Volunteers not letting coronavirus lockdown halt their Halifax arts podcast

The group came together in January 2019 to start producing a monthly podcast about the arts in Halifax and the wider Calderdale area.

The group now consists of 10 volunteers ranging in ages from 17 to 80 and across 14 episodes of the podcast they have featured many artistic endeavours in the Calder Valley; film, TV, exhibitions, music, poetry, theatre and literature.

However, the coronavirus lockdown created a significant potential problem as the volunteers were prevented from meeting up and recording their contributions.

But they have used apps such as Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp  to produce a special edition of the podcast, which is now available to stream or download across all major podcast platforms including iTunes or via www.SQVolunteers.com/Podcast.

The podcast is presented by Jeremy Walker and produced and edited by Andrew Sykes.
Andrew said: “We did think that we would have to stop producing the podcast for a few months.

“But then, inspired by the TV and radio stations who are all managing to continue broadcasting, we thought we’d embrace Zoom, Skype and smartphone technology and attempt to produce a Coronavirus self-isolation special without any of us meeting face-to-face.

“The podcast is 100 per cent non-commercial and everyone involved is a volunteer.

“We do it for fun and because we hope that it will help spread the word across the Calder Valley about the arts.

“Much of the content in this special episode of the podcast is specifically aimed at people who are having to stay at home in self-isolation.”

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