Podcasts about Barry Island

Oh! What's occurrin'? Good question…This week's Profile, with Stephen Smith, is focusing in on a woman born in Bridgend in south Wales, who loved to participate in musical theatre as a child – and went on to create one of Britain's best-loved sitcoms.With a degree in drama under her belt from the University of Warwick, Ruth Jones initially found work at BBC Wales in both TV and radio comedy. She soon branched out into theatre, before gaining a role in the popular ITV series Fat Friends.It was there that she would work with James Corden for the first time. But not the last. The pair went onto create BBC Three hit, Gavin & Stacey in 2007. Seventeen years on, the sitcom has just provided us with one last trip to Barry Island and Billericay.So grab a chicken bhuna, lamb bhuna, prawn bhuna, mushroom rice, bag of chips, keema naan, nine poppadoms and listen to this episode of Profile on the woman known for her iconic role as Nessa.Production TeamProducers: Ben Cooper and Diane Richardson Editors: Ben Mundy and Sarah Wadeson Sound: John Scott Production Co-ordinator: Maria OgundeleCreditsGavin & Stacey 2008 Christmas Special: BBC / Baby Cow Productions Little Britain: BBC Barry Islands In The Stream: BBC / Comic Relief / Mercury Records

Oh, what's occurring? We've only got Ruth Jones & James Corden - aka Smithy & Nessa - joining us for dinner! The creators and stars of hit and beloved comedy, Gavin & Stacey popped round to tell us all the exclusives about the upcoming Christmas special and final ever episode. After binging the entire 3 series in a week, I have a lot of questions. We found out that James & Ruth secretly started writing the episode years ago, Ruth loves going on a literary cruise, how they boiled eggs in kettles when travelling, that Ruth surprised James at his 40th birthday in Mexico, how Ruth was hypnotised to hate chocolate, that James is loving living back in London, and you really, really don't want to miss Nessa & Smithy giving us their ‘last supper'! We are so excited to see what our favourite residents of Barry Island and Billericay have been up to for the last 5 years. The Gavin & Stacey finale will be on BBC1 at 9pm on Christmas Day - oh, don't miss it! X Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who better to tell you the history of a place than 3 homegrown, salt of the earth lads that grew up there? If you've come for route one, low effort Gavin & Stacey references then, pal, you're in the wrong place because this is an accurate intellectual convo only zone (apart from the intro music, that very much is Gavin & Stacey).Hit play and enlighten your mind and soul with stories straight from the jewel of Glamorgan.Crysau Ti would have been called a purveyor of quality garb back in the day, we just think his t shirts are sick. Check him out along with the new merch we've collab'd with him to make.Find our merch on his site here.Check out our Patreon as well for extra content and a sneaky discount on Wales most fashionable apparel.

THE PRIZE DUMP TOUR IS BACK FOR 2024! Hello and welcome to The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X Podcast. This is episode 463 and it is a proper whopper of a Prize Dump Podcast. Much like Chris and the team this week, this episode covers a lot of ground, so buckle up and let's hit the road! This year's Prize Dump Tour kicked off at the mighty Peppa Pig World in Portsmouth, where James had a birthday surprise and Dom got ditched at great heights. Then, off to Barry Island it was, where Chris discovered the House of Fun and the team ate ice cream from Rachel... or was it Sarah, Dom? Next, the team set off for Essex, where things got a bit wild: Pippa met a pony while Chris and Dom got to know a bird. Then, 24 hours and 290 or so miles later, the tour bus landed in a very rainy Newcastle, where they were greeted by some very lovely listeners. As the week began to draw to a close, Chris and the team nearly went back to where they started, zooming down to Goodwood Racecourse. Well, as Pippa would say, ‘it's a big one'. Here are some extra bits of Dump for you. Just FYI, it's all a bit SHAAALALANGDANGDONG!!!!!! Oasis ticker holder, David staying in Liv Forever's gardenPippa and James go driving…blindfoldedListener Jane invades the tour busBig congrats to all winners and thank you to everyone who dropped by along the way. Enjoy! The Chris Moyles Show on Radio XWeekdays 6:30am-10am

Today's hidden gem of Welsh history had been known as the most important Welshman you've never heard of.Hit play and listen to how said Welshman spent his life doing a load of good in the world rather than getting a job on the dodgems down Barry Island or lamenting the fact he didn't live to see Gavin and Stacey.Like the great man himself we're also committed to making the world a better place, just with far less impactful podcast based content. Nevertheless if you want more of it, check out our socials and out Patreon.

Renaming events and naming conventions. Lush things. Nicola was at Endure 24 in Leeds with lots of pod listeners plus Ross Noble. Meanwhile Danny went 'Oh!' at Barry Island parkrun and did 'Gavin & Stacey' things.

Charlotte's close friend, Hannah Fitt, lives by the seaside in Barry Island, just outside of Cardiff. Hannah shares her story of finding resilience in the face of enormous personal tragedy. Charlotte Church hosts a series of intimate conversations about belonging, working class identity and the unbreakable bonds of family. A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Sounds. Producer: Lynsey Martenstyn Executive producer: Paul Smith Music by Jonathan Powell & Charlotte Church Development executive is Emma Shaw Additional production and editing: Helen Brown Commissioning editor for BBC Sounds: Rhian Roberts

Rerun: The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin's Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend.  South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusement arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the entertainments on offer, from rambunctious Redcoats to boxing kangaroos; explain how The Beatles owe a debt to Butlin's Skegness; and reveal the sad fate of the park's famous monorail…  Further Reading: • ‘'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - Glorious Pictures of the Skegness Butlin's' (Flashbak, 2019): https://flashbak.com/our-true-intent-is-all-for-your-delight-butlins-at-skegness-17646 • ‘The mystery of how an old Butlin's monorail train ended up in this Lincolnshire field' (Lincolnshire Live, 2021): https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-how-old-butlins-monorail-5059270 • ‘Best of Butlin's' (British Pathé): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZoqkZUFtA ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?' Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 

Ever wondered how much caffeine is too much? Or whether you'd feel better off if you took an afternoon nap? And with the rise in ‘day raving' we'll be looking at whether it's better for your health to have your night out at 2pm rather than 2am. We'll learn about the amount of caffeine in different drinks, looking at what it does to the body in the short-term and finding out more about what effects it can have when it comes to things like dementia and cardiovascular disease. Then we'll be following a strict scientifically-approved napping schedule and hearing what impact those bonus sleep sessions can have on brain function – while catching 40 winks in some unusual locations. After that, we'll take all that energy and party the afternoon (and early evening) away at a daytime rave to find out if that is better for our bodies than pulling an all-nighter.Along the way we'll be joined by people who know way more about these things than us, from a Spanish sleep whizz in Manchester to a body boffin in Barry Island.Producer: Gerry Holt Presenter: Laura Foster Editor: Holly Squire Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris

#449 Podcast Teeth - Richard risks some Jingle/Mingle material, topical at time of recording, but hopefully nostalgic by the time the podcast comes out. Plus good news for those of you who come to live recordings - he's clearing out his garage, so you might get presents! His guest is Welsh sex-mountain Mike Bubbins. They discuss whether croissants should be wrapped, the power of the moustache, the infamy of Barry Island, the wonder of Parkinson and the unusual combination of confidence and not being an arsehole that Bubbins exudes. Plus news on his new TV series, why he stopped refereeing U13 rugby and an amusing case of mistaken identity.Come and see RHLSTP live - all dates and confirmed guests here http://richardherring.com/rhlstpSUPPORT THE SHOW!Watch our TWITCH CHANNELSee extra content at our WEBSITE Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Your Harrogate podcast, presenter Pete Egerton speaks to Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver, plus, hear from the pro-skateboarder who lives in Harrogate and is travelling 300 miles on his board for a great cause! Harrogate Town hosted a fans' forum on Thursday (27th April) at the Cedar Court hotel and the gaffer was part of the panel. Following a fantastic victory at Newport, Town are now safe in league two and Simon is understandably relieved and proud of his players. He also thanks the fans for their brilliant support along the way and through a season that hasn't been easy. Meanwhile, Dan Katchi, a pro-skateboard based in Harrogate, will travel 300 miles from Yorkshire to his former home in South Wales, starting on May 4th. Dan is raising funds to help his parents, following a diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease for his mum. He also wants to raise awareness of the devastating effects of MND and encourages fellow skaters to join him along the way to Barry Island... 

Fergus, Imo, Caleb and James come together for the final Smorg of the World Cup. What's the best venue for a World Cup? Who visited Barry Island? What can 'The Professor' do for the Black Ferns?

Shortly after arriving back in Wales after a busy summer in the US, EMM workers Alan and Carol Wert took a Sabbath day of rest and sat on a hill overlooking the bay near Barry Island. As they soaked up the last of the summer sun, Carol read through the book of 1 Peter asking the Lord to speak to her. The breeze swept across the tall grass and Carol sensed the Spirit reminding her of our calling as believers … to bless others.

In this episode of Eyes & Teeth the big big talent of you can clearly hear my genuine reminiscent joy catching up with Rachel who stood side by side with me doing the YMCA at 10am on the roadside entrance to Barry Island resort one of the last realistic replica's of Hi-De-Hi. I don't think there is a park open today that possessed and provided that true link to the heyday of holiday parks back then. When they knocked it down they took away a gem and historic part of entertainment history and memories. But today Rachel and I share that excitement and moments that we will never forget.The venue secured our love for the business and laid down the skills we needed to go out there and entertain in our own way and we have done just that and both still do to this day.That was 30 years ago, we were both 17 years old, now at 47, Rachel & I catch up on zoom to talk Barry Island, Mike Doyle, The Golden Girls, Karen Carpenter, Forever in Blue Jeans, Jon Clegg, Status Quo, Southsea's Kings theatre, Jamie Steen, Tammy Wynette, Sir Ken Dodd and much more.Welcome to Eyes & teeth Rachel Cantrill Dean

EP 47: Barry IslandIn the first episode of the podcast this week (recorded before Burnley v Southampton) Jon Richardson & Matt Forde discuss Gameweek 33, Jon's secret trip abroad for a new TV show, an end of season forfeit inspired by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the sheer amount of Barries that listen to the podcast, Phil Foden being papped at the CO-OP buying Lynx and something called ‘Jesticles'.Don't forget to send us in your weekly forfeit suggestions and ideas for Matt's end of season forfeit. We also want: Animal, City and Weapon improv suggestions and feel free to send us in any questions for Matt and Jon FPL related or not. Tweet us or email us at hello@cpfpl.comFollow the podcast on Twitter (@comediansfpl), Instagram (ComediansplayingFPL) and Facebook (@comediansfpl)Share, subscribe, review because we told you too!You can join our FPL Fan League here: fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/4mtcnh… League Code: 4mtcnh

The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin's Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend.  South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusement arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the entertainments on offer, from rambunctious Redcoats to boxing kangaroos; explain how The Beatles owe a debt to Butlin's Skegness; and reveal the sad fate of the park's famous monorail…  Further Reading: • ‘'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - Glorious Pictures of the Skegness Butlin's' (Flashbak, 2019): https://flashbak.com/our-true-intent-is-all-for-your-delight-butlins-at-skegness-17646 • ‘The mystery of how an old Butlin's monorail train ended up in this Lincolnshire field' (Lincolnshire Live, 2021): https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-how-old-butlins-monorail-5059270 • ‘Best of Butlin's' (British Pathé): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZoqkZUFtA For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 22 of World's Dumbest Criminals is about an elderly serial sexual offender from the UK who likes to stroke his junk at unwilling viewers in crowded places, a Florida woman who committed several petty crimes but claimed she only got in trouble for them because people were jealous that her body looked good, an inept ham thief from Spain who left a trail of fat leading to his door and much more.Promo: Moms and MurderSocial MediaFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/374526270632196Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Worlds-Dumbest-Criminals-Podcast-100965498857602/?ref=pages_you_manageTwitter: @WDCriminalsPod and InstagramInstagram: @worldsdumbestcriminalspodcastPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/worldsdumbestcriminalsSources:Pervert, 66, who shoved a COURGETTE down his leggings before simulating a sex act in front of horrified shoppers and children for an HOUR is jailed, Jack Wright, Daily Mail, Feb 9, 2021. Hereford courgette pervert jailed for flashing at Barry Island, Iwan Gabe Davies, herefordtimes.com, Aug 1, 2021. Pervert jailed for rubbing courgette through leggings in Hereford, James Thomas, herefordtimes.com, Feb 7, 2021. Florida woman, 42, arrested for being drunk and disorderly at a motel pool claims the manager called cops because she was 'jealous of her body in a bikini', Snejana Farberov, Daily Mail, May 15, 2021. Bikini-clad Florida woman claims cops were called by someone ‘jealous that her body looked good', Adrienne Cutway, clickorlando.com, May 12, 2021. Hapless ham thief leads cops to door with trail of fat, thelocal.es, Feb 25, 2016. Getaway donkey that squealed: Gang forced to flee empty handed after animal started braying as they robbed store, Daily Mail, Jan 22, 2013. Brazilian robber finds himself victim of other crooks twice in one night, he complains to police, Lee Morgan, nydailynews.com, Dec 13, 2012. WENDY'S EMPLOYEESERVES MARIJUANA BURGER... Gets Arrested, Fired, tmz.com, May 12, 2013. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today I'm talking with Nadia Joshua. Nadia lives in Barry Island in Wales and has two daughters, who are six and nine. Until her daughter left school, three years ago, Nadia was working as a social worker. She took her daughter out of school when she was six years old and had just started year one, as she had rapidly become unhappy and self-critical. Nadia knew there had to be a different way, and could see that her daughter needed more agency over her own life. She discovered unschooling through the works of Pam Laricchia. Today, among other things, we talk about adjusting to an unschooling lifestyle, uncovering our limiting beliefs,  being authentic with our children and making sure we have what we need to hold space for them. 

