Podcasts about mount snowdon

ISO consultancy isn't a field many aspire to enter, mostly because many don't know it exists until you're tasked with either managing an existing ISO Management System or implementing a brand new one.  We're continuing with our latest mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification.   In this episode we introduce Sarah Ball, a Senior Isologist® at Blackmores, to learn about her journey towards becoming an ISO Consultant and what drives her to help clients on their ISO journey.   You'll learn ·      What is Sarah's role at Blackmores? ·      What does Sarah enjoy outside of consultancy? ·      What path did Sarah take to become an ISO Consultant? ·      What is the biggest challenge she's faced when implementing ISO Standards? ·      What is Sarah's biggest achievement?   Resources ·      Isologyhub ·      Productivity Ninja   In this episode, we talk about: [00:30] Episode Summary – We introduce Sarah Ball, a Senior Isologist® here at Blackmores, to discuss her journey towards becoming an ISO consultant who specialises in ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001. [03:45] What is Sarah's role at Blackmores? Sarah is a Senior Isologist® with Blackmores, supporting companies with maintaining systems, undertaking internal audits, and supporting with implementing new systems to gain certification utilising our Isology methodology. Sarah also coordinates the development of content of our online learning platform, the isologyhub. [04:50] What does Sarah enjoy doing outside of consultancy?: Sarah has a keen interest in history, having studied it at school, she like to travel to various locations of historical interest. She also spends a lot of time researching her own family tree, learning as much as she can about the far reaching members of the past. Sarah also likes to go jogging outside, as the gym environment didn't inspire much enjoyment, she instead prefers to be in nature while exercising. She has also participated in long distance running for charity, completing the 10k Race for Life. She's taking on the more daunting muddy 5K version this year, which includes a number of obstacles, so we're wishing her luck! One of the new hobbies she's like to take up this year include mountain climbing, with Mount Snowdon on her to-do list. [06:35] What was Sarah's path towards becoming an ISO Consultant?: Sarah initially started in Customer Services, working as a customer service advisor in a company and then got promoted to manager of a team. At that point, her role became more about understanding why they were getting certain complaints and what could be done to prevent them happening rather than just resolving them. She ended up spending more time with suppliers and other departments to help prevent some of the recurring issues, and along the line it lead onto being asked to implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Which was a tall request considering the fact that at the time, Sarah knew nothing about ISO 9001 outside of it's designation and area of focus. As a result, she spent a lot of time researching it, and had the help of an external consultant to Implement the Management System. This was necessary, as knowing how to apply it to a business was something that she needed support with. 2 years later, the company asked Sarah to implement an ISO 45001 Health & Safety management system and an ISO 14001 environmental management system. These two she implemented herself after getting a feel for it during the initial quality management system implementation. For the next 10 years, Sarah worked in other companies, assisting with their integrated management systems. Along the way, she also picked up on ISO 27001 Information Security, before landing in Blackmores in 2020. [09:10] A path people fall onto – Most people don't actively plan to get into ISO consultancy, it's usually a result of being tasked with managing or implementing a management system while working in another role.  [10:10] What is Sarah's favourite aspect of being a Consultant? – Sarah enjoys the variety, not just in the work and tasks but in the companies and industries that she gets to work with. Each have their own way of working, unique approaches and knowledge nuggets in the form of ways of working that can be cherry picked and applied elsewhere. She also likes to see how a management system develops and evolves overtime and how it can become part of a company's success, driving continual improvement. Sarah enjoys working with people that can see the real benefits of ISO management systems, rather than just focusing on the certificate on the wall. [13:40] Making a Management System your own – Sarah is a big proponent of making a Management system your own, giving it an identity so that it can be fully integrated into the way a business works. Businesses do it all the time, usually by naming large projects that everyone can reference by a common shorthand. A Management System can work in the same way, making it a part of the day-to-day running of the business. She's also a fan of not worrying about the terminology in Standards. Many of the terms used are meant to be general, this was due to the way international audiences referred to certain aspects of management, it wouldn't always translate correctly. So many Standards have some admittedly awkward terminology that can be applied to any business, and you by no means have to use their wording, as long as you can explain what relates to what in an audit then you're free to name things as appropriate to you.   [16:55] What Standards does Sarah specilaise in and why? Starting with: ·      ISO 9001 Quality: This is the main standard that Sarah starting working with, and is one that touches on a lot of areas within other Standards. It's a great base to build off of, and is the starting point for many venturing into the world of ISO. ·      ISO 14001 Environmental: Sarah got experience with this Standard at her first company, it's also commonly implemented alongside ISO 9001.   ·      ISO 45001 Health & Safety: Another one of the first Standards Sarah implemented, it's also a common one to see in integrated management systems.   ·      ISO 27001 Information Security: Sarah got to grips with this Standard through years of working with other companies. Sarah's favourite Standard is ISO 9001, not only because it was her first experience with implementing ISO Standards, but because it create a blueprint for success. ISO Standards are setting the minimum requirement, not the maximum, they are designed get you started so you can make continual improvements. It also acts as a foundation to build onto, you can pick aspects of other Standards to integrate into your existing system. You don't necessarily have to certify to those additional Standards, but nothing is stopping you from strengthening your Management System with the best bits from other ISO's. [21:00] Sarah's favourite clause in ISO 9001: Sarah personally favors Clause 10 – non-conformity and corrective action. The reason behind that choice is due to that clauses' importance in driving continual improvement. It's about taking something negative being turned into a positive, which is what Quality Management is at it's core. [22:05] What is the biggest challenge Sarah had faced during a project and how did he overcome it?: Molding the Standard to the business. As a consultant, the biggest challenge is understanding how to make the requirements of a Standard fit the business, and not the other way round. It's all about trying to align the ISO Standard requirements to their values and mission, and then getting people on board with understanding the true benefits of management system implementation. At Blackmores, we ensure that each management system is unique to each business. We don't operate with a copy paste model. This is another reason why Sarah encourages naming your management system, by branding it you encourage engagement. Sarah highlights the fact that we run a lot of workshops in the initial part of a project, conducting a Gap Analysis, SWOT and PESTLE ect, this helps our consultants to really get a feel for how a business ticks. From that, we can help steer the delivery of the Management System to the wider business, by building it into their existing tools, such as an intranet. [25:45] Leading by example: We revamped our own ISO 9001 Management System a few years ago, with both Rachel Churchman and Sarah Ball leading the refresh. We gave it a name, H20 (How 2 Operate) and integrated it with our Microsoft Teams channels as we'd all swapped to mostly remote work following the COVID pandemic in 2020. As Sarah points out, there are many different ways to display and deliver your management system, including: ·      Microsoft Teams ·      Intranet ·      Google / Google Drive ·      SharePoint ·      CRM's such as Monday.com The key is building it into the day-to-day tools everyone uses. Make the Management System part of your processes, so adhering and maintaining it becomes part of everyone's way of working. [28:55] What is Sarah's proudest achievement? Obtaining her degree through the Open University while still working full time. It took Sarah 8 years of hard work to obtain her honours degree in History, which was one not required by her work or career development. It was simply something she wanted to do to prove to herself that she could achieve it. Many other members of Blackmores can attest to Sarah's level of determination, and organisation, as she shares many tips and techniques learned from her years of study and work. This includes: The Productivity Ninja – Learned from Graham Allcott's book, which seeks to help reduce procrastination, and tackle tasks with efficiency. The Second Brain – A tool to help keep track of ideas / tasks that aren't an immediate priority. These tools are now used by a number of the team, and we have no doubt Sarah will be schooling us on more techniques in future. If you'd like any assistance with implementing ISO standards, get in touch with us, we'd be happy to help! We'd love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here's how: ●     Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●     Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

In the latest episode of the Veg Grower Podcast, host Richard delves into the world of automated watering systems with Jason, the head of AutoPot. This episode is packed with valuable insights into the AutoPot system, its setup, functionality, and the impressive results it can yield. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting, this blog post will break down the key takeaways from the episode, offering actionable advice and expert tips to enhance your gardening experience. If you are interested in buying an Autopot system. For this Richard has negotiated an affiliate code AUTO10RVG to save you some money. Richard's Charity Climb and Gardening Passion Richard kicks off the episode by sharing his recent charity climb of Mount Snowdon, where he and his gardening friends raised over £4,000 to promote gardening in schools. This event underscores Richard's commitment to encouraging others to grow their own food and his passion for gardening. Introduction to the AutoPot System The main focus of the episode is the Auto Pot watering system, which Richard has been testing. AutoPot approached him earlier in the year to review their system, and he was eager to try it out. The AutoPot system operates without electricity, relying solely on gravity to deliver water to the plants. Here's a detailed breakdown of the system and its components: Components of the AutoPot System Two 8-Liter Pots: These pots are designed to hold the plants and the growing medium. Float Valve (Aqua Valve): This key component controls the flow of water to the plants based on their needs. 47-Liter Reservoir: This reservoir stores the water that will be delivered to the plants. Setup Process Richard describes the setup process, which he completed in May. Here are the steps he followed: Level Area: Ensuring the area is level is crucial for the system to function effectively. Organizing Parts: Richard organized the parts, cut the rubber pipes, and assembled the system. Filling the Pots: He filled the pots with a mix of compost and perlite to ensure proper aeration. Planting: Richard planted two tomato plants, excited to see how they would grow using the Auto Pot system. Ease of Installation Richard highlights the ease of installation, noting that it took him about half an hour to set everything up. This simplicity makes the Auto Pot system accessible to gardeners of all skill levels. Visit to AutoPot's R&D Facility The episode then transitions to Richard's visit to AutoPot's research and development (R&D) facility, where he meets Jason, the big boss of Auto Pot. Jason provides a deeper understanding of the technology and products offered by the company. Origins and Evolution Jason explains that the AutoPot system was initially developed in Australia and has since evolved into a widely used watering solution in over 30 countries. The system's key component, the Aqua Valve, controls the flow of water to the plants based on their needs. Versatility and Environmental Benefits Jason elaborates on the versatility of the Auto Pot system, which includes various setups for different gardening needs, from pots to trays. He highlights the environmental benefits of using the system, such as water conservation and reduced salinity in the soil. Plants in the R&D Facility Jason shares insights into the plants being grown in the R&D facility, including exotic varieties like papaya and bananas. This showcases the system's effectiveness in a controlled environment. Growing with AutoPot: Richard's Experience Richard shares his personal experience with the Auto Pot system, particularly his success in growing tomatoes. Here are some key points: Minimal Care Required The system has required minimal care, making it ideal for busy individuals who still want to grow their own food. Richard highlights the efficiency of the system, which has used only half of the water in the reservoir.

Der Norden von Wales ist eine Landschaft der Gegensätze. An die schroffe Küstenlinie der Irischen See und der Meerenge von Menai schmiegen sich sandige Strände und kleine alte Hafenstädte mit schiefergedeckten Häusern aus dem Mittelalter. Nur ein paar Kilometer dahinter erheben sich bereits die kahlen Berghänge des mächtigen Massivs um den fast 1100 Meter hohen Mount Snowdon. Dicht besiedelt ist die Gegend nicht. Selbst ihre Hauptorte - die Universitätsstadt Bangor und das Hafenstädtchen Caernarfon - haben jeweils nicht einmal 20 000 Einwohner. Und doch gilt sie als das Zentrum der traditionell keltisch-walisischen Kultur. Gut drei Viertel der Menschen hier sprechen die keltische Sprache Walisisch, viele sogar als Muttersprache. Die Spuren der Vergangenheit sind hier allgegenwärtig: Dolmenkreise aus der Druidenzeit, spektakuläre Burgruinen aus dem Mittelalter und die Schieferbergwerke und Verladehäfen, die der Gegend im 19. Jahrhundert einen bescheidenen Wohlstand brachten. Heute sind die Grafschaft Gwynedd und die Insel Anglesey ein überraschend unbekanntes touristisches Kleinod fernab der großen Städte. Auf Abenteuerlustige warten hier Bergwanderungen in den Highlands und Ausflüge in alte Minenschächte. Wer es lieber ruhiger mag, kann sich beim Badeurlaub an den langen Stränden entspannen. Croeso i Gymru - Willkommen in Wales! Matthias Schuch war für uns in Wales unterwegs.

We're going on an exciting journey up Snowdon on the Snowdon Mountain Railway in Wales! We start our journey in Llanberis, where the railway station is located, and find out all about the history and details of this narrow gauge rack and pinion railway that has been operational since 1896. The railway offers stunning views of Snowdonia National Park and provides a unique, accessible way for visitors to reach the summit of Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales and England.Join Fun Kids Podcasts+: https://funkidslive.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we have a slightly different and more personal episode. Earlier this month, I had the incredible experience of climbing Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales.  This challenging endeavour not only pushed me to my limits physically but also provided valuable insights and lessons applicable to running a business.  So in this episode, I'll share with you why I was there, the parallels between mountain climbing and entrepreneurship, as well as practical strategies to implement in your own business.  So whether you've climbed Snowdon before or not, get ready for an inspiring and insightful discussion.  Time Stamp [00:00] Introduction to climbing Mount Snowdon and its relevance to business [02:02] The importance of being part of a supportive community in business [03:00] Why I was in Wales, climbing Snowdon [03:55] The climb was way harder than I thought but it also reminded me of the importance of enjoying the journey [05:05] Highlighting the importance of teamwork and collaboration in business [05:59] Personal accomplishment and the lesson of reconnecting with your vision [07:25] Importance of celebrating wins along the entrepreneurial journey [08:03] Reminder of the need for proper planning and preparation in business Quotations “Having a community around you pushes you to achieve more than you think you could. When your brain is saying STOP, having a community around you who are supporting you and willing you on is so absolutely important.” - Rob Da Costa “It's really important that we stop and enjoy the journey and don't just focus on the destination. This was true when climbing Snowdon and is true when running an agency” - Rob Da Costa Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts “I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I'm adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you're not subscribed, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Subscribe now! Useful links mentioned in this episode: The Self-Running Agency Implementation GroupAgency Accelerator LIVEAgencyAssistBook a strategy call and let's chat about where you want your agency to be in 12 months and how to get there

Is nasal breathing better for running? David 'Jacko' Jackson, former professional rugby player forced to retire in 2013 due to traumatic brain injury, recently ran up & down Mount Snowdon 6 times in 24 hours. He also ran a 216km Ultra Marathon, breathing just through his nose. In this episode of Runchatlive Podcast, he discusses how efficient functional breathing using the nose instead of the mouth can be key in not just recovery from brain injury but also improving athletic performance.  With 316 appearances for Nottingham RFC, and 102 tries across a career of 13 years, David 'Jacko' Jackson was forced to retire in 2013 due to ‘TBI' - Traumatic Brain Injury. Re–training as a Strength & Conditioning Coach, David co-founded the School of Calisthenics, became a Master Instructor with the Oxygen Advantage, and founded ProBreathwork.com. In this episode, originally recorded for the Sports Therapy Association Podcast, Jacko talks to us about his incredible journey.   Topics discussed (with time stamps): 0:00 Intro  4:30 Welcome David 'Jacko' Jackson 5:55 History of Jacko's concussions & eventual need to retire.  12:00 The lack of understanding in treatment of brain trauma 13:25 How breathwork can improve brain health 20:15 Many people don't understand the basics of breathing 23:18 Nasal breathing & the diaphragm 29:50 Free Course: 'Foundation of Breathing' 34:36 Difference between The Oxygen Advantage and The Wim Hof Method    38:00 Understanding the role of CO2 in breathing 45:40 Why does nasal breathing improve our sensitivity to CO2? 51:30 Not just about nose vs mouth 59:00  Running up Snowdon six times in 24 hours and 216km Ultra Marathon 1:05:00 How to Follow Jacko & details of courses 1:06:55 Rooted Life Website (Includes Lucy Williamson's Gut Health Course) & Details of October Retreat.  Useful Links Website: https://www.probreathwork.com/ Free Course: 'Foundation of Breathing' Free Coiurse: 'Stress & Anxiety Management' Instagram: @jacko.david.jackson Twitter: @JackoHumanFlag YouTube: @jacko-breathwork  The Oxygen Advantage Website  Details of October Retreat  Our sincere thanks to David 'Jacko' Jackson for giving up his time to be a guest on the show! Want to join the live recordings? If you are a soft tissue therapist who works with runners, we recommend you check out the Sports Therapy Association Podcast (also hosted by Matt Phillips). It is recorded live every TUESDAY at 8pm on the Sports Therapy Association YOUTUBE CHANNEL. Everyone is welcome - you do not have to be an STA member. If you cannot join live, be sure to subscribe to the 'Sports Therapy Association Podcast' on all popular podcast apps to be notified when new episodes are available. Please Support Our Podcast! If you appreciate what we do on Runchatlive Podcast, please take a couple of minutes to leave us a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. It really does make all the difference in helping us reach out to a larger audience. iPhone users you can do this from your phone, Android users you will need to do it from iTunes. Questions? Email: matt@runchatlive.com

