Podcasts about Father Christmas

What's up, dudes? 'Twas the night before Half-Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there! Yes, he's the magical gift bringer that makes  children all over the world happy. Jeff Loftin from Lost Christmas is with me to talk all about the International Santa Claus Collection!International Resources, LLC was established 1991 in Northbrook, IL. The company designs, contract manufactures, markets, and sells collectibles primarily during the Christmas season, under the trademarked names of “Liberty Falls” and “International Santas.” The figurines are hand painted resin and reflect gift bringers from traditions all over the world.In 1822, from the talented mind of Prof. Clement Clark Moore, came one of the most popular poems ever created, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”. And thus the legend of St. Nicholas, spanning more than 1,700 years through every country in Europe, continued to flourish in the United States. Starting with Nicholas, the Turkish patron saint of children, who gave away bags of gold coins stuffed into stockings and shoes, through Russia, Holland and into England, Nicholas has evolved from many different appearances and an equally large number of names.Gwiazdor and Ded Moroz? Check. Belsnickle and Father Christmas? Got ‘em. Pancho Navidad? I don't remember him from my time in South Texas! So hop on over to Dillard's, get on the nice list, and pick up the International Santas Claus Collection! Oh, and listen to this episode! Ho, ho, ho!Lost Christmas PodcastFB: @LostChristmasPodcastTwitter: @LostChristmasP1IG: @lostchristmaspodcastGive us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

"Reunited and it feels so good!"  That's right, all three elves are back this week after most of the month of June spent apart! To celebrate the occasion, they sit down, travel to Boston, and discuss the "Frasier" revival's second Christmas episode (and, as it turns out, series finale!): Season 2, Episode 10's: "Father Christmas"! We can guarantee this is one fun, laugh-filled discussion because even a lesser episode of "Frasier" is still better than a lot of content out there!  So settle back, relax, enjoy, and get excited because this week marks the officially halfway point to Christmas 2025!  As always, thanks for your love and support, y'all!

What's up, dudes? Clue is one my family's favorite board games. I'm joined by my brother Danny to talk about the British game show version of it. Yes, there was an extended Christmas special and everything! We're talking Cluedo “Christmas Past, Christmas Present!”It's Christmas Day at Arlington Grange, and the lady of the manor, Mrs. Peacock, has invited a few close friends to share the turkey dinner.  Richard Forrest, former owner of the estate, has come calling dressed as Father Christmas and he brought his chauffeur Ken. His father was a judge, and all of the suspects appeared before him in court at one time or other. He also kept diaries with his own thoughts of who was guilty.Just like the movie, the guest brings gifts for each suspect, distributing deadly weapons. Each weapon insinuates their guilt in a court case. During a Christmas scavenger hunt quiz game, Ken the chauffeur is found dead! He was the real Forrest and wanted to blackmail Peacock so she would sell him back the manor. Consequently, Miss Scarlett, who just discovered her liver Col. Mustard was having an affair with her stepmother Peacock, realized the scheme. She killed the real Forrest with the weapon Peacock was given to remove the blackmailer and to throw suspicion onto her.Murder? Check. Christmas quiz? Got it. Father Christmas robes? Only if the murder victim can wear it! So grab your knife, hunt for clues, and play along to this episode on Cluedo “Christmas Past, Christmas Present!”Give us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

John Bennett is joined by Guillem Balague, Julien Laurens and Mina Rzouki. After another memorable week in the Champions League, the team unpick all the big talking points. Do Barcelona need to tweak their style of play? And with a Classico on Sunday, could their season quickly unravel after the defeat in Milan? The team discuss Yann Sommer and Francesco Acerbi after Inter Milan reached their second final in three years – and cast an early eye ahead to the final after PSG knocked out Arsenal. Julien reveals he is already turning into Father Christmas as requests for tickets come his way – but is starting to feel nervous about the big match in Munich. With Paris FC winning promotion to Ligue 1, Julien explains why it will be a friendly – and very, very local - derby when they play PSG next season, and Mina discusses the super tight race for a Champions League spot in Italy. TIMECODES….. 0 mins: Intro, with John Bennett back in the chair after the show had no presenter last week. 2 mins: The team discuss Inter v Barca – a Champions League classic. But did Barca mess it up? 8 mins: Could Barcelona's season start to unravel after their defeat in Italy? 12 mins: Inter's collective effort and the brilliance of keeper Yann Sommer. 16 mins: The great story of Inter goalscorer Francesco Acerbi. 22 mins: The brilliance of PSG – and why they deserve to be in the final – despite what Mikel Arteta said. 26 mins: The team look ahead to the final in Munich on 29 May. 31 mins: Paris FC – promotion to the top flight and a friendly derby. 35 min: The race for Champions League places in Serie A.Thursday 8th May EUROPA LEAGUE: Bodo Glimt v Spurs – LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Alistair Bruce-Ball and Paul Robinson. EUROPA LEAGUE: Manchester United v Athletic Club - LIVE ON SPORTS EXTRA - Ian Dennis and Izzy Christiansen. Saturday 10th May WOMENS SUPER LEAGUE: Chelsea v Liverpool 1230 KO – LIVE ON SPORTS EXTRA - Eilidh Barbour and Tanya Oxtoby PREMIER LEAGUE: Southampton v Manchester City 1500 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Ian Dennis and Rob Green. PREMIER LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Aston Villa 1730 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Alistair Bruce-Ball and Francis Benali. Sunday 11th May PREMIER LEAGUE: Nottingham Forest v Leicester 1415 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Vicki Sparks and Clinton Morrison. PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester United v West Ham 1415 KO – LIVE ON SPORTS EXTRA -Chris Coles and Michael Brown PREMIER LEAGUE: Spurs v Crystal Palace 1415 KO – LIVE ON BBC SPORT WEBSITE - Paul Scott and Daniel Gabbidon PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool v Arsenal 1630 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - John Murray and Stephen Warnock.

What's up, dudes? It's a lost episode! It was originally recorded in 2024, but delayed due to lost and inferior audio. Yes, Ron and Jay from the Film Strip podcast are with me to dig into the low budget 1984 Santa slasher "Don't Open Till Christmas!"It's Christmas in London, and Scotland Yard is after a mysterious slayer of Santas. Somebody's killing people dressed like Santa Claus, and when Kate Brioski's father is murdered she heads to the police. Subsequently, Chief Inspector Harris and Detective Sergeant Powell investigate everyone from Kate's boyfriend to the enigmatic Giles. Meanwhile, Santas are burned roasting chestnuts, stabbed in the London Dungeon, and castrated. As the bodies pile up, it's revealed that Giles is not actually a reporter, but the traumatized brother of Harris. As a child, he witnessed the infidelity of his Father Christmas-clad father and the death of his mother. Now hating Christmas, he sought revenge. Spoilers: he eventually dies.Santa perverts? Check. ridiculous medieval weapon kills? Got 'em. Eyes that seem to smile behind a mask? Only from the killer! So grab your knife, leave your Santa suit behind, and defend yourself from this episode on "Don't Open Till Christmas!"Film Strip PodcastFB: @filmstrippodIG: @filmstrippodTwitter: @FilmStripPodGive us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

On this episode of Submarine and A Roach, Nigeria's funniest podcast and Nigeria's #1 comedy podcast, hosts Tmt and Koj are joined by the multifaceted Oyinkan Dada for a lively conversation that traverses fitness, content creation, art, and cultural perceptions. The trio delves into the evolution of influencer culture on Instagram in 2025, highlighting the shift from consumerism to authentic storytelling. Oyinkan shares how her passion for art was ignited by her interest in African and Black history, leading to a discussion on the importance of genuine narratives in connecting with audiences.​Tmt poses a thought-provoking question about the imagery of God, sparking a conversation on cultural conditioning and personal beliefs. In celebration of Women's Month and International Women's Day, the hosts spotlight funny Nigerian women, acknowledging their contributions to the HaHa's on Obasanjo's internet. The episode concludes with an exploration of the enigmatic Ghanaian artist Okuntakinte, debating whether his controversial actions are a scam or a social experiment.​Tune in for an episode filled with insightful discussions, humor, and cultural reflections, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming platforms.

