Suffolk Money

We’re off to the coast for the latest podcast from Suffolk Money, supported by Kingsfleet, as Colin Low pays a visit to the fascinating Radar Museum at Bawdsey. Graham Murchie, the current Chair of Bawdsey Radar, explains how radar was actually developed here on the Suffolk Coast and, how instrumental Bawdsey Manor was to winning the First and Second World Wars. Housed in the original Grade II lis...

1,400 years ago, a great King of East Anglia was laid to rest in a 90ft ship, surrounded by his extraordinary treasures. The discovery at Sutton Hoo in 1939 remains one of the greatest archaeological finds in British history and, 77 years later, a team of boat builders and volunteers began taking on the ambitious project to build a replica of the Anglo Saxon burial ship. In this week’s episode of...

Don’t underestimate how doing good is good for business…. This is the key message from serial entrepreneur, business coach and mentor, Scott Russell, as he talks with Colin Low in this week’s episode of Suffolk Money. Scott speaks candidly about his fascinating experiences in business; from his first entrepreneurial steps – selling roasted chestnuts at his local market at the tender age of twelve...

Did you know that there’s only one standard gauge heritage railway in Suffolk? On this week’s episode we’re “All Aboard!” as we meet the team at the wonderfully nostalgic Mid Suffolk Light Railway, or ‘The Middy’ as it’s affectionately known. Kevin Burch took at trip up the A140, to meet some of the army of volunteers who run the railway. The Middy attracts in the region of six thousand visitors e...

Our latest Suffolk Money podcast is a really uplifting story about a local charity, which helps young people who could otherwise slip through the net when it comes to education, training and employment. The charity is called Fresh Start and Colin Low went to their new second-hand furniture shop and café in Carr Street (Ipswich) to find out all about the secret of its success and meet the ever-smil...

Traditional garden sheds can often be quite solitary in nature, but Men’s Sheds is quite the opposite. A UK wide network, this is all about social connections and friendship, whilst sharing skills and knowledge. There are several Men’s Sheds in Suffolk (including Stowmarket, Debenham and Bury St Edmunds) and for this week’s podcast, Kevin Burch took a trip to visit Stour Valley Men’s Shed in Long...

This week is a special landmark for Suffolk Money Podcast, as we release our 100th episode! We’ve met and spoken to some truly amazing guests since our launch back in 2021, and this week is no exception; as Lesley Dolphin took a trip to meet customers and volunteers at the Community Shop at Sproughton. Opened in 2010, Sproughton Community Shop has become a vital resource for the village and the su...

2024 marks the 140 years since the launch of the Chamber of Commerce in Suffolk. This landmark anniversary is being celebrated with a special project called C140 and, in this week’s podcast, Colin Low talks to Molly Williams (Project Officer for C140) and Paul Simon (Head of Public Affairs) about the history of the Chamber, its work today and the importance of C140. With an outstanding heritage of...

Many of us love board games - from Monopoly, to Scrabble to Trivial Pursuit. But for our guest this week on the Suffolk Money Podcast, they’re something of an obsession. John Mariani is a games developer and highly successful entrepreneur from Ipswich, who spends his days thinking up new ideas and researching thousands upon thousands of fiendishly difficult quiz questions. Kevin Burch went to meet...

Welcome to the first episode of season five of our Podcast, Suffolk Money. Today, we’re visiting a hugely-popular venue in Ipswich, called Geek Retreat. Having opened just over two years ago, this is not only a shop and café, but a true community hub, where people go to find their niche and find their people. In this episode, Lesley Dolphin meets Sharon Lockhart, one of the owners, who explains ho...

For the first podcast of 2024 from Suffolk Money, we’re looking back at some of the most memorable moments from the last twelve months. Amongst the voices you’ll hear are a young taxidermist, a retirement rebel, a campaigner against plastic pollution, a young entrepreneur with global ambitions and fund-raisers planning a lasting memorial for the Suffolk-based comedian Roy Hudd. Extra points if you...

For our final podcast of 2023 Colin Low took a trip to Middleton, to visit the family-run company, Tosier Chocolate, which makes a delicious range of niche products. Having started in their business in 2016, Deanna and Jonathan Tilston have progressed from a basement to a converted dairy on the Suffolk coast, where they now run their small batch craft chocolate factory, chocolate shop, café and ta...

The focus for this week’s podcast is the charity Emmaus Suffolk, who help people who’re vulnerable, isolated in society and at risk of being homeless. Colin went to meet the charity’s chief executive, Claire Staddon, at their community hub in Ipswich, to find out more about the support they offer. As Claire explains, it is Emmaus’ ambition to introduce Suffolk to new ways of tackling entrenched ho...

Just like the bookshop Lesley Dolphin had the pleasure of visiting, in this week’s podcast we’re offering you something a little different! As Ipswich’s only independent bookshop, Dial Lane Books is so much more than your average bookshop. It opened its doors in February 2020, fulfilling the lifelong dream of its owner, Andrew Marsh, who fostered a love of books from a very early age. Of course, t...

The First World War is one of the great turning points in our history, with Remembrance Sunday being a national opportunity to remember the sacrifice and service of all those that defended (and of course continue to defend) our freedoms. For this week’s podcast, ahead of Armistice Day, Lesley Dolphin meets Taff Gillingham, who has taken remembrance one stage further with the creation of the First...

What are the options for people with special needs, once they’ve left school? Having worked in a range of educational settings, Georgina Hanson saw first-hand a lack of provision for young people with disabilities in Suffolk. So, she used her experience to set up Fairview Farm, providing activities and programmes for people who find themselves marginalised. In this week’s podcast, we discover more...

The one thing we love is a success story involving a talented entrepreneur. And in the spotlight this time is Jenna Ackerley, who started her business, Events Under Canvas, ten years ago. It’s proved a huge hit, having recently picked up an award for its impressive growth, so for this week’s episode, Colin Low went to meet Jenna and find out more about her fantastic Suffolk Business. Events Under...

This weeks’ podcast comes to you from the edge of the River Stour, where Colin Low is talking to Sally Chicken, Vice Chair of the Shotley Heritage Charitable Community Benefit Society Ltd. Sally tells Colin all about Shotley’s unique 122-year-old railway pier and its fascinating history; which includes carrying mail, coal, munitions and many a sailor serving or training on the world-renowned HMS G...

All the research suggests that, when it comes to pensions, for most people, it can all be incredibly confusing. And with next week being Pension Awareness Week (11th - 15th September 2023), we thought it timely to try to answer a few key questions. So in this week’s Podcast, Colin Low is joined by two of his colleagues from Kingsfleet – Lou Gladwell and Jack Warnock – to delve into the detail. The...

Everyone had a soft spot for the entertainer Roy Hudd, who lived here in Suffolk and who sadly died three years ago. To help make sure that his memory lives on, a statue of Roy is being lovingly crafted. Rather than being put on a plinth, as a man of the people, Roy’s sculpture will be sat on a bench outside the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, so that people can sit with him and enjoy the memori...

The picturesque sailing village of Pin Mill is famous for being the setting of one of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazon’s books. Thanks to Peter Willis, it is also now home to Nancy Blackett, Arthur’s cherished sailboat, which featured as ‘The Goblin’ in his book ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea’. On this week’s podcast, Lesley Dolphin takes a stroll along Arthur Ransome’s Walking Trail with Peter,...

The UK’s Food Museum is located in the very heart of Suffolk and for this week’s podcast, we’ve gone behind the scenes with its director, Jenny Cousins. Formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, the Museum changed its name in 2022 to reflect the way the museum had been evolving in recent years. Jenny explains to Colin how the museum had become motivated by a mission to connect people with where ou...

Plastic Free July is a global movement, urging us all to do our bit for cleaner streets, oceans and communities. So, who better to talk to about the scourge of plastic in our environment, than Jason Alexander, founder of award-winning social enterprise, Rubbish Walks. In this episode, Lesley Dolphin heads over to the banks of the River Orwell to chat to Jason about the impact rubbish is having on...

This week on the Suffolk Money podcast, we’re talking about funerals. Our guest, Anne Beckett-Allen, is someone who knows the industry inside out, having started out in the family-run business when she was just 16. She is now one of the top funeral directors in the country and talks to Colin Low about her role in the family-run business, Rosedale Funeral Home. From very humble beginnings in 2004,...

Motivated by positive ageing and the benefits of slowing down to enjoy the journey, Siobhan Daniels is leading her own retirement rebellion. In this week’s episode of Suffolk Money, Colin chats to Siobhan, a retired television and radio journalist who, in 2019 sold most of her possessions and put her old life into storage. She then hit the road in her new motorhome to begin travelling the country,...