Podcast appearances and mentions of Edward Thomas

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 hosts are Paul Marden and Andy Povey.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. Show references:  Anna Preedy, Director M+H Showhttps://show.museumsandheritage.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/annapreedy/Jon Horsfield, CRO at Centegra, a Cinchio Solutions Partnerhttps://cinchio.com/uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-horsfield-957b3a4/Dom Jones, CEO, Mary Rose Trust https://maryrose.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicejones/https://www.skipthequeue.fm/episodes/dominic-jonesPaul Woolf, Trustee at Mary Rose Trusthttps://maryrose.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-woolf/Stephen Spencer, Ambience Director, Stephen Spencer + Associateshttps://www.stephenspencerassociates.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/customerexperiencespecialist/https://www.skipthequeue.fm/episodes/stephen-spencerSarah Bagg, Founder, ReWork Consultinghttps://reworkconsulting.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbagg/https://www.skipthequeue.fm/episodes/sarah-baggJeremy Mitchell, Chair of Petersfield Museum and Art Galleryhttps://www.petersfieldmuseum.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-mitchell-frsa-4529b95/Rachel Kuhn, Associate Director, BOP Consultinghttps://www.bop.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuhnrachel/  Transcriptions:Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions. You join me today, out and about yet again. This time I am in London at Olympia for the Museums and Heritage Show. Hotly anticipated event in everybody's diary. We all look forward to it. Two days of talks and exhibitions and workshops. Just a whole lot of networking and fun. And of course, we've got the M and H awards as well. So in this episode, I am going to be joined by a number of different people from across the sector, museum and cultural institution professionals, we've got some consultants, we've got some suppliers to the industry, all pretty much giving us their take on what they've seen, what they're doing and what their thoughts are for the year ahead. So, without further ado, let's meet our first guest. Andy Povey: Hi, Anna. Welcome to Skip the Queue. Thank you for giving us some of your time on what must be a massively busy day for you. I wonder if you could just tell the audience who you are, what you do, a little bit about what museums and heritage is, because not everyone listening to the podcast comes from the museum sector. Anna Preedy: Andy, thanks. This is a great opportunity and always really lovely to see your happy smiley face at the Museums and Heritage Show. So M and H, as we're often referred to as, stands for Museums and Heritage and we're a small business that organises the principal trade exhibition for the Museums and Heritage sector that could be broadened, I suppose, into the cultural sector. We also have the awards ceremony for the sector and an online magazine. So we are Museums and Heritage, but we're often referred to as M and H and we've been around for a very long time, 30 plus years. Andy Povey: Oh, my word. Anna Preedy: I know. Andy Povey: And what's your role within the organisation? Your badge says Event Director today. That's one of many hats. Anna Preedy: I'm sure it is one of many hats because we're a very small team. So I own and manage the events, if you like. M and H is my baby. I've been doing it for a very long time. I feel like I'm truly immersed in the world of museums and heritage and would like to think that as a result of that, I kind of understand and appreciate some of the issues and then bring everyone together to actually get in the same room and to talk them through at the show. So, yeah, that's what we're about, really. Andy Povey: In a shorthand and obviously the show. We're in the middle of West London. It's a beautifully sunny day here at Olympia. The show is the culmination, I suppose of 12 months of work. So what actually goes in? What does a normal day look like for you on any month other than May? Anna Preedy: Yeah, it was funny actually. Sometimes people, I think, well, what do you do for the rest of the year? You just turn up to London for a couple of days, just turn up delivering an event like this. And also our award scheme is literally three, six, five days of the year job. So the moment we leave Olympia in London, we're already planning the next event. So it really is all encompassing. So I get involved in a lot. As I say, we're a small team, so I'm the person that tends to do most of the programming for the show. So we have 70 free talks. Everything at the show is free to attend, is free to visit. So we have an extensive programme of talks. We have about 170 exhibitors. Anna Preedy: So I'm, although I have a sales team for that, I'm managing them and looking after that and working with some of those exhibitors and then I'm very much involved in our awards. So the Museums and Heritage Awards look to celebrate and reward the very best in our sector and shine the spotlight on that not just in the UK but around the world. So we have a judging panel and I coordinate that. So pretty much every decision, I mean you look at the colour of the carpet, that which incidentally is bright pink, you look at the colour of the carpet here, who made the decision what colour it would be in the aisles this year it was me. So I, you know, I do get heavily involved in all the nitty gritty as well as the biggest strategic decisions. Andy Povey: Fantastic. Here on the show floor today it is really busy, there are an awful lot of people there. So this is all testament to everything that you've done to make this the success that it is. I'm sure that every exhibitor is going to walk away with maybe not a full order book, but definitely a fistful of business cards. Anna Preedy: I think that's it, what we really want. And we sort of build this event as the big catch up and we do that for a reason. And that is really to kind of give two days of the year people put those in their diary. It's a space where people can come together. So you know, there'll be people here standing on stands who obviously and understandably want to promote their product or service and are looking to generate new business. And then our visitors are looking for those services and enjoying the talks and everyone comes together and it's an opportunity to learn and network and connect and to do business in the broadest possible sense. Really. Andy Povey: No, I think that the line, the big catch up really sums the show up for me. I've been. I think I worked out on the way in this morning. It's the 15th time I've been to the show. It's one of my favourite in the year because it is a fantastic mix of the curatorial, the commercial, everything that goes into running a successful museum or heritage venue. Anna Preedy: I mean, it's funny when people ask me to summarise. I mean, for a start, it's quite difficult. You know, really, it should be museums, galleries, heritage, visitor, attractions, culture. You know, it is a very diverse sector and if you think about everything that goes into making a museum or a gallery or a historic house function, operate, engage, it's as diverse as the organisational types are themselves and we try and bring all of that together. So, you know, whether you are the person that's responsible for generating income in your organisation, and perhaps that might be retail or it might be catering, it could be any. Any stream of income generation, there's going to be content for you here just as much as there's going to be content for you here. Anna Preedy: If you are head of exhibitions or if you are perhaps wearing the marketing hat and actually your job is, you know, communications or audience development, we try and represent the sector in its broadest scope. So there is something for everyone, quite. Andy Povey: Literally, and that's apparent just from looking on the show floor. So with all of your experience in the museum sector, and I suppose you get to see. See quite an awful lot of new stuff, new products. So what are you anticipating happening in the next sort of 6 to 12 months in our sector? Anna Preedy: I mean, that's a big question because, you know, going back to what were just saying, and the kind of different verticals, if you like, that sit within the sector, but I think the obvious one probably has to be AI, and the influence of that. I'm not saying that's going to change everything overnight. It won't, but it's. You can see the ripples already and you can see that reflected out here on the exhibition floor with exhibitors, and you can also see it in our programme. So this sort of AI is only, you know, one aspect of, you know, the bigger, wider digital story. But I just think it's probably more about the sector evolving than it is about, you know, grand sweeping changes in any one direction. Anna Preedy: But the other thing to say, of course, is that as funding gets more the sort of the economic landscape, you know, is tough. Undeniably so. So generating revenue and finding new ways to do that and prioritising it within your organisation, but not at the expense of everything else that's done. And it should never be at the expense of everything else that's done. And it's perfectly possible to do both. Nobody's suggesting that it's easy, nothing's easy but, you know, it's possible. Anna Preedy: And I think the show here, and also what we do online in terms of, you know, news and features, all of that, and what other organisations are doing in this sector, of course, and the partners we work with, but I think just helping kind of bridge that gap really, and to provide solutions and to provide inspiration and actually, you know, there's no need to reinvent the wheel constantly. Actually, I think it was somebody that worked in the sector. I'm reluctant to names, but there was somebody I remember once saying, well, know, stealing with glee is kind of, you know, and I think actually, you know, if you see somebody else is doing something great and actually we see that in our wards, you know, that's the whole point. Let's shine a spotlight on good work. Well, that might inspire someone else. Anna Preedy: It's not about ripping something off and it's not absolute replication. But actually, you know, scalable changes in your organisation that may have been inspired by somebody else's is only a good thing as well. Andy Povey: It's all that evolutionary process, isn't it? So, great experience. Thank you on behalf of everybody that's come to the show today. Anna Preedy: Well, thank you very much. I love doing it, I really genuinely do and there is nothing like the buzz of a busy event. Jon Horsfield: Yeah, My name is Jon Horsfield, I'm the Chief Revenue Officer of Cincio Solutions. Andy Povey: And what does Cincio do? Jon Horsfield: We provide F and B technology, so kiosks, point of sale payments, kitchen systems, inventory, self checkout to the museums, heritage zoos, aquariums and hospitality industries. Andy Povey: Oh, fantastic. So I understand this is your first time here at the Museums and Heritage Show. Jon Horsfield: It is our first time. It's been an interesting learning curve. Andy Povey: Tell me more. Jon Horsfield: Well, our background is very much within the hospitality. We've been operating for about 20 to 23 years within the sort of high street hospitality side of things. Some of our London based listeners may have heard of Leon Restaurants or Coco Di Mama, we've been working with them for over 20 years. But we're looking at ways of bringing that high street technology into other industries and other Verticals and the museums and heritage is a vertical that we've identified as somewhere that could probably do with coming into the 21st century with some of the technology solutions available. Andy Povey: I hear what you're saying. So what do you think of the show? What are your first impressions? Give me your top three tips. Learning points. Jon Horsfield: Firstly, this industry takes a long time to get to know people. It seems to be long lead times. That's the first learning that we've had. Our traditional industry in hospitality, people will buy in this industry. It's going to take some time and we're happy about that. We understand that. So for us, this is about learning about know about how the industry works. Everybody's really friendly. Andy Povey: We try. Yeah. Jon Horsfield: That's one of the first things that we found out with this. This industry is everybody is really friendly and that's quite nice. Even some of our competitors, we're having nice conversations with people. Everybody is really lovely. The third point is the fact that I didn't know that there were so many niche markets and I found out where my mother buys her scarves and Christmas presents from. So it's been really interesting seeing the different types of things that people are looking for. We've sort of noticed that it's really about preservation. That's one of the main areas. There's a lot of things about preservation. Another one is about the display, how things are being displayed, and lots of innovative ways of doing that. But also the bit that we're really interested in is the commercialization. Jon Horsfield: There's a real push within the industry to start to commercialise things and bring in more revenue from the same people. Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's all about securing the destiny so that you're not reliant on funding from external parties or government and you taking that control. So what do you do at Centrio that helps? Jon Horsfield: Well, first of all. First of all, I would say the efficiencies that we can bring with back office systems integrations. We're very well aware of what we do, we're also aware of what we don't do. So, for example, we're not a ticketing provider, we're a specialist retail and F and B supplier. So it's about building those relationships and actually integrating. We've got a lot of integrations available and we're very open to that. So that's the first thing. But one of the key things that we're trying to bring to this industry is the way that you can use technology to increase revenue. So the kiosks that we've got here, it's proven that you'll get a minimum average transaction value increase of 10 to 15%. Andy Povey: And what do you put that down to? Jon Horsfield: The ability to upsell. Okay, with kiosks, as long as, if you put, for example, with a burger, if you just have a nice little button, say would you like the bacon fries with that? It's an extra few pounds. Well, actually if you've got an extra few pounds on every single transaction, that makes an incredible difference to the bottom line. From the same number of customers. Some of our clients over in the USA have seen an ATV increase above to 60% with the use of kiosks. Andy Povey: And that's just through selling additional fries. Jon Horsfield: Exactly. People will. I went to a talk many years ago when people started to adopt kiosks and the traditional thing is the fact that people will order two Big Macs and a fries to a kiosk, but when you go face to face, they will not order two Big Macs and a fries. Andy Povey: So you're saying I'm a shy fatty who's basically. Jon Horsfield: Absolutely not. Absolutely not, Andy. Absolutely not. So that's really what it's about. It's about using the sort of the high street technology and applying that to a different industry and trying to bring everybody along with us. Dominic Jones: And you need to listen to the Skip the Queue. It's the best podcast series ever. It'll give you this industry. Paul Marden: Perfect. That was a lovely little sound bite. Dom, welcome. Dominic Jones: It's the truth. It's the truth. I love Skip the Queue. Paul Marden: Welcome back to Skip the Queue. Paul, welcome. For your first time, let's just start with a quick introduction. Dom, tell everybody about yourself. Dominic Jones: So I'm Dominic Jones, I'm the chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust and I'm probably one of Skip the Queue's biggest fans. Paul Marden: I love it. And biggest stars. Dominic Jones: Well, I don't know. At one point I was number one. Paul Marden: And Paul, what about yourself? What's your world? Paul Woolf: Well, I'm Paul Woolf, I've just joined the Mary Rose as a trustee. Dom's been kind of hunting me down politely for a little bit of time. When he found out that I left the King's Theatre, he was very kind and said, right, you know, now you've got time on your hands, you know, would you come over and help? So yeah, so my role is to support Dom and to just help zhuzh things up a bit, which is kind of what I do and just bring some new insights into the business and to develop It a bit. And look at the brand, which is where my skills. Dominic Jones: Paul is underselling himself. He is incredible. And the Mary Rose Trust is amazing. You haven't visited. You should visit. We're in Portsmouth Historic Dock blog. But what's great about it is it's about attracting great people. I'm a trustee, so I'm a trustee for good whites. I'm a trustee for pomp in the community. I know you're a trustee for kids in museums. I love your posts and the fact that you come visit us, but it's about getting the right team and the right people and Paul has single handedly made such a difference to performance art in the country, but also in Portsmouth and before that had a massive career in the entertainment. So we're getting a talent. It's like getting a Premiership player. And we got Paul Woolf so I am delighted. Dominic Jones: And we brought him here to the Museum Heritage show to say this is our industry because we want him to get sucked into it because he is going to be incredible. You honestly, you'll have a whole episode on him one day. Paul Marden: And this is the place to come, isn't it? Such a buzz about the place. Paul Woolf: I've gone red. I've gone red. Embarrassed. Paul Marden: So have you seen some talks already? What's been impressive for you so far, Paul? Paul Woolf: Well, we did actually with the first talk we were listening to was all about touring and reducing your environmental impact on touring, which is quite interesting. And what I said there was that, you know, as time gone by and we had this a little bit at theatre actually. But if you want to go for grant funding today, the first question on the grant funding form, almost the first question after the company name and how much money you want is environmental impact. Paul Marden: Yeah, yeah. Paul Woolf: And so if you're going tour and we're looking now, you know, one of the things that Dom and I have been talking about is, you know, Mary Rose is brilliant. It's fantastic. You know, it's great. It's in the dockyard in Portsmouth and you know, so. And, and the Andes, New York, you know, everywhere. Dominic Jones: Take her on tour. Paul Woolf: Why isn't it on tour? Yeah. Now I know there are issues around on tour. You know, we've got the collections team going. Yeah, don't touch. But nonetheless it was interesting listening to that because obviously you've got to. Now you can't do that. You can't just put in a lorry, send it off and. And so I thought that was quite interesting. Dominic Jones: Two, it's all the industry coming together. It's not about status. You can come here as a student or as a CEO and you're all welcome. In fact, I introduced Kelly from Rubber Cheese, your company, into Andy Povey and now you guys have a business together. And I introduced them here in this spot outside the men's toilets at Museum and Heritage. Paul Woolf: Which is where we're standing, by the way. Everybody, we're outside the toilet. Dominic Jones: It's the networking, it's the talks. And we're about to see Bernard from ALVA in a minute, who'll be brilliant. Paul Marden: Yes. Dominic Jones: But all of these talks inspire you and then the conversations and just seeing you Andy today, I'm so delighted. And Skip the Queue. He's going from strength to strength. I love the new format. I love how you're taking it on tour. You need to bring it to the May Rose next. Right. Paul Marden: I think we might be coming sometimes soon for a conference near you. Dominic Jones: What? The Association of Independent Museums? Paul Marden: You might be doing an AIM conference with you. Dominic Jones: Excellent. Paul Marden: Look, guys, it's been lovely to talk to you. Enjoy the rest of your day here at M and H. Paul Marden: Stephen, welcome back to Skip the Queue. Stephen Spencer: Thank you very much. Paul Marden: For listeners, remind them what you do. Stephen Spencer: So I'm Stephen Spencer. My company, Stephen Spencer Associates, we call ourselves the Ambience Architects because we try to help every organisation gain deeper insight into the visitor experience as it's actually experienced by the visitor. I know it sounds a crazy idea, really, to achieve better impact and engagement from visitors and then ultimately better sustainability in all senses for the organisation. Paul Marden: For listeners, the Ambience Lounge here at M and H is absolutely rammed at the moment. Stephen Spencer: I'm trying to get in myself. Paul Marden: I know, it's amazing. So what are you hoping for this networking lounge? Stephen Spencer: Well, what we're aiming to do is create a space for quality conversations, for people to meet friends and contacts old and new, to discover new technologies, new ideas or just really to come and have a sounding board. So we're offering free one to one advice clinic. Paul Marden: Oh, really? Stephen Spencer: Across a whole range of aspects of the visitor journey, from core mission to revenue generation and storytelling. Because I think, you know, one of the things we see most powerfully being exploited by the successful organisations is that kind of narrative thread that runs through the whole thing. What am I about? Why is that important? Why should you support me? How do I deliver that and more of it in every interaction? Paul Marden: So you're Having those sorts of conversations here with people on a one to one basis. Stephen Spencer: Then we also are hosting the structured networking event. So all of the sector support organisations that are here, they have scheduled networking events when really people can just come and meet their peers and swap experiences and again find new people to lean on and be part of an enriched network. Paul Marden: Absolutely. So we are only half a day in, not even quite half a day into a two day programme. So it's very early to say, but exciting conversations, things are going in the direction that you hoped for. Stephen Spencer: Yes, I think, I mean, we know that the sector is really challenged at the moment, really, the fact that we're in now such a crazy world of total constant disruption and uncertainty. But equally we offer something that is reassuring, that is enriching, it's life enhancing. We just need to find better ways to, to do that and reach audiences and reach new audiences and just keep them coming back. And the conversations that I've heard so far have been very much around that. So it's very exciting. Paul Marden: Excellent. One of themes of this episode that we'll be talking to lots of people about is a little bit of crystal ball gazing. You're right, the world is a hugely, massively disrupted place at the moment. But what do you see the next six or 12 months looking like and then what does it look like for the sector in maybe a five year time horizon? Stephen Spencer: Okay, well, you don't ask easy questions. So I think there will be a bit of a kind of shaking down in what we understand to be the right uses of digital technology, AI. I think we see all the mistakes that were made with social media and what it's literally done to the world. And whilst there are always examples of, let's say, museums using social media very cleverly and intelligently, we know that's against the backdrop of a lot of negativity and harm. So why would we want to repeat that, for example, with generative AI? Paul Marden: Indeed. Stephen Spencer: So I heard a talk about two years ago at the VAT conference about using AI to help the visitor to do the stuff that is difficult for them to do. In other words, to help them build an itinerary that is right for them. And I think until everyone is doing that, then they should be very wary of stepping off the carpet to try and do other things with it. Meanwhile, whilst it's an immersive experience, it is not just sitting in, you know, with all respect to those that do this, A, you know, surround sound visual box, it is actually what it's always been, which is meeting real people in authentic spaces and places, you know, using all the senses to tell stories. So I think we will need to see. Stephen Spencer: I've just been given a great coffee because that's the other thing we're offering in the coffee. It's good coffee. Not saying you can't get anywhere else in the show, just saying it's good here. Yeah. I think just some realism and common sense creeping into what we really should be using these technologies for and not leaving our visitors behind. I mean, for example, you know, a huge amount of the natural audience for the cultural sector. You know, people might not want to hear it, but we all know it's true. It's older people. And they aren't necessarily wanting to have to become digital natives to consume culture. So we shouldn't just say, you know, basically, unless you'll download our app, unless you'll do everything online, you're just going to be left behind. That's crazy. It doesn't make good business sense and it's not right. Stephen Spencer: So I just think some common sense and some. Maybe some regulation that will happen around uses of AI that might help and also, you know, around digital harms and just getting back to some basics. I was talking to a very old colleague earlier today who had just come back from a family holiday to Disney World, and he said, you know, you can't beat it, you cannot beat it. For that is immersive. Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. But it's not sealed in a box. Stephen Spencer: No, no. And it really. It's a bit like Selfridges. I always took out. My favourite store is Selfridges. It still does what Harry Gordon Selfridge set out to do. He said, "Excite the mind and the hand will reach for the pocket." I always say. He didn't say excite the eye, he said, excite the mind. Paul Marden: Yeah. Stephen Spencer: The way you do that is through all the senses. Paul Marden: Amazing. Stephen Spencer: And so, you know, digital. I'm sure he'd be embracing that. He would be saying, what about the rest of it? Paul Marden: How do you add the human touch to that? Yeah. I was at Big Pit last week. Stephen Spencer: As they reopened, to see this. Yeah. Paul Marden: And it was such an amazing experience walking through that gift shop. They have so subtly brought the museum into the gift shop and blended the two really well. Stephen Spencer: Yes. And I think that raises the bar. And again, if you want to make more money as a museum, you need to be embracing that kind of approach, because if you just carry on doing what you've always done, your revenue will go down. Paul Marden: Yes. Stephen Spencer: And we all know your revenue needs to go up because other. Other sources of income will be going down. Paul Marden: Sarah, welcome back to Skip the Queue last time you were here, there was a much better looking presenter than, you were in the Kelly era. Sarah Bagg: Yes, we were. Paul Marden: It's almost as if there was a demarcation line before Kelly and after Kelly. Why don't you just introduce yourself for me? Tell the listeners what it is that you do. Sarah Bagg: So I'm Sarah Bagg. I'm the founder of Rework Consulting. The last time I spoke, it wasn't that long after our launch. I think like two and a half years ago. We've just had our third birthday. Paul Marden: Wow. Sarah Bagg: Which is completely incredible. When we first launched rework, were specifically for the visitor attractions industry and focused on ticketing. Paul Marden: Yep. Sarah Bagg: So obviously we are a tech ticketing consultancy business. In the last three and a half years we've grown and now have five verticals. So attractions are one of them. Paul Marden: And who else do you work with then? Sarah Bagg: So the art, the leisure industry. So whether it be activity centres, cinemas, bowling centres and then live entertainment. So it could be anything from sports, festivals etc and the arts, like theatres or. Paul Marden: So closely aligned to your attractions. Then things that people go and do but different kinds of things loosely. Sarah Bagg: Say they're like live entertainment. Paul Marden: I like that. That's a nice description. So this must be Mecca for you to have all of these people brought together telling amazing stories. Sarah Bagg: I think how I would sum up museum and heritage today is that I think we're kind of going through a period of like being transformed, almost like back. People are reconstructing, connecting with real experiences and with people. Paul Marden: Yeah. Sarah Bagg: And I would like to think that tech is invisible and they're just to support the experience. I think there's a lot of things that are going on at the moment around, you know, bit nostalgia and people dragging themselves back to the 90s. And there's a lot of conversations about people and customer service and experience. And although technology plays a huge part in that, I would still like to think that people come first and foremost, always slightly weird from a technology consultant. Paul Marden: Well, nobody goes to a visitor attraction to be there on their own and interact with technology. That's not the point of being there. Yeah. Interesting talks that you've been today. Sarah Bagg: I think one of my favourite was actually one of the first of the day, which was about. Of how do you enhance the visitor experience through either like music and your emotions and really tapping into how you feel through, like all your different senses. Which was one of Stephen's talks which I really enjoyed. Paul Marden: That's really interesting. Sarah Bagg: I think if people like look at the visitor industry and across the board, that's why I'm so keen to stay, like across four different sectors, we can learn so much pulling ideas from like hospitality and restaurants and bars.Paul Marden: Completely. Sarah Bagg: Even if you think about like your best, there's a new bar there, so you can not very far from my home in Brighton and the service is an amazing. And the design of the space really caters for whether you're in there with 10 people or whether you're sat at the bar on your own. It doesn't exclude people, depending on what age you are or why you gone into the bar. And I think we can learn a lot in the visitor attractions industry because there's been a lot of talk about families today. I don't have children and I think that there, you need. Sarah Bagg: We need to think more about actually that lots of other people go to visitor attractions Paul Marden: Completely. Sarah Bagg: And they don't necessarily take children and they might want to go on their own. Yes, but what are we doing to cater for all of those people? There's nothing. Paul Marden: How do you make them feel welcome? How do you make them feel like they're a first class guest? The same as everybody else. Yeah. So where do you see the sector going over the next few years based on what you've seen today? Sarah Bagg: I think there'll be a lot more diversification between sectors. There's definitely a trend where people have got their assets. You know, like if you're looking at things like safari parks and zoos, places that have already got accommodation, but maybe like stately houses where there used to be workers that were living in those cottages or whatever, that they're sweating their assets. I think it would be interesting to see where tech takes us with that because there has been a tradition in the past that if you've got like, if your number one priority to sell is being like your hotel, then you would have like a PMS solution. But if it's the other way around, your number one priority is the attraction or the venue and you happen to have some accommodation, then how is that connecting to your online journey? Sarah Bagg: Because the last thing you want is like somebody having to do two separate transactions. Paul Marden: Oh, completely drives me crazy. Sarah Bagg: One thing I would also love to see is attractions thinking beyond their 10 till 6 opening hours completely. Because some days, like restaurants, I've seen it, you know, maybe they now close on Mondays and Tuesdays so they can give their staff a day off and they have different opening hours. Why are attractions still fixated in like keeping these standard opening hours? Because actually you might attract a completely different audience. There used to be a bit of a trend for like doing museum late. So I was speaking to a museum not very long ago about, you know, do they