Homebrew: Episode 2

Welcome to Time for Cakes and Ale’s ‘Homebrew’, our new podcast covering life under lockdown.

In this episode we chat with Andrew James from Square Enix about what he’s playing right now, what games people should be checking out, and how the lockdown is affecting the video games industry.


Direct download: Homebrew 2: Andrew James on Video Games

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Homebrew: Episode 1

Welcome to Time for Cakes and Ale’s ‘Homebrew’, our new podcast covering life under lockdown.

In this introductory episode we talk about what this new series will feature: conversations with folk from a wide range of industries who are interested in sharing their hobbies and interests, talking about how their work and lives are changing, and recommending new titles for people to explore from the worlds of publishing, gaming, comics, film and TV. Our goal is to provide a feeling of what people are getting up to during this strange time, and hopefully pique your interest if you are looking for something new to engage in.


Direct download: Homebrew 1: Introducing Homebrew!

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Time for Cherry Pie and Coffee – The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself

Welcome to Time for Cherry Pie and Coffee, a podcast all about Twin Peaks.

We have returned to the water and the well of Lynch/Frost’s surreal vision to discuss some of the themes and ideas that have resonated with us in the months since The Return hit our screens. Each episode will use the given title of each ‘part’ of season 3 as a jumping-off point, and this time, we’re talking The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself.

We’ll be discussing the nature of temporal, spatial and astral perspectives that influence the views of not only the characters in Twin Peaks, but our understanding as the viewer. Are we really sure of what we are seeing around us? We look up and see the stars turn, but is it in fact the world we are in that is spinning?


Direct download: Time for Cherry Pie and Coffee: The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself

To follow our podcast, there are several places to find The Tally Ho. Episodes will be available through our main stream – called Time for Cakes and Ale – from all the usual places including iTunes, Pippa, Stitcher, TuneIn, Android, or directly via our RSS feed . Updates will be posted on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Of course, our episodes will also be available for direct download on this website.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Be seeing you… in the trees.

Time for Cherry Pie and Coffee episodes will run concurrently with our regular Time for Cakes and Ale ones and are available via our main podcast feed.

Cakes & Ale Episode 31: Book Club – Origamy by Rachel Armstrong

Welcome to the the Cakes & Ale Book Club! Every month we will be bringing you a mix of discussions and interviews about recent genre fiction we’ve been reading. This month, we cover Origamy by Rachel Armstrong, published by NewCon Press.

Origamy is the story of Mobius, an extra-dimensional being who is part of a ‘circus troupe’ of weavers able to explore and manipulate the fabric of space-time.

This original and surreal science fiction tale follows Mobius’ attempt to learn the mysterious art of origamy and face down the dark menace which has appeared to threaten the very threads of the universe.

Origamy fuses mythic modes of storytelling with cutting-edge scientific concepts. Beautifully written and brimming with ideas, this book is unlike any other we have read in a long time.


Direct download: Episode 31 Book Club: Origamy by Rachel Armstrong

We give you our thoughts on the novel and bring you an interview with Rachel, who tells us about her academic research as Professor of Experimental Architecture at Newcastle University and how her multi-disciplinary approach imbues both her science and her science fiction. You can find out more about her research work on her faculty website and follow her on Twitter. You can also watch some of her fascinating Ted Talks below:


Stay tuned to our Twitter feed to find out what our next book club choice will be!

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Cakes & Ale Episode 30: Avengers: Endgame

HERE BE SPOILERS!

We’re well and truly in the endgame now, as the Infinity Saga draws to a close with an epic final chapter, Avengers: Endgame.

In this bumper episode we race through the time-twisting plot, picking out highlights from the movie and discussing whether Endgame is a satisfying conclusion to the story. With so many heroes saying goodbye to the MCU we also talk about the emotional journeys that the OG6 have been on and examine the tragic and triumphant character arcs – and where the remaining Avengers might go from here.


Direct download: Episode 30: Avengers: Endgame

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the movie! What storylines would you like to see explored in Phase 4? Are there characters you’d love to see introduced?

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Cakes & Ale Episode 29: Interviews from Eastercon 2019

We’ve just returned from Ytterbium, a.k.a Eastercon 70, the annual UK science fiction convention. During the convention we had the great pleasure of chatting to a wonderful range of con-goers to create a snapshot of the kind of conversations you’d hear down at the bar, from writers to publishers, fans, reviewers, academics and con-runners. We wanted to catch the atmosphere of a con and we certainly captured the background sounds of one! We had tremendous fun putting this episode together and we hope to bring you another one of these bumper convention episodes from Worldcon 2019 in Dublin. Enjoy the episode!


