We’re back with season 4 & I couldn’t be more thrilled to be kicking it off with the wonderful Briony May Williams. A proud Bristolian, it was so lovely to be able to film here in Bristol too. As she came in I was greeted with her homemade lemon drizzle cake which tells you everything about the energy Briony brings with her!

You may know Briony from watching The Great British Bake Off series 9 where she was a semi-finalist & for her TV presenting on: Escape to the Country, Morning Live! and The Travel Show to name a few. She also co-hosts a parenting podcast I'm Not Judging, But... with two of her best friends, Charlie & Vix. 

Last year she launched a recipe book with twists on retro recipes, The Retro Recipe Society. She also has an instagram page - @gloriouslysober sharing advice & support as well as the joys of not drinking having not drunk alcohol for over two years. 

What you may not know about Briony is the mugs telling the story of her life so far, from playgroup, to teaching, to Bake Off & everything in-between. We also get right into the nitty gritty: the importance of mug choice & the mug cupboard structure to protect the most precious ones!

Here are the mugs talked about, if you’d like to follow along: 

1. Stoke Bishop Nursery Playgroup mug (40 years old!)

2. ‘Briony’ mug - a gift from her colleagues before she went on maternity leave 

3. ‘I’d rather be watching The Bake Off’ Stubbs mug bought for her as a gift

4. Gloriously Sober mug made for her by Rachel Bridgman Ceramics 

Some of her quick fire favourites:

☕️🍪 Pairings: Montezuma's dark chocolate buttons 

☕️ Barry's Tea 

🥐 Cafe: Coffi Lab , Bristol 

🏝️ Desert Island people: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Dr Punam Krishan , Jessica Fostekew, Vix & Charlie 

Available on all platforms to listen (Spotify/Apple) or watch (Spotify/YouTube) 💫

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

00:00 Intro

02:31 The mug selection process & policies  The mug selection process & policies 

03:19 The versatility of a mug - university memories 

06:57 A love of languages & Bake Off memories 

12:22 Auditioning & the Bake Off experience 

15:11 Mug #1 Stoke Bishop Nursery Playgroup 

19:58 The mug cupboard structure 

22:21 A coffee mug is NOT the same as a tea mug 

26:04 Mug #2 Briony's maternity leave gift from teaching colleagues 

32:56 Mug #3 I'd Rather Be Watching The Bake Off Stubbs mug bought for her as a gift

35:13 A wild journey since Bake Off 

37:01 The peaks & troughs of Bake Off 

38:02 Unexpected fans 

39:18 A love of travel 

41:14 Taking on new challenges & adventures 

45:17 Saying YES & going outside of your comfort zone 

46:16 Mug #4 Gloriously Sober mug by Rachel Bridgman Ceramics

51:48 Briony's recipe book - The Retro Recipe Society 

53:53 A vintage cookbook collector! 

55:46 Briony's Quick Fire Favourites

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Our final guest of Season 3 is the fantastic Rachel Atkinson, the founder of & actually a Daughter of a Shepherd. I hope you enjoy this warm & festive episode as much as I enjoyed recording it (you can expect quite a lot of laughter! 

Rachel shares the story behind her wool company Daughter of a Shepherd where she creates limited edition yarns. She focuses on natural colours of British fleece grown, gathered, and spun with 100% traceability (It’s celebrating its 10th anniversary this year 🥳). She grew up in Yorkshire where her Dad took on Shepherding as a hobby. Having always had a love for knitting & after her Dad received a 94p cheque from the British Wool Board for 450 fleeces, Rachel wanted to showcase wool’s provenance - bringing renewed value to it and shining a light on all of its qualities 🐑🧶.

When building Daughter of Shepherd at its core was supporting local manufacturing in the process, including scourers in Keighley & mills in Yorkshire/Devon. We talk about how important these crafts are & how supporting them is critical to ensure those skills are passed on.

Featured is Rachel’s beloved terrier, DeeDee. We also have a very special guest Bryan who will always bring Rachel a sheep themed mug with tea at work, alongside learning that there is a company doing tea rounds to your house (Ringtons Round) that visits towns/villages in Yorkshire & up North (and yes you can request it to visit your house!) with their tea van filled with choice - THE STUFF OF DREAMS ☁️✨

Here are the mugs talked about, if you’d like to follow along and see: 

1. The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) sheep mug - ‘look at this absolute unit’
2. Emma Bridgewater Bettys x Fat Rascal mug collaboration
3. Pip Hartle mug (for coffee!)
4. Russell Kingston mug (+ a bonus espresso mug)
5. Terry’s Chocolate mug from charity shop

Some of her quick fire favourites:

