Explore every episode of the podcast The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius
Dive into the complete episode list for The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Revolutionizing Sales and Human Connection: Social Selling Expert, Author & Influencer Timothy 'Tim' (Should have played Quidditch for England!) Hughes
What if you could revolutionize your sales tactics and make your LinkedIn profile as captivating as a magical Quidditch match? Join us for an illuminating conversation with social selling expert Timothy Tim Hughes, author of "Social Selling: Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers." Tim shares his whimsical yet effective strategies for making business profiles stand out, the importance of authentic social engagement, and how injecting humanity into business interactions can create meaningful connections. We also explore the mutual connections that have shaped our journey, from the Influence Radio Network to the inspirational Donna Koundé.
Tim opens up about his personal stories and the significant life events that have shaped his career and philosophy. Discover how the song “London Calling” by The Clash inspired his move to London, and learn about his forays into the IT industry, which began with a critical interview at STC (now Fujitsu). You'll hear about his love for cycling and running, and how these activities provide him with both physical and metaphorical movement that fuels his success. This episode also examines the outdated nature of traditional marketing techniques, the shift in communication preferences, and the timeless value of Tim's cherished vinyl record collection.
In the closing chapters, we uncover the profound impact that acts of kindness can have, inspired by Tim's late father’s legacy of unsung heroism. From co-founding DLA Ignite to his mission of leveraging social media for positive change, Tim's journey is a testament to the power of helping others and staying true to one’s purpose. We also highlight the unique format of the Good Listening To Show and Tim's heartfelt praise for the meaningful conversations it fosters. Tune in for an episode filled with insights, personal anecdotes, and heartfelt stories that will inspire and motivate you to rethink the way you approach social selling and human connection.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!
Brand Strand & Founder Story: Raphaela Reeb Ilgenfritz, Creative Director of UK Health Radio & Presenter of 'Stoma4Life' Podcast, on Bowel Cancer Awareness & Beautifully Destigmatizing 'Life as an Ostomate'
How does a cancer diagnosis transform into a global health movement? Join us as we welcome Raphaela Reeb Ilgenfritz, Creative Director of UK Health Radio & Health Triangle Magazine & Presenter of 'Stoma4Life' Podcast, to share her incredible journey alongside her husband, Johan Ilgenfritz. From Johan's battle with cancer to the creation of UK Health Radio and Health Triangle Magazine, their story is a combined beacon of resilience and community strength. Learn about Raphaela’s unique name, her background in graphic design and how she turned the tsunami of a Bowel Cancer diagnosis into a mission to uplift and inspire through health-focused media.
Raphaela opens up about her life's defining moments, from her South African upbringing to her long career in Air travel, and the profound experiences of living with a colostomy and facing a recent cancer diagnosis. Discover her happy places, the transformative power of meditation, and the role mindfulness plays in her resilience. This episode offers an intimate glimpse into Raphaela’s life, celebrating the artistic passions and family values that ground her, while also emphasizing the importance of gratitude and living without regrets.
In an emotional and empowering segment, Raphaela discusses the best advice she has ever received and highlights the significance of capturing life stories creatively. She introduces us to Caroline Bramwell, an inspiring fellow Ostomate and Triathlete, who will continue the legacy of Storytelling. Reflect on your own journey as you listen to Raphaela's candid reflections and gain insights into how the Good Listening To Show can help you memorialize your own unique life experiences. Don't miss this heartfelt episode, and be sure to subscribe for more transformative stories.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
There's a Good Book in All of Us. How About Some Help from "The Good Listening To Show" in Writing Yours?
If you've always wanted to write your Autobiography but you've always got a bit STUCK then maybe The Good Listening To Show and 'Good Books: Autobiography' can help: Using the unique storyscape of the Show with me Chris Grimes as your host, together we'll get in to the '5-4-3-2-1' of your Life Story in 'The Clearing' (or 'serious happy place' of your choice) and get you on the open road of telling the-story-behind-the-story of being YOU!
Get in touch if you'd like to find out more. You can contact me via the www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com or email me at chris@secondcurve.uk
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Delighted to welcome creative and comedy legend Vic Llewellyn to The Good Listening To 'Clearing' to talk about all things being Vic, castle building, writing, creativity & random squirrels!
Vic is a theatre maker, writer, actor & chewed bread sculptor! Funny, educational & inspiring on the outer limits of creativity.
You can also 'watch/listen' to Vic's episode here:
https://vimeo.com/722189063
Enjoy!
More about Vic:
John Victor Llewellyn Williams, aka Vic Llewellyn, is a delightful, deadline-driven dramaturg, who wants to be remembered for what he has done rather than what he was called. Yet his name itself is interesting. He was called Victor after Victor Silvester, the world champion ballroom dancer who also sold literally millions of records as a band leader from the 1930s onwards.
The name Llewellyn comes from the Nurse, who was present at his birth, which he sees as something of a miracle in any event - on two counts. First, his father survived a potentially lethal booby trap explosion in Egypt in World War 2. Secondly, his grandfather was a genuine Foundling - abandoned on a Bucher’s doorstep as an unknown newly born baby! Happily, grandfather, father and the young Vic Llewellyn all survived and thrived, although Vic himself was turning 30 before his natural creativity got into overdrive.
He was taught to be a Clown by the one and only Philippe Gaulier and remains inspired by Gaulier’s teachings to this day. Vic met his future wife Emma while working with Tom Clark from the then famous Clark’s shoes’ family.
Vic is inspired by art, books and music. Even if a book is not to his liking, if he has started it, he will always finish it, optimistically hoping to find the rare pearl amid the encircling dross. Likewise for him, there is no such thing as ‘background music’ in the curious world of Vic Llewellyn.
With a brother called Alex who is 9 years older than him (another miracle!) Vic was naturally way ahead of his peers in his liking for Jimi Hendrix and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. One of Vic’s schoolboy nicknames was Mature Alex! The theatricality of that band appealed to him.
As well as writing and performing, Vic now has his own live radio show and is totally unworried if “no one’s really listening “! Art is its own reward. Applying a Profit and Loss metric merely demeans it.
Vic agrees with Eleanor Roosevelt’s assertion that critics are habitually overrated and adds his own delightfully idealistic idea that “Everyone’s got this beautiful thing inside them!” The challenge, Vic suggests, is simply to find where you belong as early in your life as possible.
Reg Starkey UK Health Triangle Magazine
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!
113 'Leadership Reflections': Russell Dalgleish - The Great Scot! Scottish Serial Entrepeneur & Network Builder (and 6' 5" Man Mountain in Entrepreneurial Flairs!)
Welcome to the Clearing for a special "Leadership Reflections" Episode, the wonderful 6’ 5 Scottish man-mountain of entrepreneurial flair & generosity and a truly 'Great Scot': Russell Dalgleish 😊 Chair & Co-Founder of the Scottish Business Network.
Russell's lifelong, blazing 🔥 passion is helping other people to succeed in business and in his high-achieving career he’s helped thousands of them. Could YOU be next?
Russell Dalglish is a Scottish serial entrepreneur and network builder extraordinaire. So if you need help in your business too, then do not miss this show!
Many generations of entrepreneurs, directors, business managers and executives of all shapes and sizes have hugely benefited from his extensive business wisdom and proven track record of success.
What Russell says about himself:
The first thing people notice about me is ‘me’ because I'm a unique character and a natural performer who’s happy to speak up for what I believe (the fact I'm 6’ 5” and Scottish helps too).
My true passion, my “why”, is to help others to succeed.
The career I have followed has allowed me to develop a truly global mindset, an inner capacity to “do the right thing” and resilience which has allowed me to accept both success and failure as simply milestones on my journey.
I know how challenging it can be to lead, how lonely it can sometimes feel and how important it is to ask for help. I also know how difficult it can be to reach out and admit we can’t do everything. Don’t worry you’re not alone, we’ve all felt this way.
I have been fortunate to experience success in my career and recently was listed as one of the top 100 most influential entrepreneurs in the UK (No. 67) https://bit.ly/2OiscPc.
If you are unsure if I can help you then please drop me a note at russell@exolta.com and let’s schedule a call.
More about Russell:
Consciously committed to helping others, by any measure, Russell Dalgleish is a great Scot. 6’5” in his tartan socks, Russell can trace his family back well over 400 years! (Ancestry, eat your heart out.)
Russell is an extraordinary Scottish success, both personally and professionally. He believes in the big vision. Why else would he be the pioneer investor in an award-winning feature film, no fewer than 9 years in the making?
Clearly patient, this is an honest, entrepreneurial family man, driven by the power of purpose. ‘Have laptop, will travel’ Russell is an international digital nomad who has helped develop a global network of Scots, which is now over 10,000 strong, in no fewer than 76 different countries.
A decent human being, he is an unashamed technophile, who is willin
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
A reunion here in "The Good Listening To" Clearing, 34 years later after we both 'hacked our ways into the thickets of life', having trained together as actors at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School!
"So Richard, what's it like to Fight Direct and keep correcting Robert DeNiro? How was it working with Brad Pitt on the set of "Troy"? And how did you end up being Michelle Pfeiffer's Stunt Double in "Stardust"?"
To answer this and all the usual other questions, Ladies n' Genmin please welcome to the Good Listening To 'Clearing', internationally renowned Stunt Coordinator, Fight Director & Master at Arms for the Film & TV, Richard Ryan, currently Fight Director for Netflix's "Vikings Valhalla".
