Island Stories

Our guest this week is X-Factor star Mike Christie who lives in Cowes when he's not touring the UK with his operatic 'boy-band' group G4 who've achieved enormous success since becoming runners-up on the show in 2004.Mike speaks of his great love for the Island, the work he does with young people here to introduce them to music and his annual event the Wight Proms.Hosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

Our guest this week is Island girl Jayne Derbyshire who’s incredible career took her around the world, entertaining thousands of passengers onboard giant cruiseships - before she returned home to the Island to give the next generation their ticket to fame. Jayne’s Island upbringing gave her a grounding in life that’s never left. Even while she travelled the world - from showgirl to Bollywood star - it was the magic of Shanklin Theatre that brought her home.Hosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

Our guest this week is the legendary brewer Anthony Goddard of Goddards Brewery. We talk to him at the company's brand new base in Arreton which has been designed as a brewing ‘experience’ for locals and tourists alike. An Islander with an incredible story, his wife of 52 years says he has a “remarkable ability to dust himself off and start again” - tune into this latest episode to find out more!Hosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

Our guest this week has sent the Isle of Wight flying high into international skies with his tech company IFPL. Island-born Geoff Underwood has lived here almost all his life - with the exception of a couple of years spent in Florida, USA - honing his tech and engineering skills. We speak to him in his beautiful Carisbrooke home, the setting for many a gathering of his massive blended family Island ‘tribe’. We talk Island tech and manufacturing, how he founded WightAid and of course ask him for his ‘5 things…’ about the Island.Hosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

Our guest this week on the podcast is regenerative farmer Francesca Cooper from Nunwell Home Farm where, alongside business partner Hollie, they provide beef, pork and eggs, delivering to up to 70 Island-based customers.She tells us about her multi-generational family life living on her grandparent’s smallholding, getting to grips with regenerative farming on the Island and the difficulties of buying farming workwear for women!Follow Francesca & Hollie's farming journey here: https://instagram.com/nunwellhomefarmHosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

This week we chat with Frank Fletcher who’s been running the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in East Cowes for 18 years. ‘A Londoner living on the Island’ - he tells us how the Trust has gone from humble beginnings in Cowes to a UK-wide operation offering sailing trips to hundreds of young people who’ve been through treatment for cancer every year. Link to 2007 promo - talked about during the episode. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7lFsTfpwMM&t=14sHosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

Our next guest is Natasha Edwards - born and raised on The Garlic Farm in Newchurch. Now in charge of the family business, we chat about her Island childhood, how she’s unexpectedly landed a role in a Shanklin stage show and her great love of garlic. Hosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative

Next on the podcast, with his ‘Island Story’, it’s Nigel Hartley, Chief Executive Officer of Mountbatten Hospice - arguably the Isle of Wight’s best-known charity. Nigel tells us how his passion for end-of-life care started when a close friend died with Aids in the 1980s. And how his initial career as a concert pianist came to an abrupt end when his hand was shut in a car door. It’s a longer episode than usual - giving us space and time to talk about something we all rarely discuss - death. Hosted by Harriet HadfieldProduced by Alex WarrenSign-up to Harriet’s weekly newsletter 5-StoriesMusic by Mike & Izabella Russell from Music Radio Creative