The Cov Pod

To celebrate the return of The Cov Pod, we kick things off with me on the other side of the mic with an interview with Moz Baker from Coventry Hospital Radio as part of his Cov Kid Memories. You can find out more about Coventry Hospital Radio over at www.mixcloud.com/covhosradio where you can also listen back to more of Moz's Cov Kid Memories. Thanks to Moz and Coventry Hospital Radio for giving m...

We find ourselves a couple of days before the Coventry theatre debut of Boy Out The City, the autobiographical show written and performed by Coventry lad, Declan Bennett. As the Belgrade show listing tells us: "Declan takes us on a journey into the messy and turbulent world of toxic masculinity, homophobia and men’s mental health; confronting his Catholic school days in Coventry, discovering...

Two Coventry Aarons collide with an interview with local photographer, cultural enthusiast, and regular gig-goer, Aaron Law. We talk about Aaron's passion for the city, the new George Wagstaffe Pheonix Tree, his work to help preserve the William Mitchell Hertford House and Three Tuns murals, as well as what it's like to travel the world following bands such as Depeche Mode and The Cure. Ho...

A festive treat with an interview with Coventry’s Dame, Iain Lauchlan; star, writer and director of the Coventry Belgrade pantomime With a career spanning over 40 years in the children's entertainment industry presenting many well-loved children's programmes such as Playschool, Fingermouse, and Playdays, and outside of Coventry, he is perhaps best known as the writer of the BAFTA award-win...

It’s no secret that local authorities across the country are facing huge financial pressures, and Coventry City Council is no different as it forecasts a £30m budget shortfall.  Coventry recently shared that without additional central government funding, it could effectively declare itself bankrupt and only deliver services it has to by law. A report, released in December, proposed local money-sav...

A sit-down with poet, rapper, writer, and most recently, Coventry's newest Poet Laureate, John Bernard. I talk to John about his relationship with the city after moving to Coventry at a young age, his pride in becoming Poet Laureate, his music career, and the work he does locally to inspire and support young people. Host:  Aaron Ashmore Intro music:  Heal in Time  by  The Institutes In partner...

Coventry is looking to be the best city in the UK for children and young people to live and grow up in. To find out more about Coventry's approach to children's services, I spoke to Councillor Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, and Matt Clayton, Strategic Lead for Looked After Children at Coventry City Council to hear more about Child Friendly Cov, the recent Of...

In this episode of The Cov Pod, Aaron dives deep into the world of the renowned Godiva Festival, held annually in Coventry.  Joining him are three special guests who shed light on various aspects of the festival and its preparations for this year. Aaron welcomes back Jon Hogan, Festival Director, to discuss the improved sustainability initiatives being implemented at this year's Godiva Festiva...

A sit-down with the founder and owner of the HMV Empire, Phil Rooney, who talks me through his history in Coventry, the changes in the pub industry, and how he became involved in music promotion, which led to the original Empire on Far Gosford Street. Phil also shares the journey of building and launching the new HMV Empire and tells us about his pride in seeing up-and-coming Coventry bands on the...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Cov Pod, where we explore the recent changes to the voting process in the Coventry local elections. First up, I talk to Liz Read, Electoral Services Manager at Coventry City Council, about the new requirement for photo ID when voting and the improvements in accessibility at polling stations for people with disabilities to ensure they are accessible to all voter...

In this episode, we hear from Stacey-Jade Mason, the founder and director of Creative Optimistic Visions (COV), a local organisation who believe we all have the right to feel safe and provides companies and individuals with the tools to enable this via education, training, mentoring, youth and community services for people of all ages. Stacey-Jade talks me through how COV supports local young peop...

In February, Dippy the Diplodocus made the journey to Coventry and their new home for the next three years in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. We speak to Cllr David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council to discuss how Dippy the Dinosaur fits in the city’s approach to arts and museums and the vision of bringing world-class exhibitions to the city whilst also...

In this latest episode of The Cov Pod, we explore some of the reasons that make Coventry one of the must-visit destinations in the UK! We hear from Cllr Jim O'Boyle on the city's efforts to continue to grow and develop and Paul Jones from Destination Coventry tells us about the formation of the organisation and why hosting attractions such as the Godiva Festival and the city centre ice rink have w...

