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27 episodes with M25
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6 episodes with M25
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3 episodes with M25
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2 episodes with M25
In this engaging and insightful conversation, Jeannette Linfoot speaks with Christina Brooks, founder of Ruebik, a B Corp-certified executive search firm on a mission to reshape diversity and inclusion in leadership. Christina shares her personal journey from embracing diversity as a core life mission in 2018 to building Ruebik—a company that challenges traditional recruitment norms by prioritizing values, cultural intelligence, and mentorship. They discuss the pervasive issue of diversity fatigue in organizations, the tangible commercial benefits of diverse leadership, and how innovative approaches to recruitment can foster truly inclusive cultures. The episode also explores how accessibility innovations and technology have connected communities, especially during COVID, and how personal struggles can be reframed as strengths. Christina and Jeannette dive deep into the courage required for bold leadership, the critical role of mentorship, and the vision for a more equitable business world. Top Takeaways• Diversity became Christina's mission in 2018.• Rubik aims to tackle diversity in executive search.• Traditional exec search perpetuates existing power structures.• Rubik is a B Corp focused on profit, people, and planet.• Candidates should be assessed on values, not just skills.• Diversity fatigue remains a real challenge for organizations.• Diverse boards deliver better financial outcomes.• Cultural intelligence is key to understanding community needs.• B Corp certification sharpens societal impact focus.• Creating inclusive cultures enhances experiences for all.• Accessibility innovations benefit broader audiences.• COVID tech connected isolated individuals like Christina’s mother.• Diversity in leadership is essential for community growth.• Entrepreneurship lacks a playbook; each decision is unique.• Mentorship is crucial for overcoming business challenges.• Struggles can be reframed as qualifications for success.• Grace is essential for self-care and leadership.• Bravery involves speaking uncomfortable truths.• Creating opportunities for others is a vital leadership trait. Sound Bites"Diversity became my mission in 2018.""Rubik aims to tackle diversity in executive search.""Diverse boards lead to better financial performance.""A truly inclusive culture is fascinating.""Zoom and Teams connected my 80-year-old mother.""We are all perfectly imperfect.""The best talent is not just in the M25.""The puzzle is solved when all sides are equal.""Your struggles are not your limitations.""Bravery is speaking truth to power.""Don't just climb the ladder, create an elevator.""Embracing failure is a powerful gift." Chapters00:00 – The Mission of Diversity02:56 – Building Rubik: A New Approach to Executive Search06:11 – Disrupting Traditional Recruitment Practices09:03 – Innovative Mentorship Programs12:06 – The Importance of Values in Recruitment14:54 – Addressing Diversity Fatigue17:54 – The Commercial Value of Diversity21:06 – B Corp Certification and Its Impact23:57 – Focusing on Cultural Intelligence26:52 – Future Directions for Diversity and Inclusion31:26 – The Importance of Inclusive Culture34:55 – Innovations Benefiting Diverse Communities36:45 – Global Leadership and Hope41:53 – Challenges of Entrepreneurship46:24 – The Role of Mentorship47:55 – Future Vision for Rubik51:52 – Personal Struggles as Qualifications58:35 – Embracing Grace in Leadership59:59 – Defining Brave Bold Brilliant About the HostJeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 30 years of global experience across travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Known for her down-to-earth leadership style, Jeannette champions diversity and inclusion and is passionate about nurturing talent to help others reach their full potential. She hosts Brave Bold Brilliant to inspire and equip leaders to drive impactful change. [Follow Jeannette Linfoot]Website: https://brave-bold-brilliant.com/LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfootYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@braveboldbrilliantInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeannette.linfoot/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeannette.linfoot/Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brave-bold-brilliant-podcast/id1524278970 About the Guest – Christina BrooksChristina Brooks is the founder of Ruebik, a B Corp-certified executive search firm dedicated to disrupting traditional recruitment by centering diversity, values, and cultural intelligence. Since making diversity her mission in 2018, Christina has worked to challenge entrenched power structures in executive search and create pathways for more inclusive leadership. She is passionate about mentorship, innovation, and fostering workplaces where diverse voices thrive. Her approach emphasizes the commercial value of diversity alongside its societal importance, blending business success with a strong ethical framework.
A Sevenoaks man who led police on a 130 mile per hour chase before crashing, has avoided being sent to prison.Lee Twinley, 20 from Manor Road in Sundridge, was followed for 20 minutes on the M25 and M11 towards Cambridge back in March. Hear the moment he was tracked by a police helicopter.Also in today's podcast, a Maidstone mum has told us how her baby's initial diagnosis of bronchiolitis turned out to be a life-threatening heart condition.Leila was born in October last year but became ill less than two months later and was rushed to hospital.The boss of a youth group in Thanet has explained how the loss of their current home would be devastating.Pie Factory Music host activities, events and workshops for under-25s at Ramsgate Youth Centre which is at risk of being sold. Three youth workers have been on a fundraising cycle as they look to buy it.One of Kent's oldest company directors has told us he has no intention of retiring.Derek Ward is 92 and still works six days a week at Envirograf in Barfrestone, near Dover. He's been chatting to our reporter Sam Lennon.And in sport, the Gillingham manager says he can't wait to have Bradley Dack in his squad next season.The 31-year-old's agreed a new year-long contract at Priestfield.
In episode 39 of the Daniel Drives Podcast, presenter Daniel Achterhuis discusses his unlucky encounter with a speed camera on the M25. Also this week, some Isle of Man TT highlights, the death of the Civic Type-R, and some exciting Le Mans cars for the 21st Century. If you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving a 5-star review down below, and why not tell your like-minded friends to have a listen?Check out the Daniel Drives YouTube channel here.Follow Daniel on Instagram here.Thank you for listening!
This episode didn't start in my usual car studio — it started with a chaotic morning, major traffic on the M25, and me arriving 25 minutes late to speak at Accountex. But that stressful journey turned into a powerful lesson. In this episode, I share what happened, and more importantly, what it reminded me about decision-making, momentum, and why perfection is overrated. I talk about: The mindset shift that helped me go from overthinking to taking bold action Why waiting until everything is “perfect” will keep you stuck How to build momentum even when you don't have clarity Why caring what others think is holding you back more than you realise And a simple way to create accountability to follow through If you've been putting off a key decision or waiting for the ideal moment to start — this episode is your sign. You don't need to be great to start. But to be great, you have to start. --------- If you've enjoyed my podcasts, here's how you can get more value from me: Free stuff Get a free copy of my book The Four Pillars from here Watch a short 8 min video on how you can win new clients whilst you sleep here Join 1500+ accountants owners in the Profitable Accountant Free Facebook group My inner-circle Join 150+ accounting firm owners in the Profitable Accountants Community (the PAC) to get access to the tools, training and tribe to help you grow your firm - without wasting time and money doing it the hard way. Join the PAC NOW! For larger sole practitioner firms wanting more support, direction and accountability, access the Profitable Accountants Mastermind including 1-2-1 access to me If you're going to create an account and use OnlineJobs.ph use my affiliate link here and i'll get a few pennies back in return to fund my coffee addiction
After foxes ransack Pete's nappy bins, Luke suggests a very DIY deterrent: peeing in an Evian bottle to mark his territory… not that he's speaking from experience. And if he was, he certainly wouldn't have been caught mid-stream by his wife. Definitely not.Meanwhile, Pete's overhydration saga hits rock bottom with a full-bladder emergency on the M25, resulting in an SOS wee right outside of a British Airways training centre. Dignity? Absolutely none.Plus, Luke solves a listener's cat poo problem.Email us at hello@lukeandpeteshow.com or you can get in touch on X, Threads or Instagram if character-restricted messaging takes your fancy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Welcome back to Bad Dads Film Review, where this week we lock, stock, and double-tap our way into the gloriously over-the-top world of Hot Fuzz (2007), the second film in Edgar Wright's beloved Cornetto Trilogy. With an outrageous body count and a razor-sharp script, it's a love letter to action movies — by way of twee English village life.Directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz stars Simon Pegg as Nicholas Angel, a no-nonsense London supercop who's so good at his job that he's making everyone else look bad. As a result, he's reassigned to the sleepy village of Sandford, where crime seems suspiciously low — and the residents suspiciously Stepford.Teamed up with the bumbling but big-hearted PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), Angel initially struggles with Sandford's slower pace — until a series of grisly “accidents” reveals something darker lurking beneath the surface. Cue a rampage of pensioners, hidden agendas, and a spectacular finale with more gunfire than the M25 at rush hour.This is one we could all agree on: Hot Fuzz is a near-perfect comedy that rewards repeat viewings. It's cleverly constructed, endlessly quotable (“The greater good!”), and absolutely packed with details that make it a joy to dissect. Whether you're a fan of action movies, British humour, or seeing Timothy Dalton with a smug smile and a hedge trimmer, there's something here for you.Hot Fuzz takes the quiet menace of rural England and sets it ablaze with blockbuster spectacle and sharp comedy. It's both homage and original, firing on all cylinders from start to finish. If you like your action with a side of Bakewell tart and local shop for local people energy, this one's a must-watch.
Rod Dennis of the RAC is telling me how to avoid getting caught in the worst of the traffic over Easter, which is projected to peak on the M25 anticlockwise from the Gatwick turn-off (M23) to the M40 to Oxford and Birmingham at 11.45am on Good Friday.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
aeropuertojazzcafe.com 1147 – M25/03/2025 - Toni Saigi - Abe Rabade - Daniel Ferruz - Pep Mula - Jorge Abadias ENLACES DE AUDIO EN NUESTRA WEB y en esferajazz.com #jazz #podcast #aeropuertojazzcafé EN FM CANARIAS: 7.7 Radio Gran Canaria Radio Sol Maspalomas Radio Insular de Lanzarote Radio Sintonia Fuerteventura Onda Aguere Radio Geneto Radio Tiempo Tenerife Laguna FM .
Laurie Taylor talks to the writer, Dan Hancox, about the part that crowds play in our lives and how they made the modern world. From Notting Hill carnival-goers and football matches to M25 raves and violent riots, what do we know about the madness of the multitude? Also, Lisa Mueller, Associate Professor of Political Science at Macalaster College, Minnesota, asks why protests succeed or fail. Examining data from 97 protests, she finds that more cohesive crowds are key. Drilling down into two British protests, Occupy London and Take Back Parliament, protesters who united around a common goal won more concessions than ones with multiple aims. Producer: Jayne Egerton
aeropuertojazzcafe.com 1127 – M25/02/2025 - Windy Coast Band - Gustavo Gregorio - Louise Dodds - Christian Pabst - Marc Miralta - Frida Nova - Jackson Potter ENLACES DE AUDIO EN NUESTRA WEB y en esferajazz.com #jazz #podcast #aeropuertojazzcafé EN FM CANARIAS: 7.7 Radio Gran Canaria Radio Sol Maspalomas Radio Insular de Lanzarote Radio Sintonia Fuerteventura Onda Aguere Radio Geneto Radio Tiempo Tenerife Laguna FM .
From the archives - an updateToday we bring you an episode from the archives with Dr Patrick Hart. Patrick took action in August 2022 to demand an end to new licences and consents for oil and gas projects in the UK, something which has subsequently become government policy. He disabled petrol pumps at an Esso garage on the M25 on the 24th August 2022.On August 24, 2022, he disabled petrol pumps at an Esso garage near the M25. He was found guilty of Criminal Damage in October 2024 and appeared before Judge Mills at Chelmsford Crown Court on January 7 of this year.Dr. Hart has already been fined in civil court for this action, as the Thurrock Esso petrol station is subject to a private injunction. He has also been referred for a disciplinary hearing by the General Medical Council (GMC) and will face a tribunal. In the past 12 months, the GMC has suspended two doctors from the medical register following convictions for non-violent climate protests. Dr. Hart now faces penalties in three separate proceedings for the same incident.Before sentencing Dr Hart said:“Right now, the greatest health threat to all of us is the unfolding climate catastrophe. It is the greatest health threat we have ever faced. All healthcare workers have a responsibility to protect the health of their patients. If we do not stand up to the oil and gas executives who are wreaking havoc on our climate and the politicians who enable them, if we do not end the burning of fossil fuels, then we will have failed as a profession and the health systems that we have developed over centuries will collapse. I will continue to fight against the death sentence of fossil fuels for as long as I have strength in me. I have no greater duty as a doctor at this moment in history.”Original copy:Just Stop Oil protestors have been disrupting business as usual since April 2022. A Daily Mail article called them “a deranged criminal eco-terrorist cult”. But who are the people behind the headlines? Neil sits down with Dr Patrick Hart, a local GP who has been putting his career and liberty on the line through direct action protests, including the smashing and spray painting of a petrol station. Dr Hart believes we have run out of time for purely legal ways of pulling the world back from what the UN has called “the brink of climate catastrophe”. But are these tactics effective? Are protestors losing public sympathy? Does that matter? Listen in for a conversation far and away from the soundbites of Good Morning Britain
M25 special edition episode. Listen as David Graves (BGS emeritus), Eddie Estep (DS of South Central Ohio), and Brett Rickey (DS of Oregon Pacific District), give a workshop on Creating a DNA of Evangelism. Lifelong Learning Code: 80890 Click here to learn about Lifelong Learning https://m25conference.com/workshops/ *episode used an AI filter, local audio needed repair*
In this episode, Nate Gilmore has a conversation with Kevin Jack, lead pastor at Church for the One (Highland Park) in Lakeland, Florida. Hear about the ministry Kevin is engaged in, his recent article for Holiness Today, and some of what he will be preaching about at M25. Lifelong Learning Code: 80890 Click here to learn about Lifelong Learning https://holinesstoday.org/transforming-power-of-evangelism https://leadinghope.online/
Video footage at KentOnline shows the moment other drivers intervened to stop a drunk driver on the M25.The 42-year-old from Maidstone was almost four times the limit when he was spotted at Leatherhead - and police discovered a bottle of Jack Daniels on the passenger seat.Also in today's podcast, the man in charge at the Port of Dover has revealed the EU's new Entry Exit system has been delayed, again.It'll use biometric data like finger prints and facial scans and was initially supposed to come in in 2022. The KentOnline Podcast understands a phased roll-out will happened from the end of this year instead.The issue of family hubs has been raised in the Commons following concerns some mums and dads in part of Kent aren't getting the support they need.Blossoms in Deal was one of a number of sites that closed last year in a bid to save Kent County Council millions of pounds.Two sites in Kent have been added to this year's Theatres at Risk Register.There are concerns about the Theatre Royal in Margate and Roundhouse Theatre in Dover.There's anger today as a Parish Council in Kent prepares to knock down a toilet block described as 'iconic' by the local community.People in Meopham say the facility opposite Pitfield Green is 'vital' for locals and visitors.But the Parish Council claims the toilets aren't fit for purpose and need a £50,000 facelift.And in football, the Gillingham manager is still hoping for his first win with the side tonight.They're travelling to take on Grimsby Town after drawing 1-1 at Tranmere Rovers at the weekend.
https://www.patreon.com/isyanderandkoda You already know how to please the Machine Gods at this point so thank you so much. And make your voices heard for which faction you would like to see next! -Isyander P.s for those of you who want to send stuff our way. Thank you in advance. Po BoxIsyander & Koda Po Box 1196, Tacoma, Wa, 98402, USAAnything below is made for (and by) the omnissiah. You can read it though, just a summary of the banger of a video you're watching.Welcome to a deep dive into Warhammer 40k's most catastrophic and foundational event—the Age of Strife, also known as Old Night. This era marks the single worst period in human history, a time of isolation, mutation, rampant AI revolts, and the chaos that shaped the Imperium we know today. In this video, we'll explore how humanity fell from a golden age of technological marvels and galactic dominance to a scattered and fractured existence, barely surviving on a crumbling legacy.Join us as we dissect the Age of Strife from its origins in M25, through the devastating Cybernetic Revolt, the rise of rampant mutation and psykers, and the oppressive Warp storms that cut humanity off from the stars. We'll explore how the birth of Slaanesh forever altered the balance of Chaos and how Terra itself descended into warlordism, with techno-barbarians ruling the remnants of once-great civilizations.We'll also look at Mars and the birth of the Cult Mechanicus, the tragic isolation of human colonies, and how the Imperium's deep-seated fear of AI, mutants, and psykers stem from this dark period. Whether you're curious about the downfall of mankind, the influence of the Chaos Gods, or the Emperor's eventual rise to power, this video covers it all!Don't forget to like, subscribe, and check out Patreon.com/isyanderandkoda for bonus content, livestreams, and access to our community. Let's dive into the dark depths of the warp and see what chaos awaits!———TAGSWarhammer 40k, Age of Strife, Old Night Warhammer, Cybernetic Revolt, Men of Iron, Warhammer lore, Imperium of Man, Warhammer 40k history, Dark Age of Technology, Warhammer 40k timeline, Terra Warhammer, Techno-barbarians, Warhammer Emperor, Mars Mechanicum, Adeptus Mechanicus origins, Slaanesh birth, Chaos Gods Warhammer, Warhammer 40k Chaos, human history 40k, Warhammer warp storms, psykers 40k, mutations Warhammer, Imperium foundation, Emperor unification, Great Crusade, fall of humanity 40k, Warhammer galaxy history, 40k lore deep dive, humanity's fall Warhammer, Age of Strife explained, Mechanicum Warhammer, Men of Gold Warhammer, Warhammer ancient history, Horus Heresy prequel, Terra vs Mars, lost technology Warhammer, STC technology 40k, abhumans Warhammer, Eldar during Age of Strife, 40k galactic history, rise of the Imperium, pre-Imperium humanity, Slaanesh and the Eldar, Warhammer warlord era, Emperor rise to power, Warhammer human collapse, chaos corruption Warhammer, Imperium's darkest age, xenos threats 40k, Men of Stone Warhammer, lost colonies 40k, ancient Terra Warhammer, Warhammer 40k factions, Imperium lore, Mechanicus rise to power, AI rebellion Warhammer, Warhammer fall of man, Tzeentch dethroned theory, galactic apocalypse Warhammer, Warhammer sci-fi history, Warhammer ancient past, 40k mysteries, Emperor's plan Warhammer, Imperium foundation myths, Warp Storms 40k, Horus Heresy setup, Warhammer human empire, rise of the Mechanicus, Warhammer Imperium beginnings.————————————Opinions expressed in this video are solely those of Isyander & Koda and in no way reflect the views or opinions of Games Workshop Ltd.Artwork throughout this video is used for educational purposes. if you see your artwork and would like an art credit, message me.Support the show
On this episode, Nate Gilmore has a conversation with the Regional Director of USA and Canada, Stan Reeder. In this conversation, Dr. Reeder gives a recap of 2024, what to look forward to at M25, and how this conference will help launch the 2025 initiative of bringing people to Jesus. For details about M25 click here Lifelong Learning Code: 64627 Click here to learn about Life Long Learning The quote attributed to Woodrow Wilson referenced in the episode: "One of the proofs of the divinity of the Gospel is the preaching it has survived."
A heartbroken mum has paid tribute to a dad-of-two who was found dead in the River Medway. Andrew went missing after his dinghy capsized near Sun Pier in Chatham – he's being remembered as a generous and loving son.Also in today's podcast, it's been confirmed a motorcyclist has died following on collision on the M25. Traffic near the Dartford Crossing was brought to a standstill yesterday afternoon and the road didn't reopen until nearly midnight. A special needs school may have to fork out “tens of thousands of pounds” after being hit with water supply issues.South East Water has apologised to the school in Loose after staff said they were having to look for a solution themselves.A row of shops in a part of Ashford hit by closures could finally be demolished to make room for a 92-bed hotel. Plans for the new development were first approved in 2022, but have faced a string of set backs. And we've got a guide to the spookiest places to be spending Halloween this year. You can read through our guide of the some of the best decorated places across the county and even hear from one of our reporters who's spoken to actors who will spend tonight scaring punters at a Medway attraction.
In 2024, National Highways completely closed parts of the M25, London's orbital motorway. This blockage in the arterial system of the UK economy wasn't a mistake. Instead, it was an example of meticulously planned surgery, performed by experts. In the previous episode of this mini-series, recorded live at Highways UK, we saw how data is... The post #299c Highways UK Live – Next Generation Asset Management first appeared on Engineering Matters.
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Single patient records at heart of NHS 10 year plan Seoul demands North Korean troops leave Russia immediately M25 and M26 diversions due to lorry fire Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment What to check for Lucy Letby may have harmed more babies in her care, new evidence suggests More than 20 products recalled over peanut contamination fears Rotherham hotel rioter Peter Lynch, 61, dies in prison Not my King, Australian senator shouts at Charles Woman admits hurling McDonalds milkshake over Nigel Farage New young drivers should not have under 21s as passengers, says AA
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv M25 and M26 diversions due to lorry fire Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment What to check for Not my King, Australian senator shouts at Charles More than 20 products recalled over peanut contamination fears Seoul demands North Korean troops leave Russia immediately Woman admits hurling McDonalds milkshake over Nigel Farage New young drivers should not have under 21s as passengers, says AA Rotherham hotel rioter Peter Lynch, 61, dies in prison Lucy Letby may have harmed more babies in her care, new evidence suggests Single patient records at heart of NHS 10 year plan
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment What to check for M25 and M26 diversions due to lorry fire New young drivers should not have under 21s as passengers, says AA Woman admits hurling McDonalds milkshake over Nigel Farage Rotherham hotel rioter Peter Lynch, 61, dies in prison Not my King, Australian senator shouts at Charles Seoul demands North Korean troops leave Russia immediately Lucy Letby may have harmed more babies in her care, new evidence suggests More than 20 products recalled over peanut contamination fears Single patient records at heart of NHS 10 year plan
A group of neighbours have criticised a housing association after being told to remove garden furniture used as a 'wellbeing hub'.Orbit Housing owns properties in Hopeville Avenue, Broadstairs and says the seating is a trip hazard and a misuse of a communal area. Hear from one of the residents who says gathering with friends is good for their mental health.Also in today's podcast, staff at a Kent prison have revealed the impact of overcrowding as 1,100 more inmates are released early across England and Wales.The government has launched a review to look at tougher punishments outside of jail to try and tackle the issue.The M25 is back open after a huge lorry fire closed part of the motorway in Kent for around 30 hours. One of the tunnels at the Dartford Crossing is also back open after a spillage meant it had to be resurfaced. We've had an explanation from National Highways.An Ashford man says he's 'sick and tired' of land outside his house being over run with weeds.Andrew Baynes has lived at the property in Newlands for 24 years and claims the county council won't clear the area - despite regular calls over a number of years. Hear from him and the response from KCC.A Chatham nurse who was told the pain she was suffering was 'all in her head' has taken to socials to share her struggles with endometriosis.Nicole Scott was finally told she had the condition after fighting for a year to get answers.A footballer who was racially abused by a Gillingham fan last season has spoken out about the impact it had.Omar Bogle was playing for Newport County when someone in the crowd made an offensive gesture towards him. He's part of the EFL's Together Against Racism campaign.A group of women, including former MP Dame Tracey Crouch, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for charity have been to Maidstone hospital to see what the money they raised has been spent on.£150,000 was donated to Breast Cancer Kent for a machine that can do a mammogram on samples in the operating theatre.And in sport, Gillingham will be hoping to end their losing streak as they host Newport County later.Four defeats in a row have left the Gills sixth in the league two table.
Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Rotherham hotel rioter Peter Lynch, 61, dies in prison Seoul demands North Korean troops leave Russia immediately M25 and M26 diversions due to lorry fire Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment What to check for Single patient records at heart of NHS 10 year plan More than 20 products recalled over peanut contamination fears Woman admits hurling McDonalds milkshake over Nigel Farage Not my King, Australian senator shouts at Charles New young drivers should not have under 21s as passengers, says AA Lucy Letby may have harmed more babies in her care, new evidence suggests
A Dover landlady who attacked a customer she found sleeping behind the bar has avoided being sent to prison.Maidstone Crown Court was told how a row had broken out a The Staggered Inn micropub in the High Street in December last year.Also on today's podcast, it's been a nightmare on the M25 in Kent after a huge lorry fire overnight.The vehicle caught alight on the clockwise carriageway between Sevenoaks and Godstone.We're being asked what we think about planned changes to firefighter response time targets in Kent.At the moment crews aim to get to an emergency within 10 minutes - no matter where it is.It's feared plans for more beach huts on part of the Kent coast will cause traffic problems in a nearby village.Bosses in Dover want to add 33 buildings to the 23 already at Kingsdown near Deal at a cost of £130,000.A former MEP from Kent says he hopes one day there'll be another Brexit vote for the next generation.Anthony Hook is now leader of the Lib Dems at the county council, and has been speaking on the Kent Politics Podcast.A former Rochester pupil has returned to the school he went to - as a teacher.Reo Mardell went to St Peter's Infants for three years from 2006 - and started working there in September after graduating.Football, and the Gillingham manager says he's confident they can turn things around after four defeats in a row.They lost 2-1 to Bradford City away from home at the weekend.
There's been another fatality on Kent's roads – a motorcyclist has died following a crash involving three vehicles on the M25 near Sevenoaks.Emergency crews were called to the clockwise carriageway just before 12.30pm yesterday where a man in his 40's was pronounced dead at the scene. Also in today's podcast, a coroner has found a Tunbridge Wells man who was in financial difficulty murdered his wife before killing himself. Their bodies were found at their home in February – it's thought he'd strangled, stabbed and hit his victim with a hammer before taking his own life. You can also hear from a Maidstone man who's told the KentOnline Podcast raw sewage spills across his drive every time there's heavy rain. He says he's been complaining to the water company since 2019 but so far nothing has been done. Two more pubs in Kent are set to close as bosses warn it's no longer financially viable to keep them going. The venues are in the same street in the same village near Faversham and are expected to shut by the end of the year. And it's going to be a cracking fixture in league two this weekend as top of the table Barrow make their way to Priestfield. They're managed by Stephen Clemence who Gillingham sacked in the summer – you can hear from current boss Mark Bonner ahead of the game.
Vijf leden van klimaatactiegroep Just Stop Oil zijn veroordeeld tot celstraffen van vier en vijf jaar voor het beramen van een actie om snelweg M25 te blokkeren. Het zouden de zwaarste straffen voor geweldloos protest zijn in de geschiedenis van het Verenigd Koninkrijk. En dat zorgt voor veel discussie. Enerzijds is er een groep Britten voor wie de straffen niet hard genoeg kunnen. Over de acties was veel te doen, bij eerdere snelwegblokkades was de ontwrichting groot. Aan de andere kant worden vraagtekens geplaatst bij de gang van zaken in de rechtszaal. De rechter weigerde zo'n 250 pagina's aan motivatie van de demonstranten, die wilden aantonen dat de acties gerechtvaardigd waren. Zelfs de oerconservatieve rechtse kranten plaatsen daar hun vraagtekens bij, al heeft dat mogelijkerwijs te maken met de geprivilegieerde achtergrond van de schuldige demonstranten. Ook in deze aflevering Dansprogramma Strictly Come Dancing, na twintig jaar een instituut en nog altijd een kijkcijferkanon, is verwikkeld in een uitdijend schandaal over de behandeling van deelnemers. De beroemdheden, die worden gekoppeld aan topdansers, zouden in meerdere gevallen onnodig wreed en hardhandig zijn behandeld. Vooralsnog lijkt het programma door te kunnen, maar wel in een aangepaste vorm. De Britten reageren geschokt op de aantijgingen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why five activists who disrupted traffic on the M25 have been given the longest sentences for peaceful protest in UK history.Fill out the Tortoise listener survey by Monday 19th August to be entered into a draw to win £250 and Tortoise merch.To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why five activists who disrupted traffic on the M25 have been given the longest sentences for peaceful protest in UK history.Fill out the Tortoise listener survey by Monday 19th August to be entered into a draw to win £250 and Tortoise merch.To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This episode of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast explores the extreme lengths some individuals are willing to go to protest climate change, including risking up to five years in jail. The host, Andrew Lewin, discusses the Just Stop Oil campaign in the UK, where activists are facing lengthy sentences for their advocacy. The episode raises questions about the future of activism and the potential consequences individuals may face for fighting against environmental harm. Additionally, Andrew mentions recent video podcasting initiatives and encourages listeners to engage with the content in both audio and video formats. Follow a career in conservation: https://www.conservation-careers.com/online-training/ Use the code SUFB to get 33% off courses and the careers program. Do you want to join my Ocean Community? Sign Up for Updates on the process: www.speakupforblue.com/oceanapp Sign up for our Newsletter: http://www.speakupforblue.com/newsletter Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3NmYvsI Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube The podcast episode delves into the legal challenges faced by activists in the UK who received four to five-year sentences for their involvement in protesting oil exploration as part of the Just Stop Oil campaign. The activists were found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for organizing direct action protests on the M25 over four days in November 2022. One activist received a five-year sentence, while four others received four-year sentences each, marking the longest sentences ever given in the UK for nonviolent protests. The Just Stop Oil campaign aims to pressure the government to reconsider its support for oil exploration in the North Sea by oil companies. The activists engaged in various forms of protest, including disrupting traffic on major highways and participating in extreme actions like slowing down F1 races. While these actions were intended to raise awareness about climate change and oil exploration, they also resulted in legal consequences for the activists involved. The episode sheds light on the dilemma faced by activists who are willing to take extreme measures to advocate for environmental causes. It raises questions about the effectiveness of such protests, the risks involved, and the potential consequences for individuals who choose to participate. The activists' willingness to accept lengthy sentences for their beliefs underscores the depth of their commitment to environmental activism and the urgency they feel in addressing climate change issues. Overall, the episode highlights the challenges and sacrifices that activists may encounter in their efforts to bring about change and protect the environment. It prompts reflection on the balance between activism, legal consequences, and the pursuit of environmental conservation goals. The activists involved in the Just Stop Oil campaign in the UK were found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for coordinating direct action protests on the M25 highway. Roger Hellam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker-Debreu, and Christina Gethin were convicted for their involvement in protests that disrupted the M25 over four days in November 2022. Their actions led to record sentences, with Roger Hellam receiving a five-year sentence and the other four activists each receiving a four-year sentence. These sentences are the longest ever given in the UK for nonviolent protests, surpassing previous cases related to environmental activism. The activists aimed to draw attention to the government's stance on oil exploration in the North Sea and the subsidies provided to oil companies. By disrupting major transportation routes like the M25, they sought to raise awareness about the environmental impact of continued oil drilling and its contribution to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. While the activists believed their protests were necessary to prompt government action on climate change, the legal system viewed their actions as a public nuisance deserving significant penalties. The court's decision to impose lengthy sentences reflects the seriousness with which such disruptions are treated under the law. The case highlights the complex dynamics between activism, environmental advocacy, and legal consequences. It raises questions about the boundaries of protest actions, the balance between civil disobedience and public safety, and the potential sacrifices individuals are willing to make for their cause. The activists' conviction serves as a cautionary tale for those considering engaging in similar forms of protest and underscores the challenges and risks associated with advocating for environmental change through direct action. Environmental advocacy often involves individuals taking extreme actions to draw attention to pressing issues such as climate change and pollution. The podcast episode highlighted that some activists in the UK associated with the Just Stop Oil campaign faced legal repercussions for their protests. These activists were sentenced to four to five years in jail for their actions, marking one of the longest sentences ever given in the UK for nonviolent protests. The episode emphasized the importance of considering the consequences and sacrifices involved in advocating for environmental causes. While the activists believed that their extreme actions were necessary to prompt government action on oil exploration in the North Sea, they ultimately faced severe legal consequences. This serves as a stark reminder that engaging in disruptive protests or actions can lead to significant personal sacrifices, including time away from families, careers, and freedom. The podcast highlighted the dilemma faced by activists who feel compelled to take drastic measures to bring attention to urgent environmental issues. While their intentions may be noble, it is crucial to weigh the potential legal repercussions and societal impact of such actions. The activists' willingness to endure legal consequences for their cause underscores the depth of their commitment to environmental protection. Ultimately, the episode underscored the complexity of environmental advocacy and the need for individuals to carefully consider the implications of their actions. While passion and dedication are essential in driving change, it is vital to assess the potential risks and sacrifices involved in advocating for environmental causes, especially when considering extreme measures that may lead to legal repercussions.
The trial of protesters who disrupted the M25 in London for more than four days in November 2022 concluded last week with campaigners receiving the longest ever UK sentences for non-violent protest. Summing up, the judge thanked a journalist from The Sun newspaper who provided key evidence after secretly recording a Just Stop Oil meeting. Damien Gayle describes how he navigated reporting restrictions to cover dramatic scenes in court as the defendants attempted to draw attention to their cause. Jack Chapman is a producer who has also been covering the group's tactics in his Channel 4 documentary, Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? We explore the ethical and legal challenges of following these activists. It's a subject that divides opinion. Meera Selva explains why she feels the media as a whole gets the story wrong. Plus we discuss Kamala Harris's social media strategy; the findings of the BBC's annual report and how journalists are covering the Paris Olympics, which start this week.Guests: Damien Gayle, Environment Correspondent, The Guardian; Jack Chapman, Producer, Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law?; Meera Selva, CEO, Internews Europe; Mimi Mihailescu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Bath; Nicole Auerbach, Senior Writer, The Athletic; Max Miller, Sport & Tech Reporter, Broadcast Magazine; Dade Hayes, Business Editor, Deadline Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson
In a week where:Five Just Stop Oil activists receive record sentences for planning to block M25.Police car turned over and vehicles set alight in disorder in Leeds. A Crowdstrike update triggers a global IT outage, affecting Windows devices. Bangladesh imposes nationwide curfew amid deadly protests.Joe Biden steps down from Presidential Re-election.In Journalism: (9:29) Last episode I was getting super gassed about a report suggesting that the British Empire should be taught in schools akin to Nazi Germany. Whilst I unironically liked the idea, the piece came from The Telegraph, which obviously means they only posted that for nefarious reasons... (Article By Alan Lester)In Politics: (27:18) With the General Election dust now settled, let's talk about Reform and the threat they hold for Britain in the long term. (Article By Craig Gent)In Food: (39:33) With food increasingly getting harder to make and therefore making it more expensive, who do we hold accountable for all--- it's a handful of companies... (Article By Liam Keenan, Dariusz Wojcik & Timothy Monteath)Lastly, In Music: (48:08) As someone that listens to new music on a weekly basis, I can't explain to you how easy it should be now for UK radio stations to wean themselves from dreck the US is putting out. But alas, the chains are still wrapped around them. (Article By Elijah)Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me questions or voicing your opinion in any way, peep the contact links below and I'll respond accordingly. Let me know "What's Good?"Rate & ReviewE-Mail: the5thelelmentpub@gmail.comTwitter & IG: @The5thElementUKWebsite: https://medium.com/@the5thelementIntro Music - "Too Much" By VanillaInterlude - "Charismatic" By NappyHighChillHop MusicOther Podcasts Under The 5EPN:Diggin' In The Digits5EPN RadioBlack Women Watch...In Search of SauceThe Beauty Of Independence
Got a Dilemma? https://www.thenewblxck.com/dilemma Interested In Securing Shares In THE NEW BLXCK - Secure Shares In TNB Any questions about this investment opportunity, please contact Brent@TheNewBlxck.com Join Our Discord Community: Discord Email Us: TheDayAfter@THENEWBLXCK.com WhatsAPP: 07564841073 Join us in our twitter community - Twitter Subscribe NOW to The Day After: shorturl.at/brKOX The Day After, (00:00) Intro: House keeping (03:57) Headlines: UK pledges £84m to stop illegal migration 'at source', Zelensky: Trump would be hard work, but we are hard workers, Clock ticking on Biden as pressure to quit race increases' (08:21) What You Saying? Love & Relationships: Do opposites really attract? If so, why not look for everything you're not??
Meet the bride who wanted to have her wedding reception on the M25, there's a Wimbledon themed case for the Music Police and Scott's Shania remix has gone to the next level.Radio legend Mark Goodier pops in to see Scott, before taking over Pick Of The Pops on Radio 2. Scott's putting his chart countdown skills to the test!Jo Whiley turns all Phil Mitchell and is there an armchair TV critic in your life?Hit subscribe to get Scott's latest podcast every Friday, or listen live weekdays 2-4pm on BBC Radio 2.
Cuff me. It gave me the Raging Horn.The first time I tried Vincenzo's Raging Hog. A drive around the M25 to Bushy, Watford in search of the Pizza Panacea The hot steaming Frisbee of Fab landed on my table A fresh lattice of red and white cheese, tomato. Tomato and cheese. Jheezeeee. Yes Please. A burnished, boisterous-not-backin-tha-f*ck-down crust with little black billowing bubbles of joy. Pepperoni. Little terracotta spaceships of poppin' salty fatty - Deeeeeelissimo. Red Roquitto peppers - Little Pocket Rocket fire balls of hellish, chin-splinteringly spicy. Smothered in sweet whips and lashes and kisses of hot honey. Honey, it's Yummy. Tom is founder of Vincenzo's Pizza. A truly wonderful pizza joint in Bushey, Watford He's making pizza like no one else. He alongw ith Crisp W6 are reinventing pizza. Some say they're pioneering “London Pizza” We go Behind-The-Slice and unearth the story, it's full of grit, graft, passion, 20 years of insomniaON THE MENU: 1. Theo Von: “Once you achieve your dream, you've got to actually do your dream”1. How Tom turned operational disadvantage into marketing advantage - to get people from all over the world to his pizzeria in Bushey 1. The History of Pizza in the USA and how to steal “inspiration” without copying 1. Why Tom is creating the “Forgotten Pizzeria” and combining weird passions of Set Design, Painting, History and Films 1. The Dark Realities of Turning Passion into Your Job: there's sometimes a rote boringness to following your passion1. The Art of Persistence: How Tom Kept Going and Walking The Streets of Watford after 100's of Nose--------------------------------------------
We're back from our bucolic getaway just outside the M25 between Guildford and Dorking. Did you miss us? This week: Wild women do, but - contrary to the received wisdom - they sometimes regret it. Also, some classy guests slum it with us - Quinn Shephard and Samir Mehta, creator and executive producer (respectively) of Hulu's acclaimed 'Under The Bridge', starring Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone.Wouldn't It Be Nice if you sent us an email? fuckoff@firecrotchandnormcore.comHelp Me Rhonda: https://www.patreon.com/THEYLIKETOWATCHGod Only Knows what we'd do without Annabel Port Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wenn man an Katalonien denkt, kommen einem sofort eine Vielzahl von Bildern und Assoziationen in den Sinn, die diese Region im Nordosten Spaniens so einzigartig machen. Die Region, mit seiner Hauptstadt Barcelona, ist bekannt für seine reiche Kultur, atemberaubende Landschaften und eine stolze, eigenständige Identität, die tief in der Geschichte verwurzelt ist. Katalonien steht aber auch für Profitennis satt. Genau dies konnten die Fans und Spieler in der Autonomen Gemeinschaft mit seinen vier Provinzen in diesem Frühjahr erfahren. Von März bis Mai fanden in Torelló, Les Franqueses de Vallés, Badalona, Tarragona, Reus, Sabadell, Valldoreix, Vic und Mataró neun Turniere als Teil der ... WERBUNG 10 Euro gratis bei NEO.bet Sichert euch 10 Euro gratis beim Wettanbieter NEObet, ganz ohne Einzahlung. Einfach den Promotion-Code tennis10 bei der Registrierung auf neobet.de eingeben und sofort mit den 10 Euro loswetten. Link zur NEObet-Registrierung: https://neobet.de/de/Sportwetten#account/Account Du möchtest deinen Podcast auch kostenlos hosten und damit Geld verdienen? Dann schaue auf www.kostenlos-hosten.de und informiere dich. Dort erhältst du alle Informationen zu unseren kostenlosen Podcast-Hosting-Angeboten. kostenlos-hosten.de ist ein Produkt der Podcastbude.Gern unterstützen wir dich bei deiner Podcast-Produktion.
Quiet Time Coaching Episode 518 | New Creation Series — Part 10 | “New Creation - New Learning” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation'. Today, the connection between being a new creation and learning. Learning to Learn I was very impatient when learning to drive. I wanted to take as few lessons as possible. Partly because I wanted to drive without somebody else in the car (in my space!), and partly because I was an impoverished student at the time. After I passed my test I enjoyed driving solo. However, I had no conception of how much more there still was to learn about driving. The first evidence of that was when I ran out of petrol on the M20 while driving my then girlfriend to Dover Castle (Penny eventually forgave me!). To follow Jesus is to take on the identity of a life-long learner. However much we learn about him this side of glory, we have only touched the edge of all that we could learn. A disciple - the word mathetes means student - is someone who grows more and more into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor 3.18). Our current church theme is ‘a new creation' (2 Cor 5.17), and part of being a new creation is learning all of what that means. How does this happen and why is it important? The right goal What is the goal of the Christian life? The goal is not to get to heaven. That might sound strange, so let me explain. The goal is to know God. Last Sunday I saw an advertising board alongside the M25 which asked the question, “Where will you spend eternity?”. I appreciate that someone is trying to help people make a decision to seek God, but it's the wrong question. The right question is, "Who will you spend eternity with?” God is about relationship, not destination. “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3 2. The right person Therefore, we want to learn about God so that we can be love and enjoy him. “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” How do we do this? By learning as much as possible about our hero, Jesus. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 A passionate desire to know Jesus is what motivated the Apostle Paul to write, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14 NIV11) Paul most certainly wanted to be ‘in heaven', but it's because of who will be there. What is your goal as a Christian, as a disciple? Is it to stay in God's good books? Is it hoping that he will keep you healthy and all the people you care about will be saved? Or is it to be like Jesus and spend eternity with him? Our goal has a big influence on our learning because it shapes what kind of learning we embrace or reject. 3. The right attitude “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Phil 4.11-12 Was Jesus discontent while on this earth? Not at all — unless you count the discontent he felt about the spiritual pride of some of the Pharisees! Jesus exhibited remarkable contentment despite being tired, hungry, thirsty and homeless (Luke 9.58). Paul learned a similar Christ-like contentment. How? Through being hungry and in need. To learn Christ-likeness means having the right attitude when we experience uncomfortable and confusing times in life. Illness, war, financial and work difficulties, emotional and mental health disturbances, relationship bumps and other challenges are all learning opportunities. How do you know what is God trying to teach you? Look for the pain-points in your life. Those are probably your learning locations. When these times come, the question to ask ourselves is how Jesus would think about the matter, and how he might support us. Then, keep your spiritual eyes open as to what you learn. 4. The right result I use the word ‘result' cautiously, because learning about Jesus and growing into his likeness is not a science, nor something we can reduce to a formula — i.e. specific inputs = specific outputs. Relationships are not like that. However, when we have the right goal (person) and attitude, learning and growth will surely occur. Archie's sermon today comes from the epistle to the Hebrews. In that letter the writer comments on their lack of learning, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” (Hebrews 5:12 NIV11) They could have learned to be teachers like Jesus—he was a teacher—but they did not. We do not know why, but we can be sure it was not for good reasons! They needed to re-learn the basics. Let's never be like that. It is unnecessary, unfortunate and unrighteous. For reflection How do you feel about being a learner in Christ? What do you sense God is teaching you at the moment? How can you best cooperate with him? Your brother, Malcolm Please add your comments on this week's topic. We learn best when we learn in community. Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, or practical? Could you send me your questions or suggestions? Here's the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org. If you'd like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God Grows His People”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org. Please pass the link on, subscribe, and leave a review. "Carpe Diem" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
In this Deals, Deals, Deals Podcast Series, we go Behind the Scenes on some of the UK's most Creative, Lucrative and Award-Winning Deals
A would-be arsonist who tried to set fire to a police station by pouring accelerant over a front counter and throwing a lit rag later admitted he had been having "an off day".He'd had gone to Medway police station armed with a jar filled with flammable fluid.Also in today's podcast, two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the death of a motorcyclist after police pursued a driver on the M25. Kent Police officers chased the vehicle over the Dartford Crossing on Sunday night before it became involved in a crash. There are calls for the government to step in and put an end to long drawn out plans for a “Dartford Disneyland” once and for all.Proposals for the £2.5bn London Resort project were first mooted in 2012 - the town's MP, council leader and local businesses are among those who now say “enough is enough”.Today is the day when families across Kent and Medway will be finding out which primary school their children will start at come September. More than 9 in 10 got their first choice, but the KentOnline Podcast spoke to a family law specialist from Maidstone about what people can do if they're unhappy. And, a new rock bar has been granted an alcohol and live music licence despite neighbours' fears the noise will leave them “prisoners” in their own homes.The venue in Dover could welcome heavy metal lovers to a unit formerly used as an escape room by mid-summer.
London's ‘Superloop' spans some 85 miles of road - just 30 miles shy of the length of the M25.Now, a new south London section of the capital's orbital bus network is being proposed by Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan - but his Tory rival, Susan Hall, says Khan should focus on delivering an unfunded £10 billion Bakerloo line extension.It comes as commuters brace for days of fresh travel misery as a wave of train and Underground strikes were announced.For the latest, Mark Blunden's joined on this episode aboard a route SL1 bus, linking Walthamstow Central and North Finchley, by the Standard's transport editor, Ross Lydall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today's episode, host Quinn Robertson is joined by Chicago-based M25 managing partner Victor Gutwein. Victor shares his journey into venture capital, reflects on the state of the markets in recent years, the unique opportunities and challenges in the Midwest, and market insights for 2024. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/endeavornorthamerica/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/endeavornorthamerica/support
Welcome to the first Podcast of 2024, it always seems to take me a while to get started again in the New Year, but at least I managed to get an episode out i January this time around. Today my guest is the author of the blog Shed Wars, Giles Shapley who is also known by his nom de plume "Eric the Shed". Shed Wars was and remains one of the staple Wargaming Blogs and it continues to be regularly updated (unlike some, yes I mean you Yarkshire Gamer !) with the gaming adventures of Giles and his friends. In recent months the Shed has relocated to a more rural location outside the M25 and Giles has converted on of the buildings on the land he bought into a new improved version of the Shed. Plans are afoot to get on site accommodation so you can stay and play. All the usual features are here, so sit back and enjoy nearly three hours of Wargames Chat. The Shed Wars Blog is here Shed Wars And details of The Shed Wars Experience The Shed Wars Experience I'm in the process of organising recording of the next episode so I'm not able to announce my next guest but expect 2 episodes in February. Until next time, Sithee Regards Ken The Yarkshire Gamer
Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2023 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the annual benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends on 29th March 2024. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://www.kew.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-willison-22347a10/ Julia Willison is Head of Learning and Participation for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She is passionate about engaging people – young and old and from all walks of life - in learning about the importance of plants and fungi and the need for sustainable development. Julia is responsible for schools, communities and access, families and early years, outreach, youth and volunteers at Kew Gardens. She previously worked with botanic gardens internationally to advocate for and establish education programmes for the benefit of local communities and the environment. Transcription: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. On today's episode I speak with Julia Willison, Head of Learning and Participation at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.We discuss Kew's inspiring manifesto - their 10 year strategy to end extinction crisis and protect nature. Julia shares with us the 5 key priorities, and we focus on Kew's desire to improve inclusivity and what initiatives have been formed to support the organisation in doing this.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Julia, it's really lovely to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for joining me. Julia Willison: My pleasure, Kelly. Thank you for inviting me. Kelly Molson: So we're recording this right at the beginning of January. It's the 9 January that we're recording it. So icebreakers have got a new year's resolution theme because I thought we should talk about this. I want to know, do you set them? If so, what have you set yourself for this year? Julia Willison: I do tend to set them in my own mind. I don't often share them, but I do set them. And this year I've set the resolution. I want to start learning to play the piano and I've actually had my first lesson. I'm really pleased with that. Kelly Molson: I love this. So we just had a little chat about this off air, because that was one of the other icebreaker questions I was going to ask you is, what's the one thing that you've always wanted to learn? And then we had this conversation and you're doing it already, and I was like, "Oh, this is great." So you've had your first lesson and how did it go? Julia Willison: Well, I found myself apologising to the teacher profusely because of my lack of ability to play the piano, but it went really well and he was absolutely delightful, very supportive, and I learned quite a lot in the first lesson, so I'm looking forward to the second lesson now. I've got a lot start playing and practising every day, which I'm enjoying doing. Kelly Molson: That's the thing about learning something new is that you've got to make it a habit, haven't you? So you need to kind of. This is the thing that I did about the gym, is that I had to diarize it, so I had to make sure that it was like in red in my diary, immovable. At the same time, on those days, that I could go so that you could do it. Are you going to do that with your lessons and your training? Julia Willison: Well, the lessons obviously will have to be in my calendar, but I have almost crossed the threshold where I made a decision to play the piano. I've got a long term goal that in maybe ten years time, I'll be able to play in a group or something like this. So I'm really committed to wanting to learn. So we'll see. You have to revisit this space. Maybe in five years time. See if I'm still doing it.Kelly Molson: Right. I'm popping you on the list for five years to make sure that I check in with you, that you've achieved your goals. Okay. What is the worst thing that you've ever eaten or drunk? Julia Willison: Well, eaten for me is mussels, because I'm allergic to them. Kelly Molson: Oh, wow. Julia Willison: I only learned that through, obviously, eating mussels and even just a small piece just made me incredibly sick. Drinking advocaat. How do you say it. Advocaat? Kelly Molson: Is that what goes into snowballs? Julia Willison: Yes. I can't think of anything worse actually. Kelly Molson: I love snowballs. I had one over Christmas. Julia Willison: You can have mine. Kelly Molson: I'll have your mussels. And your advocaat. What a mixture. And probably not at the same time either. Julia Willison: No. Kelly Molson: Yeah. My friends did a Christmas party and we had a snowball and it was, "This is so retro." I can remember my grandparents drinking these when I was a child. I remember if you ever come to my house for a Christmas party that you are not to have snowballs.Julia Willison: I'll bring my own, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Okay. Right. What's your unpopular opinion, Julia? Julia Willison: What I do feel, I suppose, strongly about is that, and I arrived at this opinion after talking to my children, after I had done this. And it says, I don't think that people should post pictures of their children and friends on social media without their consent. Kelly Molson: Yes. Yeah. This is an interesting one, isn't? Oh, ok. And actually, at what point do you ask their consent? Because I post pictures of my daughter. She might not be comfortable with me, she might not be happy with me, her face being over my Twitter account or my Instagram account. So, yeah, I guess at some point we'll have that conversation. If she says no, that's it. No more pictures go up. Julia Willison: Oh, sad. And the thing is, you can't take down the ones that you've already put up, can you? Kelly Molson: No. Well, I guess you can go back and delete them from an Instagram account or delete them from your Twitter account. So you could go back and delete, but then they're out there, so that doesn't mean that they're not elsewhere in the ether. Julia Willison: Interesting. Kelly Molson: It is interesting, yeah. But I think you're right, I think. Absolutely, for other people. I've definitely had this conversation with a friend of mine about. We've been out together with our children and we've both taken pictures and she's actually asked my permission if she can post the pictures on her social media, but her platforms are quite. Her Instagram is a private Instagram account, for example, so she's happy to post pictures of her daughter on that, but she's not happy for other people to post those pictures if they're not private account. It is a huge debate, isn't it? Well, it'll be interesting to see what people think. How do you feel about this? Kelly Molson: People on Twitter, which is where we do a lot of our talking about this podcast, how do you feel about posting pictures of your children or your friends and your family on social media without having their consent? Let us know. Could start a little Twitter debate there. Julia Willison: I'd be interested to read it. Kelly Molson: Right, Julia, tell us about your role at Kew and what a typical day looks like for you. Julia Willison: So, I'm Head of Learning and Participation at Kew Gardens and what I'm responsible for is providing leadership in this particular area at Kew and wanting to position Kew as a centre for excellence in plant and fungal science education. And under my remit comes formal learning. That's all the schools programmes and teacher training. So we've got about 90,000 school pupils that come on site each year and we engage with about 200,000 online. We have a youth programme which is growing. There's a lot of demand there for young people to get involved environmentally as well. Families, in early years, we run programmes for families, but up to seven year olds, specific sessions. Julia Willison: We run community engagement, and that includes community horticulture. I'm responsible for the access programmes across the site as well. That's for people who may have sensory needs or different access needs. We have a national outreach learning programme and then slight anomaly is that the volunteers also sit with me. So we've got 800 volunteers across Kew Gardens and Wakehurst, and the central function of that sits with my remit. So looking at some of the strategies around what we're doing with volunteers and diversifying our volunteers, et cetera, that's my remit.Kelly Molson: They're quite a bit. Julia Willison: Yeah. No, it's fantastic. I'm very lucky. And there's no