The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast

This podcast was put together on the strength of an Instagram account that host Alex Whiteley found. This week we welcome Janire, a mountain leader from a company called 'Ray of Sun Adventures' Say, you want to for a 3 day trek over the national 3 peaks, or a trip to Mont Blanc or a day out in the Shropshire Hills with a qualified mountain leader - Janire is the person you need. This episode focus...

Coming to you from Soulton Hall in Wem, Alex brings you the exhibition he promised — The Pomegranate’s Legacy by Lucy Caddel, showcased in the stunning Tudor hall. Before diving into the interviews gathered at the event, Alex attempts to deliver a… ahem … professional historical breakdown of what makes Soulton Hall so special — not just to Shropshire, but to culture as a whole. Then we get onto th...

Alex can talk about the inside of a ping-pong ball for about three hours nonstop. So when it comes to having a healthy discussion about something as misunderstood as body aesthetics—well, it’s on! Today we welcome advanced aesthetics practitioner Lorraine Giove to The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast to help guide us through this topic. Lorraine runs Global Aesthetics in Shrewsbury and takes a more holi...

Not only is Lucy Caddel a vibrant and colourful artist, but she also radiates those same qualities through her personality. From the moment we met, we clicked instantly. Although Lucy has appeared on The Shrewsbury Biscuit many times, we’ve never actually sat down for a proper, full-length chat—until now. So here it is: the long-overdue Lucy Caddel feature episode. Expect some fascinating insights...

After spending the morning creating content about the fun things happening at Telford Exotic Zoo, Alex sits down with zoo owner Scott Adams to find out how one becomes the owner of a zoo… in Telford. Scott explains how he spent the first half of his life as a rockstar, playing in his band Envy of the State . After he downed his guitars, Scott traded screaming audiences for crocodiles and snakes. T...

On today's episode, we bring you John Edwards – The Sign Cleaning Guy. You may have seen this gent in a buff muscle shirt, either cleaning road signs, ridding areas of Shrewsbury and Shropshire of nasty graffiti tags, or just being an outright legend. On the show today, we want to find out what made John pick up a brush and start cleaning signs, because in all seriousness, John has built quite the...

Welcome to The Shrewsbury Biscuit's 2025 coverage of the Shropshire Wellbeing Festival at Shrewsbury Town Football Club. At last year's event, Alex wanted to understand “What is wellbeing?” But this year, after a year in therapy, Alex wanted to discover some important tips to help us navigate a day of positive wellbeing — including the things we should do and the things we shouldn’t do. Alex also...

We have a really tasty treat for you this week on The Biscuit. Alex Whiteley is speaking to The Shropshire Scratching Company, a business that he has created a bit of a bromance with over the last few weeks. We first met at Shrewsbury Food Festival when the guys were 6 weeks into their venture and they were scrambling for stock due to such high demand. Now The Shropshire Scratching Company product...

When things don't add up for you, sometimes you have to subtract the negativities surrounding you, divide to conquer, say yes to the universe and hope your luck multiplies....I have a mathematician on the show this week. I am speaking to former Education Mathematic Consultant, Sian Thomas. Going from being part of teams that would help to transform schools to using energy to heal is quite the swit...

How great is it to sit down with old friends and catch-up? Well that is exactly what this episode is, your host Alex Whiteley catching up with a good ol' friend Chris Schurke. I call this guy the Batman of Shrewsbury as you used to find this scamp scurrying across Shrewsbury's rooftops. Always for a good cause though, the document this town in a most fabulous way. Chris is a storyteller like me, e...

Today’s powerful episode comes from The Shrewsbury Coffee House, where Alex and Vick’s sit down with filmmaker Tristan M. Copeland to talk about his documentary What About Gary? The film tells the real story of Tristan’s cousin, Gary Matthews—a talented artist who tragically died of Covid after falling deep into anti-Covid conspiracy circles. Gary was a huge influence on Tristan growing up. As the...

Today's episode is coming to you from Smithy's Bar as we take a look at Shrewsbury Town's Open Day. Join Alex as he attempts to cover the day in as much entirety as he can. Speaking to the talented stable of entertainers from Moose Records including Macy'O herself. We can't come to an Open Day and not speak to some players too right? We speak to Taylor Perry, Mal Benning, Aristote Nsiala, George L...

