Podcasts about Romford

Nick Dines speaks to the CEO of Hub about BTR, co-living and unlocking stalled sites. On this episode of the Better Places Podcast, Concilio's Nick Dines is joined by Robert Sloss, CEO of Hub, for a deep dive into how Build to Rent has evolved in the UK and what it takes to drive true regeneration. From transforming Maidenhead town centre to unlocking complex sites in Romford and Croydon, Robert discusses the power of institutional capital, the challenges of viability, and the future of co-living.  A must-listen for developers, planners, and anyone shaping the future of our urban centres. 

Jamesy & Whiteboy share some of the listeners seedy war stories and answer the important question ‘How do you have fun without drinking?'. They also put to bed the age old debate of Romford being in ESSEX or LONDON…SIGN UP TO OUR PATREON NOW FOR LOADS MORE CONTENT AND EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS:patreon.com/ThatJoshJamesShow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textWelcome back to another Class Chat. In this episode Will chats with 2025 Flogas Irish Girls Amateur Champion Zoe McLean Tattan. Zoe is a hugely talented 17 year old golfer playing off +4 handicap who last week beat all in front of her in Coorstown to take the massive crown of champion. Originally from Romford in the UK Zoe now represents Ireland as her father is from Mitchelstown in Cork. Listen in as they chat through her success. Zoe has won an all England with Essex, came 2nd in national schools championships, recently came 3rd in Woodbrook Scratch Cup and importantly represented Ireland in the Octagonal comp in Feb of this year. Zoe has also managed to fulfill a childhood dream of getting to go to college in the US and she tells us about that. The sky is the limit for Zoe the only question left is will she represent Ireland or England in the Olympics should the situation arise? Tune in to find out. Follow us on instagram @atocpod and follow our YouTube channel @atocpod

In this episode of Deconstructed, Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Calvin Po, Strategic Lead at Dark Matter Labs, Unit Master at the Architectural Association and architecture critic at The Spectator. They discuss 159 Marlborough Road, a house on a typical suburban street in Romford, which was the scene in 1954 of a tragic death resulting from Compulsory Purchase powers created by the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act.The content of this episode can be distressing for some people as it mentions suicide. If this affects you, contact the Samartians, a free and confidential service available 24 hours a day. https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/Subscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app and produced in association with the Architects' Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate.To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britons have to "fight back" against "woke" efforts by UK public bodies trying to "erase" Easter, a Tory frontbencher has said.Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, also said he wanted to see the union flag flown from every school and public building, with assemblies required to sing the National Anthem to promote British culture.He said: "There is a sort of like attitude now that every other culture, every other religion can be celebrated. But we've got to be a bit embarrassed about our own. And I just think that we have to reverse this. There has to be a fight back."Iain Duncan-Smith also joined Christopher Hope to discuss the growing threat of China and the larger ramifications of the Government taking control of British steel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brain Drain Episode 53 with Forde Brookfield & Toby Batchelor

Internet sensation Big John and his heavyweight boxer son Johnny Fisher spill the beans on their rise to fame, the current boxing landscape in the heavyweight division and all things Romford!New episodes out weekly, subscribe for more!Produced by Face For Radio Media.

Huge weekend in the Britton Division after the Cup Final took precedence, its back to League action and THE TOP TWO go head to head! Also two game weekends for Chelmsford, Invicta and Romford you won't miss a thing right here! Zero Pucks Given finished 3rd Bronze Medal Position in the Sport Podcast Awards 2025 Zero Pucks Given is part of the Sport Social Podcast Network - all episodes are available to listen to through the ZPG landing site on their website (Link in Bio) Zero Pucks Given is sponsored by Hockey Art Co. Worn By The Best, Hated By The Rest; listeners to ZPG get 10% discount site wide from clothing just listen in for the code Zero Pucks Given is also sponsored by Manscaped™️ listeners to ZPG get a 20% discount + free shipping on ALL Manscaped™️ listen in for the BRAND NEW CODE! Follow Zero Pucks Given on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, X and Threads so you don't miss a thing! The whole podcast episode is also available on YouTube as well as EVERYWHERE you can get podcasts. #ZeroPucksGiven #IceHockeyPodcast #Podcast #HockeyArtCo #UKIceHockey #BritishIceHockey #HockeyContent #CardiffFire #ChelmsfordChieftains #LetsGoChieftains #NIHL #Britton #South #InvictaDynamos #StreathamRedhawks #SolentDevils #SloughJets #SwindonWildcats2 #RomfordBuccaneers #OxfordCityStars #MiltonKeynesThunder #SportSocialPodcastNetwork #ItsNotWeakToSpeak #HockeyNightLive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Want to hear Part 2 of Frank Lampard's story, along with 30+ exclusive episodes, early access to new episodes, and more awesome perks? Sign up now for free access and exclusive content at Patreon! OR if you listen to the podcast on Apple podcast you can become a member there. Part 1: In this special episode, we dive into the legendary career of Frank Lampard — from his footballing roots in Romford, Essex to becoming a Premier League icon. Frank's journey started in a football family with his dad, West Ham legend Frank Lampard Sr., and his uncle, Harry Redknapp. Hard work was his secret weapon, and after a determined start at West Ham, he became one of the Premier League's all-time greats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the afternoon of Saturday January the 24th 1998, 30 year old James Harmon left his girlfriend's home in Romford in Essex to go and see a friend. He never returned and his car was later found abandoned. Police now believe that James' disappearance was a murder. Important information provided by: James' Missing People profile: https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/help-us-find/james-harmon-98-000677https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/crime/21552079.20-000-info-missing-presumed-murdered-doorman-jimmy-harmon---last-seen-romford/https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6399605.new-search-for-missing-man/https://www.barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk/news/20909129.arrest-no-charge/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/agonising-search-for-missing-son/28166794.htmlhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2005/12/19/191205_missing_james_feature.shtmlMusic by: dl-sounds.comFollow the Unseen Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unseen-podcast/id1318473466?uo=4Follow the Unseen Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0xWK7Mu3bTP6oziZvxrwSK?si=QxvyPkZ2TdCDscnfxyeRawJoin our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/unseenpodFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theunseenpodFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theunseenpod/Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theunseenpod?fan_landing=trueSubscribe to 10 Minute True Crime: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/10-minute-true-crime/id1591474862

Crack open the Roses - it's time for a festive Door 14 Hockey Podcast with your Jolly stand-in host John and his able wee helper, Dave! The lads discuss EIHL rosters, various departures across the league, jersey retirements, anniversaries, Hall of Fames, modern art and testimonials and do it all while keeping tabs of MK and Romford's NIHL Cup clash (with added goal horns just to annoy the absent Marty! Our last podcast in 2024 - so from all of us, a huge thanks for being involved and we look forward to catching you all very soon in 2025!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Marty, Dave, John and Aaron.  Why not check out the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@door14hockey Title music - Relapse by Fallen to Flux, Feb 04, 2015. Licensed under a Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The post Episode 126 – And Off They Go… appeared first on Door 14 Hockey.

This week's podcast is presented by Stephen and Jacqueline. We hear from:Jeff from Romford, who isn't convinced about the plans for the EV charging station;James, a first-time caller-innerer, who was somewhat surprised by Sunday's episode;Ros from South Wales who is enjoying the unexpected visitors;Andrea from Beautiful Brittany who has found things to laugh at amidst the scamming;Michelle who is wondering how new listeners are handling the haphazard nature of this week's stories;Katherine, who challenges us to find a long-term storyline for at least one of the week's new visitors;Ros again, who is enjoying having an archaeologist in Greenacres;Helen from Hampshire, who would just like it all to stop;Glyn, who would have preferred a different start to the week;A different James, who has a plot prediction about a couple of our visitors;and finally Claire from Clapham, who's glad it's all over.We also have an email from Chris in Indiana.Plus: we have the Week in Ambridge from Suey, a roundup of the Dumteedum Facebook group from Witherspoon, and the Tweets of the Week from Theo.Please call into the show using this link:www.speakpipe.com/dumteedum Or send us a voicenote via WhatsApp on: +44 7810 012 881 (07810012 881 if in the UK) – Open the WhatsApp app, key in the number and click on the microphone icon.Or email us at dumteedum@mail.comHow to leave a review on Apple podcasts: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/podcasts/pod5facd9d70/mac***Also Sprach Zarathustra licenceCreative Commons ► Attribution 3.0 Unported ► CC BY 3.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..."You are free to use, remix, transform, and build upon the materialfor any purpose, even commercially. You must give appropriate credit."Conducted byPhilip Milman ► https://pmmusic.pro/Funded ByLudwig ► / ludwigahgren Schlatt ► / jschlattlive COMPOSED BY / @officialphilman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma in Romford takes on Steve in County Durham, but will there be fireworks?

Harvey Briggs makes his ZPG debut as we discuss hockey, obviously, the early days of roller with Milique Martelli, the move to Romford and now testing himself in the 2nd tier... also we discuss becoming a Dad and DJing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dani, Hobbsy & Joe discuss all the happenings from over the weekend where FOUR Category 1 events started up and down the country. Intro & Romford's PGR Champion Stakes: 17sPGR Oaks first round at Perry Barr: 9min 01sPGR Kent Derby first round at Central Park: 16min 46sBresbet Steel City Cup at Sheffield: 24min 35sX @GTTDPodcastyoutube.com/@gonetothedogs-live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew in County Down and Jo in Romford think they've got what it takes, fingers crossed

Dani and Joe talk about all the latest happenings in the greyhound world, including some exciting news for Gone To The Dogs Live! They are also joined by Ryan Sexton aka Romford Ryan for a comprehensive spin down Romford's Friday night card.Intro: 17sRomford: 17min 44sLinks:youtube.com/@gonetothedogs-live@GTTDPodcastGB Skip Hire - Skip Hire Covering London and Essex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dani and Joe speak to trainer David Mullins about his Puppy Cup victories at Romford, the Mullins dynasty led by his mum, Linda, and his hopes for the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim's journey across the new London Overground map continues with a dive into the weird and wonderful history of Havering and Romford on a truly unique part of the Overground: the three stops of the Liberty line. Why was that name chosen? What made Havering so special hundreds of years ago? What is a royal liberty? And are some of these places really haunted? Find out as we hear from some passionate and fascinating local history experts at the Havering Museum, and on a walking tour through Romford town centre.

TV personality Zara McDermott goes on a nostalgic tour of Romford and Upminster. Her journey begins at the Atik nightclub (formerly Fiction) in Romford, where she reminisces about her early clubbing days. She then visits her childhood home in Upminster, and takes a trip to her secondary school, where she opens up about her experiences with bullying and being a victim of revenge porn. She also discusses her passion for education. Along the way, Zara shares behind-the-scenes stories from her time in the Love Island villa. Find out why Alex Legouix is driving Zara in a Hyundai i10. You can watch Zara's drive by heading to Auto Trader's dedicated Show on the Road YouTube channel. Follow Auto Trader here: Instagram TikTok Facebook X At Auto Trader, there's thousands of vehicles to browse, with expert reviews and videos to help you pick, and options to buy new, used or lease, so you can choose the way to buy that's best for you. Visit: www.autotrader.co.uk This series is a Fresh Air Production for Auto Trader.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Johnny fisher beats the cabbage in 36 seconds...now what?

Rachel in Romford and Lesley in East Sussex are aiming for big points!

On this week's episode, Andy Scott is joined by one of Britain's hottest prospects and social media sensation, Johnny Fisher. He discusses his upcoming fight with Alen Babic, his aspirations in boxing, and what it was like to spar with Daniel Dubois as 'Triple D' prepares for his heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium. Barry Jones previews that clash along with the stacked undercard, including Liam Smith, Joshua Buatsi, and more. As always, we round up the rest of the boxing news from around the world, including Teofimo Lopez and Jesse Rodriguez's wins over the weekend.

British heavyweight Johnny Fisher is Buncey's guest this week. The “Romford Bull” fights Alen Babic at the Copperbox on Saturday night and along with trainer Mark Tibbs, they sit down for an all-encompassing chat. From a chance meeting with a former US Navy SEAL to sparring with Tyson Fury, they chat about his progression from amateur boxer to one of the biggest ticket sellers in the game.

Hey, guitarists (OK...and wannabe guitarists too)! What were the records that made/make YOU want to pick a guitar and learn to play? That's the burning question this week, as we welcome Third Lad Andy Golding from C86 legends The Wolfhounds to O3L! The Wolfhounds are an English noise pop band formed in Romford, Essex, in 1985 by Dave Callahan, Paul Clark, Andy Golding, Andy Bolton and Frank Stebbing, and originally active until 1990. The band reformed in 2005 and continues to write, record and play live, releasing new albums in 2014, 2016, and 2020. (Thanks, Wikipedia.) Andy's current project is called Dragon Welding (hmmm...what does that mean? Listen and find out!), whose latest single is "TADT (These Are Dangerous Times)." What the hip kids are saying about Dragon Welding: "..a pulsating beat with all sorts of strings being strummed and plucked, in all sorts of 60's/70's school holidays tv series soundtrack kind of ways." - Whisperin' & Hollerin' - 2023 "Dragon Welding.. guitarist of Essex post-rock outliers The Wolfhounds, is a wondrous tapestry of ambient guitar instrumentals and sonic manipulations. This is music that channels the cosmic experimentations of 70s German avant-garde synth-rock with a dark Essex twist that somehow has glorious poptones. For fans of : Mouse On Mars, Plaid, Cluster." - Platekompaniet - 2023 Plus, as an added bonus, hear some of Brett's teenage recordings, including the "legendary" 1990 Empty Glass concert! What the hip kids said: "Wow, he sounds like a neanderthal toddler who just discovered music for the first time!" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the local elections across England and Wales all over, who were the real winners and losers? And did the Tories really get hammered? Only your co-pilots have the answers.Liam ponders whether the Tory Party can hold it together long enough to get some sort of bounce back from potential impending economic uplifts.Whilst Allison thinks Tory mutiny is no longer a threat and that the plotters have given up all chance of a potential new leader.And what about Reform's Nigel Farage? Will he? Won't he?Also hopping aboard to chat about the local election results, and what it means for his Party, is Conservative MP for Romford, Andrew Rosindell.Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ |Read Allison ‘I'm not a Covid conspiracy theorist. I was right': https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/02/im-not-a-covid-conspiracy-theorist-i-was-right/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tell us what you like or dislike about this episode!! Be honest, we don't bite!This week, I have heavyweight contender Johnny Fisher, boasting an undefeated record and a knockout punch, here to share his journey to the top. From humble beginnings to the ring lights, Johnny discusses his passion for boxing, drawing parallels with rugby and highlighting the sport's camaraderie. Amidst the chaos of battle, he offers insights into his mindset and the role of his coach, reflecting on choosing boxing over academia and the mental challenges it entails. Johnny also touches on handling social media criticism, the grueling nature of training, and the financial aspects of the sport, providing valuable advice for aspiring boxers. Step into the ring with Johnny Fisher and discover what it takes to be a heavyweight contender.TIMESTAMPS0:00 - Intro2:02 - Where did it begin?5:37 - Do you feel alone as a boxer?6:33 - Can You Hear Your Coach From The Sidelines?9:25 - Johnny's Education12:59 - Boxing over a Degree13:56 - Debut Pro Fight - Do You Ever Get Scared?17:46 - Is it just Hype Pre-Fight?19:05 - Overcomplicating Things in Boxing23:58 - Heavyweight Class Weight Range and Fights26:01 - Any Highlight Fights During Your Career?28:10 - Social Media Hate31:17 - Training Regimes and Daily Life In and Out of Camp33:22 - Sleep, Nutrition, Sauna's and Ice Baths37:08 - Mindset and Learning New Things38:05 - Was Boxing for Financial Reasons or for Love and Fun?40:15 - How Boxers and the Team Earn Money44:52 - Money - Financial Goals, Investments... Is there an Endgame? 46:49 - Having a Relationship as a Fighter50:01 - Any opponents you're looking forward to fighting?50:54 - How long do you expect the fighting career to last?52:26 - Thoughts on Current State of Heavyweight Division53:48 - Francis Ngannou vs Anthony Joshua Fight55:35 - Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson - Thoughts on Crossover Fights?57:27 - One Piece of Advice for Amateur/Prospective Boxers?—Thanks for watching!SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR MORE TIPS—WebsiteInstagramTik TokFacebookTwitterLinkedIn—LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!SpotifyApple—Who Is Matt Haycox? - Click for BADASS TrailerAs an entrepreneur, investor, funding expert and mentor who has been building and growing businesses for both myself and my clients for more than 20 years, my fundamental principles are suitable for all industries and businesses of all stages and size.I'm constantly involved in funding and advising multiple business ventures and successful entrepreneurs.My goal is to help YOU achieve YOUR financial success! I know how to spot and nurture great business opportunities and as someone who has ‘been there and got the t-shirt' many times, overall strategies and advice are honest, tangible and grounded in reality.

Dental technician Simon Caxton shares his unconventional path into dental technology, describing his hands-on learning style, passion for the craft, and drive to excel. Our conversation takes a deep dive into the current landscape of dental labs in the UK. We explore the challenges in finding skilled technicians, the transformative impact of digital technologies, and the value of collaboration and communication between dentists and technicians. Enjoy! 00:02:40 - Backstory 00:16:10 - Establishing a lab 00:24:30 - Challenges 00:42:15 - Dentist-technician relationships 00:49:15 - Anatomy and workflow 00:52:25 - Skills and training 00:56:40 - Blackbox thinking 01:03:40 - Business exit 01:08:20 - Aspirations  01:12:40 - Techniques and workflow 01:17:25 - Fantasy dinner party  01:21:25 - Last days and legacy                             Simon Caxton is a dental technician and director of the Romford-based Simplee Dental Ceramics laboratory.   In This EpisodeAbout Simon Caxton Simon Caxton is a dental technician and director of the Romford-based Simplee Dental Ceramics laboratory. 

It's a bumper episode this week.We're talking Carlisle United (although Gary forgot we'd played until minutes before the pod was recorded). There's a preview of Reading, with Johnny Hunt from Talking Royals on the show.We've got a snippet of the excellent Colin Alcide podcast for you, just to tempt people to listen to that, and we're also looking at Lincoln United's remarkable run in the FA Vase, as they prepare to host Romford in a winner-takes-all game for a place at Wembley.Up the Imps!This Podcast has been created and uploaded by Gary Hutchinson of the Stacey West Podcast. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special edition of Iron Cast, Hammers fan Behzinga outlines his ultimate West Ham XI. From Boleyn cult heroes to modern-day greats, Romford-born Behzinga has seen scores of top players walk through the doors since he started supporting West Ham as a child. Expect some surprise inclusions as the Sidemen star reveals his dream line-up! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome To Horror Episode 192 is a round up of our visit to this year's Romford Horror Film Festival. We had an excellent time on our first visit to the festival. We got to see two amazing features - “The Pocket Film of Superstitions” and “How To Kill Monsters”, (which went on to win several awards at the festival, including best director and best actress). We give spoiler-free reviews of these features, as well as the shorts “Collection Only” and “Kin”, and talk about the festival as a whole, and some of the lovely people we met there; such as author, actor and podcaster Lauren Jane Barnett, director Tony Mardon and actor Ross Sambridge. This episode is (hopefully) spoiler free, but with (likely) swearing. Join us!

