All 151 episodes are available here on the HebWeb. See below.
George Murphy: "When Murphy's Lore appeared on HebWeb, and then was published as a book by Pennine Pens, it included a series of mishaps and true tales, and also tracked a politically charged and polarising year in the Upper Valley in the lead up to Brexit. The responses that most warmed my cockles were, 'I laughed out loud,' and, 'I cried with laughter,' albeit this was often followed by, 'What a wally!'
Browse all Murphy's Lore pages at your leisure by clicking on the links below.
Series Four
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 20
In the latest episode, there's clubs in pubs, readers writing, tellers uniting, Rachel announcing, Non Doms denouncing and much more!
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 19
In the latest episode, there's Jesus in the garden, a book about the North, weather women dodging death, Steve and merry dancers, Liptrot on page and screen, children of a blood red cult and ancient tales still told.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 18
This 150th Murphy's Lore includes the sad demise of Tina Crumb, a break in the lakes, two John Lennon tales, nude men reading the Brontës, Maggie Smith reflections, and a reader writes.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 17
There's fell runners at a fete, two choirs meeting, duvets and sofa sagas, a night without JOY, memories of funerals, Natural Endings and Johnny Cash.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 16
In this late August episode, there's a room with a view and a flight from fleas, Portillo's second coming and a cultural clash (with plenty of cash), Chintan and Madhuri, late nights and rare singles, Hitler run over and garden slugs despatched.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 15
In the latest episode, there's a scoop about disappearing buskers, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, sex on legs and sixties gangsters, litter literacy and Le Grand Depart.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 14
In the latest episode, there's a scoop about disappearing buskers, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, sex on legs and sixties gangsters, litter literacy and Le Grand Depart.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 13
In the latest Lore, there's a Portillo moment and a Lib Lab pact, Freddie and his Dreamers and prefab sprogs, Gary and Gary on Gareth, a missing clock and impious imps, Trump gets shot and Biden takes a hit, there's Mick Jagger's stern tutor, a writer remembered and lionesses forgotten.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 12
In the latest episode, there's a vision of a better world, old mills and child mortality, Grace Jones hula hooping, Sally Wainwright filming, the mental health crisis, a new and old folktale, a book and film recommended and a gathering of a clan.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 11
There's a star studded cast in the latest episode, including storytellers at Hebden and Haworth, poets in the park and Henry Normal at the Trades, along with D Day veterans, Starmer and Sunak, Michael Moseley, Nick Clegg and a local folk hero.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 10
In the latest lore, there's the sun's rays and wet away days, castles and encampments, a garret and a garden, some strops about shops, conscripts and cafes, tough tykes v Romans and a magical musical spot.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 9
In the latest episode, there's a salacious misspelt letter, Mayday and Beltane, a once in a lifetime experience missed, folktales knowing no boundaries, reviews are reviewed and a new tale is told of Hebden Bridge
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 8
The latest episode includes death and the devil, who was working class, what they ate and did they have a mangle, howlers, gaffes and April fools, funerals, wet weather, Flanders and Swann and Norky on Cwop Am Tea.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 7
In this episode there's a makeover man, a plea for Ukraine, a magnolia tree, parties and mini breaks, thugs in suits, local heroes, Pecket Well and a poetry challenge.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 6
In the latest episode there's an ADHD tax, a Pace Egg missed, strange happenings in grave places, a 14th century brooch, Film Festival 2024, a Home Movie, a month of poems and a story fit for a Queen.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 5
In episode 5 there's a Big Issue and a history of tea, a wet T-shirt and innocents who died, Ted Hughes, a pair of mums, and Einstein on the run and on his hols.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 4
In the latest episode, there's coffee beans in Welsh, Sylvia before Ted, a Co-Pilot and a Colin, Navalny and Putin, Breathtaking and busking, Ukraine and Russia, our sub postmaster and others, and Eva and Adam.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 3
The latest episode includes a plea to save the children in Gaza; a sculpture of the king; techniques for remembering; VapoRubs and lozenges; a slow and silent killer; Wuthering witnesses; AI lies and a man of few words.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 2
The latest episode includes Wuthering Weather, Isha and Jocelyn, Ruby and Rohan, how to address a haggis, bogeys and boggarts, A Monologue about a Bog, Puzzled Poets and a Shaggy Dog revival.
Murphy's Lore Four - Episode 1
George Murphy starts his fourth series of Murphy's Lore in the crucial Election year of 2024, mixing humour, light verse and prose.
Award winning writer and poetry reviewer, Hebden's Peter Riley, has pithily responded to his work:
Witty, humane, serious,
Cheerful, satirical, wise
Local, global, continuous
To which George adds, "I better continue then!"
Series Three
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 40
In the last episode of the current series, there's an offcumden trio, three instances of Murphy's Law, Heptonstall through the ages, two local heroes, the Coiners on the telly, a gig at the museum and a memory of Hebden Bridge before the hippies arrived.
19 September 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 39
In the latest episode there's stories of mice and men, Bill Gates and witches, dogs as the new babies, there's a golden gastronomic tour, a media star, a golden ball - and a special guest editor!
30 August 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 38
In this episode there's a dirty water demo, tears at long lost families found, a tale from Turvin, hanging men and burning women, Ted hunting pike, an arty party and some mirrored reflections.
16 August 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 37
In the latest instalment of Murphy's Lore, there's Maisie Trollette and David Raven, new director Lee Cooper, Sylvia, Ted and a dryad, Sam Fitton and Alan Fowler, award winning Gaia Holmes, a Kraken and remarkable nuns.
1 August 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 36
In episode 36, a Merriman makes us despair at Hebden Bridge station, but don't think of going abroad for your summer vacation, a great writer is shocked, and a goat is unfrocked, but beware Siren calls when you near Lumb Falls!
19 July 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 35
In episode 35, there's nymphs and sirens to beware for amped up buskers in the square, and strange street games from yesteryear, the philosophy of Sylvia Plath, events at Lords, Elton declares, I Quasimodo up the stairs, a dream of Cliff as Peter Pan, a never ageing Glasto man.
4 July 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 34
In Episode 34 there's Vox pop on a pole; a trip to a theatre, tonsils and a saint, a serial loser and a man manning up, Heptonstall for all seasons, fathers and brass - and readers who wrote. 21 June 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 33
In episode 33 of series 3, there's a Meadows and a Myers, theres a Saint, a Blossom Tour, a Cathedral, and other views to behold, a novel to be sold, terrible injustices and one close to home, and the mystery of Mr E. 6 June 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 32
In episode 32, there's highs and lows, the Gallows Pole, getting heads on beds, Polly Price and Uncle Liam, injustice and mistrials, readers letters and Fiery Jack! 23 May 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 31
In episode 31 there's how we colour in nature, a tapas and bar, a squeeze in a cafe, a failure to BOGOF, a young lord laid low, baby toads swallowed whole, a fairy tale, an absent king and race at the races. 9 May 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 30
In episode 30 of Murphy's Lore Season 3, there's the word on the street, Sat Nav meanders, mini breaks and manor houses, two Mr Bigs and one Little John, an Android Hospital, asbestos updates, John Cooper Clarke and much more. 25 April 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 29
In the latest episode of Murphy's Lore, there's Good Friday Pace Egging and skipping, a catalogue of gaffes, merkins and muffs, an MBE and a change of MC, readers writing, the people's game, poetry and bands and capable hands.
Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 28
In episode 28, spring has sprung, there's card art and art art, missing police, bees, but no Sting, poets in pubs, a Scott in a shop, a cure for prosopagnosa, men with perms, a search for the Cathars, and the sex life of slugs and other animals.
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 27
The latest episode of Murphy's Lore asks: Is reincarnation making a comeback? There's a massacre in the brassica, final proof of a poetic talent, a saline solution to slugs, soccer defiance through the ages, rebel girls, a teacher turnover and more!
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 26
In the latest episode of Murphy's Lore, there's a canal with a makeover, time travellers endangering granddads, Happy Valley coach tours, ancient sex toys, Ukraine one year on, people photos, a painful look at Shingles, kids creating online, a poet recalled and readers who've written.
Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 25
In episode 25, there's a Happy Valley reflection, a memory of Ciara, talking shops, a woman hanging, men talking and a man of few words, a walk on the Long Causeway, a proper dad and his fridge, Valentine greetings from the past, and an actor's pride.
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 24
Episode 24 is a Happy Valley special, including 007 in the dentist's, a poetry slam at the Trades, the mind's eye on the radio, Hippy Valley in the Sunday Times Home section, The Sun knocks Hebden Bridge, the duck bill platypus in ancestry and philosophy, whisky George, shaggy dogs and The Todmorden Triangle.
Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 23
In the latest episode of Murphy's Lore, there's the return of GPs, one dodgy knee, two painful maladies, a Happy Valley trio, a dead poet who comes alive, monologues and rock and roll, and pre loved sex toys!
Tuesday, 17 January 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 22
In this festive episode, there's bats and a creepy Claus, Jack and Jill in the kitchen and jammers in jumpers, Father and Mother Christmas, a girl in a sock, a sleep talking guy, a George with 2 mums, lionesses and shaggy dog, Hebden Bridge in the sunshine and on the telly.
Tuesday, 3 January 2023
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 21
In the latest episode there's rail travel, sisters and nieces, nurses and curses, Rome and a Ron, a Bill and an Alan, an attack by a tree, a queer chap, two writers, rent men and salesmen, two sailors, a Don Juan and a Mrs missed.
Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 20
In the latest episode, there's the bizarre history of Miss Martindale of MacPhelah, spanking and caning, poetry collections about Angola, America and England's Green, a bungle in the jungle, entanglements in time and space, an unreliable reader, tales told in a cellar and the snows of yesteryear.
Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 19
In episode 19,
there's the Word of the Year, unicycling kids, wild life and domestic strife, an 80s band called The Strand, two Heathcliffes, expensive trainers … but no sleep.
Tuesday, 22 November 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 18
In episode 18, there's the fires and thrills of yesteryear, versions of Emily true and false, a face to face with an ant, misadventures on one leg and in the bath, a diagnosis by a TV doc, the lost art of bubble popping - and a cheery man in a mask.
