The Magic Roundabout
Join Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill as they spend a season on the road following the fortunes of their home town team, Hemel Hempstead Town. Their adventure will take them from Farnborough to Farnham, Maidstone to Maidenhead, and Torquay to Truro as they tell stories from the terraces, the dugout, the changing room and the boardroom. The Magic Roundabout is a Peloton Podcast. The series producer is Tom Whalley.
Episodes
In this bumper episode of The Magic Roundabout, we talk about the home of The Tudors, the Focus Community Arena at Vauxhall Road. Part of the joy of watching non-league football is visiting the grounds and seeing the quirky stands and little nods to the club's history. Hemel Hempstead Town's ground is no different – in fact it's one of the most charming and individual grounds around.
We talk to chairman and owner Da...
Join Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill as they make another trip over the Dartford Crossing to Kent to see Hemel Hempstead Town take on Tonbridge Angels.
This week, they try to traditional terrace favourite – a scalding hot cup of Bovril, Lionel ponders building a football stand in his back garden, and Simon looks ahead to a significant birthday and a call-up to represent England...
In honour of The Tudors' assistant mana...
In this episode, Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill head to Brooks pie and mash shop, round the corner from Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club for the pre-match meal of kings.
We learn about the traditional East End meal, and the side dish of stewed or jellied eels, before Hemel Hempstead Town's eagerly-awaited clash with the title favourites.
In the second half of the podcast, we head to Tuesday night training to meet a couple of ...
There was no first team game for Hemel Hempstead Town at the weekend but that doesn't mean there isn't a big match to enjoy on The Magic Roundabout.
Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill headed to Woburn to meet England Subbuteo international Bob Varney to learn about the table football game that dominated our childhoods in the 1980s. After a brief demonstration and a brush up on the modern rules, Lionel and Simon staged a rematch of t...
The second half of this week's episode takes us to Slough Town, where Lionel's curse is lifted. Hemel's two debutants bag the goals to give the manager, Birchy, an early birthday present.
We enjoy a celebratory Mars bar – well, it would be rude not to as it's Slough's biggest export. Simon runs through his extraordinary CV. From nearly losing an arm as a tree surgeon, to hanging his milkman's uniform on the depot ga...
There are two instalments of The Magic Roundabout this week as we continue to follow the fortunes of Hemel Hempstead Town. This week, we're on the road to Slough Town in a match we've dubbed The Ricky Gervais derby.
Why? Well, Slough was the location of the fictional paper merchants Wernham Hogg where David Brent's rein of terror as a middle manager was depicted in The Office. And Hemel Hempstead Old Town is where the exterior...
In this episode, Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill set themselves two challenges to mark Hemel Hempstead Town's entry into the FA Cup at the second qualifying round stage. They honour that fine terrace tradition of making a tinfoil FA Cup trophy, and decide to cycle (or run) to every game on the Road to Wembley.
Of course, the Gods of Football have other ideas and The Tudors find themselves on the end of an upset.
Join them for the ...
Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill take a trip down memory lane with a walking tour of their home town, Hemel Hempstead.
On the way, they learn about the history of the football club, the post-war new town development, Geoffrey Jellicoe's urban vision for the 20th century that barely lasted 50 years, and the last highwayman to be hanged in England... We talk to the co-editor of the book series Crap Towns about Hemel's inclusion and ...
It's been another busy week following The Tudors home and away for Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill.
In this episode, they headed to Ebbsfleet United to join 20 other loyal, passionate and noisy Hemel Hempstead Town fans.
Join them on the journey as they take the gaffer, Lee Bircham, to the game. On the way they discuss Wolf Hall, Queens Park Rangers and Birchy's role as an extra in the football hooligan film Green Street.
We also s...
A busy bank holiday weekend for Hemel Hempstead Town sees two games in three games, starting with Weston-super-Mare at home.
Then it's a day trip to Kent to face Folkestone Invicta and the first chance for Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill to get on the road together this season.
There's a football ground taste test, inspired by Footy Scran, a brush with the Folkestone pigeon murderer, and a cultural tour of the seaside town.
Also, S...
Five days can be a long time in football. From the disappointment of the first defeat of the season on Tuesday night to the euphoria of an injury-time winner at Salisbury, The Tudors experienced both ends of the spectrum this week.
In this episode of The Magic Roundabout, Simon and Lionel collect their new advertising hoarding from the printers and find a place to put it up at Hemel Hempstead Town's ground. Let's hope it leave...
It’s Hemel Hempstead Town’s first away game of the season and, with Lionel on holiday, Simon Gill is flying solo.
Perhaps that’s appropriate because the destination is Farnborough, home of the famous air show.
Simon picks up the gaffer, Lee Bircham, and his younger brother Marc (who is still a terrace hero at QPR) for a memorable road trip.
On the way to Hampshire, they talk about anything but football - the ec...
This is The Magic Roundabout...
It's the opening day of the National League South season. A pair of inflatables of King Henry the Eighth beckon us towards the Focus Community Arena for Hemel Hempstead Town's first home game, against highly fancied Chelmsford City.
The sun is shining, the air crackles with excitement and the turnstiles clack to signal the start of the new campaign. Lionel's even got his new 'lucky' red socks on...
This is The Magic Roundabout, a podcast about football, friendship and passing fifty...
Home and away with The Tudors. A season on the road with Hemel Hempstead Town FC.
Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill grew up two doors down from each other. As kids in the Eighties they played hours of football in the back garden, devised lengthy Subbuteo tournaments, and wore their Watford kits everywhere. In short, football was t...
Welcome to The Magic Roundabout, a podcast series taking listeners on the road, and behind-the-scenes, at Hemel Hempstead Town as they complete a 46-game season in the sixth tier of English football.
You may have heard Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill on The Cycling Podcast, riding to each of the Scottish League grounds in the Tour d'Écosse.
Now they are going on adventure, following the fortunes of their home town team –&nbs...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
DISGRACELAND is an award-winning music and true crime podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. Jerry Lee Lewis's 5th wife? Dead. Sid and Nancy? Both dead. Why? Because musicians are insane, and insane things happen to them. Why did we lose Amy Winehouse at 27? Was Debbie Harry really abducted by Ted Bundy as she claims? Is Patti Smith not just the "Godmother of Punk", but also the "Original True Crime Girl"? What really happened the night of the Jay Z nightclub stabbing? What do the Diddy indictments truly reveal? All these stories and more, on artists from every genre and their true crimes, in our massive 260-plus story archive. The Dead, the Stones, Johnny, Willie, Frank, Kurt, Courtney, Gaga, Lana, Taylor, and too many to name. DISGRACELAND is music history come to life through audio storytelling as you've never heard it before, with revealing facts: yes, assassins are the real reason the Beatles quit touring—reclaimed myths: no, Mama Cass didn't die from choking on a ham sandwich––and constant reckoning between art and artist––all told through the lens of true crime. This is the podcast for the self-proclaimed "Disgos", the musically obsessed and the true crime heads; the outsiders, the independent thinkers who know that the best history is the history that gets buried. DISGRACELAND is where host Jake Brennan tells the stories they didn't want told. The kind you'll end up telling someone else. Get ready to uncover hidden truths and buckle up for truly edge-of-your-seat storytelling. New, fully scripted, sound-designed episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus chat-style episodes where Jake responds to voicemails, texts, and emails from Disgos hit on Thursdays, and "Rewind" episodes from our archive drop on Sundays. DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast. It's an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are dramatized, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com. To unlock ad-free listening, exclusive content, and connect with your fellow Disgos, go to www.disgracelandpod.com to become an All Access member. Rocka Rolla.