I spoke with Louis Ross, owner of Barrybados, a shop and brand based on Barry Island. We spoke about running a business during a pandemic, where it all began, how social media has changed and of course the impact of Gavin and Stacey. Enjoy!

The Tabarin mooted, Marr demurred Base E arises on Stonington Island, five nautical miles from the BGLE hut on Barry Island but two hundred yards from the Johnny-come-five-years-ago East Base.  Ted Bingham leads the first iteration of the FIDS and sets the tone for subsequent cohorts.  Scones, rum, freshies and the sort of treats that make Brits wave their hands about like Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit" while saying, "Ooooh, lovely," but which would leave anyone from any other culture saying "What the hell kind of celebratory repast is this?  Am I being punished for something in some passive aggressive British fashion, because that's the only reason I can conjure that you would feed me mince pies" Or is that just me? 

For our first behind the brand episode we talk to Hannah and Sophie Pycroft, the fashion loving sisters behind the brand Spectrum Collections. Known for their bright and beautiful makeup brushes, the Barry Island ladies share with us their inspiration behind starting Spectrum Collections and how they stood out from the crowd and other big players. Hannah and Sophie started their business from their garage but have scaled to be a globally recognised brand that has taken social media by storm. We discuss the incredible highs, such as their Disney collaborations and visit to 10 Downing Street along with the terrible lows they have overcome including a tragic warehouse fire that destroyed nearly all their stock. It was a pleasure getting to virtually meet Hannah and Sophie and we hope you leave this podcast feeling as inspired as we did. Social Media Links: The Beauty Edit Podcast Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thebeautyeditpodcast/ The Beauty Edit Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/631161774134896/?ref=share Our salon, Ever Pretty Beauty Studio Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/everprettybeautystudio Spectrum Collections Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spectrumcollections Spectrum Collections Instagram - https://www.spectrumcollections.co.uk

Adger Brown is one of my oldest mates. We met in my first Showbusiness season in Barry Island in 1993 decades before Gavin & Stacey did, as a matter of fact we are probably the "original" Gavin & Stacey but without the heavy petting and arguing. I realised how down to earth, genuine and loyal Adger is and that had resulted in us becoming Brothers in The Grand order. Adger is very well respected in the Sporting Dinners and Golf Events World and has literally helped raise millions of pounds over the years. Being a Stand Up has its skills and Adger delivers that with ease on stage which is clearly evident but he also has those rare skills to Auction serious bids off to happy audience members whether they are the CEO of a Top Company or a Star in the World of Entertainment, we trust Adger, he has that honest persuasive delivery that encourages maybe a 90 year old lady to pay £800 for an abseiling day out or a Vegetarian to enjoy a weekend in an abattoir. OK, that has never happened but you get what I'm saying, Mr Brown is THAT good!Now listen in to see how he deals with his audiences. Welcome Adger Brown  

Tom Jones, Rob Brydon and Mike Doyle are three very talented people to come from Wales, today I talk to Mike Doyle but I get all three and more as his voices are vast in range.Mike delivers today not only brilliant backstage stories of Bob Monkhouse and Freddie Starr and early talk of touring the Clubs with his bands but you will hear impressions and song and learn much more about an incredibly hard working and modest performer who I have admired for 28 years. Mike is known as Baby Rat in The Grand Order of Water Rats which means he was the last to be proposed into the order before the lockdown.He is an incredible asset to the GOWR and I look forward to working with him more in the future. www.mikedoyle.co.uk

