Bill Sharman - Howard 1955

father/son

When I sat down with Howard, I quickly realised that a burger can be a time machine. What starts as a chat about Wimpy on one of the hottest days of the year becomes a walk straight back into post‑war Britain, when “hamburgers” were still a novelty and Wimpy was quietly inventing what we now think of as British fast food. Howard’s dad, Bill Sharman, isn’t just working in restaurants — he’s learning the product from the ground up, shaping standards, and helping to build a franchise model that felt genuinely new on the high street.

We get into the details that make business history feel human: where the name Wimpy came from, why quality control mattered more than any secret recipe, and how table service changed the whole feel of eating a burger in town. There are brilliant snapshots of the era, too, celebrity openings, the Savalas brothers drifting through the story, and the strange glamour of international travel when flying felt risky enough that you’d buy life insurance at the airport before boarding.

But the conversation soon shifts from brand building to the cost of it. Howard talks about a father who was kind, reserved, and often absent, shaped by wartime service and a generation that rarely showed affection out loud. We talk about retirement, regret, and the danger of life feeling hollow when the work stops. It’s a reminder that behind every iconic brand sits a family living with the consequences of ambition.

If you care about UK food culture, franchising, leadership, or simply the human side of building something that lasts, there’s a lot here to take away.

If this resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who remembers Wimpy, and tell me what Wimpy brings back for you — a taste, a person, or a moment in time.

Bits & Bobs

There's a slight bit of mic static (I don't know if it's on my mic or Howard’s mic), but it's okay, it's only for a few minutes.

1. Joe Lyons & Wimpy
2. Wimpy
3. 1966 FIFA World Cup final
4. Savalas brothers

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Memory is Fragile

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Po, Kan, Lambert, Dai-Sensei & Zhong Ming Fashi - Simon 1960

mentors/student

When I sat down with Simon, he told me that everything began with one evening in childhood, three TV channels, and a single kung fu programme. That moment set him on a 52‑year martial arts journey that carried him from the Isle of Wight to Asia, and now to a quieter life in the Philippines, where he still trains every day and runs his school from afar.

In our conversation, we explore what he learned under his first sensei, why travel became part of his curriculum, and how training with so many teachers and traditions shaped his ideas about destiny, discipline, and self‑direction. We wander through monastery life in Thailand, Okinawan roots, research trips to China, and the belief that martial arts are ultimately less about winning fights and more about learning how not to fight.

A big part of our chat centres on San Shan Gong, Simon’s moving meditation built around the three battles of mind, body, and spirit. We also get wonderfully practical — posture, breath, and why something as simple as “standing” can teach you lessons that stay with you for years, even on a packed tube train. And yes, we talk about martial arts in films and TV: what Hollywood gets wrong, and what still rings true if you look past the myth.

If you’re drawn to kung fu philosophy, karate history, meditation, self‑defence mindset, or simply the idea of living with a bit more calm strength, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with someone who trains (or wants to), and tell me the biggest takeaway you’re carrying into your week.

Bits & Bobs

• A caulkhead is a colloquial nickname for a native-born resident of the Isle of Wight
• Master Po and Master Kan from the 1970s Kung Fu TV series, whose philosophy, depth of skill, and spirituality deeply impacted him.
• Mike Lambert, his first sensei, was instrumental in his journey and whom he modelled himself after.
• Higaonna Morio Dai-Sensei, a grandmaster from Okinawa, was his inspiration for five years in America and helped him take karate back to its roots.
• Zhong Ming Fashi was his Chan Zen meditation master and spiritual leader in China.
• TV Show Kung Fu
• The Champions is a British sci-fi, espionage, and adventure TV series
• The Isle of Wight man who devoted his life to KungFu: Simon Lailey’s decades of martial arts mastery

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Memory is Fragile

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

John 1958

father/son

“The Longtime-Ago-Person is Probably Me”

When I sit down with John, I’m taken straight into a childhood that feels almost impossible now. He grew up in a vicarage on the edge of Dartmoor, the kind of place where a boy could walk out after breakfast, vanish for the entire day, and nobody thought to worry — partly because there wasn’t a phone to reach for. As we talk through his own mind map of longtime ago people, the memories return with astonishing clarity: the huge lawn and orchard, ponies on the moor, bikes as transport, and the absolute normality of knocking on a stranger’s door for water and maybe an apple.

Being a vicar’s son in a small Devon village gives the story a unique texture. Sundays meant church, whether he liked it or not, sitting among older parishioners while his dad — the most recognisable man in the community — did the work of keeping people connected. John reflects on faith, on the tension between everyday humanity and spiritual authority, and on how those early years shaped his sense of community, care and responsibility.

Then come the stories that make rural 1960s Britain feel wonderfully alive: open fires that smoked out the room, ice on the inside of the windows, hot water bottles, the post office that doubled as a sweet shop, returnable bottles swapped for treats, and the pub hatch where children bought sweets — or sometimes just knocked and ran. John talks about camping with his younger siblings in a farmer’s field, a whole day spent wandering in search of an osprey that never appeared, and a perfect culture clash when teenage him played Black Sabbath’s Paranoid to his vicar father just to see the reaction.

If you love British nostalgia, Dartmoor history, village life, or the bigger question of what childhood freedom does to a person, this episode will speak to you. Hit play, share it with someone who grew up pre‑mobile, and leave a review telling us what you miss most about the analogue days.

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“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

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Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

Memory is Fragile

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."