GillHB & Friends (GillHB)

Farming is hard enough when you speak the language let alone buying one in France! Gill finds out from Zoe the reason she and her husband decided to buy a farm in France when neither of them really spoke French. What have been the challenges and the rewards they have faced running the farm alongside raising a family? And how does Zoe find time to do so much more like be a celebrant and write!

Jamie left school with a CSE Grade 1 in woodwork and went out to work. He tells Gill his story of how he became a highly skilled, self employed craftsman running his own business. Not only does he make cabinets but everything from church fonts and crocodiles to briquettes from the sawdust off his workshop floor - one of his most watched videos on YouTube! Jamie explains why he doesn't have a website but how he's using social media as part of his long term retirement plan.

I met Michele many years ago, we are both trained coaches and Master Practitioners of NLP, when we were both assistants on Dr Richard Bandler's NLP courses. Since then we have both gone in different directions and Michele is now a highly experienced trauma informed therapist. She is trained by Gabor Maté in Compassionate Inquiry, Dr Richard Schwartz in Internal Family systems as well as a hypnotherapist and coach.

Michele came to specialise in narcissism through wanting to understand more about her own behaviours and experiences. She is an expert in knowing about narcissism in all its various guises so was the ideal person to ask how narcissism fits in with childhood trauma and how that can result in becoming a people pleaser. 

She clarifies how the role of being a people pleaser serves someone but can then hinder them later in life. She also explains the difference between a narcissist and having a narcissistic personality disorder as well as the various types of narcissist that can hide in plain sight. 

When Gill first met Chris he was living in London and running a physiotherapy training company but roll forward a few years and he is now living in Kent and is The Speaking Mentor. Gill wants to know what exactly is a Speaking Mentor as she digs deeper to find out what happened to make Chris have such a big change in his life and career.

Gill and Paul were both cabin crew in their previous roles but with different airlines and met some years later.  Gill finds out what motivated Paul to set up the Virgin course to help people overcome their fear of flying, that she later assisted on for several years. Paul decided to stop a few years ago but has now started offering smaller more bespoke designed courses. Gill discovers what changed his mind and how he came to develop his new approach as the Fear of Flying Coach.

Gill first chatted to Zoe Lane in episode 2 about how as a result of a major health issue she was told she needed a stoma permanently and how she coped with it. Later she was told it could possibly be reversed and it was. Zoe, 18 months on, talks about how she went from surviving to thriving both in her personal life and career. 

Little did Harriet know how much a girl's weekend away in the Algarve would change her whole life. Harriet was living in London, divorced and with a young daughter when she and some friends went away for a break. She met and fell in love with Miguel. Gill finds out about the pros and cons of marrying and living in the Algarve for over 10 years with a young family, as well as helping Miguel build "Maria's' into a successful beach front restaurant.

Gill and Janey chat about what the arrival and impact of Covid meant for them both personally and professionally through 2020. They share how they maintained a good mindset throughout, using their skills to remain positive and be in a good position to help others. With the approach of 2021 they chat about how they are preparing for the year, not only with setting new 'directions', but also ensuring their coping strategies are still the right ones. 

Gill talks to Wendy about her mental and physical journey from being addicted to running to then living with chronic pain to finally being able to move naturally. Wendy was in her early 40's and a busy Mum of 3 boys when she sustained an injury to her back that halted her in her tracks. She shares how she was determined not to give up finding a solution and, in the process found a new career as a natural movement coach. 

Jenny is now an award-winning mentor, high impact coach and business owning CEO, She has regularly appeared on the BBC throughout the UK and speaks on the topic of professional visibility nationally and internationally.

Jenny chats to Gill about leaving corporate life to a start a new business and a family.

In the first half of the podcast she shares how her mindset helped her navigate her way through assisted conception and then the tragedy of loosing her twins at 18 weeks. She recognises how getting the right support at the right time was crucial and how that experience taught her resilience. She has evolved her business over the years into becoming knows as: 'The Queen of Being Seen' a visibility expert that helps others, as well as being the Creator of the Visibility Activator System™, Jenny’s five key pillars show you ways to be visible, and how to raise your professional profile.

www.jennykovacs.com   https://www.youtube.com/c/JennyKovacs

Gill chats to amateur fruit and veg grower Joe Harrison about what lead him to take on an allotment. Joe talks about his memories as a child and how he is hoping to make similar memories for his 3 young children that will give them a love of growing their own when they are older. He's not only into growing his own food but into recycling as much as he can from his home. Nothing gets thrown away without thinking how it could be used on his allotment - from an old wooden spoon to food containers. 

If you're a coffee lover then this episode is for you! 

