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Without dance, what’s the pointe?

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If there’s one person who’d definitely agree with the words above, it has to be the next guest on Girls Around Town!

It’s almost two years since Christina Philllips-Kelly was last in the studio with June talking about The Studio at Averham, where she runs ballet and tap classes for young people aged over 14 and for adults.

But she’s back in the studio this weekend, this time describing how she kept in touch with her students during lockdowns…

And how the recent lifting of restrictions has finally allowed them to get back to classes and workshops, among them a three-day event aimed at nine to 14-year olds taking place later this month.

Christina is over the moon about the studio’s re-opening of course but she’s particularly excited about one other piece of news she’ll be sharing this weekend – that right now one of her young students is busy honing his skills at the Royal Ballet School!

Pictured above in his ballet uniform, 14 year-old Jem Allam is taking part in an intensive summer course run by what is widely recognised as one of the world’s greatest centres of classical ballet training.

She’ll be explaining how Jem got this incredible opportunity, the kind of things he’s doing and learning during his time there and what it means not only to him but to his fellow students back in Newark and to Christina herself as his tutor.

Make sure you’re tuned to 107.8FM or listening online, on the apps or on Alexa from 11.10am on Sunday to hear what Christina has to say…

And don’t forget to Put On Your Sunday Best from 10am to join June for more local news and great music in the first hour of the show too!

Sewing to swimming, patchwork to paddle boarding – and more!

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If you were listening to Girls Around Town last weekend, you’ll have heard June sharing a little bit of good news…

Face-to-face interviews in the studio are back at last!

Some guests will continue to join her by phone and, in the first hour of this week’s show, one of them will in fact be doing that.

But the second guest of the day will be sitting behind the mic on the other side of the desk, just like the good old days!!

Put On Your Sunday Best between 10am and 12 noon to hear what Kath Fox and Rachel Repper have to say – two very different interviews but, as with all the stories shared on the show, both well worth a listen.

Kath will be on the phone to talk about how she and her neighbours on Winchelsea Avenue in Newark joined forces to keep in touch via WhatsApp shortly after the start of lockdown one…

And how, more recently, they’ve gone from friendly chats to putting needle and thread to fabric and started getting crafty.

Featuring 35 different patches, The Lockdown Quilt is a record of some of the different elements that have helped keep everyone going during these unprecedented times and, in Kate’s own words, it ‘symbolises resilience and stoicism, optimism and community cohesion’.

Find out more from Kath at 10.20am – and why not pop over to St Mary Magdalene Parish Church to take a look at their handiwork for yourselves?

But not before you’ve heard the rest of the show, of course, when Rachel will be doing the first face-to-face interview in the studio since March 2020.

A regular Girls Around Town guest for quite a while and until lockdown a co-presenter too, she’ll be back to chat about what she’s been doing over recent months and how Covid-19 affected her life, both personal and professional.

On a lighter note, she’ll be describing some of the activities she’s taken up in the last few months to make the most of the great outdoors – a definite water-y theme to these, as you’ll hear when she picks up the mic just after 11.10am!

Make sure you’re tuned to 107.8FM or listening online, on the apps or on Alexa to join June, Kath and Rachel on Sunday…

For a show that covers everything from sewing to swimming, patchwork to paddle boarding and a whole lot more!!

Positive Pants in print

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It’s back to books on Girls Around Town this weekend…

Or, to be more precise, to one book in particular!

Claire Clements will be on the phone to the studio in the second hour of the show for her first catch up with June since early March.

Back then, she had news of an award for the work she does pointing parents in the right direction towards helping their kids feel empowered in a fun and creative way, under the Put On Your Positive Pants banner.

Claire will have details of the activities she’s been running recently, together with information about what’s on the cards for the coming weeks and months.

But most importantly of all, she’ll be taking time out on a very busy day to share one very exciting piece of news…

That the launch of her first book coincides with the conversation she and June will be having!!

Written by Claire herself, of course, and illustrated by Debra Webster, Put On Your Positive Pants tells the story of Holly, who wakes up feeling sad and, with the help of mum and some handy tips, learns to understand her emotions and grow a more positive mindset.

Described by Sunday Times bestselling author and speaker Paul McGee as ‘an engaging and entertaining read for children learning to understand their emotions and the journey to positivity’, it goes on sale from Sunday and Claire will be giving listeners a taste of what they’ll find in its pages to help them do just that.

So if you’re a mum, a dad or a grandparent, make sure you Put On Your Sunday Best by in tuning to to 107.8FM or listening online, on the free apps or on Alexa from just after 11.10am…

And don’t forget to put on your positive pants too!!