In Focus Podcasts

Martin Barry is a proud volunteer for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he will be running FREE tours of Hastings Cemetery as part of the Commission’s ‘War Graves Week’ in May. He'll be focussing on some of the stories of the 260 servicemen and women who fell during the two World Wars who lie in Hastings cemetery. The tours will last approx 90 mins. Martin says he is constantly adding new...

*Opened in 1890. *A UNESCO World Heritage Site. *A landmark event in the application of science to architecture that went on to profoundly influence mankind in ways not limited to bridge-building. *A globally important triumph of engineering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick Kealey has been described as "...a masterful performer, his renditions of the different characters... are superb." I've said before that I love meeting interesting people and Patrick Kealey is certainly that. An actor, director, producer and soon to be published author the 71 year old says he can look back on a life that he's lived on his own terms, with few regrets. He's been directing a...

Royal Crescent in Bath is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent. Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger, it was built between 1767 and 1774 and is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom. In this episode we find out a little about its history and about some of the most notable people t...

It's election night 1945 and the working class is about to elect a new Labour government and herald a seismic change in British society that will alter the old order for good. Meanwhile in the bowels of a large country house, beautiful privileged Julie, daughter of an aristocrat, is playing a dangerous seductive game with John, his lordship's chauffeur. So begins Patrick Marber's brilliant update...

Mary Slessor was one of the first women to be commemorated in the Hall of Scottish Heroes half way up the Wallace Monument near Stirling. So who was she? What had she done to earn her place among such exalted company? Her story is a fascinating one; from Dundonian Mill Girl to missionary in remotest Africa and then becoming the first female magistrate in the British Empire. Mary Slessor certainly...

Richard Fryer doesn't object to being described as an adventurer in the true tradition of adventuring. This interview was recorded a few years ago just after the publication of his book Lost Odyssey. He discusses his passion for boats, the high seas and for the West Indies. He explains how he came to love boats and the sea and recalls how he survived 36 hours in a tropical storm in the middle of t...

A short history of The Wallace Monument in Stirling and the man who inspired Braveheart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I count Mark Jardine as a friend, and one of long standing. His has been a life committed to the service of others whether in his profressional life as a funeral director or in his private life where, among many things he has been a bereavement counsellor and is founder of The People's Project. Mark's legacy though, will be in the creation of the Roucan Loch crematorium and woodland burial site ht...

As a young reporter watching Councillor Tom McAughtrie in action was fascinating. Over four decades he has been involved in some of the big decisions that have shaped not just the town of Dumfries but of the region as a whole. Over the years, and thanks to the the advent of social media, Tom and I have kept in touch and when I started doing these podcasts I immiediately thought Tom, with his stron...

The story of Alexander Murray Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Articulate, immaculately dressed, ambitious and with a laser like focus on where he wants to be! Daniel Robinson is a Hastings lad, a former Filsham Valley pupil he had spent his time since leaving education building his career, treading a well worn path. But last year he decided to change direction and gave up his job and took off for four months to travel in Latin America. Now he’s home he’s got...

'Someone else can tell you your fat but all it does is make you a bit depressed,' says Rob Cooke who this year found the motivation to shed five stones and plans to keep on slimming down. Rob has overhauled his lifestyle and the way he eats and he quite literally got on his bike to feel fitter and healthier while at the same time raising money for a cause close to his heart, prostate cancer, which...

Ross Drury has never backed away from a challenge and his new challenge, along with business partner Dan Hutton, is to turn the Stade Hall in to the coolest village hall of all time, to create what he describes as a significant cultural building in the centre of town, hosting everything from pilates to opera and theatre via craft fairs and anything else local people choose to use it for - it's a b...

In 2018 structural problems spelled the end for St Leonards Parish Church which now stands abandoned on the St Leonards seafront. In this episode we take a look at its history. To see phtotgraphs of the interior of the church visit https://www.hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2021/10/26/the-sad-history-of-st-leonards-parish-church/ Or to find out more about the Science on Sea project follow this link https:/...

Just three years ago there were no Greens on Hastings Borough Council, now there are 12, they've become the biggest group and have taken on the task of running a minority administration. Julia Hilton was the first Green councillor on HBC, elected in Old Hastings in a landslide in 2021, she's also a County Councillor and now she is leader of the borough council. We spoke to her about what local peo...

Did Aleister Crowley really curse Hastings? If you live here is it really impossible to move away and stay away? The story of Crowley and is curse is a fscinating one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last time we spoke to Lotti Conway we asked: "How would you cope if all your memories were erased overnight?" Lotti had a massive seizure in April 2020 that left her in hospital, scared and alone as she couldn't remember where she was or why she was there. Doctors diagnosed Autoimmune encephalitis and when we met her journey along the road to recovery had begun, with no one quite sure where the de...

The Stables Theatre celebrated its 60th anniversary back in 2019. The history of the theatre and how it came in to existence in the first place is a fascinating one. Here, Stuart Baillie looks at those early years and some of the ‘big characters’ who helped make it all happen in the first place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After scoring a hit with Dig, the first in a trilogy of plays, Chris New is preparing to launch Dog Song at The Stables in early May. Here he talks about the pleasing reaction he got to Dig and how the process of writing Dog Song has been an altogether different experience. To hear more from Chris click this link Stables-theatre-hastings – The-life-and-times-of-chris-new Hosted on Acast. See acast...

For people of a certain age 'the old bathing pool site' is where memories were made. Here we take a look at the history of the site... we'll leave the council's plans and ideas for its future until another time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love it or hate it Marine Court defines St Leonards seafront. Designed to resemble the Queen Mary ocean going liner it cost £500,000 to build back in the late 1930s. In this podcast we talk about its design, what went in to building it and what's happened to it since. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris New sees himself as just a jobbing actor but once you've listened to this interview we're sure you'll agree he is much more than that. His first love is theatre because he relishes the link that gives him to his audience, he became an actor because one of his teachers told him he couldn't, his career has been "an act of contrary revenge" he says. He's coming to The Stables in 2023 to run wor...

Stu Allen's Dominator did just that, he dominated the UK wrestling scene for a quarter of a century. In 2019 he decided to call it a day and retire as a competitor, his body had taken a battering over the years and he tells us he knew when the time had come to stop. We recorded The Dominator's retirement day in a video which you can see on YouTube, https://youtu.be/mx_CX2fkARE and now we're publis...