Strap into your hiking boots purple people! In this episode, we're going to climb to new linguistic heights and explore the world of climbing. Gyles walks us through his Mount Snowdon expedition and Susie rocks our etymological world as usual, giving us a peak into the wonderful ways of word evolutions. We love hearing from you, find us @SomethingRhymes on Twitter and Facebook, @SomethingRhymesWith on Instagram or you can email us here: purple@somethinelse.com   Want even more purple, people? Join the Purple Plus Club by clicking the banner in Apple podcasts or head to purpleplusclub.com to listen on other platforms'   Don't forget that you can join us in person at our upcoming tour, tap the link to find tickets: www.somethingrhymeswithpurple.com    Enjoy Susie's Trio for the week:    Helluo Liborium: An obsessive and insatiable bookworm Lectory: A reading place Tsundoku: Refers to the phenomenon of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them.     Gyles' poem this week was ‘The Mountain' by Emily Dickinson:   The mountain sat upon the plain In his eternal chair, His observation omnifold, His inquest everywhere. The seasons prayed around his knees, Like children round a sire: Grandfather of the days is he, Of dawn the ancestor.   A Somethin' Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.     Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts     To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are joined by film maker Olly Loom to discuss his first feature documentary - The Summit Mentality. The film follows three young men - Ted, Travis & Joe as they embark on a 24hr relay race up & down Mount Snowdon in Wales. In the film, each of the team explain their personal reasons for taking part & how they have been impacted by mental health issues, grief & loss & how physical challenge & resilience has helped them to overcome & grow. This is a very different conversation with a very different guest about an inspiring film - which will hopefully be more widely available in the near future.

Missy and Russ discuss, Russ getting a slow speeding ticket, whether Missy would walk up Mount Snowdon and MIssy brand new cat.

In this week's episode the Girls go through Athena's property journey - from ditching a high-flying career in travel via becoming an accidental landlord to starting an HMO franchise with the world's best business partner (Sophie!). Athena talks through how she took the plunge, how she finds and holds her amazing mindset and what is next. Athena and Julia tell us why they have sore legs and what climbing Mount Snowdon in January has to do with mindset and surrounding yourself with the right people!In a take of outrageous female entrepreneurial heroism Julia tells how she raised £680k in 30 hours to save her R2R flats. Phew!To claim your space at our Girls in Property Retreat on Friday 19th April 2024 simply visit www.girlsinproperty.co.uk & to find out more info or join The Property Lifestyle Accelerator Programme simply DM the word "Lifestyle" on Instagram or Facebook for a Discovery Call. You can also email me at girlsinpropertypod@gmail.comABOUT THE HOST With more than 5 years of experience as a landlord, Athena Dobson departed her secure corporate job two years ago to chase her passion as a full-time property investor.Now, she successfully manages multiple businesses handling HMOs, SAs, & BTLs, all while sharing her expertise to guide &teach others on their own journey to success. Athena's mission is to be able share as many tips as possible from her own experience, to empower others to navigate the complex realms of business & property with confidence!

In this episode we chat to four of our fabulous OTI Community members, Maz, David, Will and Denise, about the weekend we spent in Wales for the very first OTI Summer Camp! We love connecting on Zoom and through our forums and OTI Chat, but now that we're all able to get together properly again, nothing can beat a bit of face-to-face connection. Thirty members drove from all over the country (one even flew in from Bahrain!) to be there with each other to climb the epic Mount Snowdon but also to chat, connect and to be active in their sobriety. There was the sunrise trek, paddle boarding, kayaking, singing around the campfire... It was a packed schedule! But everyone had a smile on their face for the entire time - they were using the energy and motivation that going alcohol free gives you, and they were pushing themselves out of their comfort zones - but they were all in it together. If you think that connection is the missing piece of the puzzle for you, then we'd love for you to join us! You can find the info below, and we'll be releasing our full schedule of events for 2023 very soon! Thank you to Maz, David, Will and Denise for coming on to the podcast to share their experiences of the weekend - and for being fabulous members of our community. We built the platform, but our members built the environment - it really is one of the happiest corners of the internet! --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod on Instagram, or search for "Over The Influence" on Facebook. We'd love to hear your story - please get in touch with us directly at otihq@overtheinfluence.co.uk or go to our website, www.overtheinfluence.co.uk --- The Premium Podcast: If you love OTI and you'd like to hear behind the curtain, subscribe to the OTI Premium Podcast now! Released every Monday and exclusive to subscribers and OTI Community members, the Premium Pod is Sharon and Ben talking through even more topics surrounding alcohol-free life, from how to not just survive but enjoy AF holidays to alcohol free dating! Subscribe now! Released every Monday, cancel any time - just £5 per month. --- Links: Over The Influence is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Sound Rebel works with businesses, brands, charities & other organisations across the UK - go to soundrebel.co.uk now to find out how podcasts could help you to tell your story to the world. If you feel as if connection with likeminded people would help as you try life without alcohol, join the Over The Influence Community now - and we can't wait to meet you! For links to alcohol-related support services, please visit our website. --- Disclaimer: All views expressed in this podcast are of the participants themselves, and not necessarily those of Over The Influence (OTI) Ltd. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. We are not medical professionals but normal people giving their own experiences of removing alcohol from their lives, and as such this podcast should not be considered professional advice. If you are dependent on alcohol, or think you may be, we strongly recommend that you seek professional medical advice. --- Helpful Hashtags: We found hashtags and sober social media accounts really helpful in our early days alcohol free, as following them can help to reinforce that you are not alone!  These are some of the hashtags we've followed: #alcoholfree #stopdrinking #healthandwellnessjourney #zeroalcohol #idontdrink #sobercurious #healthydrinking #alcoholfreelife #soberaf #alcoholfreeliving #sobermotivation #podcast #healthpodcast #noalcohol #nobooze #sober #sobercurious #soberlofe #soberliving #sobercommunity #afcommunity #soberwomen #sobermom #sobermomtribe #sobersisters #sobriety #soberuk #soberjourney #sobrietyrocks #overtheinfluence #oti

In this episode wildrunners Colin and Dan chat about Colin's recent 2 races Overload ocr and Man vs Mountain. Listen in to see just how many laps of the Overload ocr he managed to complete and what he thought about the event. He also chats about finally completing his Man vs Trinity Rat Race events as he completed his epic race on Mount Snowdon. We also chat about our September challenge which has started really well. Thank you for listening to our podcast, check out our running and ocr community on instagram @wildrunners_ig Feel free to follow our personal accounts too @colinlee_ocr & @superdan84 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wildrunners/message

Sion Owen calls from Wales to talk to Doc about some of his UK adventures. In between the chat about Welsh weather, Snowdonia National Park, and Mount Snowdon, the two cover a lot of territory, including what qualifies as Hiker Trash, the difference between thru hiking and section hiking, dressing up for your 100th summit, and the prettiest gym he's ever been to.   --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/johnfreakinmuir/support

