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Standby duty, airport chaos, a medical emergency mid-flight, cancelled trips to Dubai, JFK and Japan, and still somehow... total silence. In this episode of the story pilgrim, Darren takes you on a journey through three days of standby with a major airline — from being called up two minutes into shift for a flight to Istanbul (complete with an in-air seizure) to sitting in the office surrounded by cancelled flights and unrealised missions.

What starts as a routine work block turns into a reflection on duty, productivity, and the strange pressure of self-imposed deadlines — all told from kitchens, gardens, and walks with Todd. It’s dry, deep, funny, and just a little existential. Waiting has never sounded this thoughtful.

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Cabin crew layover in Houston, a late-night Astros game, and no time for NASA - this episode explores the tension between long-haul travel and short-lived moments.

In episode 48 of the story pilgrim, I travel 5,000 miles to Houston… and never make it to Mission Control. With just 24 hours on the ground, I trade moon landings for breakfast, baseball, and a quiet walk to the Galleria. Along the way, I reflect on the odd rhythm of airline life - always arriving, rarely staying - and what it means to find presence in passing places.

No grand missions. No space suits. Just a few borrowed hours, a stadium full of strangers, and the reminder that sometimes, showing up is the whole story.

Buen camino, and keep listening.

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In this episode of the story pilgrim, I take a short walk with a long echo. Just one afternoon in Hamburg — and yet it felt like I crossed more than just bridges.

Hamburg: the city of canals, contradictions, and carefully run public transport. A place I’ve flown to several times as cabin crew, but never really explored with my feet — or my mic — until now.

In Hamburg: Crossing Bridges, I wander from the calm waters of the Außenalster Lake, over the Lombardsbrücke, past the towering Rathaus, and into the wonderfully absurd and deeply moving Miniatur Wunderland — a place that somehow reduced the entire planet to model trains, tiny cafes, and one plastic goat that made me question the meaning of existence.

This episode reflects on:
– The emotional weight of crossing bridges (both literal and personal)
– The dry charm of German directness and design
– Finding unexpected joy in structure, order, and the absurd
– How a country I had no emotional connection to has slowly reshaped how I see the world
– What we gain when we stop trying to conquer cities, and start letting them speak to us

I talk a lot about place — but what I’m really talking about is people, perception, and how we slowly rewrite ourselves through every step we take away from home.

Featured locations:
– Außenalster Lake
– Lombardsbrücke Bridge
– Hamburg Rathaus
– Miniatur Wunderland

If you’ve ever wandered a foreign city and felt something shift — even just a little — this episode is for you.

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🗺️ Inspired by my 500-mile walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago and my 26 performances of Underneath the Lintel, the story pilgrim is about the stories that emerge when we walk, listen, and ask bigger questions.

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