Podcasts about Royal warrant

DIMANCHE 18 MAI 2025Anthony Perera - Maison Prince Hubert de Polignac (Cognac)Fondée en 1947 par le Prince Hubert de Polignac, la Maison incarne l'héritage d'une lignée noble et l'excellence du cognac à la française. Distinguée par le "Royal Warrant" du roi Frédéric IX, elle est fournisseur officiel de la Cour du Danemark, symbole d'une qualité irréprochable. À travers des cognacs élaborés avec persévérance, protection et prospérité, chaque flacon révèle un savoir-faire unique, alliant tradition et noblesse de goût.Pierre Gattaz - Château de Sannes (Provence)Le Château de Sannes, joyau du XVIIᵉ siècle au cœur du Luberon, incarne l'harmonie entre patrimoine, nature et savoir-faire. Depuis 2017, sous la direction de Pierre Gattaz, le domaine produit des vins d'exception en agriculture biologique, tout en préservant la biodiversité locale. Offrant une expérience œnotouristique unique, entre vignes, oliveraies et lavandes, le château séduit également pour l'organisation d'événements prestigieux dans un cadre raffiné.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Come and join the conversation with the gorgeous Deborah Mitchell!Fresh from her recent appearance on Lorraine, Deborah excitedly tells me about being awarded The Royal Warrant! A centuries old endorsement that shows that not only do the Royal Family use her products, but they have used them for many years previously. After beginning her career over 30 years ago as a beautician, Deborah built her own skincare company, attracting many a celebrity fan along the way. With her royally cemented status as a leading skincare brand, not just for the products themselves, Deborah's range actually improves skin issues instead of masking them like many out there on the market.We chat about the challenging times she's had in her business journey, people jumping on her success and creating copycat products in a bid to emulate her skincare line, even appearing in high street stores. The beauty of her Royal Warrant however, is that this is the official stamp of approval to show that it is in fact Heaven Skincare and no substitutes!We delve into Deborah's background, her humble beginnings and never in her wildest dreams did she imagine the success she has experienced to date. From starting out in training, coming from having little money, to now regularly travelling to the Palace, Deborah honestly tells me about the massive change in the path that her life has taken. (She was actually in the car travelling back from the Palace as we recorded the episode!)We chat developing product ranges that work instantly, making people look visibly younger, her own journey with acne and identifying a need to help her own skin which then birthed her lifelong passion to help others with theirs.For Deborah, it goes far deeper than developing a product and getting it retail ready, she actually goes one step further and delivers training to salon owners and spa directors. What this serves to do is not just help them to offer amazing products that really work for their own clients and customers, but it enables them to educate them in how best to look after their skin, delivering a real 360 approach to her offering.Passionate about educating others and busting those beauty myths, her desire to actually help people absolutely shines through when she talks! We talk about the importance of taking care of your skin, and Deborah tells me about the disgusting bugs that may appear if you don't! My goodness it scared me into submission to adopt and brand new cleansing routine FAST!We chat the future of Heaven, stinging nettles, celebrities, royalty and how a dream one night made her discover bee venom and acquired her nickname of The Bee Venom Queen! Deborah is very open about her dyslexia diagnosis, the challenges she's faced along the way with it, but also her gratitude for how her brain works. Sparking ideas and creating incredible products has been a rollercoaster journey for her and is fascinating to hear about.Talking about going to events with the likes of Cillian Murphy doesn't faze Deborah, it's almost become second nature to her, she's so down to earth and loves nothing more than to share her success with others! She's so grounded and remains true to her roots, often reminding herself of the struggles she has had to get to this point which keeps her feet firmly on the ground. Such an incredibly inspiring, knowledgeable, kind and amazing woman, and such a pleasure to chat to!You can find out more about Deborah's incredible Royal Approved products on her website here:https://heavenskincare.com/

After a chilly January in the UK, the days are starting to lengthen and there's signs of life as bulbs are pushing through the soil. DIG IT's Peter Brown and Chris Day discuss news, events and gardening tasks for the gardening month ahead.What's onSaturday 1st February Buckingham Garden Centre's Grow & Grow Day, 10am-4pm. Saturday 1st February to Sunday 2nd March: Peruvian Orchid Spectacular at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. The Plant Fair Roadshows are back in full swing with the first event of the year on Sunday 2nd February at Hole Park, Rolvenden, Kent, on Sunday 2nd February.Running until 13th April: Soil - The World at Our Feet Exhibition at the Embankment Galleries, South Wing, Somerset House in London.Saturday 15th February – Sunday 23rd February: Exhibited during Eco-Week at Hever Castle & Gardens, Earth Photo will be featuring work by some of the best photographers from around the world.Thursday 20th February: Monty Don in conversation with Sophie Raworth online or in person at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington, London, SW7 2AR. 7pm. 20th - 22nd February: Shepton Snowdrop Festival, Somerset. Free event.Discover snowdrops across the UK. NewsBritain's oldest RHS Garden is calling for compensation from the Government as it faces a ‘catastrophic' £11m loss - thanks to roadworks.Home to 100-year-old specimens, the 60-acre Coton Orchard, the largest traditional orchard in Cambridgeshire and 8th largest in the country is at risk of becoming a new bus lane. Two plant collections - Amelanchier and Witch hazel National collections have been accredited at National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.Monty Don's new British Gardens series airs on the BBC.Sarah Dyke MP's Horticultural Peat (Prohibition of Sale) Bill has been pushed back to a later date. Kew Gardens and partner scientists have identified more than 170 new species in 2024New Year's Honours for garden industry figures including Gill Hodgson founder of Flowers From the Farm and Alan Titchmarsh, CBEScotland consults on its peat-free future.Latest Thompson & Morgan survey suggests garden expenditure is set to increase in 2025.More crystal ball gazing from the RHS with its gardening predictions.Eden Project appoints 'horticultural showman' Peter Jones.Kew build two advanced glasshouses to help in major restoration projects.David Domoney becomes new brand ambassador for Keder Greenhouses.Guiness World Records searches for world's oldest glasshouse.Forest England biodiversity study reveals DNA secrets.Butterflies heading north says NatureScot.RSPB suspends sale of flat bird feeders.Suttons given the Royal Warrant of Approval.Plants mentioned: Broad bean The Sutton, New Fothergill's Oh Sow Simple range, Seed Potatoes, Pea Meteor, Sweet Peas, Carnivorous plants (Venus flytraps), Carrot Amsterdam Forcing, Asparagus crowns, root-wrapped roses, celebration roses, strawberry runners and raspberry canes can be established now, Lilies, Dahlias, Begonia corms and Hosta. Hardwood cuttings Buddleja, Dogwoods, Forsythia, Philadelphus (Mock Orange), Roses and Salix (Willows).Products mentioned: Westland New Horizon Compost, Melcourt SylvaGrow Composts, horticultural fleece, Haxnicks jackets, raised beds and water butts. Dig It Top 5: Our Top selling Fothergills flower seeds of last year. No5 ‘RHS Flowers for Insects Mix', No4 Sunflower ‘Giant Single', No3 Sweet Pea ‘Old Spice Mixed', 2nd place Poppy ‘Victoria Cross' and at No1 ‘RHS Flowers for Wildlife Bright Mix'.Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supply the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Floral designer Shane Connolly joins Talking Gardens this time to talk about sustainable floristry, his own garden in Worcestershire and the places he would have to include a piece of in his dream garden, from Villa Cimbrone in Italy and The Mezquita of Cordoba in Spain to Glenarm Castle garden in Northern Ireland. The renowned event florist, who holds the Royal Warrant and was famously commissioned for two royal weddings, Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and HM The King's Coronation, also explains which shrub he can't stand, who he would have as his dream garden designer and why no garden is complete without scent.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find more gardening inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend and make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden.  Follow now so you never miss an episode. AD // Niwaki are offering Talking Gardens listeners the opportunity to save 10% at niwaki.com, until the 28th February 2025 using the code TALK10. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount codes and excludes delivery costs. Please visit the Niwaki website for any further Terms & Conditions that might apply at https://www.niwaki.com/about/terms/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 39-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 22,821 on turnover of $6.3-billion N-T. Zombie drug' set to be reclassified as Category 2 narcotic: Premier Taiwan's government is planning to reclassify etomidate, or the "zombie drug", as a Category 2 narcotic today. That means illicit use of etomidate could result in a prison sentence of up to 3 years. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the move is likely to proceed (繼續) after today's narcotics review committee under the Ministry of Justice … … and is intended to bolster frontline law enforcement efforts and combat the spread of emerging drugs. Statistics from the Criminal Investigation Bureau show that from July to November this year, there were over 2 thousand 600 cases involving etomidate, with some 3 thousand individuals involved. Number of Japanese visitors to Taiwan grows nearly 50%: Agency Over 1 million Japanese travelers visited Taiwan in the first 10 months of this year -- over 50 percent more than that of last year. With this growth, the Tourism Administration projects that the number of Japanese visitors will reach a new high in the fourth quarter, the largest Q4 total since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data shows that Japan was the second-largest source of inbound (入境) visitors to Taiwan in the first eight months of the year, accounting for 16 percent of all arrivals. This follows Hong Kong, which contributed 16.2 percent. US Trump Nominates Rubio for Secretary of State US President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state. Trump also announced the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence. Ira Spitzer has more Sudan Keeps Chad Border Crossing open for Aid Sudan's military-controlled government says a key border crossing with Chad will stay open to keep much-needed humanitarian aid flowing into the western Darfur region which has been a center of fighting in the country's ongoing war. Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council says the decision on the Adre crossing followed a meeting with United Nations agencies and local and international aid groups. The border crossing was closed earlier this year but reopened in August for three months by the Sovereign Council to address the catastrophic (災難性的) humanitarian situation in Darfur. The U.N. welcomed the government's announcement that the Adre crossing will remain open for another three months. Denmark Royal Court Phasing Labeling System Denmark's royal court says it will phase out a labeling system dating to the 1800s that grants companies the right to use the image of the Danish crown on their letterhead, packaging and labels. The palace says the five-year renewable designations, including “Holder of the Royal Warrant” and “By Appointment to the Royal Danish Court” and others, will be phased out by Dec. 31, 2029. Currently, there are 104 Danish suppliers and five foreign companies who can use such designations (稱號) and images of the Danish crown on their products. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. －－－－以下訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ LINE GO 租車，13大廠牌、60種車款任你挑選！ 免下載APP，用 LINE 即可預約租車

Scott Kerr is joined by Robert Ettinger, CEO and Chairman of Ettinger, the nearly century-old British luxury leather goods company known for its high-quality, bespoke products and traditional manufacturing methods. As the third generation to take over the business that bears his family name, Robert talks about the brand's journey to becoming one of the most renowned names in leather goods. He also discusses how being granted the prestigious Royal Warrant by the Prince of Wales was a game changer for Ettinger, what goes into developing an idea for a collection, why Japan is its biggest global market, and Ettinger's collaboration with the hit Netflix series "The Gentlemen." Plus: What it means to be "quintessentially British"?Featuring: Robert Ettinger, CEO and Chairman of Ettinger (ettinger.co.uk) Host:Scott Kerr, Founder & President of Silvertone ConsultingAbout The Luxury Item podcast:The Luxury Item is a podcast on the business of luxury and the people and companies that are shaping the future of the luxury industry.Stay Connected:Email: scott@silvertoneconsulting.comListen and subscribe to The Luxury Item wherever you get your podcasts. Tell a friend or colleague!

