I have another soundscape for you!

Every evening around dusk, flocks of birds gather at Venus Pool, a nature reserve in the care of Shropshire Ornithological Society.

Phil Pickin, a Hello You listener and member of the society, suggested it would be a good time and place to record a soundscape, and invited me along. So on Tuesday evening, we settled down in one of the hides at Venus Pool, to watch and listen.

As Phil said to me, it’s a good place to let your brain slip out of gear for a while. I hope your brain can slip out of gear as you listen. Like all of the soundscapes, it’s best enjoyed using headphones or earbuds, as it’s recorded in lovely wide stereo.

I’m very grateful to Phil for being a great guide and companion on this little expedition, and for sharing the idea of recording there with me. If you know of somewhere that would make an interesting place to record - whether it’s peaceful or busy, everyday or unusual - let me know, and I’ll come along sometime.

If you’re interested in soundscapes, take a look at this article from the excellent folk at Dust To Digital. It talks about using field recordings to make sound art, and interfacing them with musical compositions. I’d love to get deeper into this kind of thing. Anyone want to collaborate?

My sister is an artist working in mixed media. She’s not done any sound art yet, but she did record this soundscape last week, which captures a sound I want to record but haven’t yet: rain falling. I’m sure I’ll have the chance to do that soon enough!

Thanks for being part of the Hello You family. Let me know what you think of this episode?

And please, share it with your friends?

Why not subscribe, to make sure you never miss anything Hello You-related?

Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you.

I’m often asking people, Where do you find your joy?

This episode is about one of my own answers to that question.

Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2024 took place last weekend. Every August Bank Holiday weekend, I and thousands of others find our joy on Shrewsbury’s County Showground, watching and listening to four days of wonderful music, dancing and performances of all kinds. Hanging out with lovely people, some of whom we’ve known for years, some of whom we just met in the food tent. Relaxing in an environment where the stresses and routines of day-to-day life seem a long way away. Encountering music and artists from around the world that are new to us, as well as some that are old friends in every sense.

I wish you could be there, every year. I wished you could have been there this year.

But I’ve done my best to bring it to you. Here is a soundscape, recorded last Saturday afternoon on a walk across the Shrewsbury Folk Festival site.

It’s only a glimpse, really. A small slice of a big and very satisfying cake. But I hope it gives you a flavour of the festival’s unique and entrancing vibe, perhaps enough to make you want to come and join us next year. Tickets are on sale already!

I explain more at the beginning of the recording including telling you where I’m going to take you, but there’s no commentary during it so you’ll have to close your eyes and imagine it all happening around you. On that point, like all Hello You soundscapes it’s best listened to on headphones, earbuds or similar, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it however and wherever you play it.

And you may well know other people who’ll enjoy it too. In which case, do them and me a favour, and share this episode of Hello You with them? I’m sure they’d appreciate it, and I know I very much would.

If you need a little help in visualising what you’re hearing, I shot some video of the sequence in the dance tent which you can find on Instagram here, and of the wonderful Silver Flame Rapper dance team which you can find on Instagram here.

You can find more pictures of the event on Shrewsbury Folk Festival’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and on the SFF website where you can watch a brief but fantastic video from this year’s festival, and already buy a ticket for SFF 2025!

Maybe we could have a Hello You family get-together at next year’s festival?

Thank you for being there. I hope you enjoy what I do. If so, please recommend it to other people? Please hit the Like button or a little heart symbol anywhere you see it. Rate and review the podcast, and leave a comment?

And I want to know what or who else you’d like to hear about on Hello You. Message me with any ideas, suggestions or offers or people to meet, events to visit, anything you’re interested in that you think I and other people would be interested in too.

Thank you to Lou Bennett for additional photography.

Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you.

Where do you find your joy? What brings you joy?

I’ve been asking that question of various people since I started doing interviews on Hello You. If you want to share your answer with me, I’d love to hear it.

