Podcasts about titanic belfast

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 Paul Marden.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 SkiptheQueue.fm.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  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 5th March 2025. The winner will be contacted via Bluesky. Show references: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakmensah/Zak Mensah is the co-CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust. He is passionate about helping their service make an impact by focusing on the needs of over 1 million visitors. He is encouraging the organization to adopt a "digital by default" approach. Zak's mission is to ensure that their people, skills, and services remain adaptable to the rapidly changing landscape of the cultural sector. He is exploring new ways of doing things, including innovative business models, partnerships, and arts-related KPIs, while sharing as much as possible publicly.With a background in staff development and digital, Zak has been involved with the web since the late 90s and has seen its influence grow in all aspects of life. Prior to joining the arts sector in 2013, he helped small businesses, charities, Jisc, universities, and the Heritage Lottery Fund "do" digital well.Zak also runs his own consultancy to promote positive change and keep his skills sharp. His goal is to make a ruckus. https://www.vam.ac.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyakino-wittering/Amy Akino-Wittering is Head of Operations and Commercial at Young V&A, which opened July 2023 and recently won Art Fund Museum of the Year and Kids in Museums, Family Friendly Museum of the Year awardsResponsible for the general management of Young V&A she directly manages the visitor experience and teams, catering contract, volunteering and back of house operations, collaborating closely with central V&A colleagues to deliver operations and income for Young V&A. Previously Amy worked at V&A South Kensington as Senior Visitor Experience Manager-Sales and was on the opening project team leading on visitor experience and retail at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery.She started her career at Imperial War Museums working across sites from assistant to management roles in Retail and Admissions and systems management.  https://www.hampshireculture.org.uk/​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-sapwell-b3b2a281/Paul Sapwell has been Chief Executive at independent arts and culture charity Hampshire Cultural Trust since 2018, having joined the trust in 2016 as Chief Operating Officer following an early career primarily in hospitality and leisure. Paul is a passionate believer in the transformative power that cultural experiences can have on the wellbeing of individuals and communities, and a prominent advocate for the role of commercial growth, underpinned by a flexible, entrepreneurial team culture, in sustaining museum and arts organisations. Transcription: Paul Marden: The museums and culture sector are facing unprecedented headwinds. Static or reducing funding from local government, fewer grants from trusts and foundations, all while dealing with increased people costs. The continued headwinds from cost of living crisis. But this sector continues to deliver more with less and support the cultural life of our country. Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue. I'm your host, Paul Marden and in today's episode recorded the Science Museum at the Association of Cultural Enterprises View from the Top event. I'm joined by Amy Akino-Wittering, Head of Operations and Commercial at Young V&A. Zak Mensah, Co CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust, and Paul Sapwell, CEO of Hampshire Cultural Trust. Paul Marden: And we're going to talk about how the cultural sector can innovate in order to thrive. Anyone that's listened to the podcast before will know. And this is the nervous bit. Paul Marden: We always start with an icebreaker question which my lovely guests victims have not been prepared for. So, Zak, I'm afraid you go first, my friends. So if you were a cartoon character, which cartoon character would you be? Zak Mensah: That's easy. I think I would be the thing that gets chased by the. Is it the wild Cody who runs around all his home? But I'd be the. What's the little, the stupid Roadrunner. Yeah, so I would be Roadrunner because you constantly are literally running 100 miles an hour and then a giant piano lands on you at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, but you respawn on the Monday and you start all over again. Pretty much feels like me. Paul Marden: I love that. I love that. Amy, you're next. Let's think of all of the inventions over the last hundred years that were offered. Flying cars, those sorts of things. What is the one thing were promised that you really miss and think we really need in our lives? Amy Akino-Wittering: I think a Time Turner, which is basically from Harry Potter. Basically you can just go and do things like six. They do six days all at once. Paul Marden: You can be Hermione if you've got a Time Turner. Amy Akino-Wittering: Yeah, great. Paul Marden: Excellent. I love that, Amy. Thank you. Paul. Paul Sapwell: You said these were going to be under no pressure. I wouldn't have liked. I wouldn't have liked either of those. Paul Marden: Oh, well, you're not going to like this one then. I'm sorry, mate, I'm, I, I live in Hampshire. Paul runs Hampshire Cultural Trust. Paul. Paul Sapwell:  Oh, even better. Paul Marden: Saints or Pompey? Paul Sapwell:  Oh, blimey. Okay, well that's, I'm an Arsenal fan. Paul Marden: So there we go. Paul Sapwell: I couldn't possibly answer Saints or Pompey? I mean, we border both. So I would just be in so much trouble if I pick one or the other. So I can. I've got to get out. Paul Marden: Are you dodging that one? Paul Sapwell: Yeah. I thought you might watch Arsenal regularly. Paul Marden: I thought you might. So we are going to start with a question from somebody from the audience, a young man named Gordon. Apparently he might be a millennial. And he says, After 15 years of turmoil, financial crash, austerity, Brexit, Covid, we face continuing cost of living issues, rising national insurance and a Trump presidency. Are we doomed in 2025? Or to put it slightly better, what are the biggest risks for your organisation and the wider sector, and what are you each doing to thrive in the year ahead? And I'm going to start with you, Paul. Paul Sapwell: That's an easy question, isn't it? Paul Marden: You can thank young Gordon. Paul Sapwell: Brilliant Gordon, Yeah. I mean, I think 2025 is going to be an incredibly tricky year, but to sort of look further than that. I'm certainly an optimist, but I think we're in a time of transition, particularly in terms of our sector, in the cultural sector, in terms of what's going to fund us and what's going to sustain us going forward. You know, I think the years of the level. I think a lot of the speakers have touched on it, but the years of the level of public sector funding is, whatever happens with this government and next is going to be going down and we just have to face that. I run an organisation which we started out in 2019. We're about 85% publicly funded. Now we're 34% publicly funded with the same turnover, I hasten to add. Paul Sapwell: And so we've made a good go of it, but I think the headwinds this year are really difficult. That said, I think that we have to be confident investing for the longer term and particularly, obviously, in this conference in areas of commercial growth. I think that, okay, the growth projections have been downgraded. I am confident that we will, as the decade continues, move into a period of growth. And we've got to be looking at the long term rather than the short term. The trick is, of course, not running out of money in the short term. And that's a really difficult place to be. Paul Marden: In the water, just here. Paul Sapwell: I don't have an easy answer to that, but I think fundamentally, you've got to give the customer what they want and the customer is still there. Paul Sapwell: And we have a fantastic product. But we've got to certainly pivot much further towards what customers want commercially, in my view, than putting as much emphasis as probably we did 10 years ago on trying to find more and more public funding, because I think that's going down. Paul Marden: Zak, have you got any thoughts on that? Zak Mensah: Yeah, I mean, in terms of money, just generally people want to back winners. So I think one of the difficult things that internally we can all say it's doom and gloom, because it does feel that doom and gloom. There are definitely days, weeks and months. I think it's right to say that it's doom and gloom. Like you can be optimist but still understand it's difficult time. And I think a lot of our, you know, a lot of our workforces certainly feel that, it can feel very difficult because every year they ask, will they have their job? Right. And that's a really fair question to ask. And we sometimes as leaders kind of say, “Oh, if we can get through the next two years, but two years for normal staff are sometimes a very long time to try and say, “You or may have not have a job to make life through.”Zak Mensah: So I think that's something I always think back in back of my mind. I think a lot of the difficulties, whichever flavour of government is about understanding how to be more savvy, about understanding the trends, about things that are fundable. Because there are lots of things that were funded 10, 20 years ago, that money has dried up. And so we've all got to think about, for example, a lot of people now looking at, well, being a speaker this afternoon was talking about more on EDI, for example, and how younger people certainly are interested in having more of a purpose driven business. Is how for us, we can make sure we're focused on the, what I was called, the user need. So the needs that people use us. Zak Mensah: Because if you can concentrate and focus on what they want, whether it be money, otherwise that ultimately does lead to a business model. Because there's no point saying just because museums and galleries have been around for 100 to 200 years, they have an absolute right to exist. The only way they exist is because every decade or whatever there's another crisis comes along and a group of people, including ourselves here, live in this room, but also listening to this make it happen. Like, we've got to convince councillors, government, businesses to be part of that journey. Because the funny thing I will say is that, you know, at Birmingham Museums, the art gallery was founded in 1885 by industry people. It was industry people that founded it. It was industry people who wanted the city to have great arts. Zak Mensah: And so now we're turning back to those same people and saying, "We need you to now step up and contribute." It doesn't always have to be money. It could be in kind support, could be advocacy. That's the kind of thing that we need to do as leaders right now, in addition to the normal making the money work and stretch as far as we can. Paul Marden: Absolutely. Amy, what are you doing at Young V&A to thrive in the year ahead and face some of these challenges? Amy Akino-Wittering: Yeah, absolutely. So we've now been open for just over two years, so I feel kind of, well, coming up to two years. And so I feel we're kind of in that stage where we kind of opened and sort of just try to make sure that we are operationally savvy. And last year was very much about refining that. And I think this year is very much about what's next and how can we build upon kind of success of opening, looking at ways in which we can innovate through doing new kind of commercial opportunities, but also how can we develop our audiences. And as well as part of kind of the wider V&A, we've got two more sites opening as well. Amy Akino-Wittering: So how as an organisation are we going to work together to kind of be in this new family of sites and work together through there? So I think for us in the kind of coming year is all about, what's next? We've opened the door. We started with a really strong foundation and a really strong vision, but then how can we keep on innovating and keep iterating that to improve? Paul Marden: Excellent. I'm going touch on stuff that Lewis talked about a minute ago. One of his reflections I really liked was thinking about how do we create a space for colleagues to engage with some of these really important issues that have been on the PowerPoints. Zak, maybe you could start. What do you think your organisation can do to act as bottom up catalyst for change as opposed to trying to drive these changes from the top down? Zak Mensah: I think the first thing is about understanding that there are a lot of people who do want to be able to voice their hopes and fears around a whole host of subjects, whether it be specifically around, if you're ethnic minority, about your fear of living in the UK, if you have climate, lots of important subjects people want to talk about. You know, I think certainly internally, and I'll be very clear about this, I think there's a very different view sometimes about the difference between internal and the external voice of the organisation. So what we see a lot of is staff individually believe that as a service there are lots of things we could and should be talking about publicly that may or may not directly align with how as a leader we see it. Zak Mensah: So, you know, there are lots of fights we do get into. We can't get into every single fight. And sometimes there's a real fine balance around what we decide to go for. So if you take during Black Lives Matter example, me and Sarah Shropshire started in November 2020, there was an expectation that immediately we would be like the spokesperson for the whole museum sector about black and brown issues. And like, it's really hard to say, actually. I am not speaking on behalf of every single person in the whole country. I do take it seriously and we set up internally ways people to talk about it, but didn't always feel appropriate. Zak Mensah: And I'll give another example is around, for example, war. Any one time there's something like 15 global conflicts happening and, you know, we talk and go backwards and forwards internally sometimes about, you know, do we talk about them publicly? If we talk about them internally, how we talk about them, do we single one out or do we talk about them all? Are they equal? How do you equally talk about things are very horrific for a number of people?Zak Mensah: And knowing that we've got staff from dozens of countries who all have different views