do like morning tours, like behind the scenes, kind of before it even opens. And I think the museum particularly said to me, like, "Oh, we're fine as we are.". Paul Marden: I've never met a museum that feels fine where it is at the moment. Sarah Bagg: But I guess the one thing I would love to see if I could sprinkle my fairy dus. Paul Marden: Come the revolution and you're in charge. Sarah Bagg: And it's not like, it's not even like rocket science, it's more investment into training and staff because the people that work in our industry are like the gold, you know, it's not tech, it's not pretty set works, it's not like fancy display cases. Yes, the artefacts and stuff are amazing. Paul Marden: But the stories, the people stuff. Yeah. Sarah Bagg: Give them empowerment and training and make the customer feel special. Paul Marden: Yes. Sarah Bagg: When you leave, like you've had that experience, you're only ever going to get that from through the people that you interact with completely. Paul Marden: Jeremy, hello. Welcome to Skip the Queue. We are, we are being slightly distracted by a dinosaur walking behind us. Such is life at M and H show. Jeremy Mitchell: Yeah. Paul Marden: So. Jeremy Mitchell: Well, anything to do with museums and dinosaurs, always great crowd pleasers. Paul Marden: Exactly, exactly. So is this your first time at M and H or have you been before? Jeremy Mitchell: Been before, but probably not for 10 years or more. It was, yes. I remember last time I came the theatres were enclosed so they were partitioned all the way around. Paul Marden: Right. Jeremy Mitchell: But because it's so popular now that would not just not would not work. It's a long time ago. It shows how long I've been volunteering. Paul Marden: In museums, doesn't it? So for our listeners, Jeremy, just introduce yourself and tell everyone about the role that you've got at the Petersfield Museum. Jeremy Mitchell: Okay, so I'm Jeremy Mitchell. I'm a trustee at Petersfield Museum now Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery. I'm actually now chair of trustees. Paul Marden: Paint a little picture for us of Petersfield Museum then. What could someone expect if they came to you? Apart from, as I understand, a very good cup of coffee. Jeremy Mitchell: A very good cup of coffee. Best in Petersfield. And that's not bad when there are 32 competitors. You'll get a little bit of everything you'll get a bit of. You'll get the story of Petersfield, but you'll get so much more. We've got collections of costume going back to the mid 18th century. We've got work of a local artist, Flora Torte, one of those forgotten female artists from between the wars. She's a story that we will be exploring. We've got, in partnership with the Edward Thomas Fellowship, a big archive of books and other artefacts by and about Edward Thomas, who was a poet, writer, literary critic. He's one of the poets killed in the First World War. But he's not well known as a war poet because he was writing about the impact of war on life at home. Jeremy Mitchell: So he's now more well known as a nature poet. Paul Marden: So you're telling the story not just of the place, you're telling the story of the people that have produced great art or had an impact on Petersfield. Jeremy Mitchell: Yes. And their networks and how they might relate to Petersfield in turn. And we've got the costume collection I mentioned going back to the mid 18th century, which came from Bedale School. They've all got stories to them. Paul Marden: Interesting. Jeremy Mitchell: This came from Bedale School, which is a private school on the edge of Petersfield. It was actually collected by their drama teacher between the 1950s and the 1970s. Paul Marden: Wow. Jeremy Mitchell: Because she believed in authenticity. So if she was putting on a 19th century production, she would want genuine 19th century clothes. Paul Marden: Let me tell you, my drama productions in a 1980s comprehensive did not include authentic 19th century costumes. Jeremy Mitchell: If were doing something like that at school, their parents would have been, all right, go down to the jumble sale, buy some material, make something that looks something like it. Paul Marden: Yeah. Jeremy Mitchell: But no, she was, well, if you haven't got anything in your attic that's suitable, please send me some money because there's a sale at Sotheby's in three months. Time off costume from the period. Paul Marden: Excellent. Jeremy Mitchell: And we've got some lovely pieces in there. When we put on the Peggy Guggenheim exhibition, which is what were talking about earlier today here, were able to bring in costume from the 1930s, Chanel dress, other high quality, not. Not necessarily worn by Peggy Guggenheim, but her. Paul Marden: Authentic of the period. Jeremy Mitchell: Authentic of the period. But her son was at Bedale, so she could have been asked to donate. Paul Marden: So. Okay. Jeremy Mitchell: Highly unlikely, but it was similar to items that she had been photographed in or would have been. Would have been wearing. Paul Marden: So tell me about the. The presentation. How was that? Jeremy Mitchell: It went so quickly. Paul Marden: Oh, yes. You get in the zone don't you? Jeremy Mitchell: You get in the zone. But it flowed and Louise was great. Louise had done the bulk of the. The work. She prepared the presentation that visually told the story of the exhibition and its outcomes and impacts. And I filled in the boring book, I call it the BBC, the boring but crucial. How we funded it, how we organised the project, management around it, the planning and getting buy in from the rest of the trustees at the beginning, because it was potentially a big financial commitment if we hadn't been able to fund it. Paul Marden: Isn't it interesting? So coming to an event like this is always. There's always so much to learn, it's always an enriching experience to come. But it's a great opportunity, isn't it, for a small museum and art gallery such as Petersfield? It feels a little bit like you're punching above your weight, doesn't it, to be invited onto this stage to talk about it. But really you're telling this amazing story and it's of interest to everybody that's here. Jeremy Mitchell: We want to share it. If we've been able to do it, then why can't they? Why can't you? Why can't we all do it? And yes, you need the story, but if you dig deep enough, those stories are there. Paul Marden: Absolutely, Absolutely. One of the things that is a real common conversation here, M and H, is looking forward, crystal ball gazing, talking. There's challenges in the sector, isn't there? There's lots of challenges around funding and I guess as a small museum, you must feel those choppy waters quite acutely. Jeremy Mitchell: Definitely. I mean, we're an independent museum, so we're not affected by spending cuts because we don't get any funding from that area. But the biggest challenge is from the funding perspective. Yes, we have a big income gap every year that we need to bridge. And now that so much more of the sector is losing what was its original core funding, they're all fishing in the same pond as us and they've got. Invariably they've got a fundraising team probably bigger than our entire museum team, let alone the volunteer fundraiser that we've got. So, yes, it is a challenge and you are having to run faster just to stand still. The ability to put on an exhibition like Peggy Guggenheim shows that we are worth it. Paul Marden: Yes, absolutely. Jeremy Mitchell: And the Guggenheim was funded by Art Fund Western loan programme and an Arts Council project grant. And it was a large Arts Council project grant. Paul Marden: So although everyone's fishing in the same pond as you're managing to yeah. To stretch my analogy just a little bit too far, you are managing to. To get some grant funding and. Jeremy Mitchell: Yes. Paul Marden: And lift some tiddlers out the pond. Jeremy Mitchell: Yes. But it was quite clear that with Peggy it was a story that had to be told. Paul Marden: So we talked a little bit about challenging times. But one of the big opportunities at M and H is to be inspired to think about where the opportunities are going forwards. You've had a day here today. What are you thinking as inspiration as next big things for Petersfield Museum. Jeremy Mitchell: I'm finding that really difficult because we're small, we're a small site, Arkansas, I think has got to be a way forward. I miss the talk. But they're all being recorded. Paul Marden: Yes. Jeremy Mitchell: So I shall be picking that one up with interest. But AR is something. We've got police cells. Well, we've got a police cell. Paul Marden: Okay. Jeremy Mitchell: Now, wouldn't it be great to tell an augmented reality story of Victorian justice to kids? Paul Marden: Yes. Jeremy Mitchell: While they're sat in a victory in a Victorian police cell on a hard wooden bench. That is the original bench that this prisoners would have slept on. Paul Marden: I've done enough school visits to know there's enough kids that I could put in a jail just to keep them happy or to at least keep them quiet whilst the rest of us enjoy our visit. Yes. I feel like I need to come to Petersfield and talk more about Peggy because I think there might be an entire episode of Skip the Queue to talk just about putting on a big exhibition like that. Jeremy Mitchell: Yeah, no, definitely. If you drop me an email you can skip the queue and I'll take you around. Paul Marden: Oh lovely, Rachel, welcome to Skip the Queue. You join me here at M and H show. And we've taken over someone's stand, haven't we? I know, it feels a bit weird, doesn't it? Rachel Kuhn: I feel like we're squatting but I. Paul Marden: Feel a little bit like the Two Ronnies, cuz we're sat behind the desk. It's very strange. Which one are you? Anyway, just for listeners. Introduce yourself for me. Tell listeners what it is that you do at BOP Consulting. Rachel Kuhn: Yeah, so I'm Rachel Kuhn, I'm an associate director at BOP and we specialise in culture and the creative economy and kind of working across everything that is to do with culture and creative economy globally. But I lead most of our strategy and planning projects, particularly in the UK and Ireland, generally working with arts, heritage, cultural organisations, from the very earliest big picture strategy through to real nitty gritty sort of operational plans and outside of bop. I'm a trustee for Kids in Museums, where we love to hang, and also a new trustee with the Postal Museum. Paul Marden: Given what you do at bop, this must be like the highlight of the year for you to just soak up what everybody is doing. Rachel Kuhn: I love it. I mean, it's so lovely just going around, chatting to everybody, listening in on the talks and I think that spirit of generosity, you know, like, it just comes across, doesn't it? And it just reminds me why I love this sector, why I'm here. You know, everyone wants to, you know, contribute and it's that whole sort of spirit of what do they say? We know when the tide rises, so do all the boats or all the ships. And I feel like that's the spirit here and it's lovely. Paul Marden: It is such a happy place and it's such a busy, vibrant space, isn't it? What have been the standout things for you that you've seen today? Rachel Kuhn: I think probably on that spirit of generosity. Rosie Baker at the founding museum talking about the incredible work they've done with their events, hires, programmes. Obviously got to give a shout out to the Association of Cultural Enterprise. I've been doing a lot of hanging out there at their stage day. So Gurdon gave us the rundown of the benchmarking this morning. Some really good takeaways from that and Rachel Mackay, I mean, like, obviously. Paul Marden: Want to go into. Rachel Kuhn: You always want to see her. Really good fun, but lovely to hear. She's talking about her strategy, the Visitor Experience strategy. And you know what, I spend so much time going into places looking at these sub strategies, like visual experience strategies that just haven't been written in alignment with the overall strategy. So it's lovely to see that linking through, you know, and obviously I'm from a Visitor Experience background, so hugely passionate about the way that Visitor Experience teams can make visitors feel the organization's values. And that alignment was really impressive. So, yeah, really lovely and loads of great takeaways from all those talks. Paul Marden: I will just say for listeners, all of these talks have been recorded, so everyone's going to be able to download the materials. It take a couple of weeks before they were actually published. But one of the questions that I've asked everybody in these vox pops has been, let's do some crystal ball gazing. It's. It stinks at the moment, doesn't it? The, the, the economy is fluctuating, there is so much going on. What do you see 6 to 12 month view look like? And then let's really push the boat out. Can we crystal ball gaze maybe in five years? Rachel Kuhn: Yeah.  I mean, look, I think the whole problem at the moment and what's causing that sort of nervousness is there's just a complete lack of surety about loads of things. You know, in some ways, you know, many organisations have welcomed the extension for the MPO round, the current round, but for many, you know, that's just pushed back the opportunity to get in on that round that little bit further away. It's caused that sort of nervousness with organisations are having to ride on with the same funding that they asked for some years ago that just doesn't, you know, match, you know, and it's actually a real time cut for them. Paul Marden: Absolutely. Rachel Kuhn: So I think, very hard to say, I don't know that there's much I can say. I feel like as at sea as everyone else, I think about what the landscape looks like in the next six months, but I think that never has there been, you know, a better time than something like this like the M and H show. You know, this is about coming together and being generous and sharing that information and I think reaching out to each other and making sure that we're sort of cross pollinating there. There's so much good stuff going on and we've always been really good at that and I think sometimes when we're feeling a bit down, it feels like, oh, I just don't want to go to something like this and meet others and, you know, get into a bit of a misery cycle. Rachel Kuhn: But actually it's so uplifting to be at something like this. And I think, you know, what we've seen here is at the show today, I think, is organisations being really generous with their experience and their expertise. Suppliers and consultants and supporters of the sector being really generous with their time and their expertise and actually just shows just spending a bit of time with each other, asking things of each other. We've just got loads of stuff to share and we're all really up for it. And I think that generosity is so critical and I mean, obviously I'm going to plug, I've got to plug it. Rachel Kuhn: So, you know, if you are a supplier, if you are a commercial business working in this sector, it might be tough times for you, but it's certainly nowhere near as hard as it is for the arts and cultural heritage organisations in the sector. You know, reach out to them and see how you can support them and help them. I mean, you and I have both been on a bit of a drive recently to try and drum up some sponsorship and corporate support for kids in museums who, you know, an Arts council MPO who we're incredible, incredibly proud to represent and, you know, do reach out to us. If you've been thinking, oh, I just want to sponsor something and I'd love to sponsor us. Paul Marden: Exactly. I mean, there's loads of opportunities when you take kids in museums as an example, loads of opportunities for. And this is what Arts Council wants us to do. They want us to be more independent, to generate more of our own funding and we've got a great brand, we do some amazing work and there's lots of opportunities for those commercial organisations who align with our values to help to support us. Rachel Kuhn: So I think you asked me there about what's in the next year. So next year, six months, I don't know is the answer. I think it's just a difficult time. So my advice is simply get out there, connect, learn from each other, energise each other, bring each other up. Let's not get into that sort of doom cycle. That's very easy next five years. You know what, I've had some really interesting meetings and conversations over the last. Well, one particularly interesting one today, some other ones about some funds that might be opening up, which I think is really exciting. You know, we've seen this really big challenge with funding, you know, slowing funding going in much larger amounts to a smaller number of large organisations and that causes real problems. But I think there might be a small turnaround on that. Rachel Kuhn: I'm not crumbs in the earth. I think it's still tough times. But that was really exciting to hear about. I'm also seeing here at the show today. I've been speaking to a lot of suppliers whose their models seem to be shifting a lot. So a lot more opportunities here where it requires no investment from the attraction and a lot more sort of interesting and different types of profit share models, which I think is really interesting. So I think the other thing I'd say is if you're an attraction, don't discount partnering some of these organisations because actually, you know, go and talk to them. Rachel Kuhn: Don't just, don't just count them out because you think you haven't got anything to invest because many of them are visiting new models and the couple that I've spoken to who aren't, learn from your competitors and start doing some different models. And I think that's been really interesting to hear some very different models here for some of the products, which is really exciting. Paul Marden: It is really hard sitting on the other side of the fence, as a supplier, we need cash flow as well. We've got to pay bills and all of those sorts of things. But you're right, there are interesting ways in which we all want to have a conversation. As you say, don't sit back afraid to engage in the conversation because you've got nothing to invest, you've got an important brand, you've got an audience. Those are valuable assets that a supplier like us would want to partner with you to help you to bring a project to life. And that might be on a rev share model, it might be on a service model. There's lots of different ways you can slice it and dice it. Rachel Kuhn: And going back, on a closing note, I suppose, going back to that generosity thing, don't think because you haven't got any money to commission, you know, a supplier to the sector or a commercial company, that you can't reach out to them. Like, you know, we are in this because we really want to support these organisations. This is our passion. You know, many of us are from the sector. You know, I will always connect somebody or introduce somebody or find a way to get a little bit of pro bono happening, or, you know, many of my colleagues are on advisory committees, we're board members. And I think that's the same for so many of the companies that are, like, working with the sector. You know, reach out and ask for freebie, you know, don't ask, don't get. Paul Marden: Yeah, exactly. Rachel, it is delightful to talk to you as always. Thank you for joining us on Skip the Queue and I am sure, I'm sure we'll make this into a full episode one day soon. I do say that to everybody. Rachel Kuhn: Thanks so much. Lovely to speak to you. Paul Marden: Andy. Andy Povey: Paul.Paul Marden: We've just walked out of the M and H show for another year. What are your thoughts? Andy Povey: First, I'm exhausted, absolutely exhausted. I'm not sure that I can talk anymore because I've spent 48 hours having some of the most interesting conversations I've had all year. Paul Marden: No offence, Tonkin. Andy Povey: You were part of some of those conversations, obviously, Paul. Paul Marden: I was bowled over again by just the sheer number of people that were there and all those lovely conversations and everybody was just buzzing for the whole two days. Andy Povey: The energy was phenomenal. I worked out that something like the 15th show, M & H show that I've been to, and I don't know whether it's just recency because it's sitting in the far front of my mind at the moment, but it seems like this was the busiest one there's ever been. Paul Marden: Yeah, I can believe it. The one thing that didn't change, they're still working on Olympia. Andy Povey: I think that just goes on forever. It's like the fourth Bridge. Paul Marden: Talks that stood out to you. Andy Povey: I really enjoyed interpretation One led by the guy from the sign language education company whose name I can't remember right now. Paul Marden: Yeah, Nate. That was an amazing talk, listeners. We will be getting him on for a full interview. I'm going to solve the problem of how do I make a inherently audio podcast into something that's accessible for deaf people? By translating the podcast medium into some sort of BSL approach. So that was the conversation that we had yesterday after the talk. Andy Povey: I know. I really look forward to that. Then, of course, there was the George and Elise from Complete Works. Paul Marden: I know. They were amazing, weren't they? You couldn't tell at all that they were actors. Do you know, it was really strange when George. So there was a point in that talk that George gave where we all had a collective breathing exercise and it was just. It was. It was so brilliantly done and were all just captivated. There must have been. I rechon there was 100 people at theatre at that point. Absolutely. Because it was standing room only at the back. And were all just captivated by George. Just doing his click. Very, very clever. Andy Povey: But massively useful. I've seen the same thing from George before and I still use it to this day before going on to make a presentation myself. Paul Marden: Yeah, yeah. Andy Povey: Just grounding yourself, centering yourself. Well, it's fantastic. Paul Marden: Yeah. But the whole thing that they were talking about of how do we create opportunities to have meaningful conversations with guests when they arrive or throughout their entire experience at an attraction so that we don't just talk about the weather like we're typical English people. Andy Povey: That's great, isn't it? Go and tell a Brit not to talk. Talk about the weather. Paul Marden: But training your staff makes absolute sense. Training your staff to have the skills and the confidence to not talk about the weather. I thought that was really interesting. Andy Povey: It's an eye opener, isn't it? Something really simple, but could be groundbreaking. Paul Marden: Yeah. Andy Povey: Then what was your view on all of the exhibitors? What did you take away from all the stands and everybody? Paul Marden: Well, I loved having my conversation yesterday with Alan Turing. There was an AI model of Alan Turing that you could interact with and ask questions. And it was really interesting. There was a slight latency, so it didn't feel quite yet like a natural conversation because I would say something. And then there was a pause as Alan was thinking about it. But the things that he answered were absolutely spot on, the questions that I asked. So I thought that was quite interesting. Other exhibitors. Oh, there was a lovely point yesterday where I was admiring, there was a stand doing custom designed socks and I was admiring a design of a Jane Austen sock and there was just somebody stood next to me and I just said, "Oh, Jane Austen socks." Paul Marden: Very on Trend for the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen, that all of the museums in Hampshire will be buying those up. And should funnily you should say that I'm the chief executive of Chawton Park House, which is one of the museums in the last place that Jane Austen lived. So very interesting, very small world moment at that point. Andy Povey: I do, it's almost an oxymoron to talk about Jane Austen socks. I don't imagine her having worn anything with nylon or Lycra in it. Paul Marden: Very true. I hadn't tweaked that. Andy Povey: There was a lot of AI there wasn't there AI this, AI that. Paul Marden: And there were some really good examples of where that is being used in real life. Yeah, yeah. So there were some examples where there's AI being used to help with visitor counts around your attraction, to help you to optimise where you need to put people. I thought that Neil at Symantec just talking about what he called answer engine optimisation. That was interesting. There were some brilliant questions. There was one question from an audience member asking, are there any tools available for you to figure out whether how well your organisation is doing at being the source of truth for AI tools? Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah. So almost like your Google search engine ranking. Paul Marden: But exactly for ChatGPT. Andy Povey: And have you found one yet? Paul Marden: No, not yet. There's also quite a lot of people talking about ideas that have yet to find a home. Andy Povey: Yes. What a very beautiful way of putting it. Paul Marden: The people that have. That are presenting a topic that has yet to get a real life case study associated with it. So the rubber hasn't yet hit the road. I don't think on that. Andy Povey: No. I think that's true for an awful lot of AI, isn't it? Not just in our sector. Paul Marden: No. Andy Povey: It's very interesting to see where that's all going to go. And what are we going to think when we look back on this in two or three years time? Was it just another chocolate teapot or a problem looking for a solution? Or was it the revolution that we all anticipate. Paul Marden: And I think it will make fundamentals change. I think it's changing rapidly. But we need more real case studies of how you can do something interesting that is beyond just using ChatGPT to write your marketing copy for you. Andy Povey: Yeah, I mean it's all about putting the guest at the front of it, isn't it? Let's not obsess about the technology, let's look at what the technology is going to enable us to do. And back to the first part of this conversation, looking at accessibility, then are there tools within AI that are going to help with that? Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. So there was definitely. There was an interesting talk by Vox. The people that provide, they provide all of the radio boxes for everybody to wear at M and H that provides you with the voiceover of all of the speakers. But they use this technology across all manner of different attractions and they were talking about using AI to do real time translation of tours. So you could. Andy Povey: Very interesting. Paul Marden: Yeah. So you could have an English speaker wandering around doing your tour and it could real time translate up to. I think it was up to four languages. Andy Povey: BSL not being one of those languages. Paul Marden: Well, no, they were talking about real time in app being able to see subtitles. Now, I don't know whether they went on to say you could do BSL. And we know from the other presentation that not everybody that is deaf is able to read subtitles as fast as they can consume sign language. So it's important to have BSL. But there were some parts of that Vox product that did it address deaf people. It wasn't just multilingual content. Andy Povey: So AI people, if you're listening, you can take the idea of translating into BSL in real time and call it your own. Paul Marden: Yeah, we very much enjoyed hosting our theatre, didn't we? That was a lot. And Anna, if you are listening, and I hope you are, because lots of people have said very nice things in this episode about M and H. Andy and I would love to come back next year. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Paul Marden: And host a theatre for you. Any other thoughts? Andy Povey: Just really looking forward to the rest of the week off. Yeah, it's a sign of a good show when you walk away with all that positive feeling and that positive exhaustion and you probably need a week to reflect on all of the conversations that we've had. Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Next up we is AIM Conference at Mary Rose in June. I can't wait very much. Looking forward to that. Thank you ever so much for listening. We will join you again in a few weeks. See you soon. Bye Bye. Andy Povey: Draw.Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others to find us. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them to increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcripts from this episode and more over on our website, skipthequeue fm.  The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsDownload the 2024 Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Our guest today is writer  Ralph Dartford who works for the National Literacy Trust and is the poetry editor of literary journal Northern Gravy.   Ralph kindly made the journey from Bradford to the Lockwood residence in Sheffield, and we settled down in my living room with mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits, surrounded by books and looked down upon by at least three pictures of Larkin. Ralph also co-organises the fantastic Louder Than Words festival that takes place in Manchester every autumn, and is a celebration of writing about music. They gather together amazing writers, broadcasters and musicians to discuss, explore and debate all things music and music industry related.  I hope we will continue to see Ralph at more PLS events.Larkin poems mentioned:The Whitsun Weddings, Dockery and Son, Mr Bleaney, For Sidney Bechet, High Windows, Cut Grass, To The Sea, MCMXIV, Here, BroadcastAll What Jazz: A Record Diary 1961-1971 (1985) by Philip LarkinThe Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse - ed.  Philip Larkin (1973) I am happy to see Mr. Larkin's taste in poetry and my own are in agreement ... I congratulate him most warmly on his achievement. - W. H. Auden, The GuardianPoets/writers/musicians mentioned by RalphKae Tempest, Joelle Taylor, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Vicky Foster, Steve Ely, Chris Jones, Ian Parks, John Betjeman, John Cooper Clarke, John Hegley, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Michael Stewart, Blake Morrison, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Sidney Bechet, Alan Bennett, Stewart Lee, David Quantick, Ray Davis, Blur,  Van Morrison,  Hang Clouds, Evelyn Glennie, Kingsley Amis, Andrea Dunbar, Helen MortOther references:Adlestrop (1914) by Edward Thomas https://www.edwardthomaspoetryplaces.com/post/adlestropArthur Scargill:  “Arthur Scargill, the miners' leader and socialist, once told The Sunday Times, ‘My father still reads the dictionary every day. He says your life depends on your power to master words.” Martin H. Manser, The Penguin Writer's ManualBob Monkhouse https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/dec/30/guardianobituaries.artsobituariesLongbarrow Press https://longbarrowpress.com/Valley Press https://www.valleypressuk.com/Kes (1968) by Barry HinesRalph is Poetry Editor for Northern Gravy https://northerngravy.com/Ralph reads Geese and England's Dreaming from House Anthems  https://www.valleypressuk.com/shop/p/house-anthemsGareth Southgate https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57816651 Simon Armitage Larkin Revisited Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0019yy2Nick Cave- Honorary Vice President for the Philip Larkin Society- Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027cglLyn's English teacher 1982-1989 https://petercochran.wordpress.com/remembering-peter/The Ted Hughes Network https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/tedhughes/James Underwood https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/early-larkin-9781350197121/Albums mentioned:OK Computer (1997) by Radiohead , Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and The White Album (1968) by The Beatles, Park Life (1994) by BlurSummertime in England by Van Morrison https://www.vice.com/en/article/summertime-in-england-a-monologue-on-van-morrison/Events:https://louderthanwordsfest.com/"My Friend Monica": Remembering Philip Larkin's Partner Monica JonesSat 22 Mar 2025 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Ken Edwards Lecture Theatre 2, University of Leicester, LE1 7RHhttps://www.tickettailor.com/events/literaryleicester/1538331A celebration marking 70 years of Philip Larkin's 'The Less Deceived'For World Poetry Dayhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-celebration-marking-70-years-of-philip-larkins-the-less-deceived-tickets-1235639173029?aff=oddtdtcreatorProduced by Lyn Lockwood and Gavin HoggPlease email Lyn at ⁠plsdeputychair@gmail.com ⁠ with any questions or commentsPLS Membership, events, merchandise and information: philiplarkin.com

