Suffolk Money

JS Global Group

The words abandonment and destruction may seem negative to most, but not to Jake Slinn; a young Suffolk entrepreneur who has built a very successful business, disposing of unwanted or illicit cargo. Jake’s story is one of drive and resilience, and in this week’s episode of Suffolk Money he chats to Lesley Dolphin about how he saw a gap in the market for the salvage and safe disposal of abandoned products that come into our ports.

Having always had a keen interest in waste and scrap, Jake took a local apprenticeship when he left school and gained the industry experience he needed, before starting his own business from his bedroom in 2018. At the age of just 19, Jake had discovered a business niche of disposing of the illegal, damaged, unsafe or unwanted products that arrive at our ports.

The business quickly grew and diversified and JS Global Group now operates throughout the UK’s national ports. Jake spends a lot of his time inspecting cargos and freight earmarked for disposal and is proud to have “never landfilled one piece of waste”. He clearly enjoys the daily challenges he faces in dealing with unwanted or sub-standard shipments (which can be anything from toothbrushes to rotten cabbages and even breast implants!) and finding the best solution every time.

For more information about JS Global Group please visit www.js-global.co.uk

Sudbury’s national museum

Thomas Gainsborough was one of the greatest artists of his age and is renowned throughout the world for his portrait and landscape paintings. In this week’s episode, Lesley Dolphin visits the house in Sudbury where Gainsborough was born and lived as a child, and is now a national museum and gallery. Mark Bills, Director of Gainsborough House, takes Lesley on a fascinating tour of the new-look museum, which celebrates the life and art of this treasured Suffolk artist.

Lesley sees for herself the huge panoramic window on the top floor, which gives a spectacular view across rooftops to the landscape that so inspired Gainsborough. Mark explains how the building has been carefully renovated to celebrate great local heritage; with locally hand-made brick and Suffolk flint, a distinctive crinkle crankle wall in the garden and, the Gainsborough Gallery itself featuring walls lined in Suffolk silk.

With 42 Gainsboroughs currently on display, the newly restored galleries also show collections by Suffolk’s own Cedric Morris and John Constable. Visitors can see the 400 year-old mulberry tree, which was here when Gainsborough was a boy and still produces enough fruit for its jam-makers every year.

From a building at risk, Gainsborough House has now become a vibrant and exciting place, thanks to not only heritage lottery money, but also a tremendous amount of local support. You’ll find the museum right in the heart of Sudbury, open seven days a week and always with a warm welcome.

For more information please visit: https://gainsborough.org/

In this week’s Suffolk Money podcast, Colin has a lovely chat with his new co-presenter, Lesley Dolphin, finding out about how Lesley came to live in Suffolk and her love for this special county.

Having grown-up in rural Norfolk before studying at Bradford university, Lesley has now lived in Suffolk for most of her life. She joined BBC Radio Suffolk when the station launched in 1990 and has since become one of the best-known presenters in local radio.

Now enjoying retirement, Lesley is doing the things she’s always wanted to do; including spending more time with her family and friends, exploring beautiful Suffolk… and now a podcast!

Lesley’s fascination with people and her passion for listening to their stories makes her the perfect person to meet and interview the interesting people of Suffolk.

On this week’s Suffolk Money podcast, we’re delighted to welcome experienced interviewer and broadcaster, Lesley Dolphin to the team. Lesley talks to local historian Jean Macpherson all about her new book, The Felixstowe Floods of 1953 – Never to be forgotten.

Although these floods are by far the biggest disaster that has ever happened to Felixstowe, it’s amazing that not many people really know about the events of that treacherous night and the devastation it caused. Even Jean, who grew up knowing about the flood, didn’t fully appreciate the story, until she became inspired to write this book and collate final untold stories from those who were there, 70 years ago.

Remembering the story and passing it on not only pays tribute to the 41 people who lost their lives in the floods, but also celebrates those who jumped into action to help others escape and survive. The book is full of wonderful stories and fascinating local detail, including how boats from Butlin’s ‘Tunnel of Love’ took people to the rescue centre and, a touching recollection about Jennifer Ted’s survival and her presence at the annual memorial service.

In the words of David Attenborough, ‘Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?’ Our guest this week couldn’t agree more and, in her chat with Colin, Hannah Debnam demystifies the unusual art of taxidermy.

Having always preferred the company of birds and animals, Hannah shares her life with what she describes as her ‘little zoo of live birds’. She talks to Colin about how her love for the beauty that she sees within nature first sparked her interest in taxidermy. She sees this as a way of preserving this beauty and ensuring that an animal or bird can continue to be loved and admired for years to come.

Hannah talks about her struggles since childhood with both her mental and physical health, and how she was left hospitalised with life-threatening complications after surgery in her mid-20s. Not long before this operation, Hannah had overcome a life-long fear of death, when she undertook her first taxidermy project; a roadkill wood pigeon. She knew she had a lot to learn, but Hannah never looked back and it was her love of taxidermy and her thirst for knowledge that got her through some very dark times.

Immortalising beautiful birds and animals is now Hannah’s full-time job and she is passionate about sharing how important taxidermy is for the future of British wildlife, in terms of education and research, enabling future generations to see what we see now.

For more information please visit: https://www.hannahscreatures.co.uk

Today, it’s something different, as we look back on some of the memorable moments from 2022.

Our thanks to all the guests who joined us last year. The one thing that they’ve all had in common is that they’ve been inspiring; our contributors invariably showing huge determination and spirit to overcome the hurdles placed in their path. We are indebted to each and every one of them.

Amazingly, we’ve now produced over 60 podcasts since we launched the podcast nearly two years ago now; all support by Kingsfleet. Remember that if you go to our website at www.suffolkmoney.co.uk you can find every single one of them under the “Podcasts” section.

We’ll be back with another series of guests in the coming weeks, but in the meantime here’s a little reminder of some of the fascinating talks we’ve had over the last year.

Doing good for others for personal benefit too

In our last Suffolk Money podcast of 2022, Colin Low is on location to meet the dedicated team at Ipswich-based UK charity Tools With A Mission. The warehouse is a hive of activity, as volunteers collect and refurbish a vast array of unwanted tools, before sorting them into trade kits and sending them to the developing world for livelihood creation.

The group’s chief executive Mike Griffin explains how by recycling unwanted tools, not only are they able to create sustainable livelihoods that transform communities across the continent of Africa, but also address the issue of stuff being needlessly dumped in landfill, here in the UK.

Volunteers across the country collect unwanted items – from DIY and gardening tools to sewing machines and computers – which are taken to their warehouse and carefully refurbished by the team at the Ipswich HQ. They then assemble kits for every kind of trades-person (including carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, builders and tailors), ensuring that the people who receive them will have everything they need to start their own business, affording them independence and sustainability.

Sending tools rather than money reduces the danger of corruption and provide vital support for communities where unemployment is very high; as many of the volunteers at Tools With A Mission have seen first-hand when they’ve visited some of the African countries that this charity has worked with.

However, as many of the volunteers explain, it’s not just communities in Africa that benefit from this charity. Although most volunteers join to help those in need, they quickly discover that the social interaction and sense of camaraderie they enjoy through volunteering, is as transformative to their own lives. This, together with the environmental benefits of re-using unwanted items makes for ‘a triple win’, as volunteer Jim says!

For more information or to find out how you can help, volunteer or donate to Tools With A Mission, please visit: https://www.twam.uk

You can follow and stay up-to-date with their activity on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toolswithamission

The delicate subject of divorce is the focus in the latest Suffolk Money podcast – supported by Kingsfleet – as two experts in family law talk to Colin Low about striving for resolution not confrontation.

Juliet Harvey is a Legal Director at Birketts and Melanie Pilmer is a Partner at Greene & Greene and both are very experienced in helping to resolve family disputes, in the most calm, amicable and effective way possible.

As members of Resolution (a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way) both Juliet and Melanie strongly advise people that come to them in times of distress to ‘make Court the last resort’. Instead, they guide them through the processes and find one that would be most suitable for them.

They debunk myths from the ‘quickie divorce’ to how lawyers are portrayed in popular tv dramas and also talk about Good Divorce Week 2022 (28 Nov – 2 Dec), which highlights the crisis in the family courts and raises awareness of all the different ways families can resolve their disputes away from Court.

If you’d like to find out more about Good Divorce Week, please visit https://resolution.org.uk

Plus, please see below for links to Birketts and Greene & Greene:

https://www.birketts.co.uk  https://greene-greene.com

Colin discusses the ‘Permacrisis’ with financial experts

By any measure, it’s been a turbulent few weeks for the economy, so for the latest Suffolk Money podcast, supported by Kingsfleet, Colin Low is joined by two experts, Adrian Game of Resolute Mortgages and Daniel Zipfel of Kingsfleet. Together they talk through the issues that have arisen over the last few weeks and months and try to assess what it all means for mortgages, pensions and savings … ultimately stressing that it’s always good to talk, especially for the sake of your mental health.

For more information about Resolute Mortgages please visit https://resolutemortgages.com

For more information about Kingsfleet please visit https://www.kingsfleetwealth.co.uk

Working with the vulnerable throughout East Anglia

In this week’s Suffolk Money podcast, Colin talks to Amanda Bloomfield about her work at the wonderful Gatehouse in Bury St Edmunds. A small, independent charity, Gatehouse is based on the western side of the town. They carry out all their projects from this building and help people not only in the nearby community, but also far and wide across other counties in the region.

As Amanda explains, Gatehouse is unique because they’re always looking for different ways they can assist the community and broaden what they’re able to deliver. Food poverty and homelessness is a long-term problem and Gatehouse is the official food bank for Bury St Edmunds, offering support to those in desperate need. However, the current cost of living crisis means that there are many people now struggling, who may never have experienced problems with debt or sought help from charities before. So, Gatehouse is here to make them feel comfortable and break down the pride barrier, so that they can access help before they hit crisis point.

Gatehouse notices the need in the community and by listening to what help is needed, they seek to not simply fire-fight the initial problem, but to see the big picture. They work together with other charities, each who offer different specialities, to make the best use of resources available and help those in need.

Amanda tells Colin about her previous experience in the business world as well as the caring world, and how she has developed a valuable skill-set that enables her to establish strong partnerships between both large and small businesses and community-based projects. Her work is very hands-on and, knowing that the most vulnerable don’t get heard, she is able to give them a voice and explain their reality to local government officials and philanthropists in a way they can understand.

To find out more about this incredible charity, please visit

http://www.gatehouse.org.uk

Or you can telephone 01284 754967 or email [email protected]

Details about Gatehouse Home Store and Foodbank can also be found on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gatehousecharity/