Richard was mentored in his early formative training by the great Henry Marshall, who handed on the glorious title of "Master at Arms at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art" to Richard as his successor. Richard was subsequently also mentored by perhaps the greatest Film Fight Director of all, William Hobbs.
William Hobbs fight coordinated all of the best sword movies in the 70's-90's, including the iconic fight, regarded by many as being "the greatest sword film fight ever filmed": The sword fight and final 'battle to the death' between Liam Neeson & Tim Roth in "Robroy", with John Hurt & Brian Cox looking on.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Please welcome the "Queen of Valuable Content" Sonja Nisson, recorded as a special LinkedIn LIVE 'Brand Strand' Episode of the Podcast.
'Brand Strand' is where I wrap an episode of the podcast - with its strong and established Storytelling construct - around a particular company or individual, to help amplify their company or personal brand.
In a nutshell Sonja Nisson "helps people unlock what they want to say in the world of business".
In the kelp beds of Sennen Cove in Cornwall for her Clearing (as a wild swimmer & 'happy mermaid'!) Sonja tells us the 'story behind the story' of her curation of "The Land of Content": "What if the land of content was an Island? What would we find?!"
Listen up to learn more about the "Bay of Quick Wins", Foggy Bottom", "Shit Creek" & "Lonely Crag"!
More about Sonja:
"If you are going through a business identity crisis and are keen to get your message and communications approach sorted, she can help. Her clients are founders and leaders with expertise and ideas to share, and most often, a website they're frustrated by and finding it hard to move forward on.
Sonja helps you get clear on your story - who you are and what you do as a business - using research and feedback as a mirror to align your thinking and find a confident way forward. Working together, you'll craft a unique message, website and valuable content strategy that lands with those you want to influence, driving you and your business to reach your full potential.
- Co-author of Valuable Content Marketing, how to make content the key to your business success - the first UK book on content marketing, published by Kogan Page 2013, 2015. - Alongside her independent consulting work, she runs the "School of Valuable Content" with co-author and friend Sharon Tanton. They run courses and writing clubs to help people create the valuable content they need to power their businesses.
- She believes that the quest to create valuable content is a great catalyst for a more customer-centred approach to business and marketing. - She's increasingly curious about the role of listening in business and in life. She'd love to unleash a listening revolution in the business world. Imagine the radical change that would happen as a result!
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Comedy Double Act Beauties Howard Coggins & Stu McLouglin from "Living Spit" Musical Theatre Company, here to "dissect their frog" on their wonderful anarchic comedy method and madness!
The warmth between the 2 is palpable and their comedy magic together a work of collective comedy genius. Howard & Stu work with a creative crack team of 5 to generate their magic together and are based in Clevedon at their home venue (which is also delightfully their "Clearing") which they also co-founded, "The Clevedon Theatre Shop"
This is their story on what has shaped them in the crafting of their impressive canon of 17 hilarious comedy musical theatre Shows to date as "Living Spit".
"Living Spit" so called because Howard is - as Stu discovered much to his delight on a day trip to Hever Castle - a "Living Spit" of Henry V111. Stu got straight on the phone to Howard - and the rest - as they say, is comedy history!
Enjoy!
More about Living Spit:
Introducing an extraordinary couple of colourful characters from the West Country, the frontmen of their own theatre company, called mysteriously “Living Spit’. Not so mysterious when you learn that Stu saw a picture of Henry VIII at Hever Castle, which struck him as the spitting image of his friend, Howard. On the strength of this striking physical similarity, the two friends decided to create their own lighthearted musical comedy about Henry and his various wives.
Howard was a shoe-in for Henry. Stu was happy to play the wives. Musicians in their teens, actors in their twenties, the two thespians created Living Spit - as if inspired by the Bob Dylan song ‘Don’t think twice, it’s alright.’
Now their company has 5 key people, including their own ‘third man’, producer / director Craig Edwards. Over ten years later, Living Spit has over 17 different original comedies to its credit and two or three more live ideas in the pipeline. These days the shows are more comedy than history. They always involve original music. The founders are now related by marriage, but not to each other. Brothers-in-law, they happily share family occasions as well as gruelling professional tours. In the pandemic, they played on camera- or rather six cameras - to an empty house at the Bristol Old Vic. This was a breeze compared with one unhappy night in Runcorn - so disappointing that they vowed never to return. And they never have. Instead, Howard and Stuart do their own thing, in their own way, then turn to Craig to help them make it work. Allowing a mere three weeks for rehearsals, they’re ready to go public with it.
The audience is the only thing that matters to Living Spit: their laughter, their delight, their satisfaction. Our heroes are happy to be the best in the West. They don’t need to prove they’re the best in the world - even
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to the Clearing: Actor, Director and one the original founding members (alongside his brother Mark) of "The Medieval Players" Carl Heap!
"Finding the method in Medieval Theatres" The Guardian
"The Medieval Players" were a pioneering British touring theatre company in the 1980's & 90's renowned and lauded for restoring a delicious vocabulary and experience of Medieval performance for us all, by re-introducing us to a different kind of Actor: An ensemble that is completely at ease talking directly to an audience and not hidden in the dark:
"If the audience is sharing daylight with the Actors it seems rather rude to ignore them!"
Indeed I had my 1st ever professional touring experience with The Medieval Players in a production called "Courage" in 1989 (as party of a 10 month tour) very shortly after graduating from The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Renowned Theatre Director Emma Rice said of The Medieval Players: "Gasp makingly cheeky, so bloody funny, so bloody skilled!" as she witnessed the all juggling, all fire-breathing, all stilt walking Medieval Minstrelsy as one of her very formative theatre experiences.
Carl now writes, continues to act and direct as Artistic Director of Theatre Company, "Beggars Belief" (see what he's doing there?!) and he also sings on an epic scale with The Crouch End Festival Chorus.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ohhhh yes! Ladies n' Genminminmin please welcome Actor, Director, fellow Instant Witter, ex-Banker and dropper of the occasionally delicious 'F' Bomb (!) the very entertaining and wonderfully enigmatic Craig Edwards.
As an ex-Banker not so much "Cashier Number 3 please" but "F Bomb Number 12 pleeeeeease!" Chortle!
So Craig: How would you most like to be remembered?
"I'd like to be remembered as someone who laughed a lot. But I won't be remembered for that, I'll be remembered as being a grumpy old fuck!"
Lol! A wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable conversation indeed...
A special "Digital Nomad" recording (go me!) as I speak to Craig LIVE from my balcony and strapped to the old interweb in Madeira! Wooo-hoo!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to "The Clearing" Darren O'Conor: Learning Designer, healthy sceptic and co-founder of Passe-Partout Leadership Consulting & Coaching to talk about all things Leadership & Wellbeing.
If you Google Darren O'Conor you come up with a Lightweight Thai Boxer. Erm, this Darren is the other one!
“In Business Is It Time To Ask Yourself: ‘Where Did I Go RIGHT?’”
The pandemic profoundly affected both Darren O’Conor’s business and his family. The flourishing agency his wife Alex and he have run for 25 years faced some client challenges. And recently, like many people, they both sadly lost some close family members.
“I lost my father, Alex lost her mum, and last year Penny, our niece, died. They remind you of the importance of having a sense of perspective about what you are doing,” learning designer Darren tells me.
Despite the economic downturn that hit so many other UK firms hard, Alex & Darren’s well-established business, Passe-Partout Consultancy, has grown from strength to strength.
“The pandemic changed our whole perspective. It’s been the most rewarding period for us. We have been able to turn things round and help far greater audiences than ever before,” he says.
“’Where did I go RIGHT!?’ – People don’t ask themselves that question very often!”
Passe-Partout Consultancy empowers clients to make a significant personal and professional breakthroughs. Darren’s done the same.
When things aren’t going well, so many business people worry about where they went WRONG. But Darren’s hugely positive and refreshing perspective turns that upside down – he went RIGHT!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Hooray for Hollywood! Ladies n' Genminminmin (er, min...) please welcome the warm, generous and wise L.A based Talent & Brand Manager and occasional humming-bird whisperer, Seamus Lyte!
UK Agent and close friend - back in the day - to none other than Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher! And Agent today to the likes of Ross King, Christopher Biggins & Tyler West to name but three.
In this delightful episode, Seamus Lyte also tells bravely of how ‘trusting his higher power’ - in combination with the love and support of his close family, clients & friends - has helped in his recovery and happy remission from a shock diagnosis in March last year, of a Glioblastoma tumour & brain cancer.
A recent guest described being in "The Good Listening To Podcast" as like having a 'Day Spa' for your Brain! So it is my absolute pleasure to offer that to Seamus in particular!
Also listen out for the many accidental and wonderful book titles (!) that we stumble upon as we enjoy chatting along together, including: "We Walked Through Clouds of Jasmine" (& Marijuana) ; "Flying Somewhere Fabulous on a Fabulous Day" (as he turns 'left' - see what he's doing there?! - on boarding a plane to go somewhere fabulous!) and of course the guaranteed Agent classic: "No Time for Bullshit!"
Seamus has also been extremely generous in guiding and supporting me in the journey of the Podcast so far. Thank you Seamus! And best wishes for an ongoing remission and complete recovery, as you continue to walk the high cliffs of Malibu of a Sunday.
(And another Book title you can have for free: "Sunday On The Cliffs With Andrew!")
