Hello You the Shropshire podcast with Jim Hawkins

Sorry I didn’t get this to you sooner. I recorded it on Friday lunchtime, but I wasn’t feeling at all well yesterday (Saturday) - to put it mildly - so nothing got done.

Anyway, it’s here now! And you can hear what happened when I went to Shrewsbury’s Market Hall, to sit on a very handsome and comfortable bench in the hope of recording some conversations.

There’s a travelling soundscape - audio movie, if you like - and you can meet Bethany and Terry while getting a sense of what life is like in what is officially Britain’s favourite market, for the second year in a row.

My next bench excursion will be on Tuesday February 27th. At Sandra’s suggestion, I’ll be sitting on the bench at the junction of New Park Road and John Street, in the Castlefields area of Shrewsbury. I’ll bother from about 1:30pm, and I’d love it if you came along to say hello and record a chat. If you’re in that part of town, spread the word? I’d be grateful.

I’d be grateful, too, if you could share this with your friends, contacts, social media pages and so on? And if you don’t yet subscribe … click here! It’s free!

Maybe you know of someone you’d like to hear in conversation on Hello You. Perhaps you can think of a really great bench I could sit on to talk to people. Or you’ve got something to say about this, or past episodes? Possibly an answer to the question I pose in this episode, about how to be more visible without being too obvious?

More from the Hello You-niverse very soon.

Steve Wright began working in radio in the mid-to-late 1970s. I started in 1980, so for the whole time I’ve been in the industry, Steve Wright has been there too.

And for millions of people, Steve Wright was always there. Until he wasn’t.

I’ve been thinking out loud about Steve, and radio, and the BBC.

Also, a new Shrewsbury soundscape, one in which very little happens.

My mum always used to crave ‘peace and quiet’; the two words were inseparable for her. If you too crave peace and quiet, or just an escape from the ever-present noise around you, this soundscape is for you. Recorded in St Alkmund’s Church, Shrewsbury, this lunchtime. I was the only person there. You can just about hear the distant sounds of the life of the town carrying on, while you and I share an oasis of … not quite silence, as you’ll hear, but something close to it.

You might want to revisit this episode when you need a few minutes’ quietness. Put your earbuds in or your headphones on, and sink into the silence.

As I left the church, it occurred to me that the view from the door has hardly changed in centuries. I find that rather comforting.

On Friday lunchtime, I’ll be recording in Shrewsbury’s Market Hall, voted Britain’s favourite market two years in a row! There’s a bench in the middle of the lower floor. I’ll be sitting there from about 12:30pm. Come and join me, and we can have a chat? Plus I’ll wander around and do at least one Market Hall soundscape, too.

I’ll try to get that episode of Hello You out by Friday evening, but it might be Saturday morning by the time it reaches you. Subscribe (it’s free!) on Substack to make sure you don’t miss it.

And if you’re interested in radio, mental health, wellbeing, Shrewsbury, Shropshire or just interested in people, subscribe and share this? Because if you’re a nice person like that, you probably know other nice people, and sharing is a nice thing to do.

Where else could I sit on a bench to talk to whomsoever stops by? Suggestions welcome!

Thrilled by the long list of great suggestions for benches on which I could sit to record conversations with people, I picked one from the pile and set off to do my thing in the Belle Vue area of Shrewsbury.

Who did I talk to? Well, mostly myself and you, as you’ll hear.

The next ‘bench’ session will be in Shrewsbury’s Market Hall. I’ll be on what’s known as Mike’s Bench, by the book barrow in the middle of the lower floor, from about 12:30pm on Friday February 16th. Come and say hello?

There’s likely to be another Hello You before then, possibly the thoughts about news-avoidance which I’ve been … avoiding.

It’s been a while since I sat on a bench to talk to whomsoever might sit next to me.

I did it for radio for years, and I want to return to it for Hello You, but maybe I’m a bit rusty? When it works - as it did by accident in Hello You 16: What Just Happened? - it can be a thing of delight and wonder.