Having experienced his own health issues Alex, previously an accountant, had a passion for good coffee, had heard about the health benefits and wanted to find out more about what makes coffee healthy. Not only did he find out but then he and his wife started their own company, Exhale coffee just as lockdown began! Gill wants to know more about: when his passion for coffee started, what EXACTLY is meant by a healthy coffee, how he and his wife not only launched but have grown their company with the help of Instagram, their commitment to sustainability and what have the companies Patagonia and RedBull got to do with their vision for the future!

Alex's story is an inspiring one for anyone who is suffering with their health and struggling to find any answers for their symptoms or has a dream they'd long to follow.  

Part 1 of 2 episodes - in part 2 Alex Manos talks in depth about the research and science behind 'healthy coffee'.

This is part 1 of 2 episodes. In the next episode I talk to Alex Manos all about the science of 'healthy' coffee. 

When Martyn was made redundant he didn't sit back and wait for the money to run out but took the opportunity to do what he wanted and start his own training and development company. Gill chats to Martyn about being a 'rebel' and what that looks like in a company. She also finds out that Martyn has taken being a rebel a step further, following a childhood dream to become an actor.

Have you heard of breast implant illness? Serena hadn't and put her symptoms of not feeling 'quite right' then 'very ill' down to the peri-menopause / menopause. She went for tests and was told all was well but she certainly didn't feel it was. One day she came across another woman's story and realised that the symptoms she was experiencing were those of breast implant illness. 

Serena shares the hurdles she faced to be able to have 'explant' surgery, what that actually means and involves and why it's important to have the capsules removed as well. Post surgery she discovered she had actually had the PIP implants. It is still early days for Serena and she is finding out more about what the lasting implications are for her going forward.  

She reflects back on why she had implants originally and what she has learnt about herself as a result. She is one of thousands of woman suffering from BII but luckily could afford to go privately to have them removed. She advises anyone thinking of having implants to ensure they also have the funds in place to have them removed. We discuss the role of the NHS when things go wrong and should it 'pick up the tab' for those that have chosen to have implants. 

Sally used to be a geography teacher until a series of back operations meant she had to give up teaching. She lost her purpose in life and struggled both physically and mentally until she joined BEST, an online coaching programme for women and met Gill. Through a series of events and, still wanting to help people, she has created Cultivating Change, a new seed donation initiative to bring people together through growing their own veg.

Sheila grew up in a large family and only every wanted to be a Mum, unfortunately, for some undiagnosed reason, she and her husband were unable to have children. Sheila talks openly about the dark times she experienced emotionally before embarking on the adoption process to become a Mum of 3. And how that personal journey also lead to her training as counsellor specialising in bereavement for a while before setting up her own practice in Orpington, Kent.

Following on from the previous podcast I chat to Alex Manos, also from Exhale coffee, to find out all about the 'science bit' behind coffee. I learn a lot about chlorogenic acid which is a polyphenol. I have no idea what are they and exactly what is so important about them as well as a lot of other things I've never heard of! Alex explains how they impact on our health and debunks several myths around coffee.

Ever thought about the amount of attention to detail and work that goes into making the perfect garden tool? Gill finds out by talking to Adam Greenman whose passion for designing and making 'just the right tool' started when he found his grand father's old garden tools in the shed. The enthusiasm for what Adam does and his ongoing desire to help gardeners both young and old is clear as he talks about it. You will never look at a garden tool in the same way ever again. 

Sarah tells Gill her story of how she went from studying fashion to working in the music industry, doing PR for the likes of Vivienne Westwood, working at the BBC, amongst other things to finally running her own business combining her two passions - fashion and upholstery. 

Karen was in academia, about to start a Phd, but knew she wanted to be involved in gardening so despite people saying 'you're wasting your qualifications' and takigna paycut she followed her dream and became a gardener on a large estate supporint peole with mental health challenges. 

It was whilst working as a gardener she learnt how to weave obelisks and plant supports. The more weaving she did the more she wanted to learn. so enrolled on a course and did lots of different classes with different weavers over the years (and still does attend courses). As she learnt about each basket she also learnt about the heritage and history of each different basket shape and becoe even more hooked!  

As a single Mum she attempted to do both roles and support her 2 children. During covid because her role was outside she was allowed to continue to go to work whilst her childern had to remain at home. She realised she was supporting people's mental health at work but her children needed it as much at home. This then brought about her next career decision to become a full time basket maker so she could be around for her children. 

Karen shares each stage of her journey and how much more there is to learn from a basket and what it tell us about our history.  https://www.karenbekwillow.co.uk/

Following a sudden change in his family when he was younger Chris developed an emotional relationship with food which nearly killed him. He talks openly about his life and the challenges he has faced to overcome his addiction to food and be in recovery. He realised that as an addict diets were not the solution so he had to make some big decisions and choices about his life. He now helps others with their addiction.

Like many people Claire had some plans for herself and her future, some might call them goals or visions to work towards. Gill finds out what happened when Claire's plans didn't actually work out for many reasons. What did Claire learn from the experience and does she still plan for the future? 

Helen's a former journalist who was searching for 'what next' after a career break. She discovered the answer was staring her in the face, creating social media content. It brings together all the things she loves, writing, taking photos, videos and ultimately starting a conversation. She now helps others to grow an 'engaged' online community that supports them and their business.

Did you know that of ALL the global textiles only 1% is wool and of that 1% only 1% is UK wool?

Kate Drury is a 4th generation sheep farmer. She lives in Yorkshire and explains why that is the perfect location for her business www.sustainablerope.com  and how she came to make wool rope. She is passionate about keeping the business in the UK so she knows each stage of the process and that in turn means she helps British farmers and manufacturers maintain their businesses.  

Launching her business has involved learning a lot about other industries as well as doing the scientific research on her own product. 

As Kate explains there are 4 lens through which to see value in a business: social, economic, environmental and purpose and that maybe economic needs not to be number one but further down the list. The business has a no waste policy and any bit of wool, however small is reused. 

We chat about how you can get other industries and supplies to become more sustainable and as Kate says when looking to work with other industries it's important to 'Focus on change not blame'. We chat about what exactly does sustainability look like in an industry and how complex the subject actually is e.g. Is it better to use recyclable materials on your doorstep rather than ship in biodegradable items from another country? 

When wandering around a garden centre have you ever thought about all those plastic pots we buy our plants in and what happens to them? What do you do with yours? Bin them? hide them in the shed never to use again? Give them to a friend who grows things from seed or divides plants? 

Well apart from hiding in someone's shed or being re-used by growers over 500million of them get sent to landfill! They don't degrade and take on average between 400 - 450 years to break down into micro and nano plastics and we all know where they end up! 

On the other side farmers with smaller herds of sheep are simply burning their fleeces as there is no viable market for them and it costs more to shear them than the wool is worth. Crazy world we live in. 

Graham Hull had an idea and together with his business partner Tom came up with, what not only turned out to be a sustainable idea, but a win win for everyone. 

I was given some wool pots as a gift last year and absolutely loved them so bought more for growing my seeds this year.

I find out where the idea came from, the challenges in not only setting up a new business but within the horticultuaral industry as well. www.wool-pots.co.uk

Honor Marks was Gill's very first podcast guest in January and they chatted all about her thriving gite business in the South of France. Covid and lockdown meant no guests. Gill finds out what Honor did, how she has survived and developed a whole new business. They also chat about how Honor has taken up the baton on being an 'authentic' mature woman on social media.  

Clare and Catherine met at the school gates when their children were young and started  running an after school club together for many years before deciding it was time to do something new.

Gill finds out what made them decide to star a new environmentally friendly business. What were the driving forces behind it? How do they decide what to stock and how much to stock when starting a new business? 

She dsicovers that they test all the products themselves to ensure they work and really are environmentally friendly. As Clare tells Gill they realised that one downside is that because a lot of things they sell are long lasting customers don't need to keep returning to buy them! This is just one of the challenges because inevitably the products are more expensive than the equivalent suppermarket item as they last longer - like their bamboo kitchen roll - so it's getting customers to make the mindset switch that in the longer run they do actually work out much cheaper. 

We chat about everything from green bleach to ragbags (remember them? and yes I still have one) to terry nappies. @planetfriendlyliving.co.uk

How would you cope for 13+ yrs on 4 hours sleep a night normally, let alone whilst raising a family of 3 children one of whom has non verbal autism plus additional sensory processing needs? 

Katrina shares her very practical approach to, what she describes, as the very contented family life they now all have. She tells of the challenges they have had to face with Clayton, now 16yrs old, along the way. How they've moved many times and as he grew up his 'meltdowns' which could go on well into the night would bring complaints from neighbours and the police knocking on their door. 

The move to their own home in Scotland brought about a dramatic change in Clayton and all he needed was a very quiet environment and to be out in nature. It took Katrina and Peter 2 years of kidding themselves, when he became of secondary school age that a new teacher, support worker, term, classroom... would make school better for him before realising that it was never going to be right and taking the decision to homeschool him. 

