Mental Health Awareness Week, some questions for you, and more

Would you mind answering a few questions for me?

There are some questions I’d love to know your answers to.

Find out what those questions are in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast 

In return, I’ll answer questions for you and your friends

If you’re part of a group, an organisation or a regular meet-up, fancy getting together for a chat?

I’m happy to come to see you, either as a guest speaker talking about Hello You, radio, media, Shropshire and so on, or just to hang out and chat with you and your chums or colleagues. Message me? 

Hello You 111: Stuff. And things.

Former Shrewsbury mayor Jane Mackenzie works to alert Shropshire schoolchildren to the dangers of abusing alcohol. But why?

Find out in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast

‘What was the pain that she was trying to numb?’

Amy started drinking alcohol, along with many of her peers, in her very early teens. By the time she was a university student, she was addicted to alcohol

‘It just took all the good things out of her life’

Jane Mackenzie doesn’t want other young people to go through what Amy did. She doesn’t want other parents to know the pain she’s known, either. Find out how she tries to make sure that doesn’t happen, in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

If Jane’s story connects with you, please feel free to share it with others?

‘I became an expert by experience’

Jane became an expert on alcohol addiction through her own experience with Amy.

What are you an expert on, by experience? Would you tell me your story on Hello You?

Send me a message atjimallthetime@gmail.com

Stories from your family

Jane Mackenzie had another story to tell whilst we sat in her garden.

Again, it involves a member of her family. But it’s a story about which she knew little, until she starting digging into it.

What she’s discovered is so fascinating, Jane’s writing a book about it.

It’s a story of courage, compassion and dogged resilience in the face of evil and bureaucracy. It also sheds light on an unknown facet of one of the great humanitarian actions of the twentieth century.

You can hear Jane Mackenzie tell that story, next week on Hello You the Shropshire podcast. 

Hello You 112: 'It just slowly got a grip on her’

A Shrewsbury scene landmark closes its doors ... but is it really the end?

The café, events space and gaming venue on Mardol in Shrewsbury closed last weekend. 

Some of the Nerdy diehards said goodbye to the venue with The Final Hurrah, a cabaret evening, on Sunday night.

I went along to meet some of them and to take in part of the show. Hear what happened on this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

Hello You 114: Nerdy’s - The Final Hurrah?

How do you make everything work together?

As you might’ve gathered from a few glitches in the Hello You universe over the last couple of weeks, not everything’s been entirely plain sailing in my world of late.

Illness, stress and overcommitting myself are to blame for most of them. And then I get clobbered by anxiety because of what’s not getting done …

I realise this is a pretty small hill of beans compared to what many members of the Hello You family are trying to deal with right now. I’m thinking of you. If you want to talk, I’m here to listen.

So this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast is partly an explanation why not everything’s gone according to schedule, partly an update on my circumstances, and partly a rant of disappointment at some of the news coverage of the awful incident in Liverpool.

Hello You 116: A new job, making everything work ... and thoughts about news coverage

’This is part of the histories of hundreds of people’

Former mayor of Shrewsbury Jane Mackenzie knew that her grandfather had played a part in the effort that brought thousands of Jewish children to the UK as refugees from Nazi Germany. What she didn’t know was the extent of his involvement, and the lengths he went to in helping the children who came here.

Jane’s been researching her grandfather’s story. She’s met people who worked alongside him, and many of the people whose lives were saved by coming to this country as refugees, including those who remember her grandfather, more than eighty years on. As Jane says, it’s ‘as relevant today as it ever was’.

Hear Jane’s story in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

Also in this episode:

My first week in a new job, some TV recommendations and a little political commentary that makes up in fervour what it lacks in nuance. Miraculously, I don’t swear. (I’ve just listened back to the tape to check that I didn’t, in fact, swear.)

This is what I do

You can’t find this anywhere else: Intelligent, informed, progressive and sometimes quirky conversation for and about Shropshire, its people and so much more besides.

I hope you’re glad you’ve found Hello You the Shropshire podcast. I’m really glad you’ve found it! And I’m guessing that if you like my work, you know at least one other person who’d enjoy it too. You’re thinking of them right now, aren’t you? Why not do them (and me) a favour, and share Hello You with a like-minded friend? 

Get in touch?

Jane Mackenzie wanted to tell both the story of her grandfather and that of her daughter Amy’s descent into alcohol addiction on Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

Every week, more people get in touch with stories to share, topics to raise, suggestions for future episodes. I’m touched and honoured that they - you - choose Hello You as a trusted, empathetic place where they can truly be heard.

If you have something to say, a story that needs telling, an idea for an investigation or a suggestion for a possible guest, send me a message. Email jimallthetime@gmail.com

Hello You 117: 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your grandfather'

Jan Ward from Hodnet is an entertainer. She’s a singer and songwriter, but her performing career was cut short by her life-long health problems. 

Jan’s on Universal Credit. Her recent dealings with the DWP left her distraught, depressed and contemplating suicide, as she explains in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

Have you had a similar experience? Jan isn’t the first person to tell me they’ve felt the DWP’s approach to dealing with claimants has been uncaring, inflexible, officious and simply unkind. She is, though, the first to be prepared to tell their story. Are these stories representative of only a few people’s experiences? Or does this indicate there could be a cultural problem at the DWP?

At the very least, shouldn’t benefits claimants be entitled to be treated with the same kindness and respect that, for example, a bank account holder would expect from their bank?

Coming soon on Hello You the Shropshire podcast 

Jan contacted me direct because she wanted her story to be heard. She’s not alone. 

Over the next couple of weeks you’ll hear some more remarkable stories, including startling claims from former staff at a very high-profile local organisation, and a response to those claims from the man at the top.

Hello You 119: 'You are killing me’

s all well at Shrewsbury Prison?

What would make you quit a job you loved?

Donna, Paul and Stephen used to work at Shrewsbury Prison. They say they’d found their dream jobs … so what led them, and others, to leave?

Donna, Paul and Stephen shared their stories with me. These stories raised questions that needed answers, so I spoke to Joel Campbell, CEO of the company that owns and runs the prison, for his response.

Hear what each side has to say in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

This story came in via the Hello You Tip Line

What is the Hello You Tip Line? What's it for? Should you use it? How does it work?

If you have a story that you want to share confidentially, protecting your privacy as much as possible, you too can reach me via the Hello You Tip Line.

This Substack post will tell you all about the Tip Line: https://open.substack.com/pub/jimallthetime/p/secrets-of-the-hello-you-tip-line?r=17jix&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Hello You 120: Discontent in Cell Block Number 9

Offa’s Dyke is hugely significant … and, for that matter, huge.

But how much do we in Shropshire know or understand about it? Or about the nature of the border between us and our neighbours to the west?

This is something that’s occupied landscape archaeologist Mel Roxby-Mackey for many years. She’s been fascinated by Offa’s earthwork since, as a child, discovering it passes through the beer garden of the pub her grandfather used to run.

Mel and her husband and fellow archaeologist Ian Mackey are trustees of the Offa’s Dyke Association, which operates a rather lovely heritage centre in Knighton, Powys. They want to make us more aware of the history and significance of Offa’s Dyke and the border. I met them at the Offa’s Dyke Centre, overlooking the earthwork itself, for this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

Hello You 121: ’Then along came Offa ...'

‘I’d rather feel everything to an extreme than feel nothing at all’ - Conversations from a bench on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury

On a hot Thursday afternoon, I sat on a bench on Shrewsbury’s Pride Hill to record some conversations with whoever sat down next to me. In this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast, you can hear what happened.

‘That’s something that brings me joy … serving others’

You might recognise this guy’s face. If you spend much time in Shrewsbury’s town centre, he’s probably smiled at you from behind a coffee shop counter, or as you visit your bank, or just as you’re walking down the street. 

This is Jack Salmon. I’ve known him since he was a kid; I was a friend of his family, in particular his late father, Rev Mark Salmon of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Sundorne.

‘My experience of death was such a blessed one that I want to help others who weren’t quite as fortunate’

Jack is a remarkable individual in his own right. It was a joy to get the chance to talk to him, and to share that conversation and his wise, inspiring words with you on Hello You.

Find out more about Jack’s theatrical and cabaret exploits at Spellbound Productions (that Moonlight Ball looks like it could be fun!).

‘I just got tired of being the fat kid’

This is Will. He and his fellow students from Telford College were in Shrewsbury on a geography field trip when he stopped for a chat on the bench on Pride Hill.

Why is he holding his belt like that? Because before Will took up running, that belt went around his waist only once. Now it goes more than halfway around him again.

Hear Will’s story of how running … and running, and running … has changed his life on this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast.

Walking a raccoon

I’ll be sitting on other benches around Shropshire over the summer months. I love doing it. Even if few people stop to chat, the people-watching opportunities are tremendous!

If you know of a bench where I could park myself for an hour or so, tell me where it is? Anywhere with a reasonable amount of passing footfall is good. It might be a street or a square, in a park or a churchyard, or it could be at an event, indoors or out. Send me a message telling me about the bench you have in mind, and I’ll put it on the list!

Next weekend I’ll be recording on the bench outside Tesco Extra in Shrewsbury. I’ll be there from about 10:30am. Come along and say hello?

Hello You 124: 'Can you take another step forward?’

What would you ask an MP? Also, a quiet rant about a few things, news of some changes to Hello You, and will you take the lyric video challenge?!

What would you ask Julia Buckley MP?

The Labour government’s been in power for a year this weekend, and it’s a year since Dr Julia Buckley was elected Labour MP for Shrewsbury.

I hope to be interviewing Dr Buckley about her first year in Parliament, and about how she feels the last twelve months have gone for the Starmer administration, for Hello You the Shropshire podcast in the near future. I have a list of my own questions already, but what would you like me to ask Julia Buckley MP? Whether or not she’s your MP, whomsoever you voted for a year ago or would vote for now, what question would you like to hear Julia Buckley answer?

Leave a comment, send me a message or email jimallthetime@gmail.com

Also in this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast:

- ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, ffs

- six months in prison for wearing a t-shirt

- people with plenty to say about artists with opinions, but who’ve said fuck-all about the bombing of hospitals

- ‘perceptions of partiality’ (which would be a good name for a racehorse, one that would be in the far distance long before the stable door was bolted …)

- the exact moment the BBC should have cut the feed from Glastonbury

- will you take the Ick Lyric Video Challenge?!

Hello You 125: Tonight's the night?

I’m Jim, and I’ve worked in radio presentation and audio production for more than forty years. I’m also a photographer and a musician. Say hello?

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