on how their homeland or area they're interested in is impacted. Things are very horrific for a number of people. But I do think that there's always. It's always really tricky because the best conversations and the best conversations need care and a lot of the conversations happen in like, pockets that we have no control over. Zak Mensah: And so it's again, how do you set an environment as a leader that is allowing the bottom up to do their own thing, but in a way that isn't going to be detrimental to the whole workforce? Because I think it is. Again, I mentioned it's been. It's really tricky and that's the simple truth. It is no easy answer to these things because if it was easy, we'd all solved it. Yeah. But acknowledging it there, it's the elephant in the room, I think is really important and growing to be more and more important for us as leaders. Paul Marden: I think Lewis was saying it's really important to know where you stand on issues and it is okay for you to have a stance on issues that says, I'm not going to make a stand on this one issue. I thought that was a really interesting perspective. Imy's talk. I think were talking a lot about the journey of Titanic Belfast, which I love as a museum, to go to a museum that emotionally moved me as much with so very few actual artefacts. I just think it's an amazing storytelling experience. But you talked a little bit about the team and what you do to be able to nurture that team. And one of the things that we're talking about is trying to get 110% out of everybody getting to more with less, getting them to innovate. Paul Marden: How do you balance all of those challenges and not break the people and maintain a 98% retention rate like Titanic does? Paul? Paul Sapwell: Well, maintaining a 98 retention rate, I think fairly unprecedented and huge congratulations. I mean, I think it follows on a bit from what Zak was saying, actually. You know, it's tough, isn't it, being leaders in terms of whether you're making that kind of external message or whether you've got a tough internal message. I mean, I've always taken a stance that you've got to be as transparent as you possibly can be and people will go a long way with you if it doesn't appear that things are being taken in a dark room somewhere. And I think for us, what we've tried to do is to put in the mechanisms for that to happen. I've been really fortunate to work with a fantastic people director, Hampshire Cultural Trust. Paul Sapwell: One of the first things, I think you've also got to make a stance, by the way, on people being important. One of the first things I did as CEO was say we need a people director. It's quite rare in the heritage sector. I came from hospitality, it was the norm. It's an odd thing that people and HR doesn't always sit at the top table. Sometimes it's sort of delegated down in operations or even finance. So I think that's really important and we needed a strategy and part of that is putting in place a lot of the stuff that you talked about of the Titanic, which I think is really impressive. And we're somewhere on that journey, but not quite as far along, but proper employee forums where you listen. Paul Sapwell: I meet with an employee elected employee forum quarterly and talk to them about all issues with nothing off the table. We also have an EDI group with a mix, again, senior leadership on there talking about these issues. And I think that, you know, if there was one thing I would say it's, you're not always going to be able to give easy answers, are you? This year we're being hit with an enormous national insurance hit to the staff costs and that is going to affect pay. I can't pretend that it isn't. And if we're going to not run out of money in the next few years, we're going to have to give less of a pay increase this year than we would like to. Paul Sapwell: But we've been talking about that openly since it hit and I hope that our team will go, will understand, but obviously that doesn't make it, make it easy. And I think the same is true with the issues that you're talking about. You can't take a stance on every single issue that comes through each of these forums every quarter, but you have a conversation about it. And I think that's the most important bit for me. Paul Marden: Amy, I'm going to segue wide away from today's talks. Regular listeners will know that I'm a Trustee of Kids in Museums and I was chatting with my fellow trustees about today's event and we wondered, given the impact of the cultural sector, on the impact that it has on the lives of young people and how there are so many challenges at the moment for disadvantaged young people to engage in the sector. You know, we all know that post Covid, many schools have cut their school visits into museums and galleries. I pick you because Young V&A was the winner of Kids in Museums Family Friendly Awards last year. So let's just start with you and talk about what are the innovative things that you've done to break down barriers to encourage children and families to engage in the museum. Amy Akino-Wittering: Yes, of course. So Young V&A when we kind of opened its entire purpose is about engaging children. It's all about kind of that creative confidence in Generation Alpha. And so the whole museum has been designed with and for young people. So its target audience is between naught to 14 year olds. We spoke with over 22,000 young people in the development of the museum to hear what do they want from it. I think there's a survey which said that 40% of children thought that museums were boring and it weren't places for them. So, well, what can we do as we've got this opportunity to redevelop, to make sure that it is a place that people want to go and enjoy and be themselves. Amy Akino-Wittering: And so that was kind of like the North Star in terms of what every kind of decision in the kind of opening and making and running of Young V&A is really centred around this as well. And so it goes from the aesthetic in terms of the height of things, the bright colours from this swirling staircase that we have at Young V&A, which came from an idea that someone wanted to helter skelter in the space to the tone of voice in our interpretation and also how the objects are displayed. We've got objects from across the V&A, we've got over 2,000 objects. But it's not just the museum as was the Museum of Childhood collection, it's from across all of the different departments of the V&A. And it's been curated with that kind of child centred and child focused way. Amy Akino-Wittering: Co design is also a really kind of core part of it as well. So we kind of co designed with local audiences and children for various design displays and also co curation. So each gallery was co curated between the learning team and the curatorial team as well. And then obviously we've kind of got to actually open the building and have a team to deliver that visitor experience. And again, that is all very much fed through that audience lens. And so we looked at our structures of, you know, what types of people do we want in the space? You know, our core audience are children. We need people who want to engage with that audience. It's a very specific kind of audience, but also we are a hyper local organisation as well and so how can we encourage applicants from the local boroughs? Amy Akino-Wittering: So we drove a very inclusive recruitment process where we basically did a behaviour led process for recruitment, we redid all the job descriptions, went out into our local community, did workshops and CV surgeries and basically just made it as easy as possible for people to apply and get interview. And the kind of core things that were looking at was behaviours. We can teach people how to go on a till or to learn how to do fire evacuations, but actually it's much harder to get people because that's what the job is. You know, the majority, you know, all your visitors will come to a touch point with the front of house team. They are your most important ambassadors. Amy Akino-Wittering: So we need to make sure that we've got the best kind of resources and time and structure in place to support them, to give the best possible experience that we can. So we spent a lot of time doing that. We spent a lot of time as well working Kids in Museums come in and do training about specific family engagement training as well, which has been really beneficial. And then also we really believe that, you know, the customer experience, the visitor experience is directly impacted by the employee experience. You can't expect the team to deliver this amazing, joyful visitor experience if actually they're pretty miserable behind the scenes. So how can we make sure that the structures that we have and the environment that we have is reflective of how we want them to be on the floor as well? Amy Akino-Wittering: So we make sure that we have forums to make sure that, you know, people can have their say. We make sure. So we did this team charter, which was this sort of collaborative effort to see, like, how do you want to feel in the workplace, but also how do you want your visitors to feel? And actually, it was all very similar in terms of the outcomes that came from that kind of exercise. And it's these kind of agreement that we have together to how we're going to work together and those kind of things which we do to ensure. It's that kind of frequent communication and making sure that we're on the same page and it kind of brings that joy which then comes out to the visitors. Amy Akino-Wittering: And that is kind of I think all those things together has all really helped in terms of when someone comes into the space, children, they're front and centre. They really feel like it's a place for them and they've got kind of people around them which really get them and that they will help facilitate their curiosity and things like that. So that's what we've done. Paul Marden: Amazing. Paul, have you got some thoughts? Paul Sapwell: Yeah. I love what you're saying about the visitor. The visitor services guys on the front desk. I mean, they are the most important people, essentially, and that's why I was nodding vigorously. I think that's part of what I was talking about earlier in terms of pivot into more of a commercial view, because a commercial company completely relies on their customer who comes in. And I think my experience of being in an organisation that's moved out of being run predominantly by a council to one that's independent now was, I've got to be honest, at the start, that wasn't how it felt. Paul Sapwell: And actually you could produce big lists of visitor figures, but ultimately, if they went up or down, it didn't really matter because the funding was going to stay the same, whatever, and there would be other metrics, and I think that's the big shift in mentality, because if you don't give the customer what they want, and that means really valuing people on your front line. And, you know, we've had conversations at the Museum Association about it, about how there's almost been that divide in museums between the people who talk to your customers and the museum staff. And I think that's a really. Or people who would see themselves doing proper museum work. And I think that, you know, that's something we've got to. We're moving in the right direction, but we've got to move quicker. Paul Marden: All of our best memories, aren't they, of going to these places are not necessarily about the amazing artefacts, it's the stories that your team tell people when they interact with them. You feel so happy as a result of it. I think of some amazing experiences. Zak, have you got any thoughts on this? Innovative ways in which we make museums family friendly, how we encourage make them more children friendly? Zak Mensah: Well, the first thing is it's something like 50% of people have children. And so knowing that is in the UK is a thing. Just knowing that as a fact. Right. Means that thinking then about families who will come, but also the staff workforce. Because again, like, you know, if your staff, you're your biggest advocates we just talked about is making it friendly for people to have children in the workforce means that most people recommend it and word of mouth is the biggest way that you can influence people and then from that when people come. So we've got nine venues overall pre pandemic, have a million visitors a year. Zak Mensah: We say we're family friendly, but I've got two young children and quite often the experience, not just my place, but other places doesn't actually say match up with that because like just saying to a seven year old, you must love art, doesn't really work, right, if it's Blue. Paul Marden: Can't tell them. You can't just make them like, yeah. Zak Mensah: I can't tell anything because anyone in my family anything. If you convince about bluey=, then you've got another chance. But you know, you've got to think about actually what is their experience going to be. So, you know, have you got picnic area? Have you got toilets? Lots of toilets. Do you allow your staff, for example, in previous roles? We allow people, if they want to do potty training, they could do potty training in the gallery. Because the reality was if they didn't use the potty that they had in their bag, it was going somewhere else. And so I remember watching in horror as someone literally tried to scoop up a child and move their parent out of a gallery to start to go to the toilet. Zak Mensah: And I was like, there was no way they were going to make it out that door. I would love to have that CCTV footage because I bet that was quite interesting. But, you know, it sounds, you know, some sort of flippant and fun. Zak Mensah: But that's the little thing because like all those little things about making it, you know, enjoyable. Because if you can make it enjoyable for the. For the parent or the guardian, you can make it fun for the, you know, for the kids. You know, you have to have sharp crayons and pencils. Whatever it is, like always things that's really kids don't want much. That's the little thing because like all those little things about making it, you know, enjoyable. Right. Like, if you can give them almost that version of experience to make people think it's good. Because I think we sometimes dissociate the child's experience with the fact they're with someone else. So actually you've got to make it good for the people that they're with. And quite often people do it, you know, who take. Zak Mensah: They might take the extended family. So they'll say like, you know, I'll take my niece or whatever, I'm there. And they don't usually actually have to have the children. So sometimes they need help as well, you know, to make sure the