Episodes that focus on Dave, the host and creator of Getting Better Acquainted

The Dave Episodes

GBA 120 is a special episode that was mostly recorded whilst travelling on buses a couple of years ago. For half of it you join me on a National Express bus that is going from Bristol from London and for the other half I am returning from this journey. 

This trip to Bristol wasn't really about travelling between locations. It was a journey about family, memory and coming to terms with various things that have made me and my family who and what we are.

This episode documents a life changing, revelatory weekend, where I spent time with 4 generations of my family, held an almost new born baby, interviewed close friends about their lives, had various experiences at St Paul's Carnival, and sat down on a sunny Sunday morning to have three very different conversations with my mother, the third one of which focused on our relationship with each other, the full episode that features that conversation went out last Wednesday.

This episode is a kind of commentary on all of the above, a summation of how those things intertwined around my life and sense of self for a while, a documentation of an epiphany live as it occurs, before it becomes part forgotten like all realisations. 

It contains clips from all three conversations with my mother: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-mum-episodes-1/

And also from conversations I had with my friends Jess and Dan:

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-111-jess

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-112-dan

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

The Truth Of Today

In this GBA Special we get better acquainted with The Osmaston Family.

This episode is in a more documentary style and explores the posh part of my family history as I travel to the Osmaston family reunion to capture their memories of a quarter of my genetic heritage. 

A personal journey into the unknown territories of family history featuring rediscovered wartime diaries, the legacy of the British Empire, childhoods in India filled with tigers and elephants, engineering the industrial revolution, walking on graves, landed gentry, confronting the judgement of my 15 year old self and more.

People I get better acquainted with in this episode include:
June Hoy
Stephen Nash
Bill Wright 
Mark Giles
Charles Wright
John Osmaston
Charles Nichols
Henry Osmaston
Jill Button

Plugs:

Doreen's Diary: http://www.doreensdiary.org.uk/

Three Posh Boys: http://goosefat101twitterspills.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/three-posh-boys.html

Clive's episode: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-11-clive

We mention:

People's Assembly: http://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/
Time Team: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team
St Pancras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Pancras_railway_station
Victoria Falls Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls_Bridge
Falkirk Wheel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel
Cromford High Peak  Railway: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromford_and_High_Peak_Railway
Vauxhall Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauxhall_Bridge
Kirdford Church (St John the Bapist) http://www.achurchnearyou.com/kirdford/



You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

GBA 135 The Osmaston Family

In this GBA Extra I discuss the uncertain position I find myself in this New Year, have a brief round up of  what's been going on with Getting Better Acquainted in 2013 and offer up various rants and explanations.

Reflections, apologies, resolutions and possible solutions.

I plug: 

Suggesting/offering me jobs, commissions and solutions! - GBApodcast@gmail.com

Mentioned:

The 2012 Christmas Special: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-91-getting-better?in=gettingbetteracquainted/sets/christmas-specials

GBA 100: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/gba100-1

Live episodes: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/gba-live

Edinburgh Season: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/stand-up-tragedy-at-edinburgh

Resonance FM: http://resonancefm.com/

GBA Resonance Edits: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/resonance-fm-edits

Helen Zaltzman: http://www.helenzaltzman.com/

Helen Zaltzman Live Episode: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-live-9-helen-zaltzman

Family Season 2013: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-family-season-2013

Family Reunion Episode:  https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-135-the-osmaston-family

Stand Up Tragedy:  http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/

Tragic Christmas:
https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/tragic-christmas-act-1
https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/tragic-christmas-act-2

Tragic Beginnings:  
Friday 17th Jan at Hackney Attic / 7.30pm / £5 advance, £7 on the door
https://www.facebook.com/events/208432709344135/
http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Hackney_Picturehouse/film/Stand_Up_Tragedy_Tragic_Beginnings/

Josie Long: http://www.josielong.com/

Josie Long on SUT: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-daily-ep1-josie-long

Robin Ince: http://robinince.com/

Robin  Ince on SUT: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-daily-ep-8-robin-ince-and

My Gran's passing: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-true-stories-of-time

Gods of Comedy Podcast: http://godsofcomedypodcast.com/

My GoC cameo: http://godsofcomedypodcast.com/podcast/episode-13-brydie-and-becs-non-denominational-festive-stick/

Spark London: http://www.sparklondon.com/

Jan Spark Hackney open mic: 
Monday 13th Jan / 7.30 / £4 
https://www.facebook.com/events/567796609975761/

Spark London Special: http://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/open-hearts-a-spark-london-special/

Hackney Attic: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Hackney_Picturehouse/Attic/

Risk! : http://risk-show.com/

A Room Full of Christmas Friends: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-141-a-room-full-of

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

GBA Extra - Uncertain New Year

In GBA 156 pt 2 we get even better acquainted with my partner, Jen. We talk about how our 13 year relationship works, exploring the domestic compromises and tensions, arguments and conflicts, friendship and love, that come from living with someone and sharing a life together. We also cover the experience of living with (and living with someone who lives with) mental health issues. We push at the boundaries of openness and honesty in a conversation that is full of quiet revelations. Whether you know us well or know nothing about us, by the end of this conversation you will be intimately acquainted with who we are and how we fit together. 

This conversation picks up where Part 1 left off and I recommend listening to that episode first: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-156-jen-2-pt-1

This is the forth episode of a 3 week "Personal Season".

On next wednesday (16th) the season will be rounded up with an episode collecting together true stories and personal songs that I've told and recorded over the last 2 years.

Jen Plugs:

Openness and honesty.

We mention:

Crying For No Reason - Katy B: http://open.spotify.com/track/3DDxYAT7Nuj0tfkHICWYi3

Dan Savage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Savage

Savage Love: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=19234246

Sex at Dawn: http://www.sexatdawn.com/

Smugsexual - on twitter

http://stavvers.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/smugsexual-and-the-closet-two-faces-of-feminist-biphobia/

http://sometimesitsjustacigar.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/thoughts-on-being-a-smugsexual/

Radcliffe Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-radcliffe-episodes/

Niels Bohr: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr

Niels Bohr quote: “There are trivial truths and there are great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.”

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

GBA 156 Jen #2 Pt 2

In GBA 157 we get better acquainted with... me. The Personal Season ends with The Personal Episode: True stories told by me live on stage at Spark London over the last few years, broken up with tracks from The Open EP that I released for free download earlier this year. 

It starts with a vasectomy and ends in vomit! In between there's bullying, smashing through windows, an unusual stag night, crime and punishment and more. 

It's another episode I feel uncomfortable about putting out. Which has been a feature of this 3 week season.

For more about Spark London go here: http://www.sparklondon.com/

This is the final episode of the 3 week "Personal Season".

I plug getting better acquainted!


Related episodes:

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-open-episodes

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-31-ged

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-106-jack-and-george

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-77-the-coventry-years

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-80-alex

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-81-dave-guest-hosted-by

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-17-cardiff

https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-67-martin-the-sound-man

The Open EP: https://soundcloud.com/the-dave/sets/the-open-ep

Hero: https://soundcloud.com/the-dave/hero

Producers:

Stephen Harvey - https://twitter.com/SteveHSoundtech  tech[at]standuptragedy.co.uk

Martin Austwick: https://twitter.com/martinaustwick
http://www.thesoundoftheladies.com/

Shameem: https://soundcloud.com/muzikal-azylum


You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

GBA 157 The Personal Episode

In GBA 190 we get better acquainted with Christmas (again). It's the 2014 Christmas Special and this time we focus more on the complicated than the uplifting. The majority of the episode is a conversation between me and my friend Nina, two people with a complicated relationship with Christmas swapping our war stories. Also so featured in the episode is a story of recent Christmas joy from Connor and a song from Martin Austwick. The episode also contains my father's voice speaking to his granddaughter in the past and providing some Tove Jannson style Christmas spirit.

This episode hopes to offer solidarity to the seasonally afflicted and an explanation to those who love Christmas for why many of us might not. It does touch on upsetting family dynamics and mental health issues, including specific reference to traumatic events, depression and violence against children but in an actually pretty light and seasonal way.

For other GBA flavours of Christmas see the past 3 Christmas Specials:

2011: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-christmas-special

2012: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-91-getting-better

2013: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-141-a-room-full-of

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!

To hear the contributors at length in a none Christmas context listen to these episodes:

Nina: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-132-nina

Connor: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-186-connor

Martin: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-67-martin-the-sound-man

Dad: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes

Mentioned/Plugged:

Martin Austwick: 

http://www.martinzaltzaustwick.com/

https://twitter.com/martinaustwick

http://www.thesoundoftheladies.com/

https://martinaustwick.bandcamp.com/

Stand Up Tragedy: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy

Full Tragic Christmas: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sets/tragic-christmas

Tove Jansson: http://www.tovejansson.com/

The Fir Tree: http://tygertale.com/2013/12/01/december-1st-the-fir-tree-by-tove-jansson/

The Moomins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin

The Mum Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-mum-episodes-1


(There will be no GBA next week. It will return in January 2014.)

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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GBA 190 Christmas

GBA 17: The Cardiff Special 

Dave takes us on a journey into his past as he returns to Cardiff the city that he lived in during his adolescence. Conversations, anecdotes, and memories mix together as we get better acquainted both with Cardiff and with Dave's old life there.

This episode features conversations with Owain, Steve, John, Bill, Angela, Lucy, and Dave.

Nearly all those named have a full episode of GBA devoted to them coming up in future weeks.



Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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GBA 17 Cardiff

This getting better acquainted extra features various performances I've done on stage during 2015.

Stand Up Tragedy Presents:  https://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/

Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/

Multicultural Minds: https://www.facebook.com/events/1735829253307581/

Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/

Arts Emergency: http://www.arts-emergency.org/

What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk

GBA 106 Jack and George: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-106-jack-and-george



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GBA Extra - Why I Make Tragedy

This is an introduction to Dave who is the host of GBA. It was Episode 1 of  the series and had 130 plays at the time of it being ACCIDENTALLY DELETED. It has been re-posted out of sequence because there was no way of putting it back where it belonged.

Dave tells stories from his past, some funny, some sad, some a mixture of both, featuring two live stories told at Spark London events: http://www.sparklondon.com/

GBA 1 Dave

In GBA 265 we get better acquainted with... well... it's hard to say really. This was recorded in 2012 for what I intended to make into a Lancaster special, but things didn't go entirely to plan. Mostly you get better acquainted with me and with my partner Jen and get an idea of why audio roadtrips are not something we are best suited to doing together. This is a shorter episode than most GBAs:. It starts in a train and ends in a graveyard.

I plug:

The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast

Donating to GBA: http://bit.ly/1LUtbKt

Things mentioned:

Steve: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-63-steve
The Priory: http://lancasterpriory.org/
Coventry Special: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-64-coventry
Cardiff Special: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-17-cardiff

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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Getting Better Acquainted

GBA 265 Special: When Microphones Don't Work

In GBA 267 we get  better acquainted with... me. In this shorter episode than usual I share some of the true stories I've told on the Spark London stage in 2016. As host of the Spark Hackney open mic  I start every night with a story from my life that fits that months theme. I've been hosting for 4 years so finding stories to tell is a constant challenge.

For more about Spark True Stories: http://stories.co.uk/

I plug:

The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast

What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity

http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk

Donating: http://bit.ly/1LUtbKt


Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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GBA 267 Dave

This Getting Better Acquainted Extra starts with a story I told at a Spark London night about mental heath in November 2016 and then jumps to Feb 2017 to continue the story. It's all about therapy, mental health, diagnosis and the relationship between the personal and the political.

Mentioned

Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/

Hackney Night: https://www.facebook.com/events/1362423493814282/

Spark Mind Podcast Specials:

https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/multiculturalminds-truestorieslive

https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/imfine-shannon-sparktruestories

Mind in Haringey: http://www.mindinharingey.org.uk/

Dad Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes

The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/

Cameryn Moore: http://www.camerynmoore.com/
Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/607321672796807/

What About the Men? https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity


Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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Getting Better Acquainted Extra

GBA Extra - Therapy

To celebrate the 300th episode of GBA I'm putting out a season of 3 special episodes, starting with today's Episode 1 Revisited which is in some ways a conversation between two different versions of me, the 2011 Dave and the 2017 Dave. This episode contains the original audio from Episode 1 with a new commentary and reflection on that material. Episode 1 focused on introducing me, featuring audio pieces and performances. It contains the first two true stories that I ever told at Spark London. I found listening back to the past version of me a difficult thing to do and doing so inspired lots of different emotions in me.

Content note: Mental Health Issues, violence against children, sex and sexuality, toxic masculinity and Christmas.

The 300th season will continue on Wednesday with GBA 300. In that episode a friend who has resisted being a guest for 299 episodes finally comes on the show, and it will finish on Friday with a special musical GBA Extra. 

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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Getting Better Acquainted Replayed

GBA 300 - Episode 1 Revisited


GBA 52 : To the Heart of It

This is a special episode of GBA which mixes true stories that I told live at Spark London with family conversations and a new song to explore how my dad’s heart attack and quadruple heart bypass touched both me and my family.

I talk to:
Jo  http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-52-jo
Sonia  http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-51-sonia
Tony http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-35-tony
and my Dad  http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes/

about some big moments in our family history, getting different perspectives and shining a light on the way we interact as a family group. 

This episode is about how families create myths, how memories of events contradict, change and fade, how families interact and how the idea of a parent’s mortality can shape your life.



CREDITS

The song "Talk to your Parents" will eventually be on the upcoming album "Bouncy, Poppy Songs About Death" from The Reactionaries: http://soundcloud.com/thereactionaries

Hayley is the other member of this alt-pop duo, you can hear her playing fiddle on the track: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-9-hayley

The mixes you hear were thrown together at very short notice by the magnificent silent member of our duo, our producer George: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-6-george


The two stories you hear me perform were told at Spark London nights: http://www.sparklondon.com/

One at the open mic they run at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton and the other at the curated nights they put on at the Canal Cafe Theatre in Little Venice.

I've been actively involved with Spark London for a couple of years and have told quite a few true stories there and even produced some of their episodes. As a result of this one strand of GBA is conversations with Spark London true storytellers: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/spark-londoners/ 



CAST LIST:

In the interests of clarity this is how my family works:


Dad's 1st Marriage = Dad + Sheila

Two daughters from this marriage: Jo and Rebecca (http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-28-rebecca)

Sonia is Jo's daughter.



Dad's 2nd Marriage = Dad + June/My Mum (http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-mum-episodes-1)

Two sons from this marriage: Tony and Me



Mum's 2nd Marriage = Mum + Mervyn

One daughter from this marriage: Rosie



The two friends who are mentioned in my story are:

Owain: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-16-owain
and Steve (who I haven't managed to do a full GBA with yet but who appears in this GBA Special: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-17-cardiff )


Jen is my girlfriend (who appeared in the Christmas Special and will have at least one proper episode coming out in the future.)

Liz makes a cameo in this episode as she was my outside ear and shaped the way that the episode was narrated. She talks about some of the things discussed in this episode in her GBA episode: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-4-liz

This is the playlist of all of the family episodes that have aired so far: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/family



You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!


GBA 53 To The Heart Of It

This is the first of two GBA Extra's coming out today.

The Partition is an extended and developed version of  the recent GBA submission to the Third Coast International Audio Festival ShortDocs Challenge2012: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/grey-areas 

In it we get a little better acquainted with my Dad: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes/

We also get better acquainted with Sam, who is no longer with us. 

And we get better acquainted with me as we find out more about my childhood.

Next wednesday's episode will be the second full length episode devoted to Dad, as we discuss technology and change on a return journey from Germany to the UK that we made over a year ago.

Later today in the GBA Extra "Out of the Window" we'll hear more about how Sam came to join the family.

GBA Extra - The Partition

This is the second of 2 GBA Extras that are coming out today.

They are connected thematically so be sure to check out the first one: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-partition

I tell the story of how my family came to get a dog.

This one is a story I told at the Spark London open mic which is held Upstairs @ The Ritzy in Brixton. The Spark has its own podcast that is around the same length as this episode. They release them very regularly and they feature people telling true stories live on stage. Find them on iTunes, Stitcher or MixCloud:  http://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/

http://www.sparklondon.com/

The next Spark London open mic:

Is on Monday 21st May 2012 at 7:30pm

The theme is: Winning

The Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton Oval, Brixton Oval, London, SW2 1JG

You just turn up and pay what you like. You watch people tell there stories and if you want to tell yours then you put your name down and get up on the stage!

The next curated Spark London night is:

6th June 2012 at 7:30pm

Theme: Life saver

Venue: Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice, London, W2 6ND, UK - Website - map

Box office: 020 7289 6054  /  http://www.canalcafetheatre.com/

I have been recording conversations for GBA with people I've met through Spark London. I have some really great ones that haven't aired yet too that will be coming out over the next year. They will be added to this playlist: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/spark-londoners/

GBA Extra - Out of the Window

In GBA 64 we get better acquainted with Coventry:

It's an epic document of my return to a city I hadn't been back to in 12 years.  I lived there through some dark and strange times 17 years ago.

In the show I really do get better acquainted with the city. I get to know its character. With my childhood friend Steve as my co-host I take you around Coventry's Cathedrals and shopping centres and we cover how the city was changed forever by the blitz. 

http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/

Then we journey back into my past, returning to the estates that I lived in as a child and the schools that we both attended together, through a barrage of memory and new perspectives. 

Steve mounts an inspiring defence of the city he has lived his whole life in and tells us why he loves the city so deeply. 

I take a long hard look at my past, re-evaluate my relationship to it, reconsider who I am, and get to know a different city to the one I left. Or is the city the same and it's me who has changed? Have I really changed at all?

Either way come and join me as I make my peace with Coventry.

As a prelude to this episode I released Steve’s GBA earlier this week:  http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-63-steve

Both episodes are about that strange time of life: late childhood. The years before you are fully teen but when you are no longer a toddler. 

They are also about re-establishing and developing friendship. A friendship where we knew each other before we were fully formed. 

They are about the danger and the magic of being a child. And that strange nostalgic emotion that comes when you try and look back.

Other good “extra listening” that compliments this episode are:

Episode 1 of GBA where I tell at least 3 stories set in Coventry during this time: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-1-dave

One of which is this http://www.sparklondon.com story which we talk about extensively at the end of the Coventry Special: http://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/two-cathedrals-david-pickering/

And George’s GBA is given a brief mention too: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-6-george

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!




GBA 64 Coventry

In GBA 77 we get better acquainted with... Dave. In this special edition of GBA guest host Zoe talks to the man writing this blurb about "The Coventry Years".

Prompted by the way that I've hinted at and touched on this time in my life previously in the series but have never fully covered it, I decided to invite one of my closest friends along to host a conversation about it.

In this frank and candid conversation I talk about what I've learnt from looking back at those years and some of the "work" I've done on myself as a result. This work is very much connected to, and prompted by, the GBA Project.

"The Coventry Years" refers to the time I spent between the ages of 8 and 13 in a house in Coventry which had very thin walls. Some of the main things we cover is the impact of the domestic implosion that happened to my family in that house; how it influenced my character, my future and my burgeoning adolescent sexuality.

Thanks so much to Zoe for doing such a brilliant job at witnessing and responding to all this. I couldn't have asked for a better foil! I think she genuinely got better acquainted with me in the process, which was a surprise as we’re pretty open with each other and are long time close friends.



I Plug:

Considering this quote from the Bright Eyes song Bowl of Oranges in relation to yourself as well as in the context of relationships: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUym7n7fJTQ

"And we'll keep working on the problem we know we'll never solve 
Of Love's uneven remainders, our lives are fractions of a whole.
But if the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall.
Then I think we would see the beauty.
Then we would stand staring in awe at our still lives posed like a bowl of oranges,
like a story told by the fault lines and the soil."

And talking to your parents about their lives, even if they aren't easy for you to talk to. Which is the major theme of this GBA Special:http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-53-to-the-heart-of-it



Also mentioned:

The full Christmas Story and the Inventing Masturbation story are featured in Episode 1 of the Show: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-1-dave

The Cardiff years, and specifically my experiences being bullied in school are covered fully in the Cardiff Special: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-17-cardiff

Other parts of my life in Coventry, including Steve's valiant defence of the City, and the intro which I talk about cutting stuff out of, and some hints at the material in this episode, are covered in the Coventry Special: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-64-coventry

The GBA with my Step Dad that also touches on the events and themes from this episode is here: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-74-mervyn

There have been two GBA conversations that I did with my mum released. The one we talk about most in the episode won't be aired for quite some time. But when it is it will join the first two in this playlist: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-mum-episodes-1/

The set up in North Wales is explored fully in this GBA Extra: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-partition

Zoe has a GBA all of her own, it is a good one: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-22-zoe

Spark London where the intro was recorded and which has also been very influential on where I find myself currently both personally and creatively can be found here: http://www.sparklondon.com/



You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!


GBA 77 The Coventry Years

In GBA 81 we get better acquainted with... Dave. The tables are turned as Alex who was my guest in GBA 80 takes the reins and interviews me in his own unique style. His approach to hosting is very different from mine. We go on lots of interesting tangents produced by his crowd sourcing approach to coming up with questions. Personal, political, surreal, it's all there. 

This is the conversation I had with him immediately before we switched roles: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-80-alex

Dave plugs:

Personal:

http://soundcloud.com/the-dave

http://soundcloud.com/the-plural

http://soundcloud.com/thereactionaries

"Numbers" on RethinkDaily: http://rethinkdaily.co.uk/

Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/

Alex's music (although it isn't available) - at this point Alex plugs his DJ Mix: http://soundcloud.com/themanamp

Working with George - These are his embryonic mixes : http://soundcloud.com/geojams And this is his GBA: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-6-george

Checking out the work of unknown artists such as those featured regularly on GBA:

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/musicians/

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/writers/

The place to find an up to date account of his projects: http://goosefat101.blogspot.co.uk/



Political:


UK Uncut: http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/
The People's Supermarket: http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/
Don't Shoot the Clowns: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Shoot-Clowns-Taking-Circus/dp/1904456480
The Dispossessed: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dispossessed-Ursula-Guin/dp/1857988825
V for Vendetta: http://www.amazon.co.uk/V-Vendetta-Alan-Moore/dp/1852862912
Oryx and Crake: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0747562598


Extra:


The writing of Jenny Adamthwaite http://www.jadamthwaite.co.uk/



More generally:

Honesty 
Truth
Empathy



Alex recommends people study psychopathy.

Dave mentions Jon Ronson's Psychopath Test: http://www.jonronson.com/psycho.html



Finally:

Listening to podcasts now while they are still exciting, full of innovation and doing new things without gatekeepers.



You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

GBA 81 Dave [guest hosted by Alex]

This is a short piece for the SoundCloud AudioBiography project: http://blog.soundcloud.com/2013/02/06/audiobiography/

I have created completely from clips from my podcast series Getting Better Acquainted.

__________

Getting Better Acquainted is a weekly podcast where we join Dave Pickering on his journey to get better acquainted with the people he knows. There are lots of shows about famous people. This is a show about the rest of us.

Part interview show, part oral history project, the show was nominated for a 2012 Radio Production Award and was featured on the Radio 5 Live podcast special, Helen and Ollie's Required Listening.

Audiobiography: Getting Better Acquainted with Dave Pickering

A weekly podcast: Join Dave Pickering on his journey to get better acquainted with the people he knows. Part interview show, part oral history project and part autobiography through conversation.

British Podcast Award 2017 winner (bronze in Best Interview category)

GBA was nominated for a 2012 Radio Production Award, aired for 3 seasons on Resonance 104.4 FM and was featured on BBC Radio 4's In Pod We Trust, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Helen and Olly's Required Listening and has been recommended by The Guardian, Time Out and the Financial Times