Over the Back Fence

This week we get to share in the laughs with Di and Nicola as they catch up on Nicola’s latest European adventure and Di’s spring skiing trip to Thredbo - from jet skiing and super yachts to grounding and icy dips in the river, it’s always fun to hear what they’ve been up to. After that, Di and Nicola chat with the passionate and inspiring Mandy Spooner about simple changes you can make to contribute to an eco-friendly planet. Mandy is known as the Eco Warrior, who loves educating and helping others with ways they can reduce the amount of toxins and plastic in their lives. She shares so many practical tips in this episode, that are all really doable, so we can’t wait for you to listen in. 

In this chat, we hear how Mandy got started on this journey after reading an article in 2017 about how takeaway coffee cups aren't recyclable. Mandy couldn’t believe what she was reading and went down the rabbit hole of finding out everything you need to know about single use plastic and researching different alternatives and ways that we can all live a more eco-friendly existence. Since that day, more than 5 years ago, she hasn’t looked back and thankfully, she’s now educating so many others about this important issue.

Far from being doom and gloom, Mandy shares about the great companies and initiatives that are out there and the progress that we’re making in recycling and sustainability. She’s confident that if we all take small steps and inspire those around us, we can really achieve great things together. 

We’re so grateful that Mandy flew down from the Sunshine Coast to be with us in our Sydney studio and we hope you feel as motivated as we did after speaking to her. 

Follow Mandy Spooner on IG here

Get Mandy’s Living Green eBook here 

Get more of Mandy’s tips and find out about her work here

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is a special episode where we are doubling up the fun with 2 incredible guests, Dr. Tim Sharp and Muffy Churches. Dr. Tim Sharp aka Dr. Happy is an internationally renowned leader in the field of positive psychology. He’s a writer, a coach, a keynote speaker, a professor and the founder of The Happiness Institute. Muffy Churches is a leading performance coach, a keynote speaker, an author as well as a mother and a grandmother, who’s inspiring us all in her 70s. Di and Nicola get to chat to both Dr. Happy and Muffy about the power of positive thinking and how to make happiness a priority.

In this chat, we hear Dr. Happy talk about how it’s not about being happy all the time and that it’s okay not to be okay. He talks about his own struggles with mental health and how it’s important to know that you’re never alone. We also hear how he got started in the field of positive psychology and became interested in learning what people can do to live happier lives.

Dr. Happy shares his best tips for how you can increase happiness in your life. It’s all about choosing to make happiness a priority and he gives us some great ideas for how we can all do that. Most importantly, he says that the biggest factor when it comes to happiness is that other people matter. It really is all about your connections and relationships with others. 

We then hear from Muffy Churches with her practical and uplifting coaching tips. Muffy shares what you can do if you’re feeling stuck, suffering from glass half-empty syndrome and you’re not sure how to move forward. We also get her top tips on how to transfer negative thinking and shift your mindset, which were featured in an article she wrote for Success Magazine. 

Both of these guests have so much wisdom and practical tools to share for how you can create a more positive mindset and boost your happiness levels, so you won’t want to miss it. We hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we loved having them in the studio with us. 

Follow Dr. Happy on IG here , on LinkedIn here and on Facebook here

Check out Dr. Happy’s website here

Follow Muffy Churches on IG here, on LinkedIn here and on Facebook here

Buy Muffy Churches Coach Yourself book here

Check out Muffy Churches Online Courses here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s episode is with the talented and inspiring Deb Coffey. Deb has had a remarkable career within the world of fashion, lifestyle and interiors. Deb spent many years as a journalist, helping people navigate style through the various publications she worked for such as The Sun-Herald, The Sunday Telegraph, Elle Magazine, Cosmopolitan, The Australian Magazine and Vogue. She then went on to run a very successful PR Agency, Hush Communications, before moving into the world of interiors, which is where her passion now lies. Deb has renovated 10 houses personally and has a stunning interiors store, Manyara Home, where she guides budding renovators into a world of beauty. 

In this episode we hear some great pearls of wisdom from Deb - why she thinks change is a really good thing, her refreshing perspective on flipping houses, what key wardrobe pieces to invest in and her top interior styling tips. 

Deb shares what it was like working in the media in the 80s and 90s, how things have fundamentally changed since then and the way the skills she learned as a journalist have served her well in other areas of her life. 

We also hear about Deb’s beautiful marriage, which began when Deb was just 19. She shares why she thinks her marriage works and what she suggests women look out for when they’re choosing a long-term partner. It’s probably not what you think. 

As we follow Deb’s story and career path, we hear how a chance conversation led to her purchasing the interiors store, Manyara Home, and Deb’s passion for interiors really shines through in this chat. Deb gives some great tips on how to make the most of your space with simple suggestions for furniture, curtains and lighting that you won’t want to miss. 

Deb is a real go-getter who’s always moving forwards and engaging in new and different things to keep her mind active. She has a refreshing perspective to share and we really hope you enjoy listening in as much as we enjoyed chatting with her. 

Check out Deb’s Interior Store, Manyara Home here

Follow Manyara Home on IG here

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s episode is a special one where we get to hear from two of Di’s baby brothers, Richard and Colin Scotts. These two are charming and hilarious as they tell us stories about what it was like growing up in their big family back in the day. Colin is a living legend, the first rugby player in the world to make it into the NFL in the United States. He’s written a best-selling book, All Balls, and he’s a proud dad of two. Richard, a former first grade national rugby champion himself, now runs a hugely successful media company and is putting together a film script of Colin’s amazing life, called Rough Diamond. Rich is also a proud father of four and a neighbour to Nicola and Di. 

In this episode we hear so many special stories of what it was like growing up in a huge family, in a stunning part of the world, Sydney’s Palm Beach. We get a beautiful insight into the Scotts family - what their mum and dad were like, the values they lived by and the wonderfully positive attitude they had and instilled in their kids. We also hear about the mischief Di and her brothers got up to when their parents were away - let’s just say, it was a party house!

Col share’s the story of his incredible career in the NFL - the surprising way that he got scouted, the scholarship he got to play for the University of Hawaii, the day he was drafted to the St Louis Cardinals, as well as some hilarious steps along the way, such as being made the head judge of the Waikiki Bikini Competition.

We hear all about what it was like living in Hawaii back in the 80s, and how Rich came over to visit Col for a week and ended up staying for a year and a half. Rich is a wonderful storyteller who shares some of the funnier moments of their time together in Hawaii, including their epic fail when they were put in charge of the valet service for a huge Super Bowl party and lost some of the cars. 

Rich also shares how much he loved growing up in a big family, and how he adores spending time with his four kids. You can tell that for Col, Rich and Di, it really is all about family. 

This is a wonderful episode where we get to learn more about Di and the fun-loving family she grew up in. As she shares in the episode, there is a river of love that runs through the Scotts family, and it never runs dry. And even though Nicola might not be a blood relative, they all think of her as the 6th sister. We hope you laugh along with Nicola, Di and her brothers in this funny and uplifting chat. 

Follow Colin on IG here

Buy Col’s book All Balls here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Di and Nicola speak to the inspiring and delightful Jane Grover. Jane is a former chef, turned home cook and the author of 2 amazing cookbooks, Naked Food and Our Delicious Adventure. She offers cooking classes and Afternoon Tea With An Author events in her home, and wants to empower people to feel unafraid to cook and eat well. Jane is also a loving wife and mother of 3, with a grand sense of adventure and generosity of spirit. This generosity has led to her becoming a board member of the Te-Kworo Foundation, a charity dedicated to the rehabilitation and education of war-affected women and children in northern Uganda.

In this episode we hear how Jane first got started as a chef and the conscious decision she made to step away from her career for a period of time to be a stay-at-home mum to her 3 children. Jane talks about her love of food, how she became deeply interested in good quality and nutritious ingredients, and the inspiration behind her first cookbook, Naked Food, which was about sharing simple, whole food recipes that taste great and are good for you.

Jane shares about the incredible adventure she went on around Australia with her husband and youngest son, and how this led to her second cookbook, Our Delicious Adventure. 

We also hear the inspiring story of how Jane met and became friends with Alice Achan, a Ugandan woman dedicated to educating and rehabilitating girls returning from captivity. When Alice became stranded in Australia during Covid, Jane took her under her wing and spent her days looking after Alice. The two formed a beautiful friendship, which led to Jane working for the Te-Kworo foundation, which Alice founded to help young women in Uganda.  

Jane is a beautiful storyteller and a warm-hearted and generous soul, whose love of people and the world shines through in this episode. We hope you feel as inspired as we did chatting with her. 