experience. Paul Marden: Extra needs to be able to solve the kids' problems. Zak Mensah: Absolutely. So for me it's about making it that friendly from that perspective. So often with school trips, for example, it's how can you make the school trips fun? Because I see quite a lot of kids on school trips that they sort of being marched through and forced to go. So then they're less likely to recommend it to their parents and their parents just like to come. So for me, it's kind of like trying to use that learning visit which often people's first. Most people tell me, I've been to museum as a child and they usually get towards school age, secondary school, and they don't go anymore. Paul Marden: Yes. Zak Mensah: So it's like, how do we make sure that. I don't think as a sector where family friendly enough, other than those people who already are super engaged, they make the kids have fun. I'm probably talking about my trauma now. Paul Marden: Let's return today's speakers. Let's just talk a little bit about Mike's discussion of using behavioural models to influence buying decisions. Yeah. What are the biggest behavioural barriers that you see within your organisation? In terms of visitor experience, from kind of awareness through to decision making, what could you do? What could you change? Zak Mensah: So the first obvious one is a lot of people are terrified of being in spaces because they're not sure how to behave. There's this weird secret code that doesn't. It's not actually written down anywhere that people think the museum experience has got to be quiet, that it's got to be. That you've got to know what you're looking at. It can't just be fun. And actually having. Just having fun is a really important part of what you want to do. So for us, I think the problem is, as well as once you work in the sector, those barriers are invisible because you just work there. You feel comfortable now coming. Yeah. And so the behaviour part is super interesting. And so, for example, it's a phrase I sometimes use around, like. Zak Mensah: It's around this idea of, like, “People like us do things like this”, which I stole from Seth Godin. So, you know, what we did, for example, is w e now don't have staff uniform because we've got quite a diverse. We're dividing diversity in Birmingham and we want people to feel comfortable and recognise people outside the building who then might be going, like, sure, I might. Hoodies, for example. If you wear a hoodie, you might own. The museum's. Not for me, the museums for other people who wear suits, etc. So actually, if they see staffing. Yeah, if they see staff in hoodies or whatever, in hijabs or niqab, whichever outfit they want to wear, then that is a signal about those people are welcome. Zak Mensah: That's one example where that idea came from the team about how we can show and tell and do what we say we're going to do, rather than just saying, “Oh, but we're really friendly museums are great and come in.” Because actually they are intimidating from the outside. They're often intimidating intellectually. Paul Marden: Yep. Zak Mensah: The train, the media, all the time is being really high brow all the time. So it's like actually we. We have to find ways to accept that those barriers exist. And that often means finding people who don't use you to actually tell you that. And we've just finished a citizen's jury, for example, which had almost 30 people who are representative of the city come in and 80% of them at the first meeting said they didn't think the museum is relevant to them. Those are ordinary people who live in the city who. That's 80% of those people. Four in five people don't think the museum is relevant for them, even though we know that we could make it relevant to them. And that was a really sad, shocking figure, but also is motivating. Zak Mensah: And I think our job, you know, as leaders is how do we help people feel inclusive, to be an inclusive space and then like. And go for it. Paul Marden: Excellent. Thank you, Amy. Amy Akino-Wittering: Yeah, I think a lot of what we have done as well is to try and go out of our four walls of Young V&A as well. So we do a lot of kind of community engagement as well through kind of the learning team as well as for volunteering programme. Like we rocked up at stores at Whitechapel Market and kind of saying, “This is our kind of programme”, just chatting with people where they haven't heard of Young V&A even though it's down the road. And so it's like, how can we, yeah, kind of go out and about and also kind of advocate across as well. And then also it's like when people do kind of take that step to actually go onto our site and then come into the building making sure that the visitor experience is as inclusive, as welcoming as possible. Similar. Amy Akino-Wittering: We also just have aprons and they can wear whatever they want underneath and just again, so as people feel relaxed and they feel when our audiences come in, they say, oh yeah, no, that's something that I might wear. Or you know, they just feel more kind of settled and at home. So that's something that's really important that we kind of do as well. Paul Marden: Lovely, Paul. Paul Sapwell: The biggest challenge for us, I mean being a smaller organisation and a brand that isn't known. As well as it could be, I think our biggest challenge now is that customer journey from online through to what you get when you arrive and we're not consistent enough. And I know we'd all talk about this forever but you know, big commercial organisations do this really well. You know, you're going to sell a ticket within a couple of clicks from a social media piece, you're going to get a follow up email that looks exciting and you know, then your product is either going to arrive or you're going to arrive at it and it will be like you thought you were buying. And I'm not sure that we always do that. Paul Sapwell: I've got to be honest and I think to do that you've got to put a lot of investment in it. And that's what we're part of the strategy that we've launched, we launched back in November is about that. Paul Sapwell: And again, that comes back to, you know, commercial mindsets that matters. It matters that we put the right image in whatever way that is to the right customer who we're trying to attract. We've got to understand those customers better and then make sure that's, that's seamless. And, you know, we run 20 venues. They're really different. We've got everything from the Great Hall, Mediaeval Hall in Winchester, which is full of people on from travel trade have come off of cruises and things. And then we've got Milestones Museum in Basingstoke, which is a sort of family living history museum. Paul Sapwell: They don't get any international tourists. So having a really limited pot of marketing to be able to go all these sort of areas is really difficult. But I think that would be the challenge. But thinking about it holistically, really, because it's the same person who clicks on the social media ad to the person who ends up arriving in your venue. And that needs to be really consistent. Yeah, it sounds like cash is the barrier. We're going to try and work with it. But that's the important bit for me. Paul Marden: I'm grinning like the village idiot because this is what I advocate all the time. I'm looking at my marketing friends in the audience who would also share. Share your thoughts on this. We know from the Rubber Cheese survey that it's eight to 10 steps it takes people to checkout. I tried to buy tickets for an aquarium last year and they made me enter a password along with the names and addresses of everybody that was joining me and then told me off three times for getting the password wrong in the checkout process. I had to be really to buy those tickets and. Paul Sapwell: Well, yeah, you touch on. Yeah. I mean, we could have a whole conversation, but no, I mean, we love a complicated ticketing system in the cultural sector, don't we? I mean, with all the right intentions. I mean, even the list in some places of different concessions. I mean, you don't want to go. I think I'm that or I'm that. You know, and it's done with the right intention. But it's an enormous barrier. Paul Marden: Yeah, completely. Paul Sapwell: And you know, we make things so complex and I don't have the fix, but I know we've got to fix it. And that means putting sort of. Again, learn from companies who do this really well rather than. Yeah. Looking for ideas ourselves. Lots of people do it really well out there. That's what we got to do. Paul Marden: Thinking of lots of my team who might think that this is something somebody should solve. Zak Mensah: The fix is simple, isn't it? Because you just said then that there are other people doing it well. What we're not really good at artists actually copying people. Zak Mensah: Like just copy someone else who's done it better than us. It's really. It really does annoy me. Let's just say that what always happens is that we make decisions by committee, don't we? So it would have been two steps, but then someone from marketing said, but you've got to have a newsletter. And someone from another team would say, “You've got to also ask for this. And then you've got to do this. Then you've got to try and get the kids to come for school trip.” Before you know it, people mean well and they've made it really complicated. I think sometimes it's like, actually, let's just do the simplest thing. Let's do all the hard work to remove those barriers and then we can try and flog them stuff when they get there. Paul Marden: So friend of mine, Andy talks a lot about you don't go to a fine dining restaurant and walk up to the maitre d and he says to you, “Would you like a table, by the way, are you going to have dessert? And would you like a coffee? And what are you going to have for your starter main course and dessert? Oh, right, I'll take you to your table.” You have a conversation with people and you lead them and you don't try and pack everything into the very first time you ever talk to the potential client. Zak Mensah: Which is why Greg's does so well. Paul Marden: Yeah, look guys, I could carry on about this conversation, but we are the barrier to everybody getting to their drinks and nibbles and so we've got. Paul Sapwell: Including us. Paul Marden: I know, sorry. We've got a couple of things that I must cover. So we always ask our guests for a book recommendation. It can be a novel, it can be work related. So Zak, would you like to go first with yours? Zak Mensah: Yeah. Turn the ship around! I think it's David Marquet. It's a book about a nuclear submarine commander who basically realises all these stupid rules. And so he just said to everyone, just tell me you intend to. So say to him, I intend to turn the ship left, I intend to take holiday, etc, because he realised that there were so many stupid rules and I think museum will have loads of stupid rules. It's a really good thing. And I know most of you won't read the book because most people say, “Yeah, I'll read it. They don't read it.” There's a 10 minute YouTube video. Surely you can spend 10 minutes of time if you can't be bothered to do that. There is literally a 30 second Wikipedia article about it. But please don't do it. Paul Marden: Zak feels very strongly about this. Paul, your book recommendation, please. Paul Sapwell: Well, last year I read Wild Swans by Jung Chang and I'm trying to find a way of getting into a business conversation. I think there's so much that comes out of that book, but I think, yeah, striving for Utopia is often, you know, the book. Right. Most people in terms of living under communist China and we know we could go on about utopian things that haven't worked, but I think there's, for this conversation, that's perhaps where we need to think, you know, going forward here. There isn't a sort of utopian way that things should be done for our sector. There is, you know, we're making our way here and yeah. Obviously it's a fantastic book. Paul Marden: Excellent. Thank you, Paul. Amy, your recommendation? Amy Akino-Wittering: Yeah, so mine isn't linked to like professional development at all. Mine. Paul Marden: Well, you did have one. Amy Akino-Wittering: Well, I did have one and you were like, no, just go for your favourite one. So I was like, Persuasion by Jane Austen. It's a classic. Paul Marden: We've got, we've got big anniversary at the moment, haven't we? In Chawton where Jane Austen lived has got big thing about 200 years, 250 years? Amy Akino-Wittering: Celebration for the whole year. So I'm gonna go in. Paul Sapwell: Yeah, everyone's trying to get in on this, by the way. I just have to put this out there. You know, she was born in Hampshire. Paul Marden: I know. Paul Sapwell: Born in Hampshire, actually. Born Basingstoke. Paul Marden: I know.Paul Sapwell: Yes. Paul Marden: There's a lot of celebrations for Jane this year. Paul Sapwell: Yeah, everyone's trying. I've seen so many angles for her. Oh, she was here and she went to the toilet. Fair enough. I mean, it's a big celebration. Paul Marden: If you'd like a copy of the book or any of these books, head over to Bluesky and like and repost the show announcement saying, I want Zak, Paul or Amy's book. And the first person to do that will get the book sent to them. Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this episode, then please leave us a five star review. It really does help more people to find us and remember to follow us on Bluesky , X or Instagram for your chance to win the book. Thank you very much, everybody. Paul Sapwell: Thank you. Amy Akino-Wittering: Thank you. The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsDownload the 2024 Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Emma Kearney of Titanic Belfast talks with Alan Fine of Insider Travel Report about why her museum remains a must-visit, even for returning guests. The latest updates to Titanic Belfast focus on the story after the Titanic's sinking, including new galleries that explore personal stories of passengers, shipbuilders and Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer who discovered the wreck. The refreshed experience combines authentic artifacts with immersive technology to offer a deeper understanding of Titanic's legacy. For more information, visit www.titanicbelfast.com. All our Insider Travel Report video interviews are available on our Youtube channel  (youtube.com/insidertravelreport), and as podcasts with the same title on Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Listen Notes, Podchaser, TuneIn + Alexa, Podbean, iHeartRadio, Google,Amazon Music/Audible, Deezer, Podcast Addict, and iTunes Apple Podcasts, which supports Overcast, Pocket Cast, Castro and Castbox.  

