Download "The Shepherd" By Frederick Forsyth

[The Old Fogducker]

In years past, on another aviation forum, I have been able to post this link to an audio file download location to get a copy of "The Shepherd" by Frederick Forsyth.

It makes for wonderful listening on a Christmas Eve....especially if the weather is duff.

This link will only be valid for 10 days or 100 downloads. If there is sufficient interest, I'll gladly reload it and post another link.

I enjoy this production immensely.

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1323693186/a85a76c1ab8ff0cc36e87a8330b3a251

Merry Christmas to all from
The Old Fogducker

[WannaBeBiggles]

I have the hard copy, was given to me by someone who doesn't fly and had no particular interest in it, but highly recommended reading it, great story!

[Tailwind2100]

Repost, please!

[The Old Fogducker]

I'm gratified that the previous link was so popular that it "timed out" when it reached 100 downloads.

I've prepared a new link ... also good for 100 downloads.

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1324792788/b53d61a433d7c62584cf3874e80f7d63

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas my fellow aviators.

Regards from
The Old Fogducker

[CD]

Thanks for posting that ... great story. After last year, I finally purchased the disc from the CBC store (http://www.cbcshop.ca/CBC/shopping/product.aspx?Product_ID=ERART00123&Variant_ID=2829&lang=en-CA) and uploaded to the iPod. Now I have The Shepard and a few other Christmas stories read by Alan to enjoy.

Happy Christmas sir!

[The Old Fogducker]

And a happy Christmas to you as well CD. I always enjoyed your well researched posts on the other forum.

Glad I was able to help a few people enjoy The Shepherd.

Alan Maitland was one the absolute best readers the CBC had, and the equal of him will be a very long time coming around.

Hopefully by that time, the CBC will be broken up into its components and sold to the private sector..... or perhaps at least turned into a PBS style of funding model rather than the state-owned broadcaster being funded to the tune of 1.16 billion dollars via the taxpayers pocketbook to represent the views and values of a small slice of the population.

The Old Fogducker

[lilflyboy262...2]

Thank you so much for that.
The ending sent shivers down my spine... seems to be the common consensus when asking people about it!

Do you know of any other good stories read by him? Or any other aviation related audio books?
Google searches seem to be turning up hardly anything :(

[The Old Fogducker]

Sorry I can't be of any more help with respect to other works by Frederick Forsyth.

The Shepherd is stupendous though .... and my first exposure to it was when I was flying a group of school teachers from a very small town in northern Saskatchewan to the south for their Christmas holidays. It was an absolute perfectly clear night at the beginning of the trip, and everything was bang-on excellent with respect to my flight conditions, so I tuned in the regional high power transmitter of the CBC and listened on the ADF.

Nobody else was flying, and the ATC frequency was "deader than a doornail."

Within moments, the CBC began playing Alan Maitland reading "The Shepherd" and as the story of his flight in the Vampire unfolded, I began to fly over an undercast, soon transitioning into cloud, then some ice in the tops, and the flight terminated in an approach to minimums at the destination in wet snow about 10 minutes after the conclusion of the show.

While I was booting off the ice, hand flying the NDB approach in the pitch black, I almost expected to see another aircraft formate on my wingtip and give me a hand gesture to follow him on the approach.

It was quite a night, and I always think of that load of happy go lucky school teachers with a load of gift wrapped parcels getting away from a super-small northern community for Christmas Break whenever I listen to the well written and superbly performed version of "The Shepherd."

I'll be offering it again next year for people to enjoy.

Regards to everyone from,
The Old Fogducker

[trupash]

Please reload or rearm, thanks :ugh:

[InTgreen]

Second the call for a new link!! Pretty please?

[lilflyboy262...2]

Here you go guys.

MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HUPYUH1J)

[The Old Fogducker]

Sorry Folks .... been awhile since popped in here since my last entry.

I'm at a computer which doesn't have the audio file to upload ... so give me about 3 more days and I'll put up another link.

