AN anaesthetist in the eye of the Covid-19 storm, a teacher with an MBE and a high-end restaurant consultant are just some of the successful Teesdale people to be featured on a new podcast.
The Made in Teesdale podcast was launched this month by Teesdale School’s head of Sixth Form, Simon Henderson, to showcase local talent.
He came up with the idea after listening to another podcast at the start of the latest Covid-19 lockdown.
Dr Henderson said: “I found myself being transported somewhere else to an interesting story and an interesting conversation. I thought this would be something that would be relatively easy to do.
“I started the podcast as a way of showcasing the talent of people in Teesdale and also hopefully celebrating the community and bringing people together in a virtual way. If it puts a smile on the face of a few people, or it whiles away 25 minutes of somebody’s evening in lockdown, then it is worth it.”
The first podcast went live last week and featured teacher Mark Siswich, who grew up in Cotherstone and was this year awarded an MBE for his work in education. He also attended Teesdale School.
That episode, which was posted on Teesdale School’s Twitter and Facebook accounts and website, quickly generated a reaction.
Dr Henderson said: “Mark mentioned a couple of teachers from way back, and immediately on the school’s Facebook page one of those teachers put a comment about how pleased she was that he remembered her, and she remembered him. I would imagine that put a smile on her face and made her feel as though she had made an important contribution to the community as well.”
This was followed up by a podcast featuring Ruby Carrington, who is currently working in critical care at Royal London Hospital.
Dr Henderson said: “She is right at the eye of the storm. Lots of students have gone on to do lots of different, varied things after starting off in Teesdale.
“Certainly, Ruby’s story is incredible – growing up in Mickleton, a tiny little place in Teesdale, and then going to Oxford, doing medicine, and now finding herself working as an anaesthetist in one of the greatest medical crises in living memory.”
Another who will be featured early next month is Linden Greener, who grew up in Cotherstone and became consultant at a top restaurant in Newcastle,
Dr Henderson said: “He does front of house stuff. He is a chef and the guy he works with went to the finals of Masterchef. It’s great hearing his accomplishments – very different to Ruby’s accomplishments, but nonetheless significant.”
He described hearing about the exciting things his former student was doing as “really rewarding” .
Dr Henderson added: “If you have children of your own, then you always think your children are great and you always brag about that things your children do, even though all other kids do that.
“When you are a teacher, it’s just like having lots and lots and lots of children that you can brag about.”
People can listen to the podcasts by visiting teesdaleschool.oc.uk.
