26. John Eden - Bench Talk with Jo Hilditch

Jo’s being interviewed this time. Her first podcast was with Tricia Thomas who here turns the tables on Jo and they talk about the highs and lows of a year in office as High Sheriff of Herefordshire.References:Longlands Care FarmHope Scott HouseOrphans PressTravel TonicHereford CathedralHereford MakeThe CartshedParkinsons UKECHONo Wrong DoorNational Crimebeat AwardsStreet Pastors Hereford - Lean on meVenntureWe are Farming MindsFood Banks HerefordHerefordshire Community FoundationVisit Herefordshire – www.visitherefordshire.com

Today I am talking to John Eden who is the Chief Executive of the Herefordshire Association for the Blind as well as being the Director of Music at St Martins, Hereford. As well as being a deeply Christian man John also runs the Hereford Church Singers about which we talk today. If you ever want to hire a brilliant choir for your church service - wedding or funeral - then here’s your answer.References:Hereford Association for the BlindSt Martins Church, Hereford - www.stmartinshereford.org.uk Royal National College for the Blind - https://www.rnc.ac.uk/ Hereford Cathedral - .https://www.herefordcathedral.org Ledbury - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LedburyHereford Church Singers - http://www.herefordchurchsingers.co.uk Visit Herefordshire – www.visitherefordshire.com

Today I am talking to Beth Fortey who is a breast cancer survivor.  We’re going to talk about her journey over the last 18 months, of diagnosis, treatment and recovery and much more besides.  Beth is resilient, positive and looking forward to a future where her hair is properly grown out! She’s also looking forward to giving a bit back and when she recovers all her energy she will be looking to getting back in the workplace and volunteering her services to the community.Today Bench talk comes from a bench in one of Yelenis treatment rooms where Beth has had her 6 free treatments as well as joining others for restorative chats with friends who have gone through the same. Strangely we are sitting in front of a large wall covering of a peaceful sea; and we couldn’t be further from the sea in the middle of Herefordshire, but it’s very calming!References:Vicky’s Accessible Herefordshire Page - Accessible Herefordshire Information Page (mailchi.mp)Visit Herefordshire – www.visitherefordshire.comWestfield Special School - Home - Westfield School LeominsterGreat Ormond Street - Great Ormond Street Charity | Home (gosh.org)Megan Baker House - Home — Megan Baker HouseStar College - National Star College at HerefordCattle Market Shopping - Old Market Shopping in Hereford | Shops, Restaurants, Cinema in Hereford (oldmarkethereford.co.uk)Berrington Hall - Berrington Hall | National TrustHerefordshire (accessiblecountryside.org.uk)Motability scheme - Motability Scheme - The Car and Scooter Scheme for disabled peopleAylestone Park - (2) Aylestone Park | FacebookCore Skate - Home | TheCore (skatehereford.co.uk)

Vicky Nicolson-James is the mother of lovely Clementine. 18 year-old Clemmie has profound and multiple physical and learning difficulties and has been looked after assiduously by her mother and father, as well as being at Westfield Special School in Leominster. Having a disability of any sort makes life difficult for the individual and of course the rest of the family especially when out and about trying to do the everyday things we all take for granted; as well as visiting tourist attactions. Vicky is making it a project to improve awareness in the community with her Accessible Herefordshire campaign – imagine if you can’t take the family out because there’s nowhere suitable to change your child. This podcast will make you realise how lucky you are – if you know nothing about living with a disability, or with a person with a disability this podcast will give you an understated view and help you appreciate the resilience needed and so well displayed by this lovely lady. It is particularly poignant for me as I had a sister Nicky, who was very similar to Clemmie, and was one of the early pupils at Westfield, so I well understand the daily struggles.Today our bench was in the quiet kitchen of Westfield Special School.References:Vicky’s Accessible Herefordshire Page - Accessible Herefordshire Information Page (mailchi.mp)Visit Herefordshire – www.visitherefordshire.comWestfield Special School - Home - Westfield School LeominsterGreat Ormond Street - Great Ormond Street Charity | Home (gosh.org)Megan Baker House - Home — Megan Baker HouseStar College - National Star College at HerefordCattle Market Shopping - Old Market Shopping in Hereford | Shops, Restaurants, Cinema in Hereford (oldmarkethereford.co.uk)Berrington Hall - Berrington Hall | National TrustHerefordshire (accessiblecountryside.org.uk)Motability scheme - Motability Scheme - The Car and Scooter Scheme for disabled peopleAylestone Park - (2) Aylestone Park | FacebookCore Skate - Home | TheCore (skatehereford.co.uk)

Please welcome my oldest podcastee! At 90 years old Alan Blake was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore to go the extra mile. And so he has. Living on the banks of the River Wye in Hereford he decided to walk round his garden enough times to be the equivalent of the steps taken to to climb Mount Everest. That’s 556 circuits of his steep riverside garden - incredible! His wife Valerie suffers from Parkinsons so this is an obvious charity for Alan to support along with the Hereford Rotary and the parish of Burghill where he lived for many years. I first walked with him at the beginning of my tenure, so it was wonderful to be with him on the day he finished.Our bench today is at his house, at the top of his garden, looking onto the River Wye just downstream of the Victoria Bridge - a good place to relax following his exhausting climb!References:Parkinsons: https://www.parkinsons.org.ukHereford Rotary Club: https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=605 and https://www.facebook.com/herefordcityrotaryclub/Burghill Church - https://www.facebook.com/burghillchurch/Hereford Cathedral - https://www.herefordcathedral.orgMappa Mundi - https://www.themappamundi.co.ukBlack and White Village Trail - https://www.blackandwhitetrail.orgVisit Herefordshire - https://www.visitherefordshire.co.ukDONATE TO ALAN - https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/louise-blake-1?utm_term=9ZNY38Y7

Daniel Lister was the “Covid Mayor” of Ross.  His redemptive story shows us all how if you make good choices in your life you can find your way to a respected way of living.  For Daniel it was not always thus.  Brought up in East Anglia, Daniel fought his way through his teens and twenties (literally and metaphorically) where his life involved leaving home as a teenager, dealing drugs, couch surfing, some sexual abuse and difficult family relationships.  Listen to him talk about the troubles of his early life and how he found his way into employment and then to becoming a town councillor for Ross, and eventually becoming Mayor. But this isn’t all he does – his firm opinion is that doing positive things in the community really helps you get over all the difficulties that you may have confronted in your past and in turn you can help others as he has proved in his current job. And his volunteering around the community is non-stop – amazing he has time to sleep! Today our noisy Bench is in the Tap House in Ross on Wye – a micropub of great local renown and Daniel’s regular watering hole. References: EnviroAbility - www.EnviroAbility.org.uk Volunteer committee member at the Basement youth trust youth club - https://basementyouthtrust.wordpress.com/Volunteer board Member at the Larrapurez community centre - https://larruperzcentre.org/Volunteer Radio presenter, personnel manager and trustee at Hereford hospital radio Co-Founder and lead of OCR Solomudders, a supportive running group specializing in Obstacle course running uk wide and overseas   https://www.ocrsolomudders.org.uk/Independent town councillor in Ross on wye - https://www.rosstc-herefordshire.gov.uk/Former workplace at PGL - PGL - School Trips, Summer Camps & Adventure HolidaysVisit Herefordshire – www.visitherefordshire.comThe Tap House - (9) The Tap House | FacebookTown and Country trail around Ross - 5 breathtaking hikes to enjoy in and around Ross-on-Wye | The Hope & Anchor (thehopeandanchor.co.uk)Hope and Anchor Pub - The Hope & Anchor Restaurant, Bar & Rooms | Ross On Wye (thehopeandanchor.co.uk)Queenswood pub and Café - Queenswood Country Park & Bodenham Lake - Herefordshire, UK (queenswoodandbodenhamlake.org)Hereford Hospital Radio - Hereford Hospital Radio | Free Internet Radio | TuneIn

Today I am talking to Jonathan Bland who is just 14, but already a mover and a shaker in the world of volunteers. I met him when he was nominated as a Young Good Citizen by the local Safer Neighbourhood Police Team. Jonathan is very busy - he volunteers at the local food centre, has a mediator role at adoptive families weekends’ he is a climate change activist and is a young leader at his local Messy church. He loves Leominster (of course, we all do!) and I guess he also goes to school!Today Bench talk comes from the Leominster Priory – again we started outside on a church wall, but retreated inside as the cold rain started coming down.References:Leominster Food Share - (11) Leominster Food Share | FacebookLeominster Food Bank - Home - LeominsterfoodbankMessy Church - Messy Church at Leominster Priory church | Messy ChurchNYFTY (folk group) - NYFTE - The National Youth Folklore Troupe of England - NYFTE - The National Youth Folklore Troupe of England,The Courtyard - Home - The CourtyardGrange Court Leominster - Grange Court LeominsterLeominster Priory - Leominster PrioryTenbury Ormiston Academy School - Tenbury High Ormiston Academy Welcome - Tenbury High Ormiston AcademyVisit Herefordshire - Visit Herefordshire | Feel a World Away | Official Tourism Site

For my Christmas podcast it seemed appropriate to talk to Sarah Brown, the new Dean of Hereford Cathedral. Please take time to listen to her – she talks ghosts and dog collars; and of an errant past, calling herself a “dangerous beast”, how she found God, how the church needs to open its doors and encourage more people in, how many volunteers support the Cathedral community, the past challenge of Covid, the present challenges she has which are the everyday challenges we all have, the challenges that face everyone at Christmas and of course how God can be our redeemer. But don’t be put off, she is definitely not pious! Although only recently arrived Sarah offers some thoughts about the overall stunning beauty of Herefordshire, how welcoming and warm the people are, and how delicious the food and drink can be. We all agree!Our bench is in Hereford Cathedral with the organ being played in the background by one of the organ scholars. Our voices echo around this beautiful building as we chat away about her new life with us here.Referenceshttps://www.herefordcathedral.orghttps://www.visitherefordshire.co.ukDiocese of Hereford (anglican.org)

Today I am talking to Andy who is a volunteer with the Hereford Wildlife Trust.  Born and bred in Herefordshire and although spent a few years away at university, he has always lived here.  Andy talks about suffering from mental health problems over the years and other challenges that presented themselves.  Just two years ago his lovely wife Helen died and left Andy with two sons and anxiety. Although his sons’ school had a collection for him and many were really helpful his anxiety did not improve. Following taking some medication and having some counselling Andy started volunteering and joined The Building Better Opportunities programme.  Listen to our chat about how his mental health improved, how the stigma of admitting to mental health problems for men is often part of the problem and how he is now feeling more positive and more self-confident. (Subsequent to our interview Andy has now been appointed in a job for the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and “he’s getting there”.)Although the photo shows Andy and me sitting on a bench in Queenswood, I have admit to it pouring with rain at that time so we went inside the offices to do the chat! HVOSS - HVOSSQueenswood - Queenswood Country Park & Bodenham Lake - Herefordshire, UK (queenswoodandbodenhamlake.org)Herefordshire Wildlife Trust - Home | Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (herefordshirewt.org)Orchard Origins - Orchard Origins | Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (herefordshirewt.org)Building Better Opportunities - Landau - Landau | Supported Employment & Education Charity | Helping You To Get Into Work or TrainingHerefordshire Marches Counselling - Marches Counselling Service |Visit Herefordshire - Visit Herefordshire | Feel a World Away | Official Tourism SiteGreat Doward – Symonds YatGolden Valley – The Golden Valley | Visit HerefordshireRiver Lugg walking and pubs – The Swan (20+) The Swan Inn | Facebookor the Cop at Tupsley Home | Cock of Tupsley in Hereford | Pub and Restaurant | Two for One (cockoftupsleypub.co.uk)

This podcast is not so much a chat, but a lecture – so called the “Shrieval Lecture” – an annual event that is hosted by the High Sheriff usually with the help of a legal professional. This time HH Daniel Pearce-Higgins, Honorary Recorder of Hereford and ex-circuit judge co-hosted Dominic Grieve QC. Dominic is ex Attorney General, MP and is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the MP for Beaconsfield from 1997 to 2019 and was the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2015 to 2019.A liberal conservative, Grieve was a central figure on Brexit and frequently used his experience as a lawyer to propose amendments on the issue, with his interventions often being at odds with government policy. A prominent Remain supporter on Brexit, Grieve called for a second referendum on EU membership, and before being expelled had said that he and other Conservative rebels would support a vote of no confidence to bring down a Conservative government, if that were the only way to block the “catastrophic” damage from a bad Brexit. In spring 2019, Grieve was threatened with deselection by his local party after losing a confidence vote by members. In October 2019, following removal of the whip, Grieve announced that he would stand as an independent candidate in his constituency’s seat at the next general election. It was announced that the Liberal Democrats would stand aside to help him, but to no avail, as he lost his seat.Today his talk is entitled Populism and the Rule of Law (to be feared or applauded) and is rather legal than political and highlights historical examples around populism, as well as reaching conclusions about how populism and the law are inextricably linked and indeed need to work together for successful government.Our “bench” is the Town Hall in Hereford and with an audience of Herefordians and pupils from the sixth form college and Hereford Cathedral School whose attendance was sponsored by Gabbs solicitors. Tanners Wine Hereford generously gave the wine! The Q and A is not recorded here, but the lecture provided for some interesting and lively discussion.References:Hereford Sixth Form College Welcome to Hereford Sixth form collegeHereford Cathedral School A personal welcome from the Headmaster | Hereford Cathedral School (herefordcs.com)Gabbs Solicitors Gabbs Solicitors HerefordTanners Wines Hereford Hereford | Tanners Wines (tanners-wines.co.uk)