Simon Mattacks
speaker
2,982 appearances
18 recordings
3 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard yesterday
Simon Mattacks’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 15 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 3.
Appearances
It was on a mild and bright Saturday morning that the opportunity finally arose. After a deep, restful sleep and a breakfast of rich, buttery toast, she set off for the barn. Joining her was Lila, her rather excitable puppy, who loved nothing more than walks. As instructed, they started at the tithe barn.
The wooden gate sat slightly ajar, and so they entered into the vast grassy compound that wrapped around the building. The barn itself was made of the same honey-colored stone as the cottages, but was much taller and grander than any building in the village. The roof sloped steeply upwards, forming a sharp apex.
There were no windows, rather places where bricks were missing, forming patterns in the walls. The building had been built in the early medieval period. Its purpose was to store grain, which farmers paid in tithe to the church. Amelia struggled to imagine that this place was once a hive of activity and work. Today, it was peaceful and calm.
The wildflower lawn, which surrounded the barn, was colorful and soft with moss in places. Bees were buzzing cheerfully as they glided a little haphazardly from flower to flower. Lila was fascinated. She pounced with clumsy energy, ducking and bowing, but never getting too close to the bees. She laid low to the ground, occasionally pushing her nose a little closer to them, inch by inch.
Before long, her puppy enthusiasm burst free, and she was off again, pouncing, ducking, and bowing. Emilia looked down at her map. Point One sat right over the tithe barn. Curiously, she headed inside. Now, taking to biting on her lead playfully, Lila followed. The wooden rafters of the barn were gnarly and old. They formed a cathedral-like vaulted ceiling high overhead.
The soft cooing of pigeons rang out in the drafty, cool air. Up ahead, in the vast emptiness of the barn, Amelia spotted the first sculpture. As she approached it, her shoes crunched on discarded twigs and leaves. These must have been the rejects from the bird nests above. She neared the statue, but it wasn't quite what she had expected.
Considering that this was once a place to store grain and other produce, it made little sense. The statue was of a horse and foal. The horse's head was bowed and hay seemed to be falling from her mouth. To the side of her was a young foal. It was carved in such a way that it gave off the same playful energy that Lila had exhibited moments earlier.
Amelia traced her hands over the smooth yellow stone of the statue. It was well-worn, but she could still feel the subtle dents of a chisel. The mane was carved in such a way that it was textured. Lila didn't seem too impressed by the statue. To her, the place was alive with a flurry of unfamiliar scents. Her nose was twitching at the ground as she followed the trails left by unknown creatures.
Amelia wondered what it was that had walked this way. Perhaps a fox or maybe a cat. Indulging the puppy, Amelia followed where she led. It was to a small alcove off the main body of the barn. Here, Lila had found something to her interest. She padded at the ground and sniffed some of the fallen feathers. Looking around, Amelia noticed an information board attached to the wall.
From it, she learned that many centuries ago, the barn had been converted into a stable to shelter animals. Perhaps this was why the artist had chosen to put horses inside the barn. Before Amelia had any time to dwell on this, Lila let out a small, happy bark. At the side door was a ginger cat.
Behind it, bright light cascaded onto the floor, creating a pool of warm light, the perfect spot for an afternoon nap. Though it seemed that this had been the cat's original intention, it was much too curious now. With a raised tail and all the confidence of a much larger creature, it walked right up to them. Lila sank to the floor. Her tail wagged, brushing aside the twigs and feathers.
The cat boldly brushed its face up against her. Then... With a feline flick of its tail, it moved to brush up against Amelia's legs. Bending down, she stroked her fingers through the cat's soft, silky fur. The cat looped around her and purred, before returning happily to the sunny spot by the entrance. Taking this as their cue to move on, Amelia looked back down at the map.
The second spot was over the village pond, which was only a short walk down the lane. On one side of the path was a large green hedge. It was alive with the fluttering of wings and the singing of birds. Their melodies were not in harmony with each other, but that did not lessen the beauty of their songs. Spring would soon be over. Nests had been made and eggs hatched.
Occasionally, a sprightly bird would burst forth from the greenery on a mission to forage for food for the young chicks. They were nearing the pond, which sat just before the impeccably manicured green of the cricket pitch. Unlike the playing field, this area of the village had been left to nature. The pool was large, with a willow tree hanging over it at one edge.
Its long green branches cascaded down into the still water, causing the slightest ripples as the breeze moved about them. A circular bench encompassed the trunk of the tree and offered a shady spot to sit. The pond was host to a variety of plant life.
At the far side, bulrushes and grasses had sprouted from its depths and a floating carpet of green duckweed traveled slowly across the water's surface. Amelia looked down at the edge of the pond. On a previous walk, she had spotted frog spawn and was keen to see how the offspring were growing. Much to her delight, at the warm edge of the pond, a flurry of tadpoles were gathered.
They were nibbling on something so nutritious that they didn't seem to mind her presence. Not too far away, an adult frog emerged from beneath a floating leaf. Its body remained hidden, but its head peered out above the water. It was so still. Amelia had spotted the unusual artwork that the pond was hiding when she first moved to the village. Half submerged beneath the water was a hippo.
It was carved from the same stone as the horses, and much like the frog, only its head was poking out above the surface. In a place of such comings and goings, this hippo seemed to be a peaceful constant, an onlooker and a guardian. There was so much activity here that Amelia's attention was soon drawn to a dragonfly whose wings were beating furiously nearby.
It buzzed erratically about her before darting off for the bulrushes. Before long, a mother duck glided into view. she was followed by a line of fluffy brown and yellow ducklings. While her movements were slow and elegant, they scrambled after her. Although she couldn't see them, Amelia could imagine that their small webbed feet were paddling furiously to keep up.
Their barely audible tiny chirps were bossy and demanding, but it made Amelia smile with happiness. She was grateful that she had this opportunity to observe them. Lila also enjoyed watching them take a leisurely tour of the pond. Together, Lila and Amelia sat on the bench beneath the willow tree and looked out through the canopy.
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