Listen as the town crier welcomes Transom to This is England.

This is England
A Show Produced by Chris Butterfield
Listen in Real Audio or MP3
Discuss in Transom Talk

This is from an email we received. Would you have wanted to hear the program?

I just wanted to let you know as a regular visitor to Transom.org how much I enjoy the sense of community it's begun to foster amongst radio producers. I'm based in the wilds of rural England, but somehow don't feel quite as out of touch now.

I've just been reading the .pdf version of the Kitchen Sisters discussion on Transom. It made for interesting reading. Their comments on working partnerships and collaborations brought a smile to my face. You see I work with my mother! Don't let that put you off, We work extremely hard to produce "This is England."

Cesspool Sid

Well, we wanted to hear it and we found it, I don't know - not just quaint, but refreshing. Simple. Just the neighbors going about their jobs, talking about their work to someone who listens. The Constable, the owner of the sweet shop, Cesspool Sid, the neighbor who built a machine to find and destroy land mines in faraway places. With Studs Terkel coming soon, it seemed just the thing. Have a listen.

*Note: Helen of our team edited a few bits together for this Transom sampling. Full programs can be heard on Chris' and Liz's site: www.one-voice.co.uk/england/

Chris Butterfield

Chris Butterfield
There's no way around it I'm a huge radio fan. If I'm not reading about my other love, Aviation, then I'm probably editing or doing something radio related. It's not surprising when you consider Liz (my mother) made a radio program for the BBC from a tug boat while seven months pregnant with me. You could say I got the radio bug while "in utero"!

Years later I studied Media at College, heading towards a career, I hoped, in movie special effects. It was at college I read the film director Frank Capras' autobiography. One particular line stuck in my mind. He said, "What interests people most are other people".Going on from college to study for my degree, my dreams of University graduation came to abrupt end when Arthritis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome followed a bout of Influenza. But I remembered Capra's words and they were the inspiration for "This Is England - Real People, Real Stories".

Material for the programs is recorded using a minidisk and then edited using an ordinary PC running Cool Edit Pro. I prefer the production side of program making as well as designing the supporting web site. To stay within our tiny budget (about 50 dollars per program) we've had to beg, borrow or make our equipment. My favourite invention is a huge padded blanket, which we use to absorb reflected sound out on location. It works like a dream.

Liz Fawden

Liz Fawden
Liz Fawden - thats my professional name. I first became involved in radio when I made a documentary for BBC Radio Woman's Hour a very long time ago. Whilst teaching I did a course in radio production and once interviewed successfully for voice over work, but never took things further until I teamed up with Chris professionally 2 years ago.

You'll guess my real surname if I tell you I'm The Producer's producer. I genuinely enjoy meeting such interesting people who feature on "This Is England".Each program is meticulously researched and I spend many hours in pre-production planning. Even then there is always something that doesn't go to plan and I love having to think on my feet. My next challenge is to learn to use editing software and share the post production load with Chris. Can anyone tell me where the "On " button is located on a computer,please?

In the far distant past I was a graduate of the University of Essex with a B.A.Hons Degree in Politics and I also hold a Post Graduate Teaching Certificate in the education of children with special needs.