Jeannette talks to Harry Hastings, the co-CEO and co-founder of Ocean Holidays. Harry shares his personal and professional journey, starting from his early days as a self-employed sales agent to the growth and challenges of building Ocean Holidays over the past 20 years. He discusses the importance of perseverance, resilience, and learning from mistakes in business. Harry also opens up about his personal experience as a parent of a child with special needs and the impact it has had on his life and the company's commitment to accessibility in the travel industry KEY TAKEAWAYS Harry highlights the significance of having strong controls and processes in place, especially in the early stages of a business. Our upbringing and experiences shape our entrepreneurial mindset. We should use the lessons of the past to shape the outlook for our futures. There have been major setbacks in the travel industry, including thin margins and global shocks, which is why there's a great need for resilience in navigating these challenges. The culture at Ocean Holidays is happy, fun, and high-performing, with a focus on personal relationships and high standards. This drives the company to greater heights constantly. BEST MOMENTS "I think that if we look at my childhood and we go up to when I was 18, 19 years old, both my parents were creatives. So they're both playwrights and they never had full-time jobs." "You know your children better than anybody, any doctor, any expert, any specialist, anyone that gives you advice, you know them better than anybody else and have confidence and belief in what you know." "Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment."   This is the perfect time to get focused on what YOU want to really achieve in your business, career, and life. It's never too late to be BRAVE and BOLD and unlock your inner BRILLIANCE. If you'd like to jump on a free mentoring session just DM Jeannette at info@jeannettelinfootassociates.com or sign up via Jeannette's linktree https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot VALUABLE RESOURCES Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brave-bold-brilliant-podcast/id1524278970     Carolin-Marie Roth LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/carolin-marie-roth-lenzen-06330114 ABOUT THE GUEST Harry Hastings is one of the four founders of Ocean Holidays Group, one of the UK's fastest growing travel brands, specialising in long-haul holidays and luxury travel.For nearly 20 years Harry, alongside his brother George, has worked in the travel industry, specialising in selling holidays to Florida. As Co-CEO of Ocean Holidays, Harry has overseen the growth and expansion of the business from pages on Teletext to a company turning over more than £100mil a year.Harry oversees all of the company's business planning, managing commercial relationships as well as implementing the company's people-first philosophy. Harry is a firm believer in taking a responsible, human-led approach to travel and believes trust in Oceans Holidays, both as an employer and as a consumer brand, is the secret to their success. This people-first philosophy led Ocean Holidays to double in size since 2019. Harry is passionate about fostering a supportive culture and embodies a leadership style which is both fun and purposeful.Born and raised in Brixton, South London, Harry mostly splits his time between Ocean Holidays' Romford headquarters and the Ocean Holidays Florida office. Husband to Nicola and father to 3-year-old Rudy, disabled due to a rare genetic condition, their family are long term supporters of Haven House children's hospice in Woodford, Essex which cares for children with life limiting or life-threatening conditions. As well as walks in Epping Forest with their cocker spaniel, Stella, Harry himself is a lifelong tennis player and played ice hockey in the UK and internationally until the age of 19 when he swapped his love for the game with travel, co-founding Ocean Holidays.   ABOUT THE HOST Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 25 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development. Jeannette is a down-to-earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams.  CONTACT THE HOST Jeannette's linktree - https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/ YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtsU57ZGoPhm55_X0qF16_Q LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot Facebook - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jeannette.linfoot/ Email - info@jeannettelinfootassociates.com Podcast Description Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences of being Brave, Bold & Brilliant, which have allowed them to unleash their full potential in business, their careers, and life in general. From the boardroom tables of ‘big' international businesses to the dining room tables of entrepreneurial start-ups, how to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and take risks, whilst staying ‘true' to yourself is the order of the day.Travel, Bold, Brilliant, business, growth, scale, marketing, investment, investing, entrepreneurship, coach, consultant, mindset, six figures, seven figures, travel, industry, ROI, B2B, inspirational: https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot

Hak Baker - "DOOLALLY" from the 2023 album Worlds End FM on Hak Attack Records / AWAL Hak Baker has penned a party anthem with today's Song of the Day. (It even garnered him a collaboration with spiced rum brand Sailor Jerry, who released a limited edition "DOOLALLY" bottle back in the summer.) The East London-based artist was born to a Grenadan father and a Jamaican mother, and combines his love of reggae and punk into his lauded debut LP Worlds End FM.  “We thought we was big, big boys, going to MC at these little clubs in Romford. Don't forget that Moet cost 30 quid back then so we were having it large,” Baker says in a press release. “Everybody loves a house party. You're talking to the house party king here. These are all the shenanigans rolled into 3.5 minutes, or all the ones I can talk about anyway — DOOLALLY!!” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gary commenced his work life at a credit card company this was initially Access then became MasterCard. He became bored of working there and decided to find additional work go and work in the leisure industry.He finally left Mastercard and went full time into the licence trade. Whilst running a restaurant in Romford he met the infamous Tony Tucker, and on the evening Tate, Tucker and Rolfe were murdered Tony Tucker had booked a table. Tucker and his group never turned up.The following day Gary was informed that Tucker had been killed in the infamous “Essex Boys Murders”. Gary gave a statement and since then he has been accused of colluding with the Police. He receives calls from film and Tv producers to ask him to take part in projects.Gary went onto run the world famous https://jongleurs.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingwallsand and recounts the time he saw Paul Weller rolling around drunk with members of Oasis.Gary has met every comedy great in recent history. His contacts are the who's who of comedy entertainment. The Chalkwell Rooms successfully host top names and in March 24 Lee Hurst takes centre stage. Gary cites Terry Alderton as being a friend and Terrys first appearance was in the club run by Gary.Gary is a participant of Ultra Ultra Ultra Marathons! In November 2024 he will be running in Namibia. However, it was running that inspired him to join the Police. Essex Officer Kirsty Snelgrove was a member of the local running club, and it was conversations with her that caused Gary to sign up! Garys running takes him all over the world and he supports https://www.duchenneuk.org/However, he got to a point where he had to leave the police to pursue a life away from Law & Order. He ran a successful pub in Hertfordshire, having successfully built the business into a monster, but covid came and destroyed his business overnight. On the evening that the Prime Minister announced the measures restricting movement Gary went from 150 people to just 5 people in the space of 5 minutes. Mentally, physically, and financially, Covid was destroying him. Gary took a temporary role on in Herts Police where he is still working.He knows Micky Flanagan who was a compare at a club run by Gary. Micky will greet him with conversations about the police and ultra marathons. Gary recounts the occasion that he carried drove the late Patrice O'Neal to London following a warm up show in Southend. Tom O'Connor played his very last gig for Gary and Gary had the pleasure of having lunch with Tom.Gary has commenced the Comedy Bunker at the Cobham Hotel and gives touring comedians the opportunity to do warm up gigs The first act was Britain's Got Talent Marcus Birdman who performed on 17th Dec 23 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The MMA Fan ShowOn this episode hosts Blake & Stu invited The Romford Bull Johnny Fisher into the studio and we chat about his road ahead as a serious heavyweight boxing contender, growing up, UFC, Tyson v Francis, Big John, BOSH! and so much moreThe MMA Fan Show DisclaimerBlake & Stu are by their own admission ridiculously under qualified to host a MMA podcast as neither of them have ever got in the cage!They are however huge fans! so what you get from this podcast is two over excited lads having a blast, talking to some amazing guests!Please SUBSCRIBEFollow us on social mediaInstagram https://www.instagram.com/themmafanshowFacebook https://www.facebook.com/Mmafanpodcast-105607508253233Twitter https://twitter.com/mmafanpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whilst Fulham, QPR, and West Ham fans have chanted his name over the years, for Brighton & Hove Albion fans, he's a true club legend who defined an era. In this episode, Bobby Zamora will be talking about his two stints at the club, where he'd fit in the current squad, and why he misses football. He also chats to Glen Murray and Paul Hayward about scoring goals, rising through the ranks, and the importance of the kit man. As well as holidays with Michael Owen, nights out in Romford, and the carthorse defenders of the lower leagues... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, the gang assembled in the hottest room available in London to restore justice and solve some crimes.They weren't sweating it out alone though, as they were joined by actor and writer Lisa Greenwood, who proved to be hot stuff in the detective department.Lisa reveals a web of criminal activity she's been exposed to and can possibly never go to Romford again and should definitely be accompanied if attempting to visit the Kent coast, so she doesn't get the wrong train and end-up behind bars instead... which is feasible. The team then join forces to solve a misdemeanour from days of yore...whenever that was, Dickens may or may not have been there, but that's not important to the story. We then have a listener tale, which brings streams of pleasure to the group when they manage to solve it - once and for all. Support DWSC on Patreon for as little as £3 a month, you will have access to add free episodes, shout outs and the opportunity to watch live Zoom recordings - Drunk Women Solving Crime | creating Podcasts | Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

INTRO         Elizabeth Payce and her business ‘Payce Your Change' focuses on supporting women in ther 40s and 50s to have the space and permission to face issues head on and to move forward with authenticity.    CONTENT Elizabeth began by talking about how women often get to a certain age where they feel invisible. They have beencaring for everyone else, their partner,their children, grandchildren, other  r relatives, giving them drive and purpose. But then they are no longer needed, leaving ahuge void in their lives. Others in their lives stop seeing them as a person, instead the label they have worn. Elizabeth says this is a time to for women to find themselves,and what they really want.  BIO Elizabeth Payce is a dedicated coach and NLP practitioner having qualified  in 2011 with diplomas in both through The Coaching Academy.  In 2022 Elizabeth established ‘Payce Your Change – Be Authentically You' coaching.  Since then she has focused on evolving coaching, NLP and mentoring practices to support women through midlife.  In her 50s herself, Elizabeth has experienced a wide range of personal issues which through coaching and mentoring she has been able to face head on.  In turn with her coaching and mentoring experiences she wants to empower women to focus on their needs and to put themselves first in their lives.   She advocates for women to be visible and to be heard.  Her coaching offer grows around each woman she talks with.      She is also now a podcaster, creating ‘Fabulous Women Kickass' with two other amazing coaches.  The honest conversations between the three women all in midlife gives insight into the pressures, challenges and opportunities for women.   Prior to this Elizabeth worked in the museum sector after her academic journey saw her gain a Postgraduate Diploma in Heritage Studies at Nottingham Trent University.  From 1995 she worked in a range of museums, in Chichester, Weston-super-Mare, Romford then in a support role across Bath, Somerset and Swindon.   Working in museums gave Elizabeth exposure to ideas of how to support people to connect with their heritage.  She produced a wide range of exhibitions utilising the breadth of collections in each museum.  One project she is particularly proud of is ‘Then and Now - Teens through the Time Warp'.  This saw a group of young people manage this exhibition project whereby they researched and produced an exhibition on youth culture from the 1950s.  It was in top three projects for young people funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2007 and was featured on national television.   Elizabeth remains a dedicated supporter of Museums.  She is now a trustee of the Royal Crown Derby Museum and Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life.    Outside of her business Elizabeth loves walking and photography, two complementary activities.  She is an avid listener to crime thriller audio books as well as a reader of non-fiction works to keep her up to date with current practice.   Her time is also spent with her wonderful Greek partner Alex and her beautiful cats, Kes and Pixie.   CONTACT DETAILS / LINKS Website - www.payceyourchange.co.uk   Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-payce/   Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Elizabethpaycecoaching/   Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/payce_your_change/   ABOUT WENDY CAPEWELL Wendy is a Psychotherapist and Counsellor,  living in Hampshire, helping and supporting individauls and couples who are struggling, feeling lost, or helpless. Who need a safe space to be heard without judgement.  She understands how frightening and lonely it can be out there, as she's been there herself.  Connect with Wendy Here...... Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Copewelltherapies Linked in - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendycapewell/ YouTube Channel -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUovcqsmI_c3rQ5oGUbiZtA Website - https://www.wendycapewell.co.uk/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wendycapewell/ Book –‘From Surviving to Thriving in a Romantic Relationship'- Link to Amazon Email – info@wendycapewell.co.uk Sign up for my Newsletter -  http://bit.ly/2RpjY8g If you have enjoyed this show then please leave a review.      

