The Shrewsbury Biscuit Podcast

I thought it would be a great idea to set up the equipment upstairs in Shrewsbury Market Hall, for our interview with resident artist Karen Duffy. Julie worked her magic to get us this interview at short notice. Karen was understandably nervous, but she knocked it out of the park. What a great interview it was! Thank you to everyone at the Market Hall for your support and I hope to be back soon to...

This week we are joined by new member of the team, fellow Biscuiteer Julie and our special guest Tim King. We discuss the very exciting Beatles Weekend that is due to hit Shrewsbury on the 20th - 22nd of September to raise money/awareness for The Samaritans. There are lots of great events taking place, opportunities to watch the Beatles movies, talks about The Beatles in the comics, a Beatles open...

This is our feature episode from the Shrewsbury Flower Show. Listen to our thoughts of the first time we attending the show, as well as all of the interviews we got during our time there. Featuring "The Heroes of The Dingle", Jonathon Gregory (Vinnie), Dot & Hilary from the Women's Institute (W.I), AL & Shane's mid day reactions, The Ffestiniog Railway and Scouting For Girls. We are sorry to every...

Simon Bell is a local author and a Biscuit favourite (episode 1) and he asked me if I wanted to speak to Rainer Hoess, the Grandson of Auschwitz commandant Rudolph Hoess. Of course I snapped at the chance and boy am I grateful for this opportunity. Rainer has an amazing story of the bravery that is needed to want to make a difference to the world. A bravery that separated him from his family and t...

In this short 15 minute interview I speak to Jo, an organiser of The Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as we stroll across the fields of West Mids Showground. We talk about what the festival looks like, how many people are expected to attend and the atmosphere it brings, creating what seems like the worlds friendliest mosh-pits. Thank you Jo for making this an interview as I was pretty exhausted after a n...

I finally got to sit with a bit of a Shrewsbury legend. Sarah Hopper who runs the Ferndell B&B and oh my days what a great interview it was! Sarah has a really infectious enthusiasm and great outlook on life that absolutely comes out in this episode. With a whole lot of energy and a huge appreciation for what she does, you cannot help but be inspired by her. Make sure you listen out for me being d...

Extinction Rebellion are in the news daily. Whether it's due to a protest they have put together that has caused mayhem in the middle of London or whether they are being interviewed on the news about their views on climate change. Whatever the angle, they are everywhere. Just recently XR Shrewsbury protested in a bank in our town by doing a "die in" where they all lay on the ground. This caused me...

This is an episode featuring an interview with Shrewsbury Flower Show organisers Amanda and Helen. We talk about what people have got to look forward to with this year's show, a little bit about The Flower Show and its origin. [This audio is quiet turn volume up] The second half of this episode is an interview with CAMRA representative Norrie who has helped plan this year's CAMRA Beer Festival at...

AL and Shane speak to Tom and Dan from Nerdy cafe. Whether you are board game wizard or a newbie you can enjoy Nerdy cafe. Or even if you want to try "the best coffee in Shrewsbury" as stated by Tom himself. Shrewsbury already has such a rich coffee shop culture but Nerdy is "so much more than that" Find out exactly what exciting, new activities, features and experiences the beautifully renovated...

AL and Shane bring on the "Anti Dieting Rebel" Louise Tanner-Stokes. Louise has a dietary coaching programme designed to help people move away from the yo-yo diets and fads. Helping new mum's ditch those pounds with great tips on how to make little tweaks to improve your lifestyle. We discuss those common reasons why diets fail, how long Louise has been doing this and we have a very important conv...

The world famous Chip Kidd is interviewed by the amazing Leonard Sultana (An Englishman in San Diego). This interview is so charming and it was such an honour to be there. When I looked around the room during the talk everyone was just in awe of Chip. Anyone that is aspiring to go out there and make something, should listen to this interview. We discover the history of Chip Kidd, how it all began....

AL and Shane have the honour of speaking to Shrewsbury Mayor Phil Gillam. Phil has a long history in the world of journalism, he is also the author to a number of books. Shrewsbury has a Mayor that has a devout love for the town and his passion shines through during this podcast. We discuss what plans our Mayor has for the town, in way of bringing what sounds like a fantastic Beatles weekend in Se...

AL and Shane are joined by Matt Fitch & Chris Baker, writers of one of the biggest graphic novels of the year, Apollo. A graphic novel that has been discussed by many over the last year, brings to you the real story of the humans that landed on the Moon during the Apollo mission. This book has received so much attention, that its hard not to ask the question. What is it about this book, that has k...

AL and Shane had the privilege to speak to The Beano editor John Anderson. In what was a huge shock to AL, (who used to adore The Beano) the classic comic-book is thriving today. We discuss what makes The Beano so appealing to today's youth, especially since so much has changed in the world since the series began.