Now not only does Katrina home school Clayton as well as supporting his younger brother and sister but she writes books and articles, designs and sell merchandise, grows their own food, recycles or upcycles everything they can, cooks and bakes with Clayton, crochets, is active on social media...the list goes on!

Having faced personal challenges to even get to achieve her dream of becoming a performer Jessica then had to face graduating during 2020 and all that it meant. Her final performance before graduation, which would have served as a show reel as well letting any potential agents come and watch, was cancelled. Her new industry was closed with no chance of work. Jess tells her story of the highs and lows and what it's taken to keep pushing forward.   

Gill talks to amateur beekeeper Graham Jones about how he came to keep bees at the end of his garden. She learns about the importance of the bee 'waggle dance' and the Queen bee. She discovers bees have different roles to perform according to whether they are a male (drone) or female (worker) bee. Gill also finds out how gardeners, by thinking about what they plant, can help the bees from early on in the year to extending their feeding season. 

Jess tells me her story as to why she left a senior role in corporate banking to follow a little idea she'd had in the backof her mind for a few years. 

She retrained and is now a fully qualified coach and mentor. As people are often confused about the difference between a coach, mentor and sponsor Jess uses a great analogy to explain them. We chat about the importance of making sure a client knows when we are coaching or mentoring.

As Jess's background was in a predominantly male environment she recognised the importance of supporting and enabling women to thrive and grow in their own way. She now runs her own business 'The Female Mentoring Alliance' and within that offers a programme called TransformHer as well as group and 1 to 1 coaching. 

https://thefemalementoringalliance.com/   IG @thefemalementoringalliance LinkedIn: The Female Mentoring Alliance

Sophie Black grew up in a small town in Derbyshire but that didn't stop her from wanting to become a film maker and director. Gill finds out what inspired Sophie at a young age to want to make films and how she is now, not only building a film career, but helping to forge a film industry outside of London.  Gill also asks Sophie about the challenges she has faced being female.

Maggie had been an open water or wild swimmer before she was made redundant. Realising the benefits of being in cold water and out in nature she wanted other people to be able to share a similar experience, particularly marginalised communities. Hence her idea of building an inclusive and outdoor community became a reality when she started Open Minds Active.

How many people go on holiday to a Greek island and are so moved by what they see they feel they have to do something? Gill chats to Joel who did go on holiday to a small Greek island back in 2015 and witnessed first hand the plight of not only the refugees arriving but also that of the people who lived on the island. The result of that holiday ended up with the charity asnteamuk.org being created. 

Pete explains how trying to replace a broken bowl ended up with him and his wife Di starting a new business selling ceramic fish, bought from Sicily, alongside their current careers. Gill and Pete chat about the challenges of starting a new business as well as the benefits and how it is possible to change careers mid-life especially when you develop a 'portfolio' career mindset in today's world. 

What is it about grief that makes it so hard for us to talk about it? Gill finds out from Maryline what type of situations and circumstances, that are often dismissed or ignored, can cause us to grieve. Maryline shares her own story and explains how unresolved grief, that we are often unaware of, can cause problems later in life and needs to be dealt with. She shares ways in which we can find our way through the grieving process and also help / support others to face their own grief. 

Zoe is a young nurse who whilst on holiday discovers she has a problem going to the toilet. After returning home she learns that she has a large mass near her bowel and needs a big operation. She is told she will have a permanent stoma. She is very honest about the highs and lows of dealing with it, particularly as a young single woman. Having just got used to the idea there is another 'plot twist' to her story. 

Gill and Alex explore the various connections between a person's gut health, mental health and taking the role of personal responsibility. Alex shares a lot of information, research and personal experience of working with clients in this area. They also discuss the research and use of 'psychedelics / magic mushrooms' (illegal in the UK) used in various places around the world as a controlled therapy.

Gill first met Dora when she came to her as a client, unhappy in her sales role and and wanting to explore possible options. Her passion was in nutrition, health and wellbeing and she knew she wanted to help people but wasn't entirely what to do. Roll forward a few years and after a miscarriage Dora knew exactly what she wanted to specialise in, she is now a fertility coach helping and educating women about their own fertility journey. 

Irina grew up in Romania with a mixture of logical and creative thinkers surrounding her. Writing poetry was the one constant through her life - from childhood to a career in the corporate world. A chance meeting lead her to publish her first poetry book and eventually take the decision to follow her passion as an author and poet.

Gill discovers what led Neil to leave corporate life to start his own training and consultancy business. His approach to working with companies worldwide and the importance of evolving. They touch on the possible impact that the current Corona virus situation will have on companies and employees both in the short, as they return to 'normal' working and long term.