Today's local news and information update from Petersfield's Shine Radio. Local police make shoplifting in Petersfield a priority A local village raves like the 90s to raise funds for its hall Petersfield celebrates Steep-based poet Edward Thomas on his birthday and we roundup some local job opportunities to help you find work Mike and the team have those local stories, new volunteer Ben is at the weather wall and Anya is sitting behind her desk of travel with a big map. To share your news stories email team@shineradio.uk or call, text or WhatsApp 01730 555 500. You make it shine. Published at 6:52am on 27 February, 2025See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's local news and information update from Petersfield's Shine Radio. Local police make shoplifting in Petersfield a priority A local village raves like the 90s to raise funds for its hall Petersfield celebrates Steep-based poet Edward Thomas on his birthday and we roundup some local job opportunities to help you find work Mike and the team have those local stories, new volunteer Ben is at the weather wall and Anya is sitting behind her desk of travel with a big map. To share your news stories email team@shineradio.uk or call, text or WhatsApp 01730 555 500. You make it shine. Published at 6:52am on 27 February, 2025See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Poet who lived in Steep has a birthday on 3 March and his memory is celebrated with a talk at the Petersfield Bookshop on Thursday 27 February (now fully booked!) and an Anniversary walk around Thomas's Steep, on Sunday 2 March. (meet at Bedale's car park.) Jeremey Mitchell from the Edward Thomas Centre, based at the Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery, spoke to Mike Waddington about the poet, his life and the work of the Edward Thomas Centre, which is also looking for volunteers so the Centre can extend its opening hours and have help cataloguing and researching papers they have there. Robert Frost is a poet very famous in America, he spoke for instance at the Inauguration of President J F Kennedy, but he was inspired by talks and walks around Steep with Thomas. Thomas was killed in France in the FIrst World War and as Jeremey explains, he wasn't a War Poet but rather wrote about the war.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Piero Boitani"Plato's Poem"Il Poema di PlatoneA cura di Paolo FebbraroElliot Edizioniwww.elliotedizioni.comNel 2023, Piero Boitani ha pubblicato Timeo in paradiso. Metafore e bellezza da Platone a Dante: un ampio saggio che ripercorre la lunga via che il Timeo, il dialogo platonico più celebre durante il Medioevo, ha compiuto nella filosofia e nell'immaginario delle culture occidentali. Parallelamente alla stesura di quel trattato, Boitani ha scritto un poema in lingua inglese che tratta lo stesso argomento, se mai è possibile che la prosa critica e la poesia dicano la stessa cosa in modi diversi. Un esperimento “bizzarro”, secondo le parole dello stesso autore. Di fatto, da Platone a Ovidio, da Gesù di Nazareth a Boezio, da Tommaso d'Aquino a Dante, il lettore di questo poema in 27 sezioni trova davanti a sé una serie di personaggi e di visioni a cui la poesia contemporanea lo ha da tempo disabituato. Cosicché il Poema di Platone, che Paolo Febbraro ha tradotto e interpretato, è al tempo stesso un'opera stupefacente e il nuovo manifestarsi di ciò che la poesia è stato da sempre, ovvero misura e conoscenza.Piero Boitani (Roma, 1947) è anglista, biblista, studioso del mito e delle sue riscritture. Nel 2016 ha vinto il premio Balzan per la letteratura comparata. Ha pubblicato una trentina di volumi, molti dei quali tradotti nelle principali lingue europee. È direttore letterario della Fondazione Valla e socio nazionale dell'Accademia dei Lincei.Paolo Febbraro (Roma, 1965) è poeta, prosatore, saggista. Fra i suoi libri più recenti: Come sempre. Scelta di poesie 1992-2022 (2022) e Il diario di Kaspar Hauser (nuova edizione riveduta, 2023). Ha tradotto Seamus Heaney, Edward Thomas, Michael Longley, Geoffrey Brock.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarewww.ilpostodelleparole.itDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.

