Big Skies and Small Ponds...with Drew Baxter

Episódios

• The Sea 30.06.2026 15min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter Eight – The Sea Some places stay with us forever. For Drew, it's the sea. From childhood days on the Norfolk coast to standing beside the Pacific Ocean, from rivers and books to cruise ships and poetry, this chapter explores a lifelong fascination with water and the journeys it inspires. A reflective voyage through memory, wonder, belonging and the people we meet along the way. Because sometimes the places we return to aren't places at all. They're feelings.
• Grandad 23.06.2026 17min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter Seven – Grandad "My grandfather always thought I should be a vicar. I've often wondered why". In this chapter, Drew reflects on the life of Frederick Baxter: farmer, parish councillor, First World War survivor, whistler, snuff-taker and maker of lasting memories. A story about family, community, kindness and the mysteries that remain long after those we love are gone. Because sometimes the people who know us best see something in us long before we see it our...
• Paprika 16.06.2026 15min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter Six – Paprika Supermarkets are curious places. You go in for butter, yoghurt, or perhaps a missing jar of paprika... and somehow end up collecting stories instead. In this chapter, Drew reflects on chance encounters, familiar voices, old police memories, shoplifters, supermarket wisdom, and one unforgettable conversation beside the herbs and spices. A warm and gently humorous reminder that the people we love are never very far away — and that even the smallest liv...
• Chapter 5 - Pause 09.06.2026 19min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter Five – Pause We spend much of our lives labelling things. Objects. Places. Memories. People. In this chapter, Drew reflects on names, silence, kindness, loss, and the small but important space between seeing and speaking. From childhood nights and quiet streets to funeral chapels and everyday encounters, Pause explores what can happen when we slow down long enough to truly notice one another. Because sometimes the most important part of any conversation isn't the...
• Chapter 4 - Masks 02.06.2026 18min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter 4 - Masks There are moments in life when we realise that fitting in and belonging are not quite the same thing. In this chapter, Drew reflects on faith, anxiety, identity and the roles we play for the world around us. From a crowded Salvation Army gathering to a supermarket aisle lined with tins of soup, these are stories about barriers, masks, fences and gates — and the quiet search for places where we can simply be ourselves. Because perhaps the people who m...
• Between Chapters - Not The Hero 26.05.2026 8min

  Send us Fan Mail Between Chapters – Not The Hero This week, a shorter and more personal pause between chapters. Drew reflects on storytelling, memory, ego, kindness… and the strange reality that when you write about your own life, you can never fully step outside the frame. With warmth, self-deprecating humour, and honesty, this episode explores the difference between being the central figure in your own story… and believing yourself to be the hero of it. Not declarations.Not achievements. ...
• Chapter Three - The Blue Suit 19.05.2026 16min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter Three – The Blue Suit In this deeply personal chapter of Big Skies and Small Ponds, Drew Baxter reflects on the quiet emotional weight carried by those who stand at the front of a funeral service. Through the story of a highly visible funeral for a mother and daughter, Drew explores the unseen work of a celebrant; the preparation, the listening, the responsibility of telling someone’s story with care… and the strange reality that a crowded chapel and a quiet room ca...
• Chapter Two - That Voice 12.05.2026 18min

  Send us Fan Mail A small note before we settle in… this chapter touches briefly on sudden death and police experiences, and includes one or two moments of strong language where they belonged to the story. Big Skies and Small Ponds – Chapter Two - That Voice If words matter… then perhaps the way we speak them matters too. In this chapter, Drew reflects on voices — the ones we hear, remember, trust… and sometimes carry with us for years afterwards. From standing beneath Lincoln’s Stonebow a...
• Chapter One - The Stories We Tell 05.05.2026 20min

  Send us Fan Mail Chapter One In this opening chapter, Drew reflects on the stories we tell… and the way they shape how we remember. From childhood memories of being read to and listening in wonder… to the fragments of lives shared in his work as a celebrant, this is a gentle exploration of storytelling in all its forms. Because sometimes… it isn’t the story itself that stays with us… …it’s the telling.
• Big Skies and Small Ponds - an introduction & welcome. 15.04.2026 2min

  Send us Fan Mail A short introduction to the world of Big Skies and Small Ponds - a place for stories, memories and quiet reflections...