Clare Greaves came to Beverley eight years ago. She has experienced mental health problems such as anxiety herself and wanted to help others in similar positions. Clare now runs the Beverley group of national scheme Mental Health Mates, where she organises walks for anyone who wants to join in, discuss mental health, and get some fresh air and exer…

Alan Robinson has lived in Beverley for all of his life. He's a builder by trade and has recently invested in holiday homes in Beverley. He's had an interesting life and he no doubt has lots of stories, but today we are talking about his more recent activities, such as his wedding to local girl Lindsay. Alan's wedding was one to remember, enlisting…

Ben Shires came to Beverley as a toddler and left for university and the bright lights of London to pursue a career in law. But it wasn't to be his destiny and he made the switch to TV and media and you may be familiar with Ben today as a presenter on CBBC's Officially Amazing or Match of the Day: Kickabout.As a graduate of local schools St Mary's …

2020 and 2021 have been devastating for those working in the entertainment industries, so this week Joanne is talking to Tom Wilders, Finance Director of Beverley's own East Riding Theatre to see how they are coping. We talk about what brought Tom to Beverley and how he ended up working in the theatre industry, and just what it is he loves about li…

Mark Kelly is from Staffordshire and came to Beverley a few years ago, bringing with him a love of live music. Some unplanned encounters and successes have led him to becoming a music promoter and, among other things, he runs the monthly Upstairs at Monks live music sessions at the Monks Walk pub on Highgate. We talk to Mark about how covid has imp…

Paul Coe is the chair of The Wombles of Beverley, an organised litter picking group that does an amazing job in helping to keep Beverley litter free. But why?We speak to Paul about how he got became a womble, what drives him to give his spare time to tidy up after others, and what he thinks are the interesting things that everyday folk leave behind…

Revd Canon Jonathan Baker joined the team at Beverley Minster in 2017. He didn't always want to be a vicar, in fact he studied law and worked as a solicitor in London before the calling to the church got too strong. Here, we discuss the work of Beverley Minster, how covid has posed challenges to both the communication and delivery of the church mes…

Well, here we are at Episode 25 and the end of 2020. What a year it's been! We will resume normal service in 2021, but for now, he's a catch up episode with a few of our guests so far, and a short but sweet chat with Pete, a charity advocate who lives in Woodmansey and also plays trombone for East Yorkshire group Late Night Marauders. Their new sin…

Martin Peirson is a musician from Beverley who lives in Cherry Burton. He ran The Processed Pea in Etton for many years, and now he is retired from his job as a music events professional, he's still recording and gigging where he can. He's also involved in Cherry Burton Arts and hopes to get this back up and running fully again very soon.We're aski…

Sam Hollis is well-known in the Beverley business community as a web designer specialising in small businesses. He has, until recently, been web designing from his base in Leconfield alongside running his family's smallholding. But right now, he's in sunnier climes. As we enter winter here in East Yorkshire, Sam and his family are on the East Afric…

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 poss…

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, Cl…

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 gro…

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) Lancash…

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 succes…

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 somewh…

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 Beverl…

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 lov…

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 look…

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'…

Kirsty Skeates is originally from New Zealand and co-owns Fit4Dogs Canine Hydrotherapy Centre on Annie Reed Road with her Yorkshire born husband Mike. Kirsty spends her days as a canine hydrotherapist helping dogs through hydrotherapy to alleviate conditions such as canine arthritis or to lose weight. What is it about Beverley that makes it a good …

Brad Gibson is a professor of Astrophysics at the University of Hull. Originally from Canada, he now spends his days teaching astrophysics and engaging with local communities to encourage local students to get interested in STEM subjects and careers. He loves Beverley and is laying down roots fast. Will we ever get rid of him? Would we ever want to…

Phil Simpson, a semi-professional musician, came to East Yorkshire as a student and has stayed ever since. He's been in Beverley for the last four years or so and is one of the team behind the Beverley Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival has always been run in tandem with the Beverley Folk Festival but when that disappeared, the fringe upped activ…

Neil Theobald is not from far away and he came to Beverley twenty years ago where he's been raising his family ever since. He met his wife working in Beverley and now is a Senior Production Artist at the UK branch of Miller Graphics who have very recently made the move into Beverley from years of being based in Carnaby. How did Neil get into graphi…

Beverley born Anna Ingleby has been a puppeter for a long time, and a few years ago decided to start a puppet festival right here in Beverley. It was a success and has continued to grow into a two-yearly event which attracts puppeteers from around the UK and beyond.With the coronavirus crisis, the 2020 festival is looking very different and Anna is…

Karen Simpkin has lived in Beverley since she was a teenager, married a local man, and has been living a normal life. Until lockdown. Now she and her husband Neil are internet and news famous. Their project of creating scenes with home-made mannequins in their front garden to give them something to share with the grandchildren has taken on a life o…

Claire Raper came to Beverley as a single parent after a relationship breakdown and loves living here. Now a family with Mark and three children, Claire spends her days supporting families in crisis by co-ordinating and distributing items to help them get back on their feet. She has a team of volunteers and has won a major regional award for their …

Today's guest is Jenny Fothergill who is known locally as the lady who does wills. She was born and raised in Surrey and arrived in Beverley as a single mother with a law degree and a desire to live somewhere with a better quality of life. Now she spends her days helping people to sort out their affairs through will writing, probate, and sorting ou…

Katie Ritchie - AKA Miss Katie - has been a familiar face on the performing arts scene in Beverley, having run her own school Inspire School of Dance and Drama for over ten years. What started as a love of dance has led Katie and her team to being the place to be for dozens of dance and drama students of all ages. Katie has recently been keeping he…

Joanne's guest today is Clare Atkinson from Salt Revive in Beverley. Clare came to the town two years ago to set up Salt Revive, a salt therapy centre. She has fallen in love with the town and she also is involved with the Beverley food bank. We talk about what salt therapy is and her journey to get Salt Revive up and running to where it is now.We …

In the second episode of The Beverley Podcast, Joanne talks to Lynnda Worsnop.Lynnda is originally from Nottingham and moved here for love (via a stint teaching in Barnsley). She is a teacher, a crafter, and an experienced retailer. She now spends her days working with business owners, particularly female ones, to help them on their business journe…

In this first edition of The Beverley Podcast, Joanne talks to Beverley born actor Annie Kirkman about her personal journey which has led to her founding SHE Productions and being in residence at East Riding Theatre. Recently, Annie has set up the Covid-19 Mutual Aid group in Beverley which co-ordinates volunteers to help those self-isolating due t…