This week's episode looks at “All You Need is Love”, the Our World TV special, and the career of the Beatles from April 1966 through August 1967. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a thirteen-minute bonus episode available, on "Rain" by the Beatles. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ NB for the first few hours this was up, there was a slight editing glitch. If you downloaded the old version and don't want to redownload the whole thing, just look in the transcript for "Other than fixing John's two flubbed" for the text of the two missing paragraphs. Errata I say "Come Together" was a B-side, but the single was actually a double A-side. Also, I say the Lennon interview by Maureen Cleave appeared in Detroit magazine. That's what my source (Steve Turner's book) says, but someone on Twitter says that rather than Detroit magazine it was the Detroit Free Press. Also at one point I say "the videos for 'Paperback Writer' and 'Penny Lane'". I meant to say "Rain" rather than "Penny Lane" there. Resources No Mixcloud this week due to the number of songs by the Beatles. I have read literally dozens of books on the Beatles, and used bits of information from many of them. All my Beatles episodes refer to: The Complete Beatles Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn, All The Songs: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Release by Jean-Michel Guesdon, And The Band Begins To Play: The Definitive Guide To The Songs of The Beatles by Steve Lambley, The Beatles By Ear by Kevin Moore, Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald, and The Beatles Anthology. For this episode, I also referred to Last Interview by David Sheff, a longform interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from shortly before Lennon's death; Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, an authorised biography of Paul McCartney; and Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles by Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey. Particularly useful this time was Steve Turner's book Beatles '66. I also used Turner's The Beatles: The Stories Behind the Songs 1967-1970. Johnny Rogan's Starmakers and Svengalis had some information on Epstein I hadn't seen anywhere else. Some information about the "Bigger than Jesus" scandal comes from Ward, B. (2012). “The ‘C' is for Christ”: Arthur Unger, Datebook Magazine and the Beatles. Popular Music and Society, 35(4), 541-560. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2011.608978 Information on Robert Stigwood comes from Mr Showbiz by Stephen Dando-Collins. And the quote at the end from Simon Napier-Bell is from You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, which is more entertaining than it is accurate, but is very entertaining. Sadly the only way to get the single mix of "All You Need is Love" is on this ludicrously-expensive out-of-print box set, but the stereo mix is easily available on Magical Mystery Tour. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript A quick note before I start the episode -- this episode deals, in part, with the deaths of three gay men -- one by murder, one by suicide, and one by an accidental overdose, all linked at least in part to societal homophobia. I will try to deal with this as tactfully as I can, but anyone who's upset by those things might want to read the transcript instead of listening to the episode. This is also a very, very, *very* long episode -- this is likely to be the longest episode I *ever* do of this podcast, so settle in. We're going to be here a while. I obviously don't know how long it's going to be while I'm still recording, but based on the word count of my script, probably in the region of three hours. You have been warned. In 1967 the actor Patrick McGoohan was tired. He had been working on the hit series Danger Man for many years -- Danger Man had originally run from 1960 through 1962, then had taken a break, and had come back, retooled, with longer episodes in 1964. That longer series was a big hit, both in the UK and in the US, where it was retitled Secret Agent and had a new theme tune written by PF Sloan and Steve Barri and recorded by Johnny Rivers: [Excerpt: Johnny Rivers, "Secret Agent Man"] But McGoohan was tired of playing John Drake, the agent, and announced he was going to quit the series. Instead, with the help of George Markstein, Danger Man's script editor, he created a totally new series, in which McGoohan would star, and which McGoohan would also write and direct key episodes of. This new series, The Prisoner, featured a spy who is only ever given the name Number Six, and who many fans -- though not McGoohan himself -- took to be the same character as John Drake. Number Six resigns from his job as a secret agent, and is kidnapped and taken to a place known only as The Village -- the series was filmed in Portmeirion, an unusual-looking town in Gwynnedd, in North Wales -- which is full of other ex-agents. There he is interrogated to try to find out why he has quit his job. It's never made clear whether the interrogators are his old employers or their enemies, and there's a certain suggestion that maybe there is no real distinction between the two sides, that they're both running the Village together. He spends the entire series trying to escape, but refuses to explain himself -- and there's some debate among viewers as to whether it's implied or not that part of the reason he doesn't explain himself is that he knows his interrogators wouldn't understand why he quit: [Excerpt: The Prisoner intro, from episode Once Upon a Time, ] Certainly that explanation would fit in with McGoohan's own personality. According to McGoohan, the final episode of The Prisoner was, at the time, the most watched TV show ever broadcast in the UK, as people tuned in to find out the identity of Number One, the person behind the Village, and to see if Number Six would break free. I don't think that's actually the case, but it's what McGoohan always claimed, and it was certainly a very popular series. I won't spoil the ending for those of you who haven't watched it -- it's a remarkable series -- but ultimately the series seems to decide that such questions don't matter and that even asking them is missing the point. It's a work that's open to multiple interpretations, and is left deliberately ambiguous, but one of the messages many people have taken away from it is that not only are we trapped by a society that oppresses us, we're also trapped by our own identities. You can run from the trap that society has placed you in, from other people's interpretations of your life, your work, and your motives, but you ultimately can't run from yourself, and any time you try to break out of a prison, you'll find yourself trapped in another prison of your own making. The most horrifying implication of the episode is that possibly even death itself won't be a release, and you will spend all eternity trying to escape from an identity you're trapped in. Viewers became so outraged, according to McGoohan, that he had to go into hiding for an extended period, and while his later claims that he never worked in Britain again are an exaggeration, it is true that for the remainder of his life he concentrated on doing work in the US instead, where he hadn't created such anger. That final episode of The Prisoner was also the only one to use a piece of contemporary pop music, in two crucial scenes: [Excerpt: The Prisoner, "Fall Out", "All You Need is Love"] Back in October 2020, we started what I thought would be a year-long look at the period from late 1962 through early 1967, but which has turned out for reasons beyond my control to take more like twenty months, with a song which was one of the last of the big pre-Beatles pop hits, though we looked at it after their first single, "Telstar" by the Tornadoes: [Excerpt: The Tornadoes, "Telstar"] There were many reasons for choosing that as one of the bookends for this fifty-episode chunk of the podcast -- you'll see many connections between that episode and this one if you listen to them back-to-back -- but among them was that it's a song inspired by the launch of the first ever communications satellite, and a sign of how the world was going to become smaller as the sixties went on. Of course, to start with communications satellites didn't do much in that regard -- they were expensive to use, and had limited bandwidth, and were only available during limited time windows, but symbolically they meant that for the first time ever, people could see and hear events thousands of miles away as they were happening. It's not a coincidence that Britain and France signed the agreement to develop Concorde, the first supersonic airliner, a month after the first Beatles single and four months after the Telstar satellite was launched. The world was becoming ever more interconnected -- people were travelling faster and further, getting news from other countries quicker, and there was more cultural conversation – and misunderstanding – between countries thousands of miles apart. The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan, the man who also coined the phrase “the medium is the message”, thought that this ever-faster connection would fundamentally change basic modes of thought in the Western world. McLuhan thought that technology made possible whole new modes of thought, and that just as the printing press had, in his view, caused Western liberalism and individualism, so these new electronic media would cause the rise of a new collective mode of thought. In 1962, the year of Concorde, Telstar, and “Love Me Do”, McLuhan wrote a book called The Gutenberg Galaxy, in which he said: “Instead of tending towards a vast Alexandrian library the world has become a computer, an electronic brain, exactly as an infantile piece of science fiction. And as our senses have gone outside us, Big Brother goes inside. So, unless aware of this dynamic, we shall at once move into a phase of panic terrors, exactly befitting a small world of tribal drums, total interdependence, and superimposed co-existence.… Terror is the normal state of any oral society, for in it everything affects everything all the time.…” He coined the term “the Global Village” to describe this new collectivism. The story we've seen over the last fifty episodes is one of a sort of cultural ping-pong between the USA and the UK, with innovations in American music inspiring British musicians, who in turn inspired American ones, whether that being the Beatles covering the Isley Brothers or the Rolling Stones doing a Bobby Womack song, or Paul Simon and Bob Dylan coming over to the UK and learning folk songs and guitar techniques from Martin Carthy. And increasingly we're going to see those influences spread to other countries, and influences coming *from* other countries. We've already seen one Jamaican artist, and the influence of Indian music has become very apparent. While the focus of this series is going to remain principally in the British Isles and North America, rock music was and is a worldwide phenomenon, and that's going to become increasingly a part of the story. And so in this episode we're going to look at a live performance -- well, mostly live -- that was seen by hundreds of millions of people all over the world as it happened, thanks to the magic of satellites: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "All You Need is Love"] When we left the Beatles, they had just finished recording "Tomorrow Never Knows", the most experimental track they had recorded up to that date, and if not the most experimental thing they *ever* recorded certainly in the top handful. But "Tomorrow Never Knows" was only the first track they recorded in the sessions for what would become arguably their greatest album, and certainly the one that currently has the most respect from critics. It's interesting to note that that album could have been very, very, different. When we think of Revolver now, we think of the innovative production of George Martin, and of Geoff Emerick and Ken Townshend's inventive ideas for pushing the sound of the equipment in Abbey Road studios, but until very late in the day the album was going to be recorded in the Stax studios in Memphis, with Steve Cropper producing -- whether George Martin would have been involved or not is something we don't even know. In 1965, the Rolling Stones had, as we've seen, started making records in the US, recording in LA and at the Chess studios in Chicago, and the Yardbirds had also been doing the same thing. Mick Jagger had become a convert to the idea of using American studios and working with American musicians, and he had constantly been telling Paul McCartney that the Beatles should do the same. Indeed, they'd put some feelers out in 1965 about the possibility of the group making an album with Holland, Dozier, and Holland in Detroit. Quite how this would have worked is hard to figure out -- Holland, Dozier, and Holland's skills were as songwriters, and in their work with a particular set of musicians -- so it's unsurprising that came to nothing. But recording at Stax was a different matter.  While Steve Cropper was a great songwriter in his own right, he was also adept at getting great sounds on covers of other people's material -- like on Otis Blue, the album he produced for Otis Redding in late 1965, which doesn't include a single Cropper original: [Excerpt: Otis Redding, "Satisfaction"] And the Beatles were very influenced by the records Stax were putting out, often namechecking Wilson Pickett in particular, and during the Rubber Soul sessions they had recorded a "Green Onions" soundalike track, imaginatively titled "12-Bar Original": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "12-Bar Original"] The idea of the group recording at Stax got far enough that they were actually booked in for two weeks starting the ninth of April, and there was even an offer from Elvis to let them stay at Graceland while they recorded, but then a couple of weeks earlier, the news leaked to the press, and Brian Epstein cancelled the booking. According to Cropper, Epstein talked about recording at the Atlantic studios in New York with him instead, but nothing went any further. It's hard to imagine what a Stax-based Beatles album would have been like, but even though it might have been a great album, it certainly wouldn't have been the Revolver we've come to know. Revolver is an unusual album in many ways, and one of the ways it's most distinct from the earlier Beatles albums is the dominance of keyboards. Both Lennon and McCartney had often written at the piano as well as the guitar -- McCartney more so than Lennon, but both had done so regularly -- but up to this point it had been normal for them to arrange the songs for guitars rather than keyboards, no matter how they'd started out. There had been the odd track where one of them, usually Lennon, would play a simple keyboard part, songs like "I'm Down" or "We Can Work it Out", but even those had been guitar records first and foremost. But on Revolver, that changed dramatically. There seems to have been a complex web of cause and effect here. Paul was becoming increasingly interested in moving his basslines away from simple walking basslines and root notes and the other staples of rock and roll basslines up to this point. As the sixties progressed, rock basslines were becoming ever more complex, and Tyler Mahan Coe has made a good case that this is largely down to innovations in production pioneered by Owen Bradley, and McCartney was certainly aware of Bradley's work -- he was a fan of Brenda Lee, who Bradley produced, for example. But the two influences that McCartney has mentioned most often in this regard are the busy, jazz-influenced, basslines that James Jamerson was playing at Motown: [Excerpt: The Four Tops, "It's the Same Old Song"] And the basslines that Brian Wilson was writing for various Wrecking Crew bassists to play for the Beach Boys: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)"] Just to be clear, McCartney didn't hear that particular track until partway through the recording of Revolver, when Bruce Johnston visited the UK and brought with him an advance copy of Pet Sounds, but Pet Sounds influenced the later part of Revolver's recording, and Wilson had already started his experiments in that direction with the group's 1965 work. It's much easier to write a song with this kind of bassline, one that's integral to the composition, on the piano than it is to write it on a guitar, as you can work out the bassline with your left hand while working out the chords and melody with your right, so the habit that McCartney had already developed of writing on the piano made this easier. But also, starting with the recording of "Paperback Writer", McCartney switched his style of working in the studio. Where up to this point it had been normal for him to play bass as part of the recording of the basic track, playing with the other Beatles, he now started to take advantage of multitracking to overdub his bass later, so he could spend extra time getting the bassline exactly right. McCartney lived closer to Abbey Road than the other three Beatles, and so could more easily get there early or stay late and tweak his parts. But if McCartney wasn't playing bass while the guitars and drums were being recorded, that meant he could play something else, and so increasingly he would play piano during the recording of the basic track. And that in turn would mean that there wouldn't always *be* a need for guitars on the track, because the harmonic support they would provide would be provided by the piano instead. This, as much as anything else, is the reason that Revolver sounds so radically different to any other Beatles album. Up to this point, with *very* rare exceptions like "Yesterday", every Beatles record, more or less, featured all four of the Beatles playing instruments. Now John and George weren't playing on "Good Day Sunshine" or "For No One", John wasn't playing on "Here, There, and Everywhere", "Eleanor Rigby" features no guitars or drums at all, and George's "Love You To" only features himself, plus a little tambourine from Ringo (Paul recorded a part for that one, but it doesn't seem to appear on the finished track). Of the three songwriting Beatles, the only one who at this point was consistently requiring the instrumental contributions of all the other band members was John, and even he did without Paul on "She Said, She Said", which by all accounts features either John or George on bass, after Paul had a rare bout of unprofessionalism and left the studio. Revolver is still an album made by a group -- and most of those tracks that don't feature John or George instrumentally still feature them vocally -- it's still a collaborative work in all the best ways. But it's no longer an album made by four people playing together in the same room at the same time. After starting work on "Tomorrow Never Knows", the next track they started work on was Paul's "Got to Get You Into My Life", but as it would turn out they would work on that song throughout most of the sessions for the album -- in a sign of how the group would increasingly work from this point on, Paul's song was subject to multiple re-recordings and tweakings in the studio, as he tinkered to try to make it perfect. The first recording to be completed for the album, though, was almost as much of a departure in its own way as "Tomorrow Never Knows" had been. George's song "Love You To" shows just how inspired he was by the music of Ravi Shankar, and how devoted he was to Indian music. While a few months earlier he had just about managed to pick out a simple melody on the sitar for "Norwegian Wood", by this point he was comfortable enough with Indian classical music that I've seen many, many sources claim that an outside session player is playing sitar on the track, though Anil Bhagwat, the tabla player on the track, always insisted that it was entirely Harrison's playing: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] There is a *lot* of debate as to whether it's George playing on the track, and I feel a little uncomfortable making a definitive statement in either direction. On the one hand I find it hard to believe that Harrison got that good that quickly on an unfamiliar instrument, when we know he wasn't a naturally facile musician. All the stories we have about his work in the studio suggest that he had to work very hard on his guitar solos, and that he would frequently fluff them. As a technical guitarist, Harrison was only mediocre -- his value lay in his inventiveness, not in technical ability -- and he had been playing guitar for over a decade, but sitar only a few months. There's also some session documentation suggesting that an unknown sitar player was hired. On the other hand there's the testimony of Anil Bhagwat that Harrison played the part himself, and he has been very firm on the subject, saying "If you go on the Internet there are a lot of questions asked about "Love You To". They say 'It's not George playing the sitar'. I can tell you here and now -- 100 percent it was George on sitar throughout. There were no other musicians involved. It was just me and him." And several people who are more knowledgeable than myself about the instrument have suggested that the sitar part on the track is played the way that a rock guitarist would play rather than the way someone with more knowledge of Indian classical music would play -- there's a blues feeling to some of the bends that apparently no genuine Indian classical musician would naturally do. I would suggest that the best explanation is that there's a professional sitar player trying to replicate a part that Harrison had previously demonstrated, while Harrison was in turn trying his best to replicate the sound of Ravi Shankar's work. Certainly the instrumental section sounds far more fluent, and far more stylistically correct, than one would expect: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] Where previous attempts at what got called "raga-rock" had taken a couple of surface features of Indian music -- some form of a drone, perhaps a modal scale -- and had generally used a guitar made to sound a little bit like a sitar, or had a sitar playing normal rock riffs, Harrison's song seems to be a genuine attempt to hybridise Indian ragas and rock music, combining the instrumentation, modes, and rhythmic complexity of someone like Ravi Shankar with lyrics that are seemingly inspired by Bob Dylan and a fairly conventional pop song structure (and a tiny bit of fuzz guitar). It's a record that could only be made by someone who properly understood both the Indian music he's emulating and the conventions of the Western pop song, and understood how those conventions could work together. Indeed, one thing I've rarely seen pointed out is how cleverly the album is sequenced, so that "Love You To" is followed by possibly the most conventional song on Revolver, "Here, There, and Everywhere", which was recorded towards the end of the sessions. Both songs share a distinctive feature not shared by the rest of the album, so the two songs can sound more of a pair than they otherwise would, retrospectively making "Love You To" seem more conventional than it is and "Here, There, and Everywhere" more unconventional -- both have as an introduction a separate piece of music that states some of the melodic themes of the rest of the song but isn't repeated later. In the case of "Love You To" it's the free-tempo bit at the beginning, characteristic of a lot of Indian music: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] While in the case of "Here, There, and Everywhere" it's the part that mimics an older style of songwriting, a separate intro of the type that would have been called a verse when written by the Gershwins or Cole Porter, but of course in the intervening decades "verse" had come to mean something else, so we now no longer have a specific term for this kind of intro -- but as you can hear, it's doing very much the same thing as that "Love You To" intro: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Here, There, and Everywhere"] In the same day as the group completed "Love You To", overdubbing George's vocal and Ringo's tambourine, they also started work on a song that would show off a lot of the new techniques they had been working on in very different ways. Paul's "Paperback Writer" could indeed be seen as part of a loose trilogy with "Love You To" and "Tomorrow Never Knows", one song by each of the group's three songwriters exploring the idea of a song that's almost all on one chord. Both "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Love You To" are based on a drone with occasional hints towards moving to one other chord. In the case of "Paperback Writer", the entire song stays on a single chord until the title -- it's on a G7 throughout until the first use of the word "writer", when it quickly goes to a C for two bars. I'm afraid I'm going to have to sing to show you how little the chords actually change, because the riff disguises this lack of movement somewhat, but the melody is also far more horizontal than most of McCartney's, so this shouldn't sound too painful, I hope: [demonstrates] This is essentially the exact same thing that both "Love You To" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" do, and all three have very similarly structured rising and falling modal melodies. There's also a bit of "Paperback Writer" that seems to tie directly into "Love You To", but also points to a possible very non-Indian inspiration for part of "Love You To". The Beach Boys' single "Sloop John B" was released in the UK a couple of days after the sessions for "Paperback Writer" and "Love You To", but it had been released in the US a month before, and the Beatles all got copies of every record in the American top thirty shipped to them. McCartney and Harrison have specifically pointed to it as an influence on "Paperback Writer". "Sloop John B" has a section where all the instruments drop out and we're left with just the group's vocal harmonies: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Sloop John B"] And that seems to have been the inspiration behind the similar moment at a similar point in "Paperback Writer", which is used in place of a middle eight and also used for the song's intro: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] Which is very close to what Harrison does at the end of each verse of "Love You To", where the instruments drop out for him to sing a long melismatic syllable before coming back in: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] Essentially, other than "Got to Get You Into My Life", which is an outlier and should not be counted, the first three songs attempted during the Revolver sessions are variations on a common theme, and it's a sign that no matter how different the results might  sound, the Beatles really were very much a group at this point, and were sharing ideas among themselves and developing those ideas in similar ways. "Paperback Writer" disguises what it's doing somewhat by having such a strong riff. Lennon referred to "Paperback Writer" as "son of 'Day Tripper'", and in terms of the Beatles' singles it's actually their third iteration of this riff idea, which they originally got from Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step": [Excerpt: Bobby Parker, "Watch Your Step"] Which became the inspiration for "I Feel Fine": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I Feel Fine"] Which they varied for "Day Tripper": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Day Tripper"] And which then in turn got varied for "Paperback Writer": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] As well as compositional ideas, there are sonic ideas shared between "Paperback Writer", "Tomorrow Never Knows", and "Love You To", and which would be shared by the rest of the tracks the Beatles recorded in the first half of 1966. Since Geoff Emerick had become the group's principal engineer, they'd started paying more attention to how to get a fuller sound, and so Emerick had miced the tabla on "Love You To" much more closely than anyone would normally mic an instrument from classical music, creating a deep, thudding sound, and similarly he had changed the way they recorded the drums on "Tomorrow Never Knows", again giving a much fuller sound. But the group also wanted the kind of big bass sounds they'd loved on records coming out of America -- sounds that no British studio was getting, largely because it was believed that if you cut too loud a bass sound into a record it would make the needle jump out of the groove. The new engineering team of Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott, though, thought that it was likely you could keep the needle in the groove if you had a smoother frequency response. You could do that if you used a microphone with a larger diaphragm to record the bass, but how could you do that? Inspiration finally struck -- loudspeakers are actually the same thing as microphones wired the other way round, so if you wired up a loudspeaker as if it were a microphone you could get a *really big* speaker, place it in front of the bass amp, and get a much stronger bass sound. The experiment wasn't a total success -- the sound they got had to be processed quite extensively to get rid of room noise, and then compressed in order to further prevent the needle-jumping issue, and so it's a muddier, less defined, tone than they would have liked, but one thing that can't be denied is that "Paperback Writer"'s bass sound is much, much, louder than on any previous Beatles record: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] Almost every track the group recorded during the Revolver sessions involved all sorts of studio innovations, though rarely anything as truly revolutionary as the artificial double-tracking they'd used on "Tomorrow Never Knows", and which also appeared on "Paperback Writer" -- indeed, as "Paperback Writer" was released several months before Revolver, it became the first record released to use the technique. I could easily devote a good ten minutes to every track on Revolver, and to "Paperback Writer"s B-side, "Rain", but this is already shaping up to be an extraordinarily long episode and there's a lot of material to get through, so I'll break my usual pattern of devoting a Patreon bonus episode to something relatively obscure, and this week's bonus will be on "Rain" itself. "Paperback Writer", though, deserved the attention here even though it was not one of the group's more successful singles -- it did go to number one, but it didn't hit number one in the UK charts straight away, being kept off the top by "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra for the first week: [Excerpt: Frank Sinatra, "Strangers in the Night"] Coincidentally, "Strangers in the Night" was co-written by Bert Kaempfert, the German musician who had produced the group's very first recording sessions with Tony Sheridan back in 1961. On the group's German tour in 1966 they met up with Kaempfert again, and John greeted him by singing the first couple of lines of the Sinatra record. The single was the lowest-selling Beatles single in the UK since "Love Me Do". In the US it only made number one for two non-consecutive weeks, with "Strangers in the Night" knocking it off for a week in between. Now, by literally any other band's standards, that's still a massive hit, and it was the Beatles' tenth UK number one in a row (or ninth, depending on which chart you use for "Please Please Me"), but it's a sign that the group were moving out of the first phase of total unequivocal dominance of the charts. It was a turning point in a lot of other ways as well. Up to this point, while the group had been experimenting with different lyrical subjects on album tracks, every single had lyrics about romantic relationships -- with the possible exception of "Help!", which was about Lennon's emotional state but written in such a way that it could be heard as a plea to a lover. But in the case of "Paperback Writer", McCartney was inspired by his Aunt Mill asking him "Why do you write songs about love all the time? Can you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?" His response was to think "All right, Aunt Mill, I'll show you", and to come up with a lyric that was very much in the style of the social satires that bands like the Kinks were releasing at the time. People often miss the humour in the lyric for "Paperback Writer", but there's a huge amount of comedy in lyrics about someone writing to a publisher saying they'd written a book based on someone else's book, and one can only imagine the feeling of weary recognition in slush-pile readers throughout the world as they heard the enthusiastic "It's a thousand pages, give or take a few, I'll be writing more in a week or two. I can make it longer..." From this point on, the group wouldn't release a single that was unambiguously about a romantic relationship until "The Ballad of John and Yoko",  the last single released while the band were still together. "Paperback Writer" also saw the Beatles for the first time making a promotional film -- what we would now call a rock video -- rather than make personal appearances on TV shows. The film was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who the group would work with again in 1969, and shows Paul with a chipped front tooth -- he'd been in an accident while riding mopeds with his friend Tara Browne a few months earlier, and hadn't yet got round to having the tooth capped. When he did, the change in his teeth was one of the many bits of evidence used by conspiracy theorists to prove that the real Paul McCartney was dead and replaced by a lookalike. It also marks a change in who the most prominent Beatle on the group's A-sides was. Up to this point, Paul had had one solo lead on an A-side -- "Can't Buy Me Love" -- and everything else had been either a song with multiple vocalists like "Day Tripper" or "Love Me Do", or a song with a clear John lead like "Ticket to Ride" or "I Feel Fine". In the rest of their career, counting "Paperback Writer", the group would release nine new singles that hadn't already been included on an album. Of those nine singles, one was a double A-side with one John song and one Paul song, two had John songs on the A-side, and the other six were Paul. Where up to this point John had been "lead Beatle", for the rest of the sixties, Paul would be the group's driving force. Oddly, Paul got rather defensive about the record when asked about it in interviews after it failed to go straight to the top, saying "It's not our best single by any means, but we're very satisfied with it". But especially in its original mono mix it actually packs a powerful punch: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] When the "Paperback Writer" single was released, an unusual image was used in the advertising -- a photo of the Beatles dressed in butchers' smocks, covered in blood, with chunks of meat and the dismembered body parts of baby dolls lying around on them. The image was meant as part of a triptych parodying religious art -- the photo on the left was to be an image showing the four Beatles connected to a woman by an umbilical cord made of sausages, the middle panel was meant to be this image, but with halos added over the Beatles' heads, and the panel on the right was George hammering a nail into John's head, symbolising both crucifixion and that the group were real, physical, people, not just images to be worshipped -- these weren't imaginary nails, and they weren't imaginary people. The photographer Robert Whittaker later said: “I did a photograph of the Beatles covered in raw meat, dolls and false teeth. Putting meat, dolls and false teeth with The Beatles is essentially part of the same thing, the breakdown of what is regarded as normal. The actual conception for what I still call “Somnambulant Adventure” was Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. He comes across people worshipping a golden calf. All over the world I'd watched people worshiping like idols, like gods, four Beatles. To me they were just stock standard normal people. But this emotion that fans poured on them made me wonder where Christianity was heading.” The image wasn't that controversial in the UK, when it was used to advertise "Paperback Writer", but in the US it was initially used for the cover of an album, Yesterday... And Today, which was made up of a few tracks that had been left off the US versions of the Rubber Soul and Help! albums, plus both sides of the "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper" single, and three rough mixes of songs that had been recorded for Revolver -- "Doctor Robert", "And Your Bird Can Sing", and "I'm Only Sleeping", which was the song that sounded most different from the mixes that were finally released: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I'm Only Sleeping (Yesterday... and Today mix)"] Those three songs were all Lennon songs, which had the unfortunate effect that when the US version of Revolver was brought out later in the year, only two of the songs on the album were by Lennon, with six by McCartney and three by Harrison. Some have suggested that this was the motivation for the use of the butcher image on the cover of Yesterday... And Today -- saying it was the Beatles' protest against Capitol "butchering" their albums -- but in truth it was just that Capitol's art director chose the cover because he liked the image. Alan Livingston, the president of Capitol was not so sure, and called Brian Epstein to ask if the group would be OK with them using a different image. Epstein checked with John Lennon, but Lennon liked the image and so Epstein told Livingston the group insisted on them using that cover. Even though for the album cover the bloodstains on the butchers' smocks were airbrushed out, after Capitol had pressed up a million copies of the mono version of the album and two hundred thousand copies of the stereo version, and they'd sent out sixty thousand promo copies, they discovered that no record shops would stock the album with that cover. It cost Capitol more than two hundred thousand dollars to recall the album and replace the cover with a new one -- though while many of the covers were destroyed, others had the new cover, with a more acceptable photo of the group, pasted over them, and people have later carefully steamed off the sticker to reveal the original. This would not be the last time in 1966 that something that was intended as a statement on religion and the way people viewed the Beatles would cause the group trouble in America. In the middle of the recording sessions for Revolver, the group also made what turned out to be their last ever UK live performance in front of a paying audience. The group had played the NME Poll-Winners' Party every year since 1963, and they were always shows that featured all the biggest acts in the country at the time -- the 1966 show featured, as well as the Beatles and a bunch of smaller acts, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Yardbirds, Roy Orbison, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, the Seekers, the Small Faces, the Walker Brothers, and Dusty Springfield. Unfortunately, while these events were always filmed for TV broadcast, the Beatles' performance on the first of May wasn't filmed. There are various stories about what happened, but the crux appears to be a disagreement between Andrew Oldham and Brian Epstein, sparked by John Lennon. When the Beatles got to the show, they were upset to discover that they had to wait around before going on stage -- normally, the awards would all be presented at the end, after all the performances, but the Rolling Stones had asked that the Beatles not follow them directly, so after the Stones finished their set, there would be a break for the awards to be given out, and then the Beatles would play their set, in front of an audience that had been bored by twenty-five minutes of awards ceremony, rather than one that had been excited by all the bands that came before them. John Lennon was annoyed, and insisted that the Beatles were going to go on straight after the Rolling Stones -- he seems to have taken this as some sort of power play by the Stones and to have got his hackles up about it. He told Epstein to deal with the people from the NME. But the NME people said that they had a contract with Andrew Oldham, and they weren't going to break it. Oldham refused to change the terms of the contract. Lennon said that he wasn't going to go on stage if they didn't directly follow the Stones. Maurice Kinn, the publisher of the NME, told Epstein that he wasn't going to break the contract with Oldham, and that if the Beatles didn't appear on stage, he would get Jimmy Savile, who was compering the show, to go out on stage and tell the ten thousand fans in the audience that the Beatles were backstage refusing to appear. He would then sue NEMS for breach of contract *and* NEMS would be liable for any damage caused by the rioting that was sure to happen. Lennon screamed a lot of abuse at Kinn, and told him the group would never play one of their events again, but the group did go on stage -- but because they hadn't yet signed the agreement to allow their performance to be filmed, they refused to allow it to be recorded. Apparently Andrew Oldham took all this as a sign that Epstein was starting to lose control of the group. Also during May 1966 there were visits from musicians from other countries, continuing the cultural exchange that was increasingly influencing the Beatles' art. Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys came over to promote the group's new LP, Pet Sounds, which had been largely the work of Brian Wilson, who had retired from touring to concentrate on working in the studio. Johnston played the record for John and Paul, who listened to it twice, all the way through, in silence, in Johnston's hotel room: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows"] According to Johnston, after they'd listened through the album twice, they went over to a piano and started whispering to each other, picking out chords. Certainly the influence of Pet Sounds is very noticeable on songs like "Here, There, and Everywhere", written and recorded a few weeks after this meeting: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Here, There, and Everywhere"] That track, and the last track recorded for the album, "She Said She Said" were unusual in one very important respect -- they were recorded while the Beatles were no longer under contract to EMI Records. Their contract expired on the fifth of June, 1966, and they finished Revolver without it having been renewed -- it would be several months before their new contract was signed, and it's rather lucky for music lovers that Brian Epstein was the kind of manager who considered personal relationships and basic honour and decency more important than the legal niceties, unlike any other managers of the era, otherwise we would not have Revolver in the form we know it today. After the meeting with Johnston, but before the recording of those last couple of Revolver tracks, the Beatles also met up again with Bob Dylan, who was on a UK tour with a new, loud, band he was working with called The Hawks. While the Beatles and Dylan all admired each other, there was by this point a lot of wariness on both sides, especially between Lennon and Dylan, both of them very similar personality types and neither wanting to let their guard down around the other or appear unhip. There's a famous half-hour-long film sequence of Lennon and Dylan sharing a taxi, which is a fascinating, excruciating, example of two insecure but arrogant men both trying desperately to impress the other but also equally desperate not to let the other know that they want to impress them: [Excerpt: Dylan and Lennon taxi ride] The day that was filmed, Lennon and Harrison also went to see Dylan play at the Royal Albert Hall. This tour had been controversial, because Dylan's band were loud and raucous, and Dylan's fans in the UK still thought of him as a folk musician. At one gig, earlier on the tour, an audience member had famously yelled out "Judas!" -- (just on the tiny chance that any of my listeners don't know that, Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus to the authorities, leading to his crucifixion) -- and that show was for many years bootlegged as the "Royal Albert Hall" show, though in fact it was recorded at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. One of the *actual* Royal Albert Hall shows was released a few years ago -- the one the night before Lennon and Harrison saw Dylan: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone", Royal Albert Hall 1966] The show Lennon and Harrison saw would be Dylan's last for many years. Shortly after returning to the US, Dylan was in a motorbike accident, the details of which are still mysterious, and which some fans claim was faked altogether. The accident caused him to cancel all the concert dates he had booked, and devote himself to working in the studio for several years just like Brian Wilson. And from even further afield than America, Ravi Shankar came over to Britain, to work with his friend the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, on a duet album, West Meets East, that was an example in the classical world of the same kind of international cross-fertilisation that was happening in the pop world: [Excerpt: Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar, "Prabhati (based on Raga Gunkali)"] While he was in the UK, Shankar also performed at the Royal Festival Hall, and George Harrison went to the show. He'd seen Shankar live the year before, but this time he met up with him afterwards, and later said "He was the first person that impressed me in a way that was beyond just being a famous celebrity. Ravi was my link to the Vedic world. Ravi plugged me into the whole of reality. Elvis impressed me when I was a kid, and impressed me when I met him, but you couldn't later on go round to him and say 'Elvis, what's happening with the universe?'" After completing recording and mixing the as-yet-unnamed album, which had been by far the longest recording process of their career, and which still nearly sixty years later regularly tops polls of the best album of all time, the Beatles took a well-earned break. For a whole two days, at which point they flew off to Germany to do a three-day tour, on their way to Japan, where they were booked to play five shows at the Budokan. Unfortunately for the group, while they had no idea of this when they were booked to do the shows, many in Japan saw the Budokan as sacred ground, and they were the first ever Western group to play there. This led to numerous death threats and loud protests from far-right activists offended at the Beatles defiling their religious and nationalistic sensibilities. As a result, the police were on high alert -- so high that there were three thousand police in the audience for the shows, in a venue which only held ten thousand audience members. That's according to Mark Lewisohn's Complete Beatles Chronicle, though I have to say that the rather blurry footage of the audience in the video of those shows doesn't seem to show anything like those numbers. But frankly I'll take Lewisohn's word over that footage, as he's not someone to put out incorrect information. The threats to the group also meant that they had to be kept in their hotel rooms at all times except when actually performing, though they did make attempts to get out. At the press conference for the Tokyo shows, the group were also asked publicly for the first time their views on the war in Vietnam, and John replied "Well, we think about it every day, and we don't agree with it and we think that it's wrong. That's how much interest we take. That's all we can do about it... and say that we don't like it". I say they were asked publicly for the first time, because George had been asked about it for a series of interviews Maureen Cleave had done with the group a couple of months earlier, as we'll see in a bit, but nobody was paying attention to those interviews. Brian Epstein was upset that the question had gone to John. He had hoped that the inevitable Vietnam question would go to Paul, who he thought might be a bit more tactful. The last thing he needed was John Lennon saying something that would upset the Americans before their tour there a few weeks later. Luckily, people in America seemed to have better things to do than pay attention to John Lennon's opinions. The support acts for the Japanese shows included  several of the biggest names in Japanese rock music -- or "group sounds" as the genre was called there, Japanese people having realised that trying to say the phrase "rock and roll" would open them up to ridicule given that it had both "r" and "l" sounds in the phrase. The man who had coined the term "group sounds", Jackey Yoshikawa, was there with his group the Blue Comets, as was Isao Bito, who did a rather good cover version of Cliff Richard's "Dynamite": [Excerpt: Isao Bito, "Dynamite"] Bito, the Blue Comets, and the other two support acts, Yuya Uchida and the Blue Jeans, all got together to perform a specially written song, "Welcome Beatles": [Excerpt: "Welcome Beatles" ] But while the Japanese audience were enthusiastic, they were much less vocal about their enthusiasm than the audiences the Beatles were used to playing for. The group were used, of course, to playing in front of hordes of screaming teenagers who could not hear a single note, but because of the fear that a far-right terrorist would assassinate one of the group members, the police had imposed very, very, strict rules on the audience. Nobody in the audience was allowed to get out of their seat for any reason, and the police would clamp down very firmly on anyone who was too demonstrative. Because of that, the group could actually hear themselves, and they sounded sloppy as hell, especially on the newer material. Not that there was much of that. The only song they did from the Revolver sessions was "Paperback Writer", the new single, and while they did do a couple of tracks from Rubber Soul, those were under-rehearsed. As John said at the start of this tour, "I can't play any of Rubber Soul, it's so unrehearsed. The only time I played any of the numbers on it was when I recorded it. I forget about songs. They're only valid for a certain time." That's certainly borne out by the sound of their performances of Rubber Soul material at the Budokan: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "If I Needed Someone (live at the Budokan)"] It was while they were in Japan as well that they finally came up with the title for their new album. They'd been thinking of all sorts of ideas, like Abracadabra and Magic Circle, and tossing names around with increasing desperation for several days -- at one point they seem to have just started riffing on other groups' albums, and seem to have apparently seriously thought about naming the record in parodic tribute to their favourite artists -- suggestions included The Beatles On Safari, after the Beach Boys' Surfin' Safari (and possibly with a nod to their recent Pet Sounds album cover with animals, too), The Freewheelin' Beatles, after Dylan's second album, and my favourite, Ringo's suggestion After Geography, for the Rolling Stones' Aftermath. But eventually Paul came up with Revolver -- like Rubber Soul, a pun, in this case because the record itself revolves when on a turntable. Then it was off to the Philippines, and if the group thought Japan had been stressful, they had no idea what was coming. The trouble started in the Philippines from the moment they stepped off the plane, when they were bundled into a car without Neil Aspinall or Brian Epstein, and without their luggage, which was sent to customs. This was a problem in itself -- the group had got used to essentially being treated like diplomats, and to having their baggage let through customs without being searched, and so they'd started freely carrying various illicit substances with them. This would obviously be a problem -- but as it turned out, this was just to get a "customs charge" paid by Brian Epstein. But during their initial press conference the group were worried, given the hostility they'd faced from officialdom, that they were going to be arrested during the conference itself. They were asked what they would tell the Rolling Stones, who were going to be visiting the Philippines shortly after, and Lennon just said "We'll warn them". They also asked "is there a war on in the Philippines? Why is everybody armed?" At this time, the Philippines had a new leader, Ferdinand Marcos -- who is not to be confused with his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, also known as Bongbong Marcos, who just became President-Elect there last month. Marcos Sr was a dictatorial kleptocrat, one of the worst leaders of the latter half of the twentieth century, but that wasn't evident yet. He'd been elected only a few months earlier, and had presented himself as a Kennedy-like figure -- a young man who was also a war hero. He'd recently switched parties from the Liberal party to the right-wing Nacionalista Party, but wasn't yet being thought of as the monstrous dictator he later became. The person organising the Philippines shows had been ordered to get the Beatles to visit Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos at 11AM on the day of the show, but for some reason had instead put on their itinerary just the *suggestion* that the group should meet the Marcoses, and had put the time down as 3PM, and the Beatles chose to ignore that suggestion -- they'd refused to do that kind of government-official meet-and-greet ever since an incident in 1964 at the British Embassy in Washington where someone had cut off a bit of Ringo's hair. A military escort turned up at the group's hotel in the morning, to take them for their meeting. The group were all still in their rooms, and Brian Epstein was still eating breakfast and refused to disturb them, saying "Go back and tell the generals we're not coming." The group gave their performances as scheduled, but meanwhile there was outrage at the way the Beatles had refused to meet the Marcos family, who had brought hundreds of children -- friends of their own children, and relatives of top officials -- to a party to meet the group. Brian Epstein went on TV and tried to smooth things over, but the broadcast was interrupted by static and his message didn't get through to anyone. The next day, the group's security was taken away, as were the cars to take them to the airport. When they got to the airport, the escalators were turned off and the group were beaten up at the arrangement of the airport manager, who said in 1984 "I beat up the Beatles. I really thumped them. First I socked Epstein and he went down... then I socked Lennon and Ringo in the face. I was kicking them. They were pleading like frightened chickens. That's what happens when you insult the First Lady." Even on the plane there were further problems -- Brian Epstein and the group's road manager Mal Evans were both made to get off the plane to sort out supposed financial discrepancies, which led to them worrying that they were going to be arrested or worse -- Evans told the group to tell his wife he loved her as he left the plane. But eventually, they were able to leave, and after a brief layover in India -- which Ringo later said was the first time he felt he'd been somewhere truly foreign, as opposed to places like Germany or the USA which felt basically like home -- they got back to England: [Excerpt: "Ordinary passenger!"] When asked what they were going to do next, George replied “We're going to have a couple of weeks to recuperate before we go and get beaten up by the Americans,” The story of the "we're bigger than Jesus" controversy is one of the most widely misreported events in the lives of the Beatles, which is saying a great deal. One book that I've encountered, and one book only, Steve Turner's Beatles '66, tells the story of what actually happened, and even that book seems to miss some emphases. I've pieced what follows together from Turner's book and from an academic journal article I found which has some more detail. As far as I can tell, every single other book on the Beatles released up to this point bases their account of the story on an inaccurate press statement put out by Brian Epstein, not on the truth. Here's the story as it's generally told. John Lennon gave an interview to his friend, Maureen Cleave of the Evening Standard, during which he made some comments about how it was depressing that Christianity was losing relevance in the eyes of the public, and that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus, speaking casually because he was talking to a friend. That story was run in the Evening Standard more-or-less unnoticed, but then an American teen magazine picked up on the line about the Beatles being bigger than Jesus, reprinted chunks of the interview out of context and without the Beatles' knowledge or permission, as a way to stir up controversy, and there was an outcry, with people burning Beatles records and death threats from the Ku Klux Klan. That's... not exactly what happened. The first thing that you need to understand to know what happened is that Datebook wasn't a typical teen magazine. It *looked* just like a typical teen magazine, certainly, and much of its content was the kind of thing that you would get in Tiger Beat or any of the other magazines aimed at teenage girls -- the September 1966 issue was full of articles like "Life with the Walker Brothers... by their Road Manager", and interviews with the Dave Clark Five -- but it also had a long history of publishing material that was intended to make its readers think about social issues of the time, particularly Civil Rights. Arthur Unger, the magazine's editor and publisher, was a gay man in an interracial relationship, and while the subject of homosexuality was too taboo in the late fifties and sixties for him to have his magazine cover that, he did regularly include articles decrying segregation and calling for the girls reading the magazine to do their part on a personal level to stamp out racism. Datebook had regularly contained articles like one from 1963 talking about how segregation wasn't just a problem in the South, saying "If we are so ‘integrated' why must men in my own city of Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, picket city hall because they are discriminated against when it comes to getting a job? And how come I am still unable to take my dark- complexioned friends to the same roller skating rink or swimming pool that I attend?” One of the writers for the magazine later said “We were much more than an entertainment magazine . . . . We tried to get kids involved in social issues . . . . It was a well-received magazine, recommended by libraries and schools, but during the Civil Rights period we did get pulled off a lot of stands in the South because of our views on integration” Art Unger, the editor and publisher, wasn't the only one pushing this liberal, integrationist, agenda. The managing editor at the time, Danny Fields, was another gay man who wanted to push the magazine even further than Unger, and who would later go on to manage the Stooges and the Ramones, being credited by some as being the single most important figure in punk rock's development, and being immortalised by the Ramones in their song "Danny Says": [Excerpt: The Ramones, "Danny Says"] So this was not a normal teen magazine, and that's certainly shown by the cover of the September 1966 issue, which as well as talking about the interviews with John Lennon and Paul McCartney inside, also advertised articles on Timothy Leary advising people to turn on, tune in, and drop out; an editorial about how interracial dating must be the next step after desegregation of schools, and a piece on "the ten adults you dig/hate the most" -- apparently the adult most teens dug in 1966 was Jackie Kennedy, the most hated was Barry Goldwater, and President Johnson, Billy Graham, and Martin Luther King appeared in the top ten on both lists. Now, in the early part of the year Maureen Cleave had done a whole series of articles on the Beatles -- double-page spreads on each band member, plus Brian Epstein, visiting them in their own homes (apart from Paul, who she met at a restaurant) and discussing their daily lives, their thoughts, and portraying them as rounded individuals. These articles are actually fascinating, because of something that everyone who met the Beatles in this period pointed out. When interviewed separately, all of them came across as thoughtful individuals, with their own opinions about all sorts of subjects, and their own tastes and senses of humour. But when two or more of them were together -- especially when John and Paul were interviewed together, but even in social situations, they would immediately revert to flip in-jokes and riffing on each other's statements, never revealing anything about themselves as individuals, but just going into Beatle mode -- simultaneously preserving the band's image, closing off outsiders, *and* making sure they didn't do or say anything that would get them mocked by the others. Cleave, as someone who actually took them all seriously, managed to get some very revealing information about all of them. In the article on Ringo, which is the most superficial -- one gets the impression that Cleave found him rather difficult to talk to when compared to the other, more verbally facile, band members -- she talked about how he had a lot of Wild West and military memorabilia, how he was a devoted family man and also devoted to his friends -- he had moved to the suburbs to be close to John and George, who already lived there. The most revealing quote about Ringo's personality was him saying "Of course that's the great thing about being married -- you have a house to sit in and company all the time. And you can still go to clubs, a bonus for being married. I love being a family man." While she looked at the other Beatles' tastes in literature in detail, she'd noted that the only books Ringo owned that weren't just for show were a few science fiction paperbacks, but that as he said "I'm not thick, it's just that I'm not educated. People can use words and I won't know what they mean. I say 'me' instead of 'my'." Ringo also didn't have a drum kit at home, saying he only played when he was on stage or in the studio, and that you couldn't practice on your own, you needed to play with other people. In the article on George, she talked about how he was learning the sitar,  and how he was thinking that it might be a good idea to go to India to study the sitar with Ravi Shankar for six months. She also talks about how during the interview, he played the guitar pretty much constantly, playing everything from songs from "Hello Dolly" to pieces by Bach to "the Trumpet Voluntary", by which she presumably means Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March": [Excerpt: Jeremiah Clarke, "Prince of Denmark's March"] George was also the most outspoken on the subjects of politics, religion, and society, linking the ongoing war in Vietnam with the UK's reverence for the Second World War, saying "I think about it every day and it's wrong. Anything to do with war is wrong. They're all wrapped up in their Nelsons and their Churchills and their Montys -- always talking about war heroes. Look at All Our Yesterdays [a show on ITV that showed twenty-five-year-old newsreels] -- how we killed a few more Huns here and there. Makes me sick. They're the sort who are leaning on their walking sticks and telling us a few years in the army would do us good." He also had very strong words to say about religion, saying "I think religion falls flat on its face. All this 'love thy neighbour' but none of them are doing it. How can anybody get into the position of being Pope and accept all the glory and the money and the Mercedes-Benz and that? I could never be Pope until I'd sold my rich gates and my posh hat. I couldn't sit there with all that money on me and believe I was religious. Why can't we bring all this out in the open? Why is there all this stuff about blasphemy? If Christianity's as good as they say it is, it should stand up to a bit of discussion." Harrison also comes across as a very private person, saying "People keep saying, ‘We made you what you are,' well, I made Mr. Hovis what he is and I don't go round crawling over his gates and smashing up the wall round his house." (Hovis is a British company that makes bread and wholegrain flour). But more than anything else he comes across as an instinctive anti-authoritarian, being angry at bullying teachers, Popes, and Prime Ministers. McCartney's profile has him as the most self-consciously arty -- he talks about the plays of Alfred Jarry and the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio: [Excerpt: Luciano Berio, "Momenti (for magnetic tape)"] Though he was very worried that he might be sounding a little too pretentious, saying “I don't want to sound like Jonathan Miller going on" --

