Podcast appearances and mentions of chelsea pensioners

After one of the driest March's in years, our gardens are certainly providing some amazing tree blossom, shrub and bulb colour. DIG IT's Peter Brown and Chris Day delve into the latest news, events and gardening advice for the month ahead.5th April: The Forde Abbey Spring Plant and Gardening Fair at Forde Abbey and Gardens in Somerset.5th - 6th April: Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show at Royal Cornwall Show Ground near Wadebridge.5th - 6th April: Great Dixter Annual Plant Fair at Great Dixter Garden, Rye in East Sussex. Until 6th April: Sounds of Blossom at Kew Gardens in collaboration with the Royal College of Music.13th April: Plant Fair and Talks at the Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London.24 - 27th April: Harrogate Spring Flower Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground.27th April: Ramster Garden Spring Plant Fair, Chiddingfold in Surrey.NewsNew National Forest to see 20m trees planted in England by 2050.Kew gets new and revamped features this year, plus the Waterlily House reopens.European Tree of the Year 2024: Beech tree in Poland wins.Alan Titchmarsh launches YouTube channel.Weed like to be better gardeners says OnePoll Research.Dog Trust warning to dog owners as several spring flowers can be toxic.RHS community garden survey launched.The hunt is on for rare and disappearing daffodils.2024: The worst year for bumblebees recorded.Blenheim celebrates with oak saplings.Exbury Gardens celebrates 70th anniversary of public opening.Bowood House and Garden opens for the first time.Lee Connelly named Ambassador for National Children's Gardening Week 2025.Historic uniforms worn by Chelsea Pensioners repurposed and included in a new Garden at Chelsea Flower Show next month.Hillier Nurseries is now 100% peat-free.Fewer slugs expected this spring, says RHS.New groundcover Hydrangea Blush ® launched.DIG IT Top 5 Miracle Gro Lawn Care Products:1st Complete 4 in 1, 14kg A lawn treatment product that kills weeds and moss, creating a thicker, greener and healthier lawn.2nd Patch Magic Bag contains a special binder which helps keep seed from washing away. It grows 2x thicker than ordinary grass, 1.5kg3rd Complete 4 in 1, 80 sqm.4th Miracle Gro Evergreen, 360 sqm.5th Miracle Gro Evergreen, 80 sqm.Plants mentioned: Calibrachoa in the Kinder range, Sedum, Rudbeckia, root-wrapped Roses, Sweet peas, Primroses, Polyanthus, Ranunculus, Brussel sprouts, Runner and Climbing Beans, Dahlia, Gladioli, Lilies, including the variety Stargazer, wildflower seeds, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Rosemary, Snake Plant and Money Plant (Crassula).Products: Slug Gone, Composted Bark Chippings, Root-trainers, Horticultural Fleece, Terrocotta pot, and create your own Easter Hunt in the garden!Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, of Danny Hurst´s Unusual Histories Bridge Series, he reaches Chelsea Bridge which has a longer history than you might expect. He explains why it was opened by the Canadian PM instead of a British dignitary, its connection to biker culture, the Chelsea Pensioners, The Sex Pistols, Sloane Rangers, the 1st official football match and the awful Glasgow smile injury. Danny also covers the gentrification of Chelsea, its counterculture scene, and the King´s Road. If you can´t get enough of these podcasts, head to https://www.patreon.com/DannyHurst to access my exclusive, member-only, fun-filled, and fact-packed history-related videos. KEY TAKEAWAYS The bridge was originally called the Victoria Bridge. But its shoddy design meant that it had to be quickly renamed. The current version of the bridge is the only self-supporting suspension bridge in London. Unusually, it is the roadway that absorbs the stress, not the suspension cables. It was built with the help of the tide. BEST MOMENTS ‘Resulted in one of the Essex Nomads being shot dead and 20 bikers being locked up. ´ ‘Londoners objected to having to pay for fresh air.' ‘Chelsea fans were outraged that the bridge had been painted in Arsenal's colours.' HOST BIO Historian, performer, and mentor Danny Hurst has been engaging audiences for many years, whether as a lecturer, stand-up comic or intervention teacher with young offenders and excluded secondary students. Having worked with some of the most difficult people in the UK, he is a natural storyteller and entertainer, whilst purveying the most fascinating information that you didn't know you didn't know. A writer and host of pub quizzes across London, he has travelled extensively and speaks several languages. He has been a consultant for exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum and Natural History Museum in London as well as presenting accelerated learning seminars across the UK. With a wide range of knowledge ranging from motor mechanics to opera to breeding carnivorous plants, he believes learning is the most effective when it's fun. Uniquely delivered, this is history without the boring bits, told the way only Danny Hurst can. CONTACT AND SOCIALS https://instagram.com/dannyjhurstfacebook.com/danny.hurst.9638 https://twitter.com/dannyhurst  https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-hurst-19574720 Podcast Description "History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake." James Joyce. That was me at school as well. Ironically, I ended up becoming a historian. The Unusual Histories podcast is all about the history you don't learn at school, nor indeed anywhere else. Discover things that you didn't know that you didn't know, fascinating historical luminaries and their vices and addictions, and the other numerous sides of every story. Danny continues his Unusual Histories podcast with the Bridge Series, remaining in London travelling east to west to look at the bridges which span the Thames. He looks at their design, construction and history, along with the history of the areas in which they're located on both sides of the river. This series kicks off with an exclusive interview with Dirk Bennett of the City Bridge Foundation, the organisation which looks after London's bridges. Tower Bridge is marking its 130th anniversary this month and Dirk talks to Danny about the history of the bridge as well as the new exhibition that is opening for it. If you love history; or indeed if you hate history, this is the podcast for you…

How a group of senior ex-servicemen and women experience the calming and therapeutic facets of pottery, and through that explore human connection, creativity, and the sheer joy of crafting.I was invited by Emily Chilvers to Royal Hospital Chelsea to find out more about the pottery sessions she runs there, to meet and chat with some of the pensioners that enjoy spending time in the pottery studio and, of course, to see what they've been making.The benefits of pottery extend far beyond the act of moulding clay. For many of the residents partaking in the sessions, pottery is a form of self-expression and a source of joy, a weekly process that helps them to navigate personal challenges and discover new aspects of themselves. This episode delves into the therapeutic benefits of pottery, and how the tactile nature of working with clay provides a tangible connection, a sense of identity, and an avenue for creativity. For those who may lack physical touch, moulding clay becomes a comforting and sensory experience.Moreover, the pottery sessions offer an opportunity for social interaction. The pensioners involved in the classes at Royal Hospital Chelsea have formed a supportive community. They share experiences, learn from each other, and celebrate each other's creations.In this episode with Emily and some of the potting pensioners, I learn that pottery can be a medium of therapy, self-expression, and connection.  You can also see the potters' work featured on our YouTube channel, Creativity Found Podcast.CreativityFound.co.ukInstagram: @creativityfoundpodcastFacebook: @creativityfoundpodcast and Creativity Found groupPinterest: @creativityfoundTwitter: @creativityfounResearched, edited and produced by Claire Waite BrownMusic: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day TripsArtworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.ukPhoto: Ella PalletSupport the showSupport the show hereSubscribe to the Creativity Found mailing list hereJoin the Creativity Found Collective here

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  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.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 rubbercheese.com/podcast.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 for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://twitter.com/ChelsPhysicGdnhttps://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/https://twitter.com/FSampershttps://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-sampayo-6a4939100/ Frances Sampayo is the Deputy Director of Chelsea Physic Garden. In her day to day role she leads visitor experience, learning & public engagement, volunteering and interpretation. Ensuring that these areas are central to the organisations strategic vision.  Frances has worked for galleries, museums, heritage attractions, palaces, and now a botanic garden. She brings to life completely unique events at each site, ensuring they are rooted in people. This includes visitors, staff and collaborators. For Frances, the places she works often have many barriers for visitors, and programming offers the chance to break these down. You may not feel a botanic garden is for you, but why not start with a music night instead? The more complicated and creative the event, the better.  Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip The Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode I speak with Frances Sampayo, Deputy Director (Visitor Experience) at the Chelsea Physic Garden.We discuss the transformative journey the garden has been on with it's public programming calendar, and the exciting and unexpected outcomes that's brought the organisation.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on itunes, Spotify and all the usual channels by searching Skip The Queue.Kelly Molson: Frances, it's so lovely to have you on the podcast. Thank you for coming to join me. Frances Sampayo: Oh, thank you so much. A longtime listener. So thrilled to be here. Kelly Molson: Always lovely to hear. Well, will you be thrilled after the icebreaker questions? Who knows? Let's go. Right, I want to know, when you go out for dinner, are you a starter and a main kind of gal or main and a pudding, or all three? I mean, you can have all three. Frances Sampayo: I think it's pudding, especially if it's Tiramisu. That's it. Decision made. Kelly Molson: Okay, so Tiramisu is on the menu. That's the one you're going for. That's it. That's the focus.Frances Sampayo: Yeah, I'd probably just have that over the main, to be honest. Kelly Molson: Do you know what? There is a pudding. Yeah. So there are pudding restaurants, though, aren't there, where you can go and yeah, there's one in Cambridge. I walked past it last week while were in town and it's basically just puddings. Frances Sampayo: Oh, great. Kelly Molson: You can have a main pudding, a starter pudding and a pudding. Frances Sampayo: I will never go there. That's too dangerous for me. But, yeah. Kelly Molson: Open invite to come and join me. I would go crumble all the way. Frances Sampayo: Oh, nice. Kelly Molson: Okay, good. If you had to pick one item to win a lifetime supply of, what would you pick? Frances Sampayo: Probably something really boring like sunblock, because I am so pale to that. That would be really handy for me. Kelly Molson: Well, we should all wear sunscreen. Very important. Doesn't matter about being pale. More important to not have skin cancer. Frances Sampayo: Very true. Very true. Kelly Molson: Okay, good. Final one. If you could be any fictional character, who would you like to be and why? Frances Sampayo: That is a great question. I would love to probably go into, like, a Regency novel, but I wouldn't want to be a main character. I'd probably just want to be someone on the sidelines who gets to see everything and just kind of fly on the wall and kind of see everything that's happening in these amazing worlds.  