Riverport Radio Podcast
Latest news, interviews, discussions & what’s happening where in St Ives Cambridgeshire.
Riverport Radio Podcast
Our First Riverport Radio Podcast for St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
Join us for the launch of Riverport Radio, as we explore the vibrant community of St Ives with our esteemed guest Julie Kerr, Deputy Mayor and passionate town and district councillor. Ever wondered how local road improvements can ignite such heated debates? Julie sheds light on the controversial Huntingdon and St Ives Road Improvement Scheme, while also sharing her insights on the promising developments of the new St Ives hub. We lighten the mood with stories of local charm, including the closure of the Bentley garage and a delightful yet short-lived bakery that left its mark.
Our conversation takes a serious turn as we examine pressing community concerns, such as the decline in enrollment at Ivo's sixth form. This issue raises alarm bells about the sustainability of our local schools and the wider implications of the academy system. We delve into how digital screens funded by grants are set to become a central hub for local information, despite initial setbacks. With a strong push for community engagement, these initiatives aim to bring lasting benefits to the town and its residents.
Amidst these challenges, the spirit of St Ives shines through its vibrant festival scene and the unwavering support for local businesses. Celebrate with us as we gear up for an exciting music festival, promising a significant boost for our beloved local shops and cafes. The Snowman Festival and our cherished traditions continue to foster community solidarity, while the Civic Society's efforts champion small businesses in Salahat. From new coffee shops to unique cafes, we explore how these ventures enrich the local economy while keeping the heart of St Ives beating strong.
I'm Ron and I'm John and I'm Paul, and not forgetting our award-winning editor, eric the Dog Welcome to Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 4:Oh, and welcome to our first Riverport Radio podcast. Now, for those of you who don't know about the Riverporter, it's our local paper in St Ives, comes out fortnightly and it's award winning. We won the best community newspaper in Cambridgeshire and Eric thought it would be a good idea to talk about the news from our wonderful town of St Ives, partly because we only have a limited space in the newspaper itself. But Eric thinks if we get round the table and chat with one or two people, you'll get a better chance to understand exactly what's going on in the town. What do you think to that, eric? So what can you expect? Well, each episode will feature a guest, and today we will be introducing one of our best town councillors, julie Kerr, who happens to be Deputy Mayor, and we'll sit around and discuss matters that affect some lives. Hello.
Speaker 1:Speaking of which here's Julie Kerr.
Speaker 4:That was actually a perfect view.
Speaker 1:We're just introducing you, Julie, so welcome to. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 4:Yes, riverport Radio. Riverport Radio. Yes, so you've missed the sound check, but never mind.
Speaker 5:I'm sure you'll be fine. You said midday.
Speaker 4:Well, that's true, is it? Is it? It's two minutes two, there you go. Not only is she a hard working counsellor, she's always early, she's never late.
Speaker 5:I know, I really try not to. I just come from a brunch meeting with michael martin from county main guy who does all the roads and stuff for county, trying to get our lhr bid.
Speaker 4:All right, we wanted to speak to him. I was trying to speak to someone at the county council because, as you're probably aware, they keep making spelling mistakes on the on the display signs in St Audrey's Lane anyway. So, uh, the whole point of this, uh, riverport radio is to discuss things that go on in St Ives and give you a bit more information about the news that we write in the Riverporter newspaper. So, ron, what have we got in this episode?
Speaker 2:so in this episode we need to mention the Huntingdon and St Ives Road Improvement Scheme, which seems to be upsetting some residents, especially during the consultation period, so we need to get behind the news there, john. Also, we're delighted to welcome Julie Kerr to our fireside chat to talk about the new St Ives hub and other town district matters. Julie, for those that may not know, is a town and district councillor and our deputy mayor here in town, so certainly one of our most active councillors and Julie's the one that gets things done. So welcome Julie.
Speaker 5:Thank you, I think that's a big old hat to be wearing.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure.
Speaker 5:I get things done. I try to make other people do things. I think.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's what good counsellors should do, isn't it?
Speaker 2:That's it, the art of delegation. There we go.
Speaker 4:So we've got a few other snippets wrong, haven't we? I think you told me that the Bentley garage is gone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it turns out, and I mean I can't tell you how disappointed I am about this. We have simply not bought enough Bentleys here in St Louis. Outrageous. It's outrageous really, and I think this is a serious issue for the council to pick up on.
Speaker 4:So, Julie, why isn't the council supporting its local Bentley dealer?
Speaker 5:Well, we thought about getting a fleet for the ground maintenance team, but they were like, oh, we'd rather have well it's uh, well, there we are anyway.
Speaker 2:There they were sort of all those nice, shiny Bentleys every day, tempting me every time I leave town. But no, they've gone and uh, but they are replaced by somebody else selling cars, but I haven't got the full details of that yet.
