It's not been a while since my last pod ... This is another pod partly about the history of Yorkshire. I give a very quick overview on The Wars Of The Roses, the civil war that took place in England in the mid-late 15th Century between the royal houses of Lancaster and York. Before I get onto that, however, I talk about numbers stations and give quite a bit of information about how to encode messages via radio broadcasts. The only connection between the two is simply that's where my mind's been this week :D Don't forget, my podcast has a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/travel.tales.beyond.brochure/?ref=podcast Also, if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/traveltalesbeyondbrochurepod

Travel Tales From Beyond The Brochure

Podcast 030 - The Wars Of The Roses

It's been a while since my last pod - thank you for bearing with me. I talk a little about why at the start of the episode, as well as the usual 'this is what I've been up to' overview and update. I've decided to do another geographic/history episode this time, I talk a bit about the county of Yorkshire, in northern England - specifically I go into detail about the city of Ripon, the town of Haworth, and a little tale about the Cragg Vale Coiners - a bunch of coin forgers in the 1760s. Don't forget, btw, that my tale of hiking across Great Britain is part of the Biggest Book Of Yes anthology, which is now available for purchase. All proceeds go to charity (the Teddington Trust).

Podcast 029 - Ripon and West Yorkshire

So, in a follow-up to last week's "Beginner's Guide to Protesting", this week I'm bringing you an episode of three examples where the act of protest has helped to change the world. Or at least, change aspects of the British political system - just to show it can happen here just as much as it happens everywhere else. I give an overview of three events - the 1832 Reform Act, the Battle Of Cable Street in 1936, and the Poll Tax Riots of 1990. Three different eras, but each definitely interesting in its own right. Maybe I'll go back to doing a travel podcast next week....

Podcast 028 - When Protest Works

It's a very strange time at the moment, for all manner of reasons, and it's an especially odd time to be running a travel podcast. So ... I'm not. This is the first of a two-part episode all about protest and direct action. Next week I'll be going to back to "Storytime" with tales of times when direct action in the UK has successfully changed society, culture, or the government. This episode, however, is all about the act of protest itself - the bulk of which is a 'Guide To Your First Protest' provided by my friend V; if you've never taken part in a protest before, but are feeling inspired and motivated to do so, you might be a little unsure how protests work in practice. V guides you through what to wear (shoes!), what to carry, how to behave, what to watch out for, and how to cope with a tear gas attack. Good luck.

Podcast 027 - How To Protest Safely

This week's podcast episode is all about the history of Apartheid in South Africa, from Cecil Rhodes' rule in Cape Colony in the 1890s all the way to Nelson Mandela's presidency a century later. I would at this point talk a bit more about the pod, but there are more important things to talk about right now, which are unfortunately related. While Apartheid itself might be history, racist feelings are alive and well, across much of the world. Some resources to bear in mind: Teen Vogue - How to take anti-racist action Minnesota Freedom Fund - supporting Black youth-led movements and providing legal suppport Sign the Petition to call for justice for George Floyd Black and White: Unconscious Bias, the Police, and America, by Laura Lundahl Overview of UK's Immigrant Policy and the "Hostile Environment", by Laura Lundahl The sample at the start of the pod is taken from the Freedom Archives website and is, of course, part of Nelson Mandela's speech on being released from prison. ----- Remember, I have a Facebook group for the pod if you want to join the community. I also now have a Patreon! If you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my page and donate to me!

Podcast 026 - Apartheid

This week's podcast episode is all about Travel Privilege. That is to say, the advantages that people have that they may not realise, which are accrued by virtue of their background rather than anything they've worked at to obtain. This covers subjects such as passport privilege - how holding certain nationalities makes travelling much easier - and of course skin colour, and how it's far easier for middle-class 'Westerners' to travel than anyone else. As someone with a flush of privilege (not a Royal Flush but I'll admit it's not too far off), it's something people especially like me need to keep deep in mind. Privilege itself isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's recognising you have it and making sure you use it appropriately that matters. Contributions this time, either spoken or via Twitter, are from: Victoria Pearson Kristina from 'Living Wonder Filled' Matthew at 'Two Tickes To' Pinky (Pinkzenjoy) Tayo - 'The 5 to 9 Traveller' Katchie from 'Travels With Katchie' Roo, at 'Roo Loves Travel' Alexei of 'Travelexx' Remember, I have a Facebook group for the pod if you want to join the community. I also now have a Patreon! If you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my page and donate to me!

Podcast 025 - Travel Privilege

This week's podcast episode, brought to you from a slightly damp Sheffield, is all about whether travel changes depending on how old you are - if the way you travel at the age of 20 is the same as the way you travel at, say, 40, in terms of travel style, accommodation, food, destinations, etc. I don't talk a lot about travelling at ages older than I am, but you get the drift. Most of it is comparing how my travel has(n't) changed over time. I'll probably do a follow-up episode about this at some point when my feelings change again. Contributions this time are from: Amanda from 'Not A Ballerina' and the 'Thoughtful Travel' Podcast Alexei of 'Travelexx' Remember, I have a Facebook group for the pod if you want to join the community. I also now have a Patreon! If you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my page and donate to me!

