Episode 28 – After Dark in the Playing Fields

In this episode, talking owls. Yes, you heard me correctly. Talking owls.

Has Monty completely lost his marbles? Mike and Will ask just that in this episode on ‘After Dark in the Playing Fields‘ by M.R. James.

Readings by kind permission of grand panjandrum and actor Robert Lloyd Parry!

The full reading of this story and many others can be found on Robert’s double-CD ‘Curious Creatures: The Shorter Horror of M.R. James‘ which is available to buy from nunkie.co.uk and is worth every penny.

Show notes:

• Story notes by Rosemary Pardoe (Ghosts & Scholars)
  The ever-reliable Rosemary Pardoe has produced a very useful set of notes on this story.
• Eton College, Windsor (various)
  The action in this story takes places in the playing fields of Eton College, Windsor, where M.R. James was provost when he wrote this story. The story features various locations in close proximity to each other .Monty meets the owl “not far from Sheep’s Bridge“, the owl is unceremoniously dumped in Fellow’s Pond before Monty eventually helps him climb into Bad Calx Tree.
• Eton Wall Game (etoncollege.com)
  In this episdoe Mike and Will mention the Eton Wall Game, one of the odd traditions unique to Eton College.
• A Midsummer Nights Dream (wikipedia)
  The mischievous sprites and fairies in this story are inspired by those in A Midsummer Nights Dream. The owl grumpily quotes “come not near out fairy Queen” from Act 2 Scene 2.
• The Five Jars by M.R. James (thin-ghost.org)
  This is not the only James story to feature talking animals, sprites and goblins. His novel for children ‘The Five Jars‘ is cut from very much the same cloth as this story.
• Daylight Saving Time (wikipedia)
  In this story and in ‘A Neighbours Landmark’ James refers to daylight saving time, a relatively new concept in M.R. James’s lifetime.
• Pathe News footage of Eton (BritishPathe.com)
  There is some fascinating early video footage of Eton College at the time James was provost on the British Pathe website, including videos of the Eton Wall Game, Eton Steeplechase and even possibly some footage of Monty himself!