Lawford (Lawford Parish Council Podcast)

Thank you for tuning into the 1st of our longer form Lawford Parish Council Podcasts. The longer form podcasts aim to some of the amazing & interesting people who live in our community.

Today we meet the Guglielmi's - Val & Carlo are cornerstones of our village and our chat today covers

• Their Origin Stories | from Ardleigh & Southern Italy respectively
• Their years running the Honeycroft & other local post offices
• Their local activism which ultimately led to the cut & thrust of political life
• Correcting the King and lots more besides

On this episode we are delighted to chat with Caroline & John Hall. Topics covered include

• Receiving an MBE for work in the field of conservation
• The birth of PACE & the Earth Festival
• Education at Oxford to working as an Essex "postie"
• Falling in love in a spruce forest in Mid Wales
• Swing dancing and the end game for Ardleigh sports hall floor 
• Lots, lots more....

Links for more information

• https://www.pacemanningtree.org.uk
• https://manningtreeearthfestival.org

In todays episode we chat with Hilary Cook, Headteacher of Highfields Primary School in Lawford. Some of the topics covered include

• How Hilary went from a budding Opera star to finding her passion for education
• How that passion has seen her & her staff transform Highfields School into one of only 3 North Essex Primary Schools recognised as outstanding
• How Hilary herself has been recognised in the National Headteacher of the Year Awards
• How the school is both its own community and yet deeply integrated with the broader community of villages around us (Lawford, Mistley, Manningtree & beyond)
• And much much more

Show Notes

• https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/114769
• https://www.teachingawards.com/award-winner/hilary-cook/

On this episode we are delighted to chat with Luke Edgar or Edgar Arts. Topics covered include

• Luke's unique art process of tattooing on metal
• Luke's passion for body art and how he set out on his unique journey
• Luke's studio in Summers Park, its foundation & evolution
• As well as a quick chat about the changing role of art in the community
• See Luke's incredible work on Instagram, on edgartarts.co.uk or just drop an email and pop in

Manningtree Mermaids are an inspirational collection of year round swimmers. In this episode we chat about 

• Wild Swimming | The Physical & Mental Health Benefits
• The history of the mermaids  - a bright spark from the COVID Years
• The groups parallel campaign for elevated water quality in Manningtree
• The upcoming Beach Day on 27th of May - fun for all the family
• Lots lots more.....

For more details on Manningtree Mermaids https://www.facebook.com/groups/346297944087285/

Bathing Water Status https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-64595307

In this episode of Lawford we cover amazing not for profit organisations operating in our village. Namely the Lawford Housing Trust, The John Leach Educational Trust & The Cox & Hales Almshouses. We chat with Alan Coley, Chair of all 3 organisations as well as Val & Carlo Guglielmi who have been actively involved for a long period.

• Lawford Housing Enterprise Trust: a 25 property trust supporting local people get on the housing ladder via a discounted rental structure with a savings plan built in
• John Leach Educational Trust: supporting the education of Lawford children since the 1700's
• COX AND HALES ALMSHOUSES: 3 properties in the village

The chat focused on the housing trust which is a truly unique offering providing homes for local residents with the ultimate aim of helping them get on the property ladder. We then chat about the very long serving John Leach Education Trust & The Alms Houses.

For Reference

• More on Lawford Housing Enterprise Trust - https://www.lhet.org/  
• More on John Leach - https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/Result_Details.aspx?DocID=967847 
• Charity Commission - John Leach https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/310766/charity-overview 
• More on the Alms Houses on Cox's Hill Lawford https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/213752 

Jenny & Richard Hudson have built & operate the fabulous Lawford House Pool (please take a look at the website https://www.lawfordhousepool.co.uk/ - its a truly beautiful building and setting). Lawford House Pool pool is specifically designed to be accessible for those with limited mobility - more context to come on that.

In this chat we cover

• Jennys early life in Kenya and re-locating to the UK after the Mau Mau rebellion
• Jennys career in the film industry which took her from Cannes to the Wild Atlantic Way
• Jennys love of horses, which saw her produce leading contenders at Burley
• Jennys 2015 accident (broke her neck, her back in multiple places & suffered a crushed spinal cord), how that experience has inspired here passion for physical rehabilitation for those with spinal injuries  and ultimately led to the building of Lawford House Pool

Jenny is a tonic, she & Richard have created something very special in our village - hope you all enjoy listening to this one as much as I did recording it.