In the month of May 1989 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode one-hundred-and-twenty-three of Zapped to the Past, we start our look at some of those games, including the blasty Bomb Fusion, the shooty Silkworm, and the rambling Realm of the Trolls, and wonder who thought football divisions based on magazines was a good idea?  Games covered in this episode: Silkworm Turbo Esprit Action Service Bomb Fusion Realm of the Trolls Human Killing Machine Gary Lineker's Hotshot Run the Gauntlet Find us here: https://zappedtothepast.com/ If you would like to help us out and join our Patreon, find it here: https://www.patreon.com/zappedtothepast If you want to buy amazing Zapped to the Past merch, go here: https://zappedtothepast.shop https://www.redbubble.com/people/zappedtothepast/shop If you want to buy a Coffee for Zapped to the Past, go here: https://ko-fi.com/zappedtothepast Need our links in one place - you can do that too: https://linktr.ee/zappedtothepast https://online.pubhtml5.com/oowg/grrx/#p=1 Additional links mentioned in the Podcast: https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/File:Turbo_esprit_(K7)_(Durell_Software)_(1986)_(Small_Clamp_Case)_-_(Back).jpg The making of Turbo Esprit, the Spectrum game set in Romford that predated GTA | Eurogamer.net https://archive.org/details/Action_Service_1989_Cobrasoft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDC-BjIKBx8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHGAdkToaw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VV7dhzX5BI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4duZjxusGM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzLu9UH1XyE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ty8NTNj6JI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQGimkZGvAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLdGBDg-WAE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT7IpRx08tE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te-jTA8g8Ys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHIsIVB7C8A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb5u3hq0OvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2RXgHfqYx0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgqB74DAPtM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pyxKqdtrH8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbMSN7DSNYo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy5SHzaNzhw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JduG0nT1Q3s https://www.discogs.com/release/1134062-The-Shadows-Steppin-To-The-Shadows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh_h8JAvXUE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB4TGLsOKIk https://www.badgamehalloffame.com/human-killing-machine/ http://www.gremlinarchive.com/index.php/2016/10/16/gary-linekers-hot-shot/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAn-dO9Oy-I