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating history of Twinings, one of the world's oldest tea brands, with Stephen Twining, the 10th-generation family member and Global Brand Ambassador. Stephen shares Twinings' remarkable journey spanning over 300 years, from its origins in 1706 London to becoming a globally recognized symbol of quality tea. We discuss the brand's unwavering commitment to quality, the power of innovation, and how it adapted through monumental events such as the World Wars.We also explore Twinings' approach to the Chinese market, the impact of its responsible sourcing programme Sourced with Care, and the evolving trends among younger consumers. Stephen offers insights into Twinings' resilience and legacy, while highlighting the importance of staying true to brand values and maintaining relevance through thoughtful innovation.Whether you're a tea enthusiast, an entrepreneur, or a history lover, this episode will leave you with valuable lessons on endurance, adaptability, and brand heritage.Key Highlights:• Twinings' Origins & Commitment to Quality: Founded in 1706 by Thomas Twining, Twinings began as a coffee house in London before becoming the first dry tea and coffee shop. Twinings has consistently upheld a “quality over quantity” philosophy, which has been the cornerstone of its success for over 300 years with no compromise, even during difficult periods like the Tea Act crisis and the World Wars.• Innovation Meets Tradition: While the company's roots lie in traditional tea blending, Twinings has embraced modern innovations like herbal teas, Superblends, and even sparkling tea to stay relevant, especially among younger generations.• Understanding Global Markets: Twinings carefully adapts to local markets, such as China, by understanding consumer preferences rather than simply exporting its products. The focus is on providing additional choices that align with local tastes.• Tea Sourcing: Twinings' Sourced with Care initiative, founded by Twinings in 2016, works to help improve the quality of life of the communities who grow its teas and herbs, aiming to drive positive change through empowering women, supporting incomes and improving living standards.• Royal Warrant as a Mark of Excellence: Twinings has held a Royal Warrant since 1837, continuously serving the British Monarchy through various reigns, symbolizing excellence not just in product quality but also in sustainability and corporate responsibility.• Guidance to Emerging Brands: To remain true to core values, focus on long-term growth over short-term gains, and build gradually with a strong foundation, particularly for brands in volatile markets like China.Stephen Twining【本节目由Withinlink碚曦投资协作体出品】【嘉宾】Stephen TwiningGlobal Brand Ambassador, Twinings【主持】李倩玲 Bessie Lee广告营销行业资深从业者，商业观察者---11月9日成都听友会持续招募中------日本游学丨横滨三日体验游学持续招募中---【后期制作】 小朱【收听方式】推荐您使用Apple Podcast、小宇宙APP、喜马拉雅、荔枝播客、网易云音乐、QQ音乐、Spotify或任意泛用型播客客户端订阅收听《贝望录》。【互动方式】微博：@贝望录微信公众号：贝望录+商务合作：beiwanglu@withinlink.com

We are back with a new series, and we're thrilled to kick off the series with this week's sponsor – Kent Brushes. Nearly 250 years of brush-making history, and a prestigious Royal Warrant of Appointment mark, Kent Brushes is one the best hair brushes you can get. So we're excited to offer our listeners an exclusive 20% off with the code "SCHOOL" at Kentbrushes.com (T&Cs apply).We also dive into listener style dilemmas! From finding stylish and unique school bags for kids to planning the perfect outfit for a birthday dinner party in your 40s, we've got all the answers. Whether you're after a chic jumpsuit or the perfect statement dress, we have the tips to help you stand out on your special day.And, as always, expect some fun personal stories, including Cara's recent trip to Portugal and a celebrity encounter that almost was!Tune in for the laughs, the fashion, and a few genius life hacks.Kent Brushes Discount Code: SCHOOLInstagram: @kentbrushesWebsite: kentbrushes.com/Brushes Mentioned On PodcastCurved Vent Brush KS02 (Dolly's favourite): https://kentbrushes.com/products/curved-vent-hairbrush-ks02Pebble Detangling Ladybug Brush: https://kentbrushes.com/collections/baby-child/products/pebble-detangling-ladybug-brush-pbugConnect with The School Runway Podcast:Instagram: @schoolrunwaypodLeave us a voice note on: https://sayhi.chat/TSRWe love hearing from you! If you have any questions, style dilemmas, or topics you want us to cover, drop us a message on Instagram @schoolrunwaypod, or even a voice note on Telbee!And don't forget to leave your lovely ratings and reviews on both Apple Podcast and Spotify xKent Brush "SCHOOL" discount Terms & Conditions: The promotional code SCHOOL entitles the School Runway Podcast listeners an exclusive 20% off a single transaction at kentbrushes.comOffer valid until 23:59 (GMT) 31 October 2024.Discount can be used once per customer.This discount cannot be used for previous orders placed.This offer cannot be redeemed in conjunction with any other promotion or offer whatsoever.GB Kent & Sons reserves the right to modify or cancel this offer at any time without notice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I met Sean Clayton, managing director at Peter Reed - the company that makes the finest linens made to order here in Lancashire. We chat about the Royal Warrant they have, how the business has grown since it opened in 1861 and I also have a tour of the mill. You can also watch this episode over on YouTube.

The second part of this conversation with Fargro's managing director, explores drones, sustainability and fairness in the supply chain.Fargro's interest in drones is part of a number of projects on data-driven decision-making for protected horticulture "to try and give a holistic view for agronomists and growers so they actually get some actionable insights" to help them prioritise their activities.Hopkins talks about the shortage of agronomists and how they are trying to attract a new generation of 'digital natives'. But the new technology puts power and information directly into growers' hands.On robotics, he expresses a sense of "frustration" with the slow progress, especially in robotic harvesting. He talks about the funding struggles for the sector to help them bring new tech to market. He discusses how unlike in agriculture, horticulture still relies on "not cheap" manual labour. He calls for the Government to step up with Innovate UK funding but he anticipates "a long haul".On sustainability, he advocates first efficiency measures, but also discusses the need to improve plastic reduction and recyclability. "The problem is that [non plastics] nearly always cost more than the plastic alternatives" he says, though he believes often suppliers could absorb some of these extra costs.Increased use of organic and controlled-release fertilisers are yielding good results and also enjoy a cost advantage, he adds.With the ascension of King Charles III to the throne, Royal Warrant holders, including Fargro, are having to re-apply and "there's a huge emphasis on sustainability and the whole environmental social governance element of it - ethical trading as well." In the transition away from peat he percieves the change is being led by retailers and consumers, though "it's all about perception as well as the reality of sustainability".Fargro has put together a consortium of waste operatives and recyclers to work with growers to make collection and recycling of plastics easier. But above all he believes the key question is "Is there an economic benefit to it? and how can we use that to drive the sustainability agenda?"On fairness in the supply chain, he heard Rishi Sunak promise improvements for fresh produce in a very "uneven playing field", but coming behind dairy, poultry and eggs, he wonders how quickly horticultural growers can expect meaningful change. He expects ornamental growers to "be ignored entirely" and face a battle to protect or improve their margins.Hopkins talks through business changes, including consolidation in the customer base and signs that glass is being taken up by growers.Fargro itself is looking to diversify including to improve its amenity offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Justine interviews the renowned Chef John Williams of The Ritz, London as he shares his advice for aspiring chefs and so many more pearls of wisdom.Loved by our royal family, Williams joined The Ritz London as Executive Chef in 2004, bringing three decades of hospitality experience to the venerated kitchens of the legendary Piccadilly hotel. Taught by his mother to cook, Williams developed his passion for food at an early age, his culinary career began in 1974 with his first position as a Commis Chef in Otterburn. Young Williams soon started work at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, later becoming their Chef de Cuisine in 1982. In 1986, Williams joined the distinguished Savoy Group of Hotels and Restaurants, during his 18-year tenure, he served as Premier Sous Chef at Claridge's and Maître Chef des Cuisines at The Berkeley, before his move to head up Claridge's kitchens as Maître Chefs des Cuisines in 1995. Williams is a man adorned with many awards, being appointed Executive Chairman of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in 2004 and awarded the Pierre Taittinger International Award and the Craft Guild of Chefs Award in 2000. In 2005, he became the first British Chef to be conferred with a CMA by the French Government. And in 2008, he received the ultimate accolade when he was awarded as MBE in the New Year's Honour List by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to hospitality. He is the recipient of a Royal Warrant for Banqueting and Catering Services from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, making The Ritz the first and only hotel to receive this prestigious accolade. In 2013, Tatler awarded Williams with their Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual Restaurant Awards. Catering for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's 70th and 80th birthday banquets as well as several private dinners for the Royal family at The Ritz and state functions at Buckingham Palace. Williams says, “I have always had a great love of The Ritz and for its time-honoured traditions. The forward-thinking methods and beliefs of Escoffier, the friend and collaborator of our founder Cesar Ritz, have influenced my career significantly and it is a pleasure and an honour to be part of culinary history at this great hotel”. Instagram: @theritzlondon and @johnwilliamschefWebsite: theritzlondon.com/john-williams and theritzlondon.com/cookbook/Thank you for listening. Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode.You can follow mymuybueno on Instagram to stay updated in all going on, now in it's eleventh year and all Justine's restaurant visits and reviews too.And mymuybueno Chefs Instagram Use our hashtag when posting your best dishes and when searching for inspiration #mymuybuenochefs#mymuybueno #mymuybuenochefs #mymuybuenochefsgetpersonal #eatlivelearn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered "Who styles the Royals?" then look no further than this Royal podcast episode. As part of our Summer series, we are answering your Royal fashion. So, if you ever wondered... What's the difference between a Royal stylist and a Celebrity stylist?  Who styles the Princess of Wales? Has The Duchess of Edinburgh stepped up her Royal fashion game? Who is the most fashionable Royal? Is The King, the King of Stealth Wealth dressing?  Stick around to find out more.   

We all know that the calm melodic sounds of water lapping combined with the gentle rocking of the ocean waves will ensure a good nights sleep, but I'm here (in England) to share with you the secret of getting a great nights rest in the boating world.  Heirlooms Linens is literally the Royal standard of bed and bath on boats. Having held the Royal Warrant for the late Queen since 2005 and now King Charles' Royal Warrant since 2012, means you'll find Heirloom Linen in Royal palaces and residences if you are ever invited to sleep over. Today I'm chatting with Ruth Douglas who oversees the continued traditions of crafting handmade linen products from only the finest Italian fabrics to create luxury linens of exceptional quality and lasting beauty “Having used Heirlooms on two boats for bespoke bed, bath, table & crew linens, I would never go anywhere else. Their attention to detail, quality of product & customer service is second to none!” - Chief Steward, World Super Yacht Services   Ruth recently came out to the  International Sanctuary Cove Boat Show and as we gear up for the Sydney Boat Show on August 3-6, with over 212 boats docking in Sydney Harbour, I need my sleep so thank goodness I sleep on Heirloom Linens!    www.heirloom-linens.com   Invitation : Don't forget to get your tickets to the Women in Boating event at this years, Sydney Boat Show.   www.theboatprincess.com    

Essa história começa em 1885 - com uma fábrica de bicicletas que depois teria como o seu main business, elegantes e robustos carros. Hoje, essas maquinas são símbolo de status, sofisticação e muita tecnologia. Em 1951 o Rei George 6º, pai da rainha Elizabeth, concedeu à marca - o Royal Warrant, um documento em vigor desde o século 15 que detalha empresas que são fornecedoras oficiais da realeza. Eu conversei sobre esse e muitos outros fatos interessantes com Paulo Manzano da Land Rover.

In this week's Talking Money Feature, Barney talks about the Royal Warrant on our goods – what is it, how do businesses get it and why it matters so much when it comes to selling goods overseas?