Tuesday, 8 November 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 17
In the latest episode there's Norman the Needle, 3 Ps, cakes and teas, Muck in Mytholmroyd, a Fosbury Flop and a broken bed, U boats and a cunning plan, Zen and zips, a pigeon handbag, political pumpkins and more!
Tuesday, 25 October 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 16
The latest episode includes, blue on blue warfare, a girl in white, a mouse at an ale house, folklore folk, pulp fiction and rambling on t' moors, two small baps, parking and Nobel prizes, folklore and Ufology, two men telling tales … and the perils of driving near Tod.
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 15
In the latest episode there's a good mourning, sunsets captured and a sun shooter, a folklore home in Tod, takes on a sad tale from Cornholme, Angela Carter's Hebden Bridge, observations on obscurity, the skill of finding things, hot topics for the elderly and after the Parade snaps.
Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 14
Episode 14 includes a funday for Laura Kuensberg and basking in the park, Marriage and recreational drugs, tales about telling tales, nappies and nipples, an African monster, a dream awakening, Queen Elizabeth and Bob, and a town hall declaration.
Tuesday, 13 September 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 13
Episode 13 includes great escapes: sewage in Ilkley and a blue world in Tod; a round trip of Shropshire, the Cotswolds and the Peak District; an anniversary kiss and song; a new Mayroyd library; Tolstoy in Rochdale; a technique to defy death; footballers considered as proteins; a cautionary tale for teens and much more!
Tuesday, 30 August 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 12
In Episode 12, there's infernos old and new, going underground in Haworth, a vintage rally, Damien in the cut, women tittering and testing, a lioness scoring and the decline and fall of men, Liz Truss in Hebden Bridge, Rishi Sunak in Tunbridge Wells, books recommended and the Cautionary Tale of Fred (who had two faces on his head).
Tuesday, 16 August 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 11
Episode 11 includes: a snowflake melt down; the enjoyment of bad weather; Paddy and Cyril in a bar and Gentleman Jack in Tescos; Unstoppable Bernardine in a bookshop; a flyspring over a horse; a forensic anthropologist and a poet laureate; leadership contenders fail the 11+; a wild swimming warning; a miracle beside a Minster and finally, Sweet Caroline and Amazing Grace.
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 10
In episode 10, the heat is on. School trips are recalled, there's a farce within a farce and a comeback fashion suggested; fear is dissected, birds and bees respected and there's homework (to be inspected); there's an update on omicron, a Teepee City and finally, some sung tips on dating.
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 9
In episode 9, there are sacred facts, Ukrainian guests, disappointing legs, a puzzle and a lion, an ancient tale and a new one, a reviewer's confession, a golden circle and a studio tour.
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 8
The 100th episode! George brings up his hundred with a dead cat bounce from series one, Fred, the Ronaldo of cats, a nightmare in No 10, going off the rails, a girl in a mask, adventures in ADHD, empathy in ASD, a pang for a Pang. He connects conspiracy blues and Roman witches, and the word on the street to an ancient rocker. There's also where have all the GPs gone, and a defence of Hebden Bridge at a come back fest.
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 7
Episode 7 includes Old and New Town takes on the jubilee, Seth and the princess, the severed head of ET, the meaning of 'blan a hoolie', a May blossom tour, differing opinions on immortality, a toast to Tolstoy, a city of culture, the roots of coincidence, a shop shutting and Teepie City.
Tuesday, 7 June 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 6
In episode 6, there's spring flowers, a multi-tasking man, news you might have missed, a dark silent chamber, comments from tourists, the big C in mental health, an Android hospital, Crooked books and a werewolf.
Monday, 23 May 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 5
In episode 5, there's a medley of themes: I'll be your mirror, A ticklish subject, And in the end, Help! I need somebody, This ain't no party! There's also a walk in the woods, Mrs Grimm and Coming out day - a fairy tale of Hebden Bridge!
Monday, 9 May 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 4
In episode 4, why has HB gone GBS?, there's sunsets over Hebden Bridge, minding your language, learning to lie, phoney propaganda, dinner with Trimalchio, Sonia Boyce, a Lake District jaunt and a delicate operation.
Tuesday, 26 April 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 3
In episode 3, In this episode there's a joke untold, Cafe Culture, the price of gas, World War 3, the immortal Miss Groby, Marjorie Dexter Schools' Inspector, a local disaster and Readers Write.
Tuesday, 12 April 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 2
In episode 2, there's a bowler's run up, walking to Buskerville, Adam and Eve and a suffragette's muse, ancient misogyny and Pandora, a bog boogie, losing legs in beds, Bob all over, where to find your mPGC, an ignoble Lord, a fable for friends and a drowning boy.
Monday, 28 March 2022
Murphy's Lore Three - Episode 1
Episode One includes Ukraine and overdosing on news, going live and staying alive, dancing hares and voice hallucinations, the landscape artist of the year and Don the Drone, free will and the politics of faeces, a news junkie confesses and Joan is illustrated!
