Sport and Life

Adam Harper has had a rollercoaster 18 months. In September 2018 he won an English title in his 10th professional fight and felt on the cusp of huge nights to come. But then a brain scan led to all plans being ripped up and Adam announced his retirement. Then his mother’s illness led to a review of all his career brain scans and opened up the chance of a comeback. It was set for April. But then th...

Trip down memory lane with fellow Manchester United fan and journalist who covers the club to this day - Tom McDermott. Looking at the 90s glory days and our favourite players of boyhood and beyond. Apologies for drop out midway thru - recording through phones due to Coronavirus.

Chat with Dr Ranulf Crook on the Coronavirus Crisis in the UK ( and wider world). He’s a GP and also runs the Cotswold Optimal Health clinic in Cheltenham.

My father, Dr Mark Draper has been a medical doctor 40 years and currently works as a GP in the Cotswolds. He’s also qualified in nutrition and has helped design supplements. Here we talk about what the medical service in the UK is experiencing during the Coronavirus outbreak, symptoms, boosting immunity, considerations for who does childcare and how we might know when ‘normal’ life can resume.

Chat with Paul and John about the financial picture facing lower league football clubs like Cheltenham Town FC in the current postponement of fixtures due to Coronavirus. John played for Cheltenham, Lincoln and Nottingham Forest too so offers a player’s perspective.

Sarah Townsend has been a freelance copywriter and editor for 20 years. She used that experience to write a book in the 2020 to guide people into the fundamentals of entering the freelance world and the psychological differences to being an employee. Interesting conversation on the process of dealing with uncertainty, which is pertinent to freelancers and, indeed, everyone affected by corona virus...

Jon Palmer has covered Cheltenham Town Football Club for 20 years, including a spell working for the club. He’s also a journalism lecturer at The University of Gloucestershire. Cool conversation about lower league football and the evolution of journalism in the internet age.

Cheltenham-based singer song writer Vince Freeman has been a professional musician for 20 years. He’s had top 10 hits across Europe and starred on TV show The Voice. He’s also a tennis coach! Cool chat on the music industry, how tennis informed his career and how fatherhood changed his outlook to business.

Will Boyle is now Cheltenham’s longest serving outfield player - he’s been there just three years. Good catch up with Will who’s playing as an attacking centre half in Cheltenham’s brave and positive system. Also talk about the tricky aspect of planning a personal life in such an uncertain profession.

Joe Ballinger is a Cheltenham-based body builder, former powerlifting world champion and rugby player. He’s also available to train other bodybuilders through his Instagram @joeballingerfitness

Cheltenham nurse Jen is co-founder of the Kambia District Foundation, a charity aimed at improving the health and education of children in the Kambia region of Sierra Leone. As part of this, they support a football team - Cheltenham Town FC. Thought provoking conversation about the toughness of life in the African country and the related mental resilience and ‘happiness’ of the residents.

Gloucester’s Johnny Melfah is a former British title contender who fought some legendary names in boxing including Herol Graham, Chris Eubank and Steve Collins. Despite his prestigious CV, Johnny had to work fulltime for much of his fighting career as a brick layer. Really candid look at the tough financial reality of the sport. Johnny’s a father of seven - four boys, three girls - and talks about...

Former Cheltenham Town and Bradford footballer turned property developer Shane Duff. Shane recently celebrated two years full time in property and has a multi millionaire project coming to the market in Cheltenham currently. He’s also the father of two children under the age of 3. Good chat on using the resilient psychology Shane developed in becoming a footballer to facing fears and calculating r...

Mark Weir, ‘The Wizard’, from Gloucester, won world titles in Tae Kwon Do before moving on to mixed martial arts and playing an instrumental role in bringing the UFC to the UK 🇬🇧. Mark also fought in the WEC, PRIDE, Cage Rage and more. He’s a qualified engineer, but since retiring in 2014 ( aged 45) he’s focussed on coaching combat sports in Gloucester. Mark also talks about growing up in a Jamaic...

Nick set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust In memory of his daughter who was murdered at the age of 20. The Trust is aimed at helping young people in numerous ways from reducing domestic abuse, teenage dating violence and knife crime. Nick is a former Cheltenham Town footballer and the club has adopted The Hollie Gazzard Trust as its official charity this season. On February 15 the club is hosting a spe...

Sat down with Fitness expert James Golden and Anthony Astbury from The Wholeman Academy to talk about men’s health. Talking on a raft of topics including exercise, the importance of socialising, sleep, fatherhood, daylight work stress, anxiety, stepping away from digital devices and much more. We’re hosting an event this Saturday January 11, 9AM at Daylesford Organic Farm ( in the Cotswolds) to di...

Tim Treloar is a survival expert who teachers Outdoor Adventure at Hartpury College. He also teaches survival privately - @ttadventuresltd.com - and runs ultramarathons in extreme conditions in his spare time. Tim has also worked on TV shows with Bear Grylls.

Cheltenham resident Mark Hopkins played as offensive lineman for the Swindon Steelers, The Manchester Spartans, the GB Lions and several other teams as a pioneer of American football in the UK. He went onto coach with some distinction for the Bristol Aztecs among other roles. In 2007 Mark was inducted into the British Gridiron American Football Hall of fame. Also, a husband, father, grandfather an...

Run through responses to the following scenario ( get involved @eddraper81 on Twitter): Picture a player 'skinning' an opponent down the line. Who'd you see? Ryan Giggs circa 1994, for me.

Jack Deaman is a former Wrexham, Birmingham City, Cheltenham Town, Salford City, Hereford United and Gloucester City player. Jack retired at 25 to pursue a business career with Gloucester company Nutrition X that supplies supplements to lots of sports clubs, including Premier League teams.

Run through people’s selections to the hypothetical sequence below - conversation housed on my Twitter @eddraper81 ‘Striker pulls into the channel between centre half and full back, takes a touch and scoops the ⚽️ over the outrushing goalkeeper. Who’d you see? For me, Robbie Fowler.

Charlie co-writes and co-stars in This Country - a cult BBC mokumentary set in the Cotswolds in rural England. He plays Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe. He also loves football - big Fulham fan and played youth football for Cirencester Town!

Run through people’s suggestions on twitter (@eddraper81) for the following hypothetical: Footballers In the Mind's Eye 👁️ Player runs along the six yard line to meet a near post cross and scores past the goalkeeper with a glancing header. Who'd you see? For me, David Platt. Loads of alternative suggestions run through from my twitter friends here - let me know if you enjoy it!

Chatting to my mate and fellow Sky Sports Presenter Pete Graves about football fandom. Pete’s a Newcastle United fan and has a passionate social media following of people devoted to the club. Is being a fan good for us though?

Spin off of popular hypotheticals posted on Twitter - running through football fans’s suggestions for the below scenario: Footballers in the mind’s eye 👁: Player powers onto loose ball. With first touch, bursts past an opponent and then unleashes a piledriver into the bottom corner from 25 yards. Who’d you see? Steven Gerrard, for me.