Dad Does Drugs

We’re living in a weird locked down world, a long way from the training and BGR anticipation of 12 months ago. Here are some reflections, memories and lessons from last year, a Zoom quiz about Kilian and some much missed Lake District sounds to savour. This mini bonus episode features music from Kris Drever, Eddie […]

The waiting is over. After a fitful midsummer night’s eve spent failing to fall asleep, Mark & Bob meet at the Moot Hall in Keswick’s Market Square and set off on their BGR attempt. These are their Bob Graham Sounds. With music from Kris Drever, Wild Beasts, Public Service Broadcasting, Stone Roses, The War On […]

The first movement in a modest three part podcast finale, BGR: Bob Graham Requiem. Five years in the making, Mark and Bob’s attempt is now just days away. But there’s still time for injuries, treatment, travel and bromance before the Grand Depart at midnight on Midsummer Night 2019. With music from Walter Murphy, Kris Drever, […]

A romping good chat with THE author of THE book about THE round, Richard Askwith, with just a fortnight to go before THE attempt for Mark & Bob. Bob takes a wet & windy recce along Leg 3 & then… back along Leg 3 in the other direction. And Mark receives an unusual offer in […]

On a recce weekend with Mark, Beany & Matt, Bob meets elite Cumbrian fell runner Ricky Lightfoot to try and glean some of his local knowledge & experience of the Bob Graham. There are big questions for Bob to ponder after the weekend, the answer is definitely not cycling, but it might be vinegar. With […]

UK ultra-running leading-lady Nicky Spinks gives an honest debrief on her history-making double Paddy Buckley Round and her debut in The Barkley Marathons, plus some indispensable 7-weeks-to-go BGR advice. And the team celebrate Easter with runs in the Yorkshire Three Peaks Race, along the South West Coast Path and the South Downs Way and up […]

Spring has sprung and training proper has begun. The clock is ticking with just over 3 months to go until Mark and hopefully Bob make their BGR attempt, so everyone in the team steps up a gear. None more so that Mark’s older brother Mike, a talismanic figure, whose words – as you’ll discover – […]

As Rudyard Kipling famously wrote and Bob less famously paraphrased and had tattooed on himself, you need to be able to face both outcomes when attempting a Bob Graham. So in this episode Bob exposes the dark days of his training calendar, when running isn’t fun and the goal seems a long long way off. […]

A new year dawns, dark and cold. It’s 2019 and Bob and Mark are gearing up for 6 months of consistent training, ahead of their attempt at the BGR on June 21st, when the longest day will dawn much earlier, warmer and hopefully dry & wind free. Bob continues to recover from injury, Mark recces […]

[Sung]Snow is falling, all around us…We’re fell-running, having fun. It’s nearly Christmas and for Bob that means a long journey to meet three wise men; a hilly trinity of writers with endurance expertise to interview them for the podcast. First up is author, broadcaster and ultra runner Vassos Alexander. https://www.runfestrun.co.uk/running/team-captains With music from Kris Drever, […]

Bob takes an eventful road trip t’North at the end of November 2018, sadly there is no running involved but there are two good male-bonding hikes in the Yorkshire Dales, one with his son and one with his oldest mate Beany. There’s also a visit to a church Christmas fair in Giggleswick and a Sports Direct in Huddersfield, […]

Are running and cycling happy bedfellows? Not in Bob’s body it turns out, so he cuts his bike mileage and RADICALLY changes his bike set up. But the wisdom learnt from ultra-endurance cycling by this episode’s guest, Dom Irvine, is indispensable. So whether you’re a runner or a rider, a lover or a fighter – […]

In October 2018 Mark is building a great endurance base, while Bob is still struggling for fitness as he recovers from a long term Achilles injury. Inspiration is not hard to come by however, in the form of a lovely long transatlantic conversation with Rickey Gates, about his successful (just) BGR, running every single street […]

After supporting a successful BGR attempt in 2018, Mark & Bob commit to have a go themselves in June 2019. For Mark that means maintaining his excellent fitness, beard and collection of expensive waterproofs. For Bob it will require being able to run more than a mile without crippling Achilles pain. To help with this […]

Meet the team as they try to get their youngest and fittest members around the BGR. A deeper understanding is reached by everyone about how much work an attempt entails. And a commitment, of sorts, is reached to try and get more of the team round next year. Featuring music I love by… Kris Drever, Bon Iver, Lenny […]

With comedian Jacob Hawley. He’s made a brilliant podcast for the BBC, called Jacob Hawley – On Drugs – it’s one of the most successful on the BBC Sounds app. I met him to talk drugs, podcasting and what he hopes will come out of his public honesty around the subject. Please rate on your […]

With T/Detective Chief Inspector Jason Kew, Heroin & Crack Action Area Coordinator for the South East of England. In this episode you’ll find out… What the T stands for in Jason’s rank. What a Heroin & Crack Action Area Coordinator actually does. What Jason’s learnt from his two careers as a navy diver and a […]