Tuesday, 15 March 2022
Series Two
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 1 This bumper first issue includes The C Word, herd immunity, a score draw in York, lunch at Leila's, musical masons, Oscar Wilde and the importance of being under age, an expanded head, the full story of Joan and her phone, hand washing, events postponed, down the grid, Rory Stewart, government suppression and winging it.
Monday, 30 March 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 2 Tales from an offcumden, includes a carry on in a cafe, a diary of the pandemic, what experts agree on, DIY on the front line, what hides under kilts, EpiPens, Slack top and bottom, a scenic cemetery, when to cry wolf, the Earth takes a breather, bats, hedgehogs, pangolins, a hairy toe, a kissing tree, the birds and the bees, gardeners who can't garden, butter up awards, fame at 96 and readers write.
Monday, 6 April 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 3 In Murphy's Lore, Lockdown Diary there's a question to Bob Dylan, a salute to a big man, time travel, care workers, a big and a little dog, hobyahs, a brothers Grimm grim tale, a tunnel discovery, the mystery of Mr E, a salute to a centurion, a red wine temptation, PW and the frightening man and meeting up at the Omega Point. Monday, 20 April 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 4 includes a tale from Turvin, hunters, breeders, sky writing, haircuts for men, a president in hiding, a psychiatrist in action, Shakespeare's birthday, the farmer and the lion, the Doctor's Patient, bluebells, wild garlic, red skies, swallows, ducks, a man rehearsing and Nora starring in Britain's Got Talent. Monday, 4 May 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 5 In this issue, Nora does a duet with herself, there's Jon, John and Grayson, domestic abuse and a hanging judge, a randy professor and an artful woman, Poundland and Mr Big, VE Day and a passing poet, a fancy man and Boris, New Zealand versus England, a fable and a folktale and a Fairytale of Hebden Bridge! Plus Readers Write.. Monday, 18 May 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 6 In this episode of lockdown diaries there's a new bridge, sightings of nymphs, a billy goat rescued, a warning to buskers, dangers down a well, blubber boy, social distancing worries, William Holt and Trigger, nymphs in Todmorden, bird song and rewilding and an errant adviser. Tuesday, 2 June 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 7 This episode includes a village under siege and a cautionary tale, Sir Sheer Calmer, Mr Malaprop and Miss Airedale, garden visitors and ladies’ gardens, slavery and statues, Mama Dot and JK Rowling, Mans’ Span and Maya Angelou. Monday, 15 June 2020
Murphy's Lore Two Episode 8 In Episode 8 of Lockdown diaries, there's the Father Ted model for shopping, a tornado over Tod, alien encounters and Frank Bough, missing cattle and locked toilets, a cautionary tale, passion in a bookshop, ponds, UFOs and The Todmorden Triangle. Monday, 29 June 2020
This week it’s a Beatles, books, shops, pubs and performers special! Monday, 13 July 2020
What We Did in Lockdown, the Wuhan Whistleblower, a 1950s murder, Clare Balding, Steve Tilston and more. Monday, 27 July 2020
This episode focuses on our animal instincts, a staycation, our MP's BAME blame and ends with reasons to be cheerful, unless you're a male peacock spider. Monday, 10 August 2020
Episode 12 features art in the valley and artists we have lost, Percy Shaw and Ken Dodd, a stall holder and Vincent Van Gogh, memories of Strays restaurant, a policeman and Frank Bough, overdue compensation and Acre Mill. Monday, 24 August 2020
In this episode there's a staycation and a devil's bridge; our debt to viruses; Vesper flights and The Offing; Coleridge and football transfers; a favourite kiss and John Cooper Clarke; a footballer's curse and a plankton daughter; tips for husbands and John Prescott's jowls; Amanda and Debbie and Boris; and a Slow Dancing song. Monday, 7 September 2020
In Lockdown Diaries 14 there's grannies and vicars, Ben Nevis and Petey the Snake, hippies posh and poor, Martin Parr and the mother of parliaments, dentists past and present, a second wave, Irish proverbs, testing and nesting, Marco Nizzardo and Italy's Robin Hood. Monday, 21 September 2020
In Episode 15 of Lockdown Diaries there's a Golden Acre and a mother's pride and joy, cures for Covid and what would Margaret Thatcher do, a funeral of a stonemason and a Heptonstall story, a spaceship house and autumn leaves, mortality, a view from above, a dental visit and a sick President, an adolescent regret and the Earth in a spin. Monday, 5 October 2020
In Episode 16 of Lockdown Diaries there's student shame and an island quiz, Shakespeare and Shipman, Corfu and Mull, a Hebden hero and a cure for buskers, Miller Lee and boggarts, Bob Pegg and the man from Luddenden Dene, Fiery Jack and Amazing Grace … and the second wave hits the north. Monday, 19 October 2020
