Explore every episode of the podcast QWightLike. A Podcast.

An accidentally extended episode through no overt production choice, rather the vast amount of chat we had to chip away at to sculpt yet another hour, or so, of topical conversation to keep you informed, awake, or send you off to your slumber, with a nice warm glow.

This packed offering, covers movie likes and dislikes and a family wedding in the auspicious surroundings of an East London town hall with stunning reception in a well-chosen Italian restaurant taken over for an evening of fun, friends, and family.  Where else can we transition through these subjects, never skipping a beat, and ending up telling tales of animated Italian porcine flying aces, and ending the first part with a tale of unintended derring do?  Well, derring actually did, so tune in to find out what happened when derring added a new … ingredient to the mix.

The summer of 2026, and its,so far three heatwaves, would not be complete without a discussion of the closing stages of the 2026 Football World Cup with all the drama that ensued, on and off field.  Significantly we spend time considering the motivation and fear that high-profile international sports competitions force upon participants.  The Corinthian ethos of sports when it meets nationalistic zeal, expectation, and politics, comes under scrutiny.

We wrap up with an extensive discussion on Tim’s experience, with his wife Ella, of their first cruise, enjoying a week onboard P&O’s  Iona visiting the Norwegian fjords, and discuss the many pros of a holiday at sea, and on land, where your bed, dining, and entertainment experiences travel with you.  Again, tune-in to find out the verdict.  Good experience, or not?  Will they book again, or not?

Closing out with some updates on as yet, unlaunched initiatives, and further discussion around the penetration, and labelling of artificial intelligence (AI) output, we demonstrate our ability to continue to pull at threads of earlier conversations.

Enjoy the next few weeks, and be careful out there.

Thanks for listening,

Rory and Tim

Welcome to another full, chat-filled, tank of talk and titbits to fuel your day.  We’re dissecting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, so far (up to the Round of 32), particularly as it affects Scots and English supporters.  Even if the footie you like is not this kind, we hope you’ll take kindly to our gentle meander around the sport that has grown men still kicking an inflated sphere around a piece of grass as their mothers’ frantically try and get them in for their tea.

In other news, we take a squint from behind the sofa at events in Westminster, the hub of UK politics, as well as a side eye towards what’s been going on up in Scotland with a conviction.  By that we don’t mean earnestly, just that someone has been sentenced for theft of funds from the Scottish National Party and we look at the context of that, and what comes next.

Finally, we dissect, the views that led to Kier Starmer’s resignation and his now prolonged departure, as the media salivates at the opportunity to manage and, in many cases, manipulate the political agenda.

Seasoned with talk of the recent heatwave(s), the return to our streets (and off road routes) of the boudain noir (the Black Pudding), the affectionate nickname for Tim’s pedal-powered chariot, as well as a dip into the experiences of the Isle of Wight Festival for 2026 whether in person or via a TV from the cosy comfort of your own home.

Spend an hour with us as we gently twist our tongues around the aforementioned and a little bit more besides to keep you going whilst you go about your much more important business.

Thanks for listening and supporting our little podcast.  You’ll hear us next time, too.

Tim and Rory

A hearty greeting from Tim and Rory, to our half-a-dozenth episode of our (may the) fourth series, and, as always we have crammed in the usual topical chat and our personal musings on what we’ve both been up to since our last outing. A sprinkler of topics douses you with observations on local elections, on fund raising discos, on birthdays, and, amongst so much more, on the joy of taking delivery of a new car.

With recent island discussions and news roundly focussing upon a perfect storm of road closures to facilitate work on critical infrastructure improvements, we ride our torrent of chat rapidly around a whirlpool of stories, from engaging with MPs, to parental pride.  

The steam whistle of joy takes us from the island to a family-run restaurant in Inverness, almost as far away as you can navigate from us on the north island, via the Caledonian Sleeper.  We’re big fans of weaving public transport together with enjoyable experiences whether on or off the island.  There’s much more to come in future episodes.

There is a distinct whiff of fete in the air as we discuss Gardening Galore in Rookley held on Sunday 3rd May 2026 and preview Riverfest taking place in Newport on Saturday 9th May 2026. Something for everyone as the sun continues to kiss our brows with warm days as we canter towards mid-summer and the plethora of things to do here on the island.

It means a lot, that you continue to listen, and as we see our regular listener count continue its inexorable rise towards total podcast domination on this island. If we're not there already, we're really close.

So, thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

A slightly delayed post-production window, caused by DJ duty preparation, and the ensuing recovery from a 4 hour non-stop set, sees us deliver the 5th episode of our 4th series, somewhat within the vicinity of our normal cadence.

A packed chat, explores a host of subjects but we delve deeply into 2 key areas of increasingly topical relevance to us all.  The first is the looming local government re-organisation in England, and we clarify, how this has a minimal impact upon the Isle of Wight (Ed. Phew!) but a significant impact upon our neighbours just across the Solent.  Tim provides a robust explainer on the changes following briefings from those close to the changes and Rory probes a little to add confusion, and ultimately a little more clarity in his own mind.

Our second deep dive is something we can’t reveal until you’ve listened to the episode.  So, listen to the episode and to our analysis of the subject.  It’s a rich subject that we’re engaged with wholly and have some intelligently different current assessments that we explore in the podcast.

Our usual housekeeping miscellany of trips, attractions, and entertaining pastimes on and off the island, bookends the pod.  There’s always something to do and therefore, lots to talk about.  So stay tuned for more episodes ahead as we chat for the sake of it, and for you.

Thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim

A travel-packed episode brings the bustle of Barcelona to our island shores as Tim walks us through a recent fun-packed trip to the Catalan city sharing all the delights of sightseeing and the culinary diversions enjoyed on the way.  With family in variously, Sheffield, Kathmandu, and Japan, Tim introduced the concept of how science has annihilated distance.  A theorem ascribed by Tim to Evelyn Waugh in Brideshead Revisited, and by others to Karl Marx.  Take your pick, it all makes sense.  

Rory’s travel diorama took us closer to home to Farnham in Surrey followed by a visit enjoying family birthdays and the sights and tastes of Old London Town.  You’ll have to listen carefully to find out how Newcastle got thrown into this eclectic mix of visits en vacances.

Activities whilst away included Rory attending a party with a traditional DJ mixing up the toons which clever link enabled Rory to advertise the West Wight Sports and Community Centre’s Spring Hop, a daytime disco, where Rory will be spinning the platters to provide the music to keep the floor full in this fund-raising endeavour.  Set your calendars to the 18th April, 2026 folks, 3-7pm, tickets via the Centre.

Homeward bound and our boys discuss their domestic gardening duties as Spring forces its way into focus as lawns are mowed and beds readied for planting duties.  We’re introduced to Rookley’s pirate groundsman - once you’ve trimmed a mainsail what else is there to trim but the Dedmans’ lawn.

Be sure to tune in to find out the location of the island’s worst cup of coffee, and by way of balance, a pointer towards the best cup of coffee (Flat White is the reference order) that our diamond isle has to offer.  This might yet become the long promised and much vaunted regular feature.

Time flies by when you’re podcasting and as time ran out we’re already planning episode 5.  So little time and so much to share.