Yeah, that would be great. I like it. Yeah. Kelly Molson: What's the draw to that kind of era? Is it the architecture? Is it the clothing? Frances Sampayo: Can I give a real kind of sector answer? Kelly Molson: Absolutely.Frances Sampayo: Part one would be we so often use as filming locations, so there's a lot of Regency dramas. That would be great to see something like this happening in one of these spaces. And the second is, I once duty managed a kind of 18th century themed party at a site I worked where everyone was in fancy dress from the era. And it was amazing sharing people were just sheivelling as the evening went on, stockings were falling down, men had rouge on, all of those amazing things. And just seeing that come to life was amazing. So I'd love to kind of get to see it kind of happening in actual Regency time period, as opposed to just kind of as an event in the 21st century. Kelly Molson: I love that. Really kind of sets the tone for what we're going to talk about today as well, the events. All right, that was an excellent answer. Thank you. Right, Frances, what is your unpopular opinion? Frances Sampayo: So I'm not a fan of false Jeopardy, which is a big component of reality TV, particularly cooking shows, where someone will take a bite of food and then just the camera pauses for what feels like five minutes and they do all the close up shots of everyone looking really tense, and I just, "Oh, I hate it". So I know it's something very popular, it's in all the reality TV shows, but I always skip that bit, look at my phone or do something else. Kelly Molson: Just get on with it. Just get on with it. Frances Sampayo: Get on with it. Kelly Molson: Or you don't we don't need the drama or the tense. Frances Sampayo: Just put this poor person out of their misery. And you think it's better than anything, like, I could have ever even imagined I cooked. And you just dragging this poor person's emotional journey out. So, yeah, just think just get over it. Just do it. Tell them whether it's good or not. Kelly Molson: I like it. Yeah, I would like that. I'd just like to know yes or no. Don't keep me hanging around. It's like it causes more anxiety than you need it to be. Kelly Molson: I'm definitely one of those people. If someone says, can we have a chat on Monday? I'm like, can we just do it now? Do we need to wait over the weekend? Is it good or is it bad? Because I will just think about this continuously now for the week. So let's just get it out of the way. Frances Sampayo: Let's do it now. Yeah. My team liked me to do if I book in a catch up. We had to catch up, good thing. Catch up, constructive thing, just to help.Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's really useful.Frances Sampayo: Because, again, it is that forced Jeopardy thing of, "Yeah, oh, no, I've got to wait the whole weekend and I don't know what this meeting is about". “It's a good thing. Ten minutes. It's fine, don't worry.”Kelly Molson: That's a really good positive tip, isn't it? Yes, but what if it's not a good day?Frances Sampayo: Then I'll call it something else. Kelly Molson: Okay. Catch up. Not okay. Frances Sampayo: Yes, catch up. It's all gone wrong. Kelly Molson: Okay, that is an excellent tip, I can say that. Share that with the team after our call. Thank you. We've got so much to talk about today. I'm really excited about this chat. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about what they can expect at the Chelsea Physic Garden and then just a little bit about what your role is as well? Frances Sampayo: So Chelsea Physic Garden is a four acre garden. We're in Chelsea, as the name suggests, and we've got over four and a half thousand plants that you can come and see. So we've got a living collection. Most collections in museums are behind glass, but us is living, we have to take care of it and we've got an amazing team of gardeners that do that. So we call ourselves London's oldest outdoor classroom because we've always been a place for people to come and learn about plants. So we've got a really fantastic learning team, but we've also got a really dynamic engagement programme, which helps people connect in different ways to plants, because it can be quite intimidating, I think, particularly if you grew up in a city you don't know much about nature, you might not have had a garden. Frances Sampayo: So we've got a really dynamic programme, giving people lots of different entry points. This year, we turned 350. So in September, we're opening glass houses that have all been restored with support of the National Heritage Fund. So if you're going to come and visit and you've got a restoration project coming up, September is a great time to come to the garden. But we always say, whatever day you come, that's the best day to come, because you're going to see something no one else gets to see, because flowers can change one day to the next 1 hour to the next. So it's a really special place to come and just connect with nature, really. So that's a bit about the garden now, a bit about my role. I've got quite a broad role. So we're a small site, we're a small team. Frances Sampayo: And I think when you have a small site and a small team, you get jobs that actually have quite a lot within their remit. So I, as Deputy Director of the organisation, was brought in to bring a cohesive visitor experience across the site. And that meant I lead different teams that look after all of our people touch points. So visitors learning, public engagement volunteers and then everything that sits behind that holistically to give people a great visit or to support them in a different way. So safety, security facilities interpretation, that comes under my remit as well, because it's supporting that visitor experience ultimately. So it's quite a kind of unique role. It's really dynamic. Every single day is different. Can go from planning our ten year strategy to what's going to happen in the next ten minutes because the toilets have all overflown. Frances Sampayo: So it's really dynamic role and just like the garden. So it's great fun here. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it sounds it as well. So I think that when we spoke a few weeks ago, I came away from the call just thinking, wow, the remit of what you have there is quite phenomenal, the different things that you can be doing all the time. But I also thought, what a privilege it must be to be there, because, like you say, it is a living museum and it just must be incredible to see it change, literally on a daily basis. Frances Sampayo: Yeah, it's amazing. So we're recording this just after our Easter weekend, and I had a great time on Sunday, were out in the garden helping people do their Planet Hero trail to learn about how to be more sustainable. And the tulips just got a little bit of sun and suddenly they all opened up and they were just really expressive, dancing kind of around, and then a cloud came over and they all closed up again and you just think, I don't have a garden, I didn't grow up with a garden, grew up in a flat. And so you just get to see things that you never get to see before. Frances Sampayo: And it's been a real privilege to get to learn how the garden operates over the year and to see there are plants now that I think I can't wait until May, because I'll get to see that in flower and it's really amazing. Kelly Molson: Wow. Well, that's kind of what we're going to talk about today, because as an organisation, you've been on a bit of a transformative journey with your public programming, and a lot of that is about kind of education and getting people to kind of understand what you have there and how things grow and how that all works together. But I kind of want to just go back and talk about, what the starting point for this journey? How did that come about, where did that start? Frances Sampayo: Yeah, and it really has been a journey. So I joined the garden back in 2018 and we had a really established programme of walks, talks and workshops. So quite a formal learning programme. And it was really great, really established, always sold well. And I went on a conference with LEAF, which is the London Environmental Education Forum, and as I was talking to people, they heard I was from Chelsea Physic Garden, and they go, “Oh, I love that workshop you do. We do one similar.” And I started to understand that actually, our programme had been an inspiration point for a lot of people, which is great, we love a bit of professional learning, but of course, that's our competitors. Frances Sampayo: So that was a starting point for me to think, we need to think about something new and then we have the kind of emergence of the experience economy. And we had retailers on the King's road, like Anthropology, running wreath making sessions, floristry sessions. And it really alerted me to the fact that, actually, if we didn't diversify our programme, if we didn't start thinking a bit differently, not only were our competitors going to catch up, but actually other sites that we would never have thought of as competitors because of the new kind of economic model. So, yeah, it was a really important moment for us to start thinking differently. Kelly Molson: That's crazy, isn't it? Because that's the comparison that was made quite a lot, I think, during and after the pandemic, is that attractions, you're now competing with things like Netflix, and you would never have considered that before. So that's really interesting to hear you make that kind of comparison to retail. And that's not something that I would have considered before either. Frances Sampayo: No, it was amazing. I wanted to sign up for a lot of these in person classes. I'm the kind of heritage person and I'm being taken by the retail model, so I've got to try and bring it back. So, yeah, that was a big starting point. And, yeah, as you say, kind of Netflix. You can sit and watch, you could sit on YouTube and just watch a plant grow and on a time lapse for 20 minutes and you say, “Oh, no, actually, you want to get out into nature. So how are we going to get those people here?”Kelly Molson:  Yeah. So what kind of objectives did you set for the programme? Frances Sampayo: So I've got to be honest, I'm not the best at kind of setting formal objectives, particularly, I think, because this programme was really around culture change and I think whenever you bring people into doing a cultural shift within an organisation, they're going to bring new ideas. So I didn't set kind of formal objectives and say, we're going to achieve 20% increase in this or that. I've done that in other areas, but it didn't feel right to do that with our public programme. So what we did instead was talk about giving people more kind of creativity to create new programmes. So kind of, what can we do that's new that we haven't done before? What have you always really wanted to try but haven't been able to? Because this is the time for us to try and fail and learn and adapt. Frances Sampayo: And actually, what sits behind that the kind of team don't always pick up on, is you're introducing a feedback cycle and you're saying, actually, we're going to evaluate everything. And we haven't necessarily had that culture where we listen to what people responded to within our sessions that they liked, that they didn't like. So we wanted to start that feedback loop and then ultimately, we wanted to future proof our programme. So we need new