Island Stories

Our guest this week on Island Stories is dyslexia specialist Jo Rees who has built a huge following across the Island - and around the world via social media Born and bred in Newport, Jo now lives in St Helens with her husband Tom and their teenage three children. Jo is the Island’s leading expert in dyslexia, offering private assessments and support to families across the Isle of Wight via her co...

As Easter approaches, a podcast episode full of hope, spirituality and hospitality. Island Stories meets Father Xavier Perrin, the Abbot of Quarr Abbey - a place of worship for Roman Catholics and a popular place to visit for Islanders and tourists alike.  Father Xavier tells us about his Island life, a typical day-in-his-life as a monk, his work caring for the buildings and fabric of the abb...

Our final guest of 2023 is Leighton Atchison-Warne, founder of beauty and lifestyle brand Natures Journey, based in Ryde. Leighton tells us his Island Story - a native from birth, he now lives in Sandown with his partner and worked at Liz Earle for many years before branching out on his own project. He talks about his pioneering use of CBD oil in beauty products and - of course - his love for the...

Our guest this week is wine guru Helena Nicklin who is no stranger to podcasting - with her popular drinks podcast ‘Bring a Bottle’ and a starring role in three TV series of ‘The Three Drinkers’ on Amazon Prime.  Helena talks moving her family to the Island from London, all things booze-related including predictions for next year’s drinks trends, plus the possibilities for a breakthrough vint...

Born and bred on the Island, Major General Sir Martin White is our very first guest for Season 3 of the Island Stories podcast - timed to coincide with the week running up to Remembrance Sunday.  Sir Martin served a long and decorated career in the British Army before becoming Her Late Majesty The Queen’s representative on the Isle of Wight - welcoming royalty to our shores as our Lord Lieute...

Our guest this week is X-Factor star Mike Christie who lives in Cowes when he's not touring the UK with his operatic 'boy-band' group G4 who've achieved enormous success since becoming runners-up on the show in 2004. Mike speaks of his great love for the Island, the work he does with young people here to introduce them to music and his annual event the Wight Proms. Hosted by Harriet Hadfield Produ...

Our guest this week is Island girl Jayne Derbyshire who’s incredible career took her around the world, entertaining thousands of passengers onboard giant cruiseships - before she returned home to the Island to give the next generation their ticket to fame.  Jayne’s Island upbringing gave her a grounding in life that’s never left. Even while she travelled the world - from showgirl to Bollywood...

Our guest this week is the legendary brewer Anthony Goddard of Goddards Brewery. We talk to him at the company's brand new base in Arreton which has been designed as a brewing ‘experience’ for locals and tourists alike.  An Islander with an incredible story, his wife of 52 years says he has a “remarkable ability to dust himself off and start again” - tune into this latest episode to find...

This week on the podcast we meet Vicki Haworth - who is changing the way we treat mental health on the Island. 'There's no waiting list here!' - she tells us, explaining how significant funding means her organisation can provide free group treatment to anyone who needs it. We interview her at the Isorropia Foundation's beautiful new home and chat all things depression, anxiety and how to break the...

Our guest this week has sent the Isle of Wight flying high into international skies with his tech company IFPL. Island-born Geoff Underwood has lived here almost all his life - with the exception of a couple of years spent in Florida, USA - honing his tech and engineering skills.  We speak to him in his beautiful Carisbrooke home, the setting for many a gathering of his massive blended family...

Our guest this week on the podcast is regenerative farmer Francesca Cooper from Nunwell Home Farm where, alongside business partner Hollie, they provide beef, pork and eggs, delivering to up to 70 Island-based customers. She tells us about her multi-generational family life living on her grandparent’s smallholding, getting to grips with regenerative farming on the Island and the difficulties of bu...

This week we chat with Frank Fletcher who’s been running the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in East Cowes for 18 years.  ‘A Londoner living on the Island’ - he tells us how the Trust has gone from humble beginnings in Cowes to a UK-wide operation offering sailing trips to hundreds of young people who’ve been through treatment for cancer every year.  Link to 2007 promo - talked about during...

Our next guest is Natasha Edwards - born and raised on The Garlic Farm in Newchurch. Now in charge of the family business, we chat about her Island childhood, how she’s unexpectedly landed a role in a Shanklin stage show and her great love of garlic.  Hosted by Harriet Hadfield Produced by Alex Warren Sign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-Stories Music by Mike & Izabella Russell from M...

Next on the podcast, with his ‘Island Story’, it’s Nigel Hartley, Chief Executive Officer of Mountbatten Hospice - arguably the Isle of Wight’s best-known charity.  Nigel tells us how his passion for end-of-life care started when a close friend died with Aids in the 1980s. And how his initial career as a concert pianist came to an abrupt end when his hand was shut in a car door. It’s a longer...

We are back with more ‘Island Stories’… starting with the Island’s most decorated Olympian, double-gold medallist Shirley Robertson OBE. Shirley, who has lived here for more than two decades, chats about her life in Cowes, including raising her teenage twins on the Island. She was the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals – in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Hosted by Harriet Hadfield Pr...

This week on the podcast we’ve been to meet Charlotte Legg - founder of Duxmore Botanics - a line of natural body care and botanical home fragrance products.  Her connection to the land has inspired her range of products, while her expertise comes from more than a decade spent at the top of her game working on products for the famous beauty brand Liz Earle.  On living in the Island count...

Our guest this week on the podcast this week is Gurnard local Jo Grindley - a woman at the very top of her game in the world of professional sports marketing and management. She’s long been the commercial brains behind Sir Ben Ainslie and is now Chief Marketing and Commercial Operator of the British America’s Cup Team, as well as running her own sports marketing company, based in Cowes. On returni...

This week on the podcast we meet the editor and publisher of the Isle of Wight County Press - who’s worked on the paper for a massive 37 years. Not surprisingly then, he tells us the newspaper is ‘in his blood’. We talk about the Island’s big news stories, how much has changed here during his tenure and what’s next for his career.  On a career move to the Isle of Wight: ‘The world was going t...

This week on the podcast we meet Dr Hayley Elsmore who’s lived in the West Wight for 20 years and has recently opened a cutting-edge aesthetic medical clinic in Newport - described by one beauty blogger as ‘somewhere people in London would be jealous of!’ Well-known as a popular Island GP for more than 15 years, Hayley retrained a few years ago and has quickly built up a reputation as the go-to pe...

This week on the podcast we meet Derek Sandy - an Islander who almost needs no introduction. Having arrived here one winter 20 years ago from Trinidad and Tobago, Derek has established himself as the ultimate ‘party man’ bringing - as he puts it - Caribbean vibes to the Isle of Wight. A stint on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019 built his reputation across the country,  and he’s in demand for even...

This week on the podcast we chat with film location specialist Lisa Henry who lives in Ryde, having moved here from London just three years ago. She’s quickly made the Island her home, with an amazing network of friends and a new business ‘Lobster Locations’ - specializing in finding fabulous spots for film production companies and photoshoots. On living in Ryde: “Absolutely brilliant - it's a rea...

Our first guest on the podcast is DJ and music producer Rob da Bank, founder of the Bestival brand and a real force on the Island. We interviewed him at his amazing house near Yarmouth - right on the water.  On Bestival coming back: “I mean, never say never. There are currently no plans but I tease it now and again.” On the Island: "When you look out the window here on a sunny day you think w...