Its an excellent story, and well worth the time.

Regards,
The Old Fogducker

[lilflyboy262...2]

Specially now that the megaupload site has been closed down and my link won't work anymore!

[The Old Fogducker]

I'm working on it .... this is a "bump" to the top of the list letting people know that I haven't forgotten .... just didn't have the means ... wasn't near the computer where the file was stored.

The Old Fogducker

[The Old Fogducker]

Here you go with a new link.

It will work for 100 downloads or February 7th, whichever comes first.

The Old Fogducker

[lilflyboy262...2]

I think the link is missing :8

[The Old Fogducker]

I think you're right!

http://www.yousendit.com/download/T2dkZ285bTgwMEg0WjlVag

[Lame Ostrich]

Thank you for making this available! I've listened to Alan Maitland's reading of The Shepherd on CBC radio since I was a little girl - every Christmas Eve. It became even more meaningful after I started flying. But nothing can top the story you recounted of hearing The Shepherd on that wintry Saskatchewan night. Hope you're compiling your own collection of tales.

[Shaman]

I found this British version as a torrent

Frederick_Forsyth_The_Shepherd_MP3_128kbps_Unabridged_1_09hr s_+-Demonoid.me-+

it took ages to download but is described as an unabridged version.

[The Old Fogducker]

Thank-you for your comments, and I'm glad to be of assistance.

Lame O .... quite a number of people have encouraged me to write a book, and I may well do that when I actually retire. Several generations in my family have written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and I do enjoy painting word pictures.

In support of the written content of any potential book, one of the regrets of my career is the lack of photos taken along the way. I doubt I have more than a dozen which cover 40 years in the business, which is a shame, and for being the son of a newspaper photographer, borders on being downright sinful.

There always seemed to be other pressing matters to deal with at the time, and there was always tomorrow for frivolity such as taking pictures of what at the time just seemed like my everyday, non-exciting aviation life, and there was nothing special about it. It wasn't until later that I realized that relative to the general population, that wasn't the case.

So let that be a lesson to you ... take lots and lots of pictures along the way. In today's digital camera era, it costs nothing to click that shutter button, and you'll look back at that collection of people and aircraft with fondness when you're ready to hang up your headset, and let someone else have a go at the seat.

All the best .... Fogducker

[lilflyboy262...2]

Even better! With todays cameras, you can attach them to the plane and film the flights!

[Nick 1]

The Shepherd - Frederick Forsyth - read by Alan Maitland from CBC Radio - YouTube

[rjtjrt]

CBC Broadcast is available here:-

CBC.ca | As it Happens | The Christmas Eve Eve Edition (http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/episode/2011/12/23/the-christmas-eve-eve-edition/)

John

[The Old Fogducker]

Nick ... what a wonderful bit of production to point out.

Thank-you for posting it.

Foggy

[Nick 1]

My pleasure Fogducker,
having read everything involved an aircfraft when i was teen-aged i never come across this novel.
It remind me " Stranger to the ground " by Richard Bach.
And in twenty years in airline flying i never meet a CEO or Manager that showed particular interest in the aviation books , so you seems to be the ideal person to work for , but unfortunatly i'm too far and too much aged .
Cheers.

[Trossie]

Fog,

A nice thread that you've started here that seems to have introduced quite a few to a really fantastic story! (And I agree that it does remind one of 'Stranger to the Ground'... how many of us have also had those lonely "Oh hell, we wish we weren't up here any more" moments, but none like these stories!!)

A year or two ago I was passing over the East Anglia/Lincolnshire area on a beautiful CAVOK day on the way back from the Continent. I told my colleague about 'The Shepherd', but held myself back from saying too much because the only way to do it justice was for him to read it himself. I went home and pulled out my very old copy, that I had first read as a young air force pilot. I had to sit down there and then and re-read it and, even knowing the ending, it still left that 'chill'!! Forsyth has written some excellent short stories, but that one has to be one of the best ever... especially for aviators.