Joanne Harris, Ian McMillan, Jeremy Dyson, Deborah Bullivant

Author Joanne Harris, poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan, writer and League of Gentlemen member Jeremy Dyson and social entrepreneur Ben Payne – plus Grimm and Co founder Deborah Bullivant.

It was a pleasure and privilege to attend Monday’s opening of Grimm & Co, the “apothecary supplying sorcery services and unnatural products to magical beings,” which is also a Yorkshire charity, a writing and mentoring centre for children and young people.

With a prime corner position on Rotherham High Street, Grimm and Co is a treat and an imaginative triumph. I interviewed:

•  founder Deborah Bullivant, whose determination to make Grimm and Co a reality is  an inspiration for social entrepreneurs and anyone launching a creative or community project
• Joanne Harris,Ian McMillan, Jeremy Dyson and Ben Payne, all of whom attended the Grimm & Co launch event and participated in storytelling workshops with Rotherham schoolchildren.

Timings (music played on air removed from podcast):

• 0 – 8:47 introduction; business and social enterprise updates.
• 8:47 – 15:49 Deborah Bullivant of Grimm and Co and Joanne Harris, author.
• 15:49 – 19:55 Ian McMillan, poet, broadcaster and author.
• 19:55 – 23:51 Ben Payne of the Ministry of Stories in Hoxton, London.
• 23:51 – 29:55 writer Jeremy Dyson of The League of Gentlemen and a Grimm and Co trustee.
• 29:55 – 31:18 more details about Grimm and Co.
• 31:18 – 52.18 revisiting what it takes to make an independent business successful – a recent interview with Laura Bullock of Seven Hills Bakery.
• 52:18 – end wrapping up.

This is episode #103 of Business Live.