Podcast appearances and mentions of lee waters

As you may have seen on our socials recently, we just hosted our first live event with friends of the pod from the That's Devolved! team, and great Cardiff venue, Porters. Our guest is one of the few Members of the Senedd with high name recognition, with all the good and bad that comes with that - Lee Waters, Member for Llanelli. Widely considered one of the most intellectually curious and independently minded of the Labour group, he will be forever be linked with the events of the last year which saw him usher in one of the most contested pieces of Welsh Law in the shape of the 20mph default speed limit across the country. His public comments on the controversies surrounding Vaughan Gething's time as Labour leader also put Lee at odds with many inside the party and precipitated a government revolt forcing the then-FM to stand down. However, as you will hear in this interview chaired by our own Matthew Hexter, Lee has plenty of valuable insight to both the inner workings and outer dysfunctions of our parliament and government machines, and the surrounding political cultures. Enjoy! A video of this event is available here: https://youtu.be/VZbWZRaWIFY Our partners: That's Devolved: https://x.com/ThatsDevolved Porters Cardiff: https://x.com/Porterscardiff As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks. Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

21st April 2024 The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast EPISODE 352: Laura Laker SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles HOST: Carlton Reid GUEST: Laura Laker LINKS: https://www.the-spokesmen.com/ https://www.ternbicycles.com https://twitter.com/CarltonReid https://twitter.com/laura_laker https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/potholes-and-pavements-9781399406468/ Carlton Reid 0:11 Welcome to Episode 352 of the Spokesmen cycling podcast. This show was engineered on Sunday, April 21 2024. David Bernstein 0:28 The Spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you're commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That's t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. Carlton Reid 1:04 I'm Carlton Reid and today's show is a chat with like journalist Laura Laker, author of an excellent new book, Potholes and Pavements. This is a travelogue featuring Laura's travels around the UK, writing on some of the best and worst bits of Britain's National Cycle network. From jaw droppingly gorgeous looking ancient military roads in the Highlands of Scotland to dark and dingy urban back streets blocked with barriers. As the books subhead warns, it's a bumpy ride. Um, so you've written a book. Is this your first? Laura Laker 1:46 Yeah, my first my first book, believe it or not, Carlton Reid 1:49 well done. Congratulations. It's a brilliant first book. One of many. I'm sure it'll be one of many. I noticed you've got a an agent. Yeah, you say in the back and thank him. So I'm guessing you're going to be doing more books? Laura Laker 2:00 Yeah, I guess so. I'm not trying to think about it too much. This one was very long in the gestation. I had an idea back in 2017 to do a basically ring around talking to people. I'd listened to the audiobook of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie, in which he travels across the US with his big poodle, and talking to people and he says he's most wonderful conversations, which were later question for their veracity, but it's just, it's just a wonderful format. And I love I'd kind of in that trip to America, I rediscovered my love of talking to strangers, which I had as a kid, and I'm kind of lost over the years, I guess, being British, but spending time in the US where everyone is just willing to talk to you and tell you their life story. I rediscovered this just love of cycling, is brilliant for that, you know, just talking to people you're travelling around, you might stop at some lights, or you might pass someone on a path and just get chatting to them. And it's wonderful people have the most amazing stories, I think Carlton Reid 2:59 Well, there's two teachers that you met, hopefully they will read the book. You weren't avoiding them. Laura Laker 3:07 I know Greg and Norton, they were so brilliant. And the most unexpected encounters and I was up in the Cairngorms and travelling alone and feeling a bit like oh, you know, such a beautiful, it's ridiculously beautiful up there. I'm always just astounded by Scotland, and how how it's possible for somewhere to be so beautiful. And the NCN [National Cycle Network] across the Cairngorms is something else, it's really quite remarkable. A lot of its off road, it's this dedicated path. It was an old military road. And the rest is on fairly quiet country roads. And I was pootling along on my big pink ebike, which I did some of my adventures on and I saw these roadies coming up behind me and I thought well that they're going to overtake me in a bit. And sure enough, they did. We said hello. And then I saw them stopped at this bridge and they were looking over and they just had this wonderful kind of whimsy about them this they weren't they were going a long way actually they're going from kind of Aviemore back to Preston where they were at least one of them lived and doing it over a couple of days in sort of training one of them's an Ironman enthusiastic participants, but on the way they were stopping looking over bridges, that sort of waterfalls over rocks and like looking across the landscape and just enjoying the scenery. And that for me is what cycling is about. It's about appreciating the world around us and the people around us and so they said we'll ride with us for a while and as you know ebike your Aberdeen bought a bike mine included, maxes out at 15 and a half miles an hour which these guys were obviously capable of exceeding quite easily. So but they they rode with me for quite some time and we chatted and they were just fantastic. And then yeah, they they stopped for a week and I had to run inside for a week. And then I came out and they'd gone Carlton Reid 4:51 but it's quite a nice way to say goodbye. Are you are you are you taking notes as you're going along? So you wrote their names and what they did. And or you coding stuff. How are you physically? Laura Laker 5:02 Yeah, so I get back at the end of a ride and write stuff down. And I do think it's best that way, especially with travel writing, because you forget so much so quickly. And the big three Cornwall, I think is, you know, in the early parts of the book, when I first started the exploration, further afield, you know, writing stuff down as you experience it, or very soon after is really important because you lose a lot of the detail and the texture of what you're experiencing. And I think it just makes for much richer story that way, but also difficult to do because you're having to memorise and maybe that's why Steinbeck was getting criticised because he wasn't writing No, no. As he was going along, he's remembering it. Well, memories can do. Memory is really interesting, actually. Because we we probably most of us think that our memories are fairly good, or the way that remember things is correct. But actually, it's very, very subjective. And the longer time goes on, the more we forget, or the memory gets warped, or things get introduced that didn't exist, maybe and it's really very, very subjective. I've got I don't know for some things, I've got quite a good short term memory so I can remember to a certain extent, but obviously, as Homer Simpson once said, you know, one thing comes into your brain another thing has to leave it so. Carlton Reid 6:23 That's 100% me though. So this book Potholes and Pavements, a bumpy ride on Britain's National Cycle network, it comes out May the ninth published by Bloomsbur. £16.99. Excellent, excellent book. I read it yesterday and got up early this morning to make sure I finished it before I spoke with you. Now normally when when I talk to people for this podcast, I always get them to send me a photograph so I can do the you know, the socials and the thing that goes on the show notes. What have you with you, oh, an hour and a half to do that. Because I have ridden with you ridden with you on bits of the ride that you are right that you mentioned in your book. So when you mentioned that, you know the cycle superhighway. You make an item was like, I've got that photograph because I was holding my camera photographing you behind me? Laura Laker 7:20 Yeah, with Brian Deegan. Carlton Reid 7:21 There's knowing smiles when I'm reading your books like I was on that ride. Like I know, Laura. Oh, my word. It's also like me on that ride. And when you describe windmills, yes. But the windmills and it's a cute book for me. Also cute because I know lots of these people who you're describing. And I know in the book, it says he didn't want to be described as a hero. But he is a hero. And because it's about the National Cycle network, then clearly that's got to be the guy who not single handedly founded it, but certainly pushed it through with those with those early innovators. So that's John Grimshaw. So he comes in, he's, he's in at least three or four parts of the book, you've clearly gone to speak to him a number of times wonderful. And it's fantastic that he's in there, because he really doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Laura Laker 8:16 Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, he I obviously have to speak to John Grimshaw. Because a lot of people as he points out, and as I tried to convey in the book, a lot of people and probably, you know, uncountable numbers of people were involved in the foundation of and development of the National Cycle network. And then it's maintenance ever since many of whom are working for very little, in fact, nothing, because they loved it. But John really seemed like, talking to people and talking to him, was the driving this real driving force behind it and his kind of self belief and single minded determination, I think was a major driver and he is such a character. I mean, a bit of a Marmite character, I think, but, you know, it seems like you need people to kind of drive things forward. Carlton Reid 9:05 Cos you need somebody like that. He's a visionary. Yeah, you know. I love Malcolm Shepherd. I love Zavier Brice, the people who are in charge now and Malcolm was the guy who came in after after John. But Malcolm wasn't a visionary. Malcolm was an accountant. And when when the organisation any organisation any business gets big, then you very often need somebody else to take over. And there's lots of faction there at the time. You don't go into it in a great detail. That was enormous friction there and there's still enormous amount of bad blood between people. Laura Laker 9:46 Yeah, and it's interesting because Caroline Lovatt. Here's another key figure from fairly early on and still works with John today. On there, they're still building cycle routes under a different organisation, cycle routes and greenways and Um, she says that, you know, for for years, according to her, John kept disappearing from the kind of record of that of the history of the NCN on Wikipedia, she kept putting him back in. And um, yeah, I mean, the story was, and that was a difficult part of it to tell. But it was one that had to be mentioned, I didn't want to go too into it. But obviously, you know, John, leaving Sustrans under fairly strange circumstances, and really against his will, was was part of the story that needed to be told. And it was a different and I spoke to a number of people and nobody really, I think, you know, there were potentially nondisclosure agreements. And so nobody really talks about what exactly happened, which is why I call I mentioned the omerta. Because it really seems like everyone has a slightly different story, or, and I and again, I, you know, it's memory and it was a painful time. And it was a long time ago. And it's quite common, as you say, with new organisations, you've got this big driving force, but then sometimes they're not the person to carry on leading an organisation once the first major thing is done, and, you know, they might not be great with people is, you know, having a skill to start and drive something is not the same as being a sort of manager of people and diplomats. And it's, yeah, it's quite often it's a painful process, certainly not unique, I think. Carlton Reid 11:16 No, it's very common for that kind of thing to happen. However, saying that it's very important to recognise who was that visionary? And I think he lost an awful lot of that. So, so wonderful to see John. central to that. So that's really nice part of the book because I, you know, John, John is a wonderful, wonderful guy, and absolutely, this would not have happened without him. I know, there's lots of other people you know, David Sproxton, all these kind of people were there at the same time, George Ferguson. So So Sproxton was Aardman Animation. So people who know admire animation, George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol, at one point, all these individuals were there at the time, but it needed that guiding force that needed that. Just somebody who woulda just said no, and just went ahead and did it. That was that was the ethos of Sustrans in the early days. So that Laura Laker 12:12 Yeah, yeah, because the status quo then as it is, today, is very much stacked against cycling routes happening. And so you kind of need a rebel who's not willing, who's you know, not willing to take no for an answer? Who's going to be able to make things happen? And I think in a way that kind of, I guess, you know, being from a fairly well off upper middle class background, you have the confidence really the education that kind of gives you that confidence and and then the character and self belief to just to drive that forward. Carlton Reid 12:47 Mmm. That you didn't mention not even once Cycling, Touring Club CTC cycling UK. Because the book isn't in all cycling, you are you are laser focused on the National Cycle network. But there was also friction between those two organisations, you know, stranden effect was an upstart organisation, then it got for £42.5 million with Meatloaf handing that over on TV or that kind of stuff. And there was there was an awful lot of friction between still is between strands and and what is today cycling UK. So you haven't got into that at all. What Why didn't you go into that? Is that just because you wanted to just stay laser focused on the cycle network? Laura Laker 13:36 I mean, I mentioned that not everyone felt that Sustrans was being helpful because they felt that cycle route should be delivered by government and charities stepping in. And taking that role almost allows the government to say, well, you know, someone's doing it. Now. We don't need to get involved. But I mentioned the kind of tension between certain types of cyclists. I think I might quote to you, I think I've got you in the references on that. But I mean, I don't know if I just don't know how. I don't know. It's yeah, it's a tricky one. It's how much to include, and you always have to make these decisions, what to include and what not to include, and I guess I just didn't feel like that was a key part of the story at all. There was some thinking at the time around that but and I'm aware that there was tension and I know that Mark Strong for one who gets quite a mention in the book, talked about Sustrans being too successful and not successful enough in that, you know, they were doing this job notionally? No, they were doing a great job for with what they had and who they were and ie not the government and with not very much money but they were doing enough just to allow the government to just say, You know what, well Sustrans is delivering the National Cycle network, tick, job done. Let's get back to the serious business of roads. Carlton Reid 15:01 because there is there is you meant we will get on to the very positive points, you've got like a bunch of what what do you call it in the book where you've got a whole bunch of asks basically? Oh, yeah, the manifesto, the manifesto. There you go. Number one, we'll go through these points. 10 point manifesto. So there's some positive stuff to talk about that. But you don't really mention that there's this that, you know, you're talking about, you know, this should be funded nationally, and there is that struggle, bear with you know, this is a charity, etc, etc. But then you've also got the weakness of you have actually got to at least have British Cycling as well, three competing organisations, going to government and asking for money for various things. And wouldn't it be nicer and more practical and may even get more stuff? If there's only one organisation so there is that there is the absolute fault line running through cycling? That is one of the reasons why it's very easy for the government to not do stuff because they're getting told different things by different organisations and one organisation saying don't back them back us. So there's that kind of friction there. Laura Laker 16:22 I don't know if that's if I see it that way. I mean, Sustrans cycling UK, and British Cycling, and things like livable streets are all part of the walking and cycling Alliance. And I think what that what that's trying to do is to unify the voice, because ultimately they want the same thing. I mean, British cycling's coming at it from a sports point of view. But recognising that its members also need safe roads to cycle on. And that means a whole host of other things, safe protected routes in cities. And that's popular with members. And then cycling UK, originally a touring group, now a charity that lobbies for Safe Routes, safe conditions, and also delivers stuff for government, such as what to fix your ride, and a bunch of other things. And then Sustrans is a National Cycle network and behaviour change programmes. So there are overlaps, but I do think they are distinct. And I don't see I don't see it as I mean, they probably have internal, you know, perspectives on things and perhaps don't always agree with what the other one was doing. But I think I think they tend to present a fairly unified front these days. Carlton Reid 17:30 They're not as bad nowadays. I mean, it's when you get rid of it certainly did not get rid. That's the That's the wrong phrase. When individuals leave organisations, it can change because a new people come in, and you know, those alliances are, that's what you're just used to. But you know, before that alliance was put in place, they were cats and dogs, they were really hating on each other and slagging each other off to government as well. So that's why government was able to go up. This cycling is just mad look, these these, you know, what they, these three cats in a sack just fighting each other. Laura Laker 18:03 And then you saw, I mean, I think I talked about, you know, Malcolm Shepherd, who was the CEO after John Grimshaw. He went to ministers, and he was saying, why aren't we getting the funding we asked for? Or why are we getting taken seriously, I think was the question. And he was told, Well, you don't ask for enough money, basically. So they were thinking and perhaps this kind of historic infighting is also a function of the fact that these were kind of fledgling organisations to an extent for some time, not very much funding. They were run by enthusiasts probably, who all had their own ideas. And of course, let's not forget that there were also the vehicular ISTS who didn't even believe that we needed cycling's of which I think cycling UK early on was one and that might explain why they disagree with Sustrans who were trying to yes, no, there was a whole cohort who stands for that reason, absolutely. 