Speaker 1:They're called 310, apparently 310? Are they three?
Speaker 2:wheelers yeah.
Speaker 4:I think they should bring back three wheelers. Actually, I miss.
Speaker 1:Del Boy, they're selling Reliant Robins, basically, yeah.
Speaker 4:And there's another business that's gone out of business sooner than expected.
Speaker 2:Sooner than expected. This one is the little bakery stop shop that we we featured it in the river porter just a couple of issues ago. We're a lovely couple. In there were setting up a new bakery and eric went to go and see them. But it seems that they have disappeared and they've given up even before the bread had time to go stale. So, um, this was in in maryland's, isn't it? Just opposite the Nelson's there, and it was a really nice little shop, but they're no dogs and cakes hot dogs and cakes for cakes were spectacular.
Speaker 2:Eric was given his own hot dog on arrival. What do you think, eric?
Speaker 4:anyway. So, yes, shame really. It's a sort of a list trust moment, isn't it? It certainly is. Did they outstay the lettuce?
Speaker 2:or no. Well, if you'd made a lettuce sandwich, neither of them would have been there for very long, so we move on from that oh, you've told me a very interesting thing about what the police have been up to in town lately.
Speaker 2:Yes, apparently they've been wandering around our stores and trying to buy knives and they visited. It was very topical. They were actually running a special campaign on anti-knife crime locally. It's done by our apparently we have an anti-social behaviour neighbourhood team. Oh, I didn't know that. No, I'm not sure the neighbourhood knew, but nevertheless they have visited around Town Row, west End, poundland, waitrose, morrisons and Aldie, and we can report that in every case where they tried to buy a knife they were asked for ID. So well done our retailers in town there. Now tell me, were they dressed as policemen? No, but apparently, according to the report that they sent me, they did choose their youngest looking cadet oh right, so they chose someone who might look like a 12 year old knife wielding zombie, knife wielding person that's right, the big hairy one with the beard they didn't send him.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean on par with you, zombie knife wielding person.
Speaker 4:That's right. No, no, the big hairy one with the beard. They didn't send him. Well, I mean all power to them. That was very good, Very good.
Speaker 2:At my age, I'm always very grateful when anybody asks for my ID. But there we are. So, yes, that was happening and, just as a bit of fun as well, we have somebody on the actual highways department. We're trying to establish who it is. We've got to look into this because he's obviously had a bit of trouble. He or she, he or she. Yes, that's true, he's won. The latest sign says thank you for cycling with our light on. Now there's no reference at all to where the switch is for this light, but apparently you have to do this. But the one that really caught my eye was for please remember, remember, remember to tan your lints on.
Speaker 4:Yes, We've labelled this the faulty sign writer haven't we that's right.
Speaker 2:Faulty as in faulty towers, this is faulty towers and watering fowls. Yeah, watering fowls. He's really sort of excelled himself this week.
Speaker 4:Most of my children, it turns out or grandchildren are dyslexic, so this person obviously has a similar problem.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 4:But we're trying to establish from the highways department and, julia, I think you might be speaking to someone this afternoon who it is that actually writes these signs, because they obviously have a spelling issue, but anyway, um, okay, it's a bit of fun, but actually if you can't read the sign because it's illiterate, it's not doing its job, really is it?
Speaker 2:nobody's got fat fingers but it is definitely attention seeking, so so something's coming out of it.
Speaker 5:Well, actually, because it's so badly written, people tend to try to work out what they're saying.
Speaker 4:That's true, Every time I pass it. Now, and our contributor who keeps sending us pictures of it, he's loving it because it's so easy, apparently, Because every time he goes past there's something different.
Speaker 2:Well, it's probably sending people to work with a smile.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely the trouble is so many people are trying to read the sign they're crashing into the vehicle in front of them.
Speaker 3:You have to look into that, ronnie, and see if there's an increase in incidents. You're listening to Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 4:Anyway, while we've got Julie here, let's interrogate her, shall we? So, julie, tell us about your new webpage for the town.
Speaker 5:So the hub is a website designed for the town, for the residents and the wider community to find out everything about St Ives. It's been designed to be the one-stop shop where all the businesses will be on it, all of the what's happenings on it, all of the community groups are on it. So literally, it's designed in a way the search is done in such a way where you're two clicks away from getting your information, so you should be able to access it really quickly from getting your information, so you should be able to access it really quickly. The money's come from grant funding and it coincided with the digital screens going up in the town, so we've managed to get the website on screen, so we're working both of the two together. The screens should be in. They said end of November, but I think it might be December now.
Speaker 4:Isn't there an issue with supplying of electricity to these screens? Yes, there's an issue.
Speaker 5:But they'll be working with the hub, so they'll contain the information of the hub on them.
Speaker 4:And I'm told that not all the businesses are sort of engaged with it yet. Is that one of the issues?