audiences, we've got to diversify our model, become financially sustainable. So those are the kind of key areas I really wanted to push, but I didn't kind of set them as specific objectives. They all kind of developed naturally as more people get involved, we're able to expand the ambition. Frances Sampayo: And now, five years on, we've got our own public programme manager, so it's really become embedded and they're going to again challenge us and push us up a whole other level. So it's been really brilliant to let it grow, but set a kind, of course, I guess, for how we want to deliver it and how we want to change. Kelly Molson: I'm really interested to know what's changed. So what was a kind of typical programme previously and what does your programme look like now? Like, how brave have people been? Frances Sampayo: Yeah, we've been pretty brave. It's been a big change. So I think the first area where there's really been a shift is moving away from an academic forum. So being a learning space for 350 years, that really carried into our learning programme and all of our public programmes. So even sessions where were getting people to do botanical soap making, that started with a formal lecture, really, about what the botanicals were you were going to use, why they were so brilliant. So we've really shifted away from that and we put that same information into our sessions, but not in a formal way. It's much more informal, much more exciting, and people learn through connecting with the plant itself, as opposed to being told with a presentation and some slides, this is how brilliant lemon is, or things like that. Frances Sampayo: So that shift away from the academic has been really fundamental, but you might not necessarily notice that kind of straight away with the session that's more in terms of the content. We've also looked at our accessibility, so we've got a broader range of price points now, a broader range of length of sessions. So we used to have sessions that were a full day or a half day and that was it. Now people are a lot more time poor, so we've got some sessions that are an hour, some that are 2 hours, a full day or even multiple days, but people can select now what they want and there's a much better variety. So we're seeing we get a lot more visitors come onto a kind of two hour session instead of a four hour half day. Frances Sampayo: And our youth panel also talked to us about the different price points and making the journey a lot easier to buying a ticket. So we've got lower price points now. And also you don't have to buy a ticket to the garden on top of buying a ticket to an event, which has been a big shift. So those are kind of some behind the scenes things, which are pretty bold, but not the kind of glamorous thing. But in terms of that kind of more dynamic programming, we did a lot during the pandemic because of being an outdoor attraction, so we had some ideas that were kind of on the back burner that were able to bring forward. So were able to launch Plant Fair when outdoor retail returned, which was brilliant. Frances Sampayo: We were able to introduce a series of concerts on the lawn called The Lawn Session, so those music nights have stayed, and also Family Theatre, which we hadn't done before in the garden, so we now do that every year. So were able to bring in some really new programming, which was really bold for us as a site, because we hadn't really connected with those audiences or felt like audiences that would go to a music night would come to the garden. So that was really great fun. But the most bold programme we launched was our Dash of Lavender programme, so that's LGBTQ plus History Month celebration, and that happens in February. So we've got an exhibition in the garden and then lots of different events, from poetry nights to drawing workshops. Frances Sampayo: And this year, our volunteer guides also got involved and they launched tours around the garden to tell people more about LGBTQ history and horticulture, which was really fantastic, because that, again, is an example of growing support for the programme bit by bit, and people saying, “Okay, now I understand what this is. I want to get more involved.” And we've been supported through that by an amazing partner called Sixto, who runs Queer botany, who's just a great presence within the sector and doing amazing things. I'm sure everyone wants to work with them now, which is really frustrating for us. Frances Sampayo: We love Six, though, but, yeah, that's been the kind of most dynamic programme that we've introduced and has had the biggest impact, but because we'd done all of those smaller steps, that it felt like a really natural progression for the site to do this and it's been really accepted and understood. Whereas previously, if we'd said we're going to do a History Month celebrating LGBTQ plus individuals, people really wouldn't have understood it. So it's made a huge impact. Kelly Molson: That is phenomenal to hear. It's really interesting. As you were talking, we just go back to the start of this section where you were talking about the soap making, and I thought, “Oh, that sounds really interesting. I'd probably like to do that.” But I probably wouldn't have booked onto the previous incarnation of it because I would have thought, "Maybe this is just a bit not for me". I'm kind of doing it because I'm interested in the fragrances and how you make them and that kind of side of it. I'm not sure I want to be lectured about the botanicals themselves, so it might put me off, so I guess it might put a lot of other people off. So have your audiences changed since you introduced the new programme? Kelly Molson: And it would be interesting to know if you set out and defined what you wanted those new audiences to be and how if you've achieved that. Frances Sampayo: Oh, great question. So we did do some kind of planning of new audiences and who we wanted to engage, but we also wanted to make sure we brought our existing audience and our members kind of along with us and make sure that they felt really taken care of. So, in terms of our existing audience, particularly our members, they're 50% of our visitor profile post pandemic, and they're predominantly white, female, cisgendered, able bodied, or potentially have kind of corrected sight through using glasses. They're retired. So that's our kind of core audience, if you will. So we wanted to make sure that we really supported them as well, so they have had some new benefits introduced, like a quiet hour at the garden in the morning, so kind of private access before everyone else comes in. Frances Sampayo: We also started running coffee mornings for them, social isolation is a really big challenge within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. So we've got some older members of our membership community, so that helps them get involved. And they also get early access to a lot of our member events or a lot of our public programme events. So they feel like they're getting a lot of special treatment, but it's a lot of stuff that we would have been doing anyway. And I think that's helped them kind of come with us on the journey as we've brought in a lot of new audiences. So people under 40, families, people living within walking distance of the garden within a 30 minutes catchment, that's actually really quite a disruptive audience to bring in against that traditional model. Frances Sampayo: So we've got people who live in Wandsworth, Lambeth, Vauxhall, all really local to us, who wouldn't see the garden as a place for them. We've got people living in Battersea who are part of the new, amazing community in Battersea with all these developments, but they've got the park right next to them and we're on the other side of the Thames, so why do they want to come here? So it's really helped us establish we are here for local people. We've got things that interest under 40s, we've got things that interest families, but throughout all of that, we've really considered how we're going to bring our core audience on that journey with us. So, yeah, we've tried to balance it, but it has really changed. Kelly Molson: Were you worried about how, when you talked about what your existing kind of demographic was for your members and your audience, were you quite worried about how they might react to some of the new ideas that you were bringing in? Frances Sampayo: I wasn't really worried, if I'm completely honest. I think I knew that we were going to take care of them and I knew that some people would appreciate that and some people would really enjoy coming into the garden for a quiet hour in the morning or coming to a coffee morning. So I knew that some of the visitors that are part of that membership community would really enjoy that. And I thought, if they don't, that is kind of up to them to self select and not come to the garden. But ultimately we have to change because you can't exist for 350 years by standing still. And I think that is quite brave, I think, to say that. And it's not dismissive of our kind of core audience or our existing audience, it's just saying there's space for everyone, there's space for more people here. Frances Sampayo: And if you're not okay with that, you've got your quiet hour, you can come then. We're trying to accommodate you. But actually, if you want to come to Chelsea History Festival weekend, where we've got circus performers and a military band in the garden, come along to that. That's great. You're going to really have a good time if you want. So we kind of accepted that we might lose some visitors and I, unfortunately, sometimes get complaints from people about, "I've ruined the garden or I've ruined the atmosphere", but for every complaint I get like that, I get 20, "I would never have come here if you weren't doing this. And I discovered the garden because you had a poetry evening and I thought that was amazing, or I came on the lawn sessions for a date and now I'm coming back to see the collection in the day." Frances Sampayo: So it really is worth it and you just have to be kind of resilient and true to what you're doing and why and stick to it, because we're kind of here for people and we want as many people to enjoy the garden as possible. So there has to be a bit of disruption and a bit of change.Kelly Molson: Yeah. I mean, we all like to say that we don't like change, though, don't we? You're always going to get somebody who really don't like change and it's really uncomfortable for them, but you can't stay the same for those people. How do you think? Because this has all happened over quite a short period of time, really, hasn't it? I mean, we can throw COVID into the mix and I think it goes without saying, really, that everybody became a bit braver during that time, because it was a time of, "Well, let's just try it. What else could go wrong?" Right? But what do you think that you've been able to kind of change and adapt so quickly? Frances Sampayo: Yeah, so I think it's all about people. We've got a really amazing team here and they're really committed to what we're doing. I kind of label it as persistent, professional radicalism, which people enjoy, but that's kind of what we're doing. We want to make change, so we have to be persistent. We'll consider the fact that some visitors might not like it, but others will, and we've got data to support us and then we're kind of radical because that's just what we're doing, being really bold as we approach things. And this team of people that I get to work with, really kind of support that and want to work in that way. At the start, weren't all saying we're being radical at work and we're being really bold. People weren't necessarily comfortable with that. Frances Sampayo: So there were a lot of conversations that needed to have with people around, giving them permission to explore new things and