This week's episode features AL's day spent with artists at pARTicipate in the Riverside Shopping Centre for The Shrewsbury Open Studios. Getting the chance to speak to Tat Effby who illustrates the comic strip for My Shrewsbury amongst other amazing things, Ivan Allen who makes fantastic objects out of cardboard and Emily Wilkinson from Raven Studios. I wanted to thank everyone from pARTicipate....

Today Alex & Shane speak to Dr Lucy Andrew. We discuss popular fiction and the importance of having the freedom to pick up whatever book that takes your fancy and just enjoy it, without feeling like anyone is judging you, because (almost) any reading is good reading right? We talk about our favourite books, what influences us and Alex's favourite books to read to his son at bedtime. Dr Andrew is r...

DEADPOOL AND MOONKNIGHT ARTIST DECLAN SHALVEY POPS IN TO TALK TO US. DECLAN HAD NEVER BEEN TO SHREWSBURY BEFORE SO WE FIND OUT WHAT HE THINKS OF THE TOWN. WE ALSO FIND OUT ABOUT HIS WORK AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING A CHARACTER YOUR OWN.  DECLAN TEACHES US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BATMAN AND MOONKNIGHT AND WE HAVE A REALLY FUN, FREE FLOWING CHAT ABOUT HIS COMICS SALOPIA FESTIVAL. 

STAND UP COMEDIAN AND TV STAR JAMALI MADDIX DROPS BY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO AT COMICS SALOPIA. WE SHARE AN INSPIRING CONVERSATION ABOUT JUST GETTING OUT THERE AND DOING IT. NO ONE GIVES YOU PERMISSION TO BE AWESOME, YOU HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND PROVE IT BY YOURSELF. REALLY ENJOYED HEARING ABOUT HOW JAMALI STARTED HIS CAREER AND HOW COMIC BOOKS INFLUENCE HIM. THANKS FOR SITTING...

This is a 2 part episode Part 1 - Belle Vue Open Garden event, part of The Belle Vue Arts Festival. I had a wonder around that the gardens that people had opened up to the public for the day as part of the Belle Vue Arts Festival. I met so many amazing people. I got offered coffee, welcomed into peoples houses to shelter from the rain and shared some really interesting conversations. I captured so...

AL AND JODIE SPEAK TO COMIC-BOOK ROYALTY KIERON GILLEN. WE TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE HIM, HOW HE COPES WITH THE CRAZINESS OF CON'S. KIERON TELLS US WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT COMICS SALOPIA TOO. THANK YOU KIERON FOR SITTING WITH US TO CHAT IT WAS GREAT TO MEET YOU!

AL AND JODIE SIT DOWN AND TALK TO JANEK DUBOWSKI WHO IS THE HEAD OF PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT ROEHAMPTON UNIVERSITY. JANEK IS LOOKING INTO THE EFFECTS THAT COMIC-BOOKS HAVE ON THE SUB-CONSCIOUS. IN THIS BITE-SIZE PODCAST WE TRY TO DISCOVER WHAT JANEK HAS ALREADY FOUND. THE BEGINNING OF THIS PODCAST INCLUDES A CHAT SHANE HAD WITH SHREWSBURY DUNGEON MASTER (OF THE D&D KIND) JOEL SMITH. HE TELLS US WH...

AL, Shane and special guest Olly Mcanamee sit down and reflect on the last day of Comics Salopia and the festival as a whole. The calibre of the amazing guests attending the festival, the aspiring artists that came for inspiration from their peers and some positive feedback about the festival and its huge potential. Thank you Olly for sitting with us, I'm glad I finally got you onto a podcast sir!

AL, Jodie and Shane welcome in honorary Team Biscuit member Adam (not George) to join them to recap their first day at Comics Salopia.  They are later joined by Sam, who was instrumental in the running of things at The Guildhall throughout the day. The group discuss events that were going on throughout the town, the amazing people that they interviewed and AL talks about his embarrassing stolen ha...

Monopoly Special: This episode took over a week to put together even though it is really short! I speak to Graham who is running the PR on Shrewsbury's very own version of Monopoly. I get to find out all about where is being considered, how much the dynamics will stay the same/differ from the regular classic board game as well as news on recent developments. Thank you Graham for being super patien...

Author Lisa Blower joins AL and Jodie on this week's episode. Author of It's Gone Dark Over Bill's Mother's (and owner of one of the most impressive C.V's I've ever seen) came in to talk to us about her story, about her work and what her influences are. This is a fun episode and I'm pretty sure you will agree that Lisa is a pretty cool cat, with a lot of very helpful knowledge, especially if you a...