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://ats-heritage.co.uk/https://twitter.com/ATS_Spencerhttps://twitter.com/ATS_Heritagehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerclark/ Spencer ClarkAs a newbie to the sector, I started my career in attractions back in 2012 when I joined ATS to help grow the business. There was so much to learn, but I used my experience in design and creative problem solving and a natural ability to understand clients needs quickly.Today I am in the privileged position of co-owning and leading the company as MD with a fantastic team and a reputation to match.My underlying passion is in creating value through great design and unrivalled customer service. I love nothing more than to listen to clients describe their problems and to be asked to help them overcome them, often in a highly creative yet pragmatic way.I love how we can use technology (thoughtfully) to elevate an experience. At ATS, we are pioneers of on-site and on-line digital visitor experiences across the cultural sector, delivering amazing audio & multimedia tours, digital apps/tools, films and tailored consultancy services.We help our clients to engage with millions of visitors and we're privileged to be trusted by attractions small and large across Europe, including St Paul's Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse, Westminster Abbey, Bletchley Park, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Titanic Belfast and Rembrandt House Museum.Outside of work, I'm busy keeping up with two active daughters and try to get on the water paddle boarding, on the hills mountain biking, or roaming around in our camper van.  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 Spencer Clark, Managing Director of ATS Heritage.Spencer shares his insight into what the biggest pain points are for attractions when developing their stories, and the ATS methodology that helps bring out the very best experience for your guests.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, Spencer. It's lovely to have you on. Spencer Clark: Thanks for having me, Kelly. Kelly Molson: It's taken a while for me to persuade Spencer to come on. I'm not going to lie, I've had his arm right up his back for a while, but he's finally here. Spencer Clark: I've relented. Kelly Molson: He has relented, but he might regret it. Right, icebreakers. What's the worst gift that anyone's ever given you? Spencer Clark: Who's going to be listening to this? I'm not so much worse, but once you get, like, your third or fourth mug, it might be personalised and tailored to you, maybe they're quite amusing, some thoughts gone into it, but when you get a few too many mugs, that creates a little bit. Kelly Molson: Would you rather socks than mugs? Spencer Clark: Yeah, I'm getting into my socks now. Yeah, some nice socks would go down a treat, I think. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I'm with you on this. So this was a Twitter discussion, so the team at Convious sent me some lovely Convious branded socks the other week. They're great. And I had them on. I took them a little picture, I put them on social media and then everyone was like, "Oh, socks. Yeah, were going to do socks for giveaways", but everyone said, "No, socks are rubbish". And I was like, "Absolutely not". Socks are, like, low of the list of things that I want to buy myself. So if I get free socks, I'm going to wear them. Spencer Clark: That's it. And you get your favourites. Kelly Molson: Good. No mugs for Spencer. Okay, this is a random one. If you can only save one of the Muppets, which muppet do you choose and why? Spencer Clark: Oh, man, that's quite a good one. Miss Piggy is a little bit hectic for me. I don't think I could spend a lot of time with her. The chef's quite entertaining, though. The hoodie gordie chickens, I think is. Yeah, I think he was smiling face and, yeah, I like a good chef, so, yeah, I keep him. Kelly Molson: It's a good choice. And I wasn't expecting the impersonation either. Impressive. Spencer Clark: There you go.Kelly Molson: Really, we're taking this podcast to new levels, people. This one would be quite easy for you if you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life. What would it be? Spencer Clark: That's a good. That's really good. Back after Uni, 1999, I went travelling with my best friend and we had a little campervan and went around New Zealand for four weeks and we bought two tapes when we landed in Auckland and we had those two tapes and we listened to just those two tapes for four weeks in a camper van. And one was Jamiroquai Synchronised album, big Jay Kay fan. And the second one was Californication by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Kelly Molson: Excellent. Spencer Clark: And I can still listen to them over and over again now. Kelly Molson: I think I'll let you have the two because it's a great story and really good memories attached to those two. Spencer Clark: Oh, every time we put it on. And Dave is not a great singer, but it's a memorable voice he has. So we're travelling around, these tracks pop up and I'm taking straight back to a certain lovely mountain right here in New Zealand. It's Delcito. Thanks, Dave. Kelly Molson: Lovely. Thanks, Dave. Good memories, good story, good start to the podcast. Right. What is your unpopular opinion? Spencer Clark: So it's QR code, but in a particular setting. And that is where, in restaurants or places to eat, where the QR code is that's your menu. It's the way you pay and everything. And I think just sometimes it gets just a bit frustrating. It's not a great experience because I like a big menu, not necessarily with pictures on the food, I don't need that. But a good menu with everything on it, so you can kind of see the choices, but on your phone you can't really see the whole menu, so that's a bit annoying. And then you got to just order it and add it to your basket and then you think it's gone, then do all the payment. Spencer Clark: I know it's supposed to be easy, but in that environment, I prefer just chatting to a waiter or a waitress and just and having a good experience. Kelly Molson: I agree. When there was a need for, it was great. Obviously, during pandemic times, that was great that you could go in and you could do that. But, yeah, I want to ask questions. I can't decide between these three dishes. What would you pick? You want that conversation, don't you? That's the whole part. It's all part of the experience of eating out. Spencer Clark: It definitely is. And I did a lot of time as a waiter in my late teens and early twenties. And a great waiter makes your night. That's the way I see it. All your day. It's just under use. You don't want to cut them out, you want to go just all on the app. Kelly Molson: Right, listeners, that is a good one. Let me know how you feel. Are you up for having a little chat with your waiter? Straight waitress? Or do you just want to go QR code, cut them out, no chat. No chat. Let me know. Spencer Clark: Sometimes I have those moments as well, of course, but overall, I'd rather chat with someone. Kelly Molson: All right, tell us about your background before you got to ATS. It wasn't in the attraction sector, was it? Spencer Clark: No. So ATS where I'm at now, I've been eleven years and this is the first entry into attractions culture sector. So I did product design at uni and I was never going to be the best designer. It worked out, but I love design and I love the process of essentially being given a problem and find ways in which you can design something to solve it in the best possible way. So to design was definitely in my interests. And then after Uni, I had an idea. My sister is profoundly deaf and so we had an idea for some software, or had some ideas for some software that helped communicate with businesses using your PC. This is pre Messenger and pre WhatsApp all of that. Spencer Clark: So it's kind of when using modems, if anyone remembers those, I'm really sure my age when talking about modend dial ups and yeah, I went to the Princess Trust actually for a bit of funding, a bit of help, and kind of did that start up. So that was inspired by trying to find a solution for an issue that my sister was facing. But then, yeah, the internet really hit us and we had messenger and thankfully, communications with deaf people are far better now. And on almost any cool playing field we've got WhatsApp texts, all of that sort of stuff, and email everything, so it kind of levelled it a bit. Then I set up another business with her and it was deaf awareness training. So we would train healthcare professionals, predominantly. The front of house, health care, how to communicate better with deaf patients. Spencer Clark: Again, driven off of a pretty horrible experience that my sister had. And so, yeah, trying to sell something and making the experience better was really important to us. So that was really good. And through that, funny enough, I met ATS along that route because ATS were looking for some sign language tours. They were the first company to really start to do it on handheld devices. And yeah, that's how I met them, because they found us doing deaf awareness training and signing and asked us for some help. That was the seed. But then at the same time, when I was doing small business consultancy around childcare businesses, really random, but it was the same sort of thing. Spencer Clark: I love working a bit of entrepreneurial spirit in me and I loved helping organisations, smaller businesses, particularly with their cash flows and their marketing ideas, and just general small business help, really. And then I found ATS and that's a whole other story. Kelly Molson: I love that. Yeah, well, great story. I didn't realise that you had a startup and you've been part of all these quite exciting businesses and it's those businesses that kind of led you to ATS. Spencer Clark: Yeah, I had a moment and as many of us do, I suppose I was getting married and I was working in these different jobs and it was quite randomly kind of moved to different things and I was trying to find the focus, what do all these different businesses and these things do? And I was kind of looking at what I enjoyed, what I was good at, and I went through a bit of a career reflection and had someone help me do that. And we're looking, what's the common thing here? And it was creativity, it was working with people. It was definitely small business, not big corporates. And at the time, because I'd already known ATS through doing some of the sign language stuff, they went on my list as, “I need to have a chat with Mike about that one day”. Spencer Clark: He's the founder of ATS. And then yeah, eventually we sat down in the chat and invited me on board to try out. And that was eleven years ago. Kelly Molson: And that was eleven years ago. Tell us about ATS, tell us what they do for our listeners and what's your role there? Spencer Clark: Sure. So I'm now Managing Director ATS. So I've been there in that role for two and a half years now, two or three. Prior to that, I was Business Development and Sales Director, so driving new business. And yes, so ATS, we've expanded out now, but I guess we're a full service. From Creative Content so predominantly known for audio multimedia guides to on site interpretation and storytelling. So our core business is around coming up with brilliant stories, working with our clients to write scripts, and then looking at the creative ways in which we can tell that story to their target audiences. So whether it's families, adults, overseas, we then come up with all these great ideas. And whether it's audio or multimedia, with film or apps, with interactives and games, we try and find all the unique ways of telling that story, of that unique site. Spencer Clark: So we have predominantly in house, fantastic production team, editors, filmmakers, developers, we have interpretation specialists and script writers. So once we've done all the content, we've also got all the technology as well. So part of our business has we manufacture our own hardware, so multimedia guides, audio guides, we have software that runs on all of them. We also do apps and PWAs, and we have a tech support team as well, who are out managing all of our clients. So we have 45,000 devices out in the field at the moment, so there's a lot being used, a lot of experiences being had one of our devices, but they all need battery changes, servicing, all that sort of stuff. So we got a tech team for them as well. So complete end to end from consultation, content, hardware, support.Kelly Molson: Yeah, and great sector to work in. You talked about developing stories. Heritage organisations have the best stories, right? So it is an absolutely perfect fit. I want to talk about the process that you go through and how you make that happen for the heritage sector. What is the biggest pain? So I'm in the marketing team of a heritage organisation and I've got a pain and I know that ATS can probably help me solve it. What is that pain that I bring to you? Spencer Clark: There's a number that we get approached about and I guess the first one, though, is we've got great stories. So, yes, heritage and cultural sites naturally have loads of great stories, so the most prime problem really is them to say, "We want to understand which audience we want to tell our stories to", number one. And then number two, "once we know that, how do we tell the stories in the best memorable, entertaining, educational way?" So really, they're the starting point, really, is helping them understand who their audience is and then going, "Right, how are you telling that story?" I often say with a creative conduit between the site and its heritage and their audiences. And we're the guys in the middle. Spencer Clark: You go, Right, we're going to understand these really well and come up with really great ideas to tell that story to that person in that experience. And that's the prime too. But then it expands out because once you start chatting to them and you go, well, those stories can be told in different ways to different audiences, but also the experiences are very different across sites. So you could have a linear tool, so you kind of know that the story has to make sense stop after stop and it's kind of a narrative thread, whereas other sites are random access, so you're moving around. And so therefore, everything needs to make sense in that situation as well. Kelly Molson: Very interesting, isn't it? I hadn't thought about how the building itself or the area itself can have an influence on how the story is told. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. So we do guides at St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and you're thinking, "Right, big ecclesiastic sites, they must be very similar", but they're not. St Paul's random access. So once you've done the introduction, you can go wherever you like in St Paul's and access that content. The storytelling within that space, however you like. Westminster Abbey is very linear and so you start at point 1 and you have to go through and there's a fixed route to it. They're two very different buildings architecturally, so the challenges with that, for example, is when we're designing the scripts and designing the experiences, saying, "Well, what is the visitor journey here? And where are their pinch points?" I think in one spot in Westminster, we had 10 seconds to tell a story. Spencer Clark: People can't stay more than 10 seconds in that area because it just ends up backing up and then it's awful for everybody else. Whereas St Paul's is very different. You've got a lot more dwell time and a lot more space that you can sit and just listen. So two very different experiences that we design. Kelly Molson: That's really complex, isn't it? So you're not only thinking about how to tell the story in the best way to fit with the venue and the access and how people walk around it, but also from a capacity perspective, people can't stay in this area for longer than 10 seconds. So you've got to get them moving. Spencer Clark: Exactly. Kelly Molson: It blows my mind. Talk me through your methodology then, because I think that's quite interesting. Like, how do you start this process? They've come with the pain. We've got this great story, we're not telling it in the best way that we could. How can you help us? Where do you start? Spencer Clark: It's a good place. What we love is you get face to face and you walk the current experience and you walk through it. And it's great to talk to visitor experience teams, curatorial, front of house, as well as senior stakeholders and having a conversation with all of them to kind of really get a sense of what's the outcome I'm starting with what's wrong or what do you want to better? What do you want this outcome to be? And then we kind of work backwards because we have a lot of experience to share. And so there's things around this routing, wayfinding, dwell time. There's things around operations and logistics of handing out hardware or promoting an app if that's what clients are pushing out to their visitors. But we all got to understand there's lots of different models as well. Spencer Clark: So some sites, for example, you may pay to get in, but then you may pay for an audio or a multimedia guide or an app afterwards. So you're paying for your ticket and then you've got a secondary spend for a guide. I have seen a lot of our sites, especially some of the bigger ones, they have an all inclusive. So you buy your ticket and you get your guide included. But those two models means two different things because on the all inclusive, the majority of your audience are getting that guide. Therefore that story that we're going to create for you is being told to the biggest proportion of your audience, whereas those who buy additional, you know, the take up is going to be lower, therefore that message is not going to get to that many. But you don't need as many devices. Spencer Clark: And so we look at kind of whether they can handle a stop of hundreds or thousands of devices in some cases. Kelly Molson: Oh, you mean like where they're going to put them? Spencer Clark: Exactly. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's all about that. Spencer Clark: These castles and heritage sites didn't really they weren't designed to hold racks or racks of guides, which is why they end up in some funny places, sometimes moat houses and whatever. So we start there, that's kind of walk it through. We want to listen and understand what everybody as a stakeholder, what they're wanting from it, but then we really kind of go, what does the visitor really need and want? What are they paying for? What are their expectations? And how can we have our impact on the visitor experience, which is essentially what it is. We're involved with storytelling content, visitor experience and technology, essentially the delivery method of it. Kelly Molson: What's a good case study, then, that you could share with us? I guess the proof of the pudding is in people being engaged with those stories. So it'll be about the feedback, right, that the organisation gets once people have been through the experience and they get good TripAdvisor recommendations and all that kind of thing. What's a good example that you can share with us of something where you've worked on it and it's made quite a vast difference to that experience?Spencer Clark: I'd like to say every single project. We generally want every client. We're passionate about making a difference. You're investing in time and money and we want to add as much creativity to it, but we want it to be as effective as possible, which is why I really want to understand what clients are wanting to get. If we look at this in a year's time, what do you want to see happen? And if it is better, TripAdvisor does that. I think we're hitting that really well, because not many sites, I'd say you have visitors kind of commenting on the audio or the multimedia guide back in the day. But when you look at a lot of our client sites, they get mentioned in TripAdvisor and how it's made a massive difference. Spencer Clark: So I was chatting with a client today, the guide is eight years old, a multimedia guide. We did a full film production for the introduction film, but then we also put that content into the guide, so it felt like this really the continuity in the storytelling. So once you arrive, you watch the film, you got the characters on the film, but they also feature in your guide. So as you've watched it, you go off and you go to a dinner party and we're just chatting today and they said, eight years on and it's still really good and getting reference to and we've got prospect clients and new clients who go over and check it out and they just love it. Just because we've designed it to last a long time, it shouldn't date because it's often our sector. Spencer Clark: They're not refreshing content like that every couple of years. It needs to last as long as it can and get its money's worth. The output is a great Visitor experience. Hopefully we're inputting on the NPS score, so hopefully people are saying, “yes, the overall, we're one part”. My colleague, Craig, he says it people don't go to a site for the multimedia guide. Right. They're not going, oh, we're here ATS are great, let's definitely go to one of their sites. They don't they go there? And then once they get this wonderful experience with the front of house with a fantastic audio multimedia guide that's been thought about and really designed well. Spencer Clark: And then the retail was great and the food and beverage was good and there was parking and whatever, and it was a sunny day because if it's a rainy day, everyone has a really bad experience. It's raining, which is obviously out of control of many sites. So, yeah, we're one element, but an important one, we feel, that really impacts on ATS and TripAdvisor and feedback and repeat visits. Kelly Molson: Do you get asked that question, actually, about how long this will last? So you said that guide has been around for about eight years now and I'm thinking, "yeah, that's good going, that's good return on investment, right?" We get asked that quite a lot about websites. "How frequently do you need to update your website? How frequently do we need to go through this process from redesign and development?" And I think it really depends on how well it's been done to start with. So we've worked with attractions where we did their website, like six or seven years ago. It still looks great because it was thought out really well, it's planned well, the brand was in place and it's the same, I guess, with your guide, if it's done well from the start, it's going to last longer. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. And to me, that's part of the brief, that's the design process, looking at the brief and the clients and asking those questions, "Well, you're, you can update this" and you kind of know they're not going to update it in a year. So how long was the shelf life of this product? What do you want it to last? And so once you know that at the beginning, you start producing it in a way that you say, well, that might date, you could have contemporary fashion, but that might look a bit dated in five, six, seven years time, whereas if we go animation, you can make things last a lot longer. But then, yeah, realistically you could be looking at how long does this last? Eight years, nine years? Spencer Clark: We've got clients up to ten years now. As long as you write it, you have an awareness that you don't mention potentially people's names who work there because they may move on and maybe even the job title might change. So you got to just be a little bit careful of kind of mentioning that, especially at site's consideration. When you've got 12, 13 languages, you make one change in the English, you've then got to change all that. So again, it's this understanding at the beginning saying, well, the risk of having a celebrity or whoever if you don't want them and they're out of faith or whatever, or they're not available to do any rerecords you got to think about that and say, well, that's going to have a knock on effect, and that will change then eventually. Spencer Clark: So, yeah, there's all these little secrets of the way in which things are, but we're aware of them. And that has a massive impact on the cost down the line. And the quality, of course.Kelly Molson: That's the benefit of the consultancy approach that you take as well, isn't it? Is it, that you are asking those questions up front and you're thinking long term about what's best for the organisation, not what's necessarily best for you? Is it better for me if they update this every three years or every eight years? But what you want is to get them the best experience from it and have the best product possible. So you ask all the right questions to start with. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. And sites are all different. The story at one place might not change, but they might have a different view on it and so or a different angle coming in. Well, there's a different story or theme within that place. So we did know National Trust site, so they had a big conservation project and so we've done the restoration conservation story. They've come back to a couple of years and now we're looking at different stories within them and telling stories very much around female stories at the house as well. So we're bringing that in. And what we can do, we're going to layer it and put in with the content so it will start to really. You have this lovely kind of layering of story and content that people can dip in and out of depending on what they're interested in. Spencer Clark: But that means it is evolving, but you're not recording loads of other stuff, you're just starting to build up on this nice kind of collection of content. But then you got sites such that you know they're going to have temporary exhibitions every year. So Buckingham Palace, we do their permanent tour, but then the exhibition changes every year, so we'll be going in there and rewriting content just for that element of it. So, yeah, most places don't change a lot of their content, but when you do, it's usually just elements of it, or adding languages or adding an access tool or something like that. Kelly Molson: Yeah, and I love that.  But actually what we're trying to do is just make something better. And that doesn't always mean that you have to spend a shitload of money on making something, you know what I mean? You don't have to start from scratch, you can make something really great with what you have. So we've been talking a lot with attractions about just making what they have better. They don't need a new website right now. What you could do is just add these things in and that would make your website 10% better than it is now. Amazing, right? You've saved yourself a lot of budget, but you've still got this brilliant project and that's the same with what you're talking about. It's not a start from scratch, it's just building on and improving what you have. That's a good place. Spencer Clark: It's a good offer to have. I think it is, because sometimes you just want a little refresh and actually just slightly dated or that's not the language or the tone we use completely. So we just want to change this intro and often the introduction is the beginning of the experience. So if you can tweak and change that can actually set the tone for the rest of it anyway. We often go and say, "Well, what have you gotten? What improvements can you make on a minimal budget?" And that's the honest conversation you have early on and you're going, "What do you want to happen realistically? What are your budgets, what's your time scales?" And then we'll come back to you with something that's tailored to you and see what we can do. Spencer Clark: And often a review of the current experience and will be constructive and we think you could just improve these bits at the moment. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I love that approach. And also, do you have a moathouse that you can keep all these devices in? And while we're on the topic of that, let's talk about something that you mentioned earlier, which is this app versus devices debate. So you mentioned, and it hadn't even occurred to me. Do people have the storage space for all of these devices? Are they going to be able to put them somewhere? And I bet you get asked us all the time, isn't it going to better if we have an app because people have got that phone in their back pocket all the time and so then you don't necessarily need as many of the devices as you might need. There's quite a big debate around this at the moment, isn't there? What's your take on it? Spencer Clark: Well, of course I've got my opinion on this one, Kelly. But you know, these questions when I joined the ATS, so I joined eleven years ago and I started going to the conferences and the shows and the exhibitions and you know, apps were around and it was the, "Oh yeah, they're going to be the death of the audio guide". So there's me, joined a company thinking, "Oh okay, I wonder how long I'll be around for". But what history has shown me is that what drives a really good product and a good solution, whether it's an app or a device, is really understanding those outcomes and visitor behaviours and COVID was obviously a point in time where people weren't touching things.Spencer Clark: And it was a concern at the time like, “okay, I wonder how long is this going to play out?”. But what we found is humans fall back into an ease of life and convenience and quality, I think is kind of where people say, "Oh, no, they won't use devices anymore and they won't use touch screens". And I remember chatting with Dave Patton from Science Museum and he said, “Yeah, in COVID, we turned all the touchscreens off”. Everyone kept going up to them and touching them because they thought they were off to turn them on, so they turned them off so that people wouldn't use them. And actually what they're doing was touching that device more. Do you remember the days people were wiping down all the trolleys? I'm quite an optimist, so I was sitting at the time. Spencer Clark: Once we passed this and through it, I feel we will kind of fall back into, you're not going to take your own cutlery to a restaurant a year, so that hasn't happened. And QR codes are less and less visible on those restaurants. Yeah. What it really is about for us is, and I touched upon it, there's a few things around why ultimately you can do everything. Our multimedia guides and audio guys can do pretty much one of these, but for a number of reasons, visitors aren't necessarily going straight over to these and dropping the hardware. If I rock up with my kids, got two kids, they don't have phones, so they're not going to download an app when they get there. My phone is my car key, it's my travel, it's my wallet, it's everything, so I'm using it all day. Spencer Clark: And there's obviously battery concerns there as well, so you kind of start getting kind of battery anxiety of that where you carry around a charger. But there is something and the more and more we work with clients and we compare, we put apps in places as well as multimedia guides or audio guides, and we look at the take up and we look at the behaviour of visitors. And even more recently, we're doing a site. At the moment, it's got temporary exhibition for six months. I'll be able to say a bit more about it once we've done the end of the review, but essentially we've had kind of AB testing and looking at how the take up is for guides versus apps and we're positively seeing big demand for devices for a number of reasons with the audience time who were there. There's the quality. Spencer Clark: As far as I've paid my ticket, especially on the all inclusive, I get my guide and it's really well designed and this is part of the experience designed for it. I'm not worrying about battery and the headphones are in there. I haven't got people walking around with audio blaring out because they've gotten their headphones, which is really annoying to all the other visitors that I've been to a few museums and seen that and heard that it's not a great experience. There's definitely a quality thing there about it's part of, this is part of. Kelly Molson: Do you think it's part of, it's escapism as well? So, like, for me, I'm terrible if we're out and about, if me, my little girl and my husband are out for the day, my phone is in my bag the whole time and I forget to take pictures. I forget to tell social media that I've been to a place, "Oh, God, what I've got for lunch”, because I'm too busy doing it. And I think with the kind of headsets thing, there's an element of escapism there, isn't there, where you don't have to have your phone. I like not having to be on my phone. I like that for the whole day. I've had such a great day, they haven't even thought about looking at my phone. So I don't know whether there's an element there. Kelly Molson: We're so tied to our phones all the day, all day, aren't we?  For work and things.  I'm just going to put these headphones on. I'm going to escape into a different world where I don't need to think about it. Spencer Clark: Yeah, don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for apps and there's a use for them, which is why we've developed a platform that makes apps as well. But the devices over this recent exhibition, I'm just learning more from visitors and the staff who are there, and they're saying, "Yeah, you take your phone and you might have the tour going, but I don't turn my notifications off, so I'll still get interrupted by things". And you're right, I want to be in this experience. And my attention, I'm hoping, is mostly on what's there and the stories that are being told to me. So, yeah, there's a lot around there. There's also perceived value. Spencer Clark: I did a talk at Historic houses pre covered, but I had like 160 people in the Alexandra Palace and I asked them all, "how many of you just have downloaded an app in the last twelve months?" A few hands put up and then said, "Okay, how many of you paid for an app out of those?" and all the hands went down. There's this thing about, would you spend £5 on an app? Probably not a lot of people would. It's got to be really well promoted and maybe in the right circumstances, the right place, the right exhibition, you'd get someone doing that, but people will pay and you see it. They will pay £5 for a device that's being designed and put in there as part of the official experience of this site. Spencer Clark: So you've got to look at the take up and the reach that an app will bring over a device as well. So there is perceived value. See if you can charge for it great or if it's in ticket price, it just makes the whole value of the experience even better. I'm not sure what's your experience when was the last time you paid for an app, Kelly? Kelly Molson: Bigger question, as you asked it, I was thinking, and I can't remember. There must be something that I've paid a minimum value for, like it was like, I don't know, £0.69p or £1.29 or something like that, but I couldn't tell you what it was or when I downloaded it. Kelly Molson: I mostly have car parking apps on my phone. Honestly, I think at one point I counted I had seven different car parking apps on my phone because all of the car parks obviously stopped taking cash. I'm terrible with cash, I never have any of that. A lot of them. But they're all free.Spencer Clark: There's definitely something there around perceived value and what it means to the experience, I think. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's really interesting, actually. Spencer Clark: The debate will continue for years, though, Kelly. The debate will carry on.  And if that's about telling a great story to as many people as possible. Right now, in our view and our data that shows across all these sites is devices that are doing a better job than apps at the moment. But there's still a choice. Some people will have them. And I think it's going to be a blend. It's going to be a blend, but overwhelmingly the device is more. Kelly Molson: But it's interesting because you mentioned and one of my questions is, how is ATS evolving? Because I guess that you didn't always have apps as an option for people. So that's probably one of the ways that you've evolved over the years, right? Spencer Clark: Yeah. So we started doing audio guides. That was the initial and then again, Mike, the founder, was really spotted multimedia as an opportunity, screen devices as we started coming through. Not everyone had smartphones at that point. And so to provide a screen device, it was great for putting additional content and film content and also accessibility, sign language videos and things like that, which is how I got into ATS, sign language videos. So putting them on a screen and you look at how much audio visual content we now all consume on a small handheld device, he definitely saw something. And that's where ATS kind of drove that element. A lot of our work was multimedia guides over audio guides. Spencer Clark: And it was about not just playing audio with an image on the screen, because that's not adding much for the sake of this device, you need to add a lot more to it. And that's where we grew our in house production team. So all the editors coming up with really good ideas and animations and videos or interface designs, all that sort of stuff, and interactives and games and things like that, you could be really just opened up a whole world of opportunity, really. Yeah. So we started pushing that. But again, part of that design process was, and going back to the kind of we only had 10 seconds to tell this story or whatever, it's the same with these devices, and when we're creating content, visual content, it's got to warrant the visitor's attention. Spencer Clark: If you've got an amazing masterpiece in front of you, then of course you don't want to be head down in the screen, you want to be looking at it. But what could that screen do, if anything? We may decide not to even put anything on there, just go audio. But there could be something there that you want to, a curator might be interviewed and show you certain details on the painting and you could point them out on the screen. That then allows you to look and engage with the art in front of you. But, yeah, we drove that kind of way of delivering interpretation on site through multimedia guys, but we do a lot of audio as well. Spencer Clark: I'm just plain, straight, simple audio, I say simple, but lovely sound effects, really nice produced, choosing the right voices, really good script, sound effects, that sort of stuff. So, yeah, it's quite a pure way, I guess you would say, with audio owned.Kelly Molson: Nice, you mentioned the word warrant back there. Which brings me to my next question, which I think is fascinating, because there aren't many organisations that are ever going to achieve this, but ATS has a Royal Warrant now. Spencer Clark: Yeah, yeah, we got it in March 22. Kelly Molson: Absolutely phenomenal. Tell us a little bit about that. Spencer Clark: Yeah, so we've worked with Royal Household for quite, well, a couple of sites for over 15 years. We provide audio multimedia guides across pretty much all of the raw sites now, which is a wonderful achievement, we're really proud of it. And, yeah, we applied for a Royal Warrant. They're awarded to about 800 businesses in the UK and they range from one person, sole trader, craftsman, craft people through, to multinationals and SMEs and everybody in between. And it's a mark of quality and excellence in delivery of service and sustainable as well over a long period of time. We applied for it and were awarded it in March. It was a really lovely accolade for us as a business and it was a great moment to get so we've got a hold of that now. Kelly Molson: That must have been lovely. So, again, at the start of the episode, you mentioned that you'd moved into the MD role, and that was a couple of years ago. Right. So you've been an MD through COVID times, which must have been a challenge for you. As a founder of an organisation myself, I know that was a big challenge, having to learn how to do things in a completely different way. That must have been a really lovely kind of success story of those times. Spencer Clark: Definitely. We have got such an amazing team and one that people stay with us, our team stay with us for a long period of time and it was also a point where I was taking over and the founder, Mike, was properly retiring. So for him, it was really great to get for him. And we had one made up for him as well, a plat, so you can have his own he's got his own rule warrant, but yeah, for the rest of the team, it is a recognition. What's really important for me is that everybody in the team is responsible for the quality of service that we deliver from picking up the phone and working on projects, the development team, the service team, the teams that go on site. Spencer Clark: We've got staff as well, so we staff at St Paul's Cathedral and Bucks Palace and Windsor Castle, so we got members team handing out guides and operations there. And it's everyone's responsibility in our business to offer a great service in everything we do. And it definitely was yeah, it was a really great recognition that we could share with the team. Kelly Molson: Amazing. Right, what is next for ATS? What exciting developments are they're coming up that you can share with us? Anything on the horizon? Spencer Clark: Yeah, I guess this year feels like many, and I've been speaking to, you know, it's nice to get back into conferences and exhibitions and stuff where you kind of chatting to the sector, but this feels a little bit more normal as a year. I think last year was still a kind of bounce back out of COVID but this year seems to be mor. There's tenders coming through. People are now doing new projects, so that's good to see. So there's an appetite. I think what it's really shown is there's an appetite in the sector to really improve the quality of visitor experiences. I think that's what's really that I'm seeing and something that we're well positioned to support clients in is that quality of a visitor experience. On the back of that, we're looking at always continuing to look at different ways in which to tell stories and the way in which we can engage with the visitor, which doesn't always mean the latest tech. Spencer Clark: We've looked at AR and things like that and we've tried it, but what you got to be careful, what you got to understand is, instead of when you've got visitors from 8 to 85 year olds, your solution has to be accessible to everybody. And as soon as you might put in something that might if the technology doesn't quite work in that environment because it's too dark or too light or whatever, or the tech just isn't there to do it, then it suddenly breaks the magic of that experience. Spencer Clark: And so you look at different ways of being innovative and that can just be through a really different approach to the script writing, or putting a binaural 3D soundscape instead, or having a really good interactive that just brings the family in to answer questions or something like that. We will always continue to innovate, but it's not necessarily about technology. But we love tech. But you've got to think about the practical implications of tech in the projects. And that goes back to earlier I said about sustainability in the budget and some organisations just don't have the appetite or the budget to invest in some of this tech, even though they see it and they say, “we want that”. Okay, “this is how much it's cost. And it's brand new”, so you'd be developing from scratch or whatever. Spencer Clark: And it's not always palatable with the budget holders. So, yes, you got to think about operationally sustainable. What's the best solution that reaches your outcomes, essentially? So, yeah, where else are we heading? Great content. We've got new products coming through, new devices, that sort of stuff, which has kind of been, like I said, our core business. But we're also doing a lot more online, so digital exhibitions, things like that. So we're taking our onsite storytelling experience and moving online. So we've done some virtual tours, but not just 360s where you've got hotspots. We add the ATS magic to it. What else can we add into those kind of online experiences? It's a different experience, but we can definitely add some lovely creativity to the storytelling on that. So we did that with a number of clients, including Glenn Palace. Spencer Clark: We did the Churchill exhibition, which was a full three day film shoot over COVID, which was a huge challenge. But yeah, there was a high risk factor there when your main star is a Churchill lookalike and if he got COVID, the whole shoot pretty much cancelled, but we managed to get through that, so that was good. So, yeah, more of that sort of stuff. So, looking at the online space, we're getting into 3D digitisation of collections, so we've got a partnership going on where we can photogram using photogrammetry to create 3D models. And then what we're saying is we add the ATS magic to that, where you got that model. Let's put it in context, let's tell that story around that actual object. Spencer Clark: It's a 3D model, so, yeah, we're playing around with areas on that and some other things that I'm sure I'll share in the future. We're not standing still. That's for sure.Kelly Molson: No. And I'm sure I'll hear about it at whatever conferences that we're at together at some point, Spencer. We always ask our guests about a book that they love that they would like to share with our listeners. What have you prepped for us today? Spencer Clark: I'm in the car a lot, so I do a lot of audio books, if anything. I don't know if it's an excuse, but I just don't find time to sit and actually read. Busy family life, busy work life, all that sort of stuff. So a lot of audiobooks. But also, I love business books, whatever you can learn from kind of business and marketing. And obviously I had that role previous to ATS, I was kind of supporting small businesses and stuff. So there's one I had, I attended a session by a marketeer called Bryony Thomas and she's got a book called Watertight Marketing. Her session was brilliant, it was really practical, it's really scalable. So it could be for a one person company, sole trader, up to an organisation that has multiple products online, wherever. Spencer Clark: It was just a really good book that just gives you clarity and thinking. And there's this takeaway straight away from it and a really good approach to kind of reviewing your marketing and how well it's working, and then just picking those things that are going to work quickest to find out where the weaknesses are, the leaks, essentially, she calls them. So, yeah, I'd really recommend it. I'm hoping quite a lot of your listeners are interested in marketing. We're all looking at trying to get visitors back in and what our service and products are. So I'd recommend Watertight Marketing by Bryony Thomas. Kelly Molson: Oh, I think that's a great recommendation. I've read that book, I've met Bryony once a very long time ago and it's so simple, it's ridiculous, isn't it? And you think, "how is this the first book that's talked about marketing in this way?" That's what blew my mind when I read it and it is, it's just about plugging the gaps, filling the holes in your bucket. It's absolutely brilliant concept, great book. Thank you for sharing. Right, listen, if you want to win a copy of that book, and I would recommend that you do, if you head over to our Twitter account and you retweet this episode announcement with the words I want Spencer's book, then you might be lucky enough to win yourself a copy. Thankfully, it was only just one book today. Everyone else tries to kill my marketing budget and goes with two. Kelly Molson: So well done you, Spencer. Thank you ever so much for joining us on the podcast today. It's lovely that you came on, I'm really pleased that you did. Lots to think about there and loads of tips for our listeners if they're thinking about enhancing their stories. So thank you. Spencer Clark: It's been a pleasure. 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.

https://www.whisky.de/p.php?id=RBRAC2101 Nosing 04:10 Wir verkosten den Royal Brackla 21 Jahre. Die Brennerei Royal Brackla erhielt 1833 ihr erstes Royal Warrant von König William IV. Es war das erste Mal, dass ein Whisky so ausgezeichnet wurde. Bereits fünf Jahre später wurde die Auszeichnung von seiner Nichte, Königin Victoria, erneuert. Auch für die 21 Jahre alte Abfüllung wurde regionales Malz und das Quellwasser des Cawdor Burns verwendet, was für Royal Brackla typisch ist. Das Liquid aus der langsamen Destillation wird dann in feinsten Eichenfässern gelagert und in einer Kombination aus Oloroso-, Palo Cortado- und Pedro Ximénez Sherryfässern veredelt. Das Ergebnis ist ein hochwertiger und angenehmer Single Malt Whisky. Jetzt auch als Podcast: https://www.whisky.de/shop/newsletter/#podcast Geschmacksbeschreibungen und Informationen finden Sie in unserem Shop auf Whisky.de Abonnieren: http://www.youtube.com/user/thewhiskystore?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whisky.de/ Telegram: https://t.me/whisky_de Merch: https://whiskyde-fanartikel.creator-spring.com/

Este episódio tem doses industriais de TMI (aka Too Much Information). A culpa não é nossa, mas antes de Harry, figura da realeza britânica que resolveu reunir num livro de memórias várias histórias relacionadas com beleza. A primeira é em torno de um pénis congelado. Mas há mais. Esta semana, mergulhamos nos episódios de Spare que mencionam produtos de beleza. Discutimos o que tem a ganhar (e a perder) Elizabeth Arden com o estatuto de salvadora oficial de orgãos sexuais congelados e debatemos sobre os limites da partilha de lipglosses. Sigam-nos no Instagram em @istonaoeoqueparecepod Enviem-nos um e-mail para istonaoeoqueparecepodcast@gmail.com com dúvidas, questões e sugestões. Sigam-nos também nas redes: @carolinaadaspereira @joanapem Mencionado no episódio: Livro “Na Sombra”, Príncipe Harry https://www.bertrand.pt/livro/na-sombra-principe-harry/27844729 Audiobook com a passagem em análise: https://twitter.com/shirlpuzz/status/1613189115649953800?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1613189115649953800|twgr^8fe73afc4b67ba061e5f51daf786f28a493c7790|twcon^s1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Fstefficao%2Fprince-harry-spare-frostbitten-penis-elizabeth-arden Eight Hour Cream, Elizabeth Arden “The Story Behind A Classic Beauty Product That's Fit For The Queen” https://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/article/queen-elizabeth-arden-eight-hour-cream “These beauty brands were granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth II” https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/g41206339/royal-warrant-beauty-brands/ Tweet Elizabeth Arden https://twitter.com/ElizabethArden/status/1612494553180737553?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.notion.so%2F7b09f3b364bf4da7a95dede9244b206a%3Fv%3D7e09718f0958421f80e1d9c2e78f12cb%26p%3Ddf21fe596250413fa635bd422eb61fd4%26pm%3Ds Perfume Eau de Toilette Sauvage, Dior Penhaligon's Floris Perfume First, Van Cleef & Arpels Podcast Due Diligence https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/due-diligence/id1632703211 Pico https://picocopenhagen.com/collections/hair-accessories Obrigada por ouvirem.

To kick off our 2023 season, we look at how the Queen's death affects the marketing world. Over 600 companies had been granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth,giving them prestige and enviable marketing power. But with the monarch's death – all Royal Warrants become null and void. It's now up to King Charles to honour them– or not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Morgan-Hewitt shares secrets of The Goring, the only London hotel to have Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Warrant.