☕️Yellow bourbon coffee roasters, Ringtons tea

☕️🍪 Tea Pairings: plain digestives, chocolate hobnob, Tunnocks caramel wafer 

🩰 Ballets: Swan Lake, Song of the Earth, Wolf Works 

🧶🐏 Her favourite wool: Heritage DK - natural black 

🏝️Desert Island people: Nick Offerman, Seamus Heaney, Jemma (Harding) Wilkinson

🐾 Dee Dees favourite things: sausages 🌭 & the warmth 🔥

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

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This month’s guest is the wonderful Alice Bugeja (@Aliceroserunner on instagram). Alice is the founder of mileoff, a running wear brand on a mission! To make the best performance wear for women in the world & to dare women to dream bigger. mileoff may well take over the world - and I can’t wait 👟☁️

Alice developed her brand over two years around her 9-5 before taking the leap in March this year and hasn’t looked back since. A viral video led their iconic vest becoming a highly coveted item, with creators & runners alike showcasing mileoff. Alice & mileoff’s collections sell out in minutes.

Alice shares an honest view as a solo founder, the source of her inspiration & how women are the driving force behind mileoff & every design (we need pockets!!): from being barred from marathons just 60 years ago to the lack of funding for female-owned brands there is still so much progress to be made.

What may come as a surprise to you in this episode, is that Alice doesn’t drink coffee, and not that much tea (living in Dubai & a hot climate is not really conducive to wanting a hot drink!) but she does have a mug which has been a big part of her story.

The one & ONLY:

1.Alice’s Dyson mug - a leaving gift from her colleagues 

Some of her quick fire favourites! 

👟Marathon destinations: Spain (Ibiza), Tokyo, New York 

☕️🍪Favourite pairing: custard creams 

🤝 💍Dream brand partner for mileoff - D Louise jewellery 

🏝️ Desert Island people: Grace Beverley, Phil Knight, Jamie Oliver 

🎙️Working Hard - Grace Beverley , Aspire with Emma Grede, Ladies who Launch - Rochelle Humes, Sweat Equity - Alex Garcia & Brian Blum, How to Fail - Elizabeth Day , Mel Robbins, Diary of a CEO - Stephen Bartlett

Available on all platforms now to listen (Spotify/Apple podcasts) or watch (Spotify/YouTube). 

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

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This month’s guest is the amazing Chemmy Alcott. Chemmy is a 4 x Winter Olympian, presenter (Ski Sunday, Olympics) & speaker who is always seeking her next adventure or challenge ⛷️🗻

Chemmy takes us behind the scenes of a Winter Olympics, talks about how proud she is of her skiing injuries as a reminder of going all out 100%, how having the courage to try regardless of results fuelled her & is what she passes on in coaching and with schools, as well as the story behind her real name. Also why if lost in a supermarket, she may be found browsing the tea aisles admiring the packaging ☕️

The sheer determination & love during her career for the sport & in what she does shines through ✨

Here are the mugs talked about. If you’d like to follow along and see, you can see pictures of all the mugs on @amugslifepod instagram: 

1. Chemmy’s Christening mug 
2. Lillehammer Winter Olympics 1994 mug
3. Argentinian Mate mug 
4. Powderhound snowsports mug released ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympics 

Some of her quick fire favourites!

🏝️Desert Island picks - Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Madonna, Mother Teresa, Alberto Tomba, Mum 
🍪☕️ Pairings - hobnob or digestive with tea, rocky road with coffee 
☕️ Coffee Shop - The Coffee Pot, Thames Ditton
🏅Olympic sport if Chemmy had been in the Summer Olympics - tennis/padel🎾 
☕️🍫 Best skiing hot chocolate - one with Grand Marnier/rum
📺 Favourite TV show - Ski Sunday of course!! ⛷️

Available on all platforms now to listen (Spotify/Apple podcasts) or watch (Spotify/YouTube)

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

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This month’s guest is the brilliant @emmapuddickpottery. Emma creates colourful creations inspired by pop culture, tattoo iconography & vintage styles. She’s also a top 0.0001% worldwide** Dolly Parton fan (**unverified 😂)

Emma runs her own ceramics business, centred around monthly shop drops! These often sell out in minutes so you have to be quick ⏰ Her following & success really started to grow in 2022. At this time, the art director of The Great Pottery Throwdown spotted her mugs & the judges used them on the show in deliberation section when they decide who’s potter of the week & who’s going home

For those who’ve followed A Mug’s Life for a while you may have seen Emma’s mugs as they’re in many of my posts & stories. Her weather mugs are my personal mug favourites & also my most complimented mugs  ☀️⛅️⚡️☔️. Her designs are simply incredible & so creative!

Here are the mugs talked about, if you’d like to follow along and see: 

1. The start of Emma Puddick Pottery - purple leopard print mug 
2. Dolly Parton mug by Jake Ford Ceramics
3. A photo mug of Emma & friends in Schitt’s Creek fancy dress 
4. Keith Brymer Jones mug - made during lockdown from his studio 
5. Adam Frew ceramics porcelain mug 

 Some of her quick fire favourites!

☕️ Tea: Yorkshire tea Biscuit Brew 🍪 & Whittards Dreamtime

☕️ Coffee: Wogan coffee roastery

📺 Hacks & Sort your life out with Stacey Solomon 

🎙️Blindboy podcast & Dolly Parton’s America 

📚 Thursday Murder Club, The Avocado Hotel, The Satsuma Complex 

Available on all platforms now to listen (Spotify/Apple podcasts) or watch (Spotify/YouTube). Also linked in my bio 💫

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

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This month’s guest is my wonderful teacher, mentor & friend - Mary Doherty (the best 🥹) and it means a lot to have her on the pod

Mary played Bonnie in the original West End cast of Come From Away and as part of that run, they won Best New Musical at the 2019 Olivier Awards

She’s also performed in musicals including Les Miserables, Avenue Q, Grease, Our House & Merry Wives (alongside Dame Judi Dench)

Mary has toured with the RSC & performed at the Globe, with her favourite role being Queen Margaret in the Henry VI trilogy

In 2012, she saw a space to help young actors on their journey to becoming professional actors & started the @theactorsclass which gets unanimous praise (having attended myself, all of it is deserved and much more - Mary creates an environment like no other 🪄✨)

Personally there have been challenges, with a difficult journey to motherhood but ending in an IVF miracle. Mary is a proud Mum of Annie! 

Here are the mugs talked about, if you’d like to follow along and see: 

1.  Tring Park School for the Performing Arts 50th anniversary mug 
2.  ‘The best holiday of my life’ family collage mug made by her nephew of her  family holiday in the Algarve, Portugal for her Dad’s birthday
3. Superman mug - press night gift from husband Chris (one of many superman themed gifts 🦸🏻‍♂️)
4. Come From Away The Musical mug 
5. Emma Bridgewater Mummy mug 

 Some of Mary's quick fire favourites!

☕️ Peppermint tea 

🎬 Ordinary People

📺 Shrinking 

🎙️Mel Robbins

🏝️ Holiday - Maldives (been) & Thailand (wants to visit)

🎭 Bull - Mike Bartlett 

🎭🎶 West Side Story 

TW// Discussion about infertility & miscarriage 

Available on all platforms now to listen (Spotify/Apple podcasts) or watch (Spotify/YouTube). Also linked in my bio 💫

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

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We’re back with S3 and I’m delighted to welcome our first guest: 

Ella has her own ceramics business based just outside Edinburgh @Ellafletcherdesigns. Her mission is ‘bringing joy to the everyday with colourful, handmade ceramics’ and she embodies this in what she creates 🌷💐🎨

⏰Her new website where you’ll be able to buy a whole range of products will be launching Friday 25th April ‼️

That joy & feeling when you choose a favourite mug from the cupboard. I’ve been a fan of her work for a while and it was such a pleasure to chat in Edinburgh 🪄 

We cover all the key questions: Ella’s perfect brew, why the colour of the inside of the mug is so important & the art of mug handles ☕️

We also chat about getting inspiration from the Scottish landscape, travel & collaborations with female-owned local Scottish businesses as well as a new contract this year with the National Trust for Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Here are the mugs talked about, if you’d like to follow along and see: 

1. The first mug Ella ever made (taught by Chris Donnelly)

2. The first mug Ella made by herself (THE ORIGINAL)

3. By Jodie, MADE & MATTER CERAMICS, WALES  (Made_and_matter ceramics)

4. Bought in Ithaca, Greece from the maker at a gallery (Reminders of a 4 week Greek Island family trip last Summer

5. Laura Grainger F*ck the Tories mug

 Collaborations & partnerships with local Scottish businesses: 

💡Amanda Wells Lighting

🕯️Luna Candles 

🕯️Tyninghame Candles

💗 It’s Good to Give charity - supporting young Cancer patients & their families in Scotland 

Quick fire favourites!

