The Big Chat

In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, Coco speaks with celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager whose second novel “The Proof In The Pudding” was recently released. Coco and Rosemary also discuss her other new pursuits, such as creating sugar free chutneys and jams, her range of pies and more details about her novels.

Rosemary also works with charities such as Back Up Trust (backuptrust.org.uk) and Number One Community Trust (numberonecommunity.org), which is local to Tunbridge Wells. 

Stay tuned for lots of fun and giggles as well as a short excerpt from The Proof In The Pudding, read by Rosemary herself!

A big thank you to the TW Soapbox Race and Edney & Edney for sponsoring this weeks episode of The Big Chat.

The TW Soapbox Race, raises serious cash for local charities while bringing businesses and community groups together for a hilarious family fun day out in the heart of the town. The event has raised more than £84,000 for charities to date!

Buy your tickets for the big race at: https://www.twsoapboxrace.com/buytickets 

Edney & Edney are an opticians offering an unparalleled selection of world-class eyewear in Tunbridge Wells. Jamie and Ayshah Edney have a combined 30 years experience in the eyewear and eyecare industry. As a husband and wife team, they understand the importance of offering an exceptional bespoke service.

Pop in and see them at their glorious shop on Monson Road, or contact them by telephone on 01892 517986 or email on [email protected]. Visit https://www.edneyandedney.com/ to find out more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks episode of The Big Chat is the first of many collab episodes with Hannah Gee and Dan Culmer from Word Up! Each Friday at the end of the month, Hannah and Dan will be hosting The Big Chat and bringing in a variety of inspiring guests that have an important message to share. In this episode, we learn how Dan started Word Up 10 years ago after going to a similar slam poetry event in Brighton and seeing the potential it would have in Tunbridge Wells. Hannah and Dan have been friends for years and after encouragement from Dan, Hannah recently stepped back into the world of poetry and is passionate about spreading the message of Word Up.

Word Up takes place on the first Wednesday of every month and is £5 entry at The Forum. To coincide with International Women’s Day, this months will take place on 8th March.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, the tables have turned, and Eileen, Editor of SO Magazine interviews Coco! Coco shares how she went from her 9-5 office job in London to founding and directing several companies in Tunbridge Wells. Doing PR in the local area gave her the platform to ensure the TW Soapbox Race is the success it is, but when the pandemic hit Coco had to find a new way to keep businesses connected, and so The Big Chat was born. With a growing audience on social media and all podcast platforms, The Big Chat enables the people from our town to share their stories to inspire others.

If you’d like to find out more about Chatty Hatter, The Big Chat or TW Soapbox Race, pick up a copy of the March edition of SO Magazine or email us at [email protected]

A big thank you to Edney & Edney for sponsoring this weeks episode of The Big Chat and their ongoing support for SO Magazine - just have a look at Coco's glasses!

Edney & Edney are an opticians offering an unparalleled selection of world-class eyewear in Tunbridge Wells. Jamie and Ayshah Edney have a combined 30 years experience in the eyewear and eyecare industry. As a husband and wife team, they understand the importance of offering an exceptional bespoke service.

Pop in and see them at their glorious shop on Monson Road, or contact them by telephone on 01892 517986 or email on [email protected]. Visit https://www.edneyandedney.com/ to find out more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In todays episode of The Big Chat, Coco talks to Polly and Caroline from The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre. Nearly a year and a half on since she was last in the studio with Coco, President Polly and her right-hand woman Caroline share exactly what’s been happening at the Centre since then and what they’ll be up to in 2023, including the TW Soapbox Race! 

The Pickering Cancer drop-in Centre is a huge support for the Tunbridge Wells community, and believes in the importance of combining emotional care with traditional medicine in order to deal with the pain that cancer can bring to families.

If you or anyone you know needs support from the Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre, please do call them on 01892 511880 or visit them at the Centre on Monson Road, Tunbridge Wells.

A big thank you to Edney & Edney for sponsoring this weeks episode of The Big Chat - just have a look at Coco and Polly’s glasses!

Edney & Edney are an opticians offering an unparalleled selection of world-class eyewear in Tunbridge Wells. Jamie and Ayshah Edney have a combined 30 years experience in the eyewear and eyecare industry. As a husband and wife team, they understand the importance of offering an exceptional bespoke service.

Pop in and see them at their glorious shop on Monson Road, or contact them by telephone on 01892 517986 or email on [email protected]. Visit https://www.edneyandedney.com/ to find out more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In todays episode of The Big Chat, Coco talks to Valentine, an incredible singer-song writer who’s born and raised in Tunbridge Wells. Speaking on his younger years, Valentine shares what inspired him to become the artist that he is today and what has impacted him the most. Sharing his own mental health journey, Valentine has a very open and honest conversation with Coco about how we can encourage more people to speak up and in turn encourage positive change in society. In this episode Coco and Valentine discuss generational changes in mental health conversations, seeing fear as resistance and speaking from the heart.

Make sure you have a listen to Valentine’s music, with a new music video out today on his birthday: https://linktr.ee/Valentine.B 

A big thank you to Edney & Edney for sponsoring this weeks episode of The Big Chat - just have a look at Coco and Valentine’s glasses!

Edney & Edney are an opticians offering an unparalleled selection of world-class eyewear in Tunbridge Wells. Jamie and Ayshah Edney have a combined 30 years experience in the eyewear and eyecare industry. As a husband and wife team, they understand the importance of offering an exceptional bespoke service.

Pop in and see them at their glorious shop on Monson Road, or contact them by telephone on 01892 517986 or email on [email protected]. Visit https://www.edneyandedney.com/ to find out more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, Coco talks to Alex Cornelius, the Head Teacher of Langton Green Primary School. The chat focusses around mental well-being and the increased need for mental health support post-pandemic. With two children of her own who have attended/are attending the school, Coco knows first hand the support that the Primary School offers pupils. Alex himself has a strong focus on community and is a part of Thrive Langton which aims to provide community intervention to help people with their well being. In this episode Coco and Alex discuss the impact of social media on children, taking the pressure off and the courageousness of children today.

If you want to find out more about Thrive Langton head to: http://thrivelangton.org/ 

A big thank you to the Right Tuition Company for sponsoring this weeks episode of The Big Chat.

The Right Tuition Company (RTC) is an award-winning, Kent-based tutoring company, that has its flagship tuition centre located in the heart of Tunbridge Wells town centre. Since opening in 2014, RTC has established a fervent reputation for being the leading, local provider of high-quality, premium small-group tuition to Primary and Secondary-aged children. At its core, RTC promotes a traditional, non-computer-based approach to tutoring. The success of its education provision is rooted in the expert-led teaching and the availability of an all-round education service that can be accessed at an affordable cost.

To book your free taster class and learn more about how they can help your child, please contact them, either, by telephone on 01892-800-492 or email at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, Coco talks to Poppy O’Neill, author of mental-wellbeing resources for children and parents. Back in December, The Big Chat sponsored Wicked Productions pantomime at the EM Forster Theatre and Poppy kindly donated 90 of her books for children receiving goodie bags. Poppy shares her inspiration for writing and why the topic of mental health is so important to her. Coco and Poppy discuss the generational changes surrounding mental health as we begin to open up more to one another.

Poppy’s next book Mother Power is out 9th February and is a reassuring parenting guide that’s always in your corner. There are also two new additions to the children's series publishing in March: I Like Being Me and When I Feel Angry.

Find all of Poppy’s books at https://summersdale.com/sd-author/poppy-oneill/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, Coco chats with Hugh Whitaker of Humor Street Art who specialises in spray-painted murals for businesses and homes. From a week’s notice for the Champion’s League final creation to heading to Steven Gerrard’s house to transform his son’s bedroom, a lot has changed for Hugh over the previous two years since he was last in the hot seat! Coco and Hugh also discuss their upcoming collaboration which gives back to the local community and brings Hugh full circle with his early work.  

If you want to find out more about Humor you can find them on socials @humorstreetart or head to https://www.humorstreetart.co.uk/

Thank you to TW Soapbox Stars Kart Race for sponsoring this week’s episode of The Big Chat, you have until Monday 31st January to get your early bird tickets at https://www.twsoapboxrace.com/buytickets

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trigger warning - alcoholism, suicide, death

In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, Coco talks to Jen Williams, Fundraising & Marketing Manager and Ray Weston, Hub Manager at the Mental Health Resource Hub. The Hub is located on Grosvenor Park at the top end of Grosvenor Road in Tunbridge Wells which provides safe spaces and person-centred mental health support to help people improve their wellbeing. Mental Health Resource has been going since 1993 and has a variety of Reach Out Groups for both adults and young people in Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding areas. Touching on their personal experiences, Jen and Ray share how this inspires them to help others.

To find out more about Mental Health Resource head to their website: 

www.mentalhealthresource.org.uk 

If you’re looking for support you can also head to:

Mind: www.mind.org.uk/information-support

Give us a shout 85258

Samaritans www.samaritans.org 116123

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In this week’s episode of The Big Chat, Coco talks to Rosemary Shrager, Ambassador and Peter Sanlon, Trustee, of the Number One Community Trust. Number One Community Trust is a community centre serving the residents of Showfields and Ramslye. Their aim is to enhance the quality of life of the residents through events, activities and community projects and Rosemary and Peter share more about this. Coco finds out more about the recent refurbishment of the Number One Cafe by Town and Country and also the other facilities available such as the library, pre-school and community hall. The Trust needs help from our amazing community to keep going - to find out more head to https://numberonecommunity.org/

Thank you to TW Soapbox Race for sponsoring this week’s episode of The Big Chat, buy your tickets now at https://www.twsoapboxrace.com/buytickets 

Shout out to Edney and Edney for both Coco and Rosemary’s glasses!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.