The Sense of Place Podcast

In today’s episode it’s just going to be you and me! Think of today’s episode as a little introduction / taster exploring the connection between photography and a sense of place, as well as introducing you to the magical world of Autochrome! Photographers discussed: Mervyn O'GormanHeinrich KühnJacob Olie Jr. Wilhelm Tobien I’d love to know what you think about autochrome’s and if photographs have ever evoked a strong sense of place in you. Episode Extras: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-23-for-68863251 (Recorded June 2022)

In today’s episode, I chat with author John Grindrod. John’s work explores Britain’s post-war and contemporary architecture from a personal and sociohistorical perspective. John describes his books as being for those of us who are fascinated by the modern histories of our towns, cities, and suburbs - but also aren’t quite sure what to make of them. John has published four books: Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain (2013), Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt (2017), How to Love Brutalism (2018), and Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain (2022). In my conversation with John, we learn about the key characteristics of post-war architecture, and what got John particularly interested in this era of construction. We also explore what the greenbelt is and the issues surrounding it, as well as John’s self-professed love of Brutalism. Finally, we take a look at John's new book, Iconicon, and ponder the ups and downs of our mutual home town, Croydon. For more on John, check out https://www.johngrindrod.co.uk/ NOTE: Please excuse the poor audio at times in this episode. Someone commented it sounded like I was eating a bag of crisps. The rustling was coming from John's mic as he spoke. I was unable to edit it out as it would have lost John's speech all together. Apologies in advance! (Recorded March 2022)

This year, I’ve read some great zines that each explore sense of place in their own unique ways. Hence, I thought it would be nice to chat with some of the creators behind them! First, I speak with Kieran Cutting and Christian Kitson, creators of Lost Futures. Lost Futures explores 'worlds that could have been, should have been, or weren’t'. Then, I chat with Richard Daniels, creator of Occultaria of Albion (OA), a tongue-in-cheek part-work series about the weird and unusual in Albion. Finally, I chat with Simon Moreton, author of multiple zines, independent comics - and a brand new book! Much of his works explore place, landscape, politics, and grief. For Patrons of the show, Kieran and Christian of the Lost Futures Zine have kindly shared with me a discount code for issue 2 and the upcoming issue 3 when it is released! Follow the link for access: https://www.patreon.com/posts/exclusive-code-2-52247467 I shall also be sharing this code with any Ko-fi supporters. The code is valid for 6 weeks from 08/06/2021, so any one who supports me during that time will also receive the code to get £2 off either/ or both issues :)

In today’s episode, I chat with Archaeological researcher Rebecca Lambert. Bec's love for both contemporary and Neolithic liminal space informs her fresh perspective on how we perceive the world around us. Bec has four key research projects, all of which exhibit her interest in liminality - 'Dialects of the Hum', 'Future Ghosts – We Are All Ghosts in the Making', 'Underpasses are Liminal Spaces', and 'Paranoid Architecture – Ballardian Concepts Within Neolithic Contexts'. We explore each of these projects in detail, discussing the archaeology of the future, the importance of community engagement, the use of Ballardian concepts within Neolithic contexts + much more! (Recorded February 2021)

Smell. One of the five senses. Yet, perhaps one you take for granted until you have a cold? When you lose your sense of smell, you suddenly realise what an impact it has on your day to day life. It is crucial to the taste of food, reminds you of certain places and people, and it can even inform you of danger. Today’s guest is Dr. Alex Rhys-Taylor, a sociologist from Goldsmiths University in London. Alex’s work focuses on the multisensory experience of urban space. He has written a book Food and Multiculture: A Sensory Ethnography of East London as well as several papers and articles exploring the multicultural food scene of East London, and has discussed the significant role smell plays in understanding the city of London. Alex and I chat about how he got into researching smells, why scent is so important when it comes to understanding the world around us, the changing smellscape of London, the attempt to enhance heritage sites using smell, how scents are preserved, changing opinions on the smell of Fish and Chips, and much more! (Recorded September 2020)

