Insomnia Adventure in Sleep

So here it is, the last sleep ... well actually not ... it's all the other 7,645 sleeps. Well a nod to them at least. Thanks so much for listening and I hope some of these reflections might have helped you contemplate the beauty and adventure of sleep. What's the best sleep you've ever had?

The cat (who I don't get on with) seems to have no trouble sleeping. I’m jealous.

Sleeping in the library, when you know you can't.

I've never seen a ghost - except maybe once. This is a haunted sleep deep in rural Poland.

Insomnia is not always all bad. This one is about the intoxicating creativity of insomnia. Well sort of.

The first sleep after a daughter is born.

I visited the Arctic to find out about the Norwegian teachers' protest in 1942. It was Midwinter and the snowy days are haunted by darkness and sleep. (If you want to find out more about the protest and the brave action of these teachers, here's a link https://theteachersprotest.com .)

Cycling north through Europe and Scandinavia the days get so long that the nights disappear. Arriving in the Arctic for midsummer's eve I watch the sun never set and the dawn never break.

An uneasy campsite rest the night before an anti-nuclear protest.

Not enough time for sleeping. Too much work to do. Work through the night. That’ll sort it.

Cooking with Nan and being guided to sleep by the sweet taste of fresh doughnuts.

Sleeping on a hillfort under a vast sky beside a glowing fire.

It can be interesting waking up after a peaceful sleep during which major heart surgery has gone unnoticed. This week's podcast is about the unrequited love of intensive care.

One day as a drama teacher I discovered a way to teach unruly twelve year olds to sleep. It turned out to be a good way to get to sleep and it works for me, sometimes, maybe it'll work for you, sometimes.

Of course, not all sleeps are pleasant or even restful. In this episode there is a derelict cottage, a lonely lane and too much history for easy sleep.

It's the end of a long winter. I walk out of school, down the field and across the sea to find sleep by a duckpond in France.

What’s the best sleep you’ve ever had? This is mine. Arriving in Oslo, covered in snow, at the end of a long journey to find a warm wood stove and a view over a moonlit city. 

How often have you made the decision to live the whole night through? Sleep Wanderer walks over the downs and onto the levels from dusk to dawn in defiance of sleep.

Curled up on the deck of the ferry to Hamburg, looking up at the night sky, sleeping to the sound of the sea and guided by a Captain with a strong cup of coffee.

Sleeping across the snowy mountains to the gentle rocking of the railway carriage on the night train from Oslo to Bergen.