Podcasts about Aldwych

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 23rd July 2025. The winner will be contacted via Bluesky. Show references:  Sam Mullins, Trustee at SS Great Britainhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sammullins/https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/ Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: What an amazing day out here. Welcome to Skip the Queue. The podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions, I'm your host, Paul Marden, and today you join me for the last episode of the season here in a very sunny and very pleasant Bristol Dockyard. I'm here to visit the SS Great Britain and one of their trustees, Sam Mullins, who until recently, was the CEO of London Transport Museum. And I'm going to be talking to Sam about life after running a big, family friendly Museum in the centre of London, and what comes next, and I'm promising you it's not pipes and the slippers for Sam, he's been very busy with the SSGreat Britain and with other projects that we'll talk a little more about. But for now, I'm going to enjoy poodling across the harbour on boat number five awaiting arrival over at the SS Great Britain. Paul Marden: Is there much to catch in the water here?Sam Mullins: According to some research, there's about 36 different species of fish. They catch a lot of cream. They catch Roach, bullet, bass car. Big carpet there, maybe, yeah, huge carpet there. And then your European great eel is here as well, right? Yeah, massive things by the size of your leg, big heads. It's amazing. It goes to show how receipt your life is. The quality of the water is a lot better now. Paul Marden: Oh yeah, yeah, it's better than it used to be years ago. Thank you very much. All right. Cheers. Have a good day. See you later on. So without further ado, let's head inside. So where should we head? Too fast. Sam Mullins: So we start with the stern of the ship, which is the kind of classic entrance view, you know. Yeah, coming up, I do. I love the shape of this ship as you as you'll see.Paul Marden: So lovely being able to come across the water on the boat and then have this as you're welcome. It's quite a.Sam Mullins: It's a great spot. Isn't it?Paul Marden: Really impactful, isn't it? Sam Mullins:  Because the amazing thing is that it's going this way, is actually in the dry dock, which was built to build it. Paul Marden: That's amazing. Sam Mullins: So it came home. It was clearly meant to be, you know,Paul Marden:  Quite the circular story.Sam Mullins:  Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Paul Marden:  Thank you. Wow. Look at that view.Sam Mullins: So that's your classic view.Paul Marden:  So she's in a dry dock, but there's a little bit of water in there, just to give us an idea of what's going on. Sam Mullins: Well, what's actually going on in here is, preserving the world's first iron ship. So it became clear, after he'd come back from the Falklands, 1970 came back to Bristol, it became clear that the material of the ship was rusting away. And if something wasn't done, there'd be nothing left, nothing left to show. So the innovative solution is based on a little bit of science if you can reduce the relative humidity of the air around the cast iron hull of the ship to around about 20% relative humidity, corrosion stops. Rusting stops. It's in a dry dock. You glaze over the dock at kind of water line, which, as you just noticed, it gives it a really nice setting. It looks like it's floating, yeah, it also it means that you can then control the air underneath. You dry it out, you dehumidify it. Big plant that dries out the air. You keep it at 20% and you keep the ship intact. Paul Marden: It's interesting, isn't it, because you go to Mary Rose, and you go into the ship Hall, and you've got this hermetically sealed environment that you can maintain all of these beautiful Tudor wooden pieces we're outside on a baking hot day. You don't have the benefit of a hermetically sealed building, do you to keep this? Sam Mullins: I guess the outside of the ship is kind of sealed by the paint. That stops the air getting to the bit to the bare metal. We can go down into the trigger, down whilst rise up.Paul Marden:  We're wondering. Sam, yeah, why don't you introduce yourself, tell listeners a little bit about your background. How have we ended up having this conversation today.Sam Mullins: I'm Sam Mullins. I'm a historian. I decided early on that I wanted to be a historian that worked in museums and had an opportunity to kind of share my fascination with the past with museum visitors. So I worked in much Wenlock in Shropshire. I worked created a new museum in market Harbour, a community museum in Leicestershire. I was director of museums in St Albans, based on, you know, great Roman Museum at Verulamium, okay. And ended up at London Transport Museum in the 90s, and was directed there for a long time.Paul Marden: Indeed, indeed. Oh, we are inside now and heading underground.Sam Mullins: And you can hear the thrumming in the background. Is the dehumidification going on. Wow. So we're descending into thevery dry dock.Paul Marden: So we're now under water level. Yes, and the view of the ceiling with the glass roof, which above looked like a lovely little pond, it's just beautiful, isn't it?Sam Mullins: Yes, good. It sets it off both in both directions, really nicely.Paul Marden: So you've transitioned now, you've moved on from the Transport Museum. And I thought that today's episode, we could focus a little bit on what is, what's life like when you've moved on from being the director of a big, famous, influential, family friendly Museum. What comes next? Is it pipe and slippers, or are there lots of things to do? And I think it's the latter, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yes. Well, you know, I think people retire either, you know, do nothing and play golf, or they build, you know, an interesting portfolio. I wanted to build, you know, something a bit more interesting. And, you know, Paul, there's that kind of strange feeling when you get to retire. And I was retiring from full time executive work, you kind of feel at that point that you've just cracked the job. And at that point, you know, someone gives you, you know, gives you a card and says, "Thank you very much, you've done a lovely job." Kind of, "Off you go." So having the opportunity to deploy some of that long term experience of running a successful Museum in Covent Garden for other organisations was part of that process of transition. I've been writing a book about which I'm sure we'll talk as well that's been kind of full on this year, but I was a trustee here for a number of years before I retired. I think it's really good career development for people to serve on a board to see what it's like, you know, the other side of the board. Paul Marden: I think we'll come back to that in a minute and talk a little bit about how the sausage is made. Yeah, we have to do some icebreaker questions, because I probably get you already. You're ready to start talking, but I'm gonna, I'm just gonna loosen you up a little bit, a couple of easy ones. You're sat in front of the telly, comedy or drama?Sam Mullins: It depends. Probably.Paul Marden: It's not a valid answer. Sam Mullins: Probably, probably drama.Paul Marden: Okay, if you need to talk to somebody, is it a phone call or is it a text message that you'll send?Sam Mullins:  Face to face? Okay, much better. Okay, always better. Paul Marden: Well done. You didn't accept the premise of the question there, did you? Lastly, if you're going to enter a room, would you prefer to have a personal theme tune played every time you enter the room. Or would you like a personal mascot to arrive fully suited behind you in every location you go to?Sam Mullins: I don't know what the second one means, so I go for the first one.Paul Marden: You've not seen a football mascot on watching American football or baseball?Sam Mullins: No, I try and avoid that. I like real sport. I like watching cricket. Paul Marden: They don't do that in cricket. So we are at the business end of the hull of the ship, aren't we? We're next to the propeller. Sam Mullins: We're sitting under the stern. We can still see that lovely, gilded Stern, saying, Great Britain, Bristol, and the windows and the coat of arms across the stern of the ship. Now this, of course, was the biggest ship in the world when built. So not only was it the first, first iron ship of any scale, but it was also third bigger than anything in the Royal Navy at the time. Paul Marden: They talked about that, when we were on the warrior aim the other day, that it was Brunel that was leading the way on what the pinnacle of engineering was like. It was not the Royal Navy who was convinced that it was sail that needed to lead. Sam Mullins: Yeah, Brunel had seen a much smaller, propeller driven vessel tried out, which was being toured around the country. And so they were midway through kind of design of this, when they decided it wasn't going to be a paddle steamer, which its predecessor, the world's first ocean liner, the Great Western. A was a paddle steamer that took you to New York. He decided that, and he announced to the board that he was going to make a ship that was driven by a propeller, which was the first, and this is, this is actually a replica of his patent propeller design. Paul Marden: So, this propeller was, is not the original to the show, okay?Sam Mullins: Later in its career, it had the engines taken out, and it was just a sailing ship. It had a long and interesting career. And for the time it was going to New York and back, and the time it was going to Australia and back, carrying migrants. It was a hybrid, usually. So you use the sails when it was favourable when it wasn't much wind or the wind was against. You use the use the engines. Use the steam engine.Paul Marden: Coming back into fashion again now, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yeah, hybrid, yeah.Paul Marden: I can see holes in the hull. Was this evident when it was still in the Falklands?Sam Mullins: Yeah, it came to notice in the 60s that, you know, this world's first it was beached at Sparrow Cove in the Falkland Islands. It had lost its use as a wool warehouse, which is which it had been for 30 or 40 years. And a number of maritime historians, you and call it. It was the kind of key one realised that this, you know, extraordinary, important piece of maritime heritage would maybe not last too many war winters at Sparrow cope had a big crack down one side of the hull. It would have probably broken in half, and that would have made any kind of conservation restoration pretty well impossible as it was. It was a pretty amazing trick to put it onto a to put a barge underneath, to raise it up out of the water, and to tow it into Montevideo and then across the Atlantic, you know, 7000 miles, or whatever it is, to Avon mouth. So it's a kind of heroic story from the kind of heroic age of industrial and maritime heritage, actually.Paul Marden: It resonates for me in terms of the Mary Rose in that you've got a small group of very committed people that are looking to rescue this really valuable asset. And they find it and, you know, catch it just in time. Sam Mullins: Absolutely. That was one of the kind of eye openers for me at Mary rose last week, was just to look