Assa Marra

Catherine Williamson
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  • Places & Travel

Assa Marra: “A Love Letter to West Cumbria and the Legend I Married” 18th December 2024 marked 16 incredible years since I met my husband, madcap adventurer and total legend, John Williamson. To celebrate this milestone, I created Assa Marra - a podcast series that is as much a tribute to him as it is to the place we both hold so dear: West Cumbria. It has grown to 16 episodes, with a couple more due before the end of 2025. West Cumbria has been the backdrop to our love story. Its rugged landscapes, rich history, and incredible people mirror the qualities I adore in him: strength, humour, indomitable nature, and an unstoppable spirit. Over the years, we’ve found inspiration in the stories of this county’s remarkable characters, from legends like Josh Naylor to the everyday heroes whose contributions have gone unnoticed. Through Assa Marra, I weave our love story with the soul of West Cumbria. These 10 episodes are deeply personal, recounting not only the moments that have defined our relationship but also the beauty of the people and places that have been part of our journey. Assa Marra blends highlights from my previous podcast, Gobsmacked!, with brand-new radio interviews, creating a unique tapestry of stories that celebrate both our personal journey and the vibrant spirit of West Cumbria. As the creator of Gobsmacked! - a podcast loved in 147 countries to date - I’m thrilled to use this platform to bring West Cumbria’s charm, humour, and spirit to a global audience. Above all, Assa Marra is my gift to John: a celebration of the life we’ve built together and the magical county that continues to inspire us. Our West Cumbrian community is being heard loud and clear in over 40 countries, celebrating and amplifying the wonderful people around us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3d ago

    Episode 29: Emma Williamson And Terry Galloway

    Imagine being moved through more than 100 foster homes and care homes. Seriously, just think about that. When we recorded Terry Galloway for Gobsmacked, we weren’t looking for a West Cumbrian story. Turns out, we got one anyway. Terry is care experienced. There has been loss in his life, real loss, the sort that could quite reasonably have silenced somebody. It hasn’t. He’s become a formidable campaigner, determined to change things for the people coming behind him. And then two names kept cropping up. Josh MacAlister and Emma Williamson. Josh is our local MP and now Minister for Children and Families, driving change in children’s social care nationally. And Emma? Well, Emma knows this stuff from the inside. She’s Deputy Leader of Cumberland Council, care experienced herself, left school at 13 having been through 12 junior schools and four secondary schools, and later went back into education. Today she’s using all of that to make sure care-experienced people are not just talked about, but heard. So we asked Emma to introduce Terry. Because these two know only too well that when you start life in care, you’re not necessarily starting at the same line as everybody else. You can spend years making up the distance. And both of them have done something pretty extraordinary with that distance. We didn’t go looking for West Cumbria in this conversation. It found us. So this one had to come to Assa Marra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Aug 4

    Episode 28: Colin Cox

    Men in West Cumbria are still dying too young and too often in silence. In this conversation with Colin Cox, Director of Public Health for Cumberland, this episode looks at what sits underneath that reality. West Cumbria is a place of contrasts. Beautiful landscapes and strong, close communities sit alongside real and persistent challenges, poverty, poor health, isolation and suicide rates that remain far too high, particularly among men. This is not about labelling a region. It is about trying to understand it more honestly. Colin speaks with real clarity and care about that. During COVID, many people locally came to rely on public health voices for reassurance and direction. Colin became one of those trusted figures, helping communities make sense of an uncertain time. His latest report, Man up?, challenges something deeper than behaviour. It asks whether the old ideas of masculinity we have inherited are still helping men or quietly harming them. In a place shaped by hard, physical, often dangerous work, stoicism was once a strength. It got people through. But it may also have left a legacy where too many men still feel they have to cope alone. So perhaps the question is not “man up”. Perhaps it is, how do we make it easier for men to open up? How do we build communities where strength includes vulnerability and where asking for help is recognised as courage, not weakness? This is a thoughtful and compelling conversation about place, identity and what might need to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Jul 17