100%. So maybe that, you know, it perhaps is a function of just the whole movement being in its infancy. I mean, it's been going for a good 40 or so years, but I don't know, maybe it was maybe it was just run by enthusiasts for a very long time. And that's why it's taken a while to kind of mature but also I think it was going I mean, our cycling lobby, organisations were kind of leading the way for much longer than a lot of European countries in a nice talk about this in the book in countries like France and in the Netherlands and in Denmark, they all started their calls for National Cycle networks or at least safe routes, thanks to charities and voluntary organisations. And then fairly quickly, were all taken on by the government who saw this as a piece of infrastructure firstly, quite often for leisure, but then they realised people were using these routes for commuting trips, and it was it needed to be part of the infrastructure and was taken up with great enthusiasm and in Sweden as well. By the various local departments and regional governments and delivered quite quickly and at quite a kind of scale. And that hasn't really happened here. And so perhaps those kinds of just the longevity of those cycling groups being so crucial to anything that happens for cycling, has kind of made this whole, I don't know, split more important than it would have otherwise been. Carlton Reid 20:24 Yeah. And like in the Netherlands, the the organization's tried to fight against this, but the government tax cyclists, and cyclists actually paid for the roads. Laura Laker 20:34 They did, that's right. Carlton Reid 20:37 But it's the very fact and this was a cyclist at the time were fighting against, they didn't want to be taxed. In the UK, and the Netherlands, they were taxed. And then cyclists became national infrastructure. And that became critical, as you say, and the fact that you know, there wasn't, there was some national infrastructure, obviously, I've done this the 1930 cycleways project. But the CTC is the British Cycling as of the time fought against all of this, they fought against taxation, they fought against cycle routes. And so there is there is some argument to be made that cyclists have been their own worst enemy. So I know in the book, you're saying, you know, it's just such a no brainer. And it is to back, you know, for want of a better word or phrase active travel. Now, in the book, you've got various people are saying we should call it something different. Laura Laker 21:27 Yeah, Lee Craigie. Carlton Reid 21:27 yeah. Yeah. But, you know, cycling has been difficult, at the same time. And it's like, what's happening in Wales, and in Scotland, is inspiring, possibly, because it's actually coming from above. A lot of it, you know, there's obviously enthusiastic people working on the ground, etc. But a lot of this is coming from government ministers. So that helps. Yeah. And, Laura Laker 21:54 I mean, we have this idea, and I'm sure we're not alone. And this point you just made and the example of the taxing of the cyclists in the Netherlands, which is something I learned during doing the research for the book, I didn't actually know about this, but I, you know, the reason we lost the railways that then became a lot of these greenways was because, you know, we see transport as needing to wash its own face needing to fund itself. And the railways at the time, were losing money for most of the routes. And so that was the reasoning. And, you know, with roads, obviously, drivers are taxed it's not sort of ring fence funding. It's not a road tax, it's, but you know, it is making the Treasury money and cycling has never really done that. And I, I think fundamentally, the way that way of thinking about transport is wrong, because of the benefits, the much wider benefits that transport gives us in terms of, you know, being able to access education and health and social opportunities and for our physical and mental health. And it's, its benefits span far beyond its own kind of silo. But we don't really see it that way. And I'm not really sure actually, if anywhere managers to think of it this way, but I think post pandemic, things like free bus services and in different countries has maybe illustrated that people are starting to think about it differently. But ultimately, I think it's it's a very tricky one. Because like you say, we in a way we weren't, we were own worst enemy in terms of our predecessors in the cycling world. But we were working within philosophy that's that dictated that actually, if you're going to build something, you know, who's making money from it, or, you know, how is the Treasury getting that investment back and not really seeing it as this makes people healthier? Or this gives them opportunities or promotes businesses, local tourism? And all of this? So yeah, I mean, if we'd done it differently, who who knows of cyclists in the UK? So fine, we'll pay a tax. Who knows? We might have an NCN now, but, and even today, it's a little bit of an uncomfortable conversation, isn't it? Because, you know, nobody wants to be taxed. Carlton Reid 24:02 So the book is, it's a polemic in many ways, not not all the way through. But there are definitely bits in there that are strident. And I cannot argue with at all I'm reading it nodding along. And certainly the bits about like the national infrastructure, right, and it's all being spent on roads. And it's it's the so many reasons why that is crazy. Yeah, and why spending even just a fraction of the roads budget on on a national cycle network, you know, genuinely joined up one high quality would bring many more, many more benefits. And then you've got and the irony is, and I did a new story on this is, you have a government minister, who has written the foreword to your book, and he said This is not government minister, a former government minister, a former Transport Minister, Jesse Norman, and then it's like, why don't you do this when you're in power? It's great. You've said it. It's wonderful that you're saying all these things. But you could have done this, you could have pushed for this. And he was also the Financial Secretary of the Treasury. Yeah, he could have released money. Yeah, let me see what he says. But Laura Laker 25:26 it's so difficult, isn't it? And it's, again, it's kind of facing it's the status quo. I mean, it's, I think, maybe important to remember, and I'm not making excuses for anyone. But, you know, he was a junior minister, certainly in his first round is cycling minister. And so he would have had to tow the party line. So I don't know how easy it is for. I mean, he's a very intelligent guy. He cares about cycling. But then he's part of a system, which ultimately, I guess, maintains the status quo doesn't want to upset the applecart. And that's why, in the manifesto, I, you know, I think it's so important that people speak up for these things, because I think until there's an outcry for it, it's very difficult for any one minister, unless we have a cycling Prime Minister, to change all of this. There's a lot of vested interests in maintaining, you know, roads for cars, keeping car manufacturing, going and, you know, taxation on cars is going to be very problematic, because obviously EVs electric vehicles don't pay, you know, drivers with EVs don't pay cortex. So what's gonna happen there? But yeah, I mean, it's difficult, but I think people need to speak up for this kind of thing. We get a lot of kickback pushback from people when there's cycle routes coming. But those are the minority. And one thing I tried to highlight in the book is that most people want this once cycling routes, they they want other options and to drive. And, you know, between two thirds and four fifths of people in representative polls say that they'd support this and many of them, even if it meant taking road space away from motor vehicles. But that's not what politicians listen to. And I think increasingly, politicians are listening to angry people on Twitter. And you know, if Mark Harper's comments about LTNs and 15 minute neighbourhoods is anything to go by, which was straight out of the kind of conspiracy theorists, Twitter playbook, you know, they're listening to the loudest voices. And I think until people say, you know, we actually want choice. We don't want to have to breathe polluted air, we don't want to have our neighbourhoods dominated by motor vehicles. We want our kids to be able to go to school safely. I think it's gonna be difficult for things to change. Carlton Reid 27:45 Hmm. So you have mentioned a variety of routes that are actually pretty good. So yeah, Keswick one is one of them. Laura Laker 27:55 Threlkeld, yes. Carlton Reid 27:58 And that's why I know, I know the route well, as good as now, you know, a cycleway there because that was that was long in gestation. But basically, it's it's it's, it's popular. You know, people say, oh, like, but that's a popular route now, isn't it? Laura Laker 28:15 Yeah, yeah, people drive there. And I mean, that was that was interesting for a number of reasons. I mean, incredibly beautiful. It sort of weaves through Greta gorge, which is just this kind of just this amazing landscape, this sort of rocky river which meanders through this very deep wooded valley. And it's on a former rail line. And it was, which storm was it was it 2015, there was a big storm, which basically crumbled a couple of the bridges with the sheer volume of water that ended up going through this narrow gorge. And then it was out of action for a couple of years. And that was an important, crucial route and a tourist attraction for local businesses. One pub owner apparently offered the local council, I think it was the national parks something like 30 grand out of his own pocket, reopened the route, but it was actually a sort of 2 million pound job. So that wasn't going to go all the way. But you know, this was a really important tourist attraction for people and people drive there because there aren't safe routes to get to and from the ends, so people drive and park and then cycle along it and cycle back. But yeah, it's popular, it's really popular. And they when they put the bridges, the new bridges in Sustrans with various parts of funding, they resurfaced it and there was a big hoo ha about putting tarmac on instead of the gravel that had been there before. But that actually opened up it up to far more people, including people who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters, because any sort of rough surface or uneven ground can tip someone in a wheelchair and it effectively makes these routes unusable. And this is something that I really learned in the book and feel very strongly about now. And there was a big outcry nationally about tarmacking this path because it's in the Lake District and everyone's He has an opinion about the Lake District even if they've just been there once and we all feel like we own it because it's such a beautiful place and I guess rightly so. We all care about it. Carlton Reid 30:07 The Lakers. Laura Laker 30:09 Lakers, my people. Yeah. The people who holidayed in the lakes were known as the Lakers. Yeah, which is brilliant. So yeah, they, you know, they held their ground and they tarmac it and you know, the numbers increased drastically. And this story plays out all over the country, wherever there's a improve surface on a path. Suddenly, it's open to everyone. And this is what this is what cycle rich should be in, in my opinion, it should be open to everyone. Carlton Reid 30:37 Yeah, it's like the cinder path. That's the Sustrans route national cycling group from from Whitby to Scarborough. That was the one that had a load of of people complaining because Cinder path you know, they were going to be tarmacking just parts of it. And lots of people are saying you know but this this this will you know, destroy it or whenever lots of yobs in and it just never got done. And then it's it's impossible for a lot of the year because it's just it gets just too rutted into mud into too horrible. And this is, you know, we discard it would just be so easy. You know, between these two conurbations and small conurbations, if you could ride there on an all year round an all weather path? Laura Laker 31:21 So yeah, I do. I do worry about this, because it's, you know, they say it's an effect gentrification. And you're you're bringing, you know, urban into the countryside yet. There's roads everywhere, and they got tarmac on, and nobody seems to be kicking up a fuss there. What's What's your problem? Yeah, I know. And I think it's just we have this idea about what the cycle routes should be or could be, and we see them as leisure routes quite a lot of the time, we have this kind of set idea about cycling, that it's not, you know, it's not a commuter option, or, but you know, it is, but it goes beyond that. And it is about who can access these parts. And quite often, having an uneven surface will lock a lot of people out. And you know, we're an ageing population in this country. And as we get older, we will all have disabilities, and mobility issues. And it shouldn't be that you know, these paths are any open to a few people. But yeah, it's a difficult one. And we would like to say we've never think twice about it for roads, we've never think about having a road as a dirt path. And I can you know, visually tarmac is not a beautiful thing, but I think if people understood that actually, it's it's not just about the visuals. This is about people and this is what these parts are for they're for people. Carlton Reid 32:34 Well you can make if you want it to be just that colour, you can make the the asphalt you can you can you can dye the asphalt. So it's it's more expensive. But you can you can do all sorts of treatments you can do to make it all weather doesn't have to look, you know, black. Yeah. So anyway, so let's go to another assessment. That's some negative ones. Where they tried to be certain, but then you point out the Polgate one, between Polgate and Glynde, which is almost happened to you by by mistake. Not mistake, but it's certainly a by accident. Yeah. And you're talking about it being just brilliant. So describe that one. Laura Laker 33:11 That's amazing. Yeah. So I was told about this. And then I know someone who lives in Lewis, which is at one end of it. And so we we we met at the station and cycled along this path. And so it's beside the A27, which is a national highways road. And it's right by the sales downs, which is hugely popular with cyclists. And basically, there were so many people cycling on this incredibly terrifying road. It's one of those narrow and winding A roads with huge volumes of traffic. I mean, I went on a walking trip near Louis the other day, and I had to cross it with no crossing and it was it was genuinely terrifying. I can't imagine people cycling on it, because it's, you know, six months. So yeah, anyway, people were being held up in their cars because of people cycling. And so national highways decided it was going to build a path alongside and it's this this was a real eye opener for me because they had done what needs to happen around the country. They had built a path behind the hedge row, which is wide and tarmac and smooze with lots of planting and culverts and bridges over rivers and and they just laid it you know, very little problem. I don't know if they owned the land or perhaps compulsory purchase probably a mixture of I think it was a mixture of both. And so they built this amazing kind of 10 kilometre joyful route, which is just you know, it's just like a road. It's like no stress. You just carry on. There was someone on the mobility scooter the day I was there, a couple of people on bikes, but it was basically hadn't opened yet. And yeah, it was just there. But it's quite funny because at either end, it just stopped because then that's the local councils job to kind of deliver it beyond. But you know, it shows what's possible if you have a national body with the power and the funding, and they have, you know, multi year funding pots which helps plan and deliver this stuff and they just did it, they just sort of swept aside all of the normal problems that I talked about in the book that usually dog these cycle routes. And yeah, it's quite, it was quite marvellous, quite Carlton Reid 35:11 I found it fascinating because one of the things you say is, as we just mentioned there, it, it was an effective bill to get the cyclists off the road. We made enough nuisance of ourselves, that is 1930s to a tee, you know, the transport, you know, built those 500 miles of cycle tracks in the 1930s to Dutch standards laced around the country. Some of them weren't brilliant, but some of them were amazing, you know, 12 foot wide Dutch Dutch level, concrete curbs, you know, perfectly brilliant bits of cycling infrastructure that are now just some of them are white elephants, because they didn't link up to anywhere. But, you know, the government at the time said, Oh, we're doing this for the safety. No, they weren't they were doing it to you know, get cyclists on the road because we're slowing down motorists, but you kind of almost don't care if if if you get a really superlative route behind the hedgerows. Yeah. Okay. It's such a difference. Yeah. That's the difference. It's got to be good. You can't just fob you off with shared route pavement, which is what yeah, the criticism of Sustrans has been is like there's so many shared route pavement. And that's why Sustrans got a bad rap, even though it wasn't their fault. And they were just trying to fill in the gaps. Laura Laker 36:28 That yeah, yeah. And yeah, they just have to use whatever was there, which was quite often a pavement along what would have been a not too busy road in the 70s or 80s. But it's now a sort of thundering highway and being on a pavement with no barrier between you and or no, no sort of space between you and the 60 mile an hour traffic is far from pleasant, and no, no, no parent is going to choose to cycle on that. If they have any other choice, you know, they're going to avoid that like the plague because you know, one little wobble or mistake and then you know, it's horrific there, you know, possible outcomes. But yeah, it's you know, it's, it's fantastic. Because you don't even barely know the roads there. It's just cool. It's just gorgeous. I'd like to go back actually, because it's been a good year, I think since I saw it. At least actually. Maybe Yeah, I think it's at least a year and yeah, let's see how the trees are bedding in and because it was brand new at the time it just been done. But yeah, it is. Ultimately it is possible. And regardless of the motivations it just goes to show what's possible. I liked recently because Andy Streets and his Walking and Cycling Commissioner Adam Tranter he's on my podcast. They announced they're going to deliver the HS2 cycleway alongside in and around HS2 between Coventry and Birmingham. And when they get to Kenilworth, they're basically connecting up to one of their 1930 cycleways into Coventry. So I quite like that, you know, it's sort of linking something that's already there. And Carlton Reid 38:01 yeah, and that's also a John Grimshaw project, wasn't it? That was that was a John Grimshaw. Laura Laker 38:05 Yeah. He cycled the whole thing. Yes. Yes, he's been he's been trying to get that one, you know, for a lot for a long time. And yeah, it does stand alone. No, you need really, you need the HS2, of course, just stand alone without it. Carlton Reid 38:21 It does. Yeah, saying that, it would have absolutely been put in at the same time, that would not have been the difference. So that is point three. So in your 10 Point manifesto, that's basically work together a behind the hedgeroq Act, compulsory purchase orders, all these kinds of things that only government can do. Yeah. needs to be brought in into play. Yeah. And then you you've said and it's very ambitious. But when you think about it's like, yeah, you could do this easily. And that is you know, if if this was done and if money was provided, and compulsory purchase orders were put in like you would do for roads, you can have an unbelievably fantastic truly superlative national cycling in four years. Laura Laker 39:02 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Brian Deegan active travel England reckoned reckoned on this, because, you know, they have such a huge amount of power and to take go to build a cycle, which basically takes three years generally you do you have a year to kind of plan it a year to consult and tweak and then a year to build it. And for that you need multi year funding, because without that, you can't plan anything, basically. And that's why we've ended up bits and bobs of improvements, because it's like, you get the money, you have to spend it pretty much immediately. But yeah, I mean, the amount of funding a body like national highways has would be enough to you know, link these existing routes. Sometimes there are quiet roads, you know, I guess, in the Netherlands, you have through roads and access roads, things like low traffic neighbourhoods, in the countryside. That is a that is a kind of measure that you can do. And some of it it doesn't all have to be Are these sort of high quality pieces of massive engineering cycle routes, either behind the hedge row or on main roads? Some of it can just be tweaking kind of existing infrastructure so that it's not not every road as a through road. But yes, it's some it's amazing. And I kind of did a double take when I heard this. But when we put our mind to something, it's amazing what's possible. Carlton Reid 40:24 And potentially, we will see the fruits of this in Scotland, and Wales, Scotland, Wales are putting in some really ambitious stuff. And Mark Drakeford going, you know, will they backtrack on the 20 mile limit? And will they, you know, reverse a lot of stuff that Lee Waters that all this kind of stuff is potentially up in the air? We don't know yet. Yeah. But Scotland does seem to be, you know, putting their money where their mouth is, you know, that the amount of money that's going in there, per head, dwarfs what we see here in England. So the potentially you've got, you've got like, in five years, you could have something incredible. In Scottish cities in Glasgow. Yeah. You're talking about Glasgow? Laura Laker 41:09 Yeah. And yeah, Glasgow was amazing. I mean, that was the first time I'd been to Glasgow, on that trip. And I was blown away, actually. So they're developing a city wide network of routes, they're lowering in bridges across, they've got this very kind of, I guess, I guess they had this, at the time, they were building roads, they had a very ambitious programme of building like highways. And maybe that's about the culture of the city that when something comes along, when an idea comes along, they kind of embrace it. Whereas Edinburgh has historically been much more conservative. And so when, when highways when sort of urban highways came along the bond level load of those, and now cycling is seen as this big sort of saviour of health and climates and all of these important things, they're going all out on cycle routes, which is fantastic. And yeah, I was really blown away by what they're doing really high quality protected routes with planting alongside, you know, for extreme weather, it's really important to have permeable and green planting on tarmac. And, yeah, and these beautiful bridges and this massive bridge that I saw, and you know, they're really, really ambitious, I think, I've got a piece coming out about Edinburgh in the next week or so. And it talks about the difficulties that Edinburgh has faced very, very different than the city very conservative. But similarly, it's had a huge amount of funding. And I think they're finally getting to the tipping point there where they're starting to deliver real change, you know, hopefully. But yeah, it's, you know, the money's there, I think there's still difficulties with politics. So they've