Adventures in Journalism
46 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago -This podcast follows award-winning British journalist Martin Hesp as he travels the world enjoying the sights, tasting the food and booze, and meeting people from all walks of life.
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Episodes
Celebrating English Wine Week
June 18, 2022 14:08 - 23 minutes - 18.8 MBWe set out to celebrate English Wine Week by visiting the Huxbear Vineyard in South Devon in the company of Wickhams Wine and the wine writer Stephen Barrett
Mary Quicke, farmer and cheesemaker
May 23, 2022 15:23 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBWe spend a morning touring the amazing Quicke estate in central Devon with Mary Quicke, the forward -thinking woman who makes some of the best cheddar cheese in the world
Launching Taste East Devon with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Others
July 19, 2021 08:57 - 35 minutes - 28.5 MBRecorded at the launch of Taste East Devon, Martin Hesp talks to the movers and shakers behind a new group set up to promote the food and drink of one of the most beautiful and fertile areas of the UK - interviewees include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef Michael Caines and many others
The World of Food Judging
June 28, 2021 13:47 - 25 minutes - 20.1 MBMartin Hesp spends a couple of days watching the judging in the product classes of the anual Food Drink Devon Awards. It's an exacting process which means thopse stickers you see attached to items on supermarket shelves declaring "Gold" or "Silver" really do mean what they say
The Consumer Brand - a new way of thinking about the food and drink we buy
June 07, 2021 13:53 - 41 minutes - 33.2 MBWould you be interested in hearing about a new way of food shopping which both pays the farmer fairly and also insists upon environmentally friendly practices in agriculture? Those are the sort of decisions consumer power can make happen - and now it's possible thanks to a new concept which was originally born in France 5 years ago. There, the English name is Who's The Boss - in the UK it's called The Consumer Brand - and the first product has now been launched. Martin Hesp talks to the peop...
Revolting Peasants of Exmoor - Remembering a Chat With Molly Groves
May 24, 2021 14:29 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBThere has been talk of centralising the control of England's national parks - an idea that will not go down well with local people who live in the remote uplands of places like Exmoor. In this podcast journalist Martin Hesp brushes off an old interview he did with Molly Groves - one of the founders of the Exmoor Revolting Peasants party - a pressure group formed by local people in the early 2000s
Regenerative Farming in Cornwall
May 14, 2021 16:09 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBJournalist Martin Hesp joins Francis Clarke, the managing director of the highly regarded Trewithen Dairy, on a visit to a South Cornish holding where they are shown the benefits of regenerative farming by expert Tom Tolputt, who explains that the system could actually take carbon out of the atmosphere while at the same time producing fantastically healthy milk and cream, beef and lamb
Talking to the Wheelwrights
May 08, 2021 15:18 - 23 minutes - 19 MBIn his travels as editor-at-large of a daily newspaper in the UK Martin Hesp came across many interesting people working in all manner of industries and trades - in this podcast he looks back at his meeting with the Rowland family - the Royal Warrant wheelwrights of East Devon
Cider-maker Roger Wilkins Talks About Banksy and Other Celebs
May 04, 2021 12:39 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBWell known Somerset cider-maker Roger Wilkins talks to Martin Hesp about Banksy the artist and the great many other celebrities who've been to his old cider-house at Land's End Farm, Mudgeley, overlooking the Somerset Levels
Sharpham Shows Off Its Wine and Cheese
May 03, 2021 12:00 - 23 minutes - 18.6 MBSharpham Estate in Devon is famous for its wine and its cheese - but this year, more than ever, it was important to remind tourism providers and other movers and shakers about the fine produce that is made down by the shores of the River Dart in the South Hams
Anthony Gibson talks about buying local food and drink
April 26, 2021 14:51 - 21 minutes - 17.4 MBAnthony Gibson worked for the NFU for an amazing 36 years and in that time he became a very well known figure, not only in the UK agricultural world, but also in the sphere of food and drink. Here he talks to Martin Hesp about the disconnect between local people and local food - and the steps which were taken in the 1980s and 90s to try to overcome that gap
Peter Gorton Talks About Cooking Game
April 19, 2021 11:44 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBThe chef Peter Gorton has just been appointed as a director of Food Drink Devon - here in an interview recorded some years ago he talks to Martin Hesp of RAW Food & Drink PR about the art of cooking game meat gleaned from the British countryside
Barbecue Meeting with a Masterbuilt
April 16, 2021 11:29 - 21 minutes - 17 MBEditorial Director of RAW Food & Drink PR Martin Hesp talks with Ben Forte of Masterbuilt about the remarkable new Gravity Series and with well known food photographer Nick Hook about the art of food and drink imagery
Remembering The Crowds of Holsworthy on Market Day
November 17, 2020 18:15 - 23 minutes - 19.2 MBJournalist Martin Hesp visits the rural town of Holsworthy on the Devon-Cornwall border on market day. The visit was made a few years ago before the big cattle market was moved to the outskirts of town - and in those days the small market square in the centre was buzzing with people. This podcast is a short audio history - a glimpse into a disappearing world
Flight to St Vincent in The Grenadines
November 11, 2020 17:51 - 8 minutes - 8.26 MBA podcast to go with a short film about visiting Petit St Vincent in The Grenadines - seems like a lovely place to be as the UK sinks into another lockdown and the November darkness brings heavy rain
The Tale of British Tea
October 24, 2020 13:01 - 26 minutes - 21.4 MBMartin Hesp interviews Jonathon Jones OBE - trading director at Cornwall's Tregothnan Estate - the man behind the amazing and perhaps surprising success story of British grown tea. Here he tells the story of the UK's only major tea plantation
Sir Tim Smit recounts the story of The Lost Gardens of Heligan
October 10, 2020 12:05 - 22 minutes - 18.3 MBWhen The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall were celebrating their first quarter of a century as one of the UK's most beautiful and fascinating visitor attractions, Martin Hesp took the opportunity to talk with Sir Tim Smit, one of the main movers and shakers behind the refurbishment of the fabulous demesne...