Join Tracy and Doug in episode 124 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast as they recount their exciting three-day itinerary in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Building on their extensive UK journey, this episode delves into the highlights of their Belfast adventure, offering insights and tips for those planning a visit to this vibrant city.The episode begins with Tracy and Doug's journey from Dublin to Belfast, navigating train and bus transfers due to ongoing engineering works. They share their experiences at the Hampton by Hilton Hotel, perfectly located for exploring Belfast. Discover their first day spent on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour, taking in the sights and sounds of the city, and visiting the iconic Titanic Belfast.Day two takes listeners on a full-day tour with McCombs Coaches to the stunning Giant's Causeway, including stops at Carrickfergus Castle and the Dark Hedges. Tracy and Doug share their experiences of the breathtaking Antrim coastline and the fascinating geological formations at the Causeway.On the final day, they delve into the history of Belfast with a political black cab tour, gaining insights into the city's past and present. They enjoy a traditional Sunday roast at The Bowery and share a chance encounter with fellow travellers. The episode concludes with their seamless journey from Belfast to Glasgow via Hannon Coaches, highlighting the stunning views along the way.

In dieser Folge geht es um eine nahezu unglaubliche Geschichte von Peter Lavery. Er hat in Belfast Geschichte geschrieben und eine neue Whiskey-Distillerie eröffnet, direkt neben dem Titanic Belfast. Dabei war Peter Lavery vor einigen Jahren noch ein ganz normaler Busfahrer in der nordirischen Hauptstadt. Ein Lottoschein hat dann sein Leben komplett verändert. Nach seinem Gewinn von mehr als 10 Millionen Pfund hat er das Leben genossen – und kümmerte sich anschließend um andere. Schließlich hat er die Distillerie im ehemaligen Pumphaus des Trockendocks der Titanic errichtet. Und jetzt hatte er wieder großes Glück.Links:https://www.titanicdistillers.com/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/destinations/experiences/belfast/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/food-and-drink/story-of-irish-whiskey/

Die grüne Insel macht seit einigen Jahren auch auf der Leinwand eine gute Figur und wird auch von Filmemachern ob seiner grandiosen Landschaften und spektakulären Aussichten geschätzt. Doch wie kommen eigentlich die wunderbaren Flecken in Kino und Fernsehen? Wir sprechen darüber mit einer Location Scout: Naomi Liston kennt die grüne Insel und vor allem Nordirland wohl wie kaum eine andere Person. Sie ist weitgehend dafür verantwortlich, dass Nordirland in der Erfolgsserie Game of Thrones so vielfach vertreten ist. Sie erzählt, wie man die richtige Location findet und worauf man bei der Auswahl achten muss. Film Locations in IrlandDrehort Irlandhttps://www.ireland.com/de-de/things-to-do/themes/ireland-on-screen/ireland-on-screen/Quiz: Drehort Irland https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/ireland-on-screen/ireland-on-screen-quiz/Ireland on Screen https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/ireland-on-screen/movies-of-ireland/Star Wars in Irland https://www.ireland.com/de-de/things-to-do/themes/ireland-on-screen/star-wars-in-ireland/Game of Throneshttps://www.ireland.com/de-de/things-to-do/themes/ireland-on-screen/game-of-thrones/Reise zu Game of Thrones Drehorten https://www.ireland.com/de-de/plan-your-trip/trip-ideas/game-of-thrones/ Game of Thrones Experienceshttps://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/ireland-on-screen/game-of-thrones-experiences/Nordirland ist das Land von Game of Throneshttps://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/ireland-on-screen/game-of-thrones-locations/Videos:Drehorte in Irland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5NlkIyc4uMStar Wars: Die Letzten Jedi: Hinter den Kulissen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYFzsxfNhWwNicht so weit, weit weg...Irlands Wild Atlantic Way, Drehort von Star Wars: Die letzten Jedi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UySfoZA5jMMVikings in Irland: Ubbe zeigt Tipps und Drehorte https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qME1cviA1eIVikings in Irland: Trovi zeigt ihre Geheimtipps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc_VKf0q8ZcGame of Thrones Autor George R. R. Martin besucht Winterfell in Nordirland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJnMBxmy4qAReiseroute zu den Drehorten von Game of Thrones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hUJUjYG14EGame of Thrones Drehorte und Aktivitäten in Nordirland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwZafSbfpqEArtemis Fowl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMSCWiQOBE

You might recognise Paddy Cullivan as the frontman of the wonderful Camembert Quartet, which was the house band for the Late Late show for over ten years. But Paddy is also a very successful ‘historical entertainer', bringing together history, music, comedy and the visual arts and combining them into stage shows where he takes big historical stories and makes them accessible and entertaining, sometimes ruffling a few feathers along the way.Paddy's new show, ‘I can't believe it's not Ireland' is set in the Ireland of 2032, and we're now living in a brand new 32-county Ireland. There's a new flag. A new anthem. There's even a new capital! As Unionists holiday in the south, discovering the imperial joys of 'Royal' Dublin - southerners discover the ancient landscape of Ulster beyond the retail outlets of Newry and Titanic Belfast. Magical things happen when you create a new country - where EVERYTHING is on the table - and its exciting. ‘I can't believe Its not Ireland' is described as an hilariously insightful journey through the history of partition and the Ireland of the future...and Paddy Cullivan is here to tell me all about it, and we get stuck in to a few other very interesting areas too. https://www.paddycullivan.com/ Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Matthew Semler (Nashville, USA) presents the PILOT trial at the Critical care Reviews Meeting 2023, in Titanic Belfast. The PILOT trial compared low, intermediate and high oxygenation targets in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients.  Kath Maitland from Kigali, Kenya, delivers an independent editorial. The session is chaired by Chris Seymour from  Pittsburgh, USA. PILOT was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on November 10th, 2022.

Join me for a candid and invigorating conversation with Pablo O'Hana, who began his career working at Titanic Belfast and has since become a leading publicist and activist in the UK. With a track record of political and public sector campaigns that inspire debate and shift opinion, he has worked to elect America's first-ever woman of color to state-wide office, legalize abortion in Ireland, transform the UK's road safety record and on every British election since 2014. He also worked alongside some of the country's most senior public figures, political party leaders and Britain's most acclaimed talents. He is also  an expert on the (often wild) story of Titanic's artifacts and we engage in a lively and healthy debate about the ethics behind memorializing the ship and its passengers. For Pablo's wonderful article on the strange history of RMS Titanic, Inc: https://pabloohana.medium.com/judge-smith-has-got-it-completely-wrong-on-titanic-2373bf23c8bdAnd for his documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phw9QPMt6JkPablo has also got a running list of exhibitions around the world, see here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1axSzphGSIWDeIlHcNapiVH3wLKVGV_KFbgx6zcAHJCw/edit#gid=0Find him on Instagram: @pabs94Find more information about Byrne and Kelly on their website here: https://www.byrneandkelly.com/And follow them on Instas as well: @byrneandkellymusicSupport the showSupport Unsinkable on Patreon for as little as $1/month: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepodOr buy me a coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/labeadlesBuy Unsinkable shirts here!: https://www.bonfire.com/unsinkable-the-first-t-shirt/Support the pod via my Bookshop Storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/unsinkablepodFind me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unsinkablepod/Website: https://www.unsinkablepod.com

Hydrogen Ireland says the new National Hydrogen Strategy is a key catalyst to attracting investment in Ireland's clean energy sector. The all-island organisation today welcomed the publication of the strategy as it launched its annual conference, which will take place at Titanic Belfast from 27 - 29 November this year. The theme of the event is 'Hydrogen - delivering a balanced pathway to net zero', and the guest lineup includes Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Chief Executive of Hydrogen Europe and other well-known figures from the worlds of politics, energy and industry. Hydrogen Ireland believes the new national strategy - which was launched in recent days by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD - will be a real boost to the sector as it conveys a clear message to everyone about what hydrogen has to offer. Spokesman Paul McCormack says that through the strategy, "the public can now see hydrogen as a clean alternative to energy from fossil fuel. An energy that we can generate and use to capture opportunities from our rich natural resources. The next step is to mobilise the strategy and align with Europe to open the EU clean hydrogen backbone to Ireland. We're at the start of a long journey where we can strengthen the competitiveness of the Irish clean energy sector and build our H2 technology sovereignty, creating a more resilient energy system for Ireland. This strategy will ultimately help to produce and use affordable, reliable and accessible clean energy". At the November conference, delegates and speakers will address a wide range of topics, including an all-island approach to energy, climate, technology and supporting investment in the future. The conference will map out the 3 key stages in Ireland's Green Hydrogen journey: Where we are now? What are we targeting? And how do we get there? Paul McCormack says the stakes couldn't be higher as global heat records tumble this summer: "Cutting back on energy produced by fossil fuels is a massive part of how we can hope to deal with climate change. As an island off Europe, we have the natural resources, an ambitious, skilled workforce and now the National Strategy to chart the way forward on clean energy. We need to grasp that opportunity for all our futures". In addition to the speakers from Hydrogen Europe, the conference guest list will include industry experts from ESB, Gas Networks Ireland, SSE, Bórd Gais Energy, Energia, Siemens and many more. The event is geared towards industry professionals, technical and academic partners, research collaborators, policymakers and Government officials. For more information on the event, go to www.h2irl.com. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

The waterfront of Belfast, Northern Ireland, is home to one of the world's biggest tourist attractions: Titanic Belfast, also known as the Titanic Museum. The museum opened in 2012 and attracted more than six million people in its first seven years of operation. In 2018, two important new attractions – the Great Light and Titanic Walkway – officially opened to the public near the museum. The so-called Great Light is the world's first and largest hyper-radial Fresnel lens -- the largest and most powerful lighthouse lenses ever made. It was originally installed in Tory Island Lighthouse in 1887, and it went through some unusual changes over the years. The Great Light, photo by Albert Bridge. Titanic Quarter, Belfast  CC BY-SA 2.0 Sally Montgomery Dr. Sally Montgomery has been a science educator for more than 40 years. She is currently a board member of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, a board member of the Titanic Foundation, and a former trustee of the Maritime Belfast Trust. Sally has done much in-depth research on the history of the Great Light. Focus 244 Gallery, York, Maine Focus 244 is a new photography gallery in York, Maine. This month the gallery is hosting a lighthouse festival, featuring an artists' reception on July 22, kids' activities on July 23, and also an evening presentation by "Light Hearted" host Jeremy D'Entremont on July 23. Shannon Culpepper is the curator of the Focus 244 gallery.

