This is a tape recording of an interview that I did with my maternal grandfather 30 years ago, asking him to tell us the story of our family. I was thirteen at the time - and I guess in a way I was doing a podcast even before podcasts were invented!

The family gathered round one evening just before Christmas 1976 and I taped the story that my grandfather told. This is the last and only recording we have of his voice as he died a year later so it is a recording that is treasured in our family.

As part of my occasional series on My Local London, I describe a visit to Beddington Park to look for the Lost Village of Beddington - in the otherwise unremarkable Greater London commuter town of Hackbridge

I stare out at sea from The Cobb in Lyme Regis, pondering on the illusion and reality of John Fowles's "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and later, meet a friendly Fossil Hunter who shows us his "catch" from the rocks of the Undercliff.

I share the views from the cliff tops of Dorset's Jurassic Coast on my summer holiday.

As part of the occasional series My Local London where I share with you a favourite or interesting spot in London, this week's mobile podcast episode takes you to the Horniman Gardens in South East London.

Are you a Horniman Gardens regular? Or if this podcast has inspired you to visit, it would be great to hear from you. To share your views about this podcast - or anything else - via voicemail or email, you can do so via my Contact Page at http://www.fusionview.co.uk/contact.

Most major exhibitions offer visitors an audio- or multimedia- guide that can enhance your experience of their artworks or artefacts. As you take the tour of the gallery or exhibition, audioguide in hand, it's like having your own private expert alongside who can point out the fascinating details of the exhibits.//

Who are the creative artists behind these audio experiences? In this episode, I hope to find out as I talk to Steve Slack, the writer behind the audioguide for the Italian Renaissance Drawings exhibition, now on at the British Musuem (until 25 July 2010).Steve also shares tips on the business of being a freelance writer & the emerging field of multimedia writing.

Can art make a practical difference to the world we live in? One man thinks so. His name is Neil Ellis and he is hoping that his performance piece for Anthony Gormley's 4th Plinth project is going to make a real practical difference to Londoners.//

I talk to Neil about his performance piece Pedal Power and how he hopes it will contribute to making London's roads safer for cyclists.//

You can find all the links mentioned in our conversation on my blog at www.fusionview.co.uk//

To share your views or comments on this podcast, please go to my contact page at www.fusionview.co.uk/contact where you can leave a voicemail or send me an email

In September 1987, a group of four of us cycled the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. We were four girls who didn't know much about bicycles or even how to change a flat tyre and who didn't really think of ourselves as endurance athletes. But we cycled over 500 miles in about 10 days across rugged wilderness and over the Galician mountain ranges to win - what? A certificate in Latin forgiving us of all our sins and a sense of personal satisfaction.//

In this episode of my mobile podcast, while laid out on the sofa with a bad cold, I look back at this personal journey and a moment of transition in my life.//

Photo: thanks to placid casual on flickr.com (CCL)

Continuing my exploration of the volcano ash travel crisis, I reflect on the silent skies above the UK this springtime. Podcasting guru Neville Hobson also adds his voicemail, reflecting on a silent London.

// There's also a round up of travelling friends who've been posting about being caught up in the air travel chaos on Facebook, including a voicemail report from Ingrid Beazley of Dulwich OnView who is stuck in the US after a museums/ heritage sector conference.

// Please go to my blog at www.fusionview.co.uk for links to the articles and websites that I mention, and also see my snaps of the circus in the park.

// I'd love to hear about your experiences of the air travel ban - have you been enjoying the quiet in the skies above your area? Or have been caught up in the chaos, trying to get to your destination? You can send me an email or voicemail via my Contact Page at www.fusionview.co.uk/contact

Twitter proved invaluable for my cousin who has been caught up in the volcano ash air traffic chaos while on holiday in Malaysia - in this podcast, I share her story and ask: How do you use Twitter to keep in touch, especially in a crisis?//

Also, I use www.Rebtel.com for cheap international calls on my mobile phone so I thought I'd give you a handy tip about this service. I don't get a commission from them but I just want to tell you about this useful service because I like it.//

There is a new Postbag section with readers' comments and feedback.//

And I've set up some voicemail lines with a US/ North America as well as a UK telephone line AND a Skype line for you to leave your voicemail to be included in future podcast episodes://

# Skype: fusionview

[free via Skype]

# UK tel: 0844-504-6977

[5p a min from a BT landline; other networks may vary]

# USA & Canada tel: 206-337-8492

[Seattle area code]

~~~

// Photo: thanks to Danny Choo from flickr.com (CCL)