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory

The podcast equivalent of feeding the five thousand with sparse chat representing the loaves and the fishes is brought to you by Tim and Rory with a little help from our friend, Ed Blake of Ventnor, who operates a successful fishing business.  Rory’s loaves (and buns) ensure we have bookends for a full menu of topical chat both in the studio and out on location.

Tim meets up with Ed at Ventnor’s Spyglass Inn to chat about fishing, roads, ferries, Ventnor, and rugby, matters which concern most of us islanders.  We’ve also generated a fun moment to share, and celebrate, with Ed, who had an opinion on our previous incursion into producing podcast promotional jingles … with a little help from the AI helpers lurking around computers these days.

We also cover some of our own activities on and off the island, from afternoon tea in Wivenhoe to pottery painting inspired by Picasso in Eccleshall near Sheffield.

From spouting support for the ‘Port (local football) to shouting “gardyloo” at swimmers off the Wight (following reports of combined sewage overflows) we make sure you’re covered in all aspects of human endeavour that affect our island home, and those dwelling upon it.

Chess games with a cruise ship 2nd officer and local government re-organisation aren’t natural bedfellows, but here, on QWightLike A Podcast everything goes in a harmonious exchange of human experiences..  If only that were true elsewhere in the world.

Tune in to QWightLike for a dose of gentle fun, occasional serious frustration, but largely celebrating the joy of life in all its guises.  Check out our Instagram account for some evidence of elements of this episode of the podcast.

Thanks for listening, as always, as we aspire to greater punctuality in future..

Tim and Rory

Then we’ll begin this episode 2 with some island chat about exciting new hospitality discoveries compared against favourite old haunts, before encouraging you to buckle up as we swerve headlong down our very own Cresta Run of fast-paced political observations, all before hurtling down the icy slopes of topical chat to find Brits discussing the weather, foreigners, and sport.

We criss-cross the news highlights and linger over the Winter Olympics, before previewing Six Nations rugby battles ahead.  Tim lays out his theory about British sporting successes, so do let us know if you agree, or can add to our list of sports and pastimes, at which Brits tend to do unusually well.

As always, we sprinkle our chat with island references, name drops, and encouraging reviews encouraging us all to get out and about.  We wrap up this shiny episode by reviewing Alice Roberts’ new documentary series buffing up stories of Britain’s myths and folklore concerning the Holy Grail.  The island has many attractions and perhaps we can add to the already frenzied hut for fossils on our shores with chiselling as we comb our chines for fragments of grail shards or even just recollections of tales of yore.

These 2 old fossils will be back next time to showcase our fresh haul of information, commentary, and probing analysis.

Thanks for listening, and do let us know if you have any tips for interesting stories for us to follow-up on.

Tim and Rory

OK we’re back.  It’s a new year.  It’s a new series of QWightLike A Podcast and we’re being talked of as the longest running podcast on the Isle of Wight, by those close to the Isle of Wight podcast scene.  As our fourth year of continuous talking whilst podcasting commences we kick-off with our first resolution putting more structure into our episodes in a vain attempt to compress time whilst expanding content.

So here goes.  We kicked off our social calendar on the island with a visit to the much-loved Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, for breakfast and open up 2026 with an explainer on what this delightful attraction has to offer.  From plate to shopping basket, from nature walks to log-fired saunas, there’s something for everyone at this family run enterprise that puts the B Corp into and the King’s Award for Enterprise.

Even if garlic is not your thing, and we had one of those in our party who was able to dip their fangs into a deliciously creamy porridge with forest berries, there’s something for everyone in both the menus and the experiences.  Make a visit next time you’ve got some free time for food and fun down on the farm.

Next up we attempt to describe the interest and buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) which is potentially touching all our lives either directly or indirectly.  A scholarly discourse ensues, trying to unravel what it is, where we can find it, and is it a good thing for our species.  

Listen in to this first episode to find out how we’ve deployed AI tools to bring you some exciting new aural phenomena, right into your headphones, buds, or speakers.  Let us know if we have tamed the beast or, alternatively, if we have supped with the devil?

Wrapping up this first outing of 2026, may the fourth series of QWightLike A Podcast always be with you, we unwrap some of the brilliant presents we gave and received at Christmas ‘25.  There’s some corkers in there so tune in to find out what being good meant for us both on Christmas morning.

Thanks for listening and for staying a robust audience, we know a strong disposition is required, encouraging us to continue our journey of aural accumulation, and we promise to bring you yet more of the same in the months ahead.

Tim and Rory

As December speedily runs out of days we offer up a festive-readiness edition of our pod, that is light on festive readiness, but leaves hints that something big is looming just around the corner.

Acutely aware of our respective obligations to contribute temporal and digital seasonal pronouncements, we prevaricate around topical news, trips, and island discoveries.  This may or may not be our pre-Christmas episode, as frantic planning continues in our production office, so we sprinkle in a little festively fungible fun that can be taken to be seasonal, or not.

From bananas slipping up folk on island beaches, to new adventures in breadmaking, and new professional bakery discoveries in Godshill, we take trips to Youlgrave, to Hackney, to Hampstead and home.

If this is our last outing of the year, we are looking forward to our Christmastime with family and friends, and want to thank you all for listening to us throughout the year.  If we squeeze out another amuse-bouche in advance of the festive season then you can be sure we’ll sprinkle it with our usual mix of topical chat, domestic updates, and island happenings.

We’re delighted to report that we have some looming competition on the New Year horizon, as a new Isle of Wight podcast has just this week soft-launched their new output flying under the banner, Talk the Wight, a cool title, almost as cool as QWightLike A Podcast.  We wish the team there every success in their new endeavour, and hope they have as much pleasure doing it as we do.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

Another instalment of chirpy chat chunters in your direction with a good sprinkle of laughs, opinion, and reminiscences.  The clocks have gone back warming up our TV snug viewings with dark evenings, and our minds are turned back in time to remember a TV classic from the mid-80s available to catch-up on BBC IPlayer and BBC4.  The Edge of Darkness marks the beginning of our winter viewing recommendations.

As always, we share our recent trips and experiences, so can take you from Picasso at the Tate, to sausages at Stoats Farm.  What’s not to like about that eclectic promise!?

There’s many more characters left to fill up this episode introduction, but this time I’m going to cut short the velocity of verbal volleys and instead implore you to just give us a listen.  If you like what you hear, and you’re a first time visitor, you’ve got a 3 year long back catalogue of more of the same, with some real conversational gems to find lurking in our episodes to keep you amused, informed, and up to speed, well, with at least us 2.

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory

Returning from the holiday hiatus, your heroic hosts hunker down to hark back at the various highlights and happenings that surrounded our various trips h’away with the ladies.  Both parties experienced sniffles whilst away but we still found plenty to extol and share of our adventures abroad.

Safely ensconced back home, we share our ramblings as we settle back into our island life and continue where we left off with coffee stops and breakfast bites from around the island.  

The title hints apart, you’ll hear us wax inexorably on a multitude of subjects that take our, and hopefully your, fancy as we warm up our podcasting muscles for the autumn/winter phase of our third season.

Where else will you be taken from party politics to OnlyFans; from ferries to elephants on the roof; and from Scotland at the United Nations to David Bowie’s summer season as a drummer in an island music venue?

We quite like making this podcast and we hope you quite like listening to QWightLike. A Podcast.  Let us know what else you’d like us to cover as we oil up our wheels and set course for some content-on-the go in the weeks and months ahead.

Thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim

A frustrated period of post-production on the podcast comes to an end with a Scottish nose thumbed up at a new technology offering which failed to perform as advertised, thus delaying the release of this twelfth episode of topical chat from series the third.  Mentioning no names, your team reverted to traditional methods of episode production despite trialling a new tool to record.  The grand plan was to bring you video of your two hosts dualling over an online recording session, but in the end, with time at a premium and the impossible user interface of the trialled tool failing to perform we are left with the audio, slightly enhanced, if a little “metallic” in places.  So, with apologies for a few days delay we are proud to bring you our ramblings and musings from events over the last few weeks.

From holidays off and on the north island, to visitors bringing happy times to our island homes, and through trips and visits to experiences and hospitality right on our doorsteps, we can declare that the prize is Wight, for residents and visitors alike.

From boat trips, to theme parks, via coffee stops and breakfast shots, we cover a lot of ground, literally and metaphorically, within our budgeted 60 minutes.

A new listener requests section is kicked off with a discussion on the St George’s flag phenomenon making sporadic appearances across England, and with sensitive politics requiring delicate handling, we veer towards less controversial chat concerning the Thursday Murder Club, the cricket Hundred, Women’s Rugby World Cup, whilst going “potty” about a visit to Keith Brymer Jones’, Pwllheli home whose refurbishment was covered on a recent TV documentary.

So, another three weeks and a bit, has passed, and with more holiday experiences to share in the weeks ahead, we leave you to enjoy the dozenth episode, with more offers ahead ready to bake for your delectation and delight.

Our tremendous two have spent the summer channelling the exciting adventures of the Famous Five and the Secret Seven, and promise to bring you more in the weeks and months ahead as we rustle through the fallen leaves for more stories to tell.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

We’re back after a busy few weeks with so much to say, and so little time to say it in, that we do our best to cram in as much as we can to this hour of honest hokum.  As with all best laid plans, we perhaps set out to cover much more material than our diverse ramblings can facilitate, and so find ourselves with more to pack into this shopping bag of chat than you can bear within an hour of your lives.

Never ones to miss out on a corny segue, we spend time pondering holidays ahead, the lure of the road trip, and the accompanying sound-tracks for the miles of highway rolling out ahead of us.

As we prepare to pack for said holidays ahead we take the opportunity to unpack our much vaunted man bags, beloved of both Rory and Tim, discussing the purpose and objectives of the aforementioned portmanteaus.  As Van Morrison’s gravelly tones emerge from the dust of the discussion on hand bags and man bags (Ed - Or is it glad rags?) we swerve into the dangerous territory where we compare the domestic roles undertaken by the respective sexes.  This analysis of the task divisions within couple-dom finds your fearless fellows, treading on eggshell-strewn minefields as we “manfully” attempt to manoeuvre around these multifarious mouchoirs finding mirth as much as the measure of the subject.

With so much to say, and so much at risk of remonstrative reaction, we steer towards the simpler pleasures found in a good cup of coffee, and a brilliant breakfast at favourite establishments on our holiday island.

Tune in to find out what we squeezed out of our editorial long list in addition to the above.  As promised there was too much to fit in one carrier bag, and perhaps this podcast episode will split, like an overloaded supermarket placky bag, spilling our bon mots all over your digital floor.

Until next time, and like Rory’s man bag, we will make sure we use the correct till lane and try to restrict the running order to 8 items or less.

Thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim

Summer has been teasing us with long hot days, festivals, and hosepipe bans, so what better place to start than a meander through the many magnificent moments we’ve already experienced this summertide and a tantalising glimpse at the many more to come.

A debrief on our very own Isle of Wight Festival which took place as we released episode 9 gives an insight into how to enjoy days out as does a mention of Goodwood’s Festival of Speed which took place this last weekend with the island enjoying a couple of Red Arrows flypasts right over Rory’s West Wight abode en route to the Sussex slopes.

Life changing decisions, life affirming events, and life enhancing habits confirm, in our minds at least, that life is to be lived to the fullest extent possible by your means, and time available, because as the old truism states … you’re a long time dead.  We discuss this concept in some detail so tune in to find out our conclusions.

So, thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy our rousing ramble through recently riveting recreational repose.

Tim and Rory

Another enforced lengthy gap between episodes sees us fire out of the blocks with some gusto with our chat guns set to share. From perfect beach days bookended with work commitments and snooping air fryers, to island artisan food producers, purveyors and places, we pull you through a whistle stop tour of great stops for breakfast, lunch and a bit of cheeky retail therapy.

Gardening joy tumbles from our lips as we recount the seasonal successes of our respective plots.  Raised beds, have raised hopes, of raised yields and we don’t disappoint.  Are you witnessing the sowing of seeds of a new segment for the podcast, where we can share tips and tricks from our respective plots?  Tune in to find out.

Coffee, breakfast, lunch, beer, cake, and gin - probably in that order - all make an appearance in our gazetter of good gaffs to grace with your presence.

We hope you enjoy our gentle topical chat and are inspired to return to each helping served up for your listening pleasure.

So, thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

As we settle into a 3 week cadence between episodes to increase our planning time and to decrease the competitive pressures on your listening choices, we take time to celebrate activities enjoyed on and off the island.  After all, we qwight like the Isle of Wight and we quite like lots of places off-island, especially, as it makes coming home a further bonus.

From the Duver by Bembridge,  to the whiff of fete at Riverfest in Newport.  From the pirate shantys and cannon volleys off Ventnor and Bonchurch to the Higher Grounds of a new immobile coffee destination in Ryde.  From the Needles to the Nab Tower, we serve up a smorgasbord of things to do on the island.

Meanwhile, plans for a French sojourn in Brittany and reports of Wembley winners, wrap up another episode of topical chat and stories to entertain and inform.  Galleons of tea and coffee were consumed in the making of this podcast in tribute to those that have gone before us.

Wrapping up with a sprinkle of political drama with dead heats, casting votes, and friends of the podcast playing all the major roles, we slip this episode into Spotify’s loading tray with a sense of accomplishment, and with pressing deadlines, a hint of relief.

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory

A cheeky title for this episode, the motive for which you will have to listen in to understand.  Sharp-witted humour and spicy chat is served up as a condiment to complement your diet of speech podcasting. 

We weave between rivers of nostalgic reminiscences and the pleasure of mapping out future plans, in our very own conclave as we ruminate on potential exciting outside broadcast scenarios from buses to cycle paths.

We chant our way through gardening stories as we are surrounded by friendly weather leading us and our other halves into the great outdoors to do battle with bindweed and horse tail.  Listen in to find out how a gardening festival will be battling with an island sporting event.

We wrap up an eclectic mix from your chatty men with tributes to musical heroes and advocate for campaigns to keep vital local services alive and kicking.

Whatever the weather, we hope you enjoy your gardens, and make the most of opportunities to engage in cultural experiences.  After all, this is what fuels our podcast.

When you are reading this, the English partial local election night will be over, votes will have been counted and we’ll analyse those results next time out.

Thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim

Another hour of topical chat starts off with a nostalgic foray into the world of the trade fair.  Recollections of times gone by, when sales were made, hangovers earned and swag gathered, are brought right up to date as Tim inventorises his plunder from an event at Birmingham's NEC.  Stationery stocked up for the year ahead, we discuss how trade fairs have evolved, and evaluate if the Isle of Wight could be turned into a floating offshore exhibition venue.

How to spend our downtime fills the middle portion of our ponderous ponderings, and we wax polemically, on the choices we have to read, to listen, to watch, or to experience.  We choose the podcasts we consider to be the fount of all human communications and share some embryonic ideas about nostalgic tech and gadgets with a promise of a future special.

Political lunches and Bob’s Bread Circle wrap up our fortnightly ramble as we flesh out plans for future podcast specials and assess the island ferries as being the equivalent of a rocket ship launch when leaving the island, and a safe, gentle re-entry with splashdown upon returning.

Stick with us as summer vibes start to take hold in the joyous life-affirming discourse captured in our hour of inspirational outpourings.  If not you, then whom.

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory 

Early season holidays for musical farewells and tributes,  nostalgic interventions, mysteries and discoveries both near and far set us off on a magical tour of road trips and amazing destinations.

Listen to find out how we mesh all these themes together in a rolling chatathon covering the last few weeks on and off the Isle of Wight.  Time to consider booking your ferries and accommodation so you, too, can enjoy the sights and sounds of the island this Spring and Summer.

Don’t be strangers … we’re waiting … inside the podcast and waving a warm welcome quayside.

Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you all soon.

Tim and Rory

Back to the fray after an extra week away ready to engage with you and our mission is sharing topical chat and community commentary to wile away an hour or so … or perhaps will away all hope.  Seriously, it's with our pleasure that we bring you a fast paced episode covering all the ground from Totland Bay to Ryde Pier Head as well as the trans-Atlantic stand-off between serious world leaders and the US President.  When the fog lifts from these challenging times the early morning mist that shrouds the dingly dells dotted across the Isle of Wight will still be there to cause our jaws to drop and our make our collective gaze to go … well … misty.  We share our experiences of these exceptional meteorological conditions which create remarkable, photogenic views to enjoy across our island.  Tune in to see if we do it justice.

Our previous episode launched a co-host competitive challenge activity which we coined the Charity Shop Challenge.  For a spend limit of £5 find out which of our brave browsers returned to the studio with the best purchase.  Will it be Tim, the old Zen master of charity shop enlightenment, or will it be Rory, the trainee grasshopper, rubbing his thighs together in celebratory glee?  We’ll let you know and in the process we’ll reveal what we find from our respective searches, with top tips about what to expect inside the stores of our favorite charity fundraising retailers.  Jumble sale or contemporary retail experience?  Listen to our retail analysis and make sure you get out to find out for yourselves to try your own £5 charity shop challenge.

Off island adventures contribute to the conversation albeit transplanted to another island, Hayling Island, as Tim and his wife Ella, experienced childhood nostalgia on a well earned break at Sinah Warren’s Warner Leisure hotel.

As the 47th President of the USA dominates many conversations we do not disappoint and give a nodding acknowledgement to the guy’s ability to attract attention.  Our final conversational cliffhanger is which Meghan TV series to focus on …  With Love, Meghan or the US lawyer series, Suits? Are your gallant co-hosts fans or not?

With so much to contemplate at the moment and trips for both of us seeing us reaching for our suitcases and ferry loyalty cards, we’ll be back in 3 weeks time with updates and further ponderous procrastination for your pleasure.

Thanks for listening

With love, Tim and Rory

Our third outing of 2025 starts off with a review of the last few weeks on and off the island.  Tim has now concluded his course of radiotherapy in Portsmouth which involved mid-week hotels and further therapy in charity shops, which become are fast becoming a recurring theme and so stoke the competitive boilers of our co-hosts with a challenge for episode 4.  Tune in to play along with us.As you know by now we both quite like the Isle of Wight so we dedicate a portion of this serving of chat to discussing our recent experiences of the coffee shops scene here on the island.  In particular, we riff around the theme of competition between sit down restaurants and sit down coffee shops.  Let that percolate through the filter paper of your mind and make your own decision if our conclusions leave you feeling like a flat white or a frothy cappuccino.Similarly, from coffee shops to talking shops and much of the recent news from the Isle of Wight Council's Cabinet acceptance of the Labour Government's new local government initiatives has us frothing just like a cappuccino.Our recurring theme of medical ailments is this week propped up by news of a broken foot to complement the recent spate of attention grabbing diagnoses from your less than sturdy co-hosts.  News of the Beckham wannabe and the broken metatarsal allows us to march from comedy film titles such as Bend it like Dedman through other topical news events as we hobble towards the inevitable big discussion concerning events in the United States of America.  Should we be worried, amused or angry?  Probably a combination of each of these options will be the findings of our dissection of recent events as we bemoan once more the incessant march of populism that erodes the quality of life for all of us but the few who feed untruths into the popular discourse.Still, on that happy note, we’re glad that you’re here and contemplating listening to two guys (three guys short of a burger chain) putting the world to rights.  Come and join us.Thanks for listening.Tim and Rory

Hurtling into the momentum-fuelled, content-rich, world of QWightLike A Podcast, episode 2 of our third series brings you another panoply of pervasive ponderings, as your brave hosts lunge fully clothed into revealing discourses peppered with topical chat and other meanders.

Tim, is on the mainland being peppered with atomic particles whilst Rory remains on the island salting away ideas for future stories to share with Tim and regular listener(s).

The chat inevitably rolls around to what men do when left to their own devices on foreign shores and the episode bounces between the delights and cultural appropriations to be acquired over the threshold of the charity retail outlet.  Tim shares his top tips for how to make best use of the charity shop and Rory regales us with the density of charities purveying their well-gotten gains to the residents across the West Wight.

Inevitably, as men’s conversations typically do, the chat returns to the aches and pains experienced with the aging process and the discovery of unwelcome diagnoses countered by us marvelling at the treatment technology available to us all, even if it means weeks away in an all expenses paid hotel with swimming, pool, gym and free WiFi.

Lend us an hour of your time, and we’ll keep your mind occupied as we tiptoe tentatively from men’s health to the health of a nation, yes … that one!  The one with the President everyone swears about whilst gawping incredulously at his swearing in, whilst swearing we won’t let the same thing happen here.

We let the same thing happen here, in episode 2, and we’ll be back in a fortnight to swear a little more, if Tim gets his way, with episode 3, the next one, to shock you into thinking and talking about the world around us all.  We’re more interesting than we think we are.  All of us.

Thanks for thinking, and listening.

Tim and Rory

Greetings from the great diamond isle in the south … of England … as we bring you the 46th instalment of topical chat as we launch the 3rd series of QWightLike A Podcast.

We have been recording our chats for 2 years now and embark on this new year of opportunity and potential and so we indulge ourselves with a little look back over the last 2 series of the Pod and pick out some of our highlights.  We also chat about why we do it, and what motivates us to spend time grappling with the tech, the day jobs and the requirement to fill an hour of air time every fortnight with something of value that is worth listening to.  You are the judges as to whether we succeed.

Either way, we enjoy the process and the product we serve up and still feel there’s plenty to talk about.  So talk about it we will.

This edition follows our trademark unstructured perambulation through subjects as diverse as favourite numbers, male grooming, radio therapy versus radiotherapy and the imminent advent of the 47th US President’s term of office.

