Hello there,
It's Mandy here.
Thanks so much for joining me tonight.
Well,
That's my usual introduction to my tracks here on Insight Timer,
But tonight I just wanted to leave you a personal message of thanks.
If you've been listening loyally for the entire year,
And I know how many of you have,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And if you've just recently discovered my tracks here on Insight Timer's premium platform,
Thank you too.
It really means the world to me to see the same names crop up again and again in the reviews section,
And I especially appreciate the fact that you listen on premium,
Because Insight Timer really does need people to subscribe.
And as a teacher,
It's the number of listens on premium,
Rather than free,
That I get paid for.
So I've got rather a vested interest there,
But it means you're doing something really valuable by being on the premium platform.
And I also want to thank those of you who have donated to me this year.
It's something that you're under no obligation to do,
So it always seems especially kindly.
The money itself is very welcome,
Obviously,
But I think the encouragement and the vote of confidence it represents is equally important.
And I also appreciate your comments on individual tracks and your ratings this year.
I do feel,
Possibly wrongly,
That I'm starting to get to know some of you a little by the sorts of things you write in the comments section.
Of course,
It is just a snippet,
But these snippets fire my imagination.
So a bit about me,
I'm retired now and have a state pension.
In fact,
I only began working for Insight Timer a year before I hit the age of 66,
Which was retirement age in the UK at the time.
I believe the retirement age is,
Or soon will be,
67,
And I feel sorry for everyone having to work at such a ripe old age,
Especially if their job is a physical one.
But I'm the kind of person who can't really imagine life without some sort of work,
Perhaps because I absolutely love narrating stories for you on Insight Timer,
And it doesn't feel like work.
I love preparing a story for reading.
With some stories,
I need to edit out parts that won't come over well in audio form,
And parts that are perhaps just a little too unpleasant that might keep you awake rather than helping you go to sleep.
The Great Gatsby was a bit of a risk like that,
As it contains distressing scenes as well as the shooting at the end.
I agonised over a scene with a little dog at the beginning,
Which I found very upsetting,
But in the end I decided I had to keep it in,
As it was integral to the novel's theme.
You might have noticed that most of the stories I narrate are from the 19th century or the early 20th.
That's partly because I love that period,
But more practically it's because these stories are in the public domain,
Meaning they're out of copyright and one is legally allowed to record them.
But it does sometimes mean that a little racism or sexism creeps into the writing,
And I usually soften that for listeners.
Another thing you might have noticed is the amount of violence in many of Grimm's fairy tales.
Sometimes you just can't take this out,
But nearly all the complaints and low ratings I've received have been for Grimm's tales,
Though someone did once complain about A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
I go up to our attic,
Which is of course where I'm sitting now,
Reading this to you.
We live on a main road,
It's an A road,
I'm not sure what you call those kind of roads in the States or in other parts of the world,
So I have to wait until the evening because otherwise the mic picks up the low rumble and vibration of lorries outside on the road.
It's a sound so low that I can't edit it out.
Anyway,
I sit up here recording onto a voice recording program on my phone,
And then it's down to my office where I have what I poshly call my little editing suite.
In reality,
It's just my computer,
My software and my headphones.
When I listen back to the story that I've narrated for editing purposes,
I really enjoy it.
It isn't like listening to myself at all.
I appreciate the writing much more,
And frequently I burst out laughing or sometimes have a little cry.
So by the time the story gets to you,
I've listened to it many times.
This I think mirrors the process that some of you go through,
Listening to a piece multiple times,
Falling asleep again and again before finally getting to the end.
I become so immersed in these stories,
Most of which I loved to begin with,
Even before I recorded them,
That I noticed lots of things in them that I hadn't noticed before.
Anyway,
I am starting to ramble on now,
As is my won't,
And what I really want to say is,
Loving listeners,
I hope you manage to have a good break over the festive period and to enjoy some time with others and some time to yourself.
I know it can be a difficult period,
If you've lost someone this year perhaps,
Or if perhaps you just hate Christmas,
As some people do.
I know my dad always found Christmas very difficult,
Even before my mum died,
And for people who live on their own,
It can be tough too.
But within whatever limitations you find yourself and taking on board and accepting things the way they are,
As much as we can,
I wish you the best possible time you can have.
And don't forget that stories and literature are always there,
If you need some moments of immersion in a different reality,
As I know many of us do,
Both with the busyness of Christmas,
But also with all the troubles in the world today.
We read to know we are not alone,
The writer C.
S.
Lewis said.
He's the one who wrote the Narnia books,
The Lion,
The Witch and the Wardrobe,
And so on.
And never a truer word was spoken.
A good story goes beneath the surface to remind us of our shared humanity,
And of the things that bring us together,
Rather than divide us.
When I was a troubled teen,
Literature more or less saved my life.
It was E.
M.
Forster who did it,
The writer of A Passage to India,
Howard's End,
A Room with a View.
I had never read such articulate,
Sensitive accounts of people's inner thoughts and feelings.
I'd been so lonely,
An only child,
Fighting my parents,
Fighting my teachers,
And suddenly I felt not alone,
That there might be someone in the world who would understand me.
Many years later,
I realised there was.
My dog,
Safi.
I delude myself that she understands my every word,
Look and touch.
Only kidding.
But back to E.
M.
Forster,
Who was all about connection,
And in particular,
Connection between people of different classes,
Races,
Religions and backgrounds.
Only connect,
He said.
The world today would do well to listen to him.
But I would like to thank you again,
Dear friends.
I wish you all the best,
For now and for 2026.
See you soon,
I hope.