As a government organisation and a large employer, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is important to us. We're committed to ethical and sustainable business practices, and take account of our social, economic and environmental impact. We speak to Leanne Hugglestone, our CSR Coordinator, about her passion for CSR and our responsibilities as a government organisation in helping the local community.   Transcript Tanya Lang: Hi there. My name is Tanya Lang and I'm part of the comms team here at Companies House. So for those of you who don't know who we are, we are the government agency who register dissolve and then keep company records and make those records available for inspection. Our sponsoring department is BEIS and that's the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and we've got 4 locations, Edinburgh, Belfast, London and Cardiff from where we are recording this very podcast.   First I'm joined today by Leanne Hugglestone, who is the corporate social responsibility or CSR coordinator here at Companies House. So I will let Leeanne introduce herself, Leanne.   Leanne Hugglestone: Hi, I'm Leanne Hugglestone. I've been working here at companies house for 15 years now, coming up to 16, and I've done many roles within Companies House. Starting off as a data processor, working my way through finance and IT, worked on a lot of big IT projects and then about 6 or 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So I had a year off work. During that time, I spent an awful lot of time within hospitals and in charity organisations, receiving help and guidance through what was quite a traumatic time.   Thankfully a year later, in May 2013, I came back to Companies House, full-time working. And it was then that I realised that a project I'd been working on before my diagnosis around management and making a difference projects. I delved into some of the information around volunteering at Companies House. We were allowed one day a year to volunteer in Companies House and not many staff knew about it. We wanted to make a difference for Companies House. So I asked if I could continue with this volunteering project to allow more staff to find out about it. And so we could utilise those days in order to help the community.   My main reasoning for asking if I could do this project is without volunteers, I wouldn't be here today. Without volunteers to make the cups of tea in the hospital, to drive the mini buses, to do the fundraising, the backpacking and the race for life. I wouldn't be here because the research and the medication that I'm on was actually created in Wales, and I wanted to utilise the volunteering here at Companies House to help towards making a difference in the community.   So from there, I went to the main board. Took the project to them and they fully agreed that I could do this volunteer initiative alongside my job in IT. Whereby the new HR Director at the time, Angela Lewis, picked up on the fact that we didn't actually have any recorded data for any kind of corporate social responsibility. So that means the fundraising that we do here in Companies House, we've got a very generous workforce, any of the volunteering, we don't have stats before 2013. So what she asked, was for me to leave IT and work with her for 6 months to research and develop corporate social responsibility for Companies House and compare us to other government agencies both in our government department area, but also just across the Civil Service in general.   We knew that the DWP had signed up for 30,000, out of the 30,000 Civil Service days, they'd signed up to try and do 10,000 days a year. We only had close to a thousand staff and they were allowed one day a year. So the maximum we could ever do was close to a thousand. But even that was if everybody took part. After 6 months, my role was made permanent because we found out that we were doing an awful lot already, but it just wasn't being recorded. So we developed a business strategy around corporate social responsibility.   The 4 main parts of corporate social responsibility. Number one is environmental. Well, we already have an environmental team. An Estates team who look after all our environmental efficiencies. Second one is procurement. So are we paying our own contractors? Our own bills on time. Are the contractors who come in when we put out to tender, do they have apprentices? Do they have any work experience people with them so we can see that those smaller companies are also making a difference in the community.   Then there's people, the third arm of it. And under people is HR. We've got a brilliant flexi system. We've got a huge amount of benefits for staff. We look after staff with the health and well-being group sports and social. We've got a gym on site. We've got so many wonderful benefits. We are a responsible business in looking after that.   And then finally is the community arm and that's where my role lays. Almost like a community liaison looking after the fundraising and the volunteering and all the good stuff that we do here at Companies House and making sure that's recorded.     TL: Brilliant crikey. That is a lot of information.   LH: I know, sorry.   TL: No, no. It's fantastic because you can actually feel your passion and your joy about the work that you do. So what I want to know is like I said, that sounds like an enormous amount of work. Who helped you with that. Was it kind of just you rolling things along. Did you have buy-in from others?   LH: Angie Lewis was a brilliant mentor. She came along from another government agency. So she was also fresh eyes on Companies House, which was great because she could see the good work that we were doing and the fact that we weren't recording it. So it was down to me to find out from other government agencies where this corporate social responsibility sit in the organisation.   In one agency, it sat with the director, as just a tick box exercise. Do we do this? Yes. Other agencies had groups of 5 or 6 individuals as a team sometimes in HR, sometimes in their Estates team, so there wasn't a consistency across government as to where corporate social responsibility was.   In Wales, nationally, there's a company called Business In The Community and there's a branch of that business in the Community Wales. And we became members of them because that's their sole goal. They are a Prince's Trust charity company and they know and live corporate social responsibility. They are mentors and guides. We became a member of them and we have access to an account manager. That account manager then looks at what I can give them. So all the stuff that we do that we haven't recorded, and guides us on to what is good to record, why it's good to record and then you can link it up with your values. Is it linked up then with your business strategy? Is it linked up with the business that you are? What you don't want to be is a government agency and you're just fundraising for a kidney foundation, when there's no actual link. So is there a materiality around it? Is there a common goal?   TL: Quite an evolution for Companies Houses as an organisation then, in terms of volunteering and what we did way back then to what we're doing now. And no doubt that will continue to grow and improve and transform and change as we do as a workforce. So say over the last few years, what's been some of our biggest CSR achievements, would you say?   LH: I think the great thing about Companies House and the culture change, is the fact that we were allowed to challenge behaviours. So our biggest achievements have come from where we've challenged things that, that's the way it's always been. So I challenged those.  For example, a lot of our excess furniture used to either go to storage or landfill because we were very risk adverse as a government agency to donate that furniture.   So my challenge to the legal team, to health and safety, to the Estates team who look after the furniture was, well, what if we found other government agencies who did this? So again, I went round to the contacts in the other government agencies, and we found many of them do donate furniture. And what we got off them was copy of disclosures and disclaimers that we could get the charities to sign. They were checked over by our legal team, our health and safety team and they would agree with those charities.   In the space of I think 18 months, we donated over 40,000 pounds worth of excess furniture from Companies House. Once I challenged on that, I then challenged the IT department. We would send off our old IT equipment free of charge to a company to get wiped and disposed of. I asked, when after it's been wiped, can we not have those items back with an operating system onto donating to the charity into the community. Again, going through the same protocols, going to legal, going to IT security, going to other departments to see what they do, all of a sudden now we have now donated thousands of pounds worth of IT equipment into the local community.   And some of those recipients have said without that IT donation. They would no longer be around as a charity. And those charities have since grown, and become more available to clients especially within Cardiff. So for example, Autism Puzzles a local autistic charity, they were run by a single mum. She now has 3 of our laptops which means she's got 3 volunteers actively promoting, doing social media, registering all the families who are registering with Autism Puzzles. They're now a huge organisation and they actually employ people. They've got an office now and it started because we gave them 3 laptops.   