Speaker 5:Not yet, but that's because solely, it's predominantly me and one or two other people letting people know, and there's only so many hours in the day. We want to let the businesses know that should be on it. It's that it's in their benefit and those who I've spoken to do go on to the website and sign themselves up because it's free advertising yes, yes, so it's free to put your stuff on everything's great, and all you have to do is go online and upload what it is.
Speaker 4:You, absolutely you go on, absolutely.
Speaker 5:You go onto the website there's QR codes everywhere and you literally. It takes about four or five minutes to load all your information on it and you're up and going. There is no advertising at all, so you're not cluttered with a load of information that you don't want. It's a clean, easy-to-use website, right when events can go on it.
Speaker 4:But it'll only work if everybody sort of gets involved Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 5:So the call out there to all the businesses is get involved, and it doesn't have to be businesses, it can be community groups, community groups, everybody, everyone on it from the pub where they're having a band playing where they can put it on as an event and you know that's the aim of it we worked out when we went with the grant funding. There's plenty of activities going on. People just don't know what's happening. So we wanted this one-stop place where people can find out what's happening.
Speaker 1:Good idea, and where are the screens going?
Speaker 5:The digital screens are going to be. One is outside Boots and they're two-sided, and the other one is at the museum, outside the museum.
Speaker 4:That's a pretty good idea and are we going to be actually see the screens clearly? This time.
Speaker 5:This happened about 13 years ago. Bear in mind. They're two-sided anyway and they're touch screens so you can access the information quickly yeah, this sort of thing was tried with a, with a, a pod.
Speaker 4:I'll call it a pod. It was like a, it was like a telephone box they put on the outside the um boots area there, yeah, on the sheepfold, and it actually faced the sun, so you could never read anything on the screen because the sun just shone onto the screen.
Speaker 5:So, hopefully, but mind you, that was a lot of different technology different technology, better technology and, like you say, double-sided, so the sun can't shine on both sides yeah good excellent, good plan yeah, you're listening to Riverport radio.
Speaker 4:Riverport radio so what else is new, judy on, we're running a story in this week's paper, which, as you're probably aware, comes out on Friday, about the severe decline in the sixth form at the Ivo.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 4:Because I attended the council meeting which you were at, at which a very distressing report was given.
Speaker 5:Deeply concerning 36 pupils is shocking when I there in 1980.
Speaker 4:Well, that's getting right 36 pupils coming from the fifth form to the sixth form, when it used to be about 170 plus meaning that the sixth form was over 200 pupils and now it's down to around half that, with 70 last year and 36 this year, and if the trend continues, there'll be no, six, one, there won't be one.
Speaker 5:No, well, I can't see how they can sustain it anyway, because they won't have the teachers.
Speaker 4:I noticed that on Friday our MP Ben got involved and has had a meeting with the school.
Speaker 5:Well, let's hope you can sort something out then because because it's not just IFO, it's the other academies that they run as well, I mean when you look at the stats, it's not just us. There's something wrong with the academy.
Speaker 4:It's not the actual school itself, because it's Long Sands Institute and some other schools down in Yorkshire where they have problems.
Speaker 5:The whole point of academies is where they put the schools in them to protect the schools and actually it's made the school a lot worse. I don't understand it.
Speaker 4:I mean, I'm gonna wear a cynical hat here because I think nearly all the schools now are part of a cap I've been sort of encouraged to become academies, and it seems to me that what they've lost by becoming academies is not the care about it's more to do, care about it's more to do with money. It's been more to do with money than education, which is, you know, the academy itself creams off quite a lot of money because they have to pay, like a super head, to run the academy. Well, you know, when we were at school, we just had one headmaster, didn't we? We didn't have two to pay for.
Speaker 5:I mean it's a flawed concept in my opinion. You can't run public services like a business. You just can't do it. They are totally separate things. If we run the council in the same way you would people, the residents would soon be up in arms because they wouldn't get the quality of the service they expect the thing is a college like that in a local town like St Ives, what they're doing is also a community service, it's a community requirement and it has knock-on effects.
Speaker 2:So in a situation like this, you've got students who can't be schooled local, who maybe live here, who are now having to bus out of the area to go elsewhere. And I think we spoke of this earlier. Didn't we john the actual hours that some of these younger people are doing.
Speaker 4:Yeah, the report to the town council was that there are 16 year old students that are that are getting up at 5 30 to catch a 6 30 bus and not getting home until seven o'clock in the evening because they're now having to travel to cambridge to get when all the buses are congested. The buses are completely congested in the mornings because of all these hundreds of pupils that are now having to move out.
Speaker 4:And there's another thing that hasn't been mentioned at all it used to be the case that people moved to a town because they wanted to get access to a particularly good school. So now people are going to be moving out of St Ives because if they were in St Ives, their children in theory have to go to the Ivo, and if the school's reputation is so bad, they'll move out won't they but any sixth form college.