Hello you beautiful people!We start the episode with a version of A Christmas Carol. This one is a Christmas special of the long running Canadian kids show The Buck Shot Show and it's called Buckanezer Scrooge.  It's an interesting one.Watch it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1SgFBXrrVcThen Bob Baker is here with Do You Hear What I Hear. Do you know the difference between an Estate and a Station Wagon? You're about to find out.Check out Bob's pod, Festive Foreign Film Fans, here:https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.com/After the joke it's the Quiz. I scored 7, see if you can beat that.Then Bob is back with Where Are You Christmas and it's another place we should all visit.This episode's Christmas Not So Classic is called Father Christmas by The Kinks. It never hit the charts, but it still pops up in the odd film every now and then.Have a look:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPCPqDINEkThis episode's recommendation is Elimation, a podcast where a dad and his two grown sons discuss what films, songs and sitcoms are the best. I've been enjoying it.Check it out here:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/elimination/id1523720572Get in touch.Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWebsite: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 13th March 2025. The winner will be contacted via Bluesky. Show references: Website: https://www.crowdconvert.co.uk/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crowd-convert/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/crowdconvert.co.ukCrowd Convert has been created to provide attractions with the tools and expertise to create world class digital interactions that extend their incredibly moving physical experiences into the digital world. Very simply Crowd Convert is here to Rehmanise Commerce http://kellymolson.co.uk/Kelly Molson - The Lifestyle Agency AdvisorSupporting overwhelmed solo founders who crave long-term sustainable growth, through monthly advisory. Define your niche. Generate leads. Build your pipeline. Founding Rubber Cheese, a lifestyle web development agency in 2003, she grew the agency profitably for over 20 years transforming our success in 2019 by establishing it as the leading web design agency in the visitor attraction sector. She sold the business in 2024, and now support founders building specialist lifestyle agencies to find their own path – agency growth on their terms.• Gain clarity on direction, mission and positioning to win the right clients• Become confident in increasing prices and saying no to ‘stuff' that sucks time and energy• Feel the excitement of building strategic partnerships that deliver your dream clientsBuild an agency on your terms, choosing profitability over pressure, putting life before work.  Transcription: Kelly Molson: Well, look who is back. They've let me loose with the microphone again. I might never leave. Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions. Kelly Molson: Can I just say that you pretty much called me a queen just before we began recording this, and I think I wear that crown appropriately today. Andy Povey: Podcast royalty. Kelly Molson: She is back where she belongs in her rightful place on her throne with her microphone. Wow. Thank you. You two have been cooking up something interesting, and I am back here to tease it out of you both today. But because I am in charge again, I get to do things my way, which means Icebreakers are back on the cards. Yay. Kelly Molson: I'm so happy to be back here doing this. Right? Paul Marden: I've never done one of these. This is so. In all of the time. I know. Andy Povey: So I've got something over you now, Paul. Kelly Molson: I can't believe this. Even when we did the sessions that were us two, the episodes that were us two. Paul Marden: You didn't ask me icebreakers. I am dodged that bullet for two and a half years. Kelly Molson:  That's outrageous. Okay, well, then we'll start with you. I would like to know who's your favourite podcast host? Why is it me? Paul Marden: Wow. Kelly Molson:  No. Genuine question. Genuine question. Okay, so, I mean, obviously it is me. We could put that aside. Paul Marden: Yeah, yeah. So put a pin in that one. Kelly Molson: Put a pin in that. So listen there, I have seen in the last. Well, since we started Skip the Queue back in 2019. Goodness, July 2019, there's been lots of different sector podcasts that have kind of popped up, and they are brilliant. And I'm all for more and more niche podcasts. They are the best kind of podcast. But I want to know, aside from Skip the Queue, what is your second favourite sector podcast? Paul Marden: Oh, oh. Attraction Pros is the one for me. I do like listening to the guys at AttractionPros. Kelly Molson: They are good. They were around before Skip the Queue. So they're like. For me, they're the ones that we are looking up to in terms of the podcast. Paul Marden: We were. Kelly Molson: Oh, oh, Podcast Beef. Josh is gonna hear this. He's not going to be happy. Andy, same question to you. What other podcasts you listen to sector wise? Andy Povey: So, I mean, that's a really difficult question because. Well, it's not. The answer's none. I don't listen to sector podcasts very much. I become a politics junkie, or I've been a politics junkie for years. Kelly Molson: Okay.Andy Povey: So my podcasts are just full of politics podcast, which in the past two weeks I've stopped listening to. I've turned off completely because the world of politics is just such a mess.Kelly Molson: It's a car crash.Andy Povey: Within two minutes of having been published. Kelly Molson: What would be normally your go to, like, the regular one that you would listen to? Andy Povey: Me being a reluctant remainer. It's all the stuff that hangs over from that. So there's. Oh, God, what now? Quiet riot. The two. Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart. I can't remember what that one's called right now. Paul Marden: The rest is politics. Kelly Molson: Rest is politics. Yeah, cool. Paul Marden: What about the one with Ed Balls and George Osborne? Andy Povey: I tried it and haven't really got into it. Paul Marden: Yeah. So I'm the opposite way around. So that's the one I like. And I don't like Rest is politics. And I turned out that actually George Osborne is a human being and I quite like the guy. I'd go for a drink with him. Who knew? Kelly Molson: This is no news. Paul Marden: Yeah. Kelly Molson: I wonder if he'd like to go for a drink with you. Paul Marden: Probably no.Andy Povey: I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear that when he listens to this. Paul Marden: When these politicians, when they give up their day job and they return to normal life and then you hear them on programmes, they're actually quite relatable and you think, why could you not capture that relatability when you were actually doing the job? Andy Povey: Well, it's actually a key part of the job, isn't it? It's the only thing you need to be good at as a politician. Kelly Molson: You would think, “Oh, could I could make a good politician then?” I'm just generally nice to people. Andy Povey: Absolutely. What would be your policies, Kelly? What would you do? What would you bring in? Kelly Molson: Oh, new policies. Oh, well, that's a very good question. I have one about mobile phones and people walking and looking at them at the same time, which I would ban because I generally just want to kick people. Kelly Molson: You know when you, like on the tube and you've got to get somewhere and you've just got people walking up the stairs in front of you, like, whilst looking at their phone, like, I want to swipe their legs away. So something around that they would be useful. It would make me happy anyway. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Kelly Molson: Make some other people happy, too. Who knows? Good. Okay. Glad that went there. Second question. This is a good one. It's coming up to. Well, I mean, it's already started, isn't it? Conference season has kicked in well and truly. You're at NFAN. That's really the start of it. I am going to be at the Association for Cultural Enterprise Conference in March. So looking forward to seeing everybody. I'm going to be at the awards do as well. I've been judging the awards. Paul Marden: Have you really? Kelly Molson: Yes, there was a lot in my category, I'm not going to lie. That took a lot longer than I was expecting it, but it was really fun. And the short list of finalists is out now if you haven't seen it. And it's an amazing list. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing who the winners are. But I would like to know what is the worst food you've ever been served at a conference? Because let's face it, can be a bit dodge, can't it? Andy Povey: So this sticks in my mind. It was an awful experience. We were at Port Sunlight up in. Actually not that far from Liverpool where the ACE conference is going to be in March. And it was pretty close, pretty soon after lockdown and it was almost like the caterers just looked in the freezer to see what they've got left over and no other conference had been there and then just put it all out at the same time. And it was all beige and it was just such mixture. Kelly Molson: Hang on a minute, hang on a minute. Let's not dis beige food because I'm not gonna let. I am a bit of a fan of beige food. So if you. If there was a conference that basically the lunch was made up of like kids party food, that would be the best conference I'd ever been to. Like sausage rames. Andy Povey: As long as you can have half a grapefruit covered in tin foil with cocktail sticks with cheese and pineapple stuff in it. Kelly Molson: No pineapple, I'm allergic, that would kill me. Paul Marden: But cheese tinned pineapple, it's got to be. Kelly Molson: Oh, tin pineapple is actually okay. Weirdly, that wouldn't kill me. So yeah, I would be down. I know, it's weird, I know. It's just fresh pineapple. Who knew?Kelly Molson: So little classed. Paul Marden:  Still loves the sausage roll and a scotch egg. Andy Povey: That's fine. Sausage rolls and scotch eggs, absolutely no problem. It's when you mix them with onion barges and samosas and Chinese spring rolls and. Paul Marden: Sounds like every Boxing Day lunch I've ever been to. Kelly Molson: I'm not going to lie, it actually sounds like my dream conference. Paul, over to you. Paul Marden: Conferences that serve you food that you cannot eat with one hand. Andy Povey: Yes. Paul Marden: Yeah. So pasta with a sloppy sauce. Why would you do that to me? I mean, I am not the best eater. I need a bib at most times, but if I'm out in public, I don't want garlic bread, I don't want saucy food. I want stuff I can shovel crack quickly and politely. I mean, as politely as you can shuffle food, but, you know.Kelly Molson: I'm with you on this. Like, what is wrong with the sandwich? Yeah, genuinely, I don't feel like we need to push the boundaries of conference food. I'm happy with stuff that you can pick up with one hand and eat comfortably. Kelly Molson: Stuff that, you know, you're confident that you can sit because let's face it, you get quite upright cos. And personal to people at conferences, don't you, when you're trying to, you know, it's not. Let's not be overloading them with garlic or anything. Kelly Molson: Delightful, you know? Yep, exactly. I don't know, I still, I keep going back to the whole party food. I think kids parties have got the right idea. Party rings, sausage rolls, scotch eggs. Paul Marden: And what sits that you can put in your mouth like a walrus. Kelly Molson: Oh, you know my party tricks. Brilliant, guys. Okay, listen, unpopular opinions are back for one time only. So, Andy, what you've got for me? Andy Povey: So mine's food related and it's probably more unpopular in my house than it is anywhere else, but Chinese food is massively overrated. Paul Marden: Behave. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I'm very on the fence about this one. Andy Povey: My kids love it, but the things they love are all the stuff that come with the sugar sauces. So lemon chicken, the sweet and sour chicken balls, all that kind of stuff. We good? So we mean, I don't need dessert and the main meal at the same time. Paul Marden: So we're talking English approximations of Chinese food from the takeaway. Yeah.Andy Povey: Nothing very sophisticated. Kelly Molson: I'm afraid I feel like that is all the stuff that I used to like, but now if you served me up a big plate of all of that stuff, it'd be like, oh, God, I'm gonna, I'm this. I'm gonna really struggle with this and I'm gonna be up in the night, aren't I? Paul Marden: I'm basically just a nine year old. Because it sounds like my idea of heaven. Sweet and sickly, deep fried. What's not to love? Kelly Molson: All right, well, let's see how our listeners feel about the whole Chinese debate. Paul, what about you? What you got? Paul Marden: The best radio station, is in fact Radio 4. Andy Povey: I agree with you 100%. Paul Marden: So that's not a controversial opinion. I thought that was going to be massively controversial. They've been podcasting for about 100 years. They podcasted long before there was really a podcast. It's all just spoken voice. So if I got trapped on a desert island, my luxury would be a Radio 4 on a radio to listen to because there's always a variety of stuff that you can listen to. Kelly Molson: Do you not listen to any of the other? Paul Marden: I do quite like. I quite like Greg James in the morning. Kelly Molson: I love Greg. I am a Radio 1 fan. Paul Marden: So have you listened to Greg on Radio 4? Kelly Molson: No, I know he does do that. Paul Marden: But, yeah, he's got a program on Radio 4 where he delves through the BBC archives. Rewinder, it's called, and it's brilliant. I love it. It's Greg James. Funny, combined with the novelty of listening to new things on Radio 4. Kelly Molson: Okay, all right, well, I'll give that a go. Yeah. I'm not fully sold on the Radio 4. I do like it. Paul Marden: But if I've got three or four hours in the car, up to a meeting and then another three or four hours to drive back afterwards, I'd rather listen to Radio 4 than Radio 1 because I won't get repeats of stuff. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I definitely am with you on that. And I would not. Yeah, I would not listen to Radio 1 for that length of time for that reason. Well, I'm. I did used to like. What was the pop quiz? Was that on Radio four? No, that was radio. Paul Marden: That was Radio 2. Kelly Molson: It was two, wasn't it? Sorry, I'm getting my radios mixed up. Paul Marden: Getting your old person radio mixed up. Kelly Molson: If I'm honest, I quite like a little bit of magic every now and again, but that really does age me. It's quite gentle. It's calming. When you've had a three and a half year old toddler screaming at you in the car for a while, it's quite nice to put something neutral on. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Kelly Molson: Thank you. Thank you for indulging, actually. Paul Marden: That was enjoyable. Kelly Molson: You're welcome. Andy Povey: That's why she likes doing them. Kelly Molson: All right, listen, let's get to the good stuff. I mean, everyone likes that bit. Let's face it, they've missed it, they want me back. But let's get to the actual route of why we're supposed to be here. Andy Povey: So I have another unpopular opinion that sort of leads in as a segue to where we were going. Kelly Molson: Oh, for God's sake, who's in control of this podcast? Me. Go on, then. Andy Povey: So this unpopular opinion is that if you're an attraction operator, you don't want a ticketing system. Kelly Molson: Excellent segue. Andy Povey: We were just talking about conferences. There are sessions in conferences and one of my favourite conferences I go to is the Ticketing Professionals Conference. But there are sections in each of these conferences on how to find a ticketing system, how to choose your ticketing system supplier, how to get a better relationship with your ticketing system. And in my opinion, an attraction operator doesn't want one. They want happy guests who are giving them lots of money to come and have great experiences. They don't care how it happens. Kelly Molson: It's true. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that, definitely. But are you dissing ticketing professionals and saying basically the sessions you're putting on a rubbish no one gives them? Andy Povey: No, no, no. There's a certain section of society that really enjoys it. So I describe this as. When I go to B and Q to look for a drill, I'm one of the geeks that actually wants to understand how the drill works and how fast it is and all that kind of stuff. But the majority of people going to buy a drill don't want a drill. They want a hole. Kelly Molson: Want a hole. Andy Povey: Yeah. So he's an attraction operator. You don't want a ticketing system. You want happy customers who are giving you lots of money and having great experiences. Kelly Molson: Okay, right. So that was a great segue into where I was going. Look, you two, you two have been thick as thieves for a good few months, if not longer, and there's been something cooking up between the two of you. Kelly Molson: I have had a little bit of privy to understand what's been going on, but this is the first time that you've actually got to the point of talking about it openly and publicly, isn't it? And that why you've got me back on, basically, is to grill you on what you're doing. So spill up, fess up. What have you been doing in the background, the two of you? Paul Marden: Well, this all came about after a lunch that Andy and I had in August of last year, where were putting the world to rights and figuring out what do attractions need to do with their ticketing, what do they need to do with their websites, and what could we do to try to improve things? And Andy had thought lots about this stuff and he prepared me. It's quite the lunch. He prepared me a PowerPoint presentation for lunch. Kelly Molson: Wow. Like when you want your mum and dad to get you a dog. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Can we make this happen? Paul Marden: Yeah, it was. It was his wish list. Clearly, this PowerPoint has been worked on for many years because there was lots of wishes, lots of ideas, and being the developer at heart that I am, I'm like, how hard can that be? It's only a website. Surely we can do this. Surely we can do it. We've done bits of it before and we started to think about where we could go with stuff that had long predates me. Yeah. There are elements of Rubber Cheese that you and Wag were working on for years, probably prior to the merger with Carbon Six. But it's been a really challenging market. Paul Marden: And getting out there and meeting people and talking about some of these elements of E commerce and ticketing, sales and personalisation and things like that we're going to talk about in a minute are quite hard to sell into people when it's a challenging market. And it seemed like, well, that was our first date and we thought that it could be a marriage made in heaven for the two of us, because Andy's got a lot of understanding of the sector and the needs and the challenges and who would benefit from this sort of technology. And I'm in the lucky position after having merged Carbon Six and Rubber Cheese, of having some of this technology that we could then develop. So it was a seed that grew from there, really, wasn't it, Andy? Andy Povey: Yeah. And he's carried on growing. I mean, the intent behind it all was that everything is just so disjointed at the moment. So if you're a big theme park with accommodation and a decent retail and decent catering, food and beverage offering, you're looking at seven or eight different systems that you need to run your business and someone needs to plug all of those together to get a good guest experience. And unless you're the size of Merlin or Disney or Universal, with lots and lots of resource to apply to plugging these systems together, it just doesn't happen. Which is why we're still not delivering the Best in class Omni Channel experience to people who are coming out for a day out. Kelly Molson: I think this is a really exciting conversation. And if I think back to some of the conversations that we were having prior to me leaving Rubber Cheese, Paul,it's exactly the challenge that they were having. You know, thinking back to a particular pitch where there's a historic house, there was a plague playground, there was a golf course, there was a spa, there was a hotel, there was something else. And all of these things had so many different systems that were running them and there wasn't really a way to facilitate bringing them all together. And that's the challenge because that's exactly what they need. But they weren't of the scale to be able to invest in the infrastructure to be able to do that. But it is exactly what they needed. Kelly Molson: So is this thing that you've built, or in the process of building and developing, going to solve that problem for people? Andy Povey: That's the objective. Paul Marden: That was a very guarded statement, wasn't it? That was a politician's answer. I think the answer that were just groping for then was yes. Kelly Molson: Yes, it is.Andy Povey: Yes. Kelly Molson: It's exactly the answer that I wanted. Andy Povey: We're forming a company that we're calling Crowd Convert and we'll put a link to the URL and website and all that kind of stuff in the show notes. And the objective behind CrowdConvert is that we will make this all work together. It's a journey. We don't have it today. It doesn't exist. I worked for Merlin Entertainment for the two source group for 18 years now. We had lots of resource in comparison to smaller attractions, but we still didn't make it happen. So it doesn't exist out there at the moment and we're going to build it. Kelly Molson: Okay, so we've got Andy, we've got an industry veteran. Hope you don't mind me. Andy Povey: Not at all. Kelly Molson: Kind of makes you feel, it makes you feel ancient, but you're not. But, you know, you've got all of this historic understanding and experience within the sector. Paul, yours is building, obviously we've built that over the years with Rubber Cheese. But you're, you know, you're the digital specialist that can come in and support facilitating building these and you've both come together under the Crowd Convert name. So this is the new company that the two of you have formed. I love the name. Andy Povey: Thank you. Kelly Molson: So I want to understand, like how then there's a story there. What I want to get a little bit of a deeper understanding is what is the offer? So, you know, what is the thing that you are actually building and does that thing have a name at the moment? What does it look like? So firstly, where did the name come from? Crowd Convert. Paul Marden: Weeks and weeks of effort. I hate choosing names for things, so hard. You come up with a brilliant idea and then you say it to your wife, “Oh my God, you can't call it that”. Or you come up with a name and then somebody's bought the domain name and by the end of It I was just like, please, somebody just put me out of my misery. I don't care what we choose. Andy Povey: It was actually the most torturous thing about getting this all together. There were a few others that came in very close second. But choosing the name and getting that together was really quite painful. Paul Marden: But it was the right process because we were so happy with the result at the end of it. Andy Povey: Absolutely. But it seems or it felt to me like the choosing the name, when we actually got to that part of the process took two or three minutes. And if we'd have thought of that name right at the start, then would we have rejected it or would we have carried on? Could we have saved two minutes? Kelly Molson: So you worked through the process, which means the name has more meaning. Paul Marden: Yeah. Kelly Molson: So what is the meaning behind it? What's the ethos behind between Crowd Convert? Like what? Andy Povey: So we've reverse engineered this one a little bit. And if you're in the world of attractions, you have a crowd. You hopefully you have a crowd. And as a visitor to an attraction, you want to be part of a crowd. You don't want to be the last person in the pub or the only person in theatre, because that just feels weird. But as an attraction operator, I want to have a relationship with you. I want to know who you are, I want to know what you want. I want to give you a great experience. I want to give you a membership. If I'm a charitable organisation, I want to convert you to a donor. If I'm not, then I want to turn you into an advocate at a superfan. Andy Povey: So Crowd Convert is giving you the tools to convert those crowds into individuals that you can create that know, like and trust relationship with. Kelly Molson: That's nice. So you talk a lot on the website about kind of humanising that process. And I think it is. It's taking it back to that kind of one on one that talking to people as individuals rather than talking to them as a mass. Andy Povey: Absolutely. That goes back to the. You don't want a ticketing system. Don't show me what goes in the sausage. Give me a great experience. Paul Marden: Mixing your metaphors there. Andy Povey: I know. Kelly Molson: You lost me at sausage. So, sorry. So I want to go back a little bit, Paul, to what you. Something that you said earlier about that this predates you and your part that you play in Rubber Cheese and your ownership of Rubber Cheese. So I'm going to make an assumption here that something that you're using is something that we already kind of started, but quite a long time ago. So we had almost like a product at Rubber Cheese that was in the ticketing space. And if I'm honest, as a small agency, you only have so much resource to work on things that are for you and ultimately the things that were for us and for you, like the podcast and the survey and the report, always took priority. Kelly Molson: And that was an awful lot of work for an agency that was, you know, before we merged, there were six or seven of us. You know, we weren't huge. We didn't have a whole lot of capacity and resources to give up to these things. But we did start to develop a product that kind of. We knew that it could be good, but it almost. We just, we had to shelve it and we just said, you know, one day we might get investment or one day we might be big enough that we could actually kind of focus on that. It feels like that's the product that you are now. Paul Marden: That is definitely the great grandparent of the idea that we've got now. Kelly Molson: I like that. Paul Marden: So there's, I guess there's two parts to some of the stuff that you had developed previously. Some of it was in the ticketing space. So for very small attractions, you developed a system that had an inventory of tickets that you could buy online and it would issue the ticket, create a barcode, send it to them. But there was also a piece that you did that integrated with existing ticketing systems. And that's the area where I think my mind was going is around building a best in class e commerce experience. Because people sat on the sofa on a Thursday night trying to decide what they're going to do at the weekend, want to be able to find an attraction, get their tickets, and then carry on watching the telly. They want quick and easy experience. We can build that experience. Paul Marden: We know from the survey that it's nine steps on average to be able to complete an attractions checkout, plus or minus a couple of steps. So there's ones that are even worse. And that checkout experience is torturous in many cases. They want to know when you're coming, what time you're coming, what type of ticket you want to buy. They want to know who's coming, the names, possibly the email addresses of all of your guests that you're bringing with you. They'll want to know what your home address is, what your billing address is. They'll then want to sell you a guidebook. They might upsell or cross sell some other products along the way. And that's how you end up with 12 steps in a process that just feels torturous. Paul Marden: I had