Showing results by narrator "Sally Cook" in All Categories

Sandman tells the story of the origin of the Sandman, cultural sleeping habits around the world, sleeping in the Middle Ages, sleep remedies and potions, how humans fall asleep and where. and cultural customs and views regarding sleep as well as the plethora of things which keep us awake...

Up, Up and Away tells of the author's experience in making her own hot air balloons including accidentally setting a paddock and her husband to be alight, her escapades chasing such home made balloons across the suburban night skies and her experience of going up in a piloted hot air balloon...

Just A Broom looks at the humble sweeping device which has cleaned homes, hearths, temples, streets and bare earth for centuries. It has been used to celebrate unofficial and official weddings, to bless new homes or bring good luck but it has also been used in allegations of witchcraft with...

The Sea At Our Door is an autobiographical look at growing up almost as a child of the beach and sea between the ages of 10 and 14. The author swam, used a paddleboard with her brother, steered a raft with young siblings, rowed offshore and lay down fishing nets for families on the beach to haul...

House of String takes an autobiographical look at childhood before television, Internet and Smart phones. It describes inventive games such as billycart escapades, creating a backyard circus and covering bedrooms in a network of elasticised string. It embraces the sense of freedom where nobody...

A Sunburnt Tongue looks at the rare instances of people waking up post surgery and speaking entirely different languages to their native tongue. It looks at talking in unfamiliar accents following brain trauma and looks at exanples of talking in childhood in foreign, unexpected accents, It also...

Bad Luck Spiral looks at some phenomenally unlucky people in history, the origins of bad luck from antiquity, the association of certain animals with the devil, the meaning of bad luck in certain cultures, unlucky numbers and associations and the role of witchcraft for three hundred years in...

Floating tells the story of lying in a float tank in zero gravity with no sounds and nothing but darkness and the highly creative potential of this weightless, silky environment It looks at how and why the float tank was invented and some of its current uses including inspiration for actors...

Illiterate looks at the local and global issue of illiteracy in 2026. It looks at the difficulties and problem solving involved in being illiterate or having a low level of literacy. It looks at famous men and women throughout the centuries who have overcome illiteracy, becoming leaders in their...

The author has a bad bout of insomnia and tries all sorts of ways to overcome it through a varying list of remedies. She knows that kangaroos are grazing on dewy grass just over the road and that she has a blanket of brilliant stars above her house but these comforting images do nothing to take her into sleepy oblivion. In this humorous account she recalls her miserable journey.

Roadworks and train station overhauls are confusing this author who has driven into oncoming traffic, avoided a kangaroo crossing a new roadwork barrier, got lost and couldn't find her train station carpark and who believes her amygdala must be growing as she negotiates new roundabouts, traffic lights, new road hazards and witches' hats. Follow her journey.....

Two near death experiences in one lifetime both involving loud, unexpected bangs. The author survived both a car collision and a plane catching fire and recounts the events with dramatic sound effects and clear recall.

This story tells the frustrating but sometimes humorous journey of the author's interactions with the virtual world where she combats chat bots, racks her withering brain for passwords, almost has a hissyfit at the supermarket checkout, accidentally buys online goods she doesn't want and gets all scrambled regarding pins, passwords and cyber theft.

Two young lovers have a number of adventures together, much to the approval of those around them. They watch movies together, dance together, share beach and park catch ups, frolicking like no others. But one evening one of them becomes stuck under an old building where not even the fire brigade nor the emergency services can get them out. But as the last light fades there is a solution.

This story tells of a powerful older woman who has maintained her life through the war years and beyond via her love of reading and poetry. But 88-year-old Harriet is something of an enigma even to her daughters and granddaughter. Unusual events happen during this tale of love and loss even beyond Harriet's eventual death.

Melody's Radar tells the story of a downtrodden single mother who is sick of being pushed around and takes matters into her own hands. She tries to set a good example for her five-year-old daughter Amelia but the trouble is that Melody doesn't know when to stop. Her intensity becomes scary for anyone who is on her radar but her lack of personal understanding means she doesn't fully grasp the affect she is having, sometimes causing menacing ripples.

This story tells of a twenty-year-old girl who is house-sitting for six months in a seemingly calm and pleasant neighborhood where nothing peculiar seems to happen. That is, until Mandy hears screaming in the night, hears wailing and moaning during a heavy thunderstorm, feels an earth tremor beneath her feet and feels a man breathing over her in the night. And she has no one to confide in. She may be hypersensitive but does she catastrophize events or are they really happening and not very far below the surface?

Rhythm of Fire tells the story of 11-year-old twin boys who inadvertently kill an old woman. She dies of smoke inhalation in her rural shop crammed with Christmas decorations, A complex story unfolds leading to her identity and some unexpected developments following her tragic death.

Cafe Noir tells the story of an intimate online friendship between two artistic women who never meet but sustain each other emotionally during the rigors of COVID lockdowns. They share so many highs, lows and confidences from one personal bubble to another. It seems the perfect sustainable friendship until something goes wrong, with only one of the women truly understanding what is happening.

Wearing a Cape tells of a job working with clients from 50 different nationalities. Going to court with them, representing them at hearings, being with a murderer, and held captive by two psychotic clients - one of whom burnt an old people's home down. It is about working with the repressed, the under represented, the unfortunate and the fortunate. It portrays the stamina to work where there are courtroom threats, gifts of kindness, conflict, and resolution.