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) look who I've gawn' n' snagged in my Zoom Hole for special Episode 100 of the Podcast!
Please welcome to "The Good Listening To" Clearing - Dave Cornthwaite, life-adventurer, explorer, film maker and creator/leader of the "YesTribe!" a community that like to "SayYesMore!"
"After realising my cat was way cooler than me I decided to make life better and say yes more!" which he did by developing a habit of embarking on long journeys without motors in a series of epic adventures called Expedition 1000.
"A journey of 1000 miles doesn't start with a single step it starts with an idea"
"Expedition 1000 a long-term quest to take on 25 journeys, each one a minimum of 1000 miles, each one using a different form of non-motorised transport".
15 journeys complete. 10 to go!
Adventures so far have included swimming the Missouri, skateboarding across Australia and tandem-riding from Vancouver to Las Vegas.
Dave is also owner & co-curator (along with his partner Em) of "Big Sky Hideaway" which is a wonderful place all about glamping, camping, alpacas and big skies in Bolton Lancashire.
And as he says in his opening line on his website at https://www.davecornthwaite.com "BEGIN: If ever caught between 2 decisions always go for the one which makes for the best Story..."
Dave also has his own Podcast called "Self Propelled" which explores the drive, motivation and secrets of people who take the road less travelled.
An epic guest indeed!
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
For Business Owners To Tell Your Story, Amplify Your Brand, Reach a Large Global Audience & Attract New Business
Brand Strand & Founder Stories is a special series-strand of "The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius" for Businesses to be able to tell your Business story.
Together with me as your host, we get in to 'the-who-the-what-the-how-the-WHY'you do what you do. And then crucially we also find out WHERE exactly we can come and find you to work with you or book your services. We also record your episode as a LinkedIn LIVE, combining both of our Networks as we do so.
A large audience awaits you in 'The Clearing' and together with my Weekly Show on UK Health Radio Show I introduce you to a global audience across 54 countries of 1.4 million listeners and growing.
Get in touch if you'd like to find out more c/o "The Good Listening To Show" website at www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com or chris@secondcurve.uk
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Naxos Creative courses are all about taking time to reconnect with yourself. "Creativity courses for everyone!"
So Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Ros Hickson & Neil Johnson, the husband and wife team behind "Naxos Creative", as they tell us all about their combined vision to curate "confidence building courses, culture and creativity akimbo" in the sunshine paradise and clear skies and sunsets (and-and-and...) of Naxos in Greece!
Beneath the ancient cedar tree of Paradise on one of the beaches of Naxos for their 'Clearing', this is the "story behind the story" of being Ros & Neil from Naxos Creative.
Pause to look at the sunset...
And then check out
http://www.naxoscreative.com
And then BOOK!
I'll also be joining Ros & Neil as part of the Naxos Creative Team to run "INSTANT WIT Laughter Lab" later this year too!
Hurrah!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to a special 'Brand Strand' Episode of "The Good Listening To: The Story Behind Your Story Show!"
In the Clearing: Kingsley Neill, part-man-part-Viking, full-on-majestic-bearded-beauty-and-all-round-awesome-pants-of-an-executive-coach!
Here to explore with us all things Fulcrum Coaching and the "pivotal moments" in our lives that lead us to significant change and greater self awareness.
A man who clearly and very genuinely loves his work. His compassion for people is palpable and his presence is strong.
Having cut his teeth for 20 years in the Energy Business of Oil, he's now made the pivot to the transformational energy business of Coaching, inspired by helping others to navigate their own leadership journeys with confidence and clarity.
Now on a trail to help us all to make time count. One leader, one team, one business at a time, inspiring authentic leaders to create "pivotal moments" of their own.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Have you ever had your entrails spread about the audience of a threshing circle in Ibiza whilst being sacrificed (and disembowelled with a ruddy great sickle) as a Sun God by the Moon? And whilst wearing a pointy helmet?
Well Author Ben Dunwell has!
"And we had this rather lovely thing where I had this fake tummy that was stuffed with red ribbons and when they cut it open, they could pull them all out and spread them amongst the audience..."
Lovely!
Ladies n Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Author & Librettist Ben Dunwell to "The Good Listening To" Clearing for a special 'Good Books' series-strand recording of the Podcast as Ben tells us all-out his new Book:
"Pine Tree Island: A Novel From Ibiza's Dawn" circa 650 BC as populated by the Phoenicians.
(Ibiza's Dawn is the timeline, not the Island Post Mistress erm, obvs, obvs, obvs...)
The Good Listening To Podcast: The Story Behind Your Story Show!
The adventure continues!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to the Clearing: Founder of Leadership Training Company Passe-Partout Alex Taskin - to tell us the ‘story behind the story’ of being Passe-Partout!
Join me and Founder Alex Taskin as she tells us how and why her Leadership, Coaching & Training Company Passe-Partout (.com) so enjoys analogising their founding story to the epic adventure story of “Around The World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne.
Not so much "Around the World in 80 Days" but "Around the World in Training Ways!"
In the story Passe Partout is of course the Personal Valet to intrepid adventurer Philleas Fogg. Training Company Passer-Partout position themselves as being the 'Personal Valets to your success!' across all aspects of Leadership, Coaching & Wellbeing.
What Alex Says About Herself:
I feel at the top of my game right now and get a real buzz out of helping people and businesses achieve positive change. What am I best at? I think in the nicest possible way, it’s pushing people, coaxing them to think clearly, to make 3-dimensional decisions and take action in ways they probably wouldn’t otherwise attempt.
A few stats: the other day we calculated that I have clocked up at least 20,000 training hours, about 15,000 in Organisational Development consultancy and just over 5000 in coaching. Scary figures, but they do kind of ratify my sense that I am getting the hang of it now!
Specialties: Coaching (for Executives, Managers and People in transition) Helping teams and organisations develop and improve Training on Leadership, Change, Relationships, Service Improvement and People Management OD consultancy from diagnosis to return on investment Investors in People Positive psychology
What Can Horses Teach You About Running A Business?!
Leadership and Change Consultant Alex Taskin from the wonderful Passe-Partout Consulting Ltd likes to take the reins and spur people on to make changes in their life. But not just horses - she's a People whisperer too!
“My twin passions are coaching and horses,” she says. “And I'm so pleased finally to be putting the two together in a new venture into the world of Equine Assisted Learning.”
Sounds fascinating and anyone who loves horses will surely vouch for their intelligence and sensitive souls when it comes to helping humans.
Recorded also as a LinkedIn LIVE Alex has huge experience as a business consultant having clocked up 20,000 training hours. That's Mastery right there!
“The Good Listening To: The Story Behind Your Story Show!” is the Sh
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n Genminminmin (er, min...) please welcome to 'The Clearing' the Award Winning Curative Wonder-Pants that IS Anna Farthing!
Award Winning Producer, Creator & Curator extraordinaire of all things Cultural & Heritage on a truly Epic Scale: If there's a Cultural or Creative Pie in the offing - particularly in the City of Bristol - Anna Farthing's normally either had or got her finger in it!
Put quite simply Anna Farthing is "The Lady Who Launches!" And she's quite good at lunch too...
More about Anna:
Anna Farthing is a delightful, super-articulate ‘Lady who launches’! Her whole career has centred around creating something out of nothing, where the highest common factor is always bringing people together – whether that involves a festival or a film or a casserole!
Anna acknowledges the benign influence of good people from her humble beginnings in Essex, where dance teachers awoke her love of music and movement and then a Head Teacher called Philip Oakshot, a Quaker, whose school motto was ‘Fight for the Truth’.
Anna is still deeply troubled by unacknowledged lies. At her 6th Form College in Southampton Anna remains grateful to this day for the gift of a teacher called Roy Faithful, who opened her eyes to the formerly totally unconsidered possibility of going to Bristol University. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Inspired by the strong women in her family, like her mother and her four formidable sisters, her aunts, Anna set about making things happen. In this interview she is allegedly nervous - and occasionally emotional - telling her own story, yet totally professional when presenting other people’s inspiring stories – from African slaves to holocaust victims to Hull’s most famous poet, Philip Larkin.
Anna Farthing is happiest in a room with people working together to create something out of nothing or sitting in solitude gazing out at the horizon where the sea meets the sky, reassured that the tide will always turn when the time comes for it to do so.
Anna’s words to live by are these: “Plant seeds. Tend shoots. Pick fruit – and share it.” You might think that for her this is both literal and metaphorical.
As they used to say in Westminster, we couldn’t possibly comment!
Reg Starkey - Editor UK Health Triangle Magazine
Enjoy!
“The Good Listening To: The Story Behind Your Story Show!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing” (or 'Serious Happy Place' of your choosing)
The Clearing is where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
Think 'Desert Island Discs' but in a Clearing - and with Stories rather than Music!
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Please welcome Mike Dilke - Back & Ergonomic Products Expert & host of "The Relaxback Show" on UK Health Radio.
As we share a relaxed bit of back-chat (see what we're doing here?!) about all things healthy back!
Do you have back pain? Or would you like to know more about how to avoid it in the first place?
If so, then "sit back - relax - and enjoy the show!" as Mike Dilke and I “blow a bit of reciprocal smoke” at each other to share audiences from our respective UK Health Radio Shows!
"The Relaxback UK Show" on UK Health Radio has been hosted by Mike Dilke since 2017.
Mike Dilke also runs the Relaxback UK Company that provides ergonomic equipment to help people with back pain or help to ensure they avoid it in the first place.