Additional Reference Material

• The Hanging Gale
• The McGann Brothers
• Rooprai Trust
• Aspire
• Essex Air Ambulance

The Tendring Show is the embodiment of local country living and community. The Tendring Show is held each year in early Jul in the village of Lawford attracting over 25,000 visitors in 2022.  On todays episode we chat with David Brooks (Show Director) and Will King (Chairperson) - topics covered include

• The history of the show (from 1899) and evolution of the show over time
• The local volunteers that organise & run the show each year 
• COVID years & how the show bounced back to have a record year in 2022
• The hopes for the future, continuing to entertain &  inform the public while remaining a celebration of the Tendring Community

The show will take place on Saturday the 8th of Jul 2023 - for more details please visit https://www.tendringshow.co.uk/

In this brief chat with Graeme Knott we talk about an inspirational 13 year old called Sophia who has come through treatment for 2 rare forms of cancer and is now working to raise awareness of childhood cancer. 

• On Sept 16th "Sophia's Challenge" will see cyclists depart from Little Bromley & Manningtree Train Station on a huge 100k cycle ride
• The ride is  motivated by Sophia to be part inspiration, part awareness raising and part fundraiser for "Lennox Cancer Fund"
• Sophia will be riding a tandem bike with Graeme who is a vastly experienced & highly skilled cyclist. We also get a chance to talk to Graeme briefly about his work on the elite world triathlon series https://superleaguetriathlon.com/  which features the likes of Jonny Brownlee and other elite triathletes 

The podcast is brief but we will have Graeme back on to talk about how Sophia's Challenge went and also to talk about lots of his other cycling stories including his Guinness World Record triplet cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats

In this brilliant chat with Valerie Pretty, Treasurer of the Manningtree Rotary,  we learn about all the fun had & social good done by the Rotarians in our community. We chat about local projects such as new seating on Cox's Hill (part funded by Lawford Parish Council Grant), the refresh of the shelter on the Walls, the Rotary's role in tackling Polio elimination and lots lots more.

Val is a force of nature, involved in so much so we took the opportunity to talk about some of the other local groups Val is actively involved with including

- Manningtree & District/Frankenberg Partnership Association
- University of the Third Age
- Stour Valley Flower Club

Note: Rotary Club is one of many local community groups that receive modest grant funding via Lawford Parish Council.

On this episode we ae joined by Kirsty Buxton from Acorn Village which is a fabulous facility in Mistley focused on supporting adults with learning disabilities. In this chat we cover 

• The history of Acorn Village and the passion that drove its formation
• The services provided for both live in adults and for those in the community
• The scale of Acorn  Village - employing more than 170 people in our community 
• The volunteers who support the village and its residents 
• And we get some perspective on the various and novel ways that Acorn generates funds to support its activities

For more details on Acorn Village please visit the website https://www.acornvillages.com/ or drop Kirsty & Team a mail at info@acornvillages.com

In this episode we chat with Dagmar Grafton of Manningtree Credit Union which provides community based banking in our area. We learn 

• A little about Dagmar, including how she recently became a UK Citizen after 50 years of residency
• That while the Credit Union provides banking services, with all the regulatory supervision of a bank it is a community based not for profit organisation
• Credit Unions are member-owned financial co-operative, democratically controlled by its members, which offers convenient savings and low interest loans to its members.
• That Manningtree Credit Union has a physical presence every Friday morning at the Hub (just next to the Mogul Restaurant) - all are welcome between 10am & 12 Noon

Lots more information on 

• https://www.colchestercreditunion.co.uk/
• https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/community/credit-union
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_union

We recently had a brilliant chat with Alison Baker & Jon Abbott of Manifest Theatre in Manningtree. In keeping with Manningtree's moniker as England's smallest town, its also home to a bijou theatre which seats just under 100 people, yet packs a punch in terms of the variety & quality of performances delivered. In the chat we talk about 

