Happy New Year!
This first Hello You of 2025 was recorded on New Year’s Day, on location at the Severn Valley Railway’s station at Bridgnorth. The railway was taking part in the opening celebrations of Railway 200, a year of events marking the bicentenary of modern rail transport.
There’s a moment in this episode that’ll properly wake you up!
Also, there’s some personal news which I share with you over a paper cup of PG Tips in the railway station’s refreshment room. It just felt like a good moment …
And there’s a chance encounter with a remarkable group of women from thousands of miles away. Why were they at a heritage railway in Shropshire on New Year’s Day? And what was the significance of the Refuse to Conform hoodie that caught my eye?
I’d love to know what you think of this podcast. Why not leave a comment?
And if you’ve enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend, colleague or family member?
Hello You in particular …
If this is the first time we’ve encountered one another, let me explain what I’m trying to do?
I’m trying to give you something a little different. Hello You is about stuff, and things. People, and stories. Shrewsbury, and Shropshire. Mental health and well-being. History and heritage. Arts, culture and music. Journalism, media, radio, photography and everything else that resides in my head, and/or yours. Faith, belief and the complexities of life. Always trying to make the world a better place.
I’m a good listener. It’s what I do. And for Hello You, I’m listening to (and talking with) fascinating people, mostly but not always from Shropshire, so that you can hear what they have to say.
There’s still a place, I believe, for public-service local journalism that cares about people. For audio that brings you the voices of people you might not hear from otherwise. For interviews conducted with compassion and empathy. For thoughtful, positive, good-humoured conversations, informed local storytelling, and commentary that’s not afraid to get righteously angry on occasion.
On that subject: Here’s an article I shared in a recent Hello You Sunday Supplement which has generated quite a few responses. It’s an idea I’d like to explore and build on: Journalism taking on the role of a convenor for the community. If you have any thoughts on this, or ideas for how Hello You can become that community convenor, please get in touch? I’m always glad to hear from you, whether it’s with comments on episodes, suggestions for future topics or interviewees, ideas of places I can record random conversations on benches, or your thoughts on the community convenor idea:
Coming up:
Next week’s Hello You episode will be the first of two featuring Sarah Clein. Sarah and I recorded a conversation in Oswestry a couple of months back, and I was so uplifted and thrilled by it that I was grinning all the way home. There’s so much good stuff in the interview that I’m going to spread it over two episodes, and the first of those will land in your inbox next Friday morning.
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Thank you for being there
Take care of yourself, and the people around you. I hope they’re taking care of you, too.
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