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Peas, Phone Boxes & Predictive Text
Episode 615th March 2026 • Herefordshire Hearsay • Herefordshire Hearsay
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Episode 6 – Peas, Phone Boxes & Predictive Text

Welcome back to Herefordshire Hearsay, where this week’s episode is packed with community heroes, nostalgic memories, awkward social moments and a few food-related near disasters.

Here’s what’s coming up…

💛 Celebrating Local Volunteers

We begin by shining a spotlight on the amazing volunteers at Lee’s Place and the Hit Squad in Hereford, recognising the time, energy and kindness they give to the community.

👖 The Great Trouser Debate

Pauline raises an important question:

When did trousers become “a trouser”?

Why are shops suddenly referring to clothing in the singular when you clearly have two legs? We investigate the strange world of modern retail language.

🍽️ Dining Out Disasters

We share some unforgettable restaurant faux pas, including:

• Pauline’s steak night table-top disaster that launched peas across the room

• The diner who thought the hot towel at the end of an Indian meal was a snack to take home

• Kerry’s dinner guest who nearly ate pot pourri thinking it was Bombay mix

Yes… really.

🛒 Facebook Marketplace Madness

We dive into the strange and hilarious things people try to sell online, including items described as:

• “Only used once”

• “Never opened with a small stain”

• Dog clippers apparently used “once on the wife”

You couldn’t make it up.

📱 When Text Messages Go Wrong

Autocorrect disasters, predictive text mishaps and the panic of sending a message to the completely wrong person… we’ve all been there.

☎️ Life Before Mobile Phones

We take a nostalgic trip back to the days of:

• Queuing outside phone boxes in the rain

Dial telephones that took forever to call anyone

Shared party lines where neighbours could accidentally (or deliberately) listen in on your calls

• Making prank calls from the phone book

Simpler times… sort of.

Awkward Social Situations

From hugs that last far too long, to waving at someone who wasn’t actually waving at you, we explore those painfully funny social moments with Max and Lucia.

🌳 Why Everyone Knows Everyone in Herefordshire

Max shares his perspective on local life from a German viewpoint, while Pauline reflects on growing up on the College Estate in Hereford and Kerry explains why the county has completely captured her heart.

Jeff & Ted’s Edible Adventure – The Saga Continues

Jeff and Ted are still somewhere in the hills testing their edible underwear survival concept, but Sandra is starting to worry after not hearing from Jeff for two weeks.

Will Bear Grylls track them down and steal their idea? The mystery deepens…

📣 Shire Shout-Outs

This week we celebrate:

💛 Sue at St Michael’s Hospice reception

🏡 Bartestree Village Shop – a true community hub

🔧 Central Garage in Hereford, run by the Sockett brothers

Local legends keeping the county brilliant.

🎧 Coming Up Next Time

In the next episode we’ll be chatting about Red Nose Day, Shakespeare Week and Wear a Hat Day, plus more stories, laughs and Herefordshire moments.

🎧 Listen now to Episode 6 of Herefordshire Hearsay — stories, silliness and the Shire at its finest.

Herefordshire Hearsay is all about local voices, untold stories and celebrating the brilliant people who make the county shine. If you love Herefordshire, you’ll love this.

👋 Get Involved

Got a story? A dilemma? A Shire Shout-out?

Send it to us at chat@herefordshirehearsay.co.uk

Follow us on socials:

📘 Facebook – @HerefordshireHearsay

📸 Instagram – @HerefordshireHearsay

🐦 X – @HfdHearsay

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Episode 6 - Where you can find things:

00:00.000 Welcome

00:16.000 Celebrating Local Volunteers

04:22.000 The Great Trouser Debate

06:42.000 Dining Out Disasters

09:04.000 Facebook Marketplace Madness

11:07.000 When Text Messages Go Wrong

12:13.000 Life Before Mobile Phones

14:32.000 Awkward Social Situations

24:25.000 Why Everyone Knows Everyone in Herefordshire

31:31.000 Jeff & Ted’s Edible Adventure – The Saga Continues

33:16.000 Shire Shout-Outs

34:17.000 Coming up in Episode 7

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