say, "What are you excited about that we've never done in the garden before, that you think would be really cool that you'd want to come to, or what do you want to do?" And gradually people started understanding that actually there was permission for them to try new things and to work in new ways. So one of the learning team really wanted to learn more about podcasting. So brilliant. There's a training course on podcast. You go on that, you tell me why it would be good for the garden and if you can convince me, I'll back you up and we'll make sure that we kind of get this going and get you the equipment you need and the space you need. Frances Sampayo: So were able to do that and now we've got a really great podcast that's available in all good podcast places that you can listen to about the garden and it helps people that aren't here connect with it. And that just came from a mad idea from one of the teams saying, "Actually, I'd really like to learn a bit more about this, and were able to just kind of go with it." So empowering the team has been really key to that. And then also for me, I'm really lucky that our director, Sue Medway is really supportive of kind of what we're doing. And our trustee board as well have kind of become used to me coming in and saying, “Oh, we're now teaching children how to make broomsticks for Halloween.”Kelly Molson: It's such a great idea.Frances Sampayo: So it's so great and it's a sustainable way of using twigs, things like that. So we use all kind of organic well, all materials from the garden. They learn how to make them and yeah, cool, they get to pretend that they've got magic powers and can fly around the garden, but also they can take that home, they can help with the housework, they know a bit more about sustainable cleaning, don't have to buy a new broom. So there's all kinds of things that we're doing and people have just kind of accepted now that we're going to do things a bit differently. And when they open their kind of board papers, there might be something a bit mad in there, but they really enjoy it. So it's great. Kelly Molson: That is a brilliant idea and it kind of sums up the ethos of the whole place, right? You're teaching children to do something really fun with the things that you have there and they're learning about sustainability. It's absolutely perfect. Yeah, I really love that. I should probably book onto that podcasting workshop that you talked about as well. Add that to my list of things to do. When we talked a few weeks ago as well, I think you mentioned, I think you kind of mentioned, like, the 80 20 rule that we talk about quite frequently. About 80% of what you do is kind of in fixed once the programme is decided, but you have that kind of 20% of flexibility where if something is relevant, you can go, “Hey, we've got a little bit of space here, let's put something on.” So it's nice to be able to have that level of flexibility and kind of agileness about what you do. Frances Sampayo: Yeah, definitely. So, again, when I first joined, actually, that was something that were kind of not confident in. So by November, the whole following year would be planned and then the walks, talks and workshops, leaflets that were produced would talk you through the whole year. So we'd printed the whole year in advance. That was it. This is the programme, we're sticking to it. So now we kind of print only kind of two or three months in advance. And we also use QR codes a lot to say just check our website for what's happening. And that really gives us the space to be agile. So we now programme 80% and then it gives us that space that if you pick up a really amazing phone call from someone, can do an event. Frances Sampayo: We get a lot of really interesting artistic projects, we also get some really amazing kind of sell out events and it's actually we've got to have capacity to run that event again because it was so popular. So, yeah, that's been a really big shift, is just having that kind of 80 20 and it also helps the team with capacity management, I think, because sometimes when we get approached for things like we had this really amazing approach for kind of a shadow puppet theatre to come into the garden and it was a really interesting opportunity for us. It would have been a bit of a kind of learning curve, but we just didn't have capacity. Frances Sampayo: And it was really good to be able to say to the team, “Actually, we've already factored in five new events in the next four months, so do we think that we can build this one in as well? Because those are five new events that we haven't run before.” So it just made us a bit more kind of structured in our decision making process of what we could take on and couldn't. And so that went on the back burner and we said we potentially be available in the future. But yeah, it just makes us have decisions that are kind of really grounded, I guess, from what I'm saying. It seems like we just say yes to everything, but sometimes we do say no and think about whether something's right for us or whether we've got capacity for it. And 80 20 has really helped. Kelly Molson: Yeah, that felt like a considered no, not a reflex no, but actually with other things that we have on, we don't need to do this right now. We'd love to, but we don't need to. And that's a good position to be in, to be able to make that kind of decision. I would love to know what you've learned about it all and what's the one thing that surprised you the most about the process that you've been through? Frances Sampayo: Well, I've learned a lot. It's been a really amazing journey and obviously I've learned a lot just about our collection and from our horticultural team. But aside from that, it's really been about listening to people that your team are going to make you better, they're going to make your programme better, and sometimes you have to listen to challenge and critique just as much as you have to listen to positivity. I think that gives you a lot to learn from. And again, that's that feedback cycle and loop from earlier, I think it's really important to be excited and that makes your team excited about things and want to go the extra mile and put in the energy that it takes to get these things off the ground. Really about empowerment, that's been the key to the success, is just having an empowered team. Frances Sampayo: And I think particularly recently, I've been reflecting on just how important it is to be grateful. And I think I've learned a lot about being grateful not only to the team, but also to our visitors and our audiences that come here and the fact that they've chosen to come to us and making sure that we're grateful for that. So those have kind of been some recent learnings that I've been reflecting on. And then in terms of surprise, well, I think something that I wish I could have used as my answer to your earlier question about objectives and kind of what you set out to achieve actually came as a surprise to me. Frances Sampayo: So we've had at least three staff members and more volunteers cite the public programme as the way that they discovered the garden and also as part of their motivation for joining and wanting to apply. Yeah, so it's been really interesting, and I wish that I'd kind of gone into it at the beginning and kind of said, "Well, yeah, well, this is going to lead to an increase in applicants for jobs and diversity of applicants for jobs", but I just didn't really consider it as an outcome. And it's been great. And actually, one of our Cafe team who cited the Dash of Lavender programme as a motivation for joining went so above and beyond. During Dash of Lavender this year, they had the inclusive pride flag all over. Frances Sampayo: We had a whole range of lavender themed, like macaroons and desserts, and they really took it to another level, because they felt like we, as an organisation, were accepting of this programme and therefore would just really support them to deliver what they felt was their interpretation of the programme. And we did, even if that did mean having to have lavender themed macaroons every day, which is a really hard life. Kelly Molson: That sounds really tough. Frances Sampayo: Oh, no, what a shame. But, yeah, it was just brilliant because they really took it and ran with it and that just makes us better and hopefully our visitors will enjoy that as well. But, yeah, that was completely unexpected. Kelly Molson: That's such an amazing outcome, isn't it? And like you said, completely unexpected that they've really taken ownership of it. They've taken ownership of the programme and put more into it than you ever could have imagined. Frances Sampayo: Yeah, because I could never have done that. And I think I'm really lucky every single day here, because I work with such amazing people. I get to say, "Oh, brilliant. I get to represent everything that people have done and achieved and come up with". And that's just one of those completely unexpected outcomes, which is delicious and great fun. I think they even created a cocktail for out of hours events that transformed. So the cocktail started pink and then they poured in a blue gin and then it turned into a lavender colour. Kelly Molson: They really thought about it. Frances Sampayo: It was amazing. And then the visitors that came here, it's just such an added benefit. So, yeah, creativity comes from everywhere and it's brilliant to see.Kelly Molson: That is brilliant. Yeah, that's another question, actually, is unexpected outcomes. So that was one of the unexpected outcomes, which you had no idea that it could have been an objective that was achieved. But there's been some other things that have come out of this as well, hasn't there? Can you tell us a little bit about them? Frances Sampayo: Yeah, and it comes back to that idea that 80 20 and just having space to pick up the phone and have those conversations. So we do a lot more working in collaboration than we've ever done before. And I think it's maybe because we've caught people's attention as a partner and people are interested in what we're doing now, not just from that kind of LEAF forum, but a lot more dynamic organisations, not just kind of botanically rooted organisations. So many plant puns. I have to apologise, it's just what. Happens when you want to kit. Kelly Molson: We're pun agnostic on this brilliant show.Frances Sampayo: Yeah, one of my favourite activities that we've launched is the Chelsea History Festival, which we run in collaboration with the National Army Museum and the Royal Hospital, which are our neighbours along the Royal Hospital road. And the three of our sites are really different. We have really different audience bases, but we've come together for this week long festival each year and because of that, we've had a military band in the garden that would never have happened if we didn't collaborate and weren't open to collaborating. We've seen a real kind of increase in visitors because of that. And what's been interesting is a lot of visitors go to the National Army Museum because they have a soft play, so there's a lot of families that go there who now come here afterwards, and so they're actually going to both sites.Yeah. Kelly Molson: Oh, that's great.Frances Sampayo: Whereas before, they might have just gone to the Army Museum and not known that were here. So it's really brilliant for us to be doing that work in partnership. And the Royal Hospital are doing more and more to open up. Obviously, their primary function is to be a care home for the Chelsea Pensioners, that's their priority. But they are doing more to connect with the local community and so we're able to facilitate that, maybe host some things for them and just continue to work as a trio of sites as opposed to three independent institutions, which is really exciting moving forward. I think it's really going to