35 episodes
Hello Hackney Street Level
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- Society & Culture
Hackney senior citizens meet every week to discuss problems of social isolation among older people, what we are doing to prevent it, how we can help other people repair the connections they have lost, and create new social relationships.
Making podcasts and radio is just one of the many ways we try to do it. These are all field recordings. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves — oldies own the process — since 2010.
By the way, Hackney is an inner-city borough of London, UK. Come and talk to us next time you are in our neighbourhood.
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That sweet potato
This episode is the first of a series of pilots for an updated Talking Food Radio. We used the same very basic equipment as the old radio show, and the same approach: conversation first, technology last. As the series progresses, we will adapt the recording method to suit the participants as well as the final goal - which requires much improved sound quality.
The pilot podcast track is a sequence of snippets from the 90-minute live recording. The discarded sections were generally the best conversation, but too noisily enthusiastic for the podcast medium.
The voices belong to: Brian, Grafton, Hyacinth, Ian, Mary, Nuala, Patricia and Rick.
This is a field recording. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves — oldies own the process.
Recorded 26 April 2019 at Whitmore Community Centre, London N1 5NU, UK.
Outro credit: excerpt from Horizontal Drift, Jared C Balogh - https://www.jamendo.com/track/1122560/horizontal-drift -
Schooldays
Brief excerpts from a much longer conversation – Hackney elders’ memories of school.
The voices belong to: Brian, Leonie, Megan, Rick, Wadley.
This is a field recording. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. This is open-mic recording in a public space, so sound quality is sometimes rough. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves.
Recorded 18 March 2019 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.
Outro credit: excerpt from Horizontal Drift, Jared C Balogh - https://www.jamendo.com/track/1122560/horizontal-drift -
“I have never looked back”
Excerpts from a much longer conversation about retirement – with people who have done it and others who haven’t.
The voices belong to: Andreas, Brian, Cathy, Clarenton, Marylin, Nicholas, Rick.
This is a field recording. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. This is open-mic recording in a public space, so sound quality is sometimes rough. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves.
Recorded 11 March 2019 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.
Outro credit: excerpt from Horizontal Drift, Jared C Balogh - https://www.jamendo.com/track/1122560/horizontal-drift -
“What did your politeness do?”
Why we all have to talk more and hide less – friendships, commitment, belonging, resisting racism, respect – real stories and real values – an intergenerational meeting of minds.
The voices belong to: Brian, Chantel, Leonie, Rick, Vanessa, Wadley, Walter.
References:
Soon Gone – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002sqv
Small Island – Andrea Levy
Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
This is a field recording. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves.
Recorded 25 February 2019 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.
Outro credit: excerpt from Horizontal Drift, Jared C Balogh - https://www.jamendo.com/track/1122560/horizontal-drift -
“Do you guys like the word oldie?”
Guest Chantel bravely engages with a bunch of pre-digital citizens – rebooting Hello Hackney Grassroots Radio at the Dalston Curve Garden.
The voices belong to: Andreas, Brian, Chantel, Rick, Walter.
Media reference - Soon Gone (not Soon Over) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002sqv
This is a field recording. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves — oldies own the process.
Recorded 18 February 2019 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.
Outro credit: excerpt from Horizontal Drift, Jared C Balogh - https://www.jamendo.com/track/1122560/horizontal-drift -
Shoes & schmutter
A heavily-edited conversation that started with Andreas’ life as a shoemaker.
Voices: Andreas, Brian, Janette, Rick, Sallie and Walter.
Recorded 19 November 2018 in the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, London E8 3DF, UK.
This is a field recording. We don’t use expensive professional equipment or a sound studio. Our resources are minimal, but we do it all ourselves — oldies own the process.
Outro credit: excerpt from Horizontal Drift, Jared C Balogh - https://www.jamendo.com/track/1122560/horizontal-drift