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter.  Show references:  https://www.alnwickgarden.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianjmcallister/https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2023-05-24/worlds-biggest-play-park-set-to-open Ian McAllister is the Strategic Head of Marketing and Communications at The Alnwick Garden and Lilidorei.  His route into attraction marketing wasn't an obvious one – from not joining the RAF (based mainly on eyesight and petulance) he dabbled in recruitment ( based mainly on proximity to his flat) then television (based mainly on flatmate work envy).  He manages a team of marketers who deliver all marketing, PR and communications to these two attractions based in Northumberland. Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip The Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode I speak with Ian McAllister, Strategic Head of Marketing and Communications at The Alnwick Garden.Ian shares with us the magical story behind Lilidorei, logistics of creating a play structure over 26 meters tall, snot ice cream, free Fridays and the impact this will have on the local area and children. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Ian, I'm so excited to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for coming to join me. Ian McAllister: No problem. Kelly Molson: Let's start with some icebreakers, shall we? Ian and I, we had a little pre podcast chat a few weeks ago and we established that we're both from sunny old Essex. This could end up quite messy, really, couldn't it? Because I tend to whenever I'm speaking to my Essex kinfolk, my accent goes, very Essex. This might get messy. Ian McAllister: The good thing is, living up here, people don't know my real accent, but once they hear that, I'm sure that it'll come out. Kelly Molson: They will after this, Ian. Right, okay, icebreakers. I want to know, topical, what's the worst Essex nightclub that you've ever been in? Ian McAllister: Tots, Southend. But it was so bad that I used to go every Friday. It was bad for the sticky floors and for the people that were there and for the music they played and everything about it was terrible. But every Friday I would still go up there. I don't know why.Kelly Molson: So bad. It's so good. I can remember driving there from my part of Essex and going out Tots. Someone broke my big toe into Tots. Literally, like, stamped on my big toe and broke it. Ian McAllister: Do you remember? There was a place called Ritzes, which I think was in Romford, and went there one night, and this was back in the day, where people thought if you were wearing trainers, you were going to cause trouble, so you weren't allowed to wear trainers. And a mate of mine, Paul Mayo. I had two good friends in Essex, Paul Mayo and Ross Gherkin, so they were the three of us. But Paul Mayo went up to the club and they wouldn't let me say trainers. So he left the queue and went around the corner, took his shoes off and took his black socks off, put his trainers back on and his black socks over his trainers, and they just let him straight in. Kelly Molson: Wow. Ian McAllister: Yeah. Which made Moonwalking brilliant, because he had a really good sock that he could moonwalk across the dance floor. Kelly Molson: That is ridiculous. That's ridiculous. So sorry, we just need to go back to your friend's names as well. Mayo and Gherkin. Are you joking? Ian McAllister: Mayo and Gherkin? No. So, I mean, I was always Mac. So I was always Ian Mac. Then there was Mayo and Gherkin. So they were the three of us that used to kick around together in Essex. Kelly Molson: That is chaos already. Ian McAllister: There you go. Opening question. Kelly Molson: This is an ethics thing as well, right? Everybody has nicknames, don't they? You know the Gavin and Stacy thing, where you got Smithy and what? Chinese Allen. That's the thing. That is so Essex, it's ridiculous. Ian McAllister: My nickname for ages was I wasn't a good looking chap growing up. And I had a brace, a demi wave, and I had these big reactor like glasses and I don't know if you've ever seen the National Lampoons European vacation, but the sun was called Rusty Grizzwald. So my friend Gary decided that I was just called Rusty, so he still calls me it to this day. So I'm still just Rusty. Kelly Molson: Oh, God, that's so weird, because my next question was going to be, if you ever been told you look like someone famous, who was it? Ian McAllister: Yeah, but that's not a positive thing. Kelly Molson: No. I wasn't expecting Rusty from National Lampoons to come up. Ian McAllister: I mean, lots of people to try and compare themselves to you, like some Brad Pitt and George Clooney, whereas I'm going for 15 year old Rusty Grizzled. Kelly Molson: Humble. I think that's quite humble, isn't it? Right, final one. I feel like the ice is well and truly broken, melted. What is your best scar story? Ian McAllister: My best scar story is a very recent one. Last year on New Year's Day, I took the kids for a lovely walk to our local woods with the dog. And me being me, I challenged them both to climb a tree. And it was a tree that was like one of these trees that's too good not to climb, do you know what I mean? It was really big branches and big trunk. So I've got twins, 14 year old twins, a boy and a girl. So my daughter was like a whippet and she went up the tree and then my son, with a bit of encouragement, went up the tree and he got his foot wedged in, like the V of the branch, about seven and a half, eight foot up, so he couldn't get out. Ian McAllister: So I climbed up behind him and I held onto a branch either side of him. I said, "Right, all you got to do is just wiggle your foot a little bit". So he obviously didn't hear a word I said. He yanked his foot out, so we both fell out the tree. So I grabbed onto him and he landed on me. And as he landed, I heard ankle snap. So I'm at the top of a woods, probably a mile into the woods. So the kids that week before have been at Scouts and they learned about what three words. So we had to phone an ambulance and they did the what three words and this, that and the other. Ian McAllister: So the ambulance had to then he couldn't drive, so you had to push the stretcher for a mile, pretty much up an incline to get to me. Had to take a breather because it was so far up, put me on the stretcher, but then the ambulance had to drop, so it's just me and the kids that live here with the dog. So the ambulance then had to drop the dog and my kids at my house before they took me to hospital. So turned out I completely broken my ankle, so I had to go for an operation. And I had a metal plate pulse, ligament and wiring all around my ankle. Ian McAllister: So I've got a treat of a scar on my ankle that they also cut through two nerves, so I also can't feel from a nerve down from the little toe, from a knee down to the little toe at the minute. Kelly Molson: I feel like we're going to have to put a warning on this podcast episode, if anyone's like a slightly queasy disposition. Wow. I was not expecting that. Ian McAllister: Yeah, it's a lovely story, isn't it? I think I've learned the lesson. I made a blue plaque on photoshop about Ian fell here and I went back to the tree afterwards and pinned it on the tree. Kelly Molson: It's a special moment. Ian McAllister: That tree will always be in my memory. Kelly Molson: But well done, your children, on learning the skills to get you out of a very tricky situation. Ian McAllister: Yeah, it was great, but they loved it because they got riding an ambulance, so their Snapchat stories were filled up that day with pictures of them and the dog in an ambulance on a muddy New Year's Day. Kelly Molson: Great story. Thank you for sharing. I feel like we've started the podcast on high. Ian McAllister: We can't really go any lower than this, can we? Kelly Molson: Not really, no. Your unpopular opinion, Ian. I dread to think what this might be. Ian McAllister: Had a few and I was trying to think which one would upset the least people. So I had a few. I was trying to think which one upset the least people. So this one's cake. And I hate cake. And I've always hated cake, really dislike cake. And I think people say to me, "what is it you don't like about cake?". And I think I've narrowed it down to the taste, the texture, the smell and the look. Because just everything about a cake, I don't like. So when it comes to birthdays, the kids obviously get me a birthday cake because they can eat it themselves, but I just don't like cake. I've got a bit of a funny not so much now, but I had a funny food thing. I'm sorry in advance. I didn't eat yellow food for about six months. Ian McAllister: It was anything yellow, even to the point where if I got a packet of M&Ms, I wouldn't eat the yellow ones. Kelly Molson: Can I just ask what age you were? Was this 30? Ian McAllister: Probably worse than that? It's about 35. Like my late 30s. Genuinely, genuinely developed an aversion to yellow food. So my friend Steven, who's head of HR at work, he went through a phase of thinking to try and reeducate me. So every Friday he'd go through Steven's adventures in food. It was all the food that I probably should have eaten by the time I was, like, 40 years and hadn't. So things like sushi or porridge. Every Friday he'd bring in something and it would be a chart, like a reward chart. And he'd put a little sticker on if I liked it or didn't like it. Just because people don't know I'm a 47 year old man with two children. Kelly Molson: Oh, God. And have you eaten a banana since? That's what I need to know. Ian McAllister: Yeah, since I started re eating yellow food, I'm all over it. I like a banana, like a bit of pineapple. Cheese is great. We just have the argument because people would say to me, and this was my bugbear, and they get really irritated with this. It's a what about chips? Chips aren't yellow. They're like a beige. So chips were allowed. Kelly Molson: Okay. And pasta as well. They're all in the beige category rather than yellow. Okay. Ian McAllister: Yeah. So can you imagine presenting me with a yellow cake? Yellow cake? That'd be my idea of h***. Kelly Molson: That's your worst nightmare, isn't it? Jaffa Cake. How do you sit about that? Is that a cake or a biscuit? Ian McAllister: But food of choice would always be a chocolate hobnob. No question. Kelly Molson: Great biscuit. Yeah. In the fridge. Ian McAllister: Great biscuit. Crunch. Good for the dunk. Always in the fridge, yeah. Chocolate. What do you think about this chocolate? Does it live in your cupboard or in your fridge? Kelly Molson: Fridge. I like a crunch. I like it to go crunch and then I like that it then melts in your mouth. It's like two different sensations in one. People will argue about this. This is not an unpopular popular opinion, by the way, but people will not be happy about this at all. Ian McAllister: No, but I mean, the people that aren't happy with it are wrong. Kelly Molson: They are. Agreed. Oh, my goodness, what a start for this podcast. Okay, how did an Essex boy end up in Northumberland? Tell me a little bit about your background, because you're not from attractions background at all, are you? You come from a completely different sector. Ian McAllister: Yeah, when I got married, which since divorced, but when I got married, my best man suggested it was witness protection. That's what kind of brought me 350 miles north. But the fact was I was working, I'm from Essex, as we've previously mentioned, and I then went to university in Surrey. I went to Kingston and I was working just locally, really, just in pubs and clubs. And I went downstairs to my flat and it was a redeployment, so I thought, it's time to get a proper job. And it was literally under my flat and I ended up working there, mainly because it was under my flat and it took about 10 seconds to commute to it. So I spent a bit of time in recruitment and at the time I was living with two flatmates weirdly, both called Marcus. Ian McAllister: So Marcus One and Marcus Two both worked in TV. One worked, I think Channel Five and One was a BBC or ITV. And I kept telling how good their jobs were and how great their life was, and I thought, "Well, you know what, can't beat them, got to join them". So I did actually beat them. So I wrote to MTV with a really cocky letter saying how much it be their big mistake if they didn't recruit me and this and the other. So I went in for my interview and the guy said, I've got you in because you're either really good or really cocky. And I don't know which one it is. So eventually they gave me a job. So I worked in media in London and I think I was there for two years. Ian McAllister: I just got sick of the rat race and it was just the commute to London. It was an hour each way and I was fed up of it, and I was fed up with the people and I was fed up of the busyness. And I met my then wife, who is from up here, but she had a flat in Edinburgh. I just thought, "You know what, I've got no real commitments down here". I don't have any kids or pets or any of that sort of stuff. So I just chose to order and we moved to Edinburgh and I kind of flipped around in recruitment and odds and ends, moved to the north and set up a property company. So were renting properties to students. Ian McAllister: Then I went to work for a marketing company and then I ended up working where I do now, The Alnwick Garden part time doing marketing and then just kind of worked my way up from there. I couldn't remember what the question was. Was it your background? Kelly Molson: Yeah, you answered it well. Yeah. Well done. Ian McAllister: Thanks. Definitely didn't come from tourism, but I kind of came from marketing kind of sales. And I think I've always been one of these people that might be clear by now that could just talk. Kelly Molson: That's coming across. Definitely getting that on this episode. But I like that you sound like someone who makes their own opportunities in life, which I like. You just go out and get what you want and what's going to fit for you. Tell us a little bit about Alnwick Garden because we're going to talk a little bit about something attached to Alnwick Garden. But Alnwick Gardens itself is quite spectacular. Think it dates back is it 1996? It dates back to is that when. Ian McAllister: It was originally about 1890s. We can date it back to. So it was the original garden kitchen garden for the Alnwick Castle. So it was throughout the two World Wars, it was what fed all the local farmers and the local community and this, that and the other. So come the 90s is when the Duchess of Northumberland, who lives in the castle, was married to the Duke. That's when she took it on as a bit of a project. And she got in some designers from, I think Belgium called Vertz Design. So it's a Vertz design garden and she took it over as a garden and she always wanted it to be she always said it was going to be a stage for people to do whatever they want in, so we can put on events. Ian McAllister: We've had random things, like we've had mixed martial arts in the garden and then we've had Peppa Pig characters coming in. So it's a real variety of things that we do in the garden. But, yeah, so it's been open for 20 odd years now. We're a charity, so we're just about celebrating the 20th year of becoming a charity. So, yeah, the Alnwick Garden itself is a garden, as you'd expect. It's got world's largest Taihaku cherry orchard outside of Japan, got Poison Garden, it's got the world's largest treehouse, which is a restaurant. It's got all these kind of unusual things that you wouldn't necessarily put in, like an RHS garden or a queue garden type place. And it's a great big open space that we market, people come and we do weird events in. Kelly Molson: So it's quite special in its own right, isn't it? But then, about twelve years ago, Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, she had another idea, didn't she? And that's what we're going to talk about today. Do you all get a little bit worried when she says, "I've got this idea?". Because this one's been a pretty mental one, hasn't it? Spectacularly mental one. Ian McAllister: Yeah. It's kind of that first glimmer of, "Oh, God, what's it going to be now with the backup of the thing is that when she has an idea, she sees it through". And I say this, I know a lot of people chuck this phrase around loosely, and I don't mean it this at all. She's a visionary, because she has these completely off the wall ideas, but has then got the determination and the team behind her to actually see them through. So the new project being the biggie, which has been years in the making and years in the planning, and I'm sure do you want to introduce it or do you want me to say what it is? Kelly Molson: Well, what do you do it. The world's biggest children's play park. Ian McAllister: Yeah. So it's called Lilidorei, which every single thing in it is from her head. And she's got this really creative outlook on life, and she's then pulls in the right people to kind of bring them to life. So she imagined this place where kids could just be away from technology, where they could play and actually play like we used to when were little. And we'd go out making dens and kind of making up our own stories. And it's called Lilidorei,. So the concept of the place is that it's a Lilidorei, village and there's nine clans that live in this village and all of the clans worship Christmas. So you've got good clans and you've got bad clans. Ian McAllister: And it's weird talking about this in a normal way now, and I've seen construction staff talk about this, and it feels weird to be saying things like the elves and the fairies and the pixies. But it got to the point when were building where you'd see the big construction workers and the joiners fags in their mouth, talking about pixies houses and fairies and elves. But the concept is that some of the clans are really good, like the fairies and the pixies, and then some are a bit more troublesome, like the goblins and the hobgoblins and the trolls. But at Christmas time, they all come together to worship Christmas. So whilst it's Christmas themed, it's not Christmas all year, apart from the gift shop, which is fully Christmas at every time. Ian McAllister: They can buy a ball tomorrow if you want, but we've also got the world's largest play structure. So the place structure was built by a company called MONSTROM, who are based in Denmark. And it's one of these things that's got to be seen to believed, which makes marketing it quite tricky because you can't really feel it until you stood underneath it. But local landmark, the angel of the north, is always a good point of reference. So our play structure is 6 meters taller than the angel of the north. And there's a slide from the top, so it's a 26 meters high structure and there's a slide that comes from 20 meters up. Ian McAllister: But to get to this slide, you go around this really convoluted system of walkways and corridors and climbing up uncomfortable spaces and squeezing through things and climbing up nets, and that's just part of it. The rest of it is all these clan houses. So it's a really fascinating place. Kelly Molson: It's amazing, isn't it, that all of this came out of her head? So I watched the ITV, did a publication on your launch, which was it was only a couple of weeks ago, wasn't it, that it opened? The presenter of the snippet, he went up the slide and came down it and he was talking it through and he was saying, 26 meters. And I was like, "Yeah, that's quite high, isn't it?". But you can't really grasp when someone says that. To me, I couldn't really kind of grasp what the height of 26 meters actually looked like. So when you said that comparison that you've just given about the angel of the north, that's really big. Ian McAllister: But there's no point. It's all enclosed. So, like, you've got open netting and this and other but there's nowhere that kids can actually fall off, if you like. So I think kids, it tests their bravery. It's handy for us from an insurance point of view, health and safety, certainly, but kids like, test themselves. So you'll see them start the session and they'll just be on the little swings at the bottom or on the little spinny mushrooms, and then by the end of the session, you see them at the top running around like it's no one's business, just testing bravery. I think that's the big thing. Kelly Molson: Yeah. And I love the idea that it opens your imagination. You can be any part of that story. You've got that underlying story of the clans and that they worship Christmas, but then you make your own part of that story to go with it, and based on where you interact and where you go and where you climb or what houses you go into and all of those kind of things. It is pure magic, isn't it? Ian McAllister: It is. And we've got a team of people that work. They're called secret keepers. So they're sitting in their outfits and costumes, but they're really extravagantly dressed with feathers in their hats and all sorts. Their job is almost to facilitate the play. So it was almost a marketer's dream when I started off because we couldn't really talk about what it was because people didn't understand until it was built, couldn't see it. So I came up with a concept, which is the most lazy marketing you'll ever think of and the whole tagline which is carried through is, what's your story? So really what we're doing is we're encouraging people to make their own narrative and to make their own story, which saves me the job for a start, but also we don't want to dictate that. Ian McAllister: Well, that clan looks like this because you can't see the clans, you can see the houses and you can imagine how they are, but you can't actually see anything. So when you get there, it's all brought together by this immersive sound we've got. It's like a million quids worth of sound system for each clan. House has got its own immersive sound system that kind of gives you implications or ideas as to what that clan might be up to or what's happening inside the house. So you can look into their house window and you can see how it's all set up. So it kind of starts to build this picture and then the secret keepers are there to encourage that with the kids and, "What do you think they look like? And could you hear that sort of noise?". Ian McAllister: And it gives this underlying narrative for every kid that comes, is obviously going to leave with a different picture of what a particular clan or a particular circumstance is like. Kelly Molson: That's amazing. So you don't have the characters. They never see what the goblins look like, for instance. They have to make all of that upload in their own minds. Ian McAllister: Yeah, I mean, we've got this sort of narrative in the background. We've got an idea of what Duchess has imagined the Clans to look like or the Clans to do, or the Clans to kind of be like. But we never tell the kids this. It's all about provoking thought and provoking story. There was books that I used to read when I was a kid, and they would choose your own adventure books, and it was kind of you make your own adventure. So every even if one kid came to Lilidorei, five times, they might have a completely different experience each time just because of their imagination and the sort of stuff that the secret keepers have fed them, if you like. Kelly Molson: I love that. While we're talking about secret keepers, you've got ahead of Play, haven't you, Nathan? I don't know any other organisations or attractions that have got ahead of Play. How did that kind of come about? Ian McAllister: So to give me his full name, it's Nathan Bonk.Kelly Molson: Excellent name. Ian McAllister: Nathan Bonk, he's come over from America specifically to organise the play and the secret keepers and this. So that's his kind of creation, if you like, in conjunction with the Duchess. So he was meeting with the duchess virtually daily to make sure he's on the right lines, and she was happy with what he was doing, but to kind of put an extra element of weirdness into the story, which in case we haven't had enough weirdness in the podcast already in the Garden going back two or three years, I'm friends with a guy called Stewart who's the reigning Mr. Gay World, and he's only reigning because they disbanded the competition after he finished it. So he kept title. He's kept that. So he got in touch to say that he wanted somewhere to host Mr. Gay England, which is like a pride initiative. Ian McAllister: And it's not just a catwalk, it's education and it's exams, and then the winner of it ends up representing the gay community to go to Parliament and lobby Parliament and speak in schools and this and the other. So I said, well, the best place, really, if you think of the most sort of unusual place that you could think of in a really rural town where there aren't many people of any persuasion, would be Alnwick. So we put it in the middle of the garden. The cat walks right down the middle of the garden, and we've rebranded that entire day, which we're doing again this year, Gay Day. So what we do is we have Gay Day, and it's everything. We've got market traders, LBTQ+ friendly market traders and face painters, and we do trails and all sorts of things. Ian McAllister: So anyway, last year we had Mr. Gay Europe and Nathan's friends with Stewart. So Nathan came over to help with the competition. Mr. Norway had COVID, so couldn't turn up. So there were one person short. So Nathan ended up weirdly representing America in the Mr. Gay Europe competition. Kelly Molson: Wow. Ian McAllister: If you get to know Nathan, as you'd understand, he's always got an outfit of two just stashed away