Catalogue - A - Z - Barford Audio Theatre / Audio Books

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Artificial Intelligence Home Audience System by Ben Henderson Close Artificial Intelligence Home Audience System by Ben Henderson Adapted for Audio by Edward Kirkby You have to imagine that you are sitting in the audience at your local village hall, or wherever your local drama group performs, in this case it’s Barford Memorial Hall. Opening You have to imagine that you are sitting in the audience at Barford Memorial Hall, awaiting with anticipation for the evening’s performance to begin. The house lights dim, but the curtains remain closed. Behind the curtains the scene is set as a Saturday afternoon in the lounge of a large residence in Ryland Road, Barford. The new home of Bill, who is wearing a shiny shell suit and sitting in an armchair reading the Racing Post and listening to the Racing Results on the Radio. Bill and his wife Brenda are recent beneficiaries of a very large win on the Lottery. When a door to their lounge opens and their friend (Beatrice) walks in having just let herself in the back door. The curtains remain closed, so you can only hear their slightly muffled voices…	Artificial Intelligence Home Audience System (Comedy) by Ben Henderson
Half-Past Bedtime by Sir Henry Howarth Bashford. Close Half-Past Bedtime, by Sir Henry Howarth Bashford. (1880-1961) Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Howarth_Bashford Published: Boston, Houghton Mifflin (1922) The Project Gutenberg EBook Release Date: January 21, 2011 [EBook #35029]. Chapter 1 Mr.Jugg The name of the town doesn’t really matter; but it was a big town in the middle of the country; and the first of these adventures happened to a little girl whose name was Marian. She was only seven when it happened to her, so that it was rather a young sort of adventure; but the older ones happened later on, and this is the best, perhaps, to begin with. Marian’s house was in a street called Peter Street, because there was a church in it called St Peter’s Church; and some people liked this church, because it had a great spire soaring up into the sky. But Marian’s daddy didn’t like spires, because they were so sharp and so slippery. He liked towers better, because the old church towers, he said, were like little laps, ready to catch God’s blessing. But Marian’s daddy was a queer sort of man, and nobody took much notice of what he said… Characters Marrion – Evie Griffin Mr.Jugg – Mark Griffin Mrs.Jugg – Liz Hainey Chapter 2 Gwendolen Living in the same town as Marian there was a little girl called Gwendolen. Marian didn’t know her very well, though they went to the same school and sometimes smiled at each other in church. Her father and mother were always climbing mountains and lecturing about them afterward, so Gwendolen had to live with her aunt, who was very rich and wore a lot of rings. In many ways Gwendolen was a nice girl, but she had an exceptionally large tummy. Some people said that it was her own fault, because she was always sitting about eating marzipan. But some people said that she couldn’t help her tummy, and had to eat a lot to keep it full. There were also people who said that her aunt spoiled her, being so greedy herself and always eating buttered toast… Characters Gwendolen – Evie Griffin Gwendolen’s Aunt – Roe Richardson	Half-Past Bedtime (Children’s Stories) by Sir Henry Howarth Bashford. Ch.1 Mr.Jugg; Ch.2 Gwendolen
Harriet’s Butterflies by Ben Henderson Close Harriet’s Butterflies, by Ben Henderson. Opening Do you remember? Do you remember the one you had last night? No? Like Will – O’ – the – Wisps, aren’t they? Dreams, so universally experienced yet so unique to each and so seemingly unquantifiable. Freud contended they represented unfulfilled wishes, Jung that they were the unconscious mind glimpsing at the events of the day. Fritz Perls suggested they were parts of ourselves that had been ignored or suppressed. In the fourth century, Herodotus was saying they were simply our minds unpacking its daily cares. Harriet Van Bregmann is a wealthy woman, a very intelligent, very wealthy woman. She’s been described as many things in her 42 years but a dreamer isn’t one of them. Harriet is well-educated, well-travelled, well-heeled, well-read and well-spoken. Harriet is even, in certain circles, well-known. She’s never sought any press attention but it’s come to her as it does for some, through their marriages, their money or how they take their pleasures. Its art, or more specifically fine art that pleases Harriet and the press interest in her comes in waves, waves associated with her frequent high-end purchases… Characters Mrs Van Bregmann – Sally Halowell-Carew Mrs.Cross – Liz Hainey The Doctor – Chris Murphy	Harriet’s Butterflies (Drama) by Ben Henderson