one typical day, but you can imagine. Well, I get going with a cup of coffee every day and sometimes I'll spend one day a week working from home. Julia Willison: But the rest of the time, I like to be on site. Kew has got to be one of the most beautiful locations to work. Kew has got to be one of the most beautiful locations to work. I am so lucky. I know that.Julia Willison: And I've probably got the best office in Kew. If you come and visit Kelly, you'll see that the office I have looks out over the Palm House of Kew, which is the most iconic glass house. It was a glass house that was built between 1844 and 48 and it houses the tropical plants, so it is just the most amazing place to work. I attend a lot of meetings, as you can imagine, with my teams and staff across the organisation about operations sometimes, and strategy and new and exciting projects that we're looking at what we can do. I sit on cross organisational steering groups and committees that focus on public programmes. Julia Willison: We have a strong focus on equality, diversity and inclusion across the organisation. And safeguarding. Well, I still am the designated safeguarding lead for Kew, so I'm involved in that still. And I also lead the steering group for Kew on the outreach strategy and the schools learning strategy. And then, as well, I often work on preparing project proposals, because funding is a major issue for our organisation, and so funding and reporting and then talking to potential donors. So that's my sort of typical day, really. Kelly Molson: I feel quite privileged that I get to speak to so many incredible women that have these hugely varied roles and do so much in a day. Very capable people that I get to speak to. It's quite humbling. We're going to talk quite a lot today about a manifesto that Kew implemented. I'm just going to take you back. So I think it was in March 2021, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew launched a ten year strategy to end extinction crisis and protect nature. And it's a really bold and incredibly inspiring manifesto. I'm just going to read out the ethos of it. Kelly Molson: So, the mission of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is to understand and protect plants and fungi for the well being of people and the future of all life on earth. Our aspiration is to end the extinction crisis and to help create a world where nature is protected, valued by all and managed sustainably. So this was back in 2021. How has the manifesto been implemented within the organisation? How did it get created in the first place, and how does that kind of get explained and put into practise? Julia Willison: Good question. We started in the pandemic, looking at the need to build a new strategy, because our older strategy was coming to the end, and over the years has been a building of staff in Kew, talking about wanting to see more urgency in the work that we do, or to describe it in a more urgent terms, what we're trying to do at Kew. And so the pandemic, while it was a terrible time, it was a time that Kew took to step back and look at the bigger picture and then come together around this urgency of climate change and biodiversity loss. And there was a lot of consultation, a lot of iterations of the strategy that went out to staff to feed into this. Julia Willison: It was a significant job, and there was a team, a small team of people that were working on it, taking the consultation back in centrally. And then what emerged through the consultation were five key priorities that we then agreed, or was agreed then for the next ten years. And that was agreed then by the executive board and signed off by the board of trustees. I'll mention the five priorities, and I can give a few bits of examples of some of the work we do around those. The first priority is deliver science based knowledge and solutions to protect biodiversity and use natural resources sustainably. Kew is primarily a scientific and horticultural organisation, and we struggle sometimes that many people see Kew Gardens as the gardens and don't see the science behind the gardens. Julia Willison: The gardens are essential and they contain precious plant collections. There is also science and research behind that. We've got over 400 scientists and about 150 horticulturalists. And so it's the bedrock accused contribution to ending biodiversity and maintaining sort of healthy ecosystems. So there are lots of examples that I could give. People probably don't know this. We have a resource centre in Madagascar, scientific resource centre, and scientists there are working with the rural Malagasy people on food security and particularly on conserving yams that are native to Madagascar. We work in over 120 countries, working with partners in Ethiopia to reduce biodiversity loss. The Ethiopian economy depends very much on coffee, and something like 25% of the population rely directly or indirectly on coffee for their livelihood. And so Kew is working with partners to maintain traditional forest based areas where coffee grows natively. Julia Willison: And that is proving vital for sustainability, for livelihoods and also for biodiversity. Close to home. We have scientists here at Kew working on the chemistry of nectar and pollen, because many bee species in the UK, there are around 240 different species of bees in the UK. So honey bees are just one species. There's lots of different bumblebees, lots of different native bee species, and they're under threat because of climate change from disease and parasites. So what scientists here are identifying plants that have compounds in the nectar and pollen that could help bees themselves manage their own diseases more sustainably. So that's an important area of research. Kew is also, as part of manifesto, we're digitising our collections. We've got a wrap quarter a way through digitising 8.25 million preserved plants and fungal specimens. So it's an enormous task. And 200,000 botanical illustrations. What else we're doing? Julia Willison: We have a sister site. I don't know if you know this, Kelly. We have a sister site at Wakehurst. It's our wild botanic garden in West Sussex and it's a site of excellence, really, in conservation and science. It's home to the Millennium Seed Bank, where we've banked something like 2.4 billion seeds from more than 40,000 plant species. And so there's the project being run at Wakehurst called Nature Unlocked, and that's using the landscape of Wakehurst, which is about two kilometres squared, as a living laboratory. And the idea is to collect high quality scientific evidence of the value of biodiversity in the soil as well as in the landscape. This evidence to inform land management policies and practises, so that can then key develop. Decision makers can then use this evidence to make informed decisions about what they do around the land. Kelly Molson: That's just one point. Julia Willison: I'll be quicker with the other. Kelly Molson: Please feel free to share. Don't hold back. But it's quite mind blowing, isn't it, how much that you do that people just aren't aware of? Julia Willison: Yeah, this is just a very small snapshot. I mean, I could have taken any one of hundreds of examples of what scientists here at Kew are doing. The second priority is inspire people to protect the natural world, and that really is threaded through all our public engagement work. And that's going from our festivals, our exhibitions, all the interpretive panels we do, the website, our social media, all the learning and participation programmes we do. So we use this as a lens to look through and to make sure that the work we're doing is all checking ourselves, that we are inspiring people to protect the natural world. I mentioned earlier we have a national outreach programme and this programme is inspiring communities to take action for biodiversity, specifically through transforming their local spaces with UK native plants. Julia Willison: So community groups we know will grow other plants, but we also encourage them to focus also on UK native plants as well. Another plan in the manifesto is to create a carbon garden, and that's to communicate stories around how carbon is captured in plants and soil, and how we use this to mitigate climate change, for example, through planting trees and also looking at different carbon related services, such as biofuels. And we have the plans for the garden. It's in planning permission. It's gone for planning permission at the moment and we're waiting to hear. And as soon as we hear, it'll probably take us about a year or so to build the garden, but we'll use it then very much for learning and communicating about the importance of carbon, so people know. So that's priority two. Julia Willison: Priority three is train the next generation of experts, new scientists and horticultural is critical to the future of life on earth. And so Kew has accelerated its work in this. And we offer three month PhD placements for anybody across the UK who's doing a PhD. Part of their PhD often includes a placement. So we offer those placements at Kew and we're very keen to attract PhD students. We also are working in partnership with a couple of universities, Queen Mary, University of London and the Royal Holloway, University of London, to run in partnership master's courses. MSc courses. And we've got three courses that we run. MSc in biodiversity and conservation, an MSc in plant and fungal taxonomy, diversity and conservation. And then the newest MSc is on global health, food security, sustainability and biodiversity. Kelly Molson: I can imagine that the world that we're in now, there's actually a lot more demand for those courses as well. I imagine that they're oversubscribed multiple times. Julia Willison: Yes. And they're open to international students, so we get quite a lot of international students coming. So that's really good. We had 60 students starting this year on the courses, but on a master's course, taking 20 students, it's quite an intense course. And I know that Kew has, like you say, there's a demand to study further in this area, and so there are still developing the possibility of new courses with universities. That's good. Julia Willison: But one of the things for my remit that I'm very keen about is that there's a pathway and that Kew considers its pathway from very early years, attracting kids to become very interested in nature, and then going through and providing school programmes that then encourage children to then take science as a possible career choice, or be informed about science, which is one of the reasons why we launched the Endeavour Online programme to make our resources that focus on educational resources that focus on Kew, science and horticulture, but make them available to schools across the UK. Kelly Molson: That's phenomenal. And that's a lot of the things that we're going to talk about today. What point are we at? We've done point 3. Julia Willison: Okay. So extend our reach. Kelly Molson: Extend reach. That's right. Point 4. Julia Willison: That's about cubing a go to place for anyone and everyone to explore the importance of plants and fungi and how they add value to our lives. And we're working hard to expand our digital resources to make sure that we can engage with as many people as possible. But we also recognise that there are large numbers of the population that would love to visit Kew or either have never heard about us or don't see Kew as a place for them. So we've set down a target to increase tenfold the number of visitors from underrepresented communities to the gardens. And one of the ways that we've done this straight away is to introduce a one pound ticket for people who were on universal credit or pension credit, and that's to remove the economic barrier to visiting. Julia Willison: To date, around 50 - 60,000 people have taken advantage of the initiative in 18 months. However, we have a very ambitious director and he feels that we should be able to dial this up to about 100,000 per year. So that requires us then to go out specifically targeting people who are on universal credit and pension credit and say, "Look, we want you to come to Kew." But on top of this, we also run a range of programmes specifically for people who face barriers to Kew. And that's not only economic, that could be social barriers, psychological or physical barriers. That's priority four, which I think we're going to go into more about some of that. Kelly Molson: Three and four we're going to focus on. Julia Willison: Yeah. So the fifth one is influencing national and international opinion and policy. So in order to do that, we need to encourage debate and shape decision making. And Kew works with a lot of policymakers. Kew is a large institution. Julia Willison: We've got about 1400 staff that work at Kew and 800 volunteers. We have lots of different teams and departments. We do have a department that focuses specifically on working with government and policy makers. And the idea is to support them, to provide the evidence that Kew brings to the table so that people can make well informed decisions. One example is about Tropical Important Plant Areas, those TIPA for short. Kew is working with six countries across the globe and the idea is to work with partners in the countries to help them identify important plant areas so that these areas will then be conserved. That involves an enormous amount of negotiation, discussion, and to date there's three TIPAs that have already been established, so that's really important for conservation of those areas. Julia Willison: And, of course, we work closely with Defra, that's our sponsoring department in the UK government, and they've recently asked you to take the leading role as a strategic science lead for a new institution, I suppose, that has been set up. It's not a physical institution. It's a consortium. It's been called the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate. So what Kew will do is write the research strategy that will define the key themes for funding calls that will be given money, and then the projects that will then provide the evidence to feed into policies that will then help make decisions about the impact of biodiversity on climate and people's livelihoods. So that's a really significant thing that Kew's done. Kelly Molson: This is such an eye opener for myself, having been a visitor to Kew, appreciated the beautiful gardens and the plants that you have there, but actually really having no idea about all of the things that happen in the background. So this is just like you say, the attraction is just one very small part of this huge organisation. There's so much that you do. I hope this is eye opening for people that are listening to this as well, because there's a lot going on here. The points from the manifesto, the key priorities for manifesto are, I mean, each one of them you could take and break down into a different podcast episode. What we're going to talk about is points three and four. We're going to focus on those today. Kelly Molson: So point 3 was to train the next generation of experts, and point 4 was to extend our reach. We're going to focus on them because there's a huge desire at Kew to improve inclusivity, and so we're going to kind of break down what is happening within those points to actually help support do that. So you said that one of the key changes that Kew has committed to achieving by 2030, I think this is to increase tenfold the number of visitors from the presently underrepresented communities to the gardens. And obviously the gardens facilitate the start of that learning journey. Right. That it's exposing people to, I guess, a world that they might not be familiar with, plants that they definitely won't be familiar with, or even just certain job roles that they might not have thought was for them. Kelly Molson: How do you begin to change the kind of views and attitudes from the general public who don't think that Kew is for them, a place for them in the first place? Julia Willison: Well, our aim is to break down that perception. So I think one of the things that has happened to be able to start on this journey is an organisational commitment to include everyone and bringing everybody on board, that we are really intent, we really want to do this. So that's involved training our visitor facing staff and our volunteers so that they provide a warm welcome to anyone, regardless of their background. We've trained our staff in accessibility and safeguarding and then diversity and inclusion. And this year we will roll out more diversity and inclusion training to staff across all areas of the organisation. So when people come here, it's making sure that they feel safe and they feel represented in the gardens. But just providing a welcome is not going to be sufficient. Julia Willison: We do need to reach out and connect with different communities to tell them that Kew exists. We have people visiting Kew from our local boroughs that have never heard of us, which is extraordinary, really. So we really try and encourage them to visit. So we have teams of staff who, in different teams, will visit the different groups and they'll run workshops with the groups at their venues so that groups can find out about Kew before they visit. They realise that the people that come to visit them are really quite friendly and really excited about them coming to Kew. And also, people have said that