• the history of the theatre and how it has evolved over time
• we chat about its role in the heart of the community and how it supports everyone from toddlers to octogenarians 
• we hear about the recent sell out performance of Calendar Girls and the theatres exciting program for 2024
• we hear about the warm welcome that everyone receives at Manifest be they performers, stage creators, directors or visitors

We would highly recommend taking a look at the their website and in particular there brilliant newsletter which tells you all about 

Today we chat with Gipe Giddings of "Yoga with Gipe". The conversation is wholly inspiring, with Gipes energy and enthusiasm for yoga &  for life, shining through. We cover

• Gipes origin story, starting life as a child refugee from Tanzania, where her father spent 11 years as a political prisoner
• Gipes early years in dance & artistic design
• Gipes route into yoga and specifically Iyengar Yoga, developing her stunning studio in Lawford and the gratification she gets from being both a teacher & a lifelong student 
• Gipe radiates a thirst for discovery, for experience, for taking joy from the little  things as well as the large things

Its an absolutely brilliant chat and we would highly recommend taking a look at Gipe's website for more https://www.yogawithgipe.co.uk/ 

• Dean's early life in Lawford, and the personal tragedy that acted as a catalyst for his wanderlust and his embrace of life thereafter 
• We travel with Dean from Spain, to Azerbaijan, from USA to China and lots more
• We hear about the sliding doors moment that lead to Dean & his wife Grace meeting and the subsequent travails with the UK Home Office
• Finally we hear about the experiences & motivation that lead to the creation of Fitness @Summers Park and how it serves the full community, including those with specific medical considerations

In this episode we had a wonderful chat with David Webb in which we covered

• David's career highlight performing to 20 million people regularly as part of the cast of Hi-de-Hi!
• Performing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Show, rubbing shoulders with Vera Lynn, Bruce Forsyth, Roy Castle  & many more
•  His move into broadcasting and award winning documentary making including his work documenting the travels of Suffolk explorer Bartholomew Gosnold
• David's love for Ipswich Town Football Club and the joy he got from working at the club
• David's love for the local area and his passion projects producing films on Walton Backwaters, Mistley, Constable Country & more

David is incredibly fluid in conversation and incredibly passionate about embracing life, living it to the full. A real pleasure to spend time in his company. Thank you David.

Tom West is a serial entrepreneur & champion of our local community in the Stour Valley. Tom is the proprietor of several popular local pubs including The Red Lion in Manningtree & the Marlborough in Dedham while Tom is also the founder of an exciting start up called RentMy.com, in this episode we chat with Tom about

• What was & what might have been when it came to his highly promising sporting career in both Football & Basketball
• We chat about his move into the pub trade and how he has built a chain of hugely popular, community focused pubs
• We pivot to his new internet business, RentMy.com - which is best described as an Airbnb of everything - a platform where you can rent anything, from anyone, anywhere!
• Tom gives some insights on the local & international start up communities he is involved in and coins the fabulous term Silicone Stour
• We close with some passionate comments from Tom about the joy he takes from living in this beautiful part of the world and his passion for making the greater Manningtree area a brilliant community to live in and to do business in

In todays podcast we chat with Belinda Joslin, Belinda is founder & director of a community interest company called Women in Boat Building. Belinda's has an incredible passion for boats, for boat building and above all for creating opportunities for women in the industry she loves. In this chat we cover

• Belinda's origin story, growing up in a sailing mad family in Ipswich where building and sailing boats was just "what we did"
• Belinda's experiences sailing on super yachts across the Atlantic 
• "James Bond" style boats being built in Ipswich and how she worked as a "finisher" on the yacht of the year
• The origin story for Women in Boat Building and how Women in Boat Building has and is fostering opportunities for Women in the Industry
• Belinda's participation in the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, A National Ship Building Board and cheering on The Americas Cup Teams

This was such a fun chat, Belinda's passion for her chosen field is truly infectious. For those that would like to learn  more please see

• http://www.womeninboatbuilding.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/womeninboatbuilding/
• https://www.superyachttimes.com/yachts/geist