The Allender Calendar

This month on The Allender Calendar I’m talking to comedian, broadcaster, and very good friend John Robins about his book Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life. It's a beautifully written account of alcoholism and recovery – candid, profound and very funny. I’m positive it will help a lot of people. I’m extremely proud of John for writing this book, and for getting to the place he’s at now. It was great to talk to him about the writing process, and about addiction, spirituality and much more. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation!You can get hold of a copy of Thirst here:https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/465247/thirst-by-robins-john/9780241740040And, if you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

This month on the pod I'm joined by London-based Cardiff-born musician Simon Love! Simon is a superb songwriter with excellent pop smarts, an innate feeling for hooks, and a gift for Ray Davies-esque scene-setting. His lyrics are often very funny (in particular the bridge-burning bitterness of 'Green Man Blues'), but there's a noticeable air of melancholy to his new album The One True Prince of Wales (in exile after abdication), which contains songs about grief, nostalgia, exile and childhood.Simon's album was released on 3 April by Hurrah Musica, and you can buy it here (it's also on the streamers):https://hurrahmusica.bandcamp.com/album/the-one-true-prince-of-walesAnd you can find out more about Simon's previous records here:http://simonlove.org/Follow Simon on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/simonloverules/If you want to support the pod, you can buy me a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

This month on The Allender Calendar I'm talking to the fantastic stand-up comedian Celya AB about Crushing, the 2019 album by Julia Jacklin. We had a great chat about music in general, and vulnerability in performance, specifically relating to Celya's last show Of All People. Through the course of our conversation we ask the big questions like: Are people adicted to vulnerability cigarettes? Should we move Christmas? And what's the best brown noise playlist to listen to on a plane?Celya is taking her new show We Must Stop Meeting Like This on tour around the UK later this year. Dates are on her website:https://www.celya-ab.com/'Body' by Julia Jacklin:https://youtu.be/ktvJ2PiBgtQ?si=oZI51zwoF-c721M8I play an Allender Band tune at the end of the show which you can stream/download here:https://robinallender.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-grip-of-lightIf you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee!https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

This month on The Allender Calendar I chat to the Northern Irish writer Wendy Erskine about her 2025 novel The Benefactors.The novel's central incident is the sexual assault of a teenage girl, Misty, at a party. The novel follows Misty, the boys involved in the assault, and their families – and also expands out to include countless other voices, some of whom are linked to the story and some who aren't. This polyphonic approach both deepens our understanding of the central characters and captures how gossip spreads through the community.The Benefactors is Wendy's first novel. She has previously published two outstanding collections of short stories: Sweet Home (2018) and Dance Move (2022).Wendy also guested on Your Own Personal Beatles back in 2021:https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/wendy-erskines-personal-beatles/id1523996711?i=1000542363739If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

This month on The Allender Calendar, I'm chatting to the author Ben Pester about his debut novel The Expansion Project. Part corporate satire, part Lynchian dreamscape, The Expansion Project explores loss, parenthood, grief, and the ways in which identity and meaning are being distorted as technology takes over our lives. It's also very funny!We talked about balancing creativity with a day job, finding joy and humour in office work, and some key influences (including Gormenghast and The Unconsoled).You can buy The Expansion Project here:https://granta.com/products/the-expansion-project/And Ben's fantastic collection of short stories Am I in the Right Place? is available here:https://www.boilerhouse.press/product-page/am-i-in-the-right-place-by-ben-pesterIf you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallenderInterview in The London Magazine:https://thelondonmagazine.org/interview-the-expansion-project-an-interview-with-ben-pester/

This month on The Allender Calendar I'm joined by the comedian Pierre Novellie to discuss his 2024 book Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian's Guide to Autism. It's a brilliant, and very funny, book which taught me so much about the condition. We discuss the misunderstandings and misconceptions surrounding autism, as well as Pierre's own experience of his diagnosis (following a heckle at a stand-up gig), and how it helped him to make sense of the way he experiences and interacts with the world.Find out more about Pierre here:https://www.pierrenovellie.com/And you can follow him on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/pierrenovellieAnd Bluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/pierrenovellie.bsky.socialAnd you can listen to Pierre's interview with John Robins on the How Do You Cope? podcast here:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pierre-novellie-i-wasnt-able-to-get-what-i-wanted-out/id1793829037?i=1000711833374If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender