AarBalls

Sofia Hoas works as a Project Manager and Culture Heritage Advisor at Gotlands Museum, at Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland. She talks to us about the museum and its most popular exhibits, including Viking picture stones and hoards of buried silver, and the best ways to get kids interested in history. She also talks us through the incredible and unique mass graves of the Battle of Visby where a ragtag army of farmers and peasants were slaughtered outside the city walls by an invading force of highly trained Danish and German mercenaries. These 1,800 skeletons, uniquely (and mysteriously) buried in their armour, provide a plethora of fascinating insights into life in the 14th Century and the individuals who lost their lives on that bloody day. Sofia also tells us the fascinating story of Gammalsvenskby, a Swedish village established in the late C18th deep in the heart of what is now Ukraine, and which has suffered terribly during the recent Russian invasion.

A link to the organisation for whom Sofia also works providing humanitarian aid to the Swedish village in Ukraine: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112974547294

https://www.facebook.com/groups/316324227914376

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https://www.instagram.com/aarballs/

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Multi-award-winning comedian Heidi Regan talks us through comedy beginnings in Australia, early open-mic night nerves, hecklers and not judging Hereford, the correlation between Trump and Sharknado, touring support for the most wonderful man on earth, giving birth live on stage or your money back, rude Radio 4 colonialists, and Sam Campbell’s insane Edinburgh poster.

You can find links to some of Heidi’s comedy below: 

https://www.heidiregan.com/blog/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wMtNSuPERw&t=246s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGTrboGAjNw&t=105s

https://www.youtube.com/@Aarballs

https://www.instagram.com/aarballs/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/316324227914376

https://twitter.com/AarBallsPodcast

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Terence Blacker has worked as a writer for over 40 years, publishing novels, a biography, and children's books, and was a regular newspaper columnist for The Independent. He published 37 books for children, including the much-loved Ms Wiz series. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.

Terence talks to us about riding as a jockey in his youth before moving into publishing then becoming a writer. Our discussion covers a wide range of topics: the snobbishness of publishing and literature, the enigma of which contemporary authors will be remembered in 100 years and which might be forgotten, Jeffery Archer and Martin Amis, creative writing courses, writing with The Young Ones, and putting multiple eggs in multiple baskets. Terence also discusses his move into song writing and touring his show The Shock Of The Old.  

https://terenceblacker.com/  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Blacker

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After 15 years in the police, Hannah Bailey transitioned into psychotherapy and set up Blue Light Wellbeing, offering therapy and support, particularly for those who serve or have served in the emergency services and the military.

She talks here about the impact of cuts on the police force, of dealing with her own mental and physical illness, and how this led her out of policing and into psychotherapy, where she is now once more able to make a difference and support others. We also discuss teenagers and social media, changing attitudes to mental health, the gorilla in Twycross Zoo, and an unfortunate mishearing.

This was a truly fascinating chat and we could have talked to Hannah all day!

https://www.bluelightwellbeing.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/316324227914376

https://twitter.com/AarBallsPodcast

https://www.youtube.com/@Aarballs

https://www.instagram.com/aarballs/

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WO2 Alex talks to us about his 26 years in the Royal Marines. We hear about his reasons for joining, the drive that got him through selection (and naked fighting), his first deployment to Sierra Leone in 2000 where he was part of Operation Barras, his subsequent 4 tours of Afghanistan, and what a life in The Corps provides. He also answers our Old Fogey Colonel question about whether Gen Z are tough enough to join the military elite.

Alex gives us his (possibly surprising) top three shore-leave nights out, which British regiments he rates, and which foreign armies also gained his respect (find out which nation's dishevelled scruffy bunch of reservists turned out to be super impressive).

We also talk about the effect tours abroad have on family life, and whether his own children will be following him into The Corps.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Moore was kidnapped in Iraq in 2007 while working as an IT consultant. He was held hostage for 2 years 7 months and 1 day, during which he was subjected to beatings and mock executions. His security protection - four British ex-soldiers with whom he was kidnapped and held captive - were all murdered. He tells us his extraordinary story, and his inspiring approach to getting on with life since his release. We also hear of Bailles' personal connection to hostages in Iraq, his own father being forced into hiding during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qais_Khazali

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/12/peter-moore-recounts-iraq-captivity

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From scandalous days as aircrew to making packed lunches for DJs in Spain, Gemma Ogston talks to us about her Brighton-based cookery business - Gem's Wholesome Kitchen , her TV appearances on Saturday Kitchen and This Morning, and her best-selling cookbooks The Self-Care Cookbook and The Healing Cookbook. We also chat about how to make a "proper" British curryhouse korma, why dahl is the best, Terence Conran's lechery, air crew scandal, working in addiction counselling, Zoe Ball's hand-me-downs, and getting hammered in the BBC green room.

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