Tracks of My Life with Mike Wood

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them.

Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.

In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Mike Wood who has spent almost 40 years as a volunteer with Talking Newspapers, joining his local talking newspaper, The Swindon, and District Talking Newspaper Association in the early 1980s and then heavily involved in the setup of the Talking News Federation in 2004/2005 and Mike is the current Vice President of the association.

Through Mike’s Tracks of My Life we will go on a journey from early life at home for Mike with his parents and his Mother’s parents all living together in the same house.  Fun times for Mike playing outside with his mates before having to go to school for the first time.  At the age of 5.  On that very first day at school Mike returned home after the first break at 11am to a surprised Mum who asked, ‘what are you doing at home?’ with Mike’s reply ‘well I have tried school for a day, and I don’t like it!’.

We will then move on a couple of years for Mike and a bit of a battle for him between playing football on Saturday mornings with his mates and learning the piano with his Aunt where in the end he won the battle.  Looking back now Mike would maybe have liked to continue the lessons to be able to play the piano like some of the musicians on his chosen tracks. 

As a teenager Mike’s parents would have preferred him to listen to classical music but it was Trad Jazz for Mike and following some of the jazz bands of the day with their toe tapping music.

Then we will hear from Mike as to how he got involved with his local Talking Newspaper in the early 1980s, the setup of the Talking News Federation in the early 2000s and how Talking Newspapers have evolved and developed over the years with the introduction of new technology such as memory sticks and now online digital presence too.

Mike will then share fond memories of some of the great Jazz concerts he has been to over the years and one at Ronnie Scott’s which included a classical music performance that Mike’s parents might have been proud of!

You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm. 


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