Cuddyis a bold and experimental retelling of the story of the hermit St. Cuthbert, unofficial patron saint of the North of England.Incorporating poetry, prose, play, diary and real historical accounts to create a novel like no other,Cuddystraddles historical eras - from the first Christian-slaying Viking invaders of the holy island of Lindisfarne in the 8th century to a contemporary England defined by class and austerity.Along the way we meet brewers and masons, archers and academics, monks and labourers, their visionary voices and stories echoing through their ancestors and down the ages.And all the while at the centre sits Durham Cathedral and the lives of those who live and work around this place of pilgrimage – their dreams, desires, connections and communities.

Dinah has always lived in Scarborough. Trapped with her feckless husband and useless son, her one release comes at her town's Northern Soul nights, where she gets to put on her best and lose herself in the classics. Dinah has an especial hero: Bucky Bronco, who recorded a string of soul gems in the late Sixties and then vanished off the face of the earth.When she manages to contact Bucky she can't believe her luck. Over in Chicago, Bucky Bronco is down on his luck - and has been since the loss of his beloved wife Maybelle. The best he can hope for is to make ends meet, and try and stay high.But then an unexpected invitation arrives, from someone he's never met, to come to somewhere he's never heard of. With nothing to lose - and in need of the cash - Bucky boards a plane. And so Bucky finds himself in rainy Scarborough, where everyone seems to know who is - preparing to play for an audience for the first time in nearly half a century.Over the course of the week, he finds himself striking up new and unexpected friendships; and facing his past, and its losses, for the very first time. Wise, hilarious and profound, Rare Singles is an unforgettable story about the power of music and friendship to bring us back to ourselves.