at the kind of sheer difficulty of doing conventional archaeology underwater for years and years. You know, is it 50,000 dives were made? Some immense number. And similarly, here, you know, lots of people kind of simply forget it, you know, it's never gonna, but a few, stuck to it, you know, formed a group, fund, raised. This is an era, of course, you know, before lottery and all that jazz. When you had to, you had to fundraise from the public to do this, and they managed to raise the money to bring it home, which, of course, is only step one. You then got to conserve this enormous lump of metal so it comes home to the dry dock in which it had been built, and that has a sort of fantastic symmetry, you know about it, which I just love. You know, the dock happened to be vacant, you know, in 1970 when the ship was taken off the pontoon at Avon mouth, just down the river and was towed up the curving Avon river to this dock. It came beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which, of course, was Brunel design, but it was never built in his time. So these amazing pictures of this Hulk, in effect,  coming up the river, towed by tugs and brought into the dock here with 1000s of people you know, surrounding cheering on the sidelines, and a bit like Mary Rose in a big coverage on the BBC.Paul Marden: This is the thing. So I have a very vivid memory of the Mary Rose being lifted, and that yellow of the scaffolding is just permanently etched in my brain about sitting on the carpet in primary school when the TV was rolled out, and it was the only TV in the whole of school that, to me is it's modern history happening. I'm a Somerset boy. I've been coming to Bristol all my life. I wasn't alive when Great Britain came back here. So to me, this feels like ancient history. It's always been in Bristol, because I have no memory of it returning home. It was always just a fixture. So when we were talking the other day and you mentioned it was brought back in the 70s, didn't realise that. Didn't realise that at all. Should we move on? Because I am listening. Gently in the warmth.Sam Mullins: Let's move around this side of the as you can see, the dry dock is not entirely dry, no, but nearly.Paul Marden: So, you're trustee here at SS Great Britain. What does that mean? What do you do?Sam Mullins: Well, the board, Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance of the charity. We employ the executives, the paid team here. We work with them to develop the kind of strategy, financial plan, to deliver that strategy, and we kind of hold them as executives to account, to deliver on that.Paul Marden: It's been a period of change for you, hasn't it? Just recently, you've got a new CEO coming to the first anniversary, or just past his first anniversary. It's been in place a little while.Sam Mullins: So in the last two years, we've had a, we've recruited a new chairman, new chief executive, pretty much a whole new leadership team.One more starting next month, right? Actually, we're in July this month, so, yeah, it's been, you know, organisations are like that. They can be very, you know, static for some time, and then suddenly a kind of big turnover. And people, you know, people move.Paul Marden: So we're walking through what is a curved part of the dry dock now. So this is becoming interesting underfoot, isn't it?Sam Mullins: This is built in 1839 by the Great Western Steamship Company to build a sister ship to the Great Western which was their first vessel built for the Atlantic run to New York. As it happens, they were going to build a similar size vessel, but Brunel had other ideas, always pushing the edges one way or another as an engineer.Paul Marden: The keel is wood. Is it all wood? Or is this some sort of?Sam Mullins: No, this is just like, it's sort of sacrificial.So that you know when, if it does run up against ground or whatever, you don't actually damage the iron keel.Paul Marden: Right. Okay, so there's lots happening for the museum and the trust. You've just had a big injection of cash, haven't you, to do some interesting things. So there was a press release a couple of weeks ago, about a million pound of investment. Did you go and find that down the back of the sofa? How do you generate that kind of investment in the charity?Sam Mullins: Unusually, I think that trust that's put the bulk of that money and came came to us. I think they were looking to do something to mark their kind of, I think to mark their wind up. And so that was quite fortuitous, because, as you know at the moment, you know, fundraising is is difficult. It's tough. Paul Marden: That's the understatement of the year, isn't it?Sam Mullins: And with a new team here and the New World post COVID, less, less visitors, income harder to gain from. Pretty well, you know, all sources, it's important to keep the site kind of fresh and interesting. You know, the ship has been here since 1970 it's become, it's part of Bristol. Wherever you go in Bristol, Brunel is, you know, kind of the brand, and yet many Bristolians think they've seen all this, and don't need, you know, don't need to come back again. So keeping the site fresh, keeping the ideas moving on, are really important. So we've got the dockyard museum just on the top there, and that's the object for fundraising at the moment, and that will open in July next year as an account of the building of the ship and its importance. Paul Marden: Indeed, that's interesting. Related to that, we know that trusts, trusts and grants income really tough to get. Everybody's fighting for a diminishing pot income from Ace or from government sources is also tough to find. At the moment, we're living off of budgets that haven't changed for 10 years, if we're lucky. Yeah, for many people, finding a commercial route is the answer for their museum. And that was something that you did quite successfully, wasn't it, at the Transport Museum was to bring commercial ideas without sacrificing the integrity of the museum. Yeah. How do you do that?Sam Mullins: Well, the business of being an independent Museum, I mean, LTM is a to all sets of purposes, an independent Museum. Yes, 81% of its funding itself is self generated. Paul Marden: Is it really? Yeah, yeah. I know. I would have thought the grant that you would get from London Transport might have been bigger than that.  Sam Mullins: The grant used to be much bigger proportion, but it's got smaller and smaller. That's quite deliberate. Are, you know, the more you can stand on your own two feet, the more you can actually decide which direction you're going to take those feet in. Yeah. So there's this whole raft of museums, which, you know, across the UK, which are independently governed, who get all but nothing from central government. They might do a lottery grant. Yes, once in a while, they might get some NPO funding from Ace, but it's a tiny part, you know, of the whole. And this ship, SS Great Britain is a classic, you know, example of that. So what do you do in those circumstances? You look at your assets and you you try and monetise them. That's what we did at London Transport Museum. So the museum moved to Covent Garden in 1980 because it was a far sighted move. Michael Robbins, who was on the board at the time, recognised that they should take the museum from Scion Park, which is right on the west edge, into town where people were going to be, rather than trying to drag people out to the edge of London. So we've got that fantastic location, in effect, a high street shop. So retail works really well, you know, at Covent Garden.Paul Marden: Yeah, I know. I'm a sucker for a bit of moquette design.Sam Mullins: We all love it, which is just great. So the museum developed, you know, a lot of expertise in creating products and merchandising it. We've looked at the relationship with Transport for London, and we monetised that by looking at TFL supply chain and encouraging that supply chain to support the museum. So it is possible to get the TFL commissioner to stand up at a corporate members evening and say, you know, you all do terribly well out of our contract, we'd like you to support the museum as well, please. So the corporate membership scheme at Transport Museum is bigger than any other UK museum by value, really, 60, 65 members,. So that was, you know, that that was important, another way of looking at your assets, you know, what you've got. Sometimes you're talking about monetising relationships. Sometimes it's about, you know, stuff, assets, yeah. And then in we began to run a bit short of money in the kind of middle of the teens, and we did an experimental opening of the Aldwych disused tube station on the strand, and we're amazed at the demand for tickets.Paul Marden: Really, it was that much of a surprise for you. And we all can talk. Sam Mullins: We had been doing, we've been doing some guided tours there in a sort of, slightly in a one off kind of way, for some time. And we started to kind of think, well, look, maybe should we carry on it? Paul Marden: You've got the audience that's interested.Sam Mullins: And we've got the access through TFL which, you know, took a lot of work to to convince them we weren't going to, you know, take loads of people underground and lose them or that they jump out, you know, on the Piccadilly line in the middle of the service, or something. So hidden London is the kind of another really nice way where the museum's looked at its kind of assets and it's monetised. And I don't know what this I don't know what this year is, but I think there are now tours run at 10 different sites at different times. It's worth about half a million clear to them to the museum.Paul Marden: It's amazing, and they're such brilliant events. So they've now opened up for younger kids to go. So I took my daughter and one of her friends, and they were a little bit scared when the lights got turned off at one point, but we had a whale of a time going and learning about the history of the tube, the history of the tube during the war. It was such an interesting, accessible way to get to get them interested in stuff. It was brilliant.Sam Mullins: No, it's a great programme, and it was doing well before COVID, we went into lockdown, and within three weeks, Chris Nix and the team had started to do kind of zoom virtual tours. We all are stuck at home looking at our screens and those hidden London hangouts the audience kind of gradually built yesterday TV followed with secrets of London Underground, which did four series of. Hidden London book has sold 25,000 copies in hardback, another one to come out next year, maybe.Paul Marden: And all of this is in service of the museum. So it's almost as if you're opening the museum up to the whole of London, aren't you, and making all of that space you're you. Museum where you can do things.Sam Mullins: Yeah. And, of course, the great thing about hidden London programme is it's a bit like a theatre production. We would get access to a particular site for a month or six weeks. You'd sell the tickets, you know, like mad for that venue. And then the run came to an end, and you have to, you know, the caravan moves on, and we go to, you know, go to go to a different stations. So in a sense, often it's quite hard to get people to go to an attraction unless they've got visitors staying or whatever. But actually, if there's a time limit, you just kind of have to do it, you know.