Real Voices of Happy Valley

Viv and Dave chat to Matt Taylor, on a bench next to a pond he created on land he owns above Colden. Matt explains how he creates woodland management plants and loves to 'dig holes and hit things', especially when this ends up with trees getting planted

Viv and Dave talk to Josie McNamara, General Manager at Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy, the first women-led boxing club in the UK. Its mission is to make positive contributions to the physical and mental well-being of the local community by providing a safe, inclusive space where everyone is welcomed and empowered through boxing, exercise, and social inclusion. Josie had been a ski racer in he...

Viv and Dave chat with Todmorden based photographer and videographer Scott van der Zanden. Scott is the photographer for the West Holts stage and Glastonbury and has wide experience of work at events, gigs and festivals, weddings especially. Hear how he got into photography, his approach and style, the skill of capturing and the importance of ‘moments’. Scott also discusses his love of community,...

This is an extended interview with Kath Reade for Viv’s Bookends Radio Show. From taking the hippy trail to Greece as a teenager to being a council leader then  having her first book published in her 70s, Kath remains a fascinating character. Hear about her discovery of meditation, retreats she runs and her singer-songwriting. More at www.kathreade.co.uk . Viv’s Bookends Radio Show is on www.calde...

David Insua-cao is the leader of Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra, a community orchestra and choir of 40 or so which performs a massive variety of material by the likes of Sun Ra, Ennio Morricone, David Bowie, Beatles, Leonard Cohen and many more all written out on sheet music by a team of maestros. They have over 200 tunes ready to play with parts for all instruments. Fantasy Orchestra started in Bri...

Guy Parry is a radio presenter at Calder Valley Radio on the internet. His shows are the Tuesday Magazine and Sunday Spotlight, which features songs from musical theatre. He is also an actor - Coronation Street, Brookside, Emmerdale, Cold Feet and more in TV and on stage he as appeared on the West End and Northern Broadsides. Most recently he was at Hebden Bridge Little Theatre in Noel Coward’s Ha...

Daz Jones is well known in the Calder Valley as a Practice Nurse and musician primarily. He has also been part of Daz n Dave’s Disco, at Cabaret Heaven among others, and is  popular on stages locally and at festivals/venues far and wide. Here Daz chats about his life, attitude to life and how he thoroughly enjoys the life he’s had so far. Splendid chap.

Viv and Dave chat with Angie and Andrew Mossman at their permaculture smallholding in West Yorkshire. They discuss their business and support for a local sustainable economy. Remote but connected: only ten minutes’ drive from Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, 20 minutes from Sowerby Bridge. They have accommodation in former stables and specially designed and built units where they offer residential ret...

Helen Chuntso is one of the Chinese medicine practitioners in the Calder Valley. Her base in the Hebden Bridge Chinese Medicine Clinic in Valley Road. She talks with Viv about how she got into Chinese medicine, some of its basics and how it works alongside western medical practices 

In this episode Viv and Dave chat with Hebden Bridge born Kirsty Newton, a multi-talented entertainer who performs around the world, both solo and with a huge variety of wonderful artists, wearing many different hats and showcasing her versatile musical skills. She’s a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, musical improviser, composer, musical director and arranger, compère, host and comedy pe...

Episode 54 features Jill Robinson talking about her Berringden Brow books and the life and adventures of Jess, a single mother in a Pennine town. It’s not quite autobiographical, but everything in the books has happened to someone, including Jill. Discover the importance of observing people, the things they say and how that turns into believable stories on the page

Lizzie Rowan, with her wife TJ, runs Full of Joy Animal Sanctuary. It offers forever homes to animals in need. It's had pigs, goats, ponies. chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, ferrets and terrapins. The sanctuary runs on vegan principles and ensures everything is environmentally friendly. Full of Joy is a not for profit organisation run by volunteers, based in the beautiful hills between  Hedde...

