Eastern Promise - The Podcast

Episode 160: Paul Bristow, Mayor of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

This week: Eastern Promise host Mike Rigby sits down to chat with Mayor of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Paul Bristow.
We discuss Paul's hometown of Peterborough, the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership, the difference between being a mayor and his previous role as an MP, and also the Combined Authority's Local Growth Plan - particularly the decision to have 'mayoral targets', putting his accountability front and centre.   
You can read and download a copy of the Local Growth Plan by clicking here.   
You can visit the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority website by clicking here. 
PLUS!  We begin a new era with our first EASTERN INSIGHT!  This week, Kim Lockwood of Thetford Town Cricket Club's Project 100, which aims to create a fully inclusive, modern, and accessible community sports environment that enables more people in Thetford to become active, stay active and feel part of a supportive community. 
Here's Project 100's crowdfunding page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/project-100-2.
For more more information on Eastern Insight, contact Eastern Promise at: podcast@easternpromise.org.uk.
Visit our website at https://www.easternpromise.org.uk.
Thank you to our partners, Mills & Reeve. 
 

Episode 159: The Norfolk Farming Conference

This Week: With a packed hall of farmers, agronomists, scientists and agricultural luminaries old and young, we're glad Mike Rigby dropped in on the 2026 Norfolk Farming Conference!  Calling in first on the Food and Farming Discovery Trust's splendid mobile classroom, we hear from Trust Manager Frances Roberson about why they're at the conference and what this educational sister charity to the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association has planned for the year ahead - no need to feel sheepish! 
Next, Mike drops by the Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group's stand to chat with Nathan Walker about their deer management strategy and the move to get more people into venison.  
With the slightest of pauses to hear more about Eastern Insight, Mike catches up with Cllr Fabian Eagle to ask about the Norfolk Rural Business Awards, before seizing the chance to interview former agriculture minister and Pier of the Realm, Baroness Shepard of Northwold, asking about what makes this event so important. 
It was a whistle-stop tour of the stands but you can get a flavour of the event right here...possibly venison! 
You can hear all of Eastern Promise's back catalogue and contact us by visiting our website and clicking on 'contact'.
Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

Episode 158: Form the Future's Annual Conference 2026

This Week: Form the Future is one-of-a-kind; a unique bridge between the worlds of education and work. 
This Cambridge-based CIC is rightly praised for its work in lifting the horizons of young people in the #EastofEngland and beyond, so Eastern Promise didn't hesitate to send Mike Rigby along to Hinxton Hall Conference Centre to ask delegates at Form the Future's 2026 Annual Conference why they're there, what makes Form the Future so special, and what they hope to have gleaned by the end of the day.   
Mike chats to delegates, speakers and CEO of Form the Future, Anne Bailey herself.  Don't miss it!
To find out more about Form the Future, click here.
PLUS! Hear all about our new thought leadership slot, 'EASTERN INSIGHT'; it'll be kinda like 'Thought for the Day' but more: 'Thought for the East'! Perfect if you need to raise the salience of a product, place, innovation, or a cause that motivates you. 
If you've something to say that's true to Eastern Promise's values of people, place, potential and positivity, and shares our commitment to diversity and inclusion, then get in touch via podcast@easternpromise.org.uk for pricing and booking details. There's only one Eastern Insight slot per week, so you'll have unrivalled visibility (or audibility!) 
To listen to Eastern Promise's entire back catalogue, or to contact the podcast, click here to visit easternpromise.org.uk.  
Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

Episode 157: Cambridge Science Centre

This Week: As the magnificent Cambridge Science Centre publishes its new Strategic Plan for 2026-2031, Eastern Promise's own Mike Rigby chats with the centre's CEO on the intent behind the Strategic Plan, their outreach strategy and the drive to not only make the centre 'best in class', but also an exemplar for STEM educational centres around the world.
You can read the Strategic Plan by clicking here, and buy tickets to visit the centre by clicking here.
PLUS! You can hear about the all-new thought leadership slot coming soon to the Eastern Promise podcast: EASTERN INSIGHT!  It's your chance to share your news, views and more with the world, with strategic visibility and a unique position in each episode.
All this and so much more!
You can contact Eastern Promise by visiting the Eastern Promise website and clicking or by emailing podcast@easternpromise.org.uk.   
Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

Episode 156: The Beginner's Guide to CAMBRIDGE!

