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A Skylark Special - The Gathering

A Skylark Special - The Gathering

BonusReleased Friday, 25th November 2022
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A Skylark Special - The Gathering

A Skylark Special - The Gathering

A Skylark Special - The Gathering

A Skylark Special - The Gathering

BonusFriday, 25th November 2022
Good episode? Give it some love!
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In today’s special episode I will share my original story, The Gathering. This story was inspired by childhood Thanksgiving gatherings, which we celebrate in October in Canada. Extended family, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents would gather at my Great Aunt Marselle’s house, which had belonged to her father before her, on the outskirts of Quebec City.


The Skylark Bell is brought to you by: Phaeton Starling Publishing and Things with Wings Productions.


The Skylark Bell official website - http://www.theskylarkbell.com

The Skylark Bell on Instagram: @theskylarkbell

Author/Producer: Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com

Join Melissa's Patreon for early access to podcast episodes, music downloads, and more: http://www.patreon.com/melissaoliveri

Melissa on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/theskylarkbell

Melissa on Twitter: @melissaoliveri

Melissa on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@melissaoliveri

All music by Cannelle: http://www.cannellemusic.com

Cannelle on Instagram: @cannelle.music

Official Merch Shops: http://www.melissaoliveri.com/store


FULL TRANSCRIPT:

 Things with Wings productions presents – A Special Thanksgiving episode of The Skylark Bell. I’m your host, Melissa Oliveri.

In today’s special episode I will share my original story, The Gathering. This story was inspired by childhood Thanksgiving gatherings, which we celebrate in October in Canada. Extended family, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents would gather at my Great Aunt Marselle’s house, which had belonged to her father before her, on the outskirts of Quebec City. 

This is the same house in which I encountered the ghost of Jack. You can hear that story in an episode called Jack’s Room, which was the very first Fantome Friday episode in season 1. Unlike my encounter with Jack’s ghost, our Thanksgiving gatherings were quite pleasant and featured mounds of food, often cooked from traditional family recipes, a selection of desserts from the patisserie, cousins to play with, which as an only child was a lot of fun for me, and a series of rooms filled with antique furniture and ancient family trinkets to explore. A few days ago, with the prospect a blank Friday in my calendar for The Skylark Bell, I asked my husband if he had any thoughts on how to integrate ghosts into a Thanksgiving story. Our conversation led to the story you are about to hear...

So, grab a blanket and a warm drink, and let’s get started.


Every Thanksgiving they gather. They come from near and far, bearing dishes and gifts and smiles. They cook, they eat, they converse, they embrace, and then they go back to where they came from.

They gather in the kitchen and prepare Great-Grandmother Elisabeth’s fancy sandwiches. She looks over their shoulders, and notes they forgot to add the celery salt. They reminisce about how Elisabeth once single-handedly prepared an entire meal for twelve and barely broke a sweat. Elisabeth remembers that day, she was exhausted and relieved when everything turned out as well as she had hoped, she smiles at the memory.

Next they make Auntie Laurette’s meat pies. They clap the flour off their hands, and it floats into the air, landing on their noses on in their hair. They carefully roll the dough just so, the way they were taught years ago, and laugh as they tell the story of the time Auntie Laurette burned the pies, all those years ago, and no one said a word as they quietly choked down the dry, brittle meal, thankful for the many jars of green tomato chutney served to accompany it. Laurette sits in the corner, quietly observing, she was always a little shy.

Now it’s time to prepare Great Aunt Carmen’s fudge. They recall how she perfected the recipe, whisking the boiling mixture non-stop for fifteen minutes, and they wonder how in the world she did it well into her eighties. Once the fudge is poured into the pan and left to cool, they open jars of marmalade painstakingly made from Grandma Rachel’s recipe and spread it between the layers of the rich vanilla cake before covering it in thick, creamy frosting. All the while they tell tales of Carmen and Rachel’s childhood, how they would ride in a horse and carriage to visit their summer home on the island, and how one summer their father gifted each of them a pet hen... tales from another time, entirely. Rachel and Carmen stand on the other side of the counter, tall and proud, listening to the stories they themselves told a hundred times over.

It is now time to set the table. Great-Grandpa Donald watches as his mother’s silverware is set atop the table with special care given to the placement of each utensil. The dark burgundy tablecloth and matching napkins were a wedding gift he received when he and Rachel married. They are adorned with intricate embroidery around the edges, and still look nearly new despite decades of family gatherings. Donald looks at Rachel from across the room and their eyes lock for a moment as a lifetime of memories passes between them.