got these active freeways, which would be a kind of National Cycle network for Scotland, these rural routes, you know, the plan is there, or at least the idea is there, but it's not being rolled out yet. So who knows what's going to happen with that, but definitely, the funding and having that long term funding does make it much easier. I'd really love to see Scotland, you know, doing big things. And I think Scotland and Wales have been very, very forward thinking and a lot of things got maybe Scotland particularly, and more consistently than Wales, because as you say, there's a bit of a question mark. Now over Wales, they've, you know, they had the active travel act, they arguably took term coined the phrase active travel with the active travel act about a decade ago. And yeah, but stuff, you know, they have the policy, they had the money, but again, it's very, very slow to change. And I don't know, maybe they maybe if Westminster were a bit more proactive and supportive, it will be easier, who knows, but you're always going to come up against these kinds of difficulties, local politics and stuff, but I think money talks, you know, the money's there for it local investment, which Council isn't going to want public realm improvements, and you know, health. Carlton Reid 43:49 Money is number one, in your manifesto, so it's funded, and okay, we get the money from it. Here's what you say, stop expanding road capacity, and we have delivered a comprehensive network of cycling and walking routes. Hallelujah. Yeah, exactly. It's just like, you know, we've got so many roads, why can't we have more and more and more and more, as we know, it just fills up with traffic if we're gonna have build it and they will come Okay, let's do it for bikes. Now. You know, roads have had eighty years of this, let's have 10 years for for bikes, but walking and . It's just, it's a no brainer. And the LTNs thing kind of like it's so frustrating. Because we're only talking like a few streets. We're not we're not talking. That's when you hear you know, the the shock jocks you'd think is every single road in the country is going to be catered and you're going to hand it to cyclists. That's, that's how it's portrayed. And we're actually you know, maybe maybe a fraction of 1% of roads. really, genuinely is all too Talking about is currently got anyway. Yeah, having safe cycle routes, you know, don't get it get blown up by us people like us journalists, Laura, we're to blame for misrepresenting this. That's that's, that doesn't say good things about our profession, does it? Laura Laker 45:22 No. And I think I think I mean, it speaks to the kind of economics of journalism that, you know, people want eyeballs on stories nowadays because it's that's what makes advertising revenue funding for journalism is fallen off a cliff. And I think this is sort of desperation about the industry at the moment. But, you know, I think it's important to remember that the people shouting against this stuff are a minority, and most people want this stuff or are willing to try it and see, and most of us want quiet, safe streets, we want our kids to be able to play out in safety, we want clean air, we want, you know, peace and quiet. And I think because we haven't seen it, a lot of cases, it's difficult to imagine. But you know, ultimately, these things happen. There's, there's a pushback from a handful of people who are noisy, but I think if we have conversations about, you know, what we could, what we could get from these improvements from these schemes, then it's much positive way of talking about it. Of course, that's not how news works. And I think that's why we need leaders who are willing to sort of look beyond that short period in which a lot of journalists are shouting, and a few people, some of whom have genuine concerns and need to be listened to a shouting and listen to them. But you know, this is something that people want actually, and, you know, the benefits so enormous. Once it's happened, I don't think people would want to go back. Carlton Reid 46:46 Yeah, this is the thing. It's like, a good example is Northumberland Street and Newcastle, which is a pedestrianised street used to be the A1, you know, really the central state through the centre of Newcastle. It's I think, outside of central London, Mayfair on Oxford Street. It's the highest grossing per square foot retail zone in the country, because it was pedestrianised. And it just made it easier. And nobody in their right mind would say, we need to make that the a one again, guys, you know, let's get the cars and buses soaring and you just wouldn't do it. But Newcastle spent the best part of 20 years doing this, it wasn't an overnight thing. We had to spend a long time, a lot of angst getting it done, but nobody would wish it away now. And that's what when we're not getting with all these LTNs and all these cycles, if only if we put them in, nobody would complain about them. Not really not once they see it, it's just if people don't like change. Laura Laker 47:47 yeah, none of us like change just a thing. And it's hard to picture. And I think it's easy to dismiss people's concerns. Because you know, it's normal for us not to want change, it's normal to be concerned about something if you can't picture it. And you're, you know, many of these are genuine worries about businesses, and how will I get from A to B and, and all of this, but yeah, I think what's been lacking in this conversation is just some sort of grown up honesty about, you know, this is going to be a change. But ultimately, it's going to be one that's positive for these reasons. We, you know, we are going to listen, but ultimately, this is a an agenda that most of us support. And we know it's beneficial for these reasons. And I think we've I don't know, I think there's too much government in this country, and in many English speaking countries, kind of almost government by fear of what the Daily Mail might say, in response to this policy. And even the the recent announcement by governments about you know, stopping anti motorist measures was all caps. You know, it was like almost a Daily Mail headline. Carlton Reid 48:52 Yeah, it's quite scary and sad. Yeah. But then, you know, like you say, if you know, for the ones that hold their ground, you know, stuff dies down, people say actually, that actually is much better. So you know, where I'm coming from, I know where you're coming from. And you're saying people want this, but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here and say, Well, no, they don't people want to drive around. And if you're a woman at night, and you describe a lot of the routes, the Sustrans routes, the Nationals, you wouldn't want to go there at night, and probably no matter how much lighting security whatever you put in, you probably would still feel that way. In. Yeah, yeah. On a bicycle, you're not protected. Whereas a car, a woman, a single woman can get into a car can lock the door, can maybe have, you know, dark windscreen even so nobody knows who's in there. You then become this powerful individual who can get around in safety at the end of the day. But bicycles aren't like that, Laura. So you're you're basically making it more insecure for women to go about as independent beings. Laura Laker 50:11 Well, so as a as a woman who cycles on her own at nights that that route from Arnhem to Nijmergen in the in the Netherlands, so I ended up leaving that event and it was dark and cycling home on my own however far it was, it's a good hours ride along these routes, but because you don't have to stop, you actually feel safe. It's only when you have to stop that you start to feel unsafe in my experience. I mean, there's certain routes like along the canal, I live in East London, along the Li River that I have cycled at night, but wouldn't do now. Because you know, that is very isolated. And people have been known to jump out with bushes. But I think for the large part, if they're well designed, and other people are using them, then cycling at night for me isn't a problem. You know, you're moving you're Yeah, I don't Yeah, I very rarely felt in danger of cycling through London at night, for example. I mean, it's been the odd park where I felt a bit sketchy, but I think if you design them, well, not every path is going to feel that way safe at night. But I think in urban places where a lot of people will be cycling to and from at night, it will probably be fine. I mean, you probably feel quite safe. It's about kind of eyes on the streets in a way having people they're with you. Yeah, and I think if a route were well used enough, and don't forget, you know, if you're, if you're, you know, you're not going to necessarily, you're not going to drive home after a night out if you've had a drink. And so you will have to sort of walk a section of your journey. Most likely, if you're in a place like London, you hate taking public transport, maybe you take a taxi, but I feel I don't feel like if I'm on a busy road, walking alone at night that I am safe with those other people around me because I don't feel like people who are driving through again to necessarily stop and help me if something did happen. So I think kind of busy streets can feel unsafe, even though they're very highly populated. And, you know, theoretically, and this kind of, there's been research on this, you know, people who live on quiet streets, no more of their neighbours, this sort of social safety element, and people start looking out for each other. Whereas if you have a traffic dominated environment, it's people tend to turn away from the street. Carlton Reid 52:28 Yeah, I don't disagree. But if it is looking at the motivation of many, many people, I mean, humans are generally lazy. Yeah. They generally want comfort. They want their own things, and they want security, all of those things you have in spades in cars. The downside is, because everybody wants that. And everybody's in a car, it means you don't get anywhere. Unknown Speaker 52:57 Yeah, I don't think that's a whole story. I mean, I think a lot of the time people drive because the alternative is either aren't there don't feel possible, or they don't feel safe. So cycling on the road wouldn't feel safe, you wouldn't even most people wouldn't even consider it. But we've seen I grew up in rural West Somerset, and you had to learn to drive as soon as you turn 17, you would take your test, you buy a car, and you drive everywhere, because the buses mean the buses are even worse. Now. They were okay at the time, but not great. But they just took longer, and you couldn't get everywhere you needed to go my friends as a teenager lived in variable kind of communities. And so you had to drive there was just no other option I would have loved to cycle. And you've seen in London, where we've got a growing network of roots, suddenly, all these people from all walks of life, all kinds of demographics. Laura Laker 53:48 genders, you see a much better one gender split, but also all types of people cycling. And that kind of speaks to the fact that actually, people do want to do this and they may want to convenience but they also want to enjoy their journey. They also want to save money. Cycling can be incredibly convenient, no parking worries, it's so much cheaper you know you don't have to stress of finding a parking space or you know, paying vast amounts of money. I think something like I forget the number who in transport poverty in this country because of cars basically. They spend something like 19% of their income on their car with finance lorry, using facts to convince me that's Carlton Reid 54:36 Anybody can convince with facts, come on. At that juncture, I'd like to go across to my colleague David in America. Take it away, David. David Bernstein 54:45 This podcast is brought to you by Tern Bicycles. Like you, the folks at Tern are always up for a good outdoor adventure by bike—whether that's fishing, camping, or taking a quick detour to hit the trails before picking Unknown Speaker 55:00 up the kids from school. And if you're looking to explore new ground by taking your adventures further into the wild, they've got you covered. The brand new Orox by Tern is an all-season, all-terrain adventure cargo bike that's built around the Bosch Smart System to help you cross even the most ambitious itinerary off your bucket list. It combines the fun of off-road riding in any season with some serious cargo capacity, so you can bring everything you need—wherever you go, whenever you go. Plus, it's certified tough and tested for safety so your adventures are worry-free. With two frame sizes to choose from and a cockpit that's tested to support riders of different sizes, finding an adventure bike that fits you and your everyday needs has never been easier with the Orox. Visit www.ternbicycles.com/orox (that's O-R-O-X) to learn more. Carlton Reid 56:04 Thanks, David. And we are back with Laura Laker the Laker people. And she's the author of potholes and pavements a bumpy ride on Britain's National Cycle network. It's not actually out yet, isn't Laura. It's actually middle middle of the next month, middle of night. Hmm. Yeah. So you having a launch day what you're doing? Laura Laker 56:28 Yeah, I've got some. You've got like, You got speaker a bank and tell us tell us what you're doing? Yeah, so I've got I'm having like a bit of a party for some friends and family. And then I've got a talk in Stanford's in Covent Garden. I'm speaking in Parliament. But I think that's more of a parliamentary event. And I have got an event at Stanfords in Bristol with Xavier Bryce, we're going to discuss the future of the NCN. I've got one I'm speaking in Oxford, at a bookshop. I'm going to be interviewed by Emily Kerr, who's a green Councillor there. I have got a there's a literary festival in Wantage in November. And we're looking at other events as we speak. Carlton Reid 57:16 Excellent. And this is two hundred and .... All right, I'm going to deliver the end of the book. We're talking 264 pages, and then you've got references back. I mean, one of them. Thank you very much. Laura Laker 57:32 Yeah. Carlton Reid 57:34 Thanks. as well. Yes, at the back there, but there's, there's lots in this. So who's gonna be? Who's your audience? Who's gonna be reading this? Who do you think will be reading this? And what might actually could it start something big with with in politics? Can we could we get this like your manifesto? Can it get out there? What do you hope to happen with your book? Laura Laker 58:00 Yeah, well, obviously, I want everyone to read it. I mean, my editor at Bloomsbury was saying, you know, it's probably going to be cycling enthusiasts, people who I guess already, maybe listen to your podcast, my podcast, read our articles about cycling. But I would like to think that you know, these people, these two thirds to four fifths of people who want more cycling people who think, you know, why do I have to drive everywhere? Why aren't there safe cycle routes? Why can't my kids cycle to school, and see that might see this book and think, Oh, this is going to tell that story, this is going to explain it to me. And so I hope that it's going to give people a sense of kind of why we are where we're at, with the history of the NCN and the stories, but also, you know, how wonderful it could be if we had this thing, this network of connected routes, if it were possible for all of these people who say they want to cycle and more who maybe don't even know they want to cycle could do so. And I hope that, you know, my perhaps naive hope is that people will read it and think, you know, this could be such a wonderful thing, why aren't we doing it? And how can we get it to happen and I hope policymakers you know, we've got an election coming up I think this speaks to you know, forget the culture wars. I think this speaks to all sides, you know, of politics, I think, you know, individual freedom and choice is a conservative value, right? Cycling, cycling delivers on that. Carlton Reid 59:26 Cycling is so libertarian is a form of transport I've had many conversations This is freedom. Why is this left wing? Why do people always assume it's just this thing? Laura Laker 59:42 Yeah, it's become a cultural thing. And it's only for I think, you know, certain factions of the right perhaps see this as a wedge issue. And a way of you know, rallying people around them on based on kind of outrage like false outrage really, untruthes. and you You know, in terms of the left, this is, you know, great value for money, the Labour Party is very, very keen on showing they're working and proving to people that they can be trusted with the economy. It delivers on the green agenda, it's so beneficial in terms of cutting carbon emissions, it delivers on health, pretty much every department that we can think of this offers people access to work, you know, so many people who are out of work, especially in rural communities can't even afford to go and find work or stay in a job because the transport is too expensive, or it's too patchy doesn't go in and they needed to go. So there's like barely a thing that this doesn't touch. And I really hope that you know, along with kind of griping, which is, I hope not too much of the book, and the polemic side that this shows actually, you know, this is great for tourism, this is great for our mental health. This can bring us together, you know, it's about in Scotland, I saw that a cycle route can be a linear park, it can be about artwork and community. It can bring people together from different walks of life around a space. And, you know, cycling delivers on these things. And, you know, if we kind of dropped the culture was narrative, which is nonsense. You know, we could see all of these benefits fairly quickly and for very little money, and have a far better country for it. Carlton Reid 1:01:18 Many people would baulk at having Boris Johnson back. And you do mention this in the book of what he and Andrew Gilligan were able to do. Hopefully, it doesn't seem like I want him back. But will it that that is what you need. I mean, you do talk about having a cycling Prime Minister, we had a cycling Prime Minister, we had a Prime Minister who said it was me a golden age for cycling. So we need we need him back. Laura, that we just we need we need Boris back. No, we don't like that back there. Are there other other politicians are available? We just need people to believe in it. And you know, I hope that people read the book and think, actually, this is something we can believe in, but don't need one of the good things about Boris Johnson. Not only did he you know, talk, the talk, walk the talk, all that kind of stuff. But he was right wing. So he could he just instantly takes away that that part of this oversight is a left wing things like well, here's this right wing politician who's pushing for this Andrew Gilligan, Telegraph writer. These are not left wing people in any way, shape, or form. So is that what we need we actually need and then we'd like all politicians to do this, but by the same thing, you need somebody almost on the opposite side to be doing this, they've got more chance of pushing this through. So that's why Boris Johnson did so well, because he was right wing and the Mail isn't gonna, you know, rail against what Boris Johnson was doing. They never did. Laura Laker 1:02:46 They did though. They did. They totally did. I don't think they discriminated against him because he was towards their political leanings. I mean, it's unlikely we're going to have another conservative government, right, when we've got the election coming up, it's going to be Labour by all likelihood. And so they're going to be the ones in power delivering. So I don't know, Carlton Reid 1:03:09 But they backtracked over their green policies. I mean, what hope do we have? Laura Laker 1:03:12 I know I know. I know it's incredibly disappointing. And the thing is this this stuff like the green agenda, more broadly investment in insulating homes, for example, is such great return on investment and if they're thinking about finances and showing they're working insulating homes is just a total no brainer. You know, we all pay far too much for our energy bills. We live in draughty leaky homes. So many houses are mouldy because of the cold walls are damp Yeah, I just think you know, and green technology, huge growth industry. Solar and wind where you know, we're windy little island, but a lot of coastline. Offshore wind is fantastic. Carlton Reid 1:03:55 But in your in the book, you show how national highways basically is an organisation set up to build roads. And once you've done something like that, and that's their raison d'etre. Guess what they're going to build roads. Yeah. So yeah, it's that oil tanker you know having to put the brakes on and change a whole culture so we're not talking about you know, Cuz your manifesto is saying you know, stop funding this and yeah. Laura Laker 1:04:28 Wales did this basically with their no more roads or no more roads and less they increased active travel and public transport policy. They basically have kind of repurpose their national highways body around this agenda, you know, fill in the potholes. We've got a road in a dreadful state and, you know, develop use all their skills and power and funding for active travel. You know, public transport in this country is drastically underfunded. Buses are so important, especially in rural areas, especially people on low incomes, especially for women and Do you know buses are so important? We're really, really not kind of reaping the power the massive power of the bus.? Carlton Reid 1:05:08 Yeah, that's in your book as well, because you're talking about how buses, you know, need to be able to carry bikes. Yeah. And that's, you know, that's a small part of what they could do but the broader transport perspective that's that's so impor

Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve Home Furnishings is a 12,000 sqft warehouse of curated designer furnishings sourced from near and far. They specialize in mid-century, Hollywood Regency styles from the 60's and 70s to current day focusing on looks that last a lifetime. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings In episode 10 of Take Back Your Home Podcast, hosts Lee Waters and Rebecca discuss various design topics including the final module of their Take Back Your Home course. In the module, they explore the concept of "Chic" in home design, focusing on uniqueness, playfulness, intentionality, and overscaled, balanced, and layered elements. They encourage decor choices that represent one's personality and creating a kid-proof and authentic space. They also discuss their design process, selecting art, cleaning tips for upholstery, and creative ways to organize and secure cords. They touch on fiber protection services, fireplace safety, DIY sconces, and accurate measurements for built-in shelving. Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principles from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! The Take Back Your Home Course teaches you my step-by-step program as I guide you in transforming your home from constant stress to total success, one room at a time. Get feedback on your design plan and lifetime access now at leewatersdesign.com. Listeners get a 15% off the course with the promo code PODCAST. https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve Home Furnishings is a 12,000 sqft warehouse of curated designer furnishings sourced from near and far. They specialize in mid-century, Hollywood Regency styles from the 60's and 70s to current day focusing on looks that last a lifetime. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings Welcome to the 9th episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! In this episode of the Take Back Your Home podcast, host Lee Waters and co-host Rebecca welcome designer Tiara Holloway from Vivacious Interior by Tiara in Richmond. Tiara & Lee explain the importance of choosing the right LED light bulbs for accurate color rendering in a room. They also emphasize the significance of ceiling height in interior design and discuss strategies for making the most of tall and short ceilings. Additionally, Tiara shares tips for buying furniture on Facebook Marketplace, encouraging careful measurements and considering personal style. They conclude by emphasizing the value of measuring critical dimensions and committing to design choices, even before making a purchase. Follow Tiara! - https://vivaciousinteriorbytiara.com/ IG: https://instagram.com/Vivaciousinteriorbytiarallc FB: Vivacious Interior by Tiara Pinterest: VivaciousInteriorbyTiara Contact: 804.937.7786 Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! The Take Back Your Home Course teaches you my step-by-step program as I guide you in transforming your home from constant stress to total success, one room at a time. Get feedback on your design plan and lifetime access now at leewatersdesign.com. Listeners get a 15% off the course with the promo code PODCAST. https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve home furnishings is a 12k sq ft warehouse of curated designer furnishings sourced from near and far. They specialize in mid-century, Hollywood Regency styles from the 60's and 70s to current day focusing on looks that last a lifetime. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings Welcome to the 8th episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! In this episode of the Take Back Your Home podcast, the hosts are excited to collaborate with Alex Brown, founder of Seventh + Shire Candle Company, to create a new custom candle for their brand called "Worthy". The podcast discusses how the candle was Brown's dream come true and how the company has partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to give back a portion of their sales to the cause. Candle scents are also discussed and how each scent can evoke different emotions and create a specific mood in a space. It is suggested that candles can improve a person's sense of well-being and be used in a home to make it more comfortable and relaxed. The design elements in a space are also discussed and how to consider scent, sound, touch, and the body's feel when using candles. Lee encourages people to take a step-by-step process in designing their home and to address these elements before making any purchases. The podcast also discusses the habit of setting the table for breakfast the night before, the benefits of ambient lighting, a morning routine, and the benefits of tidying up a space and taking care of it to improve one's mental state. Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! The Take Back Your Home Course teaches you my step-by-step program as I guide you in transforming your home from constant stress to total success, one room at a time. Get feedback on your design plan and lifetime access now at leewatersdesign.com. Listeners get a 15% off the course with the promo code PODCAST. https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve home furnishings is a 12k sq ft warehouse of curated designer furnishings sourced from near and far. They specialize in mid-century, Hollywood Regency styles from the 60's and 70s to current day focusing on looks that last a lifetime. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings Welcome to the 7th episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! Check out Green Front! - https://www.greenfront.com/ Den Crallé, the president and CEO of Greenfront Furniture, discusses the history and unique concept of his business. Greenfront Furniture started as a grocery store, Green Front Grocery, in the 1930s, but evolved into a furniture business in the 1960s when Den's father took over. Today, Greenfront Furniture has 13 buildings with almost a million square feet of retail showroom space, featuring furniture, rugs, and home decor from top designer brands to the largest rug collection in the country. The company is not just a store but a destination shopping experience, with restaurants, a bike trail, and more. Den is the third generation of his family to run the business, and his passion and love for what he does come through in his company culture and interactions with his sales team. Den also shares the charity project and how the GreenFront Furniture store recently supported the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Virginia and they will also be participating in other charity events in the Hampton Roads area. Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! The Take Back Your Home Course teaches you my step-by-step program as I guide you in transforming your home from constant stress to total success, one room at a time. Get feedback on your design plan and lifetime access now at leewatersdesign.com. Listeners get a 15% off the course with the promo code PODCAST. https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Navigating "the hard" as an entrepreneur and a designer can be an extremely isolating experience. Friends and family often can't support us the way we might need, so I'm bringing this conversation to the podcast today with my guest, Lee Waters.    Lee is a wonderful interior designer and member of Design You, and I've decided to bring her on because she is an action-taker. In this episode, we discuss the different kinds of hard that Lee has navigated this year, how she is weathering a tricky season in the design industry, and our advice for creating success during the inevitable tough times.    Prepare to elevate your social media presence and supercharge your interior design business with our dynamic live 3-part training: Show Up on Social Media Like a Pro!