Profs Matthew Prekker (Minneapolis) and Matthew Semler (Nashville) present the results of the DEVICE trial, comparing direct with video laryngoscopy for emergency intubation in the critically ill. Prof Ellen O'Sullivan (Dublin) delivers an editorial, followed by a panel discussion including Prof David Harrison (London), Dr Caroline Leech (Coventry), Dr Fiona Kelly (Bath) and Prof Alistair Nichol (Dublin). The session was chaired by Dr Catriona Kelly (Dublin). These results were presented at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2023, held in Titanic Belfast on June 16th. The DEVICE trial was simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Profs Giovanni Landoni and Giacomo Monti present the results of the MERCY trial, comparing bolus administration with continuous infusion of meropenem in critically ill patients with sepsis and septic shock. The results were presented at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2023, in Titanic Belfast. Prof Flavia Machado (Sao Paulo) delivers an editorial. The panel discussion incldues Profs Kathy Rowan (London), Victoria Cornelius (London), Ivor Douglas (Denver) and Ewan Goligher (Toronto). The session was chaired by Chris Nutt (Belfast).

Aktuell ist die Titanic wieder ins Blickfeld der Medien gerückt. Nachdem das Wrack über 100 Jahre auf dem Meeresgrund in über 3800 Meter Tiefe ruht. Derzeit wird ein Tauchboot vermisst, dass sich auf dem Weg zum Wrack befand. Die Titan. Mit einem Piloten und vier Passagieren an Bord. In dieser Episode geben wir euch eine kurze Zusammenfassung über die aktuellen Geschehnisse und setzen sie aber auch in Zusammenhang mit der Geschichte des Luxusliners. Leider nur in deutsch verfügbar.