change how we all operate. And so that's kind of one collaboration that we just wouldn't have happened if weren't open to working in that way. Frances Sampayo: And we've also launched Crossing the Floors with David Hingley, who's been on the podcast. I'm sure many people know that initiative to kind of link up front of house teams to get experience of working in different sites. Kelly Molson: Such a great idea. Frances Sampayo: It's such an amazing idea. And we're kind of completely different as a site, as an outdoor site. So a lot of people working in places might never have got to come to an outdoor site before. And they get to kind of see how we programme things, how we deliver activities in a very different way, very seasonal way, as opposed to kind of exhibition, programme driven. So that's been really interesting. And, yeah, other collaborations have just come from picking up the phone. We do a lot of work with the University of Westminster now to help blind and partially sighted people have a multisensory experience in a botanical garden, which doesn't sound you think? Well, yeah, of course it's multisensory being in a garden, but actually, you can't touch a lot of our collection. A lot of it's poisonous. Frances Sampayo: It's going to do you a lot of harm if you touch it. So, yeah, how do we kind of layer that in a safe way? So there's so much that can come from collaborating with different sites and, again, that just is going to improve everything we do here and we learn a lot. Kelly Molson: That's so good, isn't it? And I guess all of those things, by changing the programme, you've changed the profile of the garden and you've raised your kind of perception, or changed the perception of it to so many different audiences. And now those audiences will go to the attractions and the places that are next door to them, and yet you don't suffer any visitor loss from that. And likewise, because they're now coming to two of the different ones on the same day, it's just perfect. Frances Sampayo: Yeah, it's great. And hopefully in the future we'll be able to keep building on that as three sites and continue to work together. We're an independent charity, so every kind of penny we earn, we have to earn ourselves. NAM have got a different funding model, as have the Royal Hospital, so we've got a lot to learn as well from each other as organisations of how we approach things and what we need to consider, so it's even better for organisational learning as well. It's just going to help elevate everyone. And as you said earlier, I think people became a lot bolder following the pandemic in terms of sharing and wanting to help each other, whereas before were all very isolated, so that's really helped things. Kelly Molson: It's brilliant. Thank you for coming on to share this with us today. It's been so lovely to talk to you about it. We always ask our guests to share a book that they love, so have you prepared something for us today? Frances Sampayo: Yes, so that was a really hard question and I thought about the book that I've gifted the most. So last year I read Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufman. I don't know if anyone's recommended it previously. Kelly Molson: No, I don't think so. Frances Sampayo: So it's a really fantastic history book. And as someone who's worked at sites with kind of Tudor history in the past, it completely blew my mind to hear about how dynamic the range of black people were in Britain and beyond in the Tudor times, because we really don't get to hear about that. I think, kind of in traditional academic circles. So it's a great read and I think I gifted about five copies of it last year, so I think people would it's just brilliant and I hope someone gets to enjoy it. Kelly Molson: Well, listeners, as ever, if you want to listen, if you want to win a copy of Frances's book, you know what to do. Head over to our Twitter account. And if you retweet this episode announcement with the words, I want Frances's book, then you might get the chance for us to gift you us to gift it to you, not Frances. She can save her pennies. Thank you so much for coming on. It's been such a pleasure. I don't know, you've sold it to me. I mean, I want to come and make a broomstick and some soap. Frances Sampayo: Yeah, soap and a broomstick. Kelly Molson: That's like my perfect day out. Frances Sampayo: That's our tagline for 2024, actually. Just visit garden. Soap and a broomstick. Kelly Molson: Sold. I'll order my ticket in advance. Thanks, Frances. Frances Sampayo: Thanks, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. 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 for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. 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. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

This week cheese is on the menu, Christmas cheese to be exact and Ben Eagle is joined by Judith Bryans; Chief Executive of Dairy UK and Chris Walkland for the annual Chelsea Pensioners' Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses. Judith and Chris celebrate the history of the Ceremony and the important role that dairy plays in supporting the nutrition of ex-service personnel in this long-standing tradition. UK Dairy should be extremely proud of not only producing fantastic cheeses, but the significant role it plays in these important Christmas traditions.

How should care homes be designed? Should the places we spend the end of our lives be clinical and bland, or should they be places that are beautiful, inspiring and actually are something we look forward to going to. As Lori says in this interview, "you don't stop living just because you're in a care home, in fact you should start living better". Lori Pinkerton- Rolet is a force of good, she is director of Park Grove Design, which focuses on creating comfortable spaces for our third age. In fact she also has a podcast, which I recommend you look up, ThirdAge.design. In our podcast together here, we talk about the origin of the Care Home is still stuck in its original format, that of a "hospital", and she shares with us some thought-leader suggestions on how we can design better spaces to create homes that are better. Lori is also passionate about Biophilic Design, she is down-to-earth and practical but designs with such sensitivity and vision that I hope I end up in a home she has designed. Have a listen to see how we should be designing with the people in mind, how we should be thinking what lives that generation may have had, what were their life experiences, how should we improve the acoustics, how can we incorporate getting outside into nature, maybe participating in producing food for the kitchens, what about the colourways of the floor to support those with dementia, how we can create the feeling of contentment, can we incorporate scents, sounds, views to create an experiential sensory home to uplift and create beautiful inspiring places. You'll come away from this podcast, wondering why all Care Homes don't incorporate these design features. Lori also talks about her experiences in Japan and some of her designs including that with the Royal Hospital Chelsea for the Chelsea Pensioners, where she is incorporating echoes of the Chelsea Physic Garden into the design. One of her loudest wake up calls though is for the supply chain to talk to each other. There are many solutions we can find together if we communicate. Lori also is on the British Standards Committee for furniture fabrics, and is passionate about reducing the chemicals used in surface materials. I'm also in favour of that, because as we know, reduce the VOCs helps reduce health complications and also CO2 emissions. There are lots of more natural solutions that Biophilic Design encourages, so let's put our thinking heads, and our purse strings together and start creating Third Age Biophilically Designed Homes. For more information on Lori's practice please do visit her websites www.parkgrove.co.uk and www.thirdage.design.

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  Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf 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 rubbercheese.com/podcastIf 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 for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this episode.Competition ends August  27th 2021. The winner will be contacted via Twitter.Show references:www.designedbyesther.co.ukwww.princes-trust.org.ukhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-johnson Esther Johnson is working with the leading tourist attractions. Creating contemporary illustrations based on extensive research of each subject for commercial use.Transcription:Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for working in, or working with, visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode, I speak with Esther Johnson, a freelance designer and illustrator specialising in working with heritage sites. We discuss the importance of having niche products in your gift shop, how you can develop these for your attraction, and what you need to think about before taking on the plunge. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Esther, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today, it's so lovely to see you again.Esther Johnson: Thank you very much for having me, very flattered. Kelly Molson: I love the backdrop that you've got there as well, for everyone that's watching this on YouTube, I can see your beautiful illustrations that we're going to talk about in the background. It's a lot more beautiful than my background. Esther Johnson: No, it's authentic. It's authentic working from home. We redid it last year at the start of April and didn't know that it was going to be really useful for having meetings like this. Kelly Molson: Who did?Esther Johnson: [crosstalk 00:01:05]. So, thank you very much.Kelly Molson: You are welcome. As ever, we're going to start off with some icebreaker questions. So, if money was no limit, what would be your absolute dream holiday?Esther Johnson: Easy, Nashville. I'm such a big country music fan, absolutely love Nashville, and I would love, love, love to go and listen to the music, and drink the beer and everything. Proper Nashville, want to do it, that is on my bucket list. So, if I had all the money, that's straight where I would go.Kelly Molson: I love that. There was no hesitation whatsoever in that at all, "I've got this planned already". Esther Johnson: Literally, country music... It's all I listen to. During the day, it's all I listen to.Kelly Molson: Who is your favourite country music artist? Esther Johnson: So, a bit of a girl crush on Carrie Underwood. I've seen her I think three times in London. I think she's just such an incredible performer, and I love her outfits, and I love just everything that she's doing. Carrie Underwood. Kelly Molson: You've just set the Spotify playlist for me for the rest of the day, I'll have to check her out. Esther Johnson: Yeah, [inaudible 00:02:26] playlist, definitely [inaudible 00:02:26]. Kelly Molson: What is your food-based guilty pleasure? Esther Johnson: Probably After Eight's. I have a few food allergies, so my palette is barely limited at times, so After Eight's are literally my go-to for everything. It's the only chocolate I can have, so it's definitely my guilty pleasure. Kelly Molson: The only chocolate you can have? Wow. Do you play the After Eight game when you eat them as well? Esther Johnson: No, wastes time, wastes time, straight in. Kelly Molson: Messy too, depending on the time. Esther Johnson: Of course, yes.Kelly Molson: This might tie in actually to your dream holiday, if you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life what would it be?Esther Johnson: Probably Tommy Scott, this is very Scottish, but it's literally my family's favourite tunes and songs. Tommy Scott, he'll