I've been to a buddhist meditation weekend, a retreat in Ibiza and climbed Mount Snowdon in the first five months of this year - what amazing adventures are you planning in your alcohol-free life? DM and let me know https://sarahwilliamson.kartra.com/page/2023Retreat (2023 Retreat Details now available HERE) BTW - If you didn't already know, I'm Sarah - The Drink Less Coach, supporting people to find JOY and COLOUR on the other side of alcohol!  We don't have to hit rock bottom, we're allowed to want something different and we CAN choose to improve our lives from this point onwards.  I work in the magic space where doubt, hope and action meet... oh.... and PS I believe in you! Did you know I've hidden a podcast episode? It's your secret weapon at 5pm if you are feeling cravings for alcohol. You can download it https://sarahwilliamson.kartra.com/page/podcastsignup (here) ...and did you know you can work with me 1:1 to change your relationship with alcohol? 3 month coaching programme details https://sarahwilliamson.kartra.com/page/121SoberCoaching (here) Let's get connected; 'friend' me on https://www.facebook.com/sarahwilliamson.drinklesslivebetter (Facebook) follow me on https://www.instagram.com/drinklesslivebetter/ (insta) Check out https://www.drinklesslivebetter.com (Drink Less; Live Better) for blog posts and more Subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode - also please do leave a like or review and share the love! Thank you

