Podcasts about Waltham Abbey

Southern League Division One CentralWare 1 Waltham Abbey 0Att 220Post Match with Ware Manager Paul Halsey & 90MinutesLive MOTM Joe Dearman

Hertford Town 2 Waltham Abbey 1Southern League Division One CentralAtt:320Post match with Ben Herd & 90MinutesLIve MOTM Billy Mardell-Smith

Poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, said to have been inspired by the “wild bells” of Waltham Abbey in Essex, England, when the bereaved poet threw open his window on New Year's Eve to hear the peal of bells ringing out the old year and ringing in the new. Featuring the vocal artistry of David Bryan Jackson and Leslie Kobylinski, alongside the holiday classic, “Carol of the Bells” by Ukrainian composer and conductor, Mykola Leontovych.  

Waltham Abbey 4 Ware 1 (Dulson)Southern League Division One CentralPost match with Paul Halsey.

The D&K Reposs Non League Show 28.11.22 With Alvechurch and Waltham Abbey

For our first episode, we're welcoming author and TV personality, Vicky Pattison onto Stompcast!In this first part, Vicky shares anecdotes and take-home advice about how she drowns out her inner critic, the value she gets from her life coach and what she can't leave the house without - known on Stompcast as her ‘stomping toolkit'.For more updates on Vicky's puppy Milo, follow her @vickypattison on Instagram and to see the beautiful stomp they did at Waltham Abbey, head to @stompcast across socials.Don't forget to head over to part 2 once you've finished this episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two, as Dr Alex and Vicky continue to stroll through Waltham Abbey, Vicky candidly opens up about her dad's alcoholism, a topic she has only recently begun speaking publicly about.They also discuss her book ‘The Secret to Happy' and how her ‘day numbering' method helps her achieve balance.Remember to check out the @stompcast socials to take a look at the stomp in Waltham Abbey and head over to part 3 on your next stomp!Helplines, Links and Sources:‘My Dad, Alcohol and Me' documentary airs on Channel 4 on Tuesday 2nd August.Vicky's book ‘Secret to Happy' can be purchased here.Helpline links:Find local alcohol addiction support services via the NHS here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Alan Hudd helped to invent the synthetic Shell oil we still all use in our cars for his PhD at Manchester University. Hudd then joined the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in Waltham Abbey in the 1980s, where he helped develop some of the anti-tank rockets being used in the Ukraine war.In 2008, he sold his business Xennia, a world-leading inkjet innovator, for a multi-million pound sum and the 67-year-old has since founded Alchemie Technology in a bid to revolutionise the way our clothes are manufactured.In this Podcast we find out what motivates him to keep disrupting markets and he explains more about his newest development – the Endeavour - digital dyeing technology, that is transforming the textile industry with clean-tech digital manufacturing solutions that eliminate the environmental impact of these polluting processes.This episode was brought to you by Farnell, your global distributor of electronic components, products and solutionsVisit the FuturePrint Leaders Summit WebsiteBook tickets to the FuturePrint Leaders Summit 2022Connect with Alan Hudd on LinkedInVisit the Alchemie websiteConnect with Frazer Chesterman on LinkedInSubscribe to the FuturePrint podcast nowVisit the FuturePrint website

Abbot Robert Fuller surrendered the abbey and its property on 23 March 1540, and within just a few years all the buildings except for the parish nave had been demolished or had collapsed due to ...

Match commentary highlights of Welwyn Garden City's 5-3 victory over Waltham Abbey in Southern League Division One Central plus the post match thoughts of boss Nicky Ironton.

Match commentary highlights of Hertford Town's 2-1 victory over Waltham Abbey in Southern League Division One Central plus the post match thoughts of boss Ben Herd talking to Brian Jennings.

