The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast

Local author joins AL and Shane this week on the Shrewsbury Biscuit. Steve has been writing for many years. He's had his highs and he's had his lows and we learn a bit about Steve's career. How a post-it note changed his career, how a last grasp throw of the dice gave him added determination and now how Steve is helping aspiring writers. We love talking to creators on this show and Steve is one of...

Fellow podcaster Lea Meakin joins AL this week to discuss his motivations behind his show and his vision. We don't just salivate over microphones (well we do a bit!) I try to find out more about Lea and what drives him. We discuss some of the do's and don'ts of podcasting, what Lea does and doesn't do on his show too. We discuss how the people of Shrewsbury have a lot of proud for their town. What...

AL, Shane and Jules enjoy a catch up. Jules has been in America on Vacation, AL has been having some quality family time and Shane has been...working. Oh and its the Biscuit's 1 year anniversary!! The group discuss The Shrewsbury Biscuit, the adventure that it has been and what listeners can look forward to in the future. Thank you everyone from the bottom of our hearts that had supported us over...

Graham Barnes from 6 Star PR sits with AL to discuss what people can expect from the highly anticipated Shrewsbury version of Monopoly. AL finds out a bit about the production process and what it has been like to get knees deep in Shrewsbury during the process. Graham kindly shares a few exciting, first time exclusives, which happen to feature some familiar names and places. The game will be launc...

AL and Shane are joined by Susan from Pengwern Books which is based on Fish Street in Shrewsbury. Susan (amongst others) is putting together the Festival of Literature, which will be taking place between, 22nd - 24th of November. We discuss who is going to be taking part in the festival, where and when the events will take place, as well as memorable moments of Lit Fest's gone by. We try and find...

AL and Shane are joined by Pixie and Carla. Pixie has been through an awful lot, yet is determined to do an awful lot, to help with her charity "Pixie Belle Warriors". Carla is a counsellor that is very passionate about helping people to help themselves. Shane brings his absolute A game on this one too. We very calmly sat and discuss some of our own problems that we've faced and we discover some w...

AL and Shane are joined by BBC Shropshire's very own Jim Hawkins. From the sophistication of the BBC studios, to getting lost on Trinity Street, then sitting with the kind of guys that forget to turn their mic on before the show starts! This was as great an experience for Jim as it was for us! We find out how Jim's career came to be, how things have changed since the 'black and white days' and how...

AL and Julie are joined by 2 Shrewsbury superstars. Lorraine Fletcher created For The Love Of Shrewsbury, one of the town's biggest and most loved Facebook pages. People from all around the world are kept in the loop with everything to do with Shrewsbury because of this well managed page. Stan Sedman is a well beloved historian and Shrewsbury tour guide. The best tours of Shrewsbury are given by S...

This episode is split into 2 parts Part 1: Phil Davies, if you've got little ones, you've had CBeebies on in the background then you will know this guy's work. He is a writer for Go Jetters and The Furchester Hotel. A thoroughly nice guy talks to us about what its like to write for kids TV, including some of the do's and don'ts. Part 2: Nathan Proctor and Andrew Richmond. A really honest discussio...

Have you ever wondered how to turn an idea into something special? Well if there was ever a specialist at turning ideas into gold, John Wagner would be the guy to talk to. Judge Dredd and 2000AD are widely loved all around the world and John is a massive part of it all. Dredd went on to inspire 2 movies and soon (hopefully) a TV series, John tells us all about that, amongst other fantastic achieve...

This week AL and Julie speak to Shrewsbury's very own power couple (SPC) Naomi Atkin and Darren Tomkins. Naomi is the executive officer at amazing charity Lingen Davies and Darren is the owner of GinDifferent in the Market Hall. We find out how Lingen Davies began, how things have changed since it began back in 1979. We also find out about the world of gin and how things are rapidly changing with...

A catch up show with the Biscuit crew. We give new Biscuiteer Julie a proper introduction to the show and let our listeners find out a bit about our fantastic new host. Find out what the guys have been up to, what they are going to be up to, as well as some exciting Monopoly news! AL is also struggling to fit in at school...it's a science you know! This episode is a lot of fun!

I thought it would be a great idea to set up the equipment upstairs in Shrewsbury Market Hall, for our interview with resident artist Karen Duffy. Julie worked her magic to get us this interview at short notice. Karen was understandably nervous, but she knocked it out of the park. What a great interview it was! Thank you to everyone at the Market Hall for your support and I hope to be back soon to...

