Welcome to The Big Smoke Variety Show!

This week we wander away from the ordinary and into a world of folklore, hidden histories, and strange things waiting to be found — from shapeshifting spirits in the north of England to forgotten objects emerging from the River Thames.

First, in a brand new segment, Stories You Haven’t Heard, Kevin takes us to Northumberland for the tale of the Hedley Kow — a mischievous boggart-like trickster said to haunt the village of Hedley. Sometimes appearing as a goblin, a horse or a voice at the window, the Hedley Kow was less a terrifying monster than a deeply annoying force of chaos, delighting in confusion, embarrassment, and a good mocking laugh.

Through tales of milkmaids, servant girls, unlucky young lovers, startled midwives, and one wonderfully optimistic old woman who finds a mysterious pot on the road, we explore the curious place these stories hold in our imagination. Are they warnings? Explanations? Entertainment? Or simply a reminder that the world has always felt a little stranger than it first appears?

Then we return to the banks of the Thames, where resident Mudlark Sean Clark shares his Latest Find from the foreshore. This time, it’s a beautifully preserved 17th-century trade token, found during a rare low spring tide and untouched for more than 350 years. Marked with the name Paul Badcock, Tower Ditch, 1669, and bearing the image of a ship, the token opens a small but fascinating window into everyday London life near the Tower of London in the late 1600s. With further research planned at the London Archives and Guildhall Library, this tiny halfpenny may still have more of its story to tell.

We’re also trying something new, with episodes now coming to you every single week. So stay tuned next Thursday for more adventurous audio from across The Big Smoke.

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Chapters

(00:00) Intro & Show Menu

(01:38) Stories You Haven’t Heard: The Hedley Kow

(14:03) Sean Clark the Mudlark’s Latest Find

(18:28) Outro

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Credits

Hosted & Executive Produced by Kevin Bennett

Produced & Edited by Alex Graham

Original Music by Giles Terera

Music arranged and played by Joseph Atkins

Stories You Haven’t Heard written and performed by Scott Brooksbank