The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast

Coming to you from on top of Shrewsbury Abbey AL speaks to Isla and Tom. We discuss the retched year that the town has had and how, despite the challenges that have been faced, there is a continued drive to keep Shrewsbury Abbey at the heart of the community. Mixing modern day ideas with age old traditions Isla and Tom are constantly working hard to keep up with the ever changing times. In part 2,...

The world is changing and there are some people that are working hard behind the scenes to keep others safe. One of those people is Tori Director of Saracen Solutions LTD. When it comes to Health & Safety, it's Tori you need to speak to. The best part about this interview is there is a very human element to the rules that we all have to follow in the work place and that is Tori. A fun, interesting...

Our final Open Studio Session for the month is short but....sweet. AL and Dee speak to Crystal from Crystal's Cupcakes in The Parade Shopping centre. We discuss her amazing journey that has led from selling amazing cakes from a van roadside, to a shop in Telford to now being based in Shrewsbury. What makes Crystal's Cupcakes so unique? Is there a secret ingredient? And, what is it about these cake...

Shane and Deedee speak to Tom Perring and Gary Dodd from Shrewsbury Town Fisheries. In a very honest chat, the guys discuss how the Shrewsbury water ways have changed over the years, their responsibilities and challenges that they have faced. Things change though and with the use of social media and technology to help communicate and observe the area, Shrewsbury's waters have never been safer and...

AL and and (at some point) Shane, speak to Ryan and Stuart from Connect Security LTD. A brand new company that aims to bring security into the 21st century. With owner Ryan and his trusted right hand man Stu by his side, they really do seem to be taking strides to improving the image and efficiency of security operatives. AL and Stu go back over nearly a decade as they worked together in security...

AL and Dee managed to get Shrewsbury music superstar Andy O'Brien out of his famous shed to come and chat with them. Andy discusses his love for music and where his passion comes from, his first experiences of wanting to sing live music in school and his Dad's chip shop. Andy is a Salopian through and through and it shows as he shows his appreciation for his home town. "It's a rare occasion when w...

Dave and Benno from The 90's Revival join AL for a catch up and they came bearing gifts. A hat, stickers and some glow sticks, for a pod-rave! But you know what, even without those kind gifts, Dave and Benno always tend to brighten up the mood. Their brilliant natural chemistry flows through this podcast as we discuss how things have evolved for The 90's Revival. A simple idea helped create a UK a...

Cat Merrick joins AL and Jules on the Biscuit. A regular on the show Cat always offers the greatest conversations. We start by talking about how the Pandemic has offered a huge challenge to her and her businesses. However Cat remains positive, in fact I think we can all learn a lesson from her. Even in the most stressful of times, like I don't know, fresh water swimming in freezing cold water, Cat...

AL speaks to one of the most electric minds in Shropshire, Beth Heath. Despite 2020 being more than turbulent for Beth and the guys at Shropshire Festivals, there is always the next brilliant new idea. Shropshire Think Tank offers a pool of knowledge and inspiration, we discuss this.  Beth has revived her old Hamper Company which has blown up across Shropshire. It's an amazing idea that brings nec...

Al and Julie speak to Amy from Madam Llama's Flower Bar in the Parade Shops. Not only does Amy have a fantastic business she is a friendly person who has an infectious joy about her. Talking to us about the Pandemic, Amy tells us that we should replace hugs with flowers which is such a great sentiment.  Whether its eucalyptus to hang in the shower, pom-pom wreaths or Christmas Tree dresses, Amy is...

Amanda Jones is one of the most passionate guests to ever come on The Biscuit. AL speaks to her and Robert Douglas from Shropshire Supports Refugees. We discuss the traumatic journey that a refugee goes through from Warzone, to salvation away from the violence here in the UK. We discuss the hateful language used to describe the movement of refugees by some people and even publications. The social...

AL and Julie speak to Thomas Corbett from the Shrewsbury Wargames Society. Specialising in turn based strategy games that use miniature figures, intelligent data and scenarios that can range from real life historical conflicts to incredibly detailed fiction arenas of war, SWS offer so much. A welcoming community, a willingness to invite new players and even opportunities to get out in the public a...