This podcast is an actual play of a one shot which has been made available as a free download on our itch.io page. A group of adventurers travels to a small village in the shadows of Mount Snowdon in Wales. A young boy has been abducted by the fairies and the family are offering a reward for however is brave enough to try to rescue him. But the fey will rarely give up something without a deal having to be made. The game can be found at the following link https://fey-earth.itch.io/stolen-treasures

In this week's Long Run Podcast we look back at running up Mount Snowdon, what it takes to train for such an undertaking and a the mystery of a topless man at the top... plus we confirm Toby touched the top and have a little chat about Zip World and Wilko shares his Yorkshire marathon experience!Tags: Running

In this week's Long Run Podcast we talk about Running up Mount Snowdon, Liverpool Rock N Roll and give some advice to someone who is running their first marathon this weekend! We also chat about cross dressing, vegan cheese and Toby getting arrested!Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ASDYRXCB6MJ6L)

The Wildrunners are joined by Dave aka the running elk as we chat to him about his recent Mount Snowdon challenge raising money for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer, his time in the military, his Ice Hockey skills plus lots more. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast and we hope you enjoyed it and feel inspired by Dave's journey. Check out our running community on instagram @wildrunners_ig Visit our website www.thewildrunners.co.uk for our challenges Feel free to follow us all on instagram - @colinlee_ocr @superdan84 @the_running_elk --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wildrunners/message