Mike Dilke is a Civil Engineer, who became a Broadcaster and a Podcaster when his Professional Consultancy career eventually ended in an unacknowledged recession, created by the Noughties’ austerity measures.
A yoga enthusiast, Mike designed a means of turning the human body upside down safely at home and tried, unsuccessfully, to secure a patent for his invention. Instead he became a business person in his own right as the UK distributor of an ergonomic, musculoskeletal Swedish chair that ensures better posture and less back pain. It also stimulates more healthy movement.
Mike Dilke then met Johann Ilgenfritz, the founder of UK Health Radio and the two characters gelled instantly. No slouch by anybody’s standards, Mike is a family man with an unusual sense of humour, possibly related to his own unusual internal wiring system. Take cricket, for example. When he plays, which admittedly is not often these days, he is a right-handed batsman and a left-handed bowler. Yet he is not ambidextrous and by his own definition, he is just a bit weird.
He constantly sees things as funny which others may not even see at all. Mike met his scientist wife in the first week of his first year at University and married her a few years later. Together they have a boy and a girl who are now teenagers. And a dog.
Mike regularly turns to his wife and his children for guidance and inspiration for his weekly programme on UK Health Radio and his Podcast. As he has never studied or practised medicine, Mike makes the most of his natural curiosity to question people on subjects that interest him. He asks the questions that the (intelligent) man in the street might ask and explores issues with courage as well as good humour. For example, recent programmes have found him having his Liver tested and asking all kinds of questions on that vital but often neglected organ. Ignorance
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Tom Seals to The Clearing!
For The Story Behind The Story Of ‘The Man Behind the Keys’ Of Boogie-Woogie-Wonder Pants & Jazz Musician Sensation - The Real Deal Tom Seals!
To quote his own Hero Jools Holland: "Fantastic feel, fantastic voice, the wonderful Tom Seals!"
He has also been described as being "A master of the piano and with vocals to pierce your soul - a Boogie-boogie-Genuis!"
I was very recently introduced to Tom Seals c/o his lovely Agent Juliet Matthews as we have a venue in France in common!
It's www.lessoeursanglaises.com where I do my INSTANT WIT Comedy Improvisation "Laughter Lab" Workshops each year and where Tom is due to be hosting a "Boogie Woogie Weekend" 3 months after me!
Tom Seals is a man definitely on the ascension. He has been lauded as being "quite possibly the future of Jazz, Blues & Pop!" and as I say to him in the Podcast: "I'm glad to have caught you here in The Clearung before you 'Rocket Man'!" (see what I'm doing there, as he's also been compared to Elton John!)
His new show format, devised during lockdown "The Tom Seals Show in Isolation" was picked up by Sky TV for its own 13 Show Season.
Tom Seals has played with the likes of Jools Holland, Gregory Porter, Jamie Cullum, Dame Cleo Lane, Hugh Laurie, Katie Tunstall, Billy Joel and Sting to name but few! Scales have played an important part in Tom Seals’ life. As a lad, his older sister got him to play them for her on a simple keyboard to help her with her singing practice.
More about Tom:
At 18 a record company told Tom he needed to lose a lot of weight (3 stone) before they would even talk to him. He himself has always been acutely aware of his ginger hair, his glasses and of ‘carrying more weight than his frame might otherwise wish’.
At 10 writing his first autobiography, Tom recorded his admiration for Jools Holland. He now plays piano with him 7 or 8 times a year. When Tom Seals was playing pub gigs for fifty quid as a teenager, he set himself 3 ambitious goals: to play piano at Ronnie Scott’s, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and to appear on stage with his band at the Royal Albert Hall. Still in his twenties, Tom has achieved his first two goals and has this year been invited to represent the best of what Britain has to offer at the international Expo in Dubai.
Tom Seals may travel the world but he still lives in Crewe - with his partner and lifelong friend, Laura and their dog, Charlie.
Tom’s grandfather on his dad’s side had a big band called ‘The Versatile Concert Orchestra’. His grandfather on his mum’s side was a role model and childhood hero. Tom still has the highest respect for his mother’s work ethic and wisdom.
He remains a family man thr
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminminmin (er, min...) please welcome to "The Clearing" for her "damn good listening to!" the wonderful Actress, Stand-Up Comedienne & Performance Poet Angie Belcher!
Angie Belcher is an award-winning stand-up comedian and a popular performance poet. She also teaches comedy and recites deliberately poor political poetry through a young male caricature comic-creation called appropriately, Odious Vex.
Angie is patron of charity in Uganda called ‘Youth with a Vision’. She has her own young son called Ulysses. Angie Belcher is Comedian in Residence at Bristol University. She has her own Hidden Comedy Club. And now she is pioneering a Comedy on Prescription project for the NHS.
The first course has some 15 traumatised people who are willing to work on a new way of recovering from the individual horrors they have all experienced. Angie provides a safe space in which she encourages the participants to cleanse their wounds by reviewing their vulnerability and reframing it for the rest of the group to experience.
She turned down a request from Channel 4 to cover it for broadcast because it would compromise the confidentiality of the therapeutic endeavour. Angie’s own personal relief comes from an hour in the local Park every day focusing on the Guardian crossword, created by their somewhat sinister nom de plume: Professor Serpent.
Angie recently lost her mother who was and still is an inspiration to her. Her mother, Angie tells us, never told jokes but was always very funny. Blessed are those who are willing to play the fool in order to bring smiles and laughter into our troubled world. Angie’s own guiding concepts are that Doing is better than Worrying. And that “Chance favours an open mind”.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet the one and only Angie Belcher!
Reg Starkey. Editor UK Health Triangle Magazine
Enjoy!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing” (or 'Serious Happy Place' of your choosing)
The Clearing is where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
Think 'Desert Island Discs' but in a Clearing - and with Stories rather than Music!
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a couple of random Squirrels - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ohhhhh yes! Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome to The Good Listening To Podcast "Clearing" for her 'damn good listening to' Presenter & Broadcasting legend Janey Lee Grace!
With the sea-scapes of St Ives for her 'serious happy place' or "Clearing", Janey is an occasional Mermaid (that can't swim!) and constantly distracted by shiny things! Listen and all will become clear (and shiny!)
"I wanted to change the world but got distracted by something shiny!"
You join us for a special "Show within a Show within a Show " (You're welcome! And how very Shakeseperean!) as Janey is also a fellow-Presenter with me on UK Health Radio, with her own show "The Natural Health & Sobriety Show"
Janey's passion is all in pursuance of "optimum health & wellbeing underpinned by sobriety".
Janey Lee Grace is known to over 9 million listeners via BBC Radio 2's "The Steve Wright Show". She's author of 5 books on holistic living and runs the popular natural products recommendations site Imperfectly Natural.
Janey writes columns for many magazines having ditched the booze - plus she's given a TEDx talk called ‘Sobriety Rocks – Who Knew?!’
She founded The Sober Club www.thesoberclub.com offering inspiration and support for people wanting to focus on optimum health and wellbeing underpinned by sobriety.
More about Janey Lee Grace:
"Janey Lee Grace describes herself as a broadcaster, author and coach. She is all of that and much, much more.
Her Ted Talk sets a benchmark for precision, coherence, clarity and surprise. Janey Lee Grace has had no fewer than 4 children and an extraordinarily colourful life. Who else can claim to have been commissioned by Mattel to present Barbie Doll as a rock chick? Who else can claim to have founded The Sober Club? Who else is so busy they have to diarise time to be beside the sea for their own mental health?
Janey Lee Grace has a holistic approach to life, which no longer includes any alcohol any time. She now encourages others to ditch their win-or-lose-on-the-booze approach to daily life - but only if the idea appeals to them. She proclaims that it is as valid a lifestyle choice as for example, becoming a vegan.
Janey Lee Grace reminds us that alcohol is the only drug you will be challenged for not using. She positively enjoys helping people reach their full potential without the distraction that alcohol provides.
Janey Lee Grace acknowledges and accepts imperfection. She glorifies authenticity and action. In her words “You don’t have to get it right. You do have to get it going!” Listen. You will learn something!
She is also the founder of The Sober Club"
Reg Starkey Editor, UK Health Triangle Magazine
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n Genminminminmin (er min...) welcome BACK - for a second pass through the Good Listening To "Clearing" - this time with even better sound - the warm, wonderful and absolute comic genius that is "Tweedy The Clown" from Gifford's Circus!
A special interview complete with "Keef - the Pet Rescue Iron!" for company!
Ohhhhh yes! Alan Tweedy Digweed aka "Tweedy the Clown" is a true comic genuis in the Stan Laurel 'Vaudevillian' styley.
Me and my extended Fam-Squad have been going along to see him in Gifford's Circus for the last 17 of their 21 years of existence. Tweedy is always at their heart as the warm & wonderful comic centrepiece that he is!
A source of great joy, for me he is a living personification of Stan Laurel which is why I adore him so much!
A wonderful converation indeed riffing on all things comedy, slapstick & Vaudeville!
More about Tweedy:
Alan ‘Tweedy’ Digweed was born to be a Clown. He was born small and hung onto his childhood a lot longer than most. He did not go through puberty until he was in his late teens, by which time he had learned to make people laugh since his early school days, as an effective coping mechanism.
He was inspired by a generation of silent comics in black and white movies on TV. Legends like Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd were later joined in real life by lesser known local stars like Johnny Hutch and Barry Grantham.