Speaker 2:They don't just get their catchment from their own local kids coming up through the school. People will actually sort of come from other areas to come into our area. So to still end up with only 36 is a serious indictment of what people think is going on at the Ivo.
Speaker 4:If it was just the sixth form, you'd be inclined to suggest that the Austria Academy people don't want the sixth form, but the reality is it's also affecting the ordinary school. You know the non-sixth form, because people will not come to the school for their children in these lower years in the knowledge that they can't stay for the sixth form. And also one of the big issues is that they've lost a lot of subjects. There's no language teaching in the sixth form. Maths has gone in the sixth form. So that has a knock-on effect because you can't learn German in the school. It's gone. So when you lose staff with with abilities in certain subjects, the whole school loses out.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and actually the reality is the school was struggling as a school, but they used to uphold it. But their sixth form was still great, and that was 12 13 years ago and now it's. It seems to have been the sixth form that's been decimated, yes, but the school's reputation 13 years ago wasn't great. The actual school, the sixth form, had actually an excellent reputation there, so I don't know what's happened.
Speaker 4:So I was very lucky in that it only had one secondary school, so all the people living in St Ives would go to the school. My children did, and loads of people. Yeah, okay, there were a few students that would probably go to Kimboldon School. Their parents wanted them to have a private education, but there was very few in St Ives. So it's really odd that a town which is growing in population not massively, but it has grown in population now can't support. In effect, the school is not full, it's under, under under utility. And when did that start?
Speaker 1:was that with the academy taking over, or was that before?
Speaker 4:I don't know the answer to that before. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the decline is pretty rapid at the moment, so it's probably yeah, yeah anyway, this is what it falls declines in the Academy's taken over. Yeah, you're listening to Riverport radio.
Speaker 2:Riverport radio. Anyway, moving on to our subjects here, slightly more light-hearted, I think, just. But we are looking forward. Apparently, and I'm sure you all know about this one, we're going to blow up the bridge again next year oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, it's yet to be completely confirmed by the Town Council because they're holding their meeting for grant applications next month, but the town team, who are very keen to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the bridge next year. I know there's a bit of a debate whether it actually was built 600 years ago, but the fact that the chapel on the bridge was consecrated the following year, um, it's probably likely that the bridge was built 600 years ago, um, and so in other words in 1425 and um, what better way to celebrate the bridge than blow it up, which has happened? It's, which, in theory, happened in the Civil War.
Speaker 2:Eric was asking me is there any possibility that we could blow it up whilst people are actually driving across at the wrong way?
Speaker 4:Well, yeah, why not Double jeopardy? I think.
Speaker 1:Clearly avoiding the no-interest ones.
Speaker 4:Obviously, we will simulate blowing up the bridge. There is a debate whether it was actually blown up or just dismantled, but one thing was certain there was a drawbridge across the gap for many years, and so one of the things we will do as well throughout the year is actually put a drawbridge up and prevent people from going across. Now that might be interesting when people want to drive across the wrong way, so we just do it for a couple of days to see what the response is from people walking across. We've got to pay a toll, which is what used to happen, obviously, you know, in the 1700s, when there was a toll bridge there. Yeah, the good news is there'll be 450 to 500 soldiers, either roundheads or cavaliers, coming to the town on the 26th and 27th of July to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the bridge and the blowing up of it in the 1600s, and that will be a spectacular, spectacular. You're listening to Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 2:I just think they're great when these events like this happen. Just in the last few weeks really, the firework night in town here from Hemmingford Fireworks brought hundreds and hundreds of people into town and then we get the same again with the actual lights turned on. This is so good for business and keeping everybody busy.
Speaker 2:The only thing I was going to mention, especially with Julie here from the council, and she'll be thinking oh no, what's he going to say now? But on the night before Remembrance Day, I do understand closing the roads and things is very important for Remembrance Day and it's a great event and also a marvellous turnout again this year. Yeah, absolutely. But they closed the roads at 6pm the day before and this was the firework night and, as a direct result of this, shops and things, absolute chaos, with people with their cars either trapped in or couldn't come into town or whatever. At 6 o'clock, still an hour before the actual fireworks are due to go off, and they effectively locked the town up to actually get in, and it wasn't just the Broadway section, it was the sort of little roads that come in and out of it as well, so residents couldn't get to their houses in Wellington Street and the guys putting the cones out were really very difficult with people.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Eric was very, very upset about this.
Speaker 2:Eric was very upset.
Speaker 4:Eric lives in the town centre, doesn't?
Speaker 2:he yes, and he couldn't get anywhere near his own home. What do you think, eric? But yeah, I just sort of wonder. We close the town for the market every Monday and it does it from midnight the night before and it's absolutely no problem at all. And yet on this one occasion, when the town is packed with visitors, they close it at six o'clock on a saturday night.
