Natasha Majella, from Ballycastle (my hometown) wrote and self-published the children’s book ‘The Magical Merchaun’s- The Great Escape’ from Sydney, Australia, with her faraway niece and nephew in mind. In this episode we scratch the surface of how Natasha’s imagination and vision of Toothy-Joe the nasty pirate and Mariella the queen of the sea became a top selling storybook on Amazon within months. Natasha reveals how she created her story, plot, and characters of ‘Magical Merchaun’s’ and her upcoming novel ‘The Wheel of Failure’. Natasha is an inspirational go-getter who tells her story of transformation from a shy, nervous teenager to an ambitious, motivated solo-traveller, Master of Law, and a clearly talented creator. This conversation is sure to have you rethink your evenings “vegging out” in front of the TV… Enjoy!

I get the lowdown on Iceland from my friend Lizzie, who has been to this “majestic”, “chilled out”, “stunning” place twice now. We scratch the surface of activities, trips and natural phenomena to discover, and Liz shares a few anecdotes about accidentally taking her daughter into a phallic museum and finding her hubby Gareth (aka drummer of local band The Discobeard’s) dobbleganger in the Viking museum. I was excited to hear about this eco-friendly country; filming sites for Game of Thrones; the dire history of why so many Native Icelander’s have Irish heritage; and to learn about disability access for the main outdoor attractions. This cosy chat over a gin and sleeping dogs, has a good message that we can all learn from: to make the most of what we have in the moment. Cannot wait to get myself to Iceland now!! Enjoy! (Check out @coastaljewelsni on Instagram, and her hubby’s band @discobeardmusic)

I reminisce about our dreamy road trip around South Greece- the detailed itinerary that we completely winged as we drove. I scratch the surface of what we got upto day by day, including some totally unnecessary details. I am honest about how I managed to cope with such a busy trip by taking lots of rest among the parties, hikes, exploring, long drives, and excitement, but I hope to inspire those with a life-limiting diagnosis like myself to use their intuition and still enjoy the things they love! I was struggling to remember everything (thanks to said illness affecting my brain function), so I somehow roped Stephen, my favourite travel partner and biggest motivator, into joining me for the last half hour to keep me right- what a treat!

Listen in to be inspired by solo-global-traveller Elizabeth Murphy as we Scratch the Surface of nannying and studying abroad; the societal pressures of today that can be eased by simple conversation, kindness, and valuing yourself enough to follow your own desires; and her amazing, interesting, trauma-informed work as a Drama Therapist. I could talk to Elizabeth all day about her Masters, groundbreaking work, continual learning, and attitude for living life to the full! I know you will be enthralled by her energy and passion to change the world- Enjoy! _“We all have dreams. For some of us we are afraid to pursue those dreams. Sometimes life is about taking risks, it’s about believing in yourself. It’s about believing that you have strength to do what you have dreamt of doing and letting nothing stop you. Those moments of laughter, tears, heart breaks, falling in love, falling out of love, dreaming. Those are the best moments” (Elizabeth Murphy)

I chat with Lisa and Katherine about something I’ve been literally dipping a toe in for a while now. We just scratch the surface of the healing benefits of dipping in freezing water no matter if it is the sea, a lake or a waterfall; the love for the whole experience of going to the beach, psyching themselves up before going in and the exhilarating feeling after coming out; and the absolute necessity for considering safety.

Tune in to hear Julie, as a Historian, compare her trips within Europe to holidays in America. We scratch the surface of our mini-break together to Krakow, and Julie has some history tips for East Coast America cities. This episode is sure to have you craving a little magical trip to DISNEY! I know I sure am!

I thoroughly enjoyed recording this episode with Amy, an old friend from Liverpool, as you can hear from the multiple times I cannot speak for laughing! It was so refreshing to look back on fun, life-changing, mind-opening experiences, especially to Scratch the Surface of just how much growth, learning, and cultural awareness we both gained in our shared Eastern experience. We discuss the impact of grasping once-in-a-lifetime opportunities when they arise; how much effort we put into fundraising for our trip to India; our experiences of different orphanages, tribal schools, slums, busy cities, and jungle huts; and share some hilarious stories about food, animals, toilets, and our big culture shock at the differing social norms in India.

Brona Alexander, from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, is one authentic, mindful, inspiring lady for young women. In an exciting chat about travels, volunteering, and working abroad, Brona opens up about coming out in her early twenties; transitioning to veganism; how she keeps her anxiety in check; and how she found and uses her gut instinct no matter how difficult the decision is. We just Scratch the Surface of life in the Caribbean, her studies in tropical medicine (which I found fascinating!), and her ability to “Feel the Fear and do it anyway”! It’s a long one because I just couldn’t cut any of Brona’s powerful insight… Enjoy!

Starting off the new year and podcast chats with my favourite topic- TRAVELLING THE WORLD! I scratch the surface of a once-in-a-lifetime, dream trip to Africa with my good friend Laura Farren. Hear us chat about the beautiful people, views, activities, and culture that can only be experienced in Africa. All I can say is WOW! When is South Africa out of the Red List ‘til I Hakuna Matata my way over there?!

Hello lovely people, I've missed you! I really enjoy this little hobby of podcasting and talking about all the things I find meaningful in life. Welcome to 2022, and my new format of EVERYTHING GOES! As you will hear in this episode, I'm not one for sticking to the beaten path, so same goes for a structured, perfect creation.. A bit like my perfectly imperfect self, personality and life... Scratching the Surface Podcast is something I do FOR ME and keeping my damaged brain ticking, remembering, learning, healing; as much as I hope my listener's enjoy, learn, be inspired, interact, and spread the love and light. I start the series off with an as brief-as-I-could rundown of my travels and adventures, with some anecdotes, truths, laughs, should-be-regrets, and hopefully a bit of inspiration for those who are sitting on the adventure-fence dithering if they could spread their wings, be brave, conquer fears and hesitations, try something new, LEARN so much about others, another place or way of life, and ultimately learn SO much about themselves. Love and Light to you all. Thank you for being here! Tara XO