In episode 144, we celebrate World Ocean Day, answer a listener question about HAL's ms Prinsendam, share news from Virgin Voyages, Holland America Line, Captain Cook Cruises Fiji, Norwegian Cruise Line, Viking, Celebrity Cruises, PLUS a Fact or Fiction for both Baz and Chris.Caledonian Sky. Captain Cook FijiSupport the showListen, Like, Subscribe & Review on your favourite podcast directory.Share the podcast with someone you think will enjoy the showBuy Me A Coffee – This podcast is only possible thanks to our supporters, simply buying a coffee keeps us on air. It is just like shouting your mate a coffee, and we consider our listeners close mates. https://bit.ly/2T2FYGX  Sustainable Fashion – choose a TBCP design or design your own… all using organic cotton, green energy and zero plastic https://bit.ly/32G7RdhFollow Chris and his latest videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisFrameOfficialCruise NewsWorld Ocean DayVirgin Voyages have released their New Impact Report underlining their commitment to sea change. Did you knowVirgin Voyages partnered with three sustainable marine fuel providers to advance cleaner energy solutionsAll four ships in our fleet will have shore power installed by 202565% of our Shore Things tours are under contract with operators that meet standards for sustainable tourism$5M of in-kind donations were awarded to non-profit organizations in 202225% of the retail brands sold on-board Virgin Voyages in 2022 had a commitment to social & environmental responsibility, including safe cosmetics and B Corps92% of Crew feel connected to our purpose and believe their job contributes to delivering An Epic Sea Change for AllVirgin Voyages introduces new season of Taster VoyagesStarting in early 2024, Resilient Lady will be headed to some of the most awe-inspiring destinations across Australia with brand-new 3 to 6-night voyages.Whether you've been daydreaming of a thrilling mini escapade, yearning for a rejuvenating long weekend getaway, or seeking the ultimate back-to-back voyages to design an extraordinary extended stay, this is your chance to make it happen (and be one of the very first Sailors to do it in quite an epic style).1Feb24 – 6nts – Melbourne • Sydney • Hobart • Melbourne7Feb24 – 4nt – Melbourne • Sydney11Feb24 – 4nt – Sydney • Hobart • Sydney15Feb24 – 4nt – Sydney • Burnie • Sydney19Feb24 – 3nt – Sydney • Burnie • Melbourne22Feb24 – 5nt – Melbourne • Burnie • Hobart • Melbourne27Feb24 – 4nt – Melbourne • Hobart • MelbourneHolland America Line Expands ‘Alaska Up Close'Added to every Alaska cruise, guests will find new localized cuisine, cocktails featuring authentic glacier ice, an Alaska-themed brunch, Huna native presentation and wildlife experts to help guests spot the abundance of indigenous animals from the ship's deck. The program continues to deliver workshops and lectures, EXC Talks exploring the stories of real Alaskans and dining events featuring the culinary traditions of the region.A New Way to Experience GlaciersFour new cocktails feature authentic Alaska glacier ice harvested by state permit among floating glacier bergs in Prince William Sound and prepared to the highest standard under Alaskan authority. Holland America Line is the only cruise line serving glacier ice, giving guests the unique experience of safely tasting real glacier ice from the waters of Alaska. The cocktails with the glacier ice include:Juneau Gin & Tonic” features Juneauper Gin that's produced in Juneau, Alaska.“Alaska's Blue Ice” has De Kuyper Blue Curaçao, X Rum, pineapple juice. Velvet Falernum and Dry Vermouth.Blue Iceberg: Juneauper Gin, apricot brandy, Blue Curaçao and lime juice.Black & Blue: a choice of Jonnie Walker Black or Jack Daniels Black Label served over glacier ice.Holland America Line also is serving new hot cocktails during scenic cruising in Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm and Hubbard Glacier:Glacier Bay Coffee: Baileys Irish Cream and Malibu Coconut Rum.Alaska Railroad Coffee: Jameson Irish Whiskey, Kahlua and Cream.Gold Rush Coffee: Grand Marnier, Coffee and Hot Chocolate.Northern Lights: Crème de Cacao, Kahlua and Brandy.Alaska Brunch Highlights Local FlavoursOffered once per cruise, all dishes on the new Alaska Brunch menu in the Dining Room have been created with the influence of fresh, local Alaskan and Pacific Northwest ingredients. The selections range from sweet to savory and include Alaskan Blueberry Pancakes, Salmon & Potato Chowder, Wild Forest Mushroom and Tarragon Crepes, Kodiak Steak and Egg Skillet, Crab and Hot Smoked Salmon Cakes, Biscuits with Gravy and Alaskan Reindeer Sausage, and Home Smoked Gulf of Alaska Cod Benny.A Taste of Alaska in Lido MarketDuring Alaska cruises, the casual Lido Market features special dishes and theme nights. Guests can enjoy a Salmon Bake dinner and Seafood Boil pop-up dinner on all cruises, and a Gold Rush dinner on 14-plus day cruisesSustainable SeafoodIn 2022, Holland America Line was awarded Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification — making it the first cruise line to achieve this distinguished credential by serving only fresh, certified sustainable and traceable wild Alaska seafood. On any Alaska cruise, the line serves more than 2,000 pounds of Alaska Salmon, 1,000 pounds of Alaska cod, 800 pounds of Alaska halibut, 500 pounds of Alaska rockfish and more.All menus highlight “Taste Alaska” by calling out region-specific dishes and fresh fish options.EXC Talks and Presentations Bring Alaska to LifeHolland America Line's EXC Talks continue to bring each destination to life with captivating storytelling and expert commentary. On Alaska cruises, guests can attend “Ancestral Memories,” “Breaking the Ice Ceiling,” “Pacific Giants,” “The Iditarod” and “We Are Alaska” to learn more about local culture and customs.New to the EXC programming, Holland America Line is bringing on a Huna Native Interpreter in traditional dress during the stay at Juneau to introduce guests to the history of the Tlingit people with “Native Voices: Stories of the Tlingit People.”Wildlife Experts and Park RangersA new wildlife expert on board helps guests witness the majestic animals found in Alaska. Guests can be on the lookout for humpback whales, orcas, bald eagles, moose, sea otters, caribou, black and grizzly bears, Dall's porpoise and more. The daily program highlights designated times to meet the wildlife expert on deck to go in search of the animals in their natural environment.Holland America Line also is introducing a Wildlife Spotting Guide that points out the native animals found along the cruise route and includes a map with the best places to spot each species. Between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., all wildlife sightings will be announced so guests may go on deck and enjoy viewing.During Glacier Bay scenic cruising, Holland America Line continues to bring on a Glacier Bay National Park Ranger for the day to engage with guests and talk about Alaska's most famous national park.All cruises on Westerdam roundtrip from Seattle feature a presentation by The Alaska Raptor Center at Sitka. Hosted by the wildlife expert, one of the center's Avian Care Specialists comes aboard with a raptor (eagle, hawk, owl, etc.) to share insights about Alaska's majestic birds in the World Stage.On Deck for A Cause: Alaska's ParksFor the 2023 Alaska season, Holland America Line is donating proceeds from the “On Deck for a Cause” event aboard ships in the region to Alaska Geographic, the nonprofit education partner of Alaska's parks, forests, refuges and conservation lands. Called “On Deck for a Cause: Alaska's Parks,” guests on all Alaska cruises are invited to donate $25 to participate in a noncompetitive 5k fundraising walk aboard every sailing.Captain Cook Cruises Fiji Announces a New EraCaptain Cook Cruises Fiji is proud to announce a new era of small ship luxury expedition cruising in Fiji. MS Caledonian Sky will replace MV Reef Endeavour and embark on a raft of new high-end cruise experiences not yet seen in Fiji.MS Caledonian Sky will start exploring Fiji from November 11, 2023, and will sail from Nadi. MS Caledonian Sky will elevate the cruising experience currently available in Fiji and further develop Reef Endeavour's pioneering itineraries as well as offering refined onboard accommodation and hospitality. In addition, the company has revealed a unique new product offering by expanding her itineraries even further into the most remote and beautiful parts of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.The MS Caledonian Sky is tailormade for the adventurous traveller. The ship offers spacious boutique comfort whilst also being small and maneuverable, taking guests to corners of the Pacific not accessible by larger ships. Captain Cook Cruises Fiji will continue to deliver an intimate cruising experience with a capacity of just 114 passengers across 57 spacious ocean view suites. Guests can enjoy the luxury of their own private balconies, elegant suites, alfresco dining, and an expansive sky deck.Norwegian Cruise Line Expands Immersive Offerings AshoreNorwegian Cruise Line (NCL), has unveiled six new immersive shore excursion categories to help guests uncover more of each destination they visit, including Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.  The new categories include: Beyond Blueprints: A bespoke selection of 15 tours that uncover the design secrets and stories of some of Europe's most iconic architectural landmarks, including those in Barcelona, Lisbon, Belfast, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki. Examples include:  La Villa Mediterranée and MUCEM in Marseille, FranceVictoria Square and Titanic Belfast in Belfast, Northern IrelandRiverside Museum and Glasgow Science Museum in Glasgow (Greenock), ScotlandGourmet Tours: Designed for the foodie-driven traveller, this suite of experiences takes guests behind the scenes to uncover the secrets behind local cuisine of some of Europe's most iconic culinary destinations.  Guests will taste their way from port-to-port with cooking classes led by a local artisan, authentic dining experiences at a family-owned homestead and more. Examples of shore excursions that offer a true taste of travel include: Castello Di Siza & Sicilian Luncheon in Palermo (Sicily), ItalyFolkloric-Gastronomical Experience in Olympia (Katakolon), GreeceSeasonal Gastro-cultural Experience in Barcelona, SpainGo Local: Guest will uncover the everyday rhythms and customs of life in destinations as diverse as Europe, Asia, South America and South Africa. These tours are designed to offer authentic cultural experiences that connect guests to locals in a meaningful and memorable way, while showcasing how the locals live, work, eat and play:A Day at the Farm in Kusadasi, TurkeyLisbon Soul in Lisbon, PortugalExplore Florence Like a Local in Florence/Pisa (Livorno), ItalyLet's Take a Selfie: Already proving very popular, these excursions deliver the ultimate destination photos in worldwide locations. A knowledgeable guide will share the perfect angles and most picturesque spots to capture unforgettable moments:  Santorini, Greek IslesSt Thomas, US Virgin IslandsCartagena De Indias, ColombiaSmall Group Tours: With no more than 16 guests per group, these tours provide a more intimate experience of some of the most popular NCL excursions available in idyllic destinations like Italy, Greece and Spain. Small Group Tours are available to book by calling NCL. Examples include:  Captivating Malaga in SpainHighlights of Cagliari in Sardinia, ItalyBest of Corfu, Greek IslesViking Saturn Was Named in the New York Harbor at Manhattan Cruise TerminalViking today (6Jun23) named its newest ocean ship, the Viking Saturn®, with a celebration in New York City. As part of the event, the ship's ceremonial godmother, Ann Ziff, the esteemed philanthropist and Chairman of the Metropolitan Opera, a longtime Viking cultural partner, offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing for the ship—a maritime tradition that dates back thousands of years. The ship will now continue her inaugural season, sailing two new Viking voyages: Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada, between New York City and Reykjavik, and Iceland & Norway's Arctic Explorer, between Reykjavik and BergenAnn Ziff, Godmother of the Viking Saturn – A dedicated philanthropist focused on the arts, education, culture and environmental conservation, Ann Ziff is Chairman of the Metropolitan Opera and serves on several boards, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Sing for Hope, the World Science Festival and the Los Angeles Opera. Passionate about bringing culture and arts into the lives of children in need, she co-founded Smile Train and was a board member at Maloto, an organization that provides education and housing for abused and abandoned girls in Malawi. Ms. Ziff also has an eponymous fine jewelry brand, Tamsen Z, where she designs and creates one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by her love of culture, art and music as well as her travels as a loyal Viking guest.The Viking Saturn is the newest ship in Viking's award-winning ocean fleet of identical sister ships, which also includes the Viking Star®, the Viking Sea®, the Viking Sky®, the Viking Orion®, the Viking Jupiter®, the Viking Venus®, the Viking Mars®, and the Viking Neptune®. Classified by Cruise Critic as “small ships,” Viking's ocean vessels have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, with 465 staterooms that can host 930 guests; the ships feature all veranda staterooms, Scandinavian design, light-filled public spaces and abundant al fresco dining options.Countdown to Celebrity Edge arriving in Australia. Celebrity Cruises' signature ship, Celebrity Edge®, will offer an array of 6- to 13-night itineraries from early December 2023 through to April 2024, designed to immerse guests in the spoils of the stunning coastlines of Australia and New Zealand, along with the tropical South Pacific.Celebrity Edge is a ground-breaking ship that pushes the boundaries of ship design and sets a new standard for unparalleled holiday experiences. With its breadth of accommodations delivering expanded staterooms, innovative features, and stunning suites, Celebrity Edge promises to captivate discerning global travellers like never before.Infinite Veranda® – A Revolutionary Accommodation ExperienceCelebrity Edge presents a ground-breaking concept with the revolutionary Infinite Veranda staterooms. These innovative staterooms erase the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living, taking guests to the water's edge. By simply pressing a button, guests can transform their staterooms into open-air spaces, embracing the sea breeze and stunning views. The design also enhances comfort, providing 23% more square footage and 10% larger bathrooms than previous classes of ships.AquaClass® – Your Escape at SeaCelebrity's world-class accommodations include spa-inspired AquaClass staterooms offering a fully immersive, next-level wellbeing experience. Elements are thoughtfully infused throughout, from the Infinite Veranda stateroom design offering a closer connection to the ocean to bedding offerings including Cashmere™ mattresses and pillow menus.AquaClass guests can enjoy clean cuisine, including new healthy options, at the exclusive restaurant, Blu. Plus, enjoy access to the SEA Thermal Suite, a Spa Concierge, a complimentary fitness pass, preferential rates on AquaClass spa packages, daily in-room bottled water service, healthy room-service menu options, and a yoga mat for use on board. Celebrity has thought of everything so that guests can focus on nourishing their mind, body, and spirit.On the Edge Series it's the little details make a world of difference, and now the meticulously thought-out Concierge Class staterooms are even better. Featuring new services, amenities, and exclusive events, step inside and discover a space that is so much more than a room—it's an experience. As a Concierge Class guest, a team of dedicated professionals will take care of all holiday needs, so all guests need to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the view.The Retreat® – An exclusive experience for Suite guestsAt the heart of Celebrity Edge lies The Retreat, a haven that redefines exclusivity. The Retreat features a private restaurant, lounge and sundeck for our suite guests. Luminae, the exclusive restaurant for guests of The Retreat, provides exquisite culinary delights to be savoured. The Retreat Lounge offers a sophisticated and stylish ambiance, complemented by around-the-clock personal butler service. Guests can also unwind at The Retreat Sundeck, featuring a private pool and breathtaking views.Celebrity Edge introduces exclusive suite categories that offer unparalleled accommodations at sea. The Iconic Suites, situated above the ship's bridge, offer awe-inspiring panoramic views from their 2,600 sq. ft., two-bedroom, two-bathroom layout. The Sky Suites, Penthouse Suites, Celebrity Suites, and Royal Suites provide lavish accommodations and access to The Retreat. Another highlight is two-storey Edge Villas, featuring split-level designs, private plunge pools, and direct access to The Retreat Sundeck.Celebrity Edge is sailing Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific from December 2023 through to April 2024. Homeporting from Sydney and Auckland, Celebrity Edge offers guests the chance to sail close to home on an award-winning resort at sea, choosing from 12 sailing options.and more... Join the show:If you have a cruise tip, burning question or want to record a cruise review get in touch with us via the website https://thebigcruisepodcast.com/join-the-show/ Co-hosts: Chris Frame: https://bit.ly/3a4aBCg   Chris's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisFrameOfficialListen & Subscribe: Amazon Podcasts: https://amzn.to/3w40cDcApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2XvD7tF Audible: https://adbl.co/3nDvuNgCastbox: https://bit.ly/2xkGBEI Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/2RuY04u I heart Radio:  https://ihr.fm/3mVIEUASpotify: https://spoti.fi/3caCwl8 Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2JWE8Tz Pocket casts: https://bit.ly/2JY4J2M Tune in: https://bit.ly/2V0Jrrs Podcast Addict: https://bit.ly/2BF6LnE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you been to Titanic Belfast? Pablo got his dream job when he got a job at the museum and moved from Manchester to Ireland to work there.Hear him talk about the experience at the museum and what you will find there, his deep love for the ship and of course, James Cameron's film in this podcast with co-hosts Nelson Aspen and Alexandra BoydAnd be sure to subscribe for updates on the next Titanic Talk podcast - your first class ticket aboard the ship of dreams.Pablo's Instagram@pabs94Titanic Belfast titanicbelfast.comTITANIC TALK Official Merchandise now on sale HERET-shirts, hoodies, baseball caps and mugs - the perfect gift for your favourite TitaniacFor more information on where to watchSHIP OF DREAMS: TITANIC MOVIE DIARIES go toshipofdreamsfilm.comShip of Dreams on FacebookShip of Dreams on TikTokWatch TITANIC TALK on YouTube go to ~TITANIC TALK YouTubeInstagram @titanic_talk_podcastFacebookFollow NelsonInstagram @nelsonaspenTwitter @nelsonaspenFollow Alexandra Instagram @fstclsswmn Twitter @alexactwrdirTikTok

Wohl kaum ein Schiff erlangte so traurige Berühmtheit wie die Titanic. Der seinerzeit modernste Ozeandampfer der Welt galt als Meisterwerk der Technik. Doch das schützte nicht vor der Katastrophe. Schon auf der Jungfernfahrt von Europa nach New York kollidierte das Schiff am 14. April 1912 mit einem Eisberg und nahm insgesamt 1514 Menschen mit in die Tiefe. Seither ranken sich zahlreiche Mythen und Legenden um die Titanic. Wo könnte man sie besser erzählen als am Ort ihrer Erbauung – in Belfast? Nordirlands Hauptstadt ist die Geburtsstätte dieses Megaschiffes, und entsprechend war die Titanic auch der Stolz der Stadt – die Tragödie hat auch Belfast tief getroffen. Das Titanic Belfast wurde am 31. März 2012 eingeweiht, um die Geschichte der Titanic und ihrer Erbauer zu erzählen, Anfang 2023 wurde das riesige Museum, das genau an der Stelle ihrer Entstehung liegt, modernisiert. Susie Millar hat ihren Ur-Großvater bei der Tragödie verloren, und heute führt sie Besucher durch die Geschichte der Titanic, die später im südirischen Cobh zum letzten Mal abgelegt hatte. Davon zeugt die Titanic Experience – doch das ist eine andere Geschichte. Links:https://www.titanicbelfast.com/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/destinations/experiences/belfast/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/plan-your-trip/trip-ideas/titanic-in-48-hours/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/things-to-do/attractions/titanic-belfast/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/culture/five-titanic-tales/http://www.titanictours-belfast.co.uk/http://www.titanictours-belfast.co.uk/publication.htmhttps://www.titanicexperiencecobh.ie/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/built-heritage/titanic-in-cobh/

First whiskey distiller in Belfast in almost a century. joining Pat on the show live from Titanic Belfast was Peter Lavery from Titanic Distillers and also Damien Rafferty Head Distiller Titanic Distillers.