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve home furnishings is a 12k sq ft warehouse of curated designer furnishings sourced from near and far. They specialize in mid-century, Hollywood Regency styles from the 60's and 70s to current day focusing on looks that last a lifetime. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings Welcome to the 6th episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! Kim Vincze is the owner of Verve Home Furnishings in Richmond, Virginia. She discusses their store's focus on vintage and new furniture and their love for creating vignettes that draw people in. Kim encourages people to visit their store for a unique home decor style and to create their own. Earlier in the video, Kim emphasizes the importance of taking back one's home and creating a unique style. She also talks about the importance of relationships and the interest in learning the backstories of items. The Verve Home Furnishings store is eclectic, layered, and maximalist, with thoughtful attention to staging and display. Kim believes that visiting the store adds value to the purchase because it provides an idea of a concept that one can take home with them, serving as an inspiration and guide for making their own home unique. Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! The Take Back Your Home Course teaches you my step-by-step program as I guide you in transforming your home from constant stress to total success, one room at a time. Get feedback on your design plan and lifetime access now at leewatersdesign.com. Listeners get a 15% off the course with the promo code PODCAST. https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve home furnishings is a 12k sq ft warehouse of curated designer furnishings sourced from near and far. They specialize in mid-century, Hollywood Regency styles from the 60's and 70s to current day focusing on looks that last a lifetime. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings Welcome to the 5th episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! Lee and Rebecca discuss the performance fabric and fibers section of the Take Back Your Home course, specifically focusing on rugs. They discuss the pros and cons of different fibers such as Olefin, polyester, acrylic, and others. Lee emphasizes the importance of knowing the fiber composition and properties of a rug before buying, as different fibers have different performance properties. Lee also discusses the importance of lighting and using fabric samples to make sure the colors look accurate. Later on in the section, she discusses the limitations of design influencers and advises caution when making purchasing decisions based on their content. She also provides practical advice on affordable and sustainable furniture options, such as recovering furniture with new fabric. Lee emphasizes the importance of taking care of upholstery and fabric and provides tips on cleaning cushions and upholstery regularly. Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! The Take Back Your Home Course teaches you my step-by-step program as I guide you in transforming your home from constant stress to total success, one room at a time. Get feedback on your design plan and lifetime access now at leewatersdesign.com. Listeners get a 15% off the course with the promo code PODCAST. https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve Home Furnishings sells vintage art and furniture. You absolutely must visit their RVA based store, or shop their online Chairish shop to discover one-of-a-kind, fabulous finds and new accessories. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings. Welcome to the 4th episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! Lee and Rebecca discuss the benefits of using double duty furniture pieces that provide storage while also functioning as furniture. They emphasize the importance of efficient storage solutions and the habit of putting things away to minimize visual clutter and maintain a sense of calm in the home. The hosts highlight various examples of double duty furniture, such as end tables with drawers, coffee tables as homework stations, and console tables for snacks and laptop usage. They also share personal experiences and offer practical tips for maximizing functionality and space in a home. Overall, this episode promotes the idea of utilizing double duty furniture pieces to save time, space, and maintain a sense of sanity and order in the home. Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! Register for Lee's online course! https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve Home Furnishings sells vintage art and furniture. You absolutely must visit their RVA based store, or shop their online Chairish shop to discover one-of-a-kind, fabulous finds and new accessories. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings. Welcome to the 3rd episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! Today Paul Lamborn, Vice President of Tech Painting Co. joins your host Lee Waters to chat about all things paint! Paint seems binary, right? You throw it on the wall and it does it's job - but there are a LOT of factors to consider when choosing the right paint to get the look that you want. There are colors, sheens, LRVs, and many more topics that you will hear about in this episode that will help you make sure you choose the right paint for you! Lee Waters is an award-winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! Register for Lee's online course! https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve Home Furnishings sells vintage art and furniture. You absolutely must visit their RVA based store, or shop their online Chairish shop to discover one-of-a-kind, fabulous finds and new accessories. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings. Welcome to the 2nd episode of the Take Back Your Home Podcast! Today Rebecca joins your host Lee Waters again and they discuss the importance of proper layout and measurement in interior design, sharing their own experiences and emphasizing the significance of taking accurate measurements to ensure furniture fits perfectly in a space. They highlight the importance of respecting and efficiently utilizing resources, such as financial resources, time, and physical resources. They discuss the importance of proper furniture placement and the significance of considering comfort when purchasing furniture. The hosts introduce the floorplanner.com software as a tool to help plan and visualize the space, and they discuss the idea of having labeled storage and the need for purging and getting rid of excess items. Lee Waters is an award winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! Register for Lee's online course! https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

