How does music impact our mental health?

Lakefest Live

The Living Room created a safe space, donation point and clean up crew at the festival Lakefest which is at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire . While we were there Mel got to chat with Lee Martin who is one of the festival' s promoters and heard all about the festival its roots and the struggles of putting on large events in these difficult times when many festivals are stopping.

What does it mean to be a truly socially responsible business?

In this episode, Mel chats with Dorian Kirk, one of the founders of ART Hospitality [https://www.arthospitality.co.uk/about]. They talk about the tough times businesses and customers have been through. Dorian shares their commitment to being a socially responsible business and what that means in practice. They also discuss the challenges people are facing and how the hospitality industry can help improve peoples' life chances and skills.

How does music impact our mental health?

Jeordie Shenton, the Programmes Lead for Tonic Music [https://www.tonicmusic.co.uk/], chats with Mel about their mission to improve mental health in music communities. In this episode, we talk about how our experiences shape the music we make and how music and arts participation can positively impact our mental well-being. We also explore common themes related to homelessness and mental health and discuss ways in which services and the community can work together to improve things.

How can we combat food poverty?

Natalie McVey talks to Mel about the work of Hereford Food Alliance [https://herefordshirefoodcharter.org.uk/sign-the-charter]. In this episode we discuss the issues of combatting food waste and the interesting partnerships and connections that are forming around this. We also discuss the simple ways in which people can get involved and make new connections with each other and nature. Nat also discusses the wider issues around the priorities of central and local government in building stronger, more sustainable communities.