Podcast 024 - Travel at different ages

Spring is in the air, and the weather's getting better. Unfortunately we're all stuck at home, unable to do anything but the merest bits of very local travel. For that reason, maybe you should come away with me on a virtual exploration of all things Scotland. The scenery, the food, the wildlife, the history, and almost no mention of midges or rain at all. I promise. Contributions this time are from: Becky The Traveller Leanna from 'Lost Lass' Ruth of 'Roo Loves Travel' Fran, who runs the 'Sieze Your Adventure' Podcast Nat from 'NatPacker Travel' Remember, I have a Facebook group for the pod if you want to join the community. I also now have a Patreon! If you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my page and donate to me!

Podcast 023 - Scotland

Hello from lockdown! This episode gives an overview of what I found when I visited the Outer Hebrides of Scotland last summer for a couple of weeks. It's the first in another two-parter; next week will look more at Scotland in general, including a couple of contributions from Tweeps about the Hebrides. This episode is another one of those which is purely my voice. I go over some of the highlights of the island group, including the weather, the scenery, part of the vast history, religion, and a few of the quirkier things I found on my visit. In personal updates at the start of the pod, rather than talking about what I've done recently, I give a potted history of my experiences of radio, especially radio comedy. It all makes sense, I think. I may have sampled something I probably shouldn't have done for this episode. Warning: contains singing. Remember, I have a Facebook group for the pod if you want to join the community. I also now have a Patreon! If you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my page and donate to me!

Podcast 022 - Outer Hebrides

So, it's April 2020, and all those plans you had for this year, all those places you were going to travel to, all those experiences ... but yeh, we still have hope, right? This episode takes a look at travel hopes, at what we think the future of travel will be, and where we hope to go once all this is over. [I also have a slight rant about yoga, but humour me!] I make a reference to Jess (The Crown Wings) blog post about travel writing during the virus during the pod, so there's your link. Contributions this time are from: Riana at 'Teaspoon Of Adventure' Lucy from 'Absolutely Lucy' Ken of 'Traveling With A Chair' Kate-Frankie from 'This Could Lead To Anywhere' Nat from 'NatPacker Travel' Remember, I have a Facebook group for the pod if you want to join the community.

Podcast 021 - Travel Hopes

Bonus content! As you may recall, a few episodes ago I had a long chat with Alexei, from Travelexx about, well, primarily luggage, but we ventured onto many different subjects, one of which was sport - hence my previous regular episode. However, that episode ended up being more about travelling for sport, rather than about sports in general, so none of the content crossed over. I thought it might be cool to publish the sport content of our chat in a special bonus episode anyway, as it provides a bit of background and context to some of the things I ended up talking about in the regular episode. Plus, Alexei, and he's cool. :)

Podcast 020 Bonus Conent - Sport with Travelexx

While virus protection is keeping a large proportion of the world's population indoors and isolated, I thought it would be good to have an episode looking at a subject noted for community, good vibes, and exercise - sport. I talk about a recent run I had where I got queried by police (but not for being outside!), then about places I've gone to to watch sports around the world, including football/soccer, ice-hockey, AFL, and Buzkashi. Contributions are provided by Txiki Stu, Jason Likes To Travel, Teaspoon Of Adventure, and [including crowd noises] Where's Shelly.

Podcast 020 - Travel for Sport

I wasn't sure quite what to record for this episode of the podcast, due to the changing situation in the world, so I pretty much sat in front of a blank screen and did a brain-dump, taking a couple of Twitter conversations I've had this week as an initial basis, and then expanding it with a few thoughts as I've gone on. I talk about three things really - the city of Sheffield, my mother, and my privilege in the face of a global pandemic. I'm hopeful that my next episode will; be a bit more cheerful...

Podcast 019 - Privilege and the Virus

Following on from my previous episode on my own experiences of social anxiety and mental health, in this episode I let some of my Twitter followers and online friends talk about their experiences of mental health while travelling - how they mitigate for it, what helps them cope better, etc. I hope it helps you in some way, to know that if you have similar issues, you're not alone, far from it.

Podcast 018 - Mental Health and Travel

In a change from the previously advertised programme ... I was having a bit of a wobble in the previous week so I felt it would be a great time to discuss a couple of aspects of mental health, and how they affect me when I'm travelling. In this podcast episode then, I talk a bit about how I seem to have a form of social anxiety, what that means when I'm abroad, and what, if anything, I can do about it. I also go into some detail about other flavours of mental health, including a fear of failure, and tell how sometimes even I've had to give up and go home when my adventures just haven't felt right in my head. It's quite a 'raw' post, and it isn't as precisely curated as my usual episodes, but somehow I think that's quite fitting.

Podcast 017 - Social Anxiety and the Fear of Failure

Going "Beyond The Brochure", The Barefoot Backpacker looks at one concept or destination every week, taking trips along the road less travelled and talking about issues related to travel, including politics and history, as well as dedicated travel topics like Bucket Lists & Hometown Trips.

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Travel Tales From Beyond The Brochure

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