one last year where they even made me enter a password for a site I was never going to return to and told me off twice for getting the password wrong. I mean, the process that many attractions go through to make you buy, it's a wonder anybody ever perseveres. What's stopping us from achieving an Amazon like one or two click experience? How can we go from that really extreme version down to something really simple and quick? And we've proven that it is possible to do that. It's possible to get down to a couple of clicks and we do that. I know you look surprised. Kelly Molson: Yeah, well, yes, I, well, I am surprised, but also quite excited by that because that is one of the issues that has come up year after year in the visitor attraction, you know, website report is the amount of steps and the aggravation it causes people, but also the cost that it could save attractions. Paul Marden: Yep. Kelly Molson: I mean you said nine steps. I thought were, I thought were aboutbbetween seven and nine steps is about the average. Kelly Molson: Right. So we know that can cost attractions a huge amount in lost revenue. You know, I'm just going back to the 2022 report, but it was something like 250k for one of our best performing attractions. But it's also tied to, you know, that excessive amounts of CO2 emissions, which I know you focused on really heavily for the current report. So you're saying that the product that you're building could essentially take those average steps down to two. Andy Povey: It's not good. It does. Kelly Molson: WowPaul Marden: It does. Yeah. So the way that we do that is a number of different core principles. Yeah. So we are not going to ask you for anything we do not need in order to affect the transaction. We are only going to ask you to share the data we absolutely need to complete the transaction. We are going to start to make some assumptions about you through personalisation technology. We will know roughly where you are and how far you are away from the transaction. If you're within an hour's distance of the place, chances are if you're looking on Thursday night, probably looking for this weekend. If you're on a different continent, you might be planning for a long term holiday. Paul Marden: If we know that you're quite local, let's assume the date that you want to travel based on our understanding of average behaviour of people at that particular attraction and then let people change it if it's not right. Yeah. Another thing Andy talks about a lot is not overselling. So a lot of ticketing systems are trying to upsell, cross sell and increase the average order value, but by cannibalising the conversion rate. And you talk, Andy, don't you, about the maitre d at the restaurant? Andy Povey: Yeah. So it's. It's like comparing a McDonald's experience to go to a fine dining place. So if I'm in the McDonald's world, I have to choose what drink I want, what dessert I'm going to have, what main course I'm going to have, all at the same point. And it's a really artificial transaction. It's almost like if you were walking into a fine dining restaurant with the maitre d at the front going, “Welcome, Andy, come in. Lovely to see you. Can you tell me what you'd like for your starter for your main course? For dessert? Will you like coffee after dessert? Would you like a liqueur after the coffee?” We still haven't got to the table and that's where we are with attractions, upsells. Andy Povey: Because we believe mistakenly, in my opinion, that's the only opportunity that we've got to sell guidebook or the teddy bear or whatever to the guest who's coming. We should stop all of that because it's stopping the transaction, it's interrupting the transaction, adding extra steps and causing people to leave. Kelly Molson: It's a really good point. I mean, I actually have in the past have advocated for adding in upsells in that journey. And because I have often been like, well, yeah, actually it's a really good opportunity for people to sell a little bit more, you know, whether it's a guidebook, whether it's an experience, whatever that might be. So what would you say to people who they still want to do that? Is that, are we then talking about, you know, there's options for you to do that or actually that becomes part of the pre visit, pre boarding. So it funnels down into like emails, comms and stuff. Andy Povey: It's both options, really. For an upsell to work really well, it needs to be at the time where it's most appropriate. So back to the restaurant analogy, offering me a coffee at the point I walk in the door is completely inappropriate. Andy Povey: Offering me a coffee after I've had a great meal and I'm feeling quite full and quite happy with myself is entirely the appropriate time to offer me the coffee. So let's make the offers on the upsells appropriate to the time and to the guest. So if you're an attraction that charges for car parking, for example, it might be that 9:00 in the morning on the day of visit when the family are just getting in the car to travel to the venue is the most appropriate time to offer the car parking upsell. Not at the point where I'm buying the ticket. It might be if you've got a VIP upgrade experience. So if you're a water park there's a cabana you can have. If you're a theme park it's a fast track experience. Andy Povey: If you're a museum then there's a guided Tour that upsell VIP type experience you offer 48 hours before the day of visit. Kelly Molson: Sure. Andy Povey: Memberships are another great thing. So there's still the majority of first time membership purchases are made as the consumer is leaving the attraction. Had a great day out. Get today's entry feedback against your membership and that's still go and join this queue with kids who are overtired and a little bit disappointed because they're leaving and I'm stressed because I've got a. I'm tired as well and I've got a long drive home and then I've got to work out what we're going to do for dinner when we get in. There's all these negatives. Don't try and sell me a membership then. Sell me the membership for the next seven days and hit me up with lots of different messages through appropriate channels. Andy Povey: So it might be that a WhatsApp message on the way home offering me a really simple way of upgrading to a membership is the most appropriate that time. But it might be that 9 o'clock on Monday morning when we can assume that a lot of people are going to be sitting behind a desk. Then it's the most appropriate to send me an email and then hit me up again Thursday when I'm thinking about what I'm going to be doing next this weekend coming remind me of the great experience I had and give me an opportunity then. So just be, make it much more human. Kelly Molson: It makes sense. And there's something that you. I've been able to have a sneak peek of the Crowd Convert website. So we'll talk a little bit later about where people can find out a little bit more about you. But I've been able to have a little look at that and there's something that you talk about which is about rehumanising commerce and there's a really lovely story on there that you talk about, which is the Shopkeeper's Wisdom. And I read that, I was like, this is really nice because I've always. The local shop is or did sit at the epicentre of the community at one point. And I have got really vivid memories. So we lived on a little estate near my school in Essex and across the road from us was the corner shop. Kelly Molson: And it was where everything happened, you know, like it was the post office, it was where you got your papers, where you got your sweets. At one point is where you got your videos, not your DVDs because they did not exist. You know, you got your VHS cassettes and you could go and rent, you know, everything kind of happened there. And they knew you, they knew your family, they knew your mum and dad, they knew your names, you know, and it was a really, it was just quite a wholesome experience. And you talk about that, the Shopkeeper's Wisdom. So you say, you know, the local shopkeeper knew everything that it was to know about their customers. And that is kind of taking it back to that level. That's, that's what this feels like. Andy Povey: And that's completely where we're trying to get to. We don't want to get to the level of creepiness where people are getting all upset about what were. Andy Povey: And we don't want to be intrusive. But we have a great opportunity in the attraction space. Our customers want to engage with us. They're going because they enjoy what we do. They're going to see us because they want to experience the thing that we're doing. It's not like we're selling insurance or car tires that you just got to have and it's really tedious. People want to engage, so let's make it easy for them to do that. Kelly Molson: Okay. So we're doing that by making it quicker for them and less friction to buy a ticket in the first place. Communicating with them at the appropriate times and in the ways that they want to be communicated to and offering them. Because we don't want to stop offering people extra things. We're doing it in the way and at the time that's appropriate for that audience. Paul Marden: We're absolutely convinced that moving some of these upsells and cross sell opportunities to later in your relationship will increase the likelihood of you closing the deal. Don't cannibalise the conversion rate at the initial conversation. You haven't built a trust relationship with someone, so don't keep throwing options at them. It's just too much. I'm a simple boy. If I go to a restaurant, I want a really simple menu, three or four things, and I'll make a choice. Yeah. If you give me too many options, I'll just sit there and I won't be able to decide. And I think that's what we do when we present people with nine steps and we want to know the email address of everybody, we want to know the postcode of where they live because we want to be able to market to them and that's important. Paul Marden: But there are other better ways of being able to identify where somebody is other than using their postcode and making them type something in. They don't need that hassle. Andy Povey: So this is all about the e commerce journey. Stepping back a little bit closer to what Rubber Cheese do. And the DNA behind Rubber Cheese is making attractions websites work really well. And it's back to the point about things being disconnected and attraction operators having to plug them together. How many websites are there or how many attraction e commerce journeys are there where you click on the button to buy a ticket and you're taken to a different page and that different page can have a completely different look and feel? Kelly Molson: Oh, yeah. I mean, that's a massive bug. It's been a bugbear of mine for years. Andy Povey: But how many websites do you have where I can be sitting there looking at the tulip experiences coming up? We heard lots of that kind of stuff at the end fan conference. I'm on the tulips page. But then you take me to a page where I've got to pick the date that I want to visit. I've already told you, I'm on the tulip page. I want to come and see tulips. I'm not interested in Father Christmas. Kelly Molson: I'm just all about the tulips. Andy Povey: So don't make me choose twice. Make it work together. Kelly Molson: Okay, So I want to play devil's advocate here because I'm sitting here listening to this going, this sounds great. I'm going back to what Andy said about, you know, attractions, they don't really want a ticketing system. They just. They don't really care about the system. They just want it to work. Right, I get that. But there's going to be a lot of people that are listening to this podcast going, “bloody ticketing system”. There's a lot, right? Let's face it. Paul Marden: It's a busy space. Kelly Molson: You are. It is a busy space. And if you are an attraction sitting here going,”Oh my God, another one.” We know that another one. You know that we know what we've got isn't working for us. We've, we've got workarounds, we're doing what we can with what we already have. But you know, ultimately we can't grow with what we have and we know we need to change it. This is a big task, right? You know, your ticketing system is often embedded so deeply into your organisation that the process of selecting a new one and then implementing that change is so vast and overwhelming that one people declare we just won't bother. That's why I've got these workarounds in place or two, you know, overwhelmed with choice. And yes, I know there's specialists out there. Kelly Molson: You know, we work with a couple that will help you go through that process and select the right partners for you. But if someone like me is sitting here going, “Okay, why do I come to Crowd Convert?” Like, why is this, what is it the thing that your product is going to be stand out for that is going to sit above or is going to solve the problems I've got above all of the other options that I've got out there? Andy Povey: So this is back to the comment earlier about this being a concept, an ethos of philosophy. Our business will grow through either building solutions, acquiring other solutions that have already been built, or selecting partners to integrate with. And we will do the whole integration. So it doesn't matter what ticketing system you're using that you have today, if you want the better digital experience for your guests, we will integrate to your current ticketing system. Kelly Molson: Okay, so you're taking the pain of having to change something that's deeply embedded in your organisation and almost putting something, a layer on top of that will actually facilitate this better customer interaction, purchasing process without the need for all of the stressful change. Paul Marden: Do away with the whole monolithic solution that solves the operation of the entire business and start to turn it into LEGO bricks. I want a LEGO brick from a website. I want a LEGO brick for my ticketing. I want my LEGO brick for my e commerce experience. I want my LEGO brick for my online shop. We'll either build or acquire those LEGO bricks or partner with the best of breed LEGO bricks that exist. Other building blocks are available and we will help to plug those together and make them work effectively. But you can imagine, you know, I always talk about, we talked a lot about ticketing today, but I, whenever I talk to somebody about ticketing, changing your ticketing system is like open heart surgery on the business. Paul Marden: Yeah, it's something you don't necessarily do casually, although I have met people who have changed it casually. But it's often so difficult because it's so deeply ingrained across the entire operation. But if you start to. It's a horrible, boring technical term. If you start to build this composable set of systems that can plug together, then it becomes easier. If you plug in an e commerce online ticketing solution and it plugs into your current ticketing system, well then later on when you change that ticketing system, you won't necessarily have to change the online experience in order to be able to do that. Yeah, we'll be able to plug into the new one that you choose. It makes it easier for you to chop and change things and become less dependent on one single monolithic provider. Kelly Molson: Yeah, because that's the thing. Right. You know, I think the past dream has been one system that does everything and suddenly that one system goes down and you're absolutely screwed. Andy Povey: That's not the way the world works anymore. And the human world. I use analogy of a TV. I got a new TV a few weeks ago out of the box and turned it on and I was presented on screen with an option to get the remote control for my new TV to operate other devices in my house. And my kids could have set it up. Kelly Molson: Danger.Andy Povey: Absolutely. Why is integration so difficult? And that's the way the world is going. If you look at credit card processing two, three years ago, to be able to accept a payment by credit card, you had to sign into a five year agreement with a credit card process provider. I was in my local WIX yesterday and I could have bought credit card terminal off the shelf. Andy Povey: They were sitting on the shelf next to the suites at the checkout. For 50 quid I could have taken it home, unboxed it and I would be processing credit card transactions there and then. I'm not signing into a three year agreement. If I don't like it, I can take it back and get one in pink because I prefer pink to white. It's got to be much easier. The world is becoming much easier. The technology world is becoming much easier to make these things work together. So you won't need clever people like Paul to make it all work together. Crowd convert. Paul Marden: I'll be on the golf course, won't I? Kelly Molson: Do you play golf? Paul Marden: No. Never played golf in my life. Crazy golf. Kelly Molson: I like the analogy. I like the Lego brick analogy. I like this whole kind of the concept that it's, you know, like plug and play but you know, you haven't got. You're using the base of what you already have, but you can pop these things as part of it. That feels really understandable for people to get their head around the concept of what you're doing. Paul Marden: But still totally integrated. What we don't want is the solution that is that somebody, an attraction that we've been to recently, where to get in, you have to go through different turnstiles depending on whether you've got a day ticket or a membership ticket because the two different sets of systems can't talk to the same turnstile at the same time. And so then you need more double the staff to be able to man the turnstiles. Kelly Molson: And confusion, and it ruins that whole first impact of arrival because you don't know yet. Andy Povey: But we're exposing our dirty laundry to the consumer. Why? They don't care. Kelly Molson: Yeah, yeah. Andy Povey: It doesn't matter to them what ticketing system you've got. Paul Marden: That is the vision. And the vision is becoming reality as well. Kelly Molson: Okay, well, let's talk about that. So there is a website that I've had privy to and the product is in its, should we say it's in its infancy at the moment and it's being developed. Paul Marden: Yes. Kelly Molson: So this is the time to that you'll be having, I guess you'll be having conversations with people about what that product, you're almost building it for the people. Right. You're having conversations with them about this is what we see happening. This is how we see what we do. What are your needs? Paul Marden: Yeah. Kelly Molson: Okay, cool. So can people get involved with that process? Paul Marden: Exciting. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Paul Marden: Anyone can talk to Andy. He'll talk to anybody. Kelly Molson: It's true, he will. Paul Marden: I just get locked in a cupboard and told to design things. Andy Povey: Make it work, plug it together. Kelly Molson: Okay, so I've got a few questions about what does this mean for Rubber Cheese? What does this mean for Rubber Cheese? What does this mean for Skip the Queue. What does this mean for the report initiatives that we do? I guess that's all still happening. Paul Marden: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely no changes to Rubber Cheese at all. This is part of a wider, bigger family that Rubber Cheese is part of. And looking at different parts of the attraction operating experience. Paul Marden: Yeah. So Rubber Cheese is going to carry on almost single minded focus on websites that enable people to get to the buy button. Kelly Molson: I like that. Paul Marden: Getting them from being interested in the attraction to hitting that buy now button or get your ticket button. Yeah. That's our specialty and that will remain our specialty. The job of Crowd Convert then is to convert them. Kelly Molson: Pick up from that point. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Kelly Molson: That's lovely, isn't it? Andy Povey: And that's where the build, acquire and partner comes in. So there will be other organisations, other tools that we partner with and plug together. And that's the bit that Crowd Convert does. It's almost the umbrella, the glue that glues all of these things together. Kelly Molson: Okay, so what more do our listeners need to understand about Crowd Convert and how can they get involved? How can they be part of this conversation to define what this product actually looks like and does for them? Andy Povey: So we're launching the website. You can find Paul and me on LinkedIn. We've got a bunch of events and exhibition shows that we're going to be at over the next few months where we're actively going to be asking people to get involved. If you are interested, then pick up the phone and drop us an email. We'll have a chat. Paul Marden: Contact@crowdconvert.co.uk.Kelly Molson: I was going to say we need the domain name in there. Crowdconvert.co.uk is the place to go. Go and have a look, find out, have a little bit of a read through about the site. It's designed in a really nice way. I think that what I really liked as I was reading it through was kind of this real focus on building something for the greater good. It's not just another ticketing platform. It's not just about. It really is about working with the attractions to build something that is just, it just works. And it works for them in the way they need it to and it works for the visitors in the way they need it to. Andy Povey: And that's it completely. It's about putting the guest at the centre of everything we're doing. And looking at this from the consumer's perspective, does it make sense or am I going to have to work out where I bought my tickets? So I know whether I go through the right hand turnstiles or the left hand turnstiles, that's just rubbish. Kelly Molson: Yeah, okay, great. So website is launching.Paul Marden:  It is launched. It's up and running. Kelly Molson: Oh, it's out. It's out there all right. It's out there in the world already. So that's where you go, listeners, if you want to find out more about what's happening. And I would really recommend booking a call with Andy, booking a call with Paul, talking through, you know, if anything that we've talked about today has made you feel quite excited about what the prospect of this product could potentially be. Book a call with them. I mean, listen, if you're seeing Andy at a conference, you just need to up. And you'll find him. Or maybe it's just me.Paul Marden: Me, not so much. Kelly Molson: Oh, it's just me. Okay, listen, I always finish off my podcasts with a book recommendation for our listeners, so I'd like to ask you both if you've prepared a book today. Andy, what do you have for us? Andy Povey: So I pondered this for quite a while because I was expecting it and I think it's the third or fourth you've asked me for. So I'm actually not going to recommend a book at all. I told you that I've given up on podcasts earlier on and I found Audible. So at the moment the thing that's occupying all of my attention is that, The Day of the Triffids on Audible which is fantastic. Fantastic escapism from everything that's going off in the world at the moment. Paul Marden: Interesting. Kelly Molson: That's nice actually. That's really good. But audiobooks are really good for long drives that were talking about earlier. They're quite good. I got into. Sorry, Paul, just. I'll come to you in a minute. Paul Marden: It's all about you. Kelly Molson: It's all about me today. I really got into. Kelly Molson: Just before the pandemic and during it there was a BBC podcast called the Lovecraft. Oh gosh, what is it called? The Lovecraft's Tales. I'm gonna have to have to check this on my.Paul Marden: Sorry, listeners. Well, she's out of practice on this. Kelly Molson: So I am out of practice. Apologies, but you know me. The Lovecraft investigations. Don't know if anyone would listen to it. It's brilliant. It's based on the love. It's loosely based on on Lovecraft books but it was quite like it's about supernatural. But what I really enjoyed about it was linked to like local places that I kind of knew like Retend and Forest and there was a lot of like, kind of like Norfolk, Suffolk and Dunwich and stuff. And that was. They're really good for like long drives as well because you can really get into something on like a two or three hour journey. So I totally with you on the triffids thing. So I did bring it back to Andy in the end. Andy Povey: Thank you, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Paul, what have you prepared? Paul Marden: I am an absolute Fan of classic British crime novels. Love an Agatha Christie. Love, a  mystery of some sort. But I'm not going to recommend an Agatha Christie one. I'm going to recommend one that I've got on Audible as well, that I found originally from Audible. Paul Marden: And it is one of the British Library classic British crime series, where they're republishing stuff from, like, you know, the 20s and 30s, and it's called the Wintringham Mystery Anthony Barclay. It's a classic whodunit in a kind of locker room mystery in a massive stately home. It's just like a Poirot novel, but it's not Poirot. It's a different one. But I love it. It's a brilliant book. Kelly Molson: When you find stuff like that, it's really comforting, isn't it? It's like a little a warm hug and a cup of tea. Andy Povey: Absolutely. Kelly Molson: Lovely. Well, do our listeners still get to win copies of those books even though they're audiobooks? Paul Marden: Yeah, but they don't do it on X anymore because, you know, who wants to be posting on X? So if listeners. If you'd like a copy of Andy's. Well, no, you can't have Andy Lovecraft books but it was quite like it's about supernatural. On Audible or mine. On Audible or on Paperback, then head over to Bluesky and repost the shownotes where Wenalyn has announced the podcast and the first person that does that will get a copy of the book. Kelly Molson: Lovely. Well, it has been an absolute treat to be back on the podcast today. Thank you. Paul Marden: You're not coming back over again? It's still mine. It's mine there. Kelly Molson: Please let me come back. Please. Anything that we've talked about today will, as ever, be in the show notes. So you'll find links to the Crowd Convert website, you'll find links to Paul and Andy's LinkedIn profiles and email addresses, whatever. However, best to get in touch with them. But I highly recommend having a chat with them. Can I just say, because it is all about me. I've been very sad to not be part of the podcast moving forward. But I am also been really thrilled that you have taken completely up to the ownership of it. So I just. While I'm on here, and it is about me, I just wanted to congratulate you for taking over and making it your own, because you really needed to do that. And it's brilliant to see. Kelly Molson: And I've loved listening to the episodes. I think the bravery in doing some of the live ones. Paul Marden: Stupidity. Kelly Molson: Well, maybe a tad. Paul Marden: We won't talk about what happened at NFAN last week. Please let's not talk about that. Andy Povey: What happens in Blackpool stays in Blackpool. Kelly Molson: Next time I come on the podcast, I'm going to make you spill that as a guilty confession. Paul Marden: But you know what? I absolutely loved it. I came back afterwards and I listened to that episode and it's the first one where I've been. I really thoroughly enjoyed listening to the conversation. I'm finding my feelings only taken me a couple of years. Kelly Molson: Well, it only took me a couple of years as well. But you're there now and it's brilliant. So, like one, well done. I genuinely think that you're doing an excellent job and I'm very glad that I got to hand the baton over to you and you're doing it differently. Paul Marden: You can just come back as a guest star. Andy Povey: It was more of a temporary end, wasn't it, than a handover. Paul Marden: It's mine. It's mine. Kelly Molson: I think it was a, "Here you go, dumped on your lap." Paul Marden: Thank you for coming back and talking to us. It's been marvellous. Kelly Molson: Thank you for having me back. I've loved every minute. 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

This week on the Toy Power Podcast, we recap our Xmas Break. What exactly did we each get up to? Plus what did we score from both our loved ones, Father Christmas and / or what we went & maybe bought for ourselves!? Then we get right back on track with recapping all the latest News that has hit our radar, since we last recorded. Of course lots of things to look forward to from Marvel Legends. TMNT reveals from both JoyToy as well as Playmate; but also a Mecha Shredder from Heatboys! Super7 announce Micronauts & Silverhawks in their ReAction sublines; as well as the next wave of Ultimates Thundercats. A sour note touching on Diamond Comic Distributions; but a Colourful insight from Loyal Subjects in the form of Jem & The Holograms!! Then rounding it out, we touch on the reveals from Mattel in the form of Thundercats X MOTU! All this & more, enjoy! Support the show: http://patreon.com/toypowerpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's scripture: Psalm 19 1 Corinthians 12Like Narnia and the items Father Christmas gives to the children, God gives us gifts for the sake of others. 

Il Duce uses propaganda to become a folk hero - part saint, part Father Christmas. He bans journalists from mentioning his birthday or the fact he's a grandfather - to promote an image of eternal youth. Ernest Hemingway arrives in Switzerland to interview the Italian strongman, and sees right through him. Italy launches a genocidal campaign in Libya and gets away with it. And as the World Cup comes to the Fatherland, Benito Mussolini prepares to finally meet one Adolf Hitler… A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. Many thanks to Giulia Albanese, Joshua Arthurs, John Foot, Nicholas O'Shaughnessy, Lisa Pine, Helen Roche. This is Part 4 of 7. Get every episode of Real Dictators a week early with Noiser+. You'll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser network. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you're on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do atheists celebrate Christmas? Do you? @10:13 Karen: pagan origins Santa Clause: Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle. @11:07 ‘Twas the night before Xmas @13:29 My favorite is Pancho Claus @14:57 Winter Solstice is the basis for many Christmas traditions @16:05 December 25th Mithra Sol invictus @17:08 Side Note: paganism @17:53 Presents @18:36 Saturnalia Christmas Adam @19:26 Yule @19:59 Singing, or Wassailing Christmas Tree @21:59 Quick Quiz: When was the first Christmas tree in the Vatican? @23:39 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_religions Ray: Biblical fallacies @32:38 The "inn" and lack of space: @33:50 No Room at the Inn? The "three wise men": @37:31 The guiding star: @38:17 Discrepancies between Matthew and Luke: @39:04 Shepherds and Magi Lineage The census: @43:36 Caesar Augustus Census? Publius Sulpicius Quirinius Appointed 6CE Judea province added to Syria Herod's decree @53:30 Herod ruled from about 37BCE until his death in 4BCE Kenneth Copeland @57:51