When she was going through her divorce Janet was looking for support from someone objective to help her understand what was happening and navigate her way through. Through coaching she realised that she had been in a co-dependent relationship with a narcissist and learnt how to understand and deal with the behaviours through her divorce. Janet explains the traits of a narcissist and the reason people become co-dependent in the relationship, having believed things were their fault. 

Continuing on the French theme Gill chats to former Yorkshire language teacher Kylee Milner who now designs and makes jewellery. As Kylee says, if someone had told her back in her teaching days that she would be living in France working with 'energy' to design and make jewellery she would have laughed! Kylee tells Gill her 'back story' as to how she and her husband came to change their whole lives.

Gill chats to Rich Pennock from Haws Watering Cans, a family business who care about the work they do as a company to minimise their impact on the environment. Gill finds out about how they make their watering cans and also all the things you need to consider before buying one. Rich talks about Haws involvement with the charity 'Treesisters' and being members of 1% for the planet. 

Gill chats to songwriting royalty, Roger Greenaway (of Cook and Greenaway fame) about how he became a singer and songwriter of so many global hits in the 60's and 70's. Writing hits for The Drifters, Blue Mink, The Fortunes, to name a few and for adverts including the Coca-Cola ad that became the huge hit "I'd like to teach the world to sing". He's been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and awarded the OBE for his services to the music industry. Roger explains how the music industry was very different then to today. 

I last spoke to Janet in episode 25 about her business as a divorce coach specialising in narcisstic abuse and why she has now decided to close her business. She explains that having reached a milestone birthday that she feels she is in the 'departure lounge' of life, but absolutley not ready to board just yet, so wants to make sure she makes the most of it and has the time to do what she wants. 

We chat about the pressures of the type of coaching she has been doing and that she was doing it more to help people and get information out there rather than build a six figure 'Instagram' business. She felt the constant pressure of being told that as a business she 'had to be' on social media and show her face and how that really wasn't for her.  She uses a good anaolgy for Instagram as it does have some good content on there but it's like looking for a needle in an ever growing haystack. 

It leads us into a discussion about the changes we see on social media: the increase in adverts and posts selling things, pyramid or MLM (multi-level marketing), the one model fits all type courses, the 'acting' in posts, why people mute rather than unfollow and how we prefer more authentic accounts. Janet also raises the point that it's impossible to stop the 'cold calling' type messages from people who bombard you with the: buy now, early bird price, only 10 places left, offer ends, last chance to sign up! 

Janet explains why there are a lot of covert female narcisist hiding out on Instagram / social media and how important it is to them to get a constant supply of attention in what ever way they can. 

We both agree we're not in favour of membership groups for various reasons and how important it is to constantly review the groups you belong to and what you get from them. We are both surprised how little due diligence people do these days before signing up to something or someone and simply believe what they see on the person's social media output. 

We acknowledge that we're all different and as Janet says it's about finding the needle [or our needle] in the haystack of social media that we like. 

Lastly we chat about YouTube, (as I've started a channel for many reasons), is it or isn't it social media? What makes it different and the reasons we are both using it far more these days. 

Katie admits she seems to like to do things the hard way! She had always wondered about running her own business but never believed it was possible.  Like many people along came covid and redundancy which gave her the push to think more seriously about it and take the leap. Having taken the leap she then discovered that she pregnant. Gill finds out the challenges she faced growing a new business and having a new baby! 

This quote came to mind as I was chatting to Mitty -  “People who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it", George Bernard Shaw. My 'friend' on this podcast is defintiely the person doing it! 

Meet Mitty who, not only decided to start her business  www.bridieandbert.com 3 years ago in covid, but also turned 60 this year which she celebrated by going to India  - not just for pleasure also for business.  

I'm very keen to discover how it all started, where did she get the idea from and find out what her great motivators are for growing her business - it involves a big kitchen! Her story starts way back when she was a little girl and she had her mother who kept their childhood clothes wrapped up in tissue paper. 

Since covid she's built an online and wholesale business and now has 3 shops opening in St Mawes, Salcombe ad St Ives which she is eager for everyone to pop into and say hello if you're in one of those towns. She's also got great plans for the future (if you know anyone who lives on the East coast of America or involved with cruise companies she'd like your help) including expanding her range of clothes and her number of shops. Watch out Lymington and other seaside towns Bridie and Bert are heading your way! 

Mitty knows who she is, how she works best and has learned to do things her way and ignore other people's fears. WARNING: Her enthusiasm, passion for life and all she does is very infectious!! 

Lucy felt she had to speak out on LinkedIn about what she sees as the unacceptable behaviour of journalists after reading an article in a popular newspaper. Gill and Lucy discuss what has become acceptable and normalised both in the way things are reported and the way in which people react to it. Is it bullying or is this the modern form of a base human instinct we need to satisfy? 

