Tea. Toast. and Trivia.

S8 E12: Entering Gothic Horror with Catherine Cavendish

Why do we willingly enter the dark?

In this episode of Tea, Toast & Trivia, I am brewing a cup of Lapsang Souchong. Its dark, smoky flavour becomes our doorway into the world of Gothic horror.

We travel back to Horace Walpole and the beginnings of the Gothic novel before considering how Frankenstein and Dracula helped shape an enduring literary tradition.

Catherine Cavendish was the person who encouraged me to enter this world. Her novel, Ghosts of Chanterlands, carries the Gothic tradition into our own time. Through excerpts from our earlier podcast, we hear Cat’s own voice lead us into Chanterlands, where everything appears ordinary—until the house begins to remember.

Gothic horror is about far more than frightening us. It asks what happens when the past refuses to remain buried. It allows us to approach the darkness from the safety of a story and perhaps recognize something of ourselves within it.

Put the kettle on and join Cat and me as we step across the threshold.

Rebecca

🎙️Tea Toast and Trivia Podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Hope and Prayers” Howard Harper-Barnes

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/51b2a5b6-f1e3-31f0-8375-68f3fcae5414/

“Danger Lures” Trailer Worx

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/4921e8ac-b7a7-32b7-b3d9-92b8545a3fa8/

“Colossal Terror” by Jon Björk

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/d48581ad-f9ec-392d-b5f3-fc64a4558620/

“The Glass Sea” Dian Shuai

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/60c6dae8-f205-4235-8ba8-0141c56b176a/

S8 E11: Jam First, Then Cream: What a Cream Tea Taught Me About Memory

I was sitting in Port Isaac with a warm scone in front of me when I discovered that I might be about to commit a Cornish offense.

There was jam. There was thick cream. There was tea. And somewhere nearby, a newspaper headline was warning of a cream tea “blunder” serious enough to inspire calls for a boycott.

Suddenly, the order of things mattered.

In Season 8, Episode 11 of Tea, Toast & Trivia, I return to that afternoon in Cornwall and to the wonderfully spirited question of whether jam or cream should come first. What begins as a local disagreement over a scone soon opens into something much larger: a reflection on cultural memory, belonging, and the ordinary customs that quietly connect one generation with another.

Perhaps some of our deepest inheritances are carried not in monuments or history books, but in kitchens, recipes, familiar rituals and the way we prepare a scone.

So pour yourself a cup of tea, find a scone if you can, and come with me to Cornwall. And when it comes time to choose what goes on first, just remember — in Cornwall, it is jam first, then cream.

Rebecca

🎙️Tea Toast Trivia Podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Never a Goodbye” by Gavin Luke

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/23d78dc4-1dce-48cd-a10a-9bded0529d84/

“The Sweetest” by Gavin Luke

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/eb75ebc0-a558-44f8-a176-b109cc621a8a/

S8 E10: “The Grand Adventure” by D Wallace Peach

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I look forward to sharing this moment with you.

There is a quiet magic in short stories. Within just a few pages, an entire world unfolds, fleeting, yet unforgettable. Short stories ask us to pause and listen closely. They remind us that even brief encounters can hold the full weight of a life. In their condensed form, they carry the pulse of human experience. Love, loss, wonder, and revelation are distilled into something both fragile and enduring.

Today’s reading, “The Grand Adventure” by D. Wallace Peach, set in the late 1800's, embodies that rare gift. It is a journey of discovery and transformation, told with poetic precision and heartfelt insight. Diana captures how every threshold, real or imagined, invites us to step beyond comfort, into the grand adventure of becoming.

This story is especially meaningful to me, as my mother, Frances, recently turned ninety-four. Her life, rich with courage, faith, and gentle humour, reflects the same spirit of resilience and renewal that echoes through Diana’s words. At ninety-four, each day truly is a grand adventure, a continuing act of discovery.

So, settle in and pour yourself a cuppa tea! Let us walk together into this wonderful story, proof that even the shortest tales can open the widest doors.

Until next time we meet, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Rebecca

Music by Epidemic Sound

My Little Friend by Franz Gordon https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/b0cabd7d-83df-45c0-b906-e0945952c3d9/

Remember by Emily Rubye https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/e45d3079-f4f6-3450-b379-944fe6ce63e3/

Watercolor Fountain by Trail Worx https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/e178eaee-b7b1-3436-beef-a2ddb6e602be/

Try Your Wings by Helmut Schenker https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/95c9c0a7-9e3a-4375-9f94-f859380b8254/

S8 E9: Catherine Cavendish Reads Ghosts of Chanterlands

Welcome to Tea Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in!