Direct download: Episode 29: Interviews at Eastercon 2019

Below is a list of our guests with links for where to find out more about them and their work.

Juliet Kemp: Twitter / Website

Ali Baker: Twitter / Website

Dave L Clements: Twitter / Website

Emma Newman: Twitter / Website

Daniel Bensen: Twitter / Website

F. D. Lee: Twitter / Website

Claire Rousseau: Twitter / Radio Free Fandom Podcast / YouTube 

Noel Chidwick (Shoreline of Infinity): Twitter / Website

Emil Minchev: Author page

E.M. Faulds: Twitter / Speculative Spaces podcast / Website

Ruth E. J. Booth: Twitter / Website

Ian Whates (NewCon Press): Twitter / Website

A previous episode that may be of interest is our 2017 Small Press Day special – featuring Shoreline of Infinity, Mayamada and NewCon Press – which you can listen to here.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

The Tally Ho talks The Prisoner ‘Shattered Visage’ with Dean Motter

Welcome to The Tally Ho, a podcast about the classic TV series The Prisoner.

Following on from our recent episode about the re-release of The Prisoner: Shattered Visage, we had the great pleasure of interviewing the writer and artist behind the book, legendary comics creator Dean Motter.

Dean Motter has worked as an illustrator, designer, editor, art director and writer for over 40 years. His hugely influential original comics series Mister X began in 1983 and combined hard-boiled noir storytelling with the aesthetics of early 20th century futurism, by way of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and the Bauhaus movement.

Dean continued to develop this retro-future-noir style in the highly acclaimed Terminal City and Electropolis, before returning to Mister X with a brand new series from Dark Horse.

Shattered Visage was originally published by DC as a 4 issue miniseries in 1988-1989 (twenty years after the original TV show airing, and set contemporaneously), the series was written by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith, and drawn by Dean Motter, with colour art by David Hornung and Richmond Lewis.

Dean talked to us about how he put together the project and the influences on Shattered Visage as well as his other major works. A huge thanks to Dean for joining us to discuss Shattered Visage, The Prisoner and his career.


Direct download: The Tally Ho: The Prisoner – Shattered Visage w/ Dean Motter

Shattered Visage is available from all good comic book shops and through numerous online comics retailers, including Titan Comics.

Titan Comics have also recently released an all-new miniseries based on The Prisoner, and released a deluxe collection of Jack Kirby’s and Gil Kane’s earlier adaptation of the concept in  The Prisoner: Original Art Edition. Check out our podcast coverage of these at the links below:

The Tally Ho talks Titan’s ‘The Prisoner’ comic with David Leach and Peter Milligan, plus Q&A with Colin Lorimer

The Tally Ho talks Titan’s ‘The Prisoner: Original Art Edition’ with David Leach

The Prisoner ‘Shattered Visage’ with David Leach

To follow our podcast, there are several places to find The Tally Ho. Episodes will be available through our main stream – called Time for Cakes and Ale – from all the usual places including iTunes, Pippa, Stitcher, TuneIn, Android, or directly via our RSS feed . Updates will be posted on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Of course, our episodes will also be available for direct download on this website.

You can find all of our 2018/2019 Tally Ho episodes, beginning with Arrival, right here! The page is updated with each new edition of the podcast. Our 2017 Tally Ho episodes on the 50th Anniversary of the UK airing can be found here!

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Be seeing you!

The Tally Ho episodes will run concurrently with our regular Time for Cakes and Ale ones and are available via our main podcast feed.

Cakes & Ale Episode 28: Book Club – Paris Adrift by E. J. Swift

Welcome to the the Cakes & Ale Book Club! Every month we will be bringing you a mix of discussions and interviews about recent genre fiction we’ve been reading. This month, we cover Paris Adrift by E. J. Swift, published by Solaris Books.

Paris Adrift is the story of Hallie, a student who runs away from her life in England to seek escape and adventure in Paris. Taking a job on the night shift at Millie’s, a rowdy bar staffed by misfits and drifters, she begins to find a new family. But there is something strange in the keg room: a presence that draws Hallie in, an anomaly in time, waiting to send her spinning into the Paris of the past, and of the future. And as Hallie comes to terms with this new reality, other forces are in play around her – seeking to influence the fate of the whole world.


