Murder and memories

in-bitter-chill-pbWith the Books in the Castle festival just a few weeks away, another of its featured authors joins the Girls Around Town on next Sunday’s show…

Crime fiction writer, reviewer, blogger and reader Sarah Ward will be chatting to Tina and Sue in the first hour.

Both Sarah and this week’s guest Rebeccca Bradley will be speaking about their work in Murder She Wrote at the Castle, from 1pm on Saturday 9 July.

In the meantime, you can hear Sarah talking about her novel In Bitter Chill, which is set in the Derbyshire Peak District where she lives, and the sequel A Deadly Thaw which will be published in September, shortly after 10.15am.

ginnysbannerFrom murder to memories – the girls’ second guest in the studio next weekend is Hilary Wellington of Ginny’s Good Yarn.

Inspired by her grandmother Ginny Rawson, Hilary combines reflexive narrative with memories of learning textile craft skills in therapeutic sessions that work with all the senses, so everyone can engage with them.

An experienced and accredited adult educator with a Master’s degree in lifelong learning and inclusive education, Hilary is an Accredited Member of the National Association of Disability Practitioners and a qualified counsellor.

The services she offers include Piecing It Together, a series of patchwork and quilting sessions for bereaved people; Reminiscence Therapy, which draws on long term memory to reinforce an holistic sense of self, achievements and self esteem; and Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, a structured programme featuring discussion, sharing of opinions, activities, song and refreshments to support active brain function and social support.

To find out more about Hilary and Sarah, tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon on Sunday…

Pins and needles

facial acupunctureJune‘s been on pins for months, waiting for the new book by Rebecca Bradley to be published – but it looks as if she won’t have to wait much longer.

One of the authors appearing at the second Books in the Castle festival next month, Rebecca will be chatting to the Girls Around Town shortly after 10.15am on Sunday.

A former police officer, she’ll be explaining why she turned to writing about crime instead of helping to solve it and the inspiration behind her first DI Hannah Robbins novel Shallow Waters. She might even be persuaded to drop a few hints about the storyline in the next one!

Then if you’re a bit squeamish about needles, you might want to look away in the second hour of the show! Oh no, wait – it’s radio so there’ll be nothing for you to see… And besides, the needles in question are so fine they’re hardly scary at all.

Hannah Townsend will be joining the girls after 11am to talk about the history of acupuncture and some of the conditions she uses this ancient therapy for when treating patients in her Southwell clinic.

She’ll also be explaining what made her decide to add facial acupuncture to the treatments she now offers, how it works, why it works and the kind of results it can achieve.

Make sure you tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon to find out more from Hannah and Rebecca – two very different guests but two equally fascinating interviews…

Down on the farm

open farm sundayGail Hooley makes a welcome return to this Sunday’s show – hopefully bringing more of her delicious croissants for the Girls Around Town to enjoy!

A natural chef and artisan bread maker who runs an active community bread-making group in Nottinghamshire, Gail has a deep understanding of the quality, flavours, colours and richness of the content of our food.

She sees food not just as fuel but as medicine too and is passionate about inspiring us to “make good lifestyle choices and to take responsibility for our nutritional wellbeing, either as a first line of defence against illness or on the road back to recovery”.

She’ll be in the studio this time to talk to June, Tina and Sue about Open Farm Sunday, a national initiative which sees hundreds of farms across the country opening their gates to visitors.

Understanding where our food comes from is part of the ethos of the event, which this year takes place on Sunday 5 June. It’s an opportunity for everyone, young and old, to discover at first hand what it means to be a farmer and the fabulous work they do producing our food and managing the countryside.

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon to find how and where you can get in touch with the land that feeds us on Open Farm Sunday…