Goonhilly Down, the Trelowarren Estate and Sir Ferrers Vyvyan
October 09, 2020 14:05 - 9 minutes - 9.04 MBMartin Hesp chats to Sir Ferrers Vyvyan who has taken him on a tour of the remarkable Trelowarren Estate in Cornwall and who talks about the weird and wonderful landscape known as Goonhilly Down
Exploring West Cornwall
September 20, 2020 11:18 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBReminiscences of exploring the West Penwith area at the western tip of Cornwall - and the hamlets of Treen and Porthgwarra in particular - featuring interviews with two long term residents. A bit of social history that could be gone before too long...
Thoughts on Autumn
September 11, 2020 10:13 - 5 minutes - 5.16 MBThis podcast was recorded a dozen years ago when I was a parish councillor and I laid down my thoughts after a meeting one evening. It's all about autumn - lovely, beautiful autumn - in the British countryside
Jeep Tour in the Mountains of Madeira
September 06, 2020 12:36 - 19 minutes - 15.6 MBMartin Hesp takes is recorder on a jeep tour through the mountains of Madeira. Listen as the four-wheel-drive Land Rover climbs over high passes to reach the famous cloud forests of that beautiful island...
Walking the Levadas of Madeira
September 05, 2020 11:36 - 19 minutes - 15.5 MBMartin Hesp records a podcast as he enjoys a guided walk along one of Madeira's magnificent 'levadas' - a series of high level irrigation canals up in the island's scenic mountains
Walk and talk with Richard Austin in Lyme Regis
July 15, 2020 12:08 - 11 minutes - 9.06 MBPhotographer Richard Austin tells Martin Hesp about his home town of Lyme Regis - the Dorset resort where in normal times you can go out mackerel fishing in the summer
Cider Songs
April 30, 2020 16:05 - 10 minutes - 9.93 MBA long time ago Martin Hesp invited some English folk singers to the old house where he lived to perform a number of ancient songs about cider.
The Memoirs of a Countess and Hollywood Starlet
April 28, 2020 17:06 - 25 minutes - 20.9 MBA long time ago Martin Hesp interviewed an old friend who had been a Hollywood starlet and who had led the most remarkable life. This is a brief interview he did with Heidi Beer on a Sony Walkman Professional cassette recorder
In Switzerland With The Sherlockians
April 22, 2020 15:39 - 17 minutes - 13.8 MBMartin Hesp travelled to Switzerland with Sherlock Holmes fans from Britain a few years ago - and a remarkable, if not bizarre, trip it turned out to be,
Say Cheese - There Is Something To Smile About
April 13, 2020 16:24 - 42 minutes - 34 MBMartin Hesp hosts a round-table chat with ex-BBC Archers agricultural story editor Graham Harvey and a handful of enthusiastic and knowledgeable cheese experts to discuss how good old fashioned artisan dairy practices could help reduce climate change.
Life In The Time of Covid - Short Story 4 - Megaphone Metamorphosis
April 10, 2020 09:55 - 32 minutes - 26.1 MBAnother in a series of short stories written during the Big Coronavirus Lockdown, and read by author Martin Hesp. This one follows a woman who is determined to keep her rural community safe.
Life in the Time of Covid - Short Story 3 - The TV Guru
April 08, 2020 16:47 - 36 minutes - 29.5 MBThe third in a series of short stories written and read by Martin Hesp - all the characters are fictional but this is the sort of thing that might be happening during the lockdown across the UK. The time a well known television journalist goes to ground....