If you know of a bench somewhere in Shrewsbury where I could sit and there’d be a high chance of people stopping to talk to me, tell me where it is? I’ll make a list of potential benches, and maybe visit one every couple of weeks.

I’ll tell you where I’ll be, so maybe you can come along and say hello, too. I’d like that.

Anyway, I didn’t have the busiest afternoon on Time to Talk Day, but I hope you find it interesting or diverting. Two soundscapes in one episode, as well! For the people who like it best when I’m not talking …

This Hello You’s a little bit longer than usual, but I hope you think it’s worth it. Lots of links for you to explore and share, too …

Featured, mentioned or otherwise alluded to in this episode:

* Carla Boulton

* Music Bros, Shrewsbury

* Salopian Mixtape

* Music Bros episode of Salopian Mixtape

* Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

* Tommy Emmanuel

* Molly Tuttle

* ‘White Freight Liner Blues’, Tommy Emmanuel with Molly Tuttle (awesome!)

* Nigel

* Charlie

* Time To Talk Day

* Rethink

* Mind

Conversations can change lives, and start to make things better.

This Thursday is Time To Talk Day, a chance for us to start conversations about mental health. On Thursday afternoon, I’ll be sitting on a bench in The Square in Shrewsbury - listen to the episode to find out which one, and exactly when! - ready to have a conversation about mental health with you, or anyone who joins me. If you’re happy to be recorded for Hello You that would be great, but don’t worry if not, I won’t record unless you’re cool with it.

You can hear what happens on Thursday afternoon, in the next episode of Hello You.

The previous episode of Hello You - HY16: What Just Happened? - has way out-performed any of the others! Which is really nice, and I’m thrilled, but I’m trying to work out why. Can you help me? What do you like about, or want from, these pieces?

Also in this episode:

* stress tests are stressful, it turns out

* How To Break Up With Your Phone, by Catherine Price

* news avoidance (more on this soon)

* Time To Talk Day: having conversations about mental health

* Barbara Stanwyck

If you like Hello You, you probably know at least one other person who’ll like it, too. Be a good friend. Tell them about it? I’d be really grateful.

Hear what happened on Monday afternoon in Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park. I set out to do one thing, and ended up doing something completely different, something I’d been intending to do at some point, but … Oh, just listen and you’ll get the hang of it.

Includes a Shrewsbury soundscape, and surprising conversations.

Tell me what you think? Would you come and talk to me on a bench somewhere? Which benches in Shrewsbury, or elsewhere, would be good places to strike up conversations?

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed making and editing it! If you do, tell your friends?

I’m so glad to help you meet Pat Aldred, priest at Shrewsbury Abbey and lead chaplain at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. I hope you’ll be interested in what he has to say.

After recording this conversation in the Abbey itself, I went for a walk in the Quarry Park in Shrewsbury. And that stroll turned into another episode of Hello You.

Did I mention that I used to do this thing for the radio, where I’d sit on a public bench somewhere and record conversations with whoever stopped to sit on the bench next to me? Well, without intending to, I recorded a ‘bench’ piece on Monday afternoon. I’d sat down to record a soundscape, but happenstance, fate, providence, the universe, whatever you ascribe it to, had other ideas. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, even if it wasn’t originally what I had in mind!

I’d love to know what you think of what I recorded on Monday. I’ll post it as Hello You 16 on Friday morning. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it.

And if you’ve enjoyed this, then why not listen to previous episodes on Spotify, and tell your friends all about it?

Isn’t it great when nice things happen, unexpectedly?

Even if it leaves you with more work to do as a result …

And how’s your day been?

Recorded on location (because I had to get out of the house).

Mentioned in this episode:

What can we do for Time To Talk Day?

Pop Up Chat Together - mental health support in Shrewsbury

Shropshire Beaver Project: Shrewsbury Town Council, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, the Beaver Boardwalk

Merlin Bird ID

Julie Ward

Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit: ‘Half a Boy And Half a Man’

Buy me a Ko-Fi?