Looking back, moving forward.
It’s generally accepted that the end of a calendar year is the designated appropriate time for reflection, for looking back while we rest, to recharge the batteries and prepare to move forward when January is upon us. Then 1st January happens and…
Read post2025 laid bare
Another year is in the books. It only feels like yesterday I was writing the same words about 2024. Time is marching on, tomorrow I’ll be able to say that next year (2027) I’ll be 40. So often I wonder when it…
Read posteoa Conference panel
A month ago today I was sat on a stage in Telford, sharing EO stories alongside Hayley Russel, Stephen Spence and our host Arabella Lewis-Smith. The first day of the eoa conference had been a whirlwind, I was still trying to process…
Read post10 Years of The Force Awakens
Today is the tenth anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Kudos to David Tree and team for putting on the closest thing to an official celebration of the fifth highest grossing film worldwide, earlier this month in Fordingbridge – because, where…
Read postAlternative Exit podcast
Thank you to Andy Farquharson, and Keely Lead from the eoa, for inviting me to be a guest on an episode of the Alternative Exit podcast, recorded live on the show floor at the era Annual Conference last week. The episode is…
Read postThe Joiners becomes Community Owned
For a week that started with a celebration of Employee Ownership, it was a fitting pivot to end it on a recognition of ‘Community Ownership’. As of October, the iconic Joiners Arms in Southampton is now owned by Music Venue Properties, a…
Read postGrapevine named EO Rising Star 2025
I returned home from my second from eoa Conference yesterday with a couple of souvenirs, lots of insights and some great memories. I’m not sure if it was more surreal winning EO Rising Star of the Year, or to see these signs…
Read postBlue Sky Blondes reunion
Here’s a story about one of the unexpected bonuses of employee ownership. Last year I went to the eoa Annual Conference in Telford to represent Grapevine on my own. Knowing this, Emma Hardy from Blue Sky Financial Planning invited me to join…
Read post25 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘Borders & Boundaries’
TL;DR – Borders & Boundaries is my favourite Less Than Jake album. It turns 25 today. There may be records in their back catalogue that sound better, bigger hits may be housed elsewhere, but in viewing albums as a consistent line of thought,…
Read postMe and the music
Live music is back on Poole Hill in Bournemouth, courtesy of The Vault venue and Coach Party, one of my new favourite bands from the past few years, who headlined the first ‘gig’ put on here, in what is primarily a nightclub.…
Read postComfort in Sound revisited
Last week I went to see Feeder play their 2002 album Comfort in Sound live in full at Brixton Academy. The jury continues to be out for me on whether album shows ‘work’. I’ve seen quite a few over the past couple…
Read postTech Futures at the National Oceanography Centre
It’s a privilege to be in a position where I regularly have days away from my desk to listen and learn from others. This isn’t lost on me on these occasions and yesterday was no exception. At a time when H.I. (human…
Read postTwo much perspective
Last night Sam and I went to see Spinal Tap II, a sequel 41 years in the making. The film deals with the legacy of the ‘band’, which has a fictional take in the narrative but can’t be separated from the real…
Read postCelebrating 10 years with Grapevine
Today is my 10th anniversary aboard the good ship Grapevine. Time is sailing by, but it actually does feel like it’s been 10 years when I think back to 2015 now (something big happened in the middle that I’ll refrain from reminding…
Read post30 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘Pezcore’ and more
Pezcore, Less Than Jake’s debut full length was released in the US, 30 years ago today. The first release was via Dill Records, the predecessor to Asian Man Records, both run by Mike Park, formerly of San Jose, California ska band Skankin’…
Read post10.08.05: Braking Fast at Mr Kyps
20 years ago today I played my first gig at Mr Kyps (RIP) in Poole. Two decades should feel like a long time but a few things make this day feel like it was yesterday. 1. The bands who inspired us at…
Read post7,231 days later: The Million Dead returnth
This week I got to be in the room for the early 2000’s UK post hardcore band Million Dead’s first show in 20 years. The room in question being the same one where they played their ‘last’ show in September 2005; the…
Read postFIN. The Great Tail Trail farewell and auction
The past couple of weeks has seen events to celebrate the conclusion of the Julia’s House ‘Great Tail Trail’ project. I wrote previously about the concept, the company behind these trails across the UK and beyond, Wild In Art and how our…
Read postA very EO fortnight
Last Friday was EO Day 2025, a celebration of employee ownership businesses and the business model itself. It serves as a reminder of everything that’s great about this adventure that a snowballing number of companies and organisations are on in the UK…
Read postYATM Lunch Club panel on ‘experience’
On Friday I found myself sat on a bar stall at the front of the room for a You Are The Media lunch club event in collaboration with Bournemouth University, celebrating the launch of the new Digital Marketer Apprenticeship degree which Mark…
Read post‘Andor’ celebration in Fordingbridge
A one day conference dedicated to the Star Wars TV series ‘Andor’? Take a bow Dave Tree! To bring 13 members of the production team to Fordingbridge Town Hall to talk about their work on the show was an incredible feat. The…
Read postYATM Creator Day 2025 (and other event stories)
You Are The Media Creator Day has been growing since its inaugural year in 2022 as a rebooted replacement to the former YATM Conference. In 2023 it added Failed Nights to the programme, the Wednesday evening before Thursday’s main event. In 2024 the after party…
Read postWhy Small Business Matters podcast
Thank you to the team at Why Small Business Matters and Northumbria University for having me and guest host Rachel Clarke on the latest episode of their podcast to talk about employee ownership. I share the Grapevine journey to EO, adventures we’ve…
Read postGlorious Sunset
It looked like I may have a space of a few weeks without any shows. There was one I’d pencilled in as a possibility, knowing it would likely be a solo excursion. Then, a couple of other events found their way to…
Read postFuture Leaders guest talk
Yesterday my colleague Daisy and I spoke to the Dorset Chamber Future Leaders group about employee ownership as an emerging industry trend, how we’ve embraced it at Grapevine since 2023 and some of the other initiatives we’re supporting to explore what ‘good’…
Read postThe proud, the few, Descendents
This week I got to see the iconic punk band, Descendents playing in Bournemouth. They were more or less done with regular touring when I got into them around the time of their 2004 release Cool To Be You. The idea that they’d…
Read postMarketing team of the year
This week our business partner Gamma, presented Grapevine with the award for ‘Marketing Team of the Year’! As a small business, our marketing budgets are limited. In recent years we have adopted a more relationship building based approach to our marketing and…
Read post2nd anniversary of employee ownership
Today marks two years since Grapevine transitioned to an Employee Ownership Trust. We celebrated last Thursday, with our annual ‘Co-owners’ meeting, looking back on our last financial year and sharing plans for 2025, followed by drinks and pizza from Da Mario. In…
Read postA hangover you do deserve
February was a busy month and included three gigs, running at almost one per week, bringing the 2025 total to a respectable five so far. First up were Bowling For Soup at the BIC. A venue almost four times the size of the one…
Read postHall & Woodhouse visit
I don’t need an excuse to visit a brewery… I have an archive full of them, but I’ll always welcome one, even if it’s first thing in the morning, as was the case yesterday for the latest Dorset Ambassadors event. I’ve been over…
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Liam Toms 