James Williams speaks to the Deputy Minster of Climate Change in Wales, Lee Waters, about the imminent arrival of the default 20mph speed limit. Also, with the help of BBC Wales' Political Editor Gareth Lewis, he analyses the latest Welsh Government announcement about the multi-million pound overspend by NHS Wales.

Shout out to our sponsors! Tech Painting Co provides both commercial and residential services throughout Virginia, including but not limited to: exterior and interior painting, painting and stripping, specialty coatings, trim repair, drywall repair and installation, wallcovering removal and installation, and more!, LWD loves working with Tech because they are organized, thorough, fair, and do incredible work! Contact by emailing richmondoffice@techpainting.com. Verve Home Furnishings sells vintage art and furniture. You absolutely must visit their RVA based store, or shop their online Chairish shop to discover one-of-a-kind, fabulous finds and new accessories. LWD always discovers something incredible for our clients at Verve! Slide into their Instagram DMs by following @VerveHomeFurnishings. In the first Take Back Your Home Podcast episode, hosts Lee and Rebecca discuss how to create a stylish and functional rental home, challenging the idea that nice things and children don't go together. They highlight advancements in design for families, emphasize furniture arrangement strategies, touch on psychological theories for cozy spaces, and suggest cost-effective approaches. The hosts also share personal experiences, encourage valuing one's current living space, and preview the next episode's topic on layouts. Lee Waters is an award winning interior designer based in Richmond, VA. The Take Back Your Home podcast is an outlet for listeners to learn design principals from one of the best, hear from/about cool companies that provide great resources for the design of your home, and more! Lee offers a course you can check out today so that you can learn how to Take Back Your Home! Register for Lee's online course! https://leewatersdesign.com/online-interior-design-courses/ Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/leewatersdesign Morrisette Media is a digital media/marketing agency based in Richmond, VA, that specializes in the creative side of marketing and branding. We love to work with small to medium-sized businesses to help grow and promote their brand to their target customers through highly thought-out commercial video and photo. Socials - IG - https://instagram.com/morrisettemedia https://linktr.ee/morrisettemedia

This time Ned, Adam and Laura are talking about roads. Are they good, are they bad, and do we really need to take sides? In a week where the Prime Minister claimed there's a ‘side' where driving is concerned, we look to Wales, where they're taking perhaps a more balanced approach to transport. Lee Waters is Wales' Deputy Minister for Climate Change. He works in a department that brings together society's most polluting sectors and seeks to reduce their carbon emissions, not least for the sake of future generations. In February 2023, following a Roads Review, the Welsh Senedd announced it wouldn't be investing in new roads unless they contribute to a modal shift towards public transport and/or active travel. While this announcement was spun as a 'ban' on all new roads, it in fact simply raised the bar for roadbuilding. Lee Waters talks to Streets Ahead about the thinking behind the move, the challenges, and why giving people clean transport options - and genuine alternatives to driving - is not a party political issue.You can read more about Wales' roads review, and the report on the future of Welsh roadbuilding, here: https://www.gov.wales/future-road-investment-wales. As the chair of the roads review panel, Lyn Sloman, put it: "The challenge of our time is to achieve a prosperous economy and a fairer society whilst protecting and enhancing the environment, for our own well-being and that of future generations." We're on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsaheadIf you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.Episode edited by Clare Mansell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

European banks come under pressure as the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues - we hear from Walter Todd Chief Investment Officer - Greenwood Capital, and the Nobel Prize winning economist Professor Philip Dybvig, Professor of Banking and Finance at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in Saint Louis. Also today a key meeting between South Korea and Japan, and the European nation pumping the brakes on road building - Wales' deputy minister for climate change Lee Waters tells us more. Will Bain is joined throughout by Tokyo-based Yoko Ishikura, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, and from Ann Arbor, by Betsey Stevenson, Professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.

Worried your kids might ruin your brand new sofa or rug?  I feel ya!  Today I'm so excited to be talking to fellow interior designer, Lee Waters of Lee Waters Design about how to create an inspiring home even when your kids are young.  We're calling BS on that old saying “This is why we can't have nice things.” !In this episode, you'll learn1. Why you don't have to wait until your kids are grown to have a home you love.2. The scoop on some of our favorite family friendly finishes and products3. Why bigger is not always better when it comes to family homesIf you liked today's episode, please leave me a rating and review in Apple podcasts. Check out the House Calls for Physicians Website. Join the House Calls for Physicians Private Facebook Group Check us out on Instagram!

Market Talk, Mike Lung talks with Lee Waters, VP of Crop Insurance at Farm Credit Illinois on this weeks podcast. We get the lowdown on new plant dates, the 2018 farm bill, and livestock revenue insurance. 

Brownfield's Rhiannon Branch is joined by Vice Presidents of Crop Insurance at Farm Credit Illinois, Lee Waters and Jason Rust. Listen in as the three discuss how updating your risk management plan can protect you from the unknown and provide peace of mind in these high cost times.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sverige satsar 800 miljarder kronor på infrastruktur som vägar och järnvägar de närmaste tolv åren. Söder om Stockholm ska Tvärförbindelse Södertörn byggas. Det är det dyraste vägbygget som också ökar utsläppen mest. Regeringen har kallat det den största satsningen någonsin och att det ska bidra till att klimatmålen nås och till att Sverige blir världens första fossilfria välfärdsland. Men det visar sig att koldioxidutsläppen knappt minskas alls med de stora satsningarna, vilket lett till omfattande kritik mot Trafikverkets förslag. I vår fattar regeringen det slutliga beslutet om infrastruktursatsningarna. I Wales stoppas alla nya vägbyggen och omprövas på grund av klimatkrisen och påverkan på den biologiska mångfaldenI Wales har politiken stoppat nya vägbyggen på grund av klimatutsläppen. Hör Wales vice klimatminister i Klotet!Medverkande: Tony Nicander, aktiv i gruppen "Stoppa motorvägen - Rädda Södertörns tysta skogar", Christian Ottosson, (C) kommunalråd för miljö- och klimatfrågor i Huddinge, Johan Kuylenstierna, ordförande för regeringens Klimatpolitiska råd, Lennart Kalander, avdelningschef nationell planering på Trafikverket, Mikael Johannesson, Statens Väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Birgit Nielsen, miljöskyddsavdelningen på Länsstyrelsen Västra Götaland, Johan Bogren, chef för klimatstyrmedelsenheten på Naturvårdsverket och Lee Waters, vice klimatminister i Wales för Labourpartiet.Skriv till oss! vet@sverigesradio.seReporter: Daniel VärjöProgramledare: Niklas ZachrissonProducent: Anders Wennersten

Cat and Fliss are joined by BBC Wales Environment Correspondent Steffan Messenger who gives his take on the latest from COP26 in Glasgow. And Deputy Climate Change Minister, Lee Waters chats to the team about the plans to make Wales greener.

