Our Thoughts On “Reading Between The Lines”


reading between the lines

The first season of “Reading Between The Lines”, our story podcast in association with the Oddfellows, has now come to an end.

Our episodes have been downloaded nearly 5000 times to date, and we couldn’t be more pleased! We hope that more and more of our readers discover these little audio gems. And subscribe for the upcoming season two!

Our thoughts

From podcast experts to archivists, fiction aficionados to features writers, we’ve had a lot of contributors this season.

We’re asking them all for their thoughts on how our series is going so far. Here are some of their responses . . .

Photograph by Marion McGivern.

David Powell (second from right, above)

David is Archive Manager at DC Thomson, and is responsible for some of the fascinating insights into the history of our magazine.

“I’ve really enjoyed participating in these podcasts and hope that our merriment and japery has come across to the readers as new life is breathed into these old but not forgotten stories.

“We’ve not so much blown the dust off them (there is no dust in our archives, and the filth is of a different nature), more revisited old friends in order to share them with a new audience.

“Thankfully (hopefully), the blooper reel will never be published!

“Whether the story is nonsense, sweet, sentimental or just full of holes there is always something worthwhile within it, even if its a lesson on how not to write content for the modern ‘Friend’ audience.

“I loved listening to the MacPeever stories. But I think my favourite to be part of was the anonymously written “A Night Among Robbers”, mainly because the story was so ridiculous, and we could find few redeeming features within it – it was complete fluff!

I’m hoping Iain will invite me back for more 🙂

Can we discuss the fee now?

reading between the lines

Photograph courtesy of Mairi Hughes.

Mairi from the “Friend” Features team

“The podcast was great fun.

“It was fascinating to take a look at the stories published in the ‘Friend’ in the past, which were definitely very different to what we see today!

“Listening to the podcast, I was amazed to hear that we sounded as if we were all in the same room, despite having recorded ourselves separately from home.”

reading between the lines

Image by Iain McDonald.

“Reading Between The Lines” episodes

Here’s a list of all our season one episodes. Just click the titles to open the episodes automatically in a podcast app you have installed on your computer, phone or tablet.

Episode 1: “A Night Among Robbers: An American Adventure” (1871), by anon.

Narrated by Alex, with a panel of Alex, IainMairi and David.

Episode 2: “The MacPeevers’ Christmas Cards” (1906), by A.P. Macdonald.

Narrated by Judey, with a panel of Iain, Judey, Marion and Barry.

Episode 3: “The Story Of A Masterpiece: An Artist’s Romance” (1905), by Agnes Grozier Herbertson.

Narrated by Alex, with a panel of Iain, Alex, Mairi and David.

Episode 4: “The MacPeever Wrangles: The Secrets Of Freemasonry” (1906), by A.P. Macdonald.

Narrated by Judey, with a panel of Iain, Judey, Abbie and Barry.

Episode 5: “Love And Pride” (1927), by Rachel Monroe.

Narrated by Judey, with a panel of Iain, Judey, Abbie and Barry.

Episode 6: “The MacPeever Wrangles: The Burglar” (1906), by A.P. Macdonald.

Narrated by Judey, with a panel of Iain, Judey, Angela and Barry.

Episode 7: “The Girl Engine Driver: A Tale Of A Race With A Forest Fire” (1916), by W.D. Morris

Narrated by Marion, with a panel of Iain, Marion, Tracey and Barry.

Episode 8: “Caroline Wickham” (1910), by Herbert Jamieson

Narrated by Marion, with a panel of Iain, Marion, Tracey and Barry.

Episode 9: “The Black Sheep Of The Family: A Tale Of A Fancy Dress Ball” (1911), by Evelyn Hope

Narrated by Marion, with a panel of Iain, Marion, Tracey and Barry.

Episode 10: “Stella And The Spy: The Romance Of A Spring Holiday” (1917), by Margaret Douglas

Narrated by Judey, with a panel of Iain, Judey, Marion and David.

Episode 11: “A Marked Man” (1911), by Paul Herring

Narrated by Judey, with a panel of Iain, Judey, Marion and David.

Episode 12: “My Connemara Ghost” (1910), by J.E.M.

Narrated by Lucy, with a panel of Iain, Lucy, Angela and Barry.


For more on “Reading Between The Lines”, click the tag below.

Iain McDonald

Iain is Digital Content Editor at the "Friend", making him responsible for managing flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine's website and social media channels.