Podcasts I’m Loving Right Now

I don’t know about you, but there seem to be so many podcasts around right now. I am not complaining, as it means there is something out there for everyone… and they’re free to enjoy! I have come to an age where music sometimes doesn’t cut it during my commute. I need some other sounds. I need to be stimulated through my ears another way (oo-er). Enter the wonderful new concept of podcasts.

My brother and his girlfriend first introduced me to podcasts a few years ago when they told me how much they enjoy listening to Desert Island Discs while driving. I always said that I couldn’t concentrate on spoken word while driving, but perhaps that’s because my brain wasn’t ready for it! I love listening to spoken word now. Here are a handful of podcasts that I can’t wait to catch up on each week…

Desert Island Discs

Obviously this is the first on my list. I love it. Especially the Classic episodes. You find out so much about the celebrities and famous figures from all industries, even the ones you’d never even heard of before. If you listen to people you know from our generation, they will often have Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit as one of their choices… and all Brits seem to choose something by the Beatles, perhaps out of obligation. Both of my grandparents have been guests on the show, which are obviously my very favourite episodes (and, no, neither of them chose a Nirvana or Beatles song).

Honestly

Clemmie Telford is relatively local to me, and I first found out about her on Instagram. I went through a period of following all sorts of mummy bloggers and Clemmie’s blog, Mother Of All Lists, really interested me – It was so different and refreshing and, well, honest. When she announced her new podcast earlier in the year, I was in the virtual queue waiting for that first episode. And I now listen to each new episode religiously every Wednesday on my morning commute. The first episode on Marriage with Clemmie and Simon Hooper is still my favourite so far, but I have thoroughly enjoyed her discussions about other subjects such as death, periods and cancer. It is so refreshing to hear people talk about their experiences with such honesty and light-heartedness. It led me to write my post, Talking Honestly About Death, which was inspired by one of Clemmie’s podcasts. I have learned a lot from Clemmie and her guests, and I hope others will, too.

The Guilty Feminist

Needless to say, Deborah Frances-White is smashing it at the moment and using her profile and podcast for the greater good. She always has great guests and the podcast is laugh-out-loud funny. I remember Andi Osho telling a ‘toilet’ story about when she and her boyfriend were on holiday. You’ll have to listen to the episode to enjoy the story, as I don’t want to ruin it – She tells it so well. I was crying with laughter in the hair care aisle in Tesco. Check it out here: The Bechdel Test with Andi Osho.

I was lucky enough to see two recordings of the show earlier this year – One at Kings Place in Kings Cross, and the other at the wonderful Royal Albert Hall. It was my first visit and I enjoyed every flipping minute of the show, especially Hannah Gadsby’s stand-up. She was so brilliant. Plus, they got one of the ‘feminists of the future’ up from the audience to join them in their final dance – She was 12 and her father had bought her ticket and accompanied her to the Guilty Feminist show for her birthday present. Move over, Greta!

The Horne Section

Alex Horne and his section are awesome. I have been a fan of theirs since the very beginning when my brother invited me to see them perform at Soho Theatre’s downstairs space in a very rough draft of the eventual show. I knew there and then that they would go far. My brother knew a lot of the ‘section’, who are all good muso friends of his, and he even played guitar for them at a radio recording, which I attended. It was one of the laugh-out-loud-funniest things I have ever witnessed. I first heard about the podcast when I was in Malawi, and made sure I listened to all of them as soon as I could. They accompanied me on many evenings of cooking! Funny, witty, clever and musically sweet-as, this podcast is a must for everyone! You can also catch Alex Horne on Dave’s Taskmaster, and the whole section have been known to grace the 9 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Dictionary Corner once or twice. They also have some music videos available on their website – Bagface, Battleships (with the incredible Joe Stilgoe) and Barge Rock are my favourites.

I hope you all have your favourite go-to podcasts. Do let me know what they are and why you love them – I’m always open to trying new ones!

Enjoy,

NSG xxx

Cover Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash

Desert Island Discs

Parenting

Hi everyone! Hope you’re not all melting in this heatwave. I am at the office in central London currently, trying to find an alternative route home NOT via the underground… Although, it’s only 2 stops, so it might be fine…

Sorry, now to the point… I am a little bit in love with the Desert Island Discs programme, which I have been listening to on the BBC Sounds app. Both of my grandparents have done one and I thought it would be fun to have a go at finding out what tracks, book and luxury item you would all pick for your desert island stint. I have mine. Wanna hear what they are? Alright, here goes…

My 8 Tracks:

I’m Not In Love by 10CC – This song reminds me of my mum and grandma who shared a love for it when it first came out back in the 70s. When I hear it, I am reminded of a beautiful moment when we were all in a pub in Wales and it started to play on the jukebox. My mum and grandma hugged together and sang along to it. I’ll always remember how it made them feel and how it brought them together as mother and daughter.
Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police – This song takes me back to being a child, growing up near Southampton, and makes me feel reminiscent and innocent… before the adult crap set in!! Plus it reminds me of my Dad which is always a good thing because he is awesome.
I Feel For You by Chaka Khan (But actually written by the wonderful late Prince) – I have a list of songs which immediately take me back to my childhood when I hear them. This is at the top of that list. I love everything about this song and I love to try and hit the high notes when I sing along!
Making Plans For Nigel by XTC – This is such a strong song. I love it. I never skip it or get tired of hearing it. We used to listen to XTC when we were kids (Are you sensing a theme here with my choices?) and this song was always a standout for me.
Licence To Kill by Gladys Knight – The best Bond theme song ever produced, very closely followed by Goldfinger by the incomparable Shirley Bassey. It’s dramatic, beautifully written and Gladys Knight sings it so passionately. I love singing this one, too, and have been known to mime along to it on a late-night walk home from the station, gestures and all!
Drift Away by Dobie Gray – My wonderful man sang this song at my mum’s birthday party last year, and it was amazing. He smashed it. My dad was accompanying him on bass and my brother on the drums. It was a really emotional moment for me to see my family join together on the stage like that – Three of my five favourite men (The other two being my little male creations).
He Lives In You by Lebo M – Better known as the opening theme tune to Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride! There is nothing I don’t like about this song. Lebo M is an incredible writer and artist, and it made me so happy to hear this song, sung in Zulu, on the new Lion King film soundtrack. You can also hear it in the stage show of The Lion King. I always turn this one up when it comes on, and the boys love it, too.
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen – Because, well, you know. I think everyone will have this song on their list… It appeals to such a range of music lovers! It reminds me of my family at my cousin’s wedding singing it all together, doing the voices and laughing our way through the song. Freddie Mercury is one of my all-time favourite vocalists – I love the drama, the passion and the power of his voice. Other favourites are Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones (I’m not Welsh, I promise!) for the same reasons.

If I had to choose one, I’d choose…

Probably Bohemian Rhapsody because I could sing and headbang to it all alone on the island and nobody can laugh at me!

Along with the bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare (which I’d love to have anyway), my book choice would be:

If there was such a thing, I’d have the Complete Works of Harlan Coben! But, in lieu of that, I would probably take a massive encyclopedia with illustrations. I love learning facts, so this would be perfect for desert island reading!

And, finally, my luxury item would be:

Nivea Pearly Shine pink lip balm. I never go anywhere without it. Especially if it’s a warm climate.

Now over to you guys! Post your choices in the comments and have fun!

NSG xxx

What has NSG been up to this week?

Parenting

Hello followers! How are you all? I hope you’re having a good week, whether it is raining, windy, sunny, or all of the above.

It has been an interesting week in NSG Towers. Khaya turned a magnificent FOUR on Monday, and we took a rather brilliant trip to Hamley’s on Regent Street in order for him to choose his birthday present. We also promised Nathi an ‘unbirthday present’, which is a tradition in my family. Here are some of the highlights:

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We have also been busy seeing family, and making Baba Bear feel comfortable in his London home after being away for over a year.

Mama has been on a bit of a fundraising jolly, having raised over and above my goal for Ovacome through my birthday fundraiser. We now have an active family fundraiser for Comic Relief through JustGiving, which went live this evening. The boys took part in a cake sale at their nursery today, and we will all be tuning in to the Comic Relief live show on BBC1 tomorrow evening.

I was also very moved by the awful Ethiopian Airways plane crash this week. It was, quite frankly, way too close to home. Not only have we used that airline, and possibly that very aircraft, in the past, but my partner told me that he could have been on that flight if he’d decided to stay in Ethiopia a little longer for a work launch. He said that he would have flown any route to get him back to the UK that didn’t cost the earth, which very well may have included flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi for a connecting flight. I can’t imagine what the families of those poor victims are going through right now. My thoughts are with them.

I have ordered more merchandise for my company, just for me, and have been working on a business plan to find out what I can do next. What kind of journey will this venture take me on? I never saw myself as someone who would need to know anything about business, but perhaps this is what I was meant to do after all.

I am currently halfway through my amazing Start Writing Fiction course, which I signed up for through FutureLearn. It is free, and it is run by the Open University. I am really enjoying it, and am getting lots of interesting and useful guidance for my fiction writing. And, did I mention, IT’S FREE! I urge you to go to their site and see if there is a course for you. I bet there will be. Here you go: https://www.futurelearn.com/.

And now, we are gearing up for our friends at Two Gents’ production of The Importance of Being Earnest at Tara Arts Theatre in Earlsfield, SW18, which closes on Saturday night. If you’re local and fancy a night out, please book your tickets here. It’s a two-hander, both females, and should be a very interesting and entertaining night of theatre!

So, I hope everyone has a great weekend, and please donate anything you can to our Comic Relief fundraiser over on JustGiving. It all goes to the people who need it the most and, as much as I believe that this shouldn’t be how the world is in 2019, every little will help. Thank you, and goodnight.

NSG xxx

PS. I learned a little lesson in reblogging today, and how not to do it. I reposted a lovely post that I had enjoyed by another blogger on WordPress, but hadn’t made it clear enough that it wasn’t my own post… Needless to say, I had a concerned friend contact me by text about it, so immediately took it down again. Huge apologies to the blogger who wrote the original post – I am still learning!