I am sure most of you reading this have visited a cathedral or church at some point in your life. Ancient, majestic, sacred – not the kind of place you would find covered in graffiti. Well, turns out that this is not the case! As you shall find out in today's episode with Matthew Champion. Matthew is an archaeologist, heritage consultant and most importantly a medieval graffiti expert. During our conversation I find out how Matt got into researching medieval graffiti and how he began the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey. We discuss when people started to see graffiti as a form of vandalism - contrary to it being a completely normal part of medieval life. We also touch on how graffiti helps us relate to people of the past, and what kinds of tools they used to create their marks. Finally, we explore the different types of ritualistic graffiti (holy signs), charms, and curses, as well as Matt’s favourite pieces of graffiti he has found over the years. (Recorded June 2020) Episode Extras: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-extras-39091387

“Irrespective of technology, digital placement is first and foremost a human centered practice that is concerned with improving relationships between people and places. It embraces collaboration, a co-creation design approach and encourages community participation.” — JO REID, LEADING UK DEVELOPERS CALVIUM This is a quote taken from the website of Hamish Sewell, today’s guest. I think it sums up nicely Hamish’s work and approach to audio-based story telling which bridges the gap between people and place. Hamish is from Queensland, Australia and has a background in radio and oral history. He has worked on several projects which connect people to their place. Hamish is the creator of the app Soundtrails – an audio project which uses geolocative technology to bring to life the towns and stories of ordinary people in Australia! We begin the episode by getting more detail on how soundtrails works, and why Hamish created it. The appeal of telling ‘ordinary’ communities’ stories and the creative protentional of using geolocative story telling (e.g. being able to adapt novellas into real life situations). We then get into what drew Hamish to his work - wanting to express the connection between people and their place, the importance of meaning making, and memory making, and much more! (Recorded December 2019)

Were you aware that the network of public foot paths across England and Wales is over 140, 000 miles? Well if you weren’t it is understandable as many miles of our public footpaths are currently unrecorded, and if they are not put on the map by 2026, they will be lost forever! In today’s episode I chat to Jack Cornish the programme manager of the Rambler’s project ‘Don’t Lose Your Way’ which aims to save these historic rights of way.Jack and I get into a more detailed discussion about what the ‘Don’t Lose Your Way’ campaign is and the different ways you can find lost rights of way. We then touch on the history and legislation of our rights of way and the role desire paths play in this.Finally we discuss the lack of footpaths in the countryside and some city areas, the positives of car free cities and how Jack himself got into walking! (Recorded September 2019) For all of you who love hiking, why not check out the Adventure Patch Company?! Founded by brothers Chris & Dom, they make retro hiking patches that celebrate the UK’s best loved peaks, trails, and outdoor challenges. The perfect memento for yourself or gift for an outdoorsy friend! Use discount code SENSEOFPLACE at checkout for 20% all purchases. Link here: https://adventurepatch.co.uk?sca_ref=5712306.rLjIvt6JQb Don't Lose Your Way: ramblers.org.uk/dontloseyourway Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=18592650 Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/senseofplacepodcast

In today’s episode I chat to Tim Bird a comic book artist from South London, who’s work focuses on exploring the history, mythology and memories contained within our landscape. I discuss with Tim why he chose to combine psychogeographical ideas and comic books, what his process is when it comes to creating his work, alongside some of his influences. We also take a deeper look into his comic books, with a particular focus on his work The Great North Wood and we delve into the legends and myths surrounding it as a place. (Recorded June 2019)

In today’s episode I speak to the mystery man behind the blog ‘Portals of London’. Portals of London works towards building a catalogue of London’s inter – dimensional gateways. I find out about the influences behind the blog, some of the most popular posts, and people’s reactions to it. (Recorded October 2018)

In today's episode I talk to Ian Rawes a sound recordist, and the brains behind the website The London Sound Survey. Ian and I discuss the changes in the sounds we hear on the streets of London, the significance of street cries, noise nuisances in 1920’s London, Ian’s exploration of Allhallows marshes at night - and much more! (Recorded September 2018)

In today's episode I talk to John Reppion. John is the editor of the fantastic book ‘Spirits of Place’ which is all about stories that are embedded in the world around us. Me and John talk all things place, history, folklore and Spirits of Place! (Recorded January 2019)