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, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf 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/podcastIf 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 episode.Competition ends August  27th 2021. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references:www.thenma.org.ukwww.twitter.com/mj_elliswww.linkedin.com/in/markjellishttps://thenma.org.uk/about-us/news/arboretum-app-launchhttps://thenma.org.uk/visit-us/what's-here/the-memorials/memorial-woodland  Mark Ellis is the Head of Visitor Experience at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, the UK's year-round centre of remembrance. He is responsible for the overall visitor experience, including commercial operations and overseeing the 150-acre site's diverse events programme; frequently over 250 Remembrance Events each year. In the five years since he joined the Arboretum team, he has helped deliver a wide range of new events, activities and commercial opportunities including an immersive World War 1 Trench installation, Summer Proms, an Illuminated Arboretum light trail, and a range of activities to help visitors learn more about the stories behind the memorials.In 2018, the Arboretum opened Aspects, a state-of-the-art events and conference facility. Mark was the client lead from initial concept through to completion and was proud to be part of the team that delivered the project on time and to budget. Aspects complements the award-winning Remembrance Centre at the entrance to the site and has provided a fitting venue for high-profile remembrance events as well as creating a new income stream through corporate hire.Mark has operated across the charity, public and private sectors in several senior roles, consistently demonstrating his ability to deliver great visitor experiences and commercial success in a way that supports the core objectives of an organisation.Outside of work Mark is an experienced Scout leader and enjoys the opportunities that this provides to take part in a range of outdoor activities and adventures. He has worked on international scout camps in the UK and overseas and believes that no food is finer than that cooked on a stick over the embers of a real fire. Transcription:Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. These chats are fun, informative, and, hopefully, always interesting.In todays episode I speak with Mark Ellis, Head of Visitor Experience at The National Memorial Arboretum.We discuss their brand new augmented reality experience, tips for other attractions thinking about investing in new technology, and the Memorial Woodland being created in partnership with The National Forest to commemorate all the lives lost during the pandemic.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels, by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Good morning, Mark. It is absolutely lovely to speak to you for the first time today. I feel like we've chatted a lot on Twitter, but this is our first...Mark Ellis: I know, Kelly, it feels like your voice is very familiar, and likewise feels like we've chatted a lot. It's a delight to be here, thanks for asking.Kelly Molson: You are very welcome. Before we start, I would like to say a very public thank you to you, Mark, because I think that you are one of our most engaged listeners, and that really means a lot to us. I think every episode that we've put out you always go to a lot of effort to tweet about it and say what you liked about it. And, you tag people in on our Twitter account who you think that might be really interested in listening to it, and I'm really, really grateful to that. So, thank you.Mark Ellis: Thanks, Kelly. Maybe I'm just a frustrated marketeer at heart. Kelly Molson: Maybe. But, I'm going to take it that you're a Skip the Queue podcast supporter.Mark Ellis: I am. It's a fabulous podcast. It's helped and inspired us a lot because it's over the last 12 months. I only retweet and tag because it's so brilliant, so thank you.Kelly Molson: That is lovely to hear, thank you. But, that doesn't mean that you don't get away with answering some of my...Mark Ellis: [crosstalk 00:01:53].Kelly Molson: ... quite mean icebreaker questions, unfortunately. Let's go in. When you hit the dance floor, what is your signature move?Mark Ellis: I'm the worlds best dad dancer. I move my hips left and right, left foot forward, right foot forward, a bit of funny stuff going on with your arms. And then, if you get some electro-funk going on, the arms are pumping up in the air as well. Kelly Molson: Electro-funk, I'm going to remember that.Mark Ellis: Yeah, late night at a festival in a field with a few pints of cider, no one dances better.Kelly Molson: I feel like we're going to need a demo of this when we're all allowed to meet properly in real life. We need to see this, Mark. Mark Ellis: We'll do it. Kelly Molson: Okay, if you were in a zombie apocalypse, which...Kelly Molson:... Considering what's been thrown at us the last year and a half, that could happen, who would you want on your team?Mark Ellis: I'd have The Doctor. Obviously. No problem too bad, no villain he can't defeat with a bit of wit, and panache, and charm. He, or her, whichever incarnation of The Doctor it happens to be. I started with Tom Baker, love David Tennant, love Matt Smith, Jodie Whittaker's taken it to new and brilliant places. So, I'd have The Doctor, every time.Kelly Molson: It's a really good choice. Good. What is the strangest gift that you have ever received?Mark Ellis: Bootlaces. Kelly Molson: Someone bought you bootlaces?Mark Ellis: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Was that a birthday present?Mark Ellis: That was a Christmas present. That was the year when I bought my lovely, fantastic, gorgeous wife some diamond earrings, and she bought me some bootlaces. Kelly Molson: Wow.Mark Ellis: This was probably 15 or 20 years ago. She did tell me that she was busy making me something, I have no idea what, and I'm still waiting. So, the bootlaces are a classic.Kelly Molson: Okay. So, she bought you something to unwrap with the premise that there was something else coming.Mark Ellis: To be very fair, just before Christmas I broke a pair of bootlaces and my boots were held on with a knotted bit of string. So, it was practical and thoughtful, and considerate, and practical so it was a very good gift.Kelly Molson: This is what us women do, always thinking ahead, we knew that was going to happen. Mark, what is your unpopular opinion?Mark Ellis: Before that, Kelly, I've got an icebreaker for you, because I like to turn the tables. Your podcast is brilliant, and you have that uncanny knack of making it feel like it's just a chat between you, your guest, and a listener, and that pulls everybody in. So, if you could have coffee and a chat with one broadcaster, dead or alive, who would it be?Kelly Molson: Oh my gosh, I was not expecting to be tested this morning. Nobody's done this to me yet. Mark Ellis: I'm so sorry.Kelly Molson: Who would be the broadcaster I would sit down and speak to? There's quite a few that I can think of, but I'm going to go current, because I really love this person. I'm going to say Greg James, from the BBC Breakfast show. I know that I have stolen his unpopular opinion segment, which hopefully he won't find out about at any point. Or, maybe he will and he'll appreciate that I'm inspired by him. I just think he's great. I just think he's really fun. What he's done with that Breakfast show, he's completely transformed it. He's also a local lad. He's from Bishop's Stortford originally. I'm from Waltham Abbey, which is not too far, but we live in Saffron Walden now, and the office is in Sawbridgeworth. I feel like we would be friends because we're from the same kind of area, do you know what I mean?Mark Ellis: Excellent.Kelly Molson: We could sit down, have a pint, we should definitely be buddies, Greg, if you're listening.Mark Ellis: Brilliant, great choice. Well done, and sorry about that. I'll behave myself as a guest now.Kelly Molson: Too right as well, Mark. So you should. Mark Ellis: So, unpopular opinion. I thought long and hard about this, and didn't know whether to go with the incredibly trite, or something a bit more meaningful. And actually, somebody said something to me over the weekend that just sparked me going with this one. Which is, when people go with the customer service advice of, "Treat other people like you like to be treated yourself." Which, really winds me up. Because, do you know what? Why don't we treat other people like they want to be treated? So, if I treat everybody like I treat myself, then I'm going to disappoint an awful lot of people. My case in point would be, if I was running a restaurant, which I do as part of my job, I don't eat fish, I don't like fish, I've never liked fish. So, if I treat everyone like I want to treat myself, there'd be no fish on the menu, our incredibly popular Fish Friday would be a bit of a disappointment. So, don't treat people like you want to be treated yourself. Find out how they want to be treated and go with that.Kelly Molson: I love that. I've actually never thought of it that way, but you're absolutely right. Let's see what our listeners think. If you don't think that's an unpopular opinion, Tweet us.Mark Ellis: We'll have a Tweet war about it.Kelly Molson: Yeah, let's have a Tweet war about it. Thank you for sharing those, Mark, that's great.Mark Ellis: No problem. Kelly Molson: I'm going to ask a little bit about your background because it's quite interesting. You've been at Twycross Zoo, and English Heritage, and now you're at the National Memorial Arboretum. Can you tell us how you got to there, how you ended up there?Mark Ellis: There are two versions of this story. One, it was a bunch of random factors that ended up with where I am. Or, I can post-justify and describe a thought out plan all the way through. The truth is, when I was a little boy I wanted to drive one of those cranes with a ball and chain on that demolishes buildings. Never got that chance. So, ended up on a retail career path in high street retail, which was great. Worked for a company called Rohan for many years doing travel and outdoor clothing, absolutely loved it, really high service standards, really quality product, that was great, and really learnt some great customer service skills on that journey. Mark Ellis: Moved on from that. Tales of redundancy and all the rest of it that many people's careers involve. And, ended up moving to Twycross Zoo, as you say. Initially as Head of Retail, taking those [inaudible 00:08:07] high street retail experiences into the visitor attraction area. Twycross Zoo's not far from where I grew up, I've known it for many, many years. It's a place that's special in my heart. So, really, really enjoyed joining the team there. And, pretty quickly, realized that maybe the Guest Services Team could do with the benefit of some additional thinking. So, ended up running the Visitor Service department as well. That's really where I made the hop over from pure retail into visitor attractions. Had a great time there. Zoos are just fantastic places to work. You've got thousands of animals doing the hard job of keeping visitors happy, you're just making sure there's a great experience wrapped around that. Mark Ellis: Ended up moving on from there. Again, the financial crash of 2008, and restructuring, and all the rest of it. So, a bit of a hard hit on that one. And then, worked for PDSA, the pet vet charity, for a while. Which, really enabled me to put completer-finisher on my CV. Which, had been possibly missing up to that point. I'm sure some of my colleagues will smile at the thought that I needed to prove I was a completer-finisher, as I do tend to get slightly distracted by new and shiny things. Kelly Molson: Were you an ideas person?Mark Ellis: Yeah, very much so. A broad overview is the way I like to think of it. Managed a couple of projects for PDSA, and EPOS roll-outs, and reporting things. So, it's really detailed and good work with some brilliant people there.Mark Ellis: Then, got the chance... English Heritage had been through a period of not recruiting, they'd restructured what they were doing. And, I was in the first tranche of people they went out and recruited a new group in. Some really brilliant people at English Heritage, made some lifelong friends while I was working there. Met some of your previous guests, Paul Griffiths, for instance. We shared about three months together at English Heritage. I started just as he was going. And, really did enjoy that. Looked after an area from Peveril Castle, Castleton up in the Peak District, all the way across Norfolk, Suffolk, the East Midlands. So, a huge area, with everything from 5000-year-old flint mines, Grime's Graves in Thetford Forest, through to late-19th century windmills. So, really was the full breadth of English history. Thoroughly enjoyed that, and was settled to keep developing career there.Mark Ellis: And then, the opportunity at National Memorial Arboretum came up, they were looking for a Head of Commercial Operations at the time. I have to say, it took me about half a second to decide whether it was a jump I wanted to make. Again, Arboretum, 20 years anniversary this year of our official opening, so a relatively young site. And so, going from needle flint mines to an arboretum that's only 20 years old was quite a change. But, joined the team here, and working with, again, brilliant people, hopefully making a real impact on the way people remember and enjoy outdoor spaces, and think about the past.Kelly Molson: Great journey. I love that. I find it quite fascinating, listening to how people get to where they are, because it's always kind of a bit squiggly, and I quite like that. There's always a little bit of a twist and turn, it's never a straight line. Mark Ellis: I'm always slightly jealous, the people that say they thought about what they wanted to do when they were at school and they followed a progression and done it, in some ways, I think, "Well done you." But, I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up, other than drive that crane with a ball and chain on it. We'll see what the future brings.Kelly Molson: I wanted to be a dancer. Mark Ellis: Well, there you go.Kelly Molson: I wanted to be a dancer on the West End stage. When I was younger I was really into tap dancing, and modern, and acrobatics and stuff like that. And, I thought, "That's what I'll do. I'll be on the West End stage and I'll be a tap dancer." But then, you start to get a bit older and you're like, "I'm a bit of an average tap dancer, and I'm 5'2, it's probably never going to happen." Mark Ellis: When we get together to do this big group dance, you're really going to show me up with my dad dancing, aren't you?Kelly Molson: Oh gosh. Do you know what? The last time I put on a pair of tap shoes I was about 21. I decided to go back and do it as a fitness thing and it was really fun. I could make a lot of noise with the Blakey's on the bottoms of my shoes right now, but I don't know if I could pull off any tap moves. Let's see when it happens. Kelly Molson: If our listeners have never been to the NMA, tell us a little bit about what it is and what we can expect to find there?Mark Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. It's something that never comes over that well in the telling. It's a site that people have to come and really experience to appreciate. So, that's a very open invitation to all your listeners from around the globe to head over to Staffordshire and come and find us. Entry is free, so we're here ready to welcome you. What you'd find is 150 acres of relatively young woodland. 