Real Voices of Happy Valley

Real Voices comes to an end (for now). After 100 episodes we are talking a break. We’ll  be back with a different podcast in the future which we will tell people about on our Real Voices of Happy Valley Facebook page. In this final episode we chat with dr Andrew McTominey of Pennine Heritage, based at the Birchcliffe Centre in Hebden Bridge about his Pennine Stories project which aims to engage the community more in using their archives and adding to the 70,000 images and stories they have. Check out their digital archives at www.pennineheritage.org.uk 

In the second of Dean's 'turn the tables episode' Dean Wilkinson of Calder Valley Radio talks to Dave about aspects of his life and work and gains an insight into the origins of Real Voices of Happy Valley

As we approach 100 episodes, which was always our target, our colleague at Calder Valley Radio asked if he could ‘turn the tables’ and ask us questions. So we agreed. In this episode he asked Viv to talk about her life and how we got to be in Calder Valley doing podcasts with local people…

Viv and Dave chat with Sue Knowles who tells us about Todmorden Food Drop In. Originally at St Mary’s Church the drop in outgrew the space available and is now based at Todmorden College. Providing on average 260 family food parcels each week, the drop in serves Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and surrounding areas. For more information on how to drop in and how to donate search for Todmorden Food Drop In or go to Todmorden Food Drop in on Facebook or the website https://tlchub.org.uk › todmorden-food-drop-in 

Julie Thorpe is the manager/chief executive officer at Todmorden Learning Centre – Tod College as its generally known. Here Julie tells Viv and Dave about the wide range of community activities and classes available, all designed to bring community benefit through education, skill sharing and fun activities. There’s literally something for everyone, and if you can’t find what you want support is available to start it up. It is all run by the people of the area. More information at www.tlchub.org.uk or just drop in and ask

Here Viv chats with Anna Chilvers, who is the author of several novels, has written about walking the East Coast and teaches groups and one-to-one mentoring sessions for writers. Originally from the midlands Anna has lived in Calder Valley for many years. You can find her at www.annachilvers.co.uk. She refers to a song by experimental band Hen Ogledd called Etheldrada which you can find on YouTube and various other music platforms

Before Clare became a Forest Therapy Guide she was involved on a lot of creative projects with young people in Manchester and Calderdale. here she talks about international, steamed dance projects bring together young people in the UK, across Europe and the Caribbean... all when the internet was very new and a mystery to many

In episode 92 Viv and Dave chat with Clare Donegan about her influences and role as a Forest Therapist working with local communities on creativity, mindfulness and engaging with nature. You can get more information and find out about group sessions at www.claredonegan.com

No guest in episode 91. Viv chats to Dave about his weekend managing the North Sea Stage at Musicport in Whitby, a world music festival. Getting bands on and off stage, keeping their equipment safe, mending the wobbly stage flooring and generally ensuring all went well. An insight into one of those roles that, if it goes well, no one notices.

Creedy has been part of Hebden Bridge culture for many years. As a musician, a radio organiser, presenter and youth worker among other things. Irrepressible, enthusiastic and creative, he has made his impact on valley life and long may that continue. Hear some of his multifaceted history and some future plans

Viv talks to Luke White of the Men’s Book Club, based in Todmorden with members from all over the valley. He talks about how and why he set up a men’s book club, which has attracted a large number of members. Luke tells Viv about the kind of books they read – all fiction but not all written by men. The book club meets on the second Thursday of each month at The Fox (formerly The Pub) in Todmorden. This is an extended version of an interview Viv played on her monthly Bookends radio show at www.caldervalleyradio.co.uk

We talk to Leonie Nimmo about efforts to ensure land workers in Palestine get support and appropriate seeds for the future food security of the region. Many people in the Calder Valley show support for the plight of Palestinians in demonstrations, showing films and organising fundraising gigs among other things. Local woman Leonie has been involved in food security here, in Manchester and internationally since the millennium. She talks about some of the practical food related things people can do. More information can be found at landworkersalliance.org.uk. She is looking for help locally, any messages to Real Voices of Happy Valley Facebook page will be passed on to her

Dave talks to Maureen and John Readle, local volunteers with the Canal and River Trust, keeping our canal in good condition, clearing towpaths and maintaining the locks. They say is payback for their years of canal holidays, but others volunteer for plenty of reasons of their own. Find out more about the canal system and how to volunteer at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Viv and Dave chat with Mark Wibsey who introduced walking football to Calder Valley. He is part of Calder Valley Strollers, one of several clubs open to new members. There are clubs in Mytholmroyd, Todmorden, Halifax and Burnley, it is available on several days through the week and there are Sunday sessions at Todmorden Sports Centre. It is good exercise, available to people who have always played and those who never had the opportunity because of the old rules on girls and women playing. There are fewer injuries too, so it is a very accessible form of the ‘beautiful game’. You can find more by searching Facebook for ‘Hebden Bridge Walking Football’ or ‘Calder Valley Strollers’ and  www.thewfa.co.uk

Dave and Viv speak to Peter Lassey of the White Ribbon Campaign UK which started in Mytholmroyd and aims to prevent violence against women and girls. It does this by addressing the root causes of men’s violence against women: harmful attitudes, behaviours around gender and harmful expressions of masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and gender-based violence. Find out more about white ribbon at www.whiteribbon.org.uk

Viv and Dave talk to Madeleine Brooks and other members of the Gledhill Community Project about their plans to create a safe play and community space with seating, planters and sensory garden on a piece of land used for many years for illegal tipping. The area in Gledhill Street, Todmorden – between Adelaide Street and Victoria Road – needs clearing to make it safe and there is plenty of work for the local residents still to do. More members of the valley community bringing benefit to their area. You can find more information on their Facebook page ‘Gledhill Street Community Garden Project’

Dave & Viv chat with Jenny Shepherd of Ban the Burn and Sarah Crane of For Peat’s Sake about the proposed Wind Farm on Walshaw Moor. They believe this would damage the peat moors which are essential for the environment to slow the flow of water down the hillsides and cause further flood problems for the area. They have had to learn a lot about the science of the environment and keep up to date on research. While being supporters of sustainable energy sources they maintain that in this case it creates more problems than it solves

Satnam Singh, post master at Hebden Bridge, Banking Hub manager in Todmorden and charity activist. Satnam does not merely donate, he acts, whether it is jumping out of an airplane or trekking to Everest Base Camp. Satnam puts in a lot of effort for charities, partly because it is a part of his Sikh culture, partly because he’s just a decent man. Listen to his adventures on his eight day trek to Everest famous base camp area….and back

Satnam Singh is a well known face in Hebden Bridge after running the Post Office for 15 years. He is now getting known in Todmorden as he manages the Banking Hub at Tod College, bringing bank services back to the town. Satnam airs his views on the importance of banking to the community, new technology and his own experiences of the post office scandal. Then Dave asked him about his charity work and trek to Everest Base Camp…the answer will fill up the next episode of Real Voices of Happy Valley …

We are proud to chat with Issy Pollard, Calder Valley's own Lioness, one of the players praised as ground breakers by the current crop of Women's Football Euro Champions, and thanked by them. Issy grew up in Old Town with supportive parents and teachers, was first picked for England at 16, a member of the Euro 97 squad, she now scouts and supports young female footballers. Many also know her as the owner of Rocket Dogz and she loves walking dogs on the moors around the area. What a star

Viv and Dave meet Roger King in Calder Holmes Park Hebden Bridge,  just after a  Dancing for Life session. The group meet every Wednesday morning to dance outdoors, in all weathers, because it is refreshment the mind and body. Roger is also a DJ and counsellor, very Calder Valley.

Listen to Dave talking to Mary Clear, community activist on the importance of kindness and the power of small actions in improving life and environment in the Calder valley and beyond

We’re back! After a break for a couple of months Real Voices of Happy Valley returns as Viv and Dave chat with author and musician Paul Weatherhead, author of several books including ‘Weird Calderdale’, member of The Ukrainians and writer of comedy horror songs. He also has a podcast ‘Monsters, Myths and Maniacs’. Find out more and hear Paul’s podcasts at www.paulweatherhead.com/

The Great Cornholme and Portsmouth Get Together stretches a mile or so along the villages taking in a variety of activities and community groups. Viv and Dave talk to the organisers Rebecca Slaven, Emma Carter and Jim Haughey. Local resident Rebecca is involved in Inspire, Motivate, Transform – feel good movement and dance – and leads a keep fit group, Jim is part of Vale Baptist Church and Emma is part of Active Calderdale. They work closely with the Lionesses of the Valley and others to develop community activities in the area.

Viv and Dave chat to Matt Taylor, on a bench next to a pond he created on land he owns above Colden. Matt explains how he creates woodland management plants and loves to 'dig holes and hit things', especially when this ends up with trees getting planted

Viv and Dave talk to Josie McNamara, General Manager at Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy, the first women-led boxing club in the UK. Its mission is to make positive contributions to the physical and mental well-being of the local community by providing a safe, inclusive space where everyone is welcomed and empowered through boxing, exercise, and social inclusion. Josie had been a ski racer in her native Scotland and has always had interest in girls’ and women’s sports. Find out more about Northern Powerhouse at www.northernpowerhouseboxing.org.uk

Viv and Dave chat with Todmorden based photographer and videographer Scott van der Zanden. Scott is the photographer for the West Holts stage and Glastonbury and has wide experience of work at events, gigs and festivals, weddings especially. Hear how he got into photography, his approach and style, the skill of capturing and the importance of ‘moments’. Scott also discusses his love of community, his volunteering roles and discovering his Calder Valley heritage. https://scottvanderzanden.com/

This is an extended interview with Kath Reade for Viv’s Bookends Radio Show. From taking the hippy trail to Greece as a teenager to being a council leader then  having her first book published in her 70s, Kath remains a fascinating character. Hear about her discovery of meditation, retreats she runs and her singer-songwriting. More at www.kathreade.co.uk. Viv’s Bookends Radio Show is on www.caldervalleyradio.co.uk on the first Friday of each month and ‘listen again’ the following week

David Insua-cao is the leader of Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra, a community orchestra and choir of 40 or so which performs a massive variety of material by the likes of Sun Ra, Ennio Morricone, David Bowie, Beatles, Leonard Cohen and many more all written out on sheet music by a team of maestros. They have over 200 tunes ready to play with parts for all instruments. Fantasy Orchestra started in Bristol and has generated daughter orchestras in Paris, Kent, Jersey, Plymouth, Mumbai and Todmorden. Some have been new to their instruments, others have dug out instruments they haven’t played since leaving school and it also includes lifelong professionals ... all levels of musicianship welcome to join though its probably best if you can read music or are prepared to have a go trying!

Guy Parry is a radio presenter at Calder Valley Radio on the internet. His shows are the Tuesday Magazine and Sunday Spotlight, which features songs from musical theatre. He is also an actor - Coronation Street, Brookside, Emmerdale, Cold Feet and more in TV and on stage he as appeared on the West End and Northern Broadsides. Most recently he was at Hebden Bridge Little Theatre in Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. Guy can also be seen as compere at a variety of local community events including the unique World Dock Pudding Championships at Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre. Hear him on www.caldervalleyradio.co.uk / listen again

Daz Jones is well known in the Calder Valley as a Practice Nurse and musician primarily. He has also been part of Daz n Dave’s Disco, at Cabaret Heaven among others, and is  popular on stages locally and at festivals/venues far and wide. Here Daz chats about his life, attitude to life and how he thoroughly enjoys the life he’s had so far. Splendid chap.

Viv and Dave chat with Angie and Andrew Mossman at their permaculture smallholding in West Yorkshire. They discuss their business and support for a local sustainable economy. Remote but connected: only ten minutes’ drive from Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, 20 minutes from Sowerby Bridge. They have accommodation in former stables and specially designed and built units where they offer residential retreats, partnering with local artists, nature based crafters and wellness practitioners. Andrew is a Mountain Training Association instructor and leads accredited Hill-skills & Navigation courses, walking retreats and wild swims. www.daisybankcamp.co.uk

Helen Chuntso is one of the Chinese medicine practitioners in the Calder Valley. Her base in the Hebden Bridge Chinese Medicine Clinic in Valley Road. She talks with Viv about how she got into Chinese medicine, some of its basics and how it works alongside western medical practices 

In this episode Viv and Dave chat with Hebden Bridge born Kirsty Newton, a multi-talented entertainer who performs around the world, both solo and with a huge variety of wonderful artists, wearing many different hats and showcasing her versatile musical skills. She’s a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, musical improviser, composer, musical director and arranger, compère, host and comedy performer. In the valley you can catch Kirsty's singalongs at local pubs/venues

Episode 54 features Jill Robinson talking about her Berringden Brow books and the life and adventures of Jess, a single mother in a Pennine town. It’s not quite autobiographical, but everything in the books has happened to someone, including Jill. Discover the importance of observing people, the things they say and how that turns into believable stories on the page

Lizzie Rowan, with her wife TJ, runs Full of Joy Animal Sanctuary. It offers forever homes to animals in need. It's had pigs, goats, ponies. chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, ferrets and terrapins. The sanctuary runs on vegan principles and ensures everything is environmentally friendly. Full of Joy is a not for profit organisation run by volunteers, based in the beautiful hills between  Hedden Bridge and Todmorden, in West Yorkshire.  above Eastwood. www.full-of-joy-animal-sanctuary.co.uk. It suffered major damaged in Storm Eowyn and they are in the process of raising funds to rebuild: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/full-of-joy-sanctuary

Les Gillon talks with Dave about his music, his latest band and recording, what inspires him and how lucky we are in the Calder Valley to have such creative talent, venues and an audience for original music

Cornholme is often seen as the ‘forgotten valley end’ of Calderdale. So much so that it seemed to be the ideal spot for the somewhat mystifying TV series ‘Passenger’ (ITVx). Yet there are lots of things going on there with the Old Library and the churches being community hubs and its active community groups and individuals. One such individual is Jim Haughey who collects donations and helps at the foodbank and is based at the Vale Baptist church. Dave went to speak to him ...

Trina Lucas, former museums conference organiser, music lover, long time Calder Valley resident has taken up the role of Events Manager at Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre. Already recognised as a sports, leisure and function hub of Mytholmroyd and the wider community Trina is adding more gigs and other events to its role. Touring and local bands now have yet another venue to show their talents in the valley which is one of the nation’s greatest centre’s for original music. The centre is currently in the process of physical as well as social expansion and is home to Calder Valley Radio where Viv and Dave have their Allsorts radio show and Dave will now host a monthly quiz helping as part of efforts to raise further funds for the centre

John Billingsley worked at Hebden Bridge library for three decades, now organises Todmorden Folklore Centre’s library. He developed an interest in the folklore of the valley, its icons, its stories and how it holds the communities together while explaining its local rivalries. He has published books on West Yorkshire and Calderdale Folklore and researched the strange stone heads and ‘ancient’ monuments that can be seen on houses and the moorland

Viv and Dave chat with Rosie Grant and Lisa van der Zanden at Natural Endings, a funeral service which puts the family/friends at the centre of funeral planning. They are both committed to ensuring the family/friends can be involved as much or as little as they feel they want. Funeral services and gatherings or ‘de-parties’ can be designed for specific individuals; some are interactive, can involve tea, coffee, toasts, refreshments, talk and art, displays, music as people think appropriate. Learn the wide variety of options at what is often your most difficult time. There is a room for services and gatherings and fire pits outside should people feel they want to gather in that way. Hear how each came to this occupation and how they can help you celebrate your loved ones. Natural Endings - Independent Funeral Directors or find them on Facebook and  Instagram.

The u3a is an organisation that brings retired people together to share their interests and skills. People can continue to pursue interests and/or develop new ones. There are people in their 80s able to play badminton and cricket in safe environments, there are people studying  languages, philosophy and history. There are scrabble and board games groups. This is not ‘sit around while some kindly younger person brings you a cup of tea and calls out bingo numbers’, this has a do-it-yourself attitude. Have an interest but can’t find a group? Come along and set one up. There are u3a groups all over the country, Todmorden u3a is there for the whole of Calderdale and beyond  www.u3atod.org.uk 

Keith Crabtree, born in Cornholme, lived in Todmorden all his life, worked for Environmental Health at Calderdle council and became a flood warden on his retirement. Now a flood volunteer, Keith has views on the lack of maintenance that contributes to floods up and down Calder Valley through Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Walsden and places in between. He uses his local knowledge to identify problem areas for the community and emergency services. Keith’s Facebook page is a great source of information when things go wrong

Nicola Warren is a popular as a School Crossing Patrol getting children and parents safety across the road to their school. There is so much more to her life than that as people who cross roads every day of term times realise. Listen to Nicola about her role and her views on the strange goings on in the valley

Madeleine Brooks is a singer songwriter living in Todmorden. She runs an open mic at The Puzzle Hall, Sowerby Bridge and, ‘cut her teeth’ on the stage at Hebden Bridge Trades Club – a real voice of happy valley. After playing gigs, running nights at Nelson's Wine Bar, supporting some of the best musicians to visit the valley and being nominated at Leeds Music Awards, Madeleine lost her voice, was diagnosed with ADHD, but is back. Listen to her views on open mic nights, how she got started and what she’s up to now

Catherine Shelley, is kept busy by being vicar of St Mary’s Todmorden, St Peter’s, Walsden and St Michael’s, Cornholme. Catherine, originally from Manchester, gave up a career in law to follow her faith. She’s been chaplain at Birmingham University, worked in Southwark, south London and is now settled in Todmorden. She is heavily involved in many aspects of the valley community from foodbanks to increasing links between church and LGBT communities. While not abandoning traditions she is perhaps the future of the church of England

Episode 54 features Jill Robinson talking about her Berringden Brow books - and the life and adventures of Jess, a single mother in a Pennine town. It’s not quite autobiographical, but everything in the books has happened to someone, including Jill. Discover the importance of observing people, the things they say and how that turns into believable stories on the page

Episode 53 of Real Voices of Happy Valley is a chat with Natalie George of Big Tree which now runs the Oddfellows Hall, next to Todmorden Market. The building has a long history as an entertainment hub and now features a ground floor café Branch Out and several spaces available for functions, workshops, club nights and a gig venue. Community minded Natalie is looking for people to come along with their ideas and skills to help develop the facility

Claire Convallaria interested Viv with her work on projects encouraging and enabling girls into science education and careers. Like so many we speak to on Real Voices, she does far more than that. Claire also advises on business sustainability – how businesses can be socially and environmentally as well as economically sustainable. This requires her to be up to date with current and potential government policies on sustainability issues. She studied and assessed the effects the US elections are likely to have on the rest of us. Claire also home educated her children while working in several countries and with unusual working hours. Her ‘home ed’ processes are designed specifically for her children and around her working day