An interview with Lee Waters after his election victory. ©Llanelli Online CIC

In this episode of My Life On The Line, Ale & Jack are joined by Lee Waters, a performance psychologist and lecturer famous for his research and studies about vision and eyesight, a field that doesn't get the attention and recognition it deserves. Lee shares with us how vision and eyesight training can impact an athlete's performance, from NFL players to match officials. Eyesight and vision training and research have come a long way and have been around for a long time. Today's devices and software allow researchers to see where officials and athletes look at all times, and the findings are amazing. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more attention to this side of athletes' performances. Lee also shared some easy exercises we can all practice at home to improve our eyesight and vision. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of My Life On The Line, Ale & Jack are joined by Lee Waters, a performance psychologist and lecturer famous for his research and studies about vision and eyesight, a field that doesn't get the attention and recognition it deserves. Lee shares with us how vision and eyesight training can impact an athlete's performance, from NFL players to match officials. Eyesight and vision training and research have come a long way and have been around for a long time. Today's devices and software allow researchers to see where officials and athletes look at all times, and the findings are amazing. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more attention to this side of athletes' performances. Lee also shared some easy exercises we can all practice at home to improve our eyesight and vision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candidates for all the competing political parties in Wales are gearing up for the elections on 6th May. BackinBusiness invited all the main parties to put up a candidate to speak in the Welsh Small Business and Self-employment Hustings this week. Five candidates took part: Anthony Slaughter, Leader of the Wales Green Party; Sally Stephenson the Liberal Democrat Small Business spokesperson; Rhys Mills, Plaid Cymru's candidate for Islwyn and the fourth candidate on the South Wales East regional list; Russell George, the Shadow Minister for Economy, Business and Infrastructure for the Welsh Conservatives; and Lee Waters, the Deputy Minister for the Economy and Transport. Each was given the same amount of time to answer questions from the session chair Liz Barclay or submitted in advance by Welsh business people.

To have a successful user experience takes more than just a good user interface, it needs to have the user centred approach at the core of the product and the business.  In this episode I talk to Lee Waters MS, who (at the time of recording as there is now an election) is the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, and more importantly for this interview, the lead for AI and Digital in the Welsh Government. We talk about the Digital Strategy for Wales and his motivation for driving it.  It builds upon the "System Reboot" panel report which he led before becoming a minister.  But he also reflects on the real world examples of why this is important, using the technology to solve residents problems, rather than just technology for technology sake. We also touch upon decision making during the pandemic and how that has been different, not only in terms of the technology, but the decisions themselves.    As always, feedback is always welcome, just drop me a line :-)

To have a successful user experience takes more than just a good user interface, it needs to have the user centred approach at the core of the product and the…

This week we’re joined by Lee Waters a performance psychologist currently undertaking his PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology. His research is focused on eye tracking of match officials during offside decisions. We spend this podcast asking him about his research, what his findings are and practical techniques every official can do to improve their eyesight.

Today's episode of the Halftime Snacks features Lee Waters — a Sport Psychology expert with over ten years of experience working in various sports such as Football, Archery, Waterpolo, and Rugby.Lee focuses his research on decision-making — he seeks to understand why athletes do what they do in the field.Currently, he is also investigating the mechanisms of decision making using eye-tracker technology and reflective techniques. In our conversation, we talked about the decision-making process, the role of pressure, the value of our senses, and how human evolution changes the games' competitive nature.

An interview with Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport in Wales. ©Llanelli Online, All Rights Reserved.

We are so happy to have on with us tonight both Heath and Lindsay Lee-Waters, the creators of Match Tennis App which at a high level is basically your virtual tournament desk for signing into tennis tournaments and so much more. Lindsay is a former top 35 WTA player and Heath is a veteran ATP/WTA Registered tour coach since 1998. Heath's professional players have won more than 90 professional titles on tour and his junior students have won more than 30 gold balls. We are happy to have both of them on tonight to learn more about their current venture, the Match Tennis App.  It is my privilege to welcome to the “Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis” pod, both Lindsay and Heath. Find "Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis": Tennis Channel Podcast Network: https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/podcasts/10/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courtsidewithbeilinsontennis Instagram: https://instagram.com/court_side_with_beilinson Twitter: https://twitter.com/Court_Side_w_BT Website: https://www.beilinsontennis.com/

Welsh Government deputy minister Lee Waters MS has developed a reputation for speaking his mind and in this episode he does just that. In a wide-ranging conversation, we cover everything from economic 'sexy talk', the nationalisation of Welsh rail services, the realities of a post-COVID world and the reasons why Welsh Labour should positively engage in the conversations about independence. You can find Lee on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Amanwy And, of course, Hiraeth here: https://twitter.com/HiraethBlog If you're enjoying the Hiraeth pod, please like and subscribe on your podcast player of choice to receive the next episode automatically.

Founders of both Strive Tennis Academy and the Match Tennis App Heath Waters and Lindsay Lee-Waters join the show today’s show to talk about the many ways by which the Match Tennis App can help tennis players across the country reach their goals, and discuss the ways the app can help both facilitate the running of a tournament and ensure safety and health protocols are followed. Host Alex Gruskin also asks Lindsay about her pro career, and the ways her career influenced the development of the app. Don’t forget to give a 5 star review with your twitter/instagram handle for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!! This episode brought to you by: Midwest Sports Discounted Tennis Apparel, Tennis Racquets, Tennis Shoes & Equipment from Nike, adidas, Babolat, Wilson & More! Visit their store today and use the code "CR15" at checkout to save 15% off Sale items. Some Exclusions (MAP Exceptions) apply and code will not work on those items. This code will add 1 FREE CAN of WILSON Balls to the cart at checkout. DraftKings

Originally released: May 12, 2009 Episode 2 features a coming out story by Meghan Stabler: After an impressive 25 years leadership in I.T., she took on her toughest challenge and transitioned openly in the workplace at BMC Software. At BMC she helped establish understanding, communication and policies within the company to support global diversity and credits her co-workers and company DNA culture for LGBT support throughout the company. Meghan is a past board member to the National & International Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She currently serves on the board for; AIDS Foundation Houston, Human Right Campaign's National Business Council, HRC Steering Committee's of both Houston & Austin, President Obama's National LGBT Policy Committee, AETNA Healthcare GLBT Advisory Board, PRIDE Houston Board, Out and Equal Workplace Advocate's Conference Committee. As a nationally recognized spokesperson and activist Meghan has appeared globally on the television, radio and print media representing a number of industry and board related issues. Meghan has used her no-nonsense approach to advise a number of international governments, including members of the US Senate and House of Representatives. In June 2008 she submitted written testimony to Congress on Transgender Workplace issues. Meghan's courageous story is an example of authenticity and of being able to Come OUT | Be OUT | Live OUTloud.  This episode I am featuring a song by singer/songwriter Lee Waters. The song is titled "Virginia" and as Lee explains was inspired by the remarks made by Rep. Virginia Foxx's remarks in Congress during the debate on the Matthew Shepard Act. Lee has committed to donating all proceeds from the song to the http://www.matthewshepard.org/ (Matthew Shepard Foundation). http://indiestore.7digital.com/leewaters/tracks?tid=-143659 (Click here to download the song). Lee's other music can be found on his website: http://leewaters.com/ (leewaters.com) Take Action: Contact your Senators to ask that they support the Matthew Shepard Act. Visit http://fighthatenow.org/ (fighthatenow.org) for more information. Thank you Meghan & Lee for your contribution to episode 2 of Nathan OUTloud!  Follow the podcast on twitter http://twitter.com/nathanOUTloud (@nathanOUTloud).  To share your coming out story on a future episode of Nathan OUTloud, email here. Come OUT | Be OUT | Live OUTloud Support this podcast

An interview with Lee Waters MS Deputy Minister for Economy and TransportAll content ©Llanelli Online CIC, all rights reserved

Deputy Economy and Transport Minister Lee Waters on how a major part of the Welsh Government’s role is to nourish communities that have been abandoned by economic forces.The Llanelli AM also recalls his time working as special adviser to Welsh Secretary Ron Davies, and explains why he argued against the M4 relief road. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As part of our Daily Insights Podcast Series, Business News Wales Editor, Mark Powney, interviews Deputy Minister For the Economy Lee Waters. The Importance of the foundational economy and its link to economic prosperity for Wales is clear but how does this dovetail into the climate emergency, social enterprise and changes in procurement? What about our startup community? What does the future hold for organisations such as Business Wales? How realistic is Welsh independence? and of course, we have a new prime minister and government what will the Welsh government be doing to build bridges and of course protect existing powers?

The founder of Cherish Your World, Laura helps people thrive in the physical spaces where they live and work. She educates people about the optimal arrangement of belongings for comfort, safety, and flow; de-cluttering for freedom; and planning transitions to new or updated spaces for optimal joy in life. Laura knows that the conditions of our homes and workplaces shape the quality of our lives. Trained and certified with the Western School of Feng Shui and seasoned by more than a decade working with a variety of clients, Laura uses her intuition and expertise to help her clients produce remarkable results in their lives. Her own awakening to the power of feng shui came on the heels of a flood and the realization that she could live with beloved belongings rather than unloved hand-me-down stuff. Feng shui invites us to live with what we love and enjoy our lives. Her trifecta of serving people includes public speaking, writing, and compassionate coaching. Laura is a published author of the books Let Go Courageously and Live with Love: Transform Your Life with Feng Shui and Cherish Your World Gift Book: 100 Tips to Enhance Your Home and Your Life.Proceeds from the 100 Tips Gift Book support donations to Habitat for Humanity.  In the autumn of 2018, Laura was honored as a Global Goodwill Ambassador and was featured in Role Model Magazine, Winter 2019, Inspiring Stories of Unstoppable Women and Girls. Prior to becoming the founder of Cherish Your World, Laura was a full-time parent and an assistant professor at Ohio Wesleyan University. She earned a Ph.D. in political science from The Ohio State University. Her joys in life include loving her dog, laughing with great friends, dancing, reading, meditating, running, being in nature, and listening to music she loves. Back when I posted Episode 065 on the importance of tidying-up, I had no idea how very important it really is. Even though I talked about four different methods of tidying, I had neglected one method of home organization that I was not so familiar with. All I thought I knew about Feng Shui is some superstitious way to arrange your furniture or the placement of our home on the street. I had no idea that it was really about the flow of energy in your space. Maybe that still sounds hokey, but think about it! When you rearrange furniture or purge unwanted clutter, the feeling in your home changes. The ENERGY in your home changes! Feng Shui is a method of arranging your possessions in a way that serves your desired energy, and the vision you want for your future. Since my interview with Laura, I had my friend Lee Waters (from Episode 034 Part 1 and Part 2) come into my home for an assessment. She may not be a Feng Shui specialist, but she gave me lots of tips for how I can arrange my furnishings to serve my family better! She has the capacity to do a full makeover of my space! I have already put into practice a few of the small arrangements that she suggested, and it is totally changing the energy in our home! It feels SO good! I love getting these kinds of ideas. I hope that learning about this different methods helps you find one that serves your family. The idea behind Feng Shui is that we can evaluate our space around the our goals and the feeling we want in our home. Isn't that what family culture is all about!? My home reflects our values, and the feeling we share. Our home can impact our behavior, our choices, and the level of comfort we feel. It can impact our influence on those who visit our space, too! What is your family brand, your family flavor, the feeling that people have when they enter your space? How does your space influence your thoughts, your goals, or your actions toward your personal growth? Does it really matter?? I argue that it does! Find more from Laura at http://CherishYourWorld.com or http://LoveYourSpaceLoveYourLife.com Join the Family Success Toolkit Free Membership http://homeandfamilyculture.com