There’s always an angle for us to pursue, so buckle up, get your headphones or buds on, and in, and settle down to an hour of middle-aged chat fast approaching the beige slacks aisle in Marks and Spencers.

As always, thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim.

As our second season of podcasting draws to a close we release our 45th episode in time for Christmas 2025.  We focus once again on topical chat, which at this time of year typically means discussing arrangements, traditions and evaluating hopes and aspirations.

A run through seasonal preparations in anticipation of TV highlights, carols in the open air and trips off-island signal the home straight towards Christmas itself, looming just around the corner.  From carols on the Green in Rookley, across the island to carols in the Square at Yarmouth, your intrepid duo, belted out our respective favourites like the copper from Love Actually.  Tune in to find out Tim’s and Rory’s favourite, festive, choral classics.

We also spend time in a reflective mood as we share our personal health news like two old blokes approaching retirement [Ed: You are!] in training for afternoons at the bowling club, pub or community centre.  With domination of the lucrative gaming market in our minds we translate our respective ailments into scores on our planned development of a new Top Trumps set where the winning cards harbour progressively more serious conditions and treatments, on a black humour scale that most certainly declines to shake hands with political correctness.

Most importantly, it’s Christmas and we wrap up 2025 with our personal, selfish, hedonistic, aspirations for the season ahead.  What could two ageing gentlemen both under the monitoring of the NHS possibly wish for?

Thanks for spending some of your valuable time with us over the last year.  We’re intending to keep going as long as we have pods to cast.  We discuss exciting plans for an innovative new podcasting genre that is guaranteed to move you, and us, in 2025.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

See you in 2025.

Here we are again as we wrap up November, and  ready ourselves to unwrap Christmas.  We find ourselves somehow ruminating on the state of the social contract whilst discussing gateway drugs that introduce you to a lifetime of addiction to the festive season, as partners start topping up decorations, and the all important, and annual, new set of fairy lights

Weather, pannage pork and weird shaped members of the cauliflower family hint at light and frothy podcast content, where, once we’ve lulled you into a false sense of security, we hit you with weighty analysis of the farmer inheritance tax ripple of discontent or of a Trumpian, dystopian future, awaiting many following America voting against itself, blissfully unaware of this duo’s experienced (Ed. !) political insight.  The rest is (are) revolting.

Summing up on another short break, induced by medical interventions, we determined to leave you with a flourish of festive cheer as we began to discuss the onset of Christmas traditions and eager anticipation of the happy times ahead. 

As we hurtle towards our 50th episode which we’ll hit sometime early in 2025, we thank you once again for listening, to our asymmetrical brand of topical chat, local guidebook and commentary on diverse matters for which lack of qualifications have never been an obstacle.

Stay tuned for more Christmas crackers and seasonal snippets in the weeks ahead as we celebrate Love Actually, with only 5 weeks to go until until Christmas, the gateway drug to all the festive cheer you can stomach.  

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory 

As the boundaries between light and dark, ‘twixt summer and winter begin to thin and fade, and as the warm, azure skies and glistening seas give way to crisp, cooler, autumnal hues QWightLike A Podcast returns to old friends and familiar themes.  Once again, we invited Dr Malcolm Schofield from the University of Derby to join us for a topical chat exploring all things Halloween.  Spirits are high and hauntings afoot as our conversation explores the themes of belief, the origins of the modern Halloween and through fascinating insights into the history of spiritualism we start to peel back the myths and legends that drive our modern day fascination with a good fright.

Dr Malcolm takes us through aspects of his research and how they relate to the popular celebrations of unpopular concepts, revealing insights into the human condition.

Jumping from island hauntings to the haunting prospects that an election on the other side of the Atlantic brings we touch on Conspiracy Theories and recommend a horror movie or 2 filmed on the Isle of Wight wityh Hollywood royalty, Calista Flockhart.  Tune in to find out the name of the movie … if you dare. 

Our thanks to our special guest for giving us some of his valuable time, allowing us to spend some of your time as we wrap up the episode with a discussion on our budget over here, and their election, over there.

As always its our privilege to spend an hour or so in your company, whatever you are doing whilst you listen to us, so thank you for listening.

Tune in next time, for more topical chat, tall tales and snappy one liners.

Tim and Rory

A week late, for reasons beyond our reasonable control, we surge onto the playing field to bring you another pitch perfect cast of the pod, hoping for a bite or two on Spotify, or wherever you fish for your chat content.

Invited by friend of the podcast, Ed Blake, who triples as a successful fisherman, local Councillor, and star player of Ventnor Rugby Football Club, Tim and I spent a charming afternoon dodging horizontal rain whilst marvelling at the entertainment served up, both in glass and on grass.  To coin a phrase, we’ll be back, to enjoy more convivial hospitality, the energy of a passionate sporting endeavour in glorious (Ed. apologies) surroundings.  Crunching tackles and towering giants set the scene for this clash of the titans sent into battle by Ventnor and Christchurch, as Godzilla scaled the cliffs below to arrive, dripping, on the touchline looking for a King Kong to toy with.

Interviews with the club secretary, James Morton, and the scorer of a stunning try,, Ed Blake, give this week’s episode a hint of the nostalgia of Grandstand with Rory channelling Bill McLaren, and Tim reviving a very passable David Coleman?

For the surrounding chat, we find ourselves eulogising for the recently departed Alex Salmond, one of Rory’s political heroes and great influences, and will no doubt find the themes of independence and efficient government returning to our running order in future weeks.  

Hunting moons, chasing sailing dreams, seeking comets, and celebrating the end of the island and New Forest’s CO2 nightmare, ease us away from the joy (Saturday rugby) and sadness (loss of a hero) of Saturday 12th October 2024.

Stay tuned for future episodes where topical chat and totally pointless endeavours combine to entertain and pass all our time in productive participation, in the great miracle that is life.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

Back from an enforced holiday break, the island’s longest, continually running podcast* (sorry Harriet), presents to you our 41st episode from our combined 2 series across 21 months, being broadcast come hell or high water.

We bring to you a follow-up from our outside broadcast for our 40th episode and related important sporting fixtures that draw threads together from as far afield as north east Hampshire and the south east of the Isle of Wight.  Listen to find out how these threads weave their way into our topical chat.

Sport, holidays, petting cafes and island hotspots share the billing with a very special guest, and friend of the podcast making a cameo appearance, telling tales of a short-lived career in the Forbes publishing empire.  No, not this one … that one!.

We gently meander through diverse subjects drawing from common themes, often celebrating our island’s rich and diverse culinary attractions.  The whiff of fete, hangs heavy over some, but we are able to showcase a number of exciting experiences that will leave you wanting to come back for more.  It’s just like listening to a popular podcast.  We ain’t no Mortimer and Woodhouse, nor Campbell and Stewart but we are Dedman and Forbes and we do gentle man talking.

Thanks for listening, we hope you are enjoying our musings and please do tell your friends not to miss out on the island’s longest continually running podcast*..

Tim and Rory

* This may or may not be true.

With the football (soccer) season well underway and with diary challenges perplexing your podcast planners, we found ourselves together instead, not in a cosy studio, but in Beatrice Avenue, East Cowes, one balmy, summer’s Wednesday evening, for an Isle of Wight cup and local derby clash.

