The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast

AL and Shane had the privilege to speak to The Beano editor John Anderson. In what was a huge shock to AL, (who used to adore The Beano) the classic comic-book is thriving today. We discuss what makes The Beano so appealing to today's youth, especially since so much has changed in the world since the series began.

This week's episode features AL's day spent with artists at pARTicipate in the Riverside Shopping Centre for The Shrewsbury Open Studios. Getting the chance to speak to Tat Effby who illustrates the comic strip for My Shrewsbury amongst other amazing things, Ivan Allen who makes fantastic objects out of cardboard and Emily Wilkinson from Raven Studios. I wanted to thank everyone from pARTicipate....

Today Alex & Shane speak to Dr Lucy Andrew. We discuss popular fiction and the importance of having the freedom to pick up whatever book that takes your fancy and just enjoy it, without feeling like anyone is judging you, because (almost) any reading is good reading right? We talk about our favourite books, what influences us and Alex's favourite books to read to his son at bedtime. Dr Andrew is r...

DEADPOOL AND MOONKNIGHT ARTIST DECLAN SHALVEY POPS IN TO TALK TO US. DECLAN HAD NEVER BEEN TO SHREWSBURY BEFORE SO WE FIND OUT WHAT HE THINKS OF THE TOWN. WE ALSO FIND OUT ABOUT HIS WORK AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING A CHARACTER YOUR OWN.  DECLAN TEACHES US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BATMAN AND MOONKNIGHT AND WE HAVE A REALLY FUN, FREE FLOWING CHAT ABOUT HIS COMICS SALOPIA FESTIVAL. 

STAND UP COMEDIAN AND TV STAR JAMALI MADDIX DROPS BY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO AT COMICS SALOPIA. WE SHARE AN INSPIRING CONVERSATION ABOUT JUST GETTING OUT THERE AND DOING IT. NO ONE GIVES YOU PERMISSION TO BE AWESOME, YOU HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND PROVE IT BY YOURSELF. REALLY ENJOYED HEARING ABOUT HOW JAMALI STARTED HIS CAREER AND HOW COMIC BOOKS INFLUENCE HIM. THANKS FOR SITTING...

This is a 2 part episode Part 1 - Belle Vue Open Garden event, part of The Belle Vue Arts Festival. I had a wonder around that the gardens that people had opened up to the public for the day as part of the Belle Vue Arts Festival. I met so many amazing people. I got offered coffee, welcomed into peoples houses to shelter from the rain and shared some really interesting conversations. I captured so...

AL AND JODIE SPEAK TO COMIC-BOOK ROYALTY KIERON GILLEN. WE TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE HIM, HOW HE COPES WITH THE CRAZINESS OF CON'S. KIERON TELLS US WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT COMICS SALOPIA TOO. THANK YOU KIERON FOR SITTING WITH US TO CHAT IT WAS GREAT TO MEET YOU!

AL AND JODIE SIT DOWN AND TALK TO JANEK DUBOWSKI WHO IS THE HEAD OF PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT ROEHAMPTON UNIVERSITY. JANEK IS LOOKING INTO THE EFFECTS THAT COMIC-BOOKS HAVE ON THE SUB-CONSCIOUS. IN THIS BITE-SIZE PODCAST WE TRY TO DISCOVER WHAT JANEK HAS ALREADY FOUND. THE BEGINNING OF THIS PODCAST INCLUDES A CHAT SHANE HAD WITH SHREWSBURY DUNGEON MASTER (OF THE D&D KIND) JOEL SMITH. HE TELLS US WH...

AL, Shane and special guest Olly Mcanamee sit down and reflect on the last day of Comics Salopia and the festival as a whole. The calibre of the amazing guests attending the festival, the aspiring artists that came for inspiration from their peers and some positive feedback about the festival and its huge potential. Thank you Olly for sitting with us, I'm glad I finally got you onto a podcast sir!

