Category Archives: On The Show

Your carriage awaits

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If you take the train to, from or even through Newark Castle Station, the Victorian building alongside Platform 1 will no doubt be a familiar sight.

Disused for several years, it’s now been renovated to house a ticket office, toilets and waiting area – and, by the end of next month, its rebirth will be complete with the opening of Carriages Café…

Wendy Baird and Suzie Jones, two members of the team behind the project, will be joining June and Sue on the show next weekend to explain how a once empty space has been transformed into a brand new venue that’s just weeks away from opening its doors to train travellers and the local community.

Find out when and why the journey began and how Carriages’ steampunk style was inspired by the building’s 19th century heritage, creating an inviting and unusual setting for meetings, functions – and of course, coffee and cake!

There’ll be news too of the launch of a regular Community Café and events supporting local charities, as well as details of how to get involved in some of the other Carriages Communities they’ll be setting up.

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon next Sunday when Wendy and Suzie take a break from putting the final touches to Newark’s newest meeting place to chat to the Girls Around Town…

About a truck… and a book

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Two contrasting interviews on this week’s show, with Tracey Greensmith and Fanny Blake both on the phone to the studio…

First up, it’s Tracey, who’ll be putting herself to the test later the same day in the kind of feat more often associated with the likes of Eddie Hall, Hafthor Bjornsson and Brian Shaw – for those of you who don’t share June’s passion for watching it, they were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 2017 World’s Strongest Man competition!

Cheered on by her family, friends and colleagues, Tracey be giving it all she’s got as she attempts to pull an 8.5 tonne truck along a 30-metre course during a charity fun day in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society at Iceland Foods on London Road in Newark.

She’ll be sharing details of the activities taking place during the event, as well as telling June, Tina and Sue all about the  gruelling training programme she’s gone through in recent weeks to prepare for pulling that heavy load!

Then a very different  story – quite literally – in the second hour as Fanny talks about her brand new book, Our Summer Together…

A publisher for many years, editing both fiction and non-fiction before becoming a freelance journalist and writer, Fanny has written a number of novels, including With a Friend Like You and Women of a Dangerous Age – which sounds like one the Girls Around Town might well identify with, don’t you think?

The author of various non-fiction titles and ghost writer for a number of celebrities, she’s also Books Editor of Woman & Home magazine. In her latest novel, described by Nottinghamshire author Cathy Bramley as ‘a true celebration of love and life in all its forms; full of joy, hope and triumph’, she tells the tale of Caro who thought she knew everything about being a wife until her husband suddenly leaves her.

When a chance meeting on a train introduces her to Damir – younger, intriguing and attentive – she realises that opening up to a man so different from everyone else in her life might also mean getting to know who she really is and that maybe it’s never too late to start again…

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon to hear from both guests this Sunday, as the conversation moves from a truck to a book.

How creative leadership skills can help change lives

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As a university lecturer, Debby Cozins has used coaching strategies to support students’ development for many years.

Inspired by the impact of one of the courses she delivers, she’s now set out to share her expertise with a wider audience by writing a book based on its content and she’ll be joining the Girls Around Town on this week’s show to explain why…

The course, Professional Practice and Leadership in Educational Contexts, offers her students the chance to explore and develop qualities needed for creative leadership. “Learning these skills as adults can be challenging because it means overturning habits, often deeply embedded, that have been learned through interaction with other people and from life experiences,” she says.

“If children were taught these skills from the outset, it could offer them the opportunity to live happier, more effective and more successful lives. And, taking this a step further, embedding the teaching of these skills into the education curriculum, could have a positive impact on society as a whole.”

Debby’s book will help parents and teachers set the process in motion, covering topics such as

  • Our amazing brain and habits
  • The ‘Luck’ factor
  • The ‘Fear’ factor
  • Beliefs we hold about ourselves and what we are capable of
  • Flexible action planning
  • Personal growth and change
  • Bounce-back-ability – the importance of being resilient
  • The ‘other people’ factor – interdependence, really listening, the importance of contributing, values and principles
  • Adapting successful business models of leadership for personal use

Tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon on Sunday to find out what led Debby to write the book and how implementing the strategies it explores can change young people’s lives for the better.