Author Catherine Cavendish joins Tea, Toast & Trivia to read the opening chapter of her haunting new Gothic novel, Ghosts of Chanterlands.

Known for her atmospheric stories of haunted places, hidden secrets, and supernatural suspense, Catherine invites listeners into a world where old houses remember, history refuses to remain buried, and the past is never truly gone.

Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy this special author reading, presented in Catherine’s own voice.

Rebecca

🫖 Tea Toast & Trivia Podcast

Music by Epidemic

“Hope and Prayers” by Howard Harper-Barnes

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/51b2a5b6-f1e3-31f0-8375-68f3fcae5414/

“Danger Lures” by Trailer Worx

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/4921e8ac-b7a7-32b7-b3d9-92b8545a3fa8/

“Colossal Terror” by Jon Björk

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/d48581ad-f9ec-392d-b5f3-fc64a4558620/

“The Glass Sea” by Dian Shuai

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/60c6dae8-f205-4235-8ba8-0141c56b176a/

S8 E8: The Comfort of English Breakfast Tea

Welcome to Tea, Toast & Trivia. I’m your host, Rebecca Budd.

Today, we begin with one of life’s simplest pleasures — a cup of English Breakfast tea and a slice of buttered toast with cinnamon and sugar.

In this episode, we explore the history behind this beloved tea, trace the origins of breakfast through the centuries, and reflect on how small morning rituals can carry comfort, memory, and meaning.

So put the kettle on, settle in, and join me for a thoughtful pause before the day begins.

Rebecca

🎙️Tea Toast & Trivia Podcast

🫖It’s All About Tea

Music by Epidemic Sound

“No One Else on Earth” by Howard Harper-Barnes

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/19460e6f-1ed9-32b5-bd17-f9620f9993d7/

“The English Affair” by Howard Harper-Barnes

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/a92bcb8f-85e8-3885-be9b-ea9c8e310c4b/

S8 E7: Writing the Edges: A Conversation with Alex Gunn

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

I’m your host, Rebecca Budd, and I look forward to sharing this moment with you.

Today I’m delighted to welcome Scottish writer Alex Gunn, author of Soft As Nails. In this thoughtful conversation, we step beyond the pages of the novel and explore the writer behind the work.

Together, we discuss Alex’s creative beginnings, the Scotland that shaped him, the importance of friendship and mentorship, and the courage it takes to find one’s own voice.

So put the kettle on, settle in, and join us for a warm and engaging conversation with Alex Gunn.

🎙️🫖Tea Toast & Trivia Podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Never” Emily Rubye

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/4c6e6ce8-4202-3f1c-a136-c20c600a64ff/

“Watercolor Fountain” Trailer Worx

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/e178eaee-b7b1-3436-beef-a2ddb6e602be/

S8 E6: The Happy Tea and the Tower Nobody Wanted

Welcome to Tea, Toast & Trivia.

Today, I’m pouring a cup of The Happy Tea as we revisit one of history’s most surprising reversals of opinion—the story of the Eiffel Tower, once mocked, resisted, and nearly dismantled before becoming one of the most beloved landmarks in the world.

What can this famous tower teach us about patience, beauty, and the slow work of acceptance?

Settle in, pour yourself something warm, and join me for a quiet reflection on first impressions, endurance, and the joy of what remains.

Rebecca

🎙️Tea Toast & Trivia Podcast

🫖It’s All About Tea

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Paris in Spring” by Trabant 33

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/0231d807-be5a-3e85-93ab-d808d53d3190/

S8 E5: Wryson’s Eternity by Shehanne Moore

In this special episode of Tea, Toast & Trivia, I reflect on the work of Scottish author Shehanne Moore, with a focus on her latest novel, Wryson’s Eternity.

After a technical mishap prevented our original interview from being shared, I chose another path: a personal reflection on Shey’s storytelling gift. Her characters are flawed, wounded, passionate, and real. They face danger, risk love, and search for healing in worlds filled with adventure, hope, and redemption.

Pour yourself a cup of tea and join me for a thoughtful journey into memory, love, and the stories that stay with us.