Alan Digweed was at Art School learning animation when he realised he did not want to draw the character, he want to be the character. He decided to try his luck in show business. Panto provided Alan with his first opportunities to make members of the public laugh at his antics. Then his first clowning job was for Zippo’s Circus but as a publicity clown not in the big top itself. The name ‘Weedy’ was already taken so Alan took the name ‘Tweedy’ acknowledging his Scottish heritage.
Tweedy learned his traditional Clown-craft over 8 years at Zippo’s before joining Gifford’s Circus where he has been for the last 16 years developing his own unique character and style, celebrating his inner child, with the aid of an iron called Keef which he rescued from a wardrobe rubbish bin.
Tweedy’s strange signature hair is the result of a visual gag that went wrong! At each show Tweedy fell into a birthday cake and stayed there to keep the laughter going. On this occasion his hair caught fire without him even realising it at first. When he did, he spontaneously used the cake itself to put the fire out! Improv meets Health and Safety with a smile...
Tweedy is a fascinating multi-faceted character who has been described as “the Mark Rylance of Clowns” which is praise indeed. This is a weird and wonderful episode which gets beneath the traditional
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Now you can GIFT a Special Episode of "The Good Listening To Show", with me Interviewing your Aunt Fanny or your Uncle Bob to Help them Celebrate their BIG DAY!
To help answer that perennial question "What do you get for that special someone who has everything?" Well - now you can GIFT them a special episode of "The Good Listening To Show" with me interviewing Birthday Boy or Birthday Girl as my very special Guest to help them celebrate their BIG DAY!
So yes! If you know of anyone who has a BIG BIRTHDAY coming up - be that 40, 50, 60, 70 - 180 - 90 or 100 - just get in touch chris@secondcurve.uk or via the www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com website.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) welcome to a very exciting Episode indeed! Yes, it's 'roll out the Red Carpet' time here in "The Good Listening To Show" Clearing as we warmly welcome Scottish TV Presenter & Broadcasting legend Ross King (MBE).
Ross King is nothing short of a Broadcasting legend with 4 News Emmys, 2 Sony Awards, 1 Golden Mic - a Cycling Proficiency Test Certificate - a 25M Breastroke Certificate - a Duke of Edinburgh Award - and an Alan Partridge in a Pear Tree!
A man completely at home on the red carpets of Hollywood at both the Oscars & the Golden Globes and always with his finger on the pulse of all the Showbizz news & gossip: As "Our Man in Hollywood" for the likes of the "Lorraine" Programme on ITV and "Good Morning Britain"!
Multi-talented, multi-award-winning Hollywood ‘leg-end’ Ross King is delightfully self-deprecating. Talking about his childhood dreams of playing professional football for Partick Thistle-nil, as he says Billy Connolly always called them, he quotes the manager’s assessment of his talent in these words: “You’ll wear out more mirrors, son, than football boots!”
Or in reference to one of his many superstar interviews: “As George Clooney once said to me - ‘Get out of my garden!’” Ross King likes to make people laugh and is very happy to be the butt of the joke if that’s what does the job.
A great impressionist too with Sean Connory & Roger Moore to name but 2 (Ross is a self-confessed James Bond obsessive) with Ronnie Corbett as a cheeky-chappyand-much-shorter-chaser!
He still describes himself as ‘a silly boy from Glasgow’ who is delighted on a daily basis to be ‘a silly boy in Hollywood’. Ross King‘s feet remain comfortably on the ground, while his head is in the clouds. He says he is “too blessed to be stressed “.
He constantly acknowledges all the people who have helped him get to where he is today - starting with his mum, dad and sister, moving on to his Maths Teacher, Roddy Hood, not for teaching him primary numbers or Pythagoras but for pointing him towards Hospital Radio aged 15. A year or so later, this led directly to Ross becoming the ‘Saturday Boy’ for Radio Clyde.
This good grounding experience as general factotum/gofer on live sports broadcasts provided Ross King with an early and an excellent show business portal. The record shows he made the most of it with a diverse and impressive body of work in various media for a variety of countries.
Now with writing partner, Shari Low, Ross King has produced two books under the nom de plume Shari King. These are published by Macmillan and now the team has a third sparkling forward in the creative process.
When Ross said he has red eyes, it’s no wonder, given how much he has set himself to do. He is a humble man and yet he h
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
In The Clearing: Life-Changer, Warrioress, LinkedIn Trailblazer, Confidence & Career Success Coach, Roller Skater, Wild Swimmer & Awesome Pants Angie McQuillin!
"Brand Strand" is where I wrap an episode of the Podcast around a particular individual or company to help amplify their Company or Pesonal Brand:
"Who are you? What's your story and what do you do?"
Former people-pleaser and dedicated dog- lover, Angie McQuillin spent many superficially successful years in the corporate world before launching out on her own to share the truth as she sees it.
An atheist with a degree in Psychology, Angie was 30 something when she experienced her spiritual awakening and committed herself over time to living her individual coaching dream on a daily basis rather than compromising her personal integrity on the popular measures of salary, status and prospects. She admits that she is obsessed with honesty in all of her dealings, at work and at home. Not the brutal honesty of expressing judgment at every opportunity or the simplistic minimum of not telling lies but a rigorous honesty based on core values and vulnerability, expressed with intelligence and sensitivity.
Angie is inspired by her client’s’ willingness to identify their own self limiting beliefs and change their behaviour for the better. It’s a gamechanger and everybody benefits! For Angie, authenticity is not measured in the money you earn, the car you drive or the clothes you wear. It’s about being free from fear, free from shame and never being afraid to speak up for what you truly believe in.
Angie practises what she preaches. She earns enough money to live the life she enjoys. She works hard but not compulsively. She walks her dog Louis every day ‘through fields and forests.’ She drives a camper van. She loves having ‘wheels on her feet, the sun on her face and the wind in her hair.’ She likes wild swimming and recognises the value of regular meditation. Angie says and you believe her: “I’d rather be disliked for who I am than liked for who I’m not.” Angie is very open and very direct.
She no longer needs any of the old measures of validation to reinforce her once fragile self-esteem. Angie now knows she has always been good enough. She doesn’t need L’Oreal or anyone else to tell her she’s worth it - but if they do Angie will be delighted to acknowledge the compliment.
For her, honest human connection is at the heart of genuine authenticity. Personal development takes time, work and commitment. As Angie might have said:”By the inch it’s a cinch. By the yard it’s hard.”
Angie McQuillin is someone well worth discovering.
Reg Starkey Editor, Health Triangle Magazine
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that fe
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to a special "Good Books" series strand Episode of "The Good Listening To" with Madeleine Black - The Courage Cultivator!
"The Good Listening To" is the Storytelling Podcast Series & Show that sets out to discover "The Story Behind The Story Of You!"
(If you've written a Book we set out to uncover the "story behind the story of your cover" - see what we're doing there?!)
Madeleine Black is author of the best selling Book "Unbroken: Used, Beaten But Never Broken" and Presenter of "Unbroken: The Podcast - Healing Through Storytelling"
She is the self-described "Courage Cultivator", with a powerful and compelling story to tell:
A profound story of rape - not once but 3 times - forgiveness - of how to invert shame - of how to get back up, regain your power and move on, more powerful than ever - in how she now inspires and helps others, through the power of Storytelling, to do the same.
"We are not defined by what knocks us down. We are defined by what gets us back up". Madeleine Black
If you too have written a Book and would like to get involved and be "given a good listening to" too to tell us all about it, then by all means do get in touch:
chris@secondcurve.uk
+44 (0) 7711 644 094
MORE ABOUT MADELEINE BLACK:
At 13, Madeleine Black survived a fate worse than death. Over 40 years later, she is now willing to talk about it.
Aged 13, with a friend from school, it just seemed like a good adventure - a night on their own in an empty house, with a cover story to keep their parents happy.
For Madeleine it turned into just about the worst imaginable nightmare - vodka, violent abuse, torture, humiliation and rape by two older boys, one with a knife, lasting four hours! Followed by 3 years of secrecy and silence, where the untreated trauma expressed itself in feelings of utter worthlessness, casual sex - non-consensual on three particular occasions - depression, an eating disorder and a suicide attempt.
It took literally years of therapy with a variety of different practitioners, a lot of work and the love of one good man to arrive at a place where Madeleine can at last accept that she need no longer fear men or dream eye-for-an-eye revenge on the teenage monsters who years ago threatened to kill her if she ever broke her silence.
Madeleine has now found her voice, has the same loving husband and their three inspirational children. At 5 feet and two inches, as Shakespeare might have put it, “Madeleine may be little but she is fierce.” Her children are evidence of her own ‘best revenge’. She now has the courage to speak her truth and to write her book about it.
For her, acceptance still remains 180 degrees away from approval.
As Maya Angelou expressed it: “I can be changed by w
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genmininminmin (er min...) please welcome to The Good Listening To "Clearing" the warm and wonderful Environmental Economist and fellow Podcaster - host of his own podcast "Serendipity Soup", Matt Georges!
With The Monty Python "Fish Slapping Dance" Quay for his Clearing at Teddington Lock in London: The location for the seminal dance & unforgettable Monty Python Sketch with Michael Palin & John Cleese circa 1971 - hurrah!
Matt Georges and I first met way-back-when, when as a delegate at an Environmental Conference that I was co-Facilitating, Matt stepped forward to volunteer (and even take 2 days of unpaid leave!) to help me as a Runner in a Short Film I was about to make, called "Knock Knock..."