Kew is a very large place when you come here. I mean, people come and visit Kew, they come for a day, but you never see everything at Kew for a day. Julia Willison: So people feel that it can be a bit intimidating, especially if they've not visited before. So when we bring people on site for the first time, when we've made connections with community groups or other teams, what we do is we'll offer a programme or a tour, so that when they come to visit us, that they make them feel comfortable about returning on their own. Kelly Molson: Sure. So it gives them that level of familiarity by doing the tour that they can then come back and explore. They can do that again, or they could go and explore the different areas that were particularly appealing to them. Julia Willison: Yeah. So we have all sorts of different programmes and we have a community access scheme as well as the one pound ticket. We have community access scheme. So any groups that provide services to people who face barriers from visiting Kew, which I said earlier, sensory, psychological, social barriers, they can join our community access scheme and they can get 60 tickets for 36 pounds. So that works out about 60 pence a ticket and they can always top up as they go along. And then as part of the scheme, they all receive a newsletter and that informs them about the community activities that we run. So that's another way of connecting groups to feel that Kew is a place for them to come and visit. Kelly Molson: That's lovely. I was going to ask about the community access scheme and what initiatives have been formed to kind of support the organisations to do that, because I guess it's one thing the welcome is great, right. But that means that people have to come and get the welcome. So there's so much outreach that has to be done to bring the people to you in the first place. So the community access scheme, what kind of organisations would that be relevant for? Julia Willison: All sorts. We have about 350 members on our access scheme. When I first started at Kew, most of those groups, there were fewer number of groups, but most of those groups were, I would say, for third age people, different groups, but mainly servicing older people. Now we've got all sorts of groups, so we've got LGBT+ groups, we have deaf groups, asian women's groups. We have a whole different range of groups that see Kew as a place that they could join and come and bring with their members. And one of the things that we do run is continuing professional development training for group leaders, specifically for those leaders, so that they then feel confident to come to Kew with their groups on their own and will provide resources for them to use in the landscapes and enjoy with Kew. Kelly Molson: And that adds to that, I guess, like what you were saying earlier about, you want this to be the start of the journey. You need it to be the start of the journey for those groups as well, don't. You don't want to encourage them to come along once and that's like a box that they've ticked. They've done Kew. You want them to come back and keep reengaging with the environment there. So that's brilliant to then be able to train those leaders to take that bit on themselves. Julia Willison: I was just to say, a few years ago, we started a community open week, which is a free week for community groups, any community groups across London. In fact, some groups come from further afield, but we put on a range of workshops and tours during that week for groups to come and just experience Kew and the idea is, if we can, is to try and encourage them to sign up to the access scheme and continue, as you say, the journey and come back and find out more. Kelly Molson: I guess that's the community access scheme. And obviously you've got kind of partnerships going ongoing with kind of local community. What about national community groups? So how do you kind of expand your remit into the wider audience of people that aren't located near Kew?Julia Willison: Yeah. That's a good question because that costs money, doesn't it, for them to come to Kew. So we have had people come from Birmingham and people can join. We've initially contained it within the M25, so a lot of people coming within the M25, but we've just removed that barrier now, I mean, it didn't need to be there. And we have seen some people, some groups coming from outside. We don't have bursaries to be able to provide, sadly, to groups to come to Kew. They are, of course, very welcome. I think one of the things is that we've just brought somebody on board this year who is doing some more community outreach to going out and trying to connect with new groups to visit Kew and part of that will involve producing some marketing materials that can then travel further than just our confines. Julia Willison: So we'll see. We may then receive other groups in from much further afield, which would be great. And also Wakehurst, our sister site, has set up a community access scheme as well, so they will hopefully then encourage those organisations and groups in further south of London.Kelly Molson: Amazing. How is Kew helping to remove barriers and improve access to nature for children and families, both kind of on site and off site? Julia Willison: We've been running an early years programme since about 2018. Before that, we had a family programme and we've made connections with children's centres in our local boroughs. Every borough, every county in the UK will have a children's centre or multiple children's centres. And the aim of the children's centres is to try and help those families that may slip through the net to be able to ensure that they don't. And so what we have done is we have a recent project which is to work with children's centres in London and we're working in five boroughs with different about ten children's centres. And the team is going to the children's centres running nature based play sessions in the children's centres. And then over the summer, we invite the families to come to Kew. We give them funding to do that. Julia Willison: We refund their travel, we run activities on site and then later in the year, we've been running training sessions specifically for the children's centre leaders so that they can then take this work forward when Kew has to step back from going to the children's centres. And we've got this project running for about three or four years now, which is great. But on top of this, we also run on site sessions for early years and half of them are paid for sessions for those families that can afford to pay for earlier sessions. And then the money that we use from that, we then subsidise those families from children's centres, community groups that can't afford to pay. So we try and get a balance, because we don't ourselves have an endless pot of money and we're constantly looking for funding to try and support this work. Kelly Molson: It's really hard, isn't it, to get that balance right. There is a commercial aspect here, right. You have to make money to be able to do all of these incredible projects and initiatives that you have, but you also need the funding to be able to support the incredible initiatives that you're running, to be able to allow everybody access to it. So it's like a vicious circle. What about schools outreach? How are you kind of broadening your reach to engage all schools? And how does that become more inclusive against the manifesto? Julia Willison: So we've been very intent on saying that we want to extend our reach to embrace all schools, sort of all schools in different areas, but also, at the moment, we have about 60, 70. Well, it's now changed to 60% of pupils that come on site are from primary schools. We want to increase the number of secondary school pupils that we engage with. Children make career decisions around their GCSEs and their A levels, and many children from certain schools from more deprived areas will go for general science rather than triple science. And all the research shows that if children choose triple science, they're more likely to do science at a levels. So looking to try and influence those children in their career choices is important for us. And that means that we want to increase the number of secondary schools that we engage with. Julia Willison: And we also have an intent on increasing the number of schools that have higher pupil premium, because in London, pupil premium is, you probably know, is that those children who are generally on those children, on free school meals, the school will receive a bursary from the government to try and reduce the attainment gap between those children on free school meals and those children on not. Julia Willison: So we have had bursaries, we don't have any at the moment, but we have had bursaries then to attract specifically those schools on much higher pupil premium, and we've shifted the dial on this and we have higher numbers of schools with higher pupil premium students and those schools, then we try to influence and think about science as a possible aspect that they can consider further in their careers. So, in planning permission at the moment, we're looking at building a new learning centre at Kew, which would be really exciting. And we're going through ecology reports at the moment before we can get the planning permission through. Julia Willison: But part of the learning centre will include four science laboratories, and so pupils can come on site to Kew will be able to come on site to queue and do science experiments in the heart of a scientific organisation. And all pupils doing GCSE and A levels have to do practical science experiments. We know from all the research that teachers don't necessarily feel confident in teaching about plants. So this is something that Kew really can uniquely offer schools to come to Kew and bring their pupils and get hands on with plant and fungal science experiments. Kelly Molson: Oh my goodness. That would be incredible. Julia Willison: Yes. And also it will provide us with the facilities to be able to do CPD online as well. So that's something that we're really keen to do. Kelly Molson: That's a really interesting side of this, is because I know that one of your goals is to engage with all schools. Now, all schools aren't local to Kew. My school definitely wasn't local to Kew. So how do you do that? How do you make that jump from engaging with local schools that can actually access the site? What can you do digitally that can engage with more schools and more people, regardless of location? Julia Willison: And one of the reasons that we are committed to engaging with all schools is because Kew is a national institution and we are funded partly. About 28% of our funding comes from the government, so it's paid for by taxes by people all over the country. So our commitment is to make our resources as available as widely as possible. And so we have an online programme called Endeavour, and that's a bank of resources specifically for teachers on all sorts of different. It's strongly linked to the national curriculum, but all sorts of different activities that teachers can use then to teach about plant science and fungi. But it straddles the natural curriculum not only in science, but for the primary ages. Julia Willison: It will also look at history, it will look at geography, et cetera, so that we can try and make our resources as relevant as possible to teachers. Kelly Molson: Yeah, that is a phenomenal resource that maybe more teachers need to hear about that. I think I would have been really excited. I did do Science at school. I can remember. I'd have been really excited about doing something that was connected to Kew Gardens. There's quite a big buzz about that, you know what I mean? I don't know why there's a connection to that organisation that I think would have been really exciting to know that you were working on something that had been created by Kew.Julia Willison: That's nice to hear that. We have a youth programme, which I'm very proud of. I think that the youth team is phenomenal, as are all the teams, but we run a youth explainer programme and that's on site, and young people come for a training programme every Saturday for six months and they go behind the scenes. They meet the horticulturist scientists and they learn communication skills. And what they do is we bring a game designer on site and they learn how to design their own game to play with the public about endangered plants or habitats. And the young people have to work together in groups and they produce this game. And then six months after, once they've finished their training, they then become explainers in the glass houses. Julia Willison: And the public, actually, they love interacting with young people and they bring a real buzz about it. So that's been a very successful programme. And on the back of this, we've developed a young environmental leader award. And the idea is that young people will develop their project and they will evidence different dimensions of leadership through their project. So they'll keep a portfolio and they have to evidence how they've developed their leadership skills during this journey. And then we award them with a young environmental leader award, and that's something that we do in house. But then the possibility is then to scale that, to make that available to young people outside Kew as well. Kelly Molson: That would be incredible, wouldn't it? Yeah, that would be a really special thing to be involved in. Okay, so we said earlier we're recording this. It's January 2024. Wow. How is Kew delivering against the manifesto after its first full two years? Julia Willison: Well, Kew is nothing if not ambitious. There is a real strong commitment to ending the extinction crisis. I mean, we can't do this alone and we have to do it in partnership. But I would say that we're firmly on the way to achieving many of the deliverables in the manifesto. And there's a real. People have really bought into. The staff have really bought into the manifesto, and you see that through. We run a staff survey every year and ask for feedback about whether what people think about the manifesto, do they feel their work is contributing to delivering it? And we get very high scores on that consistently we have since the manifesto was published. One of the deliverables in there is to revision the Palm House that I sit opposite in my office. Julia Willison: And we want that to become net zero and engage new generations with science and conservation work and make our data available to everyone. So we are moving towards that. And we've got some seed funding to be able to do this. I'd say that the bricks are in place and the foundations have been laid, and much of the work requires external funding and partnerships. But we have a vision, and I think people and organisations recognise what Kew's work is as vital. And I don't think that's overstating it, but that helps to open doors for support. So I think we're moving forwards, and I think there's a very positive feel about the work that we're doing. We're very fortunate. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it sounds very positive. And like we said earlier, there's so much to cover in this, Julia, and thank you for coming on and just talking about a very small element of all of the incredible things that are actually happening at Kew. So we always end our podcast by asking our guests to recommend a book that you love, something that you love personally or something that's helped shaped your career in some way. What have you chosen for us today? Julia Willison: Well, I chose a book that is a phenomenal book and by a woman who is phenomenal, and it is related to my work. But I chose the book because I think it is so inspirational. It's a book called Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard. And we awarded her the 16th Kew International Medal for her work and her devotion to championing biodiversity in forests. She's worked in British Columbia all her life in Canada, and she was the pioneer of the theory that plants communicate with each other through a huge subterranean fungal network. And the book reveals how trees connect and cooperate with each other, and that each forest contains hub trees. So mother trees. And that these trees in the forest play a critical role in the flow of information and resources. Julia Willison: So I feel that the book will change the way people look at forests. They're not simply a source for timber or pulp, but they are really part of a complex, interdependent circle of life. And I think it's a magnificent book. Well, if one reader reads it and enjoys it, I think that will be brilliant. Kelly Molson: Do you know what? I have to read this book. So this is the second podcast, interestingly, where. Oh, not the book. The book has never been recommended before. No, this is a completely new one. So David Green, Head of Innovation at Blenheim, was on the podcast a couple of episodes ago, and he talked about how trees communicate with each other, and that was a new thing for me. I had no idea that trees talk to each other, and the way that he described it was really interesting. And now this has come up in this as well. And I feel like someone is sending me a message that I need to read this book. So that's going to go top of my list, right.Kelly Molson: Erveryboday, listeners, you know what to do if you want to win a copy of Julia's book, then head over to our Twitter account and retweet this episode announcement with the words, I want Julia's book and you could potentially be learning about how trees communicate with each other and are a vital part of an ecosystem. Thank you. That's fascinating. Everything that you've talked about today is so exciting, and I know that there's so much work still to be done. Thank you for coming on and sharing about all of the things that you do there and all of the things that you're hoping to achieve. I have no doubt that you will do them. It's been an absolute pleasure. Julia Willison: Yeah, it's a real privilege. Thank you very much, Kelly. Thank you. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip The Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip the queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast. The 2023 Visitor Attraction Website Report is now LIVE! 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Hi all! I am sitting writing this late on a Sunday evening with a glass of whisky in one hand (a small glass I hasten to add) and typing with the other. It's already a business year and we're only a week or two in! In this episode, I have been pondering how you build your business and how, in particular, you do it one client at a time. It's the Societies Convention in London next week and I spent much of today figuring out exactly what I'm going to be doing. It's been a lot of fun, but it has highlighted my lack of liner thinking, that's for sure! The Superclass and Masterclass we will be running at the Societies Convention 2024 can be found at https://thesocieties.net/convention/speakers/paul-wilkinson/ and we would love to see you there - either at the workshops or just for a well-deserved pint! Finally, all of our workshops at our studio can be found at https://www.paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops-and-training/ Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. Full Transcript: [00:00:00] SO it's late Sunday evening, and I'm sitting here on my own, the fire is ticking over, Sarah's fast asleep, and I have a glass in my hand of something, well, rather lovely. It's a glass of whiskey from my in laws who brought me a bottle of Dartmoor whiskey for my Christmas. Tonight, Sarah and I have sat and watched Vera. Of all things, how middle aged can you get we sat and watched Vera on ITV? Why? Well, on Friday night we watched Oppenheimer. On Saturday night, we watched Saltburn. Tonight, we needed something, frankly, a lot less stressful. Harriet, our daughter, did warn us that Saltburn was a little bit on the, how do I put this, fruity side? But, I'm not sure Sarah or I were necessarily predicting it to be quite As lively as it was. And so tonight, we really did need something very gentle. Something very uncomplicated. A whodunit actually is relatively obvious and with no [00:01:00] major stress. Very, very different to the other two films. Which may explain why I'm sitting here drinking a large whiskey that was bought by my in laws. It's been a busy week and I've just prepped a wedding which made me laugh. So, it's a wedding I shot a couple of weeks ago just before Christmas and at this wedding I met a pilot. Now, I've always had a theory that pilots get recruited on their debonair looks and their ability to say what they need to say over the microphone and sound reassuring. Sure enough, as I got talking to him, both things became markedly apparent. So, I'm Paul and this is the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast. [00:02:00] Haha! So January appears to be running at full throttle and that is not an understatement. I don't know what's going on for a moment emails coming in, inquiries coming in, the phone is ringing we're booked up solid, and next week of course is the Society's Convention, which I'm very, very much looking forward to. It was a shame when it moved around the year a little bit. I couldn't be there last year but this year back very much in full effect. I'm running two workshops, one of which is sold out, the other I hope to see a large crowd. So on the 18th from 11. 30 to 1, headshots. And on that note today I spent the whole day. Piecing together exactly what we're going to cover because the way I've decided to do it is to just have two very basic strobes. Obviously, when you're doing a workshop at a convention, they give you a list of the kit you can cherry pick from and I could have had the very best of the very best. [00:03:00] But the lighting I've chosen isn't, it's not that it's not great lighting, but it's not sophisticated lighting. Very simple lighting that every photographer would start out with, and for both my workshops, both the superclass and the masterclass, I'm going to use this very, very simple kit. Because I get a little bit frustrated when people say to you, oh, you must have amazing lights, or you must have an amazing camera. In the end, it's what you do with these things. And not only that, but after we've finished doing a workshop, I want people to go away and say, Do you know what? I can do that. Otherwise, there's no point in doing a workshop if you're just gonna do a workshop. And in the end, everyone's gonna go can I do that with my lights? And the answer is, no. Or, can I do that with my camera? No. Can I do that with my models? No. There's no point coming to a workshop like that, you know, or rather, there's no point running a workshop like that. So I've backed everything off. We have two simple lights with two small softboxes. That is it. They're mains powered, so I'm going to be tripping over live cables, which I [00:04:00] hate. But today, to try and get my head around exactly what we're going to do, because in the second Masterclass, I committed to doing two lights, ten looks, one and a half hours, one personal.brand, so it's portraits but based around personal branding. I picked on that because it's a very topical thing at the moment. Lots of personal branding, lots of headshots going on. So it seemed like a good vehicle for it. But in the end, it's portraiture. Lit beautifully, lit quickly. You should be able to create pretty much anything you want to with just two lights. In fact, I've won more awards with one light than I have for any other combination of studio strobes. So. I'm running a workshop around just these two lights, but the problem is that I do not have a linear mind. I wish I did, but I don't. I'll give you the example today. Very kindly, one of my clients someone who's modeled for us a lot is both a [00:05:00] client, the daughter of a client and has been one of those handful of people who's been in front of our camera more than anybody else. Stepped in on her Sunday afternoon off to help me figure a path through what we're going to show. I had it all written out, I had it listed. I spent an hour this morning going through that so that I could work my way through a shoot and work out what we're going to do in the workshop. Within seconds of Libby arriving and standing in the middle of the studio, I changed my mind four times. I had to keep going back to the list to remind myself what I was supposed to be doing, what Is it that I intended to do? Because honestly, I don't think like that. I just, I see the person in front of me. I look at the lighting I have and ideas just spring to mind. Not always good ideas. I never said they were good ideas. Just ideas. Or I suppose if you're someone who works in a linear fashion, you might call them distractions. I would call it creativity. Everybody else [00:06:00] might just call it a lack of focus. Forgive the pun. But I did spend today figuring out. Different lighting patterns with the two lights that not only can I do, but they create beautiful imagery and they show just what can be achieved with the simplest of kit and some knowledge of how you're using it. Of course, one of the challenges is going to be in the hotel next week. is it's not a nice dark studio, I don't have all my equipment to hand, anything I'm going to use, the only things that the convention are giving me are a model and two lights and two softboxes, they've said this year, no background, so anything I want to shoot in front of, I've got to take in with me, as well as the stands for it. Which is fine, it's not a big deal, but I need to be able to travel light because I do not want to be traipsing on the train and on the tube across London with tons of equipment if I can avoid it. So I'm going to try and do this in very light touch, very simple equipment and that lends itself to being [00:07:00] something that if you are just starting out in photography, if you've just started to think, you know what? I'm going to do some studio lighting. Then this is going to be one heck of a masterclass for you because I'm literally using the equipment that I started out on. In fact, the equipment we're going to use is even more sophisticated than what I started out on, but that's because everything has evolved. When I started out, everything had analog sliders to set the power. They were great, but they were unreliable as hell. You had to do everything by eye or by light meter, I suppose. And some days, the little sliders would work really well, and it'd be, you know, linear, and as you moved it up a little bit, it would change a little bit, move it down a little bit, it would change a little bit. Heh heh. Uh, but then of course, gradually over time, the carbon tracks wore, and you'd move it up a little bit, and the light would go really bright! And then you'd move it down a little bit, and the light would go off. And I'm like, why am I in the dark now? And then, the modeling light would be a very different power. You could never get them, even though there was two sliders side by side, the modeling light never tracked against the actual [00:08:00] power. Oh, a million things. So, of course, in this day and age of digital control, where you set the numbers on the back of your light, no matter how basic your light is, you're going to set a number, either with a click wheel or with a digital input, and it's going to be pretty much spot on, certainly compared to how people like me, who started out You know, I started out with second hand Elinchrom, a pair of Elinchrom EL500s. I think they were, they were great, but they got very hot, the fans were noisy, they didn't always go off. You didn't have radios back then, we had wires. Um, you had a mains cable, you had a trigger cable. If you were lucky, you could get the little Magic Eye thing to work. I had these, I bought them second hand, but they were fantastic and I loved it. But if you compare that technology to what we're using today, of course, what we've got today, and even the most basic kit, is so sophisticated. Anyway, today I've spent the whole day, or I haven't, I've spent the afternoon, stepping through [00:09:00] the lighting patterns we're going to use, and I'm really excited about it because the images are absolutely stunning. Well, I think they are. You may disagree. They weren't what I expected to do, even though I had a list, but then, I guess, if there's one thing you would expect from me, it's that I'm not going to do what was expected of me, but that's, that's not by choice, I'm not a rebel, it's just I don't think in a linear fashion. That's not my superpower. Sarah and Michelle both do, and that's their superpower. They're very organized. They're very methodical. They're very step by step by step. And I am so not, except in one key area, and that's our workflow. So if ever I talk about workflow, it's actually, it's, it's, in some ways, it's the most. Exciting thing because it's super organized and it's super organized because over the years, I've spent a lot of time making sure I've got it absolutely how I want it. On the other hand, it's not that exciting because it's linear and I'd much rather be out there [00:10:00] being creative. But nonetheless, the one part of my life that is truly methodical is how we ingest images, how we bring them into Lightroom, how we rename them, the workflow from Sarah through to Imagine to do the coloring and back to me. Very linear. There's no messing around with it. If, if the files are brought in they don't go anywhere until there's another backup of them and that's on a different disk. The memory cards are never formatted until the backups are done. The jobs are logged on a big spreadsheet, so I know exactly where everything is. They go to Sarah. I know exactly the workflow of everything. Until yesterday, until yesterday, when Lightroom decided to corrupt the catalog. Now, in itself, not a big problem. It's not a big deal. It hasn't corrupted the images. It's only corrupted the catalogue, but the catalogue has a lot of areas in it, including collections, including certain colourings, and although I've set it to write [00:11:00] any changes in the develop area back down to either the XMP sidecars, or directly into the Photoshop files, that's not as reliable as you would like because of the way it does it. The catalogue is backed up, it's backed up a couple of times, so again, shouldn't be a problem. But it's a big catalogue. It's 11 gig. It's got 738, 000 images in it, as of when I looked a couple of hours ago. So it's a big catalogue. And it was yesterday failing to load. I could kill Lightroom and load a small catalogue. So we, the way Sarah and I move images between the two of us is I export a little catalogue with Smart Previews. She can do whatever she needs. It can go to ImagenAI. It comes back to me. I import it, take all those settings off the Smart Previews. And apply them to the master files. Very straightforward. So we have lots of little catalogues I can use to check that it's not Lightroom that's broken, it's the [00:12:00] catalogue. Try it on a small catalogue, works fine. Try it on our main catalogue, nothing. So, in the end, last night, I left it just running. It was doing nothing, the system was saying Lightroom had crashed, but it was still ticking over, so I just let it go. I went back in this morning, and the catalogue was up, but it wasn't happy. Something has glitched in the catalogue. We had a little bit of a, a sequence of events that led to power glitching, and it must have been writing into the database, and although it's not supposed to cause a problem, it did. So, this morning, I tried to load the catalogue up again. Although it was there, it wasn't happy, so I left Lightroom. Tried to open it again to see if it would flush a cache or two. Now it's not really opening. So, I downloaded a backup. So we have backups. I use Backblaze, which is really good. It just ticks over in the background. And I've got a backup from the last day or two, which is fine. I know exactly what things have changed since that [00:13:00] backup. Because that's the problem with backups, right? Backups are not something that are always today's data. By definition, they're going to be data that you had. Yesterday, or the day before. And that's true here too. But nonetheless, Backblazed downloaded the 11 gig file, told Lightroom to open it, same problems. So I'm not quite sure what's gone wrong, or when it's gone wrong, but it's certainly causing a problem. So, now what I've done is, this morning I set it rolling. And left it ticking over, and as of right now, which is what, midnight, it still hasn't entirely finished re importing and reconfiguring the database. Tomorrow I shall find out whether my efforts to fix it have worked. But the point is always back up your work and always have a solid, methodical, linear process for how you bring your images in, how you catalogue them, how you back them up, how you archive them, and what happens if you have failure, because you're going to [00:14:00] have it. I know that, you know that, everybody knows that. So have a plan as to what you're going to do. It's another reason why, for instance, one of, one part of our workflow is that I don't use Just Lightroom to manage which images are where. It's actually done in folders on the hard drives and then Lightroom reflects those. Why? Well, for precisely the reasons from today. Sometimes things go wrong and the only thing you're left with is a folder of, I don't know Portraits, a folder of weddings at this venue, weddings at that venue. And that way if you do that, at least you're not beholden to the Lightroom side. And I'm pretty chilled about it because I know in the end, if the worst came to the worst, I would simply recatalogue the main drive, which is also backed up twice. It's all fine, everything's still there, I can still get to every image, it's just that I can't get to things like the collections, virtual copies, different crop variations of different images, because of course [00:15:00] they are stored in the Lightroom catalogue. Anyway, I'll get it sorted, I will get it sorted. January's rolling on at a pace and I could have done with it rolling a lot slower today, it would have given me a chance to actually get in there and I know that I've got breathing space for planning and things, but that's not to be. What do we have last week? We did I was shooting a Paralympian, an amazing lady. Of course, these things are always, when I get to speak about them, still under embargo. But it's for the hearing dogs. She's an incredible human being. I might ask if she'd come on the podcast, actually, because she is someone who would be really interesting to talk about the psychology of winning, to some degree, against the odds, but the psychology