Real Voices of Happy Valley

18:05

Real Voices of Happy Valley 66: Helen Chuntso on...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/03/07

Helen Chuntso is one of the Chinese medicine practitioners in the Calder Valley. Her base in the Hebden Bridge Chinese Medicine Clinic in Valley Road. She talks with Viv about how she got into Chinese medicine, some of its basics and how it works alongside western medical practices

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31:16

Real Voices of Happy Valley 65: Kirsty Newton

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/02/28

In this episode Viv and Dave chat with Hebden Bridge born Kirsty Newton, a multi-talented entertainer who performs around the world, both solo and with a huge variety of wonderful artists, wearing many different hats and showcasing her versatile musical skills. She’s a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, musical improviser, composer, musical director and arranger, compère, host and comedy performer. In the valley you can catch Kirsty's singalongs at local pubs/venues

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25:50

Real Voices of Calder Valley 54: Jill Robinson author...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/02/21

Episode 54 features Jill Robinson talking about her Berringden Brow books and the life and adventures of Jess, a single mother in a Pennine town. It’s not quite autobiographical, but everything in the books has happened to someone, including Jill. Discover the importance of observing people, the things they say and how that turns into believable stories on the page

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23:36

Real Voices of Happy Valley 64 Lizzie Rowan Full of...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/02/21

Lizzie Rowan, with her wife TJ, runs Full of Joy Animal Sanctuary. It offers forever homes to animals in need. It's had pigs, goats, ponies. chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, ferrets and terrapins. The sanctuary runs on vegan principles and ensures everything is environmentally friendly. Full of Joy is a not for profit organisation run by volunteers, based in the beautiful hills between Hedden Bridge and Todmorden, in West Yorkshire. above Eastwood. www.full-of-joy-animal-sanctuary...

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33:52

Real Voices of Happy Valley 63 Les Gillon

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/02/14

Les Gillon talks with Dave about his music, his latest band and recording, what inspires him and how lucky we are in the Calder Valley to have such creative talent, venues and an audience for original music

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24:05

Real Voices of Happy Valley 62: Jim Haughey

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/02/07

Cornholme is often seen as the ‘forgotten valley end’ of Calderdale. So much so that it seemed to be the ideal spot for the somewhat mystifying TV series ‘Passenger’ (ITVx). Yet there are lots of things going on there with the Old Library and the churches being community hubs and its active community groups and individuals. One such individual is Jim Haughey who collects donations and helps at the foodbank and is based at the Vale Baptist church. Dave went to speak to him ...

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25:23

Real Voices of Happy Valley 61 Trina Lucas,...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/01/31

Trina Lucas, former museums conference organiser, music lover, long time Calder Valley resident has taken up the role of Events Manager at Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre. Already recognised as a sports, leisure and function hub of Mytholmroyd and the wider community Trina is adding more gigs and other events to its role. Touring and local bands now have yet another venue to show their talents in the valley which is one of the nation’s greatest centre’s for original music. The cent...

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31:48

Real Voices of Happy Valley 60: John Billingsley on...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/01/17

John Billingsley worked at Hebden Bridge library for three decades, now organises Todmorden Folklore Centre’s library. He developed an interest in the folklore of the valley, its icons, its stories and how it holds the communities together while explaining its local rivalries. He has published books on West Yorkshire and Calderdale Folklore and researched the strange stone heads and ‘ancient’ monuments that can be seen on houses and the moorland

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28:52

Real Voices of Happy Valley 59 Natural Endings

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2025/01/10

Viv and Dave chat with Rosie Grant and Lisa van der Zanden at Natural Endings, a funeral service which puts the family/friends at the centre of funeral planning. They are both committed to ensuring the family/friends can be involved as much or as little as they feel they want. Funeral services and gatherings or ‘de-parties’ can be designed for specific individuals; some are interactive, can involve tea, coffee, toasts, refreshments, talk and art, displays, music as people think appropriate. L...

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24:48

Real Voices of Happy Valley 58 Todmorden u3a

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/12/19

The u3a is an organisation that brings retired people together to share their interests and skills. People can continue to pursue interests and/or develop new ones. There are people in their 80s able to play badminton and cricket in safe environments, there are people studying languages, philosophy and history. There are scrabble and board games groups. This is not ‘sit around while some kindly younger person brings you a cup of tea and calls out bingo numbers’, this has a do-it-yoursel...