We take a look back on the stories of the week with our Friday Forum. Joining Pat live from our OB at Titanic Belfast this morning was Alison Morris Columnist with the Belfast Telegraph & commentator specializing in politics and security, Sorcha Eastwood, Alliance MLA for Lagan Valley, and John Finucane, Sinn Fein MP for North Belfast.

There's been a revival of Belfast's tourism industry along with a massive refurbishment of the Belfast Titanic. Joining Pat as we broadcast live from Titanic Belfast was Judith Owens CEO, Deirdre McIntyre whose great-grandfather Roderick Chisholm was the chief draftsman at shipbuilders Harland and also Eimear Kearney, Head of Marketing for Titanic Belfast.

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.

After a £4.5m refurb, Titanic Belfast is set to open, with never before seen artifacts added. Frank spoke to Eimear Kearney from Titanic Belfast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One woman's “reasonable” is another woman's eating cheesy crisps on the Tube. With our own concept of what it is to be reasonable, and indeed unreasonable, so entrenched in personal experience, Mick was fascinated to chat to cultural studies expert Kirsty Sedgman about her new book, On Being Unreasonable: Breaking the Rules and Making Things Better.Titanic Belfast is about to reopen after a major refurbishment, so Hannah got on the Zoom to Eimar Kearney from the centre to talk about the world's most famous sunken ship, why it remains fascinating, and why the capital of Northern Ireland is well worth a visit.There is no good news in Jenny Off The Blocks, but there are some excellent women hoping to change the sporting landscape for others. Meanwhile, we are all a-flap, as 1963 Hitchcock classic The Birds gets Rated or Dated.Plus, spiralling costs, awkward admissions, and surprising progress in the Bush Telegraph.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI Con, the leading Artificial Intelligence conference hosted by Kainos, is taking place today at Titanic Belfast with contributions from leading AI entrepreneurs, ethicists, researchers and policy experts. Hosted in person, AI Con will also be broadcast live around the world for over 300 attendees including those involved in AI application, policy, and regulation across Europe, the UK, and the US. The full-day conference sponsored by Datactics, Ulster University, Digital Catapult, Matrix NI, Allstate NI and Innovate UK seeks to examine the application of the technology in society and its role in securing a healthier, safer, and more sustainable future. AI Con will explore the continued evolution of AI as it heads towards mainstream adoption, get to the heart of AI's relationship with data usage and privacy, and investigate ways to responsibly harness it's potential to support progress across all areas of business and public life. Dr Robert Smith, Director of AI and Data Science at Digital Catapult UK and author of ‘Rage Inside the Machine', will deliver a keynote address on challenging the long-held assumption that technology is an apolitical and amoral force. Delegates will also hear from Seamus McAteer, Chief Executive of Speechlab in San Francisco, who will be in conversation with Tom Gray, Director of Innovation at Kainos, discussing the opportunities AI offers for policy makers and enterprises across the globe. Barrister and author of Robot Rules: Regulation Artificial Intelligence, and UNESCO and UN Human Rights Council speaker, Jacob Turner, will also be present to share his extensive experience and expertise on AI governance. The full AI Con programme is available here: Speaking ahead of AI Con Hosted by Kainos, Ruth McGuinness, Data & AI practice Lead at Kainos said: “I am thrilled to have played a part in curating this exciting conference that has no doubt been an excellent resource for those in the field for many years. Today we welcome a range of experts from all over the world and across many disciplines, reflecting Artificial intelligence's proliferation and expansion to become a recognised asset in all sectors including health, education, and business.” “As we hear from experts from all avenues of business and public life and delve further into these issues in our panel discussions, today our focus will be on investigating what's needed to amplify public trust and integrate AI responsibly and sustainably. I am looking forward to spending an inspiring day with individuals from all over the globe who are passionate and enthusiastic about this technology's potential for society.” See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

We are back again! Episode 5 y'all-- halfway through season 2 (because you know your girl works 60 hours a week and can manage 10 episodes a season like I'm a streaming service- shout out to Hulu!)Adara is back in the pod-seat sharing her experience visiting the Titanic Museum  in Belfast waaaaay back in September. She was thoughtful enough to record her live reactions to the exhibit, the experience, and what she saw...even if she broke the rules doing it!Join us as we talk about the shipyard history, the contemporary feel to the museum itself, setting foot on The Nomadic, and.... the ride!? Yes, you read that-- a ride. With a cue like Disneyland and everythang. Hit play! Let's gooooooo *kiss* 

John Myburgh and Ian Seppelt  (Sydney) present the results of the SuDDICU trial at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2022, in Titanic Belfast. SuDDICU investigates selective digestive decontamination in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients. Naomi Hammond (Sydney) follows with a presentation of a systematic review and meta analysis also on SDD. John Marshall (Toronto) delivers an editorial. Danny McAuley (Belfast), Bodil Steen Rasmussen (Aalborg) and Victoria Cornelius (London) join the presenters for a panel discussion. The session is chaired by Chris Seymour (Pittsburgh).

Die nordirische Hauptstadt Belfast war vor der Industrialisierung das Zentrum der Leinenherstellung und kam so zu  einigem Reichtum. Später wandelte sich die Stadt dank ihrer Lage unmittelbar am Wasser zu einem der wichtigsten Häfen, zeitweise stand dort das größte Trockendock der Welt.  Das wohl bekannteste Schiff der Menschheit wurde hier gebaut - die Titanic. Entsprechend geht es in dieser Folge um das Titanic Belfast, das ganz besondere Erlebnis rund um das Unglücksschiff. Aber die Unesco City of Music hat noch so viel mehr zu bieten. Wir haben viele Informationen zusammengetragen - zur älteren und jüngeren Geschichte, und zum Leben in der Gegenwart natürlich:https://www.ireland.com/de-de/destinations/experiences/belfast/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/music/belfast-music/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/things-to-do/attractions/titanic-belfast/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/built-heritage/titanic-belfast-built/https://walkni.com/walks/botanic-gardens/https://belfasttours.com/https://visitbelfast.com/partners/st-georges-market/https://www.ireland.com/de-de/magazine/ireland-on-screen/game-of-thrones-experiences/https://www.gameofthronesstudiotour.com/

Join me for a walk through Titanic Quarter in Belfast, where my family I spent four glorious days back in August. I wish I could teleport back to the bar at Titanic Hotel right this instant. An old-fashioned. The halls of Harland and Wolff. It was a magical time. In this episode I walk through the history of Harland and Wolff shipyard both literally and figuratively. I give some commentary on the stunning achievements of Titanic Belfast, the museum at the center of the Quarter. You'll hear my daughter set the record straight about her name and where she is in the first class lounge of Titanic tender ship Nomadic. And most importantly, I pay homage to the men who built this ship.For more info on Belfast and Thomas Andrews, I recommend you look back at Gareth Russell's book Ship of Dreams. Follow me on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/unsinkablepodAnd on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/unsinkablepodSupport the pod on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unsinkablepodSupport the show

This week on the Shrapnel Podcast we are joined by Professor Olwen Purdue, who specialises in the social and economic history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Ireland. Her research focuses on poverty, welfare and public health in the industrial city. Olwen is the founder and Director of the Centre for Public History at Queen's University Belfast. Olwen was also specialist historical advisor for Titanic Belfast and a member of the advisory group for the Ulster Museum's Irish history exhibition and its Troubles and Beyond gallery. On this pod we discuss the need to record real lives as part of history, before those stories are lost. We hope to talk with her again. Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack

Lars Andersen (Aarhus, Denmark) presents the VAM-IHCA trial on June 15th at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2022, in Titanic Belfast. The VAM-IHCA trial investigates the combination of vasopressin and methylprednisolone in in-hospital cardiac arrest. Chris Seymour (Pittsburgh, USA) delivers an editorial after the trial presentation. The session is chaired by Catriona Kelly (Dublin, Ireland).

Now, time to once again, head over to Belfast. On your latest a view on access Tim takes a look at the city's famous attraction, the Titanic Belfast, speaks with their Head of Operations, and checks out what's coming up with audio description in the West End.  For more information visit: Titanic Belfast AVOA is written, presented and produced by Tim Calvert of Calvert Creative Concepts for The Audio Description Association. For more information or to get involved email aviewonaccess@gmail.com. Image shows the Titanic Belfast building.

RMS Titanic – the world's largest ship at its launch has not only left its mark in film culture but also in its birthplace – the city of Belfast – where you now find the world-leading Titanic Experience visitor attraction in the very shipyard where Titanic was built. But what legacy has Titanic left and how can you find its traces and experience this famous ship?Today we are joined by Scott Shaw, from the Visitor Experience Crew at Titanic Belfast to talk about the Titanic Experience, Harland and Wolff, Titanic Hotel Belfast, SS Nomadic and the impact it made on the city of Belfast.For more information on the tours on offer visit: tianicbelfast.com This episode's Irish words and saying:Keep going (encouragement)Keep her lit – Pronounced: Keep ‘eer lit

We mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic with a tour of Titanic Belfast, the £multi-million visitor attraction built on the launch site of the ill-fated ship. The maritime theme continues with our ever-present segments designed to test even the hardiest of Titanoraks. Can Andrea guess Heidi's particularly abstract Where In The World destination? And which of the other Top Five Titanic-linked locations has Andrea explored? We discuss The Titanic Graveyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Titanic – the Artefact Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada; our very own Titanic Belfast and the Sea City Museum in Southampton, England.    SUBSCRIBE to our podcast for lots more travel insights and musings:  Instagram - @travelinyourpocketpodcast Twitter - @Travel_IYP Facebook - @TravelInYourPocketPodcast    Near, far, whereeeeever they are, our hearts will go on for our good friends at Northern Ireland band 3D Shark, who provide our theme tune.   Thanks for listening and see you next month! 

In this episode we join Neil as he steps aboard the Titanic, one of the most iconic ships in the world. For Neil this a pivotal moment in history, which marks a point when the world changed forever.When the Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage it was the largest human-made object that had ever moved across the face of the planet. 900 feet long (240m), 92 feet wide (28m) and weighing in at 50,000 tons. Built in Belfast it was one of a set of near identical triplets. With 2,200 passengers and crew aboard the Titanic heads out into the wild Atlantic ocean, sailing into tragedy as the band played on.To help support the making of this podcast sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/neiloliverHistory & CommentNew Videos Every Week Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter/?hl=en Neil Oliver YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVR-SdKxQeTvXtUSPFCL7g See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Recorded live at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, the first set outside of my kitchen in over 15 months. Enjoy.