AL, Jodie and Shane welcome in honorary Team Biscuit member Adam (not George) to join them to recap their first day at Comics Salopia.  They are later joined by Sam, who was instrumental in the running of things at The Guildhall throughout the day. The group discuss events that were going on throughout the town, the amazing people that they interviewed and AL talks about his embarrassing stolen ha...

Monopoly Special: This episode took over a week to put together even though it is really short! I speak to Graham who is running the PR on Shrewsbury's very own version of Monopoly. I get to find out all about where is being considered, how much the dynamics will stay the same/differ from the regular classic board game as well as news on recent developments. Thank you Graham for being super patien...

Author Lisa Blower joins AL and Jodie on this week's episode. Author of It's Gone Dark Over Bill's Mother's (and owner of one of the most impressive C.V's I've ever seen) came in to talk to us about her story, about her work and what her influences are. This is a fun episode and I'm pretty sure you will agree that Lisa is a pretty cool cat, with a lot of very helpful knowledge, especially if you a...

AL, Jodie and Shane catch up after a couple of weeks away. AL tells his tale on how he came to become Mr Aqua-Fun which was decided as his only 15 minutes of fame. The group discuss the amazing job that everyone did at the Yarn-Bombing in Castlefields (organised by LovelyLand), AL's rooftop tour of the Market-Hall in town, the up coming Beatles weekend in September and of course Shrewsbury landing...

AL sits down and speak to Chrissy who is helping plan the Belle Vue Arts Festival. We have been dying to get our hands on this event and discuss it on the show. To be honest, this is a really delightful interview! We chat about this festival and what it means to get out into the community and getting people involved with a project like this. If you weren't aware of the Arts Festival, we talked abo...

I SIT DOWN WITH GLYN PRICE, WHO HOSTS THE SALOPCAST PODCAST WHICH IS A SHOW THAT FOLLOWS SHREWSBURY TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB. I REALLY ENJOYED MEETING ANOTHER LOCAL PODCASTER AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE OF SOMETHING WE FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT. WE TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL THROUGH THE AGES, THE FORMAT OF SALOPCAST AND ALL ABOUT GLYN AS A GUY. I FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE START OF SOMETHING...

I speak to Rhea Alton from Frestival, a festival dedicated to the Free From community. I learned a great deal about different dietary needs, gluten free, vegan and even Paleo (commonnly called the Caveman Diet). The Festival is on West Midlands Showground on the 18th May and there is so much to be seen and done, including talks from highly reputable local chefs, dietary experts and even Rhea herse...

I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO SPEAK TO THE MOST TALENTED COMICBOOK ARTISTS THAT ARE LOCAL TO SHREWSBURY. CHARLIE ADLARD, ROBBIE MORRISON, CHRISTIAN WARD, DAN BERRY, JOHN WAGNER AND SHANE CHEBSEY ALL JOIN ME TO TALK ABOUT THE COMIC SALOPIA FESTIVAL THAT IS HITTING THE STREETS OF SHREWSBURY ON THE 1ST AND 2ND OF JUNE. WE DISCUSS WHAT THE FESTIVAL WILL LOOK LIKE AND WHAT TO EXPECT, WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE A MAJO...

WE NOW HAVE A SHREWSBURY BISCUIT TEAM!! INTRODUCING JODIE AND SHANE. WE RECORDED A BIT OF TESTER AUDIO THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE A GREAT WAY FOR EVERYONE TO GET TO KNOW THE NEW HOSTS. THANKS TO SHANE AND JODIE FOR JOINING ME ON THIS JOURNEY, I'M SO HAPPY!!  

ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE I SPEAK TO CLARE AND ALISON. CLARE RUNS LOVELY LAND, A COMMUNITY PROJECT THAT AIMS TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY, TEACHING YOUNGSTERS HOW TO GROW THEIR OWN VEGETABLES AND BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER. LOVELY LAND ARE PLANNING A YARN BOMBING OF A BRIDGE IN CASTLEFIELDS AND THEY NEED ALL THE HELP THEY CAN GET, SO IF YOU HAVE SPARE WOOL/YARN LYING AROUND AND HAVE KNITTING ABILITIES (U...