With Dr Ian Hendy – two times World Bodybuilding Champion for the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation. He’s stacked… but not jacked – Ian doesn’t take any steroids or illegal supplements – he works out HARD and eats a lot of chicken! If you’ve ever wondered about the pros and cons of steroids this is the […]

Michael Linnell has been writing and illustrating drug information leaflets, posters, flyers and comics for nearly 40 years – and he’s a great podcast guest. His characters Peanut Pete, Dr Nuke, Tough Shit Thomas, Fanny & Dick and Grandpa Smack Head Jones were conveying harm reduction messages before the internet became an easy source of […]

Brian Reed is a volunteer chemist for drug testing charity The Loop and a speaker for drug reform charity Anyone’s Child. Why? He calls it Lydia’s Legacy, his daughter died when she was 26, in 2016 of a heroin overdose. He’s felt compelled to learn more about drugs and to communicate a harm reduction message […]

With Professor Sue Pryce, a lecturer in politics at the University of Nottingham, who teaches a module called Politics and Drugs after becoming aware of how close all our lives come to the drug trade when her son became a heroin addict. Sue chose to buy his smack for years to keep him out of prison, […]

With Norman Lamb MP, former Lib Dem health minister and one of few MPs who is vocal about drug policy reform. Norman wants to see cannabis legally regulated and possession of all other drugs decriminalised. He also wants to see Michael Gove, Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Rory Stewart, Jeremy Hunt and all the other confessional […]

Emmanuel Sferios is the founder of Dancesafe. He’s making MDMA The Movie. He’s the host of the drug positive podcast. And he’s a really thought provoking guest, especially if all you’ve ever heard of ecstasy are horror stories. Next week the guest is Norman Lamb MP, a former Lib Dem health minister and one of […]

It depends, this is the one I spoke to, he’s the director of Drugwise. Don’t get him confused with this one. And certainly not this one The one we want has written a couple of hit books about drugs and music and drugs and Hollywood. Then Bob talks to his 13 year old son Credence […]

Dr Suzi Gage is a psychologist. She looks at the links between lifestyle behaviours (like drug taking) and mental health. She’s also the host of a super science podcast, Say Why to Drugs, and tells Bob all about that, her research and some evidence based truths about cannabis. Then Bob talks to his teenage son […]

A year ago, 18 year old Georgia Jones took two ecstasy pills at a festival and died. This year her mum Janine Milburn is going back to give try to educate festival goers about drug safety, first aid and drug testing. Georgia Jones – Don’t Go With The Flo Bob talks to Janine, then has […]

Felix Bechtolsheimer is frontman of cinematic, southern, gothic alt-rock band Curse Of Lono and before that Hey Negrita. Prior to that he was a troubled teenager, a drug dustbin and a heroin addict. Felix talks candidly about his younger days, and how he got his life back on track to where he now describes himself […]

With festival season fast approaching, Bob wants to know how to keep his children safe if they join thousands of people in a field full of music, booze and drugs. He talks to Anna Wade from Boomtown Fair about how they’ve responded to tragedy with a proactive, harm reduction focused drug policy. Boomtown Fair on […]

In Episode 5 Bob looks at the dissociative psychedelic ketamine. Use of K is rising among young people in the UK . He meets Wendy Teasdill whose daughter Eleanor died in 2013 after taking it at Boomtown Festival, because her body reacted badly to the small amount of alcohol she’d drunk with it. Then Bob […]

In Episode 4 Bob looks at drug policing in the UK in 2019 and how it’s affecting young people. He talks to Detective Superintendent Scott MacKechnie : Head of Serious Organised Crime with Hampshire Constabulary and the force lead for drug-related harm. Then Bob and his own teenage son Credence have a chat about working in […]

In Episode 3 Bob looks at drug dealing in the UK in 2019 including county lines operations involving teenagers. He meets Dr Mohammed Qasim a researcher who talks to drug dealers to find out why they do what they do. Then Bob and his teenage son Credence have a chat about dealers, sharing drugs with your […]

In Episode 2 Bob buys drugs and gets them tested to see if they were worth the money. He meets Professor Fiona Measham, a nightclub loving criminologist who founded a drug testing charity called The Loop in 2013. The Loop chemists test his drugs and then sit him down to talk to him about harm […]

In Episode 1 Bob begins to explain why he wants to talk to his children about drugs. He meets rock guitarist, songwriter, music producer and dad Jim Cregan to hear how a successful music career is interwoven with drug influences and experiences, and how much he’s told his offspring about his rock n’ roll past. […]

Journalist and father of 3, Bob Diggles, has spent a year getting to know the drug landscape in the UK. On this podcast Bob meets scientists, criminologists, festival organisers, musicians, politicians, bereaved parents and many more people with fascinating narcotic insight. He then discusses those interviews with his teenage son in an open, honest and […]