Meet the Mancunian – Talking creating societal change and awareness of gender-based violence with Caroline Lamb

Meet the Mancunian-6.1-Caroline Lamb transcript

Intro

Hello, and a warm Mancunian welcome to all my incredible listeners out there. I'm Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, your friendly host, and you have just tuned into the sixth season of the Meet the Mancunian Podcast, where I share remarkable social impact stories from the heart of Manchester every Tuesday throughout the season.

This podcast is a celebration of the unsung heroes, the change makers, and the passionate souls who are making a real difference in our vibrant city. From social enterprises to non-profits and community groups, I bring you the voices of worker, bees and volunteers all coming together for a common cause.

Through heartfelt conversations, my guests share their experiences, dreams, and unwavering commitment to making a difference. From the challenges they've overcome to the triumphs that fuel their passion, their stories will leave you moved, enlightened and brimming with hope. Join me on this audio adventure as my guests and I explore the transformative power of collective action and the remarkable impact we can create when we unite for a common cause.

The tales are a testament to the power of community, collaboration and the indomitable Mancunian spirit. They not only address pressing issues right here in Manchester, but also offer insights and inspiration that resonate far beyond these boundaries.

So whether you're commuting, on a run or just relaxing at home, I invite you to tune in on Apple, Spotify, Google, or any of your favourite podcasting platforms. You can also log onto my website, www.meetthemancunian.co.uk. Let's embark on this journey of discovery and inspiration.

For my new listeners, you can catch up on the incredible stories from the first five seasons at www.meetthemancunian.co.uk, where you'll also find out more about my own journey as a podcaster to all my returning listeners, I can't thank you enough for your support. You make this podcast possible and I'm immensely grateful.

So join me as I continue to share these inspiring tales of change and community support from the beating heart of Manchester. Together we can spread a bit of good news, spark meaningful conversations, and inspire positive action.

Welcome to the 12th episode of Season 6 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. This will be the season finale for Season 6, and the Meet the Mancunian Podcast will then take a break until Tuesday, 9th January 2024 while I visit family in India.

I also wanted to take a moment to thank my wonderful guests and listeners for a really great Season 6. The Meet the Mancunian podcast was recognised among the Top 5 Social Impact Podcasts in the UK. and the top 30 social impact podcasts in the world according to Feedspot. The UK and Ireland's inaugural independent podcast awards also shortlisted the Meet the Mancunian podcast for the best business podcast category. And ListenNotes recognised the podcast as among the top 10 percent most popular shows out of 3.2 million podcasts globally, ranked by the ListenScore. All of this recognition is hugely motivating for a tiny indie podcast who is trying to inspire others, spotlight good causes, and spread a bit of good news. It keeps me motivated for Season 7.

Passionate about creating awareness for societal change? We hear from Caroline Lamb, Playwright, Dangerous to Know in this episode. This episode is being released ahead of the United Nations International Day for the elimination of Violence Against Women on 25th November. The day will also mark the launch of the UNITE Campaign, 25th November to 10th December, an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates International Human Rights Day 10 December.

Episode 6.12

[00:04:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I am delighted to introduce my guest, Caroline Lamb, Playwright, Dangerous to Know. Thank you so much, Caroline, for joining me today.

[00:04:28] Caroline Lamb: Thank you so much for having me. It's very exciting to be here.

[00:04:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And on a beautiful, sunny day, one of our rare, great moments of weather

[00:04:36] Caroline Lamb: Not a grey cloud.

[00:04:38] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Absolutely. So, tell us first about how you found your passion for societal change. Where did that start?

[00:04:44] Caroline Lamb: I trained as an actor. And I did that for several years. But what I really wanted to do, I found, was to generate and manage my own creative projects. And I wanted to do that because I could see the capacity that the arts and culture and theatre have for change and for societal change because of their immediacy.

You have an audience in a space who are empathising with a live person in front of them. It's unedited, it's very raw, and it creates that potential for a new understanding and a change of perspective. And I saw the power in that. I was very interested to start creating my own work. I'd always been interested in creative writing from school, and so I went on to write my first few pieces of theatre and later down the line just in 2021, I got my M.A. In playwriting from the University of Manchester and I'm now where I am today.

[00:05:39] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's so interesting. And are there particular aspects of societal change that you've been focused on, or is it a broad spectrum?