    Episode 27: Heather Dempsey

    A tiny yellow bird. A mining community. A producer and broadcaster back on patch. Throw in a surprising number of coincidences and two people who can’t resist following the next question, and you’ve got a conversation that goes to some wonderfully unexpected places. Heather Dempsey is one of West Cumbria’s own—a girl who’s gone out into the world and done good. An astute observer of people, life and her own generation, Heather has the rare ability to spot a story, trust her instincts and follow an idea wherever it leads. That instinct has already seen her build an impressive start in broadcasting and podcasting, working with the likes of Simon Mayo, Mark Kermode and Kirsty Young. Now she’s back on patch in West Cumbria, researching and recording a story that begins with canaries and their connection to the region’s mining heritage. What starts as an exploration of a tiny yellow bird soon opens up a much richer story about mining, family, identity and belonging. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Jun 19

    Episode 26: Janine Ward

    In this episode of Assa Marra, Janine Ward shares a story that begins with the rejection of infidelity. While that may seem to be the story, it quickly becomes clear that it is only the gateway. Speaking with striking honesty and openness, Janine reflects on the diagnoses, counselling and soul-searching that followed as she tried to make sense of a life that no longer resembled the one she had imagined. As the conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that explanations can only take us so far. Whatever has happened, life still asks us to get up each morning, put one foot in front of the other and decide who we are going to be. For Janine, that journey led her back to West Cumbria, the place where her story began. Today, she has channelled her lived experience into the charity Together We, believing that the chapters we would never have chosen to write can still become chapters that help someone else. This is an episode about heartbreak, identity, healing and hope. It is also a reminder that while we cannot always choose what happens to us, we can choose what comes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. May 19

    Episode 25: Cherry Tingle

    This episode of Assa Marra was recorded live at Energy Coast UTC in Lillyhall, West Cumbria, the first Assa Marra recorded on location as part of Assa Colours, whose raison d’être is to reach young people in communities through storytelling, building confidence, and helping them find their unique voice. And what a venue it was. It felt like being on the set of Grange Hill. Then the conversation with Cherry Tingle unfolds and honestly, it has more layers than the onion in Shrek. At points it almost beggars belief what Cherry has surmounted whilst remaining so positive, philosophical and able to find remarkable gold in extraordinarily dark places. This is a life that takes us through single parenting, mental health, Africa, leadership, education. At 17, Cherry was literally thrown out by her mother and left to fend for herself. Yet what emerges through this conversation is not bitterness, but wisdom, perspective and enormous humanity. And that is why the audience in the room were so utterly rapt. This podcast moved into pin-drop territory. At the core of everything Cherry does is the cellular belief that young people deserve access to a good education, the chance to thrive, and somebody who believes in them. Cherry is one extraordinary woman. Episode 25 of Assa Marra is sponsored by Axiom and produced by Assa Colours Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Apr 21

    Episode 24: Gail Dobson-Burns

    In this episode of Assa Marra, Catherine speaks with Gail Dobson-Burns about baby loss, infertility, and the experience that shaped her work and community impact. Gail shares her story with honesty and pragmatism, reflecting on the challenges she and her husband faced, including miscarriage, and the emotional and physical realities that many families experience but are rarely spoken about. In the UK, around one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, stillbirth affects around one in 250 pregnancies, and ectopic pregnancy affects around one in ninety pregnancies. These are not rare experiences. They are simply not often talked about. The statistics are vast and national, but the experience is always local. And in West Cumbria, where communities are tight and services can be further afield, these experiences are often carried quietly, sometimes making them feel even heavier. Out of her own experience, Gail founded Silent Footprints, a Cumbria-based charity supporting individuals and families affected by baby loss and infertility. The organisation offers emotional support, safe spaces for conversation, practical guidance following loss, memory-making support, and community awareness. It recognises that the impact of loss extends beyond mothers, supporting partners and families too. This episode brings an important and often underrepresented conversation into the open, grounded in Gail’s lived experience and her ongoing contribution to the West Cumbria community. It is a conversation handled with care, honesty, and quiet strength. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Mar 24

