I had an absolute treat of a chat recently, with the brilliant Sue Perkins. ✨ Sue’s touring her new stand up show ‘The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins’ across the country next year. We caught up about all sorts! Here’s a clip, and hear our full conversation ➡️ www.besomerset.com/post/the-ete...

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of chatting with @laurasrobinson.bsky.social about her marvellous new book, The art of a lie, which is one of the books of the year. It's a wonderful interview and well worth a listen www.besomerset.com/post/art-of-...

Thanks to the amazing Jenna at @besomerset.bsky.social for enabling me to chat to such brilliant guests. Do check out the website as there is some great content on there www.besomerset.com

On our Sunday playlist is Hangover Terrace, the brilliant latest album by @ronsexsmith.bsky.social 🎶 Ian @bagpusspostgate.bsky.social caught up with Ron about the record & lots more besides & you can hear their chat here: www.besomerset.com/post/hangove... #interview #radio #music #sunday

Good morning

Christmas at Stourhead opens tomorrow until December 31. Jenna hops over the border to chat with Stourhead’s General Manager Phil, & Associate Producer of the light trail, Laurence. Discover what goes on to bring this beautiful, sustainable spectacle to life, here: www.besomerset.com/post/christm...

Is it time for a Christmas break yet? 😂 Got tree one up over the weekend. Real tree this weekend, and then let December begin 🎉🎄

Brilliant visit to Stourhead to chat with General Manager Phil & Associate Producer Laurence about the upcoming spectacle, Christmas at Stourhead🎄Looking forward to sharing the conversation on @besomerset.bsky.social. Stourhead is spectacular & we met the friendliest robin on a walk around the lake!

This girl! From having major spinal surgery earlier in the year, to running around like a pup again now. A few months off her 10th birthday and always a pup to us. The best thing we ever did was rescue her, thanks to Lurcher SOS. We love our Petal 😍 #RescueDogs #RescueDogsRock

Day break

Only 3 days left to visit Hatch Somerset’s latest exhibition JOURNEYS, & to find The White Cello in the secret Somerset barn! 🎻 Put on the headphones, listen to the music & poetry, & maybe you’ll relate to the need to make time for yourself 🤍 Thanks for your lovely feedback about it yesterday.

Journeys, the immersive exhibition by Hatch Somerset is open again this weekend in a secret barn in the countryside! Defy the rain & visit? It’s open 11am - 4pm both days with artist talks from 4.30pm today. My piece, The White Cello, includes photography, poetry & sound 🤍 Link to book, below…

I've been chatting with choristers from @choiroftheearth.com, hearing about their experiences of singing in this online choir & what it means to them. Might've had something in my eye when chatting with Vanessa! With all the constant negative news stories, these conversations brighten my days☀️

It’s the opening weekend of ‘Journeys’ - the art exhibition in a secret barn in Somerset created by the Hatch Collective. Proud to be a member. My piece ‘The White Cello’ is a sound & photography installation about learning to make time for the things that genuinely bring you joy 🤍

Pudsey power! 🧸 Brilliant to help out at BBC Children in Need with BBC Radio Somerset, as Simon & Mel took on part of BBC local radio's three-legged walking challenge. Well done to the team & the fantastic listeners & supporters 👏 Lots of great moments, miles completed & of course, funds raised.

A real treat for us this weekend! Patrick Hawes has been chatting about The Wedding at Cana & his feelings about Choir of the Earth learning & recording a new version of his beautiful work. Patrick shares stories of his career highlights too. Listen to the conversation here: youtu.be/BUYw96Ge5qU?...

It's Punkie Night tonight! Hand me a mangle-wurzel! 😀 It was lovely to be back presenting on BBC Radio Somerset yesterday & chatting with Roger about the tradition of Punkie Night. He was brilliant at explaining it & he also shared some of his unusual family traditions. Jam doughnut bobbing anyone?