just in case. So he came out with like, the short camouflage shorts and the face paint and waving the USA flag. Anyway, after Gay Day, he went home and he'd fallen in love with Alnwick. And it was just it wasn't New York. He lived like a six minute walk to Central Park. So it's totally different. But he fell in love with the place. And he sent me an email, a bit of a video explaining why love Alnwick and if there's any opportunities that came up, and this, that, and the other. And the only thing that popped in them ahead as soon as I saw his video was the head of play, and I just knew that he would be the person for this role. Kelly Molson: But was it a role that you were looking for or did you create. Ian McAllister: It for the role we discussed? We always discussed that we needed someone. It was going to be it's almost like a head of operations for Lillidorei, but that sounds far too boring. So we always knew there was going to be a role for somebody. I don't think we quite realised to the extent of how influential this role would be in creating the entire story and the entire visit. So Nathan, with his ideas, he's opened theme parks before. He's been in stunt performances in various theme parks. He opened, like, the Harry Potter experiences in Orlando. So he's done all this stuff already. But I remember he Zoom called me one morning. He said, you're never going to believe it. I've got an interview with the Duchess at lunchtime. Brilliant. So I gave him a few bit of background and what were working towards. Ian McAllister: About 2 hours later, he zoomed me back. He said, you're never going to believe it. I've got the job. They sort me out a house. I'm flying over next week, and I've got a tea at the castle with the Duchess. It's like every American film you've seen where they tried to represent England in a completely fictional way. He was living it. Kelly Molson: What a life. Wow. Ian McAllister: And that was it. And he's been here since. And he loves it. He's absolutely settled. He's incredible. He's got this team of amazing people who do things like juggling with Diablos and teaching kids that go on balance boards and hula hoops. Their job is to interact with everybody that comes in and just create the atmosphere. Kelly Molson: And that's what makes the place so special, isn't it? It's that interaction from the people and the encouragement of the ideas that the children have to explore them that makes it a magical place. Ian McAllister: It is. It's incredible to sit as a construction site. All of a sudden. And now to see 600, 700 kids running around each session screaming and laughing and coming out with ruddy faces and wet trousers, it's everything we wanted it to be come to life, a Kelly Molson: It sounds magic. And I've seen those faces, I've seen the kids faces on the ITV clip, which we'll put in the show notes, actually, so you can have a look at it if you haven't had a chance to go up there yet. I want to talk a little bit about, because you've said a few times now, Alnwick want to talk a little bit about, because you've said a few times now, Alnwick, it's relatively rural, a small community, there's not a huge amount going on there other than this spectacular Alnwick Garden and Lilidorei that's just launched. You offer Free Fridays. And I saw the Duchess talk about this. It's for local children, school children, to come for free on a Friday so they can experience what's happening there. What impact do you think that Lilidorei is going to have on the local community and the children there? Ian McAllister: I think so. Two elements to that, really, then, the creation of the attraction itself. We've always estimated roughly, or looking quite accurately, based on recent figures, that it's going to bring an extra 200,000 people a year into the area. And that's going to benefit, obviously, it's going to benefit us, it's going to benefit the Alnwick Garden Trust, it's going to benefit the Alnwick Castle, which is another attraction up the road. All the local restaurants, pubs, hotels, everyone's going to benefit because what we're hoping to do is turn AlnwickAll the local restaurants, pubs, hotels, everyone's going to benefit because what we're hoping to do is turn Alnwick into a multi day destination, so people won't just come for one of the things and go back to Newcastle, back to Edinburgh. They'll do it as a day trip. So we're hoping that it will really kind of drive the local economy. Ian McAllister: So in terms of local economic benefit, I think that's kind of nailed, really. The figures are already quite obvious. In terms of the Free Fridays, then you don't have to go that far out of Alnwick, particularly if you went to South Northumberland and there's quite a lot of people that are in all sorts of various situations. There's schools in different areas, there's kids that just would not be able to afford to come otherwise because it's comparable to other attractions. But it's still not a cheap day out, it's not three quid to go to the local soft play. So there's a lot of kids that the Duchess particularly just didn't think it was fair, wouldn't be able to experience it, hence Free Fridays. Ian McAllister: So the idea of Free Friday is that every school child in Northumberland, and then eventually, when we've kind of been running for a bit, we'll widen it to Tyne and Wear into Newcastle. But at the minute, every child in Northumberland should be able to experience Lillidorei without having to pay. So we've opened up this application process where local schools can apply to come to one of the sessions and that's for any Friday throughout the year. So already the mini uptake has been phenomenal and there's schools that you see that you think, you know, I know exactly what area that school is in and without making too many judgments, you know, that they just would not be able to afford to come, so we're giving them the opportunity to come. Ian McAllister: So that's part one of Free Fridays, which is well underway at the minute, and I think we're almost booked up for the rest of the next twelve months with Fridays. Kelly Molson: That's amazing. Ian McAllister: But the next part is that the Duchess is to now do other initiatives to try and put money into a ring fenced account. So then eventually when that account builds up, we'll also be able to start to subsidise travel. So if you've got a school that's an hour's journey away, hopefully this pot of money, they can apply to it to pay for their hiring of a school coach or a minibus or whatever it's going to be to actually bring the kids up. So it's an entirely free day and there's different things like she's doing private tours, we're doing packages where you can have a nice meal at the treehouse and then come into Lilidorei afterwards. So like I say, that's all going to be ring fence specifically for transport from Free Fridays. Kelly Molson: That's incredible. What an opportunity. And like you say, for the kids that just would not have that opportunity to be able to go and experience it. It's just such a wonderful thing to be able to do. Ian McAllister: It is, it's incredible. And I think a lot of the feedback we saw before we opened, because again, as I say, it was quite hard to explain the concept of it and what you actually got for your 15 quid entry fee. So a lot of people say you've outpriced us and we can't afford it and this, that and the other. And that's why it was really good to then say, "Look, if you want to bring your kids, just tell your kids to speak to their teacher and get the teacher to speak to us and we can facilitate them for free". So it's making a difference already. It's incredible. Kelly Molson: Yeah. And I guess then it's about selling what that 15 pounds gets you the benefits of that 15 pounds. Yes, it's a relatively higher price point, but you start to break it down about the experience that they get there and the magic that can actually happen that they can't get anywhere else, and then it starts to become slightly more appealing purchase.  You can stay there for quite a long time, right? You've got that dwell time as well. So when you work it out, cost per hour, it actually seemed quite reasonable. Ian McAllister: And I think having two kids myself, I think what am I going to compare this to? So you can't compare it to going to local council run park because it's nowhere near the same, it's not just a climbing frame. And then I think, "Well, what else would I do for the kids for that time period on a Saturday if we're bored?" Probably get the cinema. So the cinema is going to be 1520 quid to get in. And then, sweetness, you got 2 hours of sitting in silence watching a film and then you come out, go home and that's done. Ian McAllister: So to compare it to that, to Lilidorei, you've got a three hour session where you can come in, whole family can interact and it's running free and it's fresh air, I mean, it's not fumbling, it's always fresh air and by fresh I mean probably freezing most of the time. But you've got this it's a completely different experience and I think where people were just looking at it as it's a climbing frame, well, I could just go up the park. So it's trying to explain to people that it is different and yeah, it doesn't work out a really cheap day if you've got two parents and three kids, for example. But what we have done, we've introduced, and we're going to look at this after some holidays, we introduced the founder Lilidorei membership. Ian McAllister: My idea with this is always it's got to be for the child focused. So it's the child that has the membership. So little Johnny could have a membership for him and an adult, or him and two adults, and that means they could bring in mum and dad or they could bring in Nanny Granddad or they could bring in whoever they want. But it's always for me been the child that dictates this whole thing. So we always say that well behaved adults can come in with a responsible child. So we've kind of flipped the narrative a little bit there. And in terms of the membership itself, I used to read the Beano when I was a kid and the only thing I ever wanted grown up was Dennis the Menace fan club membership. Ian McAllister: And with that it cut a wallet, a membership card and a badge. And so for me, Lilidorei membership, you get a wallet, a card and a badge. So all these founder lidorians walk around proudly displaying their badge because there was a limited number of to be the very first people to be these members. But it's empowering the kids. The adults are allowed to come if the kid says they can come. I almost wanted to wake up on a Saturday morning and the child go, "Right, mom, you've been good, you can come with me. Dad, you got to wash the car and do the dishes". Kelly Molson: I love that. I love that giving them the choice of who they take and to take Granny as well. Yeah, it's a really good point about the memberships, isn't it? Because it is generally tied to the adult and the children that they have. But I love that you've empowered the kids to make that choice. Yeah. So you've got to be the kid. The parents have to be good all week. Ian McAllister: Exactly. That's to end the story points.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Well, we're going back to your food eating and your little sticker chart, aren't we? That's what you need. There you go. Sell that in the shop for the adults to buy their sticker reward chart, whether they get to come back or not on the next visit. Ian McAllister: That's a great idea, talking to the shop, actually, just briefly, because you may. Kelly Molson: Segue listen, I'm on fire today, Ian. Segue into the shop. Ian McAllister: My good friend Matthew Henderson, who anyone who listens to podcast will have heard him before. He has been incredible. He's been absolutely amazing. It was him that put you and I in touch in the first place. We bought him in to get the shop ready. And to say it's shop ready is the biggest understatement of the century, because I've never seen anything like it. The people that work in retail, a retail manager, Tracy, to coin a phrase, and not sound corny, it's like all the Christmases have come at once, because she's always wanted this shop that she's proud of, that she's selling things that she believes in. It's all been sourced specifically for her. And Matt has done just what a job. It's incredible. Kelly Molson: He is such a great guy, Matt. So Matthew came on our podcast. It was only a few episodes away, actually, ago, actually, and Matt used to work at Beamish and now he's out on his own. He's a consultant now and helps lots of attractions work out their special offering, the uniqueness when it comes to products. And I have seen a photograph of the shop and, oh, my God, it looks like an attraction in itself. It looks like something you'd pay to go visit in itself, like a Santa's Grotte or say. It's just incredible. Ian McAllister: It's phenomenal. And he was also fundamental in helping us with all the food and stuff that we're doing across site, but mainly in there. You know about the ice creams? Kelly Molson: I know about the ice cream. Tell us. Ian McAllister: So there's three flavours. I mean, you've got a vanilla, but then you've got the other obvious choices. You've got Troll Snot ice cream and you've got fairy dust ice cream. So fairy dust is like a raspberry ripple with popping candy. And Troll Snot is pure bright green, but it's sour apple, which sounds vile, but it's actually really nice. But I've got pictures of him with a hair net at the ice cream facility, which I keep telling him should be his next Tinder profile. He's got so involved in it, he's been instrumental in the whole thing. I don't think we'd be anywhere near where we are now without Matthew. Kelly Molson: Oh, wow. Well, that is a massive compliment to Matthew in itself, isn't it? No, he's a great guy. And I think it's something that sometimes gets a bit overlooked when it comes to shop. And you often go to places and you see the same things. Exit through the gift shop, you see the same things, and it genuinely just feels like, and I can only say this from the photos, but it just feels like you're stepping into such a magical world as an extension of the magical world that you've just come out of. Ian McAllister: It really is. It's surreal because on Press Day, we had a launch day a couple of weeks ago, it was so hot. It was a beautiful day. I clearly have the sunglasses on all day, caught a nice tan. Apart from the work stuff, it was a really nice day. But then you do, you exit into the shop and it's like you've already sudden fast forwarded six months and you're in the middle of Christmas. There's Christmas trees and candy canes and balls, not to mention the ridiculous amount of old fashioned sweet jars with trolls fingers and different fudges. And it is surreal because then you've had this 20 minutes Christmas experience in the shop and then you're back into 24 degree heat again. It's bizarre. Kelly Molson: You opened on was it the 25th of May? Is that your opening day? Ian McAllister: Yeah. So a couple of days before half term, were supposed to have a lot more testing than we had, but because of construction issues, we ended up with two testing days. We were supposed to have at least a month or two months testing, but we had to literally do it all in two days. So we opened a VIP date and then we opened for the public on the Thursday. We would never have predicted this, the Thursday Friday, and then the full half term, every single slot was sold out to the point where after a couple of days, we made a judgment call to up capacity and then we upped it again. And it's been full, absolutely full. Kelly Molson: And have you kept that capacity as well? Ian McAllister: Because I think we didn't want the risk of opening, saying, right, we're going to get 800 kids in per session, and then all of a sudden there's 800 people trying to go down a slide. So we didn't want to ruin the visitors experience with queues and with too many people and crowds and this and the other. So we opened with 300 capacity, which was, I mean, once 300 people are on the play structure, you kind of see it. It's like you can't hear them, you can't see them, they've just vanished like ants. So we upped it to five and we're looking at up in it again to, I think, 750. We're going to maybe try and push it up to for some holidays. Kelly Molson: Gosh, that's incredible. So safe to say that it's been a successful launch, then. Ian McAllister: You know what, we couldn't have asked for more. We've had the weather, we've had the publicity. Everything has been going so well. It's been a really positive experience. It was touch and go for a bit where we're all sort of walking around a few days before launch. S***, there's a bump there. There's a thing here. And the construction team, I've never seen anyone react like it like the lighting team would pretty much work until 04:00 in the morning. So they'd work all day. But then they'd want to test their lights so they'd have to wait until it got dark. But then they'd work all night till 04:00 the next morning, go home for a few hours kip and then come back again. Ian McAllister: And we've got a big thank you party tonight at Lilidorei to thank all of the staff, volunteers and construction team for everything they've done to a few hundred people coming tonight. And it's been overwhelming how everybody's got involved, even contractors that might be there for a week doing something. It's been almost like a pride project for them. Kelly Molson: It's amazing. Well, but that shines through in what you've created, right? Everybody that's touched it has taken some kind of ownership of it. What a lovely thing to do. Just throw the party as well to say thank you. It's June now. The story behind Lilidorei obviously involves Christmas. I'm really intrigued as to what you might have planned for Christmas. Are you allowed to talk about any of that yet or is it embargoed? Ian McAllister: I can talk about it a little bit because I've seen it. So we had a sneak peek. So for the last two years, we've been followed around by MGM who have been filming the documentary for Channel Four. So Channel Four documentary goes out, I think, August. So there's a six part Saturday night documentary going out all about the Duchess. It's called The Duchess, but it's all about her leading up to this project. So their last filming day was VIP press day. Kelly Molson: Wow. Ian McAllister: About three days before that, we had a preview one night at 10:00. We would like to go onto site to get a preview of Christmas. I don't even think I can come up with the words. And I'm quite good with words. I can't even put together a sentence that explains quite how magical it is. It's just the lights, the sounds, the atmosphere. And this was a summer's night at 10:00, so I can't even think what it would be like when it is actually Christmas. And we've got three Santa's grottos. To talk, you kind of back a little bit.  Ian McAllister: You've probably seen the picture of the big Lilidorei entrance gate. So when you get to the gate, you've got sounds. You've got a troll talking to a pixie and who wants pixie, wants to let us in and the troll won't let her. So you stand there and you can hear this immersive sound and they won't open the gate. So what you have to do is kind of find a way around and go through a hidden tunnel. At Christmas, those gates will open and it's like, all of a sudden, Christmas is there. So you come in, every Christmas tree is going to be lit, and bear in mind, we've got 1400 Christmas trees. Every Christmas trees got fairy lights in. The atmosphere was just phenomenal. It sounds like a cop out, but it's got to be seen to believed. Kelly Molson: Well, I look forward to that, because that sounds right up my street. Ian McAllister: You know, you're welcome. You're more than welcome. I'll even treat you to some troll snot ice cream. Kelly Molson: How could I possibly say no to that? Ian McAllister: It's the Essex charm, isn't it? Kelly Molson: Just wins me over every time Ian, thank you for coming on. So we always ask our guests to recommend a book at the end of a podcast. What have you got for us today? Ian McAllister: And it was post, COVID I read it and someone had recommended it. So I went and bought a copy and it's got to the point now where I've probably funded about 90% of the book sales because I'll keep buying copies and saying to someone, you love this, I've given them a copy and it's The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Have you read it? Kelly Molson: Yeah. Great book. Ian McAllister: For me, I think I am where I am now and my career path, my life path, everything was based on decisions and sometimes it's easy to sit and think, that's a bad decision. If I hadn't made that decision, I'd be much happier now. And The Midnight Library, for anyone who hasn't read it, is all about going back and retrospectively looking at your decisions that you've made in life and you get a glimpse of where that decision took you. And I think for me, what it did was instead of me constantly going back, not depressed or anything, but you kind of sit and dwell sometimes instead of thinking well. Ian McAllister: So, for example, I nearly joined the RAF when I was 17 and I wanted to be military police, but because I've got terrible eyesight, they said, well, we can't give you a gun because you probably shoot the wrong person. So they offered me dentistry. So, looking at the time, I was typical Essex. Toys were out, the pram, I'm not doing this, I don't want to do it. So I went to uni and did all that stuff. But I often think back, I think, you know what? If I'd have gone in the RFN and had paid to train me as a dentist and I've done the service, I could have come out and sat me in dental practice and this, that and the other.Ian McAllister: And I often think, would I be happier had I done that and done that as a career path and been a professional, if you like, because I still don't consider myself a professional. But then this book almost made me reframe that a little bit and think, you know what, I might not have done that. I might have hated it or something else would have changed and I wouldn't have had my beautiful children, I'm a stupid dog, or wouldn't have any of that sort of stuff now if I'd have taken that career path. So in a nutshell, for me, The Midnight Library is a really good read. It's quite an easy read, I found, because I was really invested in it, but it made me reframe a little bit. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's a great book. I've read it a couple of times now and similar to you, it's made me look back at not so much choices but events that have happened to us. Me and my partner, we've had a load of people this is quite public knowledge, we've had a load of trouble having children and we lost quite a few along the way and multiple rounds of IVF and all of that malarkey. And I think that book made me reflect on some of those things that had happened because you start to question, am I a bad person here? Or like, why are these things happening to us? We're good people, what's wrong? Kelly Molson: But some of those things that have happened regardless, despite them being really difficult and quite awful, they've led you to other things that are magic and they've given you gifts of something really tragic happened. Has been able to give us the gift of being able to talk about it openly, which has then gone on and helped other people be able to talk about it or share how they are or just given someone found them, someone that they can talk to. And I think you have to just kind of look back at those things and I don't know, it's a long winded way of saying I completely agree with you and it's a really good book. If you're feeling a bit reflective about your life, it's definitely one to go and have a read of. So yeah, good read. Ian McAllister: I think it may me kind of start to think about the ways I've handled things and how I sort of shape things moving forward so that my best friend died when were at college and my nephew died when he was eight. And all these things in your life that at the time are the worst thing that could ever possibly happen and you could either go one way or the other and it almost explained or kind of put into context a little bit. I think that these things happen not necessarily for a reason, but the way that you cope with it and deal with it and move on after it. That's almost like the learning that you take from it. But this is a different podcast altogether. This is like a griefcast, so we'll do another one. Kelly Molson: This has ended on a complete opposite spectrum than it started, Ian. Anyway, listeners, if you want to win a copy of that book, I'd highly recommend you go and do this. So go over to this podcast announcement and retweet it with the words I want Ian's book. And you will be put into the draw to win a copy of The Midnight Garden. Kelly Molson: Midnight Garden? Midnight Library. Midnight Garden is a whole different book, kids book Midnight Library.Kelly Molson: Ian, thanks for coming on today. It's been brilliant to chat to you. We will put all of the information about Lilidorei and Alnwick Gardens into the show notes so you can have a little look for yourself. But those tickets for Christmas are going to sell out quickly, people, so get yourself on the mailing list. That's all I'm going to say. Ian McAllister: Thank you, Kelly. It's been so nice to talk to you. Living this far north, it's nice to establish my roots with an Essex person again. Kelly Molson: Well, always welcome. Six months check in, right?Ian McAllister: Thanks, Kelly.  Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