150 acres, to put it into context, if you're doing your Couch to 5K, then the 5K is about around the perimeter of the site. So, it's a nice, large site. Young Arboretum, an arboretum being a scientific collection of trees. So, we've got around 25,000 trees on-site, every indigenous species in the UK is here. And, we've got examples of trees from around the world as well.Mark Ellis: Dotted throughout the trees you'll find, it's now around 400 memorials to people that have served, and sacrificed, and have been lost on behalf of those of us that are still here. About 75% of the memorials are Armed Forces related, and around 25% are civilian organisations, that includes police, fire, ambulance. We've got things like the WI, Salvation Army, Scouting. So, we cover a very broad spectrum. The military ones cover specific campaigns, cover specific regiments and associations. And, we're also very proud to be the home of the Armed Forces Memorial, which is the national memorial to all of our Armed Forces who have served and sacrificed. And, that has carved onto the walls the names of the 16,000 members of Armed Forces that have lost their lives in active service or through acts of terrorism since the end of the Second World War. So, a very, very special place, and very poignant.Mark Ellis: It's easy for that to sound like it's a slightly sombre place, and certainly, it is a place where people do come and reflect and remember because the final part of remembrance is generally happy memories. We think about those that we've lost, and always brings a smile to the face to remember the good times. And, that's very much what the arboretum is. It's a living memorial. It's a growing memorial. It's ever-developing. It's ever-changing. And, when people leave the site, they often use words like uplifting, and life-affirming, and joyous. Mark Ellis: We have around 250 volunteers, and they really do bring the arboretum to life, all about storytelling. Without the stories, it's just memorials in woodland, and it's the stories behind those memorials that really do tug at the heart, and make people smile, and make people laugh, and make people cry, and other things that are so important. Our volunteers do a great job of telling those stories, and it's always done with a smile and a twinkle in the eye, and remembering some great times in amongst some amazing stories of heroism, and service, and sacrifice. Mark Ellis: So, it's a very special place. We try to operate in the best possible way. We've got a couple of award-winning buildings on-site, our Remembrance Center, our Visitor Center with a large restaurant, a shop, our dedicated classrooms is very special. We've got our Chapel of Peace and Reconciliation, which was the first building on-site where we're the only place in the country that holds the Act of Remembrance on a daily basis. The building I'm talking to you from at the moment is our Events and Conference building, which opened in Autumn 2018. Which, is a state of the art, bespoke conference and events facility as well. Where we can host events for those that are carrying out remembrance activities, but also opens up corporate hire activities, and those important come streams as well.Kelly Molson: I have to say, if we do a live Skip the Queue conference, that is where it will be held, Mark, isn't it? We've already had that mini discussion.Mark Ellis: Brilliant, absolutely, the offer's there. And, the coffee's great.Kelly Molson: I have to say, it comes across what you were talking about in terms of it being a place of remembrance, but also a place of celebration, that comes across really well on your website. I haven't actually had the opportunity to visit the centre yet. It is something that we've had this conversation about, about doing a little bit of a group visit, haven't we? With some of the other Skip the Queue podcast guests, which I'm sure we'll arrange for later on in the year. But, it really does come across. It's a beautiful, beautiful venue. And, it does come across as somewhere really, really special. And, I think that that's important to get that message across, that it is very much about remembrance, but also very much about celebration as well. For me, it doesn't have a sombre feel to it, the way that you present it and the way that you talk about it. And, I think that helps to draw more people to come to it, right?Mark Ellis: Yeah. I think you're absolutely right, Kelly, and thanks for the feedback from an expert on the website. In the words of our Founder, back in the mid-90s, we were always designed to be a place that commemorates lives lost and celebrates lives lived. It's getting that balance right. And, of course, a lot of that is very personal and depends on each individual on where they are in their particular journey. The feedback we get suggests that we generally get that balance pretty much right, and we're really pleased to be able to provide that for people.Kelly Molson: Let's go back to what you were talking about, about stories, because I think that ties in really well with something that I'd like to talk to you about today. You've recently launched a brand new app experience, and I love the name of this, very clever. It's called The ARboretum. Hello? Good use of pun there. It's an augmented reality experience, and it takes families on a journey to learn about everyday heroes. This sounds fabulous. Going back to our first season of the podcast, we had Alex Book on, from Arcade, who is an augmented reality, virtual reality specialist organisation. And, they talked a lot about how your guests... No, you don't call them guests, call them players, because you're getting them to interact with the building and the environment that they come to. It's such an interesting concept. I just love what you've done with this because it is a really fun interactive way of sharing those stories about the heroes that are part of that place that you're at. How did this come about? Where did the idea for this start?Mark Ellis: "Need is the mother of invention", is the phrase I'm just trying to get my head around. We've always done Easter activities on-site, put some budget aside and do something to attract people in. Those are often built around a trail. A lot of our memorials have animals on them, so we'll do an opportunity for children to go around, find the animals, put together an anagram, and come back and grab their little chocolate treat from the welcome desk, always very popular. What works really well with that, is getting families to interact with the memorials as part of the activity. And, that's very much what drives a lot of what we do, is trying to make sure there's authenticity in there, and it gives people an opportunity to learn more about the site.Mark Ellis: So, at the start of this year, of course, in January we'd just gone into that extra lockdown, and it was a pretty bleak time, wasn't it?Kelly Molson: Mm-hmm (affirmative).Mark Ellis: And, we were talking about what we were going to do at Easter, when we had no idea what sort of numbers we'd be able to attract on-site. But, we still wanted something that would enable people to engage. And, our Head of Participation and Learning, a chap called Chris Ansell, who is a genius, came up with a brilliant idea of actually taking that budget, and instead of spending it on a physical manifestation on-site, which perhaps we wouldn't be able to get people on-site to involve, said, "Let's go digital." And, went away and came up with the idea of augmented reality. I can't remember who first came up with the ARboretum idea.Kelly Molson: Very clever.Mark Ellis: As you say, it was an inspired piece of naming. And, it does very much the same thing. There are three characters in the app, Blu, Kit, and Sam. They are 13 to 15 probably, so they're pitched for slightly younger kids. It's that aspirational age of the 9, 10, 11-year-olds really want to be the 13, 14, 15-year-olds. We've given them a little bit of a backstory. So, Blu is probably connected to somebody that served in the Armed Forces, doesn't necessarily articulate that, but she's really interested in memorialization and the site from that aspect. We've got Kit, they are a very eco-centred person, they like to be out in the woods. They're probably more interested in the bugs, and the birds, and all the rest of it. And, you have to work quite hard to get their loyalty and their friendship. But, once you've got that they're going to be incredibly loyal and friendly towards you. And then, we've got Sam, and he's the get in there and do it, action-first, think later. He happens to have a prosthetic leg, but that doesn't stop him getting stuck in and doing things. Probably, if there's something going a bit wrong and a bit right, it's probably Sam that's in the middle of that.Mark Ellis: So, we created these characters. And then, we've created eight locations around the site where there's a visual thing that you scan with your phone. And, one, or two, or three of the characters pop up and they get you to do an activity. Some of those are centred around the woodland. There's one where there's wellbeing, it encourages you to do some forest bathing and listening to the sounds around you. There's some that's very much based on reflections at memorials. So, in our poppy glade, you're read out a poem about loss and memorialisation. And, you think about and talk to the rest of your group about what that means to you. And then, some are very physical. On The Beat, which is an area dedicated to the police. You do a beep test, so you do shuttle runs, you've got a minute, in times, and you can see how many shuttles runs you can do. There's hide and seek, there's some puzzle solving. So, there's a real mixture, something for everybody. And, of course, something that ties into the things that each of the three characters likes. You can take photos through the app, and then tag those and upload them onto social media as well. So, it really is a good way of getting people to move around the site, take them to some areas where perhaps people don't normally find things and interact. You can come back and do them again.Mark Ellis: And, the really good thing is, we launched this at Easter, so normally that budget that we spend on Easter Activities... We'll do peak activity of the Easter Weekend, and then a little bit more of the two weeks in school holidays. And, we have the added complication, we're right on the border of four counties here, and they all have different school holidays. So, the Easter holiday actually spans three weeks of time. I'm sure we're not the only people with that complication. With this, we took that money and we've run the app from Easter, and we'll finish it at the end of June, just after Armed Forces Day, which is a big weekend for us. So, it's covered a three month period. And, it's in the bag, we can always bring it back out and run it again in the future. And also, we have the three characters who, you never know, might feature in activities and on-site interpretation in the future. My aspiration is we'll have models of them that appear in the shop at some time.Kelly Molson: I love that. I love that there's that longevity to this thing that you've created. I had no idea about how difficult that would be to plan your activities around all those different Easter holidays as well. But also, it feels like it's something that could just run, and run, and run. You've put a window on it that it's going to end in... Did you say June it's going to come to an end?Mark Ellis: Yeah, end of June. Kelly Molson: But, that's something that, potentially, people would engage with all year round, depending on when they come to the site. It's lovely that you've been able to invest so well in something that you can bring back, and you can bring back year on year and maybe tweak and stuff.Mark Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. One of the really nice things as well, I think the characters are very authentic. As I said, they've all got that backstory, they've got very different personalities, I think they're all relatable in different ways. And, we actually got a young person to design them. We wrote a design brief, and a young person got hold of that and she produced some characters which we had a look at, and thought, "Do you know what? She's pretty much nailed that." So then, worked with the app developer and designers, and they came back to her on several occasions and used her designs going forward. That's a bit of a Skip the Queue exclusive.Kelly Molson: Ooh.Mark Ellis: I'm really proud because I know that young person particularly well. It was my daughter that actually did those initial designs. It's really great. And, something that really excites me, is each of the characters has some form of a particular characteristic within their story. And, it's such a non-issue for... My daughter's 13, 14 next week, and it's such a non-issue. You want people of a different ethnic background, or you want somebody that's got a disability, or you want someone that's non-binary, "Yeah, fine, this is what they're going to look like." And, that's the real hope for the future, isn't it? It is that, hopefully, as we pass onto future generations... And, part of what we do here is passing on the baton of remembrance to future generations, so we're very engaged with working with young people. Is hopefully, that acceptance of things that older generations have had to work hard to understand.Kelly Molson: Yeah, absolutely. I think what's really interesting is that you've actually engaged with someone of that age to say, "What would you want to see? How would you want these characters to be?" Because that's something that I think potentially a lot of organisations don't necessarily do. We're all guilty of it. We design a website and we're testing it, but we're not potentially the user who should be testing it. So, you need to think broadly about who your audience is and how you engage with them from the start of a project like this.Mark Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. I'm a proud dad, and it was purely chance. Working at home, I just said to her, "Look at this brief, what do you think?" But, it was the next stages that really were the eyeopener for me. When the initial designs came back we showed them to her, and it was just the little things. Particularly it was Blu, the girl character that was designed first, and Harriet, my daughter, was, "The eyes are just a little bit too big, and the lips are just a bit too full." And effectively, it wasn't childlike enough. It was a slightly more Disneyfied aspirational image that perhaps isn't healthiest for us to be pursuing. It was subtle. It was a great design, we just signed it off and it would have been fine. But, getting a younger person just to shape that final design, I think really has given it that added layer of authenticity, and we're very proud of what we've ended up with.Kelly Molson: You should be. I think it's fantastic. Mark Ellis: But, the real see was Chris' idea to come up with it in the first place, and to make the app work so well, and tie it into the authenticity of the memorial. That's what makes it a really special thing. Kelly Molson: Completely. I've got a list of questions here that I wanted to ask you, why an app? Why augmented reality? But, you've answered them so perfectly, in the sense that you had these challenges, and actually, this digital application that you've developed solved those challenges. It solved the issue of the various different Easter holidays that you've got. You've now got something that's got longevity to it. You've got something that people are really engaging with. Kelly Molson: To ask you about what the objectives were to start with, my assumption is that it was about engaging people with the different aspects of what the arboretum means to people, those stories behind it. And, like you say, getting them to explore areas that they might not necessarily always go to. If they're coming back time after time they might have their favourite places. What do you think that the impact or the results of that have been so far? Is it a bit too early to tell? Or can you see?Mark Ellis: We've had some really positive feedback. We've had some really good download numbers, so it's reached a large number of people. Not enough, because like everybody else, we've not got enough people on our sites at the moment, with static constraints in place. And it's strange, is judging things not necessarily on the straight metrics that you use in the old world, of actually, "What does good look like now?" We've had some really good feedback. We've seen people looking at some memorials in a bit more detail. We've had people. Dwell time is up on-site. People just saying, "It's been great, the kids have loved it. It's given us something to do." We don't charge for it, it's a free app and a free to enter the site. It's got that educational twist to it as well as being fun. I think it's ticked a lot of boxes. But, actually just seeing kids run up and down seeing how many shuttles runs they can do in a minute is great to see.Kelly Molson: I'm definitely going to test that out when I come. Because it might be a little bit later on in the year, can we just reactivate it for that day when we come because I want to do the shuttle runs?Mark Ellis: Yeah, of course, we can, for you, Kelly, absolutely. There is a rather sad picture kicking around somewhere that Chris took of me doing the shuttle runs in the rain when we were testing it. Dedication to the cause.Kelly Molson: I think we need to see that on Twitter. We need to see that on Twitter, Mark. Mark Ellis: I'll see if I can drag it out.Kelly Molson: If there's no photos then it didn't happen.Mark Ellis: Fair point. Kelly Molson: What tips could you offer, if there is any organisations that are thinking about investing in this technology, for whatever challenges they have that they want to overcome? What would be a few tips that you could give them about how you would approach that process?Mark Ellis: I think it's knowing what you want to get out of it first. We started with an idea that we could do, augmented reality, but then the next thing was sitting down and saying, "Who's it for? What are the characters? What are the backstories? What's authenticity? Which memorials?" So actually, we knew what we wanted to do with it before we went and engaged with something to deliver it. And, that meant that it was a very specific project scope when we went out to tender with it, we knew exactly what we wanted to get out of it. Which, probably stopped mission creep and somebody saying, "You could do this that and the other." And, it meant that when it came back the quality of the digital experience is really, really good, but we weren't chasing Pixar quality output from it. We knew it was delivering what we wanted. Mark Ellis: Probably not as expensive as perhaps people think. So, with that tight scope, it didn't cost much more than we'd normally spend on our Easter activities, with that added benefit of a bit of longevity in there. So yes, it does cost money, but it certainly wasn't a bank breaker. And, having a limited budget, when you go out to tender, gives people the opportunity to scope what they're going to give you against that. Mark Ellis: So, I think authentic, know what you want, and explore the financial possibilities. It might be more within reach than perhaps people think it is.Kelly Molson: That's really interesting. Mark Ellis: All this technology is becoming more accessible all the time, isn't it? So, there are opportunities out there. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it absolutely is. I think you're right, it's about scoping what you want and giving people the opportunity to say, "We can do this much of it for that budget", or, "We can do this much for that budget." It's kind of like a starting point, isn't it?Mark Ellis: Yeah.Kelly Molson: It's good that you said about don't be scared by new technology, because I think that there is still an element of overwhelm about. People don't understand how much digital costs, and there's still a lot of education that we could do around that, definitely from a web perspective. AR isn't anything that we do ourselves, but I think that it sounds quite frightening, doesn't it? It sounds like it's going to be a very big, expensive project. Where actually, what you've just described, seems quite manageable. Mark Ellis: This is where I shamelessly introduce other products into the conversation. It supports what we move onto, which we've just launched this week which will now run to the Autumn, which is our escape challenge. And again, this is Chris' idea, he really is a genius. Kelly Molson: You want to hold onto this Chris, he sounds great.Mark Ellis: Absolutely. He should come on and be a guest for you some time, Kelly. He's much better than me. But, Escape challenge. And again, this was necessity being the mother of invention, I said it right that time. Last year we wanted something to bring people onto site, experiences, escape rooms, massive growth. So, actually taking the escape room concept and delivering it as an outdoor environment. So again, a series of memorials that you walk around with your puzzle book, there are clues at memorials, there are clues in your puzzle book. This is a paid-for one, so we charge people to do this. Two levels, one pretty tricky, but a family will probably work their way through it. The other one, pretty challenging. It's probably people that enjoy the odd cryptic crossword clue and those types of things. Takes two to three hours, eight clues. This year's based around everyday heroes and people that have worked in the emergency service, so it's based around the work the police do. We're dedicating the new UK Police Memorial on-site this year, which is a spectacular memorial worth coming to see. So, it's based around that. There's a gang planning a bank heist, and you're going to try and head them off at the pass, and solve the clues, and solve the crime. Mark Ellis: So, again, a real opportunity to learn more about memorials. You're looking for some really fine details of the memorials there, and some of the symbolism, and some of the stories. Perhaps, again, you've walked past it a dozen times and never noticed that, so it just gets people to look. And, that covers the RNLI, the Police, Fire Service, the Ambulance Service. So, a lot of the civilian organisations come through on this year's escape challenge. Kelly Molson: I love that.Mark Ellis: Available live now. It will be here when you come up, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Oh good. I'll do the easy one, obviously. I won't be doing that difficult one. Mark Ellis: We put a package together for corporate groups that want to come and do team building events here. There's a corporate package built around that escape challenge as well, which is a great way to get execs to come and scratch their heads as well.Kelly Molson: That's a really lovely idea as well actually, because you've mentioned quite a few times that the arboretum is free to visit, and actually a lot of these things that you're offering, they're free to do as well. So, the challenge for you is you need to drive revenue. You can't be based solely on donations. Charitable donations, difficult at the best of times to get from people. So, I think it's lovely that you're now starting to look at this, what you can offer people, and bringing different groups of people in to build that revenue base. It's really great.Mark Ellis: Yeah. generally works very well. Summer Proms is a good one as well in August. Tickets go on sale this week, so look out for that.Kelly Molson: He's getting all the plugs in. There's something else that I want to talk to you about as well. Thank you for sharing all of that.Mark Ellis: You're welcome.Kelly Molson: I think that will be really useful for any organisation that is thinking about going through that process. Kelly Molson: You've just announced something which I think is super, super wonderful, and I'd love to hear a bit more about it. It's just been announced that in partnership with The National Forest, you're going to be creating a memorial woodland. Which, is a new woodland to commemorate all of the lives that have been lost during the pandemic. How amazing. Mark Ellis: It's a privilege to be involved in a project like this. The last 12 months or so, of course, have been tough on absolutely everybody, and it's a tragedy that's still unfolding. It is difficult. And, there is a time when people want to come together and remember and reflect. The memorial woodland is very much designed for everyone that's lost their lives as a result of COVID. That includes the people that have missed diagnosis, haven't had treatment, have had their mental health irreparably damaged by it. So, it's not just the people that tragically lost their lives because of Coronavirus. The number of civilians that lost their lives through Coronavirus is now twice the number of civilians that lost their lives in the UK in World War 2. It's massive.Mark Ellis: We're very fortunate. We're in The National Forest, which is across this part of the midlands, a project that's been running for 30 or so years to reforest this area. In this area, we had a lot of clay pits, mining, those kinds of things. They're all being turned into country parks now. It's a lovely part of the midlands. We've got a long-lasting relationship with The National Forest Company. They'd been asked about what they might want to do for memorialisation. And, right back at the very start of Coronavirus, people were contacting us and saying, "What can you do? What will you do? What can be done?" Mark Ellis: Fortunately, at around the time, Tarmac, who are our neighbours, they're quarrying the land around us. And, the land we're on used to be their quarry and we had it off them in the mid-1990s on a 999-year lease on a peppercorn rent. There are 25 acres that sit right next to our site that they finished working with, it's been inert for a decade or so, it's scrubland, and silk washing lakes. So, they've now very kindly gifted that over to us as well, likewise, on a 980-year lease on a peppercorn rent, which has been fabulous of them. So, that's given us 25 acres where we can create the memorial woodland. And, our aspiration is very much to make it a living memorial, something that becomes very special. Mark Ellis: There will be memorial woodlands all over the country, and absolutely there should be. And, what we want to do is to create something here that is memorable, is special, is living, is developing. There are so many stories that have come out of the last 12 months, the experience of all the key workers, the experience of the NHS people, the experience of those in care homes, the experience of children who've missed going round to friend's houses and play and have missed the rites of passage of end of year school plays. So, so many different stories, and try and bring those together in a living memorial. Somewhere too, I've said it before, I'll say it again, commemorate lives lost and celebrate lives lived. And, create something that really works in a very special way. Mark Ellis: We want it to include reflection areas, multi-faith or people of no faith can come and reflect as well. And actually, Westminster Abbey are supporting us as well. We will be holding service there in the Autumn to dedicate trees that represent all the different faiths from around the commonwealth. So, there will be a service there that will dedicate those, and those will be some of the very first trees that will be planted in the new woodland. So, it's a wonderful opportunity. We're working very hard to make sure that it's suitable and fitting for everybody.Kelly Molson: I think that you could not have picked a more perfect location for it as well. It's really interesting, the things that we've talked about today sum up exactly what the arboretum stands for. We've talked about these really fun engaging ways to look at the stories that you have there and celebrate the land and the people. And then, we have this wonderful memorial wood that's going to be developed to really commemorate everything that's happened in the past 15, 16 months. It's fabulous.Mark Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. That woodland will be very poignant and very special, but we also want it to be a place of joy and hope as well. And, hope, and looking forward, and rebirth, and regrowth. President Biden said in his inaugural speech about healing and remembrance going together, and that's what we want to do. I'm very hopeful that in the future will be a woodland where, as well as the opportunity to reflect and remember, there'll be the opportunity to enjoy and have fun, and play, and celebrate as well.Kelly Molson: Sounds perfect. When does the work start? What're the timeframes?Mark Ellis: The work started a wee while ago. Kelly Molson: It's in progress already, great.Mark Ellis: Absolutely. We signed the lease on the land within the last couple of weeks, so we're surveying the land at the moment, and seeing what's there and what we need to do. We're hoping to, with The National Forest Company, start a public engagement piece this Autumn to really get to understand what people want from it and what people's hopes and aspirations would be for space. And then, probably start the work at the backend of 2022, with a view to having visitor's feet on the ground sometime in 2023. So, in arboreal terms, quite a short timescale. Hopefully from this Autumn, we'll be able to talk about people. And, there is an area on our website dedicated to it, so if people want to know more or want the opportunity to get involved, pop to the National Memorial Arboretum website. There's a Contact Us form, specifically for the memorial woodland on there as well. We'll be absolutely delighted to have conversations with people. And, even just going out and public talking about it, that's already opened up some really great conversations with lots of different groups that perhaps we normally wouldn't get a chance to speak to. So, it's already beginning to develop its own opportunities and create interesting conversations for us.Kelly Molson: I love that. Mark, you've done my work for me, because what I was going to say is what we do is put all of the links to all of these things that we've talked about today into the show notes. So, we'll have links to that specific page where you can get involved and find out a little bit more about what's happening there.Mark Ellis: Fabulous. Kelly Molson: And, we'll put links to Mark himself, so you can find him on Twitter, and you find him on LinkedIn. And, everything, again, that we've talked about today, you'll be able to find in the show notes.Kelly Molson: Mark, we always end the podcast by asking our guest to share a book. It can be a book that's helped shape your career in some way, or a book that you just love. So, what have you got for us today?Mark Ellis: I know, Kelly, it upsets you when people go with more than one book, doesn't it? Because, it breaks your marketing budget. So, I've got 43 recommendations for you. The first 41 of which, are books that I love, it's the Terry Pratchett Discworld series. Kelly Molson: Okay, that's fine.Mark Ellis: Don't put those on your list, that really would break the bank. But, I love the Discworld books. I love the slanted way he looks at the world. There are not many management meetings where I probably don't quote Granny Weatherwax, or Sam Vimes, or somebody at some point, so love those. The other 42 and 43, one is Tom Peters, The Brand You 50, which is a small book that Tom Peters has done. It's been out for quite a while now, might have been the late 90s. But effectively, it's saying think about yourself as a brand. It's got 50 tips in there for how you build your own personal brand. And, I found that very useful, having switched jobs a few times, of actually saying, "These are my core values. This is what I hold dear to me. That's what you get from Mark Ellis." It helps when you're looking at new opportunities of saying, "Is the cultural fit going to be right? I know what I want out of a role." And, making sure the interview is a two-way process, and it's going to tick the boxes for me. So, that's one.Mark Ellis: The other one, which perhaps will be the one that you might want to put on your, "I want Mark's book". It's a book called Why We Buy, by Paco Underhill. Paco Underhill is an American. He's done a whole bunch of research on customer's behaviour, particularly in retail. I first came across this book in my retail years, but it absolutely carries through into visitor attractions. He talks an awful lot about signage placement and product placement. And, if a gondola in a shop is just six inches too far out, then when you bend over to pick things off the bottom people are going to brush past your backside as you're shopping. So, actually observing that and moving it six inches might increase sales of that gondola massively. He talks about signage and being shown a sign for an airport somewhere in a boardroom and saying, "That's no good", and taking it out and standing in the middle of busy concourse, and leaning it up against a wall and saying, "Now can we see if that sign works?" So, it's a great book for that. Mark Ellis: I have to say, the prose style irritates me greatly. So, Paco, if you're listening, sorry about that. It's done in a very narrative way, and it's probably slightly condescending in places, and it's a really quick read. I first read it probably 25 years ago, and I refer back to it on a pretty regular basis, in terms of those core messages. So, Why We Buy, by Paco Underhill would be my recommendation.Kelly Molson: Let's give that one away then, Mark, because that sounds really relevant. So, as ever, if you head over to our Twitter account and you retweet this episode announcement with the words, "I want Mark's book", then you'll be in with a chance of winning it. Good choice with the Discworld as well, I have to say, good choice. My great-auntie Doris, who my extremely naughty Dachshund is named after, she was a huge Terry Pratchett fan. I grew up with those books and reading them with her, and they bring back some really lovely, lovely memories when you talk about them. So, thank you for putting that in my head today. Mark Ellis: No worries.Kelly Molson: Also weirdly, my dad got... I don't know why I'm sharing this with you today, but my dad was mistaken for Terry Pratchett one night. We took him and my mum out for drinks, and the barmaid came over and said, "You're him, aren't you? You're Terry Pratchett." And, dad was like, "I think he's dead." Mark Ellis: That's awesomely cool though. Kelly Molson: "It's not me." He does look a little bit like him, I have to say. Mark Ellis: You see, that could be a plot from one of the stories, couldn't it?Kelly Molson: Could be, yeah. My dad reincarnated as Terry Pratchett, that's quite odd. It's because he's a hat wearer and he's got a beard. Mark Ellis: There you go, that's all it takes.Kelly Molson: Anyway, don't know why that came out, but thank you for putting that in my head as well. Mark, it's been so lovely to chat with you today, I've really enjoyed it. I think there are some wonderful things that are happening at your attraction, and I cannot wait to come and see it and meet you in real life. Mark Ellis: Thanks for having me, Kelly. As I've said before, you're welcome up here any time at all, look forward to seeing you.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five-star review, it really helps others find us. And, remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions, that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode, and more, over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