In Episode 17 there's hospital dramas, a Martian postcard, a strange encounter with hippies, a PM with dead pheasants, a mathematical fable, spies and an Android Hospital, Robert Jenrick and memory foam mattresses, good news, bad news and fake news, Jack o'Lanterns and the smells of yesteryear and the perils of rambling. Monday, 2 November 2020
Episode 18 includes a lax MP, Mischief and Plots, bonfire nights of yore, Ted Hughes on his yacht, a President Elect and one who won't leave, Remembrances, Friday 13th, the girl in white and a cautionary tale.. Monday, 16 November 2020
In this episode, there's a lost stadium, supermarket shopping and parking matters, vaccines and the promise of spring, a magpie and The king of the cats, dead eyed Queens, computer problems and granny power, Tier 3 and one story that leads to another. Monday, 30 November 2020
There's winter weather, Ted and Sylvia, Dickens's artful nose, naming, shaming and pickpockets, Tier 3, Lost in Lockdown, Zooming, a train journey, a 70th birthday, a Yule poem and a song. Monday, 14 December 2020
There’s artful graffiti, Krampuslauf greetings, a cry out for carols, a crime scene, The Yule Cat as a capitalist conspiracy, booze and Dorothy Parker, Midnight Mass in days of yore, a Nativity, a folk a tale, a warm up rhyme and a New Year’s wish. Monday, 28 December 2020
There's good read recommendations, TV reviews, First footing, sad couplings, walking on ice, Nora remembered, Lockdown 3, homeschooling, a saint on a pillar, storming the Capitol, Ginnungagap, hide and seek and a solo duet. Monday, 11 January 2021
In Lockdown Diary, Episode 23, there's dreams unreal and surreal, underground poems, trouble with toilets, trying to find Todmorden, bad news and good news, a flood avoided, CND & C&W. Monday, 25 January 2021
There's Whisky George, a film pitch rejected, poems censored, a President demented, a gruesome tale, rude awakenings, absenteeism and lateness, singing to Tommy Steel, Lewis Carroll and John Tenniel, Shania Twain and Kylie Minogue, music remembered, getting Joe's number and readers who wrote. Monday, 8 February 2021
In episode 25, there's Ted Hughes down the pit, dad dancing in the 60s, first loves, vaccinations, grandfatherly advice on love, Heathcliffe and Cathy, Ted and Sylvia, a septic isle and sceptic care workers, a Hebden Bridge Love song and a man who said too much. Monday, 22 February 2021
In episode 26, there's memories of caning and slippering, the power of the pen, Bob All Over, children and Long Covid, crowds at the Town Hall, middle age, 6 word stories, a wooden box, a grim Grimm and Wisdom Reservoir. Monday, 8 March 2021
In episode 27, One year on, and the UK is top of the league; children go back to school and care homes start to unlock; Alexa and The Boss; Oprah and the Royals; Halifax Holly; a likely lad and Van Morrison commuting; encounters with celebs; responses to Covid; Don the Drone and happy endings; council tax and interior designs; a monster over the mountain and Readers Write. Monday, 22 March 2021
In Episode 28 of Lockdown Diaries, there's badgers alive, dead and badgered; dogs brutish and brutalised; Algy and Helen; spouses' grouses; pangolins and swallows; qualzucht; Liz and the White Swan; Back Answers and Readers Write. Monday, 5 April 2021
In Episode 29 of Lockdown Diaries, there's Nazis, Windsors and a blackmailing spy, politics and jam, the sex lives of sheep, Boris on the sofa, a nation moans, the Duke's Award, yellow wallpaper, a man on the moors, a bird in a church, unforgotten children, a history of sex and the games girls played. Monday, 19 April 2021
In Episode 30 of Lockdown Diaries, there's a watchdog bitten, an al fresco pint, the life of an introvert, a tongue meat tale, a bash street kid, principal boys, mill fire Saturdays, a local fairy tale, the march of the toads, Sofology, Cornholme versus Hebden Bridge controversy and much more! Monday, 3 May 2021
In Episode 31 of Lockdown Diaries, there’s a boiler on the blink; Buckells and Boris; bumbling villains; an eagle, a cat and a doe; a many brained creature; a pet theory and a savage slaughter; triumphs and disasters; a honeymoon on the rails; the mating life of Argonauts; minding your Ps&Qs; Sannakji live and choking; a museum without walls, a famous wartime tale and much more! Monday, 17 May 2021
In Episode 32 there's a celebration of Bob Dylan's birthday, a whinge at politicians and princes, memories of Dylan concerts, storytellers in the park, memories of Ron the runner, a megaphone in the Square, folk tales, Beatles, Bob and a hurricane. Monday, 31 May 2021
In Episode 33 of Lockdown Diary, there's a city on a hill, Holbein and Anne Boleyn, a blind man and a sculptor, a lost yes and no bag and generosity thwarted, Ruskin's View, a lesson from Akala, Piers and a choice of Keirs, a new cafe, a Scottish rhyme, two local writers and how not to read a whodunnit. Monday, 14 June 2021
In Episode 34 of Lockdown Diary, there's a grand day out gone wrong, Ronnie Barker v Compo Simmonite, advice from Mo Mowlem, opium and cannabis in literature, a Rev on the run, lost and found relatives, being frank about Frank, Tod and UFOS, a midnight ramble, a spice road tale and Hancock gets a grip. Monday, 28 June 2021
