Gretel le Maître Ponders Beauty, with Bede & other guests

Gretel le Maître
  • 5.0 (4)
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Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.   Honorary Podcast Patron: Tom Holland  Guests in the future (all being well) Dr Francis Young  Philippa Langley (again) Tom Holland (again) Eleanor Parker Hedley Thorne (again) Philip Mould (again) Nicola Cornick Laura Karim Durotriges Dig Laura Cumming Aidan Ridyard Clair Crawford Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free, and you’re invited to join in.  It’s super unpolished and Gretel would be grateful for you to forgive her for that.   🤓Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s treasure up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Please follow me on X @gretellemaitre. 🌳 Or email me: gretellem@yahoo.com Guests on this show include: Tom Holland,  Philip Mould,  Bijan Omrani,  Sir Simon Jenkins,  Matthew Coleridge,  The Revd Canon Angela Tilby,  David Willem,  Philippa Langley,  Hedley Thorne,  Enzo Cicenti.  We have now passed 58,000 downloads.  #1 in the Top 100 Reflection All time chart  #1 in the Top 100 Kindness Monthly chart “The podcast combines historical reflections and extracts from literature with her own musings on architecture, literature, and the natural world. Gretel approaches these deep topics with warmth and humor, aiming to provide listeners a comforting space to explore complex emotions. If you’re interested, you can listen to her podcast on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, where she shares her reflections in episodes filled with historical and literary  insights.   Hosted by Gretel Le Maitre, this unique podcast blends personal storytelling with historical insights from figures like the Venerable Bede, offering listeners an inspiring journey of healing and hope. With themes of grief, transformation, and spirituality, the podcast has earned praise for its calming tone, authenticity, and ability to connect on a deeply human level. As one listener shared, it feels like sitting down with a trusted friend who understands. Perfect for audiences seeking introspection, comfort, or simply a quiet moment of reflection, Gretel le Maître Ponders is available now on all major platforms. In the global top 10% of podcasts according to Listen Notes.  58,000 downloads as at the end of April 2026. GoodPods Leaderboards, March 2026; #37 in the Top 100 Nature All time chart #2 in the Top 100 Peace All time chart #2 in the Top 100 Curiosity All time chart  #2 in the Top 100 Hope All time chart #3 in the Top 100 Beauty All time chart

  1. Lucy Snowe Awakes; Puppy Eats Microphone; Saints are Remembered

    21H AGO

    Lucy Snowe Awakes; Puppy Eats Microphone; Saints are Remembered

    Send us Fan Mail Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    53 min
  2. Saxon poem Andreas; Shelley’s Halcyon Morn; and Blackbird Sings 🐦‍⬛

    2D AGO

    Saxon poem Andreas; Shelley’s Halcyon Morn; and Blackbird Sings 🐦‍⬛

    Send us Fan Mail Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    39 min
  3. Simply Villette: Chapter XV ‘The Long Vacation’ 🌒

    3D AGO

    Simply Villette: Chapter XV ‘The Long Vacation’ 🌒

    Send us Fan Mail A photo of my daughter and Doggo in Cornwall expressing possibly the Villette atmosphere. Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    39 min
  4. Gretel absorbs William Shakespeare’s Stratford-Upon-Avon and chats with Sir Richard Eyre 🎭

    4D AGO

    Gretel absorbs William Shakespeare’s Stratford-Upon-Avon and chats with Sir Richard Eyre 🎭

    Send us Fan Mail Hullo and welcome to this late episode where I wander the beautiful streets of William Shakespeare’s home town and manage to grab Director of The Tempest and all-round legendary figure Sir Richard Eyre for a quick chat in the infamous actors’ pub.  I also meet delightful actors Mark Meadows, Henry Pettigrew and Guy Henry 🎭  Go to 20 minutes in to hear the chat with Sir Richard Eyre 🌝 Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    50 min
  5. Strictly Literature: dear John Clare; Anthony Trollope; and Charlotte Brontë

    6D AGO

    Strictly Literature: dear John Clare; Anthony Trollope; and Charlotte Brontë

    Send us Fan Mail Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.   Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Channon.   Unpolished and unscripted but no ...

