Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

“Eustache was bracing himself for a long and lonely Christmas”It’s December so we’re going the full festive from now until Christmas! This week, two classic Dave & Morley stories of seasonal shenanigans, plus a story exchange about a very special Christmas Eve. 

“Christmas in Dave’s record store is just plain fun”On today’s episode, Jess talks about the challenges of trying to create Christmas magic when you’re not necessarily feeling it yourself. That’s a bit of the back story behind Stuart’s writing of “Dave Plays Santa” - we’ll play that story for you. And we’ve got another back story connected to “Dave Plays Santa”, which links to our second story this week.

“Dave stared at the duck in disbelief. The duck stared back at him.”This week, we’re back talking about birds again, with two of Stuart McLean's hilarious stories about Dave and… poultry. Yes, this week’s theme is quite specific! Our first story is one you may not have heard before: Dave decides to try his hand at small-scale poultry farming…

“Christmas Day is going to be a little strained in Dave’s neighbourhood this year.”Today on the pod we’re all about Vinyl Cafe: The Musical! To celebrate its premiere, Jess shares the story of how the musical came into being and the excitement of seeing it come to life. Plus, you can hear one of the stories that inspired the musical in the first place.Vinyl Cafe: The Musical has been held over for an additional week! It runs until December 7th. For tickets see: https://citadeltheatre.com/shows/vinyl-cafe-the-musical/

“There’s something about the ghosts who live in the house where you live.”This week something special for Remembrance Day: an essay Stuart McLean wrote about George Lawrence Price, a Canadian soldier killed in the very last moments of the first world war. And we have two Vinyl Cafe stories for you: a wartime story exchange, and a Dave and Morley story where they learn about the life of someone who lived in their house many years before.

“Let me state the case for Hallowe’en”Today’s the day - Happy Hallowe’en! We’ve got a wonderful story exchange about an immigrant’s first experience of Trick or Treating. And we'll also play Stuart McLean's story about Sam and Stephanie's Halloween; it's a story about this magical evening, but it's also about growing up and finding independence.

“The baker, the chef, the Indian maestro.”Today on the podcast it’s a smorgasbord from Stuart McLean. About food, about journeys and more in between! We’ve got a postcard from Canada, a moving listener story, and one of our favourite Dave and Morley stories.

“There was a time when the Gander airport was the biggest airport in the world”On this week’s episode, we have three of Stuart’s opening monologues – essays about some of the places and spaces that captivated him on his travels across the country. And Jess has a backstory about the perils of mispronunciations!