Gill finds out from Honor what made her leave corporate life in London for France to renovate old farm buildings to run a gite business. From cleaning showers to being accepted by a small rural community Honor lets us into the high and lows of being an English woman with 'schoolgirl French', a teenage daughter and Bob the Ambassordog running a self-catering business. 

Ele didn't set out to be a sports massage therapist when she left university. She explains how she came to be interested and train in massaging. She then went onto specialise in deep tissue and sport massage. Gill and Ele chat about what people can expect when they go for a massage and what questions to ask before they book in to make sure they get the massage they are expecting.

In this episode Gill chats to two experienced 'grow your own' gardeners. Martina Holgersson, who describes herself as nearly self sufficient on the veg and berries she grows for her family and Kim Hedges who has a number of raised beds in her garden. Gill finds out what sparked their original interest in gardening and what benefits they each get from being out in the garden and growing their own food and flowers. 

Gardens are full of plants and flowers as well as fruit and veg. In this episode Gill talks to Amanda Haines a horticulturist, who also used to be an adult education teacher for students with a mental disability. Amanda shares her story about: how she became a horticulturist, the benefits and sense of achievement she witnessed in her students from growing their own, as well as how she went about redesigning her current 'beach' garden, which was only shingle when she moved in.

Entrepreneur and podcast host of 'Bigger than the Hustle' Bhavik was working in the corporate world when he decided to set up his own business with a friend. Several businesses later he realised that although he had the trappings of wealth it was just the 'veneer of a good life' and he could't do it anymore. Gill finds out what happened next and how he rebuilt his life 'one cell at a time'.

Kendall worked hard to become a forensic scientist and initially enjoyed her work so what lead her to start her own business? She now runs her own business and workshops helping people to appreciate the joy that gardening can bring and how to do it mindfully. Gill wants to know how she managed to transition into being a 'horticultural therapist' and what they means.

ulie's love of dancing lead her from her home town in Grimsby to study in London. As a result of an injury she then concentrated more on the acting side of her course and discovered she loved it. She has appeared on stage and in programmes like Brookside and Emmerdale. Over the years her career has evolved to include being a: TV presenter, voice over artist, author, magazine columnist, crafter and designer of sex toys!

Gill was assisting on a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) course when she met Sarah who was an attendee and discovered they both lived in the same town. From leading a sales team Sarah has now become a self-employed consultant who works with leaders and teams in the luxury goods market. She and Gill discuss the reasons it's important to have a cohesive team and what it takes to be a good leader.

Before recording this episode I was looking at Eleanor's Hunt website https://www.thewoollencwtchcompany.com/ , and thought she must have been honing her skill of weaving beautiful willow and British wool coffins for years. How wrong can you be?!

I've just started learning how to weave with willow and like anything new when you try it you discover just what a skill it is to weave anything! So I was blown away when I learnt Eleanor's story of how she left teaching and is now making really beautiful coffins inside and out. 

She started her company back in 2021 but she had only recently started willow and rope weaving during covid and actually taught herself to do it! She had moved to mid Wales and having helped out on farms as a lambing assistant appreciated all the amazing benefits of wool and wanted to help British sheep farmers raise the price of their wool. She knew it would have to be commercial enough to achieve her goal. She had an idea... 

We chat about how no skill is wasted and how each skill she has learnt along the way from: upholstery, to felting, to weaving seats, to sewing, to processing wool, to spinning, to making her own rope...are all being used in making her beautiful coffins. 

I also find out the meaning of her company name - with Cwtch being a Welsh word. 

Her attitude to life is evident from her story. She just keeps moving forward, she never sees anything as a failure but an opportunity to learn how to do better and she's keen to seek out help and advice - which is how she met another inspiring woman Kate Drury and her sustainable rope (Kate's story is episode 80). 

Her story and passion for wool is infectious and will inspire anyone who listens to it, me included! 

Note: I'm so happy to add that since recording the podcast a couple of weeks ago Eleanor has achieved full accreditation for her coffins. Most crematoriums in the UK now require coffins to have passed through a specially designed testing protocol. This means that her coffins can now be used in cremations as well as in burials and will have a blue stamp on the base with it's own unique code.  Congratulations Eleanor. 

Graeme first picked up a guitar one Christmas Eve at the age of 11 and taught himself how to play. He only ever wanted to play music and so did exactly that! He joined Gryphon 40 years ago and they have just released their latest album. Gill wants to know what else happened in those intervening years and how Graeme came to set up and run his own recording studio - Morden Shoals. 

As a means of paying his tuition fees for his horticulture course Andy started selling herbs at farmer's markets. Little did he know that it would lead to him not finishing the course but running his own company and writing a book as well as starting a new experiment of growing food in his front garden. 

Andy's story shows how we never know where a decision will take us, how to overcome the ups and downs and for every negative comment there is a lot of encouraging ones. He also shares some exclusives with us on the podcast! IG: @andygrowsherbs @urbanherbsuk  https://urban-herbs.co.uk/

Busy Mum of 3 and business owner, Anna Logue shares how she came to start her online clothing business. Having previously been an estate agent she had no formal business training, experience in retail or creative type of qualification. She talks of the benefits of running her own business but also the challenges she faced and had to overcome which nearly made her gave up.

Gill chats to Elsa Dale, ex-teacher and now coach, on the suitability of the current school and education system for world today versus alternative schooling. The podcast was prompted by an article Gill had read in the British Psychology magazine. Having shared it with others it had brought many comments from parents whose children struggled to fit the traditional way of teaching. 

Bethan was living and working as a teacher in London when she and her partner (now husband) thought 'there has to be more to life than this!'. A move to Perth, Australia followed and after having her 2 children, Bethan is now running her own critical thinking training business. Gill finds out exactly what is 'critical thinking', how does she promote her business and 'the Repair Lab' which Bethan also started in her local area.

In the final episode of her mini series Gill talks to Stephen Avery from Back Door Shoes. She finds out  where the idea came from to make the shoes and how they have grown the business organically over the years. This year has presented it's own challenges of dealing with the changes Covid19 has brought with major events being cancelled. As a family business Stephen is passionate about building and maintaining that personal feel with their customers. 

Gill is joined by her friend Frank Sinclair who runs an online fitness bootcamp FitwithFrank to discuss the pros and cons of people wearing Fitness Trackers. Have fitness trackers taken over from the obsession of getting on and off the scales but are in danger of having the same negative impact on how we feel?  

Dawn had always been interested in alternative medicine with her Mum being a homeopath. At the age of 40 Dawn decided to completely change careers and become a naturopath and nutritionist. It took 4 years of juggling her studies alongside working and looking after her young family. Gill finds out exactly what a naturopath is and what type of client it can help. 

Tony has had a varied career from training to be a stunt man to running several businesses and now a coach. He's been wealthy and in huge debt. He explains to Gill how he now has the life that really makes him happy and why the thinks 'having stuff' is the booby prize in life. They chat about: the impact that worrying about what people think has on your life, how you can change thoughts and beliefs and much more!

Having worked in various roles for the BBC and having had two children Ros Ball wrote, The Gender Agenda. Gill finds out what was the motivation behind it and how it came to be published. She discovers that two of Ros's passions are: equality, especially for women, as well as gardening. Ros is also in the process of writing and crowd funding the publication of her next book  'Women Who Won'. 

As a follow up to the previous podcast with Elsa, Gill chats to Derek about where he gets his ideas from, Einstein, how dyslexia saved his life, the education system and the positives to having a 'butterfly brain'  amongst other things! 

Gill chats to Sam about how she has time to prepare and cook a different meal everyday on social media especially as she has a very different full time job! They work out, whilst chatting, how the skills and discipline needed for Sam's career is actually very much part of her cooking and who she is. Plenty of laughs in this podcast but how did they go from chatting about cooking to having a wee?!

John is the CEO and Founder of CoGent Executive who are leaders in transitional management and work with companies in a very different way to help them get the tangible results they want. With 30 years of corporate experience and being asked the same questions again and again he decided it was quicker to write a book for people to read. 

With the addiction to our phones and social media usage on the increase and small business owners chasing 'the pot of gold at the end of the algorithm rainbow' Gill and Janey decided enough was enough! They're launching a new project called 'The Escape Route' looking at different ways to live your life and run your business enabling you to take back control. They will be exploring all aspects of modern technology both positive and negative on people's lives. 

I don't know many entrepreneurs, let alone someone of Holly's age, who does literally everything in their new business - from building the website, to making the bespoke items to taking the photographs of her products.

She explains how rêvedesalpes.com came about from an idea / dream her Mum and Aunt had many years ago. On gaining her Masters and realising she didn't want to remain in marketing she picked up the idea and started the business.

Holly is very keen on sustainability and it is at the heart of her business and everything to do with it. The bespoke items she makes as the orders come in to avoid wastage, she sources other items from vintage shops and even her packaging can be recycled. 

As well as running her own business Holly also writes for the online magazine Lumera which is about educating people on sustainable fashion. 