The Devil’s often in the Detail by Ben Henderson Close The Devil’s often in the Detail by Ben Henderson Adapted for Audio by Edward Kirkby Opening The story opens with Harry our story teller speaking at his retirement do… Alright, alright, I’ll just say a few words because convention says that I must at a retirement do. I won’t keep you long and I’ll get around and speak to you all tonight if I can, but if I don’t, let me thank you all for coming along to celebrate my retirement from the Metropolitan Police after 30 years… As most of you know, at Streatham nick, on the first floor is the Detective Inspector’s office, it’s always been there and many have occupied it and I’ve seen plenty come and go. In 1922, the man that had that office was as straight as an arrow, a bit of a legend, and the story he told me has haunted me, for thirty years. It’s so long ago now, I’m sure the people concerned are no longer with us. His story starts on a cold wintery night in December 1922 and it’s about six o’clock in the evening in the snug lounge of the Volunteer Inn. The pub is on the outskirts of a village called Finsey by the north Norfolk coast. On the back wall between the bar and the door is an old glass fronted display case, in it there is an old flintlock pistol and below it a Victoria Cross medal on a ribbon with a small card citation. Henry Thomas, the Landlord, is behind the bar polishing glasses when Mr Lomax and Mr Scanlon enter the pub, they are wearing overcoats and hats. Under the coats they wear white ties and tails. There is a dusting of snow on them which they brush off as they enter… Characters Alastair Scanlon – David Hall Arthur Thomas – Bill Worrall Stewart Lomax – Michael Burman Mary Thomas – Chris Murphy Janet Thomas – Lorraine Evetts Arthur Groombridge – Goff Tilling Jess Wilson – Mark Timmis Inspector Hennessy – Terry Offiler	The Devil’s often in the Detail (Crime & Mystery) by Ben Henderson
The Knightbridge Mystery by Charles Reade Close International Short Stories edited by William Patten The Knightsbridge Mystery by Charles Reade (1814-1884) Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Reade Published: P F Collier and Son, New York 1910 The Project Gutenberg eBook Release Date: June 16, 2010 [eBook #32846]. Opening In Charles the Second’s day the ‘Swan’ was denounced by the dramatists as a house where unfaithful wives and mistresses met their gallants. it was a country inn with large stables, horsed the Brentford coach, and entertained man and beast on journeys long or short. It had also permanent visitors, especially in summer; for it was near London, and yet a rural retreat; meadows on each side, Hyde Park at back, Knightsbridge Green in front. Amongst the permanent lodgers was Mr Gardiner, a substantial man; and Captain Cowen, a retired officer of moderate means, had lately taken two rooms for himself and his son. Mr Gardiner often joined the company in the public room, but the Cowen’s kept to themselves up-stairs. This was soon noticed and resented, in that age of few books and free converse. Some said, “The Captain may be in hiding from duns, or from the runners: now I think on’t, the York mail was robbed scarce the night before his worship came a-hiding here.” But the landlady’s tongue ran the other way. Her weight was sixteen stone, her sentiments were her interests, and her tongue her tomahawk… Characters Attorney, Clerk of Arraign, Lord’s Butler – Mark Griffin Judge – Ken HopeSheriff – Michael Burman Barbara Lamb Chambermaid – Wendy Barlow Bradbury Bow Street Runner – Terry Offiler Captain Cowen – Bill Worrall Colonel Barrington – David Ellison Dame Gust Landlady of the Swan – Liz Hainey Landlady 13 Farringdon Street – Anne Hope Daughter of Landlady of 13 Farringdon Street – Lorraine Sayers Daniel Cox – Charles Barlow Mr.Gardiner – Mark Timmis	The Knightsbridge Mystery (Crime & Mystery) by Charles Reade.
The Lazarette of the Huntress by William Clark Russell Close International Short Stories edited by William Patten The Lazarette of The Huntress by William Clark Russell Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Clark_Russell Published: P F Collier and Son, New York 1910 The Project Gutenberg eBook Release Date: June 16, 2010 [eBook #32846]. Opening I stepped into the Brunswick Hotel in the East India Docks for a glass of ale. It was in the year 1853, and a wet, hot afternoon. I had been on the tramp all day, making just three weeks of a wretched, hopeless hunt after a situation on shipboard, and every bone in me ached with my heart. My precious timbers, how poor I was! Two shillings, and thrippence – that was all the money I possessed in the wide world, and when I had paid for the ale, I was poorer yet by tuppence. A number of nautical men of various grades were drinking at the bar. I sat down in a corner to rest, and abandoned myself to the most dismal reflections. I wanted to get out to Australia, and nobody, it seems, was willing to ship me in any situation on any account whatever. Captains and mates howled me off if I attempted to cross their gangways. Nothing was to be got in the shipping yards. The very crimps sneered at me when I told them that I wanted a berth. What was I, do you ask? I’ll tell you… Characters Captain – David Ellison John Howland – Terry Offiler Mr Morritt Chief Officer – Michael Burman Second Mate – Bill Worrall	The Lazarette of The Huntress (Crime & Mystery) by William Clark Russell.
