Tall And True Short Reads

In 2019, approaching the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, I found a timely book in a secondhand bookshop: The Berlin Wall, 13 August 1961 – 9 November 1989 by Frederick Taylor. The book inspired me to write about my two contrasting visits to Berlin as a backpacker in 1987 and 1995.Two Visits to the Berlin Wall is a travel memoir from the Tall And True writers' website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.Read the piece on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/nonfiction/travel/two-visits-to-the-berlin-wallPodcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.comSupport the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-readsBuy Robert's short story collections online:• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairheadPodcast Theme and Sound EffectsRoyalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:• Shop Bell:  https://freesound.org/people/775noise/sounds/494565/• Gunfire: https://freesound.org/people/C-V/sounds/523404/• Ping Sound: https://freesound.org/people/edsward/sounds/341871/• Plane: https://freesound.org/people/bigpickle51/sounds/262753/• Clock Ticking: https://freesound.org/people/Julien%20Matthey/sounds/457651/• Van Horn: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/479995/• City Ambience (Cologne): https://freesound.org/people/Pfannkuchn/sounds/384353/• Siren: https://freesound.org/people/lluiset7/sounds/367442/ Production NotesTall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Handcuffed in the police car, I wished the lamp hadn't been magical. "That, sir, is a genuine antique," the stallholder had asserted when I'd stopped and inspected it at the secondhand market. The oil lamp looked like a prop from Disney's Aladdin. And I thought it would polish up and earn me a tidy profit.The Magical Lamp is a short story from the Tall And True writers' website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/the-magical-lampPodcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.comSupport the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-readsBuy Robert's short story collections online:• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairheadPodcast Theme and Sound EffectsRoyalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:• Police Siren: https://freesound.org/people/conleec/sounds/159744/• Secondhand Market: https://freesound.org/people/e0fd96/sounds/659634/• Cash Register Ka-Ching: https://freesound.org/people/Zott820/sounds/209578/Production NotesTall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Henry Rollins said, "A great way to learn about your country is to leave it." And I learned a lot about Australia while living overseas from 1987 to 1996. Books like Alice Nannup's When The Pelican Laughed (published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press in 1992) helped my education. And from her memoir, I learned about the Stolen Generation and a connection with my Nan.Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are warned this podcast episode contains the names and words of people who have passed away.Alice Nannup and my Nan is a memoir post from the Tall And True writers' website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/alice-nannup-and-my-nanWhen The Pelican Laughed on Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/20347900?selectedversion=nbd8151722Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.comSupport the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-readsBuy Robert's short story collections online:• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairheadPodcast Theme and Sound EffectsRoyalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:• Waves: https://freesound.org/people/floating%20tree/sounds/253607/• Clock Ticking: https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/522119/Production NotesTall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Eighty is the new fifty, or so I'm told. But my back wasn't this dodgy when I was fifty, and my knees lasted longer than a circuit of the park with the dog before seizing up. And I wasn't caught short so often that I needed to memorise the location of the nearest public toilet for emergency pit stops!The New Fifty is a short story from the Tall And True writers' website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/the-new-fiftyRobert's dog posts on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyDogPostsRobert's dog posts on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mydogposts/Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.comSupport the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-readsBuy Robert's short story collections online:• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairheadPodcast Theme and Sound EffectsRoyalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:• Dog wagging/thumping tail: https://freesound.org/people/tallandtrue/sounds/657779/• Dog panting: https://freesound.org/people/AGFX/sounds/221497/• Whistle: https://freesound.org/people/strongbot/sounds/568995/• Kids laughing: https://freesound.org/people/kikorurelas/sounds/642516/• Kettle boiling: https://freesound.org/people/cupido-1/sounds/433538/Production NotesTall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.Acast Podcast Supporter Page

I'm taking a short break from writing and podcasting over the Xmas/New Year holiday period. But as a special treat for podcast listeners, I've put together a Kris Kringle collection featuring three "festive" episodes from the Tall And True Short Reads archive: The Gift, The Special Tree and The Spirit of Xmas.The Kris Kringle stories first appeared on the Tall And True writers' website and were written and narrated by Robert Fairhead:• The Gift: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/short-stories/the-gift.• The Special Tree: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/short-stories/the-special-tree• The Spirit of Xmas: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/the-spirit-of-xmasPodcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.comSupport the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-readsBuy Robert's short story collections online:• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairheadPodcast Theme and Sound EffectsRoyalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:• Santa's sleigh bells: https://freesound.org/people/BrianJamesLong/sounds/330415/• Male laughter: https://freesound.org/people/Eneasz/sounds/119459/• Female laughter: https://freesound.org/people/sagetyrtle/sounds/33658/• Party background: https://freesound.org/people/dbspin/sounds/396684/• Footsteps: https://freesound.org/people/Anthousai/sounds/398782/• Champagne cork: https://freesound.org/people/ultradust/sounds/166923/• Clock ticking-alarm: https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/522119/• Door closing: https://freesound.org/people/sgcardinal/sounds/395753/• Bird song: https://freesound.org/people/ken788/sounds/386732/• Computer keyboard: https://freesound.org/people/D4XX/sounds/567266/• Slammed door: https://freesound.org/people/TiesWijnen/sounds/455540/• Chainsaw: https://freesound.org/people/piwilliwillski/sounds/548411/Production NotesTall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.Acast Podcast Supporter Page

The writer John Banville observed, "Memory is imagination, and imagination is memory. I don't think we remember the past, we imagine it." I have vivid memories of my early childhood (I believe they're memories, not imagination), which is why the #5YearOldSelfie hashtag challenge on social media caught my eye.Memories and Imagination is a memoir piece from the Tall And True writers' website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.Read the piece: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/nonfiction/biography-memoir/memories-and-imaginationLink to my #5YearOldSelfie tweet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tallandtrue/status/1159625729455222784Young Minds UK: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/John Banville: http://john-banville.com/Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.comSupport the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-readsBuy Robert's short story collections online:• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairheadPodcast Theme and Sound EffectsRoyalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:• Slow Clock Ticking: https://freesound.org/people/Julien%20Matthey/sounds/457651/Production NotesTall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.Acast Podcast Supporter Page