029: Good News for Stoke & Staffordshire

Robbie Williams goes for an Oscar, free fruit for Newcastle residents, expanding the visitor economy and local bloke walks every street in Stoke…

This week, The Knot is brought to you by Unspun, a Staffordshire-based CBD brand founded by Joe and Gemma.

Good News 🎉

• Robbie Williams Sets His Sights on the Oscars. Will there ever be a more famous Stokie than our Rob? Probably not. The Port Vale lovin’ superstar (we love this YouTube about his tattoos, which include a Staffordshire Knot and Burslem’s coat of arms) is now going for an Academy Award as he’s placed an entry into the Best Original Song category at the 2025 Awards. He’ll be submitting ‘Forbidden Road’ (listen here), written for his upcoming biopic Better Man, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last week. But he’s up against some stiff competition, with Ariana Grande set to submit a song from Wicked and Lady Gaga for an as-yet to be determined track from Joker: Folie à Deux. Superfans take note: Robbie just confirmed two dates in January 2025 at South Africa’s Calabash festival in Johannesburg (18/01) and Capetown (22/01).

Spot the Staffs Knot: Robbie on stage in Perth last year. Pic: Facebook

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• Staffordshire-based CBD Brand Brings Californian Chill Home. While living in California, Gemma and Joe found broad-spectrum CBD to be a great help in staying calm and focused when managing the demands of busy jobs and a young family. When they returned to the UK to raise their children near family and the beautiful Peak District, they were disappointed by how complicated and confusing the CBD market seemed, and they knew they could do better.

  
  Determined to bring a premium CBD experience to their new home in Staffordshire, Joe and Gemma created Unspun. Their straightforward range of CBD oils and gummies offers trusted, lab-tested products made with care, helping others find the calm and focus they experienced in California.

  

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• Free Food from Lyme Valley Community Orchard. In a quest to help local people gain better access organic produce – and locally-grown at that – this fab community group in Lyme Valley Parkway is giving it away. Some of the fruit currently up for grabs includes Keswick codlin apples (perfect for baking) and pitmanston pineapple apples, which are characterised by their crisp, sharp flavour with a hint of pineapple. “Many apples are in season at the moment, and in October/November, the quince and medlars will be ripe,” says head volunteer Matt. Want to get involved? They’re always looking for volunteers. Matt’s usually down there 10-12pm most Sundays if you want to meet him…

Grab free apples and seasonal fruit at Lyme Valley Orchard. Pic: Facebook

• Putting Stoke on the Map: Expanding the Visitor Economy. An ambitious new plan is positioning the county as “the largest playground in the UK” and will champion the city’s ceramics and world craft status. Working alongside VisitEngland, the new Local Visitor Economy Partnership Board is now looking ahead to a five-year destination management plan that’s set to be launched by 2026. VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes says, “We want to ensure Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent remain top destinations for both domestic and international visitors now and in the future.”

Shugborough Hall: a great reason to visit Staffs. Pic: Unsplash/Ian Procter

Check out more from our resident cartoonist at his website

Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):

Mon 🌧 15°(10°) Tue ☁️ 16°(10°) Wed 🌧 15° (9°) Thu 🌧 15° (7°) Fri 🌥️ 12°(6°)
Sat ⛅️12°(4°) Sun ⛅️ 13°(7°)

Sunrise 23/09 ☀️ 06:57 Sunset 23/09 🌅 19:04