    Episode 23: Lisa Birdsall

    West Cumbria is one of the most beautiful places in England. It is also one of the hardiest. Everything appears more amplified more intense. Big skies. Deep lakes. Rugged, breathtaking beauty. But that intensity is not just in the landscape. With great beauty there is a shadow side that pervades too. Cumbria has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, around 50 percent higher than the national average. In parts of West Cumbria, it is among the highest anywhere in England. This episode of Assa Marra features Lisa Birdsall. Oozing warmth vivacity and a formidable heart for her community. She has also been profoundly shaped by loss. Lisa lost her brother Stephen to suicide. Out of that tragedy has come extraordinary purpose. She is a trustee of Every Life Matters, supporting those bereaved by suicide and working to reduce stigma. In 2025, she led the Baton of Hope across Cumbria, the UK’s largest suicide awareness and prevention initiative. Around 50 people carried the Baton across West Cumbria. Each with their own story. Each choosing to step forward and break the silence. We also hear from Ken Johnston, one of the Lead Guides for the baton, sharing the lasting impact of being witness on that extraordinary day. This is not an easy listen. But it is an important one. A conversation about grief. About love. About what happens when people choose courage over silence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Feb 23

    Episode 22: Lyn Cavaghan

    This episode of Assa Marra features a rapidly developing local legend Lyn Cavaghan. Having West Cumbrian parents Lyn has the place in her DNA the Marra in her marrow. There is something about that inheritance of place that tugs at you. Even if life starts elsewhere. Even if your accent is shaped somewhere different. Even if your career begins beyond the county line. One of the themes that keeps surfacing through Assa Marra Podcast is this: You do not have to be born in a place to serve a place. Nor is it about big ta-dahs. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and following the need. Belonging is built through contribution. Through her stewardship of the Girl Guide movement, and through her leadership as CEO of Always Another Way, Lyn’s influence is felt quietly and widely across this region. Always Another Way operates in that vital space before crisis, improving mental wellbeing across West Cumbria. Early intervention. Practical mental health support. Real conversations for young people and adults across the region. Under Lyn’s leadership it has strengthened its governance, grown in reputation, and become an award winning force for preventative care. We talk about dyslexia. About navigating education when exams are not your natural playground. About forging a career built less on certificates and more on adaptability, instinct, resourcefulness, a bit of streetwise guile, and a healthy abundance of personality. And running through it all is that West Cumbrian thread. The call of home. The pull of heritage. The sense that even if you were not born here, something in you recognises the landscape. This episode is about service. About leadership. About coming back in your own way. And about how communities flourish when people choose to contribute. Because here, legends are not made by birthplace. They are made by impact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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About

Assa Marra: “A Love Letter to West Cumbria and the Legend I Married” 18th December 2024 marked 16 incredible years since I met my husband, madcap adventurer and total legend, John Williamson. To celebrate this milestone, I created Assa Marra - a podcast series that is as much a tribute to him as it is to the place we both hold so dear: West Cumbria. It has grown to 16 episodes, with a couple more due before the end of 2025. West Cumbria has been the backdrop to our love story. Its rugged landscapes, rich history, and incredible people mirror the qualities I adore in him: strength, humour, indomitable nature, and an unstoppable spirit. Over the years, we’ve found inspiration in the stories of this county’s remarkable characters, from legends like Josh Naylor to the everyday heroes whose contributions have gone unnoticed. Through Assa Marra, I weave our love story with the soul of West Cumbria. These 10 episodes are deeply personal, recounting not only the moments that have defined our relationship but also the beauty of the people and places that have been part of our journey. Assa Marra blends highlights from my previous podcast, Gobsmacked!, with brand-new radio interviews, creating a unique tapestry of stories that celebrate both our personal journey and the vibrant spirit of West Cumbria. As the creator of Gobsmacked! - a podcast loved in 147 countries to date - I’m thrilled to use this platform to bring West Cumbria’s charm, humour, and spirit to a global audience. Above all, Assa Marra is my gift to John: a celebration of the life we’ve built together and the magical county that continues to inspire us. Our West Cumbrian community is being heard loud and clear in over 40 countries, celebrating and amplifying the wonderful people around us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Catherine Williamson
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Catherine Williamson
  • Show Website
    Assa Marra