Just before I head overseas to the land of my ancestors in Scotland and Ireland, I was lucky enough to stumble into an Irish music session in Brisbane.

The Irish accents flew thick and fast, to the accompaniment of the bodran, Eilean pipes, tin whistle and fiddle.

Jack O’Leary is one of the musicians who makes this weekly quest to reconnect with his homeland.

He tells us on Streets of Your Town, how Irish music and Australian culture have intertwined, to the degree that you can find a similar Irish music session, at most cities and towns throughout Australia.

Contact Streets of Your Town host Nance Haxton AKA The Wandering Journo and find socials links HERE

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It’s not often we get an Australian jazz singer legend on Streets of Your Town, but we are lucky enough to enjoy that on today’s episode.

Vince Jones is well known not only in this country but throughout the world as one of Australia’s most renowned jazz musicians.

He tells us how the love of his craft started young, in the lively jazz surrounds of Scotland.

And after half a century of performing, and a lifetime of loving music, Vince is gladly still on the road, performing and creating his distinctly Australian take on jazz music.

Contact Streets of Your Town host Nance Haxton AKA The Wandering Journo and find socials links HERE

Get the full story, and join The Wandering Journo tribe at substack.soyt.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Paralympian athlete Gerrard Gosens, taking on the challenge of swimming across the English Channel is more than just a physical one.

It’s also mental, as the blind swimmer confronts the elements and conditions of the day and then figures out how to overcome them.

Gerrard tells us on Streets of Your Town podcast how he is well into an intense training regimen preparing for his attempted channel crossing in August - swimming from the UK to France in his quest to become the first blind person to do so.

It’s a big leap from his previous sport of running - having represented Australia in long distance running in three Paralympic Games and three IPC World Athletic Championships from 1996 to 2011, as well as the Paratriathlon at Tokyo 2022.

Contact Streets of Your Town host Nance Haxton AKA The Wandering Journo and find socials links HERE

Get the full story, and join The Wandering Journo tribe at substack.soyt.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.