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If you're planning a trip to York, UK and want to know which attractions are worth visiting, you should check out travel blog Better Life Design's York city guide. Go to https://betterlifedesign.com/best-things-to-do-in-york to find out more. Better Life Design 26 Carter Drive, Romford, Essex RM5 2PD, United Kingdom Website https://betterlifedesign.com/ Email ricky@betterlifedesign.com

Joe Hall is the minister of Bon Accord Free Church in Aberdeen.  Joe was born and raised in Romford, Essex, and came to a personal Christian faith as a teenager. He moved to Edinburgh in 2012 at the age of 18 to study Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. There, he became a member of Grace Church Leith. His growing love for God and desire to serve him and his people led to a ministry apprenticeship at Grace Church Leith after he graduated. Over these 2 years he studied at the Cornhill Training Course in Glasgow, which deepened his knowledge and love of the Bible, and laid a foundation for future study and ministry.   After three years of subsequent study at Edinburgh Theological Seminary, Joe was licensed last week by the Presbytery of Edinburgh and Perth.   Joe's wife, Susy, grew up in Derbyshire, where her father was the pastor in a local church. She went on to study medicine at the University of Bristol, before moving to Edinburgh where she eventually worked in paediatric emergency medicine. It was at Grace Church Leith that Susy and Joe met. They are expecting their first child in December this year.    Official Site: https://www.freechurch.org/ Healthy Gospel Church Vision: https://freechurch.org/healthy-gospel-church/

