Community Media Festival 2025
At the start of this month I spent a long weekend in Manchester for the annual Community Media Association festival, which this year took place at BBC Quay House, MediaCityUK in Salford. Continue reading
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Tiggy Walker’s Book Tour
Last Thursday I did a day trip down to the South Coast where I saw Tiggy Walker, widow of Radio 2 DJ Johnnie Walker, doing a talk about her book ‘Both Sides Now’, all about her role as his carer during his final year of life. Continue reading
He travels the fastest who travels alone
Built in the 1600s, Bateman’s was the home of Rudyard Kipling – author of the Jungle Book, and Just So Stories (amongst others) – from the early 1900s until his death in 1936. It was handed over to the National Trust when his wife died in 1939. Continue reading
Heritage Open Days: Rainy Boat Tours in Gloucester
Last Sunday was a very wet day – not the best way for being out and about – but as part of the ongoing Heritage Open Days Weekend I went on a tour of two boats which arer moored in Gloucester Docks. Continue reading
Heritage Open Days: Tetbury Market House & Police Museum
As the Heritage Open Days weekend continued, on Saturday I drove in to Tetbury where the Market House (the big famous building with the clock tower, right in the middle of Tetbury) was open, with an exhibition inside all about life in Tetbury during the First & Second World Wars. Continue reading
Heritage Open Days: POW Camp in the Forest, and the SULA Lightship
The national Heritage Open Days event is taking place at the moment and this week I found some places locally to go and visit. Continue reading
Classic & Vintage Cars: Haynes Motor Museum
After my visit to Glenda Spooner Farm on Wednesday, I found that just 10 minutes drive away was the Haynes Motor Museum. With over 300 vehicles at the museum, it is the UK’s largest collection of cars and motorcycles. Continue reading
World Horse Welfare: Visit to Glenda Spooner Farm
My therapist is still on holiday this week so I went on another day trip to visit horses – this time I went to Somerset to visit a World Horse Welfare centre; Glenda Spooner Farm near Somerton. Continue reading
Folk Songs and Dances – Saturday at the BBC Proms
This year we had booked to see a performance of Folk Songs & Dances. I picked it because the programme included a local composer – Ralph Vaughan Williams, who came from Down Ampney, just a short drive from home. Plus Percy Grainger’s arrangement of Country Gardens. Continue reading
Heavy Horses, move the land under me…Behind the plough gliding…Slipping and sliding free
If you’ve ever heard Jethro Tull’s song Heavy Horses, the title of this blog post may be familiar….It is the main chorus from the song – and a very appropriate song for this week. I might play it (all 8 minutes of it) on my radio show next week. Continue reading