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In this solo episode of the story pilgrim, I leave the front door of my new home in Mile Oak, East Sussex, and walk up onto the South Downs, carrying only my thoughts and a few well-worn quotes from voices that have shaped my path: Plato, A.A. Milne, Freddie Mercury, Glenn Berger, and Slavoj Žižek.

This isn’t a grand adventure episode. No faraway landscapes, no guest interviews. This one’s local. Grounded. Real. It’s about how place, routine, and the quiet hum of everyday life influence the big questions we carry.

I talk about:

• The challenge of being open while remaining private, especially as someone who creates a public-facing persona.
• The quiet but constant tug between wanderlust and rootedness.
• What it means to let emotion rise when you’ve spent years keeping it down.
• How quotes from philosophy, literature, music, and theatre still spark new reflections every time you read them on foot.

I reflect on what it means to feel at home, how things like a mortgage, a rescue dog, and a compost bin unexpectedly shape your creative life, and how the questions we ask tend to multiply the deeper we go.

👣 This episode is for you if you’re into:

• Philosophical storytelling
• Walking as a way of thinking
• Quotes that make you pause
• Slow travel and mindful reflection
• The tension between adventure and domestic life
• Real, unfiltered thoughts on creativity, identity, and adulthood

🎧 Featuring quotes and reflections from:

• Plato – “The unexamined life…”
• A.A. Milne – Quiet truths from Winnie the Pooh
• Freddie Mercury / Queen – The deep ache inside “I want to break free”
• Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger – Tracing the invisible through story
• Slavoj Žižek – On the illusion of freedom

💬 Call to Action:

If you find something in this episode that resonates, don’t keep it to yourself.
Subscribe wherever you're listening, and share it with just one other person. Someone who might need a quiet voice in their headphones, reminding them it’s okay not to have the answers.

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If you've ever wondered what it truly feels like to walk 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago — sick, lost, exhilarated, broken open — this raw, real journey captures the private battles, quiet triumphs, and emotional unravelling that only a long road can teach.

In 2017, I set out across Spain, camera phone in hand, recording the rough edges of a pilgrimage that changed me before I even realised it had.

This episode stitches together those self-shot moments: falling ill far from help, getting lost and learning to trust again, feeling the sting of frustration as the crowds grew thicker, and facing the strange, humbling weight of reaching the end.

You'll also hear the first telling of Hendrick’s story — the 84-year-old pilgrim walking because he said God told him to — and walk with me through the last lonely miles into Santiago.

This isn’t a neat story.

It’s a threadbare one — and maybe that's the truest kind.

Follow the story pilgrim wherever you listen, and join me for a journey that's about far more than the distance.

Some journeys never end — they just keep unfolding.

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Driverless cars, the howls of sea lions, a cable car ride, Coit Tower views, and a walk through Chinatown all feature in this light-hearted San Francisco episode of the story pilgrim.

In Episode 44, Darren explores the quirky contrasts of a city where machines glide silently through the streets and the past hums loudly from every corner. This is a step away from the usual philosophical deep dives — a more playful, curious journey through hills, seals, espresso-fuelled detours, and one retro diner straight out of a George Lucas film.

Come for the self-driving ghosts, stay for the dodgy jokes and unexpected joy.