ON THIS EPISODE, I SPEAK AGAIN TO TIM DAWES, ONLY THIS TIME WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO DISCUSS WHAT HE'S UP TO. WE ARE JOINED BY HIS DAUGHTER ELLIE WHO WORKS FOR CHILD.ORG . THEY ARE RUNNING A CAMPAIGN CALLED TEAM MUM. IT'S A GREAT CAMPAIGN AND TO DO HIS PART TIM IS RUNNING A POETRY EVENT AT HIS HOUSE WITH CHEESE AND WINE. CHECK OUT CHILD.ORG TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP. WE TALK A BIT ABOUT PO...

ON TODAY'S EPISODE I SPEAK TO LOCAL MUSICIAN CHRISBEE. CHRIS IS TAKING PART IN A RAP BATTLE EVENT AT THE BUTTER MARKET IN SHREWSBURY ON THE 15TH OF MARCH. I INVITE MY GOOD FRIEND TOM BRUNO FROM THE US TO HELP ME INVESTIGATE THE TRULY UNIQUE ART OF RAP BATTLING ON THIS RATHER SPLENDID PODCAST.  THANK YOU TO CHRIS AND TOM FOR THIS EPISODE, I REALLY ENJOYED THIS ONE. CHECK OUT www.dontflop.com  FOR M...

THIS IS #7 OF MY DARWIN FESTIVAL SPECIALS THIS IS GWEN BURNYEAT'S TALK, 'PEACE PEDAGOGY' LESSONS FROM COLOMBIA: STRATEGIES FOR AN ERA OF POST-TRUTH POLITICS. GWEN IS THE GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF CHARLES DARWIN. SHE DISCUSSES THE PEACE PROCESS THAT IS BEING CAREFULLY PUT TOGETHER IN COLOMBIA AND THE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS. THIS IS A TOPIC THAT THE WHOLE WORLD SHOULD BE PAYING AT...

THIS IS #6 OF MY DARWIN FESTIVAL SPECIALS I TALK ABOUT MY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FESTIVAL SO FAR, MY GREAT FRIDAY NIGHT COURTESY OF THE EVOLUTION OF CRAFT BEER. I ALSO TALK ABOUT THE GREAT EVENTS THAT ARE YET TO COME IN THIS GREAT FESTIVAL. HAVE YOU ENJOYED ANY OF THE EVENTS THAT ARE PART OF THIS FESTIVAL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ME AT THE BISCUIT? EMAIL ME Shrewsburybiscuitpodcast@g...

THIS #5 OF MY DARWIN DAY SPECIALS ON THIS EPISODE I RECOLLECT ABOUT MY DAY YESTERDAY. I WENT TO 2 GREAT EVENTS YESTERDAY. 1. THE DARWIN TOAST & DARWIN TRAIL, LEAD BY JON KING. I EXPLAIN ALL ABOUT THE TOUR AND WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT IT. PLUS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I LEARNED DURING THE TOUR. WELL DONE TO JON KIN, WHO FIRST CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR A DARWIN FESTIVAL. IT WAS A GREAT EVENT. 2. SCIBAR -...

EPISODE 16, DARWIN SPECIAL #4 ON THIS EPISODE I SPEAK TO TIM DAWES. HE IS AN EVENT ORGANISER WHO IS BRINGING 4 EVENTS TO THE DARWIN FESTIVAL. HE BRINGS 2 OLD SCHOOL FRIENDS, WHO HAPPEN TO BE VERY WELL RENOWN SCIENTISTS PROF MARK CARVER & PROF IAN WILSON. 2 OF THESE EVENTS ARE ON TODAY! (12.02.19) PROFESSOR MARK CARVER BRINGS, THE FUTURE OF THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY TALK AT UCS 2.30PM THEN TONIGHT, SCIB...