[00:05:46] Caroline Lamb: I do tend to get drawn into the grey areas and the questions. And I tend to focus most on women and women's issues and putting women at the heart of theatre. When you look at more classic plays, obviously there are various other plays that have women at their heart. But a lot of the time the protagonists of theatre, of classical theatre are male. And also, I feel like it's a good opportunity to tell stories that are rarely told.

And as we are aware from things like the Me Too movement, female stories are often buried deep and are often filled with these traumatic experiences.

And whilst I think it's very important to discuss those, and indeed my newest project really does, I also just want to represent women as well-rounded people who have a variety of experiences and a lot to teach everyone. I think it's mainly women's issues, but there are also a huge number of other things that I've focused on, and I want to focus on with my writing.

[00:06:45] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is really interesting and I really like that about women as well rounded human beings because that's what we are. We have many facets to our personalities and to our lives and to the roles we play. So that's interesting.

Tell us about how you got involved with Dangerous to Know, and that's your new project that you're going to be talking to us about.

[00:07:04] Caroline Lamb: Dangerous to Know is my theatre company, which was where I started with my playwriting. So Dangerous to Know began, it is a bit nebulous as to when it actually began because it was something that formed while I was producing my first play. And my first play was called The Dissolution of Percy, and it focused on the life of Brownwell Bronte.

In fact, the final few years in the life of Brownwell Bronte, who was of course the brother of the Bronte sisters, and I used the final few years of his life as a way of exemplifying how gender equality could positively benefit male mental health. And then from there it snowballed into this idea that I could continue to do this, produce more projects.

And so I basically am the full-time employee of my theatre company, but I collaborate often with the same people because, you create that network around you, but I'm very regularly looking for new partners, new collaborators. And since then, we've had a number of different projects which have all been very exciting.

The most recent one that I created was On Me, which is an hour-long play, which focuses on themes of gender-based violence and male responsibility. And that did very well on the Greater Manchester Fringe last year and went on to win the Off West End Award for Manchester, and were shortlisted for a couple of other awards.

I've also been commissioned by the National Trust in collaboration with Creative Industries, Trafford to write a piece to be performed at Lyme Park in Disley.

I wrote the very first stage adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel. That's a sort of a microcosm of the projects that I've done so far.

[00:08:41] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Congratulations and sorry, I thought Dangerous to know was the name of the play, not the name of the company.

[00:08:46] Caroline Lamb: It's very easily confused. I can absolutely understand that.

[00:08:50] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thanks for telling me. One of the things I read when I was looking up doing a bit of research was that you do plays in unusual settings, like you did one in a pub to make it more accessible. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

[00:09:02] Caroline Lamb: It's a very interesting thing that is actually coming more and more to light is this debate about the accessibility of theatre and the etiquette surrounding theatre. And I think that is a very sensitive and interesting conversation. But I can see an argument whereby theatre has a bit of a reputation for being somewhat formal and for being somewhat exclusive.

I like the idea of being able to reach new audiences who aren't necessarily theatregoers, who don't necessarily have excellent access to culture or at least cultural experiences, theatre and art experiences. Obviously, culture is all around us, but specifically theatre, art and matters of that kind.

So, I feel like going to community centres, libraries, pubs and unusual spaces. It makes it much more accessible for various individuals who maybe don't get the chance to experience art and culture as others do.

[00:10:02] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. I must say, I have watched some really lovely plays on the promenade during festivals in Mumbai, and I've really enjoyed that because of course, like going to theatre, it does involve dressing up and usually in a sit-down environment, whereas when you see them in these art festivals or other things, it can be quite a different experience. And sometimes you can almost interact a little bit more with the play because it's, like you said, it's more accessible.

[00:10:31] Caroline Lamb: Absolutely. And I think that it is a shame that theatre is seen to be so formal and so inaccessible because it is moving very much towards a more communal and community focused practice discipline or exercise in general. It, it has got that reputation that goes back, decades if not, hundreds of years.

So, there's that kind of aim to try and change the reputation of theatre, to be a lot more friendly and a lot more, like I say, accessible. But in the interim, I think it's a very good to take performances into unusual spaces too, to bring them to groups rather than expecting groups to come to you.

