The Morecambe Bay Podcast

Every year the port of Heysham becomes the focus for bikers from all over the UK and beyond.

Thousands flock to the Bay to be transported to the Isle of Man for the TT Races which are well underway.

Alice Rice knows more than most when it comes to ensuring bikers get across safely.

Since 1996 she's worked at the port but this is to be her final TT.

She's been telling me about meeting some of the stars of the event and sharing stories of life at Heysham port.

Do you remember Heysham Head or how about the pleasure park on the prom before it became Frontierland?Morecambe illuminations switch-on? Colin Crompton? Pontins Holiday Camp? Marineland ? The list goes on!

In the 1980’s a friend of mine had the foresight to record the sights and sounds of Morecambe and we recently met up to listen again to the cassette he produced.

Here's a taste!

Did you know there are over 100 works of art in Morecambe town centre?

With more artwork springing up around the town it's certainly causing much debate and it's emerged the town's Business Improvement District have supported artist Matty Green in sprucing up areas with imaginative work.

An art trail could coax visitors off the prom to explore lesser known areas - and businesses that could benefit.

So what difference will artwork make and what's next?

Enjoy hearing more from the BID here.

Details of https://morecambebid.com/

Live webcams overlooking the prom (seagulls permitting) https://morecambebid.com/more-cam/

The promenade may be where most visitors head for but in part of Morecambe some of the town's buildings are getting a colourful makeover.

There are already posters and artwork depicting some of the area's well known characters in the town centre but now a new mural has been unveiled just off the prom.

A seagull eating chips and Morecambe's 'bird man' - John Wilkinson who was jailed in 2014 after breaching an anti-social behaviour order to limit his bird feeding habit - is the subject of the artwork on the gable rear of the Old Pier Bookshop.

It's stunning and is the work of artists Matty Green and Harry Mills.

Matty gave us a guided tour of this and his other artworks which he hopes will spark widespread interest in a side of Morecambe visitors don't yet appreciate.

Notes:

2' We hear how work is already underway to brighten up the town's lesser known areas.

9' What is the reaction of the mural's nearest neighbour?

10' What's next...?

Can you imagine moving out of a three bedroomed house and setting out to live in a 60 foot long canal boat?

Mark Sadler's boat is more 'like a posh flat' but even so, parting with years' worth of belongings and changing lifestyles to one where the weather and seasons are a constant factor takes some getting used to.

This month marks his 12 month anniversary of taking the plunge and living on the Lancaster Canal.

Has it been plain sailing or will he be back in the housing market soon?

2' Why a canal boat?

4' How to downsize.

6' Nature on the canal.

8' Reflecting on one year aboard.

10' The challenges of the canal.

12' Coping with a change in pace

14' The canal community.

16' Life afloat and looking to the future.

Transcript:

 Welcome to the Morecambe Bay podcast with Nigel Thompson.

If you're listening to this in your house or on your way home, would you pack up, get rid of anything you didn't need and downsize your entire life onto a canal boat? It sounds daunting, doesn't it? Yet that's what Mark Sadler did a year ago. A three bedroom house was replaced by a 60 foot long, 10 foot wide boat on the Lancaster Canal.

As his first anniversary approaches, how's he getting on?

Banish the winter blues with the sights and sounds of a stunning light and sound display on Morecambe promenade.

From The Ghost of Moby Dick to The Garden of Hope, 18 installations from artists all over the country will be pm show from The Midland to the Yacht Club on 21st and 22nd of February.

Full details can be found here and the Morecambe Bay Podcast is proud to be a sponsor.

Three of the displays are the work of Ulverston-based sound and light pioneer Dan Fox and his Sound Intervention team. 6 metre tall Luminosi trees, Aeolian Flutes and emersive Glittering Grove (at points 15, 16 and 17 close to the yacht club) will doubtless be popular and Dan has been explaining where his inspiration comes from and why he loves being part of Baylight.

Show notes:

1' Inside the production studio

2' The challenges of developing a space to make music

3' Starting to work with street bands

4' The Boom bike!

5' Starting out in soundscapes

6' The challenge of working during Covid

7' Visiting Baylight during the early years

9' Bringing flutes, luminosi trees and a glittering grove to the promenade

11' Using hydrophones to capture the sound of ice!

12' Finding inspiration in all kinds of places

14' 'A kilometre if speaker cable..' going above and beyond!

16' Planning for the future

17' Why Dan gets a buzz from the shows he puts on

Have you had a busy week? Need time out but don't have time to go to the coast?

Enjoy the latest in our occasional series of sounds from the Bay.

Take two mins to enjoy the incoming tide recorded this morning close to the boats moored not far from Morecambe town hall.

There's treasure to be found on our beaches if you know where to look!

Sea glass, the remains of bottles and other objects discarded sometimes decades ago is polished and weathered by the continual action of the sea.

Jacqueline Kendall from Manchester comes to Morecambe to hunt for the glass which she uses to decorate bottles and other artefacts.

We met on the beach by the Midland Hotel.

I was out recording something a bit special that I'll share with you soon and was on the beach close to the Platform in Morecambe today. Overlooked by the famous Midland Hotel the beach there is made up of shingle. I was there just about high tide and the sound of the sea running through the shingle really brightened a fairly overcast Sunday. The sound is mesmerising!

Work by fellow podcasters Radio Lento (check them out for some stunning soundscapes) inspired me to share this with you.

It's only three minutes long and you can almost smell the salty air.

I hope it helps while away a bit of the commute or morning rush - enjoy!

Winter has certainly arrived!

Already this month icy conditions gave way to rain and now gale force winds.

And battling it all are the birds.

Morecambe Bay is famous for being home to a wide range of species and this weekend the annual Big Garden Birdwatch.

Kath Smith from the RSPB at Leighton Moss has been showing us what's around at the moment and explaining how birds cope with what nature throws at them.