Speaker 5:But I didn't quite understand that, but it was just uh I'll feed it back to the person who organized the road closures and make sure it that doesn't happen for next time, or work out why it had to be that way you know, I suspect they didn't realize so it was probably firework night at the same time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it has to go in three months prior yeah, the road closures have to go three months prior to the event yeah, no, it's a guy actually who put the cones across. He said I'm closing the road because we've got an official road closure and even the police are not allowed to enter here. Now I was so tempted to test that you're listening to riverport radio.
Speaker 4:Riverport radio is there anything else, julie, that you think we ought to be talking about?
Speaker 5:yes, the local plan, which is the Huntingdon shire district local plan, is up for public consultation at the moment. The town council have just met to put their views through. There is a series of questions. The links are all over the place. You can find them on the district council, can find them on the town council webpage. We put them through Facebook as well and the whole point of the local, of the consultation, is it's. It basically covers all the areas of potential development in the area. So if you're opposed to, let's say, the Witton on the hill four and a half, five thousand houses going up there then you need to say something. If the Gifford farm, if you're not happy with the 1800 housing development there, you need to say something. We've put our views forward as as a full council and we're doing it individually as councillors. But the more people who fill out the questionnaire with their views, it gives a better idea of what people are wanting from the local plan playing the cyn cynic again.
Speaker 4:So do you think that? I mean, the local plan has been drawn up over quite a long time now. There's been lots of not public consultation, but there's been lots of consultation about the local plan from all local councillors etc. Etc has been discussed. How likely is it that something that's in this local plan suggestions can actually be changed by public opinion?
Speaker 5:oh, I think it can be. I think that's the whole point. A lot of people are saying um, for instance, some of the developments we're looking at, they're so big that we've got already congested roads. The a141 bypass for St Ives doesn't exist, even though that's what it was called, so it doesn't really change anything for St Ives. So the reality is we've got already congested roads, so more housing is already is going to cause a massive problem in St Ives.
Speaker 5:Around our area though Giffords Farm isn't actually in our parish, it will affect our parish because it's right on our boundary and all that traffic will come through. Also, where Giffords Farm is, it's flood plain at the moment. It's where water is soaked up. So therefore, all that hard water is going to create a load of surface water which will go into Parsons Drove drain, which is already over floods and has all kinds of issues. So you know that will be paid attention to. Um, absolutely, if people put that down, they it will be paid attention so people do need to get on and register their opinion their opinion will count it won't be a waste wasted, vote it won't be a wasted vote.
Speaker 5:I wouldn't be doing it myself and telling people to if it wasn't.
Speaker 2:I've seen some very harsh words on Facebook regarding the Vindis construction development. Yes, actually on the corner of London Road. There it keeps growing and growing and it's being called prison block 17 or something, and I did notice during the actual worst of the flooding a few weeks back there, it already got serious surface water laying there underneath the new buildings, so it's I think you'd be right.
Speaker 1:In the buildings, your cars and everything else would have been completely flooded.
Speaker 2:No, it's all very well, the buildings are off the ground, but your car gets ridden off anyway.
Speaker 4:And again the knock-off effect on the other housing around it, and for me it was also how that, how those people that live there, are going to get safely across the road I have to say I think I was on the council when the vindis proposals or was involved in in council matters when the vindis proposal to build the garage in the first place came up and there was astonishment that they were going to be allowed to build in the floodplain.
Speaker 5:Yeah, well, that was me. I was close to it.
Speaker 2:It's extraordinary and, as you say, I think there's 90 dwellings or 100 dwellings, something like that.
Speaker 5:On the way to that. It's a lot. It's a lot of dwellings, it's a huge.
Speaker 4:It's like a mini city outside, it's just weird they'll all be shopping in the garage, won't they? Perhaps a few extra people, but they don't really sell food, do they?
Speaker 2:somebody actually wrote the other day. He said when can he move in or does he have to wait for sentencing? Excellent, excellent. You're listening to Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio anyway.
Speaker 4:So one of the other things that we're going to do on our riverport radio is, uh, tap into the wonderful music uh scene that we have in St Ives.
Speaker 1:Indeed, we are, and Paul, you're going to take the lead on that, I hope, and let us know what's going on yes, I am, I am John, yeah, so, um, yeah, as one of my many hats, I'll be, uh, looking at the local music scene and interviewing local bands and getting some of their tracks on the radio featured on the podcast. Yeah, yeah. And, yeah, looking forward to doing that.
Speaker 4:Good, good and, honestly, I can give you a little bit of breaking news. I've been very this year's Jazz and Blues Festival. Well, next year's now 2025, it's going to be even bigger than last year 29 free gigs at the moment Amazing and I've got some amazing acts coming along.