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Everybody loves a little bit of scarcity, don't they? Sam Mullins: Should we go up on the deck? Paul Marden: That sounds like fun to me.Sam Mullins: Work our way through.Paul Marden: So Hidden London was one of the angles in order to make the museum more commercially sound. What are you taking from your time at LTM and bringing to the party here at the SS Great Britain?Sam Mullins: Well, asking similar, you know, range of questions really, about what assets do we have? Which of those are, can be, can be monetised in support of the charity? Got here, Paul, so we're, we've got the same mix as lots of middle sized museums here. There's a it's a shop, paid admission, hospitality events in the evening, cafe. You know that mix, what museums then need to do is kind of go, you know, go beyond that, really, and look at their estate or their intellectual property, or the kind of experiences they can offer, and work out whether some of that is monetisable.Paul Marden: Right? And you mentioned before that Brunel is kind of, he's the mascot of Bristol. Almost, everything in Bristol focuses on Brunel. Is there an opportunity for you to collaborate with other Brunel themed sites, the bridge or?Sam Mullins: Yeah. Well, I think probably the opportunity is to collaborate with other Bristol attractions. Because Bristol needs to. Bristol's having a hard time since COVID numbers here are nowhere near what they were pre COVID So, and I think it's the same in the city, across the city. So Andrew chief executive, is talking to other people in the city about how we can share programs, share marketing, that kind of approach.Paul Marden: Making the docks a destination, you know, you've got We the Curious. Where I was this morning, having coffee with a friend and having a mooch around. Yeah, talking about science and technology, there must be things that you can cross over. This was this war. This feels like history, but it wasn't when it was built, was it? It was absolutely the cutting edge of science and technology.Sam Mullins: Absolutely, and well, almost beyond, you know, he was Brunel was pushing, pushing what could be done. It is the biggest ship. And it's hard to think of it now, because, you know, you and I can walk from one end to the other in no time. But it was the biggest ship in the world by, you know, some way, when it was launched in 1845 so this was a bit like the Great Western Railway. It was cutting edge, cutting edge at the time, as we were talking about below. It had a propeller, radical stuff. It's got the bell, too,Paul Marden: When we were on, was it Warrior that we were on last week at the AIM conference for the first. And warrior had a propeller, but it was capable of being lifted, because the Admiralty wasn't convinced that this new fangled propeller nonsense, and they thought sail was going to lead. Sam Mullins: Yeah. Well, this ship had, you could lift a you could lift a propeller, because otherwise the propeller is a drag in the water if it's not turning over. So in its earlier configurations, it was a, it was that sort of a hybrid, where you could lift the propeller out the way, right, set full sail.Paul Marden:  Right, and, yeah, it's just, it's very pleasant out here today, isn't it? Lovely breeze compared to what it's been like the last few days. Sam Mullins: Deck has just been replaced over the winter. Paul Marden:  Oh, has it really. So say, have you got the original underneathSam Mullins: The original was little long, long gone. So what we have replaced was the deck that was put on in the in the 70s when the ship came back.Paul Marden: Right? You were talking earlier on about the cafe being one of the assets. You've done quite a lot of work recently, haven't you with the team at Elior to refurbish the cafe? What's the plan around that?Sam Mullins: Yeah, we're doing a big reinvestment. You always need to keep the offer fresh anyway, but it was time to reinvest. So the idea is to use that fantastic space on the edge of the dock. It's not very far down to where the floating harbour is really well populated with kind of restaurants and bars and an offer, we're just that 200 meters further along the dock. So perhaps to create an offer here that draws people up here, whether they visit the ship, you know, or not. So it's money, it's monetising your assets. So one of the great assets is this fabulous location on the on the dockside. So with early or we're reinvesting in the restaurant, it's going to go in the auto into after some trial openings and things, Paul, you know, it's going to have an evening offer as well as a daytime offer. And then it's been designed so the lights can go down in the evening. It becomes, you know, an evening place, rather than the museum's all day cafe, yes, and the offer, and obviously in the evenings would similarly change. And I think our ambition is that you should, you should choose this as the place to go out in the evening. Really, it's a great spot. It's a lovely, warm evening. We're going to walk along the dockside. I've booked a table and in the boardwalk, which is what we're calling it. And as you pay the bill, you notice that actually, this is associated with Asus, Great Britain. So, you know, the profit from tonight goes to help the charity, rather than it's the museum cafe. So that's the,Paul Marden: That's the pitch.Sam Mullins: That's the pitch in which we're working with our catering partners, Eli, or to deliver.Paul Marden: Andrew, your CEO and Claire from Eli, or have both kindly said that I can come back in a couple of months time and have a conversation about the restaurant. And I think it would be rude to turn them down, wouldn't it?Sam Mullins: I think you should test the menu really fully.Paul Marden: I will do my best. It's a tough job that I have. Sam Mullins: Somebody has to do this work. Paul Marden: I know, talking of tough jobs, the other thing that I saw when I was looking at the website earlier on was a press release talking about six o'clock gin as being a a partnership that you're investigating, because every museum needs its own tipple, doesn't it?Sam Mullins: Absolutely And what, you know, I think it's, I think what people want when they go to an attraction is they, they also want something of the offer to be locally sourced, completely, six o'clock gym, you know, Bristol, Bristol beers. You can't always do it, but I think, I think it's where you've got the opportunity. And Bristol's a bit of a foodie centre. There's quite a lot going on here in that respect. So, yes, of course, the museum ought to be ought to be doing that too.Paul Marden: I was very kindly invited to Big Pit over in the Welsh Valleys about 8 or 12 weeks ago for the launch, relaunch of their gift shop offering. And absolutely, at the core of what they were trying to do was because it's run by Museums Wales, they found that all of their gift shops were just a bland average of what you could get at any of the museums. None of them spoke of the individual place. So if you went to big pit, the gift shop looked the same as if you were in the centre of Cardiff, whereas now when you go you see things that are naturally of Big Pit and the surrounding areas. And I think that's so important to create a gift shop which has things that is affordable to everybody, but at the same time authentic and genuinely interesting.Sam Mullins: Yeah, I'm sure that's right. And you know I'm saying for you is for me, when I when I go somewhere, you want to come away with something, don't you? Yes, you know, you're a National Trust member and you haven't had to pay anything to get in. But you think I should be supporting the cause, you know, I want to go into that shop and then I want to, I want to buy some of the plants for my garden I just seen, you know, on the estate outside. Or I want to come away with a six o'clock gin or, you know, whatever it might be, there's and I think, I think you're more likely to buy if it's something that you know has engaged you, it's part of that story that's engaged you, right, while you're here. That's why everyone buys a guidebook and reads it afterwards.Paul Marden: Yeah, it's a reminder, isn't it, the enjoyable time that you've had? Yeah, I'm enjoying myself up on the top deck. Sam Mullins:  But should we go downstairs? The bow is a great view. Oh, let's do that. I think we might. Let's just work our way down through.Paul Marden: Take a sniff. Could you travel with these smelly passengers? Oh, no, I don't think I want to smell what it's like to be a cow on board shit. Sam Mullins: Fresh milk. Just mind yourself on these companion, ways are very steep now. This is probably where I get completely lost.Paul Marden: You know what we need? We need a very good volunteer. Don't we tell a volunteer story? COVID in the kitchen. Wow. Sam Mullins: The Gabby.Paul Marden: Generous use of scent. Sam Mullins: Yeah, food laid out pretty much based on what we know was consumed on the ship. One of the great things about the ship is people kept diaries. A lot of people kept diaries, and many have survived, right? You know exactly what it was like to be in first class or in steerage down the back.Paul Marden: And so what was the ship used for? Sam Mullins: Well, it was used, it was going to be an ocean liner right from here to New York, and it was more like the Concord of its day. It was essentially first class and second class. And then it has a founders on a bay in Northern Ireland. It's rescued, fitted out again, and then the opportunity comes take people to Australia. The Gold Rush in the 1850s. Migration to Australia becomes the big kind of business opportunity for the ships. Ships new owners. So there's more people on board that used to it applies to and fro to Australia a number of times 30 odd, 40 times. And it takes, takes passengers. It takes goods. It does bring back, brings back gold from because people were there for the gold rush. They were bringing their earnings, you know, back with them. It also brings mail, and, you know, other. Kind of car goes wool was a big cargo from. Paul Marden: Say, people down and assets back up again.Sam Mullins: People both directions. Paul Marden: Okay, yeah. How long was it taking?Sam Mullins: Well, a good trip. I think it did it in 50 odd days. Bit slower was 60 odd. And the food was like this. So it was steerage. It was probably a bit more basic. Paul Marden: Yeah, yes, I can imagine. Sam Mullins: I think we might. Here's the engines. Let's do the engines well.Paul Marden: Yes. So now we're in the engine room and, oh, it's daylight lit, actually. So you're not down in the darkest of depths, but the propeller shaft and all of the mechanism is it runs full length, full height of the ship.Sam Mullins: Yeah, it runs off from here, back to the propeller that we're looking at. Okay, down there a guy's stoking the boilers, putting coal into into the boilers, 24 hour seven, when the engines are running. Paul Marden: Yes, that's going to be a tough job, isn't it? Yeah, coal is stored in particular locations. Because that was something I learned from warrior, was the importance of making sure that you had the coal taken in the correct places, so that you didn't unbalance the ship. I mean,Sam Mullins: You right. I mean loading the ship generally had to be done really carefully so, you know, sort of balanced out and so forth. Coal is