New podcast 'Life in Leam' created by Leamington resident receives over 1000 downloads in first few weeks
In just a few short weeks, a locally produced podcast has become a hit in Leamington Spa.
'Life in Leam' created and hosted by resident Tim Bishop, has already been downloaded over 1,000 times since its launch earlier this month.
Each episode offers short, engaging insights into the latest happenings, upcoming events, and quirky stories in Leamington and features first-hand contributions from local people, highlighting the personalities and stories that give the town its unique character.
Tim, who began the podcast with little expectation, said he was initially nervous about how it would be received.
"I had one of those big, deep breath moments when I did my first posts into some of the Facebook groups about the podcast," he said.
"I was not at all confident that people would necessarily give it a positive reception because, really, you're putting yourself right out there."
Despite his concerns, the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, with five-star reviews left on Apple Podcasts and continued growth in listener numbers.
Speaking to Nub News about his new podcast venture, Tim said: "It's been very, very encouraging.
"I thought it would be nice if a hundred people listened or something like that.
"I started putting content out there properly from about the 11th June, and so to have gone from no followers to over 1,000 downloads in about two weeks, I've sat back and thought about it and thought, wow, that is really amazing."
The idea for Life in Leam grew from Tim's pursuit to promote a local choir's concert, which Tim himself recently joined, Vox Populi.
After the choir received a short feature on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire, Tim began exploring other ways he could get the message out about it and other events happening in the town.
Initially, Tim looked for a radio station or podcast that focused on Leamington, but was surprised to find there wasn't anything that matched what he was looking for.
"I started to think, well, what if you tried to do something? There are so many things opening in town all the time," he said.
This curiosity prompted Tim to start compiling a list of businesses and events that caught his attention around the town, which he noted grew quickly to around 20 to 30 things.
Meanwhile, he became increasingly aware of the vibrant activity around Leamington that he believed would interest others as well: "I thought, if I'm curious about it, maybe other people will be as well, and so that was how the idea got started."
Although Tim doesn't come from a journalistic or podcasting background, he explained that his career in corporate communications in the technology industry has helped him feel more confident to take on the podcast.
"As part of my job, I have done several webcasts, video sessions, audio sessions and live events," he said.
"They've been a big part of what I've been doing professionally for the last 15 years, so I felt pretty confident that I'd got, certainly, some of the skills in the bag to do this."
The biggest challenge for Tim was taking on the project solo.
"The big leap for me was going, 'you know, there's only one way to find out whether this could be something that people would like, and that's really to get out and have a go'" said Tim.
Taking the first steps, he began reaching out to local businesses, many of whom agreed to take part even before the podcast had gone live.
"I started emailing people, and they were prepared to give me their time and do an interview even when I hadn't got anything online yet, which was amazing to see."
Since launching, Life in Leam has featured stories from a range of Leamington business owners, including Adrian from Temperance Bar and Carl from Southbound Café Bar.
Tim shared that Adrian originally bought the building as a renovation project with no plans to open a bar or music venue.
Another memorable guest was Carl from Southbound Café.
The café was once Carl's engineering workshop, but after joking over drinks with friends that it would make a great wine bar, the idea quickly became a reality.
"Before he knew it, he was hung by the tongue, and so now he's turned his little engineering workshop into a wine bar — and what a bizarre and marvellous thing to do!
"There are so many stories like that," he added.
Tim went on to note: "I've only done half a dozen episodes so far, but almost everyone's got a really lovely insight, which is interesting, but you could certainly say you are inspired by them as well."
Although originally from London, Tim moved to Leamington around 15 years ago and admitted he hadn't felt deeply connected to the community until now.
"I wasn't that well plugged into the community in Leamington," he said.
"One of my secondary objectives in doing this was to feel more connected.
"One of the happy by-products of what I am doing is that I am feeling more connected.
"I've probably spoken to more people in Leamington in the last month than I've done in the last five years."
With little more than a microphone, his phone, and GarageBand software, Tim records and edits each episode himself.
"The great thing about audio is that editing it is not hugely complicated," he said.
Despite not being a regular podcast listener himself, Tim has successfully created a show that is not only well-received but shines a light on Leamington's thriving independent and creative community.
Life in Leam is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
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