Open Centre

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FRIDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER

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Teeming between accountants and zoologists are masses of other professions and you might not expect any to sanction swearing.  A visit to your bank manager will not conclude with a rant regarding your mortgage application, “you haven’t enough [bleeping] money for a mortgage so [bleep off] out of here.” So why do we routinely and repeatedly consent to allow chefs carte blanche to curse? It appears to be part of the gig, when sitting the interview the potential chef is marked on his or her profanities – make the interviewer blush and you get your first Michelin star!

Meet Craig Hughes the bee keeper – ex lawyer and chef, interestingly he mentioned bullying in the kitchen and surely seething, shouting and swearing at your staff falls into bullying yet we condone and forgive it. Craig has been here before and recounted his terrifying tales of cancer, a real inspiration and proof of life on the other side of cancer.

Like many young boys of the time I fell in love with Penny Warrender  (aka Jan Francis from the TV series 'Just Good Friends')  what a woman! Well Susan Wilson is from the Paul Nicholas School of Acting in Morecambe and Paul played Vincent Pinner – the man who went out with Penny for years. Susan tells us Paul is grounded and a nice man to boot – not as in kicking just.... to – boot.

With a mouth full of honey the hammer falls on today’s delivering and we’ll see you next week.

Chris

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THURSDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER

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We’ve had many a fascinating guest on Ladies at Lunch over the months, but I’m not sure we’ve actually had “fascinators”. I had no idea what they are – actually, I had never even heard of them – so I found today’s show very educational!

It seems a fascinator is a little hat-type thing that’s not a hat at all…hmmm, confusing to my manly ears! Suzanne Edgar knows all about them…fascinators are her business, and she sells them over the internet. Made of feathers, diamantes and all sorts of glamorous things, fascinators are a lightweight alternative to a hat – for those occasions where you want to look fabulous for a number of hours. She seems to be doing well – the great thing about the internet is that customers from just about anywhere can visit your virtual “shop”, and Suzanne has had orders from all over the place…even as far away as India! Because the fascinators are made by hand, they can be fashioned to compliment any outfit and Suzanne has had some odd requests – indeed, elsewhere on this website you can see one of her more exotic creations, made from orange and white feathers and topped off with an 8 inch model of Blackpool Tower!

Sarah Cooper, our other panellist for today, had a little advice for people worrying about the credit crunch...in a nutshell, don’t panic; keep hold of any shares you might hold (unless you really need the money, of course); tighten your belt a little, and prepare to ride the storm in the hope it’s more of a blip rather than a full-blown recession. She knows a thing or two about money of course; Sarah became the youngest female bank manager in the UK when she took over her first branch in Darwen, and has since worked her way up to Senior Relationship Manager for a major bank looking after a select bunch of clients – ladies with an income in excess of £75,000 per annum! Probably the most important piece of advice she offered – extremely good advice which we heartily endorse – is that if you do find yourself in a spot of financial bother, don’t hide from it; talk to the bank or the lender right away and explain your situation. It’s surprising what help they can offer – they won’t shout at you or make you feel stupid, but they will appreciate your attempts to deal with the problem.

We had live music from a young lady with a terrific voice – Jade Adams sounds like a cross between Lisa Stansfield and Cher, and we think she’ll go far. And she was an absolute delight to work with – talent, pretty and pleasant…she has it all!

Oh, there was other stuff as well…Carole’s attempt to convert Sally to herbal teas (ginger and lemon anyone?) led to Sal having one of her “tropical moments” (she looked like a little beetroot!)…the girls discussed crushes and posters on teenage walls, botox and tattoos…we found out that Carole never trusted Barbie (on account of her having small eyes)…and there was an entertaining mix-up around the subject of tantric sex!

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WEDNESDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER

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Interpretations, we all interpret things differently. When I was a kid I asked for a pair of football boots and got a pair my Dad picked up somewhere, two sizes too big and two hundred years old. My son asked for the same thing and just expected the best in the shop, he didn’t hope for the best – he expected it. That’s not to say he’s a bad kid, he’s just used to getting nice things, this means his perception of deficiency differ massively from mine and a few in today’s audience.

The backbone of today’s communiqué channelled a discussion of poverty and opened a debate of what in essence poverty is. We each have our own thoughts an understanding of what being poor means and the panel, audience and I’m sure one or two listeners uttered their opinion. Julianne Stokes is fervent about funds; she is working with families in this county struggling to manage with poverty. 

Joining Julianne is Carole Gray and for a period today the couple took the reigns and chatted between themselves. Carole was the accounts manager for a stockbrokers before she qualified as a clinical hypnotherapist. She now helps people with all kinds of problems including stress, anxiety, weight issues and ego strengthening. Carole has lived with auto-immune disease Lupus for ten years and said her hypnotherapy has helped her cope with her pain.

Rodin would be pleased as punch as a result of the amount of thought gone into this one.

Chris

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TUESDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER

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Why am I typing this when my hands could be used to eat cake?! Take my word for it – this is the reason we dragged ourselves out of the swamps, evolved and developed the ability to pick stuff up. Devouring one of Elizabeth Connard's cakes is like taking a bite out of Mary Poppins – practically perfect in every way. Elizabeth runs a French patisserie in Southport. She developed her knowledge and skills whilst living in Paris and wooed us with her wares, and this was top notch nosh.

Anne Sudworth is well known to the station but this is the first time I have seen her and what a strikingly remarkable person she is.

Anne is a highly successful Gothic artist who has exhibited her work in London and New York fetching up to 20 grand a pop.

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Quote of the day:

Sally: Do you ever sunbathe nude?

Anne: (Goth) Do I look like I sunbathe?

A bit from both the sweet trolley and visual rendering cupboard thank you very much.

Chris

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MONDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER

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Monday in the Radio Theatre, and we start the week with a virtual menagerie….well, one guest who looks after retired and rescued greyhounds and another involved with the Horse and Bamboo theatre company, but you get my drift!

I’ve always loved dogs; there’s pretty much always been a pooch resident at the family home over the years. Dogs are loyal, faithful…perhaps “man’s best friend” is a bit of a cliché, but it sums up most people’s feelings towards our canine chums. However, even in this day and age there are those – unscrupulous, inhuman, cruel, call them what you will – who cause unnecessary suffering to animals in all sorts of situations, and our first panellist is deeply involved with picking up the pieces and looking after dogs rescued from such circumstances.

It all started a little while ago for Lucille Cavadino when she bought a beautiful brindle greyhound pup. Betty, as she became known to the family, was a huge hit; gangly and ungainly but cute as a button, and Lucille realised they are quite a specialist pet so turned to the internet to find out more about them and to chat to other owners. As she became more involved in the world of the greyhound, Lucille found out about the darker side of ownership; unscrupulous trainers who race the dogs until they are past their prime, then abandon them with scant regard for their welfare or respect for the sport they have provided…owners who get in above their head and end up inflicting (whether intentional or otherwise) hideous cruelty on the dogs. Lucille could tell you tales which would shock, horrify, upset and bewilder you….and now she works to rescue and re-home retired greyhounds, and to ensure they see out their days in happiness and comfort.

It seems they’re really sociable dogs; good with kids and other animals, a greyhound can be a great pal. As Lucille says, they’re a bit lazy – her description of a “40mph couch potato” was spot on, because although greyhounds are capable of great turns of speed they don’t have the stamina to keep it up for long – and if you fancy a companion to curl up beside you whilst you watch “Strictly…”, they sound bob on. Lucille is always looking for suitable homes for her animals, and subject to a few provisos there’s nothing to stop most folk adopting a greyhound; obviously due to the experiences some of the dogs have had, it is important to find a loving and caring home for them – and Lucille makes sure prospective re-homers fully understand exactly what greyhound ownership entails and the responsibility you are taking on, before you commit to it. Of course, if you can’t offer a home to a dog there are other ways to help Lucille carry on the good work; hard cash is always good, as it costs anything up to £700 to inoculate, de-flea, spey or neuter, microchip or de-worm as appropriate every dog coming into her care.

I know a few folk who are absolutely against greyhound racing – indeed, against using animals for any sort of sport at all – and they point to historical accounts of dodgy greyhound trainers dumping dogs as above. Lucille was keen to point out that the sport is making great strides (no pun intended!) away from such people and practices; race tracks are trying to move on from the flat cap image and promote the social side of the experience – parties, stags and hens, a good night out.

Our other guest is more of a cat person – purely because of her lifestyle and the demands of her job. When she’s not spending time with her beautiful black cat Matilda – and another “occasional visitor” who stops by from time to time (cats are SO like that!) - Helen Jackson works with the Horse and Bamboo travelling theatre company. It's a real local success story based in Rossendale; if you have visited us lately, I’m sure you can’t have missed the impressive exhibition of their props, masks and scenery in the 2026 exhibition area. Originally, the company didn’t have a base per se; indeed their name comes from how they used to take theatre to the people – on the back of a horse and cart, visiting places without theatres of their own and bringing storytelling to life by making their work accessible to all. Nowadays though, the Horse and Bamboo have their own building in Waterfoot, an ex-Liberal club with a history all of its own – and by all accounts, it sounds like a magical place to work…performance space, workshops…and a storage area Helen describes as a “place of dreams”. Much like BBC Radio Lancashire really, if you can describe Joe Wilson’s locker as a place of dreams…

Helen isn’t involved with the mask making and staging of plays; instead, she undertakes the equally creative work of organising funding for projects and ensuring that the work of the theatre continues. It’s a fact of life that without money, even the most well oiled and worthy enterprise would come to a halt – one of Helen’s roles is to keep the wolves from the door, as it were…

We did wonder what life is like behind the scenes of a theatre company; do egos rise to the surface, is it all tears and tantrums – and what of the prima donnas? Helen reports that the Horse and Bamboo is a happy ship; everyone gets on, there are no tantrums to speak of and the team are focused on offering a great experience to all…again, much like BBC Radio Lancashire! We obviously have much in common with Helen and the troops…perhaps I should consider a career treading the boards….?

Garry

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