tends to be pretty low down for yes, for obvious reasons.Paul Marden: So let's talk a little bit about being a trustee. We're both trustees of charities. I was talking to somebody last week who been in the sector for a number of years, mid career, interested in becoming a trustee as a career development opportunity. What's the point of being a trustee? What's the point of the trustees to the CEO, and what's the benefit to the trustees themselves? Sam Mullins: Well, let's do that in order for someone in the mid part of their career, presumably looking to assume some kind of leadership role. At some point they're going to be dealing with a board, aren't they? Yes, they might even be doing, you know, occasional reporting to a board at that at their current role, but they certainly will be if they want to be chief executive. So getting some experience on the other side of the table to feel what it's like to be a trustee dealing with chief executive. I think he's immensely useful. I always recommended it to to my gang at the Transport Museum, and they've all been on boards of one sort or another as part of their career development.Sam Mullins: For the chief executive. What's the benefit? Well, the board, I mean, very directly, hold the chief executive to account. Yes, are you doing what we asked you to do? But also the wise chief executive recruits a board that's going to be helpful in some way or another. It's not just there to catch them out. Yeah, it's it's there to bring their experience from business, from IT, from marketing, from other museums into the business of running the place. So here we've got a range of Trustees. We've been we've recruited five or six in the last couple of years qquite deliberately to we know that a diverse board is a good board, and that's diverse in the sense not just a background, but of education, retired, still, still at work, young, old, male, female, you know, you name in.Paul Marden: In all of the directionsSam Mullins:  Yeah. So a diverse board makes better decisions than one that just does group think all the time. It's, you know, it's a truism, isn't it? I think we all kind of, we all understand and understand that now and then, for the trustee, you know, for me, I particularly last couple of years, when the organization has been through huge changes, it's been really interesting to deploy my prior experience, particularly in governance, because governance is what it all comes down to in an organisation. You do learn over the course of your career to deploy that on behalf, you know, this is a great organisation, the story of Brunel and the ship and and, you know, his influence on the railways. And I travel down on the Great Western railways, yeah, the influence of Brunel is, you know, is enormous. It's a fantastic story. It's inspiring. So who wouldn't want to join? You know what in 2005 was the Museum of the year? Yes, I think we'll just go back there where we came. Otherwise, I never found my way.Paul Marden: Back through the kitchen. Sam Mullins: Back through the kitchen. It looks like stew is on the menu tonight. You've seen me at the mobile the rat.Paul Marden: And also the cat up on the shelf. He's not paying a lot of attention to the ratSam Mullins: Back on deck. Paul Marden: Wonderful. Yeah. So the other great endeavor that you've embarked on is writing, writing a book. Tell us a little bit about the book.Sam Mullins: Yeah, I've written a history of transport in London and its influence on London since 2000 since the mayoralty, elected mayoralty was, was started, you know, I was very lucky when I was running the museum where I had kind of one foot in TfL and one foot out. I knew lots of people. I was there for a long time, yes, so it was, it was easy to interview about 70 of them.Paul Marden: Right? I guess you've built trust levels, haven't you? Yeah, I don't mean that you don't look like a journalist walking in from the outside with an ax to grind. Sam Mullins: And I'm not going to kind of screw them to the Evening Standard, you know, tomorrow. So it's a book based on interviews, oral reminiscences. It's very much their story. So it's big chunks of their accounts of, you know, the big events in London. So what was it like to be in the network control room on the seventh of July, 2005 when the bombs went off? What was it like to be looking out for congestion charge the day it started? Yep. What was it like to kind of manage the Olympics?Paul Marden: You know? So you're mentioning these things. And so I was 10 years at British Airways. I was an IT project manager, but as well, I was a member of the emergency planning team. Yeah. So I got involved in the response to September the 11th. I got involved in some of the engagement around seven, seven, there's seminal moments, and I can, I can vividly remember myself being there at that time. But similarly, I can remember being there when we won the Olympics, and we were all sat in the staff canteen waiting to hear whether we'd won the Olympics, and the roar that erupted. There's so many of those things that have happened in the last 25 years where, you know, you've got, it's recent history, but it's real interesting events that have occurred that you can tell stories of.Sam Mullins: Yeah. So what I wanted to get in the book was a kind of sense of what it was like to be, really at the heart of those, those stories. And there are, you know, there are, there are people in TfL who made those big things happen? Yes, it's not a big, clumsy bureaucracy. It's a place where really innovative leadership was being exercised all the way through that 25 years. Yes, so it runs up to COVID, and what was it like when COVID struck? So the book's called Every Journey Matters, and it comes out in November.Paul Marden: Amazing, amazing. So we have, we've left the insides of the ship, and we are now under, what's this part of the ship? Sam Mullins: We're under the bow. There we go, and a bow spread that gets above our heads. So again, you've got this great, hulking, cast iron, black hull, beautifully shaped at the bow. Look the way it kind of tapers in and it tapers in and out.Paul Marden: It's a very three dimensional, isn't it? The curve is, is in every direction. Sam Mullins: Yeah,it's a great, great shape. So it's my sort of, I think it's my favourite spot. I like coming to look at this, because this is the kind of, this is the business, yeah, of the ship.Paul Marden: What have we got running along the front here? These these images in in gold.Sam Mullins: This is a figurehead with Victoria's Coat of Arms only sua Kim Ali points on top with it, with a lion and a unicorn.Paul Marden: It's a really, it's not a view that many people would have ever seen, but it is such an impressive view here looking up, yeah, very, very cool. And to stand here on the on the edge of the dry dock. Sam Mullins: Dry Docks in to our right, and the floating harbor is out to our left. Yeah.Paul Marden: And much going on on that it's busy today, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yeah, it's good. Paul Marden: So we've done full loop, haven't we? I mean, it has been a whistle stop tour that you've taken me on, but I've loved every moment of this. We always ask our guests a difficult question. Well, for some it's a difficult question, a book recommendation, which, as we agreed over lunch, cannot be your own book. I don't think, I think it's a little unfair Sam Mullins: Or anything I've ever written before.Paul Marden: Yes, slightly self serving, but yeah.Sam Mullins: It would be, wouldn't it look the first thing that comes to mind is, I've actually been reading my way through Mick Herron's Slow Horses series, okay, which I'm a big fan of detective fiction. I love Ian Rankin's Rebus. Okay, I read through Rebus endlessly when I want something just to escape into the sloughhouse series Slow Horses is really good, and the books all have a sort of similar kind of momentum to them. Something weird happens in the first few chapters, which seems very inconsequential and. Suddenly it turns into this kind of roller coaster. Will they? Won't they? You know, ending, which is just great. So I recommend Mick Herron's series. That's that's been the best, not best, fiction I've read in a long time.Paul Marden: You know, I think there's something, there's something nice, something comforting, about reading a series of books where the way the book is structured is very similar. You can, you can sit down and you know what's going to happen, but, but there's something interesting, and it's, it's easy. Sam Mullins: It's like putting on a pair of old slippers. Oh, I'm comfortable with this. Just lead me along. You know, that's what, that's what I want. I enjoy that immensely.Paul Marden: And should we be? Should we be inviting our listeners to the first book in the series, or do they need to start once, once he's got his, got his, found his way? Sam Mullins: Well, some people would have seen the television adaptation already. Well, that will have spoilt the book for them. Gary Oldman is Jackson lamb, who's the lead character, okay, but if you haven't, or you just like a damn good read, then you start with the first one, which I think is called Sloughhouse. They're all self contained, but you can work your way through them. Paul Marden: Well, that sounds very good. So listeners, if you'd like a copy of Sam's book, not Sam's book, Sam's book recommendation, then head over to Bluesky and repost the show notice and say, I want a copy of Sam's book, and the first one of you lovely listeners that does that will get a copy sent to you by Wenalyn. Sam This has been delightful. I hope listeners have enjoyed this as much as I have. This is our first time having a @skipthequeue in real life, where we wandered around the attraction itself and hopefully narrated our way bringing this amazing attraction to life. I've really enjoyed it. I can now say that as a West Country lad, I have actually been to the SS Great Britain. Last thing to say for visitor, for listeners, we are currently midway through the Rubber Cheese Annual Survey of visitor attraction websites. Paul Marden: If you look after an attraction website and you'd like to share some information about what you do, we are gathering all of that data together to produce a report that helps people to understand what good looks like for an attraction website. This is our fourth year. Listeners that are interested, head over to RubberCheese.com/survey, and you can find out a little bit more about the survey and some of the some of the findings from the past and what we're looking for for this year. Sam, thank you so very much.Sam Mullins: Enjoyed it too. It's always good to rabbit on about what you do every day of the week, and being here and part of this really great organisation is huge privilege.Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others to find us. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them to increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcripts from this episode and more over on our website, skipthequeue fm. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Time Ram really needs to talk about Styre, as we take Tom Baker's 'The Sontaran Experiment' and thrust it into the David Tennant era! Get more Chameleon as we discover Aldwych, space metal, Tim Roth, heather and Blue Peter. All together now: mickey mickey mickey mickey...

