Toby Davey Audio

In this extended Podcast interview you will hear me chatting with Ben Ringham, one half of Ben and Max Ringham who created the immersive binaural sound design for the Donmar Warehouse critically acclaimed production of Blindness.
Ben and Max Ringham have worked together for over 20 years. Initially producing music as Narcosis then as two thirds of Superthriller who have   released four albums and supported Beck on the European leg of his Guerro tour.  In 2001 they became associate artists with the Shunt collective, collaborating on large scale site specific shows such as ‘Tropicann’ and ‘Amato Saltone’ supported by the National Theatre which led to an invitation from Nicholas Hytner to score Henry IV in the Olivier theatre.  In  2019 Ben and Max Ringham won the h100 theatre and performance award for their collaboration with Ella Hickson on ‘Anna’.  A headphone based show at the National Theatre using binaural sound design to immerse the audience and create a unique theatrical experience.
Blindness is a socially distanced sound installation at the Donmar Warehouse.  Adapted by Simon Stephens from José Saramago’s dystopian novel Blindness, directed by Walter Meierjohann with Juliet Stevenson voicing the role of the narrator and the Doctor’s wife in this gripping story of the rise and hopeful end of an unimaginable global pandemic.
When I interviewed Ben via Zoom we chatted about how he  and Max got involved in working on Blindness, how they created the binaural sound design where some of the sound affects came from, what it was like working with Juliet Stevenson, the merging of music performance and theatre, some R&D sound projects they have been working on with the BBC and one for the Bose Frames and what their next project might be.
I began the interview by asking Ben about his and Max’s background in music, their work with The Shunt Collective and getting that first theatre gig working on Nicolas Hytner’s National Theatre production of Henry Iv.
Do visit the Donmar Warehouse website for more details about Blindness, links to reclaiming Blindness an audio interview between Simon Stephens and partially blind Production Consultant Professor Hannah Thompson unpacking  the representations of blindness in theatre, literature and the Donmar’s production of Blindness plus links to the VocalEyes website to listen to and download the audio described introductory notes for Blindness.

In this Podcast interview you will hear me chatting with Ben Ringham, one half of Ben and Max Ringham who created the immersive binaural sound design for the Donmar Warehouse critically acclaimed production of Blindness.
Ben and Max Ringham have worked together for over 20 years. Initially producing music as Narcosis then as two thirds of Superthriller who have   released four albums and supported Beck on the European leg of his Guerro tour.  In 2001 they became associate artists with the Shunt collective, collaborating on large scale site specific shows such as ‘Tropicann’ and ‘Amato Saltone’ supported by the National Theatre which led to an invitation from Nicholas Hytner to score Henry IV in the Olivier theatre.  In  2019 Ben and Max Ringham won the h100 theatre and performance award for their collaboration with Ella Hickson on ‘Anna’.  A headphone based show at the National Theatre using binaural sound design to immerse the audience and create a unique theatrical experience.
Blindness is a socially distanced sound installation at the Donmar Warehouse.  Adapted by Simon Stephens from José Saramago’s dystopian novel Blindness, directed by Walter Meierjohann with Juliet Stevenson voicing the role of the narrator and the Doctor’s wife in this gripping story of the rise and hopeful end of an unimaginable global pandemic.
When I interviewed Ben via Zoom we chatted about how he  and Max got involved in working on Blindness, how they created the binaural sound design where some of the sound affects came from, what it was like working with Juliet Stevenson and what their next project might be.
I began the interview by asking Ben about his and Max’s background in music, their work with The Shunt Collective and getting that first theatre gig working on Nicolas Hytner’s National Theatre production of Henry Iv.
Do visit the Donmar Warehouse website for more details about Blindness, links to reclaiming Blindness an audio interview between Simon Stephens and partially blind Production Consultant Professor Hannah Thompson unpacking  the representations of blindness in theatre, literature and the Donmar’s production of Blindness plus links to the VocalEyes website to listen to and download the audio described introductory notes for Blindness.

One of Chippenham’s architectural landmarks is the old Victorian red brick secondary and technical School building built in 1900 which stands at  the corner of Cocklebury Road and Saddlers Mead which may be lost forever unless the building is redeveloped and found a new lease of life.  
Sadly the building has been boarded up since Wiltshire College moved out and into their new modern purpose built campus buildings in 2015.  There have been many attempts to save the building along with all it’s  late Victorian external and internal architecture including the parquet  flooring, staircases and design elements of the Arts and Crafts movement which still survive today.   The Chippenham Civic Society and many people living in Chippenham hope  that the building could be redeveloped to save this great example of Victorian social architecture before it disappears from the townscape of Chippenham.  
With the future of the old red brick building still in limbo, and before the building is lost for ever I was intrigued to find out a bit more about the history of the building and tell some of the stories  of what life was like in the building’s heyday. 
Turning to social media to find local people who were pupils and students of the Secondary and Technical School I came across Peggy Burgess who was a pupil at the school during the mid 1950s.
When I popped round and interviewed Peggy at her home in Chippenham we sat down and chatted  about memories of life as a pupil in the old red brick Secondary School building, what school life was like back then for her, memories of being taught in the old wooden classrooms which surrounded the building, what some of her teachers were like and the type of teaching at the time.    Peggy also shared her opinions on why the building should be saved and what it could be used for. 
     Sadly at the time of putting this podcast together to my knowledge there have not been any updates or news about the future of the old secondary and technical School building.  The building still remains boarded up and sadly it might be the case that the building will end up in such a state that it cannot be given a new lease of life or redeveloped to save this iconic architectural Chippenham landmark.

In this extended podcast interview you will hear me chatting with Mike Ingham, former BBC Football Correspondent about his autobiography After Extra Time and Penalties:  Memories of a BBC Football Correspondent which has recently been released as an audiobook. 
From the age of seven Mike had always had a burning ambition to work at the BBC. He got his first break working at BBC Radio Derby before joining BBC Sport Radio at Broadcasting House in London. 
It was a trip with his Dad to the 1964 F. A.  Cup final between Preston and West Ham, which was a life changing moment for Mike showing him the power of communication through commentary and how sports commentary could change people’s lives.   While  at Wembley watching that  F. A.  Cup final Mike noticed a Lancashire man looking up to the sky with a big smile on his face and enjoying the match through the description and commentary from his sighted friend. 
During his life as a sports broadcaster Mike received many letters from blind and visually impaired listeners, from his time working at BBC Radio Derby right through to a note when he retired from the BBC in 2014 from the Rt Hon David Blunkett thanking him for bringing football to life for him over the years. 
In Mike’s Broadcasting career he attended eight World Cups, commentated on twenty-eight F. A.  Cup Finals, work with ten full-time England managers, and introduce Sports Report on Radio Five Live.

In this extended version of my  interview via Zoom with Mike we chatted about his early life supporting his local football club Plymouth Argyle, his time at both BBC Radio Derby and at BBC Sport in Broadcasting House, what it was like working with some of the great Sport Broadcasters, that life changing moment at the 1964 F. A.  Cup Final and Mike’s thoughts on the state of sport broadcasting and management of the England football team over his career.

“I just wanted to thank you for sending over a copy of our interview for me to hear.  I really enjoyed our chat and I think that comes across in the broadcast. You made the interviewee feel very comfortable and have a really relaxing and gentle probing style.Thank you also for making it available via your Audioboom.  I think it is a fantastic service that you are providing.” - Mike Ingham

After Extra Time and Penalties:  Memories of a BBC Football Correspondent by Mike Ingham is published by Book Guild Publishing and is available as  an audiobook, a Kindle download and in other formats.

In this podcast interview you will hear me chatting with Mike Ingham, former BBC Football Correspondent about his autobiography After Extra Time and Penalties:  Memories of a BBC Football Correspondent which has recently been released as an audiobook. 
From the age of seven Mike had always had a burning ambition to work at the BBC. He got his first break working at BBC Radio Derby before joining BBC Sport Radio at Broadcasting House in London. 
It was a trip with his Dad to the 1964 F. A.  Cup final between Preston and West Ham, which was a life changing moment for Mike showing him the power of communication through commentary and how sports commentary could change people’s lives.   While  at Wembley watching that  F. A.  Cup final Mike noticed a Lancashire man looking up to the sky with a big smile on his face and enjoying the match through the description and commentary from his sighted friend. 
During his life as a sports broadcaster Mike received many letters from blind and visually impaired listeners, from his time working at BBC Radio Derby right through to a note when he retired from the BBC in 2014 from the Rt Hon David Blunkett thanking him for bringing football to life for him over the years. 
In Mike’s Broadcasting career he attended eight World Cups, commentated on twenty-eight F. A.  Cup Finals, work with ten full-time England managers, and introduce Sports Report on Radio Five Live.

In my  interview via Zoom with Mike we chatted about his early life supporting his local football club Plymouth Argyle, his time at both BBC Radio Derby and at BBC Sport in Broadcasting House, what it was like working with some of the great Sport Broadcasters and of course not forgetting that life changing moment at the 1964 F. A.  Cup Final.

“I just wanted to thank you for sending over a copy of our interview for me to hear.  I really enjoyed our chat and I think that comes across in the broadcast.  You made the interviewee feel very comfortable and have a really relaxing and gentle probing style.Thank you also for making it available via your Audioboom.  I think it is a fantastic service that you are providing.” - Mike Ingham

After Extra Time and Penalties:  Memories of a BBC Football Correspondent by Mike Ingham is published by Book Guild Publishing and is available as  an audiobook, a Kindle download and in other formats¨.

In this podcast you will hear me catching up and having a chat with visually impaired chef Jo Parsons who lives in the beautiful South Hams area of Devon with husband Bret and their lovely dogs. 
Jo has worked in the catering industry for a number  of years providing delicious and tasty meals all cooked with love for everyone  to enjoy. 
If you are a keen listener to BBC Radio 4’s In Touch programme you may have heard me interview Jo a couple of times  before for the programme.  The last time was in spring last year when I visited Jo to experience one of her legendary Pudding Club lunches which help to fund her Cooking with Confidence classes which provide cooking  lessons for visually impaired people to boost their confidence in the kitchen and help to improve their cooking skills.
In my  Zoom interview with Jo, I managed to catch her just after a lemon drizzle cake had been put into the oven which Jo had made for an elderly lady in Salcombe.  While we waited for the cake to finish baking and with Bret tidying up in the background  We chatted about how life in lockdown had affected her catering business Jo’s Kitchen.  What made Jo want to start up the Gourmet Meals on Wheels service — providing fabulous meals to vulnerable, elderly and isolated people around her home and to  neighbouring villages.  And also how Jo and Bret had been coping generally so far in lockdown.

In this podcast you will hear me catching up and having a chat with visually impaired opera singer, Joanne Roughton-Arnold who is also a music teacher and  the co-founder of FormidAbility, Britain’s first fully accessible opera company.
If you caught  my interview with Joanne on Radio 4’s In Touch programme last summer, you will  have heard  Joanne talk about why she traveled halfway around the world from New Zealand to the UK to study the violin, her move to  opera singing and what it is like performing on stage as a visually impaired singer and why Joanne set up FormidAbility.In this interview I did with Joanne via Zoom we chatted about what life is like for her during lockdown as a visually impaired singer performer and musician.How easy it might be or not trying to link up with other singers and musicians via video platforms such as Zoom.What it is like for Joanne teaching singing and the violin via video and any specific issues or problems for her  teaching in this way as a visually impaired person. And you will hear joanne talk about two very exciting projects that she is currently working on in lockdown, one for the Paraorchastra and hints on a very exciting project for FormidAbility.

Do have a listen to this podcast of my chat with Allan Russell from RNIB Connect Radio all about life in lockdown as a visually impaired person for the Daily Connect programme which was broadcast on Wednesday 6 May 2020.You will here how Sara and I have been coping with life in lockdown including; fun with supermarket online shopping, how easy it was for us to sign up for priority online deliveries as Sara has an underlying health condition and is one of the 1.5 million people who have been advised to shield themselves for 3 months and maybe more, what  I have been doing to ensure that Willow my Guide Dog does not forget her guiding skills during lockdown and a couple of my top tips for other visually impaired people during these strange times we are in at the moment.

If you heard my previous podcast Just Walking the Dog, you will have heard the sounds of birds in the background as I took my Guide Dog Willow for her early morning walk.In this podcast I wanted to share with you the dawn chorus here in Chippenham which I recorded last Saturday when I stepped out into our garden with my trusty microphone.You will also hear me talk about some of the sounds of life in Chippenham that  I am missing  at the moment while we are all in lockdown and my answer to that question most visually impaired people are asked —  ‘You must have fantastic hearing because you are visually impaired?’…  Do have a listen and see if you can spot all the different birds that took part in the Chippenham dawn chorus.  

Like everyone else my wife Sara and I are  self isolating at home in chippenham along with my Guide Dog Willow.  As Sara has a number of underlying health conditions we are in lockdown for the next 12 weeks or so.Once a day I have been taking Willow out for a quick spin round the block in her harness just to give her a walk and to make sure she does not forget her guiding skills!  We have been going out at about 7am each morning when no one is around so that there is no chance of us bumping in to anyone whether they are 2 metres away or not! Hope you enjoy listening to this podcast of one of our early morning walks around our local area in Chippenham.Do keep and eye out as I will be posting more podcasts in the coming weeks about life in isolation here in Chippenham.