This week we are joined by new member of the team, fellow Biscuiteer Julie and our special guest Tim King. We discuss the very exciting Beatles Weekend that is due to hit Shrewsbury on the 20th - 22nd of September to raise money/awareness for The Samaritans. There are lots of great events taking place, opportunities to watch the Beatles movies, talks about The Beatles in the comics, a Beatles open...

This is our feature episode from the Shrewsbury Flower Show. Listen to our thoughts of the first time we attending the show, as well as all of the interviews we got during our time there. Featuring "The Heroes of The Dingle", Jonathon Gregory (Vinnie), Dot & Hilary from the Women's Institute (W.I), AL & Shane's mid day reactions, The Ffestiniog Railway and Scouting For Girls. We are sorry to every...

Simon Bell is a local author and a Biscuit favourite (episode 1) and he asked me if I wanted to speak to Rainer Hoess, the Grandson of Auschwitz commandant Rudolph Hoess. Of course I snapped at the chance and boy am I grateful for this opportunity. Rainer has an amazing story of the bravery that is needed to want to make a difference to the world. A bravery that separated him from his family and t...

In this short 15 minute interview I speak to Jo, an organiser of The Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as we stroll across the fields of West Mids Showground. We talk about what the festival looks like, how many people are expected to attend and the atmosphere it brings, creating what seems like the worlds friendliest mosh-pits. Thank you Jo for making this an interview as I was pretty exhausted after a n...

I finally got to sit with a bit of a Shrewsbury legend. Sarah Hopper who runs the Ferndell B&B and oh my days what a great interview it was! Sarah has a really infectious enthusiasm and great outlook on life that absolutely comes out in this episode. With a whole lot of energy and a huge appreciation for what she does, you cannot help but be inspired by her. Make sure you listen out for me being d...

Extinction Rebellion are in the news daily. Whether it's due to a protest they have put together that has caused mayhem in the middle of London or whether they are being interviewed on the news about their views on climate change. Whatever the angle, they are everywhere. Just recently XR Shrewsbury protested in a bank in our town by doing a "die in" where they all lay on the ground. This caused me...

This is an episode featuring an interview with Shrewsbury Flower Show organisers Amanda and Helen. We talk about what people have got to look forward to with this year's show, a little bit about The Flower Show and its origin. [This audio is quiet turn volume up] The second half of this episode is an interview with CAMRA representative Norrie who has helped plan this year's CAMRA Beer Festival at...

AL and Shane speak to Tom and Dan from Nerdy cafe. Whether you are board game wizard or a newbie you can enjoy Nerdy cafe. Or even if you want to try "the best coffee in Shrewsbury" as stated by Tom himself. Shrewsbury already has such a rich coffee shop culture but Nerdy is "so much more than that" Find out exactly what exciting, new activities, features and experiences the beautifully renovated...

AL and Shane bring on the "Anti Dieting Rebel" Louise Tanner-Stokes. Louise has a dietary coaching programme designed to help people move away from the yo-yo diets and fads. Helping new mum's ditch those pounds with great tips on how to make little tweaks to improve your lifestyle. We discuss those common reasons why diets fail, how long Louise has been doing this and we have a very important conv...

The world famous Chip Kidd is interviewed by the amazing Leonard Sultana (An Englishman in San Diego). This interview is so charming and it was such an honour to be there. When I looked around the room during the talk everyone was just in awe of Chip. Anyone that is aspiring to go out there and make something, should listen to this interview. We discover the history of Chip Kidd, how it all began....

AL and Shane have the honour of speaking to Shrewsbury Mayor Phil Gillam. Phil has a long history in the world of journalism, he is also the author to a number of books. Shrewsbury has a Mayor that has a devout love for the town and his passion shines through during this podcast. We discuss what plans our Mayor has for the town, in way of bringing what sounds like a fantastic Beatles weekend in Se...

AL and Shane are joined by Matt Fitch & Chris Baker, writers of one of the biggest graphic novels of the year, Apollo. A graphic novel that has been discussed by many over the last year, brings to you the real story of the humans that landed on the Moon during the Apollo mission. This book has received so much attention, that its hard not to ask the question. What is it about this book, that has k...