For which I've been grateful to him for ever since! And our paths have subsequently continued to criss-cross in subtle ways ever since. How's THAT for serendipity? (see what I'm doing there?!)
Matt's Podcast which is well worth a listen is called "Serendipity Soup " which he positions as being the 'antedote to the Clebrity Culture Podcast'.
More about Matt:
Matt Georges is an environmental economist with the courage to admit that he frequently gets real pleasure from spread sheets. Matt has been involved in cost:benefits analysis for the Environment Agency for almost 20 years. One man among over 10,000 souls, Matt has now set up in business on his own account with the intention of demystifying the language usually used in this field. Currently just a one man band, the enterprise is called Orbital Econmics.com which gives it plenty of scope for growth.
Matt is a quiet, thoughtful man who nevertheless enjoys talking and is immensely proud of his dual heritage : Cypriot father, Welsh mother. Married with two children, Matt discovered that while he constantly suppressed his responses to stresses at work, he then expressed them inappropriately at home.
10 years ago his father died prematurely aged 62, approximately 10 years below average life expectancy at birth. An average man of 62 might reasonably expect another 15 or more years but Matt’s father had had a heart attack at 46 and his co-morbidities of diabetes and high blood pressure were lifestyle related. Matt’s immediate reaction was anger - which he also suppressed. One definition of depression is anger turned inwards. Matt was diagnosed with moderate depression, which is one area where ‘Moderation in all things’ does not apply. Low grade is bad, moderate is worse, anything higher can be totally debilitating.
Matt made the most of the therapy on offer and is grateful that his wife has been consistently supportive. During Lockdown, Matt created his own new podcast series called "Serendipity Soup":
This gives him permission to ask questions from people who interest him. For h
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Please welcome to "The Clearing" for a lovely-jubbly double episode of The Good Listening To Podcast, Natural Storyteller, Creative ‘Puck-Like’ Sprite, Wellbeing and Resilience Blogger and all round HappyPants Anneliese Paul!
MORE ABOUT ANNELIESE:
As a Creative Project Co-ordinator and Well-being Coach, Anniliese Paul exudes joie de vivre.
At 16 she said she wanted to act and was told there was no money in it. At 26, Anneliese was a Business Manager in the Sanctuary spa in Covent Garden. By 28, she and her partner and their beautiful new surprise-baby had moved to Bristol to ‘live on lentils’ as Anneliese now puts it. Money may have been in short supply but there was an abundance of optimism.
At 12, Anneliese had had a near death experience where failure to recognise appendicitis when the opportunity was given, had led to an emergency operation for peritonitis. Anneliese still has a scar to remind her that life is fragile and that time spent with loved ones is priceless.
Over 10 years later, Anneliese dealt with her justifiable teenage resentment about being blocked from acting by signing up for evening and weekend drama classes at the Bristol Old Vic. This was designed as a two year course but by the time she had completed it, Anneliese found herself pregnant again. Nevertheless a third year of evening and weekend classes became available and Anneliese jumped at the opportunity to remain a drama student. Even though her desire to spend maximum time with her children has denied Anneliese a realistic career as an actor, she is in no doubt about the benefits of her studies. “Everyone should learn drama” she proclaims with enthusiasm.
Anneliese teaches people to write and tell stories. Curiosity and creativity work together in harmony. She talks about three concentric circles. In the outer circle are all the stories people are willing to share with anyone, post on Facebook or offer as PR versions of the truth at cocktail parties. The next circle in is reserved exclusively for close personal friends and people you trust completely. The centre circle contains the stories you hope no one will ever hear. Never, ever. That circle is dark and deep. Anneliese’s near death experience is true and has a happy ending so it sits comfortably in the outer circle. The fact that her father was a bipolar alcoholic with suicidal thoughts who was sectioned for his own good is certainly in the inner circle and elements of it may even cross into the central darkness. Who knows? Anneliese is not going to volunteer the information. “You know me and you don’t know me” she chooses as her favourite quote.
Now Anneliese is involved in exploring links between Play-Creativity-Well-being at the University of the West of England. At a less academic level, Anneliese shares her personal
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!
89 Welcome To The Clearing: Jonny Cooper - Facebook Sensation & Curator of the "Jonny Hates Marketing" Client Attraction Group for Coaches & Therapists
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to a very exciting episode of "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" Podcast!
The adventure continues with Liverpool Poet Roger McGough, who's enigmatic dulcet Scouse tones and wonderful words of Poetry have been ringing around my head as long as I can remember!
Outright winner of a Bonny Baby Award, Roger McGough was told early on that critics would not always like his poetry and to carry on writing, ignoring all criticism. Thankfully he did and has published umpteen different poetry collections and other books, songs and plays, over the last 60+ years.
At the time of this recording, Roger McGough‘s latest book ‘Safety in Numbers’ was awaiting an HGV driver somewhere between the UK and China. Or so he claimed!
The son of a Liverpool dock worker who died aged only 53, war-baby Roger was constantly encouraged to be grateful just to be alive. Constantly shown by his Catholic family that money was definitely not the best way to keep score. Money was so short, his mother read to him from an HP sauce bottle instead of a children’s book. Despite or perhaps because of all this, with his band the Scaffold, he went on to have a number one hit record with ‘Lily the Pink’.
Today this veteran Barnes-based Mersey beatnik enjoys a jog around the green, a glass or two in the pub and a quiet game of bowls. He continues to write poems and run poetry workshops on a regular basis.
He is an extraordinarily prolific writer who carries on polishing his work - even after it’s been published!
This is a quiet giant who really is the "People’s Poet.”
Reg Starkey
Editor, Health Triangle Magazine.
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
Think 'Desert Island Discs' but in a Clearing - and with Stories rather than Music!
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to The Clearing: Scottish Actor - with the lovely Scottish dulcet tones to match - Cal MacAninch!
Cal is a much respected TV, Theatre & Film Actor. Best known on TV for portraying the character DI John Keenan in BBC's "Holby City" but has been in much much more besides in a long-spanning and impressive career.
Including Downton Abbey, Banished, Mr Selfridge - and even playing the title role back in the day of "Hamlet" at The Glasgow Citizens Theatre, directed by Philip Prowse.
Cal is a warm, wise and wonderful man indeed who I'm very proud to call my friend!
A rich and multi-textured conversation indeed with a recurring theme (I noticed) of Cal as "The Novice" - able to be truly present and able to LISTEN with an acute ability to "watch and learn" as he adventures along in response to the Gifts that "life has to present" for him to unwrap...
Cal and I met way back when - near the very beginning of our careers - doing one of our first ever Film jobs together, appearing in a Tennent's Lager Commercial called "The Wedding"
Cal subsequently read Shakespearean Sonnet Number 116 at my Wedding over 30 years ago!
Cal also agreed be back in my Zoom Hole (!) to re-record the self-same Sonnet 31 years on!
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!"
Cal grew up in a household where the conventional wisdom was that children should be seen and not heard. His father had been a bomber pilot during World War 2 and had lost his own twin brother in that conflict. After the end of the war, his father dreamed of being a pilot in the King’s flight until his agoraphobic wife knocked that idea on the head, relegating her husband to an unsatisfactory life as a salesman. His mother had also lost a child. No grief counselling was ever available to either parent. What Cal took out of all this was the importance of following your individual dreams. When professional football was no longer an option, the idea of Drama appealed to him. Being on stage meant he would be both seen and heard. Cal taught himself to say “Yes!” rather than No. Because he discovered that Yes leads to adventure…. It ensures that Lifel is not unlived - it is lived to the full! Cal’s first role on stage was as an extra, with no lines to deliver, at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. When not on stage, Cal stood in the wings, in awe, watching his heroes perform. He asked for more challenging parts. In due course, he was invited back to play Hamlet! In parallel Cal was still playing amateur football, still running regularly, still learning to climb, still learning to box, still learning to row as a Novice. He was also falling in love with Shauna, getting married, co-creating a family. His multi-talented actress wife, Shauna MacDonald, remains an inspiration to Cal. But births were not easy. Sha
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminminimin (er min...) please welcome to The Good Listening to "Clearing" the warm, wise & wonderful "Storysmith" himself with the perfect surname that just keeps on giving Mark Story!
This very special podcast Episode released on this very day - 13th December 2021 - to celebrate Mark Story's 50th Birthday!
How's that for a Story behind a Story?
Hurrah!
"The Good Listening To" Podcast is the Podcast series that sets out to tell the "Story behind the Story": And who better to best exemplify that than Mark Story himself?! The man with the perfect surname that keeps on giving, to tell the "story behind the story" of being Mark Story! How's that for a Story?
Enjoy his lovely Story!
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!"
The adventure continues!
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Please welcome to The Clearing - for a "Show-within a Show -within a Show!" (how very Shakesepearean!) fellow UK Health Radio Presenter and the "fiery-force-of nature" that is Leaha Mattinson.
Leaha Mattinson the wise and wonderful Curator & Show Founder of not one Show but two Shows on UK Health Radio: "MasterYour Life" & "Recovery Road"
So - pull up a cup of tea and a piece of Cake why don't ya (this is England after all!) and why not give it a Watch/Listen?
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" The adventure continues!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!
