Welcome back friends! This week, Emma and Jack are joined by a very dear friend of the show, published author and all-round interesting human... Emma’s dad, Don Smith! This episode of Dial Emma focusses on creativity, in particular - creative writing, and its role in both Don’s personality and journey to publishing his first novel. In talking through his process, this week’s guest spills the beans on some of his creative tips, inspiring us to take up writing and to see inspiration everywhere! Meanwhile, there’s a new ‘Dreams’ segment this week, fresh from Jack’s sleepy head – this one involves a lot of sequins... and of course, some super bad, but oh so good, jokes about creativity and writing.

And as promised, you can read more about the 7-plot theory surrounding creative writing here: www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/books/…-stories-new.html. Another link you’ll want to visit after listening to episode three is the Amazon profile for Don’s first novel, Unparalleled: www.amazon.co.uk/Unparalleled-D-S…th/dp/1912562375. Make sure to get yourself to W H Smith’s on Manchester’s Market Street, 2nd November 2019, to meet and have your copy of Unparalleled signed by the author himself!

We hope you enjoy this episode of Dial Emma, and don’t forget to send in your feedback, comments or requests for future topics to @dialempod or [email protected]. If you prefer to submit anonymously, send away to www.tiny.cc/dialempod. Happy listening!

Do we need a digital detox?

In this episode, your hosts Emma and Jack chat all things social media – discussing the pros and cons of what we see and share online, and the impact these have on our wellbeing. Through personal experiences, this episode outlines various suggestions for why we might be more mindful of our social media experiences, and our wonderful guest Briony Aston – yoga teacher, dog mum and all-round wonder woman – chats about her attitude towards social media, her philosophy for how we should use this technology, and how we shouldn’t take all Instagram profiles at ‘face value’!

Links/apps mentioned:

Episode 1

What do The Flintstones, Megamind and Michael Cera all have in common? Well, you’ll hear all three mentioned in this episode about... You guessed it, meditation!

In the first official episode of Dial Emma, your hosts Emma and Jack kick-start the pod with a big old chat about the increasingly popular practice of meditation. Discussing the way meditation is defined, taught and practiced, this episode focuses on meditation for beginners, the benefits and scientific backing behind why it is so widely practiced today, and answering questions straight from the Dial Emma social media feed.

In this ep, we also talk about free classes at the Manchester Buddhist Centre manchesterbuddhistcentre.org.uk, YouTube guided meditations, like Boho Beautiful’s channel www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29mwfzpNc4 and apps like Headspace and Calm.

So, sit back, relax and let your ears absorb this easy-going, informative and hopefully inspiring first look of what this podcast is all about - life, wellbeing and all things (we find) interesting!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe and share this episode on whichever platforms you use to listen to the podcast, leave a (5!) star rating, or even send a question, comment or topic request to @dialempod or [email protected].

You can submit anonymously visit tiny.cc/dialem.

Books referenced:

Hey friends! Welcome to our new podcast – Dial Emma, where we are bringing straight to your ears friendly and fun chats on a whole host of topics suggested by you! With segments such a dream logs, dad jokes and thoughts of the day – your hosts Emma and Jack are here to chat about life and wellbeing, with requests and questions straight from the listeners! We hope you enjoy, go ahead and subscribe!