Me 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 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…
Read postHelp to Grow guest talk
Thank you to Rachel Clarke and Martyn Polkinghorne for inviting me to join a session with the ‘Help to Grow’ management course cohort and talk about my personal experiences with developing, vision, values and company culture at Grapevine. I had to share…
Read postIt’s cold out there
My 2025 year of gigs has started with the earliest first show in the calendar since 2008. Two under the belt and three more to come before the end of February is a strong start and we could be into personal best territory…
Read postAcross sound and time
It’s a new year, 2025, or is it 1997 again? It is every Friday night in my house as I continue to follow the Top of the Pops repeats on BBC4. Some of you are probably fed up of my regular updates…
Read postSomething to leave the house for
Thank you for your support and interest in my various projects throughout 2024. I’ve been ‘creating’ for years now (or is it decades?), projects have come and gone, many of you have been along with me for that ride. This year saw…
Read postEOA 2024 Conference
Back from a few days in surprisingly sunny Telford at the EOA Employee Ownership Annual Conference. My head is full of thoughts from everything I heard and saw across the event. Thoughts on what more we can be doing in our business,…
Read postBCP Film Office launch event
Last night I attended the launch of BCP Film Office alongside approx. 199 other people at THIS Workspace in Bournemouth. Congrats to Amy Orchard, Claire Main and the team on a sellout success! Kudos also to Jackie Goddard who delivered a masterclass…
Read postToy photography on Naboo
Multiple scenes from The Phantom Menace were shot at Whippendell Wood (just north of London) incl. the Gungans’ Sacred Place where Padme and the rest of the Naboo appeal to Boss Nass to join them in battle against the Trade Federation. We…
Read postEmployee ownership panel at Salad
Growing up in Poole I’ve sat on many barstools on Poole Quay with a beer (these were alcohol free, admittedly) and had great conversations with friends and strangers alike. This chat, on Wednesday night at an upcoming venue called ‘Salad’ was an…
Read postThe saga begins, again.
Last week I had the novelty of seeing Attack of the Clones in the same cinema and screen that I first saw it 22 years ago back in 2002. Here’s my ticket from that night alongside last week’s. £3.75 in 2002, £5…
Read postCelebrating 9 years with Grapevine
Today I’m celebrating 9 years with Grapevine. My 9th year started with the huge recognition we received at the Dorset Business Awards last Autumn and we rode the wave of that through into 2024. The 2nd half of the year has presented…
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Liam Toms 