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28:59

Real Voices of Happy Valley 57 Keith Crabtree on floods

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/12/13

Keith Crabtree, born in Cornholme, lived in Todmorden all his life, worked for Environmental Health at Calderdle council and became a flood warden on his retirement. Now a flood volunteer, Keith has views on the lack of maintenance that contributes to floods up and down Calder Valley through Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Walsden and places in between. He uses his local knowledge to identify problem areas for the community and emergency services. Keith’s Facebook page is a great sourc...

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20:50

Real Voices of Happy Valley 47 Nicola Warren

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/12/06

Nicola Warren is a popular as a School Crossing Patrol getting children and parents safety across the road to their school. There is so much more to her life than that as people who cross roads every day of term times realise. Listen to Nicola about her role and her views on the strange goings on in the valley

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29:28

Real Voices of Happy Valley 56; Madeleine Brooks

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/12/06

Madeleine Brooks is a singer songwriter living in Todmorden. She runs an open mic at The Puzzle Hall, Sowerby Bridge and, ‘cut her teeth’ on the stage at Hebden Bridge Trades Club – a real voice of happy valley. After playing gigs, running nights at Nelson's Wine Bar, supporting some of the best musicians to visit the valley and being nominated at Leeds Music Awards, Madeleine lost her voice, was diagnosed with ADHD, but is back. Listen to her views on open mic nights, how she got started and...

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27:38

Real Voices of Happy Valley 55: Rev Catherine Shelley

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/11/29

Catherine Shelley, is kept busy by being vicar of St Mary’s Todmorden, St Peter’s, Walsden and St Michael’s, Cornholme. Catherine, originally from Manchester, gave up a career in law to follow her faith. She’s been chaplain at Birmingham University, worked in Southwark, south London and is now settled in Todmorden. She is heavily involved in many aspects of the valley community from foodbanks to increasing links between church and LGBT communities. While not abandoning traditions she is perha...

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25:47

Real Voices of Happy Valley 54: Jill Robinson

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/11/22

Episode 54 features Jill Robinson talking about her Berringden Brow books - and the life and adventures of Jess, a single mother in a Pennine town. It’s not quite autobiographical, but everything in the books has happened to someone, including Jill. Discover the importance of observing people, the things they say and how that turns into believable stories on the page

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22:06

Episode 53: Natalie George of Big Tree Todmorden

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/11/15

Episode 53 of Real Voices of Happy Valley is a chat with Natalie George of Big Tree which now runs the Oddfellows Hall, next to Todmorden Market. The building has a long history as an entertainment hub and now features a ground floor café Branch Out and several spaces available for functions, workshops, club nights and a gig venue. Community minded Natalie is looking for people to come along with their ideas and skills to help develop the facility

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27:29

Episode 52 Claire Convallaria - getting girls into...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/11/08

Claire Convallaria interested Viv with her work on projects encouraging and enabling girls into science education and careers. Like so many we speak to on Real Voices, she does far more than that. Claire also advises on business sustainability – how businesses can be socially and environmentally as well as economically sustainable. This requires her to be up to date with current and potential government policies on sustainability issues. She studied and assessed the effects the US elections a...

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25:58

Episode 51 Mark Simmonds 'The Co-op Man' on co-ops...

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/11/01

Mark Simmonds has advised many communities on saving community assets like shops, pubs, skate parks and much more, generally by creating community co-operatives. This means investing in your community rather than for profit - though dividends can be paid out. Heptonstall Post Office and the Fox and Goose pub are juts two examples of community assets saved in this way. Mark is also involved in community cider projects and more.

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19:47

Episode 50 Alison Redfern of Walsden Scarecrow Festival

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/08/31

Alison Redfern created a scarecrow festival to help raise funds for St Peter's Church. Seven years later Walsden Scarecrow Festival is part of the local calendar, brings the village together with people from further afield, funds local community activities and brightens up the village for a weekend every September

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26:02

Episode 49 Keith Wilson talks stone, wood and metal

Real Voices of Happy Valley ·

2024/08/23

Keith Wilson is a well known face in the Calder Valley and many have seen the results of his skills in stone walling, treeplanting, coppicing etc without realising. Admire his work in the beer garden at The Fox & Goose in Hebden Bridge for example. A benefit to the community and environment, Keith is very much a grafter

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