Maybe we could talk about what brings you joy on a future episode of Hello You. I could even share in what brings you joy, as I do in this episode. A couple of weekends ago, Hello You listener Gillian took me along on a flight in a light aircraft around and across Shropshire. Flying is where Gillian finds her joy, as you’ll hear. I took some distinctly average photos as we flew over Shrewsbury, Attingham Park, the Wrekin, Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, the Clee Hills, Ludlow and back to Sleap Airfield. Lou Bennett took the pics of me and Gillian getting on board and taking off. Click to expand the images?

Hello You 28: Margaret’s Monocle, an episode from April, caught the ears of the good people at the Church of England’s Diocese of Lichfield. They asked me if they could use some of the audio to talk about what they do with Strengthening Communities and Places of Welcome. Here’s the video they made from it.

It’s Shrewsbury Folk Festival weekend! That’s something that always brings me joy. And it can bring you joy, too. Here’s who’s on when, to tempt you further. I think there are still some day tickets available, and it would be great to have you there, joining the amazing experience. If you can't be with us, you can follow the livestream of many of the concerts. I’ll record some audio while I’m there, and possibly some video too. That’ll appear on my Instagram, so keep an eye out for it? And if you’re an Insta user, let’s follow each other on there?

I forgot to mention when recording this, but I’m really enjoying being on Bluesky rather than on Twitter/X. If you’re also a Bluesky user, let’s be mutuals? This is me. And if you’re still on Twitter/X and hating it, join us on Bluesky? It’s similar to Twitter but different. Say hello once you’ve joined up, and we can find our way around it together?

Thank you for being part of the Hello You family. I hope you have the best weekend you possibly can.

One of my very favourite TV programmes is Pilgrimage. Every year, a short series of episodes go out around Easter. I explain in this episode why I enjoy it so much.

And in this episode you can meet Alex, from Little Drayton. He’s going on a pilgrimage of his own, next weekend. He told me why, and about the events in his life that have led up to it. He’s had a lot going on for someone who’s only seventeen years old.

Support Alex on his Pilgrimage!

Also in this episode:

‘I’m good’, and why I’m practicing saying it

Lots of love for The Hive, Shrewsbury

Counselling: How to find a counsellor or therapist

Shrewsbury Folk Festival

Hello You is now (definitely) on Apple Podcasts!

New subscriptions now available. Don’t worry, Hello You will remain free for everyone, for ever. But … well, take a look. And if you have any ideas for what I can offer people who take out subscriptions at different levels, I’d be really interested to hear them:

One in four of us believe we could qualify for the Olympics!

Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you.

Meet the wonderful people of one of Shrewsbury's most special places. It’s transformed lives. Some say it’s saved theirs.

‘It strangely felt like home’

It’s somewhere that’s really important to so many people in Shropshire.

‘It’s the connection that makes the change’

And it needs your help to survive.

‘I can’t imagine having a functioning community without this place’

Join me to explore The Hive, meet some of the lovely, creative and passionate people associated with it, and find out how you could help make sure it’s there to transform more lives and enrich the cultural life of Shrewsbury in the future.

‘It’s magical to be a part of it, because you’re a part of saving other people’s lives’

You can help by sharing this podcast with friends, family, associates and anyone interested in the arts, whether in Shrewsbury or beyond. Click this button:

Find out more about The Hive in Shrewsbury at the website.

Donate to the Save the Hive Appeal on Justgiving.

Read this appeal from Shrewsbury comics legend and Hive Patron Charlie Adlard at MyShrewsbury.

And post your thoughts on The Hive in the comments:

Thank you for being part of the Hello You family. Why not subscribe (it’s free!) for more great audio about stuff and things, Shrewsbury and Shropshire, arts and culture, mental health and well-being, history and heritage, and the joys and complexities of life:

Find all the past episodes on Substack or Spotify, and if this is your sort of thing, share it with someone:

Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you.

It’s been a hell of a week. A living hell, for some of our neighbours around the country.

Compared to them, I have little to complain about. But I wondered how the last few days have been for your mental health, especially if the disorder we’ve seen has touched your life, or that of your family, in any way.

Share your thoughts in the comments, or by sending me a message.

