ON YOUR OWN DOORSTEP

I talk to Denise Gannon of Craft Arena, who is definitely one of Barleylands Craft Village's big success stories. I'm glad to say her business survived lockdown and she's here to tell us all about her shop that sells craft products and art supplies. Her workshops and classes and the Alchemy Gallery. Denise tells us about her longstanding interest in craft and how it has helped her mental health. How her business has grown and her family's involvement in the business and much more. https:/www.craftarena.co.uk

I chat to Jeremy Suffolk and Tony Stratton, two presenters from BHR 87.7 otherwise known as Basildon Hospital Radio which has recently been made an FM radio station and voted second most listened to amateur radio in the country. I explore how they got into volunteering for hospital radio and some of the great interviews they've conducted over the last eighteen months.

Geraldine and Angela's family ran 'The Barge' once known as 'The Old Barge Inn' in Vange for seventy years! Geraldine's aunt, Elizabeth Goodson paid £2,643.06 for the lease of The Barge Inn and surrounding land on May 20th, 1937.

Tracy Vine is a post-modern urban artist, appropriating photography from the past and combining it with representations of today to challenge the values and meanings of social and cultural hierarchies. Her influences are the photographers of the New Topographics who represented the last manifestation of pure photography in the 1970's. Tracy graduated with a 1st class Digital, Fine Art and Design degree and has a Masters in Art Research.

'OPEN LAB is a super exciting project that fills vacant shops in Basildon town centre with creative pop-up activities for you to enjoy!' This is what it says in their leaflets and this resolute researcher found this to be very true!

I chat with artist and illustrator, Maxine Newell, who lives and works in Basildon. She is currently studying an MA in Illustration at Falmouth University and has a BA in Fine Art. Maxine creates sketchy, playful illustrations that talk of her life experiences and the everyday mundane, overlooked narratives. Previously, she has worked on a commission basis for clients both regionally and internationally.

Sometimes you hear about wonderful people, Irie Perera is one of those people. I first heard about her through my friend, she is an avid fundraiser for several charities. When the dark clouds of the pandemic came she found the strength to be creative and wrote several poems inspired by our dire situation. She plans to make an anthology of poems to raise money for her charities. One of the charities is the UK registered Sri Lanken charity called Helasarana, another is the Scarfree Foundation which is a British research charity, their aim is to achieve scar free healing for burns, war wounds etc.

Rachel Triggs is an amazing young lady. She has utilised her experience from managing the community and education department at Southend Theatres and her degree in drama and used it in setting up Routes Theatre Company in 2020 and starting up the Castle Point Creatives Facebook page this year.

Vin Harrop, Arts Animateur, has played a key role in the development and promotion of the arts in the UK over the past sixty years. He has chaired and served on national, regional, and local boards/associations in support of the arts, and has worked in local government, in the West End, and in regional theatre, film, television and radio as a senior executive and above. He retired early in 1999 and had time to plough his passion and his experience into arts and heritage projects locally.