Martha Kearney presents from Titanic Belfast to mark 100 years since the passage of the Government of Ireland Act and is joined by Sir Hugh Orde, former Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Martha also discusses Northern Ireland's huge success with TV and film in recent years with Richard Williams, Chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen, and Glenn Patterson, author and screenwriter of the film Good Vibrations. (Image: Northern Ireland map, Credit: Getty Images)

Prof Jorrit Lemkes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) presents the COACT Trial, investigating the timing of coronary angiography in patients with cardiac arrest without ST elevation. This is followed by an editorial by Dr Chris Nickson (Melbourne, Australia). This talk was given at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2020, in Titanic Belfast.

Dr Paul Young (Wellington, New Zealand) presents the ICU-ROX trial, investigating conservative oxygen therapy in mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU, at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2020, in Titanic Belfast. Prof Anders Perner (Copenhagen, Denmark) gives an editorial on this trial afterwards.

Prof Kathryn Maitland delivers the honorary John Hinds Lecture, entitled "A Higher Calling: two decades of emergency research in Africa", at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2020, at Titanic Belfast.

Prof Kathryn Maitland discusses the TRACT trial, investigating red blood cell transfusion in African children with anaemia, at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2020, at Titanic Belfast.

In this episode i will talk about the unknown facts about the "Titanic"..

In this Week in History - 13th - 19th April Battle of Barnet, the decisive battle in the Wars of the Roses - The Battle of Barnet - The Decisive Battle of the Wars of the Roses outs Edward IV back on the throne for a second and final time. Titanic sinks - The Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic with around 1500 lives lost. We look into the truth about the lifeboat situation! Belfast Blitz - 200 bombs fall on Belfast in the final year of World War II, a target because of the shipyards one of which had built the Titanic Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp is Liberated - The first concentration camp to be discovered, Bergen Belsen is liberated by British troops who had been unaware of its existence until their horrific discovery. Indeed the Allies were not aware that any concentration camps existed at this point. The discovery would haunt the memories of those who liberated the camp for the rest of their lives. The Earl of Bothwell, Mary Queen of Scot's third husband dies in prison - James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell and third husband of Mary Queen of Scots dies in prison in Denmark at a castle called Dragsholm Castle, now a hotel! Sir Thomas More is arrested and taken to the Tower of London. - Sir Thomas More, close friend and servant to Henry VIII, refuses to swear an oath to uphold the Acts of Succession and is imprisoned at the Tower of London on charges of treason. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/british-history/message

In this episode, April 15 marked the 108th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic so in honor of that we're going to chat with the folks from the Titanic Belfast Museum in Belfast Ireland. Plus we'll talk about the modern day ocean liners, the cruise ships. What will cruising look like after the COVID crisis is over? We'll discuss that and other issues the cruise industry is facing these days with the Cruise Guru David Yeskell. And since we're all in self- isolation we'll chat about the Top 5 Ways To Escape When You Can't Travel with travel writer and author Angie Cavallari. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talk excerpt from the popular Celtic Roots Radio show (30-mins) – just the craic – i.e. Raymond blethering on about something! :-)

Dr Manu Shankar-Hari gives an editorial on the APPROCCHSS trial, investigating fludrocortisone and hydrocortisone, at the Critical care Reviews Meeting 2019, in Titanic Belfast

Bill Cauley von der Titanic Experience erklärt Fee und Chris die Ausstellung. Dabei geht es neben der Entstehung der Titanic auch hauptsächlich um die Geschichte von Belfast und dem Titanic Quarter. Früher stand hier eine der größten Werften des Empire. Die Olympic, die Titanic und alle ihre Schwestern wurden hier gebaut. Neben vielen anderen Schiffen. Gegen Ende des 20sten Jahrhundert begann der Niedergang. Der Bürgerkrieg führte dann zum Ende einer glanzvollen Geschichte. Eine Zeit lang galt Belfast zusammen mit Beirut, Baghdad oder Bosnien als gefährlicher Krisenherd. Mit dem Karlfreitagsabkommen und dem darauf folgenden Friedensprozess, konnte auch ein wirtschaftlicher Aufschwung eingeleitet werden. Im Jahr 2012 konnte die Titanic Experience ihre Tore öffnen und seither haben über 3 millionen Besucher die Entstehung des größten Luxusliners seiner Zeit bestaunt.

Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to the 23rd episode of Everything Under The Sun, which this week is about OCEANS! We have three questions from Molly, Cooper and Lara, which are: How Much Water is in All the Oceans? How violently did Titanic shake when it hit the Iceberg? And What is the Deadliest Shark and why? Find out how much of the Earth's water is in the oceans and why we ought to really rename our planet, Ocean! Then hear Phil Cauley, a crew member from Titanic Belfast talk about what happened on board when Titanic hit the iceberg, where it is now, and what little robot was the first to explore the Titanic on the ocean floor! Thirdly, listen to James Maclaine, a fish curator at the Natural History Museum in London tell us all about sharks! You'll discover where on earth people bit other people more than sharks bite people – rather a lot more! So there is no reason to be overly scared of most sharks, just stay away from a few as they might bite you only because they're curious about you! Not because they're mean. PLUS! Exciting news, Everything Under The Sun is going to be a beautiful BOOK! The book is going to be called Everything Under The Sun – a year of curious questions and it's going to be filled with all of your questions, 365 of them, one for each day of the year! It's coming out next Christmas and I'm busy writing it now, so please send in all of your wonderful questions, because then not only will I answer them on the podcast, you'll get to see your question in a real life wonderful book, filled with questions, answers and fantastic drawings! A great present for all your friends and family and I hope it will be a book that you love. Secondly, as I mentioned last week, EUTS is nominated for Best Family Podcast in the British Podcast Awards! I'm going to the awards ceremony in a few weeks time and it would be so great to win! Thanks so much to everyone for listening, subscribing and telling all your friends to help the show spread far and wide! There's a Listener's Choice award where you can vote for a show you love, it's free to take part – so if you'd like to vote for Everything Under The Sun all you need to do is go to britishpodcastawards.com/vote and type in the first few letters of Everything Under The Sun and it'll come up. Voting closes on the 15th May. Thank you very much everyone!A huge thank you to Phil at the Titanic Belfast for telling us about the moment Titanic hit the iceberg and to James Maclaine for sharing his knowledge about why sharks! Of course, a big thanks to Lara, Cooper and Molly and for this week's questions! I'll be back next week answering more questions from children around the world in another episode of EUTS. Do send in your questions, there's info about how to do that on the show's website, everythingunderthesun.co.uk. Remember, the questions will now also be in a BOOK! Thank you and have a lovely week! For info about Titanic Belfast - https://titanicbelfast.comThe Secret Museum: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Museum-Molly-Oldfield/dp/0007455283My twitter:@mollyoldfieldMy instagram: @mollyoldfieldwritesWebsite:mollyoldfield.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 We went with a slightly lighter tone to last week and talked about the most famous shipwreck in recent history. That interview Caitlin gave to the Belfast Telegraph after going to Titanic Belfast on opening day. Joe’s Prose: Late for his Own Funeral   Caitlin egg conch Irish – Tá sé fuar amuigh agus tá sneachta ar on talamh. Phoenetic – Thaw shea foor am-weh og-us thaw schnock-ta err on tolive. Translation – It is cold outside and there is snow on the ground. Potts & PlansAmanda’s Ireland for First Timers Full tour that can be broken into North and South sections of Ireland Two 6 night (or one 12 night) self-drive tour of Ireland. Mention the podcast for a little surprise on your vacation. Find more Tours for the Reasons at crystal-travel.com/reasons

A self guided walk though the Titanic Experience in Belfast

A self guided walk though the Titanic Experience in Belfast

In this episode of the Irish Tech News podcast, Ronan talks to Andrew Grill IBM. Andrew is the main speaker at Big Data Belfast which takes place on June 2 in Titanic Belfast, and he talks about digital trends, Watson and some of the issues he'll be raising at Big Data Belfast.

Simon Bradley, author of The Railways: Nation, Network and People talks to us about a British transport revolution. Meanwhile, we pay a visit to Titanic Belfast in the company of Aidan McMichael, an expert on the world’s most famous ocean liner See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Watch as we share what it's like to cruise to the British Isles onboard Princess Cruises' Royal Princess. Highlights include Blarney Castle, the Blarney Stone and the Attridge Dance Group in Cork, Ireland; the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland; Titanic Belfast in Belfast, Ireland; the Falkirk Wheel in Glasgow, Scotland; Skara Brae and Skaill House in Orkney Islands, Scotland; Dunrobin Castle in Invergordon, Scotland and Edinburgh Castle, St Andrews Links, St Andrews Cathedral and Forth Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland.

*Subscribe @ iTunes* TSPP is back for the 2014 Thea Awards and TEA Summit podcast finale.  The BIG word for the TEA Summit Finale is GLOBAL!  Discussions on the Thea Awards with recipients: Titanic Belfast's Tim Husbands (CEO), Conal Harvey (Director of Harcourt Developments), & John Doherty (Creative Director); Carrousel des Mondes Marins (Marine Worlds Carousel)'s Pierre Orefice (Director of the Machines de L'ile) & Francois Delaroziere (Artistic Director of Machines de L'ile); Polynesian Cultural Center's P. Alfred Grace (President/CEO), Michale Lee (President of Michael Lee Design), & Pat Scanlon (Producer/Project Director of Michael Lee Design); The Mind Museum's Maria Isabel Garcia (Curator); Gardens by the Bay's Dr. Kiat W. Tan (CEO).  And to close this celebration of Global Themed Entertainment, another amazing conversation with Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Executive and globe traveler, Joe Rohde.  A discussion on his recent trip to Mongolia and the creative process behind Disney Animal Kingdom.  Tons of information and GLOBAL fun, Enjoy!   EPISODE SPONSORS: PROMOSFORPARKS.COM THE ANABELLA HOTEL   Links: TEA Website Marine Worlds Carousel The Mind Museum Polynesian Cultural Center Gardens By The Bay Titanic Belfast Walt Disney Birthplace  O-Zell Soda MiceChat Touring Plans Pixie Vacations Season Pass Closing Song - Wheels by Enuff Z'nuff on iTunes   Check Out The Season Pass Podcast Website at: www.seasonpasspodcast.com   Follow Us On Twitter! - www.twitter.com/theseasonpass Like the TSPP Facebook page! - www.facebook.com/theseasonpass   Contact us: doug@seasonpasspodcast.com brent@super78.com robert@robertcoker.com   Call the Hotline with Park Trip Reports, Podcast Comments, or Anything else you would like to announce. –1-916-248-5524   Thanks to each one of you for listening to the show.  Your support is extremely appreciated.     © 2014 Season Pass Podcast