Midlifing

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Simon and Lee talk about anxiety that persists over time and situations that appear to be high stakes when they are not.

Things they discuss: Intrusive thoughts, self-diagnosing online, anxiety, worrying, ruminating and being lost in thought, getting into rows (and arguments) in your head, potentially high-temperature meetings (that are low stakes), Universities being hierarchical, people doing what they are told, the clarity of a work position as opposed to the height of it, the diminishing size of undergraduate theatre and dance programmes in higher education in the UK, smelling people's emotions (and Psychoneuroendocrinology), a specialist who just does root canals, teeth grinding and the pandemic, childhood mental health and the pandemic, children being kept home for so long during COVID19, a new labour Government in the UK, the UK being a conservative nation and serfdom, Keir Starmer or not, and people never being happy.   

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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Simon and Lee talk about no longer being children.

Things they discuss: Lee deals with some parent issues, tries out his Australian accent, Simon had dinner with friends and talking about no longer being children, dying from a broken heart, family lineage, a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, not being nurtured as children, being loved by parents, Lee's Mum wanting udder cream, face and hand cream, the active ingredients of udder cream, the Dark Web, Lee still being a child, a 1.1kg pot of udder cream, Lee solves the udder cream problem and clearly will continue being a child, still being childish (in general), approaching Midlifing timetable meaning we have slightly shorter episodes over coming weeks, Midlifing sodes, Italians being funny with acronyms and not having CET, travelling light (and not recording), follow-up from last week which will appear next week.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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Lee and Simon talk about imagining bad things as a way to not do them, Coldplay at Glastonbury, and human beings singing together.

Things they discuss: Midlifing show titles, the desire or feeling to jump or fall off heights, the meaning of al fresco, being sucked off a balcony, thinking through the possibilities of a fall or jump, someone walking over your grave, airing out Lee's flat in Portugal, hanging out washing on the edge of a building, rehearsing the anxiety of falling, a baby on a balcony, going to the internet for a response, imagining terrible terrible things (like stamping on a chihuahua), Wikipedia-level study, such feelings getting stronger with age, Edward S. Casey's book "Imagining", imagining the catastrophe, staying safe, Lee's Chris Martin shoulders, Coldplay at Glastonbury, non playable characters (NPC), a celebration of togetherness, Coldplay being just this side of irritating, human beings singing together, Paul McCartney vs Coldplay, YouTuber with microbakery who can't bake, middle-aged men cycling and hobbies.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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It's hard to describe what this one's about. Just listen.

Things they discuss: Lee cutting half a yew tree (that has grown a lot), Simon's 40th at Riverford Farm, being old and unimportant academics, the foundations of Bob and Lee's house, youse as plural pronoun, the inaccuracy of language, splitting infinitives and Star Trek, mooching versus smooching (a clunk and Freudian slip by Simon), practice research, a soporific version of Midlifing (mixed in with practice research), Edward S. Casey's bimble, send Midlifing a text message, learning a language by listing all the words you know in that language, Commando comics, mistranslations, the concept of soaking, sex before marriage in Mormon communities, re-watching The Wire (mos def, you feel me?), if your name's not down (or Dan) you're not coming in, Pauline Oliveros and deep listening, Lee on fire (not literally), a typically absurd episode, Simon not hearing what Lee says, Joe Biden's performance in the debate, Ruby and Finn going out counting votes.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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Simon and Lee are back in the saddle together (finally) and they talk about funerals and one of Simon's experiences in Rome. 

Things they discuss: Lee is sick, they discuss Bridgerton Series 3 and Lee's eye for detail, Lee working too hard, a funeral in Portugal, drinking wine at a funeral, the size of one's funeral, Jefrey not technically being a person, dying before or after one's partner (and a rationale old age suicide), Lee's parents at the funeral, becoming inured to death, members of Lee's family, ex-council house buy-off under Thatcher, Simon being given a joke gift by his grandfather, Simon's grandparents called Darn and Boompa, Mackintosh's Toffee in NZ, mean-ness towards children, infantalising people (say at University), a child crying "Vaffanculo", acting (or not) when hearing neighbours under duress, Lee's minisodes efforts.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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A minisode: Lee covers for Simon and talks about having too many water bottles.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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A minisode: Lee shaves off his beard and Simon doesn't make it.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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Lee and Simon talk about perfume and where to put it.

Some other details from the episode: being overwelcomed, being taken out for dinner, saying thank you and please so much, Lee's shock collar to stop him saying bad words, language being amazing, Lee's Cult Beauty notifications, Lee wearing perfume (in layers), Simon not wearing perfume, half-chubs, more and more about perfumes and where to put them, Simon's summer scent: DEET; Ffern, the rigour of Lee's perfume profile, aluminium under your arms, Lee being a ledger member of Ffern, Men's Health, ketosis, Simon not having a very strong bodily smell, not going near underpants, brands of underpants, Brown Stitch (clothing repairs in Coventry), little holes in merino clothing, being comfortable, WATC studio and their blank t-shirts, Simon's t-shirt size and no one is listening anymore because this podcast is just us chatting, Susan (Ellis) the content queen, Lee's new chest of drawers, not having a sense of smell, Lee's colleagues telling him he smells good, touching on consent, and consent before touching. 

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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Lee and Simon had a real meeting for work before Simon had to sneak off for tooth hurty where he discovers he may not be happy with his smile. A conversation about intimacy and being turned on.

Some other details from the episode: Simon is impressed by Lee during a real meeting they had together for work, feeling fraudulent at work, expressing not knowing, professorial training, Logan's Run, teeth issues for Simon and the difference between not paying and paying for dentistry, having one's smile fixed, an attractive dentist who showed a lot of interest in Simon, Florence Nightinghale, Lee not yet having graduated to TikTok, living with a dog, humans are such simple animals, flirting with men, being turned on by women more than men, male dentists, Lee being dead from the neck down, having more testosterone, Corbetron sweating testosterone, Simon assuming women were/are not interested in him, the stories men are told (e.g. Say Anything, The Breakfast Club), John Hughes, Molly Ringwold, complementing colleagues, teeth grinding as a teenager, a tooth that has decided to die.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

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Lee and Simon try and get up from the floor without using their hands and they discuss quite expensive beds and twilight years.


Some other details from the episode: Lee's shoulder, getting sorer as you get older, getting up off the floor, putting your hand on your knee when you bend over, where Lee puts his bakeware, not adapting as you get older, Trikonasana (yoga posture), Bob and Lee buying beds for each other in the future, memory foam mail order mattresses who don't sponsor us, twilight year plans, living in your parents place when it's no longer theirs, memory of driving up the drive wearing a Dinner Suit, power drills, renovating in the garage, someone who owns a power drill, "fai da te" (DIY in Italian), rawl plugs, hanging bikes, how Simon feels about 60 years and where he might land, on a hill in Sardegna, the weather in the UK this winter and spring, medical systems in another country, The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and overwhelmingly male narratives, Simon going to an all-boys state school, Lee being so embodied.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at [email protected].

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)