do a range of, We Belong to Glasgow, and all these very Scottish things. So, Tommy Scott. I don't know what album, but anything he's done we'll listen to that.Kelly Molson: Alright, I don't know Tommy Scott, I'm going to have to put him in my playlist. Esther Johnson: I'm sure you maybe recognise if you've been to a Burns Night, or [inaudible 00:03:47], or New Year's Eve literally they'll play some of his music. Kelly Molson: Esther, it's unpopular opinion time.Esther Johnson: My unpopular opinion is I really don't like pasta, and I'm sorry. I really don't like pasta. If you've gone out to a restaurant and gone to an Italian, and you have Pizza, why would you choose pasta over pizza? I just don't get it.Kelly Molson: I get you on that. There is no decision to be made there. Esther Johnson: [crosstalk 00:04:20] all the way.Kelly Molson: But, you don't like pasta at all?Esther Johnson: At all. I like rice, so I'd rather have rice. If mum and dad are having pasta I will have rice or something else, or potatoes. I don't know if it's the texture, or if it's the taste. I don't know. Just not for me at all.Kelly Molson: I'll accept your unpopular opinion. Esther Johnson: Thank you.Kelly Molson: I don't agree with it, but I think that there might be a few people that will.Esther Johnson: I'm very much alone in this house as well. Kelly Molson: Let's get on to the serious questions. So, Esther, I think we connected on LinkedIn quite a while ago, and I have to say, I'm really blown away by the illustrative work that you do. I think it's absolutely beautiful. You're a freelance designer, but you specialise in illustrations and products for heritage sites. Esther Johnson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Tell me a little bit about how you started your business. Esther Johnson: It was back in 2017, I'd just been on the Prince's Trust course. They do an enterprise course and it's a four-day crash course into running a business. So, it does your taxes, your marketing. So, four days of full-on business stuff. And, they were doing pros and cons of being an entrepreneur or being self-employed, and every single one I was like, "Yeah, I really want to be self-employed, I want to make my own day job and routine." So, got partnered with a mentor, and we started talking about what I could do as a business really, so creating that idea. I said, "I really like sketchbooks, and drawing, and things like that, but things that I like drawing are the quirky characters, not characters as in Disney characters, but characteristics of places. Esther Johnson: And, there was a program recently that really summed up my mindset into what I, hopefully, what I'm into the business. It was Tony Robinson, and he did this documentary on Cathedrals in England, and he was saying that, "Unless somebody pointed out these little details, you wouldn't know." So, so many people would just walk past, and that's fine because it's all this history. And, it's those kind of quirky things that we was talking about that I really loved and wanted to capture through illustration. Esther Johnson: So, there was a video, on Facebook I think it was, and it was all these railings that were really bizarre in London, and they were old World War 2 stretchers, and they'd been recycled into railings. And, it's that kind of idea that I really like drawing. So, we were like, "How can we get that concept?" Because, it's heritage, it's history, and quirky characteristics, "How can we get that concept into a business?" Basically, so, we started thinking of places that were local to me, so in Medway, and Chatham Dockyard came to the list. Esther Johnson: So, one day, just basically walked in, I had a couple of designs in a folder, and went, "Can I speak to the retail manager?" Hadn't planned anything, didn't know what I wanted to say. And, he didn't laugh at me at the door, which was really nice. He said, "Come back", he had a look at my designs in the folder, seemed to like them. He said, "Come back with some designs and we'll go from there." So, that was it. I went around the site. Chatham Dockyard I think was the biggest employer for Medway before it closed. But, there are so many different aspects of it. There are the three ships, there's a Victorian Ropery where they filmed Call the Midwife, and there are all these buildings. So, there were so many different aspects that I wanted to capture, that I felt that it couldn't go into one design, I felt like it would go as a collection. Esther Johnson: So, I did By the Docks, so focused on the ships and the maritime aspect of Chatham Dockyard, and called it By the Docks. And then, The Long Walk, because of the Victorian Ropery. I'll probably get this wrong, but I think it was a quarter of a mile long building. So, called it The Long Walk, and the colours were brown and earthy in the style that you would see when you go and visit. And then, finally, I wanted to capture all the different buildings, because it was like a little community in the Dockyard. They had a little church, and they had a Commissioner's House, and it's all things that you see passing by. Esther Johnson: So, I had the three designs, came back, and he seemed to like them which was really lovely because I had no degree, no experience, absolutely nothing to my name. And, I thought, "No one's going to take me seriously", but I think he saw that I was really interested in the Dockyard in particular and finding out the history of it, and capturing that through illustration. Some of the comments that he said as well was that it was quite unusual that an artist potentially or a designer would go and do some work specific to them. Normally they would either buy in stock or they would buy some designs from a catalogue, kind of thing. And, the fact that I went and wanted to get it bespoke for them was a bit different. And, it was those nuggets of information that built to this idea of what I wanted to do for a business. Esther Johnson: Then, we went into a product launch, we had all these products. And, having my name on these actual labels, and there would be barcodes, and everything so professional, it was like, "Wow". Lit the fire for what I wanted to do.Kelly Molson: That must have been such an amazing feeling, to be able to go into a shop and pick up something that you have designed or you've illustrated, and it's there, it's a physical thing. Esther Johnson: Yeah, I've definitely been in there a few times just to take pictures and just be like, "This is so bizarre". It really sparked that idea that heritage is definitely the market that I want to go in and do it for other places. There are so many other museums in Medway and in Kent. So, that's where it started really.Kelly Molson: It's a brilliant story. I love that you were supported by Prince's Trust as well, I think they're such an incredible organisation, what they do for young people, really fantastic. Esther Johnson: Yeah, they still are.Kelly Molson: You're a mentor for them as well, aren't you?Esther Johnson: I'm a young ambassador for them. Kelly Molson: Ambassador.Esther Johnson: Over lockdown, there's been so many enterprise courses that I've been running. And, on the week you get... They call it an inspirational speaker, it's strange to be called that. I go in and tell my story about how I run the business and how the Prince's Trust has helped. So, I did eight of those over lockdown. So, the demand for small businesses and people setting up their own business has definitely been on the increase. Prince's Trust, still keeps in contact with my mentors and in contact with the South East and London region, which is incredible. I've never met a bunch of people that are just so willing for you to do well. Across the board, everyone is so happy and so excited about what you're doing. It's really encouraging. Kelly Molson: It's amazing. I love the progression that you've made in what you've achieved so far. The reason that I got you on the podcast today is there's a few things that you mentioned, as you were telling your story about how you set up, that tie in really lovely with a past episode that we've had on the podcast. Back in November time, we had Simon Jones from Digital Visitor on, and at that point we were talking a lot about the fact that attractions have been closed for a huge amount of 2020. As they were starting to reopen again, they needed to look at different ways of engaging with the visitor when they came. And, not just when they come, but when they're buying from them online, or when they're buying from them on the gift shop on-site. Kelly Molson: And, Simon and I both very much talked about the fact that attractions need to stock products that you can't buy anywhere else, that's the whole point of going to that gift shop. You don't really want to just pop in there and buy something that you could pop to Tesco's and buy, or pop to your high street gift shop and buy. The reason for going is, you've been to this fantastic attraction all day, if you're going to go into the gift shop and buy something, you want to buy something that you can only get there that is very individual to that venue. And, you touched on that a little bit when you were speaking about your client had said that it's unusual for them to have illustrations that were very much focused on them, rather than just buying something that was stock. Kelly Molson: So, I wanted to talk through your process really, because I thought that would be really interesting for our audience, how you work with an organisation to do this. So, can you tell us a little bit about how that process starts? What do you do when you're first speaking to an attraction? How do you start that process of designing something that is bespoke for them? Esther Johnson: Most importantly, I need to visit the place. There's obviously so much that you can get from the internet and looking at social media, but actually visiting, as a visitor and as a customer, you see things that you wouldn't necessarily get on the internet. And also, I think a hugely important part of when I do design, is speaking to the staff, some of the visitors, and some of the people that work there because they're the experts in that place. Some of them have been there for their whole career and know every inch of the history of the museum or heritage site. And, it's that kind of information that I think is crucial and is really helpful in making a really good design. Because, they'll know what visitors are always keen to go and look at, the best sellers or the must-sees of each place. And, it's that kind of information that you wouldn't get maybe on the internet. You get a feel, you get an idea of the colours, and what the place is laid out like. So that, when you've done the whole journey and then you finish up at the gift shop, which sometimes that is how it works in museums, you know what they're expecting, and what kind of products they would want to have as part of their trip and day out. So, definitely very much go and visit it first, see it firsthand, and get imagery, photography from those places. Esther Johnson: And then, I'll go back and do some illustrations, do some designs, and put together something. I'm very lucky that I get free rein to start off with, "Here's the brief, here's what we want", go in, create something. So then, after that, we'll put together a design and I'll maybe put together some products that I think might work. And then, we go from there, we tweak it, sometimes the information might be incorrect, or they prefer to take out some images. It's a very partnership kind of relationship, because, the people that I'm working with, they know the place inside out. So, if I've taken something that I thought was interesting but doesn't quite work with their branding or with their ethos, then it will be taken out. And, that's absolutely fine, because it's them that will