Welcome to the coverage of one of the best events in the Shropshire calendar, Shrewsbury Food Festival. Tune in as Alex takes his mic for a walk around the festival for the 2 days. Focussing mainly on chefs, food and businesses Alex manages to collect stunning interviews with the likes of Stuart Collins: Docket Restaurant, Christiaan De Vries: Great British Bake Off, Adam Purnell: Embers and The C...

Coming to you from The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse, Alex is joined by Sian from DwtyLife.com , who is bringing Happier Festival to The Flaxmill in Shrewsbury on 26th July 2025. But before we dive into the festival, we get to know more about Sian herself. In an open and honest conversation around mental health, Sian shares her personal journey — both physical and emotional — and how it led her to where...

In anticipation of the hugely popular Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival, we bring you a comedy star of serious calibre — Cally Beaton! In this episode, Alex speaks with Cally about her fascinating journey from the world of corporate TV, where she worked with major names like MTV and Comedy Central, to the bold mid-life leap she made into stand-up comedy. Now an accomplished comedian, Cally...

While scrolling through social media, Alex stumbled upon some captivating content—side-by-side comparisons showing how Shrewsbury’s historic buildings once looked. Intrigued, he reached out to the creator behind the posts: Freya Rickman of Cooper Green Pooks, one of Shrewsbury’s oldest businesses. Freya’s passion for Shrewsbury—especially its rich history—is infectious, and the content she’s been...

Join Alex and Vicks as they chat with Jon and Darren from Shropshire Youth Support Trust (SYST), live from Telford. In this inspiring episode, discover how SYST supports young people across Shropshire—not just through services, but through the passion and lived experiences of the people behind the charity. Darren Duffy went from fruit picking in Europe with little direction to becoming a successfu...

Join Alex and Vicks on this episode of The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast as they explore the University of the Third Age (U3A) with guest Michael Reece, chairman of Shrewsbury U3A. As part of her "homework," Vicks introduces a topic Alex knows nothing about—uncovering the vital role U3A plays in tackling loneliness by offering clubs, education, and social activities for those no longer working. Links...

Join Alex as he goes for walk around the fantastic Shropshire County Show for it's 150th event at the DMOS West Mid Show Ground. This show is all about showing off what Shropshire has to offer in terms of agricultural richness and tradition. Alex takes time to speak to a representative of young farmers and to the NFU about what is important about farming across the county and what shows like this...

Here is our coverage of Loopfest 2025, starting with a very fun Saturday! Join Alex as he ventures across a very busy town filled with music and excitement. With a mic in-hand Alex's mission is to cram in as many interviews with artists performing at the many venues that make-up this huge event. To all of the artists, organisers and everyone that made this year's festival go down so well, THANK YO...

Join us for our coverage of Loopfest 2025. Here is Sunday. After overdoing it during Saturday at Loopfest, Alex is taking it easy on Sunday. Starting off with one of the fringe venues, Alex starts off at Nerdy by speaking to Kate Rose. Take a walk wit Alex as he speaks to many more artists during a fun-filled day of music. To all of the performers, organiser and everyone who made Loopfest the whol...

🚤 Sabrina at 50 – Celebrating a Shrewsbury Icon 🚤 Join Alex as he sets sail on one of Shrewsbury’s most beloved vessels— The Sabrina Boat —to celebrate her 50th birthday! Since arriving in town in 2010, Sabrina has become a cornerstone of the local tourism scene, bringing thousands of visitors to the River Severn. But her story starts long before Shrewsbury, and in this special episode, Alex div...

🎭 Theatre Severn Spotlight – 'Do I Love You' by John Godber 🎭 This episode is something a little bit special. As part of a Theatre Severn spotlight, Alex brings in some expert reinforcements in the form of friend of the show and self-professed theatre geek Polly Harrison. Together, they sit down with the cast of John Godber’s brilliant and heart-warming production Do I Love You —a vibrant show d...

Join Alex as he broadcasts from Old Coleham Court — the brand-new luxury apartment block turning heads in Coleham, Shrewsbury. With plenty of buzz (and a few rumours) swirling around the development, Alex sits down with Suzanne from SY Homes to set the record straight, ease a few concerns, and find out what makes this place genuinely exciting. Old Coleham Court has been three years in the making,...

In this bonus episode, we dive into the changes happening around Shrewsbury. From live music and games to a Ferris wheel in the town square, Shrewsbury Moves is being celebrated in style. Alex chats with Seb Slater from Shrewsbury BID about the challenges and goals behind the town’s infrastructure updates, and why they matter. Then, in a first-of-its-kind moment, Alex gets “hooped” by Beth Heath f...