The Hello You Sunday Supplement. Issue 28
Hold that handcart! Room for one more?
Hello, you. How was your week?
Hey, at least the sun is shining …
How are you coping with *gestures widely* everything, at the moment? I’ll admit I’m finding things a struggle, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you are as well. I’ve almost completely given up on the news*, partly because much of it makes me want to bang my head on the desk until I render myself unconscious, and partly because so much of what we’re offered is either badly done or utterly fucking witless, or both.
Hence, the Hello You Sunday Supplement! Every Sunday I send you a bunch of links and recommendations that are chosen to help you feel better, not worse. Please share them with your friends and family?
*I’m keeping up with what’s happening in America mostly via media correspondents and some well-informed Substack newsletters. It’s beyond scary, it’s sickening. Hence, I’m not including any of that here, but if you want to know what’s going on - it’s being frankly inadequately reported here in the UK - search my Bluesky, Facebook or LinkedIn for ‘Are You OK, America?’ which is how I tag anything of particular interest. If you’re interested, I’ll do a weekly pull-together of those posts in a separate newsletter, maybe on a Monday morning. Let me know, and I’ll get wheels in motion.
Other things to flag up quickly before we press on:
If you appreciate what I do and you’d like to support me to help make sure I can keep doing it, I’m currently offering a whacking great 50% discount on paid subscriptions to Hello You the Shropshire podcast. Click here to claim your half-price window on the world of Shropshire and beyond. This offer will end on Sunday March 30!
You now have two episodes of Hello You coming your way every week. Subscribe (even for free, that’s absolutely fine!) to make sure you don’t miss any of them!
I’ll be telling the eye-widening, gobsmacking story of me and the BBC in a forthcoming episode which will be for paid subscribers only, so this would be a good time to take out one of those half-price subscriptions? (BBC execs, I’m sure you can put it on expenses …) If you want a flavour of life under Auntie’s voluminous skirts, check out this week’s If you read one thing this week item further down, but do it TODAY (Sunday) because it’s only free to read until midnight (thanks, Uncle Rupert).
Here we go, two three four …
Something to listen to while you read: Parlor Greens. Funky and soulful, but also melodic. No, it’s not jazz. That’s a hot trend now: The we-don’t-play-jazz organ trio
What went right this week
A coterie of wild camping spots opened up, a study found London’s air quality markedly improved, and the ‘truth-seeking’ Edinburgh International Festival lineup was revealed plus more good news from the good people at Positive News
This is what she said
The art of taking a break from things and not feeling guilty about it
Time for some nature-friendly gardening
I can't even begin to tell you how much I want one of these tiny electric trucks
This is how you interview a government official
AI does something Very Weird Indeed (this piece includes an audio recording of the Very Weird Thing as it happened!)
Cuts and caps to benefits have always harmed people, not helped them into work
Surviving a panic attack in public
Norwegian ski team in cheating shock! Key phrase: ‘seams of the crotch area'
Hello You 91: One full life, one violent death
Richard Uridge is a journalist, media trainer, poet, cyclist ... and the son of a mother who met a terrible end
Rich Uridge and I have some things in common.
We both live in Shropshire. We’re both ex-BBC. And we’ve both lost our mothers … but in very different circumstances.
You can hear Richard’s story in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.
Some apocalypses, ranked by how likely they are to kill you
Are you unemployable if you're not on Instagram? (This is absolutely fascinating ...)
Forty years on: The Sisters Of Mercy’s First And Last And Always revisited
The impossible task of being a woman
None of my emails are finding me well
I have a soft spot for the Sussexes, but Tina Brown is searingly spot-on here
Do I need a pension if the world's about to end? (This is me. This is so me. Oops.)
The state of radio at the moment, you could do worse than let some guy's ducks choose the station
The UK farmer protests you probably haven’t heard about
Breaking down barriers for girls and non-binary people in STEAM
Hello You 92: 'We listen to people'
On a very special bench with Telford Samaritans
As I’ve recently been asking for suggestions for benches where I can sit and record conversations for Hello You, Debbie from Telford Samaritans invited me to their Wellington HQ, to sit on a brand-new bench. The bench is a beautiful thing. It’s recently been hand-built and donated to Telford Samaritans by the people at Small Woods’ Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale.
On the bench I heard from Julie, the director of Telford Samaritans (right), and her deputy, Lisa (left). They had some remarkable experiences to share, as you’ll hear in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.
Samaritans say:
If you’ve lots on your mind, we’ll help you find your own way through it. We won’t judge you or tell you what to do. Contact us free – day or night, 365 days a year. Call 116 123 - it’s free, from any phone.
Shrewsbury: Your all-inclusive festival!
Moving networks to 4G and 5G would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people
The Sound of Music at sixty
Transgender people have often been a canary in the coalmines of democracy
The truth about cool: You're not. But it's fine
If you were interested in last week's link marking the centenary of electrical recording - microphones! - you might enjoy this sleeve note from a recent CD release bringing together the earliest known electrically-recorded audio
How informed do we want to be? How informed do we want people to be? (Yes, this is about NPR and the American public media ecosystem, but it has parallels with the BBC in the UK too)
The non-mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie
If you read one thing this week, make it this
‘I don’t hate my BBC stalker, but I’m furious at the corporation’
Alex Belfield was jailed in 2022 yet a BBC apology only came last week. One presenter reveals her ten-year ordeal left her close to the edge (free to read only until midnight Sunday)
Final Thought, à la Jerry Springer
Every country is the most beautiful at something
Yeah yeah, it’s not fair
I hope you enjoyed the Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 28. If you have thoughts, questions, suggestions, whatever then leave a comment
I’m always glad to hear from you
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Thank you for being there
Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you. I hope they’re taking care of you, too