In this engaging podcast episode, Wendy Sellers talks with Edward Thomas, a seasoned professional with 25 years of experience in the United States Air Force. Discover how Edward's diverse background and certifications in PHR and PMP have prepared him for a successful transition into the civilian sector, particularly in strategic HR management and legal operations. Edward shares his insights on bridging military experience with small business needs, highlighting the transferable skills that veterans bring to the table, such as leadership, communication, and a sense of purpose. Learn about the importance of culture in employee retention and why small businesses offer vast opportunities for veterans. Dive into the world of ethical governance and innovative problem solving, as Edward discusses real-life examples of creative solutions to workplace challenges. Hear how he maintains a strong ethical culture in teams, providing valuable advice for HR professionals and business leaders aiming to foster open communication and prevent workplace misconduct. Connect with Edward in LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/edward-m-thomas

Chris Brown has produced many albums and has been an active member of the Edward Thomas fellowship for years. A few years back he put together an album of the great poet's work delivered by professional actors called "Fast beat my heart (Edward Thomas and family at Steep)". We hear a couple of the poems from that CD which relate to Thomas's experiences during WWI and his connection the Steep area of Petersfield during that time. With Remembrance Sunday approaching Jack Finch and Chris Brown chat about the poet's association with the great war and his poignant observations of the impact on rural communities at that time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Finch chatted to the Edward Thomas fellowship chairman Jeremy Mitchell at Petersfield museum's Edward Thomas Study centre about the war poet's strong ties to the Steep/ Froxfield area and his World War I legacy. With Remembrance Sunday around the corner it felt never more appropriate to hear extracts from his war diaries and a couple of readings of his poems from that time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Wonder World episode, Pam and Olivia explore the first week of November with fun days like National Easy Bake Oven Day, Election Day, and World Tsunami Awareness Day. Pam shares memories of her Easy Bake Oven, and Olivia talks about her first voting experience.Listeners will enjoy historical highlights like the invention of the automobile, The Incredibles release, and John F. Kennedy's election. The episode wraps up with a chocolate trivia question, birthday shoutouts, the word "appreciative," and a reading of Edward Thomas's poem November. It's a cozy mix of memories, history, and seasonal fun!Links and ResourcesThe Wonder Kids Club - bonus audio and printables for each showSupport the show with a one-time donation.Wonder World Podcast Monday, November 3, 2023The TeamHost: Pam BarnhillHost: Olivia BarnhillResearch and Writing: Betsy CypressProduction: Thomas BarnhillGraphics: Katy WallaceOperations: Meg Angelino

Send us a textTonight, we are  hunkered down awaiting another storm. So, come and join us for a cosy night as we reflect on the fairly unique nature of canal-life and the community that it supports, with thanks to Wayne (NB Spudley) for drawing attention to a great new canal-based charity and some wise words from Rich (by Bike & Boat). Journal entry: 16th October, Wednesday“October drips onwards.The towpath washed with mud And brushed silvers Wet with fallen leaf And windfall twigs Greets me with A familiar squelch.”Episode Information:In this episode I read Edward Thomas' poem ‘Digging.'Wayne's Narrowboat Spudley vlog is ‘Keeping heads above water – just!' The charity's website is Forces Veterans Afloat.Rich's photographs and writing can be found at by Bike & Boat (Facebook).With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.Sami Walbury Tania Yorgey Andrea Hansen Chris Hinds David Dirom Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger Captain Arlo Rebecca Russell Allison on the narrowboat Mukka Derek and Pauline Watts Anna V. Orange Cookie Donna Kelly Mary Keane. Tony Rutherford. Arabella Holzapfel. Rory with MJ and Kayla. Narrowboat Precious Jet. Linda Reynolds Burkins. Richard Noble. Carol Ferguson. Tracie Thomas Mark and Tricia Stowe Madeleine SmithGeneral DetailsIn the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org. Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence. Piano and keyboard Support the showBecome a 'Lock-Wheeler'Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.ContactFor pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon. For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

In this episode of the podcast, recorded on a walk in The Welland Valley in eastern Leicestershire Chris Gregory is in conversation with novelist, poet and journalist Tim Relf.  Tim writes fiction under the name T.R. Richmond and his novel "What She Left" is published by Penguin.In this podcast you can hear three poems Scrambler by Tim relf read by Jackie JorgensonBlackberries by Tim Relf read by Chris GregoryAdlestrop by Edward Thomas read by Tim Relf  To find out more about Tim and his work please follow him on X, formerly twitter here https://x.com/timrelfYou can also visit Tim's page at the Professional Writing Academy here https://www.profwritingacademy.com/team/tim_relfIf you'd like to see some of the view Chris and Tim describe in this discussion we'll post some pictures on the Alternative Stories social media pages here https://x.com/StoriesAlthttps://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/If you'd like to back the Dex Legacy Season Three Kickstarter please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3And to contact the podcast please drop us an email at office@alternativestories.com or visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/Support the show

From Thursday 3 October to Sunday 12 October Petersfield Museum, holds a festival to commemorate the famous poet Edward Thomas, who lived locally and who was killed in World War One,  Ryan Watts Head of Operations at the Museum and Jeremy Mitchell, chair of the Edwards Thomas Fellowship, spoke to Mike Waddington about the Festival, Thomas' works, his influence today and its importance to good mental health. Details of the Festival are on the Museum website  www.petersfieldmuseum.co.uk and the Edward Thomas Study Centre, based at the Museum, is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10am to 3:30pmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode, Mark sits down with the dynamic Co-CEOs and Co-Founders of GoTu, Cary Gahm and Edward Thomas. GoTu is a cutting-edge software company based in Miami that is making waves in the tech industry by transforming how we think about and approach the future of work. Cary and Edward share their journey from the initial idea to the creation of a platform that is poised to redefine workplace collaboration and productivity. EPISODE RESOURCES joingotu.com https://www.truedentalsuccess.com Dental Success Network Subscribe to The Dentalpreneur Podcast

On Rise and Shine Jack Finch went along to the legendary Harrow inn of Steep village to meet Chris Brown who has spent years producing albums of folk music and recording oral history, we specifically hear about "songs now and then" which has a selection of songs sung by the late local legend Davy Goodchild and a handful of songs from the Harrow Inn's history sung by other established folk singers, we even get to hear some of these songs! Chris also tells us about being involved with the "Edward Thomas fellowship" which celebrates the work of the eminent poet and one of Steep's most revered historical residents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE.In this very special episode of The Poetry Exchange podcast, journalist, writer and editor Simon Crompton talks about the poem that has been a friend to him: 'The Thrush' by Edward Thomas.This episode is dedicated to a dear friend of Simon and of The Poetry Exchange - the extraordinary Martin Heaney - who sadly died at the end of 2023. Martin has been a touchstone of The Poetry Exchange from the outset, bringing his deep passion for poetry and his belief in the central importance of friendship to our lives to our work over the years. We are eternally grateful to Martin for being such a beautiful, inspirational and joyful friend.Simon Crompton is a journalist, writer, editor and communications consultant specialising in health and social affairs. He wrote for The Times for over 20 years, also working as the health editor of the newspaper's Body&Soul section. He has edited many publications in the fields of health and social work and contributes regularly to the international Cancer World magazine. Throughout his career he has provided consultancy to a wide range of voluntary and statutory organisations working for patient and public welfare. Having written three non-fiction books, he is now focusing on writing fiction.Martin Heaney's podcast is Chatty Guy Talks Cancer Care and Hope (you can hear Martin in conversation with Simon Crompton on one of the early episodes).You can listen to Martin talk about the poem that's been a friend to him - The Lake Isle of Innisfree by W. B. Yeats - in this episode of The Poetry Exchange.At the end of the episode, we share a recording of Martin reading 'Sometimes all it takes' by Gill McEvoy. We are very grateful to Gill for allowing us to share this beautiful poem. Gill McEvoy's Selected Poems is published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press in February 2024.Thank you to Simon for such a beautiful converastion, to Martin for all the inspiration, and to all of you for listening.*********The Thrushby Edward ThomasWhen Winter's ahead,What can you read in NovemberThat you read in AprilWhen Winter's dead? I hear the thrush, and I seeHim alone at the end of the laneNear the bare poplar's tip,Singing continuously. Is it more that you knowThan that, even as in April,So in November,Winter is gone that must go? Or is all your loreNot to call November November,And April April,And Winter Winter—no more? But I know the months all,And their sweet names, April,May and June and October,As you call and call I must rememberWhat died into AprilAnd consider what will be bornOf a fair November; And April I love for whatIt was born of, and NovemberFor what it will die in,What they are and what they are not, While you love what is kind,What you can sing inAnd love and forget inAll that's ahead and behind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Uncover the unexpected truths behind Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" as we explore its hidden jest and profound implications on our life's journey. Let's  peel back the layers of this enigmatic poem, revealing not just a tale of indecision, but a narrative that profoundly influenced the life of Frost's friend, Edward Thomas. This episode is a treasure trove for those yearning to understand the weight of words and the decisions that shape our destiny.Key Points from the Episode:Prepare to be inspired to tackle life's hurdles with newfound discipline after drawing parallels between Frost's poetic insights and M. Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled." This discussion isn't just about examining the roads we take or don't take—it's about arming you with the wisdom to confront and solve the inevitable challenges that pave the way to a flourishing life. Join us on this thought-provoking expedition, where we offer not only intriguing conversation but also practical resources to help you transform theory into tangible, life-altering action.Other resources: More goodnessGet your FREE Academy Review here!Get our top book recommendations listGet new podcast episodes dropped into your email box easilyWant to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly, thank you so much!Because we care what you think about what we think and our website, please email David@teammojoacademy.com, or if you want to leave us a quick FREE, painless voicemail, we would appreciate that as well.

Today's poem is 'After Rain' by Edward Thomas. It's read by Abi Blackburn from The Reader. Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson.