EPISODE 81: Sonja Kristina is a singer, actress and songwriter known has a member of the original cast of the musical "Hair" and as the lead singer for the progressive rock group, Curved Air. Kristina was born in Brentwood, England as Sonja Christina Shaw, daughter of a criminologist and granddaughter of Swedish actress Gerda Lundequist. Kristina first appeared on stage at the Swan Folk Club in Romford at the age of thirteen. Her first professional gig was at a Folk Festival in Southgate, London a year or so later. By 1968, while studying at the New College of Speech and Drama, Kristina was helping to run, and performing at, the Wednesday evening sessions at London's Troubadour Folk Club. She was generally known on the folk scene as "Sonja" having previously appeared several times on the British children's TV show Song and Story under that name. Her first manager was Roy Guest of Folk Directions. In 1968, Kristina auditioned for and won the part of "Crissy" in the London stage production of the stage musical Hair. She features on the original cast album singing the song "Frank Mills", also released as a single. She also briefly sang with The Strawbs, following the departure of Sandy Denny. sonjakristina.comContact us: makingsoundpodcast.comFollow on Instagram: @makingsoundpodcastFollow on Twitter: @JannKloseBandJoin our Facebook GroupPlease support the show with a donation, thank you for listening!

This week we're joined by Thomas Skinner, who you might have seen on The Apprentice, or out and about in Romford selling a mattress, or even on social media eating an unorthodox breakfast in a café... He's everywhere. We spoke to Thomas about his favourite thing, working on the market stalls. In this episode, he also teaches us about running a business (sort of), he dishes the dirt on Alan Sugar's script reading and tries to sell Joe a harmonica. You can follow Thomas on social media @iamtomskinner Tickets for our live tour are now on sale: https://www.tegeurope.com/events/the-joe-marler-show/ To get ad-free and longer episodes on Apple, hit the 'grow the show' button or click: https://apple.co/3sAX0xR To become an official sponsor, go to Patreon.com/joemarlershow If you want to buy a bobble hat (or other merch) go to joemarler.co.uk/shop  To get official show socks, click here: https://www.stand4socks.com/products/joe-marler-show-sock  To subscribe to our YouTube channel, click here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbXirpWYSrufXH55GPfVjCQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are kicking off the New Year with a very special get-together with This Is Disco - The Kylie and Dannii Minogue podcast - hosts Adem Eve and Ms Eliza Day! Your favourite 2000s pop explorers Joel and David are going all the way back to 2002 with Adem and Eliza to discuss some of our favourite songs and pop culture moments that defined that year for us.  Prepare for a fun round-table nostalgia trip as we discuss Madonna's 'Die Another Day' and her film with Guy Richie "Swept Away", Mariah's campy MTV Cribs episode, Sarah Michelle Gellar hosting the MTV Movie Awards, as well as bops by Avril Lavigne, Brandy, Tina Arena, Serbian pop diva Jelena Karleusa, Holly Valance... and, of course, Kylie and Dannii Minogue. What a mix! Sigmund Freud, analyse this. What are you waiting for? Hop in the time machine with us for destination "2002", stopping everywhere from Romford to Geelong, Melbourne to Madison Square Garden and London's G-A-Y at the Astoria!  Listen to This Is Disco podcast and follow them here https://linktr.ee/thisisdiscopodcast  https://www.instagram.com/thisisdisco/  https://twitter.com/thisisdisco  Follow Adem Eve https://www.instagram.com/ademdisco  https://twitter.com/ademdisco  Follow Ms Eliza Day https://www.instagram.com/mselizaday  https://twitter.com/mselizaday Follow Right Back At Ya! https://www.instagram.com/rightbackpod/ https://twitter.com/rightbackpod https://www.facebook.com/rightbackpod Follow Joel https://www.instagram.com/dr_joelb/ https://twitter.com/DR_JoelB Follow David https://www.instagram.com/lovelimmy/ https://twitter.com/lovelimmy Email us rightbackpod@gmail.com Check out our Spotify playlists https://open.spotify.com/user/1c3ks5jdh2x4j7jdg1o0aglwg

In a packed show, Benno and JP are joined by WWE and Impact correspondent Matty Edwards to talk the big shows of the weekend - WWE Extreme Rules, with the return of Bray Wyatt and Impact's biggest show of the year Bound For Glory. They also talk Raven going into the Impact Hall Of Fame, New Japan's Declaration of Power show, Mox vs Gage at GCW and the week in AEW with Rampage, Battle of the Belts, Dynamite and more backstage strife! SHOWNOTES0:37 Intro, Patreon, Plugs14:40 Bray Wyatt, WWE Extreme Rules, Raw Anniversary 1:27:16 Impact Bound For Glory1:56:48 Mox vs Gage, Dynamite, Rampage, BOTB2:42:50 New JapanThanks to our patrons for supporting the podcast, with special thanks to current Kings Of The Mountain - Robert Brockie, Carl Gac, Conor O'Loughlin, Eddie Sideburns & LFDOOM.Get the extended version of Spotlight with pre and post-show, as well as live video, daily updates, weekend previews and all our bonus content at Patreon.com/GRAPPL!Subscribe to GRAPPL Spotlight:Spotify || Apple || Google || YouTube || TuneIn || Stitcher || RSSFollow us on Twitter:Benno || JP || GRAPPLDownload GRAPPL the wrestling rating app:App Store || Google Play || GrapplApp.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Good morning everyone! Thank you for listening to the Motivated Entrepreneurs podcast. I'm your host, Dean Booty. Today is Saturday, the 24th of September. Today we have the book review called "Barry Hearn: My Life" by Barry Hearn. A larger than life working class hero, Romford born and bred - always ready with the perfect soundbite - Barry Hearn was famously described as 'roguish but never a rogue'. Hearn is credited with turning snooker into one of the biggest sports in Britain. He essentially turned a sport in which competitors wear bowties into a massive, globally televised event. Away from the table, his promotions empire casts its net over a dozen sports - from professional boxing to darts, fishing to ten-pin bowling - and his career spans four decades. He also previously owned Leyton Orient football club. Packed with hilarious anecdotes from the golden age of snooker, and behind-the-scenes insight into boxing negotiations and darts bust-ups, Hearn's book is a joy to read from start to finish. Give a listen. Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VkXGHq Listen on Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/39TYebQ Motivated Entrepreneurs Website: https://motivatedentrepreneurs.co.uk/ Please Like, Share, and Subscribe to Motivated Entrepreneurs Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3eA64u5   Cheers, Dean

The autobiography of the legendary sports promoter Barry Hearn. 'I am the largest sports promoter in the world. I promote 11 sports to a global audience of billions of people every day of my life' A larger-than-life working-class hero, Romford born and bred—always ready with the perfect soundbite—Barry Hearn was famously described as 'roguish but never a rogue'. Hearn is credited with turning snooker into one of the biggest sports in Britain. He essentially turned a sport in which competitors wear bowties into a massive globally televised event. Away from the table, his promotions empire casts its net over a dozen sports—from professional boxing to darts, fishing to 10-pin bowling—and his career spans four decades. He also previously owned Leyton Orient football club. Packed with hilarious anecdotes from the golden age of snooker, and behind-the-scenes insight into boxing negotiations and darts bust-ups, Hearn's book is a joy to listen to from start to finish.