Kiera invites listeners to consider what gift(s) they provide others — whether it's patients or team members, or in a more personal capacity. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Join Dental A-Team Consulting Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01.422) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate, well, happy December 25th. If you do celebrate, Merry Christmas. I love the holidays. I truly do. And this year, my husband and are celebrating with his family, which is so fun because we got married 13 years ago and I'm the second oldest of seven. And so my siblings were very young. I have one sister and she was born...   when I was 12 and another sister born when I was 15. so I really, when we got married, my husband's the youngest of five and I just really, really, really, really wanted to spend holidays with my siblings because they were so young when I got married. And so for the last 13 years, we have been with my parents and my family except for one year.   which was when my brother got married and we were with Jason's parents. And so super fun to be celebrating with his family today. I just hope you guys are with something, someone doing something fun, whether it's family or it's friends or it's by yourself, but that you are just taking this time to celebrate. I think holidays are especially beautiful. And in Christmas, I think Christmas is just a magical holiday in the sense that I feel like.   We give gifts to each other and we give of ourselves and also Christmas is like right before the end of the year and so you might be headed back to the practice to produce or you might be just completely done, but wherever you are today Merry Christmas, and I hope you have just fallen in love with two things number one is Being in the spirit of giving I think that that's something that's so important and parent mount for us that we are truly   giving. I think I've shared this on the podcast before, so some of you may have heard this. For those of you that are new, welcome. I went to a conference and our group's name was Live to Give. And I remember hearing the thing that the secret to living is giving. And so in this holiday season, I know it can feel bustly, I know it can feel crazy, but I think when we take a step back and we look at what is ultimately the season, it's the time where we all give gifts to people. give holiday parties and we give gifts to our team, we give gifts to each other.   Kiera Dent (02:15.23) We're looking for those perfect gifts, but the reality is, what is our gift that we're giving of ourselves day in and day out to our team and to our patients and to our communities and also to ourselves? And so maybe today you take some time to think about what is that gift? What is my gift that I bring to this world? And I know that that can feel awkward for some people, but I would really hope that I can encourage you to love yourself a little bit more. And what is something incredible that you bring to your team?   In some teams, what I have them do is I have everybody draw. Don't worry, they can write words if they desire. But I have them draw who they are and what they bring to the team. And then Brittany Stone, she took it a step further with a team where inside I have them draw. I remember one person drew a visionary. So it's an eye with a cast of a vision. Another person drew Gumby because they're very flexible. But whatever it is, you draw that. And then what we had our teams do is actually, Britt did this.   And she had people actually write what that person brings to the team outside of it. So for example, in a circle, you could put what you bring to the table. And then on the outside of the circle, your team tells you like what you bring to the table and how you benefit and like what your gift is to the team. And it's crazy because inside the circle, we often are so hard on ourselves and don't give ourselves credit of what we bring to the table. I understand that we're trying to be humble most of the time and not egotistical. But then when we have teams do this, how much they actually share of   what everybody's bringing to the table. And it's just such a lovely experience because people are able to see themselves in a different light. And I think that that's actually like, as you're reflecting today, you're spending time, you're opening presents, you're doing whatever. What is maybe the gift that you bring to this world or maybe the gift that you want to bring to this world next year? Maybe you want to bring more kindness. Maybe you want to bring more humility. Maybe you want to bring more patience. Maybe you want to bring more vision. Maybe you want to bring more fun.   Maybe you want to bring more energy. Maybe you want to bring more balance. Maybe you want to bring more gentleness. Maybe you want to bring more positivity. Whatever it is, what is your gift that you can bring to this world, to your team, to your family, to yourself? And then also, I would ask if you were writing a letter, Dear Santa, what would be something I would ask for three wishes? One, what is the wish that you would have for your team? Two, what is the wish that you would have for your practice?   Kiera Dent (04:37.494) and patience? And three, what is the wish that you want for yourself? I did this in our doctor think tank a little while ago. And it was so interesting. I asked him like, what do you want? What like what would you guys want? And the group was actually very quiet. And I realized we've forgotten to dream. We've forgotten how to ask for what we want. We've forgotten how to to be vocal about those things. And so maybe today, just look at that and see what would be my wish for my team.   And really like be intentional with this. What would be the wish for my practice? And then what's the wish that I have for myself? And then what I would think is how can you make those wishes come true? How can you bring and give gifts of yourself for your team? And that doesn't mean you have to do it. It means you can delegate. means you can use other people. But what would be some fun things for you? And maybe this year you want to give yourself the gift of health. So you're going to prioritize your health. Maybe you're going to give yourself the gift of a stronger relationship and you're going to   be done on every Thursday at five o'clock and go on a date with your spouse or your significant other. Maybe you're going to give yourself the gift of fun and you're going to plan one day a week or a month where it's just a fun day for you. Maybe you're going to give yourself the gift of a new hobby and you're going to go get into pickleball or something. But like really think about what would be a gift that you'd give yourself because I think that so often we're obsessed with giving to other people, which I agree with. And that's secret to life is giving.   but also let's not forget to give ourselves a gift as well. I think the greatest thing I did for myself in 2025 was giving myself the gift of health. I have been on a health journey. Some people look at me and you just might think, like we obviously have our super, like our preconceived notions. And I have had immense pain in my knee and my hip from years and years of traveling. I ran a marathon. I went from zero running in October to running a marathon in December. So I trained for about two and a half months.   I've had severe knee pain since then and then top like tackle that on with all the years of flying that I have of just being crunched up in seats. And I have had pretty severe knee and hip pain. And this year I just decided like, I want to be 99 years old and still active in spry and I'm hoping that my last six months of my life are going to be the ones where I phase out and maybe that's when my health deteriorates. But if that's what I want my vision to be, thank you to the book of die with zero, it gave me that perspective.   Kiera Dent (07:01.456) but I've thought about that so many times of, if that's what I want to do, what do I need to do today to be able to have that vision? And maybe when you're thinking about the gift, you want to give yourself paint the vision of who you are at 99 years old. And what does that life look like? Maybe that will also help you figure out what to give your team, what to give your practice and what to give yourself. Because this year in 2024, I committed and I hired a personal trainer and we went to the gym and it sounds so silly, but for me to be able to squat and not have knee pain.   which I have not been able to do squats, any type of lunges, squats, nothing for seven years. Like literally my quads, my hams, my calves were all atrophying. To be able to this year, me, my coaches, my PT, I have an incredible group of people around me. We were all celebrating at the fact that I can do a squat with no knee pain. And that has been seven years in the making. It was an added benefit because I was able to wake surf a lot better this summer too.   But just to feel strong and to feel like I'm taking care of my body so I can be this 99 year old woman who's not frail and feeble but is strong and has strong muscles. I have to do things daily now to be able to do that. I worked on my macros. I worked on protein intake. I worked on eating healthier. I worked on figuring out what the meals were. That was freaking hard and I hated every second of it. But to see how much healthier I am today versus where I was a year ago.   is a gift that I could never get back. I can't go back in time and live my life differently, but I can move forward and we can give ourselves those gifts now. So maybe even today, think about who do you want to be when you're 99 years old? Going into that hundred, I hope I live to like, I don't know, 103 sounds like a fun time. I love the number three, but just thinking about that, what can you do today? What are the gifts that we could give to other people? What are the gifts that we can give of ourselves? What are the gifts that we could give to ourselves?   as we're spending this time, I really love on Christmas to reflect, reflect on the things that have been amazing, reflect on my amazing, just life that I have to be in this season. It's crazy, but to just see the love that's around me, to see the incredible people around me, to see the family, the friends. And I know sometimes this time of year can be hard. I used to actually hate Christmas. My brother came home and I hated Christmas. I literally would not listen to anything Christmas.   Kiera Dent (09:24.626) went into it and I would just not participate in anything and my heart was so sad and I just felt cold. I felt closed off and what changed for me was I actually worked for a company called the United Way and we did sub for Santa and I remember seeing the spirit of Christmas come to fruition. I remember seeing so many people give of themselves to make magic happen for other people and I realized   That's what society is. That's what our communities are. We need to be more united rather than divided. We need to see how we can give hand ups, not hand outs. We need to see how we can just love people on a deeper level. And it was such like my heart went from ice cold to soft as putty the year that I was, I called myself Mrs. Claus. And I remember just seeing the magic of humanity. And so how can we within our practices, within our teams, within our communities,   give that magic of humanity to more people, give that spirit of love and service and gratitude because we don't realize our ripple effect. One person was able to serve so many different families and then those families were able to go on and perpetually serve other people. And I just think that the world needs more kindness and more care, that we need to give more kindness and more care to ourselves, that we need to see the beauty around us rather than all the negativity around us, that we can choose.   what pair of sunglasses, AKA filtered we put on to view this life. And I would hope that one, you'd give yourself a gift this year of something that's gonna help you when you're 99 or 100 to have the best life today for those future years. I would also ask you to give a gift to your team of this next year. What are you gonna give your team? And then are you gonna give your practice and your patients? And then also let's look to see how can we have more kindness, more love, more generosity as we go into 2025. You guys, this is such a magical time of year. feels like.   the magical clock, like Father Christmas or whatever it is, the magical clock of 2024 is ticking down. And how can we maximize and optimize these magical moments through the rest of the year? But also how can we prepare to invite and embrace this incredible 2025 that's about to be upon us? How can we learn from our 2024? For some offices, I know this was your hardest year. For Dental A Team it was truly my hardest year. It was the year that I grew the most.   Kiera Dent (11:44.164) It was the year that I was refined personally and professionally the most. was the year my team grew the most and not by size, but by grit and stamina and determination. so for you, what are the lessons we've learned from 2024? How can we like soak in these magical moments as we roll into 2025? And then how can we maximize and optimize 2025? If I can be a part of that journey with you, I'd love to be there. I'd love to celebrate you and I'd love to give you even more opportunities than you could have ever imagined.   But really, I just hope that today you relish in the joy of your life, of you being here, and then give yourself a magical gift. And let me know if you want to email me. I'd love to hear it as always. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. But I hope you enjoy the time with your families. I hope you enjoy this magical season. I hope you remember that the secret to living is giving, and that's giving to others and giving ourselves the most incredible life we can because the ripple effect is magnificent. Like, it's just, it's so magnificent.   of what we as one person can do for this world. And I just challenge you to really, really maximize and optimize that this year. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time. Merry Christmas. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

In this stream I discuss the origins and history of Santa Claus and how it relates to the commercialization of Saint Nicholas and Father Christmas by Coca Cola. Make sure to check it out and let me know what you think. God bless Superchat Here https://streamlabs.com/churchoftheeternallogos Donochat Me: https://dono.chat/dono/dph Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8JwgaHCkhdfERVkGbLl2g/join If you would like to support my work please become a website member! There are 3 different types of memberships to choose from! https://davidpatrickharry.com/register/ Support COTEL with Crypto! Bitcoin: 3QNWpM2qLGfaZ2nUXNDRnwV21UUiaBKVsy Ethereum: 0x0b87E0494117C0adbC45F9F2c099489079d6F7Da Litecoin: MKATh5kwTdiZnPE5Ehr88Yg4KW99Zf7k8d If you enjoy this production, feel compelled, or appreciate my other videos, please support me through my website memberships (www.davidpatrickharry.com) or donate directly by PayPal or crypto! Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Logos Subscription Membership: http://davidpatrickharry.com/register/ Venmo: @cotel - https://account.venmo.com/u/cotel PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/eternallogos Donations: http://www.davidpatrickharry.com/donate/ PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/eternallogos Website: http://www.davidpatrickharry.com Rokfin: https://rokfin.com/dpharry Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/COTEL Odysee: https://odysee.com/@ChurchoftheEterna... GAB: https://gab.com/dpharry Telegram: https://t.me/eternallogos Minds: https://www.minds.com/Dpharry Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/W10R... DLive: https://dlive.tv/The_Eternal_Logos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dpharry/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/_dpharry

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Wednesday! To celebrate the podcast coming out on Christmas Day, Paul and Tori dive into Tolkien's "Letters from Father Christmas" to get into the spirit. Of course it's 166 pages because Jimmy doesn't know how to keep anything simple. See you in the new year! We love you! Welcome to The Sillymarillion! Where Paul (the forever fan) teaches Tori (the newcomer) all about J.R.R. Tolkien's tales and stories. Insta:⁠⁠ @sillymarillions⁠⁠ Bluesky: ⁠⁠@thesillymarillion.bsky.social⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/thesillymarillion⁠⁠⁠ for bonus content Email: thesillymarillion@gmail.com for inquiries Check out AthraPlay! ⁠⁠⁠https://athraplay.simplecast.com/⁠⁠⁠ Heartfelt thank you to Evelyn (⁠⁠⁠https://www.evelynleerogers.com/⁠⁠⁠) for our Season 5 podcast art! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thesillymarillion/support

Nat really can't believe her luck as she sits down with Father Christmas. For you and your children to enjoy the magic and to believe. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. X Follow Santa https://instagram.com/iamsantauk Please subscribe, follow, and leave a review. xxx You can find us in all places here; https://podfollow.com/lifewithnat/view INSTA: @natcass1 We're also on Facebook now too: https://www.facebook.com/lifewithnatpod A 'Keep It Light Media' Production Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: hello@keepitlightmedia.com SHOW INFO: Life with Nat - it's me! Natalie Cassidy and I'll be chatting away to family, friends and most importantly YOU. I want to pick people's brains on the subjects that I care about- whether that's where all the odd socks go, weight and food or kids on phones. Each week I will be letting you into my life as i chat about my week, share my thoughts on the mundane happenings as well as the serious. I have grown up in the public eye and have never changed because of it. Life with Nat is the podcast for proper people. Come join the community. ♥️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well that was dull... Elizabeth takes the reins for reaction following a humbling point at home to Southampton. Fulham's unbeaten run in December had promised fans a calming and festive ride into the Christmas week but unfortunately, Father Christmas decided to deliver a nice big sack of coal. However, an uninspiring game does not faze our guests, Izzy Barker, Dan Cooke and Jack Kelly.  Despite the lack of goals, they find plenty to discuss from Sunday afternoon. They take a look back at Silva's surprising line-up that featured Josh King and Tom Cairney, review Muniz's disappointing attempt to revive his purple patch from last season and try to decipher exactly what to do with a looming injury crisis. In part two, they answer your listeners' questions and finally, to try to rescue any remnants of festive spirit, Elizabeth rounds off the podcast with a musical treat from resident DJ, Sam Witcher. -- SHOW-LINKS: If you enjoy Fulhamish, please consider contributing a small amount monthly to help pay our costs. As a bonus, you receive access to our exclusive Telegram group chats where you can chat with fellow FFC fans and Fulhamish listeners ➼ https://levellr.com/communities/fulhamish -- GUESTS: Elizabeth Barnard ➼ https://www.x.com/@ESBarnard_ Dan Cooke ➼ https://www.x.com/@DanSCooke97 Jack Kelly ➼ https://www.x.com/@JackellyFFC Isabelle Barker ➼ https://www.x.com/@IsabelleLatifa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

587 - The Kinks - Father Christmas: Chris, Nick, and Andy break down 1977's "Father Christmas" by The Kinks. 

In the final episode of the year, Jonny and Richard talk live show tech problems, mean Christmas songs, Yoko Ono the cold start superbike, buying too many valve amp car stereos, low spec Skylines, Eleanor Mustangs, the car in the new Sade video, aeroplane seatbelt tightness, new members of the Wendens Ambo universe, clothes trapped outside the car, an algal Agila and old money Father Christmas. For early, ad-free episodes and extra content go to patreon.com/smithandsniff To buy merch and tickets to live podcast recordings go to smithandsniff.com Find out more about TECHRON https://bit.ly/4hGEJr2  Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike asks some of our guests from the past year (plus a few clips from our original Christmas episodes from 4 years ago) for something to put in a Christmas Time Capsule! Featuring Jason Manford, Stephen Fry, Arthur Smith, Maria McErlane, Rick Wakeman, Sonali Shah, Lauren Pattison, John O'Farrell, Ellie White, Andy Hamilton, Karl Howman, Aneka Rice, Tony Hawks, Michelle Brasier, Toby Hadoke and Professor Sophie Scott.Warning: Possible grown up chat about Father Christmas!Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people . Get bonus episodes and ad-free listening by becoming a team member with Acast+! Your support will help us to keep making My Time Capsule. Join our team now! https://plus.acast.com/s/mytimecapsule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Behind Door 22 we have a pair of movies from 2010 which both draw on the dark folklore of Father Christmas, with St Nicholas on the rampage in Sint from the Netherlands, while Finland resurrects an ancient Lapland Yuletide terrors in Rare Exports

 Ho ho ho! Are you feeling the holiday spirit yet? No? Well, have we got just the thing for you: a visit from Father Christmas himself! No, not Saint Nick – we're talking about the one and only Kevin Schwantz, wearing a funny little red hat!*Yes, we gave Kevin a ring and he picked up the phone for us. A few minutes later we were talking about his racing career, and before you know it there's some pretty cool stories being shared. Some of them are about fighting for your life on a machine that seems to have a mind of its own, others are about one of the very best rivalries this sport has ever seen. And some stories may even be about the cheeky projectile launching of edible goods in a restaurant...So grab yourself some eggnog, turn off the umpteenth rendition of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and gather everybody around the tree, because it's time for some bloody great stories from the Christmas Schwantz!*Because of the audio format of this podcast, the hat might be imaginary. On the topic of seasonal headwear, listener discretion is advised.Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman's Dub Club for writing our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music! 