[00:11:09] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that. Bring them to groups rather than groups come to you. And I guess that's another way to make it accessible because you've gone to the pub or to the community for something else, and then you have a pleasant surprise, perhaps with the play.

[00:11:21] Caroline Lamb: Yes. Or at least you see a flyer or a poster for something that you never thought you'd end up going to see, but because it's just around the corner, you might as well. And obviously there is the matter of cost and expense, and we do try to keep our costs as low as possible.

We're experimenting with things like pay what you can ticketing, which means there are different tiers of ticketing that some are more affordable, so that those who want to pay a little more to support the arts industry, which does need it at the moment, they can do but those who need to save can spend a little less just so that they can access it.

[00:11:53] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. There must be many challenges on this journey, as you said, you've been on it for a little while, ever since you became a playwright. What are those challenges and how do you overcome them?

[00:12:04] Caroline Lamb: The main challenge at the moment is a challenge that the entire arts industry is facing where there's a huge lack of funding, which means that programming venues, we're talking about more traditional theatres here. Programming venues have to really watch their budgets, have to take fewer risks, and that means that it takes a lot longer for a new play to be written and produced and staged.

The tour that I'm planning at the moment, it's taking a lot longer than I first anticipated to get off the ground. And that is purely because of the number of conversations that I'm having, and the period I'm having to wait to have those conversations. And, the reticence of certain venues and individuals to take risks which is due to a lack of funding.

And of course, the sensible approach is to continue to program safe bets, existing theatre, classic plays, things that people are used to that will get, as people say, bums on seats. But then that does alienate a lot of new writing and means that people who do things that are more experimental potentially and greater risks tend not to get as much of a look in.

 That is the struggle that the arts industry, I think is going through at the moment.

[00:13:16] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. And I can well imagine with, cost of living crisis and other things around funding would be a problem. And also, maybe theatre goers would be less likely to spend on discretionary expenses.

[00:13:29] Caroline Lamb: Absolutely. It's a shame because the arts should be something that everyone can access and can afford, but obviously it is an expense that many people do understandably consider unnecessary, which means that in order to continue to get audiences, theatres, and theatre companies have to drop their prices. Which then again means that there are very many performances and shows that are considered unviable because venues or companies that wish that were originally going to take them on, don't see how they can possibly make a profit in this current environment.

[00:14:03] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: These are difficult things that I'm sure you and the people in the theatre industry will hopefully navigate because culture is so important. There's a role and there's inspiration from attending a good production. So, I hope good things come your way.

[00:14:19] Caroline Lamb: Thank you.

[00:14:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us about what impact you made so far through Dangerous to Know and all the various plays you've been able to showcase.

[00:14:28] Caroline Lamb: I think it's quite a mixed bag of different things. The first play was very much a Manchester fringe. It was getting our name out there. It was getting things done and forming ourselves as a company. And it was very enjoyable. And I think got some very nice audience feedback. It got some very nice sort of critical feedback.

When we took our promenade performance of Shirley to Farfield Mill, that was our first experience of bringing a piece to an art centre that was local to a smaller town that was more rural. And I think that made a lovely impact by showing people the potential of the local space to access arts. It also, I think, helped to represent Farfield Mill as a really interesting venue. So, we then saw how spaces could be very impactful and very useful for communities.

The play that we were commissioned to do at the National Trust, I actually ended up writing a monologue speech that was accompanied by a stop motion film. And it was called Theft of a Girl. And it was based around a local kidnapping that happened back in the 1820s. And it was focused on how women continue to be undereducated and manipulated, especially young girls which leave them open to maybe not making the right decisions with their lives, being led down the wrong paths.

And I it also raised some really quite sensitive matters of things like statutory rape and of matters such as stillbirth and death in childbirth as well, which was much more common back then, you still have issues. Almost medical gaslighting of women.

And you know it got a lot of interest. The nice thing was because it was in this kind of very public, it was a National Trust property. It was so interesting to hear some of the really interesting conversations that were being had afterwards. And we did put an age guidance on it, but some parents elected to bring their children along and they ended up having some really interesting life conversations about these issues.

Which was really quite nice to hear because at some point, families do have to have these conversations with one another. But I think the most impactful piece that we've done is On Me, which is the one that is hopefully going to tour later this year. Because it focuses on themes of gender-based violence and male responsibility.