Our discussion of set design continues with a conversation about the designs overseen by Edward Thomas, who was Production Designer for most of Series 1 through Series 5 of Doctor Who. How television was made changed in significant ways since the McCoy Doctor and Ace left our screens. With the debut of 'new Who', an executive level position, the art department head, oversaw the appearance of all physical elements in the programme. When things accidently clicked in the classic era was when television magic was made. Now the overall vision of how the episode would look would be centrally controlled by one man, Edward Thomas, so design in 21st century Who should always click, right? We talk about this change and what each of us see as his five best designed stories. Opening music is "Sycorax Encounter" and closing music is "Pandorica", both composed by Murray Gold. We recorded this episode on 5 November 2023.

In a world that constantly demands our attention, finding moments of respite can be a challenge. Workdays are often a whirlwind, and the hustle and bustle of life can leave us craving moments of calm. That's where really short stories, those bite-sized literary delights, come to the rescue.♥️Patreon Page - Help keep the show ad-free

For this week's episode, Edward Thomas steps in to host the podcast to interview none other than your normal host, Daniel "The Past Life Regressionist". Edward leads a grounded conversation on conspiracies, and how to approach going down rabbit-holes with caution. Edward's Bio: Edward is a personal trainer who wants to make the world more spiritual, but as he puts it, "Before we get spiritual, we've got to get real with ourselves." He loves motivating people and working out, but more than anything he loves the truth because no matter how much it hurts, it helps 10x as much. And he's hopeful that using his voice will help him speak more of my his truth. IG: @et_the_pt UPCOMING WORKSHOP: Quantum Healing: Connecting with Spirit Guides + Intuition - October 8th, 2023 @12pm PDT/3pm EDT In this workshop, you'll have the opportunity to learn how to connect with your intuition and develop a deeper relationship with your Spirit Guides. We'll share a few intuitive practices you can use on a daily basis! Quantum healing will be used to facilitate a space to clear out any intuitive blockages you may be facing… and there will also be a surprise or two!  Come join us! Please use the Zoom link via Eventbrite.  Your Facilitators: Gabriella | Spirit Guide Channeler + Purpose Coach | @spirituality_gabriella Daniel | "The Past Life Regressionist"| @thepastliferegressionist ⁠⁠https://www.eventbrite.com/e/quantum-healing-connecting-with-spirit-guides-intuition-tickets-697179110487?aff=oddtdtcreator⁠⁠

Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer SocietyJoin my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/[Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍‍Guest: Dalton HandyBusiness Name: TempMeeCheck out Dalton's Media:‍Website: http://tempmee.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tempmeeapp/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tempmee/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tempmee/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tempmeeapp‍Dalton Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalton-handyEmail: Dalton@TempMee.com ‍Other Mentions and Links:HubSpotMarketoSalesforcePardotSlackGoogle AdsYelpCapterraHannible Barca - "We will either find a way, or make one"Steve JobsCary Gahm, Edward Thomas, and Debra SimmonsUberThe Infinite Game - Simon Sinek‍‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍‍My Key Takeaways:Making sure potential patients can find you online and optimizing your website is an often overlooked essential first step.Utilizing a CRM like Hubspot can help keep all of your patient communication and followup in one place.Sending out email newsletters to remind the community that your office is up to date and spreading helpful information is a great way to stay in touch. Be sure not to overwhelm your email list though!Try to make your office and website have a unique twist, ensuring an office across the country couldn't directly copy you.Always provide options for contacting your office. Making it hard for patients to call, text, or email will be a big point of friction.If you're running a private practice, think about how you can set yourself apart from DSOs! You may be able to add more of a personal touch than most dental organizations.‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)Michael: Alright, it's time to talk with our featured guest, Dalton Handy. Dalton, how's it going? Uh, pretty good. Dalton: Michael, how about you? Michael: I'm doing pretty good, man. Thanks for asking. If you could tell us a little bit about your past, your present, how'd you get to where you Dalton: are today? I. Yeah, so I've been in marketing for eight years now.I started my career coming out of the University of Denver in, in a slightly lesser known field of marketing operations. So it's all like the systems and processes that make marketing work, right, to be able to prove value and to get a feel for everything. So I started my career there. Um, I'm now here at Tempe, which is my third startup where I, I really think that I thrive, right?This is where I am able to build, I'm able to really see the impacts of my efforts, um, and I'm more connected with, with our users as well than I have been at a much larger corporation. So this is the second time that I've built a marketing department within, within a startup, and so far it's been going really well.Gotcha. Michael: So, real quick temp me Dalton: is what? Temi is a dental staffing community, so we help offices find placement with assistance as well as hygienists for both temporary, multi-day and permanent placement services as well. Gotcha. Michael: So before the other two startups that you worked at, was it in the industry, dental industry, Dalton: or No.Great question. Not in the slightest. I've spent a lot of time in cybersecurity and then the other startup that I was at was actually a highly verticalized software company. So they specialized in software for, um, portable toilet vendors, roll off dumpsters and septic pumpers. So it was very specific.Really cool company there, and that's where I really discovered my passion for startup marketing and being able to have that a lot bigger connection with, with your customers and have a lot more fun with what you're doing as a marketer too. That's where I really found my passion for it. And so even though it's kind of a funky industry, I'll, always be forever, but grateful.Yeah. Nice Michael: man. So you've been in marketing for a minute now, right? And it's cool that you're working in a company that like, you know, is revolved around our industry, right? The dental industry, of course. But when it comes to, you said you created systems and processes that make marketing work down to us.Okay, cool. What Dalton: is that? Yeah. So one of the key things that you'll note, uh, as particularly as you get into bigger companies, bigger corporations, you're gonna have a lot of different systems. But from a marketing perspective, one that's gonna be crucial is your marketing automation platform, right? So you're gonna do a lot of things outta this platform.One's gonna be sending your emails, you can build landing pages, you keep track of all your contacts and your database in that, and then you can also, you know, implement. Uh, all of your website tracking so you can see who's on your site when, what pages they're engaging with, collect data via forms, and then connect all of those activities together, right?So as soon as somebody fills out a form, cool. Now we're going to direct them over to the right sales representative, but also we're gonna send them. A text, an email, you know, whatever that might be that is in line with their previous action and then make sure that they've got the right communications going their way.So that's really the hub of, uh, any marketing operations person is going to be focused heavily on that system. But then they're also gonna be working with all of the other arms of marketing. So whether you've got, you know, your trade show, people that are sending leads one way, great. You're gonna be working with them to make sure that they can prove R o I.On their adventures. Uh, you're gonna be working with the paid media folks. Obviously, all, all your branding people, your email marketers, you really help tie everything together. So it's a, it's a really cool way to start your career, I think, because you get so much exposure to all of those different types of marketing.Ah, Michael: okay. So then how can we, I guess, funnel that into, Practice, right? Meaning like we got our front office, we have our dentist, our practice, and I know you said that's one of your area of expertise is where you build a marketing department. So could you in this real quick amount of time, like build us a marketing department for the practice?Dalton: Yeah, I think so. You know, even as somebody who hasn't done that specific niche, I think there are quite a few things that you can do right off the bat, right? And there are varying levels of automation platforms that I would start with, right? If you've got the platform and you've got access to the right tools, then you can start to build from there.So that's always kind of my step one. In fact, when I started at temp me, even during the interview process, I made it abundantly clear. Hey guys, when I start, we're gonna buy HubSpot. That's gonna be like the first thing that we're gonna do, and then we'll go from there. so, you know, looking at those, those tiers, right?So on, on the very top, like enterprise end, you've got things like Marketo. You know, Salesforce has Pardot, part O, whatever you wanna call it. and then HubSpot is great. It scales up and down as you want. so that's, that's usually a go-to start, or a starter kind of, um, automation package. So, Getting that system in first, right?Making sure that you've got everything centralized and you're gonna need one person that's dedicated to this, right? Typically, it's not gonna be somebody that is already an office manager that already has, you know, their, their plate is entirely full. But what this person should be able to come in and do is, number one, let's work with an agency.Make sure that your website is well optimized, right? Anybody who's looking for you, is gonna be able to find you, whether that's from an s e o perspective or from a pay-per-click perspective at, you know, at minimum on Google, those are the low hanging fruit. Making sure that the people who are looking are able to find you.Then what you do is you can take all that information, process it through your platform, and make sure that you're following up with people appropriately. Right? Everybody hates it. If you submit a contact form, you know you're interested in the business, you're potentially gonna buy something, spend money, and then you don't hear back.You know, it's a bit of a slap in the face, right? So that's one of the nice things about these platforms is you schedule those. Automatically to, to go out. As soon as somebody submits the form, you know, you're gonna set a reminder for maybe the marketing person, maybe the office manager to put in a call, Hey, let's get you on the schedule.You know, what does, what does that really look like? So that would be kind of my, my beginning of that. In addition to, I. You know, putting together some simple things, a newsletter, some content pieces, just to, just to really show people that your practice is at the forefront of dentistry. Um, that you're really staying up to date, you know, obviously on all your CE and things like that.but that they're not going to somebody who is I. Posting, right? Mm-hmm. I, I don't, that, that's not the practice that I want to go to. I want to go to somebody who is, who's really on top of their game, and I think that you can really highlight all of that through your various marketing efforts. Email is a great one because it's free, right?You can, you can always email. there's a bunch out there. My, my recommended cadence on email too is typically gonna be two to three times a week at absolute max. I would probably, for a practice. Once every two weeks. Something like that would be more of the max that I would go to. Just to stay in touch, stay in front of people, make sure that they're getting useful information, but not overwhelm 'em with any, any information that you've got going on.Michael: Yeah, interesting. So HubSpot and Pardo or Pardot you said, right? if I just got it, I'm listening to this episode. Okay, I got HubSpot now what do I do? Right. Kind of thing. Dalton: Yeah, for sure.Okay. So there's quite a few sections within, I'll use HubSpot, the As the example. That's what we use now. I think it's, it is great for, Many levels of business. So there's gonna be your marketing hub and there's a sales hub For our perspective, you know, obviously a lot more, uh, focused on the marketing hub.So you've got a few different sections. One's gonna be all your contacts, so this is gonna be people that are already in your system, existing patients, things like that. Uh, and then it's also gonna collect the new folks that as they come in, so you'll wanna set up a few normal fields just to track the things that are relevant to you, right?So, Uh, you know, for example, when somebody hits our website and fills out a form, we wanna figure out are you representing a practice? Are you a hygienist? Are you an assistant? You know exactly who are you? So you set up a few custom fields to get that right information so that you can speak to people as they want to be spoken to.Right? That's always gonna be any, uh, goal with any marketing effort. So you set up, you know, your foundations there and you can build some basic workflows, right? So if you've got your website, you put a form on the website. Okay, cool. As soon as that form is filled out, you can create what's called a workflow to say, great, I'm gonna shoot them a text saying exactly this.I'm gonna shoot them an email saying exactly this. You can use some customization tokens as well. So basically what that'll do is if they give you their first and last name, great. Let's use that in the email just to show that you know, we're listening and, and we care. Uh, and then you've got, you know, default values.Then you can also connect that to any other, many other systems that you've got. So, for example, if you use Slack, internally or something like that, you can send an alert to say your office manager to follow up with that person and, and place a call so you can place all their information there.Those would be my, my number one steps, and then you'd start to build out some email templates, probably some landing page templates, things that you can reuse time and time again as you launch different initiatives. Gotcha. Michael: Okay. So it's a lot we can do with that, right? Dalton: Yeah. It's, it's really, we use it certainly as like our, our centralized hub for all things marketing.and then, you know, as you get all of that data coming in, then you can say, okay, cool. How much are we really getting out of our Google ads? Right. And you can start to kind of go deeper and dive into how successful, uh, all of your channels are, are so far. Michael: Hmm. Gotcha. Okay. Okay. So it's really good for like tracking as well and everything like that.Dalton: Yeah, most definitely. And particularly, you know, on the email side, it's great. You can take a look at any email, you're gonna see your open rate, bounce rate, click rate, click through rate. You can see what links are being clicked on, what isn't all, all that good stuff, um, just baked right there into the app.Michael: Gotcha man. Awesome. Okay, so then let's talk a little bit more about, business when it comes to dentists. So like, what can a practice owner, a dentist do today to improve their marketing or their business? Dalton: I think number one is always gonna start with the website, right? That's an area where people are always gonna pop to anytime they're considering, you know, joining or coming to your practice, as a patient.So that's, that's always where I wanna start, number one, making sure that it's at least up to date, you know, with the right information, hours, all that good stuff, but also that it has a welcoming atmosphere. I think. one thing that is, Always a little bit tricky is overusing stock imagery, right? Mm-hmm.I think that that can be something that's a little tricky. It's not gonna necessarily give people the feeling of safety and comfortability, uh, as they come in and check out your practice. And then you also wanna make sure I. Every conversion point is optimized, right? So if I'm coming to your website as somebody who's considering, being a patient at your practice, I wanna make sure that once I decide, cool, this looks great, that I can get in touch with you as quickly as possible, I.Whether I wanna pick up the phone now, I'm 30, that's never the answer for me, right? I wanna ha have multiple options. So, uh, you know, whether it's a text line, incorporating chat onto the website or just filling out a form, Hey, this is what I'm looking for, this is when I'd like to come in, that type of thing.And then even if somebody gives me a call back, I'm, you know, that understand about that. but making sure that people can really get ahold of you is something that. Is absolutely essential and is often actually overlooked. Right? We, we put so much time and effort into making a beautiful site that really speaks to the core of who we are, what makes us special, all those things.And then it's easy to forget, oh wait, we're here to generate business From this site. Yeah. Michael: For you personally, right now, let's just say you got on Delton, got on the website, practice looking for somebody, some pops up right on Google. Would you search on Google or how would you look? Go about?Dalton: Yeah, absolutely. That'd be, that'd be my first go-to. I'm gonna look at dental practices around me, right? 'cause I want something that's, you know, close proximity. So we moved two years ago to, to this specific area of Denver that we live in. And so it's exactly what I did was I hopped on Google Maps, actually is is another thing.And that's, its home, it's own whole area of ss e o. Um, but yes, Google and Google Maps are gonna be the primary way that I would try to find a new practice. Michael: Okay, so you went on Google Maps, and then you clicked on the first one or the first couple, right? And then how would you want it to go from that point on?Would you, what is the first things you're looking at? What are the things where you're like, all right, I'm gonna contact now, or I'm gonna save it for later. Lemme look at somebody else. What made you wanna save it for later? And look it for Dalton: somebody else? I'm looking for a little bit of familiarity, right?I wanna hit your site and understand, a practice halfway across the country couldn't have this exact same website, right? So actually one of the things that stuck out to me about the practice that I go to. They had this really cool, uh, initial picture on their homepage of, I think it was everybody that works at the office just decked out in their Bronco gear, right.They'd say, you know, they're, they're all about the Broncos there. Yeah. And, uh, so I was like, okay, cool. I get, I get, you know, a little bit of something about who they are without even having to read anything. And so I think, you know, being able to put, put out who you are, and that's something that we're trying to do.Temp me too is, is highlight some of the things that culturally make us special because there's inherent familiarity and comfortability that lies within that. Um, but I, I think that be personal, show who you are, show what makes you special, those are absolutely something. There are things that anybody can do and can tap into to make people feel comfortable and, and excited about, you know, coming to your practice.Gotcha. So Michael: you got on that website and immediately you booked something or were you like, let me look, let me look at. Other stuff. Dalton: I checked a couple others around just to, you know, do my due diligence. I'm the kind of person who, if I'm going on vacation, I'm gonna make a spreadsheet that has all of the different options and then rank on different variables.Right? That's, that's how I do my decision making. It's never one and done. Um, but that one really stood out to me, right? I, I felt like I understood what they were about and so I circled back after maybe looking at three or four more. Also, obviously checked the reviews, right? That's always a huge thing, uh, making sure that primarily your Google reviews are in good shape.Uh, there are a num number of ways that you can incentivize people to get those reviews, but also responded to is a good thing to look at, right? That's, that's somebody that to me is on top of their business and really caress, right? Negative reviews will happen. There's always gonna be, you know, some.Patient that you can never make happy, right? Mm-hmm. But responding to those reviews in a kind way that shows compassion, understanding, and that you're just caring about your business is, is always a great look. Michael: Yeah. And so the three to four that you were checking out that you're like, nah, they don't fit, but this is like your due diligence, what was the things where you were like, actually, what was the one outta the, the four that you were looking at where you were like, And you know what I mean?Like the bounce rate was super fast where you're just like, nah, I don't want to Dalton: get on this one. Yeah. I think the ones that I would've pointed to like that were ones that looked like something I could have made, you know, in a week. I exclusively stock imagery. There's nothing that points to this office being special.it is really cut and dry. And then certainly anybody that had less than like 4.4, 4.5 stars on Google with the, with their reviews at a good volume, that was always gonna be a huge concern. Michael: Do you check more on Yelp or on Google? Dalton: I check more on Google personally. Yeah. Okay, gotcha.Interesting. Yelp is always interesting, right? There's, uh, different components to basically any rating or review site, whether it's Capterra for software or Yelp for, you know, basically anything. there's always a pay to play component, so I'm naturally a little, little skeptical, right? I think the overall rating is usually gonna be in good shape, but I also understand that the order in which things are presented to me isn't necessarily gonna be, I.In the order of quality, uh mm-hmm. You know, the one through 10 isn't gonna necessarily be reflective of that quality. Michael: Yeah, that's true. That's true. And so then on the, on the website that you went with the Broncos, everybody, right? Like in the ones that you decided to, that's it. How did you contact Dalton: them?Ooh, that's a good question. I'm not sure I remember. Uh, I believe that I filled out their contact us form. Okay. And that's what Michael: you like? Dalton: Yeah, that's, that's what I like. 'cause then I can, you know, drop a line, particularly if I'm, you know, buying software or something like that, I can drop a line to multiple different options.See how they get back to me. To me, that's gonna be indicative of their performance as a business. And then go from there. Right. Maybe some, some offices weren't gonna be, Weren't going to be accepting new patients, anything like that. Of course, if that's the case, you'd expect a notice, you know, on the website that Hey, don't waste your time here, we're full.Um, but then go from there in terms of, you know, responding to any emails that they send me, they expect a phone call, that type of thing. Michael: Gotcha. Because sometimes, like when, I remember when I was working in the practice, like we would get a form filled out and they told us they wanted us. To call you guys.Yeah, and I don't know if that was the best thing. Would you prefer that or would you prefer like a text message or an email? What would you prefer Dalton: as an individual? I would prefer a text. I. As a marketer, my recommendation would be to hit 'em with everything you know, is, is an automated email, an automated text, and then a phone call after a little while.Right. Just to, just to give people the options with the understanding of, Hey, I'm not gonna overwhelm this person over the course of a period, but I'm gonna make sure that as they get their information that they're hearing back from me through whatever channel they might be, uh, most accessible via.Michael: What would be like the time period? So let's just say you hit 'em back with an email first. You don't hear from them and I don't know specific Then do we hit them back like the next day with a text and then if we don't hear them the third day, we hit them with a call? Or is it more like all in a 24 Dalton: hour period?Uh, typically I'd get all of them within a 24 hour period, and then that'll kick off usually a sequence. So, A good example is right now, if you come to the Temp Me website and you fill out the form there, say, say you're a hygienist and, uh, you're interested in that number one within five minutes, actually it's, it's much closer to one minute, which is the target.you'll get a text and you'll get an email just saying like, Hey, here's the link to download the app. And also here is an opportunity to speak with one of our onboarding representatives if you have questions about it. Here's, here's where you go to download or to schedule that. Then we'll, uh, we'll wait a day and then we'll send you, Hey, just checking in.We saw you had the interest, you know, is now a good time to chat? Anything like that. And we'll also have a call or two placed at that point from our onboarding representatives. And so that's sequence, we'll, we'll spread out a couple texts, a couple emails across about a week. There are a lot of studies that show particularly on more of the outbound, right?So it's not somebody coming into your website and filling out a form. But on the outbound side, it takes anywhere from like seven to 12 touches really to get somebody to pick up the phone or to accept that call, right? It, it takes time. It takes. Persistence as well. So I would encourage people to not give up.Right. There's a good reason that somebody filled out that form in the first place. Maybe they found something else, maybe they haven't. But, a flurry of touches almost immediately is great. And then some persistent touches as well. Michael: I like that. Okay, good. And then you mentioned make yourself culturally different, and then you mentioned temp me.So what culturally makes temp me Dalton: special? I. That's, that's my favorite question. are a super values driven culture, and by that I don't mean that we have anything just like plastered on the walls. Granted, we do have our values on the walls, but but the current space that we're in, we actually took over from a bank that had, the slogans put on the walls right there.like an owner, you know, be empowered. You know, these really kind of vague things. ours. We're developed when our company was like five people, and they sat down and said, Hey, what makes us special? And so they came up with this list of five core values. And so those are things that we incorporate into everything that we do.Uh, we hire by them if we ever need to part ways with somebody. We do that, buy the core values, right? So we go through and, and analyze is this person a fit based on our core values? And then we ensure that, all of the actions that we're taking are in alignment with those values. That serves as such a strong, guidepost, north Star, you know, whatever you want to call it.And then our, our founders are extremely invested in those values and making sure that, you know, everybody else is as well. Um, so between that and then setting extremely high goals and, you know, giving a, a direct pathway toward reaching those goals is a great start for building the culture that you, that you want to see.Michael: Gotcha. Okay. So what are Temp me's core values? Dalton: Yeah, so number one is called it's your ship. Uh, what this really means is, Hey, we put a lot of faith in our hiring efforts. You've joined our team. We feel like you are the absolute best person to do exactly what you do. Go run with it. You don't need to ask for, for permission, uh, even when things don't go, uh, as perfectly as you'd think.Learn from it, move on. Right? We want people to be empowered to make their own decisions. Of course, in a practice, you know, sometimes that can, I could see that going a little sideways, but for most of the day-to-day stuff, right? You're trained, you know what to do, go make it happen. Second one. Uh, hard work doesn't have to be serious for me.This is super different than work hard, play hard, right? Mm-hmm. To me, in like a tech setting, work hard, play hard is going to be, you know, you're going to really kind of hate what you do from like eight to six, but then we might throw a killer happy hour where everybody just gets super messed up, right?Like That's what work hard, play hard sounds like to me. Uh, don't get me wrong, we have great happy hours. Uh, that's, that's all fun too. But, For me, this is, Hey, we spend so much of our lives working, we should enjoy what we're doing. Both the output that you have as an individual, as well as the people that you're working with, right?You're spending so much more time with your coworkers than you are, you know, even some of your best friends in a lot of cases. That they should be people that you enjoy. So if you're not enjoying those things, number one is, is that a you thing or do we need some to make some changes at, at a cultural structural level?So that's one of my favorites honestly. number three is, is leave it better. So this one's I. Super practical. Hey, you walk into our kitchen at the office, uh, if you see a paper towel or something out, even if it's not yours, throw it away. Right? There's a, there's a percentage of people that make the world worse than they found it.There's a large percentage of people that leave it about the same, which is cool too, right? You know, you're not, you're not leaving a negative impact or anything. But then there's a small percentage of people that actually leave the world better than they found it. And I like to apply this to conversations, you know, and, and any type of interaction in addition to the actual, like physical cleaning of any space.I hope that your day is two to 5% better 'cause we have this conversation, right? I, I hope that I can bring a little bit of, uh, something interesting, something fun, you know, make your day just a little bit better because we've had this conversation and I think that that's really consistent throughout our organization as well.number four is gonna be find a way or make one. So this comes from kind of the Hannibal Barka quote of, uh, taking the elephants, uh, over the Alps to Sack Rome. I could not say the Latin version. Uh, it's out there. It's, you know, if, if you're really curious, I'm sure you can Google it, but for this is, Hey, we, we don't give up at the first thing.Right? You know, there are a lot of cool things about our platform just from a tech perspective that, you know, took multiple iterations and somebody saying, you know what? I'm not gonna give up on this until I find it. that is able to really help you achieve that next level of success, right? So we wanna make sure that people are diligent, that they're not easily dissuaded, that type of thing.And then the last one is true believer. So, we want people to be on our team that really believe that we can achieve our goals, right? We want to change the way the world works, uh, not just for dentistry, but for for other verticals as well. And. That doesn't happen if you don't believe that it can.Right. So this kind of ties into a lot of like Steve Jobs philosophy in quotes. but yeah, you have to believe to be able to succeed. So those are the five. Michael: Okay, good. That's real. I like that. I like that a lot, especially, um, I like all of 'em, but I like to leave it better than or leave it better. Right.Dalton: Yeah. And actually that one comes from a really cool story. So, um, one of our co-founders, Kerry, he grew up, well, actually both of our co-founders grew up in northern Michigan, but, uh, Kerry spent a lot of time traveling around the country with his mom in like a, an old station wagon. so Carrie and his mom and family would take a lot of these road trips and one time at a gas station.Kerry goes to throw his water bottle away, you know, physically throw it at a few yards or whatever. He misses and tries to get in the car. His mom says, no, Kerry, what are you doing? Go pick it up. And so he's said, fine, mom, you know, whatever. He goes, picks up the water bottle, puts it in there, and he comes back to the car and his mom says, no.Carrie, you're not done yet. There were, you know, a half dozen other pieces of trash right there while you're picking up your water bottle. You could have done that and you could have made the world a better place. Uh, you know, even if so slightly. And that's the kind of people that we are. So that's exactly where this core value comes from, is, is Carrie's mom and being, you know, one of those people that really strives for better and that, you know, leaving no impact isn't good enough.We have to leave a good impact. Michael: Yeah, I like that man, real quick, who's the founders of Tempe? Dalton: Yeah, so Carrie Game and Ed Thomas are the, uh, are the partners that are now running things, but we also were founded by a 30 year hygienist, Debra Simmons, who actually came to them with the idea, right? She's like, Hey, this system isn't working.You know, she, she was a hygienist as well as an office manager, and so she is like, man, I, I see the need for this. You guys, you know, are, are entrepreneurs. You've built businesses before. There's gotta be something here. Right? And so they, they worked it all out from there. Ed took it to Carrie. Carrie thought it was a terrible idea at first, actually.And then, uh, they sat down and I think they, they stayed on the phone for like eight hours that night. Just hashing it out, you know, talking about, well, what if we did it this way? 'cause I think the original idea was I. More of a scheduling app, right? Mm-hmm. Of like, you can have one shared schedule that a bunch of people hop on, that type of thing.And, uh, that, that wasn't gonna necessarily be the way, but now they settled on, you know, our, our current concept and really just have run with it from there. So, Deb isn't as involved in our business currently, but I, I know that she retained her stake and is, uh, still invested in the business, which is, which is really cool.Michael: Gotcha. So currently, what is it right now? Temp me. Yeah, Dalton: so a easy way to think about it is Uber for dental staffing, right? Uh, if you're in office, you go on, you post a shift that you've got coming up. Say, you know, your hygienist is taking a long weekend. She's gonna be out Thursday. It's Monday. Cool. I'm gonna post that, and it's gonna go automatically out to all of the relevant hygienists in your area.So, they'll get notified via their phone. It's all through the app. They get notified, they can either accept it, they can counter offer, which is a pretty cool feature, or they can just leave it be, we don't have any minimums or anything like that that they need to meet to operate through our platform.All the payments handled through the platform and, and everything like that. So it's really a quick, easy way to find the people that you need to keep your practice moving along. Is this Michael: like available everywhere, everywhere right now or is it more, you know what I mean, like rural Texas?Yeah. Dalton: So right now we're doing, uh, good amounts of shifts in 22 states, uh, every week. and then, you know, some rural areas have great coverage. Others not so much, right? It's always gonna be dependent on whether or not there are enough people to build a marketplace there. So if there's. Three offices and 10 hygienists in, you know, 25 mile radius.That's probably realistically not gonna be something that we can have a huge solve for unless, you know, people are really willing to expand their radius within the app and you know, they're driving 50, 75 miles, whatever that might be, to pick up shifts at an office. So we definitely do have much easier success in the metro areas, but it's not exclusive to the metro areas by any means.You guys Michael: vet like everybody or like what is the vetting process? So when it comes to all this, Dalton: Yeah, great question. So every person that's on our platform, every professional that's on our platform has been vetted. So from a hygienist perspective, uh, to sign up, you're gonna need to enter, you know, all your basic information, you're gonna enter your licensure information.So we'll check that, make sure there are no derogatory marks on the record, that everything's up to date, current, all that good stuff. And then we'll also require a picture of the state id. to, you know, make sure that you are, who you say you are. All, all things match up between kind of the three main areas there.Then for the assistance, it's super similar except for, licensure for assistance varies wildly state by state. So we take that on a state by state basis. You know, I think Minnesota and Texas are great examples of, they operate super similarly to hygienists for the most part. If you're gonna have, you know, a license, we can pop on, check it out, all that good stuff.Florida, our home state is super different. It's, there are three routes. You can have six months of on-the-job training, you can graduate from a program or you can pass a certification course. Right? So in those, different ways, we have to evaluate each of them. So you may have to submit some additional documentation, things like that.And then we do ongoing verification as well. So at the end of every shift, that's worked through our platform, both parties. So the office and the professional are gonna rate one, another, one to five and include comments, right? So anybody who is consistently receiving poor remarks, uh, poor scores, you know, hey, they really don't know what they're doing, anything like that.We'll have conversations with that person. Try to really get to the bottom. Is this an unreasonable ask from the office or is this person, you know, not really cut out to, be utilizing our platform? In which case, you know, we do have to restrict their access. Hmm. How often does that Michael: happen, Dalton? Like where you're like, ah, you, I don't know how you even got on this platform.Dalton: It's pretty rare. to the, I don't even know how you got on this platform. Never happens. The, that's, you know, that, that'd be the super extreme end of it. But I think the, Hey, your, your skills aren't quite up to where they need to be is probably less than one to 2% of our platform. So, you know, sometimes things come up, right.We're all humans, they're, life is hard. There's gonna be. All these external things that can impact somebody's ability to do their job, but ultimately we, we have to, you know, prioritize patient care and making sure that patients are well taken care of, regardless of who, who's in the office that day.Mm-hmm. So when it comes down to make those tough decisions, that's, what we signed up for, honestly. Michael: Yeah. Okay. And this is for all like associates, hygienists, assistants, and everything? Or is it just right Dalton: now? We've got hygienists and assistance currently, and then we should actually be rolling out associates in kind of, uh, we'll call 'em beta states here in the next 30 to 60 days, we'll call it.So there are other considerations on the associate side, right? So you've gotta have matching. I. insurance. Right? So that's, that's one whole thing that has to be in place. We're expanding our background checks as well for that side, and then ensuring, you know, that we're, we've got all of the malpractice insurance and everything that's rolled up to the associates before we roll that out.'cause, you know, missing some of those things would be, yeah, really rough. That's, that's not what we're trying to do. So that's the only reason that we haven't rolled those out already. But we're super excited to bring that functionality. We do permanent placement services for all three of those groups already, though.Michael: I was gonna ask you that, like has it ever happened to where it's like, man, I love this person and they love us. Like, can we just keep them or Dalton: all the time. Yeah, all the time. I mean, it's, we're, we exist because there's a staffing shortage, right? Mm-hmm. a lot of the time, uh, that's going to happen.And so we just ask for our buyout fee, which is typically a couple thousand dollars. If you compare it to when I have to go hire somebody from my team, if I work with an external agency or anything like that, I'm gonna pay 20% of their salary. Our fee is significantly less than that. You know, it's, it's, you know, three grand or whatever.it's, it's gonna be a much easier burden, but then it's all free and clear that office, that professional, uh, they're gonna be tied to one another. That's a W two employee moving forward and they're good to Michael: go. Yeah. Nice. So what, what are, if I can ask, what are like the major, maybe top three major cities that are utilizing Tempe right Dalton: now?Tampa is a huge one for us. So that's, you know, we're born and raised in South Florida, so that one makes a ton of sense. Uh, and then there are quite a few others that are spread throughout the country. Atlanta is also very big for us, New York there I. Honestly, quite a few where we're doing really great business.You know, I think people have really latched onto the concept and understood, hey, this is a new way to really get into what we call skill sharing, right? Mm-hmm. So, uh, even though the concept is very similar to gig work, we really shy away from that term because to, to us, that is somebody that is not necessarily specialized in the field that they're working, I could take my car, sign up for Uber, join kind of gig work right now. Uh, if, if that's something that I wanted to do, I could not start practicing hygiene or become an assistant, nor should I, but, uh, you know, we wanna recognize that these people have very specific skill sets that they have worked for.years to develop. And so in, in utilizing our platform, they are truly sharing those skills with the greater marketplace. And we wanna be very cognizant of that. So I think people understand that, um, they're excited to have a little bit more freedom with how they work, uh, ability to gain extra income, things like that.And then of course, offices need their staff to keep going. And as we've seen post covid, they're just. Quite frankly aren't enough dental staff to go around. So this type of skill sharing model I think is a great way to help bridge those gaps. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. Nice. I like that. And then how does this kind of compare, or what would you say is like the, ' cause there's others, right?Competitors, yeah. So well, what makes it different, I guess? Dalton: Yeah, great question. I think we can break it up into both sides of the marketplace. Right? So which side are you more curious about? Offices or professionals? Ooh, both. I. Okay, uh, let's start with offices. One cool thing about our platform is offices don't have to pay to sign up and there's no monthly fee.We only pay on the, or we only charge on the temp side when we actually help you get a fill. So we only charge after that connection has been made. That individual has confirmed that they're gonna work at your office, all that good stuff. So, From an office perspective, it's a great additional tool to have in case you ever need any type of staffing.we also process all the payment through our platform, so certainly as opposed to, some competitors, but primarily, you know, more old school ways of like cutting a check or anything like that. You don't have to worry about any of that, which is obviously a huge positive for our professionals as well.They get their money via direct deposit. In the latest at like four days, they also have the option to get express pay. So as soon as the hours are confirmed by both parties, they get paid out. They have to pay a small fee, you know, to tell the banks to hurry up is essentially what that fee is. that's a huge perk there.another perk for our offices is that they can post up to five shifts without having to pay anything. You don't even have to enter your credit card information. So, You can really get a feel for if this is gonna be something that's gonna be beneficial for us as well as, you know, the, the provider quality is extremely high, particularly as compared to, you know, more traditional temp agencies where, you know, most of the, most of our providers do have a current full-time job.There are people that are at the absolute peak of their profession that are just looking to pick up a little bit of extra work around the sides. So with that, you know, you're getting somebody who can come in, who's gonna take great care of your patients, who's gonna be, you know, more than likely a joy to work with around the office and is the epitome of a professional.So those are kind of the, a few of the key areas that we offer for the offices. You know, there's tons of ancillary stuff like it's. Extremely easy to use, right? Mm-hmm. It takes about 45 seconds to post a shift that, that you've got open. as well as we've got some market rate guidance baked into that.So based on your area, we're gonna kind of suggest are you at a hundred percent of the market value rate? Are you under, are you over? That type of thing, which really, you know, is a nice little coaching tool for offices to know what they really should be posting yet. 'cause sometimes it doesn't feel like it should be that high or that low, it's a great way to keep people in line.On the professional side, it's, it's all about freedom, right? Mm-hmm. So we don't mm-hmm. Have any restrictions or anything like that, uh, baked into our platform. Professionals can use us, they can use other apps where whatever's gonna make the most sense for them is highly encouraged by us. Right? There's no minimum.So if you want to work a shift that pops up on your phone, then great. Grab it. That's amazing. We're excited. We'd love to have you. Uh, but if it doesn't make sense for you to not work or to pick up any temp shifts for six months, a year, whatever that might be, then cool. Don't you know that we, we don't feel like we have, uh, any foot to stand on to tell people what to do.And so we, we really want people to be able to make their own way in life, and we really like to break it down into more solid terms around the money that they can make. So, Across the nation. You know, a temporary hygienist full day shift is gonna net you 400 to four 50 bucks. So hey, you pick up one shift a month.Cool. That's a car payment. You know, that's saving up for a vacation. These are really tangible things that we believe and see make a big impact on people's lives, and that's part of the reason why we do what we do is to see that impact and, and to see them be able to live a little bit better life.Just because they work through our platform is, is really cool. Michael: Yeah. Nice man. Okay. Awesome. So really, really great benefits. Features too. But benefits, right when it comes to professionals and also the office. Dalton: Absolutely. And I should add one more thing is we put a huge emphasis on high touch with high tech.So, you know, the platform is high tech. It's easy to use, it's great it operates, you know, as, as it intended, all that good stuff. But we've got a ton of real people that make temp me work. So whether that's. Uh, professional that's coming on. There's a team of onboarders that are just dedicated to making sure that all of their questions are answered, right?We understand that this, you're using us full-time, part-time, whatever, this is still employment, right? This is where your money is coming from. We understand that that's not always gonna be the most comfortable thing to just sign up for an app and start accepting shifts. Right this, there's a lot at stake.It feels like there's a lot at stake, so we wanna make sure that you hear from real people, that you have the opportunity to voice Any questions, concerns, anything like that? I. And then it's also very much true of our customer success team. It's a large team of some of the kindest, most helpful human beings that you've ever encountered in your life, so you can access them.We've got very expanded hours, even though we're on the east coast. Uh, typically, you know, you can, you can reach us from seven to seven is, is typically what we say. And then, you're gonna be able to reach them by text, by email, by phone. There's a bunch of ways to make sure that you get what you need.And I think that that's actually a huge differentiator for us in the marketplace. Michael: So I like that, man. Yeah. it does come down to that like, we want convenience, we wanna reach out to people, we wanna be able to fill out that form. Text, you know what I mean? But when it comes to us wanting to complain or do or find somebody, we're like, I wanna speak to a human.give me, you know what I mean, kind of thing. And so, or when we're having a hard time with something, sometimes we're not all tech savvy, right? Yeah, absolutely. So we do wanna speak to, to a human right instead of like, um, zero now and then talk. So I like that, man. Interesting. Now these next questions are just to get into the head of someone who isn't totally involved on the clinical side of dentistry, uh, every day.What would you ton like to see more from a dentist?Dalton: You mean just from a, a business perspective or specifically if I'm visiting the dentist, things like that. Let's do both. Okay. from a business perspective, I think that I'd like to see. More particularly private practice owners, really tapping into that sense of community that, I think a lot of us grew up with. Right. You know, I think about the dentist's office that I went to, growing up. I grew up in a small town, and so I went to the same dentist for basically my entire, you know, childhood life, you know, from three to 18 or or whatever it age it is.You start going to the dentist, I don't even know. Really tapping into that from a marketing perspective, I think is extremely powerful. And I think that that's one of the areas that private practices can win in a market, you know, that we're all aware is, is largely being consolidated by, by DSOs. So that's one thing from a business perspective that I would absolutely love to see.from a, you know, patient perspective, I really don't have any complaints, man. I, I think about, you know, all my, all my experiences. I walk in. Everybody at the front desk is extremely happy, welcoming, friendly. The booking process is smooth. You know, there's so many tools out there. If you go to a trade show these days and just wander the exhibit hall for a little bit, you're gonna just be inundated by all these platforms, tools, whatever, to make your business run more smoothly.And I think. Plenty of offices a