Waltham Abbey was the first official Quaker school for boys, established by George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, in 1668.

In this episode I speak to Glenn who is the manager of Waltham Abbey Focus which is a disability and SEN football team at the top of their game! Glenn chats about all things football-related and we discuss a documentary that's being made about the team with the intention of raising awareness of disability football, and promoting it as an inclusive sport that can be enjoyed by everyone. We talk about: Glenn's autism diagnosis and how he got into football from an early age All things Waltham Abbey Focus FC! How the team started up and and the role Glenn plays within the club How long Glenn has been involved with the club and what his day-to-day look like We chat about the exciting documentary that's going to be focused on the club and discuss how the idea came about. Raising awareness of disability football and it being an inclusive sport that a lot of people aren't aware of Discuss how Glenn and the players at Waltham Abbey Focus are finding UK lockdown and how have they all been getting on as they have not been able to train and meet-up as a team regularly. Waltham Abbey Focus FC Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walthamabbeyfocusfc/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/walthamabbeyfc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walthamabbeyfc/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@walthamabbeyfocusfc Website: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/walthamabbeysenior My 21andsensory links: @21andsensory on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/21andsensory/ @21andsensory on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@21andsensory 21andsensory on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/21andsensory 21andsensory Blog - https://21andsensory.wordpress.com Want to be on my podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/scAY23744owv3oeB9 @21andsensory on Twitter - https://twitter.com/21andsensory