This Week: Confused by Cambridge?  Well, Eastern Promise has your back and help is at hand! 
We bid you welcome to this first in our occasional series exploring our region's main urban ecosystems, the BEGINNER'S GUIDES!
In this first of our special episodes, Mike Rigby is joined by local experts to explore and explain the nuances, niceties, and need-to-knows of CAMBRIDGE!
Joining Mike to make up this cohort of Cambridge connoisseurs is:
Chair of Cambridge Ahead, Cambridge Science Centre, and all-round legend, Harriet Fear MBE;
Founder and CEO of CONEXEN, Paula Bekinschtein; 
MD of Cap Air Systems, Board Member and SME champion, Katy Davies;
Strategy and Community Advisor, Ilker Akansel; and
Investment Fund specialist and Partner at Mills & Reeve, Dona Ardeman!
Together, they talk through the special secret sauce that makes this city what it is; bust a few myths and shed new light into a place that can seem intimidating from the outside, but is a truly warm and welcoming place that rewards those who make the effort to engage.  You'll be informed, educated and - hopefully - entertained! 
More Beginner's Guides will be coming soon, with Ipswich, Norwich and Peterborough following later in the spring! 
Let us know what you think of these special episodes.  What did Mike miss? Does it need a second volume?  Where should we go after our first four?  Let us know by emailing podcast@easternpromise.org.uk, or by visiting our website at https://easternpromise.org.uk, and clicking on 'contact us'.  
Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.
Recorded on 5th December 2025 at Botanic House, Hills Road, Cambridge.

Episode 155: Norfolk's Ambassadors

This Week: We meet three of Norfolk's incredible coterie of AMBASSADORS! Meet Matt Smith of Place UK, Candy Richards of the Federation of Small Businesses, and Chris Spinks of Westcotec, who will be sharing with you:
Their love for Norfolk;
What makes the county unique; and
Why families, businesses, entrepreneurs and more should relocate to Norfolk! 
Our ambassadors share their experience and a clear-eyed vision for the county; not shrinking from challenges and eager to forge solutions.  Norfolk really couldn't ask for better representatives
So, put those spherical, golden chocolate & hazelnut sweeties into a tottering pyramid, because these ambassadors  are really spoiling us! 
To find out more, and to apply to become an Ambassador for Norfolk, click here.
For further details about the Norfolk Business Board, click here.
To learn more about Eastern Promise, and to listen to all of our back catalogue, click here. 
Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.

Episode 154: The Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board!

This Week! We're kicking off 2026 in style, and focussed on what's currently the most important economic development project in the UK - The Oxford Cambridge Corridor.  
Our navigators to this galactic-scale potential are the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, ably represented by Chair Andy Williams and fellow board member (and CEO of Cambridge Ahead) Dan Thorp.  Together, we'll dig into where we are, where we're going, what's at stake and what each of us needs to do to make this happen (top tip: just be nice to each other!)  
It's a fantastic listen and a brilliant insight into the importance of capability, community and coherence to this project.  Our thanks to Dan and Andy.
For the Connected Clusters report referenced by Mike and Dan, click here.
To visit the website of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, and read the reports referenced in this episode, click here.  
Click here to read the UK Government's investment prospectus for the Oxford Cambridge corridor (PDF, opens in new window). 
To read the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority's Local Growth Plan, then click here (PDF, opens in new window). 
If you want to take a look at the Cambridge Growth Company  Click here to visit their site.    
Eastern Promise was made in The Podding Shed and you can catch up on previous episodes at our website, and contact us there or by emailing podcast@easternpromise.org.uk.   
Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

Episode 153: Looking back at 2025 & ahead to 2026! (PLUS more Xmas Charity Appeals)