Friendly rivals, Newport Isle of Wight FC , found themselves drawn against East Cowes Victoria Athletic A.F.C. with a crowd of 447 turning out for this Wessex League Cup clash. Fellow travellers in the Wessex League Division 1 they will meet again on Boxing Day in what is likely to be an epic, top of the table clash at Christmas.

We’ve wanted to take the podcast out on the road for some time, so this was an opportunity not to be missed, to test out our gear and our ability to hold a conversation whilst surrounded by crowd distractions and noise.

Tim managed to collar John Davies (we don’t know who John Hughes is), the Chairman of Newport, the “home” side for the evening clash between these 2 ground-sharing clubs.  An insider’s view as to how grassroots football operates was delivered in Tim’s half-time interview with John.

If you want to know the result, you’ll have to listen right to the end of this shorter-than-normal edition of the podcast.

We think it worked out quite well so stay tuned to your podcast provider, and our Instagram account for details of further QWightLike on the road trips in the near future.

Thanks for listening, folks.

Tim (manager) and Rory (kit man)

The boys are back in town after a short, medically-induced, break from the studios.  Nothing, it seems, can keep our dedicated duo from fulfilling our services to podcastery.  Cries of relief are heard all across the land, after all, where else can you eavesdrop on a conversation between 2 ageing men covering subjects as diverse as obscure Olympic sports, Liz Truss and the wonders of authentic Scottish confectionary, almost within the same breath?

The answer, of course, is right here on QWightLike A Podcast.  Listen in as Rory and Tim procrastinate on the best coffee, humourless politicians and the postural advantages of England’s finest sportsmen and women, whilst celebrating places to visit to quench thirst and sate hunger on the Isle of Wight, Alan Titchmarsh’s lugubriously described ‘Diamond Isle’.

As always, thanks for listening.

Until next time … stay tuned

Tim and Rory

The freshest QWightLike A Podcast episode yet appears before you on your podcast shelves as these collected bits and bytes form eloquent gyrations seeking to entertain and inform.  Unlike this week’s King’s Speech which seeks to legislate, this podcast seeks to elaborate on all manner of topical chat.

We range from polite politics through to dogs on beaches via the perennial debate as to whether to scrunch or fold.  Listen in to find out the context of that one.  

Visitors to our island and agricultural shows compete for a slice of your ear’s capacity alongside plans for next year’s Isle of Wight Festival which are already brewing despite no lineup.  Football is fast becoming a distant memory except for the pre-season friendlies already in full swing as England’s sad demise in yet another final or semi-final haunts the podcast studio.

Until next time, no, the podcast, not the football.

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory

Our marathon UK Westminster general election coverage is spread across 2 sessions, 24 hours apart.  The first on polling day itself as the close of poll drew inexorably nearer, Tim’s and Rory’s political junkie credentials come to the fore as they look forward to the night ahead.  Predictions, Portillo moments and election snacks are covered as we prepare for the results that may just have a momentous impact on all our lives.

Fast forward 24 hours to the post-results, after-party come down to find out if our intrepid duo are motivated by the outcome and what highlights do we pick out from the many that graced our screens and radio dials for the last 18-20 hours.

With the new Prime Minister firmly installed in Downing Street, find out what Rory and Tim think of the results and the prospects for what happens next.  Certainly there will be more episodes of the Wight’s favourite, regular podcast, that has hardly skipped a beat in over 18 months of pod and radio broadcasting.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

The weather starts so many conversations especially in the long awaited, and oft missed summer season and our podcast continues this tradition with a typically wishful look at the weather past, present and future before straying into the topical minefield of elections and football tournaments.  Who will be the winner, who will score the most own-goals, we bet it won’t be the media.  Off to place a bet on the date of the next episode of QWightLike A Podcast, we meander from national service, along the A34, to holstering IT equipment via a festival of place names you can’t pronounce.

Recognising the anniversary of co-host Tim’s heart attack almost a year ago to the day we celebrate our own experiences of the NHS that have made us the men we are today - part organic and part bionic.  A roundup of Father’s Day gifts from loving offspring trumps stories of Yarmouth fudge and confused Scottish co-hosts make a fist of the First Minister’s surname (Ed. - it’s Swinney, not Sweeney, you swine!).

Rounding up the pod we cast our eyes over Ventnor's ingress and egress challenges for the next 2 weeks, with gentle encouragement to find your way in, by car, bus, bike or en pied, to support the excellent local businesses with your custom.

Thanks for listening.  We’ll be back before you can place a bet on the General Election, probably in time to pore over the actual results.  Will we be celebrating, crying or analysing, or all 3?  Stay tuned.

Tim and Rory

Normal service is being resumed as the QWightLike A Podcast team return from an elongated and unscheduled break following illness, family visits, operations and holidays, to return with our usual conversational interventions to ease you into your weekend and beyond.

A lot has happened and so we slightly run over our allotted studio time to bring you our highlights from the last month or so of enforced pod downtime.  What has happened whilst we were looking the other way?

The aurora, The UK Pink Floyd Experience, surgical waiting list reduction, holiday trips and new eatery experiences here on the island all appear in our canter through our calendars.

We quite like an election, so given our recent lack of productivity we bring you our opinions on the opening salvos fired in the UK General Election campaign announced in late May and remain in active consideration of our “Rest Is …” franchise extension equivalent, with the working title of “QWightLike An Election”.  By the time we make our minds up it is entirely probable that we’ll be well aware of the result and will have a whole new slew of political interviews to line up as the characters move around the chess board.  Where is Bob?

So settle down, on your own, with a brew, something cold and sparkling, with loved one(s), with friends and enjoy the return of our something for the weekend offering.

Thanks for listening

Rory and Tim

Fashion dictates following a crowd, but your heroic dadcasters struggle to present a contemporary image to the outside world relying on personal brand and witty repartee to create any sort of impression.

This episode takes a gentle stroll through island eateries and refreshment stops, discussing ferries and the Anglo-Saxon barbarians who disrupted England’s last pagan kingdom (yes, the Isle of Wight) before an attack of the mangoes brings us back to the modern day and our best recommendations for chilling with a Netflix binge watch.

Visitors, colleagues and political shenanigans all rear their head in this meander through popular news and modern-day existence.  Still we QWightLike chatting about our lives and influences and we QWightLike the Isle of Wight.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

Welcome to another chat-filled digital space competing for space and time in your eardrums as we continue our gentle lollop towards the heady bright days of Spring and Summer.  The island slowly comes alive at this time of year with plenty for us to experience and share with you.

This episode is largely given over to another scoop interview with one of the many generations of Blakes that have shaped much of the Ventnor experience for visitors and residents alike.  Tim spends time with Ed Blake of the fishing dynasty that continue to ply their trade at sea, from Ventnor Haven and as a new generation, online.  Tim gets the inside track on what’s involved in fishing for crab and the rest of the catch in what is a remarkably large fishing ground.  Remarkable insight is shared into the current status of fishing boats on the island. In the second part of this 2-part chat, Ed explains how he was persuaded to get involved in local politics, his motivations and how, as a business owner, he hopes to help influence the changes he thinks are needed to help the local community.