Speaker 4:I can confirm that the Hound Dogs, who were an amazing success last year will be doing the Thursday night in the Corn Exchange, the first night of the Jazz and Blues Festival. Connor Selby, who did a special concert for us last year, is coming back to actually play the festival. Yeah, ok, and just look this one up. She's called Mim Grey and she's going to be playing in the Golden Lion on the Friday evening, I think, and she is Tom Jones's favourite singer.
Speaker 4:Wow so you've got yeah, officially, yes, you've got to look her up Mim Gray, m-i-m-g-r-e-y and she's just stunning. So it's going to be brilliant. But the best of all because obviously the better it gets with the more expensive bands, it costs more. But we've got two concerts that we're going to be doing, one in may I can't quite confirm that yet hasn't been 100 confirmed but that will include a guy called toby lee who is 19 and when he was 10, appeared in the palladium and has played with all the greats. He's a blues guitarist and he's played with all the greats uh, just literally Bonamassa, um, he's been to Nashville, he's been all over the place and he's only 19 and he's, uh, about to play in Jules Holland. He plays with Jules Holland, wow, and he's playing with Jules Holland, uh, the Hootenanne, which is the New Year's Eve programme. So fantastic.
Speaker 4:I'm just waiting for the confirmation to come through on that one, so that'll be 10th of May, and then in June I've got a Status Quo tribute band with the drummer from Status Quo playing in it because he's currently with the Barefoot, isn't he?
Speaker 1:Yeah, he plays with the Barefoot.
Speaker 4:But yeah, good old Rich, he's managed to persuade his mates in the I think they're Quo experience to come and play, and that's in June, and that'll be a fantastic night for Ed, because Quo music is just brilliant, oh, everyone knows it. So those two set out concerts will probably um cover three quarters of the costs of the bands for the festival. If we make the right, if everyone turns up and pays their money, it'll be great.
Speaker 1:So I'm really really positive about that this year, fantastic, yeah, and we're opening with the hound dogs we're opening on friday, thursday night with the hound dogs.
Speaker 4:I mean you can on Thursday night with the Hound Dogs. I mean you can't get more lively than that.
Speaker 1:That was such a shock, wasn't it? Last year, when they came on stage, I did my back-end dancing to them.
Speaker 4:But I mean, I think I've got something like 13 new acts this year Because the festival's got more popular and better well known. I've had loads of people come and come to me and say can we play the festival? Yeah, yeah, uh, which is just brilliant yeah it's brilliant for the town.
Speaker 5:It's fantastic for the town well, that's does it bring about 5 000, is that?
Speaker 4:well, looking at the football figures it's about 5 000 extra people come that weekend to the previous weekend or whatever you know, normal weekend, yeah, but I mean you just only have to be here to see what the atmosphere is in the town. It's just so friendly. It's full of people happy and enjoying the music, yeah, and all the business. There was a story I was told I think you might have told me this about a lady shop yeah, I can't name the shop.
Speaker 5:I can't name the shop, but they were a local shop owner. They don't sell the kind of things that tourists would want. It's not that kind of a shop and normally her takings on a saturday would be 150 pounds, something like that. She took 600 pounds on that weekend people dropping in yes, you know that that is not the shop where you would expect people to buy from, so it was you know it's quite extraordinary for the businesses in town brilliant for businesses, even the tech guy in the Broadway who deals with our computers and things.
Speaker 4:He actually said I sold more cables for iPhones and iPads because everybody turned up and forgot them so he's held twice as many as he probably does in a week.
Speaker 5:On the Saturday, I can imagine new screens.
Speaker 4:It's surprising how it affects, when it does it's great.
Speaker 1:It's amazing for the town and, of course, it's grown every year.
Speaker 3:It was the 10th anniversary last year, wasn't it?
Speaker 1:and all you need now is a stadium to kind of accommodate the larger action.
Speaker 4:Well, obviously, the issue is, the Corn Exchange is our largest one. In theory, you could go to the Burgess Hall. But the thing about the festival, the reason it works, is because it's in the town centre and everyone can walk to every gig and there's no issues. If I start to use the Burgess Hall, I'm probably £1500 pounds down just booking it. Yeah, so where does that money come from? At least what people probably don't appreciate, which is really good, the venues. Largely apart from the technical exchange and the outdoor concerts, all the venues pay for the band that appears there and they do so because enough people come in and use their facilities and they make money on it. And that is a formula that works really well because it means that I think last year we only got a thousand pounds from the council towards it, which is really cheap considering the whole festival cost about sixteen thousand pounds to put on. That's a modest amount to pay to get an extra 5,000 people filling the town, absolutely.
Speaker 1:On the plus side. The Ivor Lounge is a nice big venue. For it as well, it's another big venue.
Speaker 4:I was surprised that's a great addition because it works really well as a venue and we're going to use them, I think, three times this year. Because of that they're actually going to host the opening night, the opening concert, which is going to be great so, yeah, it's all working well.