This Week: We round off our Christmas Charity Appeal open mic with the Big C Cancer Charity and the MedCan Foundation!  Find out more about our 2025 featured charities here:
Abbey People
The Big C -  Norfolk's Cancer Charity
The Cambridge Acorn Project
The MedCan Foundation
Then!  We take a long, loving look back at 2025 with some choice cuts from the archive...
We'll visit UKREiiF 2025, pop in on the John Innes Centre's Insectary, drop by the STEMM village during the Royal Norfolk Show, and relive part of last month's 'Skills, Careers & Policy' event (such a catchy title, and it's three parts, actually!)  
We'll even skip ahead and sample some of what 2026 has to offer, including the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, and a snippet from two of our 'Beginner's Guides': Norwich and Cambridge! 
Thank you for listening in 2025 and all being well, we'll see you again on 15th January 2026! 
To find out more about Eastern Promise, contact us, and listen to our back catalogue, click here.
Eastern Promise was made in The Podding Shed and is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

Episode 152: Playlist Power! How AI is empowering Music in the Fight Against Dementia! (PLUS Christmas Appeal Open Mic!)

This Week: We find out how, for dementia patients and their families, the hits of their youth have now become a critical bridge, especially when communication falters.  We'll meet Music for My Mind's Dimana Georgieva at Cambridge Consultant's HQ on Cambridge Science Park, along with CC's AI experts Joseph Corrigan and Ali Shafti, to discover how the deeptech dynamos of CapGemini Invent helped Hertfordshire-based charity 'Music For My Mind' to create an AI Prototype to measure and learn the reactions of people living with dementia to hearing music.  
To try out the Music For My Mind playlist maker yoursef, click here: https://app.musicformymind.com/
We'll also be bringing you our first two Christmas charity appeal open mics, and we'll be joined by the Cambridge Acorn Project's own Hannah Golding, and then by Nicky Shepard, CEO of Abbey People, a vibrant community charity in the Abbey Ward of Cambridge,improving the lives and wellbeing of Abbey residents. 
CLICK HERE FOR THE CAMBRIDGE ACORN PROJECT BIG GIVE! 
To find out more about the Cambridge Acorn Project, a fantastic mental wellbeing of young people in Cambridgeshire, click here.
To find out more about Abbey People's amazing work in the Cambridge Abbe Ward, click here.

Episode 151: LIVE EVENT! Skills, Careers & Policy

This Week: On 21st November 2025, Eastern Promise held a live event at Mills & Reeve's Cambridge office, focussed around skills, careers and creating better policy on both.
However, this recording, in front of a live audience set out to do something different: to talk to a group of young people about their hopes, dreams and future plans, and get a panel of educators and skills professionals consisting of: Andy Daly, Executive Principal of the Meridian Trust; Anne Bailey, CEO of Form the Future CIC; Kevin Keable, Chair of the East of England Energy Group (and, coincidentally, the recently announced Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Norfolk and Suffolk), and Deputy Principal of East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Dr Simon Fox, to address these points, before giving young people the final say.  
Then, in what is admittedly a bit of a 'long player' of a podcast, we move forward to look at the impact of career breaks, whether chosen or not, and career pivots.  We'll hear a number of stories of what can best be described as 'squiggly careers', huge life changes, sudden shocks, pivots from successful careers into new ventures and more. Taking us through this are: Deborah Dawson of Mills & Reeve, Victoria Higgins of 'Beyond the Noise', Sally Field of Cambridge Wireless and Tarquin Bennett-Coles of Compass Carter Osborne.
And finally, Charlotte Horobin, CEO of the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce; Dan Thorp, CEO of Cambridge Ahead; Owen Garling of the Bennett School of Public Policy; and Gareth John, Director of Policy at accountancy trainers First Intuition will unpack everything we've heard and share their thoughts about what it all means going forward.
Eastern Promise would like to thank everyone who attended the recording, our engineer, North Cambridge Academy and East Norfolk Sixth Form, and especially Lee, Dotty, Mai, Drew, Ash and Shanae from those institutions for taking part.
To find out more about Eastern Promise, to listen to our back catalogue and to contact us, visit https://easternpromise.org.uk.
Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.