For the rest of the podcast, Rory and Tim, riff around the edge of subjects as diverse as the recent North American total eclipse of the sun, vehicle number plates, transport, and first cars which leads to a promotion of the Rest is History podcast episode with Tom Hanks as their special guest.  Not to be missed.

Another gentle ramble around the workings of our minds ends with tributes to our favourite tribute musical acts and a birthday tribute to Ella, Tim’s other half.  Happy Birthday, Ella.

Thanks for listening

Tim and Rory

Another fortnight crammed full of travel is tipped out onto the podcast recording console to inform and, hopefully educate.  Rory’s return to Scotland with fanfares at border crossings.  Tim’s rather more sombre trip to Kraków taking in Auschwitz-Birkenau as well as the pleasure of experiencing the city’s cultural, architectural and culinary delights … all after jetting off easily to get there.

Football (soccer) shirt emblems, excessive language dependencies are covered alongside explanations of European nations’ mastery of the English language rendering our preparations for overseas travels to be limited to checking our passport validity and packing.

Back on the island we are steeling ourselves for the invasions of very-welcome tourism as our roads will fill up, our cafes will have less tables free and our ferries will struggle to stay operational.  Easter weekend will bring trade and traffic marking the start of our busy season as spring stretches the days into long summer beach stays started with balmy breakfast brunches and finished with boozy rosé sunset dinners.

Whatever you’re doing this Easter, QWightLike is here to ease you into your break with our chit and chat and musings on all manner of transport, tipples and touring tales.  From fixed links to flexible ferries, we cover the conversation points on the tongues of travelling townies tearing over to temptation on our diamond isle.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

A torrent of topical tales tumble into your shell like, as Tim and Rory wax the surfboard of chat and get to grips with stories from across the island and mainland, mixed with serious reflection on mother nature sliding into our mentions with interventions re-shaping the world around us.

Who else weaves the Tufty Club into Darth Vadar and the Green Cross Code man whilst promoting music festivals and chinese chip shops alongside the delights of island favourites such as The Garlic Farm for brunch and the Spyglass Inn for celebration meals.

As the general election looms larger then smaller again in the rear view mirror of the news cycle, and podcasts are recorded too early to capture the news from the day after the night before we tee up our plans to document the next electoral exercise right here on the podcast.  Our plan is to radicalise our listeners to see them agitate for the rights of all to enjoy a full cooked breakfast, English or otherwise.

Join us as we generate renewable energy in the form of an hour of chat on subjects medically reported to induce relaxation and/or angst in equal measure.  As the podcast bursts into meteorological spring we hear of opportunities to plan days out, get out of the house and into the shops, pubs, restaurants and visitor attractions all over the land.  We qwightlike that.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

Join Tim and Rory, for a jaunt around the island and many vaguely related subjects linked together by our shared ability to wax lyrical on almost anything and everything. We've been out, visiting beaches and "beverage opportunities", getting rained on and can be found in this podcast riffing, in the best tradition of the latest online influencer ... the Dadcaster, on all manner of subjects, educational and otherwise.

From smashed avocado breakfasts and millennial lattes to retired radio contributors (retiring just as demand for radio presenters on the island is set to increase), there's something in here for at least a few of you. We revisit a favourite haunt for traditional cooked breakfasts, for the Dadcasters, complemented by fruit-based offerings for their female companions and Tim introduces us to one of the latest exciting coffee stops overlooking Freshwater Bay, the Bike Box Cafe. Worth a visit whilst cruising the Military Road, whilst its still open to us.

Wrapping up with our periodic homage to the NHS and with a much more serious note, we acknowledge the role the medical profession continues to offer when we find ourselves in urgent need of intervention and support, despite the media's attempts to paint the NHS as in crisis. True or not, they always seem to be there when they need them.

News of New Year resolution progress allows us to bow out with a successful set of statistics and progress reports, albeit a horrendously exaggerated claim of rowing distance achieved. When Rory says kilometres, think metres. A tall tale in the making.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

A Valentine’s Day massacre (of Rory’s new roving microphone and headset) was narrowly averted by Tim’s free wheeling interview with the long-time Green party candidate for the Isle of Wight, VIx Lowthion.  As we continue our conversations with island politicians in the run up to the General Election, Tim manages to host a chat with Vix that ranges from her vision for the island as an active politician and councillor right through to her thespian activities with the Apollo Theatre in Newport and her geology walks.

Tim and Rory bookend this fascinating insight into the motives and activities of yet another candidate, this time for the new East Wight with chat explaining why we both abandoned our wives on Valentines Day evening to discuss politics and proportional representation.

Plenty to enjoy in this episode and a unique set of insights from an experienced local and nationally active politician, so sit back and enjoy another hour of topical chat in the company of Tim and Rory.

Thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim.

A wintry week with colds galore led us not down the garden path but rather along our much loved international tourist magnet here on the island being the Military Road.  This oft deified drivers’ paradise is facing its own challenges from the onward march of the sea and the elements as the tarmacadam sits perilously waiting to be consumed by nature.  If we don’t save it what damage will be down to our landscape, to our tourism, to our very identity as islanders? What will we leave Alan Titchmarsh to wax lyrically about as high definition drones dive bomb unsuspecting motorists to grab more stock footage of this national landscape?

The MP and a variety of citizen led social media campaigns have sprung into action to do what they can.  Spurred on by this show of community dedication we discuss whip rounds for post offices, village halls and once much-loved newspapers.Off-island adventures introduce one half of the presenter team to the delights of air fryers.  There’s much talk of triple fried chips and Sodastream powered Betamax video recorders and other flash in the pans.  Stay to the end to find out whose bed the Milk Tray man’s calling card may have made an appearance in much to the surprise of the other host.Covering all the bases, another episode packed to the rafters with topical chat.

Thanks for listening

Rory and Tim

As we career through the early weeks of 2024, evaluating early 20th century London postal delivery frequencies compared with the capital’s 21st century refuse collection cadence (yes really), sit with us as we review the early progress of  our New Year resolutions.  Listeners … we’re on it.  There’s no rowing back from us on these commitments and when they make the movie of this podcast they’ll see we had a plan, and we saw it through.

We consider the great philosophical questions of our time including whether printed books are preferential to digital copies, whilsht teaching you how to shpeak like Sean Connery.

In our second half we replace wide-ranging discussions on matters of existential significance (!) to compile a shortlist of our favourite island coffee spots, pubs and visitor attractions.  The very best of the Isle of Wight, places we QWightLike.  Listen to find out our personal favourites.  Lets us know if you agree.  If you don’t know the island, come and visit us, try our recommendations and let us know if you agree.

Thanks for listening.  Stay warm.

Tim and Rory

Happy New Year to all our listeners as we all welcome 2024 into our lives along with a new series of QWightLike A Podcast. In this new episode 1, Rory and Tim review their Christmas and New Year celebrations telling tales of their family gatherings and reviewing favourite festive flicks. Who had the most embarrassing gift unwrapping moment? Who received the gift of a terrible viral load to be laid low for the second part of the holiday period? Listen to find out.

With travel being such an important part of our island lifestyle, we were delighted when Tim was able to come alongside Bronwyn Hamilton-Brown, for a chat about the Wightlink User Group (https://www.wug.org.uk/) she founded in November 2022 and which now boasts over 5,000 members. If you need to get on and off our island this is a must-listen.