be selling it, it will be them that are talking to the customers, and knowing what's going to sell, and things like that. Esther Johnson: So, design is created, and then we'll put it onto products. And normally, I help find the suppliers and recommend some products that I think might work with some designs from previous examples, previous museums that I've worked with. And then, I also like doing the end part, the packaging, because I found some clients it's quite a small team in the retail side, and don't necessarily have the time to look at swatches for binding for oven gloves, and looking at fabric materials, and all those details. I'm putting my name on it, so I want to make sure it's the best product that it can be for the customer, and I want it to be well-thought-out. Because, like you say, they're spending their money and they want to have something that is bespoke for that place. And, also you can add a bit of a premium to that product that has been well-thought-out, and things like that. So, I really try and go for the full process from start to finish, and they're helping with the packaging, and if you need labels designed. I'm really interested in that whole design process.Kelly Molson: It's really collaborative, isn't it? You're working really hand in hand with them.Esther Johnson: Yeah. I definitely feel that is the better way to go about it, rather than just, "Here's a design, you pay me for that, you've got to deal with it, you've got to sell it." I'd rather it be something that they're proud of as well, and that they're passionate about it. That really does help actually with the design. When you're speaking to the staff and customers, the passion of their site and the story that they are telling, when that passion comes over, it really influences the design. And, I get that passion as well, and then I get really excited thinking, "I really hope that they like it, and I really hope that they can see that I've listened to what they've said." So, little details that go in the design, I hope that comes across.Kelly Molson: And, how do you work with the site to define what those products might be? Because your illustrations can be applied to a variety of different products, how do you help that site define what products are going to be the most popular for them, and how they can make the most of them?Esther Johnson: So, normally they already have a shop and a product range that they have already, and sometimes it is just a new product collection. So, I can say that "This design particularly works well with confectionary or kitchenware." If it's a place that's not really had product development, or they've just potentially bought things for stock, it's kind of, "Who's your target market? Who are the people that are coming in and buying tickets? Who are the people that are spending the most time in the gift shop?" It's really the research that they have, and it's all their knowledge that really influences what the products... I can suggest and say, "I think this would work really well for this target market", but they are the people that would know who is their customer. I'm not there to tell them, "This is what you should do", at all. It really is a, "I would like to help", or, "I'd like to contribute". So, it really is down to them, to be honest.Kelly Molson: If we talk about things that people need to think about before they start to speak to somebody like you who will help them develop those products, what do they need to know before they engage with you? What do they need to prepare beforehand?Esther Johnson: I suppose it depends on what their end reason for having a design. So, an example would be, some design I did for a client was not used for products, it was used for educational purposes. So, getting the school kids would be a big part of their attraction, and they needed a branding or a mascot that could be targeting to the children, and have little speech bubbles, and giving them the educational purposes, and the facts and figures of that. So, that was a very different market.Kelly Molson: If I gave you an ideal brief, what would be in that brief? What would you need to know, that you would have everything that was in that brief, that you'd go, "This brief is perfect. I'm going to take that away and..."?Esther Johnson: A perfect brief would be fairly minimal. It would be, "Come and visit on X, Y, and Z", and then I go and take inspiration from the place, and go from there. That would, I'd say, be the perfect brief. Or, another one would be, "We've got five sites, and we're trying to collaborate them together because they're all a bit disjointed", or something like that. And then, I'll be like, "Okay, I'll go to each five sites, find out something specific, and then a design will be created that can collaborate each five site, and then you can sell it in each five sites, so they're all brought together." Finding out what their unique characteristics are to go on.Kelly Molson: Is that harder to do? Because, if you're going to one site there will be individual things about that site that are really bespoke to that site, it feels like it would be easier to create on thing. How do you manage it when it's five different sites? Do you have to go through the same process at each site? Esther Johnson: I suppose. There's one particular client that I'm working with, the Brighton Pavilion Trust. So, they've got five museums down in Brighton. The Royal Pavilion is a classic, beautiful architectural building.Kelly Molson: Such an iconic building, isn't it?Esther Johnson: Yeah. Kelly Molson: Everyone remembers it.Esther Johnson: Beautiful. And, I didn't know that they had five other sites that were all linked in the same thing, and they wanted to create something that was uniformed. So, went around and found all these quirky little things that were in each site. So, I've drawn all the buildings, and then added little elements that were relevant. And then, put them into one design... I know I put it into repeat, just for a textile design background, I suppose. Customers, I hope, will be able to recognise all these different elements, and know that they can go to each different site and then find something else there.Kelly Molson: That makes sense. I guess you might be a bit biased in [inaudible 00:22:40], how important do you think it is that heritage sites do have niche products?Esther Johnson: I think it's very important. So, yes, I'm probably biased. I think it is very important because... My mindset for it is that you're spending X amount of money to get into the place, and it's a day out. And, you wouldn't go there if it was just a park, or it had no memory or meaning to it, you go there because there is a purpose to that place. And, the people are passionate about their history and what they are offering. They are, ultimately, offering a story and a place to go. And, I think that it's only fair to capture those stories into something that they can take home as a souvenir. And, the meaning of the souvenir is the whole reason why I create bespoke-ness, is because you want something that you can only buy from that place. And, I also think that well-thought design is important, rather than something that you think, "They didn't really care much about the product." I think it's important to make sure that you do care about the end product so that your customers know that you're passionate about the story, and you want them to come back, and you want them to remember. And, it would be a nice gift that they can give to somebody else as well. Kelly Molson: It's helping them continue that story as well, isn't it? To continue the journey that they've been on by buying something that is only available there, they then bring it home, which then sparks those lovely memories of that day. And again, does it act as a reminder to say, "We need to go there again", it's something that's in their house, they physically see it all the time, "We need to go back there. We need to revisit."?Esther Johnson: Yeah, of course. And, if you go to John Lewis and they've got some beautiful collections from maybe artists or just well-designed products, you think, "Wow, that's really nice. I might want to go back and add to the collection." So, you've got a set of some really nice products. And, I think, why couldn't you do that in the museum setting, and a visitor site setting? Why can't you have really beautiful products that maybe you want to go back and get the set. Or, maybe you see what else they've developed and think, "I'd rather spend my money here than on a high street store." It's making that decision made easy for customers to spend their money in a museum and visitor site rather than somewhere else online.Kelly Molson: That's a great answer. I completely agree with you on that. I think it's part of that whole mindset... There was a majority of people that were trying to shift to buying local, and buying [inaudible 00:25:43], buying smaller products anyway. But, there's definitely been a shift towards that more so since lockdown, buying local, supporting independents and things. So, I think if you can intertwine that into your visitor center as well then that's a perfect offering.Esther Johnson: Yeah. I totally agree.Kelly Molson: You might not have facts and figures and stuff for this, but it'd be interesting to know if you've spoken to any of the attractions that you've worked with and seen what the uptake has been in those niche products, compared to something that was a stock product that people would have been able to buy previously?Esther Johnson: I don't have facts and figures. I would love to be able to say their revenue was amazing after they had worked with me. In 2020, I had five projects that was going onto products that all got put on hold, and I only really started the business in 2018. So, in terms of facts and figures, it's quite difficult to get them because it's quite a short time. However, I did get contacted by a charity called ABF, the national Soldier's Charity, I think it was March/ April last year, so during the lockdown. And, we created a design, and we created some products, and it went quite well. And, they had to reorder within a couple of months. And, we did some Christmas cards that were e-cards, and they were doing them onto physical Christmas cards. And, we're doing some new product collections that are now stationary. We did confectionary, we expanded on the confectionary style. And, the response has been really good. It is a different market in terms of that it's a military charity, rather than a visitor attraction. But, the process is still the same thing. I still get in elements from what they do, what their ethos, why they do what they do, and put that onto design.Esther Johnson: And, people took... I think they liked it. Because, they were like, "Yes, this is the charity that I support and have a lot of relationships or memories within this charity, and I want to support them. And, the fact that they've got a lovely designed product, even better." So, instead of just donating money, which people do every month, they actually get a product for it. And, something that they can admire... Not admire, [inaudible 00:28:16].Kelly Molson: I totally get that. I think it's really relevant, regardless of whether that's a charity or an attraction that you're talking to. Again, it comes back to that idea of people are making really big choices about where they spend their money, and that charity or that attraction is really important to them, therefore they're choosing to spend their money there. And, they want something that they can only get at that venue. That's the message that we're driving through today. It is really important that your venue has something that is so special, and so unique to you, that people can only spend their money there on that product.Esther Johnson: Yeah, because, ultimately, the