In Episode 35, there’s birthday memories, a famous correspondent passes by, tips for armchair sports fans, a reader recalls a royal, the battle for Batley, how storytellers rule the world, a Covid denier, a changing view of changelings, Covid cases rising and a tour of Open Studios. Monday, 12 July 2021
In Episode 36, there's Readers' book recommendations for the beach and the bedside; a thought experiment for sporting defeat; a football hero and his singing neice; a Smart poet's guide to cats; Victoria Wood and Julie Walters; Freedom Day tribulations; a Triangle princess; memory tips; Boris's great gamble and variations on a theme by Cole Porter. Monday, 26 July 2021
In Episode 37 there's sporting feats, a Whitby staycation, Usain Bolt in Midgehole, a journey up the Khyber Pass, ET at the Olympics, a handy guide to death, Fred, who had two faces on his head, and much more! Monday, 9 August 2021
In Episode 38 there's crown green bowling and a famous musician, men who had nannies and the nanny state, working class Tories and street fighting kids, a monologue about a bog and an alternative witch, a Portuguese folk tale and Paula Rego, bats in the belfry, a missing vampire, and more! Monday, 23 August 2021
There's an elephant on a towpath, a murder in a vicarage, two types of horror, two types of Sandman, three David Hartleys, dodos and ammonites, two Binky Beumonts and the trouble with puns, a Samurai love story and an anniversary song. Monday, 6 September 2021
In this final episode of Lockdown Diary, there’s a botanical investigation, a Fosbury Flop, refrigerator mothers, beasts and blondes, mind matters and a spiritual laxative, Emma and Aubrey, Old Sodbury and his brother, a Hebden Bridge centurion, JS Bach and Horatio Clare, a man and two women, a cat in a carriage and a fancy man to avoid. Monday, 20 September 2021
Series 1 - 2019
Murphy's Lore 1 - Bucket list, Christmas presents, help the aged, car repairs, the birds and the bees and Acre Mill.
Murphy's Lore 2 - Crime Stopper; baths, bikes and philosophy; the facts of life; the birds and the bees and floods
Murphy's Lore 3 - the cormorant and the shag, insurance, home truths, a guilty secret, Constabulary Duties, Belle Vue Cinema and more on the Birds and the Bees.
Murphy's Lore 4 - Extinction Rebellion, Rat Man, King Coal, Dixie Dean, open fires and disasters.
Murphy's Lore 5 - banks doing a bunk, a dead cat, Cassandra, home banking, passion interrupted and a mining tragedy remembered
Murphy's Lore 6 - dogs, local news coverage, tall footballers, small women, a bus hijack and a stuck up post mistress.
Murphy's Lore 7 - Postman's Knock, Pablo Neruda, jogging shorts, sex, and late night phone calls in this and a romantic chanson.
Murphy's Lore 8 - Midsummer Night's Dream, mental health, dog attacks, drones, book launches and spot the poet!
Murphy's Lore 9 - Zen and Zips, Sid Field, falsies, shopping lists, wandering minds, Mr Cholmondeley's brakes, dog memorial,Radio Daze and a Catch 22.
Murphy's Lore 10 - the IT girl and the pharaoh, stories we tell ourselves, family revelations, how not to sedate young children, Eco Warriors and Momo and a restaurant drama. Reader's letter: a 'man they can't stand' puts the record straight.
Murphy's Lore 11 - shepherding squirrels, a 'Butter Up' award for a luthier, recommendations on head tattoos, Fantastic Mr Fox, a moan about the regressive Council Tax, Chinese restaurants and the class system and the latest Dog City News.
Murphy's Lore 12 - a politics special: a child's view of politics; election strategists; a Guardian man is trapped; Capability for Work tests; Peterloo and all that; Jo Cox; next week's headlines and politicians in corn fields.
Murphy's Lore 13 - floods, sex surveys, Date Nights, Lorraine Kelly, rats and insurance men, Frank Sidebottom and A Fairy Tale of Hebden Bridge.
Murphy's Lore 14 - include kingfishers and naturalists, industrial heritage, stonemasons, impressive butterflies, what to stir your tea with, gap years and the history of asylums, pheasant plucking and battery farming.
Murphy's Lore 15 - the dangers of misusing embrocations, Demon Dog Woman, private names for private parts, H is for Heather, witness protection, Secret Gardens and vasectomy after care.
Murphy's Lore 16 - young and old, including Ginger Girl, not walking on water, forgetting words and the perils of saying dewberry, a deadly legume, Park Life Cafe, Betty Rosen, first memories of drawing and strange places to put grass.
Murphy's Lore 17 - apocryphal tales, Uncle Billy and a tape worm, kids stories, a soldier's cup of tea, fowl play, the Pace Egg play, more true tales and the Ballad of Acre Mill.
Murphy's Lore 18 - Japanese combovers, strange greetings,Titsalina Bumsquash, keeping up to scratch in the bedroom, May Day memories, Romeo and Juliet and The Tod Triangle feature this week.
Murphy's Lore 19 - strange coincidences and precognition, the Yorkshire Ripper documentary, a reader's first kiss, folk music folk, name dropping, The Butter Up Award and Mel Gibson and the librarian.
