Mental Wellbeing Episodes

The temperature is dropping and it looks like a frosty night is ahead of us. So, why not join us in the Erica’s cosy cabin as we contemplate the coming of spring, the therapeutic and philosophical aspects of planting seeds, and joy of sunshine on your shoulders. Journal entry: 19th March, Thursday …

In tonight’s episode, with the help of a few of our listeners, I continue to reflect on life aboard the Erica and how it might have changed our lives as well as go on a hunt for the elusive 'Seventh Word'. There is often a lot of talk about how canal-life is helpful for mental wellbeing. Is this re…

This year, the Bita kaulo munthos (the little dark month) has brought with it yet more rain. This time of year can be a hard time. Mid-winter; the time of lambing, Imbolc and the Cailleach. Strung halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox, Imbolc heralds the mid-point of what for many seem…

oin us tonight aboard the Erica’s warm and cosy cabin as storm Claudia rages outside. Let us experience together the intimate feeling of being snug and safe in a tiny home afloat on the storm lashed canals. Journal entry: 14th November, Friday “Sky of smudged greys, Chalky, sooty, dirty laundry wat…

It is a hot midsummer night of warm winds that makes the Erica creak at her moorings. Tonight, we find ourselves at a year’s turning point — caught between the stillness and the unsettling. Join us as we explore the solstice, the shifting seasons, the rhythm of carnival swings, and the restless nat…

It’s a bitingly cold, sleety night. There’s a warning of snow in the forecast for later. It’s a perfect night to sit together around a warm stove snug inside the Erica’s cabin, while the wild world rages outside. The kettle i...

Send us a text There seems to be an awful lot of change happening recently, often unasked and with far-reaching consequences. Knowing how to deal with it can be difficult and lead us to feeling unbalanced and overwhelmed. How...

Send us a text I am probably not the only one feeling a little disoriented and uncertain about what the upcoming year will hold. While it is great to have plans and dreams, these are not always possible and sometimes, I think...

Send us a text Did you know that ducks participate in ‘coordinated loafing’? But that might not be the only surprising/endearing thing about them. Tonight, we celebrate the joy ducks bring thanks to video posted by a stranger...

Welcome aboard the NB Erica on a wet winter’s night. It is a perfect night to snuggle down and listen to JM Synge’s turn of the 20th century accounts of his travels to the Aran Islands in a small currach on stormy seas. Journ...

You are invited to join us for a very special episode as we celebrate Christmas Eve onboard the Erica and remember the Christmas Eves of our childhood. Journal entry : 21st December, Thursday, Winter Solstice “The year’s tur...

Autumn is a good time for contemplation and a place by the fireside encourages reflection. Recently I have been revisiting the journals of Thomas Merton and, with the help of John Moriarty, I have found myself relearning some...

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the global events of the last couple of weeks. Following the battering of Storm Babet, this week’s episode offers a space for us to reflect on a world that can be often violent and far from p...

This has been rather an unexpected and eventful week. This is a special episode where we welcome a board a new fellow traveller (along the canals and through life). Journal entry : 30th June, Friday “Endless motorways. Endles...

Happy New Year! New Years can be exciting times, marking new beginnings, a clean page, awakening dormant dreams and ambitions. However, sometimes it is not always like that. This year, in particular, many face the new year wi...

There’s a warm welcome awaiting you under the heavy night skies of summer’s hinterlands. Tonight we meet a very special person with a lop-sided smile and who might be able to teach us to walk with elephants. Journal entry : 3...

The hold of early summer along the canal-side grows firmer each day. However, sometimes the changes and shifts in the season can affect us in surprising and sometimes disconcerting ways. This episode reflects on the birth of ...