It was announced yesterday that TINA: the Tina Turner musical would close in the West End after 7 years.While the show has enjoyed considerable global success, and recently commenced its first UK Tour, this still raises questions about the place of jukebox musicals such as Tina in the current theatre landscape.It also raises questions about which show we might see next at the Aldwych Theatre in London...•00:00 | introduction02:29 | why it's closing09:01 | industry impact15:25 | next at the Aldwych?•About Mickey-Jo:As one of the leading voices in theatre criticism on a social platform, Mickey-Jo is pioneering a new medium for a dwindling field. His YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MickeyJoTheatre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the largest worldwide in terms of dedicated theatre criticism, where he also share features, news and interviews as well as lifestyle content for over 80,000 subscribers. Since establishing himself as a theatre critic he has been able to work internationally. With a viewership that is largely split between the US and the UK he has been fortunate enough to be able to work with PR, Marketing, and Social Media representatives for shows in New York, London, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Toronto, Sao Pãolo, and Paris. He has also twice received accreditation from the world renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His reviews and features have also been published by WhatsOnStage, for whom he was a panelist to help curate nominees for their 2023 and 2024 Awards as well as BroadwayWorldUK, Musicals Magazine and LondonTheatre.co.uk. He has been invited to speak to private tour groups, at the BEAM 2023 new musical theatre conference at Oxford Playhouse, and on a panel of critics at an event for young people considering a career in the arts courtesy of Go Live Theatre Projects. Instagram/TikTok/X: @MickeyJoTheatre