The Waltham Abbey Singers perform music of Thomas Tallis. 

The Waltham Abbey Singers perform music of Thomas Tallis. 

On this day, we remember the dissolution of Waltham Abbey in 1540 and Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo, who died in 1606. The reading is "For Lent, 1966" by Madeline L'Engle. — Questions? Comments? Show Ideas? Send them to us at CHA@1517.org. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! Please subscribe, rate, and review us on the following Podcast portals and apps: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. We’re a part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day in Tudor history, 23rd March 1540, Waltham Abbey, an Augustinian house in Essex, was surrendered to the Crown. It was the last abbey to be dissolved in Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell's dissolution of the monasteries.  Find out more about this historic abbey, its origins and what's left today, and also who profited from its lands, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "Tudor Places of Great Britain". You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:https://youtu.be/O3X4-fZcsvQ Also on this day in Tudor history, 23rd March 1534, the Pope issued a bull proclaiming Catherine of Aragon to be England's true queen and Mary the heir to the throne, while the English Parliament declared Anne Boleyn to be England's rightful queen and her daughter, Elizabeth, the heir. Find out more about this strange situation in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/h_j-UCM8V6E 

On the 23rd March 1540, Waltham Abbey in Essex became the last abbey to be dissolved by Henry ...

Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus was reported in the UK this year for the first time. And while no further outbreaks have currently been recorded in the UK, the virus has the potential to cause significant impact for tomato growers.  In this episode Adrian Fox, the Senior Plant Virologist at Fera will be discussing how growers can prevent Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus along with an update from Phil Morley, Director of Agronomy at APS Produce Ltd and Nathalie Key, AHDBs Knowledge Exchange Manager.  Attend our Tomato brown rugose fruit virus workshop in Waltham Abbey (https://ahdb.org.uk/events/tomato-brown-rugose-fruit-virus-waltham-abbey) Find out more on Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/tomato-brown-rugose-fruit-virus)   Catch our webinar on Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/tomato-brown-rugose-fruit-virus-tobrfv-update-webinar)