And it did again, have an age guidance of 15 plus, and it had quite a lot of trigger warnings because of the sensitive subject matter that it covers. It's quite an interesting approach towards the subject matter. It's set on a true crime film set where two actors are performing sort of these re-enactments as part of a true crime docudrama and it doesn't pull any punches. It really does depict some quite challenging scenes.

But the nice feedback we got from that was we did have people coming forward who elected to let us know that they had been victims of gender-based violence. And they said that without fail, they said that these scenes were necessary because you don't want to gloss over the really unpleasant reality that is facing I'd say every woman. I think that a lot of the percentages that we see do not take into account people who don't report gender-based violence. These issues that face they need to be faced head on, but apparently it was seen that we treated them also with sensitivity.

So there was a firmness, but a sensitivity to what we did and that was what we were intending to do which is great. We got some really great feedback. This tour that we're about to undertake, we have partners in place across the north, different women's charities, different sort of charitable organisations that we are planning to use the play to promote and to raise money for.

We have partners who are going to provide audience support as well, so that anyone who has been affected by the themes of the play or who wishes to report an instance of gender-based violence can do we're hoping as well to hold panel discussions at certain performances to discuss the matter of gender-based violence and male responsibility, and to speak about what we can do to prevent it, what our allies can do to prevent it.

So allies of other genders because we're particularly in this case talking about violence against women. So hopefully it's going to be a multiple sort of pronged approach where we are going to be speaking to audiences and raising awareness of the very real and very prevalent issue of gender-based violence.

But we're also going to be hopefully raising money and awareness of various charities who work to prevent and to tackle gender-based violence. And we are going to be holding very public conversations about what we can do to prevent gender-based violence. So, it's not just the play, it's all these wraparound activities too, and hopefully that will make a significant impact.

[00:19:14] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That does sound really great and I wish you a lot of luck and I hope a lot of great non-profits coming forward, but also to see that the audience gets involved either to support those who they know who have gone through gender-based violence or to who have been survivors of gender-based violence as well, so that's really great.

It sounds like a very necessary but very important thing that you're doing.

[00:19:41] Caroline Lamb: Fantastic. Yes.

[00:19:42] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: How can interested people reach out to you and learn more? Where do they find out what's going on with Dangerous to Know and what's going on with, On Me?

[00:19:50] Caroline Lamb: We have a number of different ways you can do that. First of all, dangerous to Know has a website. It's www.dangeroustoknow.org. We also have a Facebook and you can also follow us at dtk manc on Twitter. You can also email dtk manchester@gmail.com. And I also have a personal writing website, which is Caroline C Lamb, caroline c lamb.wordpress.com.

[00:20:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. And where did they find out about On Me.

[00:20:22] Caroline Lamb: There'll be multiple posts on Twitter, will be posting updates about various dates and events and further updates of the tour. And we'll also be updating our website. So again, www.dangeroustoknow.org. So those are the two main places. So Twitter, Facebook, and our website.

[00:20:41] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thanks, Caroline. What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in their own community? As we said, there are listeners from around 50 countries, so some of them might get inspired and look to do something similar. How should they get started?

[00:20:57] Caroline Lamb: I think it'd be wonderful if, as many people took to the arts industry and creativity to try and make changes to society. And for those who want to do it, I would say that motivation and persistence is key. Because unless you are very lucky, the vast majority of the momentum behind your projects will need to come from you.

So people shouldn't be afraid to shout about their causes and to chase potential partnerships eagerly. So I think a lot of people are worried about pestering people or causing trouble. But I just think that those who shout loudest about their causes and actively pursue partnerships will do more to share the importance of the thing that they believe in. And may well convince others to believe in that thing too.

And to that end as well, I think networking is absolutely vital. It doesn't mean you have to necessarily go to specific networking events, but if you are active in the field in which your passion lies, you are likely to come across other people who believe in the same things as you do.

If you are willing to have discussions and forge relationships with those people and keep them going for as long as you can, then you may well find, certain projects that you want to work on together, or you may find someone who can help you to further your cause to find a platform and if you are doing creative work to get your creative work displayed or shown. But as I mentioned before, especially if you're in the arts industry at the moment, it is a tough time to find sort of any opportunities. So those you do find or you do become aware of, it's important to grasp those with both hands.