La estación de Aldwych cerró en 1994. Antes formaba parte de la línea Piccadilly, pero ahora permanece en silencio, mientras los trenes todavía recorren los túneles cercanos.Esta grabación captura la atmósfera nocturna de la estación—el eco distante del metro, sutiles cambios de presión en el aire, y los crujidos de una infraestructura olvidada. Londres nunca duerme del todo.

 Welcome to part 4, the final episode in the landscape mini-series. In this episode I sit down with Cannon Ivers CMLI of LDA to discuss their inspiring project The Strand, Aldwych. The Strand was for centuries a busy traffic thoroughfare in central London that has been transformed into a totally pedestrianised and multi-functional public space. Cannon tells me the story of how this came to be, what it means for the people who use this space and how it connects to a larger initiative to transform busy roads in central London into public spaces. More about the Strand: https://www.lda-design.co.uk/kindling/news/westminster-unveils-reimagined-strand-aldwych/Thanks for listening!Join the Green Urbanist Weekly newsletter: SubstackSupport the Podcast by Donation Contact Ross Website Linkedin Twitter Instagram

Our second Lilli Palmer Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode sees the rising young star second-billed as the love interest in a couple of strange enterprises: Command Performance (1937), a vehicle for popular American tenor Arthur Tracy, and Crackerjack (1938), an unhinged crime comedy starring Aldwych farces alumnus Tom Walls as a criminal superhero. As Lilli tries to orient herself in film acting, Dave and Elise try to orient themselves in this unfamiliar territory of 30s British cinema and its popular figures.  Time Codes: 0h 00m 45s:    General Lilli Palmer talk + a little from Change Lobsters and Dance (Palmer's autobiography) 0h 04m 17s:    COMMAND PERFORMANCE (1937) [dir. Sinclair Hill] 0h 25m 12s:    CRACKERJACK (1938) [dir. Albert de Courville] +++ * Listen to our guest episode on The Criterion Project – a discussion of Late Spring * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s * Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's piece on Gangs of New York – “Making America Strange Again” * Check out Dave's Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at therebuggy@gmail.com We now have a Discord server - just drop us a line if you'd like to join! 

Karis Anderson is starring as Tina Turner in the West End production of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre.Karis originally joined the show as an Ikette and understudy for Tina. She took over as Tina earlier this year, sharing the role with Elesha Paul Moses.  Karis started out in music and was part of the Brit nominated girl group Stooshe. After Stooshe,  Karis ventured into theatre with her credits including: Diana Ross in Motown (UK Tour), PP Arnold in All Or Nothing (Ambassadors) and Genie of the Lamp in Aladdin (Jordan Productions).Recorded backstage at the Aldwych, in this episode Karis discusses how she went from thinking she would never sing again to conquering the role of Tina, how she went from music to theatre and the impact this role has had on her life... plus lots more! Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is booking at the Aldwych Theatre until September 2024. Visit www.tinathemusical.com for info and tickets. Hosted by Andrew Tomlins  @AndrewTomlins32  Thanks for listening! Email: andrew@westendframe.co.uk Visit westendframe.co.uk for more info about our podcasts.  

What happens when you remove cars from one of the busiest roads and intersections in London, and prioritise people and plants?  The new Strand Aldwych. The newly pedestrianised area has already picked up a bouquet of awards and generated lots of coverage. So Cannon Ivers, design lead of The Strand redesign and Director at Landscape Architecture practise LDA Design joins us for a chat about the project. 

Natalie and Darren discuss a plethora of theatre we've seen in February and recommendations of what's on in March. Productions reviewed in this episode include: Frozen at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical at The Aldwych, Mother Goose at Chichester Festival Theatre, Windfall at Southwark Playhouse, Sylvia at The Old Vic,  I *** You In My Spaceship at Vaults, Buff at Vaults, David Copperfield & Cirque Beserk at Riverside Studios.

"a gang of roughs charged the royal procession"

The jeep that sailed across the Atlantic ocean took to the road and drove up to London on August 26, 1951. This Today in London History podcast tells the tale. TRANSCRIPT London calling. London Walks connecting. London Walks here with your daily London fix. Story time. History time. We've seen it before, we'll see it […]

When a gory scandal isn't enough, what are you to do, except hold parties on the bodies of the dead? This is what we get from the Enon Chapel Scandal, which was brought to light in 1839 and shocked the public to its core. It didn't shock them enough, however, to close it down - in fact, they went one (quick)step further. Find out the details of this sorry tale on this week's episode. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to each episode. Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and www.alexlacey.com/podcast where you can also book for our virtual and real life walking tours. Thanks to Susie Riddell for our voiceover jingles www.susieriddell.com and our jinglemeister Ben Morales Frost, can be found on www.benfrostmusic.com See you next week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"the most celebrate Maypole in London"

Gareth is a Welsh composer, arranger, conductor and musical director. He has worked extensively in London's West End on musical productions and also conducted orchestras worldwide including the BBC Concert Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pasdeloup orchestra, RPO Concert Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, ENB Sinfonia, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and many others. After graduating from the Royal College of Music, London, he studied with Sir Peter Pears at Aldeburgh. As Musical Supervisor his theatre credits include:  Kiss Me Kate, Chichester Festival Theatre; Crazy For You, Open Air Theatre and the Novello Theatre; INTO THE WOODS, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (captured by Digital Theatre); End of the Rainbow, Royal & Derngate, Trafalgar Studios; Strictly Gershwin, ENB, Albert Hall and the Coliseum; Sondheim At 80 Concerts – Merrily We Roll Along and Company at the Donmar Warehouse; The King and I, Royal Albert Hall; Wicked, Apollo Victoria; Acorn Antiques, Haymarket Theatre and UK Tour; Porgy & Bess, Savoy; Sinatra, London Palladium; Aladdin, The Old Vic; Children Will Listen, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; Musicality, Channel 4; Anything Goes, RNT and Drury Lane; My One & Only, Piccadilly. As Musical Director his credits include: Kiss Me Kate, Victoria Palace; Merrily We Roll Along, Donmar; Chicago, Adelphi London, Madrid, Gottenburg, Moscow and Japan; Damn Yankees, Adelphi; Nine, Donmar; Camelot, Covent Garden; Company, Donmar; Kiss of the Spider Woman, Shaftesbury; Miss Saigon, Drury Lane; The Baker's Wife, Phoenix; Cats, New London; Closer Than Ever, Vaudeville; Kiss Me Kate, RSC; Cabaret, Aldwych; 42nd Street, Drury Lane.

We're back for another series to finish off the year! This week we're joined by Joel Harper-Jackson who recently starred as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots and has just released his debut album So What Happens Now. In this episode, Andrew & Joel discuss From Here To Eternity (The Shows Must Go On/Shaftesbury Theatre) and the latest news about Beauty & The Beast (UK Tour), Dick Whittington (National Theatre), Jersey Boys (West End) and The Rocky Horror Show (UK Tour).In addition to playing Charlie Price in Kinky Boots (UK Tour), Joel's theatre credits include: Tom Price in Pieces Of String (Mercury Theatre), Curious Incident (UK Tour), Simon in Jesus Christ Superstar (Regents Park), Beautiful  (Aldwych), Che in Evita (Slovenia) and Rent (UK Tour).Joel talks about saying goodbye to Kinky Boots as well as the process of working on, recording and releasing his album!To purchase Joel's album So What Happens Now visit www.joelharperjackson.com.Hosted by Andrew Tomlins@Andrew_TomlinsThanks for listening!Visit www.westendframe.co.uk to stay up-to-date with our podcasting adventures. 