This week we discuss Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and how well they perform under pressure. We look at the title races going down to the wire, Man City grinding out victories and if they will keep the league at the Etihad. We talk Sarri and how he can look back at his first season and see where he did well and where he did not so well. Also Spence updates us on Waltham Abbey's season as well as the FA's response to a racist attack on one of his players plus more!Like, Share and Subscribe on Youtube, Soudcloud, Acast, iTunes and all other podcast platforms.HOSTS:DapsTwitter: @DapoCeoInstagram: @DapoCeoSpenceInstagram: @Spence2118Twitter: @Mike_Spence2118LaminInstagram: @LaminOjoTwitter: @LaminOjoGuest:Mike OTwitter: @EvoSportsFAFor all questions, topics you want to hear discussed or for anything else:Email: onthecounterattack@outlook.comTwitter: @OnTheCounterSayInstagram: @CounterAttackPod See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hello there and welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast and the show notes for Episode 39 – Call me Crozelda   In this episode, I cover: Inclusivity in the fibre community; Old Dog New Tricks; CAL Updates; Final Destination; En Route; Feeding the habit; Quick News Beats and J’adore?   This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co.  Thanks to everyone who tunes into the podcast whether it is through Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, iTunes or the YouTube Channel. Your support and engagement are really appreciated and makes running a podcast very special and worthwhile.    If you would like to support the podcast, you can do that through Patreon:   1 – Inclusivity in the fibre community and beyond Given the importance of this topic, I felt that it needed to be the first thing I covered.  I don’t usually script exactly what I say, but because of the importance of inclusivity within the fibre community, I don’t want to ramble or use the wrong wording because of the pressure of recording and trying to get my thoughts across.   I am fairly sure that everyone listening and watching this podcast is aware of the conversations that have been ongoing for much of January.  The discussions are on inclusivity and diversity in the fibre community and beyond.  These are conversations that are long overdue and conversations that need to become actions.    This podcast at its very heart is about welcoming everyone with one exception.  If you are watching or listening to this and have even a hint of an eye roll or a “uh, this again, just talk about crochet”, then this is not the podcast for you.    Now, if you are the kind of human that likes to support your fellow humans, to build them up, rather than knock them down, to offer them the handshake of crafting kindness, and to take that handshake beyond the crafting community to every aspect of your life, then come on in, stay awhile.  I hope you feel the welcome embrace and love of the Crochet Clan.   I would like to specify what I mean by inclusivity.  For me and this podcast, that means creating an inclusive space for Black and Indigenous and/or People of Colour (BI/PoC), for people with differing abilities, for people within the LGBTQ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) for people of all sizes for people that identify as binary or non-binary.  An inclusive space where racism and discrimination of your fellow humans cannot and will not be tolerated.    I spoke about the need for actions as well as conversations.  So, what I would like to do is take you through the changes that I am making to the podcast to make it an even more inclusive space: Logos – I am in going to change the logo for the podcast and have one created for the Global Hook Ups.  It struck me that the current logo does absolutely nothing to say “everyone is welcome here”.  So, in true Crochet Clan spirit, I looked within to see who was part of our community that I could ask to take on logo commissions.  I am really chuffed to say that Claudia from the Crochet Lune podcast is going to work up the new logos.  If she comes up with different design options. Then my plan is to throw it out to you to see which logos speak most clearly to you of inclusivity.   Recognition of makers/dyers – my plan is to seek permission from makers and dyers to show a picture of them within the video podcast and show notes.  Websites and Instagram handles don’t necessarily show the diversity within our community.  I also know that when I have seen somebody’s face, it creates more of a connection with that dyer/maker and somehow cements them in my mind.  I am also keen to do this from a business perspective because to me, seeing the face behind a small indie business is a very good way for me to support them over big multi-national companies.  Let me be clear, that this is not about tokenism.  No matter who you are, if I am showing your product or yarn on the podcast and you’re are a small indie maker or dyer, I will be asking to show a photo of you in the video podcast and show notes.  You have every right to decline and a photo will only appear if I have your permission.   Increasing diversity in my Instagram feed – I thought that my feed was already pretty diverse.  I have a general policy of following people back unless their account is set to private.  So, I am not an account that has thousands of followers (I don’t anyway) and only follows a handful back.  That means that my account is full of lots of lovely diverse folk.  However, it wasn’t until I started following #blackcrocheter #blackcrocheters #blackcraftersofinstagram #diversknitty #spooniecrafts #lgbtqcrafts #lgbtcrafts #that my feed really became diverse.  I encourage you all to do that same.  Following hashtags is a great way of finding new people on Instagram, introducing yourself and making new connections.  If you have suggestions for any other hashtags to follow, please let me know.   Highlighting under-represented groups – Back in November 2018 , Jeanette Sloan was asking the fibre community to point her towards BIPoC designers.  She has done a lot of time consuming work to pull together a list from the details she was given.  A similar piece of work is being done by Marceline from the Hey BrownBerry Podcast and she has highlighted BIPoC dyers and yarn makers.   Claudia from Crochet Luna podcast has been beavering away pulling together a list of BIPoC crochet designers.   She is going through the painstaking work of communicating with the designers to ask whether they are happy to be featured.  I am hoping to help Claudia to pull this list together in whatever way I can.  The list of BIPoC crochet designers is going to be on my blog over at KNIT IT – HOOK IT – CRAFT IT – because Claudia has asked me to host it there.    My hope is that in time, this will also feature dyers and makers from other under-represented groups.  However, this needs to be looked at in a sensitive manner and only undertaken with the backing and permission of the people within these underrepresented groups.    If you would like to be added to the work that Claudia and I are doing, then I would be really interested in having a discussion with you about what the parameters should be.   Creating a more accessible podcast and Instagram accounts – I have had some very helpful and interesting Instagram discussions with Sarah from @SarahDawnDesigns.  She has been brilliant at pointing me towards ways that I can make changes to the podcast to make it more accessible for people with hearing or visual impairments.    If you have a hearing impairment, I always try to face the camera and not show things in front of my face, in the hope that people are able to read my lips.  I always create show notes and link to them from the dropdown box on YouTube.  If you are watching the video, the section place markers correlate to the different sections in the show notes which can always be found at www.thecrochetcircle.podbean.com  and I believe are in a suitable format as a text transcript.    If you have a visual impairment, I try to be very descriptive with textures and colours.  Again, I believe that the show notes are in a format that is suitable for assistive technology.  In addition to the written part of the show notes, I will start adding descriptions to each photo and the caption will start with Photo:   I have also started using ALT text within my Instagram feed.  I have gone back through the posts from the last month and added ALT text to those posts, but from now on, anything I post on @crochet_circle_podcast, @knitithookit or @faydhdesigns, will have ALT text attached to each of the images.   The final thing I would like to add is that twice a month there is the Global Hook up.  I run it on a Saturday night and then again on the Sunday morning (both GMT/BST) so that the crafting session is available to different time zones.  Everyone is welcome in the Global Hook Ups.    If you just want to check out what happens, you can join the crafting session and put something over your camera.  You also have the option to mute your microphone.  It’s really up to you how much you join in, which hopefully makes it a great crafting space for people that may be nervous about joining in.  For some people, they started out by just sitting and listening and moved onto joining the conversations in the next session.  It’s free to join, you just need a decent wifi connection.       2 – Old Dog New Tricks It feels like many people are working on crocheted garments, or plan to in 2019.  One of the factors that you may come across is wording like “increase/decrease by 12 stitches evenly across round/row”.  In my opinion, this is a little unfair of a designer to leave it at that.  It isn’t hard to work out how you increase or decrease stitches, but if you haven’t done it before, then you should be getting more guidance within the pattern.   I am going to use one of my en route projects as an example.  I have deliberately stopped this project where it is so that I can show you how I am going to tackle the bust decreases that I want to add in.  This isn’t a feature of this pattern, it is one that I am adding in to give some shaping to the finished piece.  That said when the pattern did call for increases it didn’t give the calculations required…   I would like to think that if I ever design a garment for crochet or knitting, this is the kind of detail that I would add.    If you want to see this in video form, take a look at this video from Very Pink Knits – she is one of my favourites for giving simple hint and tips video tutorials.    Rather than using Very Pink Knits numbers, I want to use my jumper as the example piece.  I have crocheted down to just below the bust area and now I want to decrease the overall number of stitches to pull the jumper inn and give some definition.    I have 269 stitches which gives me a circumference of 116cm.  I want to get down to a circumference of 104cm for under the bust so need to do an initial calculation:  269 stitches/116cm means that I have approximately 2.32 stitches per cm.  I want the circumference to be 105cm, so I need 244 stitches (105cm x 2.32 stitches).  My pattern requires an odd number of stitches, so I am actually going to decrease down to 243 stitches (because I rounded up to 244 in the first place). Overall, I need to reduce my number of round stitches by 26 from 269 to 243.  So, my next calculation is to work out how I can decrease 26 stitches evenly across my round.      I start with my existing total stitch count (269) and divide it by the number that I need to decrease by (26): 269/26 = 10.35  Again, I am going to round that number down so that I will use 10 as my answer.  Had the answer been 10.5, I would have rounded up to 11. So, next I need to multiply the number of stitches to be decreased (26) by the number of decreases (10): 26 x 10 = 260 which leaves a remainder of 9 stitches Because I would be decreasing two stitches together, those two stitches have to be factored in as part of the two stitch decrease every 10 stitches.  This means that I will crochet 8 stitches and decrease over the last 2 stitches – giving one decrease over every 10 stitches.  The remaining 9 stitches are simply crocheted at the end.  You may find it easier to attach a stitch marker at the beginning of every decrease section.  This can help to make sure that you got your maths right and keep you on the straight and narrow when you are counting and decreasing.     PHOTO: Esja Jumper (crocheted) in pale blue (main colour) and pale blue variegarted with rust and teal as a contrast.  Around the bottom of the jumper, each decrease section has been marked with a black bulb pin.   Now, life isn’t that easy for me because my Esja sweater is in linen stitch which is a two stitch pattern repeat of 1dc and 1ch.  That makes the calculation a little more difficult.    But here is how I have done it: 269 stitches need to be reduced by 26 down to 243 stitches. To create an even decrease across the fabric without getting holes in the decrease area, I want to decrease in the following way:  Hook through first ch-sp, yrh, pull up a loop, hook through next ch-sp, yrh, pull up a loop, yrh, pull through all three loops.  This action adds a bit more yarn bulk to the area and makes the decrease look less obvious.  In doing so, you are using three stitches to decrease down to one.   So, I started looking for the number of stitches required per decrease section, remembering that each decrease will reduce the round by two stitches, not one.       So, here is where I started: 269 stitches / by 18 stitches gives 15 decrease sections and when you multiply that by the actual number of stitches per decrease section after the decrease has been made, 16, then you would be left with approximately 240 stitches with a remainder of 3 stitches which would simply be worked at the end of the round.  You are basically looking for the division that will give you the least number of remainder stitches.  Here is how a linen stitch decrease will work for me over 18 sts: Ch1,  hook through first ch-sp, yrh, pull up a loop, hook through next ch-sp, yrh, pull up a loop, yrh, pull through all three loops, *ch1, skip 1 st, 1dc in next ch-sp; rep from * six (6) more times. (16 sts) I would repeat the sequence 14 more times and finish off with ch1, skip 1 st, 1dc in next ch-sp ch1 as the stitch sequence for the remaining three stitches.   Clear as mud? After the podcast, I will attempt to add some progress photos so that you can see how I have marked the shawl out every 18 stitches and worked the first decrease section.    3 – CAL Updates  The #ChristmasEveCAL is done and dusted! Once again, I had very little time to respond to the hashtags on IG.  I want to be able to, but life is crammed.  I am making some huge steps with the businesses this year and a lot of my time energy has to be on that.   So, I’m going to take a little break from running CALs – mainly because I know I won’t have the time and I won’t be doing you the justice you deserve.  Things may shift by the end of the year, but for now I will try to concentrate on promoting the CALs that my fellow crafters and podcasters are running.    4 – Final Destination I only have one proper finished object, because I don’t think I can legitimately show 1.5 socks as an FO! Last year I started a bag and my intention was to add to every January with my ‘Word of the Year’.  When I have previously seen people talk about their word of the year, I have dismissed it as a load of old tosh!  Having lived with ‘Clarity’ as my 2018 word, I can now say that it definitely gave me grounding point throughout the year and gave me a flag to keep on coming back to.    Clarity was meant as a word for me to stick to my core goals and not stray.  To keep on the path that I had set for the year.  Given that it was so helpful for 2018, I have now added ‘STRUCTURE’ to me bag as my word for 2019.   This is the year when I hope to move KNIT IT – HOOK IT - CRAFT IT and Fay Dashper-Hughes Designs up a few notches and to do that I need to put more structure in place.   So now, I think about clarity and how I can structure my work flow to achieve what I want to achieve in 2019 and beyond.  Here’s what my bag looks like now.  Every year I will add to it in a Scrabble format.   PHOTO: Ecru coloured linen bag with dark grey ribbon tie lying on a dark grey surface.The word CLARITY has been embroidered across the bag horizontally and STRUCTURE, embroidered vertically as if a game os Scrabble has just been started.  Three bows of linen are at the base of the bag, in a dark grey, light fawn/grey and dark mustard . The bag was made from Scottish linen that I use in some of my products.  I thin just draw around a wooden Scrabble tile to get the right size for each letter.  Using a 3 ply linen thread from Namolio https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/237661664/linen-yarn-thread-25-grams-3-ply?ref=shop_home_active_1   5 – En Route I have finished one of my Fallen Leaves socks and am ready to turn the heel on the other.  I will show them off properly in the next podcast… Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fallen-leaves-socks My Esja jumper (to be made with yarn dyed by my friend Bec of Black Horse Yarns and Socks Yeah! in the colour 'Chryso'.  This has been really quick to crochet up so far and I only stopped to be able to use the jumper as an example in this month’s Old Dog New Tricks. Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/esja-sweater   Main Colour Yarn: https://coopknits.bigcartel.com/product/coop-knits-socks-yeah-yarn Contrast Yarn: https://www.instagram.com/blackhorseyarn/     PHOTO: Esja jumper (crocheted) as a close up to show the slight distinction in colours made between the main colour (light blue) and contrast colour (light blue with rust and teal).  The contrast between the two yarns in the brioche section is very subtle.   I am also working on another Doppio Colosseum shawl.  Originally, I used a yarn that Helen from The Wool Kitchen no longer dyes and she kindly gave me two skeins of yarn to make a new sample with.  The yarn is 4ply (light fingering weight), 50% Merino and 50% silk and it is beautiful to work with.  The sheen and drape are just incredible.    By the time I podcast again, I hope to have this finished so that Helen can use it on her stand at her next two festivals (Unravel and Edinburgh Yarn Festival).  It’s great to see another yarn dyer that wants to fly the crochet flag.   Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/doppio-colosseum Yarn: https://www.thewoolkitchen.com/collections/4ply-merino-silk/products/worn-denim-merino-silk-4ply   PHOTO: Dark back background, flat lay of a started crocheted shawl in linen stitch.  To the left is a skein of Worn Denim by The Wool Kitchen (light blue/grey with blotches of dark denim blue), to the right is a cake of the same yarn and below is the curled beginnings of a Doppio Colosseum shawl.   6 – Feeding the habit I truly believed that I was going to severely restrict the amount of yarn that I was going to buy in 2019.  The difficulty comes when I enter yarn shops.  I want to be able to support Bricks and Mortar shops by purchasing from them and highlighting them on the podcast.    So, this month I have been a bit naughty.  I went over to visit the Laxton’s spinning mill in West Yorkshire and on the way back, I ‘popped’ in to see the good folk at Black Sheep Wools.  It’s probably my most local yarn shop (about 45 minutes away) and I always like having a good natter with Sara and the others.    When I was there, I picked up some of the ‘Pip Colourworks’ from Baa Ram Ewe.  I had a little mini skein of this given to me as a test skein and couldn’t really do it justice with 10g.  I have since knitted another Curlew hat with it and plan on hooking something up with it too, so that I can do a proper yarn review on it for the podcast.   PHOTO: Dark background with a blurred foreground of a dark dusky rose ball of yarn.  At the back from left to right is the same Pip Colourwork yarn from Baa Ram Ewe, but in a light green, dark forest green, grey sky blue and mustard.  Just fo camera to the right is the brim of a knitted Curlew hat in the same colours. PHOTO: Dark grey background with a close up of Reggia Nautic Color sock yarn.  Self striping in a white and mid blue.  The ball band is yellow and shows a white sock with thin blue stripes.   I also came across and had to buy the latest Regia sock yarn called Nautic Colour, which creates sailor striped socks.  I am an absolute sucker for sailor striped anything!    Local Yarn Shop: https://www.blacksheepwools.com/knitting-yarn/baa-ram-ewe-pip-colourwork.html Yarn – Pip Colourwork: https://baaramewe.co.uk/products/pipcolourwork?variant=1440591249416 Yarn – Regia: https://www.blacksheepwools.com/knitting-yarn/regia-nautic-color.html    Later that week, I snuck up to Lancaster to see Kate from Northern Yarn in her new shop location in the city centre.  It’s a really beautiful shop that is easy to get to.  Kate works really hard at developing both the shop and her relationships with local shepherds and shepherdesses.  She only sells British yarns and many of them are local.  That is definitely something worth supporting in my opinion.   PHOTO: Five balls of wool all in a horizontal row on a dark background and each with a cream "Jamiesons Shetland Spindrift" ball band.  The colours from left to right are:  a vibrant mid green, rusty red, rusty orange, bright rusty mustard and a bright mid blue.   Whilst there, I picked up some Jamiesons Sheltand Spindrift 2 ply to make into a hat from this book that I also got.    Local Yarn Shop: https://www.northernyarn.co.uk/jamiesons-of-shetland Yarn: https://www.jamiesonsofshetland.co.uk/spindrift-1-c.asp Book: https://www.shopkdd.com/books/milarrochy-heids   Hmm, it doesn’t stop there.  Last week, I hopped on the train a went to Llandudno on the North Wales Coast.  Nikki runs Ewe Felty Thing, a yarn shop just a few minutes away from the train station.  It has the most impressive wall of indie dyed yarn from 16 different dyers.    PHOTO: Dark grey background showing top right, a skein of yarn from Abercairn.  It's a skinny single plyed yarn in a blend of merino and silk and has a beautiful sheen.  The variegated skein has pinks, purples, teals, greens and blues in it - just like the Grampian mountains. Underneath the skein are two mini skeins, one in a deep dusky pink and one in a bright aubergine purple.  In the bottom corner, there is a bit of a purple/pink mohair skein.   Of course, I came home with yarn.  Of course one of them was mohair!  I bought a new to me indie dyer called Abercairn Yarns.    Local Yarn Shop: https://ewefeltything.co.uk/ Yarns:  https://ewefeltything.co.uk/product-category/handdyedyarns/yarns-by-dyer/abercairn-yarns/4ply-fingering/page/2/     https://www.instagram.com/abercairn_yarns/?hl=en   I was also vending at Waltham Abbey Wool Show this month, and it was a great show!  My bestie, Jenny turned up as a surprise in the afternoon and helped on the stand.  As a thank you, she got to pick which yarn she liked best from Dragon Hill Studios.  Andrew and Sharon run the company and I really love the way they cake up their yarn.  I have been meaning to buy some of their yarn for a while and Waltham Abbey was the ideal time.  I have a deal going with Jenny that if I am making socks with a yarn she likes, she can have a pair too.  I can get two pairs of knitted socks out of a 100g skein of 4 ply (light fingering weight) yarn with contrast toes, heels and cuffs.    PHOTO: Dark background with a cake of yarn and a white circular tag from Dragon Hill Studios with a paired back green curled up a dragon for a logo.  The yarn is dark grey with bright pink stripes and they cleverly cake up the yarn, wrapping the last few lengths over the top and bottom of the cake to show off the ratio of self-striping colours which is more dark grey and a pop of pink.     Yarn show: http://www.walthamabbeywoolshow.co.uk/ Yarn: https://www.dragonhillstudio.co.uk/   7 - Quick News Beats  1 - Global Hook Ups – I have had to change the date of the February hook up: February – 16th Saturday (night) and 17th (morning) GMT The other dates for the first half of 2019 are in the Ravelry thread.     2 – I am now heading to Edinburgh for all four days of the festival.  I will be in the show on Thursday working on a stand (more on that to come), and back at the show for the Saturday and Sunday.  This wasn’t what was planned, but it’s now happening! Edinburgh Yarn Festival: http://www.edinyarnfest.com/   3 – I have also booked to go to Woolinn Festival, just outside of Dublin in June.  I am landing at the airport on the Saturday morning and leave on the Sunday night.  So, if you are coming over and fancy a meetup either at the festival or on the Saturday night in Dublin city centre – let me know!   Woolinn Festival: http://woollinn.com/   4 – Sean, you can never have too many shawls!   8 - J’adore  I am loving that January has really felt like a new start.  I have reset the button, good changes have been made and 2019 is looking like a good one.     I am also off to Barcelona shortly with Matthewkins.  We really need some time out and I am looking forward to soaking up some Spanish atmosphere and being inspired by the gothic architecture.       I will be back on Friday the 1st March!   Fay x   Instagram: Crochet_Circle_Podcast  Instagram: provenance.craft.co   Instagram: FayDHDesigns YouTube: The Crochet Circle Podcast Crochet Clan on Mighty Network: Invite    