In the vestibule, the twins make faces at each other in the ornate mirror hanging on the wall. The mirror was hand-carved by Grandpapa Alfred in his youth. Alfred looks on at the giggling children, his heart aglow, family always was his pride and joy. On the bench behind them a mother braids her daughter’s hair the way Nona Maria taught her when she was a girl. Just as she is finishing up, the girl’s younger cousin requests to have her hair braided the same way. Nona Maria sits on the end of the bench, a gentle smile forming on her lips as she recalls her own mother braiding her hair when she was that age. 

In the storage closet at the back of the house someone opens an antique trunk and lifts out three metal trivets and two bronze candle holders. Uncle Jack stares on. It was his trunk, before. The trunk followed him to war, and it followed him home. Now it houses rarely used holiday fancies; lace table coverings, silver serving trays, tapered candles and the like. The festive tableware in the trunk is such a stark contrast to the horrors of war. Jack watches as the finishing touches are put on the table setting and grins, everything is perfect.

At last, it is time to gather and share the sandwiches, meat pies, fudge, cake, and various other dishes prepared for the celebration. At the children’s table, the twins scoop endless piles of mashed potatoes onto their plates, one turning his into a snowman, the other turning hers into a volcano erupting with peas and gravy. One-by-one, the smallest boy sneaks his carrots under the table to the dog patiently waiting there, both of them grateful for the other’s existence. The girls with the braids sit next to one another in their matching dresses. The younger girl imitates the older girl, holding her pinky up as she sips on her tea. She doesn’t much like tea, but she fully intends to keep that to herself.

At the main table, the adults share stories as they pass platters around. No one seems to mind the scattering of breadcrumbs on the tablecloth. Their conversation gets louder as the meal wears on, their laughter drowning out the sound of the silverware clinking against the antique china dinnerware. They share stories of new jobs and old jobs, new loves and old loves, new worries and old worries, things that happened this year and plans they have for next year. They clink their glasses, sharing their well-wishes for one another, all while the food, lovingly prepared while enjoying each other’s company, slowly disappears from their plates.

Behind them, the ghosts of Great-Grandmother Elisabeth, Auntie Laurette, Great-Aunt Carmen, Grandma Rachel, Great-Grandpa Donald, Grandpa Alfred, Nona Maria, and Uncle Jack look on, grateful that their names are still spoken, that their stories are remembered. Grateful that they live on in the memories and traditions of their family. They think back to the days when it was them preparing and eating the Thanksgiving Meal while telling stories of their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. They stand tall and proud, surrounded by the sights and sounds of family, thankful for what has come to be, and for what is still to come.


Thank you so much for listening.  Join me over the next few weeks for a series of very special episodes as we celebrate the 1 year anniversary of Songs from The Skylark Bell, the official soundtrack to the podcast. The episodes will feature track-by-track commentary with the inspiration and method behind each song. An extended version of the episode will also be available exclusively to Patreon subscribers. 

Speaking of Patreon, I am preparing my annual Subscriber holiday gift, a wooden doll ornament inspired by a character from the upcoming season of The Skylark Bell - Skyedive. There’s still time for you to join if you’d like to receive one, just click the link in the show notes. As a Patreon subscriber you’ll also get early access to future podcast episodes and downloads of all my original music including Songs from The Skylark Bell. 

Don’t forget to follow me on social media, primarily Instagram and Facebook, and more recently Mastodon, to stay up to date on current projects and upcoming episodes. Again, all links can be found in the show notes.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, and/or a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify. This helps my story gain visibility among the numerous podcasts out there, and it also makes me smile. I also appreciate referrals, is there someone in your life who enjoys the eerie and unusual? Send them a link to the podcast! Downloads for The Skylark Bell have skyrocketed recently, and that is thanks to all of you.

Speaking of thanks, on this holiday focused on gratitude, I want to express how thankful I am for my family, the warmth of our home, our health, and our love and respect for one another. I am also thankful for the opportunity to work on my various creative projects, and how they allow me to connect with fellow creatives. Last but not least, I am thankful for you – without you these stories and songs quite simply would not exist. 

So thank you, as always, for listening, and if you are celebrating, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.



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