The Cov Pod

We find ourselves a couple of days before the Coventry theatre debut of Boy Out The City, the autobiographical show written and performed by Coventry lad, Declan Bennett.

As the Belgrade show listing tells us: "Declan takes us on a journey into the messy and turbulent world of toxic masculinity, homophobia and men’s mental health; confronting his Catholic school days in Coventry, discovering the Gay scene in 90’s Soho and surviving the harsh bright lights of New York City."

The show had a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe and a short run in the West End, and it now comes home to Coventry for the first time from Mon 25th to Thurs 28th Mar 2024

Declan is a Belgrade Youth Theatre alumni, part of the pop group Point Break, and he also played Charlie Cotton on EastEnders.

Two Coventry Aarons collide with an interview with local photographer, cultural enthusiast, and regular gig-goer, Aaron Law.

We talk about Aaron's passion for the city, the new George Wagstaffe Pheonix Tree, his work to help preserve the William Mitchell Hertford House and Three Tuns murals, as well as what it's like to travel the world following bands such as Depeche Mode and The Cure.

A festive treat with an interview with Coventry’s Dame, Iain Lauchlan; star, writer and director of the Coventry Belgrade pantomime

With a career spanning over 40 years in the children's entertainment industry presenting many well-loved children's programmes such as Playschool, Fingermouse, and Playdays, and outside of Coventry, he is perhaps best known as the writer of the BAFTA award-winning children's television series, The Tweenies.

However, this episode takes a look at something close to the heart of almost every Cov Kid; the Coventry Belgrade pantomime. 

Iain has been the driving force behind the panto as writer, director, star and savior of the theatre at the time, and this year marks Iain's 26th Coventry panto!

It’s no secret that local authorities across the country are facing huge financial pressures, and Coventry City Council is no different as it forecasts a £30m budget shortfall. 

Coventry recently shared that without additional central government funding, it could effectively declare itself bankrupt and only deliver services it has to by law.

A report, released in December, proposed local money-saving options and Cllr Richard Brown, Cabinet Member for Finance and Phil Helm, Senior Finance Officer at Coventry City Council join me to talk through the Council's proposals.

A sit-down with poet, rapper, writer, and most recently, Coventry's newest Poet Laureate, John Bernard.

I talk to John about his relationship with the city after moving to Coventry at a young age, his pride in becoming Poet Laureate, his music career, and the work he does locally to inspire and support young people.

Coventry is looking to be the best city in the UK for children and young people to live and grow up in.

To find out more about Coventry's approach to children's services, I spoke to Councillor Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, and Matt Clayton, Strategic Lead for Looked After Children at Coventry City Council to hear more about Child Friendly Cov, the recent Ofsted 'good' rating and the work taking place which puts Coventry at the forefront of children's services innovation in the country.

Next up, I speak to Yanik, 17, a young person who shares his experiences of being a carer leaver, taking part in the House Project, how he encourages other young people to get involved, and how he has taken an interest in public speaking.

Finally, I am joined by my own two boys, Oscar (9) and Caleb (6) who I quiz on their favourite places in the city to visit, their opinions on whether Coventry is a good place to live, and whether they plan to stay living in the city when they grow up!

In this episode of The Cov Pod, Aaron dives deep into the world of the renowned Godiva Festival, held annually in Coventry. 

Joining him are three special guests who shed light on various aspects of the festival and its preparations for this year.

Aaron welcomes back Jon Hogan, Festival Director, to discuss the improved sustainability initiatives being implemented at this year's Godiva Festival. They explore the festival's commitment to reducing its environmental impact, including initiatives such as waste management and eco-friendly practices. Jon shares insights into the challenges faced and the steps taken to create a greener and more sustainable festival experience for attendees.

Aaron then sits down with Sam McNulty, who has worked closely with the Council for the past 10 years to curate the acoustic stage lineup of artists for Godiva Festival. Sam shares his experiences and insights into the process of artist bookings, discussing the diverse range of acts, genres, and considerations involved in creating an engaging program.

Finally Aaron welcomes The Institutes, the Coventry band who provide the podcast's intro music. The band members discuss their journey, musical influences, and their excitement about performing at the Godiva Festival.

A sit-down with the founder and owner of the HMV Empire, Phil Rooney, who talks me through his history in Coventry, the changes in the pub industry, and how he became involved in music promotion, which led to the original Empire on Far Gosford Street.

Phil also shares the journey of building and launching the new HMV Empire and tells us about his pride in seeing up-and-coming Coventry bands on the Empire stage, alongside huge names such as Ed Sheeran, Tom Grennan, and Paul Weller.

Welcome to the latest episode of The Cov Pod, where we explore the recent changes to the voting process in the Coventry local elections.

First up, I talk to Liz Read, Electoral Services Manager at Coventry City Council, about the new requirement for photo ID when voting and the improvements in accessibility at polling stations for people with disabilities to ensure they are accessible to all voters. Liz discusses the importance of training poll workers to be aware of accessibility issues and how to assist voters with disabilities.

Next, I speak to Asraf, a poll inspector who has been involved in the voting process for the past 25 years. Asraf shares his experiences of overseeing polling stations and ensuring that the voting process runs smoothly.

Finally, I speak to Chris, who is blind, about the improvements in accessibility at polling stations for people with disabilities. Chris shares his personal experiences of voting and how the changes in the voting process will hopefully improve the experiences of people with disabilities. He also talks about the importance of continuing to make voting more accessible for everyone.

In this episode, we hear from Stacey-Jade Mason, the founder and director of Creative Optimistic Visions (COV), a local organisation who believe we all have the right to feel safe and provides companies and individuals with the tools to enable this via education, training, mentoring, youth and community services for people of all ages.

Stacey-Jade talks me through how COV supports local young people, how the organisation was founded and shares some of the plans for the organisation going forward.

In February, Dippy the Diplodocus made the journey to Coventry and their new home for the next three years in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

We speak to Cllr David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council to discuss how Dippy the Dinosaur fits in the city’s approach to arts and museums and the vision of bringing world-class exhibitions to the city whilst also celebrating the culture of local communities.

Cllr Welsh talks about how Coventry celebrates and promotes local culture, how local creatives can get in touch to share their ideas, and gives an update on the progress of the former IKEA building.

Ali Wells, Curator at Herbert Art Gallery and Museum then shares the excitement of Dippy coming to Coventry, how the Herbert applied to be the home for Dippy for the next three years, and some of the ideas that the museum has to accompany Dippy itself with workshops and exhibitions.

Finally, Lorraine Cornish, the National History Museum’s Head of Conservation and resident Dippy expert tell us about Dippy’s background, what makes Dippy so special, and shares her thoughts on Coventry as a place of culture and history.

In this latest episode of The Cov Pod, we explore some of the reasons that make Coventry one of the must-visit destinations in the UK!

In this episode of The Cov Pod, I sit down with Corey Campbell, Creative Director at Belgrade Theatre.

We talk about Corey's early career, the story behind Strictly Arts Theatre Company, his role in the Belgrade's key year of Coventry being the UK City of Culture in 2021, and the Theatre's commitment to supporting and promoting community engagement, diversity, and talent development.

Excuse the slightly wonky sound - my mic suddenly decided to not be compatible with my phone so it is recorded directly from the phone!

Godiva Festival is a date marked in the diary for almost every Coventrian and this year's music-filled weekend is fast approaching!

To find out more about the decisions behind the festival, I speak to Jon Hogan, City Event Manager at Coventry City Council about how the acts are chosen, the tremendous amount of planning that goes into a festival of this size, and the move to paid ticketing in recent years.

Godiva Festival is known for promoting local music and this year builds on that even more with local acts; Caitlin McCarthy and Idle Noise both playing on the main stage! We speak to Caitlin plus Ben and Dan from Idle Noise about what Godiva Festival means to local musicians, their favourite memories from past years, and how they are preparing for the weekend! You can hear some music from Idle Noise as the outro to the episode!

You will no doubt know that Coventry is a host city for the Commonwealth Games in 2022 but did you also know that city is hosting the International Children’s Games this year.

In August, more than 1500 of the best young sporting talents from around the world are travelling to the city for 6 days of completion across 7 sports.

We kick the episode off by speaking to Cllr Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport, and Jon Hunt, Service Manager Sport, Physical Activity & Wellbeing, Coventry City Council about the benefits that hosting the games brings to the city and how local people can get involved in the games.

I then speak to John Timms, Event Director of the Games who tells me all about the journey of Coventry becoming host city, the huge amount of planning that has gone into preparing for a huge event and the lessons learned since we last hosted the Games in 2005.

Finally, I'm joined by Sophie and Eve, two Team Coventry swimmers who share their excitement in representing the city at the games and share some tips on how other young people in the city can begin to get involved in swimming.

In this episode of The Cov Pod, I sit down with Laura McMillan MBE, Director of Audience Strategy, Coventry City of Culture Trust who tells me about her history in the city, how she first became involved with Coventry's bid for UK City of Culture and we take a look at a momentous year for Coventry.

Laura shares why there was a commitment to making sure that co-creation was at the heart of the Coventry 2021 activity and why it was important for new voices to be heard across the city.

We also talk about Laura's recent MBE award as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours and what Laura's plans are going forward.

Have you ever wondered what the role of Lord Mayor entails? Or how the next Mayor is decided?

I sat down with former Lord Mayor Cllr John McNicholas during his last week in term to look at some of the highlights and challenges of his time as Lord Mayor from raising money at the Charity Dog Show to the restrictions caused by COVID

Coordinating fair and well-run local elections is obviously a crucial role for any Council and Coventry is no exception with a huge amount of work taking place to facilitate local people registering their vote.

In this episode, I speak to Martin Reeves, Chief Executive, Coventry City Council, about his role as Returning Officer and the legal responsibility he has to ensure the local election is managed effectively, to Liz Read, Electoral Services Manager, Coventry City Council about the behind-the-scenes planning of both polling stations and election night itself, and finally to Alan Cox, a Presiding Officer who is a member of the public who once a year is called upon to manage a polling station.

It was a pleasure to sit down with John Kiely MBE - one of the cogs that help to make the Coventry business world turn.

I speak to John about how he came to be a franchisee of a number of McDonald's in the city, the work he is involved in to support Coventry homeless people and young people to access training and employment, plus how it felt to be awarded an MBE as part of The Queen’s New Year Honours List for his philanthropic work in the city of Coventry, helping disadvantaged youth.

You’ll no doubt be aware of Council Tax but do you know how and where that money is spent?

I sat down with Cllr Richard Brown, Finance Lead for Coventry City Council and Paul Jennings, Senior Finance Manager at Coventry City Council to talk about the council’s annual budget, Council Tax, and the balance between the funding of local services and investing in commercial opportunities.

The conversation is informal and is a great introduction to how the council manages its budget and the legal responsibility the council has to balance the books each year.

Award-winning BBC radio and TV presenter, journalist, awards host, and all-round Coventry champion, Trish Adudu joins me on the latest episode of The Cov Pod.

We talk about the racism faced by Trish's family after first moving to the city, working her way up in a career in journalism, her love for the city, and take a closer look at the businesses of her two boys, Tyler and Kennedy.

A special Christmas-themed episode of The Cov Pod with a festive interview with Coventry film director, Debbie Isitt.

The Nativity films play a special part in many Coventrian's Christmas and it was great to hear about how the films came to be, the essential role Coventry plays in the series and what it was like dangling a child off the Cathedral Spire!!

I hope you enjoy it!

I just wanted to take the chance to wish you a Merry Christmas and a huge thank you for your support for the podcast so far!

2021 will be looked back as a historic year for Coventry and this episode I speak to some of the people behind Coventry 2021.

After being awarded UK City of Culture in 2017, we are currently halfway through a year of events and community projects which have looked to put Coventry on the cultural map.

In this episode, I speak to Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director of Coventry City of Culture Trust about the vision of the 2021 programme, some highlights of the past six months plus a look forward to what's still to come. 

I also speak to Molly Adkins, Producer, South East, Collaborative City about some of the projects that have been delivered so far and the impact COVID has had on the 2021 programme.

Finally, I speak to local creative, Roze Navab who tells me about the Coventry Twin Studios Project project and how the Trust has supported local creatives.

A huge honour to speak to Coventry legend, David Moorcroft OBE for this episode of The Cov Pod.

David was kind enough to share his Coventry story with me which included running in 3 Olympic games and winning gold two times at the Commonwealth Games. Enjoy! 

It is more apparent than ever how important it is to take meaningful action to address climate change and this episode takes a closer look at what work is taking place in the city to help combat it. 

We speak to Cllr Jim O’Boyle who tells us about the range of projects underway in the city to work towards a greener, sustainable future. This is followed by an interview with Nicola Small from Coventry City Council who talks about the Very Light Rail project which looks to bring a tram system to Coventry. 

To time with World Homeless Day, the first episode of The Cov Pod takes a look at homelessness and rough sleeping with interviews in the city with Coventry City Council representatives, Louise from The ARC; a drug and alcohol outreach support who support people to achieve a better quality of life, and finally a chat with John who has a history of rough-sleeping in the city who now has permanent housing.

The trailer for a brand new Coventry podcast, hosted by Aaron Ashmore in partnership with Coventry City Council.

In The Cov Pod, we will be taking a look at some topics related to the city and interviewing notable figures about their Coventry story.

Keep an eye out for episodes releasing in the next few weeks.