Leadership Reflections: Unlocking Business Culture with the 'King of Culture Transformation', Stan Slap. New York Times Best Selling Author of "Bury My Heart In Conference Room B" & "Under The Hood"
What if your company's success hinges on a culture you've yet to fully understand? Join us on "The Good Listening to Show" as we unravel the secrets behind maximizing commitment across manager, employee, and customer cultures with none other than the enigmatic CEO of Slap Company, Stan Slap.
Known for his New York Times bestselling books "Bury My Heart in Conference Room B," & "Under The Hood" Stan brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom on all things Business Culture to the table. Listen in as he shares his fascinating experiences, including the creative inspiration drawn from writing at Ian Fleming's desk, and reveals his strategies for staying inspired.
In a deeply reflective segment, Stan opens up about the four pivotal moments that shaped his life. From growing up with a resilient mother who faced numerous health challenges to the transformative influence of his therapist wife, these personal anecdotes shed light on the themes of resilience, empathy, and self-worth that permeate his philosophy. Discover how these life experiences intertwine with his innovative business model, which is founded on a profound understanding of organizational culture. Stan's insights are both moving and enlightening, offering listeners a rich tapestry of personal and professional wisdom.
The conversation takes us on an inspiring journey that highlights the critical importance of preserving humanity in business. Stan emphasizes accountability and empathy as key values that drive both workplace and societal success. Through historical contexts and poignant personal stories, we delve into the significance of legacy and staying true to one's values. This episode is a masterclass in thoughtful dialogue, blending serious reflection with light-hearted anecdotes, and ultimately underscores the power of a well-structured yet flexible conversation. Tune in for an unforgettable experience with Stan Slap.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
For another delightful Episode of "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!"
Here "LIVE" on FaceBook - right NOW please - with the very lovely Laurens Nockels - Co Founder of Mangostone.org
Model & Prop Makers par excellence: A Creative Hub in the centre of Bristol with the "expertise & experience to bring your ideas to life - and to make it happen..."
Hurrah!
A lovely man - AND a co Administrator on the ol' #LolVirus Facebook Group too!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
"The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" The adventure continues on UK Health Radio & here on Buzzsprout with the enigmatic Pete Bailie!
Actor, Acting Teacher, 6th Dan Aikido Instructor, Expert Communication Skills Trainer, Director at VOX Coaching - and all round enigmatic wise owl!
Here to teach us all about Impact & Presence - how to communicate so that others want to listen - the nature of ensemble and rehearsal - and also to teach us a new word: "interregnum"
And the power of rehearsal in particular in providing a positive and proactive space in which it's 'safe to fail' - and that that's a good thing...
You're welcome!
Pete Bailie is the Director of Vox Coaching.
A former professional actor, he now regularly practises and teaches Aikido. Looking back, he describes himself as ‘a rather graceless child’ whose first moment of truth was stepping on stage in a school play aged 17.
Earlier in his teens, he was also a Junior Chess Player for Surrey but like Adrian Mole, he withdrew when he discovered how few females chose Chess. Pete has followed his instincts all his life, actively choosing the more challenging option on every occasion since he turned 50.
His Aikido mantra is ‘Right is Might’ and he attributes his words to live by to the late Humphrey Littleton: “Never lose touch with the silliness.”
Radio comedy inspires him! Currently he recommends Fags, Mags and Bags on BBC Sounds.
Pete uses meditation to get in touch with his feelings and claims Aikido helps him stay calm under pressure. In addition, like Tony Benn, he is a heavy drinker of tea on a daily basis. A truly brilliant interview within a reliably fascinating series!
A lovely multi-textured conversation with many nuances and interpretations as to what his "Clearing" might be: 'Betwixt' in fact many different 'energetic spaces'.
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminiminminmin (er, min...) please welcome my lovely and good friend Nik Howden to "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times with Me Chris Grimes!" Clearing!
Nik and I have been on stage together in a Comedy Improvisational capacity in INSTANT WIT (a Company which I co-run with Stephanie Weston) for the last many many years - plus we also have The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in common, in that that's where we both trained as Actors - but at different times.
Nik is a lovely Actor and a wonderful Comedy Improvisation performer. He is also a Stan Laurel look-a-likey too! He even got to play my all time comic hero Stan Laurel in a BBC4 Film about Laurel & Hardy which he also talks about in this Episode too.
As an all round 'versatility pants' Nik is also a DJ and a Funerial Celebrant - as well as being a real dap-hand at DIY!
A lovely, most enjoyable and playful Episode indeed!
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" The adventure continues!
Please welcome Award Winning Comedy & Theatre Director - Cal McCrystal - Director of many seminal Theatre, Opera, Circus & Film Productions.
"One Man Two Guvnors" + "Gifford's Circus" to name but two of very many others, which have collectively won him the accolade of being:
"Britain's Funniest Comedy Director" The Guardian.
Hurrah!
A wonderfully warm conversation indeed - with a touching tribute also to Nell Gifford in Cal's talking about his long standing Artistic relationship - as ongoing Resident Director with the glorious institution and Circus phenomenon that is Gifford's Circus.
The founder of England’s Giffords Circus, Nell Gifford (1974-2019) wrote: "A good circus is a sublimely existential thing, living acutely and only for the present moment." She also wrote: "A good circus should make you cry."
She created a circus conform to these ideas, a circus with a soul, which understands its purpose. In time, Giffords Circus has generated an amazingly faithful and enthusiastic following in the countryside of the south of England—not a large territory, but Nell Gifford wanted hers to be a "village-green circus." And indeed, Giffords Circus has this unique quality: it takes its audience into a nostalgic world of quaint simplicity and tangible wonder.
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Please welcome to The Clearing - to talk about Improbable's "The Gathering" (amongst other things) Matilda Leyser from Improbable Theatre.
A Special Episode of "The Good Listening To" where Improbable's "The Gathering" meets The Good Listening To's "The Clearing"!
Matilda is Associate Director of the world renowned and much admired Improbable Theatre.
She is a Theatre Maker and Director also of "Mothers Who Make" - which is all about "making work - even in the midsts of mothering..."
Matilda was a Circus Arialist for 10 years before coming down to Earth (with an elaborate flourish I'll wager) to become Associate Director of Improbable.
Her adventure continues in the Quest - alongside her two Co-Directors Phelim McDermott & Lee Simpson - to find a new Spiritual home and Creative & Artistic Hub for Improbable - in a journey called "The Gathering".
More about Matilda:
"Matilda Leyser, known to one Registrar at least as Linnet McDermott, is a colourful yet complex character, with an endearing hesitation sometimes when she speaks. Let’s consider her complexity.
Matilda has an MA in European Classical Drama. She has been diagnosed with inter-generational post traumatic stress disorder. Her parents’ ages were a generation apart and their parents’ own stories are truth at least as distressing as fiction. Matilda’s two children have both been identified with diversive neurology.
Matilda’s mother, the former Oxford student who married a professor old enough to be her father, used to say that Matilda herself was born scared. She used to climb the ewe tree in their garden and then became an aerialist in order to rationalise her fear of a life that other people apparently found so easy.
Now Matilda writes - and rewrites - as a practice to help her find relief. Many years ago as the youngest member of an eccentric academic family, Matilda took on the curious role of a tomboy who loved books, a tomboy who asked to do ballet classes - until she discovered a more free form of dance called contact improvisation. Then after 10 years as an aerialist, clinging tightly to the rope, Matilda landed up at the Improbable Theatre in a show called, appropriately, PANIC! Here she played a nymph. Her husband to be was the great God Pan.
The rest, she says, is history. Now an associate director of the Improbable Theatre Company, Matilda is looking for a home for this extraordinary creative enterprise, which has survived and thrived for around a quarter of a century until now, living on the road and on its wits.
Matilda appreciates the fact that her personal and professional lives are now totally integrated in everything she does - in the Improbable Theatre Company, in the idea of the Gathering, in Mothers Who Make, in her writing - and rewr
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n' Genminiminminmin (er, min...) who do I have in my Good Listening To Zoom Hole & Clearing Today?!
Please welcome Mountaineering Legend and King of all things "Gnarly" in terms of adventures - Rolfe Oostra.
A man who I got in touch with because of 2 other connections - and because he had a picture (for real) on his Facebook Page of an Iguana and a Cat hanging out together (as ya do!) on his Sofa in the Pyrenees!
Wahey!
Enjoy - as he dials in a 'tad late' as he's in Kathmandu on the way back from the Climbing Permit Office!
I'm “all good to go”, excited and sitting here in my North Face Fleece!
More about Rolfe:
Rolfe Oostra was born in Holland but taken to Australia as a child, where his parents were determined to explore ‘every nook and cranny.’ Rolfe was rock-climbing at 14, climbing mountains in New Zealand at 18, leading his first expedition at 20. He had got the adventure bug. There was no going back.
His life was destined to be extraordinary. Now he has climbed Mount Everest not once but 4 times. Rolfe was there, ready to climb In 2015 when an earthquake killed over 10,000 people in Nepal. In 2021, Covid restrictions have stopped well over 50,000 people who typically trek to the base camp for Everest.
On the day of the interview, Rolfe was in Kathmandu which he said had a 1950s feel about it, with no tourists, perhaps as unpopulated as it was when Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing first reached the summit. At 4 a.m. next morning, Rolfe was taking a 19 year old Royal Marine recruit in 2022 to attempt the three peak 6000 metre challenge, with no rest days. It will be an awesome experience. Literally. And certainly not without risk.