Speaker 2:One of the nicest venues is the Golden Lion, just because of the shape of it, and it occurs to me that perhaps the new Whiskey Cafe might be a well, it'll be interesting to see what Mike Purchase and his son think of that the purchases, because he won't let Eric in.
Speaker 4:You know that does or not allow.
Speaker 2:Eric is actually quite disappointed. He's a bit disappointed. No children either. No children either no children either.
Speaker 3:Oh well, there you go Well.
Speaker 4:In that case, it's unlikely we would use him, because ours is a family affair. We wouldn't want to have a restriction on. That was a record, wasn't?
Speaker 1:it.
Speaker 4:The only restricted venue is Moray, but that's only because it's a very small restaurant and he can't accommodate people just coming to watch the band because he's got no way of making money on them other than serving meals. So you have to buy a meal to go to that. But that's, that's fair enough. That's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean you can't go, it just means you've got to book a table. Yeah, you know which is which is fair enough, but that's the only.
Speaker 5:That's the only place we do that, yeah, but it be nice if the whiskey bar did run. Maybe an acoustic set in there, I think it would go down really well, I'd be surprised if they wouldn't want to.
Speaker 4:I'm sure they they would, but we'll see. And it's not like we haven't got people wanting to play Exactly. You know, I've got so many new hands. You're listening to Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 2:Brilliant. Well, we've certainly covered that. So Paul will actually give us a bit of a rundown, perhaps later, of some of the bands and things that are coming up and we can move on from there, because we've still got things yet to happen in town, of course, because we've had the Christmas light turn on, we're now going to have the Snowman Festival going to kick off, absolutely that's started the Snowman Festival going to kick off.
Speaker 4:Absolutely. That started the Snowman Trail Close to behind you. This poster is going up on the Ivo this afternoon and, yeah, so that's been going now for about 10 years. I think I can't quite remember when it started, but it's a great idea for children under 12. So you have to go with a, with an adult, and you go into the shops that take part in it and you get a little sticker and you stick it on your trail map and when you've collected 20 stickers you can go in for the draw to win a 50 pound Town Row voucher. So it's worth doing and it means that lots of parents get to go take it into shops they might not know. Yeah, it's another great idea.
Speaker 4:And it's all about bringing people into the town and helping the businesses.
Speaker 1:So it's worked really well. Is there a campaign to support your local trader as well?
Speaker 4:Yes, the Civic Society are just launching a poster. Have you seen that? They're doing a poster, which is they want to put in around the town to encourage people to support their local traders. I mean that's really important for Salahat at the moment.
Speaker 4:Massively important Because as we can tell, although we've got some successes with bringing people to the town, businesses generally are pretty struggling a bit normally, but not just in science, everywhere. But so eyes unlike, say, huntingdon doesn't have some of the big name shops and we can't get those because the premises are not big enough. And you know, we all know the argument um, so we we have to support our local trade and who are relatively small generally speaking. Um, fortunately, I think the mccully store on the k store is going to be emmett coast or running. It should say, yeah, it's going to have the mountain warehouse going there yes but then that does mean what's going to happen to the Met on Wales.
Speaker 5:Coffee shop.
Speaker 4:It's going to be another coffee shop, is it? Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was told last week it's going to be a Nero's. Oh right, Well, Nero's is different they must have done their research and realised To actually open up right opposite costs. I mean, I know this is what happens, but within sort of a distance you can throw a tennis ball, sort of thing. You've got half a dozen quite excellent coffee shops now and they all have to find their own home.
Speaker 5:Potter's always full when the Mountain Warehouse is. It's a great location because if you open up all those windows, around the corner, you'll have the beautiful views out onto Bridge Street.
Speaker 4:It'll be amazing. I never understood why they wanted to black nose windows in because it's retail, retail.
Speaker 5:I never understood that weird situation well, maybe we wanted to look like a mountain in the middle of the place.
Speaker 2:We've mentioned a couple of businesses that are going, but of course things are moving on. But we've mentioned, a couple of businesses are going, but of course things are moving on, but we're losing Dobby's, of course, down the road. We are which is a bit of a shame.
Speaker 4:Dobby's themselves are moving out, but will someone take it over? It's a massive, big, I can't imagine why a big chain wouldn't want it.
Speaker 5:It's a good location. Can't imagine why a big chain wouldn't want it because, it's. It's a good location.
Speaker 2:I mean, dobby's is a big chain, isn't it? It's part of quite a big group. There's several Dobby's and I think somewhere along the line they've actually got an ownership of Tesco behind them as well.
Speaker 4:So there's something wrong with the economics behind it.
Speaker 2:I think they said they're arguing, they're saying that, yes, it's too too expensive to be there. Yeah, so for an independent to go there, kind of possibly pushing their luck, yes, yeah, um, and it's such a huge site, you have to wonder what it could be other than a garden center, just there, really, you're probably going to see a planning moment centre.