Follow Jane on IG here

Get a copy of Jane’s books here

Find out more about Jane’s cooking classes and events here

Find out more about the Te-Kworo Foundation and how you can help here

Get a copy of The School of Restoration by Alice Achan and Philippa Tyndale here

Follow Te-Kworo on IG here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Di and Nicola speak to the talented Tracey Yarad. Tracey is a singer and musician from country Taree. She’s had an incredible and eclectic music career, touring all over the world with many Aussie and international rock bands. She also spent 7 years performing in Japan and China, and saving money to fund her dream, which was to open her own music school. These days Tracey lives in New York, but she’s currently in Australia touring her one woman show, All These Pretty Things.

In this episode we hear about Tracey’s lifelong passion for music, and the twists and turns that her path has taken along the way, to where she now finds herself living and performing in New York. Tracey grew up in Taree, where it was expected that she would step into the family retail business, but her dedication to music led to her getting a scholarship to study opera at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. 

Tracey shares the dream she had to open her own music school, which she was able to achieve in the Blue Mountains with her husband at the time. From a small music school, they built it into a beautiful and thriving business with over 200 students. Tracey is still in touch with many of her students today, who are performing in bands all over the country. 

We hear the heartbreaking tale of the breakdown of Tracey’s marriage and how she was left picking up the pieces and deciding what to do next. With a supportive group of friends around her, encouraging her to travel to New York and perform on her own again, Tracey found herself falling in love with the Big Apple, healing and re-inventing herself in her 50s. In 2017, Tracey was able to secure an artist's visa to move permanently to New York, where she now lives and breathes music. 

Tracey’s story is a beautiful one, full of ups and downs, but above all, it’s the story of a woman who restored her heart through music, supportive friends, and the courage to go after her dreams, no matter how big. We hope you enjoy this inspiring episode. 

Follow Tracey on IG here

Get Tracey's music, tickets to her shows and pre-order her book here

Find out more about Tracey and her work here

Follow Nicola and Di on Instagram here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Di and Nicola speak to the wonderful and hilarious, Cathrine Mahoney. Cathrine is the author of Currently Between Husbands, a book about life, love and laughter after divorce, and one of Di and Nicola’s favourite books of the year. For years she was the queen of celebrity publicity at Sony Music, before taking a leap of faith to follow her dream to tell stories and write. She is also the host and co-host of several podcasts including So, I Quit My Day Job, Not Another Parenting Podcast and the Mamamia podcast 456 Club, and mum to her teenage son Louis. 

In this episode we hear what it was like for Cathrine when just before her 40th birthday, her marriage to one of Australia’s sporting heroes, NRL player Andrew Johns, fell apart and made headlines across the country. As she struggled with the lows that the end of a marriage can bring, Cathrine wanted to read a book about divorce that was funny and honest and would reassure her that everything was going to be alright. When she couldn’t find that book on the shelves, Cathrine decided to write her own. And thank goodness she did, because it’s brilliant! 

Cathrine shares some hilarious stories from the book, including her rock bottom moment at LAX that she can now look back on and laugh - it’s one you won’t want to miss! Cathrine also tells us what dating was like as she re-entered that world and she shares some great tips and funny insights about what we can all expect and be on the lookout for when it comes to dating apps. 

We also talk about Cathrine’s fantastic podcasts, her friendship with Narelda Jacobs, the refreshing perspective she has on aging and how excited she is about what lies ahead and the dreams she has for her future. 

We absolutely loved chatting with Cathrine and she had us in stitches. We hope this episode will have you feeling good and laughing along with us. Enjoy.

Follow Cathrine on IG here

Follow So I Quit My Day Job on IG here

Get a copy of Cathrine’s book Currently Between Husbands here 

Find out more about Cathrine here 

Follow Nicola and Di on Instagram here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Di and Nicola speak to the incredibly inspiring Aminata Conteh-Biger. Aminata was born and raised in Sierra Leone, where she lived a beautiful life with her family until the age of 18, when her whole world was turned upside down. She was kidnapped by rebel forces and abused by them for months during the civil war in her country, before being released and becoming one of the first Sierra Leonian refugees in Australia in the year 2000. Since then, it’s phenomenal what Aminata has been able to accomplish so far. She is the founder and CEO of the Aminata Maternal Foundation, an author, an inspirational speaker, an activist, a Special Representative for Australia UNHCR and the recipient of several humanitarian awards. Aminata is also a proud wife and mother of 2 beautiful children. 

In this episode we hear Aminata’s powerful story of growing up in Sierra Leone in a loving family, and the beautiful values that were instilled in her and her siblings by their remarkable father. Aminata shares with us the horrifying moment when she was kidnapped by rebel soldiers at the age of 18, the abuse that followed, and then the miracle which led to her release.

Aminata talks about what it was like coming to Australia, a place she had never heard of, as one of the first refugees from Sierra Leone and the culture shock that followed. We also hear the beautiful story of when she met her husband and the love letter he wrote that took her years to find. 

After complications with the birth of Aminata’s first daughter Sarafina, Aminata began learning more about maternal health and was motivated to set up the Aminata Maternal Foundation to help provide maternal healthcare and education for women in Sierra Leone. Aminata opens up about what it’s been like to witness the life-changing impact that her foundation is having on these girls and young women. 

At the end of the episode, we also hear more about Aminata’s passion for fashion and the amazing work she does with The Social Outfit, a social enterprise that supports refugees to kick-start their Australian careers by making and selling incredible clothes. 

We are so grateful to Aminata for the work that she’s doing and for sharing her story with us. We hope that you enjoy this powerful conversation as much as we did. 

Follow Aminata on IG, on Facebook and on LinkedIn here

Get a copy of Aminata’s book Rising Heart here

Find out more about Aminata Maternal Foundation here

Hire Aminata to speak here 

Follow The Social Outfit on Instagram here

Follow Nicola and Di on Instagram here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s bonus episode is with the wonderful Alex Cadger, aka The Blonde Butler. Alex is the ultimate foodie and caterer to the stars, including companies like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Mercedes Benz, Ferrari and that’s just to name a few. Nicola and Di were also lucky enough to have Alex cater for the Over The Back Fence launch party, and he did an incredible job!

In this conversation, we hear how Alex’s love of food has been in his DNA from the beginning and the courageous decision he made at 25 to quit his corporate marketing job and start a catering business. He also shares the remarkable story of the impact Covid had on his business. At first it was disastrous, but a quick pivot and positive thinking saw him turn it all around.

Alex opens up about what it’s been like to lose his mum, Kimmy, in the past year and how he has coped with that tremendous loss. We get to hear about their special relationship, the date nights they used to go on and the laughs they shared. Even though it’s been a difficult time, Alex tells us about the spiritual awakening he’s been through because of it and how it’s brought a new perspective to his life.

We’re really grateful to Alex for sharing his story and for the delicious cheese platters he brought to the studio that day, which we loved. Make sure you stay tuned until the end of this episode because we will announce the winner of the MOA Windows $5000 competition! 

Follow Alex on IG here

Follow The Blonde Butler on IG here

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s guest is the wonderful and inspiring Katherine Wolfgramme. Katherine is a well-respected and prominent transgender woman. She’s a multi award-winning, internationally recognised transgender advocate and gender diversity educator. Katherine is currently on the board of Qtopia, Sydney’s Pride Museum, she’s a Sydney World Pride Rainbow Champion, and a really loved member of Sydney’s Gay Community. Katherine transitioned over 30 years ago in Melbourne and throughout her life has been a trans child, trans youth, trans adult and now trans elder. She has a goal to broaden awareness through her training programs and a vision to reduce transphobia towards all transgender people and turn fear into understanding. 

In this episode, we hear Katherine’s truly remarkable story. She shares what it was like growing up in Australia in the 1970s as a child born with gender dysphoria (and she helps explain what that is). She tells us what it was like to be born in a body that was biologically male, but with a brain that felt she was female. Katherine talks about transgender issues and her personal experiences in a way that opens our eyes and hearts to what transgender people go through and truly creates understanding. 

Katherine opens up about the discrimination and bullying she’s experienced throughout her life, not only as a transgender woman, but also as a woman of colour. Born in Fiji, Katherine unfortunately had to deal with racism when she moved to Australia. But as well as the hard times, we hear about the beautiful and uplifting moments in her life - the life-changing dream she had as a teenager when she was at rock bottom, how incredible she felt when she first started taking hormones, and the progress we’ve made as a society that means that transgender youth can live with more freedom and acceptance today. 

Katherine is such a great storyteller and we loved hearing about the highs and lows of her life and the strength she’s shown to cope with it all, rise above it and become a role model for so many. We also hear a sneak preview of Katherine’s upcoming show in the Sydney Fringe Festival, SHE: The Extraordinary Journey of an Ordinary Transgender Woman. The show is running from the 5th-8th of September in Sydney and has just been selected as one of the Fringe’s picks, so make sure you grab your tickets below. We’re so grateful to Katherine for this conversation. 

Follow Katherine on IG here 

Buy tickets to Katherine’s show SHE at the Sydney Fringe Festival here 

Check out Katherine's website here

Follow Nicola and Di on Instagram here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.