[00:22:33] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. That's a very good tip as well, and really great advice. Thank you for sharing that.

[00:22:39] Caroline Lamb: All I was saying is that it's something that's been very hard, a long time coming for me to learn as well. I'm not the most outgoing and, I'm not the most pushy of people. And it goes against my personality to do that. But in the current environment, it is important for us to do that.

[00:22:54] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Absolutely. If you don't ask, the universe can't support you. So I believe in that as well.

An opportunity for you to talk about anything I haven't asked you about anything. You want to share?

[00:23:07] Caroline Lamb: I feel like I've covered a lot, but the only thing that I would like to reiterate is for people to look out for performances of On Me.

In terms of where you can find out about performances of On Me, as the project gathers speed we'll be starting to post a lot on Twitter and on Facebook, so we are just dangerous to know on Facebook and on Twitter we are at DTK Manc and that's the best place I'd say to look out for news and updates. The project should be touring around Greater Manchester and the wider North in 2024. Do look out for that.

[00:23:44] Caroline Lamb: We're still on the lookout for partners, for venues to perform at. And also for sponsors. We will be putting in an arts council bid to support the project. But to that end, we need to find match funding. So any funders, any sponsors it'd be fantastic to hear from. But any partners at all who feel like we could present the project to them or to an audience that they're aware of, we'd be very keen to hear.

[00:24:08] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I have a couple of signature questions that I ask all my guests, and the first one is to describe the Mancunian spirit in a word or a phrase. You did mention you've been here 10 years, so I think you have a good sense.

[00:24:20] Caroline Lamb: Yes, I think so, and I think especially because, in a way, because I'm not born and bred here, it's interesting coming in and observing. There's a certain sanguineness to the Mancunian spirit, which is that people here have often had to fight for what they've needed. There's been a lot of political history, a history of protest which I think still lives in the people today.

But as I say, I think they go about it in a very good, humoured way. I'd say the sanguine humour of the Mancunian is one that is unparalleled anywhere else

[00:24:55] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. And that's a very interesting take because lots of people have talked about resilience, but I like the fact that you've taken up, the sanguine humour that they just get on with it and they don't let take life too seriously, isn't it?

[00:25:08] Caroline Lamb: I think they're aware, very aware of the certain injustices the North and the industrial North has faced throughout history. But I think that there is this element of, like I say, of dark humour, of sanguine humour that keeps people going who have often been fairly trodden.

[00:25:23] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Can you share a Mancunian who inspires you and why?

[00:25:26] Caroline Lamb: The obvious one, I suppose for myself, would Emmeline Pankhurst of course a very famous suffragette. Her statue is in St. Peter's Square. And, her image is all over Manchester. And I think that she encapsulates the toughness, the resilience of the Mancunian, but also of the modern feminist. I think she is certainly, someone to emulate and someone who's highly relevant to a lot of the work I do. I think that Emmeline Pankhurst is the Mancunian that I would say probably inspires me most, but there are so many.

[00:25:57] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: No, it is hard and some people have gone for famous people like you, or some people have even gone for closer home -a family member who inspires them as well. It's always very interesting. I.

[00:26:09] Caroline Lamb: Oh, that is interesting. because obviously there are too many people to name.

[00:26:13] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What's the most important life lesson you've learned?

[00:26:16] Caroline Lamb: That's a really interesting question because I have learned so many. I think because I got to Manchester in my early twenties and now I'm in my early thirties. It's some really formative years that I've had here. And I think that again, it is the idea that any forward momentum needs to come from oneself, and you cannot sit around and rely on someone else reaching out and finding you and finding your cause and finding your work.

You need to be confident enough to present that work to other people and to explain its merits and to display its merits. I think my biggest life lesson that I've learned certainly since coming to Manchester is the need to reach out and to present your work with pride and invite people to become involved in it.

[00:27:06] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you and I think it's a very important one. Obviously in the creative field, this is particularly true, but in any field, if we had to sit quiet and not share our passion project, nobody would know about it. And then they're less likely to get involved.

[00:27:20] Caroline Lamb: Absolutely.