A amizade e a admiração entre a rainha Elizabeth II e os franceses era recíproca. A monarca britânica, falecida na última quinta-feira (8), adorava a França e demonstrou isso em cada uma das cinco visitas de Estado que fez a Paris e outras cidades.  Autoridades, artistas, intelectuais, cidadãos e a imprensa francesa lamentaram o falecimento de Elizabeth II. Apesar de os franceses terem adotado o sistema republicano há mais de dois séculos e terem apego ao Estado laico, a rainha inspirava admiração e respeito do outro lado do Canal da Mancha. Em sinal de luto, a Torre Eiffel ficou apagada na noite que se seguiu à morte da monarca. No dia seguinte, as bandeiras amanheceram a meio-mastro, em todos os edifícios públicos franceses.   Em um vídeo de 3 minutos, gravado em inglês, o presidente Emmanuel Macron se dirigiu diretamente aos britânicos. Na gravação, ele disse que a morte de Elizabeth II "deixava uma sensação de vazio nos franceses". Macron prometeu perpetuar os valores que a soberana nunca deixou de encarnar e promover "a força moral da democracia e da liberdade".  Macron foi até a embaixada britânica, em Paris, que é vizinha do Palácio do Eliseu, no Faubourg Saint-Honoré, e assinou o livro de condolências aberto pela missão diplomática. Ele conversou durante alguns minutos com a embaixadora britânica e disse: "acredito que os franceses estão comovidos porque a rainha foi uma personalidade, uma presença que acompanhou 70 anos da vida dos britânicos e da Europa".  Elizabeth II adorava a França e demonstrou isso em cada uma das cinco visitas de Estado que fez a Paris e a outras cidades francesas. Ela falava perfeitamente o francês, conhecia profundamente a história do país e, conforme lembrou o ex-ministro Jack Lang, "admirava a cultura francesa, os vinhos, a gastronomia, a famosa 'art de vivre à la française'", ou seja, a maneira como os franceses celebram a vida no cotidiano, além de ter sido uma pró-europeia convicta. Para alguns, pode parecer contraditório que um povo que fez uma revolução sangrenta para derrubar a monarquia há mais de 200 anos, cortando cabeças de membros da família real da época, tenha essa relação de admiração pela monarca britânica falecida. Mas não é. Tranquilidade e segurança A estabilidade que Elizabeth II transmitia dentro e fora do país inspira essa admiração entre os herdeiros da Revolução Francesa, de 1789. O jornal Le Figaro publicou um editorial muito preciso sobre isso, na sexta-feira (9): "O mundo podia tremer, a identidade da Inglaterra ser ameaçada, a família real ser abalada por dramas e escândalos, mas o ar sereno e imperturbável da rainha transmitiam tranquilidade”.  Essa qualidade de Elizabeth II, associada à relação de amizade particular que ela sempre demonstrou em relação à França, criaram esse laço forte e duradouro.  Depois de ser coroada, a França foi o primeiro país que a rainha visitou fora da Comunidade de Nações britânica, o Commonwealth. Essa histórica visita a Paris aconteceu em 1956, quando ela tinha 30 anos. No discurso pronunciado num jantar de gala oferecido no Palácio do Eliseu, ela disse em um francês impecável que esperava que "a confiança e a compreensão mútua entre a República Francesa e o Reino Unido durassem para sempre".  Elizabeth II conviveu com nove presidentes franceses Em 70 anos de reinado, Elizabeth II conviveu com nove presidentes franceses. Em Paris ou Londres, ela sempre demonstrava estar contente de se reunir com os chefes de Estado franceses. Com alguns aconteceram discordâncias e gafes, porém logo superados. A história registra que a rainha tinha uma cumplicidade especial com o socialista François Mitterand, com quem conviveu durante dois mandatos consecutivos, de 1981 a 1995. A cultura do líder francês socialista encantava a monarca. Eles trabalharam juntos para construir o túnel sob o Canal da Mancha, que hoje liga a França à Grã-Bretanha.  Apesar do Brexit, as expectativas do governo francês são positivas em relação ao rei Charles III. Com uma personalidade mais aberta e engajada, Charles III poderá redefinir a monarquia britânica. Ele é um ativo defensor do meio ambiente, e a França conta com esta convicção do novo soberano para influenciar o mundo a acelerar o combate à mudança climática. Champagne preferido da rainha O fabricante de champagne Pol Roger publicou uma nota de pesar pelo falecimento da rainha. A marca francesa, que primeiro conquistou o paladar do ex-primeiro-ministro britânico Winston Churchill e depois o de Elizabeth II, tornou-se fornecedora oficial da coroa britânica há várias décadas. A rainha gostava de degustar uma taça de Pol Roger "extra brut" nas recepções que oferecia no Castelo de Windsor. William e Kate Middleton serviram essa marca de champagne em seu casamento, em abril de 2011. Harry e Meghan Markle fizeram o mesmo em maio de 2018. O fabricante francês, instalado em Épernay, na região de Champagne, tem orgulho de exibir em suas garrafas "Royal Warrant of Appointment", um selo concedido às empresas que fornecem produtos à coroa inglesa. "A Maison Pol Roger está profundamente entristecida com a morte de Sua Majestade a Rainha Elizabeth II e agradecida por sua longa vida de dedicação e serviço", diz a nota publicada na home page do vinhedo.

Our hosts Cheesy and Fondue celebrate National Cheese Toast Day! We talk about cheese toast at Sizzler, we discuss Welsh Rarebit and other variations. We learn about the Royal Warrant as it pertains to cheese, we hear a tragic tale of destroyed cheese and of course we tell a very cheesy joke! Find us at www.justcheesy.com and everywhere you enjoy social media! https://linktr.ee/JustCheesy Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!!!!! Season 2 Episode 17 Show notes: This week in cheese https://www.cbsnews.com/news/contraband-cheese-seized-us-customs-border-protection-texas-mexico/ https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/1650811/queen-elizabeth-ii-favourite-cheese-paxton-and-whitfield-prince-charles-exclusive https://www.royalwarrant.org/content/frequently-asked-questions National Cheese Toast day https://www.instagram.com/sizzlerusa/ https://nationaltoday.com/national-cheese-toast-day/ https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/food-and-drink/article/sizzler-cheese-toast-recipe-australia https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/cheese-toast-day/ Sizzler https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-01-mn-6646-story.html Welsh Rarebit Blushing bunny https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_rarebit https://www.theenglishkitchen.co/2019/08/proper-welsh-rarebit.html Golden Buck https://www.fusioncraftiness.com/buck-rarebit-a-welsh-rarebit-with-egg-recipe/ Scotch Rarebit https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2445/Scotch-Rarebit135976.shtml

As Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II marks 70 years on the throne, we find out how you get a royal warrant. It's an official seal of approval granted to the suppliers of goods and services to the Royal household. In London we visit one of Britain's oldest cheese shops, Paxton & Whitfield, established in 1797. Managing director James Rutter tells us about the royal warrants the business has held since Queen Victoria was on the throne. We also visit Windsor, home to Windsor Castle one of the Queen's many properties and Windsor & Eton brewery, which was awarded a royal warrant in 2018. Owner Will Calvert tells us what it takes to get this royal recognition. Royal Warrant holders can't tell you much about what the royal household buys or likes, we try to fill in the gaps with royal and social historian Caroline Aston, features writer for Majesty Magazine. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Presented by Ruth Alexander. Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

Let me introduce you to Scott Goodfellow, the Joint MD of Wilkin and Sons often referred to as ‘ Tiptree' Jam and condiment makers , based in the Essex village of Tiptree. More recently the business has expanded into gin liqueurs made with their fruits, acquired and opened tearooms in and around Essex and Suffolk …. And created a homewares range of candles, aprons and other products inspired by their jams. Scott talks about growing up in Dundee and how he thought he may follow his sister into the police force but in fact he studied engineering and embarked on a graduate training programme with Unilever, then followed some years working for Mars as a shift manager and then a move into sales with Mars. He has been at Wilkin's now for 14 years, so is still a relative newcomer compared to some of the staff…. Scott says a business can never have enough talent and loves to recruit people who will stretch them as a business and push them to see things differently. I learned that their lime marmalade makes a very good mojito, something that I must put to the test …. All in the interests of research. Wilkin and Sons have held the Royal Warrant since 1911 so Scott says his job is jam maker to the Queen. Their products are sold in over 70 countries around the World. The business has a great culture but is inspiring in how open and inclusive they are to hearing other people's ideas and thoughts and as you will hear that is how some great products have come to be made. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Scottish Field has two guests in our 35th podcast episode. Our first guest this week is a John Savournin, who's directing a new Scottish Opera Highlights production, which is touring to 18 venues around the country this spring. Starting on February 8 at Websters Theatre in Glasgow's West End the tour visits Birnam, Midmar, Fochabers, Tain, Wick, Harris, North Uist, Isle of Barra, Ardfern, Lochranza, Cove, Newton Stewart, Melrose, Lockerbie, Troon, Killin and finishes at Cumbernauld Theatre on 19 March. John directs a cast that includes Scottish soprano Monica McGhee, former Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Margo Arsane and Shengzhi Ren, who were both in Così fan tutte earlier this year, and Dan Shelvey (The Gondoliers 2021). This is a great chance for audiences to see Margo and Shengzhi perform in Opera Highlights, as they were originally scheduled to take part in the tour last year, before it was cancelled because of the pandemic. Mark Sandon joins the singers as pianist and Music Director. The Edwardian-inspired production, designed by Janis Hart, is an opportunity to hear a whole range of music in just one evening, and curated by Scottish Opera's Head of Music Derek Clark. audiences can enjoy much-loved classics including Hansel & Gretel, Die Fledermaus and La bohème, as well as lesser known gems. The production also features the world premiere of a new piece by Scottish composer, Lucie Treacher. The quartet, entitled ‘To the Lighthouse', weaves together scenes from the 1927 novel by Virginia Woolf. Tickets are on sale now for the new vaudeville-inspired show at www.scottishopera.org.uk Our second guest is someone who's represented his country on the football field. The board of Walker's Shortbread Ltd last week announced that Nicky Walker has been appointed managing director with immediate effect. Nicky had a career as a footballer, which started in Leicester, took him to Motherwell, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Dingwall, playing in goal for clubs including Motherwell, Rangers, Partick Thistle, Hearts, Aberdeen and Ross Country, before retiring in 2002 after a spell with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Nicky joined the family firm 25 years ago, was appointed to the Board in 2007 as production director and has been instrumental, working alongside his late father, Joe, in developing the company's world-class facilities in Aberlour and Elgin. But, of course, Nicky had a career of his own before joining the family firm, which was founded in 1898 by Joseph Walker in the Speyside village of Aberlour, with the ambition to bake ‘The World's Finest Shortbread'. Walker's products are now sold all over the world and the company bakes the most extensive selection of pure butter shortbreads available, as well as producing a wide range of other Scottish delicacies. The company employs over 1400 people across its sites in Elgin and Aberlour and holds a Royal Warrant for Shortbread & Oatcakes, by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen. You can order the latest Scottish Field, priced £4.75, or subscribe, at www.scottishfield.co.uk/subscriptions

Graham is the Managing Director of Glencraft (Aberdeen) Ltd and Glencraft Luxury, a social enterprise, providing dignity through work to their disadvantaged staff.Glencraft were awarded the highest of the ‘Best Social Enterprise in the UK' in 2015 as part of the UK Private Business Awards. Glencraft is also the proud recipient of the Queen's Award for Enterprise – Promoting Opportunity, 2021. They also hold an impressive Royal Warrant.Graham's plan is to have ‘Glencraft' around for another 170 years and employ more people. He'd love to be able to employ 10 more disadvantaged people next year.A Corporate Banker by profession, Graham has over 35years experience in company management & business strategy within professional services & financial sectors.  He has operated at Board level for several companies and is involved in several charitable organisations.  He was nominated for EY Entrepreneur of The Year in 2018 as recognition for the innovative changes brought to Glencraft.  Graham is also Regional Director of the Year 2019 and 2020 for Aberdeen and Grampian, recognised by the Institute of Directors in consecutive years.  graham.mcwilliam@glencraft.co.uk – business Twitter handle is @Glencraft1843 https://www.linkedin.com/company/glencraft-luxury-mattresses/mycompany/01224 873366 – business 0777 5905857 – mobi   Sylvia Baldock has been transforming lives from the tender age of 13 when she ran a youth group for deprived teenagers in Glasgow, Scotland.Throughout her varied career from Theatre Sister in Open heart Surgery to a Masterclass Facilitator, Speaker, Business Mentor/Coach and Author, Sylvia has inspired and motivated thousands of people to recognise the unique value they bring to the workplace and to live a life of purpose and impact by Becoming More Significant.Sylvia works with Leaders, Aspiring Leaders, Teams and Individuals who want to increase visibility, credibility, confidence, clarity, communication, collaboration, motivation, productivity and growth.If you would like to know how you can Become More Significant right now, book a 20 minute free coaching call on https://calendly.com/sylviabaldock/1-2-1-discovery-call or by emailing  sylvia@sylviabaldock.comSylvia Baldock    07909 914815  sylvia@sylviabaldock.com   http://www.sylviabaldock.comhttp://www.facebook.com/sylvia.baldock http://twitter.com/Sylviabaldockhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviabaldockhttps://instagram.com/sylvia.baldockhttp://www.youtube.com/user/sylviabaldock

In this episode, I chat to Ian Maclean, managing director of John Smedley – the oldest operating factory in the world. John Smedley is one of the finest knitwear manufacturers in the world. The company was established 235 years ago, at the start of the Industrial Revolution, and they still operate out of the same factory in Matlock in Derbyshire. In the interview, Ian talks about the challenges that come with operating out of such an old mill, and how he is making his manufacturing more sustainable by investing in upgrades to the mill which will save energy and allow the company to survive for another two hundred years.   Discover: The history of the John Smedley factory 06:22 How the company is bringing the factory into the 21st century 07:55 Why sustainability is important for John Smedley going into the next 200 years 11:50 The positive reaction John Smedley receives from their customers due to holding a Royal Warrant 13:35 How Ian plans to increase the exposure of the John Smedley brand 14:41 Why quality is such an important part of the John Smedley business model 16:12 How many generations have looked after the business and the challenges they faced through the years 17:17 Where Ian sees John Smedley heading in the next ten years and the challenges the business will need to face in order to grow 19:14 More about John Smedley John Smedley Website   More Make it British Manufacturing Made Easy™ -  find out how we can work together to build your British-made brand Make it British website Join Make it British -  become a member of our community Make it British Brands Directory - search for brands and manufacturers that make in the UK Manufacturers Directory - search for manufacturers that are verified members of Make it British Make it British Instagram

In his travels as editor-at-large of a daily newspaper in the UK Martin Hesp came across many interesting people working in all manner of industries and trades - in this podcast he looks back at his meeting with the Rowland family - the Royal Warrant wheelwrights of East Devon

