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Talking Food Radio 2019

Posted on by Editor
Talking Food Radio

A new Hello Hackney podcast about food culture

This is a direct descendent of the old 2012-2013 Talking Food project. It won’t be the same project, because we are going to start where we ended 6 years ago — and then develop it into something far more valuable that we hope will bring a bit more funding. We will explain at the first Talking Food Radio session after Easter — Friday afternoon, 2 to 4 pm, 26 April — at Whitmore Community Centre.

Share what you know and what you can do

The concept is very simple – every week, a group of (mainly) older people meet to talk about their food culture – how food fits into everyday life – sharing knowledge in the same way we share food at the table. It can be live Internet talk radio, or recorded for a podcast episode, or both.

Some of those discussions can be led by invited guests. If the podcast venue has a good kitchen, we can also make photos and video of food preparation and cooking.

The podcast (and other materials from the first four sessions) will be the pilot for a funding bid. We will make the bid, and then wait for a response. If the bid is successful, we will start immediately on the main Talking Food Radio project — weekly sessions throughout July, August and September.

Who should join Talking Food Radio?

If food is part of your everyday life, you are welcome. Where you live and your age are not relevant. Nor do you have to be a great talker. If you like our ideas, please come to the first Talking Food session …

Where?

When?

  • Friday afternoon, 26 April, 2-4 pm
  • Then all Friday afternoons in May, also at Whitmore Community Centre.

How to ask for more information, or make suggestions

  • Email: food@hellohackney.net
  • Phone: 07761 887927

By the way

  • This Friday afternoon project is not an IT drop-in. It’s much more interesting than that.
  • If you want to learn about the technology, and how you could do it yourself — we can help you as part of the project, but not before we have completed the pilot.
  • Please don’t bring biscuits, cake, or anything like that (unless you have made it yourself).

Older people, digital technology and the web

When the World-Wide-Web was invented 30 years ago, it was supposed to be about contact and communication between people – creating new opportunities, expanding horizons.

That positive outlook still exists, but is often side-lined by entirely different values – of marketing, consumerism and exploitation. When we make podcasts, we assert our own values, our own human skills of talking and listening – and we make an active contribution to the web instead of passively soaking up what is already there.

Also read

  • Talking Food Takeaway (“Rewind your food memory to May 2012. Do you remember the Talking Food live radio show at the old computer centre? Here’s a refresher …”)

The drop-in ends with a standing ovation

Posted on by Editor
Drop-in regulars Patricia and Irene have found something to laugh about

Not closing — but not opening either

The Friday afternoon drop-in program at Whitmore Community Centre has been suspended until we have found a way of paying for it. Right now, each session costs £100 that we haven’t got.

Positive finish

For months now, we have filled two large spaces at Whitmore Community Centre — 30 to 40 people every week — and a constant trickle of new people arriving — and a hugely successful volunteer program — all on a tiny budget. With more space or time, we could easily double both numbers and community value — but not without funding.

It’s not over

There is always another way.

Talking Food Takeaway

Posted on by Editor

Rewind your food memory to May 2012

Do you remember the Talking Food live radio show at the old computer centre? Here’s a refresher …

Considering the acoustic qualities of the centre (dreadful), the standard of our equipment (bottom of the market) and our budget (zero) — that radio show worked really well — it was live, we did it all ourselves, we had a full house every week, and it was a lot of fun. There was quite a lot to eat as well.

Seven years later — the equipment available has greatly improved, and we have a possibility of modest funding — so a Talking Food Radio Revival is close to the top of the Hello Hackney to-do list. We could start after Easter.

Interested? More information coming soon!

Schooldays

Posted on by Anony Mouse

Brief excerpts from a much longer conversation – Hackney elders’ memories of school.

The voices belong to: Brian, Leonie, Megan, Rick, Wadley.

We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. This is open-mic recording in a public space, so sound quality is sometimes rough. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves.

Recorded 18 March 2019 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.

Grassroots Radio

For our 2019 series, we have turned our podcast format inside-out. Instead of a small, invited group, we open the Monday afternoon event to anybody who happens to be in the Curve Garden glasshouse for any reason — and if the weather is good, we can take the microphones our into the garden. We sacrifice sound quality (you don’t have to tell us), but we gain spontaneous, unpredictable conversation — fresh voices and thoughts every week. From that, we can make a podcast episode when we have time to do it.

Can you remember 1989?

Posted on by Editor

How has the Web changed your World?

Then: Knowledge was hard to reach. Now: We have the world's information at our fingertips. #ForTheWeb
“Suppose all the information stored on computers everywhere were linked. Suppose I could program my computer to create a space in which everything could be linked to everything.” – Tim Berners-Lee
Then: Waiting by the phone for your call. Now: You're always with me. #ForTheWeb
Then: Never more than a hobby. Now: the world is my marketplace. #ForTheWeb
Then: Feeling alone. Now: I meet others who have my diagnosis. #ForTheWeb
Then: Feeling like one voice. Now: I can connect with millions. #ForTheWeb
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The World Wide Web is 30 years old this week

What difference has it made to your life?

30 years can change everything

The web has transformed our daily lives — from how we communicate with loved ones to how we work to how we learn. But right now more than half of the world’s population remains offline, and those of us who are online see unsettling stories each day about data breaches, so-called ‘fake news’, and other ways that technology is threatening our freedom and privacy. We need to change this by building a better web — one that works for everyone, everywhere.

Visit World Wide Web Foundation – ‘For The Web’

“I have never looked back”

Posted on by Anony Mouse


Excerpts from a much longer conversation about retirement – with people who have done it and others who haven’t.

The voices belong to: Andreas, Brian, Cathy, Clarenton, Marylin, Nicholas, Rick.

We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. This is open-mic recording in a public space, so sound quality is sometimes rough. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves.

Recorded 11 March 2019 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.

Grassroots Radio

For our 2019 series, we have turned our podcast format inside-out. Instead of a small, invited group, we open the Monday afternoon event to anybody who happens to be in the Curve Garden glasshouse for any reason — and if the weather is good, we can take the microphones our into the garden. We sacrifice sound quality (you don’t have to tell us), but we gain spontaneous, unpredictable conversation — fresh voices and thoughts every week. From that, we can make a podcast episode when we have time to do it.