Speaker 4:Just there, really, you're probably going to see a planning moment come through it's more like a department store than a garden centre, because it's got a bit of everything in there we go in there occasionally and it's always busy.
Speaker 2:It always seems to be ticking over nicely. It seems a shame, but with people like that. So it's nice to see things like the Whiskey Cafe actually opening up, nice to see the building opening again. And certainly we've taken the mickey out well over the years.
Speaker 4:Yes, and we've been taking the mickey since 2018. Absolutely so, to make to be fair to the owners, they always actually liked the cartoons we put. They thought they were very funny. They did. They weren't up too upset by them. So I mean, all publicity is good publicity well, that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:Nobody does that. There's nobody in town doesn't know what's going on there now, and they've done a beautiful job of the interior. It's very good. So that's that's rather nice. So it's got that going on in there and well knowing the people concerned.
Speaker 4:They were successful before I think they'll get it right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, there's been some TV issues. Yeah, yeah, it's off the opening night, open a business like that and sort of throw it open to the world, and there's always going to be TV troubles it was a absolutely packed, but it was a nice night, wasn't it? We saw you there, didn't we?
Speaker 5:Julie, it was lovely, and you know what's wonderful about it is. It's not in competition with any other business in town. It's a unique space and it will bring people in rather than take custom away from the other pubs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's difficult to see it doing any damage to any of the actual immediate people. So, no, really nice. So it's nice to see the town sort of opening up like that and we get past Christmas and then we can look forward to all the music and dances of next year.
Speaker 4:Well, there's plenty being organised next year with the 600th anniversary of the Jazz and Blues and no doubt there'll be the Carnival Festival weekend.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there will be.
Speaker 4:Everything's going on. There's a lot that goes on in St Ives, yeah, and we punch above our weight when you think Huntingdon is almost twice the size of St Ives and St Ives is even bigger again, almost twice the size of St Ives, and St Neers is even bigger again. I think we're considered to be the most successful for drawing people in the music scene and stuff like that. You're listening to Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, and that's a testament to all the guys who work behind the scenes at the town team festival to do that. It's amazing. It's one of the reasons we moved here. We moved here and found this amazing community.
Speaker 4:You've got this through your CARES programme. At the town council there's an amazing number of groups isn't there.
Speaker 5:It's amazing, and Jane general CARES coordinator has of groups isn't that? It's, it's amazing. And jane general cares coordinator has set up a network and it's everybody comes every, every other month. Everybody comes and from county council, district council to the small community groups and there's always over 30 representatives there. And and they all come because they want to know what's going on, what each other are up to, and it's so successful. And you know, st Ives has been selected as a pilot scheme for a resilient, a resilience um, for a project, yes, um, to see if community, community can build their own resilience. And you know it's going to be successful in St Ives because we've got such a strong foundation already of community. You know, creating community resilience isn't going to be difficult and we're going to work it with the CARES programme. We'll see what happens from it.
Speaker 4:I think there is another thing that we ought to probably promote, and that is a lot of these groups, which is natural. Like the Civic Society, they were formed quite a few years back and a lot of the people in them are getting older and older and they need new people to come along. So we need to call out for the 40 50-year-olds to start to come and get involved. We've got loads of 60-, 70 80-year-olds involved, but you know, eventually they want to retire or die off, in effect, so we need to replenish this. We want to retire or die off in effect, so we need to replenish this. We want to keep it going, so why not have a call out? For If you want to get involved, there's something you can get involved in.
Speaker 5:There's always something, and again on the website there's an Ives Hub. You'll find all the community groups there and volunteer opportunities.
Speaker 4:Well, on that note, indeed, I think we've had a good first session here.
Speaker 2:I certainly think so. I do hope people have actually enjoyed listening in on this and the whole idea, of course, is they'll be regular. Now you'll find us here on YouTube and podcasts and things for the Riverport Radio. It's the sister media to the Riverporter, which you see every fortnight. Please, if you've got stories or you've got things to tell us or something humorous or something serious, whatever you've got, please do write to editor at theriverporteruk. Let us know what's going on and we will attempt to chat about it on occasions here with Riverport Radio.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio.
Speaker 4:Thank you, julie, thank you for inviting me, thank you Paul, thank you Ron and thank you Eric, and if you want to be on the River Porter Radio, please, write to us.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, to play us out this week. We've got a clip here from two brilliant local musicians, chris Newman and Humphrey Finkel, who will be performing live at the Cambridge Corn Exchange this Friday at 7.30. So if you're about there's still a few tickets left please come along and support them meanwhile. Thanks for listening again and we'll see you next time on Riverport Radio. This has been a Riverport Radio podcast production.
Speaker 3:Riverport Radio. Riverport Radio, riverport Radio. Thank you.
