This conversation takes place at a laundrette, where we chat about the challenges of being an unpaid carer, the calming effect of a crucifix, and playing in bomb sites. "I need the sea and a beach... not a different country... just quiet, peace and quiet... I can just sit there on the beach with my thinking". #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #laundrette

Standing at the bar of the @theprincearthurshoreditch we talk about running a 300 year old pub, hitting the sweet spot with music, and why English signs have to be 30% smaller than French signs in Quebec . "The pub - the british, unique little thing that the pub is, is your house - so you are in my house, in that way. So it is a hospitality that is more homey than just going into a restaurant or a bar ... the art work, the decor, the music, the lighting, the welcome". #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #pub

Sitting in the winter sunshine, this chat is about putting down thoughts with pen and paper, the role of God in life, whether or not to address a problem and reaching goals as a hair and makeup artist. "I'm not entirely where I want to be with certain things, but I'm in a good place, I feel like I'm on my way there". #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #journaling

On a street in E5, Kev and Dave chat about living abroad, the highs and lows of the silver and crypto markets, diving for sharks, and no regrets. "I've still got some of the same jobs from twenty five years ago which were a fiver, and are still a fiver. What I should have done really is put it up 30p or 40p every year... all the new jobs are proper priced up... but back in the day five pound was alright wasn't it, you could buy quite a bit for it." #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #windowcleaning

Walking along the canal on a grey rainy day we chat about changing jobs, how a film script is shaped, and the joy of ducklings. "If a writer can write great dialogue that's an amazing thing... it's a very specific skill writing good dialgue and I actually haven't come across that many writers who are truly brilliant at it, it's one of the hardest thing for some reason, making people sound like people". #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #film

This chat on a park bench is almost entirely about poetry, starting from a theme of longing and going on to the creative process and finding your voice. "It's very easy to think that you're pushing boundaries and breaking the rules, when really what you're doing is not very interesting at all. I'm getting to a point where I have a much better sense of where the contemporary world is at in terms of poetry, and where I myself could lie in it." Find his most recently published poetry here: https://substack.com/@daniecooke #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #poetry

With a bag of nuts in her hand, Ajeet feeds the squirrels as we chat about the importance of religion in her life, exercising in social groups, and enjoying retirement. "I don't feel lonely, I can be alone but still I feel okay... every person is different... for me I'm just quite happy at home, even if I don't talk to anyone." #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #retirement

This chat with @johnbirchallsalon is about a life lived to the full. Cutting the hair of the beautiful and the famous, partying with the stars, growing up in a vibrant Liverpool scene yet feeling at home in New York, making a big mistake and passing on karma. "I don't know what my hands are doing, to this day, I've got no idea - I start a haircut, I don't make sections, I don't make anything like what normal hairdressers do, it's very free". #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #hair

Standing beside her @leapinglizardsuk stall, Aika chats about what goes into a healthy market mix, how she went from studying engineering in Kyrgyzstan to making clothes in London, and her approach to business. "Part of the market life is actually because you enjoy it, you meet your people, you meet the consumer.... it's never the same. So I can just lock myself in my workshop and make clothes and just market everything online, but that's not what drives me." #otherlivesareavailable #eastlondon #podcast #clothes

After exercising in West Ham Park, Ansar chats about growing old, his large family, and a life lived in two countries. "I left school aged 15... in those days your Dad says 'you can't carry on', you accept his word, start work earning money... I started my job making electric lights in a factory". #otherlivesareavailable #podcast #eastlondon #family