Murphy's Lore 20 - caviar and chihuahua, rebel songs and words, Cyril Smith MP, poorly designed underpants, blaming parents for their poorly children, the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, Hugh Massingberd , a Scouser's guide to tawkin' Yorkshire and nymphs - and why buskers should run away!"
Murphy's Lore 21 - Sunday runs and a White Blossom Tour, a Hippy Terrace, precognition and happy coincidence, Ivy Benson's All Girl Band and an over-sized jacket, doctors who use jargon as secret codes and a medic's advice on avoiding bowel cancer.
Murphy's Lore 22 - memories of teenage hitch hiking, Keith Waterhouse, the Lesley Molseed murder trials, the Blackpool Grand National ride, a canal boat gathering and a posh party, skinny dipping and fishing for nymphs.
Murphy's Lore 23 - The Trades Club in the 1980s, a gentle stroll through bluebell woods, John the Barber, a dizzy turn and taking care with medicine, my brother Percy gets me out of a tight spot, further reflections on the Stefan Kiszko case and The Yorkshire Don Juan visits Liverpool.
Murphy's Lore 24 includes, touring in the deep south, Larkin and Morris, B&B food, the art of complaining, treacle pudding and an early bird, storytelling in primary schools, Christine McMahon, a hidden child revealed and ways of executing moles. Plus readers write.
Murphy's Lore 25 the EU in Mytholmroyd, the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Burnley Road school, what Rodin's thinker was thinking, spelling tests and physical chastisement, a cautionary tale of Joan and her mobile phone, house husbandry and SELL BY dates, Sir Bernard Ingham and Boris Johnson.
Murphy's Lore 26 Treesponsibility and rewilding, why are skinny models fierce and big models bouncy and bubbly, further cogitations on men's underpants, Yorkshire dialect and the remarkable Mr Hartley, four Faber poets, a toast for a new cafe and Fancy Man Stan.
Murphy's Lore 27 includes Scarf Woman, spelling mistakes, Indian head massages, the biter bit, a secret formula for failing at football, two Michael Jacksons, a herd of bulls, The Handmade Parade, an elusive bobber and Mrs Pomfret's pommes frites.
Murphy's Lore 28 - This week a coherent thread runs through Murphy’s Lore from Shibden Hall, to the Red and Green Club via Gentleman Jack, Ann Walker and John Lister to a disappearing MP, an encounter with men in overalls, a defence of light verse, a guitarist reciting Hilaire Belloc, a nod to local poet, a surreal encounter and a reflection on practical jokes.
Murphy's Lore 29 -This week there's reflections on Memory, Steam Punk, Job Interviews, The Forgotten War, Piano Sing-alongs, Walls with ears, The Moorcock, a lass in a blue dress and a man with black eyes, darts playing, hospices and Canadian Pond Weed.
Murphy's Lore 30 A wet weekend in Wales, this sporting wife, Frantic Friday, advice to a duke, a Thai toast, hidden perils on Britain's beaches, a jam and a joke, a dad in disguise and rules for everything.
Murphy's Lore 31 This week, Murphy's Lore includes, a cat in a bin, a mental brassiere, home made bikinis, Murphy the Murderer, treadmills and whipping posts, home Pride, Spiked magazine and fake news, a protest song and a reader reveals all.
Murphy's Lore 32 This week, George considers whether childbirth is tougher for men, are men tougher than women, how 13 is lucky for some, is it good to eat Huimans, fires in derelict mills, what Georgian surgeons got up to, what Georgian schoolgirls got up to, the use of artificial phalluses in posh places, and imagines life as a Carry on Film. Plus readers write from far and nearer.
Murphy's Lore 33 This week’s issue uncovers the strange coincidence of Calder Valley residents falling out of bed, with possible connections to a breakaway fascist enclave, Francis Bacon and football at the barber’s, long lost families, discovering relations at Morrisons, doppelgängers and dads, Jack Whitehall’s ancestors, Uncle Herbert’s Machine and why Uncle Eric was given away.
Murphy's Lore 34 This week’s offering: A Great Canal Journey remembered, when to let go of loved ones, the writing of radio plays, a blind piano tutor, a significant wave, an escape to Playtopia, comics aren’t what they used to be, the tough of the track, Murray Halberg’s underpants and an appearance from Little Percy.