VALUE-FOR-VALUE Thank you to our executive producers M. Andrew Jones, The Rev Cyber Trucker, and SeeDubbs. Be sure to check out M. Andrew Jones' new book, Metal. Also, shoutout to the Itty Bitty Homestead over on No Agenda Tube. Give them some value for value! Then, stay tuned for a potential new direction for ms. Informed NAtion. Bowl After Bowl is a V4V podcast, meaning the bowls are packed fresh for you every Tuesday and if you enjoy hitting it, return some of the value in whatever shape or form of your liking. If you want to send us your crypto or cash, check out the Bowl After Bowl Donate page and give us a boost on your favorite Podcasting 2.0 enabled app. Episode art, jingles, news stories, and ISOs are always appreciated and can be emailed to laurien@bowlafterbowl.com. And of course, our voicemail box will never be full so give us a call at (816) 607-3663. But the simplest way to provide value is simply to propagate the formula by passing the bowl to someone else you think might enjoy it. TOP THREE 33 In a 33-year first, a single console swept Japan's Game Sales Charts which were made up entirely of Nintendo Switch games in Famitsu Weekly, Japan's most popular video game publication, during the first week of August. The last time this happened was the Famicom, Nintendo's first iteration of what would become the NES, in 1988. Cannabis tragedy as man, 33, dies in fall after taking drug while celebrating his birthday — except it's the one-year anniversary of his death which his nurse girlfriend eulogized on social media, and England just has to keep the reefer madness going. This dude was a nurse who served as a medic in Afghanistan. For his birthday, he climbed Mount Snowdon, then met his girlfriend, close friends, and family at a restaurant where "several members of the birthday party took some 'edible' — chocolate infused with cannabis," before meeting at his friend's place. His girlfriend notes he was acting erratic, out of character and seemed to be rushing home. When they got there, he paced with a look of terror in his eyes — although the coroner was leading the witness with that question, asking the girlfriend if he had a look of terror in his eyes. Then, she says he started talking to people who weren't there, so she decided to leave and called his cousin. But just a few minutes later, he fell. It doesn't stay what story he fell from, but his head injuries were too severe to operate on. The coroner says he was suffering from "a psychotic or delusional episode" from cannabis consumption. State police charge juvenile with desecrating 33 gravestones. A 12-year-old from Theresa, New York caused $3,726 in damages at Oakwood Cemetery but A. Cozzi Monuments repaired them for free in April. The tween has been charged with 1st degree cemetery desecration and 2nd degree criminal mischief, which are both felonies, and their case will be handled in Family Court. BONUS: Thanks to Sir OMA for sharing this story about a 33-year-old man found dead in an apartment at 3:30 PM Monday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a five-hour standoff with police. He named himself as a person of interest earlier in the day for shooting two women whose conditions are unknown. After hearing what sounded like a gunshot, police entered the apartment with a tactical robot and found the man dead. CAN'T STOP THE COOFIN' 33 new cases in Delta County (Michigan), Crawford County (Pennsylvania), Humboldt County (California) 33 positive tests in Dillingham (Alaska) Dad, 33, has different perspective on COVID-19 after near-death experience. What better way to push the experimental jab than with more fear porn? Sir OMA sent us this story about a 33-year-old mom removed from an Omaha public elementary school for not wearing a mask and asking staff not to force her son to wear a mask. She was stopped by a security guard when she tried to go into the school to retrieve her son after someone forced him to put a mask on. FREE THE WEED Former Adelanto Mayor, Rich Kerr, was arrested by the FBI last Friday for accepting close to $60,000 in bribes in exchange for favorable decisions concerning commercial cannabis through his city council role. Three years ago, FBI agents detained him during a raid on his home amid a public corruption probe. He was arraigned last Friday and entered not guilty pleas. The kickbacks were disguised as gifts, donations to charities and campaigns, and advance payments for the proceeds of a planned litigation associated with a motorcycle accident Kerr sustained during a 2017 promotional gimmick for the Adelanto Grand Prix where he rode a motorcycle into the desert and crashed it within 15 seconds. Secret recordings from a 2016 conversation with the FBI pretending to be a real estate company revealed Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers' husband, J.T. Burnette of Tennessee, bragged about how his political connections allowed them to obtain one of the first vertically-integrated licenses for medical weed in Florida. Trulieve is one of the biggest medical companies in the US with operations in 11 states, and Burnette is on trial for racketeering, extortion, fraud, and making false statements. Starting September 1st, cannabis retailers in Alaska will be able to double the amount of THC per serving in edibles from 5 to 10 milligrams. For the first time in 11 years, Maine is accepting applications for medical dispensaries. There is no longer a cap on business licenses, but there are only five medical dispensaries operating after three of the eight total converted to recreational shops. The application fee is $5,000 and registered caregivers can now convert their registration type to that of a dispensary because dispensaries are allowed to grow an unlimited amount of plants. Also in Maine this week, a judge ruled that the state's residency requirement is unconstitutional, so out-of-state companies will now be able to operate medical dispensaries in the state. Missouri's federal judge also recently shot down the state's residency requirement while Oklahoma did the opposite. House Bill 3000, which passed in July, now allows Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and the Department of Agriculture to inspect licensed hemp fields across the state to make sure growers aren't cultivating marijuana. Inspectors will take samples and send them to labs for THC levels, but 31 operations have refused to let the regulators access their site so far. No new adult-use retail licenses will be awarded in Illinois until a lawsuit Wah Group is resolved, which alleges the state requires veteran-owned businesses to achieve a perfect score to qualify for the social equity lotteries currently underway. Wisconsin lawmakers announced a full legalization bill last Tokin' Tuesday which would tax weed similar to alcohol and allow homegrow. METAL MOMENT The Rev takes us all the way to Samoa for this week's Metal Moment. Make sure you vote in his poll to help decide where in the world the Metal Moment winds up next week for our big 100th episode! FIRST TIME I EVER... This week, bowlers called in to tell us about the first time they ever got behind the wheel of a car. Next week, we want to hear about the first time YOU ever felt an electric shock. FUCK IT, DUDE. LET'S GO BOWLING. A Florida woman was arrested after showing tiddies and masturbating during a virtual visit with an inmate last week in the visitation building. She was charged with exposure of sexual organs within a public place and violation of probation or community control. Two teens seriously injured by lightning that struck at least 7 at Orchard Beach in the Bronx Handcuffed Oklahoma man escapes arrest on stolen ATV, leads police on high-speed chase. He was initially being taken into custody on suspicion of stealing copper wire and catalytic converters when he opened the patrol unit door, escaped into the woods, and stole an ATV from a nearby home. The chase went through three separate counties before he was forced to wipeout into a pool of muddy water on a dirt road. A 28-year-old man was arrested for giving a child a face tattoo at  a McDonald's in South Carolina, which was filmed and posted to social media by a customer. While cleaning a picture frame, a North Carolina thrift store employee  found a 146-year-old marriage certificate and managed to track down the great granddaughter through Ancestry.com A Canadian dermatologist in British Columbia bought a rare oil painting that may be worth $20,000 at a thrift store. He paid $96 and intended to use just the frame, then decided to Google the artist's signature and found it was Wijmer, who was born in the Netherlands in 1870. His most famous painting, Mountain Mist, sold at auction in the US for $200,000. The doctor plans to donate any funds received to the Comox Valley Hospice Society. A Colorado sheriff's deputy freed a mother bear who had accidentally trapped herself in a car as her two cubs watched. The door slammed shut behind her when she entered to look for food. Too much damage had been done inside, so he opened the driver's door to free her but the bear accidentally closed it. On the second attempt, the deputy was able to get her out and ensured she left the neighborhood with her cubs. So don't leave food in your vehicle. While removing valuable items from a 115-year-old German Evangelical Church in Seattle, Earthwise Architectural Salvage found a time capsule in the cornerstone which had not been tracked and archived. It contained German literature, Evangelical publications, Ohio newspaper articles written about the Evangelical Association, a bishop's handwritten letter detailing the founding of the church, and financial information. Two of Banksy's newest murals were vandalized days after the artist confirmed he created ten across coastal towns in Norfolk and Suffolk, England. One was caught in the act covering Banksy's rat sipping a cocktail with white paint. The second perp added teddy bears beneath a claw machine Banksy painted which some believe is a tribute or collab from local artist Emo. Two of Banksy's murals was removed, one which was spray painted on top of an 1892 mural of the town's mayor and the other which showed two children flying off an inflatable dingy at the spot where a 3-year-old girl died after an inflatable trampoline burst. A shitty way to go: three brothers got stuck in a manure pit on their family's farm, passed out from the fumes, and died of asphyxiation.

  For many men feeling uncomfortable in an overweight body with a surplus weight of 11 stone, the furthest thing from their minds would have been to reach for a mankini and strut their stuff!. It certainly takes an astonishing amount of self-worth and confidence to embrace such a look! However, Ross Smith had learned from a young age to get the jokes in before others had the chance, and finding a way to manage uncomfortable moments around negative talk about his weight was definitely a lot easier with the joy of good friendly banter and laughter. Ross Smith was happy go lucky and although overweight he was content. Having a great family and circle of friends really had served Ross well. On a meeting with the mum of an old school friend Ross was dealt a loving slice of straight talk “Ross, you're a heart attack waiting to happen '' ... the wise words from Ethlene! Ethlene the mum of an old school friend had welcomed Ross into their home as a young lad and it had been two years since Ethlene had seen Ross and her words came from a place of love and concern. No doubt you can all relate to a moment in time just before change took place, the way you felt and the situation you had found yourself in alongside the people you shared that moment with. Ross explains in this episode how after his marriage breakdown he found himself questioning his health and self-worth and knew exactly where those thoughts would lead if he didn't take action. Ethlene offered to take Ross... or rather told Ross that he was joining Slimming World and the rest is history! If you're in need of inspiration and your fitness has been neglected Ross will also talk you through how swimming gave Ross the fitness incentive to start the couch to 5k that led to running a 10k. Ross has now found his niche with a love of walking. You can follow Ross on Instagram @swrosssmith Soon Ross will be climbing Mount Snowdon and raising money for a children's cancer charity. If you would like to support Ross on his journey you can donate by clicking on the link below. http://bit.ly/RossSmithFundraising You can join the Slimming Stories Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/391927294836170 Slimming Stories Instagram:  @sw_slimmingstories_podcast

  Amy’s weight loss journey led her all the way to running her own group as a Slimming World consultant. Amy set her sights on losing 100lb after a relationship breakup and hasn't looked back since. Being able to deal with her food issues with the help of Slimming World allowed Amy to see and feel the impact of how this changed her life and how it was helping others. Inspired by her own slimming journey Amy decided to train as a Slimming World consultant and with that decision, the best was yet to come. Amy decided to join fellow slimmers to embark on the challenge to climb Mount Snowdon giving Amy the chance to meet other slimmers and to feel even more inspired by what is possible when you're in a position to challenge your mindset, Inspiration that Amy has been able to pass onto the Slimming group she now runs. In the past taking steps to track her food intake was not always received well by family members but now with her new slimming family, Amy has found a place to share her highs and lows with people that truly understand the challenges of a slimmer. If you have enjoyed Amy's story you can follow her slimming journey on Instagram @aimsterlouise_sw  If you would like to donate to Amy's Mount Snowdon charity walk, please click on Amy’s just giving page below. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/AimsterDoesSnowdon2021   You can join the Slimming Stories Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/391927294836170 Slimming Stories Instagram:  @sw_slimmingstories_podcast   Clubhouse Group - Stop Dreaming Alone: For anyone new to Clubhouse this is a new social media platform that you will need to apply to join or receive an invite to, it's a little inclusive at the moment but definitely worth your while. Stop Dreaming Alone is where I show up with my fellow entrepreneur friends to talk through the steps of starting out and taking action on business ideas so that you can put into place a plan to leave your day job and do the thing that lights you up! https://www.joinclubhouse.com/club/stop-dreaming

[18+] Since time unrecorded, humanity has sought bargains with the fae. Whether for riches, or love, or luck, the fair folk have never hesitated to trade with mortals. On the steep slopes of Mount Snowdon, Fiona, dissatisfied with her body, seeks the aid of one of the faerie people. What follows is a night she won't ever forget. Today's story is “The Pwca” by Holly A. Morrison, whose work will be featured in the upcoming Dancing with Devils by Weasel Press and Fur-miliar Spaces by Bound Tales Books. Read for you by https://twitter.com/khakidoggy (Khaki), your faithful fireside companion.

This episode of Planet Porky the podcast with Mike Parry and Lesley-Ann Jones looks at the latest topics including: John Lennon's 80th birthday, buying Beatles memorabilia, precious pens, famous spectacles, dating footballers, putting on your own make up, Huw Edwards, buying your own farm, Kate Winslet, lesbian romps, watching sex scenes with others, why we care about being overweight, Amanda Holden, the sad passing of both Eddie Van Halen and Johnny Nash, Chloe Madeley's sex life, climbing Mount Snowdon, losing your voice when its your fortune, hand models and Bob Geldof. Travel to Planet Porky is open to everyone, we keenly await your visit!  Don't forget to subscribe and download from your favourite provider so you never miss an episode - with new ones dropping every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show on Twitter: @PlanetPorky or Mike is: @MikeParry8 while you can find Lesley-Ann: @LAJwriter. Or you can email us questions or comments to: planetporkypod@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you! 

Tara has some tips on how to avoid the pitfalls of the kitchen during lockdown. The difference between a snack and a treat. Plus the walk up a mountain day. Tara has devised the climb up Mount Snowdon from home. details are in the podcast of how you can do it. Raise money for a charity and even get the legs bums and tums a little stronger.

Why adversity can be a blessing in disguise, with walking quadriplegic Ed Jackson. Ed was a professional rugby player whose career was cut short when he broke his neck diving into a shallow swimming pool. Ed nearly died and was told he would never walk again but he confounded the experts and even recently climbed Mount Snowdon. He was due to be climbing Mont Blanc for charity in June, although that's now been cancelled because of the lockdown. Instead, Ed is climbing the equivalent height of Everest on his parents stairs, having been inspired by the fundraising efforts of 99-year-old Captain Tom. The theme of this episode is perspective as Ed says since his injury he is actually happier and more grateful than when playing professional sport. He talks about people's innate negativity bias and how positivity can be trained. Simon and Ed also discuss embracing uncertainty, the power of belief, redefining limitations, adding value to other people's lives and understanding events are only 'bad' if you decide that they are. As ever please get in touch with any thoughts, ideas or questions: @simonmundie

Professional rugby player Ed Jackson was enjoying a BBQ when he suffered a fate that would change the course of his life forever. He'd dived into his friend's swimming pool, crashing his head at the bottom – an impact so severe that the disk between his C6 and C7 vertebrae (the two at the bottom of the neck) exploded and dislocated, cutting through half of his spinal cord. He was told he would never be able to walk again - but just a year later was stood at the top of Mount Snowdon.In this episode Rob Pope Rob chats through the horrific series of events that took place that day - from the journey to the hospital he very nearly didn't survive, to waking up after seven hours of surgery to discover he could no longer feel his hands or feet.Ed explains how he took his fate into his own hands by using the power of his mind to revive his dormant body and ultimately carve out a new identity for himself as a quadriplegic climber – as well as a new life committed to helping people through the mountains.Find out more about Wings for Life's work to find a cure for spinal cord injury at http://wingsforlife.comAnd how you can be part of the Wings for Life World Run at http://wingsforlifeworldrun.comListen to all episodes and discover more about How to Be Superhuman at http://redbull.com/superhuman

Episode 18Amy set her sights on losing 100lb after a relationship breakup and hasn't looked back since. Being able to deal with her food issues with the help of Slimming World allowed Amy to see and feel the impact of how this changed her life and how it was helping others. Inspired by her own slimming journey Amy decided to train as a Slimming World consultant and with that decision, the best was yet to come. Amy decided to join fellow slimmers to embark on the challenge to climb Mount Snowdon giving Amy the chance to meet other slimmers and to feel even more inspired by what is possible when you're in a position to challenge your mindset. Inspiration that Amy has been able to pass onto the Slimming group she now runs. In the past taking steps to track her food intake was not always received well by family members but now with her new slimming family, Amy has found a place to share her highs and lows with people that truly understand the challenges of a slimmer. If you have enjoyed Amy's story you can follower her slimming journey on Instagram @aimsterlouise_swSlimming Stories podcast is produced by Claire Oldham - West and you can follow Slimming Stories on Instagram @sw_slimmingstories_podcast Slimming Stories is also a Facebook Group. If you would like to appear as a guest on the show please DM me on Instagram.

Kia Ora Whanau. It’s another packed show this week, and one which touches on the losses that inevitably affect all of us in this life. We start by remembering the runner who passed away after his 100 mile attempt, and also South Auckland’s own Naomi McCrae, who was tragically killed in an accident last week. Embracing life, as those two surely did, we drop the news that we will be doing a once-in-a-lifetime live show with the one and only Lazarus Lake on Thursday April 3rd as he makes his way down for the Riverhead Backyard Relaps. We then go through the results of the Shotover Moonlight Marathon (held confusingly in the day) and the Tarawera 21km results. We have a double interview this week, with Eugene continuing to bring the heat with two more brilliant conversations he had at Tarawera, this week, with Adam Kimble and Francesca Canepa. Adam Kimble...Won Gobi March (China) stage race and Desert Ultra (Namibia) stage race, taking 13th overall at Western States in 2018, and finishing 3rd at the Vermont 100-Miler. But he also takes on huge (er?) adventures,running across America in 2015, and running with his friend Kris King the length of Great Britain from John o’ Groats in Scotland to Lands End in England. The two became the first people to complete a self-supported run the length of Scotland, Wales and England, while summiting the highest peak (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon) in each country along the way. He also appeared in a Discovery Channel Show, The Wheel, where contestants had to survive in the South American wilds for 60 days. Francesca Canepa is a former top-level snowboarder, and experimental psychologist, who started running at 40. Francesca was second at UTMB in 2012, and won it in 2018. She won the Oman by UTMB race in 2019. And she’s twice won the Tor des Geants. In 2014 she was falsely accused by another runner of accepting a ride in the TDG. She took the accuser to court and he was late last year found guilty of defaming her. So the moral of the story is...don’t ever cross an Italian psychologist during a 330km mountain race... Or maybe, don’t accuse someone of cheating when they didn’t….Either way, Francesca Canepa RULES!!. Enjoy!!