people will go there for a particular reason, because of the story that they tell. And, if it can be someway reflected into a lovely product that they can then purchase and help, then the money goes back into the refurbishment or the continuation of that organisation, I think all the better for it. Kelly Molson: Yeah, absolutely. So, other than behind your head, where I can see some of your beautiful products. Again, if you're not watching this on YouTube, apologies. What attractions have you worked with? Where can we find out a bit more about your work?Esther Johnson: Chatham Dockyard, to start off with. They still sell the three designs that I started my business on, so you can go and find them there. Chelsea Pensioners was such an amazing project to work on, going around the Chelsea Pensioner site, the Royal Hospital, and speaking with Chelsea Pensioner, and getting all that thing. So, they have products and they have it online as well. So, if you have any connections with the Chelsea Pensioners, that was a really good project to work on. The Brighton Billing Trust, I really hope I've got that name right, this year we're working on some products that will combine all the five sites that they have, and we're putting them on to products. So, it would have come out in 2020, but obviously, it was postponed. So, hopefully, this year, maybe next year, Brighton will have some new products designed by me.Kelly Molson: So exciting. I think it's wonderful. I've really enjoyed chatting to you today, just to find out more about that process and how it works. If anyone wants to get in touch with you, where's the best place that they can do that? Esther Johnson: Website, email, designedbyesther.co.uk. Instagram, I try and put a lot more on Instagram. Kelly Molson: Fabulous. And, we will put all the links to Esther's contact details in the show notes anyway, so don't worry if you didn't grab that. You'll be able to pop over and hit her up if you want to chat with her and find out a little bit more about how she can help. We always end our podcast with asking about a book that you'd recommend to our listeners. So, a book that you love, or something that's helped shape your career in some way? What's your suggestion for us today?Esther Johnson: Ashamedly, I've not read many books. However, over lockdown, there's a lady called Holly Tucker, who co-founded Not On The High Street, and Holly & Co, and she's been doing these Instagram Lives two or three times a week, and they've been so inspirational, so motivating. She really just captures what small businesses and small entrepreneurs are going through. She answers questions, she's just so helpful. She has a book coming out called Do What You Love, Love What You Do. I've pre-ordered it, and I am so excited to read it. I've gone against the rules, that I haven't read it. Over lockdown, she has really inspired me to think, "Why do I want to run a business?", and, "Why do I want to continue what I'm doing?" So, she has been a big boost in the daily running of my business. I really recommend her. And also, if you just watch her Instagram Lives, she's so interesting and so personable, she's just incredible. Kelly Molson: I love that. I think that's a perfect book for this episode.Esther Johnson: Perfect, yeah.Kelly Molson: It fits really well with what we've been talking about, in terms of products. Good recommendation. As ever, listeners, if you want to win a copy of this book, then if you head over to our Twitter account, which is Skip the Queue, and if you retweet this episode announcement with the comment, "I want Esther's book", then you will be in with a chance of winning it. Esther Johnson: It should be a good one. Kelly Molson: Esther, thank you so much for coming on today, I've really enjoyed finding out a bit more about what you do. I think understanding a bit of that process that you go through when you work with attractions will definitely help our audience if they're thinking about developing a bespoke product in some way that is going to be really individual for them. So, thank you.Esther Johnson: Thank you very much for asking, I hope it has been of some use. Kelly Molson: It absolutely will be.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. 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 for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. 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. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

Me and Mark discuss the three terrible losses v Liverpool, Brighton and Chelsea, and the win against West Brom. we discusss whether we are the Harry Kane team, Mourinho, Bale and more.

Longbangers Episode 26: Chelsea Pensioners. Doidge, Kamberi, Naismith, Did we mention we won? Alba

Four entertaining and inspiring Chelsea Pensioners talk to Richard Hatch and Hal Stewart. Recorded at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Donate to Alan Rutter HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alan-rutter-cpIn today's news we talk about Alan Rutter, a Chelsea pensioner, who is setting off on a 600 mile walk along the western front for charity. Also, we recently hosted some car fanatic Chelsea Pensioners at McLaren F1 Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucasukgroup/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucasukgroupFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lucas-UK-Group-432098617552739/Podcast: https://www.thelucasshow.com/podcastThe Lucas Show: https://www.thelucasshow.com/Company site: https://lucasuk.com/

Hello everyone!!  Today’s podcast is a very long one and we cursed a lot so we are warning if you don’t like long podcasts or cursing please skip this one! Don’t forget we are doing a #HappyFathersDayPrinceHarry fundraiser to honor Harry on his  first Father’s day.  We covered two engagements for Duke of Sussex; 45 visit and visit with Chelsea Pensioners. We also covered the Sussexes attending Trooping. Then we  discussed the Economic impact of the Sussexes. Finally, we attempted to tackle different news items of the day   Topics Engagement : The attendance of the Duke of Sussex with the Queen at Buckingham Palace for lunch with 45 (disclaimer first) Harry’s visit with Chelsea Pensioners Economic impact of the Sussexes: See References  below General News Items: Drama surrounding trump visit Dan Wooton George Clooney Hacked photos Meghan’s Mirror Charity : We’re kicking off a #HappyFathersDayPrinceHarry fundraiser to celebrate PrinceHarry first Father’s Day from 8-16 June!  We are asking everyone to donate to two charities  Scotty’s Little Soldiers: http://scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/get-involved/donate/ and The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust: https://mydonate.bt.com/donation/v4/chooseAmount.html?charity=190091&sourcePage=charityPage   Economic impact References : British Royals by the Numbers - https://www.fastcompany.com/40571590/british-royals-by-the-numbers-what-they-cost-and-bring-in How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Helped Make London 2019’s “Top Destination” https://www.vogue.com/article/prince-harry-meghan-markle-royal-wedding-tourism-london The Royal Wedding and its Impact on Tourism https://blog.euromonitor.com/royal-wedding-impact-tourism/ "The Meghan Effect" Is Very Real: All of the Clothes Meghan Markle Wore That Sold Out in 2018https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/995727/the-meghan-effect-is-very-real-all-of-the-clothes-that-meghan-markle-wore-that-sold-out-in-2018 Pandora Sykes speaks to the photographer who captured the image and explains why the Duchess Of Sussex is one of the greatest influencers of our time https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/meghan-markle-pregnant This Has Become the U.K.'s Most Popular Tourist Attraction Thanks to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/royal-wedding-tourist-destination MEGHAN MARKLE'S IMPACT ON THE WORLD IN 365 DAYS https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a25235302/meghan-markles-impact-engagement-anniversary/ The Meghan Effect https://www.lyst.com/fashion-royalty/meghan-markle 2018 The Meghan effect: how the Duchess of Sussex can double a brand's turnover https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/31/the-meghan-effect-duchess-of-sussex-markle-fashion-brand Guardian, Scarlett Conlan, December 2018 ROYALLY-BELOVED BRANDS CAN'T RELY ON THE 'MEGHAN MARKLE EFFECT' FOREVER https://fashionista.com/2019/04/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-fashion-clothing-effect FASHIONISTA, ANDREA CHENG, APRIL 2019 How the ‘Meghan Markle Effect’ Could Leave a Lasting Imprint on the Wedding Industry Both of the Duchess of Sussex's gowns could have a huge influence on bridal trends for years to come. https://www.glamour.com/story/meghan-markle-effect-wedding-dress-bridal-industry By Leah Bourne, Glamour, May 2018   Thanks for joining us for this episode the Sussex Squad Podcast. We sincerely hope you guys have enjoyed this episode! Please don’t forget to send letters to Harry, Meghan, and Archie  by using hashtag #welcomeArchie on envelope and in letter! The Duke & Duchess of Sussex Clarence House London SW1A 1BA England United Kingdom Subscribe to our podcast on all podcasting platforms and youtube. Don’t forget to leave us a 5 star rating and review on itunes.   #MeghanMarkle #PrinceHarry #ArchieHarrison #Royalbaby #dukeofsussex #duchessofsussex #dukeandduchessofsussex #SussexSquadPositivity #sussexsquad

Turkish writer Elif Safak's latest novel '10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World' tells the story of Leila, a woman whose body has died, but whose mind has a precious ten minutes to reflect on the joy, pain and injustice of her life as a prostitute in Istanbul. Jenni talks to her about tackling controversial subjects and being accused of obscenity. Chelsea Pensioners are well known by the bright red military coats with gold buttons that they must wear when they go out in public. In return for their army pension, 300 residents live at the Royal Hospital cost free - and today they welcome ex-servicewomen. We hear from Chelsea Pensioner Helen Andrews, who served during the Second World War at Bletchley Park as Private Maria Teresa Helen McQuibban, with the Royal Corps of Signals. To celebrate UK Coaching Week Louisa Arnold tells us about Project 500 - a scheme to inspire and support women to become sports coaches - and Kim Johnson explains why she loves being a rugby coach. And, this week's Woman's Hour drama, I'm A Slave, has been showing the misery of human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK today. But, how much is this a female problem? To discuss how it affects women and the work being done to help them, Jenni is joined by the Salvation Army's Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery Operations Manager, Emilie Martin.

How can military records help us to reconstruct and understand the lives of disabled people and their families in the 18th and 19th centuries? This talk will explore how the pension records of the Royal Hospital of Chelsea (home of the famous Chelsea Pensioners) can be used to gain insight into the lives of disabled veterans.Dr Caroline Nielsen is a lecturer at the University of Northampton and specialises in the history of disability and war.

More from the Chelsea Pensioners.

In this episode, we find our more about the Chelsea Pensioners – veterans from our armed services who live in Chelsea and are known all over the world by their bright scarlet coats and tricorne hats.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tales from the old East End as the Colonel recalls his nightclub days with the Kray Twins, Sid James and Barbara Windsor including the astounding tale of dead men in shoulder pads. Also on the table - nipple tweaking, Chelsea Pensioners and darts