Marked as explicit because of strong language and discussion of sex   Having taken a short change is as good as a holiday, Charles Adrian returns to his wooden IKEA steps to talk about the first three books given to him by guests on the third season of the podcast.   More information and a transcript of this episode is at http://www.pageonepodcast.com/.   Correction: The word Charles Adrian was looking for in relation to the cover of The Clown by Heinrich Böll is ‘monochrome’. Also, it is, of course, Heinrich Böll who won the Nobel Prize in 1972 not this particular novel.   You can find out more about The Radio Collective here: http://theradiocollective.com/?LMCL=gdVMwA   You can find Phoebe Reads A Mystery here: https://thisiscriminal.com/mystery/   Here is Varna in case you would like to explore the area yourself: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Varna,+Bulgaria/@43.2049449,27.872869,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x40a4538baaf3d7a1:0x5727941c71a58b7c!8m2!3d43.2140504!4d27.9147333?hl=en Galatz, which is the other place mentioned in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is now called Galați and is here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Gala%C8%9Bi,+Romania/@45.4377134,28.0124756,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x40b6dee589f2c4b5:0x53d7342f252d702b!8m2!3d45.4353208!4d28.0079945?hl=en     Correction: In 1993, when Nicholson’s London Mini Atlas was published, the East London line ran to Shoreditch at “Peak hours and Sunday mornings”. Also, Charles Adrian should have pointed out that Aldwych station, now disused, was still possible to reach on the Piccadilly line from Holborn at “Peak hours only”. You can find out more about Aldwych station on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldwych_tube_station   Books discussed in this episode were previously discussed in Page One 90 (http://www.pageonepodcast.com/season-3#/90-vera-chok/), Page One 91 (http://www.pageonepodcast.com/season-3#/91-richard-purnell/) and Page One 92 (http://www.pageonepodcast.com/season-3#/92-lolie-ware/).   Episode image is a detail from an image by Charles Adrian.   Episode recorded: 27th August, 2020.     Book listing:   Cunt-Ups by Dodie Bellamy (Page One 90) The Clown by Heinrich Böll (trans. Leila Vennewitz) (Page One 91) London Mini Atlas published by Nicholson (Page One 92)

A piece of road that goes from Trafalgar Square to Aldwych, but for such a small piece of road who would have know the volume of history that has been seen! We share this with you in this podcast!

Herzlich willkommen zu "#TimSvart - Krimi, Thriller & Mystery", dem Podcast rund um meine Bücher & Geschichten. In dieser Folge lese ich den zweiten Teil meiner ersten veröffentlichten Kurzgeschichte: Aldwych Station Aldwych Station: Der lange geplante Wochenendausflug nach London geht gründlich daneben. Jack und seine Freundin Sam wollen nur noch eines: raus aus dem Schmuddelwetter, so schnell wie möglich zurück ins Hotel. Doch als sie nichtsahnend die nächste U-Bahn-Station betreten, geraten sie in einen wahren Alptraum. Denn je mehr sie über die geheimnisvolle "Aldwych Station" herausfinden, desto sicherer sind sie, dass es für sie kein Entkommen geben wird. Weitere Infos zu mir und meinen Werken findet Ihr auf meiner Webseite (timsvart.de), auf Facebook, und auf Instagram. Ganz besonders möchte ich Euch an dieser Stelle meine Facebook-Gruppe "Tim Svart - Krimi, Thriller & Mystery" ans Herz legen. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine geschlossene Gruppe, in der wir sozusagen unter uns sind, aber jeder von Euch, der mag, ist herzlich willkommen.

Herzlich willkommen zu "#TimSvart - Krimi, Thriller & Mystery", dem Podcast rund um meine Bücher & Geschichten. In dieser Folge lese ich Teil 1 meiner ersten veröffentlichten Kurzgeschichte: Aldwych Station Aldwych Station: Der lange geplante Wochenendausflug nach London geht gründlich daneben. Jack und seine Freundin Sam wollen nur noch eines: raus aus dem Schmuddelwetter, so schnell wie möglich zurück ins Hotel. Doch als sie nichtsahnend die nächste U-Bahn-Station betreten, geraten sie in einen wahren Alptraum. Denn je mehr sie über die geheimnisvolle "Aldwych Station" herausfinden, desto sicherer sind sie, dass es für sie kein Entkommen geben wird. Weitere Infos zu mir und meinen Werken findet Ihr auf meiner Webseite (timsvart.de), auf Facebook, und auf Instagram. Ganz besonders möchte ich Euch an dieser Stelle meine Facebook-Gruppe "Tim Svart - Krimi, Thriller & Mystery" ans Herz legen. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine geschlossene Gruppe, in der wir sozusagen unter uns sind, aber jeder von Euch, der mag, ist herzlich willkommen.

Series 1, Episode 1, #breakfastwithIngram, Philip Ingram MBE chats with Hugo Rosemont the Director of Security and Resilience with ADS over bacon rolls, red sauce and tea of course (Hugo had coffee) and all in The Delaunay in Aldwych in London. We put the Security world to rights and solve all issues. Bacon Rolls were pretty good!

In episode 3 of Subterraneans, I discuss the building of the tube, the kind spirits who walk with us through the darkness, and the ghost stations and hidden vaults which lie beneath London. Subterraneans is written and produced by James Thompson. All my feeds can be found at https://twitter.com/Subterpod

For episode 15, we welcome one of our dearest friends to the fold, Scott Martin.9 summers in Ibiza and a genuine love for music has helped shape Scott Martin into a truly Balearic DJ.Scott spent 6 summers as a resident for “We Love” on Sundays at Space, having previously held residencies at Mambo, Savannah and Privilege. In 2006 Scott was nominated “Best Up and Coming DJ’ in the M8 Ibiza dance Awards.Scott has played alongside many of the world’s greatest DJs on a regular basis including his all time DJ idol, Laurent Garnier. Not only appealing to ‘popular culture’ Scott is also a favourite on the underground, after-hours and villa party scenes.Scott is also a successful promoter with the likes of Filthy Gorgeous, Lourd and Menagerie. His clandestine Jumpstart raves at Aldwych tube station being a prime example of his underground ethos.We all agree he's nailed it with this mix - exactly what Back To The Beach is all about.....so sit back, relax and enjoy the music x

For episode 15, we welcome one of our dearest friends to the fold, Scott Martin.9 summers in Ibiza and a genuine love for music has helped shape Scott Martin into a truly Balearic DJ.Scott spent 6 summers as a resident for “We Love” on Sundays at Space, having previously held residencies at Mambo, Savannah and Privilege. In 2006 Scott was nominated “Best Up and Coming DJ’ in the M8 Ibiza dance Awards.Scott has played alongside many of the world’s greatest DJs on a regular basis including his all time DJ idol, Laurent Garnier. Not only appealing to ‘popular culture’ Scott is also a favourite on the underground, after-hours and villa party scenes.Scott is also a successful promoter with the likes of Filthy Gorgeous, Lourd and Menagerie. His clandestine Jumpstart raves at Aldwych tube station being a prime example of his underground ethos.We all agree he's nailed it with this mix - exactly what Back To The Beach is all about.....so sit back, relax and enjoy the music x

Hello and welcome to Masters & Monsters, the Garblag Games Mage the Ascension actual play series!   Join our Chronicle as a group of Mages seek to thwart the efforts of a vile Nefandi master across war-torn London and beyond! We hope you enjoy!   Please consider supporting the channel through our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/garblaggames Or join our discord server for similar chat live: https://discord.gg/DPgQjr7 For more RPG Actual Play videos check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/garblaggames   Thanks for listening!   Music in this video was: “The Rule” Ken MacLeod www.incompetech.com Licenced under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent 6 October 2018 - 10:00 am - 17:00 pm Lecture Room 3, Bush House (North East Wing), King's College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and to look forward on union prospects for the future. A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference, with speakers and chairs including: Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial and senior political correspondent Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003 Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB General Secretary Dr James Moher, a former union official and historian of the Labour movement Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, Royal Holloway University of London

...in which Aldwych dares

...in which Aldwych ventures into the tall grass

...in which Aldwych peers into the darkness

...in which Aldwych ascends a willow tree

...in which Aldwych plans his escape

...in which Aldwych arrives

...in which Aldwych discovers faded glory

Mariam Memarsadeghi - Tavaana: E-learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society 22 February 2018 - 16:00 pm - 18:00 pm Room 1.03, Bush House (North East Wing), 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG How can the past - even the ancient past - help democracy advocates understand the societies they are working in? Mariam Memarsadeghi, Iranian-American human rights and democracy advocate and co-founder of Tavaana: E-learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society, will talk about the contemporary position in Iran and the work of her organisation in promoting democracy there. Alex Loktionov of Robinson College, Cambridge will discuss the ancient history of Egypt and the lessons that might be derived for contemporary democracy promotion. Dr Andrew Blick, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History, DPE, and Director of History & Policy was the chair.