On this weeks John discusses his recent self-supported adventure hiking the 177 mile Offas Dyke in Wales & Jake discusses his recent trip to Wales including tackling Mount Snowdon and mother nature. Meanwhile, Graham is jet setting the globe on business! Trust me its a good one & its all available on iTunes, Spotify and all other decent podcast apps! Rise & Grind Host Details: Jake Barber – @Riseandgrindrunning Graham Roberts – @ispiremc John Chambers – @idesignthisway George Edwards – @ge_training Aaron Selfe – @the.a_ron126 Glenn Coleman – @glennyc1981 Sign up to the mailing list and receive a free Ebook on how to Master Your Run as well weekly emails and an email every time the podcast drops! Click Here

Retina UK formed in 1976 as a voluntary organisation and is now helping to fund and develop treatments for genetic eye conditions. But for the first time in its history, it is conducting a wide-ranging piece of research into the lives of people who have genetic sight loss. Chief Executive Tina Houllaghan explains why. Tom Walker meets a keen blind archer from west Wales, who says the sport helped him out of his depression. And the Milton Mountaineers celebrate 50 years of gaining summits with a climb up Mount Snowdon. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

So now our Prime Minister is required to stand down by our wonderful government.....if this happens her replacement could be Mr.Blobby Michael Gove...which says it all....and the sheep are out again marching through the streets pretending they know what the the whole shambles is all about....and we were told there was a MILLION of them which was somewhat exaggerated ...I actually admire Teresa for having to deal with the load of morons in Parliament on a daily basis......we knock Donald Trump but he has more about him than the whole of our government put together....he certainly doesn't take any crap from anyone.2.But we needn't worry....because Uri Geller is going to stop Brexit happening....with his MIND....is it me or is the planet losing its way?.....Uri wants everyone at a certain time to think...all at once..."Stop Brexit"....so that's O.K. then,,,,and this is from his mansion in the Middle East or wherever.....there is no such thing as telepathy.....I can make cards do "unbelievable things" and make things levitate...and read minds etc....they are TRICKS ...it's not magic.....old Uri must be running out of money.....mind you the "million" marchers will probably fall for it....they seem to believe anything.3.The  WW2 Great Escape has been celebrated...when a batch of English P.O.W.s tunnelled out of a German P.O.W. camp....sadly with disastrous results......most of the escapees were captured and shot ...I saw the film which was very good apart from Steve McQueen who was the "cool" American hero jumping over fences on his motor bike....all very dramatic but in the usual Hollywood fashion it didn't happen....but they have got to get in there somewhere....all very entertaining but I think the actual FACTS would have been more educational.............and speaking of films I watched The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman which roughly follows the rise of Barnam and his circus......the film was sensational....one of the best musicals I have seen....the songs were brilliant and were written by two young unknowns.....there were 1500 involved in the making of it and it took 7 years to complete...an absolute triumph.4.I've just paid my car tax and as always been totally ripped off because I have a diesel car.....despite the fact that I am paying more than everyone else I still have to negotiate the same potholes which our road tax is supposed to cure....plus I am now apparently destroying the planet!!.....I remember we were originally told that PETROL cars are destroying the planet and diesels were the answer....so we all started buying diesel cars and UP rockets the price of this earth saving fuel....then suddenly the big boys weren't selling enough petrol to furnish their fortunes so they announce that PETROL will save the planet....which hasn't gone down so well....SO it is now time to tell us that ELECTRIC is the answer......low road tax (if any) ...free electric hook ups around the country....no pollution etc etc.....give it a few years and ELECTRIC will be dearer that diesel....which I'm sure will make a big comeback when they count the number of unsold diesel cars....and so it goes.....it's like the cigarette companies....they put the price of fags up to encourage people to stop smoking....yeah sure....it stops nothing...all it does is feaher their already overfull nests and while people fall for this crap we will have these millionaires who don't give a monkeys about anyone else.5.The song this week is a tribute to the roof of Wales...Mount Snowdon....I've just come back after a few days in Caernarfon and I enjoy everything about the area......I have climbed Snowdon several times and it is so worth the climb.....I actually wrote the song for my pa Paul Damian and it is a track off our album which includes How To Say Llanfairpwll etc.....but this is my version and it came about on the first time  I reached the summit......I simply said "I Made It To The Top"

So now our Prime Minister is required to stand down by our wonderful government.....if this happens her replacement could be Mr.Blobby Michael Gove...which says it all....and the sheep are out again marching through the streets pretending they know what the the whole shambles is all about....and we were told there was a MILLION of them which was somewhat exaggerated ...I actually admire Teresa for having to deal with the load of morons in Parliament on a daily basis......we knock Donald Trump but he has more about him than the whole of our government put together....he certainly doesn't take any crap from anyone.2.But we needn't worry....because Uri Geller is going to stop Brexit happening....with his MIND....is it me or is the planet losing its way?.....Uri wants everyone at a certain time to think...all at once..."Stop Brexit"....so that's O.K. then,,,,and this is from his mansion in the Middle East or wherever.....there is no such thing as telepathy.....I can make cards do "unbelievable things" and make things levitate...and read minds etc....they are TRICKS ...it's not magic.....old Uri must be running out of money.....mind you the "million" marchers will probably fall for it....they seem to believe anything.3.The  WW2 Great Escape has been celebrated...when a batch of English P.O.W.s tunnelled out of a German P.O.W. camp....sadly with disastrous results......most of the escapees were captured and shot ...I saw the film which was very good apart from Steve McQueen who was the "cool" American hero jumping over fences on his motor bike....all very dramatic but in the usual Hollywood fashion it didn't happen....but they have got to get in there somewhere....all very entertaining but I think the actual FACTS would have been more educational.............and speaking of films I watched The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman which roughly follows the rise of Barnam and his circus......the film was sensational....one of the best musicals I have seen....the songs were brilliant and were written by two young unknowns.....there were 1500 involved in the making of it and it took 7 years to complete...an absolute triumph.4.I've just paid my car tax and as always been totally ripped off because I have a diesel car.....despite the fact that I am paying more than everyone else I still have to negotiate the same potholes which our road tax is supposed to cure....plus I am now apparently destroying the planet!!.....I remember we were originally told that PETROL cars are destroying the planet and diesels were the answer....so we all started buying diesel cars and UP rockets the price of this earth saving fuel....then suddenly the big boys weren't selling enough petrol to furnish their fortunes so they announce that PETROL will save the planet....which hasn't gone down so well....SO it is now time to tell us that ELECTRIC is the answer......low road tax (if any) ...free electric hook ups around the country....no pollution etc etc.....give it a few years and ELECTRIC will be dearer that diesel....which I'm sure will make a big comeback when they count the number of unsold diesel cars....and so it goes.....it's like the cigarette companies....they put the price of fags up to encourage people to stop smoking....yeah sure....it stops nothing...all it does is feaher their already overfull nests and while people fall for this crap we will have these millionaires who don't give a monkeys about anyone else.5.The song this week is a tribute to the roof of Wales...Mount Snowdon....I've just come back after a few days in Caernarfon and I enjoy everything about the area......I have climbed Snowdon several times and it is so worth the climb.....I actually wrote the song for my pa Paul Damian and it is a track off our album which includes How To Say Llanfairpwll etc.....but this is my version and it came about on the first time  I reached the summit......I simply said "I Made It To The Top"

After a career playing professional rugby, Ed Jackson broke his neck on April 8th 2017 in a freak accident.  He jumped into the shallow end of a pool at a family barbecue and from there his ‘Road to Recovery' begun. Jackson had fractured and dislocated the C6 and C7 vertebrae and shattered the disc between them his spinal cord was impacted and partially crushed, resulting in damage, swelling and spinal shock.  Things looked rocky.  Ed started to document what was going on via voicenote within the first few days of having the accident.  His personal journey became very well followed and his incredible progress mesmerised the people who had taken interest. Around  25,000.  From being a big unit on the rugby pitch and moving his body in a large capacity it must have been bizarre for him to then have to put all his concentration into trying to move single toes and fingers.  I can't even fathom how frustrating that must have been. Hearing Ed's journey over the last 18 months and how he now views life was one of the most mesmerising 45 minutes I've had whilst starting this podcast. I walked away feeling so inspired and grateful for life.  I have no doubt that you will too. * Ed gives us a bit of background on his childhood as a swimmer and then talks about how he got into professional rugby. * Ed talks about the accident that changed his life forever. What happened and the incidents surrounding the accident. * How the ‘Road to Recovery' started and the impact it has had on people. He tells us why he started it and how it has gone from strength to strength. * Ed talks us through moments such as being told he may never walk again and his feelings upon moving his toe for the first time since the accident. * Where did the mindset of refusing to accept defeat come from? He tells us what drove him day in and day out. * Ed tells us about his decision to climb Mount Snowdon within a year of his accident.  Crazy. Especially after having being advised specifically not to by physios and doctors.   * I ask Ed how the experience has impacted his perspective on life.  Does he still concentrate on short term goals on a daily basis? * Ed tells us what is going on for him in 2019. THIS IS A HUGE EPISODE.  NOT ONE TO BE MISSED. UNBELIEVABLE GUY.

I share my experience of climbing Mount Snowdon & introduce the new podcast ✨ stay tuned !

Haroon Mota is a fundraising manager for PennyAppeal, a charity which raises money for noteworthy causes. He is also the head of Challenges at PennyAppeal which means he cooks up some amazing ideas for charitable causes. Haroon is known as the Marathon Man after he completed running a ‘4 marathons in 4 weeks’ challenge, dedicated to his father who died tragically in a car accident. The aim was to raise money for a solar water power centre in Africa which has since been successfully built. To date, Haroon has raised over £1 million via many different challenges such as climbing to the Everest base camp, London marathon, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya, the Machu Picchu trail in Peru, Palestine Marathon and so much more! Haroon talks about how he accidentally stumbled upon his current career choice whilst trekking Mount Snowdon in the UK and meeting a group of Muslim women hikers. He discusses how the act of doing good was instilled in him from a young age via the influence of his father and being sent to an Islamic boarding school to learn the Holy Quran. Today, Haroon dedicates his time in helping others fundraise for their charity campaigns and thinking up various unique challenges to push you through your limits. On this episode we discuss the challenges of fundraising, motivations for overcoming barriers, how to get involved in charitable causes and so much more! We really enjoyed talking with Haroon and being infected by his passion and enthusiasm for raising money for charities. So much so we ended up signing up for a few events in the process! Haroon is a real inspiration, he trains hard and works hard to raise money for noteworthy causes impacting Muslims around the world, he inspires others to take part in achieving their own goals as well as helping them raise money for charity. Haroon was recently presented with the ‘Good Citizen Award’ by his local Mayor, an award that he quite rightly deserves.

Today’s podcast episode comes to you from Dinorwig Lodge in Wales, where a number of One Year No Beer members have gathered to take part in a challenge: climbing Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.  Several members share their feelings and experiences after taking part in this challenge. Completing a physical challenge, like climbing a mountain, demonstrates to you what you can accomplish when you choose to replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones, and reinforces the value of the changes that you’ve already made. It can also help you build confidence.  “The opposite of addiction is connection.”  In addition to the physical challenge, this meetup offered members of One Year No Beer the opportunity to meet each other and form connections in person. A meetup like this is your chance to prove that you can form those connections and have fun with other people without the help of alcohol. And if you missed this chance to meet up, don’t worry – some members are already planning another climbing challenge in April. LINKS & RESOURCES: OYNB Website: https://www.oneyearnobeer.com/ OYNB Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Oneyearnobeer/ OYNB Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/199505820380513/ OYNB Twitter: https://twitter.com/oynbuk/ OYNB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneyearnobeer/

Travel writer Phoebe Smith on Hafod Eryri - the visitor centre on Mount Snowdon's summit. 4/5 Phoebe explains how despite herself, Hafod Eryri has grown on her, and that she has found unexpected joy at being able to drink hot chocolate on top of a mountain. Its presence says something about our chutzpah in putting a building where it doesn't belong. Producer Clare Walker.

Episode 5 of the National Trust Podcast heads to picturesque Snowdonia in North Wales. Join Kate in the village of Beddgelert, located at the base of Mount Snowdon and a gateway to some of the UK’s most exciting walks. Find out how the Trust is making some of this spectacular landscape more accessible.

Stacey talks about a baby that was born twice, and tries to offer Mum advice about climbing Mount Snowdon. We find out whether trial by combat is a preferable option to paying a parking fine. Mum tells us about butter sticks and diet water, as well as revealing part one of the new competition to get Rough Giraffe Merch! Kipper gets a call from Matthew and we find out which super power he would like. Twitter - @RoughGiraffePod Email - Roughgiraffepodcast@gmail.com

"I made It to the top" .. refers to the top of Mount #Snowdon.... album I produced for my pal #PaulDamian who pronounces the Welsh names accurately.. There was a 10 minute article on the news regarding "mumbling" in TV dramas....which I've been going on about for years...we discussed the #BBC big shot the other week coming out with gems like "It creates the atmosphere when actors lower their voices"...do these "stars" learn to act? There was an interesting article on the news about a couple of scientists who have discovered material which changes sea water into fresh water when poured through it..... On the entertainment front I watched #BritainsGotTalent .......I haven't watched it for years and thought it MUST have improved....WRONG.. I have been watching "Line of Duty" which is excellent.....the script is so cleverly written....also #Broadchurch" is another good drama which keeps you in suspense...thank goodness for #Netflix.

"I made It to the top" .. refers to the top of Mount #Snowdon.... album I produced for my pal #PaulDamian who pronounces the Welsh names accurately.. There was a 10 minute article on the news regarding "mumbling" in TV dramas....which I've been going on about for years...we discussed the #BBC big shot the other week coming out with gems like "It creates the atmosphere when actors lower their voices"...do these "stars" learn to act? There was an interesting article on the news about a couple of scientists who have discovered material which changes sea water into fresh water when poured through it..... On the entertainment front I watched #BritainsGotTalent .......I haven't watched it for years and thought it MUST have improved....WRONG.. I have been watching "Line of Duty" which is excellent.....the script is so cleverly written....also #Broadchurch" is another good drama which keeps you in suspense...thank goodness for #Netflix.

The song I have sent you this week is about my favourite mountain….I wrote it back in the day for an album I produced for my pal Paul Damian…who sings it. I came up with the inspiration after one of my many climbs up Mount Snowdon in Wales…as it is always the first thing you say when you get there and get your breath back….there are a few different ways up there and I’ve done them all on several occasions…I’ve even put a video about it on Youtube….standing on the top is a wonderful experience with spectacular views. The news this week has been blanket coverage of the terrible terror attacks in Belgium…..we need to know the details of this sort of thing but doubt whether constant repetition of the same pictures and reporting actually helps…and the politicians using the situation to question our membership of the EU etc…it all gets completely out of hand…like most people I’m at the stage where I haven’t a clue as to what is actually going on anymore…all we get is conflicting opinions from publicity seeking politicians…they can’t ALL be right…someone has to be lying. My heart goes out to the poor folk of Belgium who innocently got caught up in all this…I don’t know what the answer is. We discussed him last week .. but let’s take our hats off and salute Eddie Izzard for completing 27 marathons in 27 days…TWO of which were on the last day….in an interview he said he now needs to do one or two a month to keep his fitness up….absolutely incredible…and Kelly Holmes has been on TV…she is making a comeback as a marathon runner…she has been out of the game for seven years when she retired from athletics…I must say I have keenly watched athletics since Roger Bannister ran the 4 minute mile in the 50’s so I have seen a lot..BUT the best race I have ever seen was Kelly Holmes winning a gold in the 800 metres in 2004…sheer guts…I was out of my chair….since then she has done a lot for charity…hence her knighthood. The Sport Relief raised 55 million pounds…let’s hope it all goes to the right place. Ladies tennis hit the headlines this week….some official had to resign after making sexist comments about the ladies…and as we know sexism is a one way street…as the “Loose Women” programme illustrates…they can say what they like and that’s O.K….this guy said ladies tennis has been hanging on the shirt tails of mens tennis for years…and Jocovich has added the men should get more money than the women….so all the girls are up in arms led by the Williams sisters. The answer is simple…make the women play best of 5 sets instead of three…on second thoughts I don’t think I could stand more than three sets….I remember Pat Cash saying that people would rather watch him knocking up than watch a ladies tennis match…couldn’t agree more….it’s like saying anyone who works three days should get the same as someone who works five. It’s time the ladies got over themselves…I wish them every success with their football,rugby and cricket but it aint for me…or most people…which is shown by the attendances….good job I don’t work in sport eh? Bear Grylls has a programme on TV called “Mission Survive” which is another one of those accidents waiting to happen….the whole thing is really a platform to show how tough Bear is.”look at me…I’m so macho”…he puts celebs through a series of survival tasks which could have serious consequences if they go wrong….I can’t really see the point….are these celebs that hard up? I gave up on it half way through the second episode…there should be a doctor on hand to see if the contestants actually have a brain........….and great news!!!...Britains Got Talent is coming back….hosted by Ant and Dec….this will follow Saturday Night Takeaway featuring Ant and Dec…after all this we’ll have I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here…hosted by Ant and Dec….I keep expecting the pair of them to turn up in the back of my car….is there no escape? If nothing else they prove that you can make a fortune with no talent whatsoever…they should form a trio with Cheryl Cole.

