Curious Chats & Kind Acts

#13 - Renovating a derelict chapel into a community with Sonia, Joy, Jonah and friends - Part 2

Here is part 2 of the Chapel project episode, Joy, my wife, producer Jonah and I continue to chat about our journey of renovating a derelict Chapel and I chat to some of our lovely community along the way. I love this episode as Joy, Jonah and I are well into our second bottle of wine and we get a little bit silly, but hey, this whole project is a little bit silly so it fits… and no, Joy still does not have a new kitchen! We come in when we are discussing our favourite bits… Well thanks for listening to this episode, and indeed this series, we wanted to finish series 2 with a bang, and I hope you have enjoyed it. Please do reach out if you would like to get involved in the Chapel project, and if you live locally, do come and visit us and join in the fun. Thanks for sharing our journey with us by listening, and let's keep growing kindness together. www.oldchapelcafe.com [http://www.oldchapelcafe.com]

#12 - Renovating a derelict Chapel into a community with Sonia, Joy, Jonah and friends

It's here guys, I'm soooooo excited to share this one with you, we finally convinced Joy to sit down and share our story of The Chapel. A derelict building we bought 8 years ago and have created a fabulous community space and cafe on the outskirts of Chester. It was a Thursday evening, she arrived home to 3 mics and 2 bottles of wine on the table and off we went, we had our special guest host producer, Jonah taking us on the Chapels journey. And listening back, I’m not going to lie, it's like an episode of 2 halves! We are quite serious in the first half, recanting stories from how we bought the building, to getting the first grant, however as more wine was consumed the sillier it seems to get, so by the end I just can't stop giggling! A big thanks to Jonah and some rather excellent editing for this episode! Now as you know, The Chapel isn't just our story, so I have interviewed a few of our community along the way, and we share their perspectives too. Saying that, the episode starts with us hearing from Mike and Joan, who we met through The Chapel and are now key people in our lives, which just shows the power of community. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we enjoyed making it!!

#11 - Relying on kindness of strangers when fleeing the war in Ukraine with Vlad

I’m chatting to Vlad today, he shares a bit about his life growing up in Ukraine, falling in love with the lovely Albina, then wham, he has to make the impossible decision of should they flee from their country. He does, and what a journey, having to rely on the kindness of strangers all along the way. He chats about his 3 month stay in France, living on food vouchers, not speaking the language, trying to understand a complex system.  We also chat about a Facebook post leading to them creating a home in the UK.  Vlad has a strong work ethic, and it has been so hard for him to not be able to contribute. He now runs an amazing little cafe called High Coffee in Chester, which is where I met him. He has worked so hard to make it a success, and is now building a community with other refugees on their own crazy journey to help them feel supported. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

#10 - Mark's journey of coming out as a Christian

I’m chatting to Mark today, he shares his journey of discovering he was gay as an adult and was very involved in his local church. He talks about those first feelings, of having to come out to his parents, and falling in love. We discuss kindness as a Christian and ‘tything’ or donating money, and how it isn't our wealth, we are just custodians of it. We then get a bit deep talking about having kids. Mark is so articulate, even when I ask some pretty challenging and personal questions. I have learnt loads, and it's quite simple really, you can’t stop being a Christian just because some people tell you it’s wrong to be gay. I hope you enjoy this one as much as me and a massive thanks to Mark for his honest reflections.

#09 - Nicola, on making a tent a home, homelessness, life and community

Today I chat to Nicola, I met Nicola as I was walking my dog, she was living in a tent in a field. I saw her every morning for nearly a month and we just smiled or said hello, so one day I plucked up the courage to ask if I could listen to her story, and here it is. Nicola is a really resilient human, she has COPD, and needs a wheelchair and yes life is quite tricky for her, she is really open about how difficult it is, where she goes to the loo, has a shower, and how she has had to leave her son at her mums to give him a better chance. Yet, despite her tricky circumstances, she still has made a community for herself, friends, a great GP, homeless services that help with laundry and foodbanks, she has even found some lovely people who give her flasks of hot water for a brew. Nicola really cares what people think, and she thinks people see her as lower than them because she doesn’t work. I learnt that by having a chat to homeless people, taking the time is a way to build community that is inclusive and in fact everyone is part of our community, whether they live in a tent or a house. I should point out, we recorded this in the pouring rain, she was in her home, the tent, and I was outside with a slightly broken brolly protecting the mike, so the sound may be a little glitchy at times, despite producer Jonah working his magic, it is well with bearing with though, to get a real insight of living in a tent, and dreaming of a place to call home.