TL: So it's completely clear to me and probably everyone listening just what huge impact we as an organisation have had on charities out there, but what kind of impact has all of this work had on the internal staff and the teams here at Companies House? Have you seen a change?   LH: A massive, massive change. In the very beginning it was very difficult for managers to what they saw as allowing the staff a day off on a jolly, is the way it was perceived back then. It was very micro-managed. They just wanted their staff in work doing the work in front of them. But over the past couple of years there's been a massive culture shift in the way we work. Our flexi times have changed, our core hours have disappeared. We're trusted and awful lot more and with that trust we seem to get an awful lot back from the staff.   So we put in the extra work, but what we're finding, I think our biggest changes are from those middle managers who wouldn't allow staff off. Over the past couple of years, they've seen the benefits of when those staff have done a volunteer day, either individual or even better as a team, the benefits to the section and to that team for the weeks afterwards. They know more about each other, they've spent time away from the desks, they're not looking at emails, they're engaging and learning about each other.   So team bonding now is almost one of our highest reasons of the numbers of volunteers going out. A couple of years ago managers would really sort of get in the way almost of allowing staff to volunteer. I can tell you now, it's more managers approaching me, asking for team days and asking for those opportunities to take their teams out because they can see the benefits straight away on their team. And so that has been a massive shift in only 5 years.   TL: Brilliant and taking it up to sort of the next level. What about the board have they embraced this?   LH: This is brilliant. Over the past couple of years, it's been really, not difficult or a struggle, but trying to entice the senior managers. One of our chief executives was brilliant. He would regularly go on a volunteer day, but it was almost like that next step, getting the directors or the senior management, it was very difficult getting them all together in one room as it was. To get them out on a whole volunteer day was almost impossible. But we've achieved that this year. It's been amazing.   We've had such great feedback from the senior leadership group who said that it was nice to be able to get out in the fresh air and get to know each other on a personal level as well as professional level. But also to be able to talk about work stuff. They all went litter picking on one of the most wonderful Welsh beaches, our own Barry Island, down on Whitmore Bay and it was great. It was quite funny because that was the one day in that 2 week period that was really bad weather. I felt really bad for them. But it showed the adversity and the way they still went out there. They still did it and they still collected a huge number of bags of rubbish and they all came back smiling and loving the fact that they spent this time together.   So to get that at the very top level means now that will hopefully filter down through those levels of management so we can increase the numbers again through volunteering. So they can see and feel for themselves the benefits, not just for Companies House to be seen and the reputation of us as a company out in the community doing it, but also as well, see the benefits to the staff and encourage staff from a personal level. Not as a corporate, yes, we'd like you to go volunteering, but I've been as a senior manager, I believe in it and therefore encouraging their managers to encourage their staff.   TL: So we've obviously got a lot going on with regards to volunteering. So if anyone out there wanted to follow our progress and what we're doing or find out more about our latest CSR achievements, how can they do that?   LH: They can find out about corporate social responsibility from the main Companies House Twitter account. We're really active when we go out on events or when people are volunteering.  We tend to post a lot of pictures now. You can also find out by emailing the CSR and skills team at companieshouse.gov.uk, and that's where we are currently located within the training team of HR.   TL: Brilliant and what's next then for CSR and Companies House?   LH: There's a couple of things in the pipeline. The biggest thing we're looking at around corporate social responsibility now is terminology. In those 5 years, it's come a long way. Corporate social responsibility is a bit of a mouthful. Essentially, what you are is a responsible business. So it's all about being that responsibile business, so that's in either environmentally, procurement, your people or the community work that you do. So, I think it's all about defining what we want and how we're going to get it. So we want to do more surveys with staff. Look at the number of unique volunteers within Companies House because although we've got up to 5 days per year, is it the same 20 people doing it 5 times. Or are we actually getting 80, 90 separate individuals and only one or two are doing duplicate days.   I done the figures last year for 2017 to 2018 and according to Business In The Community, a good goal to have for staff volunteering is around the 18 to 20% mark. Last year, we hit 28% unique volunteers in Companies House. You're looking at, that that's closer to 30% of the organisation went out volunteering last year which is huge.   It's a great, I think advocate to show that we are doing the right thing and people are engaged with it and they are enjoying it. But also the communities now. They're coming to us with opportunities. Whereas we used to have to phone them and say, oh have you got anything we can do to help you? They're hearing about us through other charities.   TL: All right. So the final thing I want to ask you then Leanne, is, what is a CSR ambassador?   LH: Oh, this is great, so if you think along the lines of friends of an organisation, we have a lot of staff within Companies House who have a huge appetite for the work that we do under corporate social responsibility. And so a CSR ambassador is those individuals across the organisation who we want to capture that enthusiasm and passion for. And use them as our comms outlets, or our people who shout about the work that we do under corporate social responsibility. So whether that's new volunteer opportunities coming up, events in house. Those people can be called upon, we've got about 25 signed up in the initial phase. They can be called upon, so if we do a bake sale, if we do an event in house rather than taking a full day volunteering, what we're saying is you can take them in 2 hour slots. So what we're saying as an ambassador is, rather than be a whole day off your section, off your team. There may be times throughout the year that we need some help in house to organise something, to take part in something and every single person who's been asked has accepted and they're willing to take part.   So it's been brilliant. In the next few weeks, I think we've got a few new ideas coming through. We've got the what we're calling ‘doorstep litter picks'. So within the organisation here in Cardiff, we're going to do to our litter pick slots for the immediate vicinity of our building. We're right next to a school, we're right next to the barracks, we're right next to a leisure centre, right next to a main road and along those are lots of different alleyways, lots of streets, urban residential areas. We'd like to be seen in our local immediate vicinity and do a doorstep litter pick. Those are 2 hour slots. So those are for people who can't leave the section for a full day. And those CSR ambassadors are the ones who are going to shout about those kind of things.   TL: Fantastic. Well, I'm sure you'll all agree out there that Leanne is clearly very passionate, knowledgeable and excited about CSR and all that it brings to Companies House and thriving off her enthusiasm myself and a few of my colleagues have done the crazy thing of signing up for the Cardiff 10K.   LH: Fantastic news.   TL: Yeah, there'll be a handful of us running on behalf of Latch, which is a Welsh Children's Cancer charity. You can get more information about the charity at www.latchwales.org, and we also have a justgiving page. So from a personal point of view, I would just like to promote that page. So it's www.justgiving.com/fundraising/justkeeprunningCH.   So, please do all that you can to support that. So Leanne, any final words before we go?   LH: Yeah, and it's because of staff like you that in the past 5 years through various bake sales, charity runs, velathons, internal comic relief, children in need days that we do here, we've reached nearly 50,000 pounds in 5 years of fundraising and that's with less than, what a thousand staff.   So it's been an absolutely phenomenal amount and to think that that was never recorded. And so now that we do have that we're really going to celebrate the amount of fundraising that our staff do. We encourage them to do it and all they need to do is let me know on the CSR and skills team how much they've raised and when and that will go towards that total.   TL: Well, there we go. So make sure you donate generously to myself and my colleagues who will be running in potentially sweltering heat on the 2nd of September. So, thank you very much for your time, Leanne, and thanks to you for listening. Goodbye.

