Hometown Boring?

Unearthing hidden histories from misjudged places across the UK, Anouska’s on a mission to prove that no hometown is boring and sprinkles some history-hun-facts along the way!! x

Last refreshed: July 19th, 2025 at 2:07 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

6. MILTON KEYNES: Worth Raving About

This episode contains references to drug use. Raves, drugs, and a youth culture revolution. In Milton Keynes? Anouska’s hometown of Milton Keynes (or MK to the locals x) isn’t known for being particularly cool… But in the nineties and the noughties it was home to a warehouse venue at the centre of UK club culture. From 1992-2004 the Sanctuary Music Arena hosted events that welcomed thousands of ravers every week. What happened when house music and MDMA collided to create UK rave culture in this ...

Feb 15, 2024•31 min

5. PLYMOUTH: Life of “The Devonshire Wonder”

LGBTQIA+ history doesn’t just exist in London, Manchester and Brighton. It’s everywhere! Including Plymouth! The I in LGBTQIA+ stands for intersex – those born with variations in their sex characteristics. And unfortunately, their history has often focused on their medical records rather than their lives. But this episode celebrates the ordinary everyday moments within Intersex History through one person’s story. Mark Weston was born in Plymouth in 1905. Raised as a girl, he discovered he had va...

Feb 15, 2024•32 min

4. SLOUGH: South Asian Women on Strike

Standing up for yourself is difficult. It’s even more difficult if people assume that you ‘won’t make a fuss’. From 1979 to 1980, the mostly South Asian and female workforce of a bubble gum factory in Slough stood up for themselves in the face of unfairness. The strike at the Chix Confectionery Company confronted stereotypes at the time that viewed South Asian women as passive. But this wasn’t the first time the British public was surprised to see strikers in saris. How is Chix connected to othe...

Feb 15, 2024•31 min

3. CHEPSTOW: Wales’s First Black Footballer

Lots of us dream of becoming professional footballers. Especially playing for our country. One person who lived that dream was Eddie Parris. In 1931, he became the first Black footballer to represent Wales internationally. But what was professional football like between two world wars? Scouted as a 17-year-old at Chepstow Town FC, Eddie played as a winger for various English football clubs including Luton, Bournemouth and Gloucester City, before his career took an abrupt pause with the onset of ...

Feb 15, 2024•32 min

2. CUMBERNAULD: Demolishing a New Town

No one wants their hometown to be labelled as dismal. But 13 miles outside of Glasgow, Cumbernauld is the only place to have won an award for being ‘Scotland’s most dismal town’ – twice. Its huge Brutalist shopping centre is an iconic feature of the town’s skyline. Yet in 2023, North Lanarkshire Council announced plans to demolish Cumbernauld Town Centre and start again. What makes these plans intriguing is that in 1967 the town won a prestigious prize for its innovative architecture. How does a...

Feb 15, 2024•33 min

1. ORMSKIRK: From Gingerbread to a Global Empire

We all deserve a lil' treat to perk us up in the day. But have you ever stopped to think about the history behind your fave sugary snacks? In the 1800s, ordinary Brits developed a sweet tooth. And one market town 12 miles northeast of Liverpool made use of it. Ormskirk became famous for its gingerbread recipe and the working-class 'Gingerbread Ladies' who sold the snack out of wicker baskets. These Victorian girl-bosses were savvy entrepreneurs who established businesses they passed down to thei...

Feb 15, 2024•36 min

Introducing Hometown Boring?

History Hun (Anouska Lewis) is on a mission to prove that no hometown is boring!! Because everywhere has a history and history’s never boring x She’s spotlighting hidden histories from misjudged places across the UK and supplying you with a few history-hun-facts along the way… Anouska explores the links between the British Empire and a local recipe in Ormskirk, unpacks the story of a soon-to-be-demolished Brutalist shopping centre in Cumbernauld, visits the birthplace of the first Black football...

Feb 09, 2024•2 min

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