Life In The Time Of Covid Part 2 - End of the Affair
April 07, 2020 16:45 - 35 minutes - 28.2 MBThe second in a series of short stories written and read by Martin Hesp - all the characters are completely fictional but this is the sort of thing that might be happening right now in the British countryside.
Exmoor Lockdown Diary - The Garlic Man and The Potter
April 01, 2020 17:17 - 20 minutes - 16.6 MBWe all need some good cheer in these coronavirus times - and we need healthy things to eat. In this podcast Martin meets one of the UK's leading experts when it comes to growing garlic and shallots - he also visits the "happiest village in England" and meets a famous potter who's invented a garlic grater
The Man Who Walked Home - Love in the Time of Coronavirus, Story 1
March 30, 2020 17:01 - 58 minutes - 40.3 MBThe first in a series of short stories based on the coronavirus pandemic. It is a tale about a bloke who suddenly realises he is going to have to walk right across the South West peninsula to see his mother during the coronavirus lockdown. But the journey turns into something else - a transformative pilgrimage in some ways. It’s not too heavy, I promise - I just hope anyone who bother to listen to the one hour podcast will enjoy it…
The Ultimate Lockdown - The Loneliness of the Lighthouse Keeper
March 28, 2020 11:30 - 27 minutes - 20.2 MBDuring this time of lockdown in the fight against coronavirus many will feel hard-done-by or maybe claustrophobic - but spare a thought for the men who used to work in isolated lighthouses, totally restricted in every sense for months on end... This is an interview with one of the old lighthouse keepers
British Cider -
March 27, 2020 18:05 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBA round-table discussion with several experts on the subject of British cider - made in conjunction with writer Graham Harvey
Beach Cooking on the Isle of Lundy
February 22, 2020 09:49 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBTravelling the 12 Atlantic miles to the island of Lundy about the MS Oldenburgh to prepare a beach picnic with Dan the Fishman, celebrating his 25 years working with local North Devon seafood
Peaceful and Perfect Porthgwarra
January 27, 2020 13:18 - 22 minutes - 15.4 MBThis podcast finds Martin Hesp in Porthgwarra - a tiny fishing cove located just a couple of miles from Land's End - where he ponders the wild Atlantic Ocean and interviews two men who have just rowed from one side of it to the other. Martin also visits the famous old Logan Rock Inn at Treen
Hoi An, the Perfumed City
January 02, 2020 15:33 - 11 minutes - 6.45 MBA day and a night out in Hoi An, one of the most historic cities in Vietnam - hear the sounds and soak up the atmosphere in this short podcast
A Day in Funchal, Madeira
January 01, 2020 17:57 - 45 minutes - 26.1 MBFunchal guide Sophia Maul takes Martin on an eating and drinking tour around her adopted home city, the capital of Madeira
Christmas Beach and Seafood Cooking
December 30, 2019 17:04 - 13 minutes - 9.57 MBJust because it's midwinter there's no reason why you shouldn't head down to the beach for a barbecue - it's all a matter of teamwork, good ingredients and the right all-weather gear, says North Devon's Dan the Fishman
Dunster Christmas Carol
December 23, 2019 10:44 - 8 minutes - 5.61 MBThis podcast tells the story of a unique traditional Christmas carol which is only ever sung in the medieval village of Dunster in Somerset
The Annual Cutcombe Christmas Show
December 18, 2019 16:44 - 10 minutes - 7.39 MBMartin Hesp visits the annual Cutcombe Christmas Show - one of the last traditional 'fatstock' Christmas shows of its kind left in the UK - and soaks up the seasonal atmosphere talking to organisers and previous winning turkey breeders
Boris Johnson's Secret "Grannifesto"
December 14, 2019 11:16 - 9 minutes - 6.32 MBA never-before published or aired speech by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlining his little known "Grannifesto" - based on a book of his own grandmother's diaries called Alas Poor Johnny
Strolling Around Tokyo
December 12, 2019 15:34 - 36 minutes - 20.7 MBMartin Hesp takes a long stroll through Tokyo, eventually meeting up with his old friend Adam Kennedy who has lived there for 17 years so that he can get a local's eye view...
The Last of the Salmon Netters
December 06, 2019 14:40 - 27 minutes - 16.5 MBMartin joins the salmon nets-men of the River Exe estuary on a summer's day before the UK wide ban on netting for salmon was brought into force seeing the end of a 1000 year-old tradition
Remembering Boris Johnson's Granny and Granddad
December 03, 2019 17:17 - 14 minutes - 10.2 MBListening to former Prime Minister, Theresa May, make a speech in Plymouth the other day, I was reminded of the time I talked to the present PM, Boris Johnson, about his grandmother and grandfather. I knew them well - if you're wondering why I should talk to a politician about their grandparents...
Introduction to Martin Hesp's Food and Travel Website
November 13, 2019 17:01 - 8 minutes - 5.71 MBThis brief podcast introduces my new food and travel website