Showing results by narrator "Sophie Aldred" in All Categories

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

Step inside Marietta's Magic Dress Shop! There are hundreds of beautiful dresses in every colour of the rainbow, sewn with magic thread. Take a look, try one on, and wait for the magic to whisk you away on an amazing adventure! When Ava puts on a sparkling trapeze outfit with a dazzling butterfly tiara, she is transported back in time to a travelling circus. Ava loves the clever circus stunts and the beautiful costumes, but she's worried about a baby elephant that is meant to perform tricks.

Materialising aboard the corvette HMS Thunder during the Second World War, the Doctor and Ace join Commander Fitzgerald and his crew as they track an allied submarine in trouble. While the Doctor advises the Captain on navigational matters, Ace joins in a daring mission to rescue sailors in the water. With German planes overhead, no-one's survival is guaranteed....

Smith makes her final call and hears two final adventures involving the East Finchley Satanic League and an incredible portrait heist from the National Gallery. These sensational stories are interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Smith tries to persuade the Brigadier she is simply a publisher after his tall stories and has innocently sent a courier. Munchausen is instead convinced it his mortal enemy come for the formula once more.

Smith’s gentle interrogations continue, and the young brigadier reveals his contribution to the fall of communism through a series of Elton John impersonations. His astonishing achievements don’t stop there. When his accidental discoveries aboard a Swedish science research ship lead to the invention of a secret formula, the world is at his feet. The world kicks back, however, and after a desperate climb up Notre Dame, he finds himself pursued by the police, an old friend and two well-known figures of darkness.

Emma knows that having superpowers isn't always easy, especially when you have to keep them secret. But it's even harder when your mischievous little sister can't help using them in the naughtiest of ways. And when Saffie makes the new nosy neighbours' garden shed come to life and hop over the hedge, it's up to Emma to cover its tracks before it's too late! Being a big sister has never been so heroic!

A warm, funny adventure about sticking up for your friends, and the adventures that can be had along the way. When the McIntyre family moves in next door, Eva is intrigued - it is the first interesting thing to happen for ages. But her ever protective Dad - even more protective since Eva's mum died - does not agree. Eva gets to know Jamie McIntyre a bit better, and when he is accused of vandalising the local park, Eva is sure he didn't do it – but she has to prove it…

Celia Frost is a freak. At least, that’s what everyone thinks. Her life is ruled by a rare disorder that means she could bleed to death from the slightest cut, confining her to a gloomy bubble of ‘safety’. No friends. No fun. No life. But when a knife attack on Celia has unexpected consequences, her mum reacts strangely - and suddenly they’re on the run. Why is her mum so scared? Someone out there knows.

Set in Cornwall, coastal erosion and flooding take on a near mythical power as the short stories in this collection weave in and out of the recent past and near future, as lives and relationships ebb and flow with the tide. From one maritime tragedy to another, the community, and three generations of women from the same family, struggle with their over-close affinity for the sea.

For Solstice Shorts 2021 we invited writers to respond to the growing climate crisis. From an exceptionally strong field we chose stories and poems that respond to the floods and droughts and fires all around the globe with tenderness, compassion, fear, grief and rage. Gaia is represented in all ther power and glory, and butterflies and plants sow seeds of hope, while other writers ask:. How do we stop it? How do we survive it? And how do we live beyond the catastrophe on our horizon?

Nelson’s Bar is the perfect little seaside village. Tucked away against the Norfolk coast, this is just the place to come when you want to get away from it all: no phone signal, no wifi, no problems. So when Clancy Moss’s life falls apart, it’s the ideal escape–and she revels at the prospect of a summer filled with blue skies and beachside walks. But try as she might to avoid them, Clancy’s problems just seem to follow her. Added to which, it seems that not all the villagers are happy to welcome their newest resident.

We’ve given the planet a hard time over the last couple of centuries, and she’s showing the wear and tear of her least considerate offspring. We asked our authors: Where are the signs of renewal? Are there signs of regrowth? Have we pushed nature too far? What if it’s already too late? This audiobook presents poems and stories from the brink, responding to the floods and droughts and fires all around the globe with tenderness, compassion, fear, grief, and rage.

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, 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.