Alex Loktionov of Robinson College, Cambridge. 22 February 2018 - 16:00 pm - 18:00 pm Room 1.03, Bush House (North East Wing), 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG How can the past - even the ancient past - help democracy advocates understand the societies they are working in? Mariam Memarsadeghi, Iranian-American human rights and democracy advocate and co-founder of Tavaana: E-learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society, will talk about the contemporary position in Iran and the work of her organisation in promoting democracy there. Alex Loktionov of Robinson College, Cambridge will discuss the ancient history of Egypt and the lessons that might be derived for contemporary democracy promotion. Dr Andrew Blick, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History, DPE, and Director of History & Policy was the chair.

Was Hitler a drug addict? Were his troops fighting whilst high on crystal meth? In this podcast, Norman Ohler discusses his provocative new book on the use of drugs in Nazi Germany. This podcast features an exclusive event recording from 31/5/2017 with Norman Ohler in conversation with Dr Kieran Mitton and a follow up interview where the author talks about his personal background and inspirations for writing 'Blitzed! Drugs in Nazi Germany'. Norman Ohler was born in Zweibrücken in 1970. He is the author of three novels, 'Die Quotenmaschine'(the world's first hypertext novel), 'Mitte und Stadt des Goldes' as well as two novellas. He was co-writer of the script for Wim Wenders' film 'Palermo Shooting'. He researched 'Blitzed! Drugs in Nazi Germany' in numerous archives across Germany and the United States. UPCOMING EVENTS AT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: CSSS SEMINAR: RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES: APPLYING "NEW TOOLS" TO TODAY'S TOUGHEST NON-PROLIFERATION CASES Jessica Varnum (CNS) and Ian Stewart (Project Alpha, KCL) will discuss current open-source tools being used in today's toughest non-proliferation cases. 3rd October 2017 (18:00-20:00) Room 2.01/2.02 Floor 2 Bush House King's College London Strand Campus 30 Aldwych London WC2B 4BG (Across the road from Strand Campus) RSVP: https://goo.gl/forms/U7CIxYJEUw8VJi9r2 THE FUTURE OF WAR - BOOK LAUNCH Professor Lawrence Freedman's account is a challenge to hawks and doves alike, that puts current strategic thinking into a stimulating historical perspective. 4th October 2017 (18:30-21:00) 30 Aldwych, 8th Floor North Side Bush House, London, WC2B 4BG RSVP: bit.ly/2wj9wWX A NEW EURASIAN GEOPOLITICS? VIEWS FROM JAPAN What is Japan's policy towards Russia? Professor Masuo from Kyushu Univeristy and Professor Iwashita from Hokkaido University will be sharing their insights on this issue. 9th October 2017 (17:15-19:15) War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07) RSVP: bit.ly/2sU6jsq INFLUENCING THE WORLD, LISTENING TO THE WORLD: THE EMERGENCE OF THE PUBLIC VOICE How wars and major international issues are presented and discussed - What information can be trusted? Which news counts? Which voices do we listen to? 10th October 2017 (18:00-19:00) 30 Aldwych, Bush House Arcade (Strand Campus) RSVP: https://emergenceofthepublicvoice.eventbrite.co.uk This podcast was produced by Ivan Seifert and Bisi Olulode.

What is a wargame? Who should be playing wargames and why? How can simulating real-world events help to avoid real-world conflicts? In this podcast, we are bringing you five exclusive interviews with organisers and participants of this year's Connections UK conference. The interviewees are Major Tom Mouat, Professor Philip Sabin, Patrick Kwasi Brobbey, Dr Anja van der Hulst, and Commander Matt Payne. The Connections UK is a conference dedicated to wargaming. This conference was hosted by the School of Security Studies and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. For more information about the conference, visit http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/ or read this BBC article https://goo.gl/iUYhyA. UPCOMING EVENTS AT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: THE FUTURE OF WAR - BOOK LAUNCH 4th October 2017 (18:30-21:00) 30 Aldwych, 8th Floor North Side Bush House, London, WC2B 4BG RSVP: http://bit.ly/2wj9wWX Professor Lawrence Freedman's account is a challenge to hawks and doves alike, that puts current strategic thinking into a stimulating historical perspective. A NEW EURASIAN GEOPOLITICS? VIEWS FROM JAPAN 9th October 2017 (17:15-19:15) War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07) RSVP: http://bit.ly/2sU6jsq What is Japan's policy towards Russia? Professor Masuo from Kyushu Univeristy and Professor Iwashita from Hokkaido University will be sharing their insights on this issue. INFLUENCING THE WORLD, LISTENING TO THE WORLD: THE EMERGENCE OF THE PUBLIC VOICE 10th October 2017 (18:00-19:00) 30 Aldwych, Bush House Arcade (Strand Campus) RSVP: https://emergenceofthepublicvoice.eventbrite.co.uk How wars and major international issues are presented and discussed - What information can be trusted? Which news counts? Which voices do we listen to? This podcast was produced by Ivan Seifert.

Lipstick covered, mirrored walls, feather boas swinging from chandeliers, over-flowing champagne-filled coupes? Yes, you are in the right place - the Aldwych’s swingin’, speakeasy Miss Homage. Good Godfrey, the former band leader of the original Waldorf, may have broken her heart, but Miss Homage is having the last laugh.   Jason and Pablo channeled her spirit and are with us today, scissor kicking and camel-walking us through the steps it took to create this very modern cocktail bar with a 20s twist. Click here to see Pablo makes us a Siena Secret on Mixology in a Minute: Where you can hear me drinking next: We head to the City of Brotherly Love for our next podcast, where we meet with Jason Elliott, the General Manager of The Franklin Bar. According to the rumors, the Franklin crew ran more liquor even than the notorious Al Capone. We’ll let you know if those rumors are true. Are you a regular listener of the Best Sips Worldwide podcast? You can get this and all future audio files automatically downloaded to your mobile device easy. If you're on iOS, you can listen with iTunes. Android users can get it on Google Play. Or click the player or link below to listen to just this episode. (But trust me, you'll want to subscribe!) Download the audio

I return to Kingsway with Gio and walk to Aldwych. #GuideDog #Training #Class #Dog #Gio #2016 #PremierInn #euston #london #UK #Blind #VisuallyImpaired #VI #Learn #Independence #Mobility #AudioDiary #Audio #Diary #GermanShepherd # GoldenRetriever #gdba #holborn #kingsway #aldwych #bus

Sir Peter Hall was appointed Director of the National Theatre in 1973. Before that, he ran the Royal Shakespeare Company and he was responsible for setting up their London base at the Aldwych. In spite of this heavy administrative responsibility, he has always found time to produce many plays and operas, including this year's Ring Cycle at Bayreuth. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his amazingly active life and chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Man That Got Away by Judy Garland Book: The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians Luxury: Photograph of children

Sir Peter Hall was appointed Director of the National Theatre in 1973. Before that, he ran the Royal Shakespeare Company and he was responsible for setting up their London base at the Aldwych. In spite of this heavy administrative responsibility, he has always found time to produce many plays and operas, including this year's Ring Cycle at Bayreuth. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his amazingly active life and chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Man That Got Away by Judy Garland Book: The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians Luxury: Photograph of children