KonMari, Clutter Busting, Clear & Simple, or Fly Lady If you haven’t seen anything about the new Marie Kondo Netflix show, you might be living under a rock. Just kidding. But, seriously, I went on and watched an episode to see what it’s all about, and I did feel myself getting infected by the declutter bug once again. All of this talk about Kondo’s method made me realize just how much I know about decluttering. It reminded me how much I used to be very, very organized and wish I could be again! I'm the sixth of seven kids, so I know a little about the accumulation of STUFF. Nine people in one house is just a lot of people, so we had a lot of stuff. I regret that a lot of that stuff stayed at our childhood home with my parents and now they are dealing with a lot of our stuff. Something I held onto when I was a kid (and I still have) are my marching band drumsticks. I love those things. I loved playing the drums and being in the marching band. I had the privilege of leading my drum core for three of my four years in high school. It wasn't because of my skill as a musician, necessarily, but it was because of my passion for the organization and the music. I loved it. I found out after I graduated that my band teacher named a drum cadence we had written after me. It's kind of weird to think that these kids shout out my name when they want to play that cadence while they're out marching, but it made me think about why those drumsticks matter to me. It isn't that they are imbued with my skill or my memories. It's because they represent the legacy I left behind at my school. The thing is, those drumsticks will never BE my legacy. I cannot go back in time and relive those years that I loved playing the drums. I also don't want my kids to hold onto them believing that they have some inherent value just because they were mine. What I want them to realize is that our lives are a legacy and I want to DO things that are memorable. I want our experiences and our passions to be memorable. We put way too much value into our stuff and acquiring stuff that those things become more important than our time and our stress over stuff. This year, my family has actually committed to NOT giving gifts for holidays and birthdays because we want to have experiences instead. My kids are a little disappointed but I want them to give up this obsession over stuff, and start valuing our experiences. I think it’s healthy to regularly go through our stuff and purge things that don’t serve our family anymore. I talked about this a bit in Episode 034 (Part 1, and Part 2) with Lee Waters and Brityn Bennet. Brityn said that she likes to keep her home organized because the mess creates what she called “white noise” that drowns out the important things in life. I noticed that theme in the first KonMari show. The couple on the show observed that their family life, and even doing chores was less frustrating, and they felt less anxious when they got their clutter under control.  I also feel like the outer clutter in the home is a reflection of my inner chaos. While I was learning about different coping strategies back in August, I had one particularly rough day when my kids had totally trashed our house. My anxiety was boiling over, and I just could not function. That’s rough when I have my kids home all day, and a lot depends on me! I went outside to sit on the back steps to sulk for a minute. Then, the thought came to me that no one else was going to get this work done! I need to just get in there and do my best. One of the principles I’d learned that I will talk about later came to mind to set the timer for fifteen minutes, and I got to work. A task I sincerely thought would take me all day took only one hour, and I had a crazy sense of accomplishment and peace. Join the Family Success Toolkit Free Membership http://homeandfamilyculture.com

Labour Assembly Member Lee Waters shares his notable firsts and lasts with interviewer Sara Robinson.

Too often, women feel a sense of competition with other women and tear each other down instead of supporting each other. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing my dear friend, and a genuine inspiration to me and countless others, Caroline Adams Miller, an expert in, among other things, utilizing positive psychology research to help people find success, and how we as women can support and uplift each other. When Caroline was young she struggled with competition with other women. Her awareness of unhealthy competition among women continued over the years, and as she spoke with more and more women, she learned that every women seems to have had experiences of other women tearing them down or engaging in forms of unhealthy competitiveness with them. There are many reasons why women engage in this unhealthy competition with each other. For some, it's driven by jealousy. For others it's scarcity theory, the fear that there's only “one seat at the table,” or that there isn't enough success to go around. For others it might have a cause rooted in evolutionary biology. And for others, watching another woman go after her dreams in a big way triggers FOMO, a Fear Of Missing Out. Caroline shares research that says that 84% of women confess to being surrounded by “frenemies,” friends who are really enemies, and women often keep these people around out of fear of standing out and standing up for themselves. But keeping them in your life is a huge danger, because they bring you down and make it much more likely that you'll give up on going after your dreams. Research by Shelly Gable at UCLA on Active Constructive Responding teaches us that the way people around us respond to us greatly increases the chances that we'll abandon our goals or interpret our progress as negative. We need to be much more selective and intentional about who we allow into our “inner circle.” The people who are “in” should be the people who are enthusiastic about our dreams, our goals, and our ideas. We also discuss Adam Grant's book, Give and Take, and what we can learn from it about giving to others, and the concept of “relational grit,” which Caroline and Lee Waters, the current president of the International Positive Psychology Association, have come up with. Caroline and I are both huge supporters of dialogue with other like-minded women, participation in masterminds to uplift each other and support each other's efforts towards goals, and we talk about the importance of developing these support systems. As Caroline learned more about this issue she eventually came to the point where she decided that talking about it wasn't enough; she needed to DO something about it! So she came up with a multi-pronged approach drawing on Shelly Gable's research on Active Construcive Responding and on Peter Gollwitzer's work on implementation intentions (which involves creating if-then scenarios to prompt you to do things that are difficult for you). Caroline has created a simple way for women to uplift other women, which she calls Share 2 To 2. Every week, Caroline shares the successes of two women, each on two different social media platforms, and she uses the hashtag, #Share222. She often doesn't know the women she uplifts personally; she finds them on LinkedIn, or on some other platform, and shares their successes with others. She firmly believes that by uplifting other women and highlighting their successes, there will be more women at the table in positions of authority, and there will be less of an effect of scarcity theory, less fear from some women of other women succeeding, and it will be a positive spiral. I end with a few Purpose Power Tips, including learning about Active Constructive Responding, using the hastag #Share222, and “I'll have what she's having!” Click here to learn more about the summit in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2019, in which Caroline will be participating with the founder of Appreciative Inquiry as they explore, using the tools of positive psychology, how women can uplift and inspire other women in the best possible ways. To learn more about Shelly Gable's work on Active Constructive Responding, here's an article summarizing it, and here's her original research. To learn more about Caroline, go to CarolineMiller.com, and for more background into #Share222, take a look at her LinkedIn articles on it. And check out some her books: Getting Grit, Creating Your Best Life, and My Name Is Caroline. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter. May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

El trompetista Nate Wooley promueve una reflexión sobre la vigencia y puesta al día cancionero USAmericano y en esta edición de 'Club de Jazz' del 14 de diciembre de 2017 armamos un programa que sirve una reflexión musical sobre la identidad de la música de Estados Unidos. Wooley lo hace reuniendo a tres músicos que nunca habían tocado como tal trío y con diferentes orígenes estéticos y geográficos: el baterista Greg Saunier, el cornetista Ron Miles y la guitarrista Mary Halvorson. Son los responsables del primer volumen de "New American Songbooks". La propia Mary Halvorson cierra el proyecto "Book of Angels", de John Zorn, que tras 32 discos da por completado este ciclo de "nueva música judía". Halvorson reúne a Miles Okazaki (guitarra), Drew Gress (contrabajo) y Tomas Fujiwara (batería). La violinista Jenny Scheinman presenta "Here on earth", culminación de su trabajo de composición de música para los vídeos que H. Lee Waters tomó en pequeñas poblaciones del este de Estados Unidos en los años de la Gran Depresión estadounidense. Un trabajo para el que cuenta como invitado con el maestro Bill Frisell. Una figura que dejó una huella indeleble en la identidad del jazz fue Thelonious Monk, a la que dedica Fernando Ortiz de Urbina su 'London Calling' con dos grabaciones que salieron recientemente a la luz y que eran inéditas hasta la fecha. Toda la información y derechos: http://www.elclubdejazz.com

El trompetista Nate Wooley promueve una reflexión sobre la vigencia y puesta al día cancionero USAmericano y en esta edición de 'Club de Jazz' del 14 de diciembre de 2017 armamos un programa que sirve una reflexión musical sobre la identidad de la música de Estados Unidos. Wooley lo hace reuniendo a tres músicos que nunca habían tocado como tal trío y con diferentes orígenes estéticos y geográficos: el baterista Greg Saunier, el cornetista Ron Miles y la guitarrista Mary Halvorson. Son los responsables del primer volumen de "New American Songbooks". La propia Mary Halvorson cierra el proyecto "Book of Angels", de John Zorn, que tras 32 discos da por completado este ciclo de "nueva música judía". Halvorson reúne a Miles Okazaki (guitarra), Drew Gress (contrabajo) y Tomas Fujiwara (batería). La violinista Jenny Scheinman presenta "Here on earth", culminación de su trabajo de composición de música para los vídeos que H. Lee Waters tomó en pequeñas poblaciones del este de Estados Unidos en los años de la Gran Depresión estadounidense. Un trabajo para el que cuenta como invitado con el maestro Bill Frisell. Una figura que dejó una huella indeleble en la identidad del jazz fue Thelonious Monk, a la que dedica Fernando Ortiz de Urbina su 'London Calling' con dos grabaciones que salieron recientemente a la luz y que eran inéditas hasta la fecha. Toda la información y derechos: http://www.elclubdejazz.com

IWA Director Lee Waters interviews James Purnell, BBC Director of Strategy, at the Cardiff Media Summit 2015. They discuss issues around Welsh English language TV provision and the representation of Wales on the BBC.

IWA Director, Lee Waters, asks Berkeley Prof AnnaLee Saxenian what Wales can learn from Silicon Valley at the The Learned Society of Wales / Bangor University International Symposium on Economic policies for peripheral countries at Portmeirion in Gwynedd

IWA Director, Lee Waters, asks LSE Professor Steve Gibbons at The Learned Society of Wales / Bangor University International Symposium on Economic policies for peripheral countries at Portmeirion in Gwynedd

IWA Director, Lee Waters, asks Cambridge Professor Ron Martin at The Learned Society of Wales / Bangor University International Symposium on Economic policies for peripheral countries at Portmeirion in Gwynedd

IWA Director, Lee Waters, asks Harvard Professor Ricardo Hausman at The Learned Society of Wales / Bangor University International Symposium on Economic policies for peripheral countries at Portmeirion in Gwynedd

David Jones, entrepreneur and member of the Welsh Government ICT sector panel, joins Lee Waters to discuss the potential impacts of an EU in/out referendum on the UK. Join the debate on twitter at #IWAconvention or at IWAconvention.co.uk

Lee Waters, Cathy Owens and Ed Poole join the IWA's Jess Blair to discuss the recommendations of the Smith Commission in Scotland, which look to set the pace for further devolution of powers in Holyrood.

As the dust settles, what is the significance of the Euro election? Election expert Prof Roger Scully from Cardiff University joins Lee Waters, Cathy Owens and Jess Blair.