This week we talk about Jose Mourinho and his last days in charge. We also talk Raheem Sterling and how thr world have reacted his 'revelations' that the media fuels racism. We also have an update on Spence's managerial role at Waltham Abbey, Liverpool going unbeaten and more!Like, Share and Subscribe on Youtube, Soudcloud, Acast, iTunes and all other podcast platforms.HOSTS:DapsTwitter: @DapoCeoInstagram: @DapoCeoSpenceInstagram: @Spence2118Twitter: @Mike_Spence2118LaminInstagram: @LaminOjoTwitter: @LaminOjoGuestMike OTwitter: @ProEvoSportsFAFor all questions, topics you want to hear discussed or for anything else:Email: onthecounterattack@outlook.comTwitter: @OnTheCounterSayInstagram: @CounterAttackPodcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this day in 1918, four escaped prisoners of war were captured near Waltham Abbey, while in Devon, Victor and Daniel manage to get away for a while. Written by Katie Hims Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

Hello and welcome to 2018! Not quite sure where the last two months went to be honest, but there you go! On the Needles Contoura by Woolly Wormhead in BabyLongLegs Mesmerino DK Mystery Hat B by Woolly Wormhead in Stanley Sport. In The Weave Shed I have taken some of the designs for upholstery that I created in project 4 at college and reworked them in very fine silks to explore the possibility of small art pieces. Yarn Shops Galore The Wool Boat - Colin and Carole's Creations on the Emma Maye. Checkout out their blog or Facebook page for up-to-date information on where they will be moored. Something I Really Like The Farmers' Country Showdown on BBC1. Rhian's episode is episode 10 of Series 2 and is available until the 15th February. Shop Update Currently there is a 20% off sale until the end of January using the coupon code CHEERUP. This is off all products in the shop as well as the brand new Dyeing Day workshops I have put up for March and June. Don't forget that if you sign up to the newsletter you will be sent regular codes for subscriber discount. On The Horizon Waltham Abbey Wool Show Sunday 21st January at the Marriot Hotel, Waltham Abbey. Edinburgh Yarn Festival 14-18th March (marketplace 15th-17th) My 100th episode! No big party like Knit British, but I thought I might have an Ask Me Anything section - those of you who have stuck with me through the last 8 years, especially the lean ones (LOL), can have a chance to take part in an interactive segment. You can either email me your question, or ask it on Twitter using the hastag #askYFTP. Links Lucy Neatby Music Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune. Make Contact! We have a listeners' map. Please go on over to pop in a pin - we're covering 5 continents now but I'd still love to see where you all are! Please feel free to leave a comment here or email me at yarnsfromtheplain AT googlemail DOT com. Yarns From The Plain now has a Facebook page here - come over and hit that like button! There's a Ravelry group for both the podcast and the shop, so come on over to chat. You can find me on Ravelry as talesfromtheplain, on Instagram as @yarnsfromtheplain and on Twitter as @yarnsfromplain. TTFN, Nic x

Antonia Quirke visits the house that Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor in a fishing village in Mexico, that's now a deluxe hotel. When the lovers conducted their affair out in the open in Puerto Vallarta, the paparazzi soon followed, and eventually the the small town was transformed into a tourist mecca. Director Ceyda Torun explains how she invented new technology to follow a herd of cats through the streets of Istanbul for her documentary Kedi. Antonia visits St Leonards, where King Harold's consort Edith Swan Neck is memorialised with a delapidated public sculpture. There she meets film-maker Andrew Kotting, who is trying to restore Edith's memory with a new documentary Edith Walks, in which he and five friends hike 108 miles from Waltham Abbey to the South East coast as an act of pilgrimage.

Ryman Round Up Show 10/04/17 Paul Vaughan , Paul halls , Danny Smith , Gary Henty and James Webster

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2016! News and Events: 9th January - We'll be renewing our memberships of The London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers at their January meeting. This is great organisation and with excellent content and speakers at their monthly meetings. Membership is only £25 for the year. 10th January – Joanne Scrace (notsogranny) is teaching her Crochet Shawls class at Knit With Attitude.  13th January (mistakenly listed as the 10th of February in the podcast) – It’s the first Late Night Knitty Lock-in of 2016 over at Wild & Woolly. Check out the details on their website. 17th January – the Waltham Abbey Wool Show, at the Waltham Abbey Marriott, Old Shire Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3LS (Update: Porpoise Fur will be at WAWS, so come say hello if you're at the show!). 30th January – Woolly Wormhead, hat designer extraordinaire, is teaching two classes at Knit With Attitude. In the morning she's teaching a Knitting in the Round Masterclass that will include all sorts of tips and tricks, and in the afternoon it’s all about Turning Sideways. 6th-7th February - Rachel is teaching two classes at A Yarn Story: Learn to Spin: Drop Spindle on Saturday afternoon, and a two part workshop on How to Knit a Sexy Sweater on Sunday; the morning session will cover swatching, and the afternoon is all about pattern modifications. 13th-14th February – Cécile Balladino is teaching her Eclectic Gipsyland crochet at Loop. These same class is offered on both Saturday and Sunday. This is not a beginner’s crochet class so you will be expected to already know how to crochet. 19th-21st February – Unravel is happening at Farnham Maltings. We will be there with two stands – one for Porpoise Fur and also a Yarn in the City stand where we will be debuting the London Craft Guide!  26th-28th February – Joeli’s Kitchen Retreat in Manchester. Featuring classes (some spaces still available for classes with Kate Atherley!) and a mini marketplace on the Sunday that will include Countess Ablaze. What we’re working on: Rachel's last FO of 2015 was a lace shawl design that's been submitted to Knittyspin (so there aren't any pictures of it to show). She's also been working on her Dark & Stormy cardigan by Thea Colman, and is on Sleeve #2. She has also picked up her long-standing bead and colourwork project, the Marie Curie Mittens by Emily Bujold, and did a few more rows on the #14 Bus. As you do... Spinning-wise she's been working on some colourful mini-skeins for a design project that will debut at Unravel, and on her Dark Lady BFL from the December instalment of the Porpoise Fur Lab Goddess Fibre Club. Allison finished the Basic Rib Socks for her Dad while in Miami. She's now working on the Gradient Pullover by Amy Miller in handspun merino/silk, and is hooking up a sample for Unravel of the Candy Bag by Cécile Balladino, one the projects upcoming from the London Craft Guide. Book News and a Giveaway: The London Craft Guide is coming! After much more back and forth on the design and layout than we ever would have imagined, we are now in the final stretch for the book to be sent to the printer’s by the end of the month. We will be officially launching at Unravel, but those of you who preordered the book will have your copies sent out as soon as we have them in hand. Thank you so much for your patience! Keep watching our blog and Instagram feeds as we start to show off some of the amazing projects and shops from the book over the coming weeks leading up to Unravel. Speaking of which: anyone making plans to go to Unravel at Farnham Maltings? Thanks to the lovely organisers of this fantastic local festival we have a pair of day tickets to giveaway. To enter, leave a comment in the show notes and let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing at the show. Entries will be open until February 1st, and we'll announce the winner on the following podcast. (Contest note: this pair of tickets is for a single day’s entry to the show and does not include any travel to Farnham.) Good luck! Start as you mean to go on: The idea for the theme of this podcast came to us after seeing the usual New Year’s resolutions, year-end wrap ups and general commentary on social media in the last week or so. We’ve been struck by the emerging themes, and by the prevalence of all of us to try and shape the direction of our creative endeavours and activities. We’ve seen a few different things that look like fun, or inspired us and we wanted to share them with you:    Instagram #2015bestnine for @allidecks, @yarninthecity and @porpoisefur 1. #2015bestnine – what were your most liked Instagram photos? 2. Finding your word for the year – Karie Westermann had a lovely blog post about this and Allison talked about finding your word in relation to some work she's done with Tara Swiger's Lift Off workshop. We've also found this great Find Your Word resource. 3. The Maker’s Year – A Playful Day 4. The year of #yarnstashlove – Louise Zass-Bangham/Inspiration Knits (and #fibrestashlove, which we are shamelessly stealing from Louise for our own devices) We’re interested to know what plans you’re making for yourselves this year – or if you are? Are you one of those planners or not at all? Send us a note or let us know in the comments on the show notes. A small bit of housekeeping: in an effort to be more predictable for you all, we’re going to try out a more formal podcasting schedule this year. We've decided that it will be easier if the podcast episodes go live on a specific day, so you know when they'll be posted. So, apart from this episode (which is obviously not going up on the right day), we will launch an episode of the podcast on the first and third Sundays of the month.  As always, please let us know what you think by tweeting, liking, or loving our posts when you see them go up on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – or even better, leave a comment in the shownotes or send us an email at hello AT yarninthecity DOT com. You can also find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. Knit night is back for 2016, with a later end time too! You can find us on Wednesday nights upstairs at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, a stone’s throw from Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us! Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade) Howlin' At Nothing (Live in Denver), S. O. B. - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsBright Lights and Amplifiers - American OperaFlee - Paper Airplanes

Happy New Year and welcome to 2015! NewsSadly, the lovely Mrs. Moon in St. Margarets has closed their brick and mortar doors, but are still around online, and with many exciting plans for the future. While we are disappointed that they will not be able to be a stop on next September's Great London Yarn Crawl, you'll still have a chance to see them. How is that possible you ask? Well, because the next GLYC will happen alongside theYARN IN THE CITY POP UP MARKETPLACE Mark your calendars now for 5 September 2015, and come join us at Chelsea Old Town Hall for a carefully curated selection of independent makers from around the UK. We can not begin to express how excited we are for this new addition to the Yarn Crawl, and we hope you will be able to join us. More details can be found at...Events18 January - Waltham Abbey Wool Show, in Waltham Abbey (ETA: Our apologies for getting this episode up late which means you're finding out about this show at very short notice).20-22 February - Unravel, at Farnham Maltings in Farnham22 Feb-8 March - Sock Master Class at Loop, Islington14-15 March - Edinburgh Yarn Festival15 March - Julie Arkell workshop at Loop, Islington (ETA: March workshop is now full, but there's another one on 28 June 2015).28 March - Sew a Feather Quilt workshop at The Village Haberdashery, West Hampsted25-26 April - Wonderwool Wales, in Builth WellsProjectsAllison finished off the Careen Capelet by Louise Zass-Bangham of Inspiration Knits, but sadly not in time for Christmas Dinner! She is still working on the Skulls sweater for her brother, and has started the Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson for a friend's impending sproglet. Best of all, said blanket is being knit in stash yarn!Rachel has finished a new shawl design in cozy garter stitch handspun, and is working up a second version in Spirit Trail Fiberworks Sunna (75% merino/15% cashmere/10% silk, 150% scrumptious!). If anyone is interested in test knitting, there's a thread in her Ravelry group here. She has also started a vest for her MIL from Ecuadoran wool of unknown provenance, and has almost finished spinning the Orange Merino-Silk that will not end (otherwise known as Allison's 2013 Christmas present).Goals and plans for the new yearThe BIG Goal: KNITTING FROM STASH!!!!We both have what might be considered an ample amount of yarn on hand, so we're going to do our best to knit from stash. Allison is going to knit from stash as much as possible. To help in this venture, she's participating in the Pre-Process Knitters Stashdown 2015, and the LSG Cold Sheep 2015.Rachel is also Pre-Process Stashing Down/Cold Sheeping, but she has a number of goals (not resolutions!) for 2015, most of which seem to involve sweaters in one form or another:Organize the stash.Knit from said stash.Use up some of the three already-spun handspun sweaterlots in said stash.Spindle spin another sweaterlot (because she is certifiable). Publish some of the sweater designs that have been marinating in her skull for too long.Music Credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanI Will Rise - Bearhart