heart. This is a story about what befalls a party of revellers on their way home one night.

Dear Listener,

Traditionally we know that cats and mice do not get on with one another - it's a cat-eat-mouse world! But here is a story that just asks "what if" a particular cat and a particular mouse should break the mould because of their love for one another?

This is a story adapted closely from one of Grimm's Fairy Tales. The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were collectors of european folk tales, publishing some of our best loved and most often recited stories in the early 1800s. Unlike the "disneyified" fairy tales that have become popular in our own time, the stories that the Grimm brothers collected tended to be dark and obscure ...

The rather evocative, at times dark and obscure, solo violin of Anthony Salvo accompanies this tale which I hope you enjoy. If youlike the music you can download it yourself from magntaune.com

Enjoy!

Three schoolboys and an idyllic midsummer evening on the river Thames, echoing in the memory forever.

This is a short snapshot, the very briefest of autobiographical sketches from my early teens.

Enjoy!

Dear Listener,

What is greatness, anyway? I guess we all have a different idea of what it means to be "great". Here is a story about someone who was rather like a lot of us, and certainly a lot like me, who had never really thought it through.

My masterful sound recordist, Tim, has got me onto a sensible recording schedule, which should mean that these podcasts go out on a steady fortnightly basis from now on. Also, in case you were wondering, I intend to keep on publishing here until the stories dry up which is not likely to happen any time soon as I get at least two new ideas for new ones every week.

Thank you for listening and ...

Enjoy!

What are archaeologists really looking for? This one is digging up his own soul. This week's story is longer than the usual Borders of Sleep fare and certainly longer than I would normally podcast; but, I am still wanting to try out different things and see what people like. I did consider putting this into parts I and II but I thought you might find that annoying. That said, this story is long, but not as long as the time for which one of the characters has been absent from himself. When I wrote it, it seemed to get a life of its own and to run away with me, but hopefully not like the horse in the story. There is a lot crammed into it, but not quite as much as you will see crammed into a certain item of clothing that you will hear about. The airy and dark acoustic guitar soundtrack is from Glass Desert by Harlan Williams and it's available from Magnatune.

If you were water, what sort of water would you be?

Would you be the water in a stream or the water in a tree?

Or would you be ice or vapour?

And what would it be like to be able to see the path of an ant or a star with the same clarity as we see the path to our own front door?

All of these are questions you may ponder as you listen to this story about a traveller, and a tree ... and a stream.

Here's a story that is a precise retelling of a dream that I had many years ago. Make of it what you will; but, for my part, I have never been able to escape the feeling that there is more life to be had if we would only stop being so clever about everything.

Where a prince discovers that everything in his kingdom is also in his own soul.