What does it look like to return to the same country - once as a soldier in uniform, and years later as a touring comedian with a microphone?

In this episode of 68 Cups of Blueberry Tea, Gabrielle sits down with Australian stand-up comedian Jarryd Goundrey while he’s performing in Dili, Timor-Leste. But this isn’t just a chat about tour life and punchlines.

Jarryd spent seven years in the Australian Army before stepping away from military life and eventually finding his way to the comedy stage. We talk about identity after service, the uncomfortable silence that can follow structure and purpose, and how humour can become both shield and spotlight.

We dive into:

• The shift from military discipline to the unpredictability of stand-up comedy

• What really happens when a joke bombs — and how you win a room back

• Mentoring new comedians and earning your place on stage

• Inter-service rivalry (yes, the Navy makes an appearance)

• And what it means when your work genuinely connects with someone in the audience

This conversation is honest, funny, and reflective - a look at reinvention, resilience, and the courage it takes to build a second act.

If you’ve ever pivoted, stumbled, or started again, this one’s for you.

The Doulos Hope is a floating library that travels the world, bringing books, stories, and conversation from port to port. While the ship was docked in Dili, Timor-Leste, I sat down with Vale Rios, media and communications lead onboard, to talk about life at sea, the people who choose this path, and what it means to bring stories across the oceans.

In this conversation, Vale shares what daily life aboard the ship really looks like, what makes each port - including Dili - unique, and why books and human connection still matter in a fast, digital world. We also reflect on what remains long after a ship leaves port.

This episode opens Season 2 of 68 Cups of Blueberry Tea, now recorded from Dili, and sets the tone for conversations shaped by movement, place, and quiet impact.

As Season One comes to a close, Gabrielle pauses to reflect.

Looking back on the conversations, the common threads of resilience and creativity, and one insight from a guest that lingered: the rare gift of stopping long enough to recognise how far you’ve come.

This isn’t an ending - just a moment to breathe. A chance to acknowledge the journey before turning the page.

In this episode of 68 Cups of Blueberry Tea, Gabrielle sits down with Manali Banerjee, a senior Bikram yoga guide whose life and work have been shaped by discipline, tradition, and an unflinching relationship with the mind.

Beyond the heat and the postures, this conversation explores what Bikram yoga really teaches: how the mind tries to protect - and sabotage - us, why structure can be deeply grounding, and what it means to stay present when everything in you wants to escape. Manali shares insights drawn from decades of teaching, observing human behaviour in its rawest form, and returning - again and again - to the basics.

This is a grounded, honest discussion about resilience, repetition, humility, and the quiet inner shifts that happen when we stop fighting ourselves.

Perfect for listeners interested in personal growth, mind–body practice, resilience, and the human stories behind discipline.

Anna Pixner - Austria’s world-class downhill skateboarder and concrete surfer - joins me to explore what movement teaches us about freedom, bringing people together, facing fear and supporting mental wellbeing. 🛹

From her early days on a bike path to honing speed and focus on winding roads around the world, Anna shares how skating became her meditation, why she’s planning to ride in the Himalayas next year, and how she helps others discover courage through sport. We dive into mindset, community, technique, and the pure feeling of gliding down a hill with calm in your bones.

This episode of 68 Cups of Blueberry Tea blends speed, spirit, and thoughtful conversation - perfect for anyone curious about skateboarding (like me!), inner freedom and building confidence ... one ride at a time.

In this episode of 68 Cups of Blueberry Tea, I’m joined by Mark Crosweller AFSM - founder of Ethical Intelligence, former national leader in emergency and disaster management, and author of Compassion in Disaster Management: The Essential Ethic of Relational Leadership.

Mark has spent decades leading through crisis - bushfires, disasters, and high-stakes public service - yet his work consistently points back to one essential truth: leadership is relational, ethical, and deeply human. We explore Mark's understanding of metaphysics and the origins of Ethical Intelligence, why compassion is not a “soft skill” but a leadership necessity, and how moral humility, fallibility, and human connection shape better outcomes in the toughest moments.

This episode is for anyone navigating responsibility, leadership, PTSD, or change - whether you’re leading others or simply trying to lead yourself with integrity and compassion.

If this topic brings anything up for you, support is available. Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14.

Not that Paul Hogan - this is the one with the diplomatic passport, the white gloves, and the reality-TV fan following.

In this episode of 68 Cups of Blueberry Tea, Gabrielle sits down with Paul Hogan, whose life has zig-zagged through consular service, elite estate management, professional butlering, and unexpected television fame. It’s a journey stitched together by discipline, charm, grit, and a wicked sense of reinvention.

Paul opens up about:
• life as a diplomat and the surprising human stories behind it• the leap from diplomacy to butlering• the art of service - and why it matters more than ever• how a quiet career collided with reality TV• the mindset that’s carried him through every step of the way

It’s wise, it’s warm, it’s worldly - and it’s filled with laughter.

Pour a cup, settle in, and meet the Paul Hogan you want to adopt as your own Uncle.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them,” Albert Einstein

Enter Zoee Mylordis from Envizia. She doesn’t just capture conversations - she changes them. With one live illustration, she turns threads and direction into clarity and helps people see their ideas in a whole new way.

In this episode, we chat about how visual storytelling can shift perspectives, unlock solutions, and bring the invisible into focus.

Listen in to hear what thinking differently really looks like.

Historian Graham Wilson OAM has spent a lifetime uncovering the stories behind the names etched in stone — not just soldiers, but families, communities, and generations marked by war. From rural NSW towns to cemeteries in Europe, Graham’s journey reveals why remembrance is not about the past alone, but about how we live today.

In this episode, Graham shares how he became “obsessed” with registering war memorial records, the surprising stories he’s uncovered, and why our duty of memory extends beyond Gallipoli and WWII to modern conflicts and peacekeeping missions.

This is an episode about loss, resilience, and the enduring power of remembering.

Embark on a flavourful journey with Colorado Coffee as they share their inspiring story of bringing specialty Colombian coffee to the Australian outback. In this episode, Paulo and Miranda discuss their unique mobile coffee venture, the challenges they've overcome, and their mission to support Colombian coffee communities.