Showing results by narrator "Sophie Aldred" in All Categories

In this final showdown, the Brigadier’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and Smith is forced to make a dramatic choice. Is she prepared to believe the unbelievable stories of her friend or side with an old enemy to get Munchausen the help that he needs?

In this episode, the Brigadier reveals his past as a protector of the undead; Italian nuns, Charles Darwin and vampire-slaying biker gangs all find themselves at the considerable mercies of the heroic Munchausen. Smith, meanwhile, is beginning to lose faith.

In this episode, Smith and the Brigadier return to the Munchausen’s ancestral seat. This haunted castle has more than a few surprises within its walls, including an interstellar kidnapping, a wrestle with a nuclear weapon and the introduction of the Brigadier’s brother, who just happens to be afraid of daylight....

In this episode, a slow escape in a hot-air balloon makes the Brigadier nostalgic for his time in America; stories of rodeo clowns and super-human cyborgs spill from his past. But all this time travel is beginning to erase Munchausen's memory, and Smith fears for her friend’s sanity. Perhaps the only cure is through the help of the truly terrifying tech-guru Logan Snuff....

In this episode, cosmic secrets are revealed as Smith and the Brigadier take shelter at Stonehenge. Druids, Morris Dancers and inter-dimensional Gods all compete to take hold of Munchausen’s destiny. A dramatic encounter with a mysterious black pyramid will test the Brigadier’s courage to the full, whilst the dastardly St. John remains in pursuit - and this time he’s brought an army....

In this episode, Smith finds herself the target of the murderous St. John Lawrence-Mulcaster, and the Brigadier is determined to foil the villain’s plan. As they head to safety (and Durham Services to grab a sausage roll), the Brigadier reveals his ability to change the course of history with the use of astral planes, Queen Victoria and a certain legendary Scottish monster....

Things look bleak for the Brigadier as he is sent to the bottom of Davy Jones’ Locker by the merciless hands of Knight Supremacist, St. John Lawrence-Malcaster. He makes bold his escape with the help of some surprising sailors, an old flame and a couple of antique cannon balls. His revenge is swift and he takes on the might of the Fourth Reich with a combination of pluck, will and a new found love of artillery.

The Brigadier is deliberately vague on the circumstances of his recent death and the particular bargain he struck with a certain deity and instead focuses on his time in Canada which, as it turns out, is very much like heaven or hell depending on how you look at it. He brings down the notorious biker gang, Hell’s Loggers, with the help of some wolves but soon finds himself on much more dangerous ground at the hands of the last remaining branch of the Knights Templar who are intent on using Munchausen’s marvelous formula to revive the Master Race.

The brigadier escapes from peril in an ancient Russian forest with the help of an obliging bison. Eurasian mobsters, intent on human sacrifice using the world’s oldest tree, are in pursuit. As his enemies ride after him full-throttle, and with guns blazing, he relays a dizzying array of stories focused on astounding encounters with the animal kingdom. These unlikely anecdotes result in the firm conclusion that the brigadier’s luck is finally about to run out.

The charismatic and reclusive Brigadier Munchausen is visited, online, by the mysterious Smith. Has he written his pages? Munchausen obliges and reveals some extraordinary incidents from his early life: a boy on the run, a fight with a seven-foot sailor and a romantic affair involving a whale. These extraordinary events all serve to propel our hero into the realisation that he is destined to save the world. But who is Smith, and why has he been sent? Why does the brigadier fear email? And, most of all, what really happened to him in Raqqa?

On the glittering shores of the Mediterranean in 1928, a dying author in exile races to complete his final novel. Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a sexually bold love story, a searing indictment of class distinctions and a study in sensuality. But the author, D. H. Lawrence, knows it will be censored. He publishes it privately, loses his copies to customs and dies bereft. Booker Prize-longlisted author Alison MacLeod brilliantly recreates the novel’s origins and boldly imagines its journey to freedom through the story of Jackie Kennedy, who was known to be an admirer.

The Fantastic Race is a tale of fast cars, incredible racing and amazing challenges. Two schoolfriends drive across Europe in the car of their dreams. To make it better, no adults allowed. The story takes place in Europe's most famous cities, and shows how intuition, passion and practice go a long way. Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for the ride.

Nine-year-old best friends Danny, Nathan and Anna live with their families in Paradise House along with Old MacDonald the caretaker and a variety of eccentric characters in these stories by award-winning children's author Hilary McKay.

The children are saved from the dreaded School Holiday Club in the nick of time! They owe their escape to the elderly Miss Kents, who live in the basement of Paradise House. The Miss Kents have agreed to look after them. How can the children thank their rescuers enough? They hatch a plan that they think will appeal to old ladies. But things don't go quite as planned. Will the surprise be spoilt?

The Revolting Rabbles have a new job, being peasants at the castle Open Day. And Rae is SO looking forward to dressing up in a sack. Rupert can't wait. He's obsessed with making plague boils out of balloons and custard. If only they didn't keep bursting... Another fantastic story about the Rabble family's hilarious historical re-enactments, from best-selling author Susan Gates.

Rae's dad has found Riff Raff Ltd some work at an Elizabethan fayre. When Mr Rabble researches the costume of the period, he discovers that his skinny calves won't be up to it, so he devises a calf-enhancer, with hilarious results.

Here are two of a series of stories about the riotous children who live in Paradise House.

In the age of Trump and Brexit, every crisis is instantly overridden by the next. The turbulent political weather of the 21st century generates anxiety and makes it difficult to know how to react. Laing makes an inspiring case for why art matters more than ever, as a force of both resistance and repair. Art, she argues, changes how we see the world. It gives us X-ray vision. It reveals inequalities and offers fertile new ways of living. Funny Weather brings together a career's worth of Laing's writing about art and culture, and their role in our political and emotional lives.