Murphy's Lore 35 This week's Murphy's Lore includes brains and how they deceive us, Turkish torture, tourist enquiries, cricket and testosterone, an Innovation ovation, a Pigg who took to her bed, a groom who wore white, the C word and an anniversary song. Tuesday, 27 August 2019
Murphy's Lore 36 In Murphy’s Lore 36 there’s Plato, Old Etonians, Donald Trump and Shaggy Dog people, a scarecrow and a WPC - when WPC was PC - a missing Mrs, CROWS, CART, NASA, Dick Braine, an article on articles, Frank usurps Jack and Sue and Fu Fu. Monday, 2 September 2019
Murphy's Lore 37 includes a time traveller on a mission, some bum notes, nincompoops and the art of patriotic swearing, inspirational and instructive mottoes, Once upon a time in Hebden Bridge, a toast for The Picture House, the past as a foreign country and why no deal's a big deal. Plus a reader's reminiscence. Monday, 9 September 2019
Murphy's Lore 37 includes a time traveller on a mission, some bum notes, nincompoops and the art of patriotic swearing, inspirational and instructive mottoes, Once upon a time in Hebden Bridge, a toast for The Picture House, the past as a foreign country and why no deal's a big deal. Plus a reader's reminiscence. Monday, 9 September 2019
Murphy's Lore 38 includes children's rhymes and games, where to find 'Pencilvania', balls against walls, ladles and jellyspoons, kippers and knickers, how to shoot Indians, the best chips in the valley, September Break and Dylan Thomas. Monday, 16 September 2019
Murphy's Lore 39 This week's items include tales from a towpath, a Hobbit with a baby, a Head in a dress, herons and humans, political science and the naming of boats, a Dove Cottage garden, a dislocated jaw, a bucket list revisited and some sketches of Lowry. Monday, 23 September 2019
Murphy's Lore 40 This week there's a leaked letter to a Moggy, Boiler Man to the rescue, a Silver Anniversary, a Grimm exhibition, a double trouble oven, Pizzas and Fleabags, Danny La Rue and Prince Edward. Monday, 30 September 2019
Murphy's Lore 41 includes a successful sisterhood, meatballs and Ikea furniture, Heights Road and Pink Elephants, Ted Hughes and his uncle, the Piece Hall, a forgotten bread riot, Dickie Davies and a missing gold medal. Monday, 7 October 2019
Murphy's Lore 42 includes swift ways to lose weight, growth spurts in old age, a racist on a train, train surfing in Victorian times, the death toll at Summit Tunnel, Malory Blackman, Jack’s Barbers, Robbie Burns and John Clare, Grace Poole’s malady, the first Mrs Rochester, Cary Grant’s mother and Topsy Legge. Monday, 14 October 2019
Murphy's Lore 43 includes Johnson pulls it off, Extinction Rebellion, hearing aids and radio, the hitchhiker, Roman soldiers and wine, Hebden Bridge's pub crawlers and Mr Plod, no more Nigels, and a musical hell. Monday, 21 October 2019
Murphy's Lore 44 there’s a Thought for the Day, memories of Le Grand Depart, Franglais and yoghurt, witches at Old Chamber, Grimm tales at Gibson Mill, a toast for Print Bureau, deaf workers and mill fires, cocker doodles, spacecraft in Todmorden and why pumpkins are agitated.
Monday, 28 October 2019
Murphy's Lore 45 This week's offering includes Father Dougal on Brexit and the Irish border, Century Plants and late flowerings, The Tod Book Festival, ageism, sexism and driving insurance, driving test blues, Letsbe Avenue, getting the bird from a female reader and a comic strip retelling of the Boxing Day flood.
Monday, 4 November 2019
Murphy's Lore 46 In this week’s Murphy’s Lore you can have a go at playing Leonardo’s game and spot a swimming man, there’s psychosis and horror, a warning about The Dipper, why Munch wasn’t screaming, rough screams and smooth, The Night of the Hunter, becoming Dewey eyed about libraries, Lest We Forget, a cricket team remembered, the art of choosing surprises, waiting times under the Tories, Perambulations and an American handshake.
Monday, 11 November 2019
Murphy's Lore 47 This week Murphy’s Lore puts its best foot forward with tips on footwear, walks out on a megaphone mum, ponders on a Ken Loach film, a surprise present, a Basque poet, a limping spy and names for your back passage.
Monday, 18 November 2019
Murphy's Lore 48 This week includes dreams, Rugby League towns, the Heimlich Manoeuvres, a lethal kiss, death at a dinner party, a clever bugger, Leila's Kitchen, Japanese Love Hotels, 15 minutes of fame, the White Album and a crushed strawberry suit.
Monday, 25 November 2019
Murphy's Lore 49 This week, George, inspired by a visiting comet, coins a new term. He references a Flanders and Swan admirer, writes an appeal for our missing MP, feels sad about Pangolins, enters a Snake Pit, toasts Mooch and reports on a gig in a Methodist Church. He also celebrates two Australians who have brightened his days.
Monday, 2 December 2019
Murphy's Lore 50 Murphy's Lore 50 includes a parcel puzzle, a hybrid Donald, Boris and Doris, two birthday parties, a new comedy club, Vox pops from the red wall, Mr Stott's diaries and a reader writes about a snake pit!
Monday, 9 December 2019
Murphy's Lore 51 In Murphy’s Lore 51 there’s a Nightmare on Downing Street, a pair of painters, a secret party, the author does a man’s look, there’s a 2CV in the snow, a cartoon comment on Christmas, a dream song, a butter up award and a plug for a book.
Monday, 16 December 2019
Murphy's Lore 52 This week Murphy’s Lore gives a valedictory farewell to 2019 and looks forward to the roaring and pouring 20s with trepidation, there’s a town suffering from exitpollitis, a visitor from a land on fire, memories of Christmas past, readers’ letters and a fashion faux pas, Mother Christmas and a dash of Dahl, Mildred Dredge and Engelbert Humperdink, a little red man and Clare Shaw. Nostradamus shares his 2020 vision.
Monday, 23 December 2019
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