In this episode, we sit with Rusty Jones, founder and lead investigator for Central Michigan Paranormal Investigations (CMPI), based in Michigan, USA. Established in 1988, CMPI is one of the first paranormal teams to form. We talk about the changes in paranormal investigations from then till now, with huge improvements in technology. Rusty shares his paranormal experiences, including a childhood memory of seeing Father Christmas. We also talk cryptids and UFOs, and Rusty shares a close encounter with a possible Dogman. https://www.facebook.com/share/15Sv5PH9DR/?mibextid=wwXIfrFreaky Merch! We are super excited to announce that you can now purchase Let's Get Freaky merch! Hoodies, t-shirts, mugs, stickers and lots more! Check it out! http://tee.pub/lic/aQprv54kktw If you have any paranormal or wild experiences to share and would like to be a guest on the show, please get in touch! Email us at letsgetfreakypodcast@mail.com or message us on social media. Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, @tcletsgetfreakypodcast https://linktr.ee/letsgetfreaky

Meet Nancy Bird who was the first woman with a commercial pilot's license in the British Empire.In 1935, she travelled to rural NSW taking Sister Silver dressed as Father Christmas to bring Christmas cheer to all of her  Click to join my mailing listTeachers Pay Teachers StoreGrab a copy of History, Her Story, Our Story from Amazon! If you would like to support the podcast, you and Buy Me a CoffeeWrite a review on Podchaser, Apple or Spotify.The History Detective Season 1 & 2 Album is now available on Spotify and all of your music streaming services.Contact: Instagram @HistoryDetective9, email historydetective9@gmail.comHistory Detective WebsiteAll music written and performed by Kelly Chase.

Welcome to all the new listeners we've gotten since our mention on True Crime Kent!To celebrate, Father Christmas, Krist Kringle, Sinter Claus and Krampus (The Research Department) would like to take you on a holiday slay ride. Blow the dust off your egg nog and enjoy stories about these categories:• Caribou• Chimney• Christmas Tree 1• Christmas Tree 2• Christmas Tree 3• Gift• SleighAlso, pay attention to the ad at the beginning. That Guy was feeling mighty generous. Join our Patreon $5 tier and get all the $20 tier benefits as long as you keep up with your monthly payments! Offer expires January 31, 2025.

Getting creepy at Christmas, this week Kieran, Paul and I discuss the episode 'And All Through the House' from horror anthology show, Tales From The Crypt. In case you're not familiar with this, it sees a woman murder her husband and then get attacked by a derranged killer Father Christmas, and it's directed by Robert Zemeckis. (This is well worth watching on YouTube if you've never seen it before, it's tonnes of fun).

'Elis and John Smash Up A Bus Stop'. 'The UK's Biggest Dog'. 'Elis and John's Big Supper'. Just a flavour of how unstoppable the content ideas train is today. There's no ‘out of office' here. Not even Keanu Reeves in Speed 3: Content Never Sleeps could stop this festive content locomotive.For alongside such a fertile ideas flow, Father Christmas has also come early, in the shape of Elis bearing gifts. The South Wales Santa leaves his traditional presents of yoghurt and a 4 month late gift for John. Meanwhile Producer Dave's going to *bear in mind* marathon advice from Eliud Kipchoge. But his dad is doing a good coaching job so he might ignore it. Plus there's an intriguing mad dad that whets the tastebuds for more details.To get in touch then why not drop elisandjohn@bbc.co.uk a line on email. And if going into 2025 you want to try out a hot new communication method then we've heard WhatsApp's all the rage. 07974 293 022 is the show number for that.

Welcome back to Stick to Football, brought to you by SkyBet.We are back with another jam-packed Christmas Special Episode of Stick To Football with the full squad: Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and Ian Wright. We kick things off with a visit from scouse Father Christmas as the team receive their hilarious Secret Santa gifts. The panel tackle questions from a number of celebrities including recent guest Ricky Gervais, Tyson Fury, Robbie Williams and the one we have all been waiting for… Marlon Harewood! Super 6 is back and Ben is in festive spirits sporting a gingerbread outfit as Gary and Jamie hope to extend their lead on Roy, Ian and Jill. Plus, the team discuss Marcus Rashford's recent comments on being ready for a new challenge away from Manchester United.This episode is sponsored by Huel. Huel is a range of meals, snacks and drinks formulated by nutritionists and designed for your convenience. Join some of the world's top performers and millions globally choosing Huel every day to shortcut their nutrition.

How has Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland, become a global hub for the Christmas economy? Known as the official home of Father Christmas, Lapland attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year - generating significant revenue. We head to the most popular Christmas spot, Rovaneimi, to hear how a resort there benefits from this tourism. And the head of the tourist board, Sanna Kärkkäinen, tells us how records are about to be broken.Presented and produced by Izzy Greenfield Reporter: Erika Benke(Picture: Lapland at night, showing illuminated buildings. Credit: BBC/Erika Benke)

It's time for more adventures with Father Christmas and North Polar Bear as Father Christmas is grateful for time zones around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over forty years, John Johnson (Simply Saint Nick) has been a character actor and historical presenter, notably bringing the role of Santa Claus to life in the most authentic way. His debut on stage (and as Santa no less) was at the age of six in an elementary school production of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Since then, John has gone on to study acting with the Alban Arts Academy in Saint Albans, West Virginia. He has also attended classes taught by such artists as Pam Chibora, Leah Turley, Sean Watkins, Adam Bryan, Marlette Carter, and Kelly Strom. He has performed regionally in such shows as “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” as Father Christmas (2011), “Miracle on 34th Street” as Kris Kringle (2012), “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” as Nicholas (2013), and “Adventures in Santa Claus Land” as Santa (2019). He has also performed the role on local television commercials and on various Christmas specials regionally. But it isn't his acting abilities that make Santa John unique. Rather, it is his great faith in Christ – the Reason for the Season. Yes, John has always portrayed the role from the Christian perspective which goes all the way back to Nicholas of Myra (270-343AD). Nicholas was the prototype of the Santa we know and love today. Santa John has studied carefully over his lifetime both the history and the traditions of the character that he portrays. His portrayal emphasizes service to Christ, love, joy, peace, and hope – the bedrocks of the season. Couple these things with the fact that Santa John truly loves children, maintains a jolly demeanor, and a deep love of the role and you have something special in him. The additions of real whiskers, custom tailored suits, and real accessories make Santa John someone to believe in. In 2023, Santa John even wrote a book about his life, his faith, and role as Santa Claus. It is available at Westbow Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbooks.com. Click the title to get a copy of “Simply Saint Nick: My Life as a Real-Life Christian Santa Claus.” Amazon link https://a.co/d/97qKnNo Interview with the Christian Chronicle, December 2023 https://christianchronicle.org/peace-on-earth-and-goodwill-to-men-christian-santa-professes-christ/ https://simplysaintnick.com/  

Episode 95 is our Christmas special for 2024 - looking back to five vintage BBC Christmases of 1922-42. Well, I say 'five'. I mean nine. Christmas is a time for giving, so have four extra... Nine Gold Airings didn't sound as catchy. You'll hear: - 1922 – Rev John Mayo - the BBC's first religious broadcast for Christmas Eve  - 1926 – Christmas Overture by Coleridge-Taylor, The BBC Wireless Symphony Orchestra conducted by Percy Pitt - 1926-34 - Bethlehem, the BBC's first on-location radio drama, live from St Hilary's church in west Cornwall - 1932 – The first royal Christmas message from George V - 1934 – The bells of Armagh Cathedral, and Christmas on the Aran Islands - 1936 – A Cornish Christmas Carol by the BBC Chorus - 1936 – The Wassail Song by the BBC Chorus - 1941 – Refugee children and their parents reunited across the Atlantic via BBC and NBC - 1942 – Carols in the Desert, Godfrey Talbot, BBC Correspondent with the 8th Army in Tripolitania     SHOWNOTES: - Paul's book Hark! The Biography of Christmas is available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4iuULoB) and audiobook read by the author (https://amzn.to/4gdlYud) - Hear the full recording of 1934's Bethlehem play: https://youtu.be/WwC8BemyBtI?si=_m-p_5y3rHPKkrIX - Hear the voices behind the Bethlehem play, on this wonderful 1986 BBC Radio Cornwall documentary: https://youtu.be/HqCO_0uSBFk?si=3AoPR2Gt3We_wgSn - For more on Godfrey Talbot and his BBC career shadowing the 8th army in WW2, see this marvellous detailed biographical blog post: https://war-experience.org/events/godfrey-talbot-voice-of-the-desert-and-8th-army/ - Episode 60 of this podcast has more on Rev John Mayo's first BBC religious broadcast, and other landmarks of the genre: https://pod.fo/e/160bd7 - Episode 72 of this podcast is on the first radio drama, on Christmas Eve 1922 - Phyllis Twigg's The Truth about Father Christmas: https://pod.fo/e/1d6747 - and I'll be writing more about her and this landmark radioplay very soon. Keep an eye out for it! - Original music is by Will Farmer. - Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do! - A Christmas present, for us? Well if you'd rate and review the podcast where you found it... Thanks! You shouldn't have. - Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live. - This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. - Old clips are likely beyond copyright as they're so old. Newer clips may be BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.    Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland and Dublin, and the first radio gardener, Marion Cran.   More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

Enjoy this gently used Christmas gift from Ghost of Inklings Variety Hours Past! It's an Inklings Variety Hour Jovial Christmas Extravaganza!  Featuring: A Discussion of J.R.R. Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas! Chris Pipkin and his children, Davey and Virginia!   Anika Smith! (First half of show)  Meagan Logsdon!  (Second half of show)  A cringeworthy impersonation of an old British person by Chris Pipkin! Bits of music by Steeleye Span and Maddy Prior (The Boar's Head Carol), and Martin Romberg (A Elbereth Gilthoniel), (as well as Virginia Pipkin). Pipkins' Christmas site promoted: 12tide.com Thanks for listening to us this year!  As always, if you enjoy this podcast, recommend it to a friend and give us a review on iTunes.  And please do feel more than free to drop us a line at InklingsVarietyHour@gmail.com.  We'd love to hear from you!  Merry Christmas.

Find out how to say “Father Christmas” in Chinese with Transition singer Jesse Edbrooke and ShaoLan. Many Christmas traditions from the West have been accepted in China and it is fascinating to see how the language reflects that. ✨ BIG NEWS ✨ Our brand new Talk Chineasy App, is now live on the App Store! Free to download and perfect for building your speaking confidence from Day 1. portaly.cc/chineasy Visit our website for more info about the app.