    1h 23m
  6. Gretel visits Oxford: a mooch about a beautiful city.

    MAY 12

    Gretel visits Oxford: a mooch about a beautiful city.

    Send us Fan Mail Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    50 min
  7. Dr Eleanor Parker, author of Winters in the World, chats to Gretel in Brasenose College, Oxford

    MAY 12

    Dr Eleanor Parker, author of Winters in the World, chats to Gretel in Brasenose College, Oxford

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode I chat to outstanding author and delightful lady Dr Eleanor Parker.  Thank you to her for her time and congratulations to her for the huge success she has had with all her books, but particularly with Winters in the World, A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year.   Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    31 min
  8. Strictly Books: Anthony Trollope; Samuel Pepys and Charlotte Brontë

    MAY 10

    Strictly Books: Anthony Trollope; Samuel Pepys and Charlotte Brontë

    Send us Fan Mail Support the show Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached 60,000 downloads.  Thank you!! 🙏  Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free. Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts. Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review and possibly 5 stars (for effort as I realise it’s not deserved for achievement)🥴 Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela Tilby; Aerial photographer Hedley Thorne; Author Bijan Omrani; Journalist and Historian Sir Simon Jenkins; Dorset garden hedgehog family, the Venerable Bede and other guests.   Future guests (all being well) are Tom Holland again, John Simpson, Kevin Stroud, Philippa Langley again, Clair Crawford, David Crowther, Philip Mould again, David Willem again, Aidan Ridyard and Katie Cha...

    55 min
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5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Gretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.   Honorary Podcast Patron: Tom Holland  Guests in the future (all being well) Dr Francis Young  Philippa Langley (again) Tom Holland (again) Eleanor Parker Hedley Thorne (again) Philip Mould (again) Nicola Cornick Laura Karim Durotriges Dig Laura Cumming Aidan Ridyard Clair Crawford Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free, and you’re invited to join in.  It’s super unpolished and Gretel would be grateful for you to forgive her for that.   🤓Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s treasure up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Please follow me on X @gretellemaitre. 🌳 Or email me: gretellem@yahoo.com Guests on this show include: Tom Holland,  Philip Mould,  Bijan Omrani,  Sir Simon Jenkins,  Matthew Coleridge,  The Revd Canon Angela Tilby,  David Willem,  Philippa Langley,  Hedley Thorne,  Enzo Cicenti.  We have now passed 58,000 downloads.  #1 in the Top 100 Reflection All time chart  #1 in the Top 100 Kindness Monthly chart “The podcast combines historical reflections and extracts from literature with her own musings on architecture, literature, and the natural world. Gretel approaches these deep topics with warmth and humor, aiming to provide listeners a comforting space to explore complex emotions. If you’re interested, you can listen to her podcast on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, where she shares her reflections in episodes filled with historical and literary  insights.   Hosted by Gretel Le Maitre, this unique podcast blends personal storytelling with historical insights from figures like the Venerable Bede, offering listeners an inspiring journey of healing and hope. With themes of grief, transformation, and spirituality, the podcast has earned praise for its calming tone, authenticity, and ability to connect on a deeply human level. As one listener shared, it feels like sitting down with a trusted friend who understands. Perfect for audiences seeking introspection, comfort, or simply a quiet moment of reflection, Gretel le Maître Ponders is available now on all major platforms. In the global top 10% of podcasts according to Listen Notes.  58,000 downloads as at the end of April 2026. GoodPods Leaderboards, March 2026; #37 in the Top 100 Nature All time chart #2 in the Top 100 Peace All time chart #2 in the Top 100 Curiosity All time chart  #2 in the Top 100 Hope All time chart #3 in the Top 100 Beauty All time chart

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