A sit down with the founder and CEO of Coventry's Positive Youth Foundation ; Rashid Bhayat MBE. Rashid is a Coventrian who I hugely admire so it was brilliant to talk about his history in the city, how PYF first began, and why supporting and empowering young Coventry people remains at the heart of the organisation. I am a big fan of the work of Positive Youth Foundation and have seen over the pas...

In this episode of The Cov Pod, I sit down with Corey Campbell, Creative Director at Belgrade Theatre. We talk about Corey's early career, the story behind Strictly Arts Theatre Company, his role in the Belgrade's key year of Coventry being the UK City of Culture in 2021, and the Theatre's commitment to supporting and promoting community engagement, diversity, and talent development. Excuse the sl...

Godiva Festival is a date marked in the diary for almost every Coventrian and this year's music-filled weekend is fast approaching! To find out more about the decisions behind the festival, I speak to Jon Hogan, City Event Manager at Coventry City Council about how the acts are chosen, the tremendous amount of planning that goes into a festival of this size, and the move to paid ticketing in recen...

You will no doubt know that Coventry is a host city for the Commonwealth Games in 2022 but did you also know that city is hosting the International Children’s Games this year. In August, more than 1500 of the best young sporting talents from around the world are travelling to the city for 6 days of completion across 7 sports. We kick the episode off by speaking to Cllr Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member...

In this episode of The Cov Pod, I sit down with Laura McMillan MBE, Director of Audience Strategy, Coventry City of Culture Trust who tells me about her history in the city, how she first became involved with Coventry's bid for UK City of Culture and we take a look at a momentous year for Coventry. Laura shares why there was a commitment to making sure that co-creation was at the heart of the Cove...

Have you ever wondered what the role of Lord Mayor entails? Or how the next Mayor is decided? I sat down with former Lord Mayor Cllr John McNicholas during his last week in term to look at some of the highlights and challenges of his time as Lord Mayor from raising money at the Charity Dog Show to the restrictions caused by COVID Host: Aaron Ashmore Intro music: Heal in Time by The Institutes In p...

Coordinating fair and well-run local elections is obviously a crucial role for any Council and Coventry is no exception with a huge amount of work taking place to facilitate local people registering their vote. In this episode, I speak to Martin Reeves, Chief Executive, Coventry City Council, about his role as Returning Officer and the legal responsibility he has to ensure the local election is ma...

It was a pleasure to sit down with John Kiely MBE - one of the cogs that help to make the Coventry business world turn. I speak to John about how he came to be a franchisee of a number of McDonald's in the city, the work he is involved in to support Coventry homeless people and young people to access training and employment, plus how it felt to be awarded an MBE as part of The Queen’s New Year Hon...

You’ll no doubt be aware of Council Tax but do you know how and where that money is spent? I sat down with Cllr Richard Brown, Finance Lead for Coventry City Council and Paul Jennings, Senior Finance Manager at Coventry City Council to talk about the council’s annual budget, Council Tax, and the balance between the funding of local services and investing in commercial opportunities. The conversati...

Award-winning BBC radio and TV presenter, journalist, awards host, and all-round Coventry champion, Trish Adudu joins me on the latest episode of The Cov Pod. We talk about the racism faced by Trish's family after first moving to the city, working her way up in a career in journalism, her love for the city, and take a closer look at the businesses of her two boys, Tyler and Kennedy. Host: Aaron As...

A special Christmas-themed episode of The Cov Pod with a festive interview with Coventry film director, Debbie Isitt. The Nativity films play a special part in many Coventrian's Christmas and it was great to hear about how the films came to be, the essential role Coventry plays in the series and what it was like dangling a child off the Cathedral Spire!! I hope you enjoy it! I just wanted to take...

2021 will be looked back as a historic year for Coventry and this episode I speak to some of the people behind Coventry 2021. After being awarded UK City of Culture in 2017, we are currently halfway through a year of events and community projects which have looked to put Coventry on the cultural map. In this episode, I speak to Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director of Coventry City of Culture Trust...