Direct download: Episode 28 Book Club: Paris Adrift by E.J.Swift

We give you our thoughts on the novel and bring you an interview with E.J. Swift who tells us about writing Paris Adrift and her upcoming projects. E.J. Swift is the author of many novels and short stories including the Osiris Trilogy. You can find out more about her work on her website and follow her on Twitter.

Stay tuned to the end to hear what our next book club choice will be!

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

The Tally Ho talks The Prisoner ‘Shattered Visage’ with David Leach

Welcome to The Tally Ho, a podcast about the classic TV series The Prisoner.

In this episode we look at the re-release of the collected edition of Dean Motter’s and Mark Askwith’s The Prisoner: Shattered Visage, a comic book sequel to the TV show, from Titan Comics. We chat to Titan’s senior editor David Leach about this new edition and it’s extras, with some interesting insights into how the project came together.

Originally published by DC as a 4 issue miniseries in 1988-1989 (twenty years after the original TV show airing, and set contemporaneously), the series was written by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith, and drawn by Dean Motter. This new collection features the original comic, an enlightening new foreward by Abigail McKern (daughter of the late Leo McKern, whose Number 2 returns in the comic), an afterward by Dean Motter (Terminal City, Mister X), a covers gallery, a selection of original artwork and character designs, and the original cover art of the 1990 graphic novel.

Shattered Visage has been beautifuly presented here (it is worth it to see Motter’s artwork so richly printed) and the comic is an intriguing entry into the world of The Prisoner. For all the remakes and reimaginings that have come since, Shattered Visage is the only one to directly pick up the continuity of the orginal show and ask what happened to Number 6 (Patrick McGoohan) after the events of the Fall Out. A brave curiosity perhaps, but also one filled with easter eggs and a genuine admiration for the original material, capturing the surrealist paranoia of the original show.

And stay tuned for the news round-up from the world of The Prisoner from Rick Davy of The Unmutual.


Direct download: The Tally Ho: The Prisoner – Shattered Visage w/David Leach

Shattered Visage is available from all good comic book shops and through numerous online comics retailers, including Titan Comics. A huge thanks to David for joining us to discuss this new book!

Titan Comics have also recently released an all-new miniseries based on The Prisoner, and released a deluxe collection of Jack Kirby’s and Gil Kane’s earlier adaptation of the concept in  The Prisoner: Original Art Edition. Check out our 2018 podcast coverage of these HERE and HERE.

To follow our podcast, there are several places to find The Tally Ho. Episodes will be available through our main stream – called Time for Cakes and Ale – from all the usual places including iTunes, Pippa, Stitcher, TuneIn, Android, or directly via our RSS feed . Updates will be posted on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Of course, our episodes will also be available for direct download on this website.

You can find all of our 2018/2019 Tally Ho episodes, beginning with Arrival, right here! The page is updated with each new edition of the podcast. Our 2017 Tally Ho episodes on the 50th Anniversary of the UK airing can be found here!

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!

Be seeing you!

The Tally Ho episodes will run concurrently with our regular Time for Cakes and Ale ones and are available via our main podcast feed.

Cakes & Ale Episode 27: Book Club – The Loosening Skin by Aliya Whiteley

Welcome to the first episode of the Cakes & Ale Book Club! Every month we will be bringing you a mix of discussions and interviews about recent genre fiction we’ve been reading, and we’re kicking things off in style with The Loosening Skin by Aliya Whiteley, published by Unsung Stories.

The Loosening Skin is set in a world where, every seven years, people shed their skin – and with it shed aspects of their personality, even their love for one another. Those emotions and memories remain bound up in the old skin, to be kept, or burned, or sold. Rose Allington, a former celebrity bodyguard whose relationship with client-turned-lover Max Black ended abruptly with her last moult, falls back into his world when his old skins are stolen and he doesn’t know who else to trust to get them back. But as the world around her turns to medication to keep their skin from ever shedding again, Rose is determined to be true to herself – even when that means leaving behind everything she used to be.


Direct download: Episode 27: Book Club – The Loosening Skin

We kick off with a discussion about this wonderful book, with comments from listeners who have been reading with us this month, followed by a interview with Aliya Whiteley about her work and career. Aliya is the author of many novels, novellas and short stories in the realm of weird and speculative fiction, including the BSFA award-nominated The Arrival of Missives and Saboteur award-nomiated The Beauty. You can find out more about Aliya’s work on her blog and follow her on Twitter.

Stay tuned to the end to hear what our next book club choice will be!

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe to the Time for Cakes and Ale podcast, leave us a review, and let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, Facebook and here on the website. We’d love to hear from you!