📚The Bee Sting - Paul Murray 🐝

📺 Big Boys, Day of the Jackal, Hacks

🎧 Self Esteem 

🗺️Greece & Scottish Highlands

🎙️My therapist ghosted me & The rest is entertainment 

✨Will it make the boat go faster? Ben Hunt-Davis 

Available on all platforms now to listen (Spotify/Apple podcasts) or watch (Spotify/YouTube). Also linked in my bio 💫

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know ☕️💗

Edited by Megan Tuck Audio

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It’s Valentine’s Day and what a good reminder it is to be kind to yourself, not put yourself under too much pressure and most importantly to have fun! 🪩💌  

Today we’re back with another chatty New Year’s episode with a twist as before recording Claudia & I spent the afternoon with card & magazines to put together mood boards for our 2025 intentions & beyond 

We talk through our mood boards and why we were drawn to the things we chose. We discuss it all from finding calm, being more present, to not packing your schedule too full so you can find joy in the spontaneity of deciding what do to do on the day (like seeing it’s snowing and buying sledges 🛷 ❄️)

We’ve also moved to full video episodes so you can watch on YouTube & Spotify 📺 🥳 Video editing for the first time with a new software was an experience 😁 so bear with this first episode! 

If you do watch it, spot my Valentine’s themed socks 💗 (which were entirely unintentional as we didn’t know when the episode was going out!)

We would love to hear about your 2025 intentions! 🎉

Available on all platforms now to listen or watch! 

Chapters 

00:00 Intro 
00:57 Setting up our 2025 moodboard intentions 
02:04 Sharing our moodboards 
05:34 Finding calm & being present 
11:07 Plans, balance & prioritisation 
17:57 Relationships & prioritisation 
22:48 Allowing yourself moments of calm 
32:16 Bringing play & joyfulness into life - have fun! 
36:37 Comparison & letting go 
41:07 The abundance of choice/information overload 
43:16 What we're looking forward to this year 
49:15 Our words of the year 
54:00 Conclusion & Recommendations (TV series/book)

Claudia - Book - Absolutely & Forever (Rose Tremain) 

Juliet - TV show - Blue Lights - BBC iPlayer 

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It’s the final episode of season 2 and I am delighted to have my friend Jasmine Faulkner as a guest 🥹I’ve known Jasmine since primary school, and I’m so very proud of everything she does and the person she is.

She’s a soprano singer who fuses classical, cinematic & electronic sounds, having performed at some of the biggest venues/events including: Mens & Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley Stadium, London Fashion Week for Annie’s Ibiza, Windsor Castle for Royalty & Houses of Parliament. 

She has campaigned for the rights of women in Iran & is someone who lifts up & supports everyone up around her. I am so lucky to have her as my friend. You’re in for a treat!

For the first time I’ve also added a blooper reel at the end of the episode so I hope you enjoy that too 😂

Here are the mugs talked about, if you’d like to follow along and see: 

1. Pink clear mug - ‘a really studious’ mug

2. ‘It takes a big heart to shape a little mind’ mug - gift from a students’ parent

3. See you later alligator mug @oliverbonas - a gift when she left her  9-5 job

 Other things mentioned: 

☕️  ‘Big hand huggy cosy’ @emmapuddickpottery weather mug

☕️ @teapigs - peppermint tea 

☕️ Gummy bear tea 

☕️ @yogitea - messages 

☕️ @birdandblendtea - Baby spice 

💃  @ecstaticdance.uk UK  

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know and follow/leave a comment or a review if you enjoy 💗

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This month’s guest is the incredible Jazmin Sawyers. She’s a European gold medallist 🥇& 2 x Olympian but also does so many other things! It was a JOY to have her as a guest

We talk about everything from her accidentally becoming a dinosaur mug influencer, some very special mugs from friends, how much family & friends support means in sport to how having multiple interests helped her when her journey to the Paris Olympics ended when she ruptured her achilles in April

It’s not everyday you get to sit down & chat all about tea, coffee and mugs with someone that has inspired you with their mindset & journey 🥹

She’s also a mug enthusiast & collector, so tricky choices were made about which mugs to bring on. 

A most wonderful selection of mugs from those wrapped in nostalgic memories, to unexpected collaborations & handmade treasures: 

1. 3D Dinosaur mug - Llandudno Pier (North Wales family holidays)
2. Istanbul European Indoor Championships 2023 mug (Gold medal and 7m (!) jump)
3. Handmade mug made by & gifted by Dina Asher-Smith
4. JCB teacup & saucer - gift from Ben Williams

Other things mentioned: 

☕️ ⏰ Joy Resolve - Barisieur tea & coffee alarm clock
☕️ AeroPress coffee maker 
☕️ Assembly coffee
☕️Celestial Seasonings - Bengal Spice tea
☕️Yorkshire tea biscuit brew
📚Gold Rush - Olivia Petter
📺 The OA
🎙️ Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Available on Spotify, Apple & Amazon 

We always love to hear what you think so please let us know and leave a review if you like 💫

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