Music by Epidemic Sound

”A Life of Devotion” by David Celeste

“The Fellowship” by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen

S8 E4: Graciela Gonçalves Da Silva on Sharing Silences

“I learned to share silences, paying attention to things that I did not understand, and there was no chance to ask, but just being there was enough to enjoy it. This was deeper than any words I wished to use. Life was suddenly filled with humble adventures.” Graciela Gonçalves Da Silva

When Graciela first shared this reflection with me during our 2023 conversation on Tea, Toast & Trivia, I sensed that she was speaking from a place beyond explanation. Not offering conclusions. Not trying to persuade. Simply describing what happens when we learn to stay present long enough for meaning to emerge on its own.

She is an Argentine artist now based in Los Angeles, with murals and public works spanning cities across the world. Her characters, colours, and stories live not only on walls, but in the daily rhythms of the communities that encounter them. Whether in bustling urban centres or quieter neighbourhoods, her work invites pause, recognition, and gentle curiosity. Since that conversation, Graciela’s creative life has continued to unfold on a truly international scale.

I’ve recently reconnected with Graciela, and once again I’m struck by how naturally she moves between inner reflection and outward action. Her practice still begins with characters and story, but it is grounded in a deep respect for the shared space of public art and the people who live alongside it.

Graciela has just completed a major new mural as part of the Doha Walls Festival in Qatar. Alongside the finished work, she developed a thoughtful public workshop, a kind of “warm-up”, designed to help people cultivate what she calls Explorer’s Eyes. Her intention was both generous and quietly radical: to offer viewers tools for seeing more deeply, even if they encounter the mural later online, far from the wall itself.

For Graciela, street art has always been collective. Once a mural enters the world, it no longer belongs solely to the artist. It belongs to the people who walk past it, live with it, and carry it forward in memory. This recent project reflects that philosophy beautifully, extending the conversation beyond the wall and into shared reflection.

For those discovering her for the first time, this republished podcast episode offers a gentle introduction to her way of thinking, creating, and listening. And for those who have followed her work over the years, it feels like a return, not backward, but deeper.

I’m delighted to share that Graciela has promised to come back for a new conversation, where we’ll talk about this latest project, her evolving practice, and how creativity can hold wonder, compassion, and fragility all at once.

So I invite you to put the kettle on. Settle in. And listen with the part of you that knows how to share silence and recognize a humble adventure when it appears.

Rebecca

Music by Epidemic Sound

Finding Rain by Emily Rubye

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/2bb07938-482d-34c5-9103-17827c3ae792/

S8 E3: A Conversation with Eglund

Welcome to Tea, Toast & Trivia.

I’m Rebecca Budd, and I’m so glad you’re here. I look forward to sharing this moment with you.

Today’s conversation marks the beginning of a new journey for us. One that reaches across generations, languages, and lived experience. We are beginning a series titled Faust: Unravelling the Great Enigma, and I can think of no better person to open this exploration with than our guest, Eglund, joining us from Germany.

For Eglund, Faust is not simply a great literary work encountered later in life. It is part of the cultural air he grew up breathing. Like every German schoolchild, he learned Faust in school. He recited passages in class. He absorbed its presence long before he could fully grasp its depth.

But Faust did not remain a school text for him.

The copy Eglund owns today once belonged to his mother, a quiet, tangible inheritance. And it was only years later, as an adult, that he truly understood what Faust was asking of him. Not as an examination subject, not as a cultural obligation, but as a living work, one that speaks differently at different stages of life.

That, to me, is one of Faust’s great truths. This is not a work we “finish.” It is a work we return to.

In this first conversation, Eglund shares what it means to grow up with Faust, to carry it unconsciously for years, and then to meet it again, awake, questioning, and deeply aware of how urgently it speaks to our modern moment. We talk about inheritance, memory, education, and the strange way certain books wait patiently until we are ready to hear them.

This podcast is not about mastery. It is about companionship. We are entering Faust slowly, thoughtfully, and together, allowing it to ask its questions without rushing toward answers. If you are new to Faust, you are welcome here. If you have carried it quietly for years, you are welcome too.

Let us begin.

Rebecca

Music by Epidemic Sound

Whisper of the Pines by Howard Harper-Barnes

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/8b2cd55e-c124-37a8-87a0-d1df75911e12/