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Bizarre stories from a peculiar place. On the edge of the West Cliff in Bournemouth UK, balanced between sea and land and sky, the twisting paths and dark pine trees inspire strange stories of the strange folk who have inhabited that weird place. A new story every week from the pen of master story-teller Peter John Cooper. Funny, sad, murders, spirits and the down right ordinary. Commuting to work, drifting off to sleep, making breakfast, there’s a story for you here. Tales from the Cliff Edge has been selected as one of the top 15 UK story telling sites by Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_storytelling_podcasts/ I live on the cliff top. I’m looking out across Poole Bay to the English Channel and the world beyond. This is a mysterious in-between sort of place, not only the meeting of sea and land and the sky but also a shifting, joyful, melancholy realm where nothing is permanent and reality and fantasy collide. I’m Peter John Cooper and I’ve made my living for the past fifty years telling stories. In this podcast I’m going to share some of them with you. They’re not all about this clifftop place, of course, but they all come from that strange in between world of the imagination. Let’s go inside, make a cup of tea and I’ll tell you today’s tale.
Episodes
Sunday Dec 26, 2021
Sunday Dec 26, 2021
Eamon Porktraddle is a mystery wrapped in enigma. He lives in a tumbling tin shed above the dunes beneath a crackling humming pylon. He likes to play on his old ukelele made from an old oil can. But he is troubled. Somewhere in the fug of his brain he knows there is something he should do. Before it's too late...
Eamon Porktraddle ..... Julian Harrow
Mermaids ..... Holly Cooper
Elinor Cooper
With thanks to Freesound Project
"The Angels Weep" by Audionautix
Planets sounds from NASA JPL
Still featuring in the top fifteen EngTop fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
The miserly old Sir Reginald is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve and is forced to look at his life in the Past, Present and Future. And, in spite of everything he learns a valuable lesson.
Still featuring in the top fifteen EngTop fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Dec 11, 2021
Saturday Dec 11, 2021
Dame Amelia and her faithful Companion Miss Pymm thought they had retired from the secretive world of global tea espionage. But then one fateful day, the Dreaded Tea Council is found to be up to its dirty tricks again and Dame Amelia is dragged out of her comfortable life to face up to what could be the Final Showdown.
Still featuring in the top fifteen EngTop fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Dec 04, 2021
Saturday Dec 04, 2021
I’m not a ghost, she said. “I’m an artist.”
“Would I have seen any of your work?”
“You wouldn’t… couldn’t… understand it. Do you carry a knife with you?”
The mysterious Molly Ingestre tries to explain herself and her art. But cutting cute little squirrels into slices with a penknife is not going to help.
Still featuring in the top fifteen EngTop fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Nov 27, 2021
Saturday Nov 27, 2021
Who is the Princess? What is she doing in Bournemouth and why does she insist on wearing her golden crown on the beach? Another slightly off-centre story set on the Bournemouth West Cliff by master story-teller Peter John Cooper. (complete with home-made sound effects).
This story is inspired by a rather lovely painting by Clare Shervin. You can visit Clare's Etsy shop Clare De Lune here:
Unique original art and design work by ClareDeLuneArt on Etsy
Still featuring in the top fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Nov 20, 2021
Saturday Nov 20, 2021
Free will? You think? Haven't you ever wondered whether something, or somebody, is out there in control. You might be surprised that one man's invention could have such an effect. Revisiting this episode because it wasn't uploaded to You Tube and, in any case, you missed it first time around.
Still featuring in the top fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
She pushes through the throng. Their voices rise in volume. “People.” She says quietening them with a gesture , ”Friends. Yes, friends. Yes, you are all my friends. Thank you for answering my call.”
She has assembled everyone from the West Cliff together for a commission that will make them known the world over. And whilst preparing for it, she learns something about herself and the world she lives in.
The last of this series of Tales From the Cliff Edge. Number 50. Thank you for joining me on this journey. An opportunity to go back and listen to the stories you have missed.
Thanks to all those who have joined the journey by reading and performing: Jane McKell, Eltjo deVries, Trisha Lewis, Holly Cooper, Elinor Cooper. Thanks also to the Freesound Project with whom I share field recordings.
Still featuring in the top fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Nov 06, 2021
Saturday Nov 06, 2021
You may have always wanted a dolphin for a pet. They're always smiling aren't they. But you may have forgotten when there was a craze for keeping dolphins and things didn't turn out as expected. We saw it all from up here on the West Cliff.
Still featuring in the top fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Oct 30, 2021
Saturday Oct 30, 2021
It was the most gruesome, despicable, inexplicable, cold blooded crime ever to confront any police officer in the course of their duties. And the fact that it happened in sleepy, supposedly family friendly Bournemouth only serves to underline the grimness of the case with blood.
A gruesome story specially written for Halloween by Peter John Cooper #Bournemouth #WestCliff #Halloween
Still featuring in the top fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot
Saturday Oct 23, 2021
Saturday Oct 23, 2021
It’s when luck suddenly turns against you that it becomes dangerous. It’s like a big dog that lollops amiably at your heels until, one day, it goes mad and tries to tear your throat out. It’s like the sea. A storm that blows up out of nowhere. Another chilling story from #PeterJohnCooper #Bournemouth #WestCliff #StoryTelling
Still featuring in the top fifteen English language story sites on Feedspot.Feedspot