Gill and Janey talk openly about what they are seeing from both a personal and professional view-point in terms of the very different impact Covid-19 is having on people. Janey is a single Mum of 3 children and runs her own online business working with women. She shares what she has done to ride the 'emotional waves' of dealing with the situation so far. Gill and Janey talk about how your mindset, values and beliefs are absolutely key in this very fluid and changing situation especially in relation to children and partners.  

Back at the end of 2019 Gill, her husband Clive and Eamonn were out for a walk with his dog Maggie. The conversation lead, amongst other things, to single use plastic, the state of the planet and what would need to happen to change it. Little did they know what was to happen. This episode is a continuation of that conversation, what they have discovered about themselves through 2020, the important role pets play in their lives and the memories it has brought back from their childhood. 

Tessa knew nothing about plant pests when after having twins she decided she needed a different career and bought an organic / biological pest control business. She applied her existing skill set to the new business. Gill finds out what a nematode is, how to get rid of those pesky little flies on her indoor plants and that there is a lot you can do in the autumn / early spring to control any pest infestation before you even think of planting your veg or flowers!

In this episode it's all about 'sustainable fashion'

Gill chats to Sarah Franken a young entrepreneur about how she came to set up the online magazine 'Lumera'. The focus of the magazine is to highlight sustainable brands and Gill finds out what is sustainable fashion and how complicated it can get! 

Sarah explains that at university she wasn't particularly passionate about sustainability but how, a few years later, she accidentally walked into a panel talk all about sustainable fashion and it gave her a whole new perspective and passion to pursue. Lumera was born. 

They discuss what constitutes as 'sustainable fashion' and what are the bigger challenges involved? Sarah explains what the 3 main sustainability categories are.

Gill mentions about how when she was younger it was normal for families to have a 'button and zip box'. Sarah uses a great quote as an example as to why we now simply discard clothes: "Clothes have gone from being a valuable item to becoming a disposable item". 

The discussion widens out to look at: how do you get people to change their mindset / perception around their fashionable clothing buying habits when large cheaper brands target them in their marketing? How does the industry overcome the dilemma of what would be seen as sustainable fashion for one group of people is viewed differently by another. What is 'greenwashing' and how does the consumer know if a brand is doing this? 

They both agree that with anything in life it has to be easy for the consumer to navigate.  

Links to the articles mentioned in the podcast:

• Resale on the Rise - Brands Selling their Pre-Loved Garments https://lumeramag.com/articles/resale-on-the-rise-brands-selling-their-pre-loved-garments 
• 5 Tips to Spot Greenwashing https://lumeramag.com/articles/five-tips-to-spot-greenwashing 

To subscribe to the magazine: https://lumeramag.com/  or follow them on social media @lumeramag. Or if you are a sustainable brand or know of one please contact Sarah by email info@lumeramag.com so she can add it to her list or Gill to do a podcast! 

Gill finds out what lead Stefan to leave a career in research to become an expert on Gardener's Question Time and a writer of over 60 books. They chat about: gardening, being a writer, his love of mycology (fungi and mushrooms), their joint dislike of 'cosmetic horticulture' and Stefan's recent venture into writing and publishing his first novel, 'The Marmalade Pot'. 

Gill talks about what to expect from her new podcast and the reasons she decided to start podcasting.

Be sure to subscribe to her new show!

Gill chats to Helen about her very different approach to helping people with their relationship around food. Helen has taken a very different approach to helping people who have dieted all their life. She looks behind the standard 'diet club' mentality and the vicious circle dieters find themselves in. By learning to have compassion for ourselves we can become nourished with kindness and the need to emotionally eat is reduced. 

In this first episode of her 'mini series' Gill tells the story behind the redesign of their garden last year to start growing their own fruit and vegetables again and where her love of gardening started. She chats to Rachel Mayor a 'newbie' allotment grower about how 'covid lockdown' helped her and her husband fall in love with their previously ignored allotment. Gill also takes a look at the research and benefits to being out in nature and growing your own. 

Gill talks to Grainne about what life has been like since she discovered her first son had Special Educational Needs and then her second son was also diagnosed but with different SEN needs. Grainne shares her experiences, as well as give some practical tips, of how she went about getting the help she needed and how she coped personally. Grainne has started to to write a book to help other parents navigate their way through if their child has SEN. 

Interviewing your husband can be tricky, but in this episode Gill chats to Clive all about his songwriting and how he changed careers to become a full time musician. She finally discovers how his brain works and where he gets those random ideas from to write his comedy songs as well as his more serious ones. Clive chats about the different bands and types of music he has been involved in as well as his love of 'rock 'n roll'.