of winning, absolutely incredible person to work with, just made us laugh. And then another day I spent working with Kent, Sussex and Surrey Air Ambulance, KSS Air Ambulance, photographing doctors, paramedics. Patients, pilots, and of [00:16:00] course, helicopters. And we had one of those really odd days where twice the helicopter was called out, and twice it came back really quickly. I don't know the reasons for that, but it meant I got pictures in this beautiful, crisp, sunny day, a rare one. We haven't had many days like that up until now this year. Of the helicopter lifting, and off it went into the, into the blue sky. It turned around at about half a mile, it came straight back and landed, and it did it twice during the day. And then obviously we were there all day some night time photography as well. And then really all I'm doing now is doing the prep for next week's convention. I can't wait to be there. It's been a while and I am super excited. I'm going to be there Tuesday night all the way through to Saturday doing a super class on Wednesday. Masterclass on Thursday. If you're around and about that, the superclasses sold out, sold out a couple of weeks ago. Apologies if you wanted to come to that. Of course, you could come across to our studio and go to one of our workshops [00:17:00] here. Just Google Paul Wilkinson Photography Workshops. There's a whole suite of those. in the next few weeks, which is, uh, literally this year, it was just going at 100 miles an hour. I don't know, I didn't anticipate it was going to be quite like that. But if you can't, if you fancy coming and talking, doing headshots, for instance, we are running a headshot workshop here at the studio in the next couple of months. So feel free to look at those, Paul Wilkinson Photography Workshops, if you fancy it. The Masterclass on Thursday, which is free with your convention ticket. Come along. We're gonna be doing, like I said, two lights, ten looks, one brand. Just having a look at how you can create a lot of variety out of the simplest of things. But not just variety, some beautiful imagery. And that's what I've been doing today, is putting a plan together, because like I said, and you can hear it in the podcast, you know, I just, I can't help myself. I head in one direction, and before I know it, I'm heading in another. Anyway, my thought for this particular episode, it's only a short one, [00:18:00] the episode and the thought, it's not a particularly deep thought, it's fine. It's clearly January, Christmas is only just past, New Year is Just behind us I'm sitting with a glass of whiskey. This is not in depth psychology, but have you ever wondered when you're sitting on the motorway, as I was coming back from the air ambulance, I had a couple of hours on the motorway looking at all of the cars, every one of those cars is a little ecosystem of people. It's a driver, probably some family members, friends, business, business relationships. The car is going from somewhere to somewhere. It's an individual at the wheel. Yeah, we see it as a traffic jam. We see it as traffic. We see it as a crowd, and yet actually when you're sitting there looking at each of these cars, there's a life, there's a family, there's parents, there might be kids, definitely parents, might be kids. There are Emotions. There are stories. [00:19:00] What are they listening to? Where are they going? What have they been doing? And when you think about it, a traffic jam and all of that chaos on the M25 around London is not a crowd. It's not, it is a car park, it feels like it, but it's lots of individuals. When you think of it like that, it starts to play in your mind about how we look to win customers in our business. It's easy to get drawn into this idea of social media influencing, having a presence, having tens of thousands of followers, I'm going to get a thousand likes on this post, I'm going to interact with this group, that group, every day I'm going to post five or six messages out there. And you can very easily lose sight of the fact that your business isn't a crowd. Your customers are not a crowd. [00:20:00] Your customers are individuals, with parents possibly, with kids, with lives, with jobs, with income. Hopefully enough income they can afford your services. And, when you think of it like that, everything becomes a little bit clearer as to how you should approach. winning your clients. In my opinion, it's not a smart move to just go for glory and have thousands of likes or thousands of conversations because you don't have time to service them. You're not going to service them particularly effectively. You get lost in the noise. Whereas today Libby, she is a client. She's also worked for us as a model. Her father is coming on a workshop In the coming weeks, they bought a voucher for him to come on one of our workshops at Christmas, because he can't stop talking about photography. Their friends came to us for a shoot the other day because they liked what they'd seen on Libby's [00:21:00] family walls. And so the thread continues. And if you ask me about any one of our clients, I can tell you a story that's very similar. One story in particular is of an incredible person called Nikki, who was a bride of mine. I won her wedding. I went round to see her. It was in the days when I would go and visit people to put the pitch in, before we had a really posh studio. I would drive out. I'd take the albums out and I'd arrive. And I arrived at her home in Henley. A little terraced house, beautiful, but a little terraced house. Took me ages to park because it's all little one way streets. Knocked on the door, and I don't think they'd forgotten I was coming as such, but they certainly weren't ready for me, and they were still eating their Chinese takeaway. So I sat, we chatted, got on really well. I won the wedding. Before I'd even shot the wedding, Nikki got back in touch and said, did I fancy pitching to become the photographer for the Hearing Dogs? Forgive me if you've heard this story. [00:22:00] And of course, I said to her, well I've never photographed dogs before, I'm very much a people photographer, it's very much about portraiture. What does it entail? And she said, well that's why I'm asking you, is because I don't want it to be about the dogs, I want to make the hearing dogs a brand that represents helping people with hearing loss. It's not about the dogs. The dogs are hearing aids for people who suffer with hearing loss. Would you consider it? So I said I'd consider it. I pitched for the work. I worked out a photograph of some dogs. I won it. And I'm still there. That's what, 11, 12 years ago? Still doing it. Still loving it. That's where I was with the Paralympian this week. And coincidentally, Nikki now works at Air Ambulance. And she's dragged me over there. Dragged me, that sounds terrible. She's pulled me into working with them as well. One client, one person, an individual who we've looked after throughout. Right from the minute I sat on her sofa, while her and her fiancé sat and ate their Chinese takeaway in front of me. And the one [00:23:00] thing about that, I was starving. I was sitting there thinking, oh God, give me some food. I had to wait until I had closed the pitch out. I'd thrown everything back into the Land Rover and was heading my way back and I could find something to eat. But you should always think of your business, not as a crowd, not, I mean, we do, sorry, I'm contradicting myself slightly here. We work on averages and Sarah and I constantly talk about it's an averages game. It's an averages game. And so it is when you're looking at your numbers and analyzing your sales per shoot, your margins, your revenue per year. Yes, that's an averages game. But your clients are not. Each of your clients is truly unique. And if you're a photographer, I mean that in the absolute strictest sense. They are unique. Banks, shopping centers, car [00:24:00] servicing, they use lines like that. You're unique. You're important to us. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They don't have to mean it. They can get away with saying it. But not really meaning it, because we're all expecting exactly the same service from them. But, if you're a hair salon, or a beautician, or a personal trainer, or of course, a photographer, when we say to a client, you are unique, you better mean it, because it's true. You build a business, one client. By one client, by one client, and you treat each of them uniquely. If you drift into that whole kind of rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, not only are you going to run an. inefficient business that doesn't do justice to your clients, my suspicion is you're going to get pretty bored because that type of photography, at least for me, isn't at all interesting. I love the idea that [00:25:00] in every one of those cars, I saw on the M25. was another client who would look differently, would be wearing something different, would look different, would have their hair different, I'd have to light them differently, they had a different business or occupation, so we'd probably have to tune if we're doing headshots, it'd be different, or if they're a family, doing it differently. Every client is unique. You build a business. One client, by one client, by one client, and that's my view on the matter. See, I told you it wasn't deep, but I do really believe it. You really do need to think of this kind of, certainly this kind of business, where your client is in front of your camera. You build a business, one client at a time. And on that happy note, on that happy note I'd love to see you next week, or this week, it is now At the convention, if you're around, I'd love to catch up and have a beer. Mine's a Guinness. That sounds really bad. Buy me a drink. That's not what I'm saying at all. I really am not saying that. I'm simply saying I would love to sit and have a drink. I'll buy [00:26:00] you a drink. Well, not everyone. There's a lot of you, but I'll, you know, we'll have a drink, have a chat. I'm so excited to be going. It's going to be clearly if January is anything to go by, this is going to be one heck of a year. So I hope it's the same for you. I hope you're firing on cylinders. I hope you're having a time of your life. If not, let's have a chat about motivation and excitement at the convention. If it is, well, maybe you could do the same to me to keep me buoyed up too. And in the meantime, whatever else, ladies and gentlemen, be kind to yourself. Take care.
We are excited to sit down with Victor Guwein, founder and managing partner at M25. Victor started his career as a founder of a scooter company, Scooter Versity. At 23, Victor founded M25 to invest solely in the Midwest. Fast forward 8 years, and M25 has invested in over 130 companies and is now investing out of its third fund. Victor discusses why the Midwest is ripe for disruption, the M25 DNA, valuations shifting with market dynamics, and how to win at the pre-seed / seed stage.Episode Chapters:Starting a Scooter Company - 1:20Starting a Venture Fund (@ 23) - 3:06Building a Track Record - 7:48 How VCs make Money - 10:32The M25 Sourcing DNA - 14:10Objectivity with Decision Making - 16:50The Importance of Entry Valuations - 20:00Interest Rates Impact on Valuations - 24:08Coastal Investors moving Central - 27:32Advice to Emerging Managers - 30:11Ending Questions - 31:45As always, feel free to contact us at partnerpathpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to hear ideas for content, guests, and overall feedback.
Jermain Defoe and Troy Deeney are back for season two of Football Firsts and kick it all off by looking back at their first transfers. Jermain discusses his move from West Ham to Spurs and how it really went down, whilst Troy admits he had no idea where Watford was when they came in for him. They look at the benefits of leaving on a free, what happens when you hand in a transfer request, and how Troy signed his contract for the Hornets in a service station car park just off the M25. And Jermain looks back on the Gareth Bale deal that sent him to Real Madrid and what happens to the team dynamic when a player wants out.
In this episode, we're excited to sit down with Jennifer Mason, the driving force behind TitleWise, an innovative company that's making waves right here in Lexington. Jennifer Mason is no stranger to the world of entrepreneurship, and as the creative mind behind TitleWise, she's taken her own experiences and translated them into an inspiring solution. Facing the challenges of her own, she crafted an app that has become a game-changer in the real estate sector, especially during the tumultuous times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us as we delve into the story of how Jennifer's team managed to harness their unique insights to accommodate the unprecedented demand for their services. At TitleWise, they're more than just a company – they're a team that's empowering human researchers to wield technology as a tool for better decision-making. Collaborating closely with settlement companies, TitleWise leverages its prowess to gather and process property title information, effectively distinguishing between clear and cloudy titles. Our conversation with Jennifer takes us on a journey through the intricate process of marrying Sales and Marketing efforts with the development of new features, all while maintaining a hands-on, founder-led approach to sales, which often involves fostering high-touch interactions through phone calls. In the funding realm, TitleWise has been supported by an array of notable investors, including the Awesome Inc Fund, Flywheel Fund, Midwest Fund, Double X Fund, and spearheaded by the renowned M25. With a nod to diversity and global reach, the Farout Fund also stepped in, underlining the universal appeal of their innovative venture. Jennifer also opens up about the trials and triumphs of scaling a startup after managing a small business, underlining the importance of leveraging local and regional resources along the way. TitleWise Site https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-902b3913b/ Visit us at MiddleTech.com Follow Us Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Logan's Twitter Evan's Twitter Middle Tech is proud to be supported by: KY Innovation Bolt Marketing
The BBC's new content delivery system, the BBC AiPlayer, is here. Headset strapped on, Damien Slash enters his details and chooses which options of content available. But what happens when you select all? The system goes haywire, spitting out sketches, characters and songs. We hear Rick Stein on a tour of the M25 in an Eddie Stobart lorry, Football commentators enjoying a meal out, and Bob Dylan's latest hit single. To unlock more content, you have to sit through ads for the Flat Earthers World Tour, an AI Dog Collar Translator and a new romcom starring an unlikely Prime Minister. Written and performed by Daniel Barker Additional Material from Tom Savage Guest voice appearances from Natasia Demetriou Sound design by Rich Evans Production Coordinator - Becky Carewe-Jeffries Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
When Kenneth Noye faced trial for the murder of 21 year old Stephen Cameron, stabbed to death in front of his 17 year old fiancee Danielle Cable just by the M25 in Swanley, Kent, one of the witnesses was 40 year old Alan Decabral. He had called 999 and tried to follow Noye to record his car registration. Just months later, in the middle of the afternoon Alan Decabral was shot dead in an apparent professional hit in a retail park in Ashford, Kent. Who killed Alan? And why? Find out more about the UK True Crime Podcast: https://uktruecrime.com Buy my book 'Gone Fishing' about serial killer Angus Sinclair https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gone-Fishing-Unsolved-Crimes-Sinclair/dp/1914277201 Bloodhound Gin Please head to persiedistillery.com/uktc to find about more about UK True Crime Bloodhound Gin. Remember to use the special discount promo code UKTC (UK adults only). Follow my latest Bloodhound Gin stories on instagram @UKTrueCrime Do share your own Bloodhound pics with us on socials, by tagging #UKTC Join my community at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/UKTrueCrime Sources https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/15/tonythompson.theobserver https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/apr/14/marktran1 https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/15/tonythompson.theobserver https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/sad-final-wish-heartbroken-dad-25366410 https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/shocking-m25-murder-stephen-cameron-16198027 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21532663/inside-murder-gave-evidence-against-kenneth-noye/ https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/m25-road-rage-killer-kenneth-29208476 https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/feb/25/features.magazine37 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MY+ALAN+LIED+TO+JAIL+NOYE%3B+Now+wife+of+murdered+key+witness+says%3A...-a067308425
Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #LondonCalling: "Just Stop Oil" stops the M25.@JosephSternberg @WSJOpinion https://metro.co.uk/2022/11/08/just-stop-oil-activist-im-ruining-your-commute-because-i-have-no-future-17716070/?ico=more_text_links
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