[00:27:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

[00:27:25] Caroline Lamb: That's a really good question. I think I'm going to steal this one. Oh, this is really good actually. Because I think I'm going to steal this one from a fellow Mancunian who is Dominic Monaghan, who also has a podcast. He is with Billy Boyd. They're two actors who were in Lord of the Rings. They played Mary and Pippin in Lord of the Rings. He would like to be able to turn into anything. And that sounds quite basic to start with, but actually when you think about it if you want, if you took that to its final conclusion, if you wanted to be able to turn invisible, you could just turn into someone who could turn invisible.

And if you wanted to be able to fly, you could just turn into someone who could fly, which I think is a really interesting way of sidestepping the central question there and going, or you could say, I turn into a bird that could fly, or I could, it's the number of the infinite number of things you could turn into would mean that you would have every superpower possible.

So like I say, it's a bit of a cheat.

[00:28:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Nice one. Very clever.

[00:28:20] Caroline Lamb: Absolutely.

[00:28:21] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Is there a funny story you'd like to share with listeners? And that's absolutely optional, but it should be with Manchester or with your work.

[00:28:30] Caroline Lamb: It's funny, and it just shows the sort of things that actors and performers and creatives at my level at this time in the world, at this time in the arts industry have to go through which is obviously last year we were preparing for the Greater Manchester Fringe and my fantastic cast and creative team for on me were working throughout those 40 degree days.

We had a very tight schedule. There was no way of not working. We brought fans in, we opened windows, we did everything we could. But it was just the fact that the heat that we were working in was absolutely appalling.

The play took place above a pub in the centre of town and it's just a wonderful image of the whole team crowding round this one fan. So it's more of an image than a story, but I think at that point I thought it just showed me how much people will put themselves through to present something that's of great value. And that's, that brings a community together. That tells such an important message.

I suppose it was funny and it was also poignant. The idea of performing in this tiny, cramped room in 40 degree heat which would seem appalling to anyone else who doesn't have the bug to create theatre.

[00:29:55] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. I think it speaks to the camaraderie and the passion that all of your team was showing. The cast, I guess I shouldn't use the word team here.

[00:30:04] Caroline Lamb: No, it's the same thing. It's absolutely the same thing. And it really showed me. I was rushing around. I was in London that morning and I was on the tube in the baking heat, and I was rushing up to go to the show and to the rehearsals and it really made me feel quite humbled that so many people were behind that vision. It was very much everyone else's play as much as it was mine, as much as it was the director Helen Paris's.

[00:30:28] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. This has been a great conversation, but that's all we have time for today.

[00:30:34] Caroline Lamb: Wonderful to speak to you, Deepa. Thank you so much for having me on.

[00:30:37] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. It's been a real pleasure and I've learned a lot because when we got started, I don't think I was as close to some of the concerns that you raised, so it's very interesting to hear about it. Thank you so much for sharing that.

[00:30:50] Caroline Lamb: Not a problem at all, and thank you.

Outro

Caroline, I really enjoyed learning about creating societal change today.

Dear listener, thank you so much for listening to the 12th episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, season six. Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode or log on to www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to listen to all the episodes and learn more about my podcasting story.

This will be the season finale for Season 6, and the Meet the Mancunian podcast will take a break until Tuesday, 9th January 2024. I will be releasing two bonus episodes over the Christmas and New Year period, so do look out for them.

Thank you for joining me on this enriching journey through the social impact stories of Manchester with the sixth season of the Meet the Mancunian podcast. I hope the stories you've heard today have sparked the fire of inspiration within you. May they serve as a gentle reminder that no dream is too big, and no passion too small.

Your feedback means the world to me. Visit www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to share your thoughts, suggestions, and the causes that touch your heart. Your inputs help me craft a podcast that truly touches hearts and makes a difference in our community.

Stay connected with a podcast on social media. You can find us @MeettheMancunian on Instagram and Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @Mancunianpod. Sharing and leaving a comment would be a fantastic way to spread the word and build a vibrant community of change makers.

Before I sign off, do remember to introduce the podcast to your friends and family. Together we can amplify the impact and reach of these incredible stories. Once again, thank you so much for being a part of the Meet the Mancunian family. Your support fuels my passion, and I can't wait to bring you more compelling stories that will touch your heart and fuel your soul.

Until we meet again in the next episode, let's keep creating waves of change together. Remember, the world needs more Mancunian spirit, so go out there and be the change you wish to see.

Take care, stay inspired and keep making a difference.