Les Gillon talks with Dave about his music, his latest band and recording, what inspires him and how lucky we are in the Calder Valley to have such creative talent, venues and an audience for original music

Cornholme is often seen as the ‘forgotten valley end’ of Calderdale. So much so that it seemed to be the ideal spot for the somewhat mystifying TV series ‘Passenger’ (ITVx). Yet there are lots of things going on there with the Old Library and the churches being community hubs and its active community groups and individuals. One such individual is Jim Haughey who collects donations and helps at the...

Trina Lucas, former museums conference organiser, music lover, long time Calder Valley resident has taken up the role of Events Manager at Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre. Already recognised as a sports, leisure and function hub of Mytholmroyd and the wider community Trina is adding more gigs and other events to its role. Touring and local bands now have yet another venue to show their...

John Billingsley worked at Hebden Bridge library for three decades, now organises Todmorden Folklore Centre’s library. He developed an interest in the folklore of the valley, its icons, its stories and how it holds the communities together while explaining its local rivalries. He has published books on West Yorkshire and Calderdale Folklore and researched the strange stone heads and ‘ancient’ monu...

Viv and Dave chat with Rosie Grant and Lisa van der Zanden at Natural Endings, a funeral service which puts the family/friends at the centre of funeral planning. They are both committed to ensuring the family/friends can be involved as much or as little as they feel they want. Funeral services and gatherings or ‘de-parties’ can be designed for specific individuals; some are interactive, can involv...

The u3a is an organisation that brings retired people together to share their interests and skills. People can continue to pursue interests and/or develop new ones. There are people in their 80s able to play badminton and cricket in safe environments, there are people studying  languages, philosophy and history. There are scrabble and board games groups. This is not ‘sit around while some kindly y...

Keith Crabtree, born in Cornholme, lived in Todmorden all his life, worked for Environmental Health at Calderdle council and became a flood warden on his retirement. Now a flood volunteer, Keith has views on the lack of maintenance that contributes to floods up and down Calder Valley through Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Walsden and places in between. He uses his local knowledge to identi...

Nicola Warren is a popular as a School Crossing Patrol getting children and parents safety across the road to their school. There is so much more to her life than that as people who cross roads every day of term times realise. Listen to Nicola about her role and her views on the strange goings on in the valley

Madeleine Brooks is a singer songwriter living in Todmorden. She runs an open mic at The Puzzle Hall, Sowerby Bridge and, ‘cut her teeth’ on the stage at Hebden Bridge Trades Club – a real voice of happy valley. After playing gigs, running nights at Nelson's Wine Bar, supporting some of the best musicians to visit the valley and being nominated at Leeds Music Awards, Madeleine lost her voice,...

Catherine Shelley, is kept busy by being vicar of St Mary’s Todmorden, St Peter’s, Walsden and St Michael’s, Cornholme. Catherine, originally from Manchester, gave up a career in law to follow her faith. She’s been chaplain at Birmingham University, worked in Southwark, south London and is now settled in Todmorden. She is heavily involved in many aspects of the valley community from foodbanks to i...

Episode 54 features Jill Robinson talking about her Berringden Brow books - and the life and adventures of Jess, a single mother in a Pennine town. It’s not quite autobiographical, but everything in the books has happened to someone, including Jill. Discover the importance of observing people, the things they say and how that turns into believable stories on the page

Episode 53 of Real Voices of Happy Valley is a chat with Natalie George of Big Tree which now runs the Oddfellows Hall, next to Todmorden Market. The building has a long history as an entertainment hub and now features a ground floor café Branch Out and several spaces available for functions, workshops, club nights and a gig venue. Community minded Natalie is looking for people to come along with...

Claire Convallaria interested Viv with her work on projects encouraging and enabling girls into science education and careers. Like so many we speak to on Real Voices, she does far more than that. Claire also advises on business sustainability – how businesses can be socially and environmentally as well as economically sustainable. This requires her to be up to date with current and potential gove...