Gretel le Maître Ponders Beauty, with Bede & other guests

Gretel le Maître Ponders Beauty, with Bede & other guests

Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture. Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free, and you’re invited to join in. It’s super unpolished and Gretel would be grateful for you to forgive her for that. 🤓 Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth. Let’s treasure up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Please follow me on X @gretellemaitre. 🌳 Or email me: gretellem@yahoo.com Guests on this show include Tom Holland, Philip Mould, Bijan Omrani and Enzo Cicenti. “The podcast combines historical reflections and extracts from literature with her own musings on architecture, literature, and the natural world. Gretel approaches these deep topics with warmth and humor, aiming to provide listeners a comforting space to explore complex emotions. If you’re interested, you can listen to her podcast on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, where she shares her reflections in episodes filled with historical and literary insights. Hosted by Gretel Le Maitre, this unique podcast blends personal storytelling with historical insights from figures like the Venerable Bede, offering listeners an inspiring journey of healing and hope. With themes of grief, transformation, and spirituality, the podcast has earned praise for its calming tone, authenticity, and ability to connect on a deeply human level. As one listener shared, it feels like sitting down with a trusted friend who understands. Perfect for audiences seeking introspection, comfort, or simply a quiet moment of reflection, Gretel le Maître Ponders is available now on all major platforms. In the global top 10% of podcasts according to Listen Notes

Episodes

February 17, 2026 66 mins

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Welcome dear friends, supporters, newcomers and  the curious.  Welcome to a world where all we want to do is explore all things curious and/or beautiful.  There is so much out there to absorb ourselves in, so let’s do it. Leaping on each item from one to t’other like shiny wet stepping stones across a sparkling stream.  

Thank you for your support and kindness; I wish you well from the bottom of my heart and hope so much ...

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free...

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free...

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free...

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free...

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A day trying to help my teenage daughter. Such is life of a Mummy. 😔

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigat...

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Oh dear, this episode has taken me a long time to sort out.  The magic of the holy source of the river cast its spells over the rest of the episode.  I think it is just about publishable, however it ends with an unfulfilled promise.  I’ll leave that for you to discover.


Love and best wishes and, as ever, for your forbearance.  🙋‍♀️🥴😊

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-f...

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Dear friends, supporters and newcomers.  I feel tender-hearted towards the world tonight as I read poetry by John Clare which, so often, takes us into the woodland, where we see leaves and trees up close, though we are still in our beds.  Clare’s words are clear, tender and almost merry and I often feel myself trip-tripping along to the beat of some unknown yet deeply familiar song.  My childhood days return and the s...

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*Photograph taken from Swan Auction Galleries

Welcome to today’s spirited and passionate episode.  Walk with me in the old land of the Danes where mounds of land can appear from the swamps, where monsters in the mere are dreaded, and where the joys of life come from the telling and retelling of marvellous feats of honour and glory.  Where glimpses of the past - from an understanding of how a loved King might be buried,...

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Hello and thank you so much for joining me.  I haven’t had a chance to listen to it through so I hope it’s ok and I haven’t accidentally recorded anything I shouldn’t have or left any long gaps.  Gretel sneezes 🤧 or suchlike 🥴.  Bless you all for joining me on my quest to find the beautiful and interesting things in life to read, notice and feast our senses on.  I read a poem today by John Clare, where he is bemused...

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Hello and a happy Monday 2nd February .

There is no Barnaby Rudge this evening as it’s a Monday, but instead this is an episode full of a variety of readings and the usual Gretel chatter that I hope you might like, or at least put up with.  

See you tomorrow for our progress with Dickens.  Thank you so much for joining me! 😄

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Hello and thank you so much for joining me this rainy Sunday. It’s February 1st, so we say farewell to January and celebrate the life of the Irish Saint, Brigid.  This episode is dedicated to every soul living in Minneapolis.  xxx

We continue with Barnaby Rudge and have still barely hinted at the key events that are to take place in this marvellous book by Charles Dickens.  I’m thinking that we may want to read Tess of...

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-f...

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After returning home from Bury St Edmunds I was determined to deliver an episode on Barnaby Rudge.  I am sorry it is late and also rather lengthy.  


Lots of love and huge gratitude for your support and companionship.  

Gretel x

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literatur...

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Hello:   A second episode which will include two episodes of Barnaby Rudge, will be published later.


Best wishes 🤗🌳🫖

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture....

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-f...

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Send us a text

Royalty Free

Support the show

Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-f...

Mark as Played

Send us a text

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Support the show

Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time; the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-f...

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NB this is a Dorset, not a Somerset Church

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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time. She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.


Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a ...

Mark as Played

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