In this summer special, Portentous is still missing so in the place of her usual column, the paper literally just plays half an hour of adverts. Find out about Barry Island's monkey-proof fencing, Saffron Walden's Vegan Meats, the upcoming Global Election and the fun, fun harmless hobby of gambling. Guest starring Clarissa Maycock, Frog Stone, Gareth Gwynn, Ben Partridge, Nat Metcalfe, Meabh de Brun, Jon Hunter, Jenny Laville & Max Davis

The story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's romance, marriage and falling out of love with life as senior royals is told in the new book Finding Freedom. Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand had access to Meghan and Harry's friends, and have confirmed they spoke to the couple themselves "when appropriate". Pod Save the Queen host Ann Gripper, Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers and Mirror Online lifestyle editor Zoe Forsey discuss the revelations and insight which emerge - and how the two sides of the royal rift emerge from it. They also catch up on recent royal events, including Kate's baby bank work, her visit to Barry Island and Cardiff with William, and his appearance on That Peter Crouch podcast.

Intro: Minutes 0 to 2:30 Chandra has been really tired and going to bed early. We’re both feeling run down this week. The hummingbirds are coming right up to me now when I’m outside. Chandra’s cat Dexter is an eating machine. Royals: Minutes 2:30 to 25:00. I compliment Chandra for her skill in picking the best photos for posts.  I love the photos that Chandra picked to show that Harry was the third wheel in William and Kate’s relationship. Chandra remembers how Kate used to make googoo eyes at Harry. I say it’s because her husband wasn’t giving her any attention. Minute 6:00: Last week we talked about Harry fighting with The Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly, over Meghan’s access to the tiara ahead of their wedding. The Daily Mail made it sound like Meghan was being a diva, when she likely planned it all out and notified them ahead of time. Chandra points out that the palace’s story has changed and was originally that Meghan wanted an emerald tiara for her wedding. I play a segment from our Zoom meeting where Zakia talks about how the press smeared Meghan and how Kelly dragged her feet trying to sabotage Meghan. Minute 10:00: The Sun ran an outrageous story that Harry would be welcomed back but that he would have to leave Meghan and Archie behind! Chandra says this has been the British press’s aim, to break up Harry and Meghan, since Sussexit was announced in January. There’s a segment from Zoom with Rhiannon, Karen and Ameerah talking about Harry’s decision to leave the royal family and how toxic they are. Minute 14:00: Dan Wootton, who has sources deep in the palace and broke the Sussexit news, wrote a piece claiming the Sussexes knew he was going to publish the story about their exit a full ten days before the piece ran. He also said that Prince William was working in cohoots with Angela Kelly to limit Meghan’s access to the royal jewelry, something Chandra reported last year. Wootten is part of a scandal where journalists were caught paying off royal staff for scoops.  Wootton paints Meghan as a diva with vague stories about how she “horrified” Kate with the way she spoke to staff members. This is similar to all the other vague and negative stories we’ve heard about Meghan. In our Zoom meeting Sara and Ameerah talked about how Meghan likely scared the courtiers by reminding them of Diana. Chandra follows royals because her mom loved Diana and says it’s more complicated than that. Minute 21: On Meghan’s birthday Duchess Kate visited a baby bank in a fussy dress and high heels that looked like they hurt. William and Kate also did a trip to South Wales together, to Barry Island to highlight the pandemic’s affect on the British tourism industry. They played games like skeeball and the claw at an arcade. They did not wear masks inside at the arcade at all. Kate didn’t wear a mask all the time at the baby bank either. They are a terrible example for people. We realize not every place has a mask mandate but they’re public figures and should be setting a better example. By the next time we record the podcast, Finding Freedom will be out. We talked a lot about it on Zoom and everyone is so excited for that! Courtney and Karen from Zoom give their plans for that day. Kim and Kanye: Minutes 25:00 to 28:00 Kim Kardashian and Kanye aren’t going to get a divorce after all. They’re vacationing together at a compound in the Caribbean to “try and save their marriage.” Chandra has sympathy for Kim but wishes she wouldn’t tell the press about every detail of her relationship. We think Kanye is a terrible person for continuing his presidential run and of course the Republicans are helping him. User Feedback: Minutes 28:00 to 30:45 Last week we talked about the celebrities we’d like to see together. Chandra is shipping Angelina Jolie and her ex, Jonny Lee Miller. Our user feedback is from Mia4s and Michelle about whether Jonny is separated or still with his wife. We couldn’t figure this out and there’s very little gossip about him so if anyone has any information let us know! We also got a nice text message from a listener. Comments of the Week: Minutes 30:45 to 34 My COTW is from Silver Charm on the post about Trump saying “let them prove” that Ghislaine Maxwell is guilty. Chandra’s comments of the week are from Sunny and YaGotMe on the post about Khloe Kardashian getting back with Tristan Thompson. She also picked a comment from Deanne on the post about Lena Dunham describing her coronavirus battle in exhaustive detail. We talk about Gwyneth Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling” essay, which is just as overwrought as Lena’s writing style. Thanks for listening bitches! Call us or leave a voicemail at 434-218-3219.

Reviewing the worst of the worst - so you don't have to!Nathan Packham and Jacob Simmons settle in for a horror in every sense of the word, as they review 2009's Lesbian Vampire Killers!The stars of Gavin and Stacey, Matt Horne and James Corden, trade in Barry Island for the mythical village of Cragwich (which is in Norfolk) to fend off some blood-sucking babes.Nathan and Jacob recoil at the film's laddish humour, squirm at the wooden acting, and are left speechless by some dialogue about medieval gay bars, the female genitalia, and a very special werewolf.Don't forget to vote in our Episode 8 Poll!Find us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/badthingspodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/BadThingsPod (@badthingspod)Instagram - www.instagram.com/badthingspod (@badthingspod)Theme music - Boo Boogie by Doug Wood. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

128: Steve Jones part 1 Brad nears closer to his 100-day running streak despite the crowded locales.Julian road tests the Alphaflys before his back tightens up.Brady in a role-reversal manages his Achilles while getting mixed reactions being out training. World Athletics suspends qualification period for Olympics in line with the postponement.https://www.runnerstribe.com/latest-news/tokyo-olympic-qualification-period-suspended-until-1-december-2020/   Matt Ramsden sets the fastest known time around Lake Monger, Perth in 9:25.https://www.instagram.com/p/B-3U3sfnsM5/   Listener Questions of the week ask about what could happen on the first running event back and thoughts on massage therapy guns, before Moose on the Loose lets rip on people flexing on their elapsed times on Strava.   Scott Nicholas updates us on who the Winners from Round 2 of the Australian Distance Running All-Time Performances and we move onto Round 3.   Benita Willis wins the World Cross Country Championship in Brussels 2004VsJudy Amoore runs under 2 minutes for 800m in the 1976 Montreal Olympics - Susie Power’s still standing 2001 City2Surf course recordVsTony Benson’s 5000m in Stockholm 1971 against a stacked field - Albie Thomas sets the 3 mile World Record in Dublin, 1958VsHeather Turland wins a humid 1998 Commonwealth Games Marathon Malaysia  - Jim Bailey becomes the 2nd Australian to run a sub-4 minute mile in Los AngelesVsJoseph Deng breaks Ralph Doubell’s long standing 800m Australian Record in Monaco 2018 - Dave Power’s double Gold Medals in the 6 mile and Marathon in the 1958 Cardiff Empire GamesVsLinden Hall sets the 1500m National Record of 4:00.86 at Hayward Field. - Simon Doyle clocks a 3:49.91 Mile in Oslo in 1991VsSinead Diver’s 2018 Melbourne Marathon victory of 2:25:19 - Collis Birmingham places 8th in the 2013 World Cross Championship Bydgoszcz, PolandVsBrad Camp wins the 1989 Gold Coast Marathon in 2:10:11  - Steve Moneghetti’s 1st place in the 1992 Berlin Marathon in 2:08VsMike Hillardt’s 1500m victory at the 1985 World Indoors   The legendary Steve Jones chats with Sophie Ryan to talk about how a young, wild boy running around in the hills of Wales became one of the most prolific names in the history of modern running. Throughout Steve shares how instrumental his time in the Royal Air Force was in getting into running, from a day trip out to Barry Island during his cadet days to making the Air Force Cross Country team under the guidance of mentor Bob Wallace. Cross country was another major factor of Steve’s career, charting his steady progression of success at the World Cross Country Championships throughout the years along with going from middle distance racing in 6 nations competition and Edmonton Commonwealth Games to the big city marathons that he’s best known for while racing without over-racing. The first half of this conversation wraps up with almost running the Commonwealth Games marathon against rival Rob De Castella and how he came to starting in the 1983 Chicago Marathon. Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/insiderunningpodcast Opening and Closing Music is Undercover of my Skin by Benny Walker. www.bennywalkermusic.com For shoes or running apparel contact Julian at: https://www.facebook.com/therunningcompanyballarat/ Join the conversation at: https://www.facebook.com/insiderunningpodcast/ To donate and show your support for the show: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9K9WQCZNA2KAN

We've finally launched our first ever fully vegan cosmetics range - the Zodiac Collection. It's been available for just over two months now so we're chatting and reflecting on how we made it happen! As you know we're just two girls from Barry Island, no huge corporate budgets here guys so as always we'll be real and honest about the journey.

Andrea Callanan is an international speaker, coach and author.Andrea talks about:Dealing with fearThe benefits of getting help to negotiate lifeImposter SyndromeFear and Fear of being visible (especially for women)What happens when she talks to room of men on 6 figures about egoWhat you can do to have a successful 2020Why setting intentions are better than goalsHow to go after what your heart desiresThe importance of finding your ‘Why’The power of visualisation and vision boardsThe power of gratitudeHow she got invited to Richard Branson’s Necker Island 2020 Free intentions setting workbook: https://andrea-callanan.mykajabi.com/your-intention-workbookWeb: https://www.andreacallanan.com/https://www.andinspireme.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrea_callananInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreacallananvoice//////Today's podcast is brought to you by:We Make Film Happen http://wemakefilmhappen.com/We Make Good Happen http://wemakegoodhappen.com/We Make Podcasts Happen https://www.wemakepodcastshappen.comWe tap into the minds of people like adventurers, world record holders, entrepreneurs, voice coaches, psychologists, musicians and people making a positive difference around the world.We want to find out what’s their path to success and what have they learnt along the way.This is real stories from real people.Plus we want to find out what success means to them.The We Make Success Happen podcast is hosted by Matt Callanan, a former international DJ and musician turned filmmaker (with We Make Film Happen) and founder of the kindness project We Make Good Happen.https://mattcallanan.co.uk/http://wemakesuccesshappen.com

From Barry Island to Necker Island with Andrea Callanan - Part 1 | Episode 16Andrea Callanan is an international speaker, coach and author.Andrea talks about:Dealing with fearThe benefits of getting help to negotiate lifeImposter SyndromeFear and Fear of being visible (especially for women)What happens when she talks to room of men on 6 figures about egoWhat you can do to have a successful 2020Why setting intentions are better than goalsHow to go after what your heart desiresThe importance of finding your ‘Why’The power of visualisation and vision boardsThe power of gratitudeWeb: https://www.andreacallanan.com/https://www.andinspireme.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrea_callananInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreacallananvoice//////Today's podcast is brought to you by:We Make Film Happen http://wemakefilmhappen.com/We Make Good Happen http://wemakegoodhappen.com/We Make Podcasts Happen https://www.wemakepodcastshappen.comWe tap into the minds of people like adventurers, world record holders, entrepreneurs, voice coaches, psychologists, musicians and people making a positive difference around the world.We want to find out what’s their path to success and what have they learnt along the way.This is real stories from real people.Plus we want to find out what success means to them.The We Make Success Happen podcast is hosted by Matt Callanan, a former international DJ and musician turned filmmaker (with We Make Film Happen) and founder of the kindness project We Make Good Happen.https://mattcallanan.co.uk/http://wemakesuccesshappen.com

In our special festive episode, Tracey visits Barry Island, and revisits her love for Dave Coaches. Escorted by Shan's Wales Tours, our co-host takes in the Welsh locations made famous by the hit TV show Gavin and Stacey

On episode 8, we take you on our visit to Barry Island in Wales.  Travel Tips and Fun Facts We have more travel adventures on this episode with highlights on visiting Barry Island.  This destination is about 10 miles south of Cardiff on the Bristol Channel.  We also share a few fun facts and tips you'll want to consider on your visit to this city which is easily accessible from Cardiff.    Travel Resources As we made this visit with our base in Cardiff, you can also find our recommended itinerary for visiting Cardiff. Click here to access our Cardiff Itinerary in PDF format.  We consulted “DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Great Britain” for identifying specific attractions to include during our trip.  The book was helpful to identify walking tours, museums, as well as providing days and times that specific places are open to visit.  We recommend purchasing a book similar to this one when planning a longer trip.   Visit Cardiff Wales We hope these episodes inspire you to consider the Cardiff area in Wales. You'll find our blog posts on our Cardiff area visit at these links: https://www.theplaceswherewego.com/cardiff-day-1/ https://www.theplaceswherewego.com/cardiff-day-2-tracing-a-family-tree-in-raglan/ https://www.theplaceswherewego.com/cardiff-day-3-a-castle-and-the-sea/ https://www.theplaceswherewego.com/cardiff-day-4-national-history-day/   Which nearby cities will explore on a trip to Cardiff?    Write to us at comments@theplaceswherewego.com We'll see you at the places where we go. Julie & Art

Episode 3: Cardiff City Center Part 1 This is the first of two episodes highlighting the Cardiff City Center.  Cardiff tourism is much less than other cities in the UK, but it offers plenty to warrant more travel attention. We present a bit of Cardiff history, fun facts, and our impressions of the city.  Cardiff is accessible by train from London.  If arriving by airplane, take the T9 bus from the Cardiff airport to reach the city center. Additional topics discussed in this episode include: Cardiff – The city of arcades, the city of castles, and green space capital of the United Kingdom Cardiff fun facts including famous authors Roald Dahl and Ken Follett Our review of top things to do include discussions of the following places:  Cardiff Central Market Kellys Records - Wales' largest vintage vinyl record & CD shop Spillers Records – the oldest record store on earth The City Parish of St John the Baptist David's Metropolitan Cathedral National Museum Cardiff Artistry of David Nash Cardiff Castle Fagans National Museum of History Castell Coch Caerphilly Castle The Museum of Cardiff Queen street St David's Dewi Sant shopping center Alliance Sculpture built by Jean-Bernard Métais Bute Park Cardiff Bay Llandaff Cathedral Centenary Walk Sports fans will be interested in the various sporting venues including Principality Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium, Sophia Gardens, and Viola Arena. There are interesting towns to visit that are just a short train ride away including Barry Island, Llantwit Major, Penarth, and Raglan. You'll find our recommended itinerary for visiting Cardiff at the following link: The Places Where You Go Travel itinerary Cardiff, Wales We leveraged “DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Great Britain” for identifying specific attractions to include during our trip.  The book was helpful to identify walking tours, museums, as well as providing days and times that specific places are open to visit.  We recommend purchasing a book similar to this one when planning a longer trip. Join Us Next Time Our next episode will continue exploring the Cardiff City Center.  We'll discuss food options, lodging and general tips. What will you visit on a trip to Cardiff?  We'll see you at the places where we go. Julie & Art  