Also, the last couple of weeks have sharpened my thoughts on social media, and where I should and shouldn’t be. I explain in more detail in this episode, but if like me you’ve had it up to here and beyond with Twitter/X, you can now find me on Bluesky.

This is the first of two episodes of Hello You that I’m publishing today. Hello You 58 is an in-depth audio portrait of a remarkable place in Shrewsbury, and some of the wonderful people who are associated with it. The remarkable place in question needs our help. Check out Hello You 58 to find out more.

Take care of yourself, and please, do what you can to take care of the people around you.

Hello You is about stuff, and things. People and stories, mental and physical health and wellbeing, art and creativity, Shrewsbury and Shropshire, self-knowledge and the changes, obstacles and complexities of life.

Meet Tina. Tina lives in Shrewsbury, and she responded to my invitation to people who have a story to share, and thoughts to think about. She has plenty to share about pretty much all of those topics. Some of what she has to say chimes very much with my own experience; some of it you may also identify with, or you might find yourself seeing things a little differently through someone else’s eyes.

When I’m listening back to interviews I’ve recorded, I have a pencil in my hand to note down any possible ‘pull quotes’, phrases or sentences that could sit in the body of these show notes, to give you a flavour of what the guest has to say. By halfway through my chat with Tina, I needed to sharpen the pencil! She came out with so many ear-grabbing, eye-catching quotes I couldn’t write them down fast enough. One is the subtitle of this episode - 'I opened a bottle of Moët, sat in the garden and drank the whole lot' - and others included:

‘I felt I was becoming a heart-attack bore’

‘Don’t be afraid of who you are’

‘I’d let this happen to me’

‘Cheese is my comfort blanket’

‘From someone who could walk nine miles a day, to someone who could barely walk at all’

‘I’m still here!’

and the one that gives this episode its title:

‘Be more Tina! Be more authentic!’

We talk about:

* not being a burden … or not feeling like you’re being a burden, when you’re not

* atrial fibrillation

* how being creative helps

* FitBit tyranny

* seeing Scotland by campervan

* the difference between Tina’s experience of the NHS here and elsewhere

* knitting

* Solstice on Anglesey

* gyms, diets and body issues

* Stephen Sondheim

… and more. This episode covers a lot of ground!

Tina’s online persona is Phat Chic. She explains why during the conversation. You can find Phat Chic on YouTube and on Instagram.

If you have a story to tell or experiences to share, if you have thoughts and ideas you want to put in front of other people, if you have nagging questions or whimsical wonderings, if you know of a person, place or event that you’d like me to feature on Hello You, and crucially, if you want to feel properly heard, properly listened-to, contact me. I’m a good listener; it’s what I do.

Tina sent me a direct message on Twitter (sorry, X), saying she’d be happy to talk to me. Katie contacted me via Facebook about an urgent issue at a local organisation that’s close to her heart; you’ll hear from Katie and a bunch of other great people on next Friday’s episode. Simon also DM’d me on Twitter about a young person he knows who’s doing something remarkable, for really powerful reasons. I’m going to meet that young person this week, and you can meet them on Hello You in two weeks’ time.

I’m bloody thrilled that so many people are coming to me with ideas or suggestions for Hello You, or just asking how this podcast could help or support them. That means so much, that you’re putting your trust in me, whether as a listener or a contributor. As I’ve said before, I believe in local, public-service media. That’s why this podcast is what it is. And like the family that we are, it relies on trust, openness and credibility between us all.

Keep the suggestions coming for guests, topics, ideas, or even benches I could sit on to record conversations, or places I could record soundscapes to bring you a flavour of how Shropshire sounds. Email me or message via here or anywhere you find Hello You.

There’s another couple of ways you can help me out, too, if you’d be so kind. Firstly, wherever you can, please hit ‘Like’, rate or review this episode and any others that you listen to.

And secondly, there’s no algorithm like a human rhythm. So please, recommend Hello You to your friends, family, colleagues, people in your chat group or on a local Facebook page, or the other members of your clubs, societies, faith groups … anywhere or with anyone you think might enjoy it. Maybe I’ll give a special shout-out to anywhere that Hello You takes root. Or I could come along and record an episode with you all, at your book club, stitch’n’b***h, WI, choir practice, local-history society, munch …

Thank you for being part of the Hello You family. Thank you for welcoming and introducing more people to the Hello You family, too. Make sure that they - and you - subscribe on Substack or follow on Spotify.

Take care of yourself. Take care of the people around you. And I hope they’re taking care of you, too.

The Battle of Shrewsbury took place six hundred and twenty-one years ago this week, on July 21, 1403.

The site is now peaceful farmland, with a footpath around the perimeter much loved by dog-walkers, a church built to commemorate the dead, and pylons striding across the Shropshire landscape.

But what does it sound like?

I hope you enjoy this episode of Hello You. If you do, tell your friends?

What do you pick up at your local convenience store? A couple of pizzas and a few beers for movie-night at home? Tea bags, ice cream, bin liners … and help with loneliness?

Julie Kaur has been behind the counter at Jule’s Convenience Store on Haybridge Road in Hadley for thirty years. She’s developed an eye for people who maybe need a chat, or some company. If you look like you need one, she’ll make you a cup of tea, and you can sit at the end of the counter and talk to her, or to the other members of the community that’s grown up around her shop.

'Got to keep the business going, but at the same time keep the community going'

Julie’s helping to support the people around her in other ways, too, whether it’s through charity fundraising, giving her time and effort to local groups, or just helping out someone who needs something. She’s also found a great way to plough back the rewards she gets from her suppliers, to benefit local people.

In this episode you can meet Julie, and hear from some of the people she’s helped, like Clifford, a former boxer who used to work at another store in the neighbourhood.

Subscribe to my Substack to hear from more fascinating and inspiring people in Shropshire!

And if you enjoy Hello You, share it with a friend or two?

Is there someone you’d like to hear telling their story on Hello You? Maybe it’s you! Or perhaps, like Julie’s shop, there’s somewhere that people gather where I could join them to record some conversations? Let me know … and tell me what you think of this episode, too?

I’ll have more people for you to meet very soon. Follow or subscribe so you don’t miss them!

A fun-size episode! Some recordings from a slightly chaotic visit to Shrewsbury’s Pride Hill, where I sat on the benches and listened to some people.

I’m displeased with myself. I wasn’t entirely happy with how I dealt with this Bench session, which took place last Friday lunchtime. In the interests of full disclosure, I deleted the first conversation I recorded, ostensibly because the person I was talking to was making me feel angry, but in retrospect, I wasn’t handling it at all well.

And I let you and myself down. For all my blather about doing this so unheard voices can be heard, I totally failed to engage with the street people who were also on and around the bench - so close you can overhear them - even when one asked me directly if I was filming, a golden opportunity that I totally missed. Nor did I talk to the group of women who took their place, after the men in question moved on.

So, I’m sorry. I should do better than this. I’m going back to the same bench at some point to try to make good my mistake.

‘I was looking at people and thinking, What can I blame them for?’

Meantime, meet Tommy and Jay. Tommy came along to see me, Jay was curious about what I was doing and ended up sharing quite a lot about his life. Take a listen, and tell me what you think about what they had to say? Join the Hello You family in the comments, or message me directly?

Jay mentioned a particular local venue in Shrewsbury, and persistent stories about certain behaviours that have been associated with it. The venue in question insists that it has strict policies and measures in place so such things don’t happen. I’m wondering if they’d let me do a Bench in their venue, maybe early one evening?

Other suggestions for places I can sit to talk to people, or events I could come along to and record conversations, are always welcome.

As are you. You’re always welcome here. Thank you for being on board with Hello You.

Why not subscribe, so you don’t miss any episodes?

And if you know someone - in Shropshire or anywhere around the world - who’d be interested in people’s stories, sounds and thoughts, share Hello You with them?

Take care of yourself, and the people around you. There’ll be another episode on Friday!