The song I have sent you this week is about my favourite mountain….I wrote it back in the day for an album I produced for my pal Paul Damian…who sings it. I came up with the inspiration after one of my many climbs up Mount Snowdon in Wales…as it is always the first thing you say when you get there and get your breath back….there are a few different ways up there and I’ve done them all on several occasions…I’ve even put a video about it on Youtube….standing on the top is a wonderful experience with spectacular views. The news this week has been blanket coverage of the terrible terror attacks in Belgium…..we need to know the details of this sort of thing but doubt whether constant repetition of the same pictures and reporting actually helps…and the politicians using the situation to question our membership of the EU etc…it all gets completely out of hand…like most people I’m at the stage where I haven’t a clue as to what is actually going on anymore…all we get is conflicting opinions from publicity seeking politicians…they can’t ALL be right…someone has to be lying. My heart goes out to the poor folk of Belgium who innocently got caught up in all this…I don’t know what the answer is. We discussed him last week .. but let’s take our hats off and salute Eddie Izzard for completing 27 marathons in 27 days…TWO of which were on the last day….in an interview he said he now needs to do one or two a month to keep his fitness up….absolutely incredible…and Kelly Holmes has been on TV…she is making a comeback as a marathon runner…she has been out of the game for seven years when she retired from athletics…I must say I have keenly watched athletics since Roger Bannister ran the 4 minute mile in the 50’s so I have seen a lot..BUT the best race I have ever seen was Kelly Holmes winning a gold in the 800 metres in 2004…sheer guts…I was out of my chair….since then she has done a lot for charity…hence her knighthood. The Sport Relief raised 55 million pounds…let’s hope it all goes to the right place. Ladies tennis hit the headlines this week….some official had to resign after making sexist comments about the ladies…and as we know sexism is a one way street…as the “Loose Women” programme illustrates…they can say what they like and that’s O.K….this guy said ladies tennis has been hanging on the shirt tails of mens tennis for years…and Jocovich has added the men should get more money than the women….so all the girls are up in arms led by the Williams sisters. The answer is simple…make the women play best of 5 sets instead of three…on second thoughts I don’t think I could stand more than three sets….I remember Pat Cash saying that people would rather watch him knocking up than watch a ladies tennis match…couldn’t agree more….it’s like saying anyone who works three days should get the same as someone who works five. It’s time the ladies got over themselves…I wish them every success with their football,rugby and cricket but it aint for me…or most people…which is shown by the attendances….good job I don’t work in sport eh? Bear Grylls has a programme on TV called “Mission Survive” which is another one of those accidents waiting to happen….the whole thing is really a platform to show how tough Bear is.”look at me…I’m so macho”…he puts celebs through a series of survival tasks which could have serious consequences if they go wrong….I can’t really see the point….are these celebs that hard up? I gave up on it half way through the second episode…there should be a doctor on hand to see if the contestants actually have a brain........….and great news!!!...Britains Got Talent is coming back….hosted by Ant and Dec….this will follow Saturday Night Takeaway featuring Ant and Dec…after all this we’ll have I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here…hosted by Ant and Dec….I keep expecting the pair of them to turn up in the back of my car….is there no escape? If nothing else they prove that you can make a fortune with no talent whatsoever…they should form a trio with Cheryl Cole.

 SJSA 4.2 4.3 and 4.4   Part 1 A teenage girl enters an asylum, and approaches The Vault of Secrets. She tries to access it, but only has one disc. She is then confronted by The Alliance of Shades, so she escapes, injures herself and falls over. Androvax exits her body, and escapes. The Alliance of Shades (a.k.a Men In Black) arrive at the scene, and scan the unconscious girl. The Veil is declared no longer in her. Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani are in the attic, speaking to Luke on webcam, and Mr Smith interferes with a NASA space probe on Mars, to prevent it discovering an ancient and deadly civilisation. Gita and her husband Haresh have joined B.U.R.P.S.S. (The British UFO Research and Paranormal Studies Society) due to Gita's encounter with the Judoon and Androvax in the past. When the couple arrive home on Bannerman Road, Gita spots Androvax entering Sarah Jane's front garden. Haresh arms himself and goes to investigate, and encounters Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde. Haresh leaves after a conversation with them, and Androvax enters Rani's body. Sarah Jane scans for alien activity, and realises Rani has been taken over. Sarah Jane and Clyde chase her/him to the attic, and order Mr Smith to contain him after exiting Rani's body. They discover that Androvax is dying, having escaped a prison in a swamp and been poisoned by an alien viper. He intends to free 100 of his people from cryogenic sleep in The Vault of Secrets - the last survivors of the Veil species, aside from Androvax himself. Ocean Waters, the founder of B.U.R.P.S.S., arrives with Minty to scan for alien activity by picking up Beta particles. Sarah Jane uses her Sonic lipstick to deactivate this device. The three of them go to investigate at a mental asylum, where they encounter the base of the Men In Black. They are detected, and the Men In Black go to confront them. They discover that Ocean Waters was abducted in 1972 and encountered the Men In Black. The Men In Black then arrive to confront them, and activate their robotic hands. They tell Sarah Jane she must hand over Androvax and their disc, or prepare to be incinerated. The gang arrive home, where they agree with Androvax to let him use Clyde's body. They then speak to Ocean and Minty. Ocean turns out to have the other disc required to enter the Vault, and she recalls past encounters with the Men In Black and Mister Dread. Then the Men In Black arrive and tell them they must prepare to be incinerated. [] Part 2 The incineration is averted, Androvax escapes and enters Gita's body. Gita leaves for the Vault, and is followed by Mister Dread, Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde. Sarah Jane causes Mister Dread's car to malfunction, so he acquires a new one. They all arrive at the asylum, where Rani and Clyde rescue Gita. Androvax then leaves and encounters Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane refuses to help him because when the Veil are reawakened and leave Earth, the spaceships will cause Earth to explode, ending the human civilisation. Sarah Jane's body is then taken over by Androvax. Clyde jumps away from an incineration blast from two Men In Black, and the two men destroy each other. Rani explains to her mother about aliens, and how Sarah Jane, she and Clyde have encountered them. Mister Dread is placed into his capsule and made to sleep. Androvax goes to the Vault, in Sarah Jane's body, pretending to be her. He/she opens the Vault, revealing many spaceships, much to Gita's surprise. Androvax then leaves Sarah's body, and locks himself inside the Vault, which uses a Transmat to make it bigger on the inside. The team awaken Mister Dread, who gives up 450 years of his energy to allow Androvax and his race to leave Earth without harming anybody, by being beamed into space. Mister Dread now lacks power, and declares his mission terminated. He erases the memory of Gita, who intends to tell the world about their experiences, and goes to sleep in his capsule. The team return home, and Ocean and Minty arrive to ask about the Men In Black. Sarah Jane denies everything and Gita says she doesn't believe in aliens. Minty and Ocean say that the aliens have won again and decide to leave. In outer space, Androvax flies away to find a new world, having saved his species.   Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde are talking to Luke via webcam but are interrupted when Mr Smith alerts them that a armed forces convoy is converging on the house. The commanding officer, Colonel Karim, informs the group that is dead, despite Sarah Jane's protests that it can't be possible. It is claimed that the Doctor died in the Wastelands of the Crimson Heart, where he had saved the lives of 500 children from the Scarlet Monstrosity. A race called the Shansheeth have retrieved the body and are holding a funeral for the Doctor at UNIT Base 5, buried underground at the foot of Mount Snowdon. Sarah Jane still believes that the Doctor must be alive, and so goes along to search for evidence that it is a hoax. Upon arrival at the base they find that a small number of other mourners have been invited, as few survive their encounters with the Doctor. Many also couldn't make it including the , who is stranded in . The team also find, to their surprise a Groske working in the base, a blue skinned cousin of the Graske race they have had problems with in the past. The Doctor's body is to be blasted into space via a huge rocket, built by the Groske. They proceed to the ceremony of remembrance, however Clyde's left hand develops a growing blue electric charge, which he is unnerved at. At the ceremony, music is played which recalls memories for all about the Doctor; for Sarah Jane it is memories of the and Doctors, while for Rani and Clyde it is their encounters with the Doctor at . Clyde then realises that the charge is Artron energy, which he had previously carried after touching the vanishing at the wedding. The ceremony is interrupted by the clumsy arrival of , as she drops a vase of flowers. She is accompanied by her grandson, Santiago. The two former companions chat, as do the children, and both women agree that they are sure that the Doctor must still be alive. In their dormitory, the two women make a list of enemies that might try to fake the Doctor's death, while the children leave and wander round the base. Outside the room, Clyde again receives a shock on his hand and reveals the affliction to the other two. They encounter the lead Groske again, who informs them that the rising artron energy signals that an unidentified someone is getting closer and closer. Clyde, desperate to find out more pursues the Groske down an air vent, where they watch as the Shansheeth plot to make the two companions relive their days with the Doctor and therefore drain their minds for an unknown purpose, killing them in the process. The Shansheeth play music down the ventilation shafts to the former companions, where they start to recollect their adventures with the Doctor. The children are discovered by the Shansheeth when another artron energy discharge gives away their position. The children flee and run into Sarah Jane and Jo who sense they are in trouble. After recollecting what the Shansheeth are doing, they are surprised to hear an adult male talking through Clyde's mouth. However, the next minute Clyde appears normal. He then gains the Doctor's hand before seemingly morphing into . The Doctor, now in the UNIT base, explains that he used Clyde's residual Artron Energy to make a complicated swap of 10,000 light years. The result of this is, as the Doctor realises, is that he can fight the Shansheeth while Clyde however is where the Doctor just was: trapped in danger on an alien world. Sarah Jane realises that the man standing before them is the Doctor's newest incarnation shortly before the Shansheeth catch up with the group where the Doctor confronts them. A Shansheeth quips that they will ensure their announcement of the Doctor's death is correct this time, they then proceed to launch a beam of energy from their claws at him, causing him to yelp in pain and collapse to the floor. [] Part 2 The Doctor disappears and Clyde reappears—they have swapped places again. Clyde, Jo, Rani, Santiago and Sarah Jane run away from the Shansheeth to safety, the Doctor swapping places again with Clyde part way. The Doctor, Jo and Sarah swap places with Clyde and go to the alien planet, where they talk. The Doctor says that he visited Jo before he regenerated and told Jo that he had been into her future and seen her thirteenth grandchild. The Doctor works on perfecting the machine which allowed them to swap places with Clyde. When fixed, it can transport them without needing to swap with Clyde. Clyde and Rani talk with Santiago, who reveals he hasn't spoken to his parents in six months. Colonel Karim meanwhile is with the Shansheeth, and they are plotting to use Jo and Sarah Jane's memories of the to create a new TARDIS Key, so the Shansheeth can stop death across the universe by interfering with the timelines and so that Colonel Karim, in return, shall visit the stars because she has nothing left for her on Earth. Rani, Santiago, Clyde and a Groske try to get through the ventilation shafts, but Colonel Karim heats the shafts up, until the children are in danger of roasting. The Doctor, Jo and Sarah Jane go to the rescue, but Jo and Sarah Jane are kidnapped and the Doctor must go on alone. Sarah Jane and Jo are strapped up and the Memory Weave is used on them. Their minds are scanned and they begin remembering the TARDIS, these memories generate a new TARDIS Key as the Shansheeth and Colonel Karim make their intentions clear. The Doctor, Rani, Clyde, Santiago and a Groske come to the room Sarah Jane and Jo are in and tell them to remember other experiences. Sarah Jane and Jo both remember past encounters with the Doctor and all the creatures and enemies they met. Jo remembers all the countries she has been to as Sarah Jane remembers her battles with aliens. The memory weave overloads and explodes, the room is on fire. Sarah Jane and Jo hide in the lead coffin and shut themselves inside to survive the explosion. Later, they are taken to Sarah Jane's house, alive and well. Jo and Sarah Jane talk with the Doctor inside the TARDIS; Jo mentions the Time Lords and the Doctor mentions a foreshadowing (that if he ever were to die, the universe would shiver). He then allows them to leave, and demateralises. Jo and Santiago leave for Norway, and the trio are left behind, where Sarah Jane tells them of , , , , , and . They say that with friends like themselves, the Doctor will never die.   Rani and Clyde are the only people left in the world and are trying to find other people. This episode includes red and yellow robots that try to attack Clyde and Rani. After detecting an alien energy source, Clyde and Rani go to bed while Mr Smith tries to trace it. But in the morning, Rani realises that her parents are missing and so is Sarah Jane and everyone on Bannerman Road.

The Amateur Traveler talks to John Clayton about a recent trip to Wales. John was the host of a radio travel show called “Travel with a Difference” for 16 years in the Los Angeles area and was invited to Wales by the Wales Tourism board. John is a train buff and was invited to ride on the restored narrow guage railroads of Wales which were built originally to carry slate from the Wales slate mines. He road the Mount Snowdon, West Highlands and Ffestiniog railways. John also recommends touring the slate mine at Llanberis. We also visit Port Meirion which will look familiar to fans of the TV show The Prisoner. Also find out what Bed and Breakfast you can stay at where some of the Royals used to live.

The Amateur Traveler talks to John Clayton about a recent trip to Wales. John was the host of a radio travel show called “Travel with a Difference” for 16 years in the Los Angeles area and was invited to Wales by the Wales Tourism board. John is a train buff and was invited to ride on the restored narrow guage railroads of Wales which were built originally to carry slate from the Wales slate mines. He road the Mount Snowdon, West Highlands and Ffestiniog railways. John also recommends touring the slate mine at Llanberis. We also visit Port Meirion which will look familiar to fans of the TV show The Prisoner. Also find out what Bed and Breakfast you can stay at where some of the Royals used to live.

The Amateur Traveler talks to John Clayton about a recent trip to Wales. John was the host of a radio travel show called “Travel with a Difference” for 16 years in the Los Angeles area and was invited to Wales by the Wales Tourism board. John is a train buff and was invited to ride on the restored narrow guage railroads of Wales which were built originally to carry slate from the Wales slate mines. He road the Mount Snowdon, West Highlands and Ffestiniog railways. John also recommends touring the slate mine at Llanberis. We also visit Port Meirion which will look familiar to fans of the TV show The Prisoner. Also find out what Bed and Breakfast you can stay at where some of the Royals used to live.

Cross Country - The Snowdon Gauntlet. Thrown down on a monthly basis by UKFast management to the resilient staff, the Snowdon Gauntlet sees team members climb Snowdon, swim the 200 acre lake at Castell Cidwm, and run through the surrounding forests, lakes and mountains. Only the strong will survive . . .

The Lake at Castell Cidwm, Archery, and, once again, the formidable Climb of Mount Snowdon. In July 2008 UKFast took on the challenge of Mount Snowdon once again - this time with a new group of delegates. From the super sporty to the vertically challenged, the whole team made it to the summit of Snowdon and back down again in a very respectable time. It's teamwork at its highest level where determination is the key to succeeding in such a gruelling climb. No UKFast team member has failed the test of Mount Snowdon. It is a testament to their strength, stamina and willpower. And it's the reason UKFast is the best hosting provider.