It’s our last episode of the series so we are ending on a sentimental note and talking all things youth clubs with famed choreographer Boy Blue a.k.a Kenrick Sandy. Kenrick is a world class choreographer and earned his stripes in his local youth club as a teenager. Youth clubs play a vital role in the upbringing of many young Caribbeans in the UK and in this way are a key part of the village that it takes to raise a child. So now with an MBE under his belt and choreographing events such as...

This week we're talking all things music - our guest Chris is a hip hop musician who made an album in celebration of his British and Caribbean culture. In his music he touches on gentrification, racism, tolerance, acceptance, how British life feels like for him today and what it meant for his grandparents. This episode was a Message Heard production brought to you in partnership with Catherine Ross and Lynda Burrell of The National Caribbean Heritage Museum: Museumand. To find out more about...

The hot comb - an object that has a lot of meaning to many from the Windrush Generation, but even more so to our guest Rudi Page whose mother was one of the best around at using the hot comb. This 'ting' is still aiding the crowning glory of Caribbeans in the UK. Everyone from Caribbean descent has a hair-raising tale to tell about them as an observer or user. In this episode Rudi tells us about his childhood memories, many of them revolving around hair and how his professional career is very...

In this episode we're talking all things Pardner: a type of savings scheme that originated in Africa, was taken to the Caribbean by the enslaved Africans and then made its way to the UK with the Windrush generation. Due to institutionalised racism in the UK banking system, people arriving from the Caribbean were often unable to access basic banking services so Pardner provided a great way to save. In this episode, we speak to Paul Henriques, who launched the Pardna App to bring the...

Interesting textiles, bright colours and tropical flora and fauna. Inspired by her heritage, our guest Tihara Smith, has created a fashion collection. Each piece celebrates the vibrant cultures of the Caribbean, with a London twist. Now also making art prints, greeting cards and accessories, this week Tihara speaks with Catherine and Lynda about what inspires her to celebrate the culture and history of the Windrush Generation. This episode was a Message Heard production brought to you in...

A magazine, but not just any - when Ebony magazine came out in the 1945 it revolutionised the industry. For the first time, Black people in America and worldwide not only felt represented, but were also shown in a positive light. This week’s guest, Dawn-Maria France, talks about how her dream of becoming a journalist stemmed from the Ebony mags her mum used to buy her when she was growing up, as well as the importance of positive representation for the Windrush community.  This episode was a...

Receipts. Not things that tend to elicit much of an emotional response, unless you are afraid of taxes that is. But this week guest Demi Bailey-Paul has a pretty special receipt for Catherine and Lynda to marvel over. She’s brought them a receipt for her grandad’s passage from Jamaica to the UK in 1961 and is as amazed as Catherine and Lynda that her grandad has kept it safe for so long. With her grandparents meeting in the UK this receipt marks not only her grandad’s journey to the UK but...

Catherine and Lynda speak to Wendy Leocque, a photographic artist living in Bristol. Wendy tells us all about her grandmother’s grip – the suitcase her grandmother used to bring a chosen few possessions from Jamaica to the UK. The trio discuss how the grip was a staple for the windrush generation but how everybody’s looked different and reflected their own personalities – whether that be from the exterior or the items contained within. We also hear how Wendy has repurposed her grandmother’s...

Catherine and Lynda talk to actress Sabira Stanisavljevic about a photograph that was taken of her mother in Trinidad before she moved to the UK. Sabira explains that her mother has an expression of high concentration on her face in the photo because she was trying really hard to remember that moment. Decades on, it seems like it worked as Sabira's mother recounts that day often – it was the first time a photographer had ever come to their small town in Trinidad and so was a special moment...

Lenny Bedward is the founder of Quantro Sound System – Nottingham’s first and arguably most famous sound system. Through a flyer to a night he played at with Quantro in 1974, we hear all about Jamaica’s legendary sound system culture and the ways in which it has developed in the UK thanks to pioneers such as Lenny.  This episode was a Message Heard production brought to you in partnership with Catherine Ross and Lynda Burrell of The Caribbean Heritage Museum: Museumand. To find out more...

Jocelyn is a British Barbadian event producer from Reading. She tells Catherine and Lynda all about a map of Barbados she inherited from her father. This map has been in her family ever since her dad came to the UK in the 70’s and she remembers it hanging on the wall of her family home. It now proudly hangs in her home and serves as a loving reminder of both her father and her bajan heritage. This episode was a Message Heard production brought to you in partnership with Catherine Ross and...

Catherine and Lynda speak to Riaz Phillips, author of Jamaican recipe books ‘Belly Full: Caribbean Food in the UK’ and ‘West Winds: Recipes, History and Tales from Jamaica ’. In his books, Riaz uses the stories of food and dining to explore his Jamaican background and so, perhaps unsurprisingly, has chosen his mother’s Dutch Pot as his object. Riaz tells us about getting his mum to show him how to cook his first curried goat in this pot a few years ago and we hear how Dutch Pots are a symbol...

Welcome to Objeks & Tings, the podcast that brings you stories about the objects Caribbeans cherish the most. Over 12 episodes, Museumand founders and mother-daughter duo, Catherine Ross and Lynda Burrell, will be joined by guests who each dive into the significance behind an object that represents their Caribbean heritage, and explore the role it played in their British upbringing. Objeks & Tings is a brand new podcast collaboration between Message Heard and Museumand, The National...