Luxury conglomerates are commonplace now, but back in the 1980’s the idea was laughable. Why would you amass so many brands under one umbrella? What benefit could that possibly serve? Well if you’re Bernard Arnault or Francois Pinault, I’d say the benefits (or profits rather) have been sizeable to say the least. This week we take a look at what you should do when you buy (or relaunch) a brand and the luxury powerhouses behind some of the biggest acquisitions. Plus in Style Snacks, we chat about Bill Nye the Fashion Adviser Guy, The Met Gala’s new theme, Burberry’s Royal Warrant, Celine and Dior’s latest shows and Gucci’s 100 year blowout collection. www.runwaywalkscurrenttalks.com https://www.instagram.com/runwaywalkscurrenttalks/ https://twitter.com/RunwayTalks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW7W32h_5l7nnlrL1vazjlw/featured 

I am delighted to be joined by Philipp Mosimann, Joint Managing Director of Mosimann's. Mosimann's Catering are Holders of a Royal Warrant to HRH Prince of Wales and their business also includes renowned Mosimann's Club in Belgravia , in-house catering at Guard's Polo Club and Royal Lymington Sailing Club, and Mosimann's Hampers. Philipp joined Mosimann's in 2007 after three years in Switzerland, where he was Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Moevenpick Restaurants, after having worked for Equinox Complex of fine-dining restaurants at Raffles City, part of the former Raffles International group. Philipp graduated from Lausanne Hotel School in 2000 and received “Alumnus of Year 2015”. He has worked in the Hotel Nassauerhof in Wiesbaden, Germany, Hotel Crillon in Paris, Villa Principe Leopoldo in Lugano Switzerland and the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Philipp has also been running ultras since 2003 and has completed the following 250km foot race Racingtheplanet Dessert and Roaming Races: Gobi, Atacama (Team Commonwealth 1st position), Sahara, Vietnam, Namibia & Nepal. He recently also completed the prestigious 166km, 9500m positive altitude non stop Ultra Trail Mont Blanc Race in 2014 & 2015. Philipp talks us through the wonderful, and extremely fun party for his friends at Mosimann's Club, London where the drinks will flow freely, some of Mosimann's classic dishes will be savoured and amazing entertainment on show to wow his guests. Philipp speaks eloquently and thoughtfully about running such an esteemed Family Business and his learnings from working around the world. He has an extremely positive message about the remobilisation of hospitality in Singapore post Sars and what this may mean for the year ahead post the Covid Pandemic. Philipp also touches on how he handles the big challenges in the business. This includes having to relocate a high level sports related dinner with international dignitaries in Rio, Brazil for 400 guests with only 7 hours' notice. Philipp is also an exceptional ultra-runner and lots can be learnt from both the discipline it has taken him to train do these and the cultures that it has immersed him in. His insight into Bhutan and its Ministry of Happiness, which makes sure the Nation's happiness is put before anything else, are truly enlightening. Overall this is one of the most thought provoking and engaging podcasts of this series so far and I hope it is a piece of positivity as we look to the summer ahead.

The Gents travel down the path to Laphroaig in the Season FinaleDrams TastedLaphroaig 10Laphroaig Quarter CaskLaphroaig 18Laphroaig SelectLaphroaig Cairdeas 2014Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015

This episode of the Estate Life Podcast is particularly tasty, and has a distinct royal flavour.  It looks at the work of Montmartre Patisserie and Fine Foods. They supply hotels, events and caterers and are regular suppliers to Wimbledon, Henley Regatta and Royal Ascot. Plus they have a Royal Warrant of Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen!

Image of Simon taken in the Directors’ Dining Room at St James’s Street. Image Credit Jamie Coreth (the artist) Simon Berry joined Berry Bros. & Rudd - representing the seventh generation of his family to do so - in 1977. He became Marketing Director in 1987, was elected to the Board in 1994, and was appointed Chairman in January 2005. He retired on his 60th Birthday in November 2017. He spent two years working in France for various wine producers before joining the company, including Moët & Chandon in Champagne, M. Chapoutier in the Rhone, Ch. Mouton-Rothschild in Bordeaux, and Prosper Maufoux in Burgundy. Simon was awarded the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma in 1979 and the Diploma of the British Institute of Marketing in 1983, and in 2003 graduated from the Owner President Management Executive Education program of Harvard Business School. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, a member of the Académie du Champagne, and a Chevalier du Tastevin in Burgundy. He served on the Executive of the Wine & Spirits Trade Benevolent Society, and was Chairman of the Benevolent in 2008. He was a Council Member of RADA, on the Board of RADA in Business, and Chairman of the RADA Development Board. He was appointed Clerk of the Royal Cellars in 2008, and was the holder of the Royal Warrant of Appointment as wine merchant to HRH the Prince of Wales and HM the Queen. For many years he was a regular feature on the Decanter Power List – the fifty most influential people in the wine world. Simon’s main area of responsibility at Berry Bros. & Rudd was marketing, and the development of new projects for the Wine Division. Examples include the establishment of the company’s Duty Free wine shops at Heathrow’s Terminals Three and Four – the first instances of a specialist wine merchant operating such outlets in the world. These shops won the coveted Duty Free Specialist Liquor Retailer of the Year in 1996, and Wine Magazine’s award for Retail Creativity in 2004. He was also instrumental in setting up Berrys’ Internet site (which won Wine Magazine’s Website of the Year eight of the nine years the award was made), and initiating BB&R Press, the company’s publishing arm. In 1999 he spent 6 months in Hong Kong, establishing the company’s first wine subsidiary in Asia, the Berry Bros. & Rudd Fine Wine Club. Simon has lectured on wine on many occasions, and to many institutions throughout the world, including Oxford and Exeter Universities, Stowe, Woldingham, Wycombe Abbey School and Eton College, the British Embassy in Tokyo, the Chalke Valley History Festival and Harvard Business School. His articles have been published in several magazines, notably Vogue, Debrett’s International Collector, The Economist Review of the Year, The Financial Times and regularly in The Spectator. He has also contributed to many television and radio programmes, most recently How Britain was Built and Wine: the Firm.

This time it’s all about shoe repairs and cobblers. I met up with Carina Eneroth of Skomakeri Framåt, which sort of translates to Cobblery Forward, a cobbler and bespoke shoemaker based in Stockholm, Sweden. She’s been in the business for almost four decades now, and apart from being one of the owners of Skomakeri Framåt, with a Royal Warrant of Appointment to the Swedish Royal family, she’s also on the board for the Swedish Cobbler’s Association. With the mature shoe repair industry in Sweden as a base, but with lots of international lookouts, we talked some about the history of the cobbler trade, and a lot about the current situation with both how corona has affected the industry, but also how things were before and likely will be in the future. An interesting talk for all who want to know more about cobbler’s situation today.

A long career in corporate banking gave Graham McWilliam a taste for branching out on his own. And after a couple of successful entrepreneurial adventures, followed by further spells at RBS and Clydesdale, he took over the reins of a very unusual business. Glencraft is an Aberdeen-based social enterprise founded in 1843 to provide dignity to the disadvantaged through work. The company had specialised in making mattresses for the oil industry but when Graham took over, the price of oil had plummeted, orders had dried up and the business was in trouble. Graham, however, saw an opportunity. Glencraft had a Royal Warrant and a wealth of expertise – and Graham has since transformed the business into a serious player in the international luxury mattress market. Interviewed by Fraser Allen on 3 August 2020. www.allencomms.co.uk

In today's episode, we are honored to be speaking with Carl Bettison, AWCF with Honors, from Milton Keynes, England. Carl has over 40 years experience shoeing horses.  Over the years, Carl has been greatly involved with the Worshipful Company of Farriers. He passed his Diploma and Associates exams with honors. He later became the Master of the Worshipful Company of Farriers for a term.  Carl is the owner and director of Stromsholm, the distributor of Kerckhaert Shoes. Stromsholm also carries a lot of other farrier supplies. Carl has the exclusive Royal Warrant to supply the shoes for Buckingham Palace and the Royal Family. In 2007, Carl also became the owner and director of Gibbins aprons. Carl is a great advocate for farriers whether he is helping with education or getting quality supplies to the farrier.    If you would like to contact us with questions relating to your business, specific cases, general horse hoof care questions, or suggestions for future podcasts, please email us at farrierfocuspodcast@gmail.com. We might even feature your email in a future episode!

With a history of working in the textiles industry and other manufacturing industries, Simon Cotton is proud to be currently heading up the most exciting company in the UK textile industry. Johnstons of Elgin partner with most of the world's top luxury fashion brands as well as produce under their own label. The company is a truly vertical producer taking raw fibre through to finished product, allowing them to achieve the very highest quality for the most discerning customers across the world.Johnstons of Elgin has over two hundred years of tradition and experience in textile manufacturing. Since 1797 the company has produced the finest woven products from the finest of fibres. The original mill, on the banks of the river Lossie in the historic town of Elgin, remains the headquarters of their renowned brand. From luxurious cashmere scarves and throws, to historic Estate tweed, the experience and craftsmanship rooted in their history has been passed down the generations. Visitors to the mill see experienced craftsmen producing luxury pieces using traditional methods. Their knitwear mill in Hawick, in the Borders, sits in the heart of the Scottish knitting industry. An important part of the local community for over thirty years, the long history of knitwear production in that part of Scotland, ensures their knitted garments are made with the utmost skill and expertise. A unique family business with tradition and heritage at its core, Johnstons of Elgin promises to continue pushing the boundaries of textile and knitwear manufacturing, while always remaining true to its history. In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Johnstons of Elgin CEO, Simon Cotton, about the company's manufacturing as a private label to luxury brands as well as their own brand. Best known as a manufacturer, they've been establishing their own brand name with brick and mortar store openings and a focus on digital over recent years. Our host Peter Brooker and Simon discuss how cashmere is produced, the day-to-day of a Chief Executive, the benefits of holding a royal warrant and how the current global Coronavirus pandemic has affected their retail and manufacturing operations. Whilst we have your attention, be sure to sign up to our daily MenswearStyle newsletter here. We promise to only send you the good stuff.

John Kent is the British tailor and co-founder of “Kent and Haste” on London’s notorious Savile Row. Kent has made clothes for many of the royal family including The Queen, Prince Charles and, Prince Philip and this has earned him a Royal Warrant for his services to the crown He is responsible for dressing the 50 Billion Dollar Man, Dan Pena who it is rumoured to have spent over 1 million pounds on suits with John. And John Kent is credited to have dressed some of the biggest names in the business including Sean Connery, John Hurt, Bert Lancaster, and Bing Crosby to name but a few.

John Kent is the British tailor and co-founder of “Kent and Haste” on London’s notorious Savile Row. Kent has made clothes for many of the royal family including The Queen, Prince Charles and, Prince Philip and this has earned him a Royal Warrant for his services to the crown He is responsible for dressing the 50 Billion Dollar Man, Dan Pena who it is rumoured to have spent over 1 million pounds on suits with John. And John Kent is credited to have dressed some of the biggest names in the business including Sean Connery, John Hurt, Bert Lancaster, and Bing Crosby to name but a few. JOHN KENT: Tailor: https://www.kenthaste.co.uk/

Stories this week include: Police launch controlled demolition of family home to apprehend suspect. Faecal shower health craze reaches Los Angeles. KFC announces offensive gravy pot promotion just in time for Christmas. Sex shop mannequin raid averted by enigmatic Good Samaritan We discuss our application for a Royal Warrant... Website: http://www.lapodcast.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LAPodcast/ Twitter: @LAPodcast

Bob Lindo is the joint founder of the multi award winning English vineyard Camel Valley. Bob along with his wife Annie on their small family farm, 30 years ago started Camel Valley. Bob won the UK’s first sparkling wine Gold medal in the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in 2005 and has won many international awards since and every national Trophy at least once. Bob was awarded the IWC Lifetime Achievement award in 2018 for ‘outstanding contribution in helping driving the quality-focused rise of Britain’s home-grown sparkling wine’. Bob was awarded a second Lifetime achievement award in the South West Business Awards, the same year. Camel Valley has also won many tourism awards and the 2017 Cornwall sustainability trophy. Camel valley has been served on numerous Royal occasions and was awarded a Royal Warrant in 2018 (the UK wine’s first). Bob is the Royal Warrant holder. Camel Valley is the only single vineyard to hold its own PDO, recognized by the EU. Bob is proud of the fact that the Lindo family started the business in a small way and enjoyed the journey of growing it, sustainably, over 30 years. Bob would be the first to acknowledge the role played, not only by Annie, but also by second generation and son, Sam Lindo. Bob has been Chair of the national UK Vineyard Association and son Sa has since followed in his father's footsteps.