Darkness Syndicate members get the ad-free version. https://weirddarkness.com/syndicateInfo on the next LIVE SCREAM event. https://weirddarkness.com/LiveScreamIN THIS EPISODE: Many of us are familiar with the flip side of Father Christmas – the darker entity who visits and kidnaps bad children, Krampus. But when it comes to true fear, even Krampus would run in terror at the sight of Iceland's Gryla, the Christmas Witch! With roots dating back to the 13th century, Gryla is not to be messed with! (Iceland's Christmas Witch) *** It was Christmastime, 1938, and 19-year-old Margaret Martin had just graduated from Wilkes-Barre Business College with honors and was eager to secure a secretarial job. Her eagerness would lead to her disappearance. (The Murder of Margaret Martin) *** Ask anyone over the age of twelve what they think about the existence of Santa Claus and you'll most assuredly get the same answer. But that has not stopped people of all ages reporting sightings of the jolly old elf, and some of the stories are downright creepy. (The Strange World of True Kris Kringle Sightings) *** Two murders committed in the same house during the holidays of 1928 appear to have resulted in the spirits of Christmas past haunting the place today. (The Hundley Murders) *** (Originally aired December 08, 2021)SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…“The Strange World of True Kris Kringle Sightings” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8kfyka“Iceland's Christmas Witch” by Alex Palmer for Smithsonian Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/57ntaeeu“The Murder of Margaret Martin” by Troy Taylor: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/7e6xxvph“The Hundley Murders” by Troy Taylor for his book “Bloody Illinois”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3yb3fd2pVisit our Sponsors & Friends: https://weirddarkness.com/sponsorsJoin the Weird Darkness Syndicate: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicateAdvertise in the Weird Darkness podcast or syndicated radio show: https://weirddarkness.com/advertise= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =OTHER PODCASTS I HOST…Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.https://weirddarkness.com/real-kris-kringle-sightings/

In this episode, Joe and Elliott subtly suggest that wearing a provocative novelty t-shirt to a Christmas celebration is maybe not the best idea, but it's too late I guess. Also, The Lord of the Rings holds up, and should we talk about the healthcare CEO assassin?! SHOULD WE?! HAS ANYBODY TALKED ABOUT IT YET?! Music/SFX: If you like our sounds, sign up for ONE FREE MONTH on us at Epidemic Sound! Over 30,000 songs: http://share.epidemicsound.com/n96pc Follow The Valleyfolk across the digital globe: http://twitter.com/TheValleyfolk http://instagram.com/TheValleyfolk http://facebook.com/TheValleyfolk Follow the group on their personal socials: Joe Bereta: http://twitter.com/JoeBereta http://instagram.com/joebereta Elliott Morgan: http://twitter.com/elliottcmorgan http://instagram.com/elliottmorgan Steve Zaragoza: http://twitter.com/stevezaragoza http://instagram.com/stevezaragoza Kevin Plachy: https://twitter.com/pakkap_ https://www.instagram.com/pakkap #freeluigi

The magical spirit of Christmas is the perfect cover for a murder mystery. Mentioned in this episode: — "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Arthur Conan Doyle, collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" by Agatha Christie, collected in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées — "The Necklace of Pearls" by Dorothy L Sayers, collected in Silent Nights — Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie — Crime at Christmas by C.H.B. Kitchin — Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith — An English Murder by Cyril Hare — Groaning Spinney by Gladys Mitchell — The Case of the Abominable Snowman by Nicholas Blake — Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon — “A Present from Santa Claus” by Julian Symons, collected in Murder on a Winter's Night — L'Assassinat du Père Noël Pierre Véry [English trans. The Murder of Father Christmas] — Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer — Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan — “Who Killed Father Christmas?” by Patricia Moyes, collected in Who Killed Father Christmas? — “The Santa Claus Club” by Julian Symons, collected in Crimson Snow — The Santa Claus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay — "‘Twixt the Cup and the Lip” by Julian Symons, collected in The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories — "The Case of the Man with the Sack” by Margery Allingham, collected in Crimson Snow — The White Priory Murders by John Dickson Carr — "The Snapdragon and the C.I.D." by Margery Allingham, collected in Murder at Christmas — “The Case is Altered” by Margery Allingham, collected in Silent Nights — “Among Those Present was Santa Claus” by Vincent Cornier, collected in Who Killed Father Christmas? More Festive Shedunnit episodes: — Crime at Christmas — Let It Snow — A Christie for Christmas — The Murderless Christmas Mystery Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join. NB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge. To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice. Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/fatherchristmastranscript. Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've covered La Befana, the Christmas witch, and we've covered Yule, the true origins of Christmas, but something we've skirted around is the jolly man himself. Father Christmas, Papa Noel, also known as Santa Claus. And before you skip this episode because you think you already know everything you need to know about this dude–Did you know this man might have killed a guy?? Full Disclosure: Alicia and Terra chose the topic of Saint Nicholas as a wholesome jolly end to season 6, but this episode turned out different than we thought. Still GOOD! It's really good! Learn all about why Saint Nicholas might live in Spain, why farmers in Asia Minor pray to Turkish Santa for rain, and how pagan (nude) you can get at the company Xmas party this year. Speaking of holidays and cold winter nights, why not warm the heart of someone you love by gifting them a year of the Witch, Yes! Patreon. Give the gift of unlimited access to over 125 extra episodes, deets on new episodes, an exclusive discord channel, early access, and more. This is the final episode of Season 6! Which means we're headed on our holiday break. But if you too need more Witch, Yes! to keep you warm on those cold winter nights, become a patron by clicking the link below. Hosted by Alicia Herder and Terra Keck. Produced by Marcel Pérez. Creative Directing by Mallory Jordan. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Official Witch, Yes! Discord! Witch, Yes! on Patreon! Check out our merch on Teepublic! Our Link Tree "Spellbound" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Support Witch, Yes! by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/witch-yes This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Join us on a journey through centuries of tradition, mystery, and the darker side of the holiday season. Krampus, the horned and devilish counterpart to Santa Claus, has long been a figure of both fear and fascination. But what are the origins of this legendary Christmas creature? In this chapter, we will unwrap the layers of this complex folklore, tracing it back to its roots in European tradition and mythology.Let's explore Krampus's historical, cultural, and social significance, shedding light on how this icon has evolved over the years. We'll also study Krampus's modern resurgence in popular culture and how this sinister figure has been embraced by enthusiasts worldwide.Text Me (this is 3rd party & I cannot respond, but I see all messages)Support the showIf you have more information or a correction on something mentioned in this chapter, email us at luke@lukemordue.com. For more information on the show, to find all our social accounts and to ensure you are up to date on all we do, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.lukemordue.com/podcast

Hear the history of Christmas traditions.  Who invented the Christmas card?  Why do we say Merry Christmas? Who put up the first Christmas tree in England?  How old is Father Christmas? And why did Canterbury riot over Christmas?   Find out in this podcast

We have bright spots of joy to share today! From apparel to décor, books to beverages, and an extremely festive toilet, Meagan and Sarah share what's making us happy this holiday season. We're on break for the next four weeks while the team takes over the mic, so come ring out 2024 with us in silly, festive, more-than-mom fashion. Happy Holidays!HELPFUL LINKS:Sarah's Hanna Andersson OnesieLast week's episode was mentioned in this one: Holding On & Letting Go For The Holidays: Episode 494Meagan's podcast The Tea's Made on December 15 is with a blogger Well Read Tart who does mashups of books and food.Meagan's reading Christmas-specific-cozy-lit these days by Jenny Colgen.Cookbooks Sarah Mentioned (all are affiliate links):The Pioneer Woman A Year Of HolidaysBaking For The HolidaysThe Holiday Cookie BookThe Complete Autumn and Winter CookbookLetters from Father Christmas is a classic Meagan recommends and Sarah likes The Gift of the MagiSarah loves this Jacquie Lawson Advent CalendarCheck out our Playlist: Less Stressful, More Magical Holidays for more episodes on holidays and celebrations.Want to see the reindeer toilet, the advent candles, the Christmas tree brooch, and the Santa ball cap? Head over to our website, where we've included visuals for much of what we talked about in this episode!OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:Visit our websiteCheck out deals from our partnersFollow us on InstagramJoin our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)Sign up for our newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who is Father Christmas, and how is he different from St. Nicholas? In this episode, we unwrap the fascinating history of Father Christmas, from his roots in British folklore to his evolution into a symbol of holiday cheer. Learn how ancient pagan traditions, like the mysterious "Green Man" and "Wild Men of Winter," influenced the stories and imagery of this festive figure. We'll also explore how Father Christmas differs from the saintly St. Nicholas and how their tales became intertwined in holiday lore. Discover the rich mixture of myths, traditions, and cultural shifts that shaped Father Christmas into a beloved holiday icon. At the end of the episode, I'll read an excerpt from The Lost Years of Santa Claus, the book that delves into the hidden history of Santa's adventures and the stories behind his legendary role in Christmas. Don't miss this journey into the magical past of the holidays—perfect for history buffs, holiday enthusiasts, and anyone who loves a good story!

Father Christmas, a steam train and a chatterboxCatherine squashes herself into a tiny train to meet families travelling to see Father Christmas. Episode in partnership with Audley End Miniature Railway Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AudleyEndMiniatureRailway/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audleyendminiaturerailway/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@audleyendminirailwayAudley End Miniature Railway - Adventure Awaits! Hop aboard the railway, and journey into the woods, where visitors can enjoy a full calendar of seasonal activities throughout the year. Audley End Miniature Railway provides the perfect setting for fostering imagination, creating treasured memories, and embracing the magic of childhood.A Family Tradition since 1964.Catherine Carr stops strangers to ask them “Where Are You Going?” and uncovers unexpected stories about people's lives.---Named 'Podcast of the Year' by Radio Times and picked as 'Best Podcasts of the Year 2023' by the Financial Times, Observer, Pod Bible and The Week. ---The conversations that follow are always unpredictable: sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking, silly, romantic or occasionally downright ‘stop-you-in-your-tracks' surprising. Catherine's been travelling and recording since 2014. Be transported to places around the world and into the lives of others: You just never know what story is coming next…Join our Where Are You Going? Club for bonus audio, exclusive behind the scenes content and a chance to interact with Catherine, the production team and other club members.Find out more at www.whereareyougoing.co.uk/club---Presented by Catherine CarrProduced by the team at Loftus MediaMusic by Edwin PearsonFollow whereareyougoing on InstagramCheck out our site: whereareyougoing.co.ukSend us an email: whereareyougoing@loftusmedia.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you taste the difference between prosecco and champagne?Welcome to The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X Podcast! It's Pippa's birthday this weekend so the team tested whether Pippa can put the ‘pro' in Prosecco…Christmas has officially come to town, and we kicked it off right here with a beautiful cover of Michael Buble from Chris and Dom.You better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why…because we had legendary footballer and tough guy Vinnie Jones on the show to tell us all about the nerve racking moment he walks on stage in the West End production of Only Fools and Horses: The Musical.We also had a cheesy chat with Blur bassist, Alex James, covering all the important points like his new book, farm life, and his attempts at making a giant frazzle.This week also featured a Pubcast debrief (it's coming!) so listen out for hangovers, and for these moments:Our voice over's perfect burpThe studio door won't openMr Frosty has had a revampEnjoy!The Chris Moyles Show on Radio XWeekdays 6:30am - 10am

And what does he do?!

Ben's working at the GP surgery where he bumps into Azra, who's concerned about Zainab. Azra thinks Zainab thinks should be putting in applications for university. Otherwise her gap year could end up being permanent. Zainab arrives and Azra seizes her opportunity to turn the conversation back to university, encouraging Ben to say he's enjoying his course. In fact she'll pay for Ben and Azra to discuss it over a hot chocolate. Zainab's not keen until Azra throws in a take-away later. Zainab explains to Ben that she's not sure she wants to go to university, but her mum shouldn't worry - she just needs a bit of time to work things out.Lynda notices that Mick's looking a bit below par. He explains that ticket sales for the Christmas Brunch at The Bull are very slow. He talked Jolene and Kenton into doing it, because he was really keen to be Father Christmas. But it's back-fired on him now. Meanwhile Jolene tells Kenton that she bumped into Helen in the shop. Apparently Jack's really excited about ‘Creepy Christmas'. When Kenton's incredulous that Helen actually think's it's on, Jolene confirms that Helen was hoping to buy some tickets. And there's some other parents who want to book too. Kenton wonders if Creepy Christmas has got legs after all. Later he tells Lynda and Mick that it's actually a really good idea. The Bull will do it as well as the Santa Brunch. Kenton's happy that Lynda and Mick are going to rehearse, but less so when Lynda wants to sort the financial terms first.

Grettelyn and Joe speak with their colleague, Tyler Blanski, about Saint Nicholas, why Father Christmas shows up in Narnia, what Jupiter has to do with it, and more! To sign up for the Society's daily Advent quotations from Chesterton, along with reflections and Scriptures on which to meditate, visit https://www.chesterton.org/advent FOLLOW US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chestertonsociety Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanChestertonSociety X: https://twitter.com/chestertonsoc SUPPORT Consider making a donation: https://www.chesterton.org/give/ Visit our Shop at https://www.chesterton.org/shop/  

Chris and Rosie have been creating some new Christmas traditions at a Garden Centre and there's been some online chat about Santa V's Father Christmas. Rosie has started a new greeting and there is some important retro Gladiator updates! All of this plus an email from a listener about a very unusual spelling task! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/sma. https://plus.acast.com/s/sma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back! It's Tuesday! And we are chatting about the weekend, Taryn singing! And a cool thing Taryn got from a listener! Plus we give "flowers" to our parents!