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St Albans Girls School are presenting their first school musical drama production since COVID and it is MATILDA - THE MUSICAL. Join the STAGS Radio and podcast club as they go behind the scenes with interviews, discussion and all the backstage gossip.

Podcast creator and producer John Cushing explains to Local Life the production services that he and his colleague Michael Weadock are providing to a multitude of different sports after a working lifetime in broadcast radio with a focus on news and sport.  It is indeed anythingbutfooty.com.

Local nature correspondent Rupert Evershed asks a simple seasonal question - but the answer might not be the one you expect.

Lucy Gaygusuz, Trustee at Open Door, tells Rob Pearman about the plans to help and then keep local rough sleepers off the streets for the second Covid winter.  This year - as last year - the project involves Open Door, Centre 33, Hightown Housing, Emmaus and the District Council and this year with the additional support of Morgan Sindall.  This year, the project needs more volunteers to help manage and support the special cabins located at Emmaus St Albans where those without a warm place for the night will be protected from the cold and rain and Covid.  Can you volunteer?

Chris Tillin chats with Youth Talk CEO David Barker and fundraiser Phill Coates about the fantastic work the charity are doing as we approach Christmas

Nature correspondent Rupert Evershed calls for support in the campaign to save Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits - home to a wide range of birds and other wildlife - from potential loss if the Bowmans Cross development proposed by Hertsmere Borough Council is approved.  Consultation closes on 6th December.

John Mulholland, Trustee and Warehouse Manager at St Albans & District Foodbank, explains to Rob Pearman how the service works, how much it has increased over recent years (it now has six distribution points), and how the combination of increasing prices, the ending of the Covid uptick to Universal Credit and of the furlough scheme, plus announced increases in National Insurance may add to local requests for assistance - just at a time when the Foodbank has to move out of its current premises and find a new distribution warehouse by mid-November.  If you know of a suitable site, please contact warehouse@stalbans.foodbank.org.uk urgently. (Local Life - Sundays 8-9am and 6-7pm; Wednesdays 7-8pm.)

It's been thirty years since local nature observer, writer and correspondent Rupert Evershed was last visited by a Spotted Flycatcher.  They had once been annual visitors so he was delighted to see them back again - even though now as migrants rather than nesting birds and also, sadly, on the 'red list' as an endangered species. (Photo copyright and used by courtesy of Rupert Evershed)

Local naturalist and correspondent Rupert Evershed (see podcast series: Local Life - Nature Notes) believes that experiencing nature's variety is as good as a rest.  His recent experience of land and sea birds around The Scilly Isles included discoveries about the house sparrow and the magpie, but also an encounter with the rarely seen tiny seabird Wilson's Storm Petrel, as well as dolphins, gannets and shearwaters.   Now, back home, we move on from summer to autumn!

One of a series of publications by the British Library, 'Crawling Horror - Creeping Tales of the Insect Weird' is edited by Daisy Butcher and Janette Leaf, respectively postgraduate researchers at Hertfordshire University and Birkbeck, University of London.   They have searched the archives for 19th and 20th  century tales about insects - some good, some bad.  Some by men such as HG Wells and Edgar Allen Poe, others introducing previously overlooked women writers.  In this extended version of an interview with Rob Pearman on Local Life, Janette and Daisy explain and illustrate this strange world - with recorded excerpts from three of the fascinating tales.

Stacey Turner, founder of the local mental health charity It's OK to Say started to plan ways to help newly arrived evacuees from Kabul who were facing the trauma of their unplanned exit from their homeland .  She soon realised that many of them - having left Afghanistan in haste - had very real immediate needs for clothing and other essential items.  Stacey and her colleagues set up collection points around the city and within a matter of days local people had responded so overwhelmingly that they had to pause the programme - and also to ask for luggage (suitcases, backpacks etc) so that the evacuees could move on with their new belongings.  She explained how it came about and how it succeeded in this interview with Rob Pearman on Local Life.

The High Street Life podcast is presented by Roma Bhowmick and Leona Fensome and is a six-part series looking at life as an independent retailer on the St Albans High Street. The series is sponsored by the St Albans BID (Business Improvement District) and will share with you, the stories, triumphs and challenges of business owners and managers who serve our community on a daily basis. In this sixth and last episode, we chat with two general managers of local businesses,  Mad Squirrel Taprooms, James Ward, and The Peahen's, Phil Ottaway. They share with us, what their hospitality and pub journey has been like and also, how during lockdown they continually adapted to meet their customer needs and how they supported their teams and the St Albans community amidst an ever-changing landscape.

When someone knocks on your door and tells you he can fix that loose tile, beware.  It's odds on he's a scammer aiming to rip you off.  HCC Trading Standards Officer Darren Ward tells Local Life some hair-raising tales of the tricks these scammers play and how much it can end up costing you.

We're all doing our best to help in the fight against climate change, so it's no surprise that scammers have decided that is where we're most vulnerable.  Trading Standards Officer Darren Ward explains on Local Life how the 'energy-efficiency scammers' work, what to watch out for and - above all - how to save yourself a lot of grief.

Well actually, it isn't.  And if you 'click on one' as invited, you could soon be handing over access to all your banking details.  Darren Ward of HCC Trading Standards explains how the scammers use a simple text about an undelivered package (supposedly from Royal Mail or Amazon or DPD or.....) to get into your bank account and take whatever they like.  Find out how to avoid a disaster.  Scams awareness fortnight runs from 14 to 27 June 2021.

Anyone who owns a phone, a computer, a letter box or even a front doorbell is a target for the scammers (which means all of us).  On Local Life, HCC Trading Standards Officer Darren Wood explains the tricks the scammers use – focusing this time on the ‘Nottingham Knockers’ and the rogue fish sellers, who turn out not to be all they pretend.  Scams Awareness Fortnight runs from 14 to 27 June 2021.

The High Street Life podcast is presented by Roma Bhowmick and Leona Fensome and is a six-part series looking at life as an independent retailer on the St Albans High Street. The series is sponsored by the St Albans BID (Business Improvement District) and will share with you, the stories, triumphs and challenges of business owners and managers who serve our community on a daily basis. In this fifth episode, we chat with three managers of local businesses,  Debenhams Ottaway Managing Partner, Susan Glenholme, and Metro Bank's Local Director, Sam Mathur and Store Manager, Amber Dunlop. They share with us, what their journey has been like and also, how during lockdown they created initiatives to go over and beyond to support both their employees and community.