The Secret of Goresthorpe Grange by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Close International Short Stories edited by William Patten The Secret of Goresthorpe Grange by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle Published: P F Collier and Son, New York 1910 The Project Gutenberg eBook Release Date: June 16, 2010 [eBook #32846]. Opening I am sure that Nature never intended me to be a self-made man. There are times when I can hardly bring myself to realize that twenty years of my life were spent behind the counter of a grocer’s shop in the East End of London, and that it was through such an avenue that I reached a wealthy independence and the possession of Goresthorpe Grange. My habits are conservative, and my tastes refined and aristocratic. I have a soul which spurns the vulgar herd. Our family, the D’Odds, date back to a prehistoric era, as is to be inferred from the fact that their advent into British history is not commented on by any trustworthy historian. Goresthorpe Grange is a feudal mansion—or so it was termed in the advertisement which originally brought it under my notice. Its right to this adjective had a most remarkable effect upon its price, and the advantages gained may possibly be more sentimental than real. There is but one thing wanting to round off the medievalism of my abode, and to render it symmetrically and completely antique. Goresthorpe Grange is not provided with a ghost… Characters Jack Brocket – Charles Barlow Mr.T.E.Stube, MD – Terry Offiler Mrs.D’Odd – Liz Hainey First Ghost – Michael Burman Second Ghost – Roe Richardson Third Ghost – Terry Offiler Seventh Ghost – Anne Hope	The Secret of Goresthorpe Grange (Crime & Mystery) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Sire De Maletroit’s Door by Robert Louis Stevenson Close International Short Stories edited by William Patten The Sire De Maletroit’s Door by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson Published: P F Collier and Son, New York 1910 The Project Gutenberg eBook Release Date: June 16, 2010 [eBook #32846]. Opening Denis de Beaulieu was not yet two-and-twenty, but he counted himself a grown man, and a very accomplished cavalier into the bargain. Lads were early formed in that rough, warfaring epoch; and when one has been in a pitched battle and a dozen raids, has killed one’s man in an honourable fashion, and knows a thing or two of strategy and mankind, a certain swagger in the gait is surely to be pardoned. He had put up his horse with due care, and supped with due deliberation; and then, in a very agreeable frame of mind, went out to pay a visit in the grey of the evening. It was not a very wise proceeding on the young man’s part. He would have done better to remain beside the fire or go decently to bed. For the town was full of the troops of Burgundy and England under a mixed command; and though Denis was there on safe-conduct, his safe-conduct was like to serve him little on a chance encounter… Characters Sire de Maletroit – Ken Hope Denis de Beaulieu – Mark Timmis Blanch de Maletroit – Sally Hallowell-Carew Priest – Mark Griffin	The Sire De Maletroit’s Door (Romance) by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Strand Magazine A Deadly Dilemma by Grant Allen Close The story is of two young lovers who quarrel for the first time on a walk near the Warwick to London Railway line, and the unexpected events that follow their parting. Opening When Kate Burley came to think it over afterward in her own room by herself, she couldn’t imagine what had made her silly enough to quarrel that evening with George Weston. She could only say, in a penitent mood, it was always the way like that with lovers. Till once they’ve quarrelled a good round quarrel and afterwards solemnly kissed and made it all up again, things never stand on a really firm and settled basis between them. It’s a move in the game…	The Strand Magazine A Deadly Dilemma (Romance) by Grant Allen
The Strand Magazine The Mirror by Léo Lespès Close The story is based on a series of eight letters written by a young woman to her friend whom she tells of her life as a blind woman protected from the world by her parents and how she meets and falls in love with a sighted man whom she marries and her reaction to not being able to see her child. Opening Dear Kate, you wish me to write to you, me, a poor blind creature whose hand moves faltering in the darkness? Are you not afraid of the sadness of my letters, written as they are in gloom? Have you no fear of the sombre thoughts which must beset the blind?	The Strand Magazine The Mirror (Romance) by Léo Lespès
Theatrical Knights by Ben Henderson Close Theatrical Knights by Ben Henderson Adapted for Audio by Edward Kirkby Theatrical Knights is about the complex relationship between Sir Tom Seymour (Scriptwriter) and Sir Tony Randolph (Actor) and the extremes Tom is willing to go to, to brighten up his boring life. However Tom is not quite prepared for the consequences of his actions! Opening Our story takes place on a warm afternoon in the summer of 2016. It is the converted stable building at the back of a large detached Victorian house in Primrose Hill, London. It is the den of the writer Sir Thomas Seymour. The walls are covered with props and memorabilia from Tom’s plays and include handguns, knives and masks. There is a chess table with a game in progress. Sir Tom is sitting at the chess table, he has a crepe bandage around his head. He is wearing a loose fitting grey suit over a white tee shirt and a cravat. He is holding a large glass of brandy. The phone is ringing, much to Sir Tom’s annoyance as he tries to outmaneuver his mythical chess opponent…	Theatrical Knights (Drama) by Ben Henderson

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