Podcasts: Croppie Coffee, Episode One
Croppie Coffee (Episode One)
Hosted by Simon Mumford & Connor Skerman
Available via Spotify
Do you remember your first steps into croppiedom? When you were naive and dropped into The Barge to listen to someone or other telling you something about crop circles that was an approximation of an already tired myth. Or maybe when you bumped into some minor name on top of Walkers Hill who’d had a bonkers theory published on the Crop Circle Connector about the 1996 circle at Bishops Cannings; they must have really known what they were talking about. If you’d thought such halcyon days of cerealogical ignorance were in the past then it’s time to reconsider. Episode one of the Croppie Coffee podcast has dropped on Spotify.
Hosts are Connor Skerman and Simon Mumford, a likeable and enthusiastic pair from Dorset eager to learn more about crop circles. Their guest is Steve Tyler, a conspiracy minded DJ from an obscure community radio station on the west coast of Scotland.
The experience of listening to this episode is akin to being sat in the old Crop Circle Café. Three men are talking circles. Two aren’t ashamed to admit they know very little, looking to the third for guidance. You sit there, entranced as the canards unintentionally and joyfully roll from the third chap’s tongue. Geese won’t fly over crop circles … old blokes with planks and string … the Yorkshire UFO group was run by the police … devil circles … the powers that be use black magic to discredit the truth … farmers are paid to plough up crop circles … those famous Juliette and Mandrill Set circles. You want to laugh at the thought of a baboon crop circle but then the hilarity slowly turns to annoyance. You realise this Tyler bloke has got no idea what he’s on about. He’s never been into a crop circle and admits it. How can he say nobody has ever been prosecuted for making a crop circle? How, for God’s sake, does he not know there are plenty of incomplete crop circles that have been found through the years? If only one of the hosts knew enough to challenge some of the assertions Tyler is sharing with us. It could have made for interesting discussion.
Another frustration is the production. The audio is dominated by a tense, unsuitable and intrusive background music track that makes listening excessively tough. Go quiet ambient or go silent! There are also a few other sound issues and at least one section featuring a technical problem that should have been edited out. But let’s not be too harsh. This is the first episode. Audio editing and production are tasks that take time to learn. Some of us have been there.
All said, the first episode of Croppie Coffee is a curiously engaging affair; (unintentionally) amusing, frustrating, annoying and entertaining in equal measures. If you want that feeling of listening in to a group of people who know very little about their subject matter then go for it. Still, crop circles are a journey and we expect the hosts will learn more as they go on. It’s just a real shame they didn’t start with a more informed guest.
Connor here- Thank you for your honest review, I shall take your comments on board and work on them for series 2.. Croppie Coffee is my first ever step into not only the world of crop circles, but podcasts as well, and like you say editing is a skill that will take time. We have released episodes 2 and 3 now, with no technical errors, yay! Unfortunately the music is still there, however I hope the conversation is enough to keep you engaged.
Take care and thank you again for the comments and exposure. It means a lot.
Hi Connor, no worries and thanks for taking the time to respond. Episode Two was a vast improvement, in part because you featured a guest who was much more knowledgeable.
With regard to the music, drop it down in the mix a bit. I always think The Blindboy Podcast sets a good example for how to incorporate music that adds to things but you don’t really notice it.
Audio editing is a very exhausting job. I did it weekly for two years and you become better as you go along. Good luck for the future and I’ll put up a review of another in a month or so.
Hello Connor
Will the podcast have any real current human circle makers being interviewed? As this is what we really want to hear about.Why they do what they do, their drive.
Thanks
Hi Jo, if Connor is reading this then hopefully he can answer your question. However, this website has no association with Connor’s podcast. 😀
Hi Jo,
All I shall say is 10:00 am on the 7th of April, we may just have what you are looking for ;).
All the best,
Connor
Connor, it’ll be interesting to see what FG says as from what I’m read of his work and motivations, he’s a land artist and not a circle maker. The two are different things.
Connor, it was a shame you were not advertising the podcast from the start as Richard and other Co hosts do you no favours.
You will never get a well respected current circle maker or anyone of any importance on the show sadly as Richard has burnt all bridges with them all by supporting a group which harbours sexual threats and sex offenders l, never a good look especially when trying to start a podcast.
You come across very well and up to now very polite and respectful, but sadly your support network doesn’t follow in your footsteps and let’s the side down.
All the best.
We want interviews with actual current circle makers, not Doug and Dave’s or commercial work but the real circle makers of the last 5 years.
Someone must know who they are and can ask them.
I want to know of true experiences
Sally, funnily enough we’ve got an upcoming series here at The Croppie with circle makers answering questions on specific subjects including their motivations, the weird experiences they’ve had and how they feel once they leave the field. You won’t read or hear them anywhere else. These are people who have been out in the fields of England within the last five or so years.
I doubt any current crop circle makers would want to expose themselves for obvious reasons ! Any interviews will be with past makers or land artists not actual current circle makers.