Let me talk you to sleep. This episode contains musings on Damsons, a tomb in a London churchyard, Hermitage Castle in Roxburghshire, Alderley Edge and Alan Garner, Cheshire in general and some legends of Congleton in particular. Some more of the bedtime story The Poisoned Rose when things become a bit more sinister. A eulogy for Fiddlers Green, A Peculiar Parish Magazine, Some summer poems by Edward Thomas, Philip Larkin, a reading of the lyrics of Velvet Green by Jethro Tull and finished with some verses from Gray's Elegy Written In A County Churchyard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last Poems

Poems

In this latest episode of The Poetry Exchange, we revisit our conversation about 'The force that through the green fuse drives the flower' by Dylan Thomas - A Friend to Angela.This extraordinary and beautiful conversation was originally released in 2019 and has been a friend to many of our listeners so far. We felt it was one to lift up and revisit again in this moment. We are hugely grateful to Angela for sharing her story of connection with Dylan Thomas's poem, and to Manchester Central Library for hosting this conversation.This is the first of a trio of episodes revisiting previously released conversations - specially chosen and introduced by Fiona and Michael.You will also hear Fiona and Michael read from and discuss Kae Tempest's soul-reaching and truth-speaking book On Connection, as well as the poem 'Tall Nettles' by Edward Thomas.*********The force that through the green fuse drives the flowerby Dylan ThomasThe force that through the green fuse drives the flowerDrives my green age; that blasts the roots of treesIs my destroyer.And I am dumb to tell the crooked roseMy youth is bent by the same wintry fever.The force that drives the water through the rocksDrives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streamsTurns mine to wax.And I am dumb to mouth unto my veinsHow at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks.The hand that whirls the water in the poolStirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing windHauls my shroud sail.And I am dumb to tell the hanging manHow of my clay is made the hangman's lime.The lips of time leech to the fountain head;Love drips and gathers, but the fallen bloodShall calm her sores.And I am dumb to tell a weather's windHow time has ticked a heaven round the stars.And I am dumb to tell the lover's tombHow at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.Poem © Dylan Thomas. Used by permission of David Higham Associates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back!! For this week's episode, Edward Thomas is back on the podcast to recap his past life regression experience. And there may or may not have been some off-planet stuff in this one... Edward's Bio: Edward is a personal trainer who wants to make the world more spiritual, but as he puts it, "Before we get spiritual, we've got to get real with ourselves." He loves motivating people and working out, but more than anything he loves the truth because no matter how much it hurts, it helps 10x as much. And he's hopeful that using his voice will help him speak more of my his truth. IG: @et_the_pt

Bill welcomes poet and biographer Matthew Hollis to the show. Matthew is a poet, biographer, editor, and teacher. His first full-length collection Ground Water was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the Whitbread Poetry Award, the Forward Prize for poetry, as well as being a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. He is also the author of Now All Roads Lead to France, a critically acclaimed biography of seminal English poet Edward Thomas. His most recent work is Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem. 

To say that our guest today has a great motor is an understatement. This dude's engine is always running on all cylinders, whether he's free stylin' in the Caribbean or working his side hustle in South Beach. He's a true entrepreneur who goes hard after every venture and plays hard after every success. Edward Thomas is living out his dreams, and it's all powered by trucking. That's right, he would tell you that the secret to his freedom to travel and chase his dreams is found behind the wheel. He would also tell you to give it a shot! In this episode, he will say, “Do it! Don't think twice about it. Don't be intimidating by decking. Just do it!” He will also say that his entrance into the world of deck driving was the best decision he's ever made. You don't want to miss our conversation with Edward Thomas on today's episode of the #SixFigureTrucker.Show Notes:We catch up with Edward in his hometown of Miami (1:00)A true Entrepreneur, Edwards shares his side hustle in South Beach! (4:00)Entering the world of deck driving, Edward loves his dispatch team at Norton, and the opportunities afforded him in decking (8:55)Friends and Freedom in Driveaway - Edward is living his best life over the road, including one of the all-time great birthday Gifts and time in the Caribbean! (16:31)We get Edward's opinions on CNG Fuel and Driving Singles (29:19)36 and a Bright Future! As he celebrates his 36th birthday, Edward looks ahead to his future in trucking and other ventures (34:31)“Do it!” Edward gives his pitch to anyone considering driveaway trucking and deck driving (39:00)Keep Truckin', Edward!The Six Figure Trucker is a weekly conversation that shares the strategies and stories that successful drivers have used to build lucrative careers in the trucking industry. For more information or to subscribe, please visit https://www.six-figuretrucker.com/.

Welcome to the premiere of The AirPower Hour! On this episode I had the pleasure and opportunity to speak with the Air Force Recruiting Services Commander, Major General Edward Thomas Jr. He shared his Air Force story that began in 1990 at Texas A&M University as a cadet.  Throughout his illustrious 32 year career, General Thomas has traveled all over the world and has done so with the amazing support of his family.  As the Air Force Recruiting Services Commander, he leads a group comprised of more than 2,800 Airmen and civilians and approximately 1,040 recruiting offices across the U.S. and abroad. It was an honor to sit down and speak with General Thomas, I hope you enjoy this episode of The AirPower Hour!Learn more at Airforce.com or SpaceForce.com

A soothing talk to keep you company through the dark hours of the night and to help you sleep. Tony rambles about Glastonbury, growing apple pips, Nottingham Goose Fair, losing his tripod on Cannock Chase while in search of werewolves, the legend of Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. The fairytale of the Maid of Llyn y Fan Fach in Breconshire. The importance of knowing which county you are in and a reading of Edward Thomas's wanderings through the March woods. Perfect to doze off to. If you don't get to sleep play it again, or listen to another episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We exchange playlists of our own favourite travel sounds and visit the Cotswold village of Adlestrop, the setting for Edward Thomas' evocative travel poem of the same name.

1.  Today & Ukraine  2.  Classical & Biblical Times  3.  Medieval Artillery   4.  Eighteenth & Nineteenth Century  5.  Naval Gunnery  6. World War I & II   7.  Back to Today   ps  The Super Gun  Artillery has been around for millennia.  Even Philip of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great, were early exponents of artillery on the battlefield, and their techniques and technology were avidly copied and improved apon by the Romans.  Whether hurling giant bolts or basilisk rocks, torsion catapults had a devastating effect from the Bible lands to the Iron Age forts of southern England.  There was too the use of naphtha, the terrifying heat and flame of wildfire and incendiary ordnance at distances of several hundred yards.  Such weapons were even used at sea, with the Greeks deploying ancient flame-throwers.Later there were trebuchets and mangonels, and eventually the invention of black powder.  Siege warfare and then the battlefield itself were to be transformed for ever.  Today, we have witnessed the effects of the high mobility rocket system in Ukraine, terminally-guided munitions, and the importance of target spotting drones.  Artillery is as integral to the combined arms battle as it ever was.So it goes,Tom Assheton and James Jackson  Reference:Now All Roads Lead to France, The Last Years of Edward Thomas by Matthew HollisDespatch by Samuel Wilkeson from the Battle of Gettysburg 1863 See also:YouTube: BloodyViolentHistoryhttps://www.instagram.com/bloodyviolenthistory/https://www.jamesjacksonbooks.comhttps://www.tomtom.co.uk If you enjoy the podcast, would you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcast App? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really helps to spread the wordSee https://simplecast.com/privacy/ for privacy informationShow Less

“Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back..”  Poem's Meaning according to Ben Kageyama: “Robert Frost spent some time in Great Britain during the early 20th century. In his time there, he made friends with a fellow poet named Edward Thomas. For inspiration and leisure, the duo would often go for walks around the English countryside. “Thomas had an odd habit of regretting whichever path he took during his strolls with Frost. He'd often state that if they had gone another way, then Frost would've been able to see some other interesting part of England. “Frost found this amusing because any path they decided on would certainly have the same result. Any choice would have to give up one for the other. Fussing over this inevitability, at least for Frost, was silly. “When Frost went back to America around the beginning of World War I, he wrote an early version of “The Road Not Taken” as a way to make fun of his frantic friend. “Frost wrote the poem to demonstrate the folly of regretting what could have been. A closer reading of the text in its entirety shows that the persona actually thinks both roads weren't so different from each other.” Read Ben's full essay here.  #ArtistSpotlight Poem: The Road Not Taken  BY ROBERT FROST Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Tonight's reading comes from The South Country. Written by Edward Thomas and published in 1909, this book explores southern England and how it was in the early 1900s My name is Teddy and I aim to help people everywhere get a good night's rest. Sleep is so important and my mission is to help you get the rest you need. The podcast is designed to play in the background while you slowly fall asleep. Thank you to everyone who shared their words of gratitude with me, during the week. If you find the podcast beneficial, I have a special favour to ask. Please share the podcast with a friend who may need a good nights rest. It would also be amazing if you could. please leave a review and comment in iTunes or, leave the show a rating in Spotify. And if you're not already, be sure to subscribe to the show. If you would like, you can also say hello at Boreyoutosleep.com where you can support the podcast. I'm also on Twitter and Instagram @BoreYouToSleep. You can also find me on Facebook by searching Bore you to Sleep Podcast In the meantime, lie back, relax and enjoy the readings. Sincerely. Teddy --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/boreyoutosleep/support

Amanda Holmes reads Edward Thomas's poem “Adlestrop.” Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you'll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman. This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a clip from episode 7 with Edward Thomas. He talks about having enough understanding and awareness to meet people where they are. 

When we get together, things get interesting--in fact that's what we've been looking into this whole season. But when getting together means making change, it means bringing opinions to the table. And that can get messy pretty quickly.In this episode on groupthink and group polarization , Edward Thomas dives into theories, processes, and the unintended consequences of them when we get together. Join Edward on this episode to learn more about how working together might just drift us further apart. Note!: Due to the school season, episodes of The Mystery of Your Mind will now be released on a monthly basis rather than a biweekly basis (subject to change--I try to get as many episodes out but I want to make sure my audio and edit quality gets better every episode which requires me to spend more time per episode).  Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and support! :) (In the meantime, check out some of my other episodes! I've published over 60 and there's sure to be some other topics that would be super interesting for you!)To stay on top of updates like this, be sure to follow The Mystery of Your Mind on Instagram @themysteryofyourmind!-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  To get the latest and greatest updates about "The Mystery of Your Mind", follow this podcast's Instagram account: @themysteryofyourmind !: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=8u1196a7y367&utm_content=iyuwl16 To learn more about myself and this podcast, check out my website!: https://themysteryofyourmi.wixsite.com/mysiteYou can also give me some feedback using this form!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJsdDlwPorGA5fkpCLAj4Xmufe2N7Qc44RR_WxC5GxyFcU8Q/viewformAnother way you can support me is by donating via Patreon!:https://www.patreon.com/TheMysteryOfYouMind

Welcome back for a "different" kind of spiritual experience. In today's episode, I welcome Edward Thomas, to share... well... whatever it is that comes to his mind, because I believe Edward is someone who has a lot to offer the world with his voice, and I want to give him a platform to settle into the motions of showing the world he is here to make a difference. Edward, thank you so much for rising to the occasion. Edward's Bio: Edward is a personal trainer who wants to make the world more spiritual, but as he puts it, "Before we get spiritual, we've got to get real with ourselves." He loves motivating people and working out, but more than anything he loves the truth because no matter how much it hurts, it helps 10x as much. And he's hopeful that using his voice will help him speak more of my his truth. IG: @et_the_pt

Prosociality is everywhere around us. We share with others. We spend time with those who are grieving. We feel sorrow, joy, and pride for others even when it really means nothing for us. We teach others life skills when they could learn it the hard way, and hope for the best for those around us. Well, most of the time. In this second episode on schadenfreude and gluckschmerz , Edward Thomas explores their intersection with status, opposition, race, radicality, dehumanization, apathy, and research generalization--and why they might just be the cause of polarization and debates.Join Edward on this episode to learn more about how being a good person might just be the bad choice.Note!: Due to the school season, episodes of The Mystery of Your Mind will now be released on a monthly basis rather than a biweekly basis (subject to change--I try to get as many episodes out but I want to make sure my audio and edit quality gets better every episode which requires me to spend more time per episode).  Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and support! :) (In the meantime, check out some of my other episodes! I've published over 60 and there's sure to be some other topics that would be super interesting for you!)To stay on top of updates like this, be sure to follow The Mystery of Your Mind on Instagram @themysteryofyourmind!-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  To get the latest and greatest updates about "The Mystery of Your Mind", follow this podcast's Instagram account: @themysteryofyourmind !: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=8u1196a7y367&utm_content=iyuwl16 To learn more about myself and this podcast, check out my website!: https://themysteryofyourmi.wixsite.com/mysiteYou can also give me some feedback using this form!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJsdDlwPorGA5fkpCLAj4Xmufe2N7Qc44RR_WxC5GxyFcU8Q/viewformAnother way you can support me is by donating via Patreon!:https://www.patreon.com/TheMysteryOfYouMind

Edward Thomas talks about the childhood trauma of growing up without his mother and father, and how this trauma could've sent him down a dark road. He talks about how the trauma caused abandontment issues for him, and how these issues affected his relationships with women. He ultimately had to make the decision to forgive his parents for their indescretions and face his truth in order to heal. www.kingscanmoveon.buzzsprout.com  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpDeODV-zHoNHZ2hRqA8t5ghttps://www.instagram.com/kingscanmoveon/ https://www.facebook.com/Kingscanmoveon kingscanmoveon@gmail.com 

In this season, we've explored prosociality extensively. But what about its opposite, antisociality? In this episode, Edward Thomas explores schadenfreude, gluckschmerz, gloating, envy, counter-empathy, and more--from the neuroscience to the biology and to the sociology behind their implications on ourselves and how we relate to others. Join Edward on this episode to learn more about how being a bad person might just be the smartest choice.Note!: Due to the school season, episodes of The Mystery of Your Mind will now be released on a monthly basis rather than a biweekly basis (subject to change--I try to get as many episodes out but I want to make sure my audio and edit quality gets better every episode which requires me to spend more time per episode).  Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and support! :) (In the meantime, check out some of my other episodes! I've published over 60 and there's sure to be some other topics that would be super interesting for you!)To stay on top of updates like this, be sure to follow The Mystery of Your Mind on Instagram @themysteryofyourmind!-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  To get the latest and greatest updates about "The Mystery of Your Mind", follow this podcast's Instagram account: @themysteryofyourmind !: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=8u1196a7y367&utm_content=iyuwl16 To learn more about myself and this podcast, check out my website!: https://themysteryofyourmi.wixsite.com/mysiteYou can also give me some feedback using this form!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJsdDlwPorGA5fkpCLAj4Xmufe2N7Qc44RR_WxC5GxyFcU8Q/viewformAnother way you can support me is by donating via Patreon!:https://www.patreon.com/TheMysteryOfYouMind

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Friends of the Garden Meeting in Athens Georgia Register Here   Historical Events 1606 Birth of Edmund Waller (books about this person), English poet, and politician who was one of the longest-serving members in the English House of Commons. Edmund is remembered for his carpe diem or "seize the day" poem, Go, Lovely Rose (1645), in which the rose must relay an urgent message: that time is short, that she is beautiful and that he loves her.  Go, lovely rose! Tell her that wastes her time and me, That now she knows, When I resemble her to thee, How sweet and fair she seems to be.    1616 Birth Mathias de l'Obel ("ma-TEE-us dew Lew-bell"), Flemish physician and botanist. Mathias practiced medicine in England, and he was the first botanist to recognize the difference between monocots and dicots. Today we remember Mathias de l'Obel ("LEW-bell") with the Lobelia plant. Before researching Mathias, I pronounced obelia as "LOW- beel- ya." But now, knowing the French pronunciation of his name, I will say it "LEW-beel-ya." It's a subtle little change (LOW vs. LEW), but after all, the plant is named in Mathias's honor. Now, for as lovely as the Lobelia is, the common names for Lobelia are terribly unattractive. They include names like Asthma Weed, Bladderpod, Gagroot, Pukeweed, etc. Vomit Wort, and Wild Tobacco. These common names for Lobelia reflect that Lobelia is very toxic to eat. Despite its toxicity, Lobelia is one of the sweetest-looking plants for your summer containers. This dainty annual comes in pink, light blue, and royal blue. Personally, every year, I buy two flats of light blue Lobelias. But no matter the color you choose, lobelias are a favorite of pollinators. The delicate blossoms frequently host bees, butterflies, and moths, which only adds to their charm.   1880 Birth Muriel Wheldale Onslow (books by this author), English biochemist. She researched flower color inheritance and pigment molecule biochemistry. Muriel married a fellow biochemist named Victor Onslow. Victor was actually the son of royalty - his dad was the fourth Earl of Onslow. When Victor was a student at Cambridge, he was paralyzed from the waist down after diving off a cliff into a lake. Victor's physical limitations did not stop Muriel from loving him. Even though they were married for only a little over three years before Victor's untimely death, Victor and Muriel's love story was one of mutual admiration and respect. When Muriel recorded her memoir of Victor, she wrote that he was a man of amazing courage and mental vitality; and that he was an inspiration to their peers in biochemistry. Muriel worked with snapdragons, which come in a range of flower colors including green, red, orange, yellow, white, purple, and pink - and now even bicolor and speckled. The snapdragon was the perfect subject for Murial's work. Muriel's coloration research resulted in four major papers on snapdragon color inheritance and worldwide recognition. In 2010, the Royal Institution in England sponsored a play about four female biochemists - including Muriel Onslow. The play was called Blooming Snapdragons. Snapdragons or Antirrhinum majus ("ant-er-EYE-num MAY-jus") are beloved cottage garden flowers. They are a cousin to the foxglove. Snapdragons are happiest when planted early, in cool weather. They will bloom their hearts out all summer long. Then, if you cut them back in August, you will get a second flush of color in the fall.    1899 Birth of Yury Karlovich Olesha (books by this author), Russian and Soviet novelist. He was part of the Odessa School of Writers and is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century. Here's an excerpt from his book, Envy (1927): “Once he raised his arm to show his friends the back of his hand, where the veins were laid out in the shape of a tree, and he broke out in the following improvisation: “Here,” he said, “is the tree of life. Here is a tree that tells me more about life and death than the flowering and fading of tree gardens. I don't remember when exactly I discovered that my wrist was blooming like a tree…but it must have been during that wonderful time when the flowering and fading of trees still spoke to me not of life and death but of the end and beginning of the school year! It was blue then, this tree, blue and slender, ...and turned my metacarpus's entire landscape into a Japanese watercolor… “The years passed, I changed, and the tree changed, too. “I remember a splendid time; the tree was spreading. The pride I felt, seeing its inexorable flowering! It became gnarled and reddish-brown—and therein lay its strength! ...But now, my friends! How decrepit it is, how rotten! “The branches seem to be breaking off, cavities have appeared… It's sclerosis, my friends! And the fact that the skin is getting glassy, and the tissue beneath it is squishy — isn't this a fog settling on the tree of my life, the fog that will soon envelop all of me?”    Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Terrain by Greg Lehmkuhl This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Ideas and Inspiration for Decorating the Home and Garden. And yes, in case you're wondering, this is the same Terrain as in the historic nursery set in southeast Pennsylvania. Terrain is a nationally renowned garden, home, and lifestyle brand with its own signature approach to living with nature. It's an approach that bridges the gap between home and garden, the indoors and the outdoors. An approach that embraces decorating with plants and inviting the garden into every living space. That blurring of the outdoors and the indoors makes this book such a delight for gardeners. The book is loaded with gorgeous photos of ideas, projects, tips, and applications. There are tons of ideas for flower arranging beyond simple bouquets. You'll learn to use branches and wild natural elements like a pro. There are beautiful container gardens, wreaths for all seasons, preservation tips with glycerin, forcing branches, decorating with natural elements, and so many doable gorgeous ideas for every season of the year. This book is a whopping 400 pages of a master class on decorating with nature and bringing the best of the garden indoors. You can get a copy of Terrain by Greg Lehmkuhl and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $10.   Botanic Spark 1878 Birth of Edward Thomas (books by this author), British Poet. Edward's mentor was Robert Frost, and a trip to see Frost inspired his most famous poem, October. Like Henry David Thoreau, Edward loved simplicity in his work and life.  There are two verses I wanted to share with you today. The first is from his poem Cherry Trees. The cherry trees bend over and are shedding On the old road where all that passed are dead, Their petals, strewing the grass as for a wedding This early May morn when there is none to wed. The second is an excerpt from his poem, The Manor Farm (1878) Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed The speculating rooks at their nests cawed And saw from elm tops, delicate as flowers of grass, What we below could not see, Winter pass.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

The post Adlestrop by Edward Thomas appeared first on A Mouthful of Air.

Why do we form cliques? Why do we bond with coworkers almost automatically? Why do we unite within our society--or break apart within it? When is it worth being in a coalition, and when is it not?Here's where group dynamics comes in.Group dynamics investigates how we interact within groups, between groups, and during the process of forming groups. In this episode, join Edward Thomas to learn where group dynamics came from, how it's important from the field of evolution to epidemiology, and popular theories and approaches to group formation. Note!: Due to the school season, episodes of The Mystery of Your Mind will now be released on a monthly basis rather than a biweekly basis (subject to change--I try to get as many episodes out but I want to make sure my audio and edit quality gets better every episode which requires me to spend more time per episode).  Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and support! :) (In the meantime, check out some of my other episodes! I've published nearly 60 and there's sure to be some other topics that would be super interesting for you!)To stay on top of updates like this, be sure to follow The Mystery of Your Mind on Instagram @themysteryofyourmind!-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  To get the latest and greatest updates about "The Mystery of Your Mind", follow this podcast's Instagram account: @themysteryofyourmind !: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=8u1196a7y367&utm_content=iyuwl16   To learn more about myself and this podcast, check out my website!: https://themysteryofyourmi.wixsite.com/mysiteYou can also give me some feedback using this form!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJsdDlwPorGA5fkpCLAj4Xmufe2N7Qc44RR_WxC5GxyFcU8Q/viewformAnother way you can support me is by donating via Patreon!:https://www.patreon.com/TheMysteryOfYouMind

Eftir æsilega siglingu orrustuskipsins Duke of York inn í Eyjafjörð rétt fyrir jólin 1943, stigu nokkrir skipsmenn á land á Akureyri. Þar á meðal var Edward Eastway Thomas, sem hafði verið við mælingar á Íslandi 1941. Hann leigði herbergi hjá Bjarna Halldórssyni og Margréti konu hans um tíma. Edward Thomas var breskur hermaður og hafði gert uppdrætti af fjörðum, víkum og vogum á Vestfjörðum. Bretar komu upp ratsjárstöðvum á Vestfjörðum til að fylgjast með ferðum þýskra kafbáta. Meðal skipverja á Duke of York sem stigu á land fyrir jólin 1973 var Edward Thomas. Umsjón: Illugi Jökusson.

Eftir æsilega siglingu orrustuskipsins Duke of York inn í Eyjafjörð rétt fyrir jólin 1943, stigu nokkrir skipsmenn á land á Akureyri. Þar á meðal var Edward Eastway Thomas, sem hafði verið við mælingar á Íslandi 1941. Hann leigði herbergi hjá Bjarna Halldórssyni og Margréti konu hans um tíma. Edward Thomas var breskur hermaður og hafði gert uppdrætti af fjörðum, víkum og vogum á Vestfjörðum. Bretar komu upp ratsjárstöðvum á Vestfjörðum til að fylgjast með ferðum þýskra kafbáta. Meðal skipverja á Duke of York sem stigu á land fyrir jólin 1973 var Edward Thomas. Umsjón: Illugi Jökusson.

Emotions are tricky. But even more so when we start looking at emotions in a social context. In this episode, Edward Thomas explores what social emotions are, how they creep into our everyday lives, and how they help us better understand ourselves through others.Join me as we take a look at stories of heroes you never saw, embarrassing moments you never had, and how they make your morals, your personality, and yourself.Note!: Due to the school season, episodes of The Mystery of Your Mind will now be released on a monthly basis rather than a biweekly basis (subject to change--I try to get as many episodes out but I want to make sure my audio and edit quality gets better every episode which requires me to spend more time per episode).  Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and support! :) (In the meantime, check out some of my other episodes! I've published almost 60 and there's sure to be some other topics that would be super interesting for you)To stay on top of updates like this, be sure to follow The Mystery of Your Mind on Instagram @themysteryofyourmind!-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  To get the latest and greatest updates about "The Mystery of Your Mind", follow this podcast's Instagram account: @themysteryofyourmind !: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=8u1196a7y367&utm_content=iyuwl16   To learn more about myself and this podcast, check out my website!: https://themysteryofyourmi.wixsite.com/mysite   You can also give me some feedback using this form!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJsdDlwPorGA5fkpCLAj4Xmufe2N7Qc44RR_WxC5GxyFcU8Q/viewformAnother way you can support me is by donating via Patreon!:https://www.patreon.com/TheMysteryOfYouMind

Joan Roughgarden can only be described as controversial. She challenged beliefs around Charles Darwin and his successor's theories of Natural Selection only to be faced with intense criticism, rebuttal, and rejection. In this episode, I explore Joan Roughgarden, the person behind Social Selection Theory, a concept introduced in the last episode that suggests that prosociality is one of the key factors behind mating and partnering preferences and behaviors. From Roughgarden's Evolution's Rainbow to The Genial Gene, Edward Thomas explores the selfish gene concept, Roughgarden's arguments, and the scientific community's counter-arguments. Perhaps one day Roughgarden will become the new Darwin.Note!: Due to the school season, episodes of The Mystery of Your Mind will now be released on a monthly basis rather than a biweekly basis (subject to change--I try to get as many episodes out but I want to make sure my audio and edit quality gets better every episode which requires me to spend more time per episode).  Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and support! :) (In the meantime, check out some of my other episodes! I've published over 50 and there's sure to be some other topics that would be super interesting for you)To stay on top of updates like this, be sure to follow The Mystery of Your Mind on Instagram @themysteryofyourmind!-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  To get the latest and greatest updates about "The Mystery of Your Mind", follow this podcast's Instagram account: @themysteryofyourmind !: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=8u1196a7y367&utm_content=iyuwl16   To learn more about myself and this podcast, check out my website!: https://themysteryofyourmi.wixsite.com/mysite   You can also give me some feedback using this form!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJsdDlwPorGA5fkpCLAj4Xmufe2N7Qc44RR_WxC5GxyFcU8Q/viewformAnother way you can support me is by donating via Patreon!:https://www.patreon.com/TheMysteryOfYouMind