Rolfe has acquired his own unique experience in real time - there is no other way. Today he is happy to share that experience on behalf of his company 360 degree Expeditions. He is determined to put his clients’ dreams and safety first and lead from the back of the line, summit or no summit. Rolfe now wants to help his clients to achieve things they once never thought possible and in the process to experience the ‘rawness and realness’ of adventure - whether it’s on a mountain, in a desert or on a river.
Rolfe’s own heroes are well-known people like Joe Simpson, who survived impossible odds after his partner cut the rope but also the virtual ‘unknowns’ like Lucinda, the fearless Argentinian mountaineer or the anonymous Swedish adventurer who took a sea kayak along the coast of Greenland with only ‘bears and icebergs’ for company.
Rolfe is not part of the social media circus, he is usually ‘out and about’. This was an opportunity for him to say his piece before a 4 a.m. start on the 3 peak challenge with a newcomer to take care of.
Rolfe really is the real deal. There is only
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Please welcome Chris Pirie Artistic Director of Internationally renowned Puppet Theatre & Film Company (for Stage, Screen & Street) Green Ginger.
The most wonderful conversation indeed in which Chris Pirie from Green Ginger teaches us all a new word!
What's the official word for a Skip Diver?
Conjugate the verb "to Sprott" pleeeeease!
Our full conversation - in this wonderful DOUBLE EPISODE - coming NOW to a Good listening To "Clearing" near you!
A rich, warm and wonderful conversation indeed celebrating a combined throwback of memories akimbo of a 1970's childhood!
"The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" continues with its Weekly Show on UK Health Radio - and the Podcast-proper itself is hosted on Buzzsprout.
Hurrah!
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!"
The adventure continues!
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Ladies n Genminminmin' please welcome to The Good Listening To "Clearing" the warm, witty & wise Actor, Magician & "Magic Advisor" to the likes of Derren Brown & David Blane - Peter Clifford!
“Peter Clifford is one of my favourite magicians and one of the loveliest people I know… Do everything you can to get tickets!” Derren Brown
In the intimate and exciting shows Peter Clifford weaves his magic around stories of life, conjuring and the wonders of the world.
"We join him as he plays with puzzles of perception and prestidigitates for you pleasure. Let your grip on reality slip for a moment and be transported into something far more fantastical and exciting. You really have to see it to not believe it!"
“Peter Clifford’s love of the art resonates throughout the field of magic bringing life and hope to us all.” David Blaine
“Fuck off!… I, absolutely mean that as a compliment!” Richard Branson
“Peter Clifford is a constant delight.” Time Out London
A regular Actor also here in Bristol, playing 12 Seasons with the wonderful and world renowned "Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory" over their 21 years of Productions.
Peter Clifford is a magic man. Born in Plymouth over 50 years ago, he can trace his ancestors for over 200 years in the village of Cherhill near the famous White Horse on the Downs. They were often sextants or gravediggers. Peter’s more immediate family of origin has had a profound effect on him. His grandmother taught him to play pontoon when he was only 5 years old! His obsession with cards started there. His parents were both teachers. Time and money were in short supply but life was still very good. Peter sought affirmation and familial approval by creating card tricks that his family could not see through. His education was disjointed, with a strong element of discontinuity. Naturally quite shy, he was always something of a loner. Habitually an observer more than a participant, Peter joined a foundation course in acting in order to improve his stage presentation of magic. Nevertheless he played different parts in Shakespeare’s Twelth Night twice in one year! Later a short lecture he delivered at a magic convention led to an offer from David Blane to work with him in New York. A twenty minute presentation created rewarding work for Peter for no fewer than 6 consecutive years. Magic! He was attracted by what he could learn from the experience offered by working with David Blane as well by what ideas he could help generate. It was inspirational. As was the birth of his first child. Peter gave up alcohol in the year before to remove any risk that the new baby or toddler might ever imagine it was responsible for his darker moods. Now over 18 years without a drink later Peter says: “Practice makes permanent.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to a special "Leadership Reflections" LIVE RECORDING of "The Good Listening To Show: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" Podcast & Radio Show.
And here in "The Clearing" to talk about his new "hot-off-the-press" Leadership Book: "Be More Wrong!" is the wise, warm and wonderful Colin Hunter from PotentialSquared International to tell us all about the "Story behind the Story" of the inspiration for his Book.
"Be More Wrong: How Failure Makes You An Outstanding Leader"
Recorded as a trail-blazing "LinkedIn Live" together earlier on today...
"Leadership Reflections" is a special 'Series Strand' of "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" Podcast whereby I wrap a Episode around YOU as a Leader:
"Who are you? What's your Story? And what 'Leadership-lessons-learned-along-your-way' would you like to share with us?"
If you'd like to be IN or feature in The Podcast too - then by all means do get in touch:
Successful salesman by day and sociable barman by night, a driven achiever, Colin Hunter burned himself out before he reached his 30th birthday. But Colin’s personal breakdown led to a priceless professional breakthrough - through innovation and experimentation.
First Colin created Potential Squared International and built it into a cutting-edge coaching company inspiring literally thousands of people to present their ideas with confidence, their values with conviction and so make some positive difference with every new connection. Now he has written a new business book on leadership, with the honest but counter-intuitive title: ‘Be more wrong’.
It is based on Colin’s personal experience of turning frequent early failures into lasting success. With a high-achieving grandfather and father, Colin has long since recognised his own historical imposter syndrome and still quietens the critics in his head on a daily basis.
Hear this gentle dog-loving Geordie share his playful hero’s journey. Hear his clear view of his future direction and grounded core values. Consider his conclusions with an open-minded smile. Listen - you might learn something!
Reg Starkey Editor, Health Triangle Magazine
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to another and particularly exciting Episode of "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" Podcast! (and show on UK Health Radio)
And ohhhhh yes indeedy-doody (!) look who I've 'snagged and tagged'' in my Zoom Hole for today's Episode!
Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome to The Good Listening To "Clearing":
The wonderful Scottish Wildlife Film Maker & Presenter Gordon J Buchanan MBE!
Hurrah!
"Gordon Buchanan and Me!" (See what I'm doing there?!)
Enjoy - as I take him through "His Clearing - his Tree - and his Story"
Recorded LIVE in "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times with Me Chris Grimes!" FaceBook Group!
The adventure continues!
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Welcome to a very exciting episode of The Good Listening To Show as we launch the inaugural episode of a brand new series-strand called the "The Big Birthday Show", celebrating 100 years of ex-factory worker Mabel Milne!
If you too know of anyone with a Big '0' coming up soon in their Birthdays (be that 40, 50, 60, 70, 180, 90 or 100!) then why not consider GIFTING them an episode of "The Good Listening To Show", with me Chris Grimes as your host, to help them celebrate their BIG DAY! Explainer Film here: https://vimeo.com/chrisgrimes/bigbirthdayshow
We're calling this one "Mabel's Marbles" as she's still got all of them, is bright as a button and was delighted to be in the Show!
Mabel joins us in The Clearing to reveal that the secret to living a long and fruitful life lies in the unwavering support of those who love you, coupled with a love of gardening and dance and the extraordinary ability to survive and thrive despite all manner of diseases that life can throw at us!
Mabel takes us through the touching highlights of her 100th birthday bash, complete with 24 close family members indulging in afternoon tea comprising cinammon scones, fancy cakes and homemade meringues. She opens up about her early life, dealing with childhood ailments, and the special memories of her happy place, Austria.
In this heartwarming episode, Mabel shares her nuggets of wisdom on everything from patience and dancing to resilience during wartime. Hear her speak about the pride she takes in maintaining her appearance, the shifts in fashion across generations, and the invaluable lessons she learned from her grandmother about butter-making.
Don’t miss her charming recollection of meeting Princess Alexandra and discover the immense joy her garden has brought her over the years. This is a celebration of a life well-lived, filled with inspiration and resilience—an episode you won't want to miss.
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" continues!
With Alastair Fothergill OBE: CEO & Founder of Silverback Films.
The Film Company (& Alastair as the Producer) behind many of the most seminal Films about Planet Earth that you will ever see - and with none other than Sir David Attenborough as his oftentimes Narrator.
With a crucial message also to share about the forthcoming COP 26 - the Global Environmental Conference - happening in Glasgow in November: Possibly the most important Environmental event in the History of Humanity - with not to put too fine a point on it - the 'very survival of our species' at stake with the decisions that MUST be taken...
Plus same wonderful advice to offer for fellow Film makers.
Alastair has the wonderful Sir David Attenborough as a life-long friend and career-long collaborator.
Wonderful, rich stuff indeed...
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
In the “Clearing” Actress, Scot & Fellow INSTANT WITTER Kirsty "Mesmeric" Cox!
"Kirsty Cox is mesmeric!" So said Sam Marlowe in The Times
"Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" continues on UK Health Radio - and here in The Good Listening To Podcast - with wonderful Bristol-based Scottish Actress Kirsty Cox:
Talking the joys of people watching, the nature of ‘ensemble’, the Isle of Arran & seascapes akimbo!
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Hurrah! "Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" continues on UK Health Radio - and here in "The Good Listening To Podcast" on Buzzsprout with Director, Actress, Producer - Force of Optimism and Galvaniser of Others - Vanessa Bailey from "Nine Yards Films"!
"The Good Listening To Show" is a weekly Show version of "The Good Listening To Podcast" on UK Health Radio, with a potential audience reach of 1.2 Million...
Marvellous!
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.