Benson & Clegg is one of those undiscovered gems in British menswear. Founded in 1937, today the company is a discreet Royal Warrant holding bespoke tailor on London’s Piccadilly Arcade.The house’s Head Cutter is a warm-hearted craftsman called Oliver Cross, with one heck of a story tell. His route into bespoke tailoring is nothing if not conventional. He talks to Aleks about the 10 years it took to realise his dream, why Benson & Clegg is special, and how the brand is moving forward to connect with today’s bespoke consumer. This one’s a heart-warmer of an episode – we hope you enjoy.---HandCut Radio is produced in collaboration with Birch, a London and New York based creative agency. Our theme music is by Joe Boyd.---Show NotesOliver Cross — InstagramBenson & Clegg — Website | Instagram[04:24] The Beatles on Savile Row[04:49] Dege & Skinner[05:14] The London Cut by James Sherwood[05:46] Chittleborough & Morgan[07:42] David Walliams[09:03] Inkberrow[09:31] 2019 Golden Shears Awards[10:49] Robinson Tailors, Alcester UK[12:54] Davide Taub, Gieves & Hawkes[12:55] Patrick Grant, Norton & Sons[13:01] Terry Haste, Kent & Haste[13:57] London College of Fashion (LCF)[15:28] Simon Crompton of Permanent Style, HandCut Radio #001[16:05] Laird Hatters[17:23] Richard Anderson[17:55] Meyer & Mortimer[18:41] Malcom Plews[25:20] Hawes & Curtis[30:42] Fabio Attanasio’s Benson & Clegg Jacket[45:22] Bob Dylan

Join me on a factory tour around the Her Majesty The Queen's button maker.   Established in 1655, Firmin & Sons are the oldest, privately-owned manufacturing company in the UK.   At their prestigious metalworks in Birmingham they make not only buttons, but also ceremonial armour, helmets and other accoutrements.   Firmin & Sons' sales manager, Tony Kelly, takes us on a tour to discover the rich heritage of a manufacturing firm that has held a Royal Warrant since the reign of George II.   Discover: The history behind the UK's oldest, privately-owned manufacturer How a Royal Warrant is awarded What it takes to make a 364 year old company relevant for today How Firmin & Sons is putting sustainability at the forefront of its manufacturing processes    More about Firmin & Sons     Show notes, including photos and videos from the factory tour, can be found at makeitbritish.co.uk/077     Subscribe to this podcast – and support UK manufacturing!  More Make it British Website: makeitbritish.co.uk Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/katehills Instagram: @makeitbritish Twitter: @makeitbritish    

Tracy Chaplin began her career making hats from offcuts of screen printed fabric at Camden Market.  She is now know for her couture millinery with forms made from sinamay and parisisal.  Learning from Rose Cory, Milliner to the late Queen Mother and Royal Warrant holder Tracy works from her studio in France.  She designs for private clients and runs Millinery workshops from her home near Toulouse. After moving to France in 2008 Tracy has based herself out of a beautiful studio.  She commenced teaching in 2013 and in 2019 opened a purpose built classroom. Tracy is a regular entrant and has been a winner at the Estivales du Chapeau in Caussade. Thank you to our current supporters of Millinery.Info The Essential Hat and Louise Macdonald Milliner. We hope you have enjoyed listening to this podcast today. We have a full series of them to keep you company in the workroom. View the rest of the series on our Soundcloud channel. There a few ways in which you can support us to continue to bring milliners making content for milliners. The future of Millinery.Info looks to continue to provide quality industry relevant information and discussions. Your support helps bring more content of this quality.We are working towards growing a larger international coverage through images of millinery events and podcast interviews with leaders within the industry.Visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/millineryinfo to become a supporter or share this page with a friend via email or on social media.

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"There's no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing".   This is not just the story of how I fell in love with a 'brand' in 3 minutes, but a tale of passion, purpose, love, loss, tragedy and adventure. In this special episode I dig deep into the archives to discover the real story behind Thomas Burberry in an effort to try and understand what made him tick.   What I discovered was not what I expected. A far cry from the $5Bn luxury fashion house you see today, Burberry not only had very humble beginnings, but it was built upon an invention that was discovered by accident in a farmers field. That innovation made it possible for explorers, pioneers and adventurers to go further and higher than anyone else had ever gone.   If you are interested in fashion, the process of innovation, branding, entrepreneurship or just good old fashioned storytelling, this episode might be just what you've been looking for.   LINKS Tale of Thomas Burberry Thomas Burberry (Wikipedia) Britt Warner Burberry (Interbrand) Burberry (Strategy + Annual Report) Fireside chat with Tale of Thomas Burberry director Asif Kapadia Gaping Void   TIMELINE 1835 Born Thomas Burberry was born in 1835 in Brockham Green, Surrey. 1856 (Age 21) The Burberry fashion house was founded in 1856 in Basingstoke in Hampshire, UK, by Thomas Burberry, who was at the time an apprentice draper.  As a specialist in outdoor sportswear, the designer quickly established a wealthy clientele who devoted themselves to hunting and fishing.  Burberry was founded on the principle that clothing should be designed to protect people from the British weather. 1861 the census reveals that he was employing in his shop 7 men, 3 boys and 7 females. Burberry began to researching and experimenting with materials to produce fabrics which were weatherproof and suitable for clothing customers who enjoyed the country pursuits of fishing, hunting and riding. The company developed rapidly and in 1870, Thomas Burberry is described as a "draper and manufacturer employing 80 hands". 1879 almost Ten years later the designer invented gabardine, after a fruitless search for an alternative to rubber (Aquascutum), which was the only waterproof material known at the time. his innovative research and design resulted in a breathable, weatherproof and tear-proof fabric called Gabardine. The material was light and ventilated, but protected the wearer from the extremes of the weather. The material's success as a lighter and more comfortable alternative to rubber, allowed the Burberrys line (the “s” had not yet been dropped at the time) Thomas Burberry invents gabardine – the breathable, weatherproof and hardwearing fabric revolutionising rainwear – which up until then had typically been heavy and uncomfortable to wear. Thomas Burberry soon lobbied well-known British generals to adorn his gabardine. the Minister of Defense put Thomas Burberry in charge of creating new uniforms for the officers of the British Army. Thomas Burberry then invented the Tielocken, a water resistant coat in gabardine that is considered the ancestor of today’s trench coat. 1881 His business expanded further and clearly he was making money. He moved to a house in Basingstoke which had 160 acres, staffed with a number of servants, and a governess to look after his six children (1881 census). 1888 Gabardine patented (9 years later - SLOW - Why? Purpose? Commercial intent?) 1891 The company expanded with a shop opening in Haymarket, London, in 1891, and in Reading, Manchester, Liverpool, and Winchester. Burberry's products were also sold through thousands of agencies. Exports abroad began with wholesale branches being opened in Paris, New York and Buenos Aires. 1893 Norwegian polar explorer, zoologist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr Fridtjof Nansen is the first recorded polar explorer to take Burberry gabardine to the poles when he sets sail bound for the Arctic Circle. 1901 "LOGO" The Equestrian Knight logo appears for the first time accompanied by the Latin word 'Prorsum' meaning 'forwards'. The company runs a public competition to design a new logo for the brand. The winning entry is inspired by 13th and 14th-century armour on display at The Wallace Collection in London – and the Equestrian Knight Device is born 1908 Air Commodore Edward Maitland wears Burberry gabardine to travel from Crystal Palace to Russia in a hot air balloon. Covering a distance of 1,117 miles in 31 ½ hours, he sets the world’s long-distance overseas record and the British long-distance in-flight record. 1910 Celebrated aviator Claude Grahame-White wears Burberry gabardine. He is the first person to fly between London and Manchester in less than 24 hours. 1911 Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole with a Burberry gabardine tent and clothing. 1912 British Explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole wearing Burberry clothing and equipped with a Burberry tent. Tragically he and his team died on the return journey. 1912 The Tielocken coat, designed by Thomas Burberry, is patented. Considered the predecessor to the trench coat, the Tielocken closes with a single strap and buckle fastening and only features a button at the collar. 1914 Acclaimed British Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton wears Burberry gabardine for three expeditions in the early 20th century, including the ill-fated Endurance expedition. 1914 The Burberry trench coat is refined during the First World War. The functional design includes epaulettes used to suspend military equipment such as gloves and whistles, D-rings used to carry grenades, the gun flap to provide additional protection when in action and the storm shield to allow water to run off it smoothly. 1917: Thomas Burberry retired from the company in 1917 (BEFORE END OF WWI) 1919 HM King George V officially appointed Burberry a Royal Warrant as Tailors. 1920 - Burberry’s Limited goes public - raising £2M share capital 1920 Nova check The Burberry check, now registered as a trademark, is introduced as a lining to our rainwear. 1934 - same day delivery to anyone living in London in own vehicle 1937 Burberry sponsors a record-breaking flight from Croydon to Cape Town in an aeroplane called 'The Burberry’. Both aviators, Flying Officer Arthur Clouston and Betty Kirby-Green, wear Burberry. 1940s During the Second World War, Burberry supplied the British Army with a range of military apparel and accessories, including the trench coat. Burberry also catered for various other divisions of the British Armed Forces, including the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Royal Navy, the Royal Pioneer Corps, the Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU), and the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) - including the women’s division. Despite the austere conditions posed by war, Burberry continued to make civilian clothing during the 1940's including weatherproofs, overcoats and suits for both men and women. The brand adapted the product category to war time to include women’s siren suits, which were designed to be worn in an air-raid. By 1965 One in five coats exported from Britain is a Burberry product.

- June Kenton of Rigby & Peller talks to us about losing the Royal warrant following the publication of her autobiography. - Tour Guide Stephen Burstin tells us about his forthcoming lecture at JW3 inspired by the Jews of Rome. - CEO of Goods for Good, Rosalind Bluestone on how her organisation redistributes surplus items to those in need. - On the Schmooze we discuss how the Holocaust Educational Trust's Auschwitz programme is to be extended to universities - Our Rabbinic Thought for the Week comes from Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg from New North London Masorti Synagogue.

Kate's back! Need we say more?! Of course, we did! In our latest episode, we take a look at a few of the companies that have garnered the coveted Royal Warrant, the highest seal of approval given to businesses that supply exceptional services or goods to the British Royal Family. We also tell the tale of when one popular shopping destination lost their Royal Warrant. Curious what brands have Kate and Meghan stepped out in? We’ve got the deets! In our news segment, we cover the Duchess of Cambridge's two appearances as royal baby no. 3 is slowly ending its reign of morning sickness terror. We also thoroughly discuss Prince Harry's two black-tie event where he was looking {fire emoiji}, what sightseeing tours the Obama's will take him on during his trip to Chicago, Prince William's trip Belgium to commemorate Kiwi lives sacrificed during WWI and a special honor for Kate's former private secretary, Rebecca Priestley (née Deacon).

Driven by the sheer scale of losses in 1914, an concerned about how war graves were marked, recorded and cared for, Fabian Ware conceived of and petitioned for the creation of the Imperial War Graves Commission. Join Major-General Paul Stevens as he reflects on the continued commemoration of those who died in war

Shuffle Buddies is back with another boardgame-packed episode! On this week's episode Chris and Francesca have just returned from Asia, and we've got stories about Japanese boardgame stores, Chinese internet cafes, and a slew of new games purchased in foreign lands. We give an overview on some Japanese games like Deep Sea Adventure, Nine Tiles, A Fake Artist Goes to New York, and Royal Warrant, and then review the Reiner Knizia classic, Samurai.

Flowers have long been used as symbols of something greater than their sheer beauty. Whether to express love, friendship, gratitude, or forgiveness, journey with us this hour and learn to speak a language that dates back to ancient times.Guest:Shane Connolly, Floral Designer, Shane Connolly Company, London, UK*Shane has been awarded a Royal Warrant of Appointment to the HRH the Prince of Wales

Libby Purves meets retail guru Mary Portas; opera singer Noah Stewart; glass artist Peter Layton and florist Rosemary Hughes. Peter Layton is an artist and glassmaker known as the grandmaster of glass. His new exhibition, Young Masters, showcases work by some of Britain's best young glass artists working today. Peter began his career in ceramics but was drawn to the immediacy and spontaneity of glassmaking in the Sixties. In 1976 Peter opened London Glassblowing and today it is one of Europe's first and leading hot-glass studios. Young Masters - Rising Stars of Studio Glass is at London Glassblowing. Noah Stewart is an opera singer. For his new tour, So in Love, the tenor will perform some of opera's best loved arias and the music that inspired him as a young boy. Born in Harlem, he won a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School and has gone on to sing on some of the world's greatest stages including the Bolshoi Theatre and the Royal Opera House. So In Love is touring the UK. Noah is appearing with English National Opera in the Indian Queen and is playing BF Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly at the Royal Opera House. Mary Portas, aka Mary Queen of Shops, is a retail guru. Her autobiography, Shop Girl, tells how she started life in hand-me-down clothes and rose to become one of the UK's foremost authorities in retail. She began her career as a window dresser at Harvey Nichols, becoming its creative director and a member of the board. She delivered her report on the future of our High Streets to the prime minister in December 2011. The Portas Review outlined 28 recommendations to rescue failing High Streets. Shop Girl A Memoir is published by Doubleday. Rosemary Hughes has been a florist for over 40 years and will be supplying floral arrangements for the reburial of Richard III. She was granted a Royal Warrant in 2008, after becoming supplier of nosegays to the Queen in 2002. King Richard III will be reburied at Leicester Cathedral in March 2015. Producer: Paula McGinley.