00:00It started in 2018, they had a new, it must have changed the system, but I come to Rabie in
00:062018, we had a, you know, interviews and that in 2018, and I was very lucky to be involved, and
00:14that Rabie invited me to become a volunteer, and then I've been there since 2018, I love it.
00:20Brilliant, and what was it that made you first want to get involved with the castle?
00:27Like, Rabie's summit's special, I don't know, Rabie, you see when you go past on the main road, you think,
00:32hey, I'm going to come in here and have a look, and then when that advert came up, it was
00:36Ingrid Teaser and Mercury, I thought, hey, I'm going to, I love history, and I love Rabie and County Durham,
00:41I thought, hey, I'm going to have a go with this, and I was very lucky to be invited to
00:46join the team, you know.
00:48Brilliant, and what is it that's kept you as enthusiastic now as you were then about working at the castle?
00:55I've seen an awful lot of changes in Rabie, you know, the winery, the new bits and all, the riding
01:01school, and we have a fantastic team here, and everybody that I speak to at Rabie is passionate about Rabie
01:11and County Durham and Teasdale, so we're a really happy group of volunteers, you know.
01:16So how did it feel when you found out you'd been shortlisted for the Visit England Tourism Superstar Award, especially
01:22after already having the Durham Tourism Superstar in 2025?
01:27No, I could not believe it. I said we went to a ceremony for the Durham Superstar, and the family
01:34was there, the wife was there, the youngest daughter, and we all cried, it was amazing.
01:40So to get to London and to be involved in a place such as that, and be awarded the prize,
01:47we said there's only 10 groups left in it, and to be one of the 10 groups for Rabie, that's
01:53amazing for us and County Durham, you know.
01:57Do you feel like it's really putting County Durham on the map as well then?
02:00Yeah, I love County Durham. I think it's an amazing county. Rabie's bringing people into the area, and they're spending
02:08time and money in the area, you know.
02:10How does it make you feel to know what people have obviously felt about you to get you to this
02:15position?
02:16When I was told I was nominated by Rabie to take part, I couldn't believe it, because I said, I'm
02:23me, I'm just Jimmy, you know.
02:24I thought, but then they said, no, you've been nominated, you're going forward. And then from that day on, Rabie
02:32supported me all the way to where we are now, you know.
02:37Well, that's brilliant. If you could say something to people who are thinking about voting for you, or about visiting
02:44Rabie Castle for the first time, what would you want to say to people?
02:49Please come to County Durham and especially Rabie. Rabie is an amazing, amazing castle. It's full of history. It's an
02:58amazing place to come and visit.
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