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| A sparkling tea toast to Barb's Tea Service Podcast's first anniversary! |
Today marked our one-year anniversary of Barb's Tea Service's podcast. We - me and my co-host, studio engineer and "arm candy" - celebrated with a highlights show at ONTV studio, toasting with sparkling tea. With almost 40 podcasts completed in the last twelve months, we're excited for Season Two, with more adventures, more special guests, and, yes, a lot more tea!
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| For Podcast Anniversary, we swapped our usual hot tea for sparking tea. |
Last March, we were schooled by the expert staff at ONTV on the basics of studio recording and then it was time to figuratively cut the cord and "go live". Our first podcast was a bit rough with a few miscues and some mildly stilted conversation, but we made it to twenty minutes of content, relieved to call it a wrap.
We ended with the sage words of 1980's singer/songwriter, Howard Jones: "things can only get better".
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| Learning the recording ropes. |
After the initial recording, the nerves settled, and we got more comfortable. We then cemented our podcast programming staples: sampling a new tea, sharing our tea-drinking vessel, talking about tea and tea-adjacent (and tea-adjacent-adjacent) topics, sharing viewer feedback, and tackling controversial topics (who can forget the backlash from the dining etiquette dictum that french fries should be eaten with the use of knife and fork?)
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| Chris with flavor wheels |
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| Thirty-six teas sampled, 8 were Earl Grey |
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In our 36 podcasts, we've sampled 36 different teas of which 8 were Earl Grey, 3 were Breakfast teas and to round out that category, 14 other assorted black tea blends. In addition, we tried, 2 white teas, 1 oolong, 1 Darjeeling, 2 green, 1 lapsang souchong and 4 different ginger teas. Chris was always at the ready with not one, but two flavor wheels to zero in on the most apt definition of tasting notes.
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| Rob first joined us for Podcast 5. |
Then we invited special guests to the program, starting with our son, Rob, who, with his radio voice and cheekiness, was a natural behind the microphone. He's been on our podcast three times, the last time in December with girlfriend, Megan, who talked about an organization close to her heart, Animal House, a non-profit cat adoption agency she volunteers for. Her "at ease", engaging personality translated "on air" so fluidly it was as though she was just comfortably talking to us in our living room and not tethered to headphones in a high tech studio. This dynamic duo are welcome back anytime!
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| Rob and Megan, special guests on Podcast 26 |
Another confidently communicative couple (and good friends), Rik and Carol were also special guests of the BTS podcast. They, too, shared an organization they are passionate about, their own local chapter of Toastmasters, the Confident Communicators. With years of public speaking, they, too, "owned" the studio and we enjoyed their visit - and the door is always open for a return engagement.
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| Barb with confident communicators, Rik and Carol D. for Podcast 8 |
Although we've joked that our running topics - Bridgerton, Downton Abbey, Jane Austen, the Gilded Age, Royals, salt sellers, knife rests and tablescapes - could be mapped on BINGO cards, we've also gone from the intensely serious subjects to the hard driving fluff. In one episode topics can range from the tragic end of an Austrian princess* to the sum total of the Gabor sisters' husbands**.
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| Testing to take out on the road |
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| Back in the studio, learning the remote equipment |
And, again, with the incredible staff at ONTV, Chris and I enhanced our podcasting skills to go remote. We checked out the studios somewhat portable equipment and went live on-site, at the lovely lakefront home of our go-to guest, Rob. Aside from lighting issues, we were successful and aim to literally take the show on the road in the future.
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| Remote set up. Bonus - two techies in the family. |
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| And, that's a wrap on first out-of-studio podcast. |
So, yes, on our agenda for BTS Podcast, Season 2, as noted above: more remote programs, more special guests, more tea, more controversy and fire up your daubers, we'll continue with more of our favorite BINGO-worthy subjects.
As we like to say at Barb's Tea Service, "please stay tuned".
A special thanks to good friends, Pam and Quint, for all the content sourcing and suggestions and a note to our other children - you know who you are - join your older brother in the studio and get your own special guest mug!
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| Special guests get this tea mug! |
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| Bonus: Special Guests Mug |
*Podcast 11
**Podcast 20
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
You can find our Podcasts at the following:
If you are looking to watch as well as listen, you can find us on YouTube, either directly on our station or ONTV's site:
- Barb's Tea Service - YouTube
- Orion Neighborhood Television - YouTube (search "Barb's Tea Service")
To be automatically notified when our latest podcast hits YouTube, subscribe to our channel. We appreciate your "likes" and "comments".
Audio only (our half hour segments are perfect for a neighborhood-walk-listen or a short drive in the car), can be found on SoundCloud via ONTV (again, search "Barb's Tea Service"). Just download the SoundCloud app.
If you have an iPhone, you can find us on apple podcast.
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