The Lancashire HotPod

"From the Boardroom to the Bar." 

This is the wonderful tagline for Lanx Shoes, who design proper shoes for men and women right in the middle of the Lancashire countryside. 

In this episode, we're joined by Lanx founder, Marv (check out his bio, he's one interesting dude) who talks to us about where his passion for shoes comes from and how he nurtured this passion on his travels around the world from concept to design and the ups / downs of running a start up business. 

Marv's sole purpose is to make beautiful shoes with international influence using locally sourced materials with designs including the Lancashire rose and the ballsy British White bull. 

They really are a thing of beauty and it's a wonderful and fascinating story that is filled with adventure and inspiration. If you haven't had a look at Lanx Shoes please check them out and give the podcast a listen to.

https://lanxshoes.com/

In this episode we chat to Graham Roberts and his wife Kasha, otherwise known as the owners of the Micro-Pub the Brig n Barrel in Bamber Bridge.

Amost 18 months ago, Graham said goodbye to the corporate life and with his redundancy decided to start his own business and opened a Micro-Pub with his good friend. Fast forward 18 months and the Brig N Barrel has just been added to the Camra Good beet Guide 2020 which is an amazing achievment. 

We chat about what makes a good ale and the challenges & opportunities in the pub trade and all the experiences it brings with it. Graham and Kasha are passionate about what they've created and now play a big role in the local community and have great plans for the future.

If you fancy checking it out then head over and enjoy the ales and gins on offer as well as the mango / tropical cider! 

Enjoy Hop Podders.....

In this episode we welcome back Gaz Corran, who is now a World Champion Bare Fist Champion after defeating Antony Dunn Skrypek in the first round of their world championship bout.

Gaz did it in style knocking Antony down 3 times in the first round to win the match and become world champion for the first time. To but this in to context, Anthony Dunn Skrypek was unbeaten in this format. 

So Gaz has a lot to tell us about the lead up to the fight, his preparation, what was going through his head as he walked in to the ring, how he felt when he won and how the haters are gonna hate.

Gaz also let's us know when his next fight is and what we can expect from a format we've dubbed 'the death match'

Find out more and give it a listen - as ever hit us up with any comments or questions

In this episode we're joined by Shaun Elvey, one of the most up and coming stand up comedians in Lancashire. 

Shaun shares with us his rise to the stand up stage, which started during his training in the armed forces over 15 years ago when he was taking the mick out of his training sergeants and making everyone laugh. Fast forward to the present and Shaun is now a regular on the comedy scene. 

From Preston to Burnley and numerous other towns to the bright lights of the Frog & Bucket and Comedy Store in Manchester, Shaun tells us stories of the competitions he's been in and won and also the gigs that have bombed. It takes big 8@115 to get up on stage and be funny and sometimes is goes really well and sometimes it doesn't but it's all an experience and every gig is different. 

Shaun is now planning his own gigs and has another competition coming up - bit like the champions league, where previous winners all go up head to head. 

If you love to laugh, give it a listen and you never know, we might see Shaun on Mock the Week pretty soon.

In this episode we talk to Mick Young who worked in the Lancashire Police Force for over 30 years.

Now retired, and working in Border Control, Mick talks openly and honestly about life in the force. Mick shares how and why he decided a life in the force was for him, and describes how the police has changed over the last 30 years depending on the government in charge, the Theresa May years and plans for an extra 20K officers under Boris. 

Political correctness, racism, war on drugs (or not), human rights, equal opportunities are all up for discussion as well as an honest look at the role the media has played in since the mid 80's.

It's a fascinating insight in to the Lancashire constabulary and Police in general over the last 30 years and given the sad news that a police officer died in a recent burglary, it's worth remembering that that police men and women put their lives at risk in the line of duty on a daily basis.

Enjoy Hot Podders and if you have any thoughts and opinions on the topic please let us know in comments.

Never work with animals and children they say.

Well there is a very good reason for that, as Gav and I found out when we put both our boys in front of the mic to talk about the transition from primary to secondary school.

Both boys are off to St Bedes in Blackburn and we wanted to get the boys in the studio to talk about their school experience, SATS and preparing for the next big challenge - heading off to BIG school.

 

We managed to get some sense out of them (but not much) and where they have mentioned their friends names or people in their stories we've bleeped them out in fairness and respect to people's identities. 

If your kids are off to big school this time or you just want to listen to me getting quite irate at one point then it's worth a listen - a fascinating insight to the brains (or lack of them) of 11 yr old boys ;)

Enjoy School's out for Summer

With 1 in 3 marriages ending in divorce or separation, single parents are everywhere. A marital or relationship breakdown is hard for everyone involved and especially when there are children involved it can be even harder.

In this episode we chat to single parent Ste Walker, who has recently set up a Facebook group dedicated to bringing single parents together across the North West.

The group has been set up to create a support network for other single parents and Ste's vision is to reduce isolation and loneliness for single parents and create great opportunities to meet up with others in a similar situation. It is not a dating site but serves to connect people who can share from their experiences and help others and make new friends for both them and their kids!

In just a few weeks the group as reached over 250 members and we talk about the purpose of the group, how you can get involved and find out more.

You can find a link for the group below. If you're a single parent then why not take a look or share with anyone you know who might benefit from being a member.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/919709128389283/

In this episode we chat to the Pre-eminent broadside balladress of the Manchester region, Jennifer Reid.

It doesn't matter if you don't know what that means, she made it all up any way! Jennifer was a fantastic guest, really entertaining and performs a number of Manchester Ballads and even treats us to some clog dancing.

Jennifer tells us how she discovered her passion for 19th century Industrial Revolution broadside ballads and Lancashire dialect work song. Not only sharing her passion through recitals, events, schools and even taking her knowledge to the Indian Sub-continent where she has researched the link between Bangladeshi and Mancunian weaving songs. 

You can find out more about Jennifer and upcoming events from her website http://jenniferreid.weebly.com

It's a fascinating part of history that Jennifer now brings to life in many different guises and has released a CD recently with her work. She has made a number of TV appearances and now teaches workshops for young adults in the UK and in the US.

Give it a listen and watch out for a competition soon and let us know what you think in comments as always we'd love to hear from you.

In this episode we talk to Gaz 'Crush' Corran. Gaz has got one of the most exciting fights in the world coming up in one of the most dangerous sports possible!

We talk to Gaz about how the fight came about and his training and preparation. As well as a fierce daily training regime Gaz has got to keep in diet in check and has a whole team around him getting him to peak physical fitness.

As well as chatting about his own upcoming fight we get an insight in to what Gaz thinks of the current Heavyweight Boxing division as well as the low down on Prize Fighter and fellow Lancashire boxer, Stevie Taylor who Gaz tips for a future British champion.

Gaz also explains why he's donating his entire purse after losing a close friend and his own battles losing family members under difficult circumstances. Despite these challenges, Gaz has turned them in to positives and has many interesting stories to share from working the doors in Magaluf and doing security for some of the biggest bands in the 90's, to his recent trek up Mount Kilimanjaro with some close friends.

This life and almost death story will have you at the edge of the seats hot podders!

We're sure you'll love this podcast and be rooting for Gaz for his fight in July!

For tickets contact Gaz Corran on Facebook or @Gaz_Crush

If you have been affected by of the things discussed in the podcast remember there is always someone to talk to

It's The Lancashire Hot Pod and the Amish Inquisition.

Something a bit different in this podcast as two podcasts from Lancashire join forces and create one bumper episode.

Cue an off-the-cuff freestyle, chats that range from nuclear disasters to Eurovision to who would play Highlander in a modern day re-make - plus a whole load more.

Recorded in one of the best man cave / music studios EVER built. A mecca of 1980's memorabilia, props and toys including a full size replica of Hans Solo frozen in carbonite.

Amish Phil and Amish Ben were great hosts and we hope you enjoy the episode and give them a subscribe on podbean here