Last year The Reader Podcast visited Prospect Park, a psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, to learn more about the 14 year partnership they have built with The Reader. This partnership, powered by the energy and dedication of the Reader in Residence, Sue Colbourn, and the support and belief of the hospital’s brilliant staff, has resulted in countless stories that demonstrate how Shared Reading has been a powerful force for good in the lives of both the patients and the health practitioners who care for them. 

Prospect Park Hospital 

Partnering with The Reader 

The Reader Podcast – previous episodes 

‘Adlestrop’ by Edward Thomas 

‘I Remember, I Remember’ by Thomas Hood 

‘My Own Heart’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins 

Welcome the final day of our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we shared with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is the poem 'Winter Dawn' by Tu Fu, translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth. It's read by Katie Clark, who works at The Reader.

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is the poem 'The Year' by Coventry Patmore. It's read by Chris Lynn, who produces The Reader Podcast. 

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is the poem 'Snowflakes' by Clive Sansom. It's read by Jemma Guerrier, who works at The Reader.

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is the poem 'Endure Hardness' by Christina Rossetti. It's read by Kate Deegan, who works for The Reader.

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is an extract from the memoir Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. It's read by Jess Harrison, who works at The Reader.

Cider with Rosie at Bookshop.org

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is 'Firewood Poem' by Celia Congreve. It's read by Rachael Elliott, who works for The Reader.

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Merry Christmas!

Today's reading is an extract from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens It's read by Colin Dryden, who leads a Shared Reading group in Crosby, Merseyside.

Dickens at Christmas at Bookshop.org

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is the poem 'Hymn to the Belly' by Ben Jonson. It's read by Laura Barnes, who works for The Reader.

This poem is taken from the anthology 'A Poem to Read Aloud Every Day of the Year' edited by Liz Ison

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders.

Today's reading is an extract from the novel 'The Mill on the Floss' by George Eliot. It's read by Sheryl Sze, who leads a Shared Reading group in Camden, London.

Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk  

Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson