The Beverley Podcast

#22 Val Wood -award-winning author

Val Wood has lived in the East Riding of Yorkshire since the age of 13, with the last few years spent right here in Beverley.

For almost three decades, Val has been a busy author - her latest book The Lonely Wife is novel 26! She is a Sunday Times best-seller and her first book won the Catherine Cookson Prize for Romantic Fiction in 1993.

She is possibly Beverley's most famous current resident but what brought her here and why does she enjoy living here? 

We talk about what it takes to be an author, how lockdown has impacted her work, and which are her favourite cafes and restaurants. 

Have you seen Val in and around Beverley?

You can learn more about her at: https://www.valwood.co.uk/ 

#21 Clare De Luca, Dancestars and Bluestar Boutique

Clare De Luca, a graduate of Beverley High School has travelled the world as a professional dancer, including a stint in Paris as one of the famous Bluebell Girls. 

Her love of dance has been passed to her children and she has run Dancestars in the East Riding for several years. With the pandemic temporarily closing her popular tots dance school, Clare has realised another dream - to have an online fashion boutique, and she's now running the two together.

On this episode of the Beverley Podcast, we talk about the challenges of lockdown, how toddlers can be pretty good at adapting to life, and whether we will ever get to call winter 'sparkly dress season' again. 

Check out Dancestars at https://www.dancestars.co.uk/ and Bluestar Boutique at https://www.bluestarboutique.co.uk/ 

#20 - Dagmara Gdala, Montessori practitioner

Dagmara Gdala was born and brought up in Poland and came to Beverley four years ago to live with her Welsh husband.

She is passionate about the Montessori method of education bringing her son up with it and hopes to spread the word of Montessori to others in Beverley. With no family here in Beverley, Dagmara has been pro-active and has started a group - Beverley Mums - to meet other local parents for mutual support. 

Her love of Beverley has taken the form of the Instagram account @Beverley_UK where she shares pictures of her adopted hometown with locals and the rest of the world. 

Once coronavirus is less of a concern, Dagmara hopes to expand her mums group, and explore more of what our beautiful town has to offer.

Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/394599797871483

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/beverley_uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/montessori_with_toddler/ 

Please subscribe! You can apply to be a guest at https://socialbods.co.uk/the-beverley-podcast/ 

#19 Simon Delaney of Delaney Marling Partnership

Simon Delaney is a partner at Delaney Marling Partnerships Ltd, the firm in charge of the current and ongoing maintenance and renovation work up at Beverley Minster.

Simon came here in the 90s to work at the council and has been here raising his family ever since. What has Beverley got to offer that West Yorkshire and (that place over there) Lancashire has not? 

And just what's going on up at the Minster right now? Simon talks to us about the challenges involved in renovating a hundreds-years old building during a global pandemic, and uncovers the past secrets that the Minster is hiding. Are there really tunnels over to The Sun Inn, and what's the deal with the sanctuary chair and stones? 

You can find out more at https://www.delaneymarlingpartnership.co.uk/ and at https://www.facebook.com/BevMinsterOldFund 

Listen now and don't forget to subscribe for more insight into our favourite East Yorkshire market town (sorry, Driffield, but Beverley is better, so there). 

#18 - Sophie Godson, Free Live Workouts with Sophie

Sophie Godson is a dental nurse from Beverley who, during lockdown, has used her expertise in leading exercise classes to turn herself into Beverley's very own Joe Wicks. 

What started out as a way of Sophie keeping herself motivated during lockdown has grown into a huge community of online fitness fans - she even has her own merchandise. 

The success has given Sophie the confidence to branch out with her own in-person exercise classes, which will be starting very soon at St Nicholas Community Centre on Holmechurch Lane, Beverley. Will you be joining her?

You can find out more by joining her Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2974134462656100/ 

Happy squatting, people! 

Don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast reader, and if you want to be a guest, fill in the guest application form on the Beverley Podcast page at www.SocialBods.co.uk 

#17 Tony Barker of Beverley Community Lift

Tony Barker came to East Yorkshire as a student and now lives nearby. He is an experienced broadcaster and journalist and spends two days of his working week as the marketing manager of local charity Beverley Community Lift. In 2020, Beverley Community Lift are celebrating their 50th year - or they were - but lockdown has altered their plans somewhat.

 

Joanne talks to Tony about his work at the charity, why it's so important, and what the future holds for this vital community service. 

 

Have you used Beverley Community Lift or, more importantly, bagged a bargain in their rather excellent charity shop by the bus station? I know I have! 

 

To find out more about Beverley Community Lift visit http://bclift.org.uk/ or visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BeverleyCommunityLift/ 

#16 Adrienne Hodgson-Hoy

Adrienne Hodgson-Hoy is a busy lady. From a background in sales and marketing, her life has taken her on a bumpy journey and from these bumps have been borne not one, but three businesses.

 

Primarily, she is a funeral celebrant. She also helps couples realise their dreams of having their dog attend their weddings. With Jan Stainforth, another Beverley funeral celebrant, she has Memories of Me, a service which helps people record their memories to pass on to their families when the inevitable happens. 

 

We find out what Adrienne does, where in Beverley she likes to go, and why she thinks Beverley is a great place to live.

 

Tune in now - don't forget to subscribe. 

 

If you'd like to know more about her wedding dog services, see https://www.weddingwoofers.net/

For more about Memories of Me, see https://www.memoriesofme.co.uk/ 

 

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, visit https://socialbods.co.uk/the-beverley-podcast/  and complete the guest application form. 

#15 Sally-Ann Rena of the Tiki Cafe, Dunswell

Sally-Ann Rena is Beverley born and bred and after a stint for university and working away, she returned 14 years ago to Beverley to run Armstrongs Social Club with her husband Toffee. Now with two children, they are all embarking on a new adventure - running the Tiki Cafe in the Ings Lane Garden Centre in Dunswell. 

Sally-Ann loves Beverley and loves that it's being made home for her family. So where does she like to go, and what else has she got on the go?

If you know Sally-Ann and Toffee from being the hosts for your family's parties, then you really should listen to this one - and pay them a visit at the new venture, even if it's just to sample the delicious gelato. 

Learn more about the cafe at https://www.facebook.com/TikicafeIngs and Sally-Ann's children's books for sale at https://www.facebook.com/sallyannsbooks/ 

Don't forget to subscribe! 

#14 - Lesley Anne Kinney, specialist painter and decorator

Lesley Anne Kinney didn't intend to be a specialist painter and decorator but here she is. 30 years after discovering a talent and making a career out of it, she finds herself in Beverley. 

a busy mother and grandma, the lockdown has given Lesley the time and mental space to develop her business and create something she can take with her as she looks to a new phase in her life. 

We talk about Lesley's career to date, what sort of work she undertakes now, and where her favourite places are in Beverley. 

You can learn more about Lesley and her work at https://www.lesleyannekinney.com/ and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LesleyAnneKinney/ 

You can apply to be a guest on The Beverley Podcast at https://socialbods.co.uk/the-beverley-podcast/ 

#13 Carrie Mertens - local education marketer and project manager for Safi Coffee

Carrie Mertens was born in the old Beverley Westwood hospital and via East Yorkshire and a stint in Leeds, she now lives as central in Beverley as can be. She trained as a beauty therapist but life took her on a different journey and she now spends her days as a support team member at the independent Hull Collegiate School. 

One of the projects she's tasked with looking after is Safi Coffee, a pupil-led project which imports coffee beans from Uganda and sells them throughout the UK, the profits being ploughed back into a Ugandan school and community. Just £180 a year pays for a child to attend school in Uganda and the project has enabled many Ugandan children to receive a good education. With other schools in the UK now coming on board, what does the future hold for the project and for Carrie's involvement? 

It's fantastic to see a project which has student involvement at its core. If you want to buy some Safi Coffee for yourself, you can visit their website at https://saficoffee.co.uk/ or pop into the Beverley Minster gift shop, or the Creative Lab on Flemingate.