A new taxi service has rolled into town and AL speaks to Lee Wilson, Company Manager of Now Cars. During the current ahem climate, it is important to know how to efficiently get from A to B. That is why we thought it was a great idea to speak to Lee and find out about this shiny new taxi company. Lee is a long serving taxi driver for Shrewsbury. He knows the town, knows the people and he knows how...

AL speaks with Jessica Liebich, founder of the company that is making a lot of positive noise, both locally and nationally. Pure Reyn make sanitising products that are far superior to most, not only are they great at cleaning but they are alcohol free and not terrible for the environment, like the others. We discuss how Jessica came about her products, the time that went into building the company,...

AL speaks to the brilliant Tat Effby. You may know Tat's work if you read My Shrewsbury magazine as her cartoon strip Round The Bend is a very popular feature. We discuss Tat's life as a copywriter, what she dubs as Shropshire's answer to Peggy Olson (from MadMen). We talk about Tat's work for Private Eye, her love of puns and exactly what does a bad day look like for her? Tat has a new cartoon fe...

You may have seen him all over social media, you may be aware of the hashtag #TalkToTom but lets find out all about the guy who is very quickly winning the hearts of Shrewsbury. Tom posts a sign with the hashtag and his location on social media. This is an invitation for people to just come, sit with him and talk, simply talk. It's a beautiful thing and AL speaks with Tom to find out why he decide...

Alex speaks to Kevin and Catherine from Age UK Shropshire. A charity that has had the dampers put on their 70th birthday celebrations but we discuss how you guys can help make it special. We talk about all of the amazing services that Age UK offer to their community, how the pandemic has effected them and how they've adapted to remain efficient in their work. Can you complete a challenge to help t...

He may not be from Shrewsbury, but he does offer a great service to the locals of the town, amongst many towns. Julie and AL speak to the Ice Cream king Mr Tee. Whenever Mr Tee rocks into town he causes absolute pandemonium and makes a lot of people happy. But where did this idea come from? Well Mr Tee tells us. From the embers of a popular establishment in Wrexham that lay victim to the credit cr...

AL is joined by Carl Jones from Shropshire Business Magazine, who is also a movie critic for BBC Radio Shropshire. We start off with some movie talk and how our emotions cans sometimes effect an honest/unbiased review of a movie. Business to Business, what is it and what are the benefits? What are Shrewsbury's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to business? Also how important is integrity when...

AL sits down with Katy Rink from the My Shrewsbury Magazine. In an interview that has been a long time coming, we discuss Katy's career in journalism, where the ideas for My Shrewsbury came from and what Katy has learned about the community while putting the magazine together. The amount of work that goes into putting Shrewsbury's favourite magazine together month by month is incredible, but there...

Joining AL and Deedee is one of Shropshire's most beloved poets Jean Atkin. We find out all about Jean's career and how she became the writer that she is known as today. We find out about the different types of poems and what kind of things influence Jean to write. We ask "what effect has the pandemic had on the creative folks out there?" Jean has written many books and she had a new one out which...

AL speaks with Anna Morton Marshall, a well respected beautician from Shrewsbury. Anna is opening The House of Beauty in Frankwell very soon and we discuss what will be available when it is open. I think it would be easier to tell you what they won't be doing at The House of Beauty because there is so much that they will be offering. Anna explains to AL the treatments on offer plus what makes her...

AL and Max chat with James Finney a brilliant podcaster who hosts "Father Finney's The Best A Man Can Get" A show designed to include those that may find themselves in what some would call a mid-life crisis. We discuss James' journey into podcasting and what it all means to him. AL runs James through "The Gauntlet" to test his skills. One of the most important aspects to building something like th...

In what is almost certainly one of the best interviews we've ever had on The Biscuit, AL & Max speak to Phill Gittins. Phill is work with The Marches School in Oswestry trying to build a new generation of peace builders, in a project that is absolutely needed in todays societal climate. But first we have to ask the important questions. What is Peace? How do we deal with conflict? How do we bring p...

AL joins the team that were in their final few hours of digging at Shrewsbury Castle. With only 4 hours to go, there was a real passion in the air to get as much done as possible so we keep this one short and sweet. AL speaks the always brilliant Nigel Baker to find out what progress was made since the last time we spoke to him. What clues they have found that paints a picture of what life at Shre...