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#264 Selwyn Waters A Steep Hill out of Hebden Bridge

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And it was a warm but misty morning. And we heard singing and music.

Selwyn Waters

We were going for a drive. Up out of Hebden Bridge. A steep hill. My wife, my brother-in-law and myself. And my brother-in-law spoke like Norris out of Coronation Street. And he said ‘I’m ungry!’ And it was a warm but misty morning. And we heard singing and music. So Victoria said ‘We’ll have something when the mist clears and we can see what we’re eating.’ In the distance a white apparition came towards us. 100 yards away. 50 yards away. 30 yards away. And we froze. And it was All things Bright and Beautiful. We were on BBC TV. And it was the priest coming through the mist.

Precis

The beauty of being in a company of older performers is the kaleidoscopic range of real-life experiences that they bring to the table. These experiences cover everything from the vivid and strange world of childhood, to the unexpected late awakenings of old age. Take our newest batch of anecdotes, for example. These new stories are delightfully diverse: from the earthly, sensual joy of baking bread, to the cosmic dreams of outer space; from an unnerving encounter with a poltergeist, to the risqué glories of adult pleasure products and burlesque. Running as a rich theme throughout, is the possibility of love, and the simple wonder of human connection. As one writer tells us, in her story of funeral rites and flirting, “Amidst death, life goes on”, and indeed it does, delightfully so.