Episode 2 Show Notes: Getting ready to visit Wales and England On this episode, we talk about planning our UK trip which included stops in England and Wales.  Our longer trips like this always begin with assessing the budget, so as to fit in trips that work with our financial situation. Julie has been active doing genealogy research on her family.  This sparked an interest to visit places from where her family emigrated to the United States.  As Sweden is one such place with still living relatives, this was our initial plan, and we considered Stockholm and Sodra Lian during our early planning However, having recently completing an Ancestry DNA kit, Julie was surprised to see a large percentage of ancestry from the United Kingdom.  This sparked new interest as she traced her lineage to the Ragland clan in the village of Raglan, Wales, where there is a present-day castle ruin.  She decided this would be a cool place to visit. Our planning shifted to the United Kingdom.  Julie's lineage came from Wales (Raglan, Llantwit Major, Penarth, Barry) and England (Watchet, Somerset) – places around in the general area of the Bristol Channel.  With Julie tracing her family tree in that part of the world to the 1400s, this started to give us an outline of places to consider for our visit. Our planning timeline for lengthy trips like this usually begins around 8 months in advance.  We discuss why advance planning is important when travelling to popular destinations. But then, our trip planning hit the pause button due to Brexit.  Not certain of how this political situation might impact travel, we watch the news and read the newspapers so as to avoid a situation that might result in social unrest.  Ultimately we decide to venture forward with our UK travel plans regardless as no Brexit solution was found by three months before our calendar was showing our tentative UK trip. Art's dad spent five years (1943-1948) in England during World War II upon leaving a Polish refugee camp in Palestine.  Adding the English footsteps of Art's dad to the itinerary would add stops in London (for Osterley Park and Richmond Palace, where Art's dad was invited by Lady Jersey, actress Virginia Cherrill, to spend holiday time), Halton and the Trenchard Museum, and Liverpool. An itinerary influenced with tracing family lineage would keep us from visiting Scotland, Ireland, and Poland – places that were on our radar at the early stages of planning this trip.  A trip that takes you to very specific places will likely cause you to leave out many otherwise popular tourist destinations. Art doesn't get to include his bucket list item of attending an English Premier League game on this trip. We used TripAdvisor to identify attractions to see once we had our short list of cities identified for this UK trip.  We selected Cardiff to be our hub in Wales.  That would make it easy to get to several places in Wales including Raglan, Barry Island as well as key attractions we selected in Cardiff. We leveraged “DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Great Britain” for identifying specific attractions to include during our trip.  The book was helpful to identify walking tours, museums, as well as providing days and times that specific places are open to visit.  We recommend purchasing a book similar to this one when planning a longer trip. The book, “Survivors of War: One Family's Struggle Through World War II” by Dan Dobrucki and Walerian Joseph Dobrucki proved to be another helpful resource for planning this personal family history journey. Because our UK trip included very specific places, planning the trip ourselves versus with a travel agent turned out to offer us the best approach. This episode sets the stage and context for the upcoming UK episodes where we'll talk specifically about the places we visited.  Our next episode will focus on Cardiff City Center. Where would a trip to trace your family history take you to?  Consider tracing your family history to develop a personally fulfilling travel itinerary.  We'll see you at the places where we go. Julie & Art

Who knew Barry Island could be so idyllic? Yeah, me neither.

PUNCH & JUDY SHOW AXED OVER FEARS IT TRIVIALISES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. So said the Burgers of Barry Island, South Wales in 2016. The Punch and Judy Fellowship equated the decision to 'banning wine gums because there are alcoholics in the world' This is an 'End of an Era' poem. The Punch & Judy show, once a staple of every British holiday beach, and sometimes there were more than one if it was a large resort, has now almost gone. Thankfully there are stalwarts and traditionalists who keep this form of Theatre (for that is what it is) alive. It survives still despite the death knell that Sir Freddie Laker sounded for it with his cheap airline tickets to European beaches where the sun could almost be guaranteed to shine, unlike our own Fair Isle. Very quickly, good weather became the expected norm and dear old Britain could never live up to that. So... along with the decline of the seafront entertainments into 'push-penny arcades' and the shops into tat and Charity shops, came the decline of the beach-side entertainment, and poor old Mr Punchinello, curiously of Italian lineage, Judy, the Policeman, their Dog, and a whole string of sausages and bad jokes, have been retired to a memory and the occasional historic re-enactment.

Mystic Wells British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881) Book 4 Chapter 2 by Wirt Sikes All about the beheading of St. Winnifred and the mystic well that sprang up where her head fell. How the waters of mystic wells can be either beneficent or malicious - they can cure diseases, mental or physical, as well as curing love-sickness. Sikes also tells us sooe of the stories associated with Barry Island. Running Order: Their Good and Bad Dispositions 1:46 St. Winifred's Well 4:48 The Legend of St. Winnifred 6:35 Miracles 9:28 St. Tecla's Well 11:50 St. Dwynwen's 12:44 Curing Love Sickness 13:00 St. Cynfran's 14:30 St. Cynhafal's 15:23 Throwing Pins in Wells 15:32 Warts 15:36 Barry Island and its Legends 17:08 Ffynon Gwynwy 20:22 Propitiary Gifts to Wells 21:02 The Dreadful Cursing Well of St. Elian's 23:09 Wells Flowing with Milk 25:34 St. Illtyd's 25:50 Tafi's Well 28:40 Sanford's Well 29:31 Origins of Superstitions of this Class 30:48   Names Used in this Section All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronounciations right for you. St. Winifred St. Tecla St. Cynfran St. Cynhafal Barry Island Ffynon Gwynwy St. Elian's St. Illtyd's Tafi Sanford Lourdes, France Cambria Ffynon Mair (Well of Mary) Holywell Duke of Westminster Drayton St. Winifred, or Gwenfrewi Elerius Robert of Salop Cotton MSS. Caradoc St. Beino Lethean Denbighshire Gwern Degla Llandegla Llandwyn, Anglesea Dan Cupid Ffynon Dwynwen (Fountain of Venus) Iolo MSS. Seithenhin the Drunkard Aphrodite      'Rhad Duw a Chynfran lwydd ar y da!'      (the grace of God and blessed Cynfran on the cattle) Brychan Abergeleu St. George's Well Pennant Mars Llangynhafal parish, Denbighshire Gloucestershire Barry Island, near Cardiff St. Barruc, or Barri Lord Windsor St. Cadoc Gwalches Merlin Camarthen Etna Stromboli Typhonn Vulcan Camden Malkin Ffynon Gwynwy, near Llangelyniin church, Carnarvonshire Archaeologia Cambrensis Pliny Clitumnus Cyff-elian Llanelian, Denbighshire Penrhos Gower, near Swansea John the Baptist Canute River Taff Newton Nottage, Glamorganshire   British Goblins can be found on Archive.org You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia. Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts. Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.  

A new free podcast from Toby Hadoke, as part of his epic ongoing mission to speak to someone involved with every single televised Doctor Who story from the show's first 50 years!

In this latest interview issue, regular RetroCollect FM host Chris is joined by Barry Island from indie developer Infinite State Games to discuss the birth of their newest game Don't Die Mr Robot. Other topics of conversation include Barry's history in the industry, what five games he'd take to a desert island and the revelation that Chris and Barry have both owned a VM Labs Nuon.

This year's audio diary of my visit to Wales starts with Barry Island after that my mood slips resulting in a rant but things pick up for the conclusion as I have a Doctor Who Experience themed day with members of the Staggering Stories podcast including a quiet and reverential visit to the current TARDIS set. You can see photos I took in Barry Island and Cardiff here http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdrury/sets/72157635212664158/ and see video of us visiting the TARDIS set here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXXL1_w9G2o also there's a short set of videos I shot in Barry Island and Cardiff here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_FhkDnh1Xs End theme is Dr Who Gypsy Guitar version by Thrip If you want to send me comments or feedback you can email them to tdrury2003@yahoo.co.uk or contact me on twitter where I'm @tdrury or send me a friend request and your comments to facebook where I'm Tim Drury and look like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdrury/3711029536/in/set-72157621161239599/ in case you were wondering.