We round off our first foray of 2024, with a discussion on our New Year resolutions, leading to one or two interesting revelations, that you won't want to miss out on. You'll have to subscribe to the podcast to follow our progress throughout the year to find out if we miss out on our resolutions, despite them all being SMART goals. Google that if its a new term for you.

Thanks for sticking with us throughout 2023 and we hope we can encourage you to remain ahered to our output in 2024, both here and on Vectis Radio.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

So as our first season draws to a close, we have an opportunity to look back over the last 12 months, 24 episodes (not including this one) and the evolution of our little idea to share our chats. We also take the seasonal route to discuss memories of Christmas as young children, and how much-loved family traditions survive the dilutive effects of marriage and aging.

Fuelled by mulled wine and mince pies we reminisce on our favourite TV adverts, favourite food and how we'll be celebrating this holiday season with our families.

Thanks for listening throughout 2023. We've learned a lot from our early tentative steps back in January through to our more polished recent output, and we know we can only continue to improve. Our collaboration with the team at Vectis Radio was an unexpected development and we are using that experience to make sure we manage time and quality even better, without losing the essence of two blokes chatting over a beer, cup of coffee or a cooked breakfast.

As we introduced our interview slots back in the summer, we added a new dimension to the podcast. We intend to provide new content whilst keeping the very best of QWightLike to bring you throughout 2024.

Thanks for listening.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Tim and Rory

With Christmas approaching we turn our attention to festive fare, topical tipple and the all important links from our island to the mainland that bring families together, facilitate economic activity and deliver entertainment to our audiences.

A wide ranging chat on Christmas meals at popular island eateries wraps a warm pair of arms around a fireside chat between Tim and Bob Simpson, the managing director of our major island brewer, Goddards. An honest conversation about the brewery being up for sale, hopes for the future ownership and potential for future growth in the offer is had and, nothing is off limits. Bob is refreshingly, just like his beer, frank.

The inaugural 2023 Goddard's Firkin Deck restaurant Christmas Meal, Garlic Farm lunches continue the festive feel until we find ourselves discussing football memories of FA Cup feats, first jobs (in football) and photo restoration antics to raise a smile as Rory launches a challenge to the 'artificial' intelligence industry.

For a double dose of your dynamic duo, tune in to Vectis Radio (104.6FM on the island) or available online and on smart speakers, at 3pm on Saturday 9th December for our launch episode bringing QWightLike to a wider than Wight audience.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

Deaths of the great and the good, but entirely coincidentally, are traditionally announced in threes, so the old adage goes, so, as we put episode 23 together we learned of the passing of Henry Kissinger, Alistair Darling and Shane MacGowan. In their own different ways they have touched the lives of millions and Tim has some very personal reflections on his first encounters with Shane and his band, The Pogues, just before they become famous. Rory continues to bemoan that he is being made to throw stuff out (Ed . you mean recycle) that he has carefully curated for much of his adult life. As his talking therapy continues, he and Tim, look back on the changing face of the tools and devices we used to carry around compared with the modern smartphones in our pockets and bags that many of us have come to rely on these days. Woven amongst all of this are tall tales of winter wonders with shivering snow memories from childhood and North American travels. There's no interview this week as we've been planning the launch of our chat show on the Isle of Wight's multi-award-winning community radio station, Vectis Radio. Our first show goes out at 3pm on Saturday 9th December, and we're excited to be part of this amazing team. Find out more here. Thanks for listening. Tim and Rory

Episode 22 blows in with the, seasonally adjusted, cooler winds from the north to guide you through the chilly weekend ahead with cosy chat and insulating insights from Tim, Rory, and their guest this week, Dr Malcolm Schofield from the University of Derby.

Malcolm is a lecturer in psychology with research interests in paranormal belief, religious belief and spirituality. Malcolm has had wide-ranging media coverage including an appearance on BBC3's new series 'Paranormal: The Girl, the Ghost and the Gravestone'.

Tim’s off-island adventures and Rory’s lifetime of collected memories choking his living space are the appetisers to the main event being our first joint, co-host interview with a podcast guest.  Malcolm keeps the fun going by providing us with our first listener q&a section.  He provides the ‘q’s and Tim and Rory attempt to provide the ‘a’s.

A more manageable 68 minutes marks a return to disciplined episode management, which will become more evident as we embark upon our radio career with our friends at Vectis Radio, launching next week.

As always, thanks for listening.

Rory and Tim

Another packed episode full of topical chat and a fascinating q&a between Tim and Rory, aims to entertain whilst sharing another wet weekend with you all.

Our special guest is Richard Quigley, the Labour parliamentary candidate at the next General Election for the new West Wight constituency. Richard is a lively and fascinating character so listen in to him and Tim talk about motivation for seeking elected office and in particular, the burning issues of the day for an Isle of Wight politician. Meeting in Newport's Caffe Isola the guys enjoy a convivial chat in very pleasant surroundings and set about putting the world to rights. Richard is a multi-dimensional guest, and not your typical politician, so find about what makes him tick and look forward

to future political slots from other prominent island politicians that we are lining up to share with you ahead of the likely imminent next General Election.

The q&a slot gives us the opportunity to probe our co-hosts psyche and raise a few giggles along the way.

Let us know if you're enjoying what you hear, and also, let us know what you'd like less of. As we grapple with our time management demons, this episode at 90 minutes is a game of 4 halves, so settle down, grab a hot or cold brew and listen in to Rory and Tim dissect some of the news and then each other.

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory

As we lurch daily towards the Christmas festivities we turn our heads to enjoy the fireworks displays laid on locally, plus start planning our podcast Christmas lunch. Find out if we're premature or super-organised as always when it comes to planning ... in Tim we trust.

Part 2 of Tim's chat with Graham Biss of Gift to Nature concludes and Rory is road-tested meeting up with one of our loyal, podcast superfans, Polly from Oxford (via Aldershot), to discuss the draw of the island and what can be considered to improve the visitor experience and how our podcast encouraged her to book her trip.

With a hectic winter schedule of conversations lined up for the coming weeks, we'll be busy assembling interesting chat to be interspersed with topical takes on news and experiences from the island and beyond.

Thanks for listening.

Rory & Tim

Episode n-n-n-nineteen floods into your podcast queue with a promise to keep you company whilst your wellies dry out ready for the next Atlantic-born deluge to make landfall. Our topical chat ebbs and flows through a smorgasbord of subjects carefully curated to inspire, to entertain and to inform.

With so much to squeeze in, settle down and enjoy part 1 of a 2-part conversation TIm has with Graham Biss, Chief Executive of Gift to Nature https://www.gifttonature.org.uk/. Graham should be known as Mr Benn as he wears so many hats in different roles supporting the rural economy and natural heritage of the Isle of Wight. There's loads to learn so come back for second helpings in episode 20 to find out more of what Graham has been getting up to in, on and around the island.

We finish with a request for you to supply us with interesting questions to ask of us, your co-hosts, to foment yet further frolicking flights of fancy and fun. The innocence of a favourite beach or the ominous finality of a final death row meal can all be covered in our q&a spot. If you don't ask us, how will you ever know!?

We announce our trial move to a weekly publishing schedule, by popular demand so you'll have a dose of QWightLike to accompany you through each and every weekend going forward. At least until you tell us to stop!

Thanks for listening.

Tim and Rory