It all started with a stubborn supermarket automatic door and a pigeon! 🐦 Ardal O’ Hanlon is bringing his stand up show ‘Not Himself’ to Westlands in Yeovil tonight and it just goes to show, inspiration can come from anywhere 😉 For our full chat, head here: www.besomerset.com/post/ardal-o...

Dr. Richard Shepherd is the UK's leading forensic pathologist. Having carried out over 24,000 autopsies, he has investigated some of the world’s most high-profile cases, from the Hungerford Massacre to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I caught up with him to discover more about his career. Here’s a clip.

Absolutely brilliant interview from @somersetcool.bsky.social on @besomerset.bsky.social with forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd. If you watch TV shows about crime and murder and find yourself saying "Well actually..." a lot, this is the guy for you! www.besomerset.com/post/dr-rich...

… and you can hear him chatting about life, the 20 year anniversary release of his incredible album Coles Corner, and… yes… the dangers of the Waltzers! 😉 Head here to listen: www.besomerset.com/post/richard... @bagpusspostgate.bsky.social

We’ve got a great chat for you. Ian’s been catching up with @richardhawley.bsky.social. Richard’s music is not only truly timeless, but listening to him in conversation has restored our faith in humans! Richard’s playing a sold out gig in Weston-super-Mare tomorrow night…

Here’s a poem about knitting from Robin Ince! He shared it chatting with Ian about a digital EP of poems that’s a sonic companion to Robin’s book, Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal. Robin’s teamed up with musician Rachel Taylor-Beales to create the EP. More here: www.besomerset.com/post/normall...

Pleasure chatting with Ralph 👏

Willow weaving is so mindful when you get into a rhythm. I learned that when I visited Jo Entwistle at Bay Tree Willow (Somerset Open Studios Venue 24) in Barwick. We made a willow birdhouse together & Jo was a great teacher. Here’s a clip & our full chat is here www.besomerset.com/post/open-st...

It’s the final weekend of Somerset Open Studios, a chance to head out across the county, visit artists & chat with them about what they create. Jenna did just that with Printmaker @jcurtisart.bsky.social Here’s a clip & to hear the conversation in full, head here: www.besomerset.com/post/somerse...

How about starting the week with some art & crafts? Check out episode 2 of ‘The Heart of the Art’, exploring more of Somerset Open Studios. It includes willow weaving, glass painting, woodworking, a celebratory exhibition in hospital & a trip to the Somerset coast! www.besomerset.com/post/open-st...

TONIGHT!

One of my favourite interviews has been with @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social & he’s at Westlands Yeovil this evening with his show, Getting Through It. Tickets are here: www.westlandsyeovil.co.uk/whats-on/tal... Our full conversation is here: www.besomerset.com/post/michael... #searchforthehero

A little block I created when @somersetcool.bsky.social came to visit last week. You can hear more about its creation and some of my printmaking in the first of her Somerset Art Specials on @besomerset.bsky.social besomerset.com/post/somerset-…

Thank you! Loving the show and thank you for featuring my studio

My Somerset Art Weeks show is out, here: www.besomerset.com/post/somerse... It includes: * Somerset Art Works Co-chair Freeny Yianni * Printmaker @jcurtisart.bsky.social - We get inky! * Artist Tina Salvidge & her virtual reality experience * Artist Jo Lathwood, whose exhibition explores brewing

It’s today! The start of Somerset Open Studios…a 16-day celebration of art across the county. Grab yourself a guide & discover some wonderful creativity, whether you get involved every year or have never done it before! Today I’ll be editing the first of my Art Weeks shows. It’ll be out tomorrow 📻

A lovely visit to @jcurtisart.bsky.social yesterday to create some prints & chat about the process, for my first Somerset Art Weeks Open Studios radio show. Loved chatting with Jackie about her work & you can hear our conversation from Sunday afternoon on besomerset.com. Jackie is at venue 106.

Eeek starts tomorrow!

