Podcast

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – I’ll see you in 2020

December 23, 2019 by Lee Leave a Comment

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I had originally intended to be putting out at least one “proper” episode of the podcast between Christmas and now however I’ve not been 100% so I’ll be pausing the podcast until the new year.

Thank you for all your support over the year. The podcast has been around since 2015 but this year even more people have been able to hear about our town through the podcast because of your sharing and listener-ship.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2020.

All the best,

Lee

Transdev CEO Alex Hornby Explains Red Express Bus Stop – Episode 158

December 7, 2019 by Lee 3 Comments

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The press release on the 29th of November looked like good news, a title of “We’re improving Irwell Line from 26 January” however it soon became clear this was anything but for Ramsbottom.

Within this came the announced death of the Red Express/x41 service due to happen at the end of January.

To get a better understanding about why these changes were happening and if there was anything that could make Transdev reconsider, I contacted Alex Hornby, CEO of Transdev Blazefield for an interview and Alex was more than happy to come on the podcast.

One key area of discussion was the cost of the service. The article mentioned above details Transdev are losing £300,000 a year running the Red Express and Alex was keen to highlight this didn’t come lightly:

“We’re not a public body, we can’t share our secrets with everyone. We wouldn’t be withdrawing the service if it did work, it’s not in our interest to do that.” – Alex Hornby

Matt Holland of Roots Restaurant – Episode 157

December 1, 2019 by Lee Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:22 — 37.0MB)

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This interview surprised me in several parts. I had no idea that Matt was in to so many things, he doesn’t just own and run Roots, which you’ll hear in the interview.

Originally starting out from his own home (Matt has a very understanding wife 😄) they then moved to their own premises

I’ve been to Roots a few times now and if you’ve never been I’d argue it’s certainly somewhere to try. It’s a set menu and if you don’t like anything or if you’re allergic to anything you can mention before you go and they’ll accommodate you.

Paul Davies of UkePunk – Episode 156

November 23, 2019 by Lee Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:13 — 36.8MB)

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I nipped round to Paul’s house recently and had a nice long chat with him, and surprise surprise, I recorded it so we can all listen to what he had to say. We talk about everything from Ramsbottom United to The Queen to guitars vs Ukulele.

New! Quickfire Questions from Kids

This is the first episode of the podcast with a new section which is called: Quickfire Questions from Kids. This is where I ask some kids I know (one being my son) to think of some questions for the guest and the guest answers them. They could be anything as you’ll hear on this episode.

New owner of The Major Sam Gibbs – Episode 155

November 12, 2019 by Lee 3 Comments

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Sam has a bright future planned for The Major

Sam Gibbs and her husband Christian took over The Major in Ramsbottom on the 4th of November and before that happened Sam got in touch and I said I’d love to have her on the show.

Not only is The Major a popular local pub, it’s one of the first pubs I ever went to in Ramsbottom and I know lots of the regulars are keen to see what they have planned.