A feast of conversation to get your teeth into! 😍 For all you fantastic e-newsletter subscribers, your Be Somerset #Radio round up has just landed in your inbox. Thanks for being the best!☀️ If you’d like to join our growing community, just head here: www.besomerset.com/be-in-the-know #chat

It was Somerset & Dorset Animal Rescue’s 25 year anniversary yesterday & an honour to host/chat to all the dog owners who entered their dogs into the dog show. All were incredible with stories of love, friendship & bravery.Thanks for everything you do at the Rescue Liz, Colin, Emma & the volunteers❤️

Somerset & Dorset Animal Rescue mark 25 years at their #Rescue in Wincanton tomorrow with a fun day & dog show from 11am-4pm. I’ve been chatting with founder Liz & volunteers Andy & Pat. Liz speaks so brilliantly about rescue. Please give it a listen here ❤️: www.besomerset.com/post/somerse...

What do you do when you’re playing a Craggy Island priest, you’re browsing the Doc Martens in your lunch hour & you get offered a free pair for being a man of the cloth? Ardal O’ Hanlon chats with me before his show ‘Not Himself’ arrives in Yeovil soon. Full chat: www.besomerset.com/post/ardal-o...

Great to hear our Musical Director @benenglandbem.bsky.social on BBC Radio earlier, talking with Jenna about singing, why it makes us happy and of course, about Choir of the Earth 🎶 To listen, start from around 2 hours 11 minutes into the show ⬇️ www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #ChoralSky #Radio #Sing

Want to discover more about a hidden gem in Somerset? Jenna’s been exploring Oakhill Ponds, finding out about its history,its hermit’s cave, and how cold the swimming pond really is! 😬 Take a listen in full, here: www.besomerset.com/post/oakhill... #radio #podcasts #listen #weekendmood

Explore the land at Oakhill Ponds. As well a cold water swim 😁 I chatted with owner Amanda, about the history of the 18th century grotto there. A tiny narrow tunnel behind a waterfall was definitely the most unique place I've recorded an interview! Full chat here: www.besomerset.com/.../oakhill-....

You couldn't call it divine intervention exactly, but Heaven 17's iconic song 'Temptation' might not have been released as a single if it wasn't for Martyn Ware not taking no for answer! For the full chat between Martyn and @bagpusspostgate.bsky.social head here: www.besomerset.com/post/martyn-...

Loved chatting with Terry and I’m loving learning how much of a difference this choir is making to so many people all over the world 👏 Go @choiroftheearth.com 🎉🎶

Heaven 17 play a sold out gig on Friday at the Cheese & Grain. Whether you'll be there or not, give in to temptation (sorry, had to be done 😉) & listen to @bagpusspostgate.bsky.social’s chat with Martyn Ware, a pioneer of electronic music & creativity www.besomerset.com/post/martyn-... 📷Toddevision

An ancient stone grotto & Hermit's cave, wildlife pond, a wild swimming pond & a secret tunnel running underneath them! Fascinating visit to Oakhill Ponds. You can hear it in full on @besomerset.bsky.social soon. I'll also be sharing highlights on Bank Holiday Monday on BBC Radio Somerset from 10am

Something to start the week off with a smile. Just one of the many stories told by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social in our chat on @besomerset.bsky.social. Listen to the conversation in full, here: www.besomerset.com/post/michael... For the bright times and the dark times! 😉 Have a great week.

Ian’s been catching up with indie icon @mikiberenyi.bsky.social ahead of her Miki Berenyi Trio gig at Frome Festival on Sunday. Miki chats about her days in Lush & in this clip we hear how the labels of Brit Pop & Shoegazer were received in the 90s. Full chat here: www.besomerset.com/post/miki-be...

Frome Festival starts tomorrow… a 10 day celebration of the arts & so much to get involved with. @somersetcool.bsky.social has been chatting with Festival Director, Adam Laughton, to bring you more about what’s in store! Listen here: www.besomerset.com/post/frome-f...

Subscribed to our news? You should’ve got a little update straight to your inbox last week. If you